enlarge In 1980 it was their turn to be stuck on the treadmill to oblivion. Click here to view this media The only thing reasonably different about this May 13th as opposed to the May 13th in 1980 was that in 1980 it fell on a Tuesday. It was a Presidential election year, so all eyes were on the Primaries being held – Ted Kennedy and George Bush Sr. still campaigning hard, even though both were trailing. The Embassy saga in Tehran was still going on. Ed Muskie, in his first diplomatic mission since being appointed Secretary of State, arrived in Brussels on his way to Vienna and talk immediately fixated on the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the Carter Administration’s Foreign Policy. Libya was creating a stir with bloody purges being carried out by the Gaddafi regime and Americans were busily being expelled on the grounds of being suspected CIA operatives. And it was Tornado season with twisters ripping through Missouri and Pennsylvania. All in all, an interesting day even if it was a Tuesday in 1980. Here are three newscasts beginning with the CBS World News Roundup, followed by the 9:00 am (West coast) Network news and ending with The World Tonight, all from May 13, 1980.
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Will Blue triumph? Can Jedward win? Enjoy every ridiculous minute of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest live from 8pm with your glamorous hosts, Heidi and Stuart The finalists: semi-final one and The finalists: semi final two 8.16pm: It’s the first act! His name is Axel, but goes by the name of Paradise Oscar, and he is from FINLAND . Ooh, Jeff Brazier! Right, so basically it’s about someone called Peter who knows each European country by heart. He is off to save the planet, apparently, and we’re all welcome to join him as long as we sing da da dum da da dum. I’m only going if Paradise Oscar doesn’t wear that bloody awful shirt. 8.13pm: The phonelines are open, and you can start voting! Except you haven’t seen any of the acts yet, but since when did that matter? VOTE JEDWARD. You know you want to. 8.07pm: They have no been joined by 43 Lena lookalikes waving the flags of Europe. And now the actual Lena, doing the final chorus. And a full swing band. And many, many, fireworks. My head hurts. 8.00pm: IT’S STARTING! Live from the Espirit arena in Dusseldorf, which is apparently packed with 35,000 fans. Or so Graham Norton tells us, for he is in charge of UK proceedings. Our hosts for the evening are Anka, who is wearing a red dress like a 70s shagpile rug and a over-tight ponytail; Judith, who is wearing Bacofoil and doing the French bits, and a man called Stefan who is the actual Swedish Chef off the Muppets. He is talking about TV vankings. I hope these are rankings. Ah, there’s nothing like a bit of set-piece intro comedy, is there? Lena can’t perform last year’s winning song, Satellite, because she is also competing this evening, so Stefan and Anke are performing a rockabilly version. Imagine how bad that could possibly be, and then multiply it by about 7 MILLION. 7.58pm: It’s nearly time! It’s Heidi here now right through until 9.30pm, when Stuart will take over. 7.47pm: Oh, apparently the warm-up guy is cracking xenophobic gags. The Irish are drunks, the Italians are short and the British have no sense of humour. Oh, bravo. 7.44pm: Heidi Stephens: A message from James in Dusseldorf – loads of Union flags on display, apparently, and the warm-up guy is getting the crowd going. Who the hell do you book to do the warm-up for Eurovision? 7.24pm: Stuart Heritage : Right, you know how these Eurovision drinking games work by now. Whenever any of the following happens, you have to drink something. Or eat something. Or just generally despair at the world a little bit. I will be doing the last of these suggestions, whereas Heidi will be wittering incoherently in no time: 1 – The UK’s entry is described as ‘our strongest in years’ 2 – The hosts misguidedly attempt to flirt with each other 3 – A song rhymes ‘fire’ with ‘desire’ 4 – A song rhymes ‘high’ with ‘sky’ 5 – While announcing their country’s voting scores, a presenter unsuccessfully tries to chat up the host 6 – Someone wears enough fake tan to make you question the reliability of your television’s contrast settings 7 – A performer finishes their song by bellowing into a wind machine 8 – A song makes a cackhanded nation-specific political statement that’s lost on 99% of the audience 9 – The UK doesn’t do as well as people thought it would 10 – Someone mumbles bitterly about political voting 7.16pm: Heidi Stephens: Guten abend meine freunde! It’s nearly time! I’m going to take you through the first 90 minutes of this evening’s show, which should cover most of the 25 glorious musical contributions from Europe’s finest musical talent. At 9.30pm, my lovely co-host Stuart Heritage will be taking over for all the amazing interval entertainment and the scoring, right through to the bitter end when Blue are crowned champions and the UK faces the prospect of hosting the 2012 show on a budget of £8.50 and a pocketful of fluff and buttons. OK, maybe not, but I think the UK might do alright. The good news is, we can’t do any worse than last place in 2010, so hurrah. I haven’t seen much by way of the performances this year, so most of what’s going to occur this evening will be new to my unpolluted eyes and ears. I’ve also heard bits of the UK entry, but not the entire song, so if there’s bit in the middle where they all make a human pyramid with Duncan on top playing the spoons, my horror will be unfeigned. I have, however, made a note of the all the artists’ names and song titles, so I don’t waste valuable viewing time looking up how to spell something in Slovenian that sounds like it’s just been coughed up by a horse. Alas Stuart and I didn’t make it to Dusseldorf this year, but we are receiving dispatches from JAMES HODGE, who is sending all the news and gossip from inside the arena so we can post it here. Apparently it is currently packed to the rafters with lots of very excited people, some of whom are waving the flags of more than one nation. And this, my friends, is the spirit of Eurovision. Also, Jagermeister. 7.10pm: Heidi: Hello and welcome to the annual Guardian Eurovision Song Contest liveblog, coming to you live from the UK! Stuart: Bonjour et bienvenue à la réunion annuelle Guardian Eurovision de la chanson liveblog concours, à venir avec vous en direct du Royaume-Uni! Heidi: You’re doing this on Google Translate, aren’t you? Stuart: Yes. Heidi: Oh. Hello! I’m Heidi! Stuart: And I’m Stuart! Heidi: And we’re your Eurovision liveblog hosts! Stuart: Bonsoir! It’s going to be a crazy crazy Euro liveblog party! Heidi, you are looking very beautiful this evening. Heidi: Thank you Stuart, and you are also looking very handsome. Right, that’s the obligatory clunky flirting over. Welcome to the 2011 Eurovision Liveblog! It’s a night of bad outfits, demented dancing and impenetrable lyrics, and that’s just from Blue and Jedward. We are very excited. Clearly the whole of Eurovision is too much drama for one liveblogger to cope with, so tonight’s liveblog will be a two person affair – Heidi Stephens will be kicking things off at 8pm, with Stuart Heritage picking up the sequinned baton at 9.30pm. Do feel free to join the fun by leaving your comments below, and don’t forget to let us know where you are, who you’re with and who you’re cheering for this evening. We do not discriminate. If Moldova float your boat, so be it. Yay, Eurovision! Enjoy! Eurovision 2011 Eurovision Television Heidi Stephens Stuart Heritage guardian.co.uk
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Report showing trains in Europe cost 40% less to run will fuel attack on pay and outdated travel perks Transport secretary Philip Hammond will spark a confrontation with unions this week by demanding steep cuts in the wage bills of Britain’s railways, citing an official study suggesting that they cost 40% more to operate than equivalent systems in France, Germany and the Netherlands. The report, by former Civil Aviation Authority chief Sir Roy McNulty, will set an “aspiration” of reducing the cost of transporting passengers by 30% by 2019, with potential savings of more than £1bn annually by the end of the decade. Commissioned in the latter days of Gordon Brown’s government, the study, to be published on Thursday, is likely to be used by ministers to attack both unions and the historical perks enjoyed by rail staff. Train drivers earned an average of £41,179 last year, more than police officers, teachers, firemen and nurses, and unions have
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US and Britain condemn conviction of Andrei Sannikov, who described charges of staging riots as ‘absurd’ A Belarussian presidential candidate has been sentenced to five years in prison following a trial that he denounced as political punishment for challenging the nation’s authoritarian leader. A district court in the Belarussian capital Minsk handed out the sentence to Andrei Sannikov after convicting him on charges of staging riots following December’s presidential election. Sannikov called the charges “absurd” in a statement before the verdict, which was condemned by the US and Britain. “This is a political punishment for me as a presidential candidate who has formed a strong team of professionals and declared readiness to take charge of the country,” he said. Sannikov, a 57-year-old former deputy foreign minister, said he was tortured by Belarus’s secret police and that its chief personally threatened harsh reprisals against his wife – a journalist – and their four-year-old son. Another four opposition activists were also given prison terms in the same trial. Sannikov’s trial was the latest move in an ongoing crackdown on dissent by the government of President Alexander Lukashenko, who was declared the winner of December’s election with nearly 80% of the vote. International observers criticised the election. The exchange rate of the national currency of Belarus plunged by 30% this week after the government completed its devaluation. Hard currency reserves have plummeted to less than $4bn, and staples such as vegetable oil and sugar began vanishing from stores. “A severe economic crisis has prompted Lukashenko to tighten repression to prevent the opposition from forming the core of protests,” said Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent political analyst. The US state department issued a statement condemning Sannikov’s conviction and other trials of presidential candidates and opposition activists. “Belarus should immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and cease continuing human rights violations against critics of the government,” it said. “The results of ongoing trials will be taken into account as the United States continues to review its relations with Belarus and consider further measures.” The Europe minister David Lidington also voiced concern about Sannikov’s conviction, calling it a “new low for the rule of law in Belarus”. “Mr Sannikov is guilty of nothing more than the peaceful expression of his opinion about the results of December’s flawed elections,” he said. Belarus Alexander Lukashenko Europe guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …FCC reveals Seagate GoFlex Satellite, a WiFi-capable battery-powered external hard drive
May 14, 2011 No Comment
For a purportedly doomed manufacturer of magnetic storage, Seagate sure is spinning some interesting ideas these days — last year, we got modular, upgradable cables , and now the company’s testing external hard drives that don’t need pesky wires to function. According to filings, the Seagate GoFlex Satellite not only plays the network-attached-storage card with built-in 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, it’s also got a 3.7V battery inside its case… making the product’s name somewhat apt, don’t you think? According to a leaked description, Seagate’s also planning a companion iOS app called “GoFlex Media” to let your iDevices stream content directly from the device. Mind you, none of that means you won’t be able to dock with your Satellite the old-fashioned way — FCC docs also mention a USB 3.0 cable that delivers data and power simultaneously. FCC reveals Seagate GoFlex Satellite, a WiFi-capable battery-powered external hard drive originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 May 2011 13:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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FBI agents announced the four-count indictment against three U.S. citizens resident in Florida and three others in Pakistan Six people in Florida and Pakistan have been charged with providing financing and material support to the Pakistani Taliban, a designated foreign terrorist organization, U.S. federal officials has said. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and local FBI agents announced the four-count indictment against three U.S. citizens resident in Florida, including two imams, and three other individuals living in Pakistan. Relations between Pakistan and the US are tense following the raid that killed Osama bin Laden at the Abbottabad compound. Taliban Pakistan Global terrorism United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Ron Paul makes ridiculous claim that if Heroin was legal, nobdy would use it.
May 14, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Ron Paul, the Birchertarian who just announced that he’s running for President in 2012, made one of the most idiotic claims I’ve ever heard over the debate to legalize all drugs or at least give the states the right to make that determination. Here’s what he said to Chris Wallace at that silly Fox News GOP Debate in South Carolina: CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS, DEBATE MODERATOR: Are you suggesting that heroin and prostitution are an exercise of liberty? PAUL: Well, you know, I probably never used those words. You put those words someplace. But yes, in essence, if I leave it to the states, it`s going to be up to the states. Up until this past century, you know, for over 100 years they were legal. What you`re inferring is, You know what? If we legalize heroin tomorrow, everybody`s going to use heroin. How many people here would use heroin if it was legal? I bet nobody would put their hand up, Oh, yes, I need the government to take care of me. I don`t want to use heroin, so I need these laws! He has to cling to his free-market Gospel and his hatred for the federal government so much so that he actually makes the argument that if heroin were legal, it wouldn’t lure people into taking it because it’s all just a matter of choice. Raise your hands, kids: Would you be tempted to do it if it were legal? You see, Chris. It doesn’t matter. This naivete is so juvenile. There is an argument to be made for the legalization of drugs or marijuana, but does he really believe that teenage use wouldn’t skyrocket if heroin were sold at your local Target store? Please, then I’d check to see if he has any interests in thirty-day rehab centers, because that would become the new dot-com bubble business, although it wouldn’t be a bubble. It would be a gold mine for private investors, but a terrible thing for society. How many drinking parties do we now see across America after prohibition was lifted? How many drunk driving deaths are racked up each year? It takes a tremendous amount of alcohol to become physically addicted, but not with heroin. Cocaine and marijuana are mostly without the physical complications, but the mental part is just as hard to break. Paul’s anti-war and civil liberties stances are in line with most liberal values. And legallizing pot or reforming the unjust laws prosecuting drug offenders are also becoming much more mainstream ideas. But that’s not the case with smack. And then we get the ridiculous argument now being made that the Civil Rights Act shouldn’t have been passed because since it’s 2011, all businesses that put up “Whites Only” signs would be boycotted. Right. That bill flipped the entire South to become Republicans, and it wasn’t because the feds passed the act. It was because of racism that lasted for decades and is still with us today. Chris Matthews presses him on Hardball about these ideas, and his fallback position is that he’s for freedom. MATTHEWS: Well, your people out there in the crowd certainly agree with that. But let me ask you, as a citizen of Texas, if that came up for a vote, if you had to vote on the issue as a citizen supporting a candidate or whatever, do you think the state of Texas should legalize heroin and prostitution? PAUL: I think that under the right circumstances, we should legalize freedom, and that is part of it. As long as people don`t force things on other people, I don`t feel threatened by that. It`s sort of like legalizing gambling. I don`t gamble and I don`t get involved, but I`m not going to take that right away from you. So all these things are things that you can do in a free society. But today, I gave a long talk about this very issue and I emphasized the fact that the reason I argue for freedom of choice is I want people to decide what medications they can take and whether they want alternative medicine, whether they can drink raw milk, whether they can use marijuana when they`re sick, and that we shouldn’t depend on the government for that guidance. But if you do need guidance with children, if a law is the there to try to protect children, that`s a different story. But it`s the concept of legalizing freedom, making choices by individuals and assuming responsibility for themselves. And even though that was a special statement about how many people would do it if it were legalized, you know, most people aren’t going to use heroin. More people use heroin because it`s illegal. So making it illegal doesn’t help that much. Kids can go out and get marijuana easier than they can get beer, so beer can be regulated in a way to prevent the kids from getting it. Most of our history, our early history, there were no laws against this — (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: I guess I have to get down to the question — you think — you`re saying — I`m not sure what you`re saying. If a mother who has children to be responsible for, a husband, a father, should they be allowed to be heroin addicts? Because this is how far you`re going with your libertarianism, it seems, even now. PAUL: Well, the whole thing is addictions are a disease. We don`t put alcoholics in prison. So I`m just against the war on drugs the way it`s happening. There`s other ways you can handle it. But if you treat it like a crime and throw these kids, like we have for decades, in prison because they smoked a little bit of marijuana, and they come out violent criminals, that war on drugs has failed. And believe me — MATTHEWS: OK. You want — PAUL: — the people know that. And so I`m against the federal war on drugs. I`m not pro-drug usage. As a matter of fact, I`m very critical of the carelessness of doctors who give way too many pain pills. There`s more people addicted to prescription drugs than they are to illegal drugs. MATTHEWS: OK. Just to finish this conversation on this point — you have complete freedom to answer this question, yes or no. Should we legalize — legalize heroin? PAUL: I want to legalize freedom and let — MATTHEWS: OK. PAUL: — and the states deal with the regulations. Addiction is a disease, but if you never drank or did drugs you would never know you had it. And there’s something really funny about drugs. They obviously make you feel good or people wouldn’t be doing it. By the way, Americans can drink almost any kind of milk they want and it won’t turn them into addled and dependent addicts.
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Pro-cuts groups, including Ukip and the TaxPayers’ Alliance, look to US Tea Party movement for inspiration as anger grows over EU bailouts Hundreds of pro-cuts activists have taken part in a “rally against debt” opposite the Houses of Parliament, in the first Tea Party-style protest to challenge the anti-cuts lobby. The protest, attended by an alliance of rightwing and libertarian activists including members of the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA), the anti-Europe UK Independence party and the Freedom Association, was billed as giving a voice to those who think the UK is living beyond its means. There were also calls for the government to stop bailing out other EU countries. Matthew Sinclair, director of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “There have been lots of chances for other groups to register their protest, and we want to give a voice to people who represent quite a heavy majority who think spending cuts are right and necessary. “But some areas aren’t being cut at all while spending is rising elsewhere, with contributions to the EU and international development spending.” The organisation’s debt clock, mounted on a lorry, was driven past the protest several times. More than 1,400 people had indicated on Facebook that they would attend , but at lunchtime only about 350 people were gathered at Old Palace Yard to be addressed by the speakers, who included Sinclair and Ukip leader Nigel Farage. They held placards bearing messages including “Drowning in debt”, “No more EU bailouts” and “Stop spending money you don’t have”. Some protesters chanted: “What do we want? Cuts! When do we want them? Now!” Farage said: “This is not a celebration of libraries closing or lowly paid people losing their jobs. “This is an acceptance that this country is in the most desperate trouble and that despite the cuts we’re increasing spending in some areas. We need to make cuts and we need to prioritise where these cuts are coming from.” Priti Patel, Conservative MP for Witham, said: “This government is all about deficit reduction. I don’t think enough people realise the extent of the debt facing this country. It is totally unsustainable. “This is a wake-up call that debt is here to stay unless we deal with it in a serious way.” Mark Littlewood, director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, told the rally: “We won’t put up with this. We are the selfless movement. We’re not asking for money, we’re asking for cuts to make sure our children and grandchildren don’t have to foot the bill.” One protester, James Dighton, a 24-year-old accountant from Leeds, said: “It’s very important to get the message out there that not everyone in the country thinks the cuts are unnecessary – quite the opposite, in fact.” A handful of protesters opposed to cuts were also present, with one waving a sign mocking the rally that read: “Libraries suck.” The action comes amid growing interest among rightwing groups in learning from the US Tea Party movement, which has mobilised hundreds of thousands of activists to march against Barack Obama’s policies. Electoral commission records show that in March, Ukip activists registered the name Tea Party as a political party. It is not yet active, but they said they could field candidates in general elections, byelections and local elections. Protest Tea Party movement Public sector cuts UK Independence party (Ukip) David Batty guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …When Tea Partiers Attack — Each Other: New York Candidates Beat Each Other Up Claiming the Mantle
May 14, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media It’s always kind of amusing watching Republicans fight over that cherished Tea Party endorsement the way dogs fight over a bone. As they apparently are in upstate New York’s congressional District 26 — the district where Christopher Lee most recently posed as a Republican congressman — where there’s now a disgruntled ex-Republican candidate named Jack Davis running as a third-party Tea Party candidate against a Republican who likewise claims various Tea Party endorsements. Seems things have gotten down to the usual thuggishness and pettiness : A 15-second video shows a tea party congressional candidate in New York scuffling with a Republican Party volunteer who questioned his absence from a debate. The video posted on YouTube shows candidate Jack Davis asking the volunteer Wednesday whether he wants to “punch it out” after a campaign event in Greece, outside Rochester. Davis was responding to the man’s repeated calls for him to explain why he backed out of a debate held Thursday in Buffalo. Davis announced Wednesday he’d changed his mind about participating in the debate with the two major party candidates in the May 24 special election for the 26th District seat. Instead, he said he’d speak to voters directly via an electronic town hall meeting May 21. In the video, the 78-year-old candidate steps toward the volunteer, who was holding a camera and asking, “Why did you back out of the debate? Why did you back out of the debate?” “Do you want to punch it out?” Davis asks before swiping at the camera with his right hand. Davis then laughs as he walks to his car while a man who appears to be a Davis campaign aide approaches the cameraman. As the camera shakes, the cameraman groans out of view as if he has been struck and then resumes asking Davis, “Why did you back out of the debate?” It turns out that the videographer is in fact the chief of staff for the Republican front-runner . Of course, the national Tea Party organizations are disowning Davis and claiming he’s a Democrat in disguise. Even though he in fact ran as a Republican candidate and earned the endorsement of the western New York Tea Partiers. This should be entertaining to watch, if nothing else.
Continue reading …When Tea Partiers Attack — Each Other: New York Candidates Beat Each Other Up Claiming the Mantle
May 14, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media It’s always kind of amusing watching Republicans fight over that cherished Tea Party endorsement the way dogs fight over a bone. As they apparently are in upstate New York’s congressional District 26 — the district where Christopher Lee most recently posed as a Republican congressman — where there’s now a disgruntled ex-Republican candidate named Jack Davis running as a third-party Tea Party candidate against a Republican who likewise claims various Tea Party endorsements. Seems things have gotten down to the usual thuggishness and pettiness : A 15-second video shows a tea party congressional candidate in New York scuffling with a Republican Party volunteer who questioned his absence from a debate. The video posted on YouTube shows candidate Jack Davis asking the volunteer Wednesday whether he wants to “punch it out” after a campaign event in Greece, outside Rochester. Davis was responding to the man’s repeated calls for him to explain why he backed out of a debate held Thursday in Buffalo. Davis announced Wednesday he’d changed his mind about participating in the debate with the two major party candidates in the May 24 special election for the 26th District seat. Instead, he said he’d speak to voters directly via an electronic town hall meeting May 21. In the video, the 78-year-old candidate steps toward the volunteer, who was holding a camera and asking, “Why did you back out of the debate? Why did you back out of the debate?” “Do you want to punch it out?” Davis asks before swiping at the camera with his right hand. Davis then laughs as he walks to his car while a man who appears to be a Davis campaign aide approaches the cameraman. As the camera shakes, the cameraman groans out of view as if he has been struck and then resumes asking Davis, “Why did you back out of the debate?” It turns out that the videographer is in fact the chief of staff for the Republican front-runner . Of course, the national Tea Party organizations are disowning Davis and claiming he’s a Democrat in disguise. Even though he in fact ran as a Republican candidate and earned the endorsement of the western New York Tea Partiers. This should be entertaining to watch, if nothing else.
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