iblog

Rushda: When one thinks of famous rock bands, the kinds of names that immediately come to mind are classics like Oasis or U2. But in recent years, new bands are having more and more difficulty in picking good names worthy of posters and T-shirts. A name says so much about a band, but unfortunately new bands seem to have very little alternative but to pick hopeless names such as Joe Lean and The Jing Jang Jong, which not only sounds ridiculous but is already being confused with two other tiredly named bands - the Ting Tings and the Jing Jings.

It’s now been over 50 years since the likes of the Beatles and the Clash were household names, and the creativity has certainly worn thin now with most of the witty puns and wordplays already being taken. The following are all recent examples of uninspiring band titles:

- Good Reads (often confused with Good Shoes, a similar band)
- The Rascals (acceptable if it hadn’t already been used a number of times before)
- The Dykeenies (you what now?)
- I Was A Cub Scout (a little juvenile…)

Nick Stewart from the recording industry, who also happened up U2 to Island Records, says that some bands underestimate how important it is to have a great, unique and catchy name. He says:

“It’s a problem because naming a band is as important as naming a brand. Bands like U2, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones realised that choosing a name is part of designing a commercial product. The directness and clarity of their names helped sell millions of albums, tickets and T-shirts.”

The tunes may be great, the lyrics catchy, but ultimately many of these bands have really put any would-be success at risk by choosing obscure names that will not be remembered or appreciated by anyone.

Rushda: A new case in Britain has provoked much controversy - a disabled 15-year-old girl may be getting her womb removed because it is believed that she will never marry or have children and so she should not have to suffer from monthly menstruation. This operation would be the first of its kind in this country, as, strictly speaking, the operation is not medically required but only designed to make the girl’s life easier.

Surgeons are currently seeking legal approval so that they can go ahead with the hysterectomy at St John’s hospital in Chelmsford. The mother of the girl asked for it because her daughter Katie suffers from cerebral palsy and she does not think it is right that Katie should have to experience periods every month - something that doesn’t even make sense to her, let alone be of any use. As the child is not herself in the position to give consent, this must be given on her behalf by lawyers.

Phil Robarts, a consultant gynaecologist at the hospital, believes that the mother is justified in asking for an operation for her daughter. He says:

“I think the girl’s mother makes a very cogent argument for proceeding with that course of action, albeit it is rather drastic.”

Yes, the operation is serious indeed. But one does wonder why the poor girl, who cannot walk or talk, should have to cope with all the troubles of having a womb. Perhaps one should put aside one’s prejudices and realise how much an operation could help the girl - and maybe this will even open a pathway for all those other disabled people who would like to make their lives easier.

Rushda: A leading scientist has warned that teaching evolution may no longer be as straightforward as before, as Creationism is becoming increasingly popular. Apparently around one in ten people in the UK now reject evolutionary theory and this is said to be partly due to the rise in Muslim students in classes.

Professor Michael Reiss, who is head of science at London’s Institute of Education and also a Church of England priest, believes that teachers may need to start approaching the topic with a lot more sensitivity as the theory of evolution can’t be taken for granted in the same way as before. He says that as a result of the increasing popularity of Creationism in classes, some teachers fear teaching evolution and some avoid it completely. This is worrying, he says, as it could mean that many students will have gaps in their scientific knowledge. Furthermore, he says the reason for the change is that there are more Muslim students who take the topic very seriously:

“The number of Muslim students has grown considerably in the last 10 to 20 years and a higher proportion of Muslim families do not accept evolutionary theory compared with Christian families. That’s one reason why it’s more of an issue in schools. The days have long gone when science teachers could ignore Creationism when teaching about origins.”

Reiss states that the best way forward is to reach a compromise by teaching everyone the details of the theory but not alienating students who don’t accept it. He argues that every student should at least know what evolutionary theory is, even if they don’t believe it. This will also make sure they learn to respect other people’s beliefs as well. He also says that Creationism should not be discussed in classrooms unless it is brought up by a student.

The issue is indeed a controversial one as evolution is a sensitive topic that everyone has a different stance on. Recent guidelines have in fact been published, however, which tell teachers how to deal with the issue. As a spokesman from the Department for Children, Schools and Families spokesman says:

“Creationism and intelligent design are not scientific theories nor testable as scientific fact - and have no place in the science curriculum. But we advise science teachers that when questions about Creationism come up in lessons, it provides an opportunity to explain or explore what makes a scientific theory.”

This is perhaps the best resolution we can come to for now, but no doubt not everyone will be happy.

Rushda: A new sculpture of a dead Prince Harry in military uniform will soon be going on display at a London Hotel. The controversial statue has been designed to represent “those willing but unable to serve in Iraq” and a picture of it can be seen here. The sculpture shows the young prince lying down with his head on a Bible and a vulture at his feet next to a British flag. It also shows him holding a lock of his mother’s hair, and the whole piece is meant to signify how terrible the prince felt when he was told he could not serve.

The sculpture has been made by an artist called Daniel Edwards in the light of decisions made to forbid Prince Harry from serving for safety reasons. Edwards produced it in an attempt to highlight the murder of Prince Harry’s desire to join the war. He says:

“[the prince’s spirit] must have died the day they told him he couldn’t serve”.

Whatever the intention of the artist, personally I find the idea of the sculpture morbid at best and disrespectful at worst. Surely it is at least a little distasteful given all the news surrounding Princess Diana of late? I particularly feel for Harry’s family. After all, no one likes the idea of their beloved dead, and this is even worse as someone has actually gone and produced a sculpture of his corpse.

Jake: Hollywood actor, Ben Stiller, has turned to Pilates to help improve his flexibility after he felt sore after a sex scene. Stiller, now 41 years old, recently finished filming his latest movie The Heartbreak Kid and discovered that he is not in his best shape.

“I am not as flexible as I would like to be. Since the movie, I’ve been doing Pilates, which has helped open me up. But after those sex scenes, I was sore later.”

It’s true that the exercise method, Pilates, will strengthen your core and improve control over your body. And greater strength and control can only lead to one thing… Well, no self-respecting guy would want to let Michelle Monaghan down would they?

Rushda: Royal Mail workers walked out at noon today to mark the start of two 48 hour postal strikes which will be affecting the whole of Britain and will end up costing the industry millions of pounds. All customers have been warned that there will be no deliveries until next Thursday, as a second strike is also taking place which means that the Communication Workers Union’s 130,000 members will refuse to work from Monday 8th October until Wednesday.

The walkouts come as a protest against low pay and also fear of job cuts after no deal was reached between Royal Mail managers and the Communication Workers Union earlier this morning. Royal Mail’s offer of 2.5% increased pay is disputed by the workers and they also believe that the new modernisation plans Royal Mail is undertaking will put 40,000 jobs at risk. Royal Mail insist that the modernisation is vital for them to keep in line with the times and say that they have done everything they can to cooperate with the workers. In a statement a spokesperson from the Royal Mail says:

“We continue to urge the CWU to work with us to modernise the business and to help secure a successful future for the company and its people in the competitive market in which we now operate.”

The Union, however, believes that its actions are completely justified in light of what has been proposed by Royal Mail and the fact that no resolution has been achieved for the last five weeks. The deputy general secretary, Dave Ward says that the strikes are indeed “a proportionate response to an employer that is completely out of control.

Many are understandably very concerned about the strikes as they will disrupt businesses and individuals alike. Having to use couriers instead will seriously increase bills, and lots of people are relying on important mail they need to receive. Royal Mail ask customers to be patient and try not to send any mail over the weekend as this will clog up the system even more. As ever, it is such a shame that because of a dispute quite far removed from any of us, it is still the customers who suffer.

Jeanne: A number of news agencies have suggested that the Zimbabwean people are facing severe shortages of flour and bread. Representatives from the Zimbabwean Ministry of Agriculture have stated that this year’s wheat harvest was a mere 33% of last year’s. As a consequence, the country is now on the verge of famine. The Zimbabwean government has pledged to import some 100,000 tonnes of wheat. However, it is unlikely that this will be sufficient to combat hunger, as the country requires a total of 400,000 tonnes of wheat annually in order to stave off famine. Zimbabwe’s principal bread manufacturer has scaled down its bread production by 80%.

The Zimbabwean government has blamed poor harvests on the failed farming techniques of those farmers who have taken over the land of white settlers in recent years. According to Zimbabwe’s Agriculture Minister:

“I am disappointed that our new farmers have proved to be failures since the start of the land reform programme in 2000. In spite of all the support government has been pouring into the agricultural sector, productivity and under-utilisation of land remain issues of concern. I am painfully aware of the widespread theft of stock, farm produce, irrigation equipment and the general vandalism of infrastructure by our new farmers.”

However, it is likely that production figures have also been affected by a number of other factors. Unreliable power supplies have left many farmers unable to irrigate their own land.

Poor harvests are likely to have a dire effect on Zimbabwe’s already-impoverished farmers. Without a decent harvest, farmers are unable to earn sufficient income to pay off their debts. This is particularly worrying as a large number of Zimbabwean farmers were known to have taken up loans during the winter months. The situation has been worsened by a foreign currency crisis which has resulted in sky-rocketing inflation. However, the Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, continues to blame the West for the situation. In recent months, he has argued that the economic crisis in Zimbabwe was the result of a plot on the part of foreign businessmen to oust him.

Rushda: Many women have wondered before whether the super-long eyelashes they see in makeup adverts are really the result of the product being advertised. Well, a new Rimmel advert featuring top model Kate Moss has been found to have broken advertising rules because it featured digitally-enhanced eyelashes.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that the advert for Magnif’Eyes did not give a realistic image of the effects of the mascara worn in the picture. Though Rimmel themselves denied that the model wore fake eyelashes, they admitted that the eyelashes were “cleaned up and enhanced” after the shoot, something which is still unacceptable according to ASA as it exaggerates the benefits of the product. Furthermore, even the text accompanying the adverts has been found to be exaggerated, with Rimmel claiming that wearers actually experience “70% more lash lift”, something which is highly contested.

Though Rimmel insist that they have done nothing wrong, David Allan from Coty, the company which owns the Rimmel brand, says:

“Coty had full approval from the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre for the Rimmel Magnif’Eyes advertising. This campaign ran in line with the original planned schedule. We recognise the ASA has become more stringent in their application and Coty will continue to be fully compliant with the ASA guidelines.”

The ASA has now banned Rimmel from continuing to display these adverts, and will only allow similar adverts in future if there was an accompanying disclaimer which pointed out the touch-ups.

Rushda: It may seem a little too Orson Well’s Big Brother for many people’s likings, but a new law has been passed which means that information from all phone calls and texts made in the UK will be stored for a year due to security reasons. This includes both landlines and mobile phones with all phone companies being obliged to provide the information. The data which is collected from these phone logs will be available to 652 public bodies which includes councils and police, and the aim is to tackle crime.

Many people feel threatened by this new law and have criticised the government for increasingly becoming a “surveillance society” day by day. However, the Home Office have insisted that the logs would only be used to tackle serious crimes such as terrorism and would not affect the general public. In fact, it is claimed that none of the actual content of the phone calls or texts would be read - only very basic information about who owns the phone and so on.

Tony McNulty, Minister for Security and Counter-terrorism, has explained that there are three levels of information the data will be providing to organisations: the phone owner details, the types of calls made and information about the whereabouts of a particular call. He says:

“Say some old lady has got difficulties with someone who’s repaired the gas in her house and has a mobile phone for somebody who’s clearly dodgy. The local authorities can just get the subscriber information next to that number. The second level of data is not simply the subscriber, but also the calls made by that phone. And the third level which is purely for the security forces, police, etc, is not just the subscriber information and the calls made, but also the calls coming in and location data - where the calls are made from.”

Critics, however, are not convinced that they will not be affected. For example, Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, has said that what was particularly concerning was how many people had access to these records, with a possibility of them being abused if something went slightly wrong. She explains:

“There are actually a very broad range of purposes for which this information about who we’ve been phoning and when can be revealed. It includes, for example, the Gaming Board, the Food Standards Authority and every district and county council in the country. We’re talking about a profile that can be built of your personal relationships on the basis of who you’ve been speaking to and when.”

McNulty reassures us all that there is no reason anyone would go “snooping” through the records, and no one has the right to do so without good reasons. The purpose is simply to prevent crime, not find out things about taxes and so on.

Personally, I like to think that if I have done nothing wrong, I have nothing to worry about. However, it is certainly a little disconcerting that so many people will be able to find out simple details about who anyone has been phoning. It may be a good system with positive intentions, but like others I am not sure how it will be ensured that the information won’t be abused.

Jeanne: Surveys have suggested that a lack of regulation in some sectors of the cosmetic surgery market has led to the emergence of ‘cowboy’ attitudes amongst some practitioners. According to representatives from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, treatments such as Botox are currently available far too easily and offered by ‘professionals’ with rather dubious qualifications. The British government has argued that the plastic surgery industry is perfectly capable of regulating itself.

However, industry insiders are anything but convinced. Douglas McGeorge, head of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, has highlighted the lack of regulation in the sector in a recent interview. Speaking to the media, he stated:

“Basically if you wanted to have Botox administered on a park bench, you could do it, these days. To foster a ‘wild west’ approach is not only an affront to reputable professionals who follow the rules, but ultimately creates an unsafe environment for the public. Botox has to be prescribed, so you get your voucher and can take it to a practitioner to get the treatment done. However, the treatment is paid for long before any counselling takes place - before a decision can be made as to whether it is appropriate for that person.”

This lack of regulation has led to the emergence of a number of other risky practices. These include the sale of products and services via the Internet. One such product, Isolagen, became ‘available’ online to UK customers 3 months ago. This was despite the fact that the product had been banned in the United States as early as in 1999. Describing the situation, Mr. McGeorge stated:

“The public needs to be realistic about the outcomes they can expect from new cosmetic treatments, at least until solid clinical evidence of their efficacy exists.”

However, representatives from the UK government believe that self-regulation will be sufficient to prevent the sale of such products in the future. One spokesperson at the Department of Health stated that the regulation of the sector was a ‘top priority for the government:

“We have every confidence that self-regulation will result in improvements for people choosing these non-surgical cosmetic treatments. Our plans for change are driven by the need to ensure that we only regulate in cases where the reduction in risks to safety arising from public regulation clearly outweigh the costs and burdens that regulation brings. In this case we feel that we can best protect people who wish to have these treatments by using other tools at our disposal.”