General Younes of the Libyan rebel forces was killed yesterday along with two of his aides by armed gunman. The impact on the rebellion should not be underestimated. Younes was a key leader and his loss will be a bitter blow to those hoping for a speedy resolution to the developing stalemate in Libya.
General Younes was the interior minister in Gaddafi's regime and played a key role in Gaddafi's original rebellion against King Idris but switched sides when the rebellion began. His death has sparked criticisms of the rebel movement and fears it could soon fragment, giving the colonel the upper hand. Reports state that the leader of the gunmen has since been caught.
The international fallout of this is that criticism has been levvied at NATO for so openly supporting the rebels who seem incapable of forcing Gaddafi out of their country. Most notably to Britain who recognised the rebels as the representatives of the Libyan people this week.
The murder itself sounds fishy at best. A group of gunman attack the general whilst he's being recalled from the front? It sounds like a set-up and the possibility of Gaddafi loyalist involvement should not be overlooked. Another explanation could be a set up by one of the dissatisfied rebel groups but sabotaging themselves when Younes hasn't put a foot wrong (except being unable to galvanise the rebels out of a stalemate) seems a little over-zealous on their part.
Hopefully the rebels can find a new leader to lead them to success against Gaddafi loyalists but for now, the stalemate looks set to continue.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Return of the Blogger
Finally returned to world of blogging again, I'm not very good with keeping up with this. Thought for this blog I'd just go through some of the recent news and pass comment.
First up it seems only fair to open with the terror attack on Oslo and the Norweigan Labour Party. My condolences to those who lost loved ones. Anders Behring Breivik has made it clear to all of the Western World that Islamic extremism is not the only enemy to collective security but extremism as a whole. What threatens collective cosmopolitan societies are the ideals of the ignorant few. This means education has to be a priority to protect citizens from internal and external terror threats. Norway has acted magnificently since the attack. The people have stayed strong and supported the police and government through a difficult time and there was no violent protests during Breivik's trial. The Norwegian Prime Minister has also shown great courage and belief in his people to announce that the terror act failed produce the intended chaos and Norway intends to be as open as ever.
Secondly, the death of Amy Winehouse was a tragic story and reflects badly on what celebrity status does to those who are too weak to handle it. After her disastrous performance in Serbia it became clear that the singer had not recovered as well as many had hoped. Those who left alcohol bottles/cans etc. merely show that they have nothing better to do than to taunt a poor family grieving the loss of their daughter. May she rest in peace.
FIFA has confirmed a lifetime ban from football for Mohammed Bin Hamman. To me this smells to much like a cover up. Bin Hamman was the only real challenger to Blatter's presidency and the former head of Asian football has been offered as a scapegoat to appease the masses. While I'm not suggesting that Bin Hamman or Warner are innocent, I do think the corruption runs far deeper. Why else would Jack Warner brandish e-mails as proof of deeper corruption, why would Bin Hamman take it above FIFA if it was clear cut. It would not surprise me at all if Bin Hamman used his appeal to launch an attack on FIFA and suggest that corruption runs far deeper. Watch this space.
That's enough from me for tonight. I think there will be a political one coming up soon. Thanks for reading.
First up it seems only fair to open with the terror attack on Oslo and the Norweigan Labour Party. My condolences to those who lost loved ones. Anders Behring Breivik has made it clear to all of the Western World that Islamic extremism is not the only enemy to collective security but extremism as a whole. What threatens collective cosmopolitan societies are the ideals of the ignorant few. This means education has to be a priority to protect citizens from internal and external terror threats. Norway has acted magnificently since the attack. The people have stayed strong and supported the police and government through a difficult time and there was no violent protests during Breivik's trial. The Norwegian Prime Minister has also shown great courage and belief in his people to announce that the terror act failed produce the intended chaos and Norway intends to be as open as ever.
Secondly, the death of Amy Winehouse was a tragic story and reflects badly on what celebrity status does to those who are too weak to handle it. After her disastrous performance in Serbia it became clear that the singer had not recovered as well as many had hoped. Those who left alcohol bottles/cans etc. merely show that they have nothing better to do than to taunt a poor family grieving the loss of their daughter. May she rest in peace.
FIFA has confirmed a lifetime ban from football for Mohammed Bin Hamman. To me this smells to much like a cover up. Bin Hamman was the only real challenger to Blatter's presidency and the former head of Asian football has been offered as a scapegoat to appease the masses. While I'm not suggesting that Bin Hamman or Warner are innocent, I do think the corruption runs far deeper. Why else would Jack Warner brandish e-mails as proof of deeper corruption, why would Bin Hamman take it above FIFA if it was clear cut. It would not surprise me at all if Bin Hamman used his appeal to launch an attack on FIFA and suggest that corruption runs far deeper. Watch this space.
That's enough from me for tonight. I think there will be a political one coming up soon. Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Culmination to a Season
Thought I'd write another blog. It's been a while!
Football is a funny old game. I don't expect many would have predicted as wild a season. How would have thought Blackpool would have such a good start and teams like Chelsea would fade as drastically as they have. The table is closer than ever with such a small gap between 9th place and 18th. A team can be dreaming of Europe and then dragged into the pit of relegation or resurrect their season in 3 games.
Despite all this shake up, the same patterns are occurring as usual. A team we all thought was miraculous in how they played has slipped dramatically into the bottom three and is now a near certainty for relegation. If there was such a thing this year. A team who is always around but never does much has finally succumbed to the decline of their mediocrity and a team famed for their great escapes has been presented with yet another to haul themselves out of the bottom three. The title yet again is contested between just two teams and the race for Europe is again the battlegrounds for Spurs and City. We've seen a fall from grace or two as well, Liverpool are nothing on the side that won the Champions League that crazy night in Istanbul, Aston Villa's rollercoaster season must leave a few feeling ill after building for so long to challenge the now expanding top 4, Sunderland after a whirlwind start and tens of millions spent have slumped into a 'relegation battle' and are in grave danger of assisting the Hammers in their next Great Escape.
I'll finish with my predictions and say that Blackpool, Wolves and Wigan will be relegated. With both Blackburn and West Ham being mighty close to the drop. Man city will choke at the last against Bolton and Spurs will take the the 4th Champions League spot. Whilst United will win the title outright with Arsenal and lagging chelsea taking up the other places. Leave your thoughts in the comments if you want to predict as well and I can only hope we have as entertaining a season next year as we have this.
Football is a funny old game. I don't expect many would have predicted as wild a season. How would have thought Blackpool would have such a good start and teams like Chelsea would fade as drastically as they have. The table is closer than ever with such a small gap between 9th place and 18th. A team can be dreaming of Europe and then dragged into the pit of relegation or resurrect their season in 3 games.
Despite all this shake up, the same patterns are occurring as usual. A team we all thought was miraculous in how they played has slipped dramatically into the bottom three and is now a near certainty for relegation. If there was such a thing this year. A team who is always around but never does much has finally succumbed to the decline of their mediocrity and a team famed for their great escapes has been presented with yet another to haul themselves out of the bottom three. The title yet again is contested between just two teams and the race for Europe is again the battlegrounds for Spurs and City. We've seen a fall from grace or two as well, Liverpool are nothing on the side that won the Champions League that crazy night in Istanbul, Aston Villa's rollercoaster season must leave a few feeling ill after building for so long to challenge the now expanding top 4, Sunderland after a whirlwind start and tens of millions spent have slumped into a 'relegation battle' and are in grave danger of assisting the Hammers in their next Great Escape.
I'll finish with my predictions and say that Blackpool, Wolves and Wigan will be relegated. With both Blackburn and West Ham being mighty close to the drop. Man city will choke at the last against Bolton and Spurs will take the the 4th Champions League spot. Whilst United will win the title outright with Arsenal and lagging chelsea taking up the other places. Leave your thoughts in the comments if you want to predict as well and I can only hope we have as entertaining a season next year as we have this.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
MPs urge Government to take a stand
Despite intense pressure from the European Court of Justice the British government may yet take a stand once again against the European Union. PM Cameron has repeatedly stated his hands are tied over the matter and he must abide by the ruling but has recently fueled the fire by saying he sees 'no reason' to allow prisoners the vote. The original plan was to allow prisoners to vote if they were serving less than 4 years but MPs are looking to, at the very least, comply in the most minimal way possible.
The reasoning behind finally caving to the EU is that prisoners have the opportunity to go to the ECJ and protest against the Parliamentary law causing the government to fork out money in compensation. Cameron believes he has no alternative in a time where he has to save as much money as possible to help the UK recover.
Prisoners, in my mind, should have the ability to request the vote if they are serving a short sentence that isn't linked to elections like electoral fraud and go through a process to decide if they are eligible. Being imprisoned is based on the removal of certain human rights in order to punish the individual, thus the rehabilitation in which the prisoner should be recondition into a better person should include the gradual reintroduction of said rights. Voting being one of them. Ultimately for this human right I feel it should be decided by a prison official or a judge designed to look out for prisoner rights. There is little point in using time as a definition, if you grant the vote straight away to those imprisoned for minor crimes what do they learn?
I genuinely hope the MPs take a stand to force Cameron to go to the ECJ and say 'Look this is how we've voted we need some sort of compromise'. There needs to be some sort of rehabilitation system but not one that allows prisoners who aren't showing that they have been reformed.
The reasoning behind finally caving to the EU is that prisoners have the opportunity to go to the ECJ and protest against the Parliamentary law causing the government to fork out money in compensation. Cameron believes he has no alternative in a time where he has to save as much money as possible to help the UK recover.
Prisoners, in my mind, should have the ability to request the vote if they are serving a short sentence that isn't linked to elections like electoral fraud and go through a process to decide if they are eligible. Being imprisoned is based on the removal of certain human rights in order to punish the individual, thus the rehabilitation in which the prisoner should be recondition into a better person should include the gradual reintroduction of said rights. Voting being one of them. Ultimately for this human right I feel it should be decided by a prison official or a judge designed to look out for prisoner rights. There is little point in using time as a definition, if you grant the vote straight away to those imprisoned for minor crimes what do they learn?
I genuinely hope the MPs take a stand to force Cameron to go to the ECJ and say 'Look this is how we've voted we need some sort of compromise'. There needs to be some sort of rehabilitation system but not one that allows prisoners who aren't showing that they have been reformed.
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