It is the last Sunday in August. The month has been a mixed bag but bad news has dominated the media. No change there then.

During the last week British Royal Prince Harry behaved "inappropriately" in a foreign land and is paying the price. A naked romp in America was caught on camera and the fall-out has been laughable. Media sources in the US have jumped onto the news, presumably for light relief from the country's problems.

The 2012 election campaign trundles on and in order to gain political leverage the "gloves are off". Romney raised the "birther" issue again, Republican Todd Akin offended many with ill thought out words on rape victims and abortion and more shootings were reported in the US. More unsettling has been the extent of hate that some Americans obviously feel. In a week when Europe watched the final day in court for mass murderer Anders Breivik racial and religious hate was all the more depressing.

Breivik was sentenced to 21 years for the murder of 77 people and for injuring another 240. His actions were fueled by hate. He espoused eloquently to justify his actions but in reality it was pure hatred. As act of evil. As he spoke his last words in court he began to say that he was only sorry that he did not kill more. At that point his microphone was turned off, denying him the end to his "well thought out" actions.

It was shocking to realise that Breivik, throughout his imprisonment so far, has been able to post on line and communicate with like minded individuals. The Norwegian authorities had given him some leeway in order for him to open up and the trial to be effective. That now has to stop. There are enough places on-line where hate is spewed and words manipulated.

It must gall Breivik to read that the political party he tried to attack has seen an increase in members since his massacre. Rather than deter people it has made them realise that far right extremists must be stopped.

In the UK Prince Harry's antics look set to be used as an excuse to restrict the freedoms of the Press. The Leveson inquiry has been investigating allegations of phone hacking and press intrusion and so Harry is fuel for the fire. The Palace contacted the British Press complaints commission to strong arm publications not to publish the naked images. In the end The Sun flouted this on the grounds that stifling the Press is wrong.

Whilst we could not care less about the Prince we agree. Countries that stifle the Press have included Gaddafi's Libya, Assad's Syria and Hitler's Germany.  Such regimes want to control the media in  order to control the people. The UK must hang on to a free and independent Press. The UK after all is quick to accuse such regimes of manipulating the media for their own ends. Need we say more?

Syria has continued to be blown apart. It is hard to ascertain what is really going on. The only things certain are that people are dying and the country is all but destroyed. The West seems keen to want to send in foreign troops, no doubt for hidden agendas.

Europe continues to fall apart financially. Spain is now also broke. Antonios Samaras the new Greek leader has visited Germany and France to ask for more time to implement the austere measures necessary for further bail outs. He should give up the ghost. Merkel in Germany gave him short shrift. Whilst she praised the Greeks for the changes implemented so far she would not agree to a time extension. No surprise there then. He went on to France to meet with Francois Hollande but there was still "no room at the inn"

Perhaps as they all know that War is coming they have bigger fish to fry. It could be Syria. It could be Iran. It could be Global. The only thing right now which seems certain is that War is on the cards. Heaven help us all.

In the UK the Paralympics will begin on August 29 and run until September 9. These games will not receive the heavy press attention that the BBC gave London 2012. They will be aired on Channel 4 in the UK. The tickets however are selling well and it is expected to be another successful Games. There will be awe inspiring performances from people who would have been shunned at one time and resigned to inactivity.

RIP to Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the Moon with those now immortal words, One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for Mankind. Whether they were off the cuff words or well rehearsed does not matter. It was an awe inspiring moment in history.

Autumn is around the corner and this weekend in the UK it is the final Bank Holiday before Christmas. What a sobering thought. The weather is up to its old tricks and rain will make the weekend a wash out. It will not dampen the enthusiasm nor colour of the Nottinghill Carnival in London though. Have a great two days folks.

Till next week, stay safe, drop the hate and chin up. TTFN

In the UK the week was dominated by the Olympics. Due to kick off on Friday July 27 people wondered just how successful the opening ceremony and Games would be. Other considerations were, would the weather play ball, it is Summer after all, plus  would security issues have been resolved.

The opening ceremony started late, compared to those in other countries. Perhaps it was in order to be shown around the World. Time difference can cause problems. The event ran until around 00:45 BST. The length of the ceremony had been cut in recent weeks in order to ensure that the crowds could travel home on transport provided.

Was the ceremony a success? Well that depends. Many people loved its eccentricity and quirkiness whilst others felt it did not portray Britain at its best. Certainly London did not have the amount of money to spend on the ceremony that China did for the previous games. Perhaps part of the problem too was following China. After all it is always easier to follow a failure than a huge success. For us we enjoyed the colour, humour and Britishness but found it did drag on a bit.

Now though it is all about the games. At time of writing British competitors have yet to win a medal. Normally the host nation is very successful in the Games but the pressure to succeed could have a negative impact. Time will tell.

In the UK BBC1 is offering full coverage of the Games which has meant this weekend that it has aired Olympics, News and not much else. In fact nothing else.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was one of many high fliers who attended the opening ceremony. In London to raise funds for his election campaign his stay was brief. He is now in Jerusalem, hoping to raise more money. It is a certainty that his Monday fund raiser at the King David Hotel will raise millions. Blood money we suppose. Money for promises made. Such is the event that Mitt has barred any representatives of the media from attending. So it will be dodgey deals behind closed doors. Selling a seat in the White House overseas, although many attending will be Americans flown in for their wealth.

Syria has continued along its destructive path. Each side blames the other. The West has issued more warnings to the regime but one has to wonder how western governments would react faced with violent rebels. Of course the difference is that Bashar Assad is a dictator and we have free and fair elections, don't we? 

Well if you take a look at Mitt Romney's quest for campaign money you have to wonder how free and fair the elections are. Do they not simply go to the highest bidder? The UK is not much better though and it must surely lead many to believe that an overhaul of our elective processes is long overdue.

Strange weather has continued to dog the world. For now the British Summer has returned which is good news for Olympians. It is not set to last though. Too many countries have faced weather extremes this year. Some have to be due to mankind's terrible track record on caring for our environment. China is currently experiencing torrential flooding in parts of the country and heat waves in the south.

Whatever is behind the strange weather patterns may never be known. It could just be one of those things, but we doubt it. Taking care of our environment should be top of our list. Without the World we are no more, when all is said and done. Of course each person wants others to make the necessary changes rather than do so themselves.

Whatever you are up to this week have fun, stay safe and spare a thought for the environment. Remember every action has a reaction. It would be good.

Footnote: We have not mentioned the Eurozone as it is becoming an unmentionable. Heaven help us all.

One talking point yet again this week has been the weather. It has not been just the UK obsessed with this though. In the US record high temperatures have caused problems whilst in the UK heavy flooding has threatened to sink the country. In the case of loss of life though the UK has fared relatively well. At least one man has lost his life in the floods but in Russia this weekend more than 140 people died as flood waters rushed in whilst villagers slept. Emergency services in Russia are working hard to restore the affected area. 

The damp squib weather in the UK has played havoc with the Wimbledon schedule, this week, which is par for the course these days. Silverstone race track had to advise spectators to stay away as a sea of mud took hold. The UK deluge is set to continue, courtesy of the Jet Stream.

Brits are celebrating Andy Murray's historic entry into the mens singles final at Wimbledon. Celebrations may seem a little previous but whether he wins or not Murray is now in the history books. He becomes the first Brit to play in the final for 74 years. 

Good luck to Andy for today.

Deaths to foreign military in Afghanistan have continued, leaving it looking unlikely a safe country will result once we finally withdraw fully. Three UK soldiers were killed early in the week. UK military cuts announced this week must then have been a slap in the face to those in the military who work hard for a living?. Chiefs at the top look set to survive but whole regiments are to be lost to the cuts. Gaps will be filled with reservists which means the official line that the military is being streamlined to fit the 21st Century a nonsense. It is after all about saving money.

Yet late this week it was announced that Chancellor Osborne and the rest of the government have implemented much deeper cuts across the country than initially expected. The result is that £6.7bn was saved from government departments and spending was down by £11bn compared with 2010-11. The government plans had been for a reduction of £4.4bn so all in all a massive amount of savings.

The NHS also had an underspend, which was  £1.7bn . The government maintain that this is down to a reduction in IT costs and not to front line staff cuts and the like. As this blogger is what is termed a front line NHS worker she would have to disagree. Black alert is the most severe,as far as hospital bed availability goes, and only used to be called rarely. Even during these summer months it is now a regular occurrence in our Trust as bed numbers are cut, waiting lists extended and job vacancies unfilled. As workers wait to see where the axe will fall next morale is at an all time low. This is expected from the Tory part of the Coalition but the Liberal Democrats?

So will Chancellor Osborne use the money saved wisely? Doubtful. This week it was revealed that Chancellor Osborne is to fight the EU planned crack down on bankers bonuses. It has not escaped most people that the UK government always implements the rotten legislation from the EU and wriggles out of the essential. Most people believe that the EU proposals would not hit the bonus payments hard enough. That is most people except for the government and the bankers.

The proposals would set a maximum 1:1 ratio of bonus to pay. In other words if you "earn" £20,000 your bonus would not exceed that amount. Hardly a strong measure. What about paying a bonus at all when your bank is losing money, being bailed out by the public and those same people are experiencing an ongoing pay freeze?

On the World Stage Mitt Romney continues to raise obscene amounts of money for the US 2012 Election, Syrians continue to blow each other up, probably with outside influence, 1% of people wallow in excess wealth whilst the rest of us tighten our belts and the World becomes that little bit more insane. Stay safe till next week. TTFN

Tags: weekly news wrap, weekly round up of news, That was the week that was, TWTWTW, bankers, bonuses, madness, politics, Chancellor Osborne

The week in the UK has been dominated by more ludicrous proposals from the Coalition Government. Smoking products hidden in shops, discreet labelling of cigarettes, confectionery and alcohol, online snooping and more. After the recent  fuel panic buying, this week it was stamps. Yes postage stamps. Faced with a huge increase in the price of stamps the Royal decided to preempt stock piling by shops and householders. In order to "protect its profits" it opted to ration the availability of said product. As the increase is not due until the end of April understandably customers have complained.

So much for free enterprise. Still with technology outstripping traditional methods of communicating the posted letter's days are numbered.

A ceasefire was implemented in Syria on Tuesday but already it has failed. The government of Syria could not guarantee it would not respond to more civil unrest and those wanting change were in no mood to stop protesting. The situation remains volatile with UN monitors making their way to Syria.

The US continues to be dominated by its forthcoming election. The GOP candidates campaigns are currently big news. Rick Santorum who had been in second place decided to withdraw this week but failed to endorse any one of the three remaining candidates. Although it is widely assumed that Mitt Romney will win the nomination it is not quite over yet.

As the week drew to a close Tax returns were up for inspection in the US. That is to say President Obama's tax return was. It seems that the political spin doctors are trying to wage a war on who paid the highest rate of tax, who has the most money and who pays less tax.

Whilst it is easy to see why the tax return issue in the US is important it detracts from the election proper. This applies to the option the GOP took to make a big deal out of Ann Romney. Allegedly accused of never working a day in her life it was in truth a valid assessment of so many politicians and their partners. They do not live in the real world nor face the ordinary day to day struggles of the man, woman or child on the street. They will of course have their own demons and challenges to face.

Mitt Romney as the heir presumptive to the White House has pulled out his etch a sketch and attempted to wow a wider group of GOP supporters. On Friday he spoke to the NRA, national rifle association. He managed to retain some credibility by not simply promising the earth, unlike Newt Gingrich.

The sad death of Trayvon Martin is still awaiting justice in the US but at least this week that moved one small step closer. The man who shot and killed him, George Zimmerman, will face trial for second degree murder late in May 2012.

This weekend in the UK the Annual Grand National steeplechase was run at Aintree. The field was quickly reduced in what became almost a farcical race (false starts) and a deadly one. Two horses lost their lives. Today one jockey has been on TV trying to justify this race. In doing so he said that in sport there is always the potential for  injuries and fatalities.

Whilst that may be true the argument is flawed. People have a choice whether to participate or not. People reap the rewards of successful competing. Sport should not rely on the potential suffering of an animal. If a person breaks a leg he or she does not receive a bullet to the brain. The latest race has renewed calls for race horsing to be banned or at the very least major animal welfare improvements to be made.

Till next week, ttfn

Tags: Grand National, ban horse racing, UK politics, Trayvon Martin, GOP, US 2012 election