A busy week for floods, riots, apologies and team sports. Aside from our own goings on with the everlasting Gulf of Mexico catastrophe and mumbled "sorry 'bout that's" from CEO's, the rest of the world was having its own set of trials and tribulations to deal with. From the release of a report on a 1972 massacre in Ireland and its reaction in the town where it happened, to another scene of violence in a former breakaway republic in Eastern Europe. The specter of Darfur raised its genocidal eye this week. Further evidence our climate is going haywire if you were living in Southwest France and The World Cup heads into the end of its first week.
(Getting to be a familiar scene)
The violence in Kyrgyzstan erupted again this past week with civil unrest claiming more lives and another flood of refugees. This report from Voice of Russia's Hourly News from June 14th gives some details.
(opening old wounds)
Shocking enough when it happened in 1972. The demonstration turned ugly in January of 1972 when British troops opened fire on a group of unarmed civilians, killing 13 in a day to be know forever as Bloody Sunday. Initially the report claimed the troops were fired on. But an inquest brought about by pressure to the Blair government reopened the old wound and fresh details and horrifying revelations came out. The revelations were such that it prompted Prime Minister Cameron to publicly apologize for unwarranted behavior on the part of the Army. This report from the BBC World Service Newshour program of June 15th also features the statement as well as reaction from the government.
(and thirty-eight years after this scene . . .still seems like yesterday to some)
RTE in Ireland, as part of their News At One program from the 16th of June went to the scene of the original massacre to get reactions from those who were there at the time to see how the report and the apology set with the people who were most effected.
(A possibility of justice)
From the BBC Africa Service also on June 16th, came word of the indictment and arraignment of Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus, the two Sudanese Rebel leaders accused of mass murder during the Darfur conflict. Now comes the trial, the revelations and the opening of old wounds for this part of the world. Seems to be a lot of that going on lately.
(George Osborne - wading through the sea of financial debris)
As BBC Radio 4's Today Program reported, The Bank of England has put into place a scheme to regulate the UK financial sector in an attempt to get a handle on the seemingly on-going crisis. Spearheading that campaign is Chancellor George Osborne, who was interviewed on the program and gives details and points a few fingers in the process. Yes, the first decade of the new millennium was something of a free-for-all for people in banking.
(It seems no one is particularly immune to flooding these days)
While we've been going through our own horror stories of flooding around the U.S. in recent weeks, it's cold comfort in knowing the same is going on in Southwest France at the moment. According to this report from Radio France International's English Service "Focus On France" program from June 17th, this was the worst flooding in the region in over 200 years. Gives further evidence our climate changes aren't imaginary - oh, but some will still think so anyway.
(A very familiar sight this week)
And finally, the Friday installment of the World Cup Daily reports from BBC 5Live. When this piece went to press (at around 6 this morning) the U.S. hadn't played their latest game, so there's no word on the outcome. But I'm sure you've heard about it by now.
Another week in paradise. And another one is poised to appear shortly.
