My blog will be updated daily, so make sure you come back! If you would like to add or reply to a comment on one of the articles below just send me your comment and, if it's reasonably decent and not libellous or anything like that, I'll add it to the article (don't forget to include the date and title of the article).
09.11.12
We are wailing
FOOTBALL fan Rod Stewart has Scot all emotional — after seeing his beloved Celtic beat mighty Barcelona. The 67-year-old singer, whose hits include Hot Legs and Sailing, sobbed with joy at the final whistle in Glasgow last night.
Underdogs Celtic beat Lionel Messi’s Spanish giants 2-1 in the Champions League thanks to stars such as Victor Wanyama and Georgios Samaras — despite a late comeback by the visitors.
Rod clearly had a bawl...
vicious.sid: Rod, sit down, I think it's time we had a chat. It may come as a bit of a shock to you but I think it's time you knew, Rod, you're not Scottish, you're flippin' ENGLISH - you were born in North London!!! Ok, you're dad's Scottish but you are not, you are English so enough of the tartan and Scottish football!!! Jeeze.
09.11.12
April troll free Sicko spared jail for lost girl jibes
A TWISTED teenage troll who made vile comments about missing April Jones on Facebook was spared jail yesterday. Sam Busby, 18, walked free from court after receiving a six-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
Busby posted a warped joke about five-year-old April on October 6 — the day Mark Bridger, 46, was charged with her murder.
He then added further remarks — including claims he had sexually abused her body.
A sickened Facebook user alerted cops, Worcester magistrates heard.
Call centre worker Busby, of St John’s, Worcester, claimed he had been “looking for attention”.
Chairman of the bench Gill Porter told him: “You caused an immense amount of distress — not only to the recipients of this but to April Jones’ family and friends. It happened at a sensitive time for everybody concerned.”
Busby admitted using a public communication network to send a grossly offensive message at an earlier hearing.
Belinda Ariss, defending, said “extremely immature” Busby — who was also ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work — was very sorry and ashamed.
April vanished near her home in Machynlleth, Powys, on October 1.
She has not been found.
vicious.sid: This is very, very serious and will not stop unless a few of these lowlife little scumbags are made examples of. I don't know what I would do if he every did anything like this to me, but I do know that he wouldn't like it. Big fines, thousands of pounds out of their dole money at least. I am hoping that all the weirdos who are seeing nothing wrong with what he has done or at least can't see what the fuss is about do not have children. If they do have children then I am worried for their kids' future. I just hope and pray that anything like this does not happen to him or a relative of his because I don't think they'll be getting much sympathy.
kryten: Good! Yes, it may be in poor taste but when did making a joke on the internet warrant a prison sentence? Since when was it a criminal offence to offend someone? Isn't being offended completely subjective and different from person to person. What offends person A may not offend person B and vice versa, and yet there is now a law against this?
vicious.sid: kryten, you cretin, you don't get it do you?! There are some people in this world who can't see anything wrong with rape, with beating children, with killing teenage girls who look at boys, etc, etc, does that mean we have to put up with it? You abide by the wishes and demands of THE MAJORITY in a democratic civilisation. You are one of the MINORITY that can't see much wrong with what this thick little scumbag has done. It's obvious you haven't had children yet, comment when you have - you will look at things less selfishly and a lot less idiotically then.
lister666: missing the point there I see. You shouldn't have to put up with people physically committing those crimes no. But nor should someone have to put up with the law clamping down on their arse just for having a joke. It never ceases to astound me these days that everyone appears to have forgotten the principles of sticks and stones.
vicious.sid: lister666: If there's anyone missing the point it's YOU. For a start, if such a terrible thing as my child going missing happened to me and I found out the identity of anyone who did what this moron did, I would make it my life's work to find them and do something terrible to them (yes, that's bad but it would make me feel better, knowing that that person/people has got the message at least). If I saw that they were punished in quite a strong way, and I'm afraid through the pocket is the only way these days, I would probably be less inclined to exact my own retribution. And maybe, just maybe, the other weirdos, perverts and just thick morons who saw that you can be punished would see that it's not worth it to do it (although I don't hold out much hope). lister666, if you have children and think that someone talking about sexually abusing any of then at four years old is just a bit of fun, I am very worried about you and yours. If you don't have children, then I fully understand that you are still immature.
09.11.12
Brave troops did their duty for us ... now we owe them a duty of care
HARDMAN Ross Kemp went to hell and back to understand the suffering of squaddies – and even endured night terrors after filming on the frontline. With unflinching honesty, the actor-turned-presenter revealed he was haunted by whizzing bullets and bombs on the bloody battlefields in war-torn Afghanistan, leaving him to suffer traumatic dreams and sleepless nights.
Tough guy Ross is fronting Invisible Wounded, a documentary tackling the ticking timebomb of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Armed Forces.
He said that it was “exhilarating” being shot at and revealed how he could relate to the harrowing after-effects that leave a terrible toll on the mental health of thousands of servicemen.
The telly star said: “I have had nightmares about Afghanistan. I definitely had bad dreams. You see children get killed or bleeding. People get blown up. It’s just horrible.
“I think it is natural you have dreams like that — it is a way of clearing it. You also drink a bit more and discuss it with people who are interested.
“But being on the frontline is the most exhilarating feeling you will ever have in your life.
Ross continued: “I have been in some dreadful places and seen dreadful things.
“I remember coming back from filming my second series in Afghanistan and it had been really hard — bullets, bombs and artillery jets.
“It was full on American Vietnam. It made Apocalypse Now look like comedy. It is totally normal to have nightmares but it’s easier for me because I’m in and out and I’m not pulling triggers.
“You witnessed something so horrific that you locked it away.
“Some people crack on and get on with it while others find it harder. But what is very concerning is that it is a ticking timebomb, without a doubt.”
With an estimated one in five war veterans suffering depression, addiction or violent outbursts, Ross met those affected and their families before speaking to the experts to find out what more can be done to prevent further suffering.
For some, like Simon Peacock who was seriously injured while serving with 1 Royal Anglian in Afghanistan in 2007, the war will never be over. When he returned to the UK he was diagnosed with PTSD.
Simon, whose experience has left him with acute psychological problems including nightmares, flashbacks and suicidal thoughts, told Ross: “The war is worse than Afghanistan,” before adding, “I feel a part of me has died out there.”
For some time, his unit provided security for the medical emergency response teams, evacuating casualties from the frontline back to Camp Bastion.
Now having left the TA, he lives with his wife Kylie and young family.
Leigh opens up in the one-off hard-hitting documentary on how his experience has changed him forever.
He said: “I have the sleepless nights, I have the nightmares, neither of which I recall.
“The only way I know I have had a really bad night is when I feel like s*** in the morning and then I see the bruises on Kylie. ‘Cos I don’t just have a nightmare, I lash out.”
Gary Moss, who served in the Falklands, came back a “changed man”.
He lost his job, his wife and has suffered homelessness off and on for 19 years as a result of PTSD. He now lives in a hostel on the Isle Of Wight.
Fighting back tears, Gary said: “It’s something I will live with for the rest of my life. I am very proud. I’m only 5ft and have done a lot more for my country than some people will ever do.
“I think my country has let me down. When you come out you are forgotten.”
Speaking about his time with war heroes who have fought in Afghanistan, the Falklands, Iraq and Ireland, he said: “They were the bravest people I have ever met.
“The stigma they are going to get when they walk down the street, if they can face leaving the house, after talking on telly about these deep-seated problems. It’s very courageous. There is such a stain against mental health illness, particularly in the macho environment of the Armed Forces, where any kind of weakness is frowned upon.
“Who is going to stand up and say I’m nuts? It will damage your job and prospects in any profession, particularly where you are asked to carry a life-threatening implement.”
Some of the servicemen Ross interviewed for his one-hour show admitted that life was “harder at home than during conflict on the frontline” after everything they had witnessed.
Ross explained: “You come back and within a day you are back home with people you haven’t seen for six months and there are tiles to put up in the bathroom and the lawn needs mowing.
“There are all those jobs that have been put off while you are away because your wife has the kids to look after.
“Suddenly the woman is telling you what to do when you have been telling other blokes what to do. That’s just a normal scenario. I get that as well but obviously it is different for me as I have been filming, not fighting.”
The Government announced they would allocate £7.2million to ensure serving and former members of the Armed Forces have access to specialised therapists, amid fears that they are likely to need psychological support in the coming years.
Studies have shown that 20 per cent of returning troops have PTSD, almost a fifth have drinking problems and young soldiers who leave are three times more likely to commit suicide than civilians.
But Ross slated the cash injection, saying “it is not enough for them to have a packet of Nurofen once a week”.
He said: “We are heavily under-budgeted. And the main reason is that mental health has never been popular with MPs or with governments because the results are so difficult to quantify.
"You never see the results of the guy who doesn’t become a drain on the NHS through smoking and drinking, or that he didn’t go into McDonald’s with a machete, as it never happens.
“If the support doesn’t change we will all pay for it. It will pyramid from that one stone that dropped in the pool.
“It is easy to turn a blind eye but it won’t be if it’s your son kicked unconscious, or your daughter in an abusive relationship because nothing was done early enough.”
Ross passionately added: “They did their duty for us, now we owe them a duty of care.”
vicious.sid: What a brilliant idea!! Get some of those pen-pushing desk jockies and their useless bosses in the Ministry of Defence to actually go to the front line just for a few days before they cut a squaddy's wage or sack them. Give them an idea of what our boys actually do for us, because I'm as sure as hell that they have no idea. Get the top brass to actually go out there and experience if first hand to make them think about how they are decimating our once-proud Forces. Cameron even, come on, give us a laugh, send Cameron out to the front line and give us all a laugh!!!
09.11.12
Katie Price looks a bit of all white
KATIE PRICE shows off her impressive curves posing in front of a fancy dress box while wearing an interesting bridal-style costume. The glamour-girl-turned-business-woman sported the all-white ensemble to launch her new jewellery range, KP Rocks, in London earlier today.
She may have only just split from Argentinian model Leandro Penna – but judging from these pics she looks ready to walk down the aisle.
Katie donned a wedding-style outfit for the occasion in London Goff Katie, 34, poured her famous figure into a tight white body with jewel embellishments and a low-cut, fur-lined bust.
A veil, cape, tiara and knee-high latex boots completed the sexy wedding-style clobber.
She wore her long dark tresses loose, lashings of lip gloss and had painted her nails hot pink.
The high leg of the body exposed the star’s garter tattoo on her right pin, while another body etching was just visible on her left wrist beneath sparkly bangles.
Her KP Rocks range includes glittering necklaces and bracelets, as well as a £60 phone case and sparkly lip-shaped clutch bags for £125.
The newly single star said of ex Leandro in a statement: “We are good friends and will continue to remain so. I still care for him and believe he’s a gentleman.”
However, Leo has had far less kind words to say about his ex.
He said: “I left her simply because she is crazy. Katie’s brain is not wired right, or the wires don’t connect properly.”
vicious.sid: A bit of 'all-white'? She looks like a caricature of a woman - a little bit embarrassing like she's trying too hard. I am soooooo glad that she isn't my mum!!!
09.11.12
'Serial killer in training' to be executed in Texas after brutally murdering woman in home invasion
The man who prosecutors labelled a ‘serial killer in training’ after he brutally murdered an East Texas call supervisor is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. on Thursday, making him the 13th person to be executed by the state this year.
Mario Swain was arrested in the winter of 2012 after he beat, stabbed and strangled Lola Nixon during a botched home invasion. According to police reports, Swain repeatedly hit Nixon with a tire iron after she walked in on him trying to burglarize her home. He then left her, still breathing, in a remote site to die.
During his trial, prosecutors said that Swain displayed a pattern of obsession and violence that a former district attorney said indicated the potential of a serial killer.
They presented evidence and witnesses testimony that showed Swain had started becoming more and more violent when committing his crimes. He also had developed a pattern for his robberies: He would gather information about women he wanted to rob, then attack them, forcing them to inhale the anesthetic halothane and hitting them over the head with a wrench or shooting them with a stun gun.
This was not exactly how the Nixon robbery occurred, however. According to the criminal investigation, it appeared that Swain did not expect Nixon to come home. And when she did, it seemed as though the 46-year-old woman put up a fierce fight.
The investigation also revealed that Swain left Nixon bleeding in the bathtub before putting her in the truck of her car and driving off to dispose the body in a location investigators described by saying 'Unless you knew where you were going, you wouldn’t get there.'
Swain then returned to her house to try and clean up the scene and finish up the robbery. Authorities said that he used Nixon's credit cards and gave a piece of her jewelry to his friend.
It took authorities only a few days to arrest Swain. They were initially tipped off to Swain after witnesses saw his car parked in a vacant lot near Nixon's home around the time the robbery had been committed.
When they tracked him down, he quickly confessed that he was involved in a robbery at Nixon's house but inculcated another person who he said murdered the woman. But when an alibi backed up that man's whereabouts, Swain told them the full story and drafted several written confessions.
After a three-day trial, Swain was sentenced to death.
Since his arrest, Swain has filed two unsuccessful appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case. His defense attorneys argued that Swain was not originally read his Miranda rights when arrested and thus his confession were inadmissible since he was not given due process.
But prosecutors say that he was given proper notification of his rights and that in one of his confessions, Swain even included an acknowledgement “that I have the right to remain silent” and “to have a lawyer present.”
Texas has executed by far the most people of any state in the country. Their most recent execution took place on October 31 of this year, when Donnie Roberts was killed for murdering his girlfriend.
And unless his decision is stayed, Swain would be the 13th person executed in Texas this year and the 489th since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976.
vicious.sid: If this had happened in England, he would be out to do it again within just a few years. And then again a few years later! Execution for this type of person does seem quite appealing.
09.11.12
Health and safe-E.T. gone mad
PROFESSOR Brian Cox has revealed BBC health and safety jobsworths banned him from listening to a distant planet on live TV - in case the corporations strict editorial guidelines were breached. His BBC2 show Stargazing Live featured a planet called Threapleton Holmes B, which had recently been discovered by two amateur astronomers.
But Prof Cox said the idea of listening to the new planet live on air was stymied by the Beeb's bonkers health and safety regulations.
He told BBC 6 Music radio: “We decided that we’d point the Jodrell Bank telescope at the planet that had been discovered by these two viewers and listen because no one had ever pointed a radio telescope at it and you never know.
“The BBC actually said, 'But you can’t do that because we need to go through the regulations and health and safety and everything in case we discover a signal from an alien civilisation’.”
The physicist added: “You mean we would discover the first hint that there is other intelligent life in the universe beyond Earth, live on air, and you’re worried about the health and safety of it?
“It was incredible. They did have guidelines. Compliance.”
Breakfast host Shaun Keaveny added: “The idea that intelligent life could be discovered and it might swear and that’s why we wouldn’t broadcast it - it’s such a brilliant BBC thing, isn’t it.”
Prof Cox also told of another bizarre run-in with BBC managers while making Stargazing Live, which is co-hosted by comedian Dara O'Briain.
He said: “This year we were thinking of doing something about Mars. There are lots of maps of Mars and lots of things that people can do looking at them that computers can’t
"We were thinking of looking for signs of geological activity which might point to life on Mars.
“Someone from the BBC said to me, ’Would there have to be a prize if someone discovered it?’. (I said), what do you mean? You’re going to say to someone, you discovered the first evidence for alien life beyond Earth - and here’s a book voucher as well?
“You think that’s going to make it better? You’re going to go down in history with a Nobel prize - book tokens or Nectar points?”
vicious.sid: Before we can discover life on other planets we first need proof that they have a TV licence or the BBC will be forced to prosecute them!!! Everything about the BBC is very strange!!
09.11.12
Magnum PM: Waxwork of David Cameron given moustache to highlight Movember
Prime Minister David Cameron appears to have taken inspiration from actor Tom Selleck and Magnum P.I. with this rather dashing moustache.
But Mr Cameron hasn't suddenly sprouted a soup strainer, staff at Madame Tussauds attached the 'tache to his waxwork to promote Movember, the male cancer charity fundraiser.
Half a million men are thought to be ditching the razor and cultivating their upper lip warmers for sponsorship. Movember raised £25million last year.
Mr Cameron's waxwork was joined outside a replica of No10 Downing Street by London Mayor Boris Johnson, who also sported a bristling blond moustache.
During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
The event started in 2004 and there are now an estimated 1.9m 'Mo Bros' and 'Mo Sistas' throughout the world, raising GBP 79.3 million last year alone.
vicious.sid: Tell you what, imagine that moustache a bit thinner - does he look like Hitler or what?!!!
09.11.12
Two male nurses caught on camera 'sexually abusing 98-year-old stroke victim'
Two male nurses were caught on camera performing sexual acts on and beside a 98-year-old stroke victim.
The in-home nurses, Russel Torralba and Alfredo Ruiz, masturbated and fondled each other at the foot of the woman's bed in San Diego and are now being investigated for their shocking behavior.
In one instance one of the men performed an explicit act on the woman’s body.
The woman is unable to speak or communicate with her hands after suffering a stroke and right-side paralysis in 2005, but is fully aware of her surroundings, the family’s attorney, William Berman, says.
'I myself couldn't believe it,' Berman told XETV. He said it was the most shocking case of elder abuse he has seen in 15 years of practice in that specialty
The home-shot footage is from March 3 and March 11, 2011. Yet family members have discovered instances of sexually inappropriate acts on five occasions dating back to February 27, according to public records.
The family had been paying Torralba and Ruiz $55 an hour, over $1,300 a day, for their services.
The current suspension on the two men bars them from working for home health agencies, but allows them to work in hospitals. A hearing on the permanent suspension of their licenses is scheduled for November 14.
The state Department of Consumer Affairs launched an investigation last year into AMS Home Care Solutions, the agency the men worked for.
'We are working to shut them down,' Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the department said.
The San Diego District Attorney's office is reviewing the case for possible criminal prosecution.
vicious.sid: ????? I'm speechless. Just when you thought that humanity couldn't slide any lower. I'm . . . it's . . . huh?