Videos of hostages

Currently, a British hostage, Ken Bigley, is being held in Iraq. The situation is being milked for all it is worth by the hostage takers. They have already brutally murdered two American hostages snatched at the same time; Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley.

The family of the British hostage are doing all they can to keep him alive. Their superhuman efforts have already extended his life - of that there is little doubt.

Also of little doubt is the eventual outcome: a video released on an 'Islamist website' on the internet.

While searching the internet for news on the hostage situation, I inadvertantly searched the web instead of the news. Something caught my eye. It was a small quote in the description; "50,000 people an hour are watching the video. Over 1,000,000 people have already seen it," bragged the man being quoted.

I had soon established that there is an internet web site where the beheading videos can be watched. A for profit web site, that is. One specializing in sicko viewing with, among other vile things, the videos of the beheadings. Why I was surprised at this, is not clear to me. I also had little doubt that the figures quoted were probably accurate.

I do know one thing. You can never 'unsee' something. Once you have seen a horrific or disturbing image, it can never be erased from memory. I found this out in my earlier days on the internet, where I suddenly developed an appreciation for the general censorship we live with and sometimes complain about.

I chose not to watch the video.