Massive earthquake strikes Chile

The aftermath of the earthquake

A massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 has hit central Chile, killing at least 78 people, ministers say.

The quake struck at 0634 GMT about 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of Concepcion and 325km south-west of the capital, Santiago.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe" in affected areas and appealed for calm.

People moved to higher ground on Easter Island amid fears of a tsunami. Alerts are also in place across the Pacific.

Tsunami warnings have been issued for Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Central America and Pacific island nations.

Detailed map of quake

Santiago was among the areas that suffered extensive damage.

A number of buildings collapsed in the capital. A two-level car park was flattened, smashing dozens of cars.

Officials said damage to Santiago international airport's terminal would keep it closed for at least 24 hours. Flights are being diverted to Mendoza in Argentina.

The earthquake is the biggest to hit Chile in 50 years.

Giving details of the latest casualties, President Bachelet said 34 of the deaths were in Maule, 13 in the Santiago municipality, 12 in the O'Higgins region, 10 in Biobio, five in Araucania and four in Valparaiso.

She said these were preliminary figures and could rise.

Aftershocks

President Bachelet said: "People should remain calm. We're doing everything we can with all the forces we have. Any information [we have] we will share immediately."

She said a "wave of large proportion" had affected the Juan Fernandez island group, reaching halfway into one inhabited area. Two aid ships are reported to be on their way.

POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES Haiti, 12 Jan 2010: About 230,000 people die after shallow 7.0 magnitude quake Sumatra, Indonesia, 26 Dec 2004: 9.2 magnitude. Triggers Asian tsunami that kills nearly 250,000 people Alaska, US, 28 March 1964: 9.2 magnitude; 128 people killed. Anchorage badly damaged Chile, south of Concepcion, 22 May 1960: 9.5 magnitude. About 1,655 deaths. Tsunami hits Hawaii and Japan Kamchatka, NE Russia, 4 Nov 1952: 9.0 magnitude 'Everyone fears aftershocks' In pictures: Chile quake Chile well prepared

Ms Bachelet added that "high tidal waves" could also reach Easter Island soon.

"Because of that we are evacuating people living in low-lying areas," she said.

Ms Bachelet warned that if there were more aftershocks, people in coastal areas of Chile should go to higher ground.

She warned people not to travel on roads in affected areas as a number of bridges were down.

Chilean officials said the worst affected town appeared to be Parral, close to the epicentre.

Television pictures showed a major bridge at Concepcion had collapsed into the Biobio river.

Chilean television said there had been a fire involving chemicals in the town of Colina, 20km north of Santiago, but that it was now under control.

Several hospitals have had to be evacuated in a number of areas, including Santiago, because of structural damage.

One resident of Chillan, 100km from the epicentre, told Chilean television the shaking there lasted about two minutes.

Other residents of Chillan and Curico said communications were down but running water was still available.

A number of fatalities were reported in the Santiago municipality

Many of Chile's news websites and radio stations are still not accessible.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake struck at a depth of about 35km.

It also recorded eight aftershocks, the largest of 6.9 magnitude at 0801 GMT.

The USGS said tsunami effects had been observed at Valparaiso, west of Santiago, with a wave height of 1.69m above normal sea level.

One journalist speaking to Chilean national television from the city of Temuco, 600km south of Santiago, said many people there had left their homes, determined to spend the rest of the night outside. Some people on the streets were in tears.

A university professor in Santiago, Cristian Bonacic, said that this was a massive quake but that the cities seemed to have resisted well. Internet communications were working but not mobile phones.

Chile is highly vulnerable to earthquakes as it is situated on the Pacific "Rim of Fire", on the edge of the Pacific and South American plates.

Chile suffered the biggest earthquake of the 20th century when a 9.5 magnitude quake struck the city of Valdivia in 1960, killing 1,655 people.

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Chile well prepared for quakes

By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

It is not possible to predict the time and magnitude of an earthquake, but certain places on the Earth know they are always at risk from big tremors. Chile is one of those places.

It lies on the "Ring of Fire", the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.

The magnitude 8.8 event that struck the country at 0634GMT on Saturday occurred at the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, just off shore and at a depth of about 35km (20 miles).

The biggest city close by is Concepcion, just over 100km to the south.

Collapsed buildings and widespread disruption will have been unavoidable.

Because the quake occurred below the sea floor, tsunamis were also generated, and alerts were issued not just for the Chilean coast but across the Pacific in general.

The Nazca and South American tectonic plates are vast slabs of the Earth's surface and grind past each other at a rate of about 80mm per year.

The Nazca plate, which makes up the Pacific Ocean floor in this region, is being pulled down and under the South American coast.

It makes the region one of the most seismically active on the globe.

Since 1973, there have been 13 events of magnitude 7.0 or greater.

Gap-filler

Saturday's shock had its epicentre some 230km north of the source of the magnitude 9.5 tremor of May, 1960 - the biggest instrumentally recorded earthquake in the world. Thousands died in that event.

And it was also about 870km south of the 1922 8.5 event which killed several hundred people in central Chile.

Saturday's tremor is therefore something of a gap-filler between two massive historical events.

French and Chilean seismologists had recently completed a study looking at the way the land was moving in response to the strain building up as a result of the tectonic collision. Their analysis suggested the area was ripe for a big quake.

"This earthquake fills in an identified seismic gap," Dr Roger Musson, who is the British Geological Survey's Head of Seismic Hazard, told BBC News.

"The last major earthquake that occurred in this area was in 1835. This was a famous earthquake observed by Charles Darwin during his voyage on the Beagle. This is a place where the stress has been gathering for 170 years, and finally it's gone in another earthquake that's repeated this famous historical quake."

As is nearly always the case, the region was hit by a series of aftershocks. In the two and a half hours following the 90-second 8.8 event, the US Geological Survey reported 11 aftershocks, of which five measured 6.0 or above.

People will no doubt reflect on the scale of this event and compare it with the recent devastation in Haiti which has claimed an estimated 230,000 lives.

Saturday's quake was almost 1,000 times more powerful than the one to hit Port-au-Prince in Haiti. But size is not in itself an indicator of the likely number of deaths.

One major factor which will limit the number of deaths in Chile will be its greater level of preparedness.

Both the Chilean authorities and the Chilean people are generally well versed in how to cope in such an emergency.

Severe shaking

The Chilean National Emergency Office (Onemi) is responsible for coordinating responses from services such as fire fighters, medical teams and civil defence.

The emergency response system is organised at national, regional and local level.

"Chile is a seismic country. So, we must be prepared!" is the message from Onemi.

The office provides advice on how to prepare for earthquakes and other disasters, and how to behave when one strikes.

Scientists say severe shaking is likely to have been experienced along a 300km stretch of coastline, including in important urban centres such as Concepcion, Arauco, Lota, and Constitucion.

The biggest city close to the epicentre is Concepcion, which forms part of the second largest conurbation in the country with a population of about one million.

It is the capital of Concepcion Province and the Bio Bio region, the name of the river that flows through it.

Concepcion's history has been marked by earthquakes. After a huge tremor in 1751, Concepcion was moved from its original site, currently the town of Penco, to a location further from the sea in the Mocha Valley.

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Thai court starts giving verdict on Thaksin Shinawatra

Mr Thaksin's sustains his popularity from abroad through social media

Thailand's Supreme Court has begun to deliver its verdict on whether to strip former PM Thaksin Shinawatra's family of more than $2bn (£1.3bn) of assets.

The funds were frozen after Mr Thaksin's elected government was overthrown in a military coup in 2006.

Security forces are on high alert amid government predictions of violence by Mr Thaksin's red-shirted supporters if the court decision goes against him.

Mr Thaksin denies any wrongdoing and remains hugely popular in Thailand.

The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok says the court will be ruling on whether or not Mr Thaksin abused his power during his time as prime minister.

The court is expected to take several hours to finish delivering its verdict, finishing after the Thai stock market closes ahead of a three-day weekend.

The pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), which leads the red shirts, has said it has no plans for any demonstration until mid-March.

Political fight

Mr Thaksin, now living in Dubai, says he will continue his political fight against the "military-bureaucratic elite" that deposed him - with or without his family fortune.

THAKSIN TIMELINE 2001: Elected prime minister 19 Sept 2006: Ousted in military coup 25 Sept 2006: Corruption investigation begins 11 June 2007: Thaksin family assets frozen 25 Aug 2008: Prosecutors ask Supreme Court to seize frozen assets 21 Oct 2008: Sentenced in absentia to two years for conflict of interest in land deal Coup rumours as ruling looms

Tensions in Thailand remain high, however. Tens of thousands of extra police have been placed in and around the capital, and in areas of the north-east of the country where some of Mr Thaksin's supporters are based.

Local media have been predicting huge disruption, counting down to what they call "judgement day".

But some government and opposition figures have sought to calm fears.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is in charge of national security, tried to play down the wider significance of the case, saying it concerned only Mr Thaksin's wealth.

"Thaksin must respect and accept the rule of law as well as other Thai people. It's not possible for the whole Thai nation to respect the law but not Thaksin," he said.

Mr Thaksin's supporters have said they resent being painted as a violent rabble and insist they are fighting for democracy and against military-backed government.

Red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra want their leader home

"It [a judgement] would not put an end to Thailand's crisis because now Thaksin's supporters, the red shirts - the UDD - they have evolved into their own force to be reckoned with," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

The judges have looked at whether Mr Thaksin illegally deposited his fortune with family members because he was not allowed to hold company shares while prime minister, and whether his administration implemented policies to benefit his family's businesses.

They have also considered whether telecoms liberalisation measures unfairly benefited the country's main mobile phone service provider, then controlled by Mr Thaksin's family.

And they have investigated whether he unfairly promoted a $127m low-interest loan to neighbouring Burma to benefit a satellite communications company also controlled by his family.

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Coup rumours as Thailand awaits Thaksin assets ruling

By Rachel Harvey BBC News, Bangkok

Thailand's army has a history of taking matters into its own hands

Thailand's political divisions are under scrutiny once more this week ahead of a much anticipated legal ruling.

The Supreme Court is due to decide on Friday what to do with more than $2bn (£1.3bn) of assets belonging to the family of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

Local media have been rife with speculation that the verdict might be the catalyst for further violence involving his supporters.

And, despite robust denials from the current army chief, there are persistent rumours that another coup could be in the offing.

Confident steps

Thailand's military has long played a pivotal role in the country. Its influence stretches far beyond traditional realms of defence.

The latest graduation day at Bangkok's military cadet school was an event full of pride and possibility.

More than 500 freshly minted cadets, destined for the ranks of the army, navy, air force and police, all in identical tight white shirts and peaked caps, marched across the parade ground.

These were the confident steps of Thailand's future military leaders, their polished shoes glinting in the sun.

The Thai people know very well that a year under the military regime didn't do any better than any other type of regime Suchit Bunbongkarn Military expert

Piyachart Siriboon finished top of his class. But his ambitions do not end here - he wants to rise to the highest ranks.

He is well on track - and certainly on message

"Our main duty is to protect the nation, the king and the people," he said.

"We also have other roles, less important, to help development in the country and improve lives."

The glaring omission in that list is any mention of a duty to serve the elected government.

Show of strength

The oversight is telling. Thailand's military has a history of taking matters into its own hands, most recently in September 2006.

Mr Thaksin has vowed to continue his fight to return to politics

One of the justifications offered by the coup leaders then was that Mr Thaksin had abused his position as prime minister to enrich himself and his family.

That argument is now at the centre of the case before the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile Mr Thaksin still has influence even from exile in Dubai.

At a recent business dinner at a Bangkok hotel he was the VIP speaker, joining the guests via satellite link.

Defiant as ever, he berated the current government, a shaky coalition installed by parliament rather than elected by popular mandate.

His image stared down from screens all around the huge ballroom as Mr Thaksin vowed to continue what he called his fight for justice.

Show of strength

The police and army have been practicing riot control drills amid warnings of possible violence from Mr Thaksin's supporters should the court verdict go against him.

This is a very deliberate show of strength designed to send a clear message.

Disturbances will not be tolerated and Thailand's security forces stand ready to intervene if necessary.

Our role is to protect, and anyone who wants to get political should resign Piyachart Siriboon, cadet

But despite the recent hyperbole, that does not necessarily mean another coup is being hatched.

Seasoned observers, like Suchit Bunbongkarn, a military expert at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn university, says times have changed.

"They [the military] know quite well that if they launch a coup, it doesn't mean they can rule the country," he said.

"And the Thai people know very well that a year under the military regime didn't do any better than any other type of regime.

"So they tend to think, 'OK, let's give democracy a try'."

Military cadets like Piyachart Siriboon seem to be in tune with that new thinking.

"The police and army should not get involved in politics," he said firmly.

"Our role is to protect, and anyone who wants to get political should resign."

The young generation seems to be embracing new ways of thinking.

But in the current febrile atmosphere, many Thais will still question whether the old ways of the old guard have really been left behind.

Source

~~~~~~~~~

Commentary

From everything I've read, a good democratically elected government lead by Taksin Shinowat, was overthrown by a military regime.

How can i ever support that? That's pure injustice.

Circumcision: Zimbabwe's latest anti-HIV weapon

By Steve Vickers BBC News, Harare

Lovemore bravely looks on at the work of the doctor and nurse as they perform the circumcision.

The operation is done under local anaesthetic

"It's numb, man, I can't feel a thing," he says.

"It reduces the risk of transmitting HIV, so whatever's needed for me to be safe, I've got to do it. But I intend to remain faithful to my wife."

Lovemore is one of about 3,000 men who have been circumcised since Zimbabwe's government launched a programme in mid-2009.

In the next eight years the government aims to carry out the operation on 80% of all young men in the country - three million people in all.

Circumcision is not widely practised among Zimbabwe's cultural and religious groups, but the centuries-old procedure is now regarded as a key weapon in the country's fight against the spread of HIV and Aids .

Trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa have shown that the operation, in which the foreskin is removed from the penis, reduces by 60% the risk of a man contracting HIV - the virus that causes Aids.

Condoms and abstinence

Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV prevalence in the world - 13.7% in the 15 to 49 age group according to Ministry of Health statistics from 2009.

Male circumcision should not be sold as the magic bullet Dr Karin Hatzold Population Services International

The government says the figures have been improving since 2007, when prevalence was more than 18%.

Officials say this is largely due to promotion of condoms, abstinence, and faithfulness to one partner.

Talent, who is 20 years old and single, is well informed of the risks of contracting HIV and is prepared to have the surgery. He is also aware of the abstinence message.

"I'm doing it for sexual hygiene, I understand that it reduces the risk of you getting infected with HIV," he says.

"But it doesn't permit you to then go and sleep around."

But some revellers at a Harare nightclub were less well-informed about the procedure.

"I'm really concerned about whether you'd live after the operation, because some people bleed to death," said one young man.

"It's a dangerous operation from what I've heard."

And 25-year-old Methembe is completely against the idea.

"I won't get circumcised, never. It would affect my sexual appetite. But for those who want, it's their choice," he said.

"Get circumcised, but you must still use condoms. Those people who are queuing for the operation believe that they will be immune to HIV, but they must know that they should also use condoms."

'Most effective'

Patients are given counselling and HIV testing before undergoing the operation, which is free of charge.

Those who test positive are advised not to have the surgery, as it could be bad for their health.

The programme was accompanied by an advertising campaign

Circumcision reduces the risk of HIV infection because the inner layer of the foreskin is particularly susceptible to tearing and abrasions during sex, allowing the virus to enter the bloodstream more easily.

Dr Karin Hatzold, whose US-based group Population Services International sponsors the project, says circumcision will have a huge effect.

"It's the most effective intervention that we know today which can really save a lot of lives in terms of HIV acquisition," she says.

"But 60% is not 100%, so male circumcision should not be sold as the magic bullet.

"All the other behaviour interventions [such as abstinence and faithfulness] as well as the use of male and female condoms are as important, so they should all be used together."

The operation is carried out under local anaesthetic using the most cost-effective technique, known as the forceps method, at a cost of $40 (£26) for each patient.

The male circumcision programme has recently been taken to the armed forces, and it will be expanded further this year.

Zimbabwe has ramped up its expenditure on HIV prevention in recent years - and it will be hoping its latest programme reaps suitable rewards.

Source

Microsoft shuts down global spam network

Infected PCs are under the control of cyber criminals

Microsoft has won court approval to shut down a global network of computers which it says is responsible for more than 1.5bn spam messages every day.

A US judge granted the firm's request to shut down 277 internet domains, which it said were used to "command and control" the so-called Waledac botnet.

A botnet is a network of infected computers under the control of hackers.

The firm said that closing the domains would mean that up to 90,000 PCs would stop receiving orders to send out spam.

A recent analysis by the firm found that between 3-21 December "approximately 651 million spam e-mails attributable to Waledac were directed to Hotmail accounts alone".

STAYING SAFE ONLINE Use anti-spyware and anti-virus programs On at least a weekly basis update anti-virus and spyware products Install a firewall and make sure it is switched on Make sure updates to your operating system are installed Take time to educate yourself and family about the risks Monitor your computer and stay alert to threats Hi-tech crime: A glossary

It said it was one of the 10 largest botnets in the US.

Machines in a botnet have usually been infected by a computer virus or worm. Typically, users do not know their machine has been hijacked.

Microsoft said that although it had effectively shut down the network, thousands of computers would still be infected with malware and advised people to run anti-virus software.

The court order was part of what was called "Operation b49".

Along with intelligence organisation Shadowserver, the University of Washington and security firm Symantec, Microsoft managed to get a court in Alexandria, Virginia, to force Verisign, which manages the .com domain, to temporarily switch off the domains.

Microsoft said it was the result of months of investigation and described it as a legal first.

"This action has quickly and effectively cut off traffic to Waledac at the .com or domain registry level, severing the connection between the command and control centres of the botnet and most of its thousands of zombie computers around the world."

Source

SeaWorld trainer dies in killer whale attack in Orlando

Trainer Dawn Brancheau had 16 years' experience

A trainer at the SeaWorld park in Orlando, Florida, has died after being attacked by a killer whale.

Witnesses said the whale had jumped and grabbed Dawn Brancheau by the waist from a poolside platform before dragging her underwater.

Guests were evacuated while fire crews tried to rescue the 40-year-old, but they were unable to revive her.

The orca, Tilikum, was also involved in the death of a female trainer in Canada in 1991, reports said.

Other orcas were also said to have attacked trainers at SeaWorld parks in 2006 and 2004.

'Shaking her violently'

Chuck Tompkins, SeaWorld parks' head of animal training, was quoted by Reuters news agency saying: "She was rubbing the killer whale's head, and [it] grabbed her and pulled her in."

SeaWorld's president said Dawn Brancheau was highly experienced

SeaWorld said an investigation was under way into Wednesday afternoon's death of Ms Brancheau, a trainer with 16 years' experience.

Jim Solomons, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Office, said early accounts indicated she could have slipped and fallen into the tank.

He said it was too early to tell if she had been attacked by the 12,000lb (5,450kg) orca.

But witnesses told a different story.

Park visitor Victoria Biniak told a local TV channel that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience what they were about to see.

FEARSOME PREDATOR The killer whale (Orcinus orca) is largest species of dolphin family Known as orcas, they roam all the oceans, from the Arctic and Antarctic to tropical seas Can specialise in particular prey: salmon, sea lions, seals, or walruses, even large whales Considered under threat due to pollution, loss of prey and habitat Despite its savage reputation, there have been very few documented attacks on humans After success of 1993 film Free Willy, the movie's star Keiko was freed near his native Iceland

At that point, she said, the whale "took off really fast, and then he came back around to the glass, jumped up, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started shaking her violently. The last thing we saw was her shoe floating."

Audience member Eldon Skaggs told AP news agency the whale had "pulled her under and started swimming around with her".

A male spectator who witnessed the tragedy gave CNN a similar version of events.

Brazilian tourist Joao Lucio DeCosta Sobrinho and his girlfriend were at an underwater viewing area when they saw the whale with the trainer in its mouth.

The entertainment park, known for its killer whale, seal and dolphin displays, was closed after the incident. SeaWorld in San Diego also suspended its killer whale show.

Tilikum is said to have been involved in previous incidents, the BBC's Andy Gallacher reports from Florida.

A SeaWorld spokesman said the orca had been one of three whales blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after she had fallen in a pool at a marine park in British Columbia, Canada.

Naked man

After the whale - nicknamed Telly - was sold to SeaWorld Orlando it was involved in a second incident when authorities discovered the body of a naked man lying across his back in 1999.

Officials later concluded the man, who had either crept into SeaWorld after closing time or hidden in the park until it closed, probably drowned after suffering hypothermia.

BBC's Andy Gallacher: Reports say this whale has a dubious past

There have been incidents involving other whales at SeaWorld.

In November 2006, a male trainer escaped with a broken foot after he was bitten and held underwater by a female killer whale during a show at SeaWorld's San Diego park.

In 2004, another whale at the company's San Antonio park attempted to bite a trainer, but he too escaped.

Though called a killer whale, the orca (Orcinus orca), is actually the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family.

Animal rights group Peta says it has long been asking SeaWorld to stop taking wild, ocean-going mammals and confining them to an area that, to them, is "the size of a bathtub".

Source

Child migrant recalls his 'stolen life'

By Alison Holt BBC News

Packed off with promise of better life

It is a cold, snowy morning when I meet Rex Wade at his house in Cornwall.

He is padding about in his flip-flops. He puts it down to the years spent growing up in Australia.

He is probably one of the last children sent half way round the world from Britain to Australia.

There are no exact numbers. The Child Migrants Trust estimates about 7,000 made that journey after World War II; academics put the figure at just over 3,000.

Rex was in care and thought he would find a family who would adopt him Down Under.

He was 11 when he left. He is now 51 and has no doubt his experiences there ruined his life, leading to years spent in and out of trouble as he tried to find somewhere he belonged.

Rex Wade was 11 years old when he was sent to Tasmania

He was sent to a children's home in Tasmania where he says he faced physical abuse and hardship.

"They were horrible. There will be other kids out there who know, from other homes, they were used as slave labour," he said.

"And there was no love, no kindness.

"I spent all those years out there and my life was stolen. They were all wrong, they let it go on."

'Deplorable conditions'

The Australian government has already apologised for the abuse children like Rex faced and on Wednesday, the British prime minister will say sorry on behalf of the successive UK governments who allowed them to be sent in the first place.

Although child rescue charities usually organised the migration, it was done with government approval. Its involvement can be tracked in the national archives.

It would be glib of me as chief executive of Barnardo's in 2010 to apologise for something that was done in large part before I was born Martin Narey, Barnardo's UK to make child migrants apology

The BBC has seen a confidential report written by British officials in 1956.

They went to Australia to look at the places where children were being sent, visiting 26 homes, two thirds of those approved by the British government. Their conclusions were damning.

For instance, one place was described as isolated, with "deplorable conditions", and the boys "appeared unhappy".

Accommodation at another was primitive, with managers "rigid and narrow in outlook".

The worst 10 places were blacklisted but while the government decided what to do with the report, children were still being sent to those homes.

According to Steven Constantine, professor of modern history at Lancaster University, child migration after the war was part of an Australian policy to increase the white British population.

And charities in the UK strongly believed children would benefit.

"The pressures on the government to continue this policy come very strongly from the Australian government and also from these very powerful and prestigious child rescue societies," said Prof Constantine.

"The Church of England were involved in sending children, the Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church.

"For them to suddenly be told that what they'd been doing was inappropriate, the politicians of the day were rather cautious of giving offence to such powerful lobby groups."

'Put right'

One of those powerful organisations was the Fairbridge Society which sent Rex to Australia. It now views the policy as totally unacceptable, but says it was supported by government.

Barnardo's was another organisation that sent children. It too regrets what happened, but its chief executive Martin Narey believes saying sorry is not appropriate.

"It would be glib of me as chief executive of Barnardo's in 2010 to apologise for something that was done in large part before I was born," he said.

"What I would like to do is something much more practical. It is to do everything we can to put right any hurt that is caused."

They are offering any children they were involved with help to go back through their family records.

As for Rex, he believes the apology from the prime minister is important, but long overdue.

Source

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A Dark View Into the Future of Game Addiction

A Dark View Into the Future of Game Addiction

A truly shocking illustration of young boy’s unfortunate addiction to the popular massively multiplayer online video game World of Warcraft.

From the artist Eran "pyxelated" Cantrell:

First, World of Warcraft- and videogames in general- were not specific inspirations in the creation of this picture. Obviously these "total experience" VR goggles don't really exist. I was more concerned with escapism in general. Not just the fact that it is a pervasive facet of our culture, but the fact that it is downright EASY. It's easy to relate to it, because everyone escapes into something when they can't handle life. I, personally, used to escape into books to avoid my problems.

Books, videogames, drugs, food, TV- anything can be used as a tool for escapism. Videogames, and other such distractions, are not the cause of the problem, they are only a symptom. If efforts are to be made, it should be at the source of things- the very nature of our society, and of our species. By attacking the symptom, and not the problem, we compromise ourselves, our civil rights and the very cause that we hoped to accomplish in the first place.

Reality by Eran "pyxelated" Cantrell [deviantART]

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From writer with love

A POINT OF VIEW

Ever since the art of letter writing was perfected in the Renaissance, private letters and intimate secrets have gone hand in hand. Lisa Jardine reflects on the art and dangers of writing secret missives - from love notes and confidential documents to illicit text messages.

Among the 35 or so luminous paintings that survive by 17th century Dutch artist Jan Vermeer, six of the best-known take as their subject a young woman reading a love letter.

Sometimes she is alone, sometimes a female servant hovers discreetly at her shoulder. In some she is engrossed in reading, in others she is absorbed in composing a letter herself.

Jan Vermeer's paintings often portrayed women reading love letters.

Where the maid is poised to carry the completed missive to its destination, she holds the precious page, folded and sealed with wax, against her bodice, the name of its intended recipient concealed from us.

How do we know these are love letters? Well, to begin with, the young woman is to all intents and purposes alone, in a period when decorum required that when a single woman received a written communication a parent or relative ought to be present. Often a letter intended for a daughter would be enclosed within one addressed to her father or mother, respectfully requesting that it be passed to her.

Usually the young woman concerned would then have read her letter aloud. So here we have a young woman reading a message which has apparently been delivered directly to her by a personal maid, and is pored over unsupervised.

Erotic intensity

This helps to explain why in each of these paintings the expression on the young woman's face lies somewhere between the complicit and the furtive. Besides, the paintings are atmospherically infused with an aura of delicious secrecy. The light flooding through a half-open window illuminates her face, which is filled with barely-disguised anticipation. Something illicit is going on here, that is for sure.

Fiction of the 17th and 18th Centuries, often uses the dramatic possibilities offered by covert exchanges of letters to heighten erotic intensity. In Eliza Haywood's popular amatory novel Love in Excess, published in 1720, handwriting is the clue that gives away the lover's identity, threatening the reputation of the sender.

Recognition of the handwriting can add a note of conviction, or at any rate an element of pleasure, to a letter Erasmus of Rotterdam

The devastatingly attractive Count D'elmont, in some confusion because he is simultaneously being pursued by two desirable young women, returns the wrong love letter to his rejected sweetheart Amena. She recognizes the handwriting as that of her best friend, thereby discovering to her dismay that her trusted confidante is in fact her secret rival.

Samuel Richardson's 18th-century epistolary novels Pamela and Clarissa are both couched in the form of intricate exchanges of intimate letters, in which passions and betrayals are candidly revealed, to the delight or dismay of the letters' recipients.

Closer to our own day, the plot of Edgar Allen Poe's short story, The Purloined Letter, turns on the detective Dupin's recognising the handwriting on a fragment of a compromising letter stolen from a lady of Royal status.

An obliging letter

In his textbook, On the Education of boys, the 16th-century pedagogue Erasmus of Rotterdam stresses how important it is that those in high places should be able to write a good legible hand themselves, rather than relying on a secretary:

"Recognition of the handwriting can add a note of conviction, or at any rate an element of pleasure, to a letter [he writes]. One should remember that the apostle Paul sent his Letter to the Galatians entirely in his own handwriting.

When we get letters in their own hand from friends and fellow-scholars, how we welcome them and seem to be listening to their very voices and to be looking at them face to face."

Hand-written letters are harder to counterfeit. Erasmus's Treatise on Letter Writing, which went through numerous editions in Latin and the vernaculars after its first publication in the early 1520s, defines a familiar letter as "a kind of mutual exchange of speech between absent friends".

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Starting with simple instructions on the formal Latin ways of beginning and ending a letter, he goes on to provide lists of phrases to be used in writing letters of all types, from a "friendly consolation with a rebuke" to "a letter of invective", "an obliging letter" or a "letter of entreaty".

Few of us can still find time to write these kinds of carefully crafted familiar letters nowadays. The finer points of epistolary exchange are no longer observed. And the only attempt I have made to dissemble my own handwriting recently was on the Valentine's Day card I sent my husband last weekend.

Yet the situation remains very much as it was four centuries ago when it comes to interception and inadvertent disclosure of confidential correspondence. Now as then, reputations are wrecked by a single indiscreet communication which has fallen into the wrong hands being circulated and broadcast to a wider public.

Electronic subterfuge

Except that nowadays, amorous liaisons are more likely to be betrayed by emails and text messages than by purloined letters.

Golfer Tiger Woods is just one imprudent husband whose infidelity was discovered when his wife read passionate text messages to another woman on his mobile phone. Footballer Ashley Cole allegedly "bombarded a pretty secretary with nude photos and raunchy text messages" in 2008, sending "hundreds of texts over a two-month period". Now these have been passed to a tabloid newspaper, and he too has some explaining to do to his wife.

Handwritten letters are harder to counterfeit

Our 18th-century amorous fiction-writer Eliza Haywood would have relished the way in which intimate exchanges of electronic messages, conducted with all the careful subterfuge Vermeer's young women used to conceal their love letters, once suddenly disclosed, turn amatory worlds upside-down.

There are, however, some contexts in which real letters, set out in the way people used to be taught to do at school, are still sent and received. These are the ones written by lawyers acting on a client's behalf, and generally dispatched to other lawyers acting for another client.

Here again the electronic age makes it harder than ever before to keep the most sensitive of letters confidential. Although lawyer's communications continue to be composed on paper, they then tend to be scanned, and dispatched electronically. It is a simple matter for such a letter to be circulated in multiple copies at the click of a mouse.

Virtually indestructible

Earlier this month, we learned that Lord Neuberger's ruling in the Binyam Mohamed case had been delivered with a crucial paragraph deleted, after a last-minute intervention by a top lawyer representing the government. Having read the draft judgment (which was sent out electronically, but encrypted), the QC "protested over the strength of a judge's 'exceptionally damaging' criticism of the British security service", and Lord Neuberger was persuaded to modify his ruling. The following day, the letter sent by Jonathan Sumption QC to Lord Neuberger, could be viewed in its entirety on a reputable newspaper's website.

Both the deletion and the leaked letter caused a furore among the participants in the legal action. Those acting for Binyam Mohamed deplored the alteration to Lord Neuberger's ruling; those acting for the government demanded and got an apology from the QC who had released the letter to the press. No doubt more under-cover documents will emerge before the matter is settled, but of one thing I personally feel sure. I prefer to live in a country whose judiciary generally supports our right of free access to information, rather than one which would have kept the entire matter tidily under wraps.

Letters used to be considered a genre in themselves, a literary form. Intellectuals and artists corresponded with one another in the hope or expectation that their letters might be preserved for posterity, and would one day appear in print. Today, by contrast, we treat electronic communications - emails and texts - as the most fleeting and ephemeral of things, barely worth dignifying with our attention with regard to punctuation, spelling or grammar.

The humble love letter is being replaced by text and email

Yet these messages are virtually indestructible, lingering on back-up discs and in electronic archives long after we have forgotten we ever wrote them. These are the fatal exchanges that may eventually come home to haunt us, months and years after they were sent.

In the 17th century when letter-writing was part of everybody's education and their composition a matter of pride, their survival was a matter of chance. As such they provide an erratic window into the past. But now, when we hardly give a second thought to how we express ourselves in an email or text, we can never be sure that that missive will not eventually be retrieved and closely scrutinised in the public domain. Caveat scripter - writer beware.

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