AMERICA will go to the polls next Tuesday (November 4) for the 56th United States presidential election.
Standing for the Republican Party will be John McCain and for the Democratic Party is Barack Obama.
It proves to be an historic result whoever wins. If Obama triumphs, then he will become the first black US president and if John McCain succeeds, his vice president, Sarah Palin, will be the first woman to achieve that office.
Barack Obama, who is favourite to win, has been accusing John McCain of negative campaigning.
It is said that McCain’s strategy of attacking his opponent has had an adverse effect and has turned voters off him.
A key issue is the race to the White House state of the economy, with another being Iraq. Obama opposes the war in Iraq and, if he takes office, wants to see all US troops out of the country within 16 months.
McCain had wanted US troops to remain in Iraq, but now says if he becomes president US troops would be withdrawn by 2013.
Last week Obama took two days out to look after his dying grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, and John McCain has being trying to fight back. While Sarah Palin has been attempting to shake off bad publicity about her wardrobe. It had been said she has spent over £100,000 on new clothes, as a way of improving her style.
Millions will vote on Tuesday and a result will be expected within 12 hours.
The new president won’t be in office until January 20 next year though.
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
No more ketchup
I COULDN’T believe that tomato ketchup had been banned from school canteens.
It has been banned because of its “high level of salt.”
But it seems to me to be another example of the nanny state.
A primary in Wales is among the schools to not allow their children to eat ketchup on their premises. Apparently they are following guidelines set out by the Welsh Assembly Government.
If they ban ketchup because of its salt content, then surely crisps should be next, and then chocolate and coke could follow, because of their potential health risks.
Ketchup may have too much salt in it, but a little of it with a meal often helps to improve the taste of the food.
Meanwhile Tess of the D’Urbervilles reached its gloomy conclusion last week.
I knew the ending, but still watched on regardless and was just as annoyed at the ending.
I enjoyed the drama, although why did we have to be put through it on a Sunday night.
It was such a sad story to end the week with and there was no upbeat programme to follow.
The next classic drama to be serialised will be Little Dorrit. Look forward to more misery on a Sunday night.
Isn’t there a classic drama they can serialise that is more upbeat? No more Hardy or Dickens for now please!
It has been banned because of its “high level of salt.”
But it seems to me to be another example of the nanny state.
A primary in Wales is among the schools to not allow their children to eat ketchup on their premises. Apparently they are following guidelines set out by the Welsh Assembly Government.
If they ban ketchup because of its salt content, then surely crisps should be next, and then chocolate and coke could follow, because of their potential health risks.
Ketchup may have too much salt in it, but a little of it with a meal often helps to improve the taste of the food.
Meanwhile Tess of the D’Urbervilles reached its gloomy conclusion last week.
I knew the ending, but still watched on regardless and was just as annoyed at the ending.
I enjoyed the drama, although why did we have to be put through it on a Sunday night.
It was such a sad story to end the week with and there was no upbeat programme to follow.
The next classic drama to be serialised will be Little Dorrit. Look forward to more misery on a Sunday night.
Isn’t there a classic drama they can serialise that is more upbeat? No more Hardy or Dickens for now please!
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
007 returns
James Bond is back later this month.
The publicity machine has already started rolling for the latest film Quantum of Solace, which will be out on October 31.
It will be Daniel Craig's second time playing Bond and his first outing as the secret agent in Casino Royale, was the most successful Bond movie of all.
Quantum of Solace is a sequel to Casino Royale. This time 007 is seeking revenge for the death of his lover Vesper Lynd in the last film.
The makers have copied a scene from Goldfinger in the new movie where Goldfinger's accomplice is killed by being covered in gold paint, after sleeping with James Bond. In the new movie the scene is similar but this time Gemma Arterton, who has been appearing in Tess of The D’Urbervilles, drowns in crude oil.
Quantum of Solace promises to have all the ingredients of a James Bond film: beautiful girls, plenty of action, fast cars and exotic locations.
What I didn’t like about the last film though was the lack of humour, it seemed to be too dark. In earlier Bond films the jokes provided some lighter moments. Roger Moore was the best at comedy.
In my opinion the stories are not as strong as they used to be either. The best Bond movies were those taken from Ian Fleming books such as: Goldfinger and Dr No.
But the latest release is something to look forward to as the nights draw in.
The publicity machine has already started rolling for the latest film Quantum of Solace, which will be out on October 31.
It will be Daniel Craig's second time playing Bond and his first outing as the secret agent in Casino Royale, was the most successful Bond movie of all.
Quantum of Solace is a sequel to Casino Royale. This time 007 is seeking revenge for the death of his lover Vesper Lynd in the last film.
The makers have copied a scene from Goldfinger in the new movie where Goldfinger's accomplice is killed by being covered in gold paint, after sleeping with James Bond. In the new movie the scene is similar but this time Gemma Arterton, who has been appearing in Tess of The D’Urbervilles, drowns in crude oil.
Quantum of Solace promises to have all the ingredients of a James Bond film: beautiful girls, plenty of action, fast cars and exotic locations.
What I didn’t like about the last film though was the lack of humour, it seemed to be too dark. In earlier Bond films the jokes provided some lighter moments. Roger Moore was the best at comedy.
In my opinion the stories are not as strong as they used to be either. The best Bond movies were those taken from Ian Fleming books such as: Goldfinger and Dr No.
But the latest release is something to look forward to as the nights draw in.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Fantastic flight
ONE story lifted the spirits last week.
It was the tale of Yves Rossy, aka Fusionman, who became the first human jet to fly the channel.
Fusionman took ten minutes to fly from Calais to Dover with the jet-propelled wing on his back.
The Swiss adventurer had very few instruments to help him and had no flight controls, just his body. To move the wing Mr Rossy had to move his head and limbs slightly.
The wing was built by Rossy in his garage.
It took me by surprise watching his flight across the channel on the TV last week.
Will his jet wing catch-on? It would be useful in a traffic jam.
Meanwhile two weeks ago America got their hands on the Ryder Cup for the first time this century.
Nick Faldo should shoulder the majority of the blame.
It looked like he was unable to generate the team spirit, which had played a major factor in Europe’s last three wins.
He also should have spread his best players out in the final singles. America gained momentum on the final day and this was to be crucial in their win.
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
We're still here
We are still here then.
Concerns that the whole world might be sucked into a black hole following an experiment to recreate the conditions after the Big Bang were proved to be wrong last week.
The Large Hadron Collider cost £5 billion, took 14 years to make and involved 10,000 researchers, but it left me thinking: what was the point?
Meanwhile the end of Summer sees new TV dramas being shown. And the return of old favourites.
The first episode in a new series of Casualty was broadcast on Saturday. I am usually a fan of Casualty, however I did not see the need for them to show someone being impaled.
Also we wait for weeks for a TV drama to come along and then two are shown on the same night, at the same time no less.
My gripe concerns last Sunday where Tess Of The D’Urbervilles was being shown on one side and Poirot on the other. Why couldn’t they have been shown on different nights?
Finally Liverpool has beaten Manchester United.
This match always proves to be an amazing sporting occasion and you can cut the tension with a knife. This game means a lot to both players and supporters. And for the first time in years Liverpool have the upper hand over United, although it is very early in the season.
Concerns that the whole world might be sucked into a black hole following an experiment to recreate the conditions after the Big Bang were proved to be wrong last week.
The Large Hadron Collider cost £5 billion, took 14 years to make and involved 10,000 researchers, but it left me thinking: what was the point?
Meanwhile the end of Summer sees new TV dramas being shown. And the return of old favourites.
The first episode in a new series of Casualty was broadcast on Saturday. I am usually a fan of Casualty, however I did not see the need for them to show someone being impaled.
Also we wait for weeks for a TV drama to come along and then two are shown on the same night, at the same time no less.
My gripe concerns last Sunday where Tess Of The D’Urbervilles was being shown on one side and Poirot on the other. Why couldn’t they have been shown on different nights?
Finally Liverpool has beaten Manchester United.
This match always proves to be an amazing sporting occasion and you can cut the tension with a knife. This game means a lot to both players and supporters. And for the first time in years Liverpool have the upper hand over United, although it is very early in the season.
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Faldo takes gamble on Poulter
SO Nick Faldo has gone for Ian Poulter as his wild card Ryder Cup pick over Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie.
Poulter’s inclusion in the Ryder Cup has been seen as a gamble in many quarters because Montgomerie had played in eight successive matches, never losing a Ryder Cup singles.
And Clarke had experienced a successful partnership with Lee Westwood that had won six points from a possible eight in Ryder Cup matches.
In the last month Clarke has seen a return to form and he picked up his 19th professional title recently.
Many believed Poulter had already been given the nod by Faldo, because Poulter didn’t try and qualify outright for a Ryder Cup place at Gleneagles. However Poulter and Faldo had been quick to deny this accusation.
Poulter is also above Montgomerie and Clarke on the world rankings and had impressed last month at The Open at Birkdale.
It is said he will be paired with Justin Rose and only time will tell if this partnership will gel.
Europe, who have won the last three encounters, will start as favourites for this year’s cup, even thought the competition is being played in America.
But maybe the Americans will come together more as a team without Tiger Woods, who is injured. Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time, although he never seems to excel in a team.
If Europe are to retain the Cup, they will be looking to Padraig Harrington (The Open and USPGA winner) and Sergio Garcia to play lead roles.
Poulter’s inclusion in the Ryder Cup has been seen as a gamble in many quarters because Montgomerie had played in eight successive matches, never losing a Ryder Cup singles.
And Clarke had experienced a successful partnership with Lee Westwood that had won six points from a possible eight in Ryder Cup matches.
In the last month Clarke has seen a return to form and he picked up his 19th professional title recently.
Many believed Poulter had already been given the nod by Faldo, because Poulter didn’t try and qualify outright for a Ryder Cup place at Gleneagles. However Poulter and Faldo had been quick to deny this accusation.
Poulter is also above Montgomerie and Clarke on the world rankings and had impressed last month at The Open at Birkdale.
It is said he will be paired with Justin Rose and only time will tell if this partnership will gel.
Europe, who have won the last three encounters, will start as favourites for this year’s cup, even thought the competition is being played in America.
But maybe the Americans will come together more as a team without Tiger Woods, who is injured. Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time, although he never seems to excel in a team.
If Europe are to retain the Cup, they will be looking to Padraig Harrington (The Open and USPGA winner) and Sergio Garcia to play lead roles.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
The X-Factor is back
A TOTAL of 182,000 people put their names forward to be on this year’s X-Factor.
And after watching the show on Saturday it looks like most of them were rubbish.
The audition episodes are usually the most entertaining.
The people who appear on it think they can sing and when they are told by the panel they were awful, they look shell-shocked.
It is always funny to see the look of horror on the faces of the panel, when they have to sit through a bad audition.
Two men even had to be escorted off by the bouncer, because they would not take no for an answer. The Rick Astley impersonator was passable, but his friend was laughable.
Occasionally though, someone appears on the show who has a fantastic voice.
Sharon Osbourne is no longer a panellist on the X-Factor and the new judge is Cheryl Cole of Girls Aloud. She is very similar in personality to Dannii Minogue and I am not sure if she will work as well as Sharon Osbourne. But I bet there will be a few clashes between the two of them in forthcoming weeks.
The most interesting part of the show was when Cheryl was confronted with a fellow contestant from Popstars:The Rivals. The difference in the fortunes between the two was staggering.
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