Blagojevich removed from office

So, the Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, has not just been impeached, but he's been fired from office.

Next thing you know, "Blago" will be going round the news and talk shows again, to tell everybody how wrong the Illinois legislature was and he'll channel more historical figures like Churchill and JFK, and who knows who else, just to try and win the media war.

Guess what, Blago. You just lost your job, and you lost the media war, when you got arrested!

PETA's SuperBowl ad rejected by NBC.

The Huffington Post reference a New York Post article about NBC rejecting an advert from PETA. The ad is available to view at the Huffington Post page, and why it was rejected.

To be honest, I reject PETA, because it does not act like responsible people do. Instead of actually working towards preventing animal cruelty, they criticise celebrities who do not agree with them, recruit celebrities to promote them and waste their time and money on ads that rival Republican party candidate ads and teleshopping infomercials on the stupidity meter.

PETA is a protest group, pure and simple, and such groups should be cosigned to where they belong, on the lunatic fringe.

CNNI starts, slowly, with Breaking News

CNN International got off to a slow start this evening.

It took them 10 minutes to actually activate the video feed, and another 6 minutes to get sound going. But there was breaking news out of New York to greet us, about a plane that had crashed into the Hudson River. I say it crashed but to be honest it looked like it had landed, cos it was intact.

CNN International had joined their domestic network for coverage from Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room. Meanwhile BBC News had joined BBC World at about 9.30pm for continuing breaking news. Coverage was presented by BBC World's Mike Embley and BBC News Channel's Sophie Long. They stayed with BBC World's breaking news coverage from N8, whilst N6 produced the BBC News at Ten for BBC1 viewers only.

Sky News had dropped their 15 minutes every 15 minutes bulletins for breaking news coverage as well.

At the time I write this, CNNI is still carrying CNN domestic coverage, whilst BBC News Channel is continuing to carry BBC World News for the moment. Sky News is continuing their breaking news coverage as well. CNN.com is also carrying coverage online right now as well.

CNNI arrives on Freeview

CNN International has finally arrived on Freeview. Officially it launches at 9pm tonight with Back Story, followed by World Sport, World News Europe, The Situation Room and CNN Today, ending it's broadcast day at 1am.

Even though the EPG slot on 84 is properly there, there is as yet no MHEG for the channel. Also, there is an interesting note. It lists the channel as "CNN" not CNNI. Now, whether this means anything at all, especially since the channel is listed as CNN on Sky's EPG and has been for some time, is anyone's guess. But here's mine.

CNN has been making less use of the CNN International name for a while, and more and more reference to the channel only as CNN. Perhaps they intend to phase out the International part and have it seem like one CNN across the world. Either that or out of CNN International will come regional versions of CNN for each part of the world. Heck, they're almost there already. It wouldn't take much more to get to that point.

We will see in time, but first, we'll see how they launch at 9pm tonight. With Back Story being the first programme, I get a sense it will get mentioned by host Michael Holmes.

Campbell Brown: Mr President, you are wrong on Katrina.

I rarely highlight Campbell Brown's commentaries, called "Cutting Through The Bull", simply because far too often she misses far better stuff because she thinks she'll sound too much like Olbermann or O'Reilly. However, when something does punch her buttons, she does react to it, like she did on President Bush's final press conference Monday.



Unfortunately, the video cuts off too early and misses the best part, which sums up her comments nicely, so I quote it here.

"Mr. President, you cannot pat yourself on the back for that one. We will debate the war in Iraq, national security, the economy and the rest of your legacy. Those debates will continue for years to come. But on how you handled Katrina, there is no debate."

Well spoken, Campbell. More commentaries like this one that you obviously care about would help your program no end.

Trifecta of lost souls.

It's funny how things always seem to come in threes. Whether they be good, or bad, really does not matter. It always seems to be a trifecta of either triumph or trouble.

The same seems to apply to famous people dying. Just 2 days ago, we lost one of the greats of sports broadcasting in the UK. David Vine started his career at Westward Television in Plymouth back in the 1960s. He started as an off-screen producer before being asked in front of the cameras one time on Westward Diary because the regular sports presenter hadn't turned up. From that day on, he never looked back.

He moved to the BBC in the 1970s and was a regular presenter on shows like Ski Sunday, Match Of The Day, and even hosted Miss World. He commentated on the Winter Olympics many times, and hosted Snooker coverage for over 20 years.

He retired from on-screen presenting in 2000. But since then, he has worked behind the scenes at BBC Sport as an adviser. David's easy going, gently humourous style has long been missed on screen, and his prescence will be missed off screen. David Vine was 73.

Today, we have had two famous actors die. Number 6, Patrick McGoohan, as he was known in the late 1960s ITV show The Prisoner, passed away today. Whilst he was best known as Number 6, he was also John Drake in ITVs Danger Man, and he also appeared in films, such as Ice Station Zebra and Escape From Alcatraz. He also made guest appearances in other TV shows. He made 4 guest appearances in Columbo alongside Peter Falk, and also appeared alongside Angela Lansbury in an episode of Murder She Wrote. McGoohan also directed episodes of The Prisoner and Columbo amongst others. Patrick McGoohan was 80.

Ricardo Montalban had already had a 20+ year career before he took on the role of Khan Noonien Singh in the first season Star Trek episode, "Space Seed". About 15 years he reprised the role of Khan in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. It's reported that he agreed to take on the role again in the movie for a mere $100,000 purely because he loved the role of Khan so much that he actually wanted to play it again. For may sci-fi fans, he permanently became Khan, despite having only appeared in the role twice. That was a testament to the quality of his acting.

However, he guested on many different shows over a 30 year span, too numerous to mention. Search out his IMDB profile for a comprehensive listing. He did however have two series regular cast roles to his name. Mr Roarke, the owner of "Fantasy Island", and Zach Powers in the Dynasty spin off "The Colbys". In later years, he provided his voice to many animations. Ricardo Montalban was 88.

Worst Person In The World: Joseph Wurzelbacher

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Worst Person In The World: Glenn Beck

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Bob Schieffer: Evoking Great Memories

Katie Couric: Unknown Soldiers.

Anger over French minister returning to work 5 days after giving birth.

This story has been around for a couple of days now, since French Justice Minister Rachida Dati appeared at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, just 5 days after giving birth to her daughter Zohra by caesarean section on Friday.

Under French Law, women are guaranteed 16 weeks paid maternity leave, with 10 weeks usually taken after giving birth. But, the French Labour Code doesn't apply to government ministers.

Feminist groups in France haven't let that particular fact enter their heads and have criticised her and said that other employers could use Dati's quick return to work as a way of pressuring female colleagues back to work quickly. Err, no. They have to abide by the law of the land, just like everybody else has to.

SuperCasino launches... still no CNNI

A new gaming channel, SuperCasino has launched on Freeview channel 48. It basically features roulette with the opportunity to place your chips by phone or internet.

Now I have to say that although it's launched, my Top Up TV box can watch it fine, but my ordinary Freeview box hasn't twigged that it has launched and it still says "New Channel Please Wait" when I try to watch it.

Not that I will be watching it much longer. Like all gaming channels, this basically a load of crap. The boredom of having the same game every 3 minutes, does my head in. And the presenters, trying to be suave and sophisticated, and yet warm and friendly, basically comes across as Yeuch!

This is one channel that Freeview needs to lose, as quickly as it gained it.

On a related note, Nuts TV is still broadcasting, and there is no sign yet of CNNI. We know that Nuts TV is due to close this month, and information had leaked out that it was supposed to be yesterday, but apparently not. A lack of official information doesn't make this any better. There's also a degree of confusion over whether the channel will broadcast for 4 hours a day or 24 hours a day.

As soon as there is any information reported that seems credible, I will bring it to you.

Worst Person In The World: Bill O'Reilly

For the first time this year, Bill O'Reilly takes top spot in the MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olbermann Worst Person In The World honours list. Something to do with scaring people into thinking that there will be another 9/11 under Barack Obama, I believe...

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Special mention goes to the Malk Maid, Michelle Malkin. After being out of it for so long, she finally says something really stupid. She claimed that those doing the Minnesota recount were providing moral help and support to Al Franken, and that Republicans were left out in the cold when it came to the canvassing board, a board which by the way is made up of 2 Republicans, 2 Independents and 1 Democrat!!!

Worst Person In The World: Congressman Cliff Stearns

Congressman Cliff Stearns of Florida takes the honours in Wednesday's Worst Person In The World for inisting that Congress shuts up shop on Thursday so he can go an watch Florida in NCAA National Football Championship!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Special mentions have to go to both the BillO boy, and to Fox and Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade. Billy get his mention for his parroting of extreme right wing talking points against Leon Panetta, who by the way, has yet to be officially announced as the intended director of the CIA.

Brian Kilmeade get his mention for his "sensitive" handling of the naked skier story. You'll see why when you play the video.

Global Economic Downturn: Even the porn industry wants a stimulus package!

How do you know when things are really bad in the economy? Well, when the porn industry goes to the government for money!

It was the number one story in the Countdown last night and Keith Olbermann's guest was Village Voice's Michael Musto.

Oh boy! Comedy fest, here we come!!!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I think they're milking this situation a bit and are home to cream some of the $700 billion already approved for the banks. They may well have to bone up on their politics if they want to flex any muscle in Washington.

Okay, okay, I'll quit the bad puns now!

Katie Couric: Presidential Power Lunch

New channel arrives... but it's not CNNI...

...at least not yet. Channel 48 has seen the addition of SuperCasino.

SuperCasino has been airing every night at 11pm on Nuts TV. Now it seems to be moving to a channel of its own.

This question how long the CNNI slot will be and what times it will air. 9pm-1am seemed to be a bad set of times for CNNI. However, maybe a 7pm-11pm slot, which is regarded as EMEA (Europe Middle East Africa) primetime, is looking more likely.

This would tie in with information being reported on various forums about changes to CNNI's EMEA evening schedule. Perhaps the Freeview channel will be used to highlight the schedule. We shall soon see. It will not be long now. We should have a clearer picture by the end of Friday.

Late Show Top Ten: Questions

This one's quite good. The Top Ten Questions.



Personally, I think Numbers 1, 2 and 6 are excellent questions!

Late Show monologue: 6th Jan 2009

David Letterman delivers another excellent monologue on the CBS Late Show.

Ann Coulter continues her Guilt-fest

Ann Coulter appeared on NBC's Today show today, twice. Once again, I present the appearances to you so you can hear how nutty she really is, or you can save yourself the mental scarring and not bother to watch. The choice is yours.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Once again, don't buy her book, don't buy into her conservative propoganda. She's all spin and no facts.

Worst Person In The World: Sarah Palin

Governor Sarah Palin won Tuesday's Worst Person In The World honours.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Special mention goes to Comedian Rush "Limburger" Limbaugh, for accusing comedian come senator, him, Al Franken, of stealing the election. Perhaps he should reminded of a charge that he dismissed back in 2000, that a certain George W Bush stole the election in Florida, thereby giving him the WhiteHouse. They say that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. The trouble is Limbaugh and his ilk throw concrete blocks in houses that are all glass, on quicksand foundations. Yet they still, just, manage to keep their heads above the waterline.

Katie Couric: The Senate, Roland Burris, Al Franken and the economy.

In her latest notebook entry, Katie Couric talks about the distractions that Roland Burris from Illinois, and Al Franken from Minnesota are to the important work of stimulating the economy.



Yes, these two situations are distractions. The Democrats blocking Burris, the Republicans blocking Franken. I'm afraid it's business as usual in Washington DC, and both sides have lost their focus.

Late Show top 10s: Too Much Football

Another favourite feature of mine from the Late Show with David Letterman is the Top Ten. From Monday's show here is the Top Ten Signs You Are Watching Too Much Football.



Number 2 is particularly good!

Late Show monologue: 5th January 2009

I don't often highlight the monologues of Jay Leno and David Letterman, often because their own sites usually do a great job of doing that for them. But I'm going to highlight Letterman's because I can embed those, and I cannot find a steady source of Jay Leno monologues that I can embed. So here is David Letterman's first monologue of the year, from the CBS Late Show.



David and Jay are consistently sharp and funny, unlike a lot of other comedians today who rely on shock value to make them funny. That usually means, they're not funny. Jay and David always are. I don't tend to watch the shows for their interviews, I watch for the monologues and the Late Show Top 10, and the monday Headlines, the things that are what make them stand out from the competition.

Ann Coulter is Guilty...

... of being an idiotic Conservative firebrand. And the book buying public are guilty of feeding her psychosis by buying her books. And the media is guilty of feeding her psychosis by giving her airtime. And now I'm guilty of feeding her psychosis by embedding said video of her appearance of CBS's The Early Show.

You can watch if you like, and hear how nutty she really is, or you can save yourself the mental scarring by not bothering. The choice is yours.



The worst part is, she always dresses on her book covers in a way that is pleasing to the eye and to our more basic instincts. The latest evidence in this is the cover to her new book Guilty.


Talk about false advertising! A pleasing image on the front, and total propoganda inside. Don't be fooled by the pleasing cover. Don't buy it.

Katie Couric: Bush and Obama should work together on Gaza.

I was pre-occupied yesterday with happening in the UK and Irish broadcast media, so this entry in the notebook by Katie Couric got missed by me when it was initially posted but I'm glad I caught up with it now, cos it is worthy of note, even if it is a mere pipe dream that she proposes.



I just cannot see Bush and Obama getting together on this issue. I have a feeling that Obama is going to be very different when it comes to the Israel/Palestine situation, and I think the Israelis knew that too. That's why the military operations had to be now, because they know when Obama comes into office, they will not have such strong support as they have had from "Dubya". I have to say that I think this may be the last throw of the dice for Israel to get what they want, because they're scared that an Obama administration may just force a settlement on both sides, that neither want, but may have to live with. Israel is trying to get the upper hand now, rather than possibly come of worst in a diplomatic situation.

Bob Schieffer: A political year of the unexpected.

On Sunday's Face The Nation on CBS, Bob Schieffer looked back at where they were 1 year ago, and what had happened since then.


Watch CBS Videos Online

I don't think anybody predicted what happened this year just gone. It was an historic year, and January 20th will be a day to remember, not just for Barack Obama, and America, but for the world at large.

Worst Person In The World: World Net Daily

Monday's Worst Person In The World honours on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, went to Joseph Farah, the proprietor of right wing fringe website WorldNetDaily, who manages to contradict his own site's reporting on Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Special mention to Cincinnati right wing talk host Bill Cunningham, whose claim that poor people are poor because they lack values, ethics and morals, make it sound like poor people are democrats and rich people are republicans! Someone try telling Bill O'Reilly that, cos he seems to think that George Soros, who is consistently on the Rich List, is a democrat!!! Actually, he is. Which makes Bill Cunningham something he should be very used to being. Wrong.

TV3 rebrands itself, and Channel 6 becomes 3e!

TV3 is Ireland's main commercial broadcaster, even though RTE also takes advertising too. Recently TV3 bought out Channel 6, one of the smaller commercial broadcasters in Ireland. Yesterday, TV3 got a new look and Channel 6 became 3e.

So, what's the relationship between these channels. Think of it as a similar relationship between Channel 4 and E4 in the UK. Channel 4 and TV3 are the main channels, whilst E4 and 3e are the secondaries, both specialising in entertainment programming. You won't find news on E4, nor will you on 3e.

A little video of the rebrands. First, the rebrand of TV3, which took place during the News at 5.30, which has had the new look for a few months already.



And now, the rebrand of Channel 6, which happened at 10.25am that morning.



Personally, I'm not sure these rebrands look too good. But, give them time to bed in, and they may yet evolve into something quite nice. We'll see.

GMTV's new look for 2009 launches

As I told you yesterday, GMTV introduced a new look this morning. Unfortunately, due to technical problems, I was unable to record this morning's edition. My PVR decided to crash overnight. However, there are some clips on YouTube, which I am presenting here. Many thanks to the original posters.

First off, how GMTV opened at 6.00 am this morning.



Next, a little time lapse to show the old set being demolished and the new one being constructed.



And finally, the titles for GMTV with Lorraine, the new name for LK Today.



I'll try again tomorrow morning, and hopefully get you some stills. But these videos are excellent.

Breaking News: Al Franken declared winner in Minnesota

Fox News is reporting that Democratic candidate Al Franken has beaten sitting Republican Senator Norm Coleman in the long-contested, recounted US Senate seat in Minnesota.

More on this story shortly when we have it.

Price Drop TV disappears on Freeview

It was actually around 9am this morning when Price Drop TV was switched off of Freeview transmitters around the UK.

As far as I'm concerned, it's good riddance to bad rubbish. I was surprised I actually stayed watching it for as long as I did last night. To my mind, shopping channels, along with gaming channels and religious channels, are the most mind-numbing, boring, uninteresting, sleep-inducing, unentertaining rubbish that digital television has to suffer.

Freeview currently suffers with too many similar channels like Price Drop. QVC and Bid TV are two more such channels along with the two Smile TV channels and Gems TV. Losing these channels will not just help Freeview, but help the whole digital switchover, which is already underway.

At least a decent station is on the way to replace. EPG information for Quest, a new channel from Discovery Networks Europe, is due to launch soon, but we do not yet know when. All the EPG data says is "Quest Coming Soon". There's also no video or MHEG being transmitted either.

As soon as I can find out any more information, I'll bring it to you.

Chris Lowe retires from BBC News

Chris Lowe, who has been a reporter and news anchor with the BBC for around 37 years, retired last night from his latest role, as weekend evening anchor for BBC News 24/Channel. He got an unexpected surprise last night from his co-anchor, Anita McVeigh.



For those of us who are news junkies, like myself, Chris Lowe has been a steady hand at the anchor desk, and good reporter. He will be missed.

GMTV gets a new look.

GMTV starts a new year, with a new look. New set, new graphics, new members of the team, even a new news set. No longer will GMTV News be from a little CSO sub set in the studio.

I hope to have some pictures, though they'll be camera at the screen rather than proper full screen pictures after the new look has launched.

Freeview starts changing!

At about 1.30am overnight tonight, Price Drop TV will leave Freeview after being outbid for its slot on the multiplex.

This represents the first move in a major set of changes for Freeview, and for British and Irish broadcasting.

It has been reported that Discovery Networks Europe has bought the slot, and we will see a new channel called Quest arriving soon. At the moment though, there is little information about this channel, and nothing from the Freeview EPG.

I will be watching this happen, and I will report back later with any new information that I come up with. But this is only the first move to happen just this week in the UK and Ireland broadcasting scene. Lots more due to happen, especially on Monday. More information on that shortly.

Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor

Matt Smith, who starred alongside Billie Piper in The Ruby In The Smoke, is to be the new Doctor, the 11th Doctor.

He also appeared with Billie in Secret Diary Of A Call Girl in one episode, as well as roles in Moses Jones, The Street, The Shadow In The North, and Party Animals.

Viewpoint welcomes Matt Smith to an exclusive club with only 11 members. William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Ecclestone, David Tennant, and now, Matt Smith, all of whom are, The Doctor.

One of the benefits of the Internet.

One of the great things that I find about the internet these days is that it allows you to look back in time to a degree and see just how right or wrong we have been.

Back on December 17th 2006, at the end of another edition of Face The Nation on CBS, Bob Schieffer talked about Evan Bayh, a senator from Indiana. Unfortunately, there's no video, but we do have a complete transcript.

Evan Bayh is a well-regarded, two-term Senator from Indiana but he is not exactly a household name. So when he announced two weeks ago that he was thinking about running for the Democratic presidential nomination, even he knew it was a long shot.

He acknowledged it was a David-versus-Goliath kind of thing, but he remembered that David did pretty well.

True enough, but yesterday Bayh realized why the smart money is usually on the giants — because they are giants — and he quit the race as quickly as he had entered.

"Whether there were too many Goliaths or whether I'm just not the right David, I concluded the odds were longer than I felt I could possibly pursue," he said.

In other words, he took a look, realized he had no chance and decided not to waste his time or the country's.

How refreshing! None of this "I decided I wanted to spend more time with my family," or the catalogue of excuses we've come to expect from usual wanna-bes — or even worse, one of those ego trip campaigns that all involved know is headed nowhere except to get some TV time for the candidate.

Bayh just concluded it wasn't to be and said so.

The one downside is, that is just the kind of straight talk we need more of in politics.

A man so candid about himself and his chances might have had some interesting thoughts on other subjects. In a way, I'm sorry we won't get to hear them.

In a way, what Bob wanted to happen has happened, because Barack Obama has been refreshingly straight when it comes to politics during this 2008 campaign. Now as we approach the time of his inauguration as President, we as citizens of the world, would like to see more politicians be this refeshingly honest and candid.

We haven't seen too much of it from the Republican Party, and something tells me we won't see much honesty from them.

Brits open their wallets.

In this, the final London Comment of 2008, Simon Bates talks about the global economic recession, and how the stiff upper lip seems to be turning the other cheek and opening its wallet.



More London Comments to come in 2009.

The 11th Doctor will be...

...revealed tomorrow, Saturday 3rd January 2009 at 1735 GMT during a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential, airing on BBC1 in the UK

We'll let you know exactly who it is, as soon as we know ourselves. Stay tuned!

Russian Professor predicts end of USA in 2010. Where's the right wing outrage?

I am a bit late to this story but it seems I'm not the only one. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Russian professor, Igor Panarin, has been predicting for years that the USA will collapse in 2010. Now apparently, the Russian state media are taking great interest in his theory.

He predicts that Alaska will become part of Russia, Hawaii will go to China or Japan, and the mainland will split into 4 separate republics. He predicts a Texas republic, which stretches from New Mexico to Florida will become part of Mexico, The California Republic, stretching from Arizona up to Washington, will become part of China, Atlantic America, stretching from Maine to the Carolinas, will become part of the European Union, and the rest of the states will come under Canadian influence.

Now in some ways, what this professor suggests is laughable, but not entirely. Alaska had at one time been part of Russia. Texas, New Mexico and a number of other southwest states were part of Mexico at one time. Indeed, at one time Texas was a separate republic of its own, albeit only for 9 years.

There are plenty of other examples of states that existed in the geography of what we now know as The United States of America. And this would not be the first time someone correctly predicted a major superpower breaking up. French political scientist Emmanuel Todd predicted the break up of the Soviet Union in 1976. 15 years later, the previously unthinkable actually happened.

Crooks & Liars have the story too, but they don't give it much credibility. They rightly point out many people have predicted the end of the world before now, and they've been wrong. But how many people even in 1989 as the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, predicted the collapse of the USSR? Not many that I can remember.

My question is though, with the left seemingly laughing it off, where is the expected right wing outrage at this Russian professor who dares to suugest the implosion of their beloved USA could even happen? Could it be that they would secretly like something like this to happen? I hardly think so. Could it be that they are so worried about the upcoming Barack Obama presidency that they haven't even noticed this? It's quite possible. There's already been talk of an "Obama recession" under way and he hasn't even taken office yet.

Maybe we all need to consider what this professor says in a different context. Whilst his predictions do seem to be a bit off base, the idea of Republican states in the MidWest forming a breakaway republic of their own in order so that the Republicans could claim a permanent power base of their own, might not be so far fetched. And whilst there is no evidence that there is any support for such a movement now, I have learned in the years since 1989, to never say never when it comes to unthinkable and unbelievable events.

The Berlin Wall falls, the Iron Curtain collapses, the Soviet Union disintegrates, all within the space of 2 years. In 1988, I wouldn't have believed it possible. A stable government exists in Northern Ireland, something else that I didn't believe was possible. The USA just elected a black president, something else many belived wouldn't happen for a long time yet. Never say "never" in this world, for you may end up being proved wrong.

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2009

Happy New Year everyone.

I've set myself a challenge this year. To try to do at least one post a day here at Viewpoint, and I hope I'm up to the task.

With this being post number 1 for January 1st 2009, I think I can say I have succeeded for day 1 of this 365 day challenge. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up for the whole year, and hopefully dpo more than one post a day, but at least do one.

Wish me luck. I think I'm gonna need it.

Eartha Kitt 1927-2008

Eartha Kitt was known as a singer and an actress. To me, she will always be known as Catwoman from the third season of "Batman" in the 1960s.

Rest in peace, Eartha.

Santa visits the Pyramids

I have just seen the following video report arrive here at the Viewpoint newsroom from NORAD.



More updates as we get them, as we continue to track Santa.

Santa over Moscow

Santa, or as he is also known worldwide, Saint Nicholas, is currently flying over Russia. These pictures have just been picked up by the NORAD SantaCams stationed in Moscow.



As we get more pictures in, we'll bring them to you.

Santa visits the International Space Station

Santa has taken a detour from his terrestrial route and gone up into space to visit the Astronauts in the International Space Station in orbit over the Earth.



Santa has sent me a message here at Viewpoint to let all European boys and girls know that they should be in bed, ready for him to visit later. He assures me that he's making good time, and as I write this, he's just arrived in the African continent.

Santa passes through India.

Santa has been in India just recently. We've recieved pictures of him at the Taj Mahal, but I have read reports as well that Santa made a brief stop in Mumbai and has passed on his very best wishes to the relatives of those who lost the lives in the Mumbai attacks.



I've just recieved a report that says Santa is gaining height at the moment, and I expect a report any minute.

Santa spotted over Mount Everest

Our SantaCams have spotted Santa flying over Mount Everest and the rest of Himalayas in Nepal. This report came into us a little earlier on.



More footage coming into the Viewpoint newsroom here and we'll bring it to you shortly.

Santa arrives in China

Santa arrived in China earlier, and made his way into Russia as well. The following pictures were recieved from our cameras tracking him along The Great Wall Of China. Even Santa has to use whatever aids he can for navigation.



More reports on their way into us here at Viewpoint.

Santa passes through Japan like a bullet!

Earlier today, Santa passed through Japan, famous for its bullet trains. We recieved the following video report earlier on from NORAD, who are tracking Santa's progress around the world.



More reports coming into us and we'll bring them here shortly.

Santa goes through Australia

Earlier today, Santa crossed the Tasman Strait and into Australia near Sydney. The following footage was sent to us from NORAD.



There's more footage on its way into the Viewpoint newsroom, and I'll bring it to you shortly.

Santa in New Zealand earlier

Earlier today, NORAD picked up Santa flying over New Zealand. These pictures came into us in the Viewpoint newsroom a short while ago.



More pictures are on their way into our newsroom here at Viewpoint.

Santa Cam at the North Pole.

Earlier today, NORAD picked up radar emissions from Rudolph's nose, and we received the following video report.



More reports coming into us here at Viewpoint and we'll continue to update.

If Bozo The Clown and The Malk Maid are more sensible than you, You're In Trouble!!!

And THAT is exactly what has happened to Fox & Friends' Gretchen Carlson, and "The Mannity" himself, Sean Hannity, or perhaps that should be "The Vannity", on recent Fox News Channel programming. So noticeable was it, that it caught Keith Olbermann's attention and made last Friday's Worst Person In The World.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Special mention as always to the one, the only, the O'Riginal Fox News nutball, Bill O'Reilly, for saving the "War On Christmas!" Only so he can inflict it again on us all next year. Yawn!

Viewpoint Update: TSX technical glitch

BNN is now reporting that the TSX will not trade today due to the computer crash that happened earlier today.

The good thing is, with the Dow and US markets having only slightly moved at this point, Dow down about 36 points, there is little in the way of catch up to do. However, I do expect to see some extra trading tomorrow, or whenever the TSX next opens.

TSX in Toronto closed after computer crash.

BNN in Canada is one of the few online places that is reporting the Toronto Stock Exchange has halted trading after a computer crash. I'm looking out for more information on this, but a lot of other sources are not reporting this story. Fox Business Network seems to be the only one so far, with neither CNBC or Bloomberg seemingly acknowledging the story.

There's currently no information on when the TSX will resume trading, or indeed if it will resume today. The market closes for the day at 4pm EST, same as the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ. I will keep monitoring this story, but I'm surprised this is not regarded as much of a story in the global business media. The exchange trades around half a billion shares a day, so although it is not a large exchange, it does some serious trading. And all too often, it doesn't get much coverage as it's New York neighbours do.

This is the third time this year that the TSX has halted due to technical issues, and it is a situation I will continue to keep a close eye on.

Sometimes, Less IS more!

In this London Comment from CBS News Up To The Minute, BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive presenter and former ITN reporter Peter Allen tells us all how we could make do, with a little bit less.



Now that's probably the most useful thing I've seen on the internet today!

Nigella winds up PETA. Kudos to her.

Several sources are reporting this story about Nigella Lawson's comments on BBC1's The One Show on Tuesday. The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, Metro, The Daily Star and The Sun, are all amongst the many sites reporting this story.

PETA are widely quoted but PETA and their celebrity endorsers have been shown to be hypocrites before, and no doubt will be again. But it seems their outrage has yet to reach their own website.

On doing a search of their site for Nigella Lawson, it came up with no results at all.
Not only that, but even their front page has nothing relating to this "growing controversy".
This faux outrage of a common-all-garden pressure group is sounding more tired than Rip Van Winkle! So-called Animal Rights supporters have shown their true colours before, by kidnapping people, who are merely just a different breed of animal, and even graverobbing! And these actions only undermine the message and do nothing to help against real animal cruelty. So instead of taking out their outrage on celebrities, perhaps they should be dedicating their time, to supporting the RSPCA in the UK or the ASPCA in the US, who take action against people who REALLY committ cruelty to animals, and help bring real offenders to justice.

I won't hold my breath waiting for them to actually do something useful.

Mumbai Attacks: More media coverage

The story is nearing the 24 hour mark, and whilst the morning papers this morning were in general somewhat lacking the real scale of the story, the big exceptions being The London Times, The Guardian and The Independent, the news channels and the internet have been all over this story.

Whilst the news channels are returning to some kind of normality, the story does still dominate. Only channels like NDTV 24x7 and CNN IBN, which are both based in India, have stayed exclusively with the story. CNN International and Al Jazeera are staying heavily with the story as are BBC News Channel and Sky News.

RTE News has majored on the story, just like other network bulletins. RTE News Six-One, the BBC News at Six and the ITV Evening News were amongst the many network bulletins where they majored on the story.

Mumbai attacks: More media coverage

Unsurprisingly, the continuing developments in Mumbai dominate the news, though most channels currently are covering other stories as well. Even GMTV seems to have taken on a more sombre tone this morning with the story getting more coverage than most international stories do. There is a ticker running this morning with continual information about this one story. I don't see much GMTV normally, but I don't remember GMTV running a ticker normally. I could be wrong.

Not surprisingly NDTV 24x7 and most of India's other major news channels are running the story as continual breaking news. CNNIBN is one that does too, and is currently supplying pictures to sister network CNN International, who continue to cover it as breaking news. Star News seems to be one of the few that has switched away from it.

Al Jazeera is majoring on it, with a lot of breaking news coverage but they do attempt to cover over stories as well. Most channels seem to be on normal schedules with the story dominating the news. Fox News Channel is running normal programmes, but with Fox News Alerts replacing ad breaks in some cases. DW-TV is on normal programmes, but the story dominates.

ITN's online channel also leads with the story but continues on it's roughly normal schedule. Press TV from Iran also leads with the story, but also continues to cover other stories. CNBC is also providing some coverage too, using the resources of CNBC TV 18, their Indian partner.

I'll have more on the media coverage of this story, later on.

Mumbai Attacks: Media Coverage

Whilst the media has been all over this story, there is no real surprise that NDTV 24x7, CNNIBN, Star News, Zee News and Headlines Today, the major news channels in India, are the primary sources for all the world's news channels.

Fox News, Al Jazeera, BBC News Channel, BBC World News, CNN International and France 24 are all over this story, as are MSNBC and CNN US, . In Australia, ABC News Breakfast on ABC2 has been covering the story heavily. Sky News, rather surprisingly, haven't switched to breaking news, despite their Indian sister station Star News being right in the center of the action. They decided to stick with 15 minutes format. After 10pm, they switched to a breaking news format.

BBC News Channel switched at 10pm to the usual BBC News at Ten simulcast with BBC1. After the simulcast, they switched back to breaking news. BBC News Channel and BBC World News are due to simulcast together at 1am UK time, so, dependent on what happens in this story, the simulcast may be a breaking news format rather than the usual bulletin format.

News Roundup: Wednesday 26th November 2008

Plymouth Sound: A lesbian soldier has been given almost £190,000 compensation after being harassed by a male sergeant.

Plymouth Sound: A male escort accusing Boy George of false imprisonment asked to be handcuffed during an erotic photo shoot, a court has heard.

Digital Spy: Trisha Goddard has said that she has won her battle with breast cancer.

Comment: This is good news. Good news so rarely gets covered these days, that it's actually nice to be able to report some. Cancer, in any form, is not a nice thing to have, I've lost family, friends and colleagues to cancer, so I'm pleased that for now, Trisha has beaten hers.

Deutsche Welle: German federal police arrested two men Tuesday, Nov. 25, for operating a radical Islamist website and they are likely to face charges of supporting terrorism, prosecutors said.

Yahoo! 7 News: A Japanese man upset by the death of his pet turned himself in after fatally stabbing a bureaucrat and his wife, Japanese police and media said on Sunday.

Bob Schieffer's Weekly Commentary: James Jones for National Security

Whilst Hillary Clinton may have stolen the headlines and the focus last week as the possible Secretary Of State, Bob Schieffer highlights another possible appointee, this time for National Security Adviser, James L Jones.



Bob Schieffer is usually the commentator of reason in a punditry that seems to be more about noise than accuracy. This is why I continue to highlight his weekly commentaries on Face The Nation, and I will continue to do so.

Lose the phone, but find the pictures on the web!

NBC Washington reports a story out of Fayetteville. An Arkansas man accidentally left his mobile phone in a local MacDonalds, only to discover that the pictures from the phone made their way onto the internet.

The man is now suing MacDonalds, the franchise company that owns the Fayetteville store and the store manager for $3 million in damages for suffering, embarrasment, and the costs of having to move house.

Why so much? The pictures were of his wife, nude!

Hold onto those phones, people!

French Maids are tax deductable in France!

NBC Washington and The London Times is reporting that the French are turning to one of their most enduring and iconic sex symbols for help. No, not Catherine Deneuve, but the French Maid.

Maid services are amongst the services that can be tax deductable in France as part of government policy to generate over 130,000 service jobs.

Hey, if they were to wear the traditional french maid uniform, I might just retire there!!!

The UK pre-budget report:

From 2011, A new 45% income tax rate for people earning over £150,000 a year.

The UK pre-budget report: National Insurance

UK National Insurance will increase by 0.5%, and the starting threshold will be raised to be in line with the income tax starting threshold.

The UK pre-budget report: VAT

The Chancellor has announced that VAT will be cut from 17.5% to 15% from December 1st, and will last for 13 months.

UK pre-budget report: Government borrowing

The Chancellor has announced that borrowing will go up to £78blln this year and £118blln next year with borrowing being back into balance by 2016

UK pre-budget report: MP reprimanded

Tory MP Michael Fabricant has been redprimanded by the speaker of the house for loudly heckling the Chancellor.

UK Pre-budget report: counting down...

We're just minutes away from the UK Chancellor of The Exchequer standing up and releasing his pre-budget report, the most anticipated report for a long time.

We'll update you on all relevant details as they come in

New version of Dominic Glynn Doctor Who Theme

I've discovered a new remix of the 1986 Dominic Glynn version of the Doctor Who theme. It was apparently released in the Trial Of A Time Lord boxset. For those of you who don't know it, here's the original version.



Now, sample the new remixed version.



I have to say, I liked the original version, even though it was a weak theme really, but the new version has improved on it, and does strengthen it somewhat. It still won't top the Delia Derbyshire, Murray Gold or Peter Howell versions, but if it makes it better, then I'm happy with that.

Ageism in Britain, as seen in America!

CBS News produces a programme that airs overnight on CBS stations, called Up To The Minute, and as part of it, contributors from London give commentary on various stories that occur on our side of the big pond. Sort of a reverse "Letter From America".

The "London Comment" has been featured on this blog before. Back in February 08, I discovered that Classic FM presenter and former Radio 1 DJ Simon Bates was a contributor to this feature. Well, I've discovered a few more familiar names and faces who contribute to the London Comment.

Ed Boyle was a former Political Editor for Westcountry News for many years. Now he is one of the regular contributors to the London Comment. In his latest comment, he talks about Ageism in Britain.



I'll have more London Comments from other CBS News Up To The Minute contributors soon.

Former Porn Star now works in school.

There are plenty of news sources reporting this story out of Vineland, New Jersey; NBC Philadelphia and Fox News amongst them.

Whilst there are those in the area who want her fired, but at least Fox News reports that legal experts have advised them that she cannot be fired because of her porn past for two reasons...

"...one, it's not illegal, and two, it's not on school time."

What I say is this. Who cares if she is STILL in porn, or as she claims, gave it up five years ago.As long as she is not engaged in it during the time she is supposed to be doing her school job, then there is no issue and no case to answer.

Lipstick sales going up as economy goes down?

It's an odd concept. When the economy is in decline, sales of lipstick and other cosmetics actually go up. Sounds totally daft. But, as KVAL's Laura Rillos explains, lipstick sales may well be a good economic indicator.

Global News expands overseas

Not sure exactly when this happened, but it had to have been recently. Global News in Canada has expanded its global newsgathering with the addition of bureaus around the world.

Global had always had a bureau in Washington, Eric Sorensen is the bureau chief there. In recent times, they've also had a video-journalist in London, Stuart Greer. Now, former weekend anchor Tara Nelson has become Europe Bureau Chief, based in London, whilst Stuart Greer has become a London-based Foreign Editor.

Jas Johal, who was previously a correspondent based in Vancouver, has become South Asia Correspondent, based in New Delhi, India.

Lauren McNabb, who was a Toronto-based correspondent, is now Middle East Correspondent based in Jerusalem.

Ben O'Hara-Byrne, who was previously an Ottawa-based correspondent, is now based in Beijing and covering the news from Asia.

This is a good move for Global, as it now cements their position as not only a force in Canadian news broadcasting, but a growing force in international news. Global National can be seen worldwide as an on-demand webcast, and podcast. The website is not bad either. There are 3 bulletins produced by Global National. The main half hour bulletin, plus two updates, one 30 seconds in length, and one 60 second update.

Shepard Smith smacks down the "Liberal Media" myth!

Okay, it didn't happen on Fox News Channel, but it did happen on Fox News.com. In a webcast called "The Strategy Room", Fox News Radio host Andrew Napolitano and Fox Report anchor Shepard Smith were part of a discussion that included "Comedian" Nick DiPaolo, who brought up that old republican chestnut of the "liberal media". I was pleasantly surprised to find it smacked down sao quickly and so emphatically by Shep!



Now that IS telling it straight! Good on you, Shepard Smith. Perhaps we'll start hearing other anchors and commentators telling it straight for once.

Okay, maybe that's a little unkind. Bill O'Reilly can tell it straight on some issues and get it right. I would like to see Sean Hannity tell it straight just once, but I don't hold out any hope.

Beyonce Knowles as Wonder Woman?

The Boston Channel reports that Beyonce Knowles has held talks with Warner Brothers and DC Comics about playing Wonder Woman in a movie.

Hey, Warner Brothers gave us a black Catwoman, why not a black Wonder Woman?

Hilary Duff music video banned on US TV

Zoo Today has embed the music video from YouTube. Hilary Duff's latest single sounds remarkably similar to an old Marilyn Manson hit, and there are claims it has been banned from US television because it contains scenes of bondage. I've embed the video here, so you can see what you think.

The "CNN Hologram" - now you know it's a successful

Whether you were watching the US Presidential Election earlier this week or not, you'll know that two big stories came out of it. The first was of course, Barack Obama's victory. The other was "The CNN Hologram". Here it is, as it happened.



There's an old saying, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This comes from TV3 New Zealand's coverage of the New Zealand General Election just a few days later...



...complete with Star Trek sound effect!

I think it's safe to say that we'll be seeing more "CNN Holograms" appearing on other news networks in the next few years or so.

America Votes 2008: The Final Analysis

Well, it's been a long and eventful night, and yes, an historic one. I'd always hoped Obama would win, and always believed he would, but my cynical side kept rearing it's ugly head, saying the Republicans will find a way to steal it, yet again. Thankfully I was proved wrong.

So in the cols light of day in Washington DC, and across the world, we can look back on the night that came before, and reflect on just how it happened. It's a very long reflection, and it begins when the first polls closed.

0000 GMT / 1900 EST / 1600 PST.

Six states closed their polling stations at 7pm Eastern; Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. Of those 6 states only Vermont had been a Democratic state, the others all went with the Republicans.

The first state to called in this election was KENTUCKY. The Bluegrass State is politically Red, for Republican, and this year was no exception, they went with John McCain, by a margin of 58.3% to 41.7% when the votes were finally counted. Kentucky is worth 8 votes in the US Electoral College system, so John McCain took 8 Electoral College votes.

Almost immediately following was VERMONT. Historically it has been a Democratic blue state, and once again, this year was no exception, with the projection being for Barack Obama, and with about 95% of precints reporting as I write this, Obama has secured around two thirds of the vote. Vermont is worth only 3 votes in the Electoral College so Obama took just 3 Electoral College votes.

SCOREBOARD at 0000 GMT:
John McCain: 8
Barack Obama: 3

The other four states at this time were to close to call.

0030 GMT / 1930 EST / 1630 PST

3 states closed their polls at 7.30pm Eastern. North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia. None of the states were called at this time. This made a total of 7 states that were too close to call, therefore the scoreboard remained the same.

0053 GMT / 1953 EST / 1653 PST

SOUTH CAROLINA was projected to be another win for John McCain. As I write this now in review 99% of the precincts have reported and McCain has about a 9 percentage point lead over Obama. South Carolina is worth 8 Electoral College votes to John McCain.

SCOREBOARD at 0053 GMT
John McCain: 16
Barack Obama: 3

The remaining 6 states at this time are still too close to call, and the polls are about to close across a third of the country.

0100 GMT / 2000 EST / 1700 PST

16 states closed their polls at 8pm Eastern; Alabama, Connecticut, The District Of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. It meant by this time half the states had closed their polling stations.

PENNSYLVANIA was the big news at this hour. It had been Democratic Blue for the last 4 elections, and it had stayed Democratic, being called for Barack Obama. With 99% of the precincts reporting as I write this, Obama has an 11% lead over McCain, despite having won the vote in only 17 counties, compared to 48 counties for McCain. Mercer County was incredibly tight with McCain beating Obama there by just 2 votes. But it was Barack Obama who claimed the 21 Electoral College votes that Pennsylvania has.

NEW HAMPSHIRE was then called for Barack Obama. It had stayed Democratic and had given Barack Obama another 4 Electoral College Votes.

It was then no surprise at all to find out that ILLINOIS, Barack Obama's home state, was called then for Obama, giving him another 21 Electoral College Votes.

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA then was also called for Barack Obama, giving him 3 more Electoral College Votes.

The next state to be called was MASSACHUSETTS. Like the 4 states before it, it to was called for Barack Obama. This gave him another 12 Electoral College Votes.

Then DELAWARE was also called for Obama, giving him another 3 Electoral College Votes. When the votes were counted, Obama had 61% of the vote, and had the popular vote in 2 of Delaware's 3 counties. It was a pretty comprehensive victory.

The home state of Country Music, TENNESSEE, had voted Republican every election except in 1996. This year was not to be another exception, with the state being called for John McCain, giving him another 11 Electoral College Votes.

MARYLAND was called for Barack Obama, giving him another 10 Electoral College Votes.

CONNECTICUT was called for Barack Obama, adding another 7 Electoral College Votes to the total.
OKLAHOMA was called for John McCain, giving him another 7 Electoral College Votes.

A total of 13 states had been called leaving 12 too close to call at this stage.

SCOREBOARD at 0100 GMT
John McCain: 34
Barack Obama: 84

It's obvious that in this round of calls, the damage was really done. 8 states had been called for Barack Obama, only 2 for John McCain. However, it was the result in only two states that had at this time effectively sealed John McCain's fate already. Pennsylvania and New Hampshire were targets for John McCain if McCain had any realistic hopes of winning, he had to win in those states. He didn't.

0106 GMT / 2016 EST / 1716 PST

We barely had time to pause for breath before MAINE was called for Obama giving him another 4 Electoral College Votes.

Then NEW JERSEY was also called for Barack Obama giving him another 15 Electoral College Votes.

At this stage 10 states were still officially too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0106 GMT
John McCain: 34
Barack Obama: 103

This was already looking like an Obama victory. He had held on to two key battlegrounds, and was already moving ahead of John McCain.

0130 GMT / 2030 EST / 1730 PST

1 state closed their polls at 8.30pm Eastern and that was in Arkansas.

ALABAMA was called for John McCain, giving him another 9 Electoral College Votes.

ARKANSAS was called also for John McCain, adding another 6 Electoral College Votes to his total.

At this point in proceedings, 9 states are still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0130 GMT
John McCain: 49
Barack Obama: 103

McCain may have made up some ground there, but the two states called for him were expected to be Republican. We have yet to see a state switch sides as it were, and when we do, we'll know for certain who is likely to win and lose.

0200 GMT / 2100 EST / 1800 PST

There are 15 states closing their polls. Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. This brings the total number of states who have closed the polls to 41. Only 9 states are still voting at this stage.

First call this hour is MICHIGAN, called for Barack Obama, adding another 17 Electoral College Votes to his total.

Then came MINNESOTA, also called for Barack Obama. That's 10 more votes to his Electoral College total.

WISCONSIN is also called for Obama, 10 more Electoral College Votes.

NEW YORK unsurprisingly was called for Obama, adding another 31 Electoral College Votes. New York has one of the largest Electoral College Vote allocations available.

NORTH DAKOTA is called for John McCain. It's another state to his growing tally but a measley 3 Electoral College Votes, not enough to really begin to make up the gap with Barack Obama.

KANSAS is called for John McCain giving him 6 more Electoral College Votes.

WYOMING is called for John McCain, but like North Dakota, Wyoming only brings him 3 Electoral College Votes.

RHODE ISLAND is called for Barack Obama, that adds another 4 Electoral College Votes to his total.

16 states at this stage are too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0200 GMT
John McCain: 61
Barack Obama: 175

At this point, Obama now only needs 95 more Electoral College Votes to become President-Elect.

0205 GMT / 2105 EST / 1805 PST

Another slight pause to catch our breath before GEORGIA is called for John McCain, which gives him 15 more Electoral College Votes.

15 states, all still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0205 GMT
John McCain: 76
Barack Obama: 175

15 Electoral College Votes is a good pickup for John McCain, but it is almost too little, too late. Remember, New York gave Obama 31 Electoral College Votes. Too much for the small single digit college votes that McCain has mostly picked up tonight. By contrast, Obama has picked up a significant number of double digit college votes.

Now, it's fully expected that McCain will pick up Texas, giving him another 34 college votes, but that can be countered if Obama captures California, which will give him 55 Electoral College Votes, the largest number of votes available in this electoral system.

Still at this point some of the key battleground states have yet to be called. Florida, Ohio and Indiana for example...

0224 GMT / 2124 EST / 1824 PST

OHIO is called for Barack Obama, the first state of the night to politically change hands, having previously been Republican. 20 Electoral College Votes get added to Obama's total.

14 states remain too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0224 GMT
John McCain: 76
Barack Obama: 195

Oh dear! A battleground state just changed hands. Obama needs just 75 Electoral College Votes to put him over the winning line of 270. McCain must now have realised that his chances have evaporated. Despite the fact that Barack Obama isn't over the winning line yet, the gulf that separates Obama and McCain must be obvious to everyone. It's not a matter of if, just when.

0230 GMT / 2130 EST / 1830 PST

WEST VIRGINIA is called for John McCain, but like rather too many states in this election, it gives him just 5 votes in the Electoral College, another single digit haul, rather than the double digit hauls that Obama has mostly taken.

LOUISIANA is also called for John McCain, giving him 9 more Electoral College Votes. Better, but still not enough.

12 states are still currently too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0230 GMT
John McCain: 90
Barack Obama: 195

Okay, so we've had one battleground state change hands. But there are still more to come, and some are considered rock solid Republican territory, like New Mexico...

0238 GMT / 2138 EST / 1838 PST

NEW MEXICO, a usually rock-solid Republican state, is called for Barack Obama! This adds 5 more Electoral College Votes to his total.

TEXAS, another rock-solid Republican state, and this stays Republican, giving John McCain 34 Electoral College Votes. Nice, but Obama still has California to come.

10 states are still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0238 GMT
John McCain: 124
Barack Obama: 200

Surely now, despite the Texas votes, the loss of New Mexico, which wasn't even considered a battleground, has surely done it for John McCain. Can he avoid losing any more states to Barack Obama? Somehow, it doesn't seem likely. Florida still has yet to be called. Don't tell me that won't be called tonight? Still, Obama only needs 7 more Electoral College Votes. California and Florida between them could effectively end it.

0257 GMT / 2157 EST / 1857 PST

Just as we're counting down to the polls closing in 4 states, MISSISSIPPI is called for John McCain, giving him 6 more Electoral College Votes.

9 states are still too close to call.

SCOREBOARD at 0257 GMT
John McCain: 130
Barack Obama: 200

0300 GMT / 2200 EST / 1900 PST

4 states close their polls at this time. Iowa, Montana, Nevada and Utah. All are usually Republican, and if McCain has any hopes left, then he has to hold on to all these states. There may only be 20 Electoral College Votes available between them, but for symbolic reasons, McCain MUST hold them all. Any states taken by Obama would be more symbolically damaging to McCain than it would be in terms of lost Electoral College Votes.

IOWA is the first state to be called, regarded as a battleground in this election, it is called... for Barack Obama! He takes 7 Electoral College Votes from the state.

UTAH is called for John McCain, he gains another 5 Electoral College Votes.

SCOREBOARD at 0300 GMT
John McCain: 135
Barack Obama: 207

4 states that McCain needed to hold onto and he couldn't hold Iowa. Obama needs just 63 Electoral College votes to win.

0330 GMT / 2230 EST / 1930 PST

NEBRASKA calls for McCain, but only awards 3 out of the 5 available votes to him. Only Nebraska and Maine do not have a "winner takes all" policy when it comes to Electoral College Votes.

McCain: 138
Obama: 207

0341 GMT / 2241 EST /1941 PST

SOUTH DAKOTA is called for McCain. Another measley 3 Electoral College Votes. Not really enough.

McCain: 141
Obama: 207

0400 GMT / 2300 EST / 2000 PST

5 states close their polls at 11pm Eastern. California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. With 55 Electoral College Votes for California, Obama should make it over the winning line.

CALIFORNIA was the first state to be called this hour, and it was called for Obama. No surprise here, 55 Electoral College Votes get added to his total.

McCain: 141
Obama: 262

Obama needs just 8 more Electoral College Votes.

WASHINGTON is the next state to be called, and this too, is called for Barack Obama, giving him another 11 Electoral College Votes

Barack Obama is to be the next President of the United States Of America.

McCain: 141
Obama: 273

Cue many scenes of jubilation across America, the concession speech from John McCain and the victory speech from President-Elect Barack Obama. By just before 1am Eastern, 6am GMT, Obama had 338 Electoral College Votes, whilst McCain had only 155.

Congratulations, Barack Obama. Now, the hard work begins.