Bel is thinking

The two British girls arrested in Ghana on suspicion of drug smuggling insist that they were set up. Says one of them:

There were basically two boys over here who gave us two bags, and told us to bring it (that) it was an empty bag.

We never thought anything bad was inside … and they told us to go to the UK and drop it off to some boy … at the airport.

The two boys gave us bags in Ghana to bring to London, to give to the boy in London.

It was basically like a set up. They didn’t tell us nothing, we didn’t think nothing, cos basically we are innocent.

We don’t know nothing about this drugs and stuff, we don’t know nothing.

I am trying not to be cynical. Are they really that naive? I know that they are both only 16 years of age, but I find it surprising that these young girls could be duped so easily.

So it turns out that, contrary to the impression initially given by the BBC, the Queen did not actually storm out of a sitting with a photographer.

The BBC have apologised for altering the sequence of images in a way that gave the impression that the Queen had walked out of the sitting. The image of the Queen allegedly ’storming out’ was actually taken while she was in fact on her way to the sitting.

Makes me wonder what other tricks the BBC have been getting up to. This surely cannot be the first time they have done something like this. This has probably only come to our notice because the person involved was the Queen. Who knows how many lesser mortals have been subjected to ‘Michael Moore’ style editing by the BBC? And if they can do that to the Queen, how much more to people or groups of whom they (the BBC) do not approve? Rightwingers, anti-immigration campaigners, who knows?

A public service broadcaster behaving like a grubby tabloid. Shame on them.

Just wondering why Sky News spent the whole of yesterday, and part of this morning, giving free publicity to Alastair Campbell and his wretched diaries. They only just stopped short of exhorting us all to go out and buy it. Such publicity he could never have bought.

That notwithstanding, I shall not be buying. Nor do I care to read extracts from the book. I do not trust a single word written by that man. It baffles me that journalists are falling over themselves to promote this book. They, more than anyone, know the lengths to which Campbell went in his time to cover up the truth in so many ways. What makes them so sure about the veracity of this book’s contents?

I see the Telegraph has the best of both worlds. On the one hand, it publishes a scathing leader article on Campbell ‘prospering from defilement’, and on the other hand, it calmly publishes tidbits from the book.

Many apologies for the lack of posts. Taking a blogging break, and will be back next week. In the meantime, I will be reading other blogs, and discovering some new ones. I will be sharing any interesting articles via my Shared Items page on the sidebar of this blog. Also, feel free to check out all the interesting blogs listed in the sidebar.

See you next week.

The Blogpower Awards will soon be kicking off in Second Life. The appointed time is 2pm London time. The venue is the Air Liner ‘Limoncello’ (named after the lovely Welshcakes Limoncello). Unfortunately, I can’t make it, as I’m busy at work at the moment. Bad enough that I am working on a Sunday, I am also missing the opportunity to fellowship with my fellow Blogpowerers, and of course, pick up my award.

Please feel free to drop in on the awards. Everyone is welcome. To get to the venue, please click here.