Forgive Colin, he made a mistake

MANY words have already been written about the actions of Sky News journalist Colin Brazier at the weekend.

For those who may have enjoyed the summer sunshine away from the 24 hours news cycle, Colin was at the scene (one of many) of the downed MH17 plane and came across luggage.

He reached in and picked up some items, before common sense came hurtling into his mind and brought him back into the real world.

Throughout, Colin was live on television, walking around an horrific scene, no doubt had a producer in his ear talking to him and his own mind's filter ensuring he only described what was suitable for an audience and

vetting some of the more ghoulish sights.

Then it happened, he came across the luggage, his cameraman films it, and for some reason only Colin knows he reaches in.

What he did was immensley disrespectful and wrong let me make that perfectly clear, but within 30 seconds he himself said 'We shouldn't be doing this...this is a mistake' and pulled away.

In a world where apologies have to be dragged out of people or done to avoid commercial loss (hello Luis Suarez), Colin's sense of taste metaphorically whacked him in the crotch hard.

Within hours the broadcaster had apologised and today Colin has penned an article for the Guardian, not one of the News International stable which part owns Sky, but an outside publication.

“At the weekend, I got things wrong. If there was someone to apologise to in person, I would.” he writes.

Pretty conclusive but in the court of human opinion that is Twitter, people are already criticising the apology including a well known former footballer....who once had to apologise himself for an 'error of judgement'.

When you watch television news, think about what that reporter sees and you don't, that man or woman has to go home with those images in their mind as Colin will.

There is no excuse, Colin has not sought to wriggle out of it, he got it wrong badly but apologised.

If you want to get angry, get angry at those who shot a plane full of innocent people out of the sky.

Get angry at a nation which invaded another with no remorse, get angry there is yet more conflict in the

Middle East.

Get angry millions die every year in poverty, get angry the rich are getting richer with tax loopholes and the

like.

See? I don't see those responsible apologising for any of that...

Britain is tumbling towards the edge

The row over David Miranda has convinced me to write this blog and confess something, I am geniunely frightened for the future of the UK.

 

A number of events have taken place in the last few weeks which make me think we as British citizens are heading for disaster.

 

No I am not talking about immigration, the economy or even politics as such, I am genuinely frightened about the direction of this country.

 

We have a campaign to get a woman on the £10 note, ignoring the fact there has been one on all banknotes for more than 60 years, she is called HM The Queen.

 

Not for one second do I condone the morons who targeted the lady who led the campaign – they are sad pathetic little boys with little else to do.

 

We have a campaign to ban Page 3 and to get lads mags to cover up in supermarkets – to hear supporters of such campaigns talk it makes me think these ladies are tied up and gagged until they agree to pose for such pictures!

 

'It demeans women' and most shamefully there is a quote at the top of this page nomorepage3.org/about/ which links page three to rape and sexual assault.

 

Let's make this clear, rapists don't get their kicks off page three then go and rape a woman. Rapists

are cold blooded vile human beings who see no harm in the vile crime they perpetrate.

 

'The paper is left lying around for children to see' – then if they ask let's go back to a time where adults answer questions about the human body in an age appropriate way.

 

We don't talk to children about sex and their growing bodies enough, too many then seek to explore with the unwanted consequences of unplanned pregnancy.

 

'It makes girls think about their bodies' – on this I am with the campaigners, the pressure on teenage girls is vile at times, more needs to be done to encourage young girls to be who they are not what magazines tell them to be.

 

But is page 3 or Zoo magazine guilty of that? What about Heat, OK, Closer with their celebrity images, should they be blacked out to because they show the 'desired' body of Jennifer Aniston et al.

 

No, we as a society need to talk, to tell teenage girls that their bodies are just that, theirs and the only

opinion that matters is there own.

 

And finally, David Miranda being detained for nine hours......for taking stolen classified documents through an airport.

 

To listen to Glenn Greenwald and the Guardian's reporters you would think Britain had become some police state, that Miranda was beaten and tortured...

 

Ironic that a newspaper that supported state regulation of the press after Leveson now is complaining about......state regulation of the press!

 

When you listen to the debate, remember Edward Snowden now lives in Russia having spilled state American and perhaps British secrets to the Chinese and Putin in Moscow.

 

Snowden should be going down in history as a modern day William Mark Felt Sr (Deep Throat) for exposing a naughty Government programme.

 

And that dear reader is why I am frightened, all of this going on yet when the elected Prime Minister

of the day asks us to vote whether we want a new Government or not, less than 40 per cent of us take part.

 

There is a dark side to modern Britain, something I'm not sure I want to see