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Good Old Un-Politically Correct Britain

David White — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:21:45 +0000

Proof that the whole of Britain hasn’t fallen into a politically correct vacuum…..

Last week I attended a school fair in an underprivileged area of Bristol, a part of the city where apparently the sun’s rays don’t penetrate. So many pasty, white, tattooed, overweight, scarred people in one place, it felt unreal.

Police security tags, missing limbs or highly visible knife wounds were de rigeur for the dads, while the mums sported 10 inch heels, extra-long Pall Mall fags and language which would bring a blush to a dockers cheek. A Robbie Williams lookalike in a shiny waistcoat belted out ‘I Wanna Sex You Up’ to an audience of three toddler girls dancing round a miniature pink (fake)Burberry handbag. In the beer tent, a 30-something father fought for breath between pints, his oxygen tank beside him, fag in hand, son on lap. As the Special Brew flowed, the kids ran riot, nicking from the lucky dip and snatching perfume from the tombola. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. As I left, I spotted a group of nine or ten year old boys dismantling the iron railings from the school fence and running at each other with them in the style of a medieval joust.

Meanwhile, at my son’s school fair this week, in a more affluent area of Bristol, the bouncy castle has been cancelled due to fears of lawsuits in the event of injury. Face painting is off the activity list in case of skin allergies, peanuts are banned from the premises and home made cakes have also been vetoed. This is a school where ‘tennis’ has to be played without rackets in case the children hit the balls too hard and hurt someone. Where kissing in the playground is termed ‘sexual harrassment’ and ‘Baa Baa Green Sheep’ echoes through the halls during assembly.

Next year I’m sending duckrabbit to cover the tale of two fairs. Could be an award winner. If they get out alive.
JW

Sri Lanka – Human Rights Watch Audio Slideshow

duckrabbit — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:10:18 +0000

Be warned this is both an important and distressing audio slideshow about the current humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka that is not getting the media attention that it deserves.

Two weekends ago 100000 people marched in London to protest, three times more people then marched in the recent G20 protests in London and yet the protest hardly registered. Why? Perhaps it is because those protesting are seen as Tamil Tiger supporters, a group widely portrayed as terrorists.

Whatever the rights, whatever the wrongs innocent people are being slaughtered.

Enough is Enough

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, AUDIO SLIDESHOW

Human Rights Watch researcher Anna Neistat says both sides in Sri Lanka’s conflict are violating the laws of war. Approximately 100,000 civilians are trapped in a government-declared “no-fire zone” in the northern Vanni region. Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels have prevented civilians from leaving a tiny strip of land, while government
forces have repeatedly and indiscriminately shelled the area.

These photos are from a makeshift hospital in Putumattalan that was treating survivors of attacks on April 8 and 9, 2009. Many were women and children who were waiting in a food distribution line in Pokkanai when artillery shells hit.

Watch this duckrabbit produced audio slideshow to understand why we care:

Read, write, kill – the Sri Lankan conflict has long been made notorious for the use of suicide bombers and child soldiers.

RESPONSE

KIM

Here is a good explanation by Channel 4 News on why they haven’t been able to cover this story as well as they would have liked. The Sri Lankan government aren’t letting journalists in so the only news coming out of the safe zone right now is via aid-workers.

http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2009/04/17/blocks-on-reporting-the-sri-lanka-fighting/

DUCKRABBIT

Thanks Kim. Actually it was the demonstration in London that I was referring to in regards to coverage. It just didn’t seem to register despite there being an incredible 100000 people, as estimated by the police. This is a Google News screengrab taken on the evening of the demonstration. It doesn’t even get a mention, just two Sri Lankans who had been on hungerstrike dating back to a previous demonstration. I find that incredible.

“What is happening in America?”

duckrabbit — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:32:56 +0000

“Things are going to get worse …”

This Magnum in Motion audio slideshow is straight out of the bible. It speaks with the zeal of a prophet.

Its raw.

Damn Bruce Gilden there is electricity and power in your photographs. Nothing has come close to capturing the anger and the loss and the confusion and the betrayal and the despair.

Awesome.

People, you can keep your overproduced misery

this is a new standard.

Last Chance

Jane White — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:35:32 +0000

An exercise in how to tell an environmental story with real impact.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped away 217 square miles of Louisiana’s fragile coastline, and this slideshow, with audio and pictures by Ted Jackson of the Times Picayune, New Orleans, documents the effects on the surrounding wetlands. You get a real feel for the battle for survival here, and an inkling of the frustration the environmental experts are experiencing.¬† Some of the audio sounds really noisy but I couldn’t work out if this was meant to be adding atmosphere or not? Still a strong piece, sending a powerful message without preaching.