2010: Reasons to be cheerful? Part one...

The Rusty Wire Service only went live in mid November but it’s fair to say we’ve always been avid zeitgeist-watchers down here in SE8 so here’s our take on some standout global and local events for the first four months of a year that really was light on upbeat stories...

January

The year did start out brightly enough news-wise, at least if you like a lot of ‘schaden’ on your ‘fruede’...

Haiti: crisis continues,
 long after departure of media/celebrity circus

On 6 January (The feast of the Epiphany funnily enough), the ‘Northern Ireland Assembly’s First Minister Peter Robinson gives an emotional TV statement revealing that his wife Iris Robinson had engaged in an affair with 19-year-old, but he forgave her and they would try to save their marriage, according to ‘thejournal.ie’s 2010 round-up (well worth a look).

It was a satirist’s wet dream...Sinn Féin maintained a respectful and dignified silence as they were wrestling with some moral dilemmas of their own (see below).

By 12 January however, the world’s attention is firmly focused on the Caribbean: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake occurs in Haiti, devastating the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince. With a confirmed death toll over 230,000, it is one of the deadliest on record. Almost a year later and a lot less in the public eye, Haiti is still in crisis.

Gerry Adams tells the press on 16 January that he was unaware his brother Liam Adams (wanted by police over sex abuse allegations), had worked for Sinn Féin in his own constituency.

One of Saddam Hussein’s senior advisers, Ali Hassan al-Majid, aka “Chemical Ali”, is sentenced to be hanged on 17 January for ordering the gassing of Kurds in the Iraqi village of Halabja in 1998. Five thousand people are believed to have died in the gas attack.

JD Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye, dies aged 91 on 27 January.

February

St George realises in February that Fine Gael wasn’t going to be the nag atop of which he would slay the Fianna Fail dragon so he spits the dummy, throws his toys out of the pram and quits...We refer of course to the 8 February story: Fine Gael TD for Dublin South George Lee announces his resignation after being elected to office in June 2009. Formerly RTÉ’s economics editor, Lee tells reporters he is resigning because despite his best efforts he “had virtually no influence or input into shaping Fine Gael’s economic policies at this most critical time”...

The fashion world is shocked on 11 February by the death 40-year old fashion designer Alexander McQueen who was found dead at his London home after committing suicide.

February apparently wasn’t a great month for celebrity relationships. On 19 February golfer Tiger Woods issues a public apology regarding his infidelity saying: “Every one of you has good reason to be critical of me…I am deeply sorry for the irresponsibly and selfish behaviour I engaged in”. Naughty golfer...

Singer and X-Factor ‘star’ Cheryl Cole announces to the world on 23 February that she has ended her relationship with footballer and serial-shagger husband Ashley Cole. People apparently found this to be important...

Most people, on the other hand, hardly notice that on February 18, the President of Niger, Tandja Mamadou, is overthrown after a group of soldiers storms the presidential palace and form a ruling junta.

On 21 February, The Hurt Locker gets Best Picture at the Baftas. Colin Firth gets best actor for A Single Man and Carey Mulligan gets best actress for An Education.

Ireland's rugby team recovers some dignity after their drubbing at French hands earlier in the month by beating England 20-16 at Twickenham on 27 February. John Hayes leads out the Irish team to become the first player to win 100 caps for Ireland.

On the same day, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake (the largest in recorded history) occurs in Chile, triggering a tsunami over the Pacific and killing 497.

March

Iceland makes its first seismic appearance in the news this month on 6 March when over 90% of people vote ‘no’ in Iceland’s referendum on repaying the country’s debts to the UK and the Netherlands. Fair play to them...

On 7 March, The Hurt Locker wins six awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director. Avatar takes three awards but James Cameron must sit back and watch his ex-wife win the day.

Other notables include Crazy Heart, Precious, based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, and Up, with two awards, and The Cove, Inglourious Basterds, The Blind Side, Logorama, Music by Prudence, The New Tenants, The Secret in Their Eyes, Star Trek, and The Young Victoria with one each.

For The Deptford Croppy, Precious with the best adapted screenplay and best supporting actress awards is the pick of the bunch.

Sporting life in Ireland is faring no better than the beleagured economy. The Scots snatch the Rugby Triple Crown from Ireland’s grasp on 20 March at Croke Park.  A late Dan Parks penalty sees the visitors steal it 23-20.

Volcano: Icelandic plane deterrent

Shortly after midnight on 21 March, an Icelandic volcano at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupts, throwing molten rock and ash up to 100 metres into the air. The eruption causes travel chaos across Europe in the weeks to come as planes are grounded in April.

The first of the year’s big cyber war stories breaks on 22 March when Google announces it has stopped censoring its service in China and is redirecting from its Chinese domain to its Hong Kong domain.

The two Koreas are it again. On 23 March, a South Korean Navy ship, the ROKS Cheonan, carrying 104 personnel, sinks off the country's west coast, killing 46. A subsequent independent investigation in May, blames North Korea, which denies the allegations...Well, they would, wouldn’t they?

While the UK does its level best to dismantle a healthcare system that is the envy of the developed world, (also on 23 March) POTUS Obama signs a new health care bill into law which extends health insurance cover to millions more Americans.

April

Red Thais curry no government favour

Ireland was in no mood for jokes on April fools day and the protracted process of coming to terms with a dark past continues... Archbishop Diarmuid Martin criticises Catholics who believe the church should move on from the child sex abuse scandal. Martin tells reporters: “Some ask me ‘Can we not leave all that aside now, proclaim closure and move on?’ I cannot agree. There can be no overlooking the past. There is no short-cut in addressing the past.”

Thousands of ‘red shirt’ protesters take to the streets of Bangkok on 3 April, demanding new elections.

Wikileaks makes it first appearance on TRWS round-up. On 5 April, the whistleblower website releases a video from 2007 showing US military forces killing civilians and two Reuters journalists.

Gordon decides to go the country on 6 April in his quixotic quest to obtain a ‘clear and straightforward mandate’ from the people of Britain.

A plane crash in Russia wipes out most of the Polish government on 10 April. The President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and 94 other people – including senior Polish officials – are killed in the crash. They had been travelling to from Warsaw to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.

Crude language? BP are schmucks...

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake occurs on 13 April in Qinghai, China, killing at least 2,000 and injuring more than 10,000.

Ireland introduces a statutory fund of €110 million on 16 April for former residents of institutions who were abused as children.

As if acts of God were not having a detrimental enough effect on the environment, on 20 April, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the Lousianna coast kills 11 people. The resulting oil spill, one of the largest in history, spreads for several months, damaging the waters and the United States coastline, and prompting international debate and doubt about the practice and procedures of offshore drilling.


Pope Benedict XVI goes on the record 21 April to make the explicit promise that the Roman Catholic Church will take action against child sexual abuse by the clergy. He promises “action on the part of the Church” after meeting with eight victims of clerical sex abuse. Benedict maintains the church will do “All in its power to investigate allegations, to bring to justice those responsible for abuse and to implement effective measures designed to safeguard young people in the future.” Watch this space...

The Greek Tragedy continues when international rating agency Standard & Poor's downgrades Greece's sovereign credit rating to junk on April 27; four days after the activation of a €45-billion EU/IMF bailout, triggering the decline of stock markets worldwide and of the Euro's value and furthering a European sovereign debt crisis.