Worst Person In the World: Dick Morris

Last night, was another special edition of Countdown, on NBC. And as usual, it featured some of the MSNBC regular features, such as Worst Person In The World. The Bronze, for the third edition in a row, went to WalMart, who own Asda in the UK. They've sued a former employee who was broadsided by a semi, and claimed over $400,000 in compensation which was being used to provide 24 hour care for her, since she was brain damaged as a result of the broadsiding. WalMart sued and won in court a claim for all the money this woman had in the world. I understand that Keith will continue awarding Bronzes every night to Walmart until they atone, which they should do VERY quickly, since this is generating tons of negative publicity for the company.

Silver went to Rush Limburger, I mean, Rush Limbaugh, and former Clinton advisor Dick Morris got the gold. Check out the video below.

American local TV station online 24/7

I've discovered that a local TV station in Witchita, Kansas, broadcasts a channel online 24/7. KCTU's internet channel is different from the broadcast channel, but it does show one thing. If a small local TV station in Witchita can sort out broadcasting 24/7 on the web, why can't some other TV channels do the same?

This all came about as a result of the station losing their affiliation with ION Television, originally known as the PAX network. Kudos to KCTU for a fine idea, well executed.

Posh legs it in PVC, not leather.

The Daily Star's headline "Posh Gets Leathered" got me interested earlier. Victoria Beckham is not known for wearing much leather. In fact, it was somewhat of a surprise when she turned up to the Spice Girls press conference in what looked like a PVC bustier and leggings.

Well, she's back in PVC again, only this time it was treated to look like leather. There was no way you could have leggings that tight made from proper leather. In fact, the Daily Mail called it correctly by calling her "PVC Posh".

I'm certainly not a fan of Victoria Beckham, but certain style choices always interest me, and the fact she chose PVC not real leather is interesting. Perhaps the fetish styling of PVC and latex remains a favourite amongst celebrities, rather than real leather.

Carla Bruni Sarkozy... and that picture!

Today, French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in the UK for a state visit, with his new first lady. at the same time, a photographer has released a nude photograph of Carla Bruni Sarkozy from around 15 years ago.

The photograph can be seen on the sites of the Daily Star and Daily Mail. There's no need for me to post the picture here directly, both links, if you choose to visit them, will show you the photograph. I could go off on one of my usual rambles about press intrusion, or about the price of fame, but there is more than that here.

I suspect that the photographer involved is making somewhat of a political statement rather than purely selling a picture. Nicolas Sarkozy is not a popular figure in France these days, largely down to his affair with Carla Bruni. The most recent poll puts his approval rating at just 37%, which is well down on his early approval ratings just after his election.

It'll be interesting to see if the Carla Bruni situation is as damaging for Sarkozy as Iraq has been for "Dubya".

Heritage Foundation, ready and poised... for almost 36 days!

Crooks and Liars some time ago reported that the Heritage Foundation website had a clock counting up the days, hours, minutes etc, since the expiration of the so called Protect America Act.

Well, having just been back there myself to check, I can report that it's still there, still counting, and still wrong. On the Widget it counts the number of days etc, "Since Congress Let Emergency Surveillance Powers Lapse." I think these people need reminding that a version was sent to Bush's desk, and he brought out the veto pen, since it didn't include immunity for the actions of the telecoms companies, actions that Bush refused to confirm happened, even though his VP did confirm it.

If these powers were SO vital, he should have accepted the bill that was sent to him, and then separately negotiated with Congress for the Telecoms immunity. But since he DIDN'T accept that bill, it was BUSH, not Congress who let the powers lapse. Nothing more than pure petty politicing, yet again.

Reporter attacked because she was black.

To say I am angry about this story would be putting it mildly. I am sickened by the actions of those who thought they could intimidate a local news reporter and scare her off a genuine news story, because the reporter happened to be black.

The reporter's name is Charmayne Brown, and she works for CBS-affiliate WSPA News Channel 7. Another news crew from NBC affiliate WYFF News 4 was also on the scene, and like WSPA's crew, they were covering a local story in Union, South Carolina about a murder of an elderly man in Spring Street in Union. The murder victim's grandson had been charged with that murder. It turns out, two of the people who attacked Charmayne, were relatives of the man charged.

Here's the video, courtesy of YouTube. But be warned, I do not believe that this video is suitable for anyone with a nervous disposition.



To me, this is media intimidation, or an attempt at it, with racial undertones at the very least, if they're not overtones. Both WYFF and WSPA report this story, and WSPA anchors Amy Wood and Tom Crabtree have both blogged about this story. I totally agree with Amy. You attack one journalist, you attack us all. We are supposed to be impartial observers, but I happily put my usual impartiality aside for this. I hope these people get the full weight of the law down on them. They have made for themselves more enemies around the world than you could ever possibly imagine.

The attackers names have been released by local police. So, Trina Vinson, Tousha Smith, Billie Taylor and Ronald Harris of Union, SC, you are today's Worst Persons In The World.

PETA is not Protecting our Environment Today at All!

Adult move star Jenna Jameson is fronting a new campaign by PETA, wanting people to "Pleather Yourself" by wearing plastic-based alternatives to Leather.

Now, I've no problem with the idea of wearing plastic, I have PVC trousers myself. But they seem to be so caught up in animal rights, that they haven't figured out that more plastic leather clothes also equals more damage to the environment. You see, Plastic is derived from Oil, and since we are running out of Oil reserves, as well as the plastics themselves being quite damaging if left to attempt to rot, you see just how a single minded approach to an issue can fail to see something just as bad.

"... By choosing pleather, you are keeping the fun alive and helping animals! What could be better?" How about leaving a planet for our children and grandchildren to actually live on?

Viewpoint Extra: NY Governor linked to Prostitution ring!

Okay, so he's finally gone. Eliot Spitzer has finally decided the time was right to resign his post as New York Governor. Lt Governor David Paterson takes over. So I thought the time was right to use some video highlights from whatever sources were available.

First from MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, how Keith reported the story Monday, and fair play to him that he did report it.



And then from Tuesday's Countdown, the Worst Person award, which does relate... just!



Now, some of the Breaking News coverage from Monday's MSNBC daytime news cycle.



Next, the Monday announcement from Eliot Spitzer, that was long on reterick and short on detail.



Next, more coverage from after the announcement.



Now, fast forward to today, and the announcement from Eliot Spitzer of his resignation.



and finally in our video roundup, MSNBC analyses what happens from here on in.



The most interesting thing about this whole affair is just how little Eliot Spitzer has said. He's given very little detail about the allegations, and it would seem that he is preparing to face justice and probably serve time, so he is avoiding saying anything that would damage any defence he can come up with.

We'll keep our eyes on the video screens and let you know what else we find in this story.

NY Governor linked to Prostitution ring!

This is a pretty big story in New York, and to be honest, in my view, this is a pretty big story overall. New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is reported by the New York Times website to have been involved in a prostitution ring. According to the report, he was caught on a federal wiretap meeting up with a high-price prostitute at a hotel in Washington, in relation to a ring, the Emporer's Club VIP, that was broken up last week.

So far, Eliot Spitzer has not indicated that he intends to resign, but sources have told WCBS TV in New York that Spitzer could resign as early as Monday evening and was not expected to continue as Governor. If he does, until the state constitution, The Lieutenant Governor, David Paterson, would serve out the rest of the term, and the post of Lieutenant Governor would be vacant until the next election in 2010.

This is big news, and to be honest, if he doesn't resign, it will be very damaging for Democrats in New York in upcoming elections, not just the Governor's race but other elections including possibly the 2008 Presidential race. By geographic association, if nothing else, this might also damage Hilary Clinton's chances if she doesn't distance herself signifcantly from Spitzer.

Dead And Buried?

I am nothing if not a realist. In the many years that I have been following the media, I've seen the them do a lot of silly things. But the way industry insiders such as Ralph Bernard have recently talked down DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) digital radio is almost nothing short of deliberate sabotage. Thankfully few others have gotten in on the act, though DAB does have its problems. But then, so does GCap, the company Ralph Bernard worked for. So maybe, it was telling that Mr Bernard did everything he could to hide GCap's problems behind the façade of a DAB crisis. After all, almost all of GCap's radio stations broadcast simultaneously on analogue AM or FM and on DAB Digital Radio.

But now, a group of analysts have bought into this façade and are trying to suggest that there is a real crisis in DAB, a crisis that - by the way - doesn't actually exist except in the minds of bean counters who are looking for profit all the time. The name of this group of analysts: Enders Analysis. Now, this analytical organisation has tried to claim that in fact DAB is about to become the next Betamax!

First of all, the analogy is way off the mark. DAB is not in competition with FM, or AM, or even DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) which is fairly new on the scene. If that were the case, then LW would probably have been closed off years ago. Secondly, to look at how long it takes for something to bed in to the public consciousness, you only need to look at VHF/FM. The band was opened up in the 1950s, but it didn't become popular to listen on FM until the 1980s. Even when Radio 1 had to hand over 1053 and 1089 AM to commercial radio in the 1990s, there were still plenty of people to convert over to listening to Radio 1 on FM.

The report's writer then goes onto suggest that DAB's financial health is looking grim by saying:..

"With three of the largest radio groups having reduced their commitment to the DAB platform in recent months, their stations having been replaced by a mix of ethnic, religious and non-commercial broadcasters, the future health of the DAB platform must be under question."

I really think this guy needs to wake up and actually do a little research. There are other issues at work here than just DAB. First, Yes, GCrap GCap is closing stations, not because DAB is a failure, but because of their own lack of confidence in both finances and in broadcasting itself. Remember they tried to sell off 9 stations as a bundle, that they felt were "non-core stations". They failed, miserably. GCap's Gold Network is in danger of collapsing. The whole network of 40 stations gets less than 1.5 million listeners, with some stations doing incredibly pathetic numbers. Gold's Plymouth station gets a mere 7,000 listeners. It's because the product being offered, whether by DAB, FM, AM or online, is one that people think is not up to scratch. It doesn't mean the platform will fail.

Virgin Radio may have closed one digital only station and put the brakes on launching another, but that again has little to do with DAB. SMG, who own STV and Grampian as well as Virgin Radio, are trying to sell Virgin Radio, but again, there are few interested parties. It's an attempt to make the Virgin Radio company more attractive to possible investors. It's got nothing to do with any possible failure of the DAB platform.

People were saying similar things about Digital Terrestrial Television when On/ITV Digital collapsed in 2002. I remember it well, I was reporting on it at Transdiffusion. Now, with Freeview as the base of the platform, the platform is thriving. Commercial Radio went into the platform without looking at how long it takes to establish one. They were looking for a quick 5-year or so turnaround to profits, rather than the 15-20 years it takes to properly establish a new radio platform.

DTT went from being a commercial platform to being a public service platform and has thrived. DAB needs to go down the same route and it won't as long as GCap are in charge of national and local multiplexes. GCap's Digital One and Now Digital are the DAB equivalent of ITV Digital. The daft thing is, this moronic writer of this report, whose name is Grant Goddard, also referenced the ITV Digital debacle!

"Ofcom faces a public outcry if the DAB platform were to fail, with owners of the 6.45 million DAB receivers sold to date demanding a refund of their purchases (remember ITV Digital?)."

Yes, I do. As I mentioned earlier, I reported on it, first hand, you can find the articles over in Bitstream on EMC, along with those of some of my colleagues who also reported on it at the time. And in all honesty, I do not see how over 6 million people would demand refunds for something that they HAVEN'T subscribed to, but just bought a piece of equipment for. Believe it or not, there are still ITV Digital digiboxes out there working, albeit not brilliantly, but they are working, just. But the most moronic statement of them all has to be the one that follows:

"Channel 4 is faced with the task of imminently launching a brand new DAB multiplex in the middle of a snowstorm around the future of the whole platform,"

A 'snowstorm' that has been created predominantly by two people. GCap's Ralph Bernard and Enders Analysis's Grant Goddard. Channel 4 got a taste of running a digital radio station in the recently demised Oneword, and it obviously didn't put them off because they chose to bid for a new national multiplex. And they won. 4 Digital group's stations represent the freshest ideas for DAB ever. All Digital One seems to have done is trotted out the same old tired sound, time and time again, and Joe Public is bored with it. With the growth in online listening, listeners can tune in to stations the world over, and find the cream of the crop.

Sadly for commercial radio, the UK's best stations are run by the BBC. British commercial radio barely flickers across the online 'dials' at all. But stations in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe are all providing a far superior product to almost anything we have here in the UK. The reason is simple. Whilst our commercial radio stations have cut back content to the bare bones of music, commercials and news, other stations across the world have upped their content levels and because of this, are able to take advantage of the Podcast medium, which out of necessity, has to be speech based.

DAB as a platform is not at fault. It's the stations themselves that have shot themselves in the proverbial foot. Yes, we've lost a number of radio stations on DAB, but they've closed because their business plans were not realistic, in much the same way that a multitude of stations have closed on digital television, not because of the platform, but because their business plans were not realistic, not designed for the new digital broadcast environment that exists these days. And because they aren't making money as quickly as they want to, they want to abandon a broadcast platform. And you, Grant Goddard of Enders Analysis, are actively encouraging them with this piece of anti-DAB propaganda!

The report reads like the kind of hit job that I would expect from Fox News covering a Democrat, rather than an analysis of DAB. It has so many inaccuracies, that I have detailed and more, and come to so many erroneous conclusions, that I have to consign this report to the only file where it seems to fit in. The waste paper bin!

Carol Barnes 1944-2008

This is a sad day for journalists and news junkies alike. Carol Barnes was a consumate professional newscaster, anchoring all of ITN's main news programmes on ITV, including News At Ten. She also launched Channel 4's first breakfast programme, the Channel 4 Daily. Some video clips for your perusal. First, the first edition of the Channel 4 Daily.



Next, an edition of ITN's News at 5.40, on the day that the 1991 ITV franchise round came to an end, and the fate of 4 of ITV's licencees is revealed.



Rest In Peace, Carol Barnes. You will be much missed.

One less extremist broadcasting

It has been noted by many blogs, including Crooks and Liars and Political Blotter, and confirmed by both KSFO and Melanie Morgan herself, that Melanie Morgan no longer works for KSFO in San Francisco.

Upon research, the reason why she was let go becomes clear. KSFO's owners are a company called Citadel Broadcasting, who bought the former ABC/Disney owned and operated radio networks and stations, except for Radio Disney and ESPN Radio, last year. And in 2007, they made a huge loss, over $1 billion, $1.5 billion before income tax. This is a serious amount of money to be losing and about 65% of that loss occured in the last quarter of 2007.

Make no mistake, Citadel cannot afford to be losing that kind of money for any length of time, no company could. Citadel own 243 radio stations, over 60 on AM, including many of the old ABC talk stations. It needs to make cutbacks, quite obviously. Melanie Morgan may not be the first cutback, but she is one of the biggest names to have faced the chop so far. Who else has to fear the axe? I imagine we'll soon find out.

Perhaps this means that not all conservative talk radio is popular in the US. Sure, Rush Limbaugh's show is the most listened to show in America. Thankfully for the realms of sanity, second and third place go to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered respectively. Perhaps the era of dominance for conservative talk radio is over or at least, on its way out. Which does beg the question, if it is on the way out, what will replace it programming wise? Don't get me wrong, conservative talk show hosts will continue to exist on the radio schedules, but hopefully as part of a more balanced schedule of programming, rather than dominating talk radio schedules 24/7/365.

Worst Person In The World: Jonah Goldberg

For those of us outside the US, who sadly cannot watch the show live, I'm very glad that MSNBC allows embedding of video clips from Countdown with Keith Olbermann and other programmes. This clip comes from last night's show, and as usual, Bill O'Reilly manages to feature. He gets a bronze this time. The winner though is Jonah Goldberg, who I hadn't heard of before he tried to equate fascism with socialism. Enjoy the clip.



From "Countdown with Keith Olbermann", Monday 3rd March 2008.

NPR criticises the world of punditry

This is an old entry on NPR's News blog, but I thought it worth highlighting anyway.

NPR's Tom Regan blogs about how pundits have taken over the world of cable news in the US. He references American activist Bethania McKenstry, who said one of the truest things I've ever heard.

"...I'm not sure I want popular opinion on my side -- I've noticed those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts..."

It is so true. Just look at the likes of Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Russ Limbaugh and Michael Savage. So many opinions, yet so little facts to back them up. The number of times each of them has opened their mouth only to stick their foot in it, I have lost count of.

But there are countless amateur pundits out there on the net, who I catch making fools of themselves more times than I can count in a day, never mind a year. The amount of rubbish that is spouted as hard solid fact and is believed as such, is sad. My previous post, was just one such occasion when I just couldn't stand to read this, without doing a rebuttle. I've done many others, throughout the history of this blog.

Make no mistake, I am as much a pundit as any of them. My difference is, at least I do research, and have facts to back my opinions up, which most of them seem to be sadly lacking on.

A Biased BBC??? Not Likely

I'm not ashamed to criticise the BBC when they get something wrong, but that's not nearly as often as some commentators try to claim. Take the blog Biased BBC.

They have used this online report as an indication of bias against Israel in its reporting. But as usual, this is not the case. The BBC is actually providing an unbiased report, which is not what the blog writer wants.

"...Who are these Hamas "militants" to whom the BBC obliquely refers? Can't they say the word "terrorist" since that is clearly the word which best sums up those who shelter amongst Gaza civilians whilst targeting innocent Israeli civilians with indiscriminate rocket fire?"

What this writer clearly forgets is that the BBC is a global broadcaster and these online stories can be read around the world. To some Palestinians, the people he calls "terrorists" would be called "freedom fighters". Language is much a weapon in these wars as missiles and bombs. So, to avoid being seen to be taking sides, the word "militant" is used, which is defined by the dictionary as "...aggresive or vigourous in support of a cause." "Militant" is a word that avoids taking sides. "Terrorist" means the writer thinks that side are in the wrong.

Perhaps this David Vance, who writes this blog has also forgotten that it was Israeli militants back in 1948 that made a land grab for the area we now know as Israel, which was formally called Palestine. Pre 1948, Israel did not exist. The land grab was illegal at the time, but because the Jews had suffered massively at the hands of the Nazis, it was left relatively unchecked.

But of course, like many conservative minds, and bad tabloid journalists, David Vance never lets the facts get in the way of a good story.

I give him half a point though for the BBC not reporting the many rocket attacks from Gaza to Israel. However, the information he seeks is available from other sources, but it does little to support his cause that the BBC should be reporting this. The following information snippets came from the site of the Intellitgence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC).

"...terrorist attacks originating in the Gaza Strip continue, the genuine source of the Gazans' suffering. On the day of the human chain six rockets were fired at Sderot and western Negev towns and villages, resulting in the wounding of a 10-year old boy; several civilians were also treated for shock."

"...Rocket and mortar shell fire at western Negev towns and villages continues. During the past week 22 rocket hits were identified in Israeli territory, compared with 45 the week before. In addition, 40 mortar shells were fired at IDF forces and villages near the security fence. The rocket fire on February 25 badly wounded a 10-year old boy. About 15 civilians were treated for shock during the past week."

Not one single death reported from all the rockets fired into Israel. And if David Vance is correct in his assertion that hundreds of these rockets are being fired into Israel, how come only 22 hits were reported? Perhaps this next clipping I've found might answer that question. It comes from the site Global Sercurity.org.

"...The Qassam rocket was first launched into Israeli territory on March 5, 2002, by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. While the rocket lacks a guidance system and is very inaccurate, the initial psychological effect of the rockets upon Israel has been significant."

So, it lacks any form of guidance and is very inaccurate. No wonder very few deaths have ever been reported from these rockets. It would be more through bad luck on the victim's part, rather than any judgement by Hamas. No wonder the large number of Hamas rocket attacks don't get reported normally.

But David Vance completely ignores the facts, much like his conservative broadcast bretherin at Fox News, and uses any slim opportunity he can to attack a public broadcaster doing its job. His Pro-Israel bias is blatantly obvious, yet he seems to see bias in an unbiased report. As The Doctor once said, "I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there!"

The "Biased BBC" blog is like far too many others out there on the web in that they espouse a non-factual, purely political point of view. They present opinion and propoganda as fact and hope you don't notice. Unfortunately for Mr Vance, I could see already that his "story" had more holes in it than a block of Swiss Emmental Cheese! A little research then proved that his story had no legs to stand on. Yet, there are people out there who believe this rubbish and others like it, whether it be politically conservative or liberal.

It just goes to show, choose your information sources carefully, and don't believe everything you read or hear anywhere, without a little research to see if it holds water, like the BBC report does, or leaks like a sieve, like the "Biased BBC" blog entry does. I don't expect him to even acknowledge this entry, despite the hours of hard work that went into it. But for me, the satisfaction comes in getting the facts out into the public domain, something it seems that a lot of blog writers know nothing about.

Bill O'Reilly may be in trouble.

On a recent edition of his radio show on Fox News Talk and Westwood One, The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, The Frank Burns of News managed to go against the wishes of the man he cheerleads on both his radio and TV shows, US President George W Bush, aka "The Dubya", by using the word lynching in relation to the wife of presidential candidate Barack Obama. The piece relates to a supposed quote from Michelle Obama, about how proud she is about America now because the nation has hope.

On last night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Keith talked about the story as his number 1 story on the countdown. If my html skills are up to scratch, the video of the segment should appear below.

UK Government sponsors football club!

In all the furore that has taken place over the "nationalisation" of Northern Rock, one small fact seems to been overlooked by the rest of the media.

According to Northern Rock's own web site, the bank are the main sponsor of Newcastle United, and since they are currently owned by the UK government, that means that Newcastle United are the first ever UK football club to be sponsored by the UK government.

Weird or what?

A Viewpoint Original Report: A Jinxed Shop???

Most of the pieces you read here on Viewpoint are commentaries on items in the news or on the net. And most of the time, I'm happy to do just that. Just occasionally though, I like to do some original reporting of my own. The recent posts on CNBC Life have been posts that were not originated from a web piece but from something I spotted on screen whilst watching TV myself. A post asking if it was time the Home Internationals returned to the football schedules was another piece not inspired by something I could link to on the web. So you see, I do follow other things besides what goes on on the web.

Just recently though, I have been noticing in my own town, a growing trend of shops closing down. A sports goods shop closed last month, after a long time of trying to sell off the remaining stock they had. Focus DIY's store out of town is in process of selling off all their remaining stock and closing down, apparently to be replaced by an ASDA supermarket, according to my local sources. And now, a toy shop that opened in town just months ago is closing down as well. They had been based in a store that in recent years has housed everything from a newsagent/card store, to a CD/DVD store and now this, only for them to be closing too.

Now, don't get me wrong. This is not the first time a shop has closed in our town. Hell, many years ago, it was thought that the heart would get ripped out when a popular local department store closed. But it didn't get ripped out, it just adapted. But for one particular shop location in the centre of town, to be so unstable, in other words, to not have a store stay there for a length of time beyond a couple of years in the last 5 years, is quite unusual for Truro. In fact, this is the first time that I can think of in my lifetime that any shop location in town has seen any rapid turnover of shops. Twice, Calendar Club have been there, then Foop, who went to the wall, and now, Hawkin's Bazaar has decided to sell up. And all this has happened since McColl's sold up some years ago, on account of it being too close to WHSmith, who are about two doors down the road from this site.

I can't say that the economic situation looks bad, because it doesn't, but is it the case that that particular shop location is jinxed in some way? I hope somebody moves in there and proves me wrong.

Classic FM's Simon Bates on US television!

If I were to say to you, Simon Bates, what does he do, you'd probably say, he presents Classic FM's breakfast show and he used to be a BBC Radio 1 DJ, and occasional host of Top Of The Pops back in the day. But what if I told you, he also is a commentator for CBS News in the US?

It can be amazing what you can find on the internet sometimes.



There he is, sat somewhere in London, reporting on a story for CBS News's overnight news programme, Up To The Minute. And, by the way, the story itself is an interesting one. A cautionary tale in it's own way, about how details in a story can make all the difference. Fascinating story, told in the inimitable Simon Bates, Our Tune style, only without the background music!

I think if I'd said that Simon Bates was a commentator for CBS News, you'd have thought it was a different person to the Classic FM presenter. Just goes to show, that on the internet, you can find the unexpected, without even looking for it.

Changes at Fox News Watch

Fox News Watch is the Fox News equivalent of CNN's Reliable Sources. I haven't been able to watch it recently because of the fact it changed timeslots. But I respect the programme for the fact it is completely unlike the rest of Fox News output. It truly is fair, balanced and unafraid, especially of criticising their own employers. Still, that is their job, or in some cases, was.

Inside Cable News is reporting that Eric Burns will not be returning to the show when it has a relaunch in the spring. That is a shame, as I like Eric Burns, he was a good moderator on this media discussion show. Trying to control the likes of Neal Gabler, Cal Thomas, Jim Pinkerton and Jane Hall was a tough job for anyone. I hope that Fox doesn't change it for the worse and makes it just like the rest of the network, as that would be disastrous. But I can't help feeling that Fox News Watch's weeks may be numbered.

America Votes 2008: Super Tuesday

They're still voting in 23 states right now, but in West Virignia, the Republican Caucus is over and NBC News/MSNBC are calling it a win for Mike Huckabee, giving him another 18 delegates. Huckabee polled 567 votes, against Romney's 521 votes and McCain's 12 votes. This is a winner take all state, so all 18 delegates go to Mike Huckabee. But the Romney camp is crying foul.

A McCain vs Obama contest would be very interesting as both would look to take the "moderate" vote as it is termed over in the US. To me that would mean a very interesting contest for the politcial centre, and perhaps a more interesting fight than a Romney vs Clinton one where both have strong bases in their side of the political spectrum but do not stretch very far into the political centre.

Viewpoint Extra: NBC Universal to launch CNBC Life?

A follow up to a previous post. I have just seen a new promo advertising CNBC Life. They announced that the programming block, which will air on weekends begins 23rd February. No further information available at this time, but it does seem like this will basically be the same as the old CNBC Weekend brand that they used a couple of years back.

WPITW on Countdown: Clinton got a lot of passes!!!

I have to agree with Keith Olbermann on this one. I don't think former President Bill Clinton got any passes. CNN, Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, were all around back then and were all over the Clinton Lewinsky 'scandal' like a bad rash 24/7/365 for 2 years plus! He didn't get any form of pass at all. Anyway, have a look at the WPITW segment from last night's Countdown With Keith Olbermann. That is, if my HTML skills are up to scratch!

From American Gladiators to the WWE!

Wrestlezone.com is reporting that former host and commentator of both American Gladiators and International Gladiators Mike Adamle is to debut at the Royal Rumble this Sunday.

I'm not sure if he is being groomed as an eventual replacement for good ol' JR, Jim Ross, or whether he will join Michael Cole eventually on SmackDown, but at the moment he will be joining the RAW team, alongside Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Todd Grisham.

I think this is a good move for WWE, as because of his background with American Gladiators, he is probably more qualified than some others that WWE have taken on before. He was also an NFL star back in the 1970s, so he is quite used to the rough and tumble of sports. I look forward to seeing Mike Adamle in action on WWE programming.

Viewpoint Extra: Heath Ledger 1979-2008

As a follow up to the obituary I wrote, I notice that the Dark Knight website, the one for the new movie to be released this summer in which Heath plays The Joker, has been replaced by a simple page. A touching and fitting tribute to a real actor, who worked for the joy of acting, rather than for any twisted notion of fame. He will be greatly missed by us all.

Red Eye's Fixed Noise "Alert!"

Fox News Channel has a late night news/talk/comedy show called Red Eye, which normally fails to be any of the three, never mind all of them. However, one recent edition did manage to include a real comedy gem, for about a whole 20 seconds!

20 seconds, out of the myriad hours of output they have wasted on this show. Still, it is a gem worth sharing. Kudos to the mystery newsreader, whoever you are...



And kudos to the guy who recorded it and put it up on YouTube for all to see.

Viewpoint Extra: NBC Universal to begin CNBC life?

To follow up on a recent post of mine here, it would seem that CNBC Life is NOT a new channel, at least not yet.

By checking around various forums, I have discovered that CNBC Life is a new programming block coming up in February on CNBC Europe. I have to thank Digital Spy forum member Epsom for discovering the information. Unfortunately at the moment, no further information seems to be available. I'll let you know as soon as there is more info.

Heath Ledger 1979-2008

Heath Ledger was perhaps best known for his starring roles in two films. The first was the role that first brought him to public attention, Sir William Thatcher in the 2001 film A Knight's Tale. It featured among its soundtrack, a cover version of the old Queen track, We Are The Champions by Robbie Williams, which no doubt helped propel a film which had no strong star names to sell it on.

The other role, was the one that garnered him an oscar nomination. Ennis Del Mar in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain, the film who garnered a ton of noteriety when it was revealed that it was about two gay cowboys.

Ironically, a lot of people I know were looking forward to his next big performance, that of The Joker in the follow up to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight. Pictures had already begun to circulate showing him in the Joker make up and a real buzz was growing about this role. It was very likely that his performance in that film would have catapulted him from superstardom to megastardom.

IMDB has him listed as being cast in a film called The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, which is the next film from Python member Terry Gilliam. Whether he will appear in that film now remains to seen.

According to the press reports I have seen, it is believed that his death may be drug related. It also could be suicide, which given the information made available so far, is a possibility. We won't know for sure for a while yet. Heath Ledger, born in Perth, Western Australia, was just 28.

R. I. P.

New Five News - Coming Soon

There is a new blog from Five News which is written by new presenter Natasha Kaplinsky, as part of the build up to the relaunch of Five News under the name "Five News with Natasha Kaplinsky".

In her first video post, she talks about having done research for the new show at CBS News. So, we can expect to see a bulletin modeled on the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric". She talked about sofas and the new set being built, and a more casual look. The casual approach to news has been done before, very successfully too, but it's very difficult to do without looking too gimmicky.

The new programme is due to launch in February so we'll keep an eye on that.

NBC Universal to begin CNBC life?

I have been watching CNBC quite a bit recently, and I have noticed a promo which is very minimalist, but seems to indicate a new channel could be being launched by NBC Universal under the CNBC brand. It seems to be called CNBC life, and according to the promo, it will have sports, current affiars, entertainment and other things besides, and to me, with my memory, it reminds me an awful lot of the old NBC Super Channel that "appeared" in 1993, only to disappear in 1998.

This could mean some changes to the weekend schedule of CNBC Europe, which would be interesting to see happen. What would be on CNBC life exactly? Not sure, the advert wasn't too specific, but I hope that we will get to see NBC's Today show again, which I remember from back when Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric were the hosts, now it's Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera. I also hope we will see material from MSNBC, such as Hardball with Chris Matthews and Countdown with Keith Olbermann. I would also like to see ITN providing World News again for the channel, although I have to admit I think it unlikely.

I do think however we might get to see full editions of The Tonight Show and Late Night on a small tape delay (less than 24 hours), which is better than what we're currently viewing now here in the UK and Ireland. The only thing it did say at the end of the promo was "CNBC life. February" so we won't have to wait too long to find out.

America Votes 2008: Iowa Caucus

So, the results are in, just about. We know who won, we know who lost, and we know who's heading for the race exit door.

On the Democratic side, which saw apparently a record turnout, Barack Obama polled 940 votes, John Edwards polled 744 votes and Hilary Clinton polled 737 votes. As far as the other candidates go, Bill Richardson polled 53 votes, Joe Biden polled 23 and Chris Dodd polled a single vote. 3 were uncommited. Neither Dennis Kucinich or Mike Gravel polled a single vote.

It was not long after the final result was announced that word came out from the relevant camps, that both Sen. Joseph Biden and Sen. Christopher Dodd, had pulled out of the race to become the Democratic nominee for this year's race to the White House.

Since neither Mike Gravel or Dennis Kucinich polled a single vote, both candidates must and should be, seriously considering whether their bids for the White House should continue. Even Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, should be looking at whether his bid for the White House has much gas left in the tank. I still think he could come up on the rails and it is not inconcievable that he could pull of an unlikely victory, but more and more, this is looking like a three-horse-race.

On the Republican side, things are a little different.

With 96% of the precincts reporting, Mike Huckabee is leading and almost certainly has won, with currently 39,814 votes. Mitt Romney polled 29,045 votes. Fred Thompson polled 15,521 votes with John McCain polling 15,248 votes, just slightly behind Thompson. Ron Paul polled 11,598 votes whilst Rudi Guiliani came a bad sixth with just 4,013 votes. Duncan Hunter (who?) came in last with 515 votes.

On the Republican side, the pressure is really on for ALL the candidates. Miken Huckabee won Iowa, but it's considered that New Hampshire is a much tougher state for him because the kind of Christian Conservatives that he appeals to, just aren't there in New Hampshire. Mitt Romney also needs to come up big in New Hampshire. To keep him in the campaign, he really needs to win, or at least come a decent close second. Thompson really needs to pick up ground in New Hampshire, otherwise his campaign is dead in the water. Current polls there indicate he is way off the pace there with just 2%. John McCain also needs at worst a second place in New Hampshire or he is very likely to be truly out of the running.

Ron Paul and Rudi Guiliani on the other hand don't seem quite so badly off. Rudi hasn't strongly campaigned in either Iowa or New Hampshire and seems to pinning his hopes on Super Tuesday, February 5th, when 18 states go to the polls. The problem is of course that this strategy could backfire rather badly if Huckabee's momentum in Iowa spreads through New Hampshire and on to Super Tuesday. Ron Paul needs at least a third in New Hampshire to keep his momentum going, but even he wouldn't be entirely dead in the water if he didn't. But he would be in some degree of difficulty if he didn't.

As for Duncan Hunter, he may as well quit now. His chances were always remote and now seem about as likely as snow during a Florida Summer!

At the moment, I am watching coverage of the "Countdown To New Hampshire" live on MSNBC, via their web site. I hope they continue broadcasting live on the web, as out of all the US based news channels, only CNN broadcasts on the web, and that's audio only. I really would like to see more news channels broadcasting on the web and in video too.

Merry Christmas from Viewpoint

To all of you around the world, let me wish you a very merry Christmas, and hope that your festive season will be a calm and peaceful one.

WLS TV in Chicago discover Breaking News... First Hand!

This happened Sunday Night in Chicago, live on the 10pm newscast at exactly 10.02pm. A mini van crashed into the street-side studio of ABC affiliate VLS TV.

Someone took some video from the overnight repeat and edited it into a 6 minute video of the relevant bits of the story. You can watch that below, or if my HTML skills are up to their usual standard, or if you're reading via video non-compliant RSS viewer, then the link is here.

Opera wants IE unbundled from Windows

BBC News is reporting that the Norwegian company behind the Opera browser is appealing to the European Commission to have IE unbundled from Windows, to have Microsoft follow web standards rather than creating their own, and to have other browsers pre-installed on Windows machines.

We've been in this territory before, when IE was first bundled with Windows about 10 years ago. Back then Netscape made a similar complaint to the American authorities, based on similar lines, which got them nowhere basically. Netscape went bust and became Mozilla, and Navigator, the Netscape browser, regerated into Firefox, and is now enjoying renewed success. But Internet Explorer still dominates the market.

I don't think that Opera will be successful in getting IE unbundled from Windows. However, it might just manage to get other browsers pre-installed as standard on all Windows machines. If that can be achieved, it would be a small victory, but an important one. I feel that is as much as can be possibly hoped for. IE is far too much a part of Windows these days for it to ever be unbundled. I have even less hope that Microsoft will EVER follow any standards other than their own, but allowing other browsers to be bundled with Windows, is at least an achieveable aim, and one that just might happen. Don't hold your breath though waiting...

Kylie Minogue loves the leather biker chick look

The Sun reports that Kylie Minogue seems to like her new leather biker-chick look. She's not the only one who likes it.

Kinky Gerlinky has photos of her from the Nobel prize shindig that was held recently. I have to admit I like the look too, it actually works well for her. Not everyone could get away with it, but she can.

And in just under a couple of weeks, she will be co-starring alongside David Tennant in a new Doctor Who adventure, playing the role of Astrid, a waitress on board the Titanic. The episode, Voyage Of The Damned, airs first on BBC1 in the UK on Christmas Day at 6.50pm.

Paris is a golden girl!

The Sun has a couple of pictures of Paris Hilton actually doing some work for a change, albeit posing for an advert for a champagne, but nice to see actually earning a living for once!

The interesting thing about these pictures though is that Paris is posing nude, but covered from head to toe in gold paint, ala Shirley Eaton in the Bond film, Goldfinger.

Back To The Blog!

After a period of enforced disconnection, thanks mainly to high winds, I am back, and ready to resume updates to Viewpoint once again.

The Golden Compass - anti-Christian?

CBN News has on their website a story about the new film from New Line Cinema which stars Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards, The Golden Compass.

Now, being a Christian broadcaster, they have some very surprisingly un-Christian things to say about a movie and the book it was based on, describing it as a atheist, anti-christian film. Some of their contributors go further, by calling it part of a decietful stealth campaign to bash Christianity and promote athiesm.

But when you see on a daily basis just how much harm religion has done in the world, in areas like Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine, isn't it really the case that religion of all kinds have done little to help themselves and their causes over the years by the fact that there are many religions, rather than a single one. Religion is supposed to be a unifying force. Instead, it has become just another thing that divides us. And these people are complaining about a movie? I really think they need to get their priorities straight.

US Cable News Ratings: Countdown on the rise

Bill O'Reilly use to bragg about how his 11pm airing got a better number than Keith Olbermann's 8pm airing. He might not have that to be able to bragg about for much longer.

On Tuesday, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann at 8pm had 874,000 total viewers, 273,000 in the money demo, compared to The O'Reilly Factor at 11pm having 867,000 total viewers, 226,000 in the money demo. This was reported by Inside Cable News who use live numbers only.

TV Newser, who use Live + Same Day numbers reported that Countdown at 8pm had 952,000 total viewers, 316,000 in the money demo. Compare this to the 11pm Factor having 879,000 total viewers, 226,000 in the money demo.

Not that Bill O'Reilly had bad numbers that day. TV Newser reported 2.747 million viewers watched the 8pm airing of the Factor, 471,000 in the money demo, according to Live + SD numbers, whilst Inside Cable News reported that the live numbers for the Factor were 2.71 million total viewers, 459,000 in the money demo.

Now, TV Newser have released the Live + SD numbers for Wednesday, and it makes fascinating reading.

The O'Reilly Factor at 8pm had 2.85 million total viewers and 658,000 in the money demo, some of O'Reilly's best numbers this year. At 11pm, he did very well again, scoring 1.208 million viewers, 401,000 in the money demo.

But again, Countdown at 8pm beats Factor at 11pm, with Countdown's best ever numbers. A massive 1.209 million viewers watched Countdown, 409,000 in the money demo, beating the 11pm Factor by 1,000 total viewers and 8,000 demo viewers. This is an incredible performance, by anybody's standards. More people watched Countdown on MSNBC than watched any individual programme on both CNN and Headline News and also The Big Story on Fox News Channel. Expect John Gibson on The Big Story to do his usual anti-Keith Olbermann hit job tomorrow then!

Now, Inside Cable News has also reported the live numbers, and not surprisingly, with the Live+SD numbers being so close, The Factor at 11pm had more live viewers. 1.186 million total viewers, 391,000 in the money demo, compared to Countdown at 8pm with 1.148 million total viewers, 375,000 in the money demo.

Still, these are record numbers for Countdown, the first time they have scored over a million viewers live, and against top class numbers for O'Reilly too. O'Reilly fans and Olby haters are going to hate me for saying this, but this is fair and square, a great showing for Keith Olbermann, not only against O'Reilly himself, but a great rating show. Whether Olbermann will overtake O'Reilly at some point in the future, well, who knows. If it were to happen, it wouldn't be for a few years yet, but at this point, I wouldn't rule it out.

XM / Sirius Merger could be approved imminently.

There are a lot of reports out there, far too many to link, but they all suggest, like this one, that approval for the merger between XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite radio is due to come imminently from the US Department of Justice.

This smells to me very similar to the British Satellite Broadcasting / Sky Television, which was allowed to go ahead, despite the fact that it was against the rules that BSB were told to work by by the IBA. Sky had the deep pockets of Rupert Murdoch and News Corp to fall back on. BSB had no such benefactor, and most of their shareholders were worried about the upcoming 1991 Channel 3(ITV) licence process.

Sky were the 'winners' in that so called merger. They basically absorbed BSB into their company with the token changing of the name to "British Sky Broadcasting" rather than tell it like it really was, Sky basically swallowing up BSB.

The real similarity here though is that XM and Sirius, like Sky and BSB, are both losing money, hand over fist, quarter by quarter. Because these two are the only competing satellite radio services in the US and Canada, this really shouldn't happen, in much the same way that BSB and Sky should not have happened. But you know it's going to. History says the merger will go ahead, the market says the merger will go ahead, my head says the merger will go ahead, but my heart does not want it to. I cannot abide the creation of a monopoly by a market that is supposed to favour competition.

The shareholders have voted for it, now we wait for the confirmation from the DoJ that, as we expect, this merger will happen, despite what we know to be in the better interests of everyone. If the market is so good, then let the market decide, and if the market decides that neither should survive, then so be it.

US Cable News Ratings: Fox lose to CNN Republicans!

Both TV Newser and Inside Cable News have reported the cable numbers for Wednesday 28th November and show that CNN won the battle that night handsomely, with over 4 million people tuned in to watch the CNN/YouTube Republican Debate.

Despite Bill O'Reilly scoring well with over 2.2 million viewers at 8pm ET and 1.2 million viewers at 11pm ET, CNN won the night handsomely. They also have recorded the best figures for any debate this campaign season so far.

Just wait until we get to the presidential debates. Those numbers could well be much higher.

It's getting cold in Canada!

Toronto's 680 News is reporting an Environment Canada warning that Canada is in for their coldest winter in 15 years.

I'd like to think that we in the UK could get a really cold winter, as it would do us all good to remind ourselves just what Winter really is.

News Roundup: Wednesday 28th November 2008

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: A 68-year old former drag queen has been arrested over the murders of 18 mainly gay men over a period of 30 years.

BBC News: Portsmouth Manager Harry Redknapp and 4 other people have been arrested in an ongoing City Of London Police investigation into football corruption.

WCBS - CBS 2 News New York: A 9 year old boy is facing serious charges after alledgedly bringing a loaded handgun to a school in New Jersey.

RTE News: Irish Minister for Health Mary Harney has survivied a no-confidence vote, by just 10 votes, but a Fianna Fail TD has resigned the party whip.

And Finally...

Ananova: A US judge has been sacked after he jailed an entire courtroom after no-one admitted responsibility for a ringing mobile phone!

A Democrat/Republican ticket?

The 2008 US presidential election just threw a curve, and it was a curve nobody was expecting.

The word is out that if Dennis Kucinich (Democrat) gets the Democratic Party's nomionation, he wants Ron Paul (Republican) as his running mate.

If a Kucinich/Paul ticket were to emerge, whether it was a Demcoratic or Republican nomination, or an independent ticket, it would be one of the more interesting events of this election so far.

There's been a lot of talk of an independent ticket from Michael Bloomberg or someone else, but this ticket has potential. You can bet this is one story I'll be following all the way.

When Conservatives Attack (your patriotism)!!!

Rockridge Nation has an interesting post, describing what you should say in response when Conservatives/Republicans question your patriotism.

Most useful post, added to my anti-political attack strategy!

Ralph Bernard and words of wisdom... Not!

This one crossed the wires whilst I was at the RMC newsdesk, and once again, it had me shaking my head in pure disbelief at how out of touch with reality outgoing GCap Chief Executive Ralph Bernard really is.

He gave an interview to Marketing Week, and some of the things he has said in that interview just leave me stunned with disbelief.

He says digital radio is facing a crisis. Wrong! There is no crisis in digital radio. Over 5 million sets have been sold, and almost 20% of the country can be counted as living in DAB households. DRM is now being added to the digital radio portfolio and it won't be long before combined DAB/DRM sets are available.

The Sirius/XM model of satellite radio is coming to Europe, and those broadcasts are digital too. Put simply, digital radio is looking very healthy.

What is truly in crisis right now, is GCap itself. Not all of GCap, though. Classic FM is continuing to be the dominant force in the national commercial radio market, and is the fourth most listened to national radio station, according to the latest RAJARs.

But GCap's local operations are very definitely in crisis. GCaps' One network of FM stations is stagnating at best. They tried to sell off 9 stations, including all their interests west of Bristol. No one bought them, and they took them off the market. All their local FMs sound far too samey. A localised "Morning Crew" at breakfast, a midday host and drivetime show, then networked from 7pm. Most others local stations are also guilty of sounding far too samey as well, but there are some exceptions. GCap stations take this to the extreme, with just about everything sounding almost exactly the same, no matter which GCap station you listen to.

Their AM operations, under the brand of "Gold", are in real crisis. With over 40 stations around the UK, with a TOTAL listenership of under 1.5 million according to the latest RAJARs, Gold is the biggest complete failure in the history of UK broadcasting. The Plymouth operation of Gold is the best example of this. Back in 1999, when it was Plymouth Sound AM, the station had a listenership of 67,000. Not stellar, but fairly stable. The latest RAJARs had Gold Plymouth showing a total listenership to the station of JUST 9,000! A pathetic, paltry 9,000. Around about an 80% DROP! Failing so miserably and completely, that it is no wonder, that Ralph Bernard wants to close analogue radio down, and have only digital radio. But even digital radio isn't realy a saving grace for GCap.

Digital One, GCap's national digital radio operation, is looking dangerously fragile. D1 is supposed to air 10 radio stations. Other than the 3 INRs on analogue, the other stations on there are Core, Life, The Jazz, Oneword and Planet Rock. That means there are 2 gaps that need to be filled when the BT mobile TV service ends. And with the added fact that GCap are removing Core and Life from the platform, that will leave 4 massive holes in the Digital One portfolio.

The second national digital radio multiplex is due on air in 2008, and whilst their progress to launch hasn't been completely smooth sailing, there is every sign that their full portfolio of stations including Sky News Radio will launch on time. This, if it happens as expected, will only serve to further highlight GCap's total and utter incompetence when it comes to radio. NTL and Telewest used to be the laughing stocks on the media industry. Since becoming Virgin Media though, they seem to have gotten their act together. Right now, GCap in the BIGGEST laughing stock in the history of UK broadcasting, since Lord Haw Haw!

Let us hope, somewhat forlornly, that the NEXT GCap Chief Executive, is a LOT more in touch with the reality of GCap radio than Ralph Bernard.

Australia Votes 2007: Roundup - Come in Mr Howard, your time is up!

So, the Australian electorate has spoken, and they told John Howard it was time to retire, not just as premier, but also from politics. This is despite the fact that no count has been completed yet and most are no further along than about 75-80% complete.

There are some seats that are too close to call, such as Bowman, where after 78% of the votes have been counted, the Liberal and Labor candidates are neck and neck. There is a hair's breadth between them and this one will go right down to the wire.

Peter Lindsay could be out of his seat in Herbert in Queensland, but the margin between them is so narrow, that no victory declaration can be made yet. At the moment though, Labour's George Colbran has a slender 0.2% lead.

In La Trobe in Victoria, Jason Wood (Lib) lloks like he might just hold on, but his lead over Labor's Rodney Cocks is just 0.4%, and still too close to call, with just under 75% of the vote counted.

In Macarthur in New South Wales, Liberal's Pat Farmer is so far holding on, despite an 11% swing to Labour candidate Nick Bleasdale. A miniscule 0.2% is all that separates the two candidates. The seat does have an uncanny history of going with the government, despite it being a Liberal stronghold.

Liberal Fran Bailey, who was previously the Minister for Small Business and Tourism, may just hold on to the McEwen seat in Victoria, but with a slender 0.4% lead, and over 25% of the votes still to be counted, the result is far from certain yet.

To the Northern Territories we go, and the seat of Solomon, where Labor's Damian Hale could unseat Liberal's David Tollner. But with a lead of only 0.4% and only 73% of the votes counted, there is still time for Tollner.

In Western Australia in the seat known as Swan, the sititng MP, Labor's Kim Wilkie, is in a tussle with Liberal's Steve Irons, who holds a tiny 0.2% lead, with just over 25% of the vote still to be counted.

These however are the stragglers. There are some Senate seats to be decided too, but to all intents and purposes, the result is known, we are just waiting to find out the exact margin of victory.

For John Howard, it was a very bad night. Not only did his premiership end, but his political career too. He joins Stanley Melbourne Bruce as the only other sitting Australian Prime Minister to lose his seat at a general election. Bruce lost his seat, Flinders, back in 1929, when the government went from being Nationalist Party to being a Labor goverment.

It will mean a new leader will have to be selected for the Liberal party. That will be one of the big stories over the following weeks and months.

The other will be following Kevin Rudd as he settles in as the new Australian Prime Minister. People across Australia and all over the world, will be watching events with great interest, as Kevin Rudd begins his term in office. What will the initial priorites of the Rudd government be? Time will tell.

Australia Votes 2007: International response

Not surprisingly, word has spread round the globe and the responses have been coming in from world leaders.

US President Bush called Howard a good friend and staunch ally, and congratulate d Kevin Rudd on his victory. UK PM Gordon Brown and New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark also both praised Kevin Rudd on his victory.

Australia Votes 2007: Democrats out in Senate?

It wasn't long after Kevin Rudd's victory speech that some news came in from the Senate side of the federal election, and it wasn't good news for the Democrats who held 2 seats in the Senate. Both of their senators were contesting their seats, and both seemed very likely to lose out.

Australia Votes 2007: Rudd looks to future, but has grace for Howard.

The new Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke to his supporters about an hour after John Howard addressed his. He was graceful to his beaten adversary, but focused mainly on the future and pledged to never to take the sacred trust of the Australian electorate for granted.

Thanks to the internet, there will be many people and blogs who will be following your words closely, Mr Rudd, and your actions too. Make sure both speak with the same voice.

Australia Votes 2007: Howard conceeds defeat

At around Midnight AEDT, 11am GMT/UTC, Liberal leader John Howard conceeded defeat in the federal election. It was the end of a long era. John Howard had been PM for 11 years, and had been an MP since 1974 in the constituency of Bennelong.

It seemed he realised, even then, that this wasn't just the end of his premiership, but also the end of his political career, as he noted in his concession speech that he might even lose his seat in Parliament.

Australia Votes 2007: The leaflet scandal

I'm sure you remember the scandal concerning the fake leaflet from the non-existant "Islamic Australia Foundation". I covered it in a recent news roundup. Well, some justice looked like it was going to be done as just after 8pm on election night, the expectation was that the Liberals would lose and Labor, the victims of the fake flyer would triumph. This victory was confirmed a couple of hours later.

Australia Votes 2007: Labor showing signs of closing in

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia's equivalent 0f the BBC, was already pretty certain at 9am GMT / 8pm AEDT that Labor were heading for victory. Election analyst Antony Green was also predicting that John Howard was in trouble in his own seat of Bennelong, even though only 17% of the vote had been counted.

Australia Votes 2007: Exit Poll

The early signs for the Liberals were not positive as a Channel Seven/Sky News exit poll put Labour as the winner by 53% to 47% for the Liberals under the two-party prefered outcome method.

However, few people were putting much faith in the exit polls, as they have a bit of a chequered history in Australia, much in the same way that they have had a chequered history in UK elections too.

Australia Votes 2007: Melbourne voters drives car at journalist.

One of the early stories to come out of this election was not a positive one at all.

Liberal campaigners and a voter clashed over posters outside a primary school in Heathmont. The posters got ripped down, and a newspaper journalist almost got run down.

Whilst I'm all in favour of being passionate about your political beliefs, and any other beliefs, there are times when you shouldn't take action, and temper your instincts. Politics is currently polarised enough, without people thinking that action needs to be taken to support their beliefs.

Australia Votes 2007: The stats

I promised earlier that I would report the stories of this election and that's exactly what I'm going to do. First, we're going to look at this election statistically.

Two seats in the Australian House of Representatives did not go to any party, but to independents. Kennedy in Queensland went to the Independent Bob Katter, who was a National Party MP until 2001, and Tony Windsor in the New England constituency in New South Wales.

The National Party has 10 MPs so far, The Liberal Party has 48 MPs and Labour has a massive 83 seats. 76 seats are needed for victory, so Labour will form the next government.

Looking at the State of the Parties, we see that Labour and Liberals dominated the voting.



Labour had 43.5% of the vote, Liberals 36.5%, the Greens 7.8%, the National Party 5.5% and Family First just 1.9%.

In the Senate, the Liberal coalition is still the biggest force with 37 senators, Labour with 32 senators, the Greens have 5 senators, Family First has 1 senator and there is 1 other.

Okay, those are the 'boring' but essential numbers out the way. Next, we'll start looking at the other stories that came out of this election.

Australia Votes 2007; The Verdict

it had looked like john howard might catch kevin rudd in the last few days, but it was not to be. the new prime minister talked to his supporters and accepted howard's concession, meaning that to all intents and purposes, the federal election is over. there are still a few seats left to be decided, and stories to be told. i will tell some of those stories later on.

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Australia Votes 2007: Online Coverage

As I have previously reported, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is likely to be the first choice for the international reader following the Australian Federal Election. But other broadcasters have their own election sites.

SBS have their own site, and will start their election coverage at 9.30pm AEDT. Seven Network have teamed up with Yahoo! for their site. Nine Network and MSN are together for their special election site. Sky News Australia also has a dedicated election section.

That's the one good thing about the web. If you go hunting, you can often find exactly the information you're looking for, and sometimes, like this time, you can find it many times over.

News Roundup: Friday 23rd November 2007

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The federal election will show whether PM John Howard's strategy will triumph, or whether voters will go for change and elect Kevin Rudd.

Based only on the votes to the poll so far, it looks like readers expect Kevin Rudd to win, but there is still time for things to change.

Al Jazeera: A 15 year old girl who was suspected of robbery was put in a cell with more than 20 men, who raped her repeatedly for a month, according to human rights groups.

CBC News: Lebanon's president declared a state of emergency then resigned, handing power to the military. The move is thought to threaten to push the country in further political uncertainty.

EuroNews: Denamrk's Prime Minister has unveiled his new cabinet and urged his countrymen to support the new European Treaty.

Sorry, but this European Union was created out of political ambition rather than political necessity, and the Euro was created out of political ambition, rather than economic necessity. It was a sow's ear when created and no amount of work can turn it into a silk purse.

And Finally...

BBC News: After 2 21 ft falls and four metal plates, one in each leg, we introduce to you, The Bionic Cat!!!

Verity Lambert 1935-2007

Verity Lambert is best known to those of us who follow the media and media history as the original producer of Doctor Who from 1963 onwards. But she started her career at Granada, then went to ABC before joining the BBC in 1963.

She later produced for London Weekend Television before becoming Head of Drama at ABC's successor, Thames Television. 1985 saw her creating her own company, Cinema Verity.

But to all Doctor Who fans, and to a lot of people around the world, she will be seen as the original producer of Doctor Who. In fact, in the recent revivial series, in an episode called Human Nature, the Doctor, under his human name of John Smith, refered to his parents by name. Sydney and Verity. She will forever be the mother who gave birth to Doctor Who, and steered it through it's early years becoming a very popular and successful science fiction drama series.

Mayor resigns, claiming brainwashing by satanists!

This is a story that reads like it came straight out of the old Weekly World News pages, but no, this story comes from respectable local newspapers and local TV as well.

A local mayor in Centerton, Arkansas has resigned after revealing that he was abducted and brainwashed by satanists back in the 1970s.

This is one of those that belongs in the Ridiculous News File, and needs absolutely no punchline of any kind from me.

Evening News for Fox?

After the recent report that Shephard Smith signed a mega deal with Fox News rumoured to be worth around $7 million, speculation has started to build again about a news broadcast on the Fox broadcasting network.

Fox has had lots of trouble with news programmes on the broadcast network. The current morning programme, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet is the latest in a long line of attempts stretching back to Fox After Breakfast and Good Day Live. The last attempt at an evening news programme, Geraldo At Large, got axed from Fox Broadcasting and reappeared on Fox News Channel. It too was the latest in a long line of failed attempts.

My suspicion is that they will eventually simulcast The Fox Report with Shepherd Smith, which does present itself somewhat differently than other FNC shows. We'll wait and see.

Getting Smart at the movies!

I notice that there is a new version of "Get Smart", which will be released at US cinemas on June 20th 2008, and in the UK on the 15th August 2008.

The film stars Steve Carell as Agent 86, aka Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway as Agent 99, Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock, as Agent 23, and Alan Arkin, who back in 1968 made what is regarded as an unsuccessful attempt to replace Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in the film of the same name, will play the chief.

Get Smart was a classic comedy spy show which ran from 1965-1970 and starred the late great Don Adams as Maxwell Smart. The series really worked because of Don Adams, who could do ridiculous comedy, but do it so straight and so well that you completely suspended disbelief for that half hour. It was a trait that Don Adams later brought to a 1980s cartoon, called Inspector Gadget. Even though he only provided the voice, it was unmistakable. Adams was a great comedic talent, and he is much missed. The series was basically created to capitalise on the popularity of the James Bond films.

Whether Steve Carell can even come close to recapturing the ludicrousness of the original is open to question, but this film could almost be an Anne Hathaway vehicle, especially as in the posters and advertising that I have seen, Hathaway is seemingly shown as the star, despite being Agent 99, and not the title character. We'll have to wait and see.

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all our US based readers, I'd like to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving Day.

News Roundup: Thursday 22nd November 2007

SBS World News Australia: Polls released on the eve of the federal election are split over which party will win.

WUSA Channel 9, Washington DC: Several retailers have opened on Thanksgiving Day, in order to lure you away from the table, and the comfy sofa.

Voice Of America: The British Commonwealth has suspended Pakistan for its imposition of emergency rule.

Global National: Winter has arrived with a bang in central Canada, with warnings in force for Toronto, Ottowa and Montreal.

RTE News: The EU drug agency is reporting that at least 12 million Europeans have used Cocaine at least once, and more are doing so, as the price falls.

And Finally...

MSNBC: A man who ran naked and drunk on a Delaware, accosted several good samaritans and casued three traffic accidents.

England Manager Sacked - A Roundup

As I promised earlier, here is a roundup of how the news media, with particular interest to the sporting news media, is reporting the story.

BBC Sport: McLaren sacked as England Manager.

ESPN Soccernet: McLaren insists, "saddest day of my career".

EuroSport: McLaren sacked.

Fox Soccer Channel: England fires coach McLaren after failure.

CBS Sports: England fire coach McLaren after failing to qualify for Euro 2008.

Setanta Sports News: McLaren takes it on the chin.

Sky Sports: Mac accepts England axe.

SportsNet Canada: McLaren era ends in England

McLaren out!

no surprise! steve mclaren is no longer the manager of england. he was fired earlier today by the fa board. later on i will bring you further coverage as reported by the various news media.

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Open Thread: Thursday 22nd November 2007

RTE News is reporting that the European Commission is denying reports that it wants to include questions about sexual history in its proposed "harmonisation" of censuses of EU member states.

My question is, is greater harmonisation between EU member states a good thing, or not?

News Roundup: Wednesday 21st November 2007

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The Australian Labouor Party is accusing senior members of the Australian Liberal Party of being involved in the distrubting of fake flyers from the non-existant "Islamic Australia Foundation", which attempted to link the Labour Party with islamic terrorism.

Fox News Channel: Three men who jad been previously arrested back in 2005, have been re-arrested over the disappearance in Aruba of teenager Natalee Holloway.

Russia Today: A female politician has repeatedly slapped a journalist live on national TV in Venezuela, leading to concerns over press freedom.

MSNBC: Opposition politician Imran Khan has been released along with over 5000 lawyers and political activists.

And Finally...

Fox News Channel: A group of Swedish women have staged topless protests over what they call gender-biased rules on swimwear!

England Out of Euro 2008

Obviously, this story is having repercussions across the world of football, but specifically, in the headquarters of football in the UK, The Football Association, who have decided to hold an emergency board meeting at 8.30 am UK time (0830 GMT/UTC).

My prediction... by 8.30pm (2030 GMT/UTC), Steve McLaren will NOT be manager of England. My belief is he will have been fired, because, as he stated earlier tonight, he is refusing to resign.

Open Thread: Wednesday 21st November 2007

NBC has made the first hour of the Today show (7am ET) available to download as a podcast,in both audio only and video forms. Is there a show that is currently not available as a podcast that you would like to see made available as a podcast?

News Roundup: Tuesday 20th November 2007

Independent Television News: Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, which starred Billie Piper as a high class prostitute, has been nominated for Best Soft Core Production at the UK Adult Film and Television Awards.

Ananova: A Chinese thief, who bought cheap plane tickets then robbed unsuspecting passengers in mid-flight has been arrested.

Channel News Asia: The Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao reiterated in regional talks Tuesday that sanctions would not help reconcilliation efforts in Myanmar/Burma.

Al Jazeera: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is hopeful that a prisoner exchange can be acheived between Columbian leftists and the Colombian Government.

Public Radio International: US polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs has been sentenced to a minimum of 10 years, for forcing a 14 year old girl to marry her cousin.

National Nine News: The Dalai Lama has said that he may appoint a successor or call democratic elections before his death, rather than relying on reincarnation, after recent orders that China must approve Tibet's spiritual leaders.

And Finally...

MSNBC: Two squirrels caused power failures for hundreds of people in Wisconsin.

Wife wants half her husband's lottery winnings.

Thankfully, this didn't happen in the UK, but in the US. AOL News US reports that a wife whose husband had won $600,000 back in June on the Florida Lottery is suing him for half his winnings.

The problem: He's done a runner, and the papers have yet to be served to him!

No punchline required!

Open Thread: Tuesday 20th November 2007

My question for today's open thread goes to the new Star Trek movie, which will features actors recast in roles originally cast over 40 years ago.

Do you think this idea of recasting is a recipe for success or disaster?

News Roundup: Monday 19th November 2007

WABC - Channel 7 Eyewitness News: More racy photos have emerged showing the Hoboken Police Chief and other police officers posing with weapons and "Hooters" girls.

WJLA - ABC 7 News Washington DC: Disgraced Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick has surrended to US Marshals ahead of his sentencing on December 10th.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Australian PM John Howard has denied that he has delayed campaigning in Tasmania because he has given up on two marginal seats.

Al Jazeera: Iraqi Police have arrested 43 foreign security guards after a woman was shit in central Baghdad.

BBC News: Zimbabwe's goverment is accusing the UK of planning an invasion and assassinations of the country's leadership.

This one belongs in the Ridiculous News File! The trouble is, they actually believe this rubbish!

Capital News 9: The Schenectady County District Attorney announceed a grand jury had found numorous problems with the way the local Police Department handled evidence.

CBC News: The government of British Columbia has ordered an inquiry into the death of a man at Vancouver International Airport after he was tasered.

New Dehli Television: The UN-backed genocide tribunal in Cambodia has arrested the former Khmer Rouge head of state after he was released from hospital.

And Finally...

Sky News: After a whirlwind 3 day romance,Britain's oldest newleyweds have just tied the knot.

She is 85 years old, He is 93!

Another "Incredible Hulk" Movie

The countdown has begun to the release of the new "Incredible Hulk" movie on June 13th 2008 in the US and one week later in the UK.

The official website is up, although there isn't much there currently, but no doubt there will be more in the weeks and months to come.

The 2003 movie, "Hulk" although decent, did fall flat in a few key areas. The stylised use of comic boxes, wipes and dissolves did not aid the story but distracted from it. The effects were very good, but they were unfortunately let down by one transformation in full daylight, which looked fake.

The performances were not bad, in fact very good in some cases, the casting was quite inspired. Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott was perfect as General Thunderbolt Ross. What let it down back then was a script that tried to do too much in too short a space of time.

Whether this new movie will come anywhere near to the quality of the orignal 1977 tv movies and series, well, I hope so, but I won't hold my breath waiting for it to reach there.

Open Thread: Monday 19th November 2007

Kos at Daily Kos highlights his own opinion piece that is going to appear in the printed edition of Newsweek, the first article from him to do so. There are two sections of that opinion article that are particularly salient.

"...In his first Inaugural Address, Ronald Reagan remarked that "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." While the quip has provided Republicans with a cheap slogan for two decades, the philosophy behind it is beginning to box them in. If they govern effectively, they invalidate their own antigovernment ideology. And when you elect people who believe that government won't work, you shouldn't be surprised when government stops working."

This is not only very true, but has been a Republican mantra for much longer than Kos suggests, even going back to the second world war.

The second section is right at the end of the article...

"...Democrats should and will use Bush and his destructive policies on the campaign trail as the primary example of what happens when people who hate government are elected to run it. The message will be that Bush isn't a historical anomaly: he's the embodiment of modern conservatism.

If Americans want willfully ineffective government, they'll have a Republican Party desperate for their votes. But with 70 percent of the American people thinking the nation is on the wrong track, it's clear they expect the opposite. As long as Democrats make that contrast clear—and Bush's record will be integral to that argument—they should be headed for victory in 2008."

The trouble is the current Democratic Congress is finding it tough coping with a Bush administration that is failing to see sense, and a Republican minority who is backing him all the way. Certainly effective government is not the current order of business, as Bob Schieffer pointed out on Face The Nation. This current state of affairswill undoubtedly make the election of a Democratic president, any Democratic president, a much tougher task.

Over to you, what do you think?

News Roundup: Sunday 18th November 2007

France 24: Greece and Turkey launch their first ever shared gas pipeline.

I hope this is a first step to the reunification of Cyprus.

Agence France Presse: Voters in Kosovo have voted for a pro-independence leader's party in key legislative elections.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: All 27 miners who were trapped in a Ballarat gold mine have been brought to the surface.

KCBS All News 740: An expert in time management is causing controversy by suggesting entrepreneurs go on an email diet.

Sky News: One of America's best known brands, MTV, is now trying to enter the Arab world.

WJLA - ABC 7 Washington DC: The Frederick County Sheriff's Office says a man has died after a deputy used a taser to break up a fight.

And Finally...

BBC News: A 5.5m long Minke Whale has been spotted almost 1000 miles from the ocean in the Amazon rainforest.

Democratic Majority + Stubborn Republicans = Nothing Doing

CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent and Host of Face The Nation, Bob Schieffer, makes a great point in his weekly commentary on the programme, which is also available to read online. The following excerpt though sums up the whole point nicely...

"...Who says there's nothing that two sides can't accomplish together? Of course there is - doing nothing."

Perhaps the Democrats need some backbone, and the Republicans a little humility and common sense, not that I am expecting any progress on those fronts from either side here.