Is the Manufactured Crisis at the Post Office a Push Toward Privatization?
September 28, 2011 No CommentFrom Democracy Now — Shock Doctrine at U.S. Postal Service: Is a Manufactured Crisis Behind Push Toward Privatization? : Today, postal workers and their supporters are holding events across the country to press their demand for repealing the benefit-funding mandate and push back against calls for their workplace to be privatized. For months, Americans have heard dire warnings about the impending collapse of the United States Postal Service due to fiscal insolvency and a drop in the use of mail service. In early September, the U.S. Postmaster General told Congress that the USPS is close to default and unveiled a series of radical proposals to cut costs by firing up to 120,000 workers, closing several thousand facilities, scaling back deliveries, and reducing benefits for retirees. But many postal workers say the much-touted crisis facing the U.S. Postal Service is not what it seems. They argue the greatest volume of mail handled in the 236-year history of the postal service was 2006. They also point to a 2006 law that forced the USPS to become the only agency required to fund 75 years of retiree health benefits over just a 10-year span, and say the law’s requirements account for 100 percent of the service’s $20 billion in losses over the previous four years, without which the service would have turned a profit. Last week, Republicans introduced legislation to overhaul the USPS in response to a bill proposed by Democrats that would refund a reported $6.9 billion in over-payments to the USPS retirement plan, offer early retirement and voluntary separation incentives, adjust retiree benefits prepayment requirements, and preserve employee protections set out in collective bargaining agreements. We host a debate between Chuck Zlatkin, the legislative and political director of the New York Metro Area Postal Union, and Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce in Washington, D.C. And from Dave Dayden at FDL — Postal Service “Crisis” Comes Entirely From Unorthodox Pre-Funding Mandate . We’ve been discussing the imminent demise of the US Postal Service, and the potential loss of 120,000 good-paying jobs . But most of the near-term funding “crisis” for the USPS comes from an unusual pre-funding mandate for retiree benefits. James Parks explains: And from Dave’s post here’s a new ad from the National Association of Letter Carriers, the American Postal Workers Union and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, explaining the cause of the “crisis.”
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The man most Libyans now call ‘the tyrant’ or ‘the fugitive’ may be sheltered by Tuareg tribesmen near the town of Ghadamis Muammar Gaddafi could be hiding near a picturesque town on Libya’s borders with Algeria and Tunisia, sheltered by Tuareg tribesmen who are in his pay, according to officials of the country’s western-backed rebel leadership. They said the man most Libyans now call “the tyrant” or “the fugitive” may have been near Ghadamis, a Unesco world heritage site famous for its oasis, walled old town and largely Berber population. Evidence of his presence apparently emerged after an attack at the Algerian border last weekend killed at least nine rebels, though there is suspicion this may have been a diversion to let Gaddafi flee. Gaddafi was last seen in Tripoli a few days after the Nato-backed uprising on 20 August. Witnesses spotted him at an army base with his daughter Aisha, who arrived in Algeria the following day with her brothers Hannibal and Mohammed, their mother, Safia, and other relatives. Saadi, another son, fled to Niger with other senior regime figures. Hisham Buhagiar, coordinator of the hunt for Gaddafi, revealed the deposed leader had been in the southern town of Samnu a week ago, before moving to Ghadamis, 350 miles south-west of Tripoli. “There has been a fight between Tuareg tribesmen who are loyal to Gaddafi and Arabs living there [in the south],” Buhagiar told Reuters. “We are negotiating. The Gaddafi search is taking a different course.” Libyan military sources say that Tuaregs, nomads who live in the Sahara in Libya, Algeria and Mali, support Gaddafi because he is paying them generously. Colonel Ahmed Bani, military spokesman for the ruling National Transitional Council, told reporters that he could not be certain of Gaddafi’s whereabouts. But he confirmed that Gaddafi’s son Mutasim, his national security adviser, was still in the coastal city of Sirte, where heavy fighting is continuing. The better-known Saif al-Islam is in Bani Walid, south of Tripoli, where there is a stalemate, and where a senior rebel commander was killed on Wednesday. A phone call between the two was intercepted by the NTC at the weekend. “Gaddafi’s location is a riddle,” Bani said. “But this does not worry us. What we worry about is the complete liberation of Libya. After that we will do our best to hunt down this bloody man. He will be found wherever he is.” But there is scepticism about reports about Gaddafi. “It’s propaganda,” said one Tripoli analyst. “He spent 42 years fooling people and he’s doing the same now.” The hunt for Gaddafi is also causing tensions with Libya’s neighbours, though Algeria this week warned Aisha Gaddafi to stop making statements to a Damascus-based TV channel, al-Rai which has also broadcast defiant words from her father. Rebel activists plan to demonstrate in Tripoli on Thursday to protest against the “hostile attitudes” of Algeria and Niger, as well as Syria, where Bashar al-Assad’s regime seems bent on crushing protests that have already killed 2,700 people. Tunisia said last week it had detained Gaddafi’s last prime minister after he entered the country illegally and sentenced him to six months in prison. But it emerged on Tuesday that Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi has been freed – despite demands that he be handed over to the authorities in Tripoli. It was reported from Belarus, meanwhile, that a military plane from Libya landed in Minsk on Monday with 15 people on board. It was immediately moved into a hangar. The Belorusski Partizan said it was met by diplomats and intelligence officials, fuelling rumours that Gaddafi and his family were on the aircraft. Muammar Gaddafi Algeria Libya Middle East Africa Ian Black guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The man most Libyans now call ‘the tyrant’ or ‘the fugitive’ may be sheltered by Tuareg tribesmen near the town of Ghadamis Muammar Gaddafi could be hiding near a picturesque town on Libya’s borders with Algeria and Tunisia, sheltered by Tuareg tribesmen who are in his pay, according to officials of the country’s western-backed rebel leadership. They said the man most Libyans now call “the tyrant” or “the fugitive” may have been near Ghadamis, a Unesco world heritage site famous for its oasis, walled old town and largely Berber population. Evidence of his presence apparently emerged after an attack at the Algerian border last weekend killed at least nine rebels, though there is suspicion this may have been a diversion to let Gaddafi flee. Gaddafi was last seen in Tripoli a few days after the Nato-backed uprising on 20 August. Witnesses spotted him at an army base with his daughter Aisha, who arrived in Algeria the following day with her brothers Hannibal and Mohammed, their mother, Safia, and other relatives. Saadi, another son, fled to Niger with other senior regime figures. Hisham Buhagiar, coordinator of the hunt for Gaddafi, revealed the deposed leader had been in the southern town of Samnu a week ago, before moving to Ghadamis, 350 miles south-west of Tripoli. “There has been a fight between Tuareg tribesmen who are loyal to Gaddafi and Arabs living there [in the south],” Buhagiar told Reuters. “We are negotiating. The Gaddafi search is taking a different course.” Libyan military sources say that Tuaregs, nomads who live in the Sahara in Libya, Algeria and Mali, support Gaddafi because he is paying them generously. Colonel Ahmed Bani, military spokesman for the ruling National Transitional Council, told reporters that he could not be certain of Gaddafi’s whereabouts. But he confirmed that Gaddafi’s son Mutasim, his national security adviser, was still in the coastal city of Sirte, where heavy fighting is continuing. The better-known Saif al-Islam is in Bani Walid, south of Tripoli, where there is a stalemate, and where a senior rebel commander was killed on Wednesday. A phone call between the two was intercepted by the NTC at the weekend. “Gaddafi’s location is a riddle,” Bani said. “But this does not worry us. What we worry about is the complete liberation of Libya. After that we will do our best to hunt down this bloody man. He will be found wherever he is.” But there is scepticism about reports about Gaddafi. “It’s propaganda,” said one Tripoli analyst. “He spent 42 years fooling people and he’s doing the same now.” The hunt for Gaddafi is also causing tensions with Libya’s neighbours, though Algeria this week warned Aisha Gaddafi to stop making statements to a Damascus-based TV channel, al-Rai which has also broadcast defiant words from her father. Rebel activists plan to demonstrate in Tripoli on Thursday to protest against the “hostile attitudes” of Algeria and Niger, as well as Syria, where Bashar al-Assad’s regime seems bent on crushing protests that have already killed 2,700 people. Tunisia said last week it had detained Gaddafi’s last prime minister after he entered the country illegally and sentenced him to six months in prison. But it emerged on Tuesday that Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi has been freed – despite demands that he be handed over to the authorities in Tripoli. It was reported from Belarus, meanwhile, that a military plane from Libya landed in Minsk on Monday with 15 people on board. It was immediately moved into a hangar. The Belorusski Partizan said it was met by diplomats and intelligence officials, fuelling rumours that Gaddafi and his family were on the aircraft. Muammar Gaddafi Algeria Libya Middle East Africa Ian Black guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …MSNBC’s Matthews, O’Donnell, Schultz and Sharpton Have Not Yet Mentioned Solyndra
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Despite the growing scandal involving failed solar company Solyndra – now officially four weeks old – MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Lawrence O'Donnell, Ed Schultz, and Al Sharpton have still not reported the matter on their respective prime time programs. The only regular MSNBC host to mention this subject in prime time is Rachel Maddow who predictably discounted its importance Monday (transcript and commentary follow): RACHEL MADDOW: The federal government is quietly investing in renewable energy and making energy more affordable and more renewable. Happens in ways you don`t hear about much unless you read local business pages where federal money coming to town makes a big deal, makes a big difference. To the extent that Washington is talking about alternative energy right now at all, the talk has to do with a failed government loan to a company called Solyndra, a maker of solar panels. In 2009, Solyndra got a loan for more than half a billion dollars from the U.S. government. This month the company closed its plant, laid off more than 1,000 people and went bankrupt. Congress called its top executives to testify last week on Capitol Hill. The executives took the fifth. You can argue the Solyndra case any number of ways, whether President Bush was responsible for it since the loan started under him or whether you want to blame President Obama. Whether any administration should have known better to lend the Solyndra or whether this is just a bad bet in one of those public-private partnership that are never a sure thing but nevertheless elected officials are always saying, we need more of. Solyndra made headlines in the latest round of funding for electrification. Of course the dirty word of clean energy anymore. And this week, the conservative weekly, “The Weekly Standard” put President Obama on its cover as President Solyndra, that what they want to call him trying to reduce his own presidency to one loan to one failed maker of solar panels. But even as national conservatives want to make you feel bad about public investment in electricity, in energy, even some conservatives are pouring on the dollars for it in the states. The solar thing in particular makes sense to a lot of conservatives back home. Investing in infrastructure back home remains a core value. The same way it was a core value when the nation first started wiring our far flung farms. Just this month the Mississippi state legislature approved a $75 million loan to bring one maker of solar equipment to the state of Mississippi. Another solar company opened its doors in Mississippi this month with another 75 million bucks in loans and tax breaks from the state. The Republicans of Mississippi are very proud of this, very, very proud. Republican Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant reported from the ribbon cutting. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LT. GOV. PHIL BRYANT ( R), MISSISSIPPI: Going to see new high-tech energy moving ahead. The green type energy that we all believe will be part of the future. But don`t worry, we`re still going to drill for oil, we`re still going to use CO2. We`re still going to use coal in our clean coal plant. Our energy policy is all of the above and more jobs for Mississippi. (END VIDEO CLIP) MADDOW: Lieutenant governor of Mississippi so excited about solar that he reassures Mississippians they will still use CO2, which is actually just the pollution part of energy. It`s not the fuel. He is excited about solar. He`s excited about jobs. He is excited, dare I say, about the greener, brighter future of Mississippi. Made possible if comes to pass by the collective will of the taxpayers to invest in it facilitated by Republican politicians like him. There has not yet been a major Obama administration scandal, at least one that the Republicans like to harp on too much. They really want Solyndra to be a big Obama administration scandal. For that to work however, the country sort has to believe that investing in better electricity ideas is always a scam and that it feels like one to the American people. With our history, I think that is a tough sell. “They really want Solyndra to be a big Obama administration scandal.” This from a so-called journalist who's always supposed to love White House scandals as they typically drive ratings. I guess viewership isn't important when protecting a president you love takes precedence. On the other hand, at least Maddow mentioned something about this. After four weeks, her colleagues Matthews, O'Donnell, Schultz, and Sharpton still haven't said one word about this scandal. This despite the newest revelations about Solyndra having violated the terms of its loan last year. As the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday: Solyndra LLC had such steep financial problems in late 2010 that the company violated terms of its loan-guarantee agreement with the Department of Energy and technically defaulted on its $535 million loan, according to people familiar with the matter. The failed solar-panel maker, which is under numerous criminal and congressional investigations, ran so short of cash in December 2010 that it was unable to satisfy certain terms of its U.S. loan agreement, these people said. The agreement required Solyndra to provide $5 million in equity to a subsidiary building its factory but cash-flow problems prevented those payments. The Energy Department ultimately restructured the loan agreement to help keep the company afloat and Solyndra continued to draw money from its loan. Will this entice the other MSNBC hosts to mention Solyndra? Will anything short of someone blaming it on George W. Bush? Stay tuned.
Continue reading …Shrien Dewani extradition signed for possible South Africa murder trial
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Home secretary Theresa May ratifies judge’s decision for husband of wife dead Anni Dewani to face court abroad The prospect of the British businessman Shrien Dewani being flown to South Africa to face trial over the murder of his wife Anni moved a step closer after the home secretary signed an order for him to be extradited. Theresa May ratified a district judge’s decision that Dewani ought to return to face legal proceedings for allegedly arranging his wife’s killing in a fake carjacking during their honeymoon. Dewani, 31, has 14 days to appeal against the decision of either the home secretary or the district judge and is believed likely to do so. However, May’s decision has been welcomed by prosecutors in South Africa and members of Anni’s family who want Dewani to return to explain in court what happened. Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead in an apparent carjacking in the impoverished Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town last November. Her husband Shrien and taxi driver Zola Tongo were ejected from the vehicle. Dewani was implicated in his wife’s murder by Tongo , who claimed in a plea bargain that Dewani had offered him 15,000 rand (£1,400) to arrange the hit. Dewani has always protested his innocence and fought against extradition claiming he would not face a fair trial and his human rights would be infringed because of the conditions he was likely to face in prison as he awaited trial and if he was convicted. It was also argued that Dewani, who is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression, was too sick to travel. But last month district judge Howard Riddle agreed with the South African authorities that he should be extradited. Announcing May’s decision, a Home Office spokesman said: “On Monday 26 September the home secretary, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed an order for Shrien Prakash Dewani’s extradition to South Africa. “Mr Dewani now has the opportunity, within 14 days, to appeal to the high court against the decision of the district judge and/or the home secretary.” It will be up to the Metropolitan police’s extradition unit to actually organise Dewani’s return with the South African authorities. The decision was welcomed by members of Swedish-born Anni Dewani’s family. Last week 12 members of her family handed in a petition that they said had been signed by 11,000 people asking for the home secretary to back the court’s decision that Dewani should return to South Africa. Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, said the only way for the family to get “closure” was for Dewani to face legal proceedings in South Africa. Tongo’s lawyer, William da Grass, said South Africans would welcome May’s decision to extradite Dewani. He said: “This is very good news as it brings us one step closer to seeing a resolution to this dreadful case. “We have said all along that we want to see Mr Dewani face justice and now we are one step closer to that. “Obviously he has further appeals open to him and the journey is not yet complete, but we are now confident that he will return to South Africa. “Mr Dewani has always disputed my client’s version of events but there are serious allegations against him and it is only right that the matter is heard before a court. “Many South Africans will be pleased to hear that he is likely to be extradited here. “That is not to say that anyone wishes necessarily to see him in prison, but simply to see him put on trial. If after a trial he is found to be innocent then he will be free of all that has been said against him.” Tongo has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and perverting the course of justice. The alleged hitmen, Xolile Mngeni, 23, and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, who are charged with Anni’s murder , kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances, are to appear before Wynberg regional court in Cape Town in February. There was no comment from relatives of Shrien Dewani, who has been undergoing treatment at a medium secure psychiatric hospital in Bristol. Doctors there have said there was a “high risk” he would commit suicide if he was returned to South Africa. During the extradition hearing in London over the summer, experts in the South African penal system called by Dewani’s lawyers during the hearing said some prisons were overcrowded, understaffed and rife with diseases, including TB and HIV/Aids. There was a shortage of medical staff and sick prisoners sometimes struggled to get access to the care and medicine they needed. Gangs in prison used sexual violence to establish hierarchies and as punishments, it was claimed. Witnesses said Dewani would be particularly vulnerable to gang violence because he was accused of a “sissy” crime and because he was an outsider. His good looks and other claims – denied by his family – that he is gay would also make him the target of sexual attacks. Dewani murder case South Africa Africa Theresa May Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Shrien Dewani extradition signed for possible South Africa murder trial
September 28, 2011 No CommentHome secretary Theresa May ratifies judge’s decision for husband of wife dead Anni Dewani to face court abroad The prospect of the British businessman Shrien Dewani being flown to South Africa to face trial over the murder of his wife Anni moved a step closer after the home secretary signed an order for him to be extradited. Theresa May ratified a district judge’s decision that Dewani ought to return to face legal proceedings for allegedly arranging his wife’s killing in a fake carjacking during their honeymoon. Dewani, 31, has 14 days to appeal against the decision of either the home secretary or the district judge and is believed likely to do so. However, May’s decision has been welcomed by prosecutors in South Africa and members of Anni’s family who want Dewani to return to explain in court what happened. Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead in an apparent carjacking in the impoverished Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town last November. Her husband Shrien and taxi driver Zola Tongo were ejected from the vehicle. Dewani was implicated in his wife’s murder by Tongo , who claimed in a plea bargain that Dewani had offered him 15,000 rand (£1,400) to arrange the hit. Dewani has always protested his innocence and fought against extradition claiming he would not face a fair trial and his human rights would be infringed because of the conditions he was likely to face in prison as he awaited trial and if he was convicted. It was also argued that Dewani, who is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression, was too sick to travel. But last month district judge Howard Riddle agreed with the South African authorities that he should be extradited. Announcing May’s decision, a Home Office spokesman said: “On Monday 26 September the home secretary, having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed an order for Shrien Prakash Dewani’s extradition to South Africa. “Mr Dewani now has the opportunity, within 14 days, to appeal to the high court against the decision of the district judge and/or the home secretary.” It will be up to the Metropolitan police’s extradition unit to actually organise Dewani’s return with the South African authorities. The decision was welcomed by members of Swedish-born Anni Dewani’s family. Last week 12 members of her family handed in a petition that they said had been signed by 11,000 people asking for the home secretary to back the court’s decision that Dewani should return to South Africa. Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, said the only way for the family to get “closure” was for Dewani to face legal proceedings in South Africa. Tongo’s lawyer, William da Grass, said South Africans would welcome May’s decision to extradite Dewani. He said: “This is very good news as it brings us one step closer to seeing a resolution to this dreadful case. “We have said all along that we want to see Mr Dewani face justice and now we are one step closer to that. “Obviously he has further appeals open to him and the journey is not yet complete, but we are now confident that he will return to South Africa. “Mr Dewani has always disputed my client’s version of events but there are serious allegations against him and it is only right that the matter is heard before a court. “Many South Africans will be pleased to hear that he is likely to be extradited here. “That is not to say that anyone wishes necessarily to see him in prison, but simply to see him put on trial. If after a trial he is found to be innocent then he will be free of all that has been said against him.” Tongo has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and perverting the course of justice. The alleged hitmen, Xolile Mngeni, 23, and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, who are charged with Anni’s murder , kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances, are to appear before Wynberg regional court in Cape Town in February. There was no comment from relatives of Shrien Dewani, who has been undergoing treatment at a medium secure psychiatric hospital in Bristol. Doctors there have said there was a “high risk” he would commit suicide if he was returned to South Africa. During the extradition hearing in London over the summer, experts in the South African penal system called by Dewani’s lawyers during the hearing said some prisons were overcrowded, understaffed and rife with diseases, including TB and HIV/Aids. There was a shortage of medical staff and sick prisoners sometimes struggled to get access to the care and medicine they needed. Gangs in prison used sexual violence to establish hierarchies and as punishments, it was claimed. Witnesses said Dewani would be particularly vulnerable to gang violence because he was accused of a “sissy” crime and because he was an outsider. His good looks and other claims – denied by his family – that he is gay would also make him the target of sexual attacks. Dewani murder case South Africa Africa Theresa May Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Looks like unions have found the silver lining in the Citizens United ruling – namely, Super PACs and the ability to go after non-union voters: But the ruling also changed the rules for unions, effectively ending a prohibition on outreach to nonunion households. Now, unions can use their formidable numbers to reach out to sympathetic nonunion voters by knocking on doors, calling them at home and trying to get them to polling places. They can also create their own Super PACs to underwrite bigger voter identification and get-out-the-vote operations than ever before. As part of this overhaul, Richard L. Trumka, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., has said organized labor will be more independent of the Democratic Party, sitting out races where unions are disappointed with the Democratic candidate’s positions on issues important to them and occasionally financing primary challengers to Democratic incumbents . The unions said they even intended to back a few Republicans they judge to have been generally supportive of their agenda, like Representative Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio. Mr. Trumka said unions were tired of Democratic politicians taking them for granted after labor shoveled millions of dollars into Democratic campaigns. In distancing themselves, at least a bit, from the Democrats, unions are becoming part of a trend in which newly empowered outside groups build what are essentially party structures of their own — in this case, to somewhat offset the money flowing into conservative groups that are doing the same thing. What do you think? Good idea or not?
Continue reading …Perdue ‘Suspend Elections to Congress For Two Years’ Audio Surfaces — Via Reporter Who Called It a"Joke"
September 28, 2011 No Comment
Yesterday, Raleigh News & Observer blog contributor jbfrank, who from all indications is also RN&O reporter John Frank, assured readers that North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue was joking when she suggested that “I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years” at a Rotary Club luncheon in Cary. That's what his headline said: “Perdue jokes about suspending Congressional elections for two years.” There were no quote marks around “jokes.” The headline echoed what the Governor's apparatchiks were saying.
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• Hit F5 for the latest or use our auto-refresh button below • Live scoreboard: all of tonight’s Champions League goals • Check out our all-singing, all-dancing stats centre • Email your thoughts to barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk • Follow Valencia v Chelsea here 18 min: “So Chamberlain’s got his first of the season and now us Saints fans get to be treated to the usual game of the big six media pretending he sprouted out of one of their academies (a la Bale and Walcott),” writes Lee James, who appears to be that rarest of creatures: a paranoid football fan with a persecution complex. “Also, at Southampton he favoured going only by Chamberlain, presumably to make life a little easier for journo’s- has he gone back to both names now?” 15 min: Slack Arsenal marking at the corner enables Olympiakos to go close again. The corner was pulled back to an Pablo Orbaiz on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area, who shot. his effort pinballed off a couple of players and broke kindly for Rafik Djebbour lurking on the edge of the six-yard box. He shot for the bottom left-hand corner, but with Wojicech Szczesney beaten, Mikel Arteta was on hand to clear the ball off the line. 13 min: Rafik Djebbour crosses into the Arsenal penalty area after a good Olympiakos attack down the left flank. Emmanuel Frimpong is back to cover and puts the ball out for a corner at the near post. 13 min: Chamakh has a pop from distance. Wide. 11 min: From the centre of midfield, Andrei Arshavin strokes the ball out wide for Tomas Rosicky to chase down the inside left channel. Right-back Vassilis Torossidis wins the race to the ball and clears it up the field. 10 min: Corner for Arsenal, which Mikel Arteta swings into the near post. Olympiakos clear. GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Olympiakos (Oxlade-Chamberlain 8) That’s a great goal from the 18-year-old making his debut in the Champions League. Running on to a through ball to the edge of the box, Oxlade-Chamberlain catches a break when the ball breaks off an Olympiakos defender and bounces back into his path, allowing him to stroke a diagonal shot into the bottom right-hand corner from 18 yards. 7 min: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ambles down the right flank with the ball at his feet, passing it square to Mikel Arteta before I’ve got to the hyphen in ‘Oxlade-Chamberlain’. 4 min: The first chance of note falls to Olympiakos, with Ljbomir Fejsa getting on the end of a cross to prod the ball wide of the upright from 10 yards when he should have at least hit the target and could probably be expected to have scored. 3 min: The camera cuts to Olympiakos goalkeeper Franco Costanzo. Sadly, he isn’t small, hunched, red-haired and wearing a cheap pullover under a cheap tweed jacket. 2 min: “Here’s a grievance,” writes Bruce Cooper. “Wenger never properly replaced Fabragas and Nasri despite knowing they were going to go all summer. Where is the Joey Barton shaped piece needed to hold together their crumbling puzzle. Serenity now, the Championship later.” 1 min: Arsenal kick off playing from left to right in an Emirates Stadium that looks fairly sparsely populated by its usual match-night standards. Not long now: To warm applause, a blushing bride and groom took their seats in the Emirates as the teams made their way out on to the pitch, with the bride wearing a long white dress, Arsenal’s players wearing their usual home kit of red and white shirts, white shorts and white socks, and Olympiakos’s in blue shirts, shorts and socks. How they’ll line up tonight: With Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey the surprise omissions from Arsenal’s line-up, they’ll play a 4-3-3 with Emmanuel Frimpong and skipper Tomas Rosicky on the left and right of Mikel Arteta in the midfield trio, while Andrei Arshavin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will bookend Marouane Chamakh up front. Boasting former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg, scorer of the first ever goal at the Emirates Stadium, in their defence, Olympiakos will line up in a 4-2-3-1, with Ljubomir Fejsa and Pablo Orbaiz patrolling the space between the back four and a midfield trio of Kevin Mirallas and David Fuster on the left and right of Ariel Ibagiza, with Rafik Djebbour on his own up front. An email from Mark Coale: “I thought water bottles were on the Arsenal sideline just for Wenger to kick when he got angry and/or ejected,” he writes, forgetting that Mr Wenger will be watching tonight’s match from the directors’ box, as he sits out the second game of his two-match touchline ban. SERENITY NOW! No, your eyes don’t deceive you, the Olympiakos goalkeeper’s name really is Franco Costanzo. “Welcome, newcomers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you’re gonna hear about it!” Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Song, Andre Santos, Frimpong, Arteta, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arshavin, Chamakh. Subs: Fabianski, Park, van Persie, Ramsey, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Coquelin. Olympiacos: Costanzo, Torosidis, Mellberg, Marcano, Holebas, Orbaiz, Fejsa, Ibagaza, David Fuster, Djebbour, Mirallas. Subs: Megyeri, Modesto, Pantelic, Papadopoulos, Makoun, Potouridis, Abdoun. Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain) Preamble: With their recent 3-0 win against Bolton and the mild turmoil enveloping Manchester City having moved their team from the unforgiving focus of the Crisis Spotlight, Arsenal fans will tonight be hoping for a routine home win that will help steady a ship that spent the early part of the season listing in choppy, waters, like one of those trawlers you see on Deadliest Catch, but with a stubborn Frenchman gazing impassively from the wheelhouse, rather than a chippy Scottish cursing the cameras for forcing him to pretend his natural inclination is to put the safety of his crew over the prospect of landing a giant haul of cod. At the time of writing, no Arsenal players have refused to play in tonight’s match, while Arsène Wenger is understood to have banned his substitutes from wearing tracksuits or drinking from water-bottles so that anyone wishing to throw a showbiz hissy-fit will have nothing to fling to the ground in anger in order to show just how angry they really are. Having drawn with Borussia Dortmund in their opening Group F match, tonight Arsenal entertain Olympiakos, who began their Champions League campaign with defeat at the hands of Marseille. Eschewing this reporter’s perfectly adequate nautical metaphor in favour of a rail-related one of his own, Wenger has acknowledge that his side is “a train that left the station a bit late” and said they “cannot afford any more to drop our consistency”. In the Olympiakos camp, his opposite number Ernesto Valverde has been bigging up his team’s chances, saying the match is “going to be very difficult for us”, pointing out that Arsenal “have a lot of quality players with a great deal of experience” and pointing out that his side are “up against the toughest of opponents”. For Arsenal, Gervinho, Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott are among the lame and halt who miss out through injury, while Olympiakos players Giannis Fetfatzidis, Giannis Maniatis and Francisco Yeste have also been ruled out. Tune in around 7.15pm for more team news. Champions League 2011-12 Arsenal Olympiakos Champions League Barry Glendenning guardian.co.uk
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• Hit F5 for the latest or use our auto-refresh button below • Live scoreboard: all of tonight’s Champions League goals • Check out our all-singing, all-dancing stats centre • Email your thoughts to barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk • Follow Valencia v Chelsea here 18 min: “So Chamberlain’s got his first of the season and now us Saints fans get to be treated to the usual game of the big six media pretending he sprouted out of one of their academies (a la Bale and Walcott),” writes Lee James, who appears to be that rarest of creatures: a paranoid football fan with a persecution complex. “Also, at Southampton he favoured going only by Chamberlain, presumably to make life a little easier for journo’s- has he gone back to both names now?” 15 min: Slack Arsenal marking at the corner enables Olympiakos to go close again. The corner was pulled back to an Pablo Orbaiz on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area, who shot. his effort pinballed off a couple of players and broke kindly for Rafik Djebbour lurking on the edge of the six-yard box. He shot for the bottom left-hand corner, but with Wojicech Szczesney beaten, Mikel Arteta was on hand to clear the ball off the line. 13 min: Rafik Djebbour crosses into the Arsenal penalty area after a good Olympiakos attack down the left flank. Emmanuel Frimpong is back to cover and puts the ball out for a corner at the near post. 13 min: Chamakh has a pop from distance. Wide. 11 min: From the centre of midfield, Andrei Arshavin strokes the ball out wide for Tomas Rosicky to chase down the inside left channel. Right-back Vassilis Torossidis wins the race to the ball and clears it up the field. 10 min: Corner for Arsenal, which Mikel Arteta swings into the near post. Olympiakos clear. GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Olympiakos (Oxlade-Chamberlain 8) That’s a great goal from the 18-year-old making his debut in the Champions League. Running on to a through ball to the edge of the box, Oxlade-Chamberlain catches a break when the ball breaks off an Olympiakos defender and bounces back into his path, allowing him to stroke a diagonal shot into the bottom right-hand corner from 18 yards. 7 min: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ambles down the right flank with the ball at his feet, passing it square to Mikel Arteta before I’ve got to the hyphen in ‘Oxlade-Chamberlain’. 4 min: The first chance of note falls to Olympiakos, with Ljbomir Fejsa getting on the end of a cross to prod the ball wide of the upright from 10 yards when he should have at least hit the target and could probably be expected to have scored. 3 min: The camera cuts to Olympiakos goalkeeper Franco Costanzo. Sadly, he isn’t small, hunched, red-haired and wearing a cheap pullover under a cheap tweed jacket. 2 min: “Here’s a grievance,” writes Bruce Cooper. “Wenger never properly replaced Fabragas and Nasri despite knowing they were going to go all summer. Where is the Joey Barton shaped piece needed to hold together their crumbling puzzle. Serenity now, the Championship later.” 1 min: Arsenal kick off playing from left to right in an Emirates Stadium that looks fairly sparsely populated by its usual match-night standards. Not long now: To warm applause, a blushing bride and groom took their seats in the Emirates as the teams made their way out on to the pitch, with the bride wearing a long white dress, Arsenal’s players wearing their usual home kit of red and white shirts, white shorts and white socks, and Olympiakos’s in blue shirts, shorts and socks. How they’ll line up tonight: With Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey the surprise omissions from Arsenal’s line-up, they’ll play a 4-3-3 with Emmanuel Frimpong and skipper Tomas Rosicky on the left and right of Mikel Arteta in the midfield trio, while Andrei Arshavin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will bookend Marouane Chamakh up front. Boasting former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg, scorer of the first ever goal at the Emirates Stadium, in their defence, Olympiakos will line up in a 4-2-3-1, with Ljubomir Fejsa and Pablo Orbaiz patrolling the space between the back four and a midfield trio of Kevin Mirallas and David Fuster on the left and right of Ariel Ibagiza, with Rafik Djebbour on his own up front. An email from Mark Coale: “I thought water bottles were on the Arsenal sideline just for Wenger to kick when he got angry and/or ejected,” he writes, forgetting that Mr Wenger will be watching tonight’s match from the directors’ box, as he sits out the second game of his two-match touchline ban. SERENITY NOW! No, your eyes don’t deceive you, the Olympiakos goalkeeper’s name really is Franco Costanzo. “Welcome, newcomers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you’re gonna hear about it!” Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Song, Andre Santos, Frimpong, Arteta, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arshavin, Chamakh. Subs: Fabianski, Park, van Persie, Ramsey, Jenkinson, Gibbs, Coquelin. Olympiacos: Costanzo, Torosidis, Mellberg, Marcano, Holebas, Orbaiz, Fejsa, Ibagaza, David Fuster, Djebbour, Mirallas. Subs: Megyeri, Modesto, Pantelic, Papadopoulos, Makoun, Potouridis, Abdoun. Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain) Preamble: With their recent 3-0 win against Bolton and the mild turmoil enveloping Manchester City having moved their team from the unforgiving focus of the Crisis Spotlight, Arsenal fans will tonight be hoping for a routine home win that will help steady a ship that spent the early part of the season listing in choppy, waters, like one of those trawlers you see on Deadliest Catch, but with a stubborn Frenchman gazing impassively from the wheelhouse, rather than a chippy Scottish cursing the cameras for forcing him to pretend his natural inclination is to put the safety of his crew over the prospect of landing a giant haul of cod. At the time of writing, no Arsenal players have refused to play in tonight’s match, while Arsène Wenger is understood to have banned his substitutes from wearing tracksuits or drinking from water-bottles so that anyone wishing to throw a showbiz hissy-fit will have nothing to fling to the ground in anger in order to show just how angry they really are. Having drawn with Borussia Dortmund in their opening Group F match, tonight Arsenal entertain Olympiakos, who began their Champions League campaign with defeat at the hands of Marseille. Eschewing this reporter’s perfectly adequate nautical metaphor in favour of a rail-related one of his own, Wenger has acknowledge that his side is “a train that left the station a bit late” and said they “cannot afford any more to drop our consistency”. In the Olympiakos camp, his opposite number Ernesto Valverde has been bigging up his team’s chances, saying the match is “going to be very difficult for us”, pointing out that Arsenal “have a lot of quality players with a great deal of experience” and pointing out that his side are “up against the toughest of opponents”. For Arsenal, Gervinho, Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott are among the lame and halt who miss out through injury, while Olympiakos players Giannis Fetfatzidis, Giannis Maniatis and Francisco Yeste have also been ruled out. Tune in around 7.15pm for more team news. Champions League 2011-12 Arsenal Olympiakos Champions League Barry Glendenning guardian.co.uk
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