Monthly Archives: January 2016

Fear and loathing

Posted on by
Reply

***

WORLD

In the US, as one standoff appears to be winding down, another is intensifying. Only one of them, though, involves hats.

and of course..

Tonight’s debate may have some competition for viewers.

 

Apres ski, le deluge…

Posted on by
Reply

One week until Iowa…

***

WORLD

Seems so quaint by comparison, no?

And finally…

Snowpocalypse again

Posted on by
Reply

People across the US east coast are preparing to hunker down for the weekend as storm #jonas sweeps in. Remember last time..?

However it plays out, stay safe and warm, everyone.

***

WORLD

Talking of which.. as Iowa’s caucuses loom, things are getting increasingly nasty, on both sides.

On the Democratic side, a new Bernie Sanders ad prompted a forceful response from the Hillary Clinton campaign.

Here’s the ad. For its intended function – getting Sanders to win in Iowa and New Hampshire, where if he doesn’t his whole campaign might be in trouble – the ad seems to push all the right buttons.

Meanwhile, hmmm.. desperate much?

 

Blowing hot and cold

Posted on by
Reply

The US eastern seaboard is bracing for another weekend storm, #Jonas, set to bring freezing temperatures and “potentially historic” snowfall amounts to major cities and into the southern mid-Atlantic region, which is already feeling the effects of another storm system, #Ilias.

Meanwhile, with perfect timing, 2015 was – officially – the hottest year on record, according to NASA and NOAA.

***

WORLD

Thursday sees the release of the report into the death of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who was spectacularly poisoned in London ten years ago. A senior Russian official called the inquiry “lies from start to finish”.

British Prime Minister David Cameron shows up at Davos on Thursday with Europe, migration and, possibly, the Falklands on his agenda.

But he has other things to worry about too..

***

BUSINESS

Another rough day…

***

SPORTS

The annual Deloitte survey of the richest football clubs is published tomorrow.

***

JOURNALISM

Meanwhile, talking of Deloitte… this piece by my brilliant former colleague Lucy Kellaway is well worth your time.

 

 

Palin endorsement sets scene for final Iowa squirmish

Posted on by
Reply

The GOP primary campaign continued its metamorphosis into full-blown reality show as former Alaska Governor and 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump at a rally in Ames, Iowa. The state casts the first votes in the parties’  nominating contests on February 1st.

During an enthusiastic, yet rambling speech that observers variously described as “post-apocalyptic poetry” or “cut-up Dadaist text” Trump occasionally looked uncomfortable as Tea Party favorite Palin rallied Conservatives with a string of right-wing buzzwords, as well as some words she appeared to have made up herself.

Good try, Reince…

“as other guests’ jaws dropped..”

stupid

Seriously, though…

It will be interesting to see in the remaining days until Iowa whether Trump’s main challenger Ted Cruz will be able to counter Palin’s “star power” with a more effective ground game. 

Cruz meanwhile, is fundraising off comments by Iowa’s GOP Gov Terry Branstad.

and apparently is set to pick up an endorsement of his own..

Finally, and very sadly,

***

WORLD

Elsewhere,

Amid slowing growth in China, depressed oil prices and volatile markets, the World Economic Forum is preparing to open its annual gathering in Davos.

 

Supreme Court to rule on deportations

Posted on by
Reply

The US Supreme Court is to rule on President Obama’s plan to defer deportations for as many as five million undocumented immigrants. The Court’s ruling is set to happen in the current term, perhaps in June.

But the Court won’t take on the Affordable Care Act.

***

WORLD

So, Twitter went down.

And Friends Reunited, although their outage may be more permanent…

***

CULTURE

Finally, in what seems to be an unrelenting torrent of talented losses so far in 2016, Glenn Frey, founder member of The Eagles, died aged 67.

And Dale Griffin, drummer for Mott The Hoople, passed away at the same age.

Hell of a band God’s putting together. How about taking five for a while, dude…?

 

In tennis racket, who gets the shaft?

Posted on by
Reply

As the Australian Open gets under way, an investigation by BuzzFeed and the BBC has raised allegations of match-fixing at high levels in world tennis.

The methodology of the story is here:

And while there have been plenty of puns to go around, this might be the best:

***

WORLD

Britain’s parliament will on Monday debate the unprecedented step of banning a candidate for President of the United States from entering the country.

Last night’s “hidden” Democratic debate in Charleston, meanwhile, was the last scheduled until February 11th, after primary contests in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

In Britain, and talking of immigration, as we likely will be after the Trump debate, David Cameron’s latest idea has sparked plenty of reaction..

And the principle behind the idea might not come as welcome news to a lot of Britons who retired to warmer climes.

***

BUSINESS

After last months’ success, a not-so-perfect landing last night for SpaceX.

Meanwhile, turbulence in the markets continues.

***

CULTURE

Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day.

 

Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare..

Posted on by
Reply

Tim Peake became the first Briton to walk in space.

***

BUSINESS

Hold on tight…

A bit of an alphabet soup this morning as UK OK’s BT/EE M&A.

***

WORLD

Step forward all the countries that are Ebola-free… Not so fast, Sierra Leone…

In the US, with actual voters now just days away from casting actual votes, the GOP’s presidential hopefuls held another televised debate.

It wasn’t pretty.

There’s a full transcript here.

The New York Daily News took exception to Ted Cruz’s attack on Donald Trump’s “New York values.”

nydnted

Don’t worry, there’s still a long way to go..

***

CULTURE

Clearly – and sadly – some still value tradition above tolerance.

***

SPORTS

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid were handed transfer bans affecting the *next* two transfer windows, setting off all kinds of wild speculation…

***

CULTURE

Finally, Wikipedia turns 15 years old today.

wikichart.png

jimmywales

Oscar noms out, but by Grabthar’s hammer, who cares?

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s your Oscar nominations, FWIW..

***

WORLD

Several people were killed and many injured during a gun battle on the streets of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Several explosions were also heard.

In the US, as Republican candidates prepare for another televised debate on Fox Business this evening, the spotlight is on Ted Cruz following an undisclosed campaign loan and pressure over his apparently “uncertain” national status.

Rand Paul is desperate to be on the main stage, having previously said he wouldn’t take part in another “undercard” debate.

Meanwhile, the lure of “big tooth” proved too strong for one former candidate…

There are – so far – three winners in the big Powerball draw.

elsewhere..

And there’s the first hurricane in January since the Eisenhower administration, so there’s that…

***

JOURNALISM

Al Jazeera America is shuttering.

On this side of the Atlantic…

***

BUSINESS

***

CULTURE

Robot Wars is set to return.

oh, and this too, apparently…

***

SPORTS

WADA’s follow-up report on doping in world athletics is released today.

 

 

In valedictory address, Obama counters campaign rhetoric

Posted on by
Reply

President Obama began his “long goodbye” from office when he delivered his final State of the Union address to Congress.

It seemed to go down well..

With just nineteen days until Iowa hosts the first nominating contest in the race to succeed him, the President appeared at times to be directly responding to some of the more inflammatory rhetoric from the campaign trail..

outlined the challenges that remain..

and, yet again, appealed to our better nature as citizens to rescue a broken civic discourse.

Many responses were pretty much as you’d expect.

at least the “official” GOP response seemed to be more measured

In the end, although the attacks were intense, the fond images of a departing leader were many.

***

WORLD

What looked like it might be a potential diplomatic incident with Iran was apparently resolved overnight.

Meanwhile out in Oregon the stand-offers – who at the weekend issued an updated “wishlist” – appear to be having their tails tweaked…

***

JOURNALISM

Anyone who’s ever edited, or been edited, will probably enjoy this..

***

SPORTS

This honestly sounds like a great idea, and kudos to the Hatters for doing it, but maybe they need a broader sense of who “over-50’s” really are? Or maybe people just age quicker in Luton.