Doctor Who and a Galaxy of Stars

For anyone who missed it, here is the specially scripted opening for the National Television Awards featuring Matt Smith, Dermot O'Leary and a host of other television characters.

Sailing through Somali Seas

My parents have just returned from a cruise aboard the Artemis which took them through waterways teeming with Somali pirates. Now you may think that the threat posed by small boats to a huge cruise ship would be negligible, but it is a very real threat which is taken very seriously by passengers and crew.

Not only were there SAS trained security staff on board, but a number of precautions are put in place to protect the ship from the dangers of piracy.

These security measures include:

• Axes to cut ropes used to grapple up the side of the ship
• Barrels of sea water to pour over invaders
• A clear area at the stern of the ship for helicopters to land with extra security if required
• Lights positioned vertically down the side of the ship to illuminate any possible pirates
• Sandbags on deck to protect from gunfire

Additionally, the promenade deck was closed, cabin curtains had to remained closed after dark and if an attempt was made to board the ship, it would sail at full power, zig zagging to make boarding as difficult as possible.

Advice given to passengers in case of a pirate attack

Now, many will ask why any would-be pirates are not simply shot in self defense, but it appears that shooting is not an option. Disturbingly, the pirates know this and obviously this works to their advantage. In the past, helicopters would neutralise the threat posed by simply shooting the engines, but now the Somalis place people over them meaning this is now impossible.

Also, while Somalis do the dirty work, it is believed that the masterminds behind the attacks are from elsewhere, possibly the Russian mafia.

During their voyage through pirate waters, the cruise ship was escorted by vessels from the International Task Force, but during this journey, the pirates tried to board the ship protecting the cruise liner. So the threat is very real indeed.

Fortunately, my parents have arrived safe and sound but I thought I'd close with an exchange from another of their cruise locations, Libya. When asked if it was true whether drivers running red lights were liable to be shot by the police, the Libyan guide replied with "Well, do you see anyone driving through on red?" which I guess answers the question!

The hypocracy of Holloway

Maybe I am the only one who can see what his value might be. It is all right admiring something. I like my neighbour's car but if I don't pay the right amount of money for it I ain't going to get it. They had better start by putting a figure one in front of the complete rubbish they have been offering so far.

These of the words of Blackpool manager, Ian Holloway, responding to a £4 million bid from Liverpool for the services of Charlie Adam.

So far this season, pundits have been describing Holloway and his Blackpool outfit as a 'breath of fresh air' and lauding the manager's colourful and honest views of the game and championing the stands he has made against some of the failing of the modern game.

But is Holloway really the Premiership's real-life conscience? Or is he just as guilty of taking advantage of smaller teams for his own ends?

It appears he is not quite so innocent as he seems as the offer for Plymouth Argyle's Bradley Wright-Phillips seems to prove, rumoured to be well below six figures.

What is even more shocking is that Argyle used to managed by Holloway and he has stated that as the League One leading scorer is out of contract in the summer, he might try to get him for nothing.

Wright-Phillips was not in the squad for the last game against Oldham Athletic because, according to manager Peter Reid, he was "not mentally right", so before Holloway starts bleating on about Liverpool, Aston Villa and Birmingham 'destabilising' his team, maybe he should consider the effect his own actions might have on his former team.

Policing the Preston EDL demonstration

On the 27th November 2010, Preston was the scene for two rival demonstrattions between the English Defence League (EDL) and Unite Against Fascism (UAF). The two groups were kept safely apart by a well organised police operation but while the UAF protest was generally ignored by the local population, the EDL had a large number of people spectating. The city centre was also very busy due to it being what is traditionally the busiest shopping day before Christmas. Many shops and pubs however, took the decision to close in case there was any trouble.


The day passed trouble free, with none of the disorder, violence and destruction witnessed at 
similar EDL demonstrations in other parts of the country. In fact, Chief Superintendent Tim Jacques, Divisional Commander for Preston, said: "Although there were minor scuffles amongst the EDL demonstrators, there were only 14 arrests for drunken or disorderly behaviour."


Despite the lack of violence and vandalsim, mounted police took the puzzling decision to force Christmas shoppers and onlookers, along with some stray EDL supporters down an already crowded Friargate towards the busy ring road. This action turned a calm situation into a potential flashpoint.


The map below shows the location of the two demonstrations and where police herded the watching public to.


View EDL Protest in a larger map

As the video below shows, the EDL supporters were vocal and although they threw some smoke canisters and bangers, the public were in no danger, mainly due to how the event was organised between the protesters and police.


Towards the end of the video, you can see police begin to move spectators and shoppers down behind the main body of spectators towards Friargate. Behind these shoppers, are mounted police which can be quite intimidating.




This second video shows the mounted police herding the mixture of shoppers, spectators and a handfull of EDL supporters down Friargate. You will hear a policeman clearly state that they were only being moved to the first point on the map where Friargate and Market Street converge. Apparantly, this decision was made following a flare being thrown and a scuffle breaking out within the penned off area. However, the public were clearly far enough away from the demonstration to be completely safe. Why the police then took the decision to force them further away is a mystery.



The police statements and press reports make no mention of this show of police force. Chief Superintendent Tim Jacques stated

Today's (Saturday) events have passed mostly without incident and I would like to thank the local community for their help and tolerance during the events and the lead up to them. All our officers and staff should also be commended for their efforts, as well as those who have worked alongside us from other organisations, in particular Preston City Council. 

Preston is proud to be a diverse and understanding city where people respect each other and get on well together. The aim of today was to allow peaceful protest which we have demonstrated is possible through careful planning and successful communication at all levels.

 The report in local paper, the Lancashire Evening Post is challenged in their own comments section by 'Pontius' who questions not only the figures given by the police and paper of 1,000 protesters, but also the lack of any mention of the forced removal of people simply curious or out shopping. 'Pontius' also describes the police operation as 'uncoordinated' and draws attention to them 'dragging innocent shoppers out of shops and demanding shopkeepers closed their businesses. At one point in the second video you will see a group of police identify a target in the crowd before removing them for no apparent reason, causing a scuffle in which some reporters were trapped.


The lack of accurate reporting by the local paper nor any police comment about this makes me wonder whether the police themselves are unsure why they acted this way or embarrassed about the action they took, coercing and intimidating innocent members of the public and placing them in a potentially volatile situation by penning them in with stray elements from the EDL.

Time Traveller Caught On Film?

For years, people have stated that if time travel is ever invented, why have we not seen any visitors from the future. But perhaps they are hiding in plain sight!

Irish filmaker George Clarke was stunned when he saw what appeared to be a woman seemingly chatting on a mobile phone as she walks across the screen in footage recorded at the 1928 premiere of Charlie Chaplin's "The Circus". The footage was included on the DVD as an extra feature.

Clarke has posted the footage on YouTube and you can view it below.

So what do you think? Is this evidence of travelers from the future or have you another explanation of what the woman is doing?

Michael Jackson Sightings?

Just like following Elvis' death, it seems the King of Pop himself is not dead after all, but enjoying a life of relative anonymity in various locations around the world, or he is if you believe the postings Michael Jackson Sightings. Fortunately for those who refuse to believe he is really dead, there are 'eyewitness' sightings and even photographs, like the one below.The story accompanying the photo here reads;

Hello this is XXXXX! I live in Ireland and I was walking along a street the other day and all of a sudden Michael Jackson came out of nowhere and started dancing! Lucky I had my camera in my hand and was able to take this quick photo before he ran off. I have circled him in this photo (presumably so you don't confuse him with any of the other dancing Michael Jacksons - I mean, it's hardly "Where's Wally"!). This was a great moment and I am glad I was able to quickly react and take the shot for you guys.

Obviously this is a send up (or at least I really hope it is), but if you have a few minutes to spare, it's worth a look just to bring a smile to your face!

Foursquare's Twitter profile privacy, what is it good for? NOTHING

A potential privacy loophole has been uncovered in the location based social network, Foursquare. The company made much of their improved privacy settings in the wake of Facebook implementing their own location based check in system, but one privacy aspect seems to have slipped through the net.
The problem arises if you have linked your Twitter account to Foursquare but wish to keep your Twitter profile private. In the privacy settings, it is possible to de-select the 'Let everyone see the links to my Twitter profile and Facebook profiles (only if I've connected them below)' option, but regardless of whether it is selected or not, viewing a profile which the user has connected to Twitter will still reveal the user's Twitter account name in the profile url, meaning they can be easily found on the micro-blogging site.
For example, if someone with the Twitter username JohnABCDEFG links their account with Foursquare, but deselects the option to show the link to their Twitter account, their Foursquare profile url would be http://foursquare.com/user/JohnABCDEFG. Obviously this exploit also works in reverse with people being able to find a user's Foursquare account from their Twitter username with ease if the accounts are linked. Hopefully, Foursquare will rectify this problem as soon as possible.