In memory of the Welsh Miners killed at Gleision Colliery

Haven't posted here in a while but the recent tragedy at Gleision Colliery in which four life were taken deserves to be acknowledged. Swansea and the surrounding valleys have always been tight knit communities which support each other during times of hardship however the families affected need financial support to help them through this difficult time. An appeal fund has been set up by the NUM which can be found at www.minersappealfund.org  and a Facebook group has also been set up for people to share their thoughts and leave tributes.

Storm to bring Northern Lights to Britain

“Britain should experience spectacular Northern Lights displays from Thursday due to a large solar storm which could disrupt communication networks, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.


“Since February 13 three energetic solar flares have erupted on the sun and spewed clouds of charged plasma called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) out towards the earth,” a BGS geomagnetic storm warning said.

“Already one CME arrived on the 14th sparking Valentine’s Day displays of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) further south than usual.

“Two CMEs are expected to arrive in the next 24-48 hours and further…displays are possible some time over the next two nights if skies are clear.”

The strongest storm in four years is expected to interfere with satellites and electrical networks, with astronomers in southern China already reporting disturbances to radio communications.

The BGS Wednesday published geomagnetic records dating back to the Victorian era which it hopes will help in planning for future storms.

“Life increasingly depends on technologies that didn’t exist when the magnetic recordings began,” Alan Thomson, BGS head of geomagnetism said.

“Studying the records will tell us what we have to plan and prepare for to make sure systems can resist solar storms,” he added.”

Read more at Yahoo News

Gypsies: tramps and thieves?

Interesting article

Gypsies: tramps and thieves? | Columns | Progress
Paul's week in politics
Paul Richards

Gypsies: tramps and thieves?

Channel 4's My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding reveals C4's descent into yellow press journalism, but also our continued misunderstanding of travelling communities, the plights they have faced, and prejudices that have endured for centuries.

I was taught at school that ‘gypsy' was a derivation of the word ‘Egyptian', used in Elizabethan England to describe the feared, misunderstood, dark-skinned nomads who lived on the outside of society. I fear the sum of our understanding, 400 years on, has not been enhanced by My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, currently airing. Despite Barbara Flynn's sonorous narration, the reaction to the programmes has been little more sophisticated than that of the Georgians paying to poke the mentally ill in Bedlam. Viewers have gawped at the vast, illuminated wedding dresses, been appalled at the subjugation of teenage girls, and speculated out loud, with a barely concealed subtext, about the source of the cash to pay for the lavish nuptials.

Mubarak resigns: world reactions

Story from The Global Post

What world leaders and key figures in the Egypt uprising had to say in the press and on social media such as Twitter.

Hosni Mubarak quit the Egyptian presidency and handed power to the military on Friday, a day after declaring he would stay in power until September. Mubarak reportedly left Cairo for the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Here's what world leaders and key figures in the Egypt uprising had to say in the press and on social media such as Twitter:

Mohamed ElBaradei, opposition figure and Nobel laureate (via BBC News)

"This is the greatest day of my life. The country has been liberated"

And: "Well I can't even to begin to describe my reaction. It's a joy, exhilaration, total emancipation for 85 million people. For the first time Egypt has been liberated and has put its feet on the right track to towards a country of democracy and social justice."


Ayman Nour, Egyptian opposition figure (via Al Jazeera)
"The heart of Egypt beats again"

Muslim Brotherhood, opposition Islamist group (via AFP)
Hailed Mubarak's resignation and "thanked the army, which kept its promises."

Wael Ghonim, opposition figure (via Twitter)

"The real hero is the young Egyptians in Tahrir square and the rest of Egypt #Jan25"

President Barack Obama (via media reports)

Due to make a televised statement about Mubarak's resignation at 1:30 p.m. Friday, the White House said.

Joseph Biden, U.S. Vice President

"This is a pivotal moment in history... the transition that's taking place must be an irreversible change"

Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader (via Twitter)
"Young people leading #Egypt towards democracy-their energy changed Egypt, their actions are an inspiration to the world."

Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief (via Reuters)

Ashton said the EU stood ready to help Egypt, Reuters reports.

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor (via Agence France-Pressse)
Welcomes Mr Mubarak's exit as a "historic change."

David Cameron, UK Prime Minister (via BBC)
"What has happened today should only be the first step. Those who now run Egypt have a duty to reflect the wishes of the Egyptian people. In particular, there really must be a move to civilian and democratic rule."

Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkish Foreign Minister (via Twitter)
"Congratulations to the Egyptian people. And we hope that a system meeting the expectations of the Egyptian people will emerge."

Amr Moussa, Egyptian Arab League head (via Reuters)
"I look forward to the future to build a national consensus in the coming period."

Iranian Government (via AFP)

Egyptians achieved "great victory"

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri (via Reuters)
"The resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is the beginning of the victory of the Egyptian revolution."

"We call upon the new Egyptian leadership to take an immediate decision to lift the blockade of Gaza and open Rafah [border] crossing permanently to allow people's free movement and in order for the reconstruction process of Gaza to begin."

Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister (via Twitter)
"Let's hope this is the beginning of a new renaissance for Egypt and the Arab world!"

Qatari Government (via Reuters)

"This is a positive, important step towards the Egyptian people's aspirations of achieving democracy and reform and a life of dignity."

Professor Fawaz Gerges, London School of Economics (via BBC 5Live)
"They should be concerned about what's going to happen in the next four to eight months, not just 48 hours," he says.

Samir Radwan, Egypt's finance minister (via BBC)

"Hosni Mubarak will never leave Egypt, he will die in Egypt. It is his right."

Wikipedia (via Twitter @Shady Samir)

Wikipedia article on #Mubarak already edited saying he WAS the president of Egypt! #jan25"



Here's a complete text of the Vice President Omar Suleiman's statement, published by the BBC:

"In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody."

Egypt's protests on Twitter - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Egypt's protests on Twitter - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings

The controversial Channel 4 documentary is back with a big fat series of its own. Big Fat Gypsy Weddings aims to explore great milestones in a travelers life, from the first communion, wedding to death. I watched from mostly behind my hands as I was witness to the most extraordinary scenes. The most important day in a traveler's girls life was depicted to be her wedding day with the wedding dress featuring as the starring role.

I don't think I have seen so much lace, netting and sparkle in one place before. Some dresses weigh as much as 20 stone and the scars that are inflicted on the girls who wear them are seen as trophy badges. The mind boggles however as to the expense of the dress and how travelers find the means to pay for them as the women are not allowed to go out and earn money, instead they stay at home to look after the home and children.



First communion for a gypsy girl is seen as "a taster for the big wedding day" and the dresses were similarly outlandish. Six year girls wearing dresses which weigh more than them is not something I have seen before. The beauty regime consists of a spray tan, glitter spray blasted in the face before a ton of make up is applied by the proud mum. The sight of the young girls gyrating in the post communion part in the most provocative manner wearing little other than a bikini however was deeply disturbing.

In contrast to their scantily-clad outfits, young gypsy women have been brought up with very strong morals. Travelling girls are encouraged to marry very young to someone within their own community. For me, the most shocking element of the first episode of the Channel 4 documentary was the tradition of "grabbing" young gypsy girls by young gypsy boys. Strict rules stipulate girls aren't allowed to approach boys, so it's up to the males, aka the 'grabbers', to tempt the girl away from her group of friends and try to get a kiss off her, even sometimes going as far as twisting her arm. If they manage a kiss the couple very shortly announce their engagement.

The documentary has been received with mixed reaction. I have been following responses on Twitter and I have to say that there has been a small element of name calling and hostility towards the travelling community. The biggest worry for me is that the documentary only depicts the ridiculous and sensational and leaves out the more serious issues which affect gypsies every day.

Having said that I think the show will largely become a success and hopefully appease hostility from outsiders. May be the tradition of big fat gypsy weddings will catch on and I hope for one that I get an invite to the most wonderful spectacle of outrageous indulgence.

Facebook Now Worth More Than Dell, eBay, Yahoo or Starbucks... on Paper

Facebook Now Worth More Than Dell, eBay, Yahoo or Starbucks... on Paper

Facebook’s actual value depends on who you ask, though. Forbes thinks it’s worth $23 billion. SharesPost pins its value at $26.3 billion. And finally, The Financial Times says it’s a $33 billion company.

These valuations are based on real-world trades and transactions. Still, you can’t help but be bewildered by Facebook’s soaring worth. In February 2009, Facebook valued itself at $3.7 billion. By November 2009, it tripled to $9.5 billion. And since then, it’s more than tripled again in value, if you rely on these private transactions for Facebook’s valuation.

Robots on TV: AI goes back to baby basics - tech - 22 September 2010 - New Scientist

Robots on TV: AI goes back to baby basics - tech - 22 September 2010 - New Scientist




A robot toddler could have much to teach artificial intelligence (AI) researchers and psychologists alike, by providing a simplified non-human model for early child development.

Sensorimotor theories of cognition argue that body posture and position affect perception. In one experiment, toddlers were presented with an object that was always in the same place – to their left, for example. If their attention was then drawn to that location when the object was absent and a keyword was spoken, the toddlers later associated the keyword with the object, and did so wherever it was presented to them – whether to their right or left.

Anthony Morse at the University of Plymouth, UK, is exploring whether the iCub robotic toddler can learn similar associations. "A lot of AI has been trying to run before it can walk," he says. "So a lot of the work that I'm involved with is going back to the basics – looking at the foundations of what happens in early childhood development."

The iCub robot, designed by a consortium of European universities, is equipped with two cameras and the ability to track moving objects. "So we place objects in front of it and it will look at them, and 'remember' where it was looking and what it saw," Morse says. He is testing whether iCub, like a real toddler, can associate a space with the word for an object, even in the object's absence.

"Having the iCub robot opens up these amazing possibilities – but there is a lot of work to be done to realise those possibilities," he says

Secretive Bilderberg Club ready for protests - Times Online

Secretive Bilderberg Club ready for protests - Times Online

Splash! Could that be the sound of Lord Mandelson hitting one of the Dolce hotel’s four pools? Or Robert Zoellick of the World Bank? Paul Volcker of the US Economic Recovery Advisory Board? Or merely the euro taking another dive?

That is the thing about the Bilderberg group’s top secret meetings: you never know quite what is going on behind the police checkpoints.

Across the world, secretaries to the rich and the powerful have blocked out the next three days in their bosses’ calendars for their annual gathering, this time at the Dolce in Sitges, one of Spain’s most exclusive resorts.

Israel Attack Freedom Flotilla

Ahes to Ashes

"I'm arresting you for the murder of my Quattro", a perfect end for the fab five in Ashes to Ashes. Having watched since the Life on Mars days I was slightly apprehensive about watching the last episode in case I was disappointed. I wasn't, here's how it ends

Gene Hunt, Alex Drake, and their colleagues Ray Carling, Chris Skelton and Shaz Granger were in fact all dead - meaning 'life' at Fenchurch East CID was simply a 'purgatory' for dead police officers caught between Heaven and Hell.

After thinking she can return 'other world' before being allowed to go home, Drake realises instead of being in a coma she has died after being shot in 2008 and will never return to her daughter Molly.

The increasingly creepy complaints officer Jim Keats turns out to be the devil - luring the officers to joining him in the burning depths of Hell.

It appears Keats has already succeeded in bringing Viv James to Hell after he was seen cradling him in his last moments when he died in episode six.

Before Keats' role became clear, Skelton tells his colleagues he dreamt about Viv being surrounded by flames - alluding to Hell.

Keats gives Alex the location of a field in which he alludes to the presence of the remains of Sam Tyler. As Drake starts digging up the grave, Hunt demands that she stops... but when she finally comes across his body and pulls out his police badge, he is left unusually speechless when he remembers who he is.

Rather than the middle-aged man audiences have watched in the Seventies-set Life On Mars and its Eighties follow-up Ashes To Ashes, it turns out Hunt was just a rookie cop on his first week of the job when he was shot dead on Coronation Day in 1953.

Then out of the shadows came Keats, hoping to lure Drake to Hell by claiming Hunt is trying to keep her with him in limbo.

Meanwhile, back at Fenchurch East, Ray, Chris and Shaz also realise they're dead after watching videos of their deaths, cruelly left for them by Keats.

All three have been 'seeing stars' and been haunted by various eerie noises from the era they died in.

Ray watches himself sitting in an armchair struggling with depression before standing on a chair and hanging himself. His last words being 'sorry dad'.

He later explains he disappointed his dad by choosing to be a police officer rather than join the army.

One day, he took his anger out on a young man outside a pub, who ended up dying.

While his DCI helped Ray by covering up the man's death, living with the guilt prompted his suicide.

Chris then sees himself as an officer in the late Seventies or early Eighties, being led to his shooting death by his sergeant, who orders him into the line of fire.

Finally Shaz breaks down when she finds out she was a 26-year-old office from 1995 who ends up stabbed with screwdriver as she tries to stop a car thief.

As former fiance Chris rushes to comfort her, the reason behind her anger throughout the series finally becomes clear to her.

She cries: 'All this time I felt so angry, so frustrated, I thought it was the job. It isn't fair.'

The trio, furious with Hunt for keeping the truth for them, are given the option to 'transfer' to another department by Keats.

An incredulous Keats shouts: 'Oh come, you didn't think this was a real police station did you?'

As the trio follow Keats to his 'new department' in hell, Hunt lures them back for one last job and promises Shaz a promotion.

As the fab five carry out their last job together - stopping a jewel heist in the airport - Hunt's beloved Quattro ends up destroyed by gunfire.

A furious Hunt yells: 'He's bl**dy killed my Quattro... I'm arresting you for murdering my car, you dyke-digging t**spot..'

After the 'blag' is successfully completed, the gang all head back for a pint - but this time it's at the Railway Arms instead of Luigi's, which fans will remember from Life On Mars.

Walking out of the Railway Arms isn't Tyler - as many fans wondered if Simm would return - but the landlord Nelson (Tony Marshall) does return as a type of St Peter, welcoming people at the gates of Heaven.

It turns out there is no need to Tyler to come back - because he's already in Heaven.

As Hunt put it, 'Sam had to go, end of.'

Before entering the heavenly doors of the Railway Arms, Shaz and Chris reconcile after breaking off their engagement in between Series 2 and 3 as she tells him 'I love you, I'll always love you forever and a day, you got that'.

As Ray, Shaz and Chris 'pass over' into the Railway Arms, Drake thinks she can go home to her daughter Molly, but the look on Hunt's face makes her realise it isn't possible.

A devastated Drake finally realises she is dead and will never return to Molly, which she has been fighting to return to in 2008 for all three series.

Hunt assures her 'I know, I know. Way of the world, Alex. She'll be fine'.

Despite Drake's best efforts to stay with Hunt in his limbo world, Hunt tells her to follow the others, because they've 'got a saloon bar', while he will have to spend eternity 'sorting out the troubled souls of Her Majesty's constabulary' and 'those who have issues with their passing'.

The pair finally share a kiss and Hunt says 'see you around Bolly-kegs'.

With Drake and the others gone, Hunt is chided by his nemesis Keats, who has become increasingly more devil-like with his evil laughter and snakelike hissing.

He returns to Fenchurch East and find a brochure for a Mercedes Benz 190D - a stylish replacement for his poor old ruined Quattro.

Then a brand new officer bursts through the doors - very similarly to Tyler's entrance to 1973 in Life On Mars - demanding to know what is going on.

Clearly from the Noughties, just like Drake, he demands 'one of you jokers give me back my iPhone'.

So with Tyler and Drake gone, it looks like Hunt has another challenging working relationship on his hands.

He leans out of his office and says to the new recruit, 'A word in your shelllike...' and so his existence stuck between Heaven and Hell continues.

Extracts taken from The Daily Mail

Google Nexus One: Now With Multitouch

Google Nexus One: Now With Multitouch

Posted using ShareThis

Everybody Hurts: the verdict

Story from THE TELEGRAPH Everybody Hurts: the verdict

Like sonic aftershocks that inevitably follow any modern disaster, the reverberations of the Haiti earthquake can be heard all over the airwaves, as celebrities raise their voice in song.

This week, not one but two all-star charity singles are being unveiled. First up from the UK is Simon Cowell’s version of REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’, which will be swiftly followed from the US by Quincy Jones re-recording of ‘We Are The World.’ Between them, they have mustered about 100 pop stars, over emoting for a good cause. The message is coming through loud and clear: We have felt your pain … now its your turn to feel ours.

I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. There is an air of sanctity around charity records that effectively puts them beyond criticism. Indeed, when Radio One DJ Chris Moyle unveiled the Helping Haiti version of ‘Everybody Hurts’ on his show, his remarks were confined to noting where the money was going, concluding “It doesn’t matter whether you like it or not.”

I just can’t bring myself to be so circumspect. I write this from the position of a music critic, not a philanthropist. I already gave, and I’d give a bit more not to hear this record again, although I suspect it’s going to be hard to avoid.

I was anticipating the worst and Simon Cowell has not let me down. The record is truly awful. Its an excruciating, saccharine, overblown farrago performed by some of today’s blandest pop stars to a sentimental, orchestral, rock power ballad accompaniment. It is completely lacking in the restraint and toughness that lent the original its intimate, understated power. In place of Michael Stipe’s grit and gravel voice, we get lots of breathy warbling and tremulous vibrato from the likes of Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, Cheryl Cole and Kylie Minogue and boy band harmonising from Take That, Westlife and X Factor runners up JLS. Its very much a pop affair, with only Rod Stewart and Jon Bon Jovi (wailing dreadfully) representing the veterans. There is neither sight nor sound of Britain’s contemporary rock fraternity but room for relative nonentities like Joe McElderry. It says something about the record that only Susan Boyle strikes the appropriate note of humble sincerity. It’s a recording with far too much ego and it reeks of the re-positioning of the Cowell brand, as the impresario gets to show his caring side with his stable of television talent. It even comes with the endorsement of Gordon Brown, who knows a bandwagon when he sees it.

The US charity recording is going for more of a Hollywood blockbuster approach, with a chorus of over 75 stars rounded up by Quincy Jones after the Grammy Awards, straight from one red carpet to another. We haven’t heard the song yet, but we have heard a lot of chatter about how exciting the experience was for the singers themselves, with Celine Dion calling it “an amazing opportunity to work with amazing people”. Cowell’s fellow American Idol judge Randy Jackson said “I think this is a great moment in time and I wasn’t going to miss it for anything,” presumably not a message aimed at Haitian survivors. I think the organisers may have missed a trick there. Why not make singers pay to appear on charity records? Just think, if we charged them $50,000 each, these songs would have already raised 5 million before they were even released.

Helping Haiti’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ will be available for download on Sunday 7th, and in stores on Monday 8th February

Introducing the iPad, Wings not Included

Thanks to its feminine-hygiene-product overtones, the unfortunately evocatively named iPad that Apple have just unveiled for its new tablet PC is rapidly beoming an internet joke.

Soon after the launch Twitter was buzzing with tweets hashtagged with #itampon. In fact #itampon was trending before #ipad

The iPad measures 9.56 inches in height and is 7.47 inches wide. It weighs 1.5 kilograms. Full charged battery would last for about 10 hours at a stretch and 30 days in standby mode. It is not fully absorbent and does not come with wings.

Regardless of the name I am sure it will succeed and herald the next generation of computing however I don't think I will be buying one any time soon.

Twitter now has 75M users; most asleep at the mouse

Twitter now has 75M users; most asleep at the mouse

Posted using ShareThis

RATM "I won't do what you say"

So the official Xmas number one for 2009 is the popular Xmas ditty "Killing in the name of" by the well known band Rage Against the Machine, after a successful Facebook campaign to beat the usual X Factor dross which is churned out year after year. The irony is that the lyrics say "I won't do what you say" yet the public did exactly that and pandered to the whims of a certain John Mortimer. The 35-year-old hi-fi technician from Essex, launched a group on Facebook, along with his wife Tracy, 30, and we did exactly what they said. Word is that Cowell has now offered him a job.

Don't blame me for creating stories on Twitter, says Stephen Fry

Don't blame me for creating stories on Twitter, says Stephen Fry

Posted by
Mercedes Bunz Tuesday 17 November 2009 11.23 GMT
guardian.co.uk

The millions of Twitter users make stories - I only point them in a direction, says Stephen Fry in speech to conference


Stephen Fry, speaking today at the 140 Characters Conference in London, said:

"There is a power of Twitter. We can't deny it any more, well for sure not as a celebrity Twitterer. A year ago, nearly no one heard about Twitter. But things move so fast today - and the bewilderment, content, disbelief with which Twitter was greeted ...

They called it the most banal and pointless waste of time. And do you know what they say now? Now they say: Our Twitter strategy is ...

It is a very odd thing when people think they are being smart when they speak not as humans but as business people. They say, I need a phone that does this, I need a social network that does that. You know what? I know a lot of executives that lead big companies, and they talk about what excites them and what convinces them. They are driven as human beings.

And you know what? Before humans are reasoning, they are emotional beings. With gadgets you communicate with other people, and therefore this is an emotional internet that you have. Not just plain function. It will come as no surprise that as the next big thing it wasn't designed as business for business. Twitter was created to babble to each other. Remember it was called Twitter and not serious debate or marketing tool.

It is important for all of us to understand its nature. It is human shaped, not business shaped. And the swell will move elsewhere if you try to make it all neat and attractive. The greatness and the magnitude of its energy will all move.

Think of Twitter or the internet like the invention of the printing press. 1450 - when there were no printed books and about 500 years later there were 20m. The press became available for a great number of people. There was a new freedom of the press. This caused upheavals. Huge numbers of magazines, broadsheets and pamphlets were published. And the most popular ones were not called "the Debate". They were called the Idler or the Spectator.

There was no class more contemptuous of Twitter than the commentating journalists. Why should we care about what Britney Spears had for breakfast, they said. So may I ask you, why do you write about it in the paper? The journalists said, who needs this Twitter thing and in the next moment you read: Follow the Daily Mail on Twitter at ...

But like with the printing press, Twitter changed the situation. People like me, Twillionaires [people with more than a million followers], we can cut out the press from our PR requirements. It used to be a pact with the devil. You wanted to inform the press about a new film and they said they will interview you, but only if they are allowed to ask you around other themes about your private life. Today, Britney Spears tells her PR manager, why should I care about that this journalist of this newspaper with big circulations, I will reach this circulation just by typing into my keyboard.

So well, whole newspapers are on the one side filled with resentment against Twitter, on the other side they are using it and searching Twitter messages. By the way, have you recognised, they are using it as a feed, the deadwood press doesn't say stream. Puzzling.

Then there are good moments. There was the case of Trafigura, which forbade the Guardian to write about it. It caused a storm on Twitter, which I joined in quite late as that morning I came from the gym - it is pathetic, I can't believe I said that but it is true, and the thing reached such a heat by 1pm or 2pm that the lawyers had to do something about it. This can be considered a victory.

Or a journalist from the Daily Mail wrote about something very awful which happened to affect a friend of mine, although I don't make a big deal about that fact. But I saw this brilliant answer from Charlie Brooker and so commented and pointed there. And then they said, 'Who the hell does Stephen Fry think he is forbidding this journalist to think freely?' Well I never did.

But because of the weight of my numbers I am now credited or blamed for inventing these stories. But this is not the way Twitter works. The Twitter millions create the story. You can only point them in a direction. It is like with your parents, when you come home and say you did this because a friend told you and they go like: well if he told you to stick your head in the fire, would you do that?

Twitter is about participating - by which I mean you tweet and read other people's tweets. Then you understand it, and get its rhythm. But remember: It is about being authentic. These things are human-shaped."

Fry is afraid that Twitter will be swamped by PR professionals. What do you think?

Twitter user Penelope Trunk who Tweeted her miscarriage sparks media storm

By Tom Chivers
Published: 3:51PM GMT 03 Nov 2009


The miscarriage Tweet from Penelope Trunk Photo: TWITTER Penelope Trunk, who describes herself as an author, blogger and entrepreneur, wrote: “I’m in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage. Thank goodness, because there’s a f------up 3-week hoop-jump to have an abortion in Wisconsin.”

Within a few hours, via the 20,000 followers of her Twitter account @penelopetrunk, the news made it on to CNN, The New York Times, ABC news and even Oprah.

She told one magazine: “It’s no different to me saying what I had for lunch. I thought nothing of it until the horrified followers’ replies started flooding in.”

Miss Trunk, 42, is a mother of two, a five-year-old and a seven-year-old. She had previously had two miscarriages, and had booked an appointment at an abortion clinic after discovering in August that she was pregnant once more.

Commenters have accused her of heartlessness, and a CNN interviewer asked if she had “no shame”. However, Miss Trunk argues that the real issue is the three-week wait for an clinic appointment in Wisconsin which would have forced her to travel to Chicago, Illinois, for her abortion.

She told CNN: “It seems everyone in the whole world would prefer a miscarriage to an abortion, even the Pope.”

She rejected the idea that her reaction shows a lack of compassion. "The first time I had a miscarriage I was sad about it, and it was a very typical experience," she told ABC. "But I think it's limiting that it's only OK to talk about miscarriages if you're sad about it."

She adds: “I was just stating a fact. To those who call me callous for being so matter-of-fact about losing a baby, I ask, what do you want from me?

“Do you expect me to cry every time I talk about it? It’s a fact: I’m happy I lost that baby.”

Miss Trunk has had plenty of support from the blogosphere. Rachel Walden, in the Women's Health News blog, said: "The idea that miscarriage is something personal that should be kept secret whether a woman wants to keep it secret or not, when so so many women have them, is a problem.

"The idea that people's bodies should effectively be hidden from the work environment where we spend so much of our time is problematic in its own ways."

Amanda Marcotte on XX Factor, a women’s issues blog, agreed, saying: "If the public at large had to face up to the fact that not every miscarriage is met with a vale of tears, that could have a dramatic impact on how we regard pregnancy, abortion, and women's diverse experiences with our reproductive functions”.

I'm so addicted to email, Facebook and Twitter, I have to hide it from my wife

As a new book claims Britain is under the tyranny of email, James Delingpole owns up to a compulsion that is affecting his friendships, family and working life. Article is available at The Telegraph

Derren Brown: rumours swirl about lottery stunt - Times Online

Derren Brown: rumours swirl about lottery stunt - Times Online




Derren Brown’s apparent success in predicting last night’s national lottery numbers on live television has sparked a massive nation-wide sleuthing mission.

Viewers baffled by how the illusionist carried off the trick have been watching clips of the show online and clubbing together on social networking sites to suggest explanations.

Brown’s ten-minute Channel 4 show, The Event Live, in which he revealed a pre-selected set of lottery balls shortly after the real ones were drawn, is to be followed by an explanatory show tomorrow night.

But, unable to wait, viewers have set social networking sites alive with the idea that Brown, watched by 2.7 million people last night, used a split screen to fool viewers. The technique would have seen the picture divided into a live shot of Brown on the right-hand side and a pre-recorded shot of the lottery balls on the left-hand side. When the lottery numbers were drawn, an assistant would have put the correct balls in place before the entire shot was converted to a live feed.


But those brave enough to go public with their split screen detective work on Twitter and YouTube have been criticised by the technologically savvy who claim the shaky camera used for the show ruled out the explanation. The camera, they said would have needed to be stationary so the pictures could be spliced together.

But the truly suspicious disagree. One keen detective, going by the unusual moniker of Mutated Monty, posted a video demonstrating how Brown could have employed the split screen technique and added artificial shaking later.

Times Online reader John Smith adds weight to Mutated Monty’s explanation, arguing that the moment when the split screen reverts to a live feed can be seen.

"Between Derren saying "23" & "28", the left-hand ball moves upwards! (clearly the moment of mixing from split-screen to full-screen again, after correct-numbered balls have been placed).”

Magic balls are another popular explanation. Times Online reader Alfie LeBeauf is convinced Brown employed a special type of ink to fool viewers.

“This trick can be done by using 'e ink' which uses programmable molecules on an object surface, enabling the numbers to be whatever you might want.”

Less popular theories swirling around cyberspace include the use of a false wall and the unrealistic suggestion that Brown filmed multiple versions of the show in advance to cover every conceivable combination of lottery result.

One Twitter user who mused that it was the work of “psychic fairies” failed to find any traction.

While Brown has promised to put an end to the speculation tomorrow night, fellow illusionist Paul Daniels has warned fans not to give up the sleuthing.

He said Brown was unlikely to give away his secret and would instead be vague in his explanation, employing "gobbledegooky" and putting the trick down to something like "neuro-linguistic programming".

*Derren Brown: How to Win the Lottery will screen on Channel 4 at 9pm, Friday 11th September


Shared via AddThis