IN HAITI, A LACK OF LOOTING. BUT PLENTY IN THE PAPERS

In the sad story that is Haiti the past twenty four hours have manifested themselves in the media as 'looting day.'

Like 'miracle victim day' before it and 'water borne disease day' after, they had a predefined place in our carefully constructed western commentary of this awful event, despite the hard facts from the ground suggesting we were slightly wide of the mark.

Consider again the appalling security situation created by the earthquake.

A country awash with gangs and guns had its state apparatus annihilated in minutes, food, fuel and water suddenly very hard to find amid the wreckage of what was already a troubled island nation. Entire shanty towns slid down hills as alongside most of it's other structures the capital's prisons collapsed. The five thousand dangerous criminals inside walked free and they did so past thousands of corpses left cooking in the Caribbean sun.

In the six days since there have been incidents of looting and violence...of course. A looter was burned by a mob in Port-Au-Prince, another shot by police, sad stories both. But the apocalyptic orgy of violence predicted and chronicled by editors everywhere hasn't actually reared its head in real life.

Solid, positive, uplifting facts from the disaster zone include aid workers heading into the worst hit areas without protection, the first US soldiers patrolling with soft hats and no guns. The TV bulletins at the weekend led with pictures of angry people simply throwing empty cardboard boxes at each other in frustration...even Fox news struggled to find footage of knife wielding youths...Haitians are desperate and hungry but not savages.

Despite this a Google News search for "looting" and "Haiti" returns more than fifteen thousand results, breathlessly written by an army of journalists sometimes searching for facts to fit the story. The words 'Brutal' 'Lynch Mob' and 'Hell On Earth' (Daily Express contribution) all headline fodder dumped unceremoniously on page one to help keep us informed.

The truth is most of these people have have shown remarkable restraint, staying peaceful even in their hunger as aid sat behind barbed wire fences a few hundred feet away. Millions around the world have been touched by their plight and we should demand a little more from our media as well as digging deeper into our pockets.

The focus should be on counting the water and biscuits not the guns and machetes. The people of Haiti need compassion not cliches.

BUS STATION'S WEAPON OF MASS DISTRACTION

Staff at a west London bus station are using classical music as a psychological weapon against loitering teenagers and sleeping tramps.

This isn't a made up thing, honest.. and it's more widespread than you might think. During the day the arias and symphonies fed through the public address system at the Hammersmith bus depot lend the place a warming background sound. It almost allows you to forget about the surly looking police eyeing the dangerous looking teenagers intimidating the frail looking grannies as they scurry for the exit.... one eye on handbag.

But in the dead of night - when the above are tucked up in bed, this place becomes more frightening still. A late night hub for the assorted all sorts that drift in from around West London. And perhaps that's why the attendants strategically blast out Bach and Beethoven at abnormally loud levels - targeting the different groups with different loudspeakers making it uncomfortable for the undesirables to hang around too long and impossible for anyone to steal a crafty sleep on their hard metal benches.

They've been at it for at least two years now, on and off, stressing people out with the sound of Szyubert, mercilessly torturing them with Tchaikovsky - At such a volume it's almost impossible for the hapless late night traveller to read a bus timetable and mandatory for them to go home with a headache. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself - imagine him if you will (for it can be amusing) pale and thin, Big Mac in one hand, violin in the other, scurrying up the escalator for the N97 to Aldwych - the poor sickly devil would no doubt spin in his grave if he knew the art he once slaved over was being used like this.

Hmm. Funny. But it's not really. The security staff at Hammersmith aren't the first to think of it.... not by a long shot. The technique is known as 'Acoustic bombardment.' Developed by the US military as part of their non lethal weapons programme around fifteen years ago, it's been used to end sieges, help fight battles and yes as part of the 'interrogation process' at Guantanamo Bay. According to documents gained through freedom of information requests, Barney the Dinosaur and the Sesame Street theme tune were two of the favorites there.

Using music as a weapon to break people down and bend them to your will...I'm not seriously suggesting for a moment Hammersmith bus station are trying to torture tramps and teenagers...of course not...thin end of a worrying wedge though?