Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Gilberto Barragan Balderas the 41 year old member of a Gulf drug cartel has been arrested by Mexican federal police as his birthday party. Balderas had been indicted in the US since 2008 on drug trafficking charges and was subject of a $5mil US Drug Enforcement Agency reward. Balderas was responsible for obtaining advanced notice of the movement and locations of military and state police patrols and mobile checkpoints, providing protection to shipments of cocaine and marijuana for both the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, before the bitter and deadly split between the two gangs. Balderas’ more recent responsibilities since the 2010 split that has resulted in thousands of Mexican turf battle killings, was to defend territory in Tamaulipas against attacks by the rival Los Zetas, as they attempt to expand into other territories.

Inspired by Mark Stevenson ow.ly/51wdC image source AP ow.ly/51vXp

Augustin Bizimungu the 58 year old former Rwandan Armed Forces general and chief of staff has been sentenced by the United Nations court for Rwanda to a 30 year prison term for his 1994 100 day murderous genocide of the minority Tutsis. The genocide targeted minority Tutsis referred to by Bizimungu as “cockroaches”, providing machetes to his Hutus militia followers resulting in the deaths of 800,000. The slaughter was triggered by the shooting down of a plane returning with the Hutu president Juvenal Habyarimana on board from peace talks with the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), providing the pretext for the slaughter. Prosecutors at the commencement of the court hearing took two and half hours to read the accusations against him which including rape, sexual abuse and humiliation of Tutsi women and children.

Inspired by Aislinn Laing ow.ly/51vcL image source Jane Some ow.ly/51vu0

Herman Cain the 65 year old US former chairman CEO of Godfather’s Pizza and a former ballistics mathematician in the US Navy, finally announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2012 election. Cain had earlier formed an exploratory committee for a potential campaign and suggested at a conference there may be a “dark horse candidate”. Cain has become renowned for his anti Muslim views, declaring that he will not appointed a Muslim to his administration or as a Judge. Cain has never held an elected office, and managed to lose his only attempt to seek nomination at a Georgia US Senate primary in 2004 with a minimal 25% vote. His attempts to date in raising campaign funds have been disastrous and may well hamper his prospects to run an effective campaign.

Inspired by Huffingtonpost ow.ly/50BFl image source Gage Skidmore ow.ly/50BRp

Saif al-Adel also known as Muhamad Ibrahim Makkawi, the 50 year old Egyptian explosives expert and former Egyptian Special Forces officer is reported to have been chosen as the interim leader of al-Qaeda after the death of Osama bin Laden in a dramatic US Navy Seals commando raid in Pakistan. Al-Adel is considered a leading strategist and military leader, is currently under indictment in the US for bombings of embassies in Africa. He has been credited with masterminding the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat, the repelling of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and training Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Bin Laden’s long-time deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri had been considered the likely successor, although not popular within the organization. Al-Adel’s interim appointment may well be to gauge reaction for someone outside the Muslim holy region of the Arabian Peninsula.

Inspired by Max Read ow.ly/50B4y image source france24 ow.ly/50BpG

Lars von Trier the 55 year old Danish film director and screenwriter, now not surprisingly has backed away from his claim to be a Nazi. Trier had been declared persona non grata by the Board of Directors at the Cannes Film Festival, for claiming in response to a question relating to his German roots that he was a Nazi. Trier stated at a news conference that he had sympathy for and an understanding of Adolf Hitler and Albert Speer, and that he was “OK. I’m a Nazi”. At a subsequent news conference he acknowledged his Nazi remark was just Danish humor but was stupid given the forum. Trier claims his comments were “very sarcastic and very rude, but that’s very Danish. I don’t sympathize with Hitler for one second”.

Inspired by Richard Lawson ow.ly/50AGz image source Rita Molnár ow.ly/50AXm

Britney Campbell the 8 year old beauty pageant contestant who was removed from the custody of her mother Kerry Campbell by Child Protection Services in San Francisco after revealing on network television that her mother provided frequent Botox injections to three locations on her face, has become the centre of medical and media frenzy. Campbell’s mother now claims that botox was never injected, and the incident was purely a stunt financed by the UK newspaper The Sun who provided the story along with scripts to follow during the recorded interview. During the interview Britney Campbell stated that while the injections on her face hurt, she was now use to the pain, and that she didn’t think wrinkles are nice on little girls. The Sun refutes Kerry Campbell’s claim and is considering legal action against her.

Inspired by Maureen O’Connor ow.ly/50Af3 image source abcnews ow.ly/50Aq7

Maria Owings Shriver the 55 year old Peabody award winning journalist author has pleaded for compassion, respect and privacy in the aftermath of her marriage breakdown and separation from bodybuilder actor Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. Shriver a member of the Kennedy clan was responding to the painful heartbreak resulting from the media coverage to the revelation that her husband had fathered a child 10 years earlier with a long time member of their household staff Mildred Baena. The media hyped ‘love child’ was born just days after Shriver gave birth to one of Schwarzenegger’s sons. Apart from the morality of Schwarzenegger’s actions and the consequences of his secrecy, questions now arise as to the ethics, and issues of consent in the nature of a potentially coercive relationship an employer has with household staff.

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Jemima Marcelle Khan the 36 year old UK writer and campaigner and former wife of retired Pakistai cricketer Imran Khan has been named on Twitter as having taken out a super-injunction to curtail publication of intimate photographs of her with television personality Jeremy Clarkson. Khan denies having taken out any such injunction, and claims to have received “vile hate tweets” from her Twitter followers. “OMG- Rumour that I have a super injunction preventing publication of “intimate” photos of me and Jeremy Clarkson. NOT TRUE!,” Clarkson and his wife Francie have both come out to support Khan, denying the existence of photographs or any injunction. Khan has expressed concern for her children at the potential for bullying at school, particularly her 14 year old son who is “painfully shy and hates any fuss”.

Inspired by Steven Swinford ow.ly/4Vl7R image source webparkz ow.ly/4Vlec

Avram Noam Chomsky the 82 year old US philosopher and social activist who recently released an article on the Bin Laden killing, has come under criticism from author journalist Christopher Hitchens relating to Chomsky’s moral equivalence of the Abbottabad raid to a hypothetical Iraqi commando assassination of George W Bush and the dumping of him at sea. Chomsky had used the comparison to highlight the Abbottabad operation as violating norms of international law to assassinate an unarmed ‘suspect’ who had never been brought to trial. Chomsky who believes Bush’s crimes exceed those of Bin Laden, and is not a ‘suspect’ but clearly the one who gave orders to commit international war crimes against Iraq resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths, destruction of the country, and a bitter sectarian conflict.

Inspired by Christopher Hitchens ow.ly/4VkzS image source Duncan Rawlinson ow.ly/4VkMv

Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin the 20 year old daughter of former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and single mother at age 18 has admitted her brand new facial appearance is the result of surgical procedures, claiming the surgery was a necessity for medical reasons and the ‘improvement’ was a welcome byproduct. The surgery has resulted in a much longer thinner oval shaped face from the original rounded model. Palin works on the speaker’s circuit advocating sexual abstinence to teens, asking between $15,000 and $30,000 for each appearance, however a recent speaking engagement at Washington University was cancelled after students protested at the excessive fee to be paid from student funds for the appearance. Palin recently purchased a five bedroom house with cash, while seeking crippling child support from her former fiancée Levi Johnson.

Inspired by Maureen O’Connor ow.ly/4VjXl image source Emily ow.ly/4Vk5A

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known by his stage name ‘Common’, the 38 year old US hip hop artist and black power advocate, has become the centre of a controversy between the White House and right wing extremist commentators. ‘Common’ at the invitation of First Lady Michelle Obama appeared at the White House for a poetry reading, resulting in an outcry over the lyrics of his songs that provide support to specific convicted killers in which the evidence leading to their convictions being somewhat questionable. While most commentators have described ‘Common’ as progressive and positive, the more extremist find cause to be outraged over the lyrics of a couple of songs taken out of context of his overall prolific body of work known for its socially consciousness.

Inspired by Matt Schneider ow.ly/4VjNk image source Tuomas Vitikainen ow.ly/4VjMv

Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei the 50 year old Iranian politician and advisor confidant to President Ahmadinejad has been arrested for using ‘black magic’ through invoking spirits. Mashaei’s relationship to Ahmadinejad has been a source of discontent to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mashaei was forced to resign his new appointment in 2009  as First Vice President due to the Ayatollah’s pressure, but was immediately appointed by Ahmadinejad as his chief of staff. Twenty five allies close to Ahmadinejad including Mashaei have been arrested and now charged with sorcery relating to the mythical Hidden Imam Mahdi, the revered savior of Shia Islam, who similar to the Christian rapture, is claimed to be nearing his return. The accusations against the 25 include skills in metaphysics and connections with the unknown worlds.

Inspired by Saeed Kamali Dehghan ow.ly/4VjhG image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4Vjmu

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, known as DSK, the 62 year old French economist, politician and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following his arrest in New York on allegations of sexual assault, has now been indicted by a grand jury to face charges relating to the allegations. Strauss-Kahn was believed to be on the verge of announcing his intention to stand for election to the French Presidency as the Socialist Party candidate, against the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.  The majority of French believe the allegations are a smear campaign to stifle his candidacy, however a 32 year old maid at his hotel suite claims Strauss-Kahn emerged naked from the bathroom to chase her about the spacious suite and began sexually assaulting her, including forcing her to perform oral sex.

Inspired by NYDaily News ow.ly/4UQ07 image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4UQ4S

Claude Stanley Choules the 110 year old and very last of the First (Great) World War veterans has died, bringing to a close the last of the remaining combat veterans, particularly in Choules’ case who served also in the Second World War. Choules of UK origin moved to Australia in 1926 never to return again to the UK, joining the Royal Australian Navy until his retirement. During the First World War, Choules served aboard the battleship HMS Revenge, the flagship of the British First Battle Squadron. Aboard the battleship he was able to witness the surrender of the German Imperial Navy in 1918 ten days after the Armistice, only to then witness the fleet scuttled at Scapa Flow by their German crews to avoid them falling into the British Hands.

Inspired by James Meikle ow.ly/4UPS0 image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4UPRt

Jennifer Robinson the Australian lawyer instructing the international barrister Geoffrey Robertson for Julian Assange against his extradition proceedings to Sweden and possibly the United States has suggested she had been intimidated by the US Justice Administration and put under surveillance. Robinson described as a high achiever believes Assange has no hope of receiving a fair trial in Sweden with the politically motivated prosecution being brought to satisfy the wrath of the US government. Robinson singles out the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard for complicity in the persecution of Assange over her statement that leaking US documents on WikiLeaks was an ‘illegal act’, but could not identify any Australian laws that Assange had breached. Robinson accused her of kowtowing to the US for political opportunity.

Inspired by Nicole Hasham ow.ly/4Q9Yg image source arcticcompass ow.ly/4QatV

Anthony Robert “Tony” Kushner the 54 year old Pulitzer Prize winning US playwright has had his name removed from a list of recipients to receive honorary degrees at the City University of New York (CUNY) based on a university trustee pro-Israel activist Jeffrey Wiesenfeld’s statement regarding Kushner’s beliefs about Zionism and Israel. Kushner who is Jewish denied the allegations in the statement and accused Wiesenfeld of slander. Three previous prominent honorees Barbara Ehrenreich, Michael Cunningham and Ellen Schrecker in support of Kushner had declared they will return their degrees in protest at his treatment. Cunningham stated “To deny him an honorary degree because certain members of the board disagree with some of his political views is a chilling indictment of the freedom of expression CUNY has always championed.”

Inspired by Paul Harris ow.ly/4QaVE image source bwaydaily.com ow.ly/4Qbpo

James Paul McCartney the 68 year old singer-songwriter English musician and former Beatle has confirmed through his publicist his engagement to Nancy Shevell, girlfriend of four years following his acrimonious divorce from his second wife Heather Mills. Shevell is a 51 year old New York resident and vice president of a family owned New England road transport company. McCartney has experienced wide spread animosity from the British public regarding his choice of wives following his breakup with long time girlfriend actress Jane Asher. His first Linda Eastman an American photographer, divorcee with a child, died of cancer; and second Heather Mills a former model and anti-landmines campaigner, with a prosthetic leg. McCartney is listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the most successful musician and composer in popular music history based on sales. .

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Michael Francis Moore the 56 year old US filmmaker and liberal political commentator, renowned for his classic documentaries has joined the fray with his own Osama conspiracy theory posted on Twitter. Moore on his twitter feed stated (edited) “finally, let’s cut the BS. The Pakistanis knew OBL was there, because they put him there under house arrest at their WestPoint. They cut a deal with us. They would hold him there & stop him from any more terror. But OBL probably fed up & started planning something. So Pakistan said, f*** it, he’s expendable, u guys can have him. And they looked the other way. No way do choppers fly in next door to army base, have firefight, blow up chopper, and no cops or Paki soldiers show up? Please! Pakistan just couldn’t be seen as participating with us.

Inspired by Michael Moore twitter feed, image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4Q9lU

Zacharius Knight “Zach” Galifianakis the 41 year old US stand-up comedian and actor has taken out four awards at the 15th annual Webby Awards, the annual awards for internet based achievement across 70 categories. Galifianakis won Webby awards for best web personality, best online variety show, best comedy short and a People’s Voice award, all relating to his FunnyOrDie web site series ‘Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis’. The series comprise popular celebrity interviews staged between two potted ferns, with an interview style often consisting of bizarre non sequiturs questions, along with sometimes inappropriate comments, and occasional questions of a sexual nature. Interviews have included Jimmy Kimmel, Natalie Portman, Ben Stiller, Sean Pen, Bradely Cooper, Jennifer Aniston and Bruce Willis.

Inspired by the Guardian ow.ly/4Q8Wd image source reelmovienews ow.ly/4Q94k

Michael J “Mike” Rogers the 47 year old Republican Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has strongly advised in a statement not to release the death photograph’s of Osama Bin Laden. Rogers warns that releasing the photographs to the public would not satisfy the ‘deather’ conspiracy theorists, but would only lead to blowback from the Muslim communities. Rogers believes the release of the gruesome photos of Bin Laden’s gun-shot corpse would be unethical and contrary to US values, ultimately leading to greater risk to US troops abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaida killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the internet,” Rogers stated. “Osama bin Laden is not a trophy – he is dead.”

Inspired by Benjy Sarlin ow.ly/4Q8oQ image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4Q8zM

Reginald Epps Jr an 8 year old boy was picked up by a tornado from his Alabama house and swept away into the darkness of the storm, survived with only relative minor cuts and bruises. Epps was inside the family home with his family when the tornado struck the house, initially popping the windows out, then ripping away the walls and roof, sucking him up into the swirling 200mph winds before dropping him some 10 metres away without injury. The house was destroyed during the 30 second barrage as the storm passed through. Epps parents feared the worst given the ferocity of the tornado and the damage it created, but were stunned to see their son walking back towards them, describing how he floated up into the tornado then just floated back down.

Inspired by Daniel Bates ow.ly/4Q84J image source Disney ow.ly/4Q8cG

Judson Phillips the head of a conservative US political organization the Tea Party Nation Corporation, renowned for his advocacy to disenfranchise voting rights to only those Americans who own property, has again become outspoken with his conspiracy theory relating to the death of Osama Bin Laden. Phillips claims the military don’t like Obama, proceeded with the mission to seize Bin Laden without Obama’s approval, giving him only minimal notice of two days, and that Obama had spent that time attempting to stop the mission. To support his theory, Phillips claims that Obama’s serious expressions during the operation and later announcement confirms he was angry with the mission’s success, and that any real American would have had Bin Laden’s body wrapped in pig fat before burial.

Inspired by Right Wing Watch ow.ly/4Q7mf image source Republican Retard Club ow.ly/4Q7AQ

Ian Tomlinson the 47 year old Englishman who died when on his way home from work as a newspaper vendor in the midst of the 2009 G-20 summit protests, has been found by an inquest jury to have been unlawfully killed by excessive and unreasonable force by a police officer PC Simon Harwood. A first postmortem indicated he had died from a heart attack; however a video of the incident showed Tomlinson walking with his hands in his pockets being stuck from behind by the police officer wielding a baton, then pushed to the ground without provocation. A second post mortem revealed he had died from internal bleeding caused by blunt force trauma to the abdomen. The incident had created intense debate in the UK leading to a deterioration of respect for police by the general public.

Inspired by Andy McSmith ow.ly/4Q76t image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4Q6V4

Nelle Harper Lee the 85 year old author renowned for her Pulitzer Prize winning novel ‘To kill a mockingbird’ has denied cooperating or assisting journalist Marja Mills the author of a soon to be released book about her ‘The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee’. Mills claims that Lee and her sister Alice were wonderfully generous with their time and insights over the years as she researched the book. Mills had resided next door to Lee and apparently developed a friendship until the announcement of the books release, prompting a response from Lee stating that she had not willingly participated in, or authorized, any book written by Mills. Lee historically has denied requests for interviews or public appearances, and has published no further books since her first successful book.

Inspired by Julie Bosman ow.ly/4KAXg image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4KB0G

Patrice Chéreau the 66 year old French theatre director who is currently in London rehearsing his first play in the UK has provided a comparative perspective on French and English productions in an interview with Stephen Moss of the Guardian. Chéreau stated in his interview that he enjoyed English actors for their very disciplined and open work ethic, whereas in France a lot of time is spent waiting for the arrival of inspiration. He argues that France is the country of directors, whereas England is the country of writers. Chéreau is renowned for upsetting theatre traditionalists with his personal tinkering of operatic productions, with audiences initially disliking his work, for which he did not seem to mind as in his words “it’s OK to be hated.”

Inspired by Stephen Moss ow.ly/4KASu image source Nicolas Genin ow.ly/4KAOn

Johnny Reid “John” Edwards the 57 year old US former presidential candidate had refused to answer a series of questions under oath during a deposition relating to a privacy lawsuit between his former mistress and mother of his child Rielle Hunter, and a former campaign aide Andrew Young. Young had allegedly improperly obtained from her a reputed sex video tape involving Edwards. Edwards will now face questioning under the direct supervision of a Superior Court Judge to rule on the questioning fairness, and to decide on what may be released to the press. Hunter’s suit against Young is for the return of the video tape, however the issue of a witness’s right to refuse questions that unreasonably annoy or embarrass, and the medias right to report lay at the heart of the legal debate.

Inspired by Ned Barnett ow.ly/4KADi image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4KAIB

Peter Ware Higgs the 81 year old UK renowned theoretical physicist for whom the theoretical Higgs boson (predicted existence of a new particle) was named, may well see his prediction evidenced at the Large Hadron Collider located at CERN in Switzerland. The Higgs boson is described as the most sought after particle in modern physics, and referenced by the media as the ‘God Particle’.  While on many occasions over the years physicists believed they have seen hints of the particles existence, but there has not yet been any substantive proof to confirm the elusive ‘goddamn’ particle’s actual existence. Higgs is not the only physicist to predict the existence of the particle as an important ingredient of particle physics, the non-existence of which would leave open the question of how particles would acquire mass.

Inspired by Ian Sample ow.ly/4KAr0 image source Gert-Martin Greuel ow.ly/4KAqL

Donald John Trump the 64 year old US real estate developer, television personality and potential GOP candidate for the US 2012 presidential race, has come under intense scrutiny over his stance on many issues conflicting with his historical record, along with his apparent support for issues and individuals from both conservative and progressive sides of the US politics. Despite his popularity having grown within the more extreme elements of the GOP with his vocal ‘Birther’ calls on President Obama, Trump has been ridiculed for this stance, and also been accused of draft dodging during the Vietnam war years, relying on educational and medical excuses to avoid subscription. Counter calls are now being made for Trump to release his tax and financial returns as he had earlier promised.

Inspired by Alex Alvarez ow.ly/4KAl2 image source Gage Skidmore ow.ly/4KAkK

Lobsang Sangay the 42 year old Tibetan refugee and legal scholar has been elected the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in Exile, although born in India and having never visited Tibet. Though Sangay will lead the exile government, the Dalai Lama having retired from active participation in Tibetan political affairs remains the ceremonial head of state. Sangay is currently a Senior Fellow at the Harvard University Law School, having received a doctorate for his dissertation ‘Democracy in Distress: Is Exile Polity a remedy?’ The Dalai Lama’s age at 75, despite being in good health, has become a significant concern for the continued struggle by the Tibetan people, with a need for a younger generation of leadership to take up the struggle and negotiation of the Tibetan communities’ status with China.

Inspired by Ashwani Sharma ow.ly/4KAf0 image source Wikipedia ow.ly/4KAeR

Sarah Burton the UK fashion designer and creative director of fashion label Alexander McQueen has confirmed she was commissioned to design Kate Middleton’s wedding dress on her marriage to Prince William. As the former head of Women’s wear and prior to her elevation to director on the suicide death of the label’s founder, Burton had created designs for many celebrity names including Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga, and Michelle Obama. Burton’s design for the dress was subsequently created by the Royal School of Needlework. Burton who also designed the Bridesmaid and afterparty dresses, described the process of working with Middleton as an experience of a lifetime. Burton had earlier come to the notice of Middleton when attending the 2005 wedding of Tom Parker Bowles, son of Camila, with Sara Buys a fashion journalist.

Inspired by Imogen Fox ow.ly/4KzQn image source TimeInc ow.ly/4KzNO

Timothy John “Tim” Berners-Lee, also known as “TimBL”, the 55 year old UK computer scientist credited with the invention of the World Wide Web, and still currently a director of the consortium W3C which oversees the web’s continued development through setting of technical standards for the www. Berners-Lee as one of the advocates for Net Neutrality as a kind of network ‘human right’ free of control or monitoring by ISP’s or government, however now in a turn of events, he has come out against the micro-blogging platform Twitter. Berners-Lee in a speech at the W3C, now seeks a system design that would curtail the expression of extreme views, providing a more reasoned online discourse away from the dominance of extreme views that polarize debates on the likes of Twitter.

Inspired by Rory Cellan-Jones ow.ly/4FPCQ image source Veni Markovski ow.ly/4FPIV