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Focus: Children in the DR Congo

BY ROBYN CLARE SCOTT – robyn@ragazine.co.uk

In 1898 Joseph Conrad wrote The Heart of Darkness about the atrocities committed under King Leopold’s rule in the Eastern Congo. Over a century on, the region, now a fully independent country, continues to be plagued by violence and suffering

The cause of this may no longer be the corrupt colonial regime of an eccentric Belgian despot, but the end results are the same and, as is usual in these situations, women and children have been worst affected

The Red Cross has estimated that 40,000 people have died every month since 1998, putting the total of number of dead in the millions. Starvation and disease ensures the death toll still increases daily

The Congo has lacked real stability since dictator Mobutu, who himself committed atrocities in the country he personally named Zaire, was deposed in 1997 by Laurent Kabila, with the support of Rwanda and Uganda

A new Democratic Republic of the Congo was formed but fighting between different rebel factions, aided and abetted by other African nations, has continued to varying degrees ever since.

Console war: The Xbox 360 V the Nintendo Wii

Out in the far reaches of the internet, in geeky forums, debate continues to rage over which is the best next generation console.

 

So far the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 have both sold well but it’s actually very difficult to say which system has the edge over the other.

 

At £180 a pop, the Wii is slightly cheaper than the £190 premium Xbox with 20 GB hard drive, however, it is nowhere near as graphically powerful.

 

The main appeal of the Wii lies elsewhere in its truly innovative controls, using the players own movement to control the in-game character, whether swinging a bat or a sword.

 

Unfortunately, this usually great system, can be hugely frustrating when handled badly by game designers, while the Xbox plays it safe and stick to more classic controls.

Five things…you learn working in a shop

1. You no longer have a proper name, you are called excuse me.

2. The customer is always right, even when they are very, very, VERY wrong. Don’t argue with them, trust me they’ll leave faster if you just nod and agree with a mindless smile on your face. Save your rage for home like most people.

3. Forget about being articulate and having a good vocabulary, you only need to know a handful of phrases to get by. These are mainly: “Hello”, “Would you like a bag?”, “Thank you” and “Sorry.” ”Sorry” is by far the most important.

4. Money is disgustingly filthy, if you handle it all your fingers will get covered in dirt. Bring lots of soap to work.

5.£5.50 an hour is nowhere near enough.

Review: The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk does not get off to the best start with a scattergun opening segment that seems to be trying to explain the creation of the hulk in about 90 seconds.

In a series of rushed scenes the audience is shown scientist Bruce Banner subjecting himself to a military experiment that goes ever so slightly wrong, creating a green monster which appears whenever he gets angry.

The film does pick up a bit as the story proper begins in Brazil, where Bruce is living in hiding from the US military, trying to avoid another destructive episode through calming meditation and exercise.

However, from then on, it can’t seem to decide whether it wants to be a treatise on one man’s struggle with his inner monster or an all-out action film.

Films to see before you die: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Forget The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, people seeking some real whip-cracking fun would do better to stick with the original, and best, Indiana Jones film.

Made back in 1981, before Shia LaBeouf was even born, Raiders of the Lost Ark introduces Harrison Ford as the eponymous archaeologist Indiana.

Rather than spend hours staring at shards of pottery like his colleagues, however, it quickly becomes clear Mr Jones prefers adventuring in exotic places.

Through the course of the film, set in 1936, Indy ends up embroiled in a quest to find the Ark of the Covenant, battling a group of Nazis who also want to get their pesky hands on it.

Walk on by culture selfish or justified?

 

A TERRIFIED young woman cries out as she is violently assaulted and has her clothes ripped off along a busy road, a split second decision must be made as to whether to intervene or not.

According to a new Downing Street report you would probably walk on by.

The report carried out by Government advisor Louise Casey is based on the views of 13,000 people about our justice system and concludes that most people wouldn’t intervene due to fears for their own safety or of being arrested.

Five things….to bring on holiday

 

1. Passport and tickets. You’ll not get very far without them and, no matter how pretty you are, flirting with airport security probably won’t help. Money is also essential. You’ve worked hard all year to earn it and now it’s time to blow it all on completely useless souvenirs and undercooked foreign food.

2. A tacky novel. Think Dan Brown or Helen Fielding depending on your sex. The book will preserve your sanity during those hideous but seemingly inevitable 12 hour plane delays spent in an overcrowded airport. Puzzles are also good. Sudoku anyone?

3. Camera. How would you feel without photos of all those great sunburnt moments?

4. MP3 player. For when you can no longer bear the sound of your travelling companions voices and you need to block them out. It’s better than starting to scream.

5. A cuddly toy. A fluffy reminder of home which will fit neatly into a suitcase.

Iris Robinson’s remedy leaves bad taste in mouth

ONE STEP forward for man and a giant leap back for womankind.

In the same week her husband got his foot in the door as Northern Ireland’s First Minister,  MP Iris Robinson’s foot was firmly lodged in her mouth as she claimed gay people need psychiatric help.

Mrs Robinson, Chair of the Stormont Health Commitee made the comments on Stephen Nolan’s BBC Radio Ulster show on Friday.

Robinson New NI First Minister

PETER Robinson officially took office today as Northern Ireland’s First Minister.

The recently elected DUP leader, took his pledge of office followed by re-nominated Sinn Fein deputy Martin McGuiness.

Earlier in the week Stormont sources hinted that Sinn Fein could refuse to put forward their deputy First Minister candidate, a move which would have stalled the devolved government.