My blog will be quiet over the next couple of weeks as I head off to Altinkhum in Turkey on Friday.

See you when I get back

I've took this article direct from Prison Planet.tv but founf it an interesting read:

The news this morning that a 'suspected suicide bomber' had been shot dead at a London train station and that other house raids had resulted in individuals being shot to death by police has been received with barely a mumur of questioning as to who these individuals were and why police needed to use deadly force.

Reuters is now quoting Sky News in saying that the man shot five times at Stockwell was not one of the would-be suicide bombers who attempted to detonate bombs on Thursday and whose CCTV photos have been released.

Experts told the BBC that the shooting was likely carried out by special forces, although eyewitnesses also said police were involved in the pursuit.

The man was pursued, tripped, pushed to the ground and then shot five times in the torso area. If the police and special forces pursuing the man knew he had a bomb that he was potentially about to detonate then why would they risk setting the bomb off by shooting at it?

BBC quoted Roy Ramm, former Met Police specialist operations commander, as saying,

"The fact is that when you're dealing with suicide bombers they only way you can stop them effectively - and protect yourself - is to try for a head-shot," he said.

Former government intelligence analyst Crispin Black agreed there was no other way of stopping someone who was an "immediate threat to life".

So here we can establish that if the police suspect this guy had a bomb strapped to him, they would go for a head shot. Therefore we can conclude that the police knew he didn't have a bomb so they shot him in the stomach and chest area.

So then why does BBC contradict itself by quoting Professor Michael Clarke, professor of defence studies at King's College London, as saying,

"The fact that he was shot in this way strongly suggests that it was someone the authorities knew and suspected he was carrying explosives on him."

Excuse me? We were just told that the only safe way to deal with a suicide bomber is to go for a head shot, otherwise you run a high risk of setting the bomb off. But now they flip it 180 degrees and tell us the opposite, that they were right to shoot in the area where the explosives would be. This doesn't make any sense.

This is a blatant attempt to justify the cold blooded pursuit and murder of a man that was not one of the suspected suicide bombers involved in yesterday's attacks and a man who the police knew did not have explosives strapped to his body, which is why they shot him in the torso area.

And what of the witness reports of a bomb belt and wires coming out of the man's jacket? They seem to have been swept under the rug. The modus operandi is simple. Put out the story that this guy was a suicide bomber with wires hanging off him about to blow a train up and the public have no problem in accepting the response of the police in killing him. The later retraction that he was not a suicide bomber goes under the radar as the British population prepares to go on a Friday night drink binge or curl up and fester in front of the television.

So these are the new rules we have to live our lives by? If you're late for the bus or train and are seen running then the police can just mow you down no questions asked?

If, as in the case of this individual, you're wearing a heavy coat on a relatively hot day (and it certainly hasn't been as hot today in England as it was last week) then that's also a sure fire sign that you're about to blow yourself up?

What about people from scorching hot climates who haven't adapted to the British weather? What Brits call hot, someone from Pakistan would call mild.

It appears that law enforcement has been granted the same powers as President Bush. If the suspect is defined as an enemy combatant or a terrorist they can be located and killed on the spot. No evidence, no trial, no questions asked.

The British public needs to ask serious questions about who is really behind these bombings and what these outrageous new police abuses mean for the future of freedom in this country.

So who's read it yet? My girlfriend bought it on Saturday and had finished it by Sunday and looked rather upset at the outcome.

Now I am a Harry Potter fan but have only read the first book and watched the three films. So now I'm dying to know what has made her upset, but it will take me ages to reach that point (PLEASE DO NOT POST SPOILERS!)

Don't you think it's strange how a book can cause so much hype and excitement! In the U.S it sold 6 million copies in the first day and in the UK 2 million copies.

I'm sure it must go down in history as the biggest book launch ever!

[img]http://images.google.co.uk/images?q=tbn:r2ykL_bHeaIJ:images.amazon.com/images/P/074758110X.02._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]

My fiancee's sister graduated yesterday. We travelled to Leicester and stayed overnight.

Congratualtions Charisse!

On a personal note I felt I learnt something about myself on the trip. I spent some time with a male friend of Charisse, and his two children, aged 6 months and 2. We walked around Leicester for a couple of hours. I really enjoyed myself and found the children absolutely delightful. I think this is the first time in my life that I feel ready for children. I think I would make a good father and the experience left me feeling overjoyed to be around them. Perhaps it's the male version of broodiness!

All I need now is the rest of my life to fall into place and maybe kids will just be around the corner.

The thin line between life and death becomes all the more prominent when such horrific events take place.

As I write this, three bombs have gone off in the subways and one on a bus. I can only imagine the horror of being involved.

I've always hated the London tube and I doubt I will ever travel on one again. I live just outside of Birmingham and I feel great empathy towards Londoners. It is their home which also happens to be the nation's capital and a number one terrorist target.

It's hard to know what to say. We struggle to understand why such people do such horrible things. The propaganda that some of these terrorists have been subjected to, probably all of their lives, plays a major part. All they see is the Western world destorying their society and killing innocent people in their county - may be even family members. Their country's governments and organisations tell them that the Western World is to be blame.So they fight back in the only way they understand. It's hard to know how to change these views.

It's a dark day, and although I'm not religious, I will be saying a prayer for all those affected, you never know eh?

On Wednesday 6th July I headed for Edinburgh for the Live 8 Final Push on the day that the world's top leaders met at the G8 summitt. Luckily we arrived early in the morning so had the chance to look around the city. This was the first time I had been to Scotland and within 5 minutes of getting of the plane it started to rain - typical!

We walked through the cobbled streets and amongst the quaint shops of the Old Town, passing the magnificent Edinburgh Castle, which provides a stunning backdrop to almost everywhere you stand in the city. The Old Town was very quiet. We were expecting to see thousands of people protesting in the streets as Bob Geldof had called for 1 million people to head to the Scottish capital to protest against third world poverty. Somewhat disappointed at no protests being held we decided to experience some Scottish culture and headed to the Art Museum.

The museum housed paintings by not only famous Scottish painters but more reknowned paintings from the likes of Dagas, Rembrandt,Van Gogh and Constable.

After the museum we headed for the New Town and Prince's St (the city's main street). we stumbled across around 500 protestors who were barricaded into an area by a circle of policemen. The protestors were waiting for coaches to head up to GlenEagles and were vocal but placcid in their protests.

After stopping for a spot of lunch at Jimmy Chong's Chinese restaurant, very impressive!we decided to return to the hotel in preperation for the evening's festivities. On the way back to the hotel it dawned on me that it was hard to escape the real reason why we had travelled to Edinburgh - to lend our voice to the Make Poverty history campaign. Banners and flags hung from windows across the city and many people wore the t-shirts with that slogan. We walked through another protest which had an unpleasant atmosphere. Protestors were squaring up to riot place and numbers were swelling fast. There were police dogs, riot vans and riot police everywhere. We decided not to hang around as we felt it may get ugly. So back to the hotel, get changed and head for the main event.

THE CONCERT

On the walk up to Murrayfield the anticipation and excitment was transparent. Revellers were lining the streets up to Murrayfield 2 and half hours before it was even due to start. Local pubs were packed and despite the rain everyone was in high spirits.

The queue seemed huge but we were in the stadium for around 5pm, 2 hours before showdown. We could not believe we had seat tickets, and not only that, the seats were right near the front with a perfect view of the stage. In heinsight, after seeing the atmosphere it would have been nice to have stood up with the hardcore but we still had a whale of a time, and by the end of the night I was glad that I had sat down and conserved my energy for the long walk back into Edinburgh.

I had really been looking forward to this event but I didn't realise how big it was acutally going to be and how crazy the atmosphere would be.

It was a truly inspiring night and one I am so very greatful to have been part of.

Here are the people who participated in the event and my thoughts:

Lenny Henry - the black country comedian was on form and was a great crowd pleaser. His impression of a blues singer was hilarious

9/10

Proclaimers - They opened the show with 500 miles and the crowd erupted with everyone boucing up and down. A sight to behold. The Scottish sure know how to party

9/10

Jamie Cullum - All You Need is Love
Totally professional. He draped the Scottish flag across the piano -good move and got the crowd singing along to this classic.

9/10

Jamie Cullum & Natasha Bedingfield - Woohoo. natasha Beddingfield is far better live then I thought she would be. Her voice has real emotion

9/10

Wet Wet Wet - Another Scottish favourite who the crowd went mad for. I don't think they sounded great in the stadium but who cares!

7/10

Davina McCall & children - I love Davina and didn't know she was goign to be there!. She spoke about the plight of Africans in her empathetic way.

10/10

McFly - All About You - they were greeted to a few boos but that all went out the window with this catchy tune. Even the people booing sang along. I thought they put in a great performance and sounded great live

8/10

Eddie Izzard

Hmmm. he struggled a bit with trying to entertain the crowd and at times I felt slightly awkward for him. Don't think I would want to see him live.

6/10

Sugababes - Stronger - they were also greeted by a few boos but to be fair they sang very well. I'm not really a fan but I can't knock them

7/10

Bono

Annie Lennox - One of the highlights of the night. She was unbelivable. I could feel the hairs on the back stand on end. Her voice has so much emotion. She sang Redemption song and Sister's are doing it for themselves. She then spoke about the campaign in an emotional couple of minutes

:: Kumi Naidoo

Bob Geldof - The place exploded and sang along to an old folk song which I can't remember the name of but knew the words! Everyone waved their hands in the air. The atmosphere was unforgettable. He played the rock and roll number Rat Pack as the crowd went wild. who cares that he's not the greatest singer, he means it when he sings and you can feel it.

10/10

The Thrills - Probably one of the only acts that I couldn't understand the words he was singing. however it didn't really matter as everyone else knew the song and waved their arms in time to the music.

8/10

Midge Ure & Guy Chambers - He sang Vienna and you could argue that he can't sing it as well as he used to. However the chorus sent a chill up my back and he still has a great voice that moves you

9/10

Peter Kay - He only cam on for a bried spell when he played the pan pipes - it was hilarious and everyone sang along.

9/10

Feeder - They played their famous song which escapes me right now.I didn't know they were playing and neither did most people. It was a great performace and the crowd jumped up and down in time to the rousing chorus.

10/10

Embrace, Neneh cherry and Will young
Excellent performance althoug Neneh Cherr'y mike did not work in the stadium.

8/10

Youssou N'Dour -A new found talent in the UK although he has been famous for years. He has agreat voice and the crowd loved him

Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry - 7 Seconds
For the first part of the song Neneh Cherry's mike didn't work but she held her compsoure and gave a great second half performance of the classic hit

8/10

George Clooney - My fiancee swooned when he came on stage. Thanks for turning up George!

8/10

Ronan Keating - He gave a good performance with mixed reactions. He sang Life is a rollercoaster which at least you could sing along to. Not really my cup of tea

7/10

Beverly Knight & Guy Chambers - She blew me away. What an incredible voice which surely could be heard from Gleneagles. She performed Angels. It was stunning

10/10

Patrick Kielty

Texas - They performed two songs. Time for a toilet break I think! I don't really like their songs but she sang well and the crowd loved her - well they would they're Scottish!

Katherine Jenkins & Choir - Nessun Dorma
I'm not a big fan of Opera but the place was silent whilst listening to her haunting voice. Another great moment

9/10

Snow Patrol - I've decided that I'm now a fan! They were great and although they only performed one song they ruled the stage and got the crowd worked up.

10/10

Travis - Fanntastic. For some people this is what they had been waiting for and I'll never listed to 'Why does it always rain on me' in the same way again. It was electric and my inhibition left me as I jigged along and sang along with every single person in the stadium.

10/10

The Corrs & Bono- Another toilet break. Don't like their music. Bono singing was a complete suprise and livened up a static performance

7/10

Wangari Matthai - Noone had heard of this guy but will never forget his performance. The crowd clapped along to the musicians guitr playing and haunting voice.

9/10

James Brown - What can I say. The concert had overran and Mr Brown came on stage at 11.45pm. He played 4 of his greatest song and the night was complete. We danced to every song and were transifxed to the stage. He is definately a master at what he does.

10/10

Bob Geldof and Bono Speach - What a speech. I was glad I was there to hear it as I'm sure it will be echoed in many years to come. They called on everyone to make as much noise as possible and the noise was deafening. I can still hear it ringinig in my ears.

Bono wasked us to sing Flower Of Scotland. You could tell who the English people were as they didn't know the words. Everyone else sang along with passion.

The concert had been beyond my expectations. The Scottish crowd were up for it before it had even began. They sang, jumped up and down, danced, had waved and made the most incredible noise throughout. I hear that many artists are saying the atmosphere bettered the Hyde Park gig.

As we walked back toward Edinburgh with thousands of others you could hear the excitement as people were still singing and dancing all the way home.

I arrived back in England this morning only to find that my car wouldn't start at the airport.I had left the lights on whilst I was away. After much fiddling about and some friendly passers by helped me out, the excitement of the night before disppeared as I heard about the London Bombings. (see next post)

So Britain has won the Olympic bid for 2012. I was extremely suprised that many of our daily newspapers decided to lead with this story on their front pages,rather than the more important G8 summitt.

To some people, mainly Londoners,business's, who will have have money to make from the event and those people directly involved in Athletics this is fantasitc news. I personally could not care less.

Stratford in London will be the main site for the new multi million pound stadium to stage the Olympics. Having been to Stratford the whole place is a run down mess with comparitive poverty. The area is in need of re-generation and I'm sure the area will be improved as a result of winning the Olympics. They can improve the area because of a sporting event but not because they want to help the residents? - this will purely be so it looks good for visting foreigners. This should have been done years ago.

England 2012 is now a chance for the fat cats and business's to make a lot of money whilst the general public will get to see a great sporting event. WOW! - I can't wait - NOT!

I wish the crowds who gathered in London to hear the results would have lent their voices and enthusiasm to something more worthwhile. Whilst they were celebrating this victory, thousands of others were lending their voices to help Make Poverty History- a slightly more important issue.

Damn, I sound really bitter! These are my initial thoughts and perhaps my judgements may be slightly clouded, but I stick by them for now.

Yesterday I only moved from the TV for a toilet break. I was glued from 1pm till the early hours of the morning for Live 8.It was an emotional day, at times I felt upset and other times overjoyed. A great day indeed.

Here are my humble opinions:

HIGHS

ColdPlay with Richard Ashcorft singing the superb Unfinished Symphony

Dido and Youssan D'our singing Thankyou

Stereophonics singing Maybe Tomorrow

REM were fantastic!

Ms Dynamite singing Bob Marley's Redemption song

Travis singing 'Why does it always rain on me' whilst the crowd put up their umbrellas

The whole of Razorlight's amazing set

Madonna singing Like A Prayer

Robbie Williams crowd pleasing performance.

The Who and Pink Floyd's breathtaking music.

Kaiser Chiefs from Philadelphia

LOWS

The Killers (didn't really feel the vibe)

Pete Docherty's embarrassing performance with Elton John

The BBC cutting out of REM's final song to interview Razorlight

Snow Patrol (don't like their music at all)

Velvet Revolver (very disappointing apart from Slash's guitar solo)

All in all it was an amazing event to watch and I'm glad I didn't miss a moment.

I head up to Edinburgh on Wednesday for the final gig and jsut can't wait

I stumbled across an interesting fact today. It had never occured to me why Pirates wear eye patches. I just assumed they had lost sight in that eye.

However almost all pirates had two perfectly good eyes. By wearing an eyepatch at all times, the covered eye would become highly sensitive, making it ideal to navigate at night using the stars.

Modern day soldiers are taught a similar night vision technique during basic training, to assist them when fighting under the cover of darkness.

Strange what you learn from the back of a crisp packet!

Please note this is not me!