Marcus East

A pretty girl who won national fame after singing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was only miming.

Wearing a red dress and pigtails, Lin Miaoke charmed a worldwide audience with a rendition of “Ode to the Motherland”.

But the singer was Yang Peiyi, who was not allowed to appear because she is not as “flawless” as nine-year-old Lin.

The show’s musical director said Lin was used because it was in the best interests of the country.

The revelation follows news that a fireworks display used during the opening ceremony was apparently faked.

‘Smiling angel’

Speaking on Beijing Radio station, musical director Chen Qigang said the organisers needed a girl with both a good image and a good voice.

BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed.

I find this story pretty sad. It many respects, it is the worst story to come out of the Beijing Olympics so far, but I don’t think that we Westerners can gloat about the way the Chinese authorities attach so much importance to physical perfection – according to Reuters, over 11 million Americans had plastic surgery in 2006, and the figure is growing fast.

And we mustn’t forget the pressure that young girls are put under to perform in beauty pageants, especially in America, but increasingly here in the United Kingdom?

It’s clear that physical beauty is important whether your American or Chinese, but surely the pressure to look perfect shouldn’t be applied to little girls?!

I am particularly concerned about the hypocrisy of much of our media…

On the one hand they chastise young girls for their obsession with their appearances and wanting to be glamour models, but on the other they constantly promote images of female ‘beauty’, sometimes teenage women (in the case of Page 3) and often airbrushed to perfection.

Is it any wonder that so many young women in the West have eating disorders and so many problems with their self-esteem when society sends them messages such as:

“Even if you are talented, it doesn’t mean anything unless your beautiful!”

This has got to stop. We should be celebrating young people’s abilities and helping to stimulate the development of their personalities and intellects – not conditioning them to believe that their appearance is the most important aspect of their existence.

Beauty is not just physical, and a world where we value only looks would be very ugly indeed.

Tags: Beauty, Obsession

You know, the weather that we’re having this summer is really fascinating!

Firstly, it seems like October with the dark, rolling clouds, the strong breeze and the erratic appearance of the sun between showers.

However, in some respects I find it beautiful…

From my balcony in Crouch End, I can watch the clouds roll over this part of North London and the speed with which they move from West to East is incredible!

In the time that it takes me to make a cup of tea on Sunday afternoon, the vista went from one of bright sunshine and blue skies to a sudden (and thankfully) small shower of hailstones.

This afternoon, I left one meeting in my sunglasses on the way to another, by the time I arrived it was dark, overcast and resembling a November afternoon.

I know that a lot of people are finding this hard to cope with (not least my girlfriend!) but the unpredictability fills me with excitement - particularly as I have no desire or need to top-up a suntan!

More importantly, when I consider the impact of global warming on the world, and hear stories about how dry some places are becoming, it makes me feel glad to be living in such a temperate climate where the plants are always green and lush, the ducks are always happy and where there is always something to talk to complete strangers about.

In years to come, I think that people on this green little island will be thankful for our wonderfully unpredictable weather!

Alistair Darling rejected a third request for an immediate meeting with estate agents as tension grew over suggestions to lift stamp duty.

Whitehall sources told The Times yesterday that there was increasing irritation within the Treasury over the fallout of the stamp duty proposal, which Mr Darling and department aides have been left to field. The Chancellor has “no immediate plans” to meet the National Association of Estate Agents despite repeated attempts by the group’s chief executive to meet him and Caroline Flint, the Housing Minister.

Peter Bolton-King said that he had written to the Chancellor for the third time, enclosing details of a survey his organisation carried out that showed one in four estate agents had seen agreed house sales fall through as a direct result of the uncertainty.

He told the Chancellor: “I fully appreciate that you are considering a range of options and wanted to wait until the Pre-Budget Statement. However, our survey is very worrying and the housing market is now going downhill so fast that urgent action needs to be taken. Amongst other things, a more confident market clearly helps those who are in danger of being repossessed.”

Treasury fury at No 10 as estate agents demand talks on stamp duty.

What is it about this Chancellor that makes him so incapable of making a decision? Perhaps it is reflective of a dysfunctional Government – The Prime Minister couldn’t make a decision about the General Election, even though it was obvious that he should have called it and caught his enemy off-guard. But, no. He dithered.

Now, faced with a housing market crisis of their own making, the PM and the Chancellor dither once more instead of making a decision.

When will they understand that sometimes it is more important to make a decision, than whether or not that decision is the right one.

The markets hate uncertainty, and this Government projects fear, uncertainty and doubt at every turn.

We simply must get rid of them before it is too later!

A judge in New York has acquitted three police officers who shot dead an unarmed man hours before his wedding.

Sean Bell, 23, who was black, was shot as he left a strip club in the suburb of Queens in November 2006.

Two detectives, Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora, faced charges of manslaughter. A third, Marc Cooper, had been accused of reckless endangerment.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Police acquitted over NY shooting.

What a shockingly sad story… It’s incredible that a man could be shot fifty times on his wedding day, whatever the circumstances.

However, how has this become a matter of ‘race’ when two of the police officers who fired the shots were black themselves?

I can entirely understand how this could stimulate concerns about the appropriate use of force, but I’m not sure I understand the logic behind the chants of ‘racist’ and ‘KKK’ at the policemen after their acquittal.

Surely, such political agitating risks polarising the debate and undermining an investigation into the real issue which is one of brutality and unreasonable force, not race?

Tags: NYPD, Shooting

Christians clash at Jesus’ tomb on Orthodox Palm Sunday
An Israeli police officer, left, tries to break up a fight between Greek and Armenian clergymen during Palm Sunday processions for Orthodox Holy Week, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, Sunday April 20, 2008. Greek and Armenian priests scuffled at Christianity’s holiest site on Palm Sunday over who’ll get to spend more time at the traditional tomb of Jesus. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is jointly administrated by different Christian denominations. Fights often erupt during religious ceremonies over shared space or time. An Israeli police officer, left, tries to break up a fight between Greek and Armenian clergymen during Palm Sunday processions for Orthodox Holy Week, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, Sunday April 20, 2008. Greek and Armenian priests scuffled at Christianity’s holiest site on Palm Sunday over who’ll get to spend more time at the traditional tomb of Jesus. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is jointly administrated by different Christian denominations. Fights often erupt during religious ceremonies over shared space or time. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

Christians clash at Jesus’ tomb on Orthodox Palm Sunday - Boston.com.

It might sound shocking, but I visited the tomb with Erin at Easter, and it’s certainly the case that the environment is ‘tense’ and I was not at all surprised to read this story.

In many ways, it reflects the difficult relationship between religions – and groups within religions – around the world.

However, it is a real shame that such a holy place is not considered sacred enough to be more important than human foibles – I hope that the people who have been captured in these photographs will be sufficiently embarassed to ensure that it doesn’t happen again!

Prince Harry has been secretly serving on the front line in Afghanistan with British troops since December, it emerged today.

The 23-year-old, who is third in line to the throne, has spent the past 10 weeks as a forward air controller (FAC) in the dangerous southern province of Helmand, guiding fighter jets towards suspected Taliban targets.

Prince Harry secretly serving in Afghanistan | UK news | guardian.co.uk.

I think that this is fantastic – good on Prince Harry for finding a way to get out there, and he’s a brilliant soldier by all accounts

Chimpanzees have an extraordinary photographic memory that is far superior to ours, research suggests.

Young chimps outperformed university students in memory tests devised by Japanese scientists.

The tasks involved remembering the location of numbers on a screen, and correctly recalling the sequence.

The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest we may have under-estimated the intelligence of our closest living relatives.

Until now, it had always been assumed that chimps could not match humans in memory and other mental skills.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Chimps beat humans in memory test.

This is quite incredible to watch – but is reacting to patterns and sequences really an indication of intelligence, or is it just an ability that is not that useful to us and so has been lost?

Either way, a surprising result!

Drought-stricken Australia is struggling to cope with the worst dry spell on record, which has even resulted in murder…

The two rivers which feed the Murray-Darling basin in the southeast of the country are so low that there will soon only be enough water for drinking supplies.

Sydney resident Kenny Proctor, 66, was watering his lawn when he was allegedly accused by passer-by Todd Munter, 36, of wasting the precious resource.

The pair reportedly argued and Mr Procter is said to have turned his hose on Munter who allegedly retaliated by kicking and punching him to the ground.

The grandfather suffered a heart attack and died. Ironically he had been watering his garden at one of the few times permitted - after 4pm on a Wednesday.

Channel 4 - News - Drought results in Aussie man’s murder.

I couldn’t believe this when I first heard it, but it appears to be true – what a tragic and pointless loss of life!

Is this a taste of what we may experience in the future?

Some observers suggest that water will become the most valuable resource in years to come – let’s hope that what our cousins down in Australia are experiencing is not an indication of what our future holds in store…

A British firm’s plan to sell software that could open the iPhone to non-US networks has been put on hold following legal threats.

Last week, Belfast-based UniquePhones joined several others in claiming it had cracked the code which locked iPhone into AT&T’s network.

But a middle-of-the-night phone call from AT&T’s lawyers has forced the firm to rethink its plans.

It will now take legal advice to assess the ramifications, the firm said.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Legal threats halt iPhone crack.

I got my iPhone a few days ago and I have to say that I’m impressed - the interface is slick, the device beautifully engineered and the out-of-the-box experience is exceptional.

The thing that I’m confused about is this – why are so many people getting obsessed with ‘cracking’ their iPhones?

When you invest in a product like an iPhone, part of the experience is the software and service element that comes with it.

As a stand-alone phone, the iPhone is OK, but not exceptional. What makes it magical for me is the way that I can carry my iTunes library around with me, and the beauty of the tightly-integrated o2 services. Without those, it’s just a nice-looking device, but nothing special.

So why are so many people risking everything by spending so much time and effort to crack their phones and free them from o2 and Apple?

Ultimately, the concept of buying a phone and being tied to a network is not a new one. It’s obvious that Apple and o2 are heavily subsidising the cost of the devices to ensure that it is available to as wide an audience as possible.

It’s also likely that future firmware releases are going to lock down or even scramble these phones in the future, which will make some people’s phones no more useful than paperweights.

You might not like it, but the o2 / Apple tie-up is part of the package – if you don’t like it or cannot afford it, don’t buy an iPhone!

The chief executive of troubled British bank Northern Rock, Adam Applegarth, has resigned, the lender has said.

The bank’s shares collapsed after it was forced to seek emergency funding from the Bank of England in September.

Concerned customers rushed to withdraw their money, and the bank has since been seeking bidders to rescue it.

Two suitors, Virgin Group and investment firm Olivant Advisers, confirmed they had made proposals to rescue the bank by a Friday deadline.

BBC NEWS | Business | Northern Rock’s chief steps down.

It’s no surprise that several suitors have submitted formal bids for the purchase of Northern Rock, but the potential involvement of Virgin is fascinating.

As a Virgin Rock customer, I was trying to imagine how it would feel to have such an important financial relationship with a brand that I know, respect and have affection for…

Every time customers’ monthly mortgage payments would go up, they’d be receiving a letter from Virgin telling them this.

Every time someone’s house is to be re-possessed, it would be under the Virgin brand – does that sit comfortably with their brand values?

I think that providing entertainment services and non-essential financial services is one thing, but to extend the relationship to something that can be some important and so much potential to go wrong could be a step too far in my opinion!