Rockstar Politics

This week Obamania has well and truly hit Europe with the highlight undoubtedly being his trip to Germany where he gave a speech in front of a staggering 200,000 people. The scenes were reminiscent of a rock concert and Barack Obama certainly lived up to the billing. I have followed his progress since visiting the US a year ago when his name was first being brought to our attention championed by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and the momentum has seen the Obama steam train now grab the attention of Europe's citizens and leaders. It was interesting to watch this speech to see how he came across, what he had to say and how he said it. It was a tightrope that he had to walk as he could not speak as an elected world leader but as a citizen of the world but he had to make an impression, partly for the Americans watching back home which was all but guaranteed by convincing all three US television networks to send their star news anchors to follow him. This was bordering on to a state visit with the motorcade and security as big as any presidential visit. Obama needs to restore America's standing in Europe and as one American newspaper put it "when Bush talks about freedom Europe groans, when Barack invokes the same word Europe cheers". He spoke of his own family, Berlin's history, terrorism, environmental and nuclear issues, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, America's mistakes and freedom all crammed in to less than 30 minutes. He looked every inch the president and certainly has the charisma and popularity of any greats that have come before him. There have been comparisons made to previous visits from Presidents, Kennedy drew a crowd of 120,000 in 1963 and Reagan 20,000 in 1987, McCain in a thin criticism of Obama said he too would like to give a speech in Germany but only as a president but I sincerely doubt he would attract a crowd anything like the 200,000 that came to see and hear Barack. This was a campaign rally for a crowd that could not vote, four out of five Europeans want to see Obama elected, America is not so sure. America can be assured that Obama could step in to the role easily, meet foreign leaders as an equal and have the foreign policies to lead into the next chapter of world politics, what he now needs to do is tackle America's own fragile economy which along with employment and fuel prices is more likely what the election will hinge on.

Full video of speech is available here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-9ry38AhbU running time 26 mins.

A Week Of Sporting Controversy - Ronaldo, Chambers and The Open Golf

Sepp Blatter made a comment earlier this week that Christiano Ronaldo is locked in slavery because Manchester United won't sell him to Real Madrid and what is worse is that Ronaldo agreed with him. This is the same Sepp Blatter that in November 2006 was made an honorary member of Real Madrid, a conflict of interest if ever I saw one, and this is the same Ronaldo that has refused to apologise for his comment despite renegotiating his contract only last year signing up for a further four years and a weekly wage of about 120,ooo pounds. He also lives in a 4m pound house, has ordered a Bugatti car at a further 835,000 and is about to close a sponsorship deal with Nike worth 23 million. Ever since the Bosman ruling players have had the upper hand meaning they can move on a free transfer at the end of their contracts and this has led to a spiralling of player wages. After Ronaldo's antics at the last World Cup, his performances for Manchester United last season went a long way to winning over the neutral supporter but it now seems even his own supporters are now questioning their loyalty. Blatter & Ronaldo would do well to remember Michel Platini's comment that "slaves never earned a wage" and that these players earn in a month what some of us will be lucky to earn between now & retiring!

This week also saw Dwayne Chambers lose his appeal against an Olympic ban. Chambers was found guilty of taking steroids in 2003 and despite now being clean & still Britain's fastest he won't be going to Beijing. This has to be the right decision, if he'd gone & won a medal how many of us would've taken him seriously or been proud of his achievement, and how would the rest of that relay team felt who were stripped of their European medals last time around?

This weekend is the 137th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and the big debate is whether the championship has been devalued without Tiger Woods competing. According to a recent poll in The Guardian newspaper 62.7% felt that it would be. However there is bound to be more drama and excitement with plenty of twists and turns without him and from a betting point of view the field is wide open with even the favourite at the start of the tournament being out at 12-1. The defending champion is Padraig Harrington who won with Tiger Woods in the field so I'm sure who ever wins this year will not feel it's any less an achievement without Tiger being there and I'm sure the $1.5m will help! Only a drop in viewing figures for the TV networks or a drop in visitors at Royal Birkdale will aid the cynics point but I for one will be watching with interest.

The Olympics & Civil Rights 40 Years On

As we approach this year’s Olympics we also see the 40th anniversary of the Mexico 1968 protest made by American athletes Tommie Smith & John Carlos. There are two threads to this story:
1) The American Civil rights movement and
2) The IOC (International Olympic Committee) involvement.
The iconic picture above was indeed a representation of black power but the raised fist was also a cry for freedom, ( Smith say’s “we had to be seen because we couldn’t be heard”) there was a need of justice and a desire for an equal chance to be a human being. The black glove represented black power, the socks without sports shoes represented poverty, the beads represented lynching and the unzipped jacket of Carlos was a tribute to the blue collar worker . The protest was to highlight issues in America and represented a growing view of injustice that had come to the fore during the previous years leading up to Mexico. It was not a spontaneous act, they were both members of a militant black student group in San Jose, led by Harry Edwards and inspired by the likes of Martin Luther King & Muhammad Ali. In the build up to the Olympics, there was talk of a boycott and constant conflict with the IOC and in particular the then IOC president Avery Brundage (the man who was instrumental in the 1936 Olympics going to Hitler’s Germany & frequently operated in various clubs & committee’s a no jews or blacks policy).
So what happened afterwards and 40 years on have things progressed? Brundage & the IOC immediately suspended the athletes and pressured the American Olympic Committee to banish Smith & Carlos. Both men received death threats and Carlos’s wife committed suicide partly because of the pressure and both struggled for work. Smith’s mother died of a heart attack when local farmers sent her manure & dead rats through the post & Carlos was reduced to chopping his furniture for firewood.
Now that we are about to see Barack Obama run for president, it would seem that racial apartheid has eradicated, however within health there still seems to be discrimination. Minority doctors are frequently not accepted with the excuse being that the physician’s patients (most of whom are minority) are allegedly too sick & therefore too expensive. For the American cities that saw the riots in the 60’s, regeneration has been slow and often what has been replaced is not for the former communities, with poverty areas being moved rather than solved. In education & wealth too, there is still a great divide. A quarter of African Americans live in poverty, ( compared to 8% of whites), 7 out of 10 black boys drop out of school and in some states are 60 times more likely to be expelled, there are more black men in jail than in college and life expectancy is 6 years lower. If you were to compare the income of people in their 30’s in 2004 with the previous generations in the 70’s, black men earn on average 12% less than their fathers and the gap between white & black incomes has risen not fallen. In 1974 black families earned two thirds of what whites did, by 2004 that had fallen to 58%. Despite the success of black politicians the economic problems highlighted by ML King are still there. King’s son, Martin 3rd is now campaigning for the next president to create a cabinet level post whose sole task would be to begin eradicating poverty.
Now that the IOC have awarded the games to Beijing, Smith & Carlos talk about how nothing has changed, “ 40 years have passed and we’re back in the same situation”. China now has its own human right issue’s and you do wonder at the IOC’s wisdom of choosing such a strong human rights violator as host of the games. It seems money is indeed more important than any Olympic ethos, what price on an athlete this summer showing some solidarity or protest and will the media let us see it? I just hope that by 2048 they’re further down the road than America are today!

The idea for this week’s post was inspired by the BBC documentary “Black Power Salute” (still currently available on BBC iPlayer) and I have referenced The Times, The Guardian and The Washington Post together with interviews with Jesse Jackson, Tommie Smith, John Carlos & Martin Luther King 3rd.

All About Jazz

For those of you who tried to download the free daily mp3 from allaboutjazz on Wednesday, you might have noticed that you would've been redirected to a Spanish site - altervista. Here is a quick link to the download to save navigating through a foreign site : http://dry.altervista.org/#disco. Usually by clicking on the box on the left, it will take you straight to the download box. Not quite sure what happened Wednesday! This is a free & legal download updated daily & is worth checking out if a fan of the genre. There is also an archive link for checking out older tunes. Nice.

Elton John review. McDiarmid Park, 6 july 2008.

photo by J.Baker.


Sunday Night Is Alright For Elton:

You know how they talk about old school pro's being able to work an audience, construct a set, project there personality and fill every corner of the auditorium? Well never a truer word could be said about Elton John. The man is an icon, as soon as the short figure enters with that trademark waddle, you know you're going to get a show. Not the warmist of July nights but the rain held off (always a bonus at an outside concert). His set started at a leisurely pace as you sensed this was just things warming up, his voice sounds stronger than ever since his throat operation which has also given him a lower tone, (tenor to baritone) Elton is one of the few who's voice has got better as he has got older. He genuinely seemed happy to be there, was engaging in his banter and was only too happy to don the odd hat thrown onto the stage. Soon the hits were flowing fast and furious, the crowd were singing & dancing in the aisles and as the night darkened the light show came into it's own. The band were excellent with Scottish guitarist Davey Johnstone getting the loudest cheer of the introductions! The evening climaxed with an encore of two favourites, "Pinball Wizzard" & "Your Song" it was worth the wait and even with the total running time well over two hours, it was over before you knew it.
This was Elton's only Scottish date in a tour that takes in Venice, Las Vegas, Paris and London and with it also being the debut concert held at McDiarmid Park, most of the audience were only too appreciative to have witnessed this little piece of local history.
The only negative for Elton is that he backed the wrong horse in the recent US Democrat Presidential candidate election but then again he is a Watford fan! "Oh when the saints ...."

Elton John in Perth?

I cannee believe it, Elton John in Perth, Scotland this weekend! He's in Venice on Wednesday and a string of dates in Caesars Palace from the end of the month, it makes perfect sense to stop off in Perth on the way, lol. This will be the first concert that has been held at McDiarmid Park (home of St.Johnstone FC) and I hope the first of many. I know for a fact that they've been approached in the past to put on concerts and they've always been reluctant, instead opting for the likes of Jehovah witness conventions, so I hope it's a great success. We've recently seen a new concert hall in Perth built with a 1600 max capacity and with McDiarmid holding up to 10,000, Scone Palace used for concerts for the first time last year, maybe we'll see some more? Just need to get a bit more contemporary (on a regular basis) and we'll be laughing! I'm not a huge fan but I will certainly be going along, there's no doubt he has written some great songs over the years, " Your Song" is still an all time favourite (even been known to belt it out a couple of times myself) although I've got reservations about the support Richard Fleeshman ( Craig the goth - from Coronation Street), his singles are fairly unobtrusive, however with his debut peaking at number 78 in the charts last year and the follow up not even charting he's done well to even get this gig! Good chance I'll be at the bar.

After bigging up Andy Murray in the last blog, he finally hit a brick wall in Rafeal Nadal and we've now this weekend got the unsurprising final of Nadal vs Federer. Murray's game against Richard Gasquet had everything, it was great to see the crowd so enthusiastically behind him and there has been no back lash! Another beacon of hope for the future has been the emergence of 14 year old Laura Robson who has progressed through to the girls final where she faces 17 year old Noppawan Lertcheewakarn. Glad I never followed my enthusiasm down to the bookies anyway, what with the tennis & the football I would truly be a poor man now.

Been a busy week on the networking sites, I've been setting up this page (more disc space than agelfire) and have recently rediscovered Friends reunited, they have done away with the subscription fee so its now free to search and chat. A lot of us signed up once but how many could be bothered to renew and pay again? so good move FR. You sometimes wonder if its wise digging in the past but I've had great fun hooking up with old friends some of whom it's been nearly 20 years without contact. I had a great weekend in May catching up again with a pal and his family back in London, there was regret there had been a gap but it was like picking up where we left off. We get a little older & wiser but the things you liked about them then you still like today (and the things you didn't like then, you're more tolerant of now) and I look forward to catching up with some more old friends in the future. The internet certainly makes the world smaller when you've got no address or a phone number. Have also updated the tune of the week on Bebo blog ( see link on left) which this week is......

go and have a look!

Football, Tennis & Nationalism

Well that's the football over now, thank god the Germans didn't win! I had high hopes for the Dutch but the Spanish are worthy winners. It's been a great tournament which as you'll have noticed from previous blogs, I wasn't that excited about to start off with, but from the off the tournament has produced some exhilarating football. It only goes to highlight our own inadequacy's, we can but dream.

This weekend has also seen Glastonbury music festival arrive. A lot has been made about Jay - Z headlining, being a hip-hop, non - rock artist (shock horror!) and by all accounts its been a big success. If the BBC I-Player is anything to go by, even late on Sunday night his set has been the most watched, so unless the organizers don't want to be commercial (& Glastonbury has always been eclectic) then all power to him. Let's face it if you want to rock out go to Reading or Leeds! I'm a big fan of the I-Player, for those that have not tried it, if you have broadband is simple to use and is definitely the future way we will watch television. TV on demand (to download free) rather than sitting down as a nation to watch simultaneously. It's certainly more convenient but does kill that water cooler moment when you can discuss the previous nights entertainment. However you can discover loads of programmes you might not have watched at the time ( or couldn't be bothered recording to your generic hard-drive player) and with the best of wills its hard to keep up with what's on them all!

I'm currently watching / listening to Rob Brydon's Identity Crisis, on the fore mentioned I-Player and as an Englishman living in Scotland with a Welsh step-father ( and family) and a Scottish connection on my Mother's side, this whole British identity has always intrigued me. Maybe I had a sheltered up-bringing but because our family and holidays were all over Britain I never realized until later on in life that there really is a deep rooted dislike of the English around Britain and even in England there is then a dislike of Londoner's / Southerners. I'm aware of all the history of course and I think a lot of English people aren't that patriotic maybe because of it? ( with the exception of letting our hair down for sporting events), or maybe we are just not defensive about our nationality or take it seriously enough, as we're now in a multi-cultural society we are now less defined than ever. That's a good thing isn't it?

Anyway enjoyed the programme & got me thinking about Andy Murray & Wimbledon. Not only is he Scotland's number 1 but he's Britain's number 1 too and critics here would say that should he win he'll be referred to as British rather than Scottish! Andy has never been one to be shy about the English and even famously said during the last world cup that he would not cheer on England. He wears his heart on his sleeve ( or his saltire flag on his wrist - do you think Tim Henman would've ever worn St. George wristbands?) but I do feel that when you're Britain's number 1, you don't want to alienate three quarters of the island! He definitely seems to have toned it down a little as he's matured and I'm sure will be a fine ambassador for us all. Wimbledon this year has seen a strict dress code imposed where the players must stick to wearing all white ( and no flags), and it definitely gives the tournament an air of understated elegance (unrivaled anywhere else in the world), which I've always thought of as a British trait?
So come on Britain's number one, super Scott Andy Murray!