BBC F1 TV coverage – Australia

How do the BBC compare to the job ITV did last year? ITV weren’t perfect, but the BBC weren’t that much different. So much for their “huge coverage” they promised. So what was it like?

The Path to Peace in Gaza?

Here are some excerpts of what I wrote during the last few days of the 13 day attack by Israel on Gaza. It’s a basic summary of news reports, official figures, analysis, and my own opinions. I support both the State of Israel and Palestinian Statehood, but this recent conflict shows up one side to have lost rather more humanity than the other.

Bad Timing at the Bank of England

Today the Bank of England reduced interest rates by 1.5%. I have no problem with that – I said to friends a month ago that October’s 0.5% cut should have been 2%, and I know I wasn’t the only finance professional saying that.

Ping Pong Olympics

The 2008 Olympics are tainted, and Jacques Rogge, the IOC boss seems to be blinded by the fog of stupidity (or institional greed)  to see it.

Never mind the many political protests that others have so eloquently voiced elsewhere, here I just want to point the finger at how the IOC’s own statements seem to be completely out of touch with reality. It’s as if the IOC are trying to pretend there is nothing wrong when not only is there a rather too obvious Peking pong hanging over the games, but information that is in any way critical is being censored and surpressed.

Beijing air ’safe for athletes’ (“for events lasting less than an hour”)

Which websites has China blocked?

Beijing unblocks BBC Chinese site (Chinese Wikipedia still off limits)

China relaxes internet censorship for Olympics (“At the moment the channel for reporters to use the Internet is fully open” – says China)

In the internet age, dinosaurs like Jacques Rogge (who probably still has his secretary type his letters for him) really need to stop spinning deeply unpopular news that is so easily double checked on the internet. The more the IOC opens its mouth, the more foolish they look.

At least we know the IOC has the right logo – the Chinese authorities are clearly running rings around them. In Peking, that’s about the only thing that is clear…

FIA “to launch global campaign in support of motorists prosecuted for kerb crawling”?

Rumours are that now the FIA have re-elected a President whose primary public image is one of messing about with prostitutes, that the next move is to begin a global campaign to allow kerb crawling motorists to reclaim their fines for engaging the services of prostitutes. Max Mosley, the sad FIA President, has publicly said many times that he sees nothing wrong in engaging prositutes because they are “freely consenting adults”. Clearly a majority of the representatives of the motoring clubs that make up the FIA have come to the same conclusion.

Presumably, they did not think that messing about with prostitutes is morally repugnant nor a support for human trafficking, drug use, or the criminal underworld, or even an abuse against women. Neither it seems did they worry about their own members from the many countries in the world in which prostitution is illegal.

Apparently, many of the member clubs who supported Max Mosley receive money from the FIA. As any prostitute knows first you take the money, then you provide the required service – in this case to Max’s satisfaction.

Are we to conclude then that the lunatics are running the asylum?

If you are a woman, or a social worker dealing with the consequences of the abuse of women, or a feminist, or someone who believes in equality, or someone who has moral fibre, or who has religious affiliations, and are also a member of a motoring organisation then perhaps you should pressure your own motoring organisation to act proactively to do something to reverse this ego-driven abuse of power.

Just to remind you how it all started: the News of The World published a video showing Max Mosley, FIA President and son of the pre-war British Fascist party leader Sir Oswald Mosley engaging in a sado-masochistic orgy with three prostitutes in a concentration camp setting. The FIA represents the views of the world’s drivers in discussions with governments and other interested parties.

Mega Massa makes mincemeat of opposition as ham-fisted Hamilton has a horror

The nice thing about Formula 1 is its unpredictability. Well, this weekend, anyway. Never mind the unusual shenanigans happening off the track in Chelsea dungeons, on the track we are having quite a year. Quite rightly the Crown Prince of Bahrain insisted nothing would be allowed to distract us from the racing, despite all the salacious gossip in the press worldwide.

At Bahrain, there were one or two surprises. Swiss based BMW Sauber now lead the F1 Constructors Championship. Robert Kubica gained pole in a car that was clearly not the fastest at the event. Raikkonnen didn’t win. Massa did. Kovalainen beat Hamilton and got the fastest lap in not the fastest car on the circuit. Toyota actually beat their customer team, Williams. And the start was not chaotic. Presumably all that wind they experienced today – about 20 to 30 kmh gusting along the pit straight – distributed the sand fairly evenly and so the expected advantage of being on the racing line on the grid was not as great as it might have been.

OK, Hamilton cocked up big style at the start. He admitted to Autosport later that he hadn’t been able to put the mapping into “launch mode” quickly enough. I thought there were supposed to be no driver aids this year? So what’s all this talk about then?

Anyway, he was gobbled up by the pack quicker than you can crack a whip, falling from 3rd on the grid to 10th place by the end of the first lap. It didn’t help that he miscalculated just how slow the Renault was out of that corner and so ran into the back of the renegade in the Renault on acceleration, dropping himself down to 18th after pitting for a new nose. If he hadn’t have fluffed the start though, he wouldn’t have been anywhere near the middle of the pack. Looks like he’s having the kind of experience most other newcomers to F1 have in their first years in slower cars. For most of the race he was lucky to be racing with the Fisichella Force India over 13th place. 

Looking at the scores on the doors, McLaren have gone backwards since the beginning of the year scoring first 14, then 10 and now just 4 points as a team. Ferrari on the other hand has got better and better, with scores of 1, 10 and today top marks with 18 out of 18. BMW meanwhile have been more consistent, edging forward bit by bit with scores of 8, 11, 11 so far this season. BMW’s slow but deliberate progress clearly comes from the calm way that merry Mario Theissen runs things. More to come, I think.

So, now we have to wait three weeks for Barcelona, where we will see if any teams have made any leaps forward, or by standing still be going backwards. Up until now they have been away from home, and although teams as rich as Ferrari can ferry failed engines to their factory for analysis and problem solving in the week between the Australian and Malaysian GPs, most teams do not have such a $500 million budget. So, most changes – particularly to everyone’s aerodynamic packages – have had to wait until the return to Europe before they can be installed.

Hopefullly, the ITV commentary team will learn to observe and talk about what is actually happening next time, and not bore us with inane tales of gossip picked up around the paddock while something interesting is happening on the track. The usual character is of course to blame – Martin Brundle is, as always, superb. If only his colleague would watch the monitors while he is talking we might get some synchronisation between what he is saying and what we can see happening for a change.

Obama, the shady moneymen, press politics and Corporate America

Apparently, some of Barack Obama’s long standing financial backers have some rather strange connections with a Middle East businessman. Now, it may all be nothing to do with Mr Obama himself, but he has reportedly written letters on behalf of one of these people to gain favour with officialdom and been in receipt of land, loans and a favour or two.

So, if Obama wasn’t acting against the law himself, was he greedy, ill-advised, naive, stupid, or just inexperienced? There certainly seems to be some very strange goings on going on. As someone trained in spotting potential money laundering, the arrangement between the backer and the source of funds is typical of those we are encouraged to look into in the world of finance.

What I find strange is that when googling for “Obama mistake” one of the best sources of information is not a US newspaper, but a UK one, The Times.

Why is the US press giving Obama such a soft ride? It reminds me of the soft ride George W Bush got in the run up to his second term of office, and we all know now that was a mistake: if the press had asked more searching questions and acted as journalists, rather than as a political support machine maybe the US and the world would not have gotten into so much of a mess over the last 4 years.

I mean, who has gained from the invasion of Iraq? The only Western establishments that have benefitted have been the oil companies with the high oil prices giving them massive new profits, and companies like Dick Cheney’s old firm Haliburton who gained millions from new Army contracts for support services.

The cost? Osama bin Laden is still at large in Afghanistan/Pakistan where he has been since before the invasion of Iraq; the Iranian President, Ahmed I’m-a-dinner-jacket, can drive from Baghdad airport and walk in the streets outside the high security Green Zone that Georgie’s boys are helicoptered into and out of on PR visits to US bases and other places in Iraq; President Hugo Chavez has enough money from huge oil prices to throw his weight around in Latin America, threaten Colombia and fund the FARC and who knows what else, Americans around the world are pretty much disliked everywhere they go (at least they report to feeling very unwelcome in most countries they visit – and I mean Western countries here); the US dollar continues to fall; inflation is rising, causing interest rates to rise which causes house prices to come crashing down and bring the sub-Prime scandal into the harsh light of day.

So, the US press needs to ask more questions before they adopt a favourite (he certainly does that Big Speech well, doesn’t he?) as they seem to have done here. Obama might be the sound-bite kid, but it’s supposed to be a free press not the PR department for Corporate America. Real journalism seems to have become marginalised, subsumed by corporate greed.

And that can’t be good for anyone.

This Week: Now I’ve seen it all…

It isn’t often I’m surprised these days. But just occasionally, every now and then, it suddenly hits me.

This evening I was watching as I often do “This Week” hosted by Andrew Neil, ex-editor of the Sunday Times, with regular participants ex-MP Michael Portillo and current MP Diane Abbott. The guest I found most interesting was surprisingly Katie Melua, a singer whose CD I coincidentally bought recently without knowing anything more about her (I’d heard her played on one of the ad-free, talk free, Swiss radio stations, either Radio Swiss Jazz or Radio Swiss Pop and so bought the CD online there and then).

No, this isn’t some fan mail about some sexy, good looking young singer who’s on a roll, after all, This Week is a politics show – and a good one for the most part. Although of course, she is all of the above too.

What was particularly interesting was what Miss Melua had to say. She’s a very bright girl with some very good ideas. Well, she’s a Doctor’s daughter. She also happens to be Georgian, an immigrant of 15 years into the UK which she arrived in at the age of 8. Her English is now perfect, and she has just taken on British Citizenship, which she is clearly very proud of. Her praise of Britain was great to listen to. If only more Britons spoke like that about their country!

The discussion was on immigration, Britishness, and integration. Katie said there was not enough teaching of or resources for, the teaching of English to older and younger new immigrants but perhaps too much political correctness in England when she arrived compared to her home country Georgia – or even to her first British home in Northern Ireland during the troubles where she had to learn Irish dancing and how to play the tin whistle, a complete contrast to England where nothing specifically British or English was required of her; Diane Abbot said the British tend to be most British when they are showing everyone how little British they actually are; Michael Portillo said in the fifties Britons were last proud to be British, while Andrew Neil in turn egged them on, or over-egged things as the flow demanded.

Then it hit me: none of these commentators, talking about Britishness, were actually English! Well, not completely. Katie Melua is a first generation immigrant from Eastern Europe. Diane Abbott’s parents came from Jamaica. Michael Portillo is half Spanish. And Andrew Neil is a Scot!

Now I’ve seen it all. Britain clearly is a most cosmopolitan society. And do you know what? It’s a lot richer because of that. The discussion was interesting, well-argued, stimulating and well researched. People with real experiences and relevant ideas came together without any particular cross to bear or chip on their shoulders, and although the discussion was short, it was very satisfying to listen to.

Well done the “This Week” team. Now I really have seen it all…

Do Foreigners have too much control over British Politics?

Murdoch: I decide Sun’s politics

This has got nothing to do with taxes or immigration issues. It’s a lot more important than that – in fact it’s a completely fundamental flaw in Britain’s current system of government and explains a lot of the negative culture that so holds Britain back from its true potential.

I don’t want this to appear to be an attack on Rupert Murdoch either, since the system we have isn’t his fault, he just knows how it works and how to benefit from it. You have to actually admire him for that. But he does make a good illustration of what is wrong with the system.

In the US, no foreigner can own a majority share of any media business. That’s why Murdoch changed his Nationality from Australian to American. So he could own an American media network.

However, Britain has no similar rule, and that’s surely wrong.

Any foreigner can own a British newspaper, and with the multi-million issue selling tabloid press can then influence huge swathes of the electorate. Mr Murdoch has even said, to a House of Lords committee investigating media ownership that he “exercises editorial control on major issues – like which party to back in a general election or policy on Europe.”

Pardon me? He does what?

He persuades people, through the editorial slant his tabloid newspapers take, the stories and photographs they publish, exactly which party to back in a general election!

Not because the binmen don’t come often enough to his house, or because he pays too much tax, or has to wait too long for an NHS Doctor’s appointment, or because his kids’ school is under equipped. No, instead he is far more likely to be influenced by what is happening in his adopted country. What is good for the US? Or just as dangerous perhaps, what is good for sales?

Foreign media owners cannot feel the things British residents or Nationals feel, they may have some idea, or an ideology they follow, but the less British they are the less it will be likely to benefit Britain. They are far more likely to be biased against British interests than they are to be biased against the foreign interests they see, feel and hear, day-to-day, back home.

As a puppetmaster, a foreign owner’s audience are the people in their adopted and original lands. To them, Britons are no more than the players on the stage, controlled by the strings in their hands.

The influence they exert may be very subtle. But how can it be in Britain’s best interests? Shouldn’t British owners living in Britain control the press? After all, foreigners are not welcome donors to political campaigns financially, so why are they allowed to make or break Prime Ministers through the use of ongoing campaigns to undermine them or their policies?

Not all Fifth Columnists are shady men from Russia or China in back alleys. Some foreigners influence our way of life for their own ends and most of us don’t even think about it, we do what we are led to believe is right. Just not for us.

Ban foreign ownership of the British media now!

The Conservative Tax Naivety

Latest Conservative ideas on tax are to give away £3.5 billion by raising the Stamp Duty threshold on property purchase to £250,000 and through an increase in the level at which Inheritance Tax begins from £300,000 of assets to £1 million. Sound good? So far. But there is a lot of uncertainty about the figures: many commentators have cast a lot of doubt on them.

So, where’s the money coming from? Shadow Chancellor George Osborne says “we will charge a flat annual levy of around £25,000 for those who register for non-domicile status.” These people currently pay income tax on their UK earnings, but not on their foreign earnings. He expects them of course to want to remain here and do nothing to change their situation. But let’s face it, if you were threatened with a sudden increase of £25,000 to your tax bill, and you were living in a foreign country, would you do nothing about it?

A lot of these non-domiciled foreigners living in the UK are often middle managers, people working for foreign companies such as BMW in Oxford, Honda in Swindon, Toyota in Geordieland, journalists on assignment from their home countries. Teachers of the foreign languages we need to learn to export more British goods overseas. Health service workers like Doctors, Dentists, Nurses. Plumbers. Ordinary people. Middle class people. People like you and me.

These people will in some cases just leave the country. The skills and talent they take with them could create a new ‘brain drain’ out of the UK, not this time to the USA as happened in the 1970s when the 83% and 98% Super Tax pushed them out, but to Europe thereby enhancing the already popular flow of people there where salaries tend to be higher anyway.

UK Employers will suffer too. Where will they get the people now working in the bars and hotels of London in jobs few English people want to take because of the low salaries? Companies thinking of which part of Europe to move to will look again at the attractiveness of the UK as a site for their “Big European Projects” and in some instances will decide our competitors deserve their billions and jobs more. The UK will slip down the league of International Competitiveness.

Imagine you get a plum job in Holland or Sweden, something that will enhance your chances of promotion when you return to the UK after your 3 years overseas stint, something that pays you an extra £20,000 a year too. Would you still take it if you knew the tax charge for doing so would be £25,000?

Now think how a foreigner in Britain, or considering coming to Britain, will take it. For them, they may still find the job attractive, but not enough for so many to want to come as financially it would not make sense for their family to come with them. As an International Commuter you would pay no UK taxes at all! This means the money those workers now earn, pay taxes on, and spend in the UK would only be earned here, but taxed and injected into the economy of the country from which they commute.

If you are thinking “Hurrah! We’ll get rid of all those illegal immigrants – think again. The levy only applies to those registered as non-domiciled: illegals don’t do that. This change would just make more of them, not less. Without any system of registration or ID card, who would ever know where they were?

Economically this whole idea doesn’t work. That’s why the Labour Party never actually did anything about it. Once you look deeper than the attractive headlines you see the lack of forethought behind the plan. Politically it will appeal to BNP members and other right wing groups, but it is a fundamentally flawed idea.