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I know it mind sound mean-spirited, but didn't you think the whole Live Earth pop extravaganza was just a little absurd? I mean mega-rich pop stars jetting around the globe to seven venues, building huge energy gobbling sound systems and light shows while preaching to us - mere mortals - about the deteriorating state of the planet? Didn't that smack of hypocrisy?
On the day, and over 24 hours, live acts sang their pants off on seven continents. The performances were designed to concentrate attention on the devastating effect humans are having on the planet and its wildlife. In Europe two stages were in operation. One in London, UK and the other in Hamburg, Germany playing host to a galaxy of pop stars including Metallica, Foo Fighters and Madonna (London), Enrique Iglesias, Katie Melua and - Buster's own personal favourite - Snoop Dogg (Hamburg).
The event was the brainchild of new green crusader Al Gore (photo), former vice president to Bill Clinton, and his business partner Kevin Wall. Their aim was to have people sit up and take notice of the environmental malaise sweeping the globe. The British show, however, was only watched by about a third of the television audience that had tuned in to the concert for Princess Diana. What does that tell us?
In general, feelings about the enterprise, the latest in a series of 'rock mends the world and broken hearts' shows - Live Aid, Concert for Diana etc - were pretty mixed. Roger Daltry of The Who slated the event saying "the last thing the planet needs is a rock concert". Yes, you have a point Roger, while The Arctic Monkeys described the participants as patronising and hypocritical.
Significantly, the concert coincided with new academic research suggesting that the situation is worse than scientists originally feared. Today, for example, researchers have claimed that there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there has been for the last 650,000 years. Scientists have also warned of the spread of insect and small animal borne diseases, as mosquitoes, other insects and rodents are increasingly able to live and breed over greater geographical areas. In addition, and as climate change progresses, millions of people are likely to become displaced and forced to migrate to more hospitable and habitable regions of the globe. This, in turn will cause economic and political instability across the world. We can only imagine the pressures and tensions which would be placed on nations as refugees, with no choice but to seek to continue their existence elsewhere, flood over alien borders.
As we approach the end of the first decade of the 21st century the news from the green front is not, by any stretch of the imagination, comforting. Rock concerts, to be fair, may be one way of attracting the attention of the general public, and especially the young, but we need a willingness on behalf of governments and corporate industry to lead by example. Don't we?
A Chilling Message
Why did Britain have to give Salman Rushdie a knighthood? Despite a long list of possibilities to choose from, the British government chose US-based Rushdie, a man who has insulted both Islam and Christianity. An act which now threatens a terrible backlash from angry Muslims.
Okay, I agree, we shouldn't be intimidated or bullied by thugs and terrorists, but why encourage attacks upon the British mainland by selecting the very man guaranteed to stir up huge amounts of controversy?
In 1988 Rushdie had a fatwa placed on him after the publication of his fourth book The Satanic Verses. The book was said to insult Muhammad and an attempt was made on the author's life in 1989. The terrorist killed himself before he could get to Rushdie, and is now celebrated in Tehran as a martyr. The recent, and I would say in the present climate, reckless award of the knighthood has re-ignited the controversy.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy to Osama Bin Laden, in response to the Rushdie knighthood, appeared on as-Sahhab, al-Qaeda's media channel, to threaten the United Kingdom with more terrorist attacks. He told Britain, directing his warning at Gordon Brown and blaming Tony Blair and the Queen for the decision to honour Rushdie, to prepare for a 'very precise response'.
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Some commentators have said al-Zawahiri's chilling message smacks of desperation at a time when al-Qaeda's publicity has been negative in the wake of two failed terrorist attacks on the British mainland. I wouldn't want to be so smug, however. We have had terrorist attacks before and witnessed their evil powers of destruction in Madrid and London; so let's not tempt fate.
Bin Laden's deputy concluded by praising a car bomb attack in south Lebanon which killed six Spanish UN peackeepers.
As for Rushdie, I ask myself why someone equally talented and less notorious wasn't chosen for this honour? And, for me, it seems ironic that while al-Zawahiri threatens retribution on the United Kingdom, Salman Rushdie is safely ensconced across the pond in the USA? Spanish Stargazing
Isn't it also ironic that while we seek to save our planet, beleaguered by the nightmares of environmental damage, war and terror, the world's largest telescope now scans the skies as it seeks to unravel the secrets of existence? But it's true; the 130 million euro Great Canary Telescope is now operational.
Structured around 36 delicately made mirrors which combine to make one giant 10.4 metre-wide mirror the GCT is the biggest in the world. Located on a peak known as the Roque de Los Muchachos, 2,500 metres above the island of La Palma at the northwest end of the Canary Islands, scientists hope it will be able to find similar planets to Earth in other parts of the universe.
Those behind the project chose the Canaries because of its clear view of the cosmos and unpolluted skies. According to astronomers it is the perfect site from which to study the universe. Already over 60 different astronomy groups have been attracted to the new site, which, in turn, generates business for Spain.
As I look up from my computer, I notice that Buster has moved to the window and has climbed onto a chair to stare out at the night sky. He looks around, wags his tail briefly before returning to his stargazing, searching the heavens for Sirius - the Dog Star - no doubt, and remembering some ancient canine ritual from the past.
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