What hath Facebook wrought?

I'll tell you what it hath wrought: a promising A-level student stabbed to death after a quiet house party in England spiralled out of control when gatecrashers spotted an invite on Facebook. The 17-year-old, named Jay Whiston, collapsed after being stabbed in the stomach during an altercation over a mobile phone at the party in a quiet suburb of Colchester, in Essex. Partygoers described how the well-behaved teenage gathering, at which the host’s parents were present, descended into chaos as a large number of uninvited guests turned up and began to cause trouble. This is not the first time this has happened. In September of 2010, Rebecca Javeleau of Hertfordshire mistakenly posted her address and phone number on Facebook to publicise a birthday party, and ended up with 21,000 promised guests. And in February of 2010, now 17-year-old Rachel Ross "advertised" a small party for friends on Facebook but more than 50 people arrived and caused havoc. Furniture was smashed, drunk revellers urinated on children's beds, and some ceremonial swords used for decoration were ripped down and embedded in a wall. The damage was estimated at around £15,000. This is why I never post party invitations on Facebook. But then again, young people make stupid mistakes all the time. For instance, Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed recently that he went AWOL while serving in the Austrian military during the 1960s so that he could attend a bodybuilding competition in Germany. And 24-year-old Stephanie Partington, a former air hostess, was recently fined £110 with £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge after being drunk on a flight from Dubai. She was breathalysed by airport police when the Emirates Boeing 777 landed at Birmingham International Airport on its return from Dubai on April 23 this year after fellow airline staff raised concerns about her behaviour. A blood test found 164mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood – twice the legal drink-drive limit of 80mg. She was eight times over the legal limit for flight attendants, which is just 20mg. The Liverpudlian was dismissed from the airline following the incident and is now on a Jobseeker's Allowance. Maybe this will be a learning experience for her.