re: Pug's dead polar bear
I guess psychologically it's a way to get more blood into the newspaper, to keep blood and Norway on the news and to establish a connection to England and the British Ruling Classes and those who are sensitive to environmental causes. I haven't read the story, but if it's a psyop I suppose the Polar Bear was probably starving due to global warming, and the OE was up there to help save the Arctic.
The theme might be something like: Brave British Youth self-sacrificed for a worthy cause, more blood in Norway, meanwhile the lower classes are busy burning down London and Manchester.
Does it make the newspaper every time a teenager gets mauled or killed by a bear? The story might well be there for a reason. The have big events on the front page, and then the human interest stories on the back pages are probably designed to further reinforce the broad themes they intend to exploit. Even if it's a true story some editor has made the decision that THIS is the story that they're running today.
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I just read the story. Alas poor young Horatio Chapel(e) is dead. The story has all the syrupy psyop elements one would expect, indeed. Studying to be a doctor. Everyone dreaming of polar bears. Climate change science.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/au ... tish-death
from the Guardian:
Edward Watson, chairman of the BSES, said: "Horatio was a fine young man who wanted to go on to read medicine after school. By all accounts he would have made an excellent doctor. We and the Norwegian authorities are currently establishing the full circumstances of his tragic death and will not be releasing this until we have discussed this fully with the family."
Chapple's family, who live near Salisbury in Wiltshire, were too upset to speak. The tour was aimed at introducing youngsters to "remote, wild environments to develop their confidence" and included climate change science projects. One expedition member, Marcus Wright, had described the group's excitement at seeing polar bears.
Polar bear camp The camp where the BSES group was staying when it was attacked by the bear. Photograph: Arild Lyssand/AP
"I think we must have all dreamed of polar bears because the next day we were eagerly waiting for the ice floes to break up so we could move on to base camp," he wrote on the BSES website. "There was a P. bear sighting across the fjord about a mile away. We encountered another P. bear floating on the ice. This time we were lucky enough to borrow a kind Norwegian guide's telescope to see it properly. After that experience, I can say for sure that everyone dreamed of P. bears that night."