Category Archives: Comment

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💸 Being Poor in the Richest Country on Earth 🇺🇸

14 Tuesday Feb 2012

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ANALYSIS

Once upon a time, the BBC’s Panorama used to be the current affairs programme to watch. Since its revamp it has largely disappointed. Last night though was an exception – and what an exception.

America has suffered under the recession, which many commentators are comparing to the Great Depression of the 30s.

If what was shown last night was anything to go by, then those voices may not be wrong – with one million children homeless, coming from by and large from the kind of families the American dream is all about, and politicians largely unable and often unwilling to do anything concrete right now to prevent the communities of homeless people springing up literally down the road, the poor in the richest country on earth on are going to have a fight on their hands, especially since Republicans like Mitt Romney are open admirers of our own Margaret Thatcher and Newt Gringich are arguing for a return to child labour.

Strangely enough, not one of those condemning the poor for being a burden on the state are looking at the real reason for the astronomical budget deficit – quoted in the programme as one trillion dollars, but it is much, much larger than that – namely the cost of imperial overstretch.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t14n

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Puppet Master (When Journalists get it Right!)

10 Friday Feb 2012

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ANALYSIS – With the Leveson Inquiry currently revealing everything that is wrong at the heart of journalism, one case has just concluded that has just shown exactly the opposite, namely when a newspaper gets all the elements right, public interest and a cracking story which you can sell.

Banker Nathaniel Rothschild has just lost his libel action against the Daily Mail who reported that he had set up a meeting between  Lord Mandelson and Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

The newspaper portrayed him as a ‘puppet-master and  suggested that he had helped smooth a £500 million aluminium deal in 2005.

The article claimed that Mr Rothschild used Lord Mandelson – then European Commissioner for Trade – to impress Oleg Deripaska, the billionaire owner of Russia’s biggest aluminium plant, during a visit to Siberia.

The 40-year-old heir to the Rothschild banking dynasty had demanded ‘very substantial’ damages.

Anyone want to regulate the press now?

 

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👓 Fabio Capello 🥅 🏟

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Fabio Capello’s fate was sealed during that World Cup game with Germany when an England team who had until the last ten minutes of the first half been completely outclassed fought back by applying pressure on their much younger rivals.

The same was expected in the second half, but did not occur which allowed Germany to get back into the game on their own terms.

Perhaps, a Martin O Neill or Harry Redknapp would have seen the opportunity, the vastly overpaid and  over-rated Fabio Capello did not.

The FA have alot of questions to ask about this whole saga – why did they appoint this man in the first place to run a team of players that were not despite what was being claimed a golden generation.

Truth is England have only once looked like winning a tournament – Euro 96 under the creative genius that was Terry Venables.

And what happened to him then?

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Cry Wolf (When is a massacre not a massacre)

06 Monday Feb 2012

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Posted by | Filed under Analysis 🙌, Arab World 🌎, Comment, International News, Politics 💼 🗳 🪖, Terrorism, USA 🇺🇸

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🏏 Pakistan v England 3rd Test, Dubai 🇵🇰 – 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

06 Monday Feb 2012

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DUBAI – After wiping the Pakistan team out for 99 in the first innings, England’s bowlers must have known what would follow.

That Broad, Anderson and Panesar (Swann was quiet for once), shined is without question, the trouble is there was precious little else.

England are hanging onto that number one position through default and luck and nothing else because they were outplayed by a far superior Pakistan side, who despite their many frailties geeled as a unit whenever it mattered.

The first innings was perhaps the only time through this three-match series when England actually looked like winning, and that lasted for one and half sessions before Pakistan’s bowlers spearheaded by the inspired Abdur Rehman reclaimed the initiative.

From there it was a simple case of self belief for a very young Pakistan side who never really looked like losing.

For those who have followed Pakistan cricket, the words professional, stable, teamwork have come as a refreshing surprise.

The age of the Imran Khans, Wasim Akrams and Shahid Afridis, talented players who let their egos get in the way, is now over.

Instead, Pakistan has Saeed Ajmal, whose seven wicket haul in the first innings of the first innings began it all, inspiring his nation’s players onwards and forwards under the cool captaincy of Misbah ul Haq.

England will go back to the drawing board and work something out, however the world of cricket may just have witnessed the emergence of the next cricketing superpower.

THIRD TEST, DUBAI

PAKISTAN 99

ENGLAND 141 REHMAN 5 – 40

PAKISTAN 365 AZHAR ALI 157, YOUNIS KHAN 127

ENGLAND 252

PAKISTAN WIN BY 71 RUNS TO COMPLETE SERIES WHITEWASH 3 – 0

  • PAKISTAN’S FIRST INNINGS SCORE OF 99 WAS THE 14TH TIME THEY HAD SCORED UNDER 100
  • SAEED AJMAL and ABDUR REHMAN SHARED 43 WICKETS BETWEEN THEM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/16906199

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The Syria Question 🇸🇾

04 Saturday Feb 2012

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Posted by | Filed under Analysis 🙌, Arab World 🌎, China 🇨🇳, Comment, International News, Politics 💼 🗳 🪖, Terrorism, USA 🇺🇸

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🏏 Pakistan v England Second Test at Abu Dhabi 🏟

28 Saturday Jan 2012

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ABU DHABI – For three days and three-quarters of this test match England looked as if they would handsomely avenge the humiliation of the first.

Then, their batting folded inside two hours for 72 runs.

Andrew Strauss later said the wicket was excellent and good for cricket giving everyone a chance.

That though does not explain how the world’s number one  side collapsed to her lowest ever score against Pakistan, when she was only chasing 144 to win. This is a Pakistan team that is blooding new players, and has very little apart from Younis Khan and Gul in terms of experience.  Perhaps, they are more hungry than an England team who currently have four excellent bowlers in Broad, Anderson, Panesar and Swann, and a world-class batsman in Kevin Pieterson and little else. On their day, in familiar conditions, Morgan, Bell, Trott et al can fire, but if they are to remain number one that will not be good enough.

Pakistan first innings score of 257 was about a hundred runs short, and with a lead of 70  England took the attack to a brittle Pakistan batting line up in the second innings, with Panesar justifying his inclusion with 6-62.

Panesar could not have guessed that his opposite number, one Abdur Rehman, would go on to destroy the English batting line up finishing with 6-25.

Pakistan’s other spinner, Saeed- the dorsra – Ajmal also became the fastest Pakistani to secure 100 wickets, beating Wasim Akram and Mohammed Amir, who is currently serving a prison sentence for spot fixing.

Pakistan, led by a very impressive and stable Misbah, are looking like a team with a bright future.

At present, the records just keep being broken.

England for their part have lost this test series.

Perhaps, its now time to dump some of those players that have not performed – and have been frankly flattered by their previous performances – and try out players keen for the chance to shine.

The inclusion of Ravi Bhopra in the Third Test at Dubai would be a start.

SECOND TEST, ABU DHABI

PAKISTAN 257

ENGLAND 327

PAKISTAN 214 PANESAR 6 – 62

ENGLAND 72 REHMAN 6 – 25, AJMAL 3 – 22

PAKISTAN WON BY 72 RUNS

*SAEED AJMAL BECAME THE FASTEST PAKISTAN BOWLER TO REACH 100 WICKETS

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Super Soccer Sunday

23 Monday Jan 2012

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Two games yesterday may have decided the outcome of the Premier League – one of them could also have been a turning point for the manager of a once great Arsenal team.

Arsene Wenger substituted an inexperienced but highly creative and energetic Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Andrey Arshavin.

That decision was greeted by disbelief by a large section of the Arsenal faithful, who have regarded Wenger for such a long time as infallible, and by his own captain, the star player that is Robin van Persie.

Unfortunately, Arshavin was unable to block a Man U surge that resulted in the winning goal.

The irony being that most of the second half, Arsenal had a number of opportunities to kill the game.

Arsenal are still stylish when attacking, however they are weak at the back – something their great manager has failed to deal with.

And with their current position of fifth – out of the reckoning for a prized Champions League spot – could we just be seeing a contemplation of the unthinkable, the end of the long reign of Arsene Wenger?

As for the first game, Manchester City managed to defeat the surprise that is Tottenham Hotspurs under Harry Redknapp in a very unconvincing fashion.

Once again they were weak in the first half, and almost managed to convert a two goal lead into defeat had Germaine Defoe managed to get a boot onto a great cross from Gareth Bayle.

Eventually, Mario Balotelli – hero or villain take your pick – coolly placed a penalty kick into the back of the net to seal the deal for Roberto Mancini’s men.

City have carved-out results, even when they were not playing well.

United have not played well, but are still at number two.

Both say Spurs are still contenders, and on the evidence of this performance they may not be wrong.

That just leaves behind Chelsea and Arsenal.

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📺 Press TV is taken off the Airwaves 🇮🇷

23 Monday Jan 2012

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TEMPLATE ANALYSIS

Everytime I flick on to the PressTV channel of my freeview box, I get a blank screen.

That’s because Of com has taken the Iranian-owned station off air, citing the failure to pay a six-figure sum for broadcasting an interview with someone who later said what he had said had come about under duress, and a number of breaches of editorial standards.

PressTV for its part says this is censorship, and that it has been penalised for the line it has taken on last year’s Royal wedding – remember this is a revolution that overthrew a monarch – and for its coverage of the riots that hit Britain.

Phil Rees, who has appeared on the station as a journalist and media analyst told RussiaToday that at the “end of the day” this decision had more to do with Iran’s relationship with the West, and with Britain – whose embassy in Tehran was recently stormed – in particular.

PressTV  suffered from weak journalism, and was seen by many within the industry as a propaganda channel, the ideas of fairness, balance and impartiality in its newscoverage were often not present, something that will no doubt be levelled at RussiaToday and the Chinese-owned CCTV.

That said PressTV did bother to cover the civilian toll of the Afghan and Iraq wars, and a viewer was given a fresh point of view, one seen through the eyes of someone regarded in this country as ‘other’.

George Galloway’s slot gave people who would not get the chance to be heard on television the opportunity to get their point across.

And occasionally their documentaries brought something new, like the truck drivers journey through Siberia.

And unlike many newsrooms, it was also a very woman friendly environment – you only have to look at the number of women presenters to appreciate that.

With tension mounting in the Strait of Hormuz, it would have been better to have allowed this channel to continue its broadcasts from its Hanger Lane office.

Instead, by closing it down it looks like someone has decided to silence a flawed, but still alternative voice.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/222180.html

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Who will rebuild Libya?

20 Friday Jan 2012

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RussiaToday broadcast a report yesterday in which they highlighted the unruly and undignified rush for contracts to rebuild a Libya, that was largely destroyed by Nato bombing.

Predictably the report says it’s the countries – Britain and France in particular –  that flattened large parts of Libya who are set to benefit, with Russia and China who had signed deals with the old regime of Colonel Gaddafi the ones to miss out.

Russia, said the report, did not figure highly in Gaddafi’s calculations when it came to awarding contracts.

China and Russia have not invaded anyone’s country, and have simply respected the sovereignty of all the nations that they have made business deals with.

Both say the UN Security Council resolution they supported  did not permit regime change in Libya.

And yet they are being punished – this is not international law.

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