Orkney In The News...

This from the BBC News Website today:

Scotland's "Earliest Face" Found In Orkney

lol... A bored Neolithic man's doodle of the wife?

A Dark Day For Scotland...

So, Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi is released on compassionate grounds, suffering from terminal prostate cancer, and returns home (in a jet belonging to leader Colonel Gaddafi, no less) to Libya to a "hero's welcome" - crowds at the airport waving Libyan and Scottish flags...

Gaddafi's son proclaimed this as a "courageous" move on Scotland's part.

Anger At Lockerbie Bomber Welcome
Homecoming For Lockerbie Bomber
Audio Slideshow: Remembering Lockerbie
Wikipedia: Pan-Am Flight 103
Wikipedia: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi

In my view, this is a huge mistake. The man is a convicted murderer, found guilty of the killing of 270 people. He should have been left to rot in jail... The MOST he should have been given was a prison transfer to a jail in Libya. As it is, he's not even under house arrest. Sure, his conviction hasn't been overturned, so he's still guilty in the eyes of the law - but he's still at home, with his family... which is more than can be said for those whose lives he ended in such a callous and cowardly manner.

And Scotland scores some brownie points with a country with a history of terrorism... Great(!)

Shame on you, Kenny MacAskill... You have made me ashamed of my nationality for the first time in my life...

Harry POT-ter... And The Sorcerer's Stoned...

Just wanted to share this news story with you - mainly so I could make that terrible pun in the title of this post!

BBC: Potter Actor Admits Drug Charge

The Michael Jackson Songs...

I picked yesterday were met with a "OMG... Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuj!" by Viki (hint... she wasn't impressed)... so I'm being made to post a more acceptable selection of videos:

Earth Song (1995)
Billie Jean (1983)
Dirty Diana (1988)
Black Or White (1991)
Beat It (1983)
Blame It On The Boogie (as The Jackson 5) (1978)

The only one of my choices that she approved of was "Thriller"!

Hope that's better, draga!

The "OMG... I Just Can't Believe It's True" Post...

Didn't have the computer on last night, or the radio or anything, so didn't hear the big news story before I went to bed... just I got a text message from Viki after she'd set off to work this morning that ended with "Michael Jackson has died. Mivan!"

And, indeed, it's true... looking it up on the BBC news site on my mobile phone confirmed it:

Michael Jackson Dies Aged 50

He was declared dead at UCLA hospital at 10:26pm (British Time) last night.

It doesn't feel real yet though... Yes, I along with everyone else had read the stories about how his health was not good, and how there were doubts about his fitness for the series of concerts that were scheduled for the O2 Arena, but Michael Jackson wasn't really mortal... not like ordinary people... Not that I'm saying he was a god or anything like that, because - I'll be honest - he wasn't up there in my Top 10 artists, either as I was growing up, or now... I wasn't THAT big a fan... didn't own any albums or anything, never had his posters on my wall... and, yes, I thought (and still think) he was a bit "Wacko"... certainly there was something wrong with him... a naivety that bordered on mentally underdeveloped... But you can't deny his talent, showmanship, and influence on today's music and artists.

And he was always THERE... all the time I was growing up and discovering music and bands... Let's face it, he's been in pop longer than I've been alive... so you just kind of felt like he would go on forever.

It would be good if it was his music he was remembered for... rather than the baggage that followed him around... the accusations of child abuse (was he guilty? I guess we'll never really know)... the spendaholic lifestyle and subsequent money troubles... the demons that fuelled his plastic surgery obsession... all of that.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family... to his children... his ex-wives... his mother and father... his brothers and sisters... his friends... and to his fans worldwide who feel that they have lost someone special to them...

And I leave you with some of my favourite songs of his as tribute:

Heal The World (1992)
You Are Not Alone (1995)
Scream (With Janet Jackson) (1995)
Thriller (1984)
Say Say Say (With Paul McCartney) (1983)

The "I Really Shouldn't Laugh, But..." Spot...

Another story from the news that's got me tickled pi... er... green:

Baby Flamingoes "Scared Of Pink"

Wouldn't it be funny if they were frightened of each other? Or of themselves?

The "I Really Shouldn't Laugh, But..." Spot...

I'm sorry... don't judge me badly for laughing at this story...

"Dirty" Puppy Survives Being Flushed

I know... I'm a bad person, and I'm going to Hell in a hand-basket... I'm not proud of it...

In The News...

This story from STV news:

Pensioner Admits To Frenzied Killing Of Wife

Of course, this is not funny... but you have to laugh a little at the conversation with the 999 operator:

Brown: I’ve killed my wife.
Operator: Sorry, you've killed your wife?
Brown: Hopefully, with a bit of luck, yes.

In The News Today...

This story has just sickened me so much today:

Aussie Boy Goes On Animal Killing Spree At Zoo

It's disgusting that he can do something like this at SEVEN years of age, and - to all intents and purposes - get off with it, because he's under the age of legal responsibility.

And I read in another story that his brother had already been in trouble for attacking the crocodile some years ago... What the fuck kind of parents do these two sick little freaks have!?

IMO they should all be thrown to the crocodile!

It's true what they are all saying... he clearly is a serial-killer in the making.

Holy Shit! - Update...

If you follow the link that I put in the original post now, you'll find it takes you to an "error"... and yesterday The Orcadian website had taken all reference to the story off... so I can only presume there's been some kind of news blackout at that stage...

However, today The Orcadian website had this to say...

Man charged with possessing weapons

Michael Ross, 29, has been charged with possessing a cache of weapons found in a car parked outside a Glasgow supermarket.

Ross made no plea when he appeared from custody on Tuesday, at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

The discovery was made near to a branch of Tesco in the city’s Springburn area, last Friday evening. Ross, of Inverness, has been held in custody and no further date for the case has been set yet.

Basically, the story was that a car that he hired and didn't return was found in a car park only a mile away from the court he made his escape attempt from... The hire company recognised him as the person who had hired it, and when they went to collect the car they found the following in the car:

- A Czech-made Scorpion sub-machine gun
- A rifle
- 4 grenades (4!!!)
- Several knives
- An axe
- Bullets
- Army camouflage clothing
- Binoculars

Bomb disposal had to evacuate some 1,000 shoppers from the store, and spent an hour searching the car for booby traps!

That's scary! The damage that could have been done if he'd managed to get to the car with that arsenal of weapons is just unthinkable.

I'm finding it harder to believe he's innocent now, I must admit... There's no way this can be a fit-up, surely? And he's a trained sniper... and apparently a bloody good one at that! He's a trained killer... trained to kill without being seen...!

I wonder if those who set up the Bebo page proclaiming his innocence of the murder are still so sure? There was a quote there not mentioning the weapons, saying with all he had been through as a suspect for so many years, and what he'd seen in the army in Kosovo, etc. it was "no wonder he'd flipped out a bit" or words to that effect...

Surely crying, struggling a little bit, and shouting out that you're innocent would constitute "a little flip out"? I would say calmly and, with pre-meditation, hiring a car and filling it with the weapons arsenal of a 3rd world dictatorship for your escape from court is a tad more serious than that! Would you not agree?

I'll be interested to see what the local papers are saying about this tomorrow... wonder if they'll have interviews with any of those who were declaring his innocence last week?

Holy Shit!

What was going on in his head?

Daily Record: Orkney Convicted Murderer Had Weapons Arsenal In Car

Well, I Guess It's Okay To Tell You Now...

But tonight just after 5pm I locked the shop I work in sometimes (increasingly often for the last few months) - the one that sells paper and pens and stuff like that, not the one that sells cable and fuses and stuff - for probably the last time I'll ever do it...

No, I've not been fired... I've not resigned... But the shop's been sold. Finally the various lawyers have got their collective acts together, and the deal's done. The shop's closed for stock-taking over the weekend and Monday, and the new owner takes over from Tuesday.

And it's a case of mixed emotions for me... Sometimes I really hate (or I guess hateD... past tense) working in the shop - being there when I could have been getting on with stuff up in the office, for instance - but I enjoyed being in the centre of town, where you see a lot more people than hidden away in an office on the industrial estate. And I like serving people - when I'm selling something like paper and pens... stuff that I'm confident in my ability to sell... not stuff like cable and stuff that can kill if you give someone the wrong thing!

Believe it or not, I'm actually not a confident person at all... I really struggle face-to-face with people and if you met me in real life, I would probably just clam up and be really insecure - until I got to know you (give me about 5 years). So working in the shop and talking to people all day, with nowhere to hide, has been really good for me - and I think I'm not too bad at it... I'm polite... I try to have a joke with those customers that will joke back (without causing offence, of course)... I'm friendly... I try to be helpful... and I try to serve the customers in a manner that they feel comfortable with (efficient and with minimum chattering for the businessmen - smiling and ready to discuss the weather, health, family, etc. for Joe or Josephine Public... always remembering that some of the people coming in maybe only come into town once a week, and sometimes just really want another human to talk to).

LOL... I've just read that bit back, and it kind of sounds like I'm at an interview and have just been asked "So, what do you think you could bring to the position of sales assistant?"!

But anyway, that's my news... My boss sells the shop, and I'm back to only having to wear 2 hats - Office Manager, and occasional Sales Assistant (Electrical) if Boss or Flunky aren't around... like tomorrow... from 8am (so I probably shouldn't hang around here much longer, being as I've just looked at the clock, and it's 20 to 1!).

Erm... I'll probably catch you at some stage tomorrow and give you any other news I can think of, and my plans for the weekend (which don't include Easter Monday off, unfortunately... Grrrr).

Cheerio for now!

Orkney In The News

For a horrible, horrible reason...

The Scotsman: Scottish Backpacker Murdered

I didn't know Karen personally, as she was a few years younger than me - but Orkney's a close-knit community, and something like this impacts heavily on the population. It's so tragic that this bonny girl with so much ahead of her, and clearly living her life to the full, should be robbed of her future in such a callous manner.

I hope they find the coward(s) who did this to her and that they get what is coming to them.

My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends - here in Orkney, and further afield... It's clear she was a popular girl, and touched many lives during her time on the earth. May your memories of her sustain you...

R.I.P. Karen...