iblog

Matthew:

A court has found that the killing of Lance Cpl Matthew Hull by ‘friendly’ fire in 2003 was unlawful and ‘entirely avoidable’. Lance Cpl Hull was in a Scimitar armoured vehicle, on patrol in southern Iraq. His convoy was attacked by US A-10 pilots, who mistook the vehicle for an Iraqi rocket launcher. The pilots failed to recognize the orange strips on the roof of the vehicles, which denoted friendly forces.

Death from ‘friendly’ fire is a tragic and distressingly common event, but it is generally accepted that it is ‘just one of those things’ that can happen during a war. What it is not accepted, and is amplifying the family’s grief, is the MOD and Pentagon’s attitude to this incident. Both institutions have been positively obstructive, failing to release vital evidence allowing the coroner to complete the report. Part of this evidence was a video filmed from the aircraft, which shows the pilot should have taken much more care to positively identify the vehicle as an enemy target.

This begs the question; who does the MOD think it is responsible to? It should not act to protect incompetent US service personnel from embarrassment. It repeatedly refused to release the video footage, at one stage saying it didn’t even exist. This is a disgraceful betrayal of the MOD’s duty to the bereaved family, who have not been granted the mercy of closure.

Stephanie: It’s been all over the news today that a food supplement vastly improved the development of three children’s brains in just three months. One of the boys who took part in the study was reported to be ‘bored’ with the TV programmes he’d previously been hooked on, preferring to read a book instead. Sounds too good to be true to me! But scientists say that the supplement VegEPA, which contains omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, had a remarkable effect on the children. I only want to know one thing. Where can I get some?! Who knows, in three months I could be the next Einstein…

Caroline: Here’s some good news for chocaholics, provided that you are male and in your 70s or 80s. Research has shown that those who indulge their chocolate habit have a neater waist-line, less instances of diabetes and a more positive outlook on life. Previous research has proved that chocolate releases endorphins which make us feel happy and reduce sensitivity to pain so I guess it’s not really surprising that the chocolate eaters feel happier, healthier and less lonely than those who eat other sweets but I am still trying to work out how they have slimmer waists. I suppose it all depends what the others are eating instead of chocolate!

Anna: I know spam emails can be annoying but I do love the Nigerian banking scams, and would willingly give up a few minutes to chuckle my way through the latest one. Today I received an URGENT TRANSMISSION from the Federal Government of Nigeria (who appear to be cutting costs by using free yahoo mail accounts - commendable, I think). After the arresting opener - “Dear Attention” - the email continued with such gems as “we were having some minor problems with our payment system, which is inexplicable, and have held us stranded and indolent” and “your outstanding contract payment is… Ten Millions Dallars”. These emails have come to be known as “419 scams” and it beggars belief that anyone actually falls for such blatant attempts to obtain your personal details. What I do understand is people reading them because they’re funny. In that sense, they are a good reflection of Nigeria itself, a country that’s much more happy and gentle than the media would have us believe. So next time you see a spammy salutation, why not open the email and read it - chances are the rest of your inbox contents won’t be half as much fun.

Caroline: For centuries Camembert has been made with unpasteurised milk giving it that distinctive flavour and aroma. We have been told in more recent years that pregnant women, the very young and the very old should not consume such products but it now seems that we are all becoming cautious after a number of health scares. The result is that French cheesemakers are about to stop using unpasteurised milk in a move to rid the cheese of E. coli bacteria which is present in one to two per cent of all Camembert. The purists are having a hissy fit saying that the cheese can no longer be described as genuine Camembert without the unique taste which comes from the microbial flora of unpasteurised milk. Is this another example of a nanny state or is it being done for our own good? It will be interesting to see whether we continue to buy and enjoy the new healthy Camembert.

Anna: I came across the results today of a recent “Spaces for Sports” survey conducted by Barclays. According to the study, teenage schoolkids think sport helps keep them out of trouble. They also believe there is a need for role models and sports facilities. Sounds great!

But then I read on and found an eye-opener of a statistic. One in five of the teenagers interviewed (aged from 13 to 18) play no sport at all. Over half said that they’d be more likely to take up sport if access to facilities was cheaper. What happened to having a kick-about on the fields, scaring the neighbours with attempts to break the land-speed roller-skating record or playing frisbee? I know hopscotch might be a little outdated but surely there are plenty of other ways to play sport that don’t cost a penny? In an age of gym subscriptions and designer trainers, it’s a sad fact that the nation’s kids are getting fatter and missing out on the exhileration and social interaction that sport provides by the bucketload. The irony is that the teenagers blaming their lack of sporting involvement on costly facilities are probably sporting the latest pair of Nike’s and this season’s Chelsea strip…

Anna: The first time I ate an avocado, I thought it was disgusting. More akin to biting into a bar of soap than sampling a delicacy. All I can say is, I must have had a sourly unripe specimen, because nowadays I can’t get enough them. Being a veggie, avocado is a great sarnie stand-by for me and there are loads of other ways I like to enjoy the humble alligator pear. Drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with pine nuts, chopped and added to a salad, mashed into guacamole…

Did you know the word comes from the Spanish aguacate, in turn derived from the Aztec name - ahuacatl? And did you know avocados grow on trees? A good tree can yield 500 fruits in a season! And there’s another fact - an avocado is a fruit not a vegetable. And do be aware that a few slices of the good green stuff will give you a dose of more than 25 essential nutrients. Aah, there is no end to the fascination for me. If you are a fellow avocado aficionado, check out the website of the California Avocado Commission. Yeah, I’m not too sure on the human sacrifice front, but the Aztecs definitely got it right with their love of avocados.

Stephanie: In the first year of World War I more than one million men chose to join the fighting in Europe. I struggle to comprehend the horrors they faced or the terrible ways in which so many men died. But I find it even more impossible to imagine that a similar patriotism would prevail today in the face of a similar crisis. I can’t imagine many boys being compelled to lie about their age in order to defend our country, as was common in both World Wars. On the contrary I can’t help but envision a sudden rise in debilitating illnesses. “Me? Go to war? Oh no I’m sorry, much as I’d love to, I’m a chronic asthmatic. As of. Now.” Am I simply too cynical? Perhaps. But what would you say, if Queen and country came knocking? Would you rally to the flag? Or would you dive behind the sofa and pretend you’re not in?

Caroline: Do you think it is easier to get away with lying in e-mails rather than on the phone or face to face? Well don’t become too complacent because researchers are currently developing software said to be able to spot a cyber-liar and this could be available to buy as early as next year. The academics behind the software have analysed thousands of e-mails and discovered that there are a range of tell-tale signs indicating that we are not being truthful. E-mails which are untruthful have an average of 28% more words than truthful ones as we try desperately to sound convincing. We are more likely to use third person pronouns in an attempt to distance ourselves from the lie and we are often deliberately vague to minimise the likelihood of being discovered to be a liar. Next time you e-mail your workplace to say you are sick, one of the most common cyber fibs, watch out that your employer has not invested in the new software!

Stephanie: Student housing isn’t meant to be luxurious. It’s not unusual for heating to be temperamental if at all functional, and it just wouldn’t be ‘home’ without that rather suspicious looking growth on the bathroom ceiling. Cling film on windows, crumbling plaster, rattling windows and bathrooms with an entire eco-system of their own are the building blocks of student living - but where do we draw the line? In the two years I spent renting at University I never laid eyes on the landlord. What little contact I had with him revolved around a broken shower, an unhealthily mouldy ceiling, and a boiler held together by rust. Now by my reckoning, three problems in two years isn’t bad going for any landlord, but in each case by the time aid arrived I could’ve sooner imported new fittings from Mars.

Slowly, however, my attitude toward the shocking living arrangements began to alter slightly. With each new patch of damp, with every whistling breeze and every inch of peeling wallpaper I began to cultivate a sense of smug satisfaction. Sooner or later the lazy landlord will realise that what might have been a quick fix in the early stages now amounts to a fortune in renovation costs just to keep the building from crumbling around him. It is a very small sort of triumph, but when you’re sitting at your desk wrapped in blankets, having not showered for a week and with a worrying drip coming from somewhere in the roof - it’s all you can cling to.