This Week's Struggles

Big News

The big new this week was the exposure of how the South Yorkshire police actively sought to cover up their own failures and deliberately smear victims and the Liverpool fans at Hillsborough on the 15th April 1989, found in the Hillsborough Independent Panel's report. You can find my briefing of the essential points made by the report here.

US News

It has been a tough week for the US. The anniversary of 9/11 came this week alongside a $4.3 billion programme to help 70, 000 survivors, fire fighters, police and local workers get monitoring and treatment of over 50 different types of cancer, for free.

Ambassador Chris Stevens 1960-2012

Also on the anniversary of the fall of the twin towers, came the death of the US ambassador in Benghazi, Libya. 

An armed mob attacked the unguarded outpost with rockets and killed Christopher Stevens and three embassy workers while they attempted to escape to a safer venue. President Obama paid tribute to the four officials saying that they 'embody the American ideal'.

With the election looming, a report by the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security (headed by Kofi Annan) said that the lack of transparency in the US elections coupled with new identification laws (which suppress African American participation in the political process) and Super PACs (which mean financial donors can remain anonymous) means low public confidence in elected officials.

Given that the race for presidential office is close, voter turnout is important and Obama has been pushing for more people to register in some swing states. With Obama slightly ahead in the polls this seems like a smart move.


Science and Technology

People of the world, do not worry, the iPhone 5 is finally here and it is, essentially, exactly the same as the old one.

There are the various new features that may get nerdy types drooling; it's thinner, lighter, bigger screen and 4G availability, blah, blah, at the end of the day, it's a phone. 

A phone that is also boasting a new smaller port, in part to comply with the European Commission in order to make it easier and fairer for customers and to reduce waste. 

But the micro USB is not available in the US and add on top of that the fact that now everyone will have to by a new docking station and charger, then I am unconvinced they should be boasting about it to customers, probably better it being the shareholders.

But, Apple are clever, you will need to upgrade if you want to use some of you existing apps, as they become conditional on you owning the iPhone 5.

A Foxconn factory in China

Some of this important announcement, however, was overshadowed by an undercover journalist, Wang Yu, writing in the Shanghai Evening Post about the working conditions at Foxconn, the factory that will make 57 million iPhone 5s.

Wang told of the sheer work load expected by individual workers without a break (3,000 phones in a 10 hour shift), the poor resources, cockroaches in the accommodation and the poor pay for overtime. 


Fashion

New York Fashion Week is of course what people have been talking about the past seven days; from Marc Jacobs 'messing with your head' to 'working designer' Victoria Beckham's New York 'triumph' to senior publicist, Lynn Tesoro, being slapped at a Zac Posen show, which is now a $1m lawsuit.

But a debate has erupted, not about the size of a model's thigh, I covered that last week. The New York Times has begun a debate questioning whether the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) should lift the minimum age requirements for runway models to 18.

16 year old Kendall Jenner

It was only last winter that the CFDA lifted the age limit to 16, but there are growing concerns about the long hours, mature look of the clothing and the fact that young fashion models do not have the same unionisation and protection other young starlets enjoy.

There is also concern for the overall self-esteem of the young girls and their fans and the argument for allowing them to 'develop fully' before strutting the catwalk.

Unfortunately, the quest for perpetual beauty knows no bounds, people are obsessed with the image, not the person. So what if she is 16, 18 or 27 and hasn't eaten solid food for two weeks, she looks fabulous darling!



Sport

What a summer it has been for British sport. Success continued with the first British men's Grand Slam in 76 years thanks to the sporting talent that is Andy Murray.

Murray won his first Grand Slam title after beating Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2, at the US Open in New York on Monday.

25 year old Murray has worked so hard for this day in his career after failing to win his four previous Grand Slam final matches. I, personally, reject the idea that Murray's previous misfortune had anything to do with the fact that he has been playing the circuit in the same period as the two greatest tennis players of all time (Federer and Nadal), as Paul Newman says in his Independent article. Is being the best not what competitive sport is all about?

When asked about his previous failures the world number 3 said: "A lot of people would come up to me and say 'You'll get the next one, don't worry about it,' which almost made it worse. I'm just glad I can move on with my career now". Please excuse me if I am taking this out of context but, doesn't this show people as being supportive of his talent and having confidence in his ability to win a Grand Slam?

He also said, of being questioned about his ability to win a grand slam; "Since I was 21 I've been asked it my whole life, and it started to get to me earlier this year. Everywhere I went I got asked the same question."Again, please excuse me if I am taking this out of context but, he is still going to be asked the same questions, except this time it will be "Can you win another Grand Slam?", "Do you think you can win Wimbledon?" and " Can you retain your title?".

Nonetheless, this is a great close to the end of a summer filled with first class British sport and as Djokovic said, he really deserved it. To read my commentary on the Olympic gold match that gave Murray the confidence boost he needed to win the US Open, click here.


RIP

The Hillsborough 96 

John Alfred Anderson (62)
Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)
James Gary Aspinall (18)
Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16)
Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron (67)
Simon Bell (17)
Barry Sidney Bennett (26)
David John Benson (22)
David William Birtle (22)
Tony Bland (22)
Paul David Brady (21)
Andrew Mark Brookes (26)
Carl Brown (18)
David Steven Brown (25)
Henry Thomas Burke (47)
Peter Andrew Burkett (24)
Paul William Carlile (19)
Raymond Thomas Chapman (50)
Gary Christopher Church (19)
Joseph Clark (29)
Paul Clark (18)
Gary Collins (22)
Stephen Paul Copoc (20)
Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23)
James Philip Delaney (19)
Christopher Barry Devonside (18)
Christopher Edwards (29)
Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)
Thomas Steven Fox (21)
Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)
Barry Glover (27)
Ian Thomas Glover (20)
Derrick George Godwin (24)
Roy Harry Hamilton (34)
Philip Hammond (14)
Eric Hankin (33)
Gary Harrison (27)
Stephen Francis Harrison (31)
Peter Andrew Harrison (15)
David Hawley (39)
James Robert Hennessy (29)
Paul Anthony Hewitson (26)
Carl Darren Hewitt (17)
Nicholas Michael Hewitt (16)
Sarah Louise Hicks (19)
Victoria Jane Hicks (15)
Gordon Rodney Horn (20)
Arthur Horrocks (41)
Thomas Howard (39)
Thomas Anthony Howard (14)
Eric George Hughes (42)
Alan Johnston (29)
Christine Anne Jones (27)
Gary Philip Jones (18)
Richard Jones (25)
Nicholas Peter Joynes (27)
Anthony Peter Kelly (29)
Michael David Kelly (38)
Carl David Lewis (18)
David William Mather (19)
Brian Christopher Mathews (38)
Francis Joseph McAllister (27)
John McBrien (18)
Marion Hazel McCabe (21)
Joseph Daniel McCarthy (21)
Peter McDonnell (21)
Alan McGlone (28)
Keith McGrath (17)
Paul Brian Murray (14)
Lee Nicol (14)
Stephen Francis O’Neill (17)
Jonathon Owens (18)
William Roy Pemberton (23)
Carl William Rimmer (21)
David George Rimmer (38)
Graham John Roberts (24)
Steven Joseph Robinson (17)
Henry Charles Rogers (17)
Colin Andrew Hugh William Sefton (23)
Inger Shah (38)
Paula Ann Smith (26)
Adam Edward Spearritt (14)
Philip John Steele (15)
David Leonard Thomas (23)
Patrik John Thompson (35)
Peter Reuben Thompson (30)
Stuart Paul William Thompson (17)
Peter Francis Tootle (21)
Christopher James Traynor (26)
Martin Kevin Traynor (16)
Kevin Tyrrell (15)
Colin Wafer (19)
Ian David Whelan (19)
Martin Kenneth Wild (29)
Kevin Daniel Williams (15)
Graham John Wright (17)

"The truth is out today and justice starts tomorrow" - Trevor Hicks http://www.hfsg.net/


This Week Everyone is Watching;

The Audience (Thursdays, 9pm, Channel 4), apparently. Well my twitter feed was full of it and the consequential jokes too.



This Week Everyone is Reading;

In the paperback fiction chart, according to WHSmiths, everyone is reading something called 'Fifty Shades of Grey'? I have never heard of this, must be good, right?


Good News Everyone

Crazy cat ladies really do exist.

A parasite, known as toxoplasma gondii, has infected between 30-40% of people in their life time. The parasite, which can only complete its life cycle in cats, has been linked to miscarriage, birth defects, blindness, brain inflammations and even death.

But best news of all, there is some evidence that the parasite can cause psychotic disturbances and schizophrenia.

It is a little disturbing but also must come as a relief to all those crazy cat ladies to finally know why they went mad. Now, I put it to you, scientists, to find out what parasite is making crazy old dog ladies dress their dogs up in a tutus and take photos.