Can Gordon Brown regain his momentum?

With Boris Johnson the first Conservative Mayor of London, and heavy local election losses, is Gordon Brown prepared to fight to the finish? Will he risk going down with the ship at the next election or will he resign?

The Prime Minister should start by taking heed of those in the job before him-and not just Tony Blair. He should remember how badly Callaghan's Labour Government fared in 1979, and not delay the election until the last possible moment.

Having read Tony Benn's diaries for the period, as well as commentators at the time, it seems the rot really set in just before the Winter of Discontent. Labour might not have won a spring 1978 election, but it would have been a closer fight. He should not underestimate Charles Clarke or Frank Field; his two loudest critics are also dangerous, particular the clever Field.

How to become more interesting without needing to spin further? Develop a hinterland. Never mind writing books about brave people, take up gardening (Michael Heseltine), sailing (Edward Heath) or teddy bears (Gyles Brandreth). Sooner or later the media will cover it and it will look far more real than "Courage."

Brown should also get to grips with why the party is losing money. He needs to win back paying members and cut down on expensive spin merchants. Advertising is over-rated.

Good performances on television and on podcasts will do far more than tedious banners by roadsides proclaiming guff like "Not Flash. Just Gordon." That slogan will be on the minds of every Labour Party member this Bank Holiday.

When it comes to getting rid of dead wood-something New Labour are often reluctant to do- Jacqui Smith should be the first to go.

Brown needs to end the tradition that New Labour Home Secretaries have of annoying both the police and liberal opinion.

If Gordon Brown can do this and ditch his more ludicrous policies,he might win the next election. But it's a big if and a big might.

This post can also be seen at http://brennybaby.blogspot.com

Is is local?

Following on from yesterday's food theme (see the original blog here), an article in the Saturday Guardian states that Waitrose is pushing for more local food to appear in some of its branches.

On the surface this cannot be anything but a good thing. The produce has fewer food miles, a safe and known source and supports the local economy. There's also a focus on fresh food; around half the products in store will be so.

But according to the article critics are worried that it will destroy small businesses and independent food retailers like Barry Hamilton.

More unique than the deli-style produce in Waitrose is Barry Hamilton: his small greengrocer's nearby is the only one left in St Neots [the town that is focused on in the article]. He started out with his father 40 years ago and has survived by selling flowers, pet food and plants alongside the fruit and veg.

"You won't get this in Waitrose," he said, pointing to the asparagus. "It was picked this morning." It cost £1.95 a bunch. In Waitrose it costs £2.49.

Small businesses are important to local communities - they provide a focus and an alternative to big supermarkets that offer generic food at cut prices, playing havoc with the income and welfare of our farmers. But at least Waitrose is trying to focus on its locale, instead of forcing the area around it to capitulate to its will.

And I couldn't help but think of Julie Birchill's recent article about the convenience of supermarkets. Its true that the rise of these big food chains may give us less choice in our lives, but they also give us more time. The reason people don't shop at independent food retailers along the high street is because it take too long.

So if Waitrose is giving us a chance to shop in one place, whilst giving us the benefits of a selection of local produce, I for one am in favour.

See the original post at ameliabutterly.blogspot.com

On the Long Campaign

If the London mayoral elections proved too much for you think yourself lucky that you don’t live in the US.

The presidential elections don’t even take place until November yet Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been locked in battle over the Democratic Party nomination for what seems an eternity.

Well at least its given the public some time to learn the former’s name.

In such a close fought contest where both candidates have had a genuine chance of winning the nomination neither has dared contemplate throwing in the towel.

Although after last night’s victory in North Carolina for Obama the pendulum may have swung back in his favour for one final time.

One wonders whether the actual presidential election will be as dramatic?

In comparison in Britain our general elections of late have been rather swift affairs.

And this is probably a good thing in this supposed age of voter apathy.

With Labour’s until recent dominance it seems that the campaign trails weren’t that much longer than the opening times of the polling stations themselves.

Maybe just giving those who wanted to vote enough time to cast their ballots and secure another successive victory for Tony and Co.

Such has been the one- sided nature of recent general election campaigns I in fact have more vivid memories of those when I wasn’t actually old enough to vote.

However after last week’s results it looks like the next contest will be a much closer affair.

Full English? Not For Me, thanks.

I’m sorry but I’m thoroughly underwhelmed by this prospect of an all-English Champions league final. We are being told that this is somehow the greatest thing since sliced bread. I for one am not as thrilled as I supposedly should be and I’m not the only one.

Amongst the entire furore, it’s not lost on me, and I’m sure others will agree, that the two ‘English’ sides competing are the two most disliked football teams in the country. Outside of Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, would anyone really be happy to see either of these sides lift the coveted trophy?

It’s no secret to anyone who follows the beautiful game that CSKA Fulham would be nowhere without their sugar daddy and to seethe fruit of his labours triumph in his native Russia in a few weeks will produce the kind of irony likely to induce vomiting amongst the watching world.

In all fairness, CSKA – normally the Lords of anti-football – did produce somewhat of a classic against Liverpool during extra time to go through last night. However, let’s not let the final result mask the fact that over 90 minutes, it was the fourth draw between the two sides in 5 games this season.

A victory for The Salford Bay Rowdies on the other hand will spawn no end of sycophantic praise for the team and manager alike. While there is no doubting that Taggart is great manager and has a CV overloaded with success and his team play some sublime football at times – both legs of the semi final being the noteworthy exception – they are a deplorable, arrogant bunch who believe not only that they have a God-given right to success but also consider themselves above the law. See ‘Sir’s’ incomprehensible rantings last Saturday as a case in point.

No-one want to see a team like that succeed.

A moment of magic from Paul Scholes took them through but that aside, the Rowdies were comprehensively outplayed by a visibly unconfident Barcelona side who still managed to outplay their conquerors over both games.

But we are told that because the two teams are from England we should be happy. How can we be happy when we know there is no possibility that they can’t both lose?
Supporting an English club in Europe in a concept lost on me. It seems like something of a bygone era when there were very few clubs in European competition. Back then, it was something important to back a team who really represented the nation against Europe’s finest. The rare triumphs during the nineties were something most of the nation could get behind.

Nowadays the money-machine that is the Champion’s League is more like a watered down version of the old European Cup. Back then, it was a true test of how the best in Europe faired against one another. In the modern era you can finish as low as 4th and have a chance to win the big cup.

How can you support the team representing England when four different teams are doing their best to outdo each other?

Is it really a victory for English football if CSKA or the Rowdies win the trophy by beating one another? Also, explain to me how that is a triumph over Europe? Had Liverpool made the final, they would have done so having not faced a ‘European’ side since the first knock-out stage.

Me? Unpatriotic? Please!

In the final we have one side that are owned by Americans, managed by a Scot, whose best player is Portuguese taking on a Russian owned, Israeli managed team whose top player is from the Ivory Coast. Might I also add their kit is made by a German firm and their sponsor is from Japan! Hardly striking a blow for English football.

Once again, I’m sure I am not alone. Fans of the other 90-odd clubs in the English league surely don’t give a monkey’s about two of ‘our own’ in the final. How does that benefit anyone aside from the two sides involved? They’re the only ones who reap any sort of financial benefit and the gap between rich and poor gets ever wider. This final does nothing for the likes Doncaster Rovers, Ipswich Town, Rochdale or Hull City.

Finally, the amount of trouble in Moscow on that fateful May evening doesn’t even bare thinking about. The CSKA mob’s reputation has been well-documented for years and the Rowdies fans are hardly angels themselves. Add that to the expected heavy-handed treatment from the Russian police and undoubted ticketless fans who will try and get into the Luzhniki stadium and you have a recipe for disaster.

Ironically enough, this so-called great occasion for English football could very well see the kind of crowd trouble we all fear and ultimately may lead to UEFA imposing some kind of sanctions against English clubs. They can’t be too pleased about our clubs monopolising their competitions and will find any excuse to prevent it from continuing.

My Sky News placement

I have now completed my three week work placement at Sky News New Media. During these weeks I have learned a lot about writing copy, picture cropping and using a content management system.

Although I consider myself more than competant with Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Adobe Photoshop Elements (used at Sky, I have been taught some nice tricks involving creating borders. There are many picture sizes and it is important to attach the right ones! I can use Getty Images, Mediapoint and Reuters to find images and resize them in Photoshop, before adding them to a story or picture gallery.

I have also learned how to write headlines and keep them short. This is a relatively new skill for me, but one I am now confident with. I am able to keep banner headlines to a certain length. I can also caption pictures and source older material to link.

I have used a video camera to film outside shots, and have accompanied a producer and cameraman to a technology show, where I watched them film several interviews.

Sitting in the Sky News studio is a real experience. The computer I was using today was only twenty pages or so from the reporters on air.

I hope to return to Sky News someday and am cemented in my belief that online journalism is a good career.

Another benefit was being able to recieve feedback and discuss journalism with Editoral Development Manager Rob Kirk and the New Media Team.

As with any work experience placement, lessons can be learnt and improvements can be made.I must work on identifying and writing for my target audience, as well as checking the HTML before saving and making sure I always use Wordpad when needed. Banner headlines also need to flow from each other.

Some people have asked me "did you speak to Eamon Holmes?" No.

Next week I will be working on a magazine project. My next placement is at The Architects' Journal in June. I will be doing more online placements after that.

I graduate in early September.

This post can also be seen at http://brennybaby.blogspot.com

Paypal blocks users with "unsafe browsers

Bad news for those using Internet Explorer 4 or older.

Paypal will block users with these browsers to prevent security breaches.

They will first receive a warning and then they will have no access to the online payment site.

You can upgrade to Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher for free, although download times will vary depending on your internet Connection.

Paypal is also used by e-mail scammers pretending to be from the company.

These people try to trick Paypal users into sending their username and password. Payapl never asks for username or password by e-mail.

Only enter your Paypal information on web pages that begin with https://www.paypal.com.

You can spot hoax e-mails by holding your mouse over the link and checking how the address looks, or by looking at the e-mail it came from.

In the case of Paypal, send these to spoof@paypal.com.

Usually, there will be clues that the e-mail is fake.

Cotton Wool Kids

A Cutting Edge documentary on Channel 4 tonight will be looking at over- protective parents.

“Cotton Wool Kids” will no doubt raise the same perennial issues.

Such as whether children live in a more sinister world than their parents did at their age, and what has been the role of the media in generating a climate of fear?

In truth these are questions that can never be fully answered.

Despite significant advances in mobile technology making it easier for parents to keep in direct contact with their kids this has not necessarily allayed their fears.

Clearly out of sight does not mean out of mind.

“Cotton Wool Kids” is on Channel 4 at 21.00h.

Article taken from www.stuartjamesross.blogspot.com on 10/4/08.