England fumes as snow & ice -and jack-knifed lorries- ruin sports, shopping and travel plans days before Christmas. Why so many lorries on roads now?

Channel 4 News: U.K. snow strands air travellers Correspondent Victoria Macdonald at Heathrow Airport
http://bcove.me/byscxokf
Story at: http://www.channel4.com/news/uk-snow-strands-air-travellers

Despite knowing that it was highly likely that the Chelsea-Manchester United football game would not go on today as planned in West London (at 11 a.m. my time in Miami) due to, supposedly, the treacherous road conditions caused by the unrelenting snow and ice -or as one website put it, "ran afoul of snow"- I'm still disappointed NOT to be able to see the game on Fox Soccer Channel, which has substituted a game in Switzerland between teams I've never heard of for the canceled game at Stamford Bridge.
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/Home/0,,10268,00.html

Especially disappointing when I am hearing differing stories today on what the actual road conditions around Fulham Road, SW 6 are like.

But then I have many viewing choices in the U.S., and was, of course, planning on watching the NFL games this afternoon, including the Dolphins game here against the Buffalo Bills and C.J. Spiller, whom I wanted the Dolphins to draft back in May.

Those choices I have put in rather stark perspective a strong sentiment I heard often yesterday and today on BBC Radio's 5 live about the much-discussed idea of the Premier League following the Bundesliga in Germany and taking a winter break, so that games are not scheduled when you know in advance that the conditions could be quite problematic weather-wise. http://www.bbc.co.uk/5live/

After the jaw-dropping World Cup debacle in South Africa, where the English National Team performed perfectly miserably and looked old, slow, unenthusiastic and not-so-talented in their last game against Germany, there were many knowledgeable callers to live 5 in the immediate hours afterward who said that one of the many things that needed to be done to make ENT relevant again, was to finally end the idea of playing games at times of the year that don't make sense weather-wise. http://www.thefa.com/England

It was said often that this continuous playing of league matches, daily practice plus games in various UEFA tourneys and the FA Cup that pay big money and have much prestige, leads to players being worn out in ways that even vacations to the sunny climes of South Beach can not mend.
My own experience is that you tend NOT to get 'fresh legs' in South Beach.
Just saying...

Well, yesterday, the opposing sentiment to this notion of a winter break came in fast and furious and I must admit, it's self-evident nature caught me a little short.
"Then what are we going to do in the winter?"

Hmm-m...I hadn't actually thought of that!


On this show and many others I've heard since this summer, one caller after another has volunteered how much their own childhood memories of Christmas had to some degree been shaped by the Boxing Day fixtures on Dec. 26th, big games that I have watched for years from afar, but read about and followed in newspapers, magazines and books, and now online, for years, since they tend to get more mention historically.

They're NOT just regular season games because people's memories of this year's holiday will be shaped in some part based on how their own team does, regardless of what division they're playing in.

For some fans of more modest means, this may be the one home game they go to all year, or the only one they attend with their family and not their friends from work or the neighborhood.
That's not insignificant.

In some ways, though it's far from an exact comparison, those Boxing Day football fixtures are England's version of the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys always playing on Thanksgiving Day, and those NFL games becoming part of the national consciousness in ways that other NFL regular season games don't. If you're a sports fan, esp. a devout one, they become almost a subconscious part of your memory.

Real American sports fans of a certain age can even recall great games or foul-ups from years gone by that happened in Turkey Day games, even when they didn't involve their own favorite teams.

The 1993 Dolphins at Cowboys game, featuring Leon Lett, comes immediately to mind, though that is of a different sort, owing to my being a Dolphin fan for 40 years, since I still recall games I was at from 1971 and the Perfect Season of '72.




The idea that English sports fans would have little to choose from for their spectator or TV-viewing satisfaction is something that can't be underestimated.

There's no NBA or NHL or NCAA college basketball, men or women, plus the lack of the corresponding youth and High School teams in these sports to the extent that is true in the U.S. and Canada.
It's simply a different sporting culture.

I'll have more to say on this issue of a winter break for Premier League teams in the future, just wanted to share a few thoughts now since it seemed a propos.


Earlier today, just before Noon my time, I received my daily Channel 4 Snowmail, with Chief Correspondent Alex Thompson penning his pithy overview of stories that'd be appearing later in the night on the Channel 4 newscast, with weather being an integral part of that.

He asks a very reasonable question that nearly everyone seems to be asking,
"It is almost invariably lorries which stop [U.K.] motorways in snow... Why is this state of affairs allowed to continue?"

On the roads there is still serious disruption. It is time to tell a simple truth here: it is almost invariably lorries which stop our motorways in snow. They cannot handle the hills, they drive too fast too close (as every motorway-user will testify) and they jack-knife. As I write an LPG tanker's gone over on the M25, closing the motorway that is rarely far from crisis on a balmy June afternoon. Why is this state of affairs allowed to continue? Why cannot the haulage industry - including their heavy clients like the supermarkets - be instructed to take their fleets off the road for the six to 12 hours needed, once or twice a year?

We will not starve. We will not run short of fuel. Life will continue. And most of all the motorways will function far better because the gritters and ploughs can get through. In any case - since when was a very expensive truck, static for eight hours on a motorway, good for anybody's haulage bottom line?

You can read more and comment on Alex Thomson's blog at
http://blogs.channel4.com/world-news-blog/uk-snow-why-are-there-so-many-lorries-on-the-roads/14653

Video of jack-knifed lorries:
http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/display/playlistref/191210/clipid/191210_4ON_SNOWOTHER2_19

At the end of the Snowmail it grimly reads:

WEATHER WARNINGS OVERVIEW
There are several weather warnings being issued by the Met Office, see them in full: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_warnings.html


TONIGHT Snow showers will continue in northeast Scotland overnight and outbreaks of snow will spread into the far southwest. It'll feel bitterly cold everywhere, with severe frost, ice and freezing fog patches.

TOMORROW
The snow in the southwest will spread to most of Wales, the south Midlands and southeast England during the day. It will be another very cold day with many places staying below freezing.

OUTLOOK
There's no sign of a break in the bitterly cold weather. Snow and ice will continue to be a problem throughout the week.

-----

See also:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/

http://www.clubcall.com/

Lib Dem MP assistant accused of being Russian spy says 'I will clear my name.' Sure, after you're back in Mother Russia. Adios!; DREAM Act

Channel 4 News: Westminster spy row

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=699597927001

The accompanying news article is at:
http://www.channel4.com/news/i-will-clear-my-name-says-russian-aide-accused-of-spying

To this news in a part of England that has already seen a lot of gnashing of teeth this year, I can only say, just when you think things have already reached rock bottom this year in Pompey... boom goes the dynamite.

Back in late October I sent a lengthy email out to friends and former colleagues in far-flung parts of the world who love and appreciate high-caliber football (soccer) titled, simply enough, "Sacha Gaydamak's demand for a ransom payment may cause Premier League club to close down and be liquidated."

That dispatch was prompted after a weekend spent watching perhaps too many SkyNews Sports reports on Fox Soccer Channel, but reading even more of the more astute British tabs and football blogs/websites than usual, where the news for the beloved ball club and its loyal fans kept getting worse and worse by the hour.

Imagine traveling a few hours for an away Portsmouth game and then hearing on the radio that it might be the last game your team will ever play?
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11688_6462212,00.html

For the latest on what's going on with Pompey football, see the well-produced Pompey Pages at http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sectionhome.aspx?sectionID=12295

Here's the latest:
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/Pompey-financial-report-to-be.6647296.jp

Lib Dem Mike Hancock's website for his constituents in South Portsmouth and Southsea:
http://www.mikehancock.co.uk/

On that site are these comments about his legislative assistant of over two-and-a-half years, Katia Zatuliveter:
http://www.mikehancock.co.uk/news/555/24/Statement-from-Mike-Hancock-about-Katia-Zatuliveter/

Not mentioned here, though, for obvious reasons, is that more than a few other MPs, even other liberal members, feel that Mike Hancock is too "soft" on Russia, and far too often, too uncomfortably close to the official Russian government position on certain issues, like what's been going on in the Republic of Georgia.
These very facts make Hancock's denials, however heart-felt and truthful, seem to some well-informed observers, perhaps a bit disingenuous, and I suspect that you will be hearing more about this as the week goes on.

The last thing in the world that members of Parliament want to consider is the possibility that there might actually be foreign intelligence agents or sympathizers working around them, with aims considerably more dire than simply bloggers or paparazzo taking snaps of embarrassing personal situations.

If you think about it logically from the perspective of the Federal Security Service, the FSB, ФСБ, the successor to the KGB, the day-to-day schedule and hours of tedious tasks on behalf of a staffer in Parliament, esp. for a member on a Defence committee like Mike Hancock, would be the perfect position for an FSB mole to gather useful info on members, staffers and myriad agency liaisons they deal with on a daily basis.
Perhaps you've heard - loose lips sink ships.

Channel 4 News: Russian spying has 'absolutely' not gone away
says Lord West.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=699578293001

The Beatles - Back In The U.S.S.R [HQ] RARE PROMO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2Qk-mZjwhA

See also 'Britain is under attack from Russian spies'
http://www.channel4.com/news/lib-dem-mp-denies-his-assistant-is-a-russian-spy
and UK Border Agency http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

From the UK Border Agency website: "Every week, our frontline officers are locating and removing migrants who flout the UK's immigration law or pose a risk to the community."

If we only had such marked vigilance here in South Florida, where the print and electronic news media is ardently pro-amnesty for all illegal aliens, especially the editorial board, columnists and reporters at the Miami Herald.

And FYI, no, I haven't forgotten about my promise here a few weeks ago about posting some very accurate and measured analysis of Herald reporter Alfonso Chardy and his consistently one-sided, factually-flawed and self-evidently biased stories about illegal immigration, so recently seen the past two weeks with seemingly daily pro-amnesty stories about the DREAM Act.

You know, those over-the-top stories of Chardy's that ALWAYS leave out inconvenient facts that hamper the story that he and the Herald want to peddle to their beleaguered readers, almost as if they really are stupid enough to think that if he doesn't mention those pesky facts that contradict what he says, nobody will be the wiser.

The same condescending way they seem to assume that nobody ever notices the compelling stories in South Florida that they have consciously ignored for years or give short-shrift
to now, like SO MANY of the interesting ones that first appear at Bob Norman's Daily Pulp blog. http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/

But fortunately, there are a lot more well-informed people like me who pay close attention to issues and public policy than you might otherwise think in South Florida, and we not only have technology on our side, in the form of blogs and websites and social media, but from past experience, we are totally hip to the tricks that Chardy and certain other reporters have long played with pesky inconvenient facts in their so-called news articles in the Herald.

PLUS, CHARDY JUST HAPPENS TO BE MORE OBVIOUS ABOUT IT, NOT TO MENTION, RIDICULOUSLY PREDICTABLE!

Those tricks of his don't change much on his stories re the South Florida transportation scene, either, the most egregious of which will also get their own analysis blog posts here, since Chardy has a LOT to account for with them, too.

Trust me, when you know the true facts, Chardy's so-called 'reporting' is even worse than you think.
It's not so much journalism as it is old-fashioned, biased stenography.

No matter how many times the Herald's management and editors tell Chardy to write about it, the DREAM Act bill in Congress is deader than dead -and rightfully so.

No matter how many times Chardy tries to insinuate that Florida's U.S. Senator George LeMieux might support it, somehow, he's a NO vote, comprende?
No means no!

Earliest snowfalls to hit England in 17 years has Britons looking for True Grit -for the roads. Why did Britain slide into snow chaos?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Today's Daily Telegraph headline asks the simple question that people were asking throughout England on Wednesday:
Why did Britain slide into snow chaos again?
An inquiry into how the freezing weather crippled Britain's transport network ordered by the Government
Caroline Gammell and David Millward 10:19PM GMT 01 Dec 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8175167/Why-did-Britain-slide-into-snow-chaos-again.html




Channel 4 News -Half of England & Scotland stay home from work due to heavy snow and transport problems, especially smaller towns. Scotland gripped by the worst winter in 45 years
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=694613892001
http://www.channel4.com/news/uk-snow-arctic-weather-set-to-stay

The bad weather created a larger than usual captive audience for BBC Radio 5 live and listeners took advantage by generating lots of calls and emails about what people were doing with their time, or, alternatively, relating their "war" stories.

Over 150 motorists were stuck in their vehicles on the A57 for two days and were helped by Mountain Rescue teams.

On Richard Bacon's afternoon program it was apparent that residents of Kent, Surrey and Essex largely stayed home, staying out of gridlocked, motorways and London after driving 6 hours hours to get 15-20 miles.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pstlg
http://www.channel4.com/news/snow-gallery-november-2010

In Kent, estate agents (real estate) signs were being snatched by kids from in front of properties and being used by kids to slide down hills, i.e. what we call sledding, but they call sledging.
And reports are that the snow is only getting worse there.

One particularly interesting conversation I heard concerned the Halifax Courier publisher discussing the era of the new media, but then saying that while he was in charge of a media business with a newspaper component, at times of such bad weather, those abstract ideas about the future would have to take a back seat to him and his team trying to cope with getting news to readers while snow made deliveries impossible on Wednesday, with no print edition.



http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/View-a-digital-edition-of.6645971.jp
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/

At one point, someone, I don't know who, even remarked that they couldn't wrap a set of dishes in an iPad, which caused me to laugh, but depending upon your point of view, that's either an overly-romantic image of the news business, or merely stating the facts Jack Webb-style.

Gatwick Airport is now officially closed until Friday.

http://www.accuweather.com/ukie/index.asp?partner=dailytelegraph

Three Lions make their best pitch for World Cup 2018 as English bid team flies to Zurich led by Prince William, David Cameron & David Beckham

Channel 4 News
November 30, 2010 World Cup 2018 bid heads to Zurich
Reporter Keme Nzerem in Zurich reports on England's bid to secure the FIFA World Cup competition in 2018. The omens are not looking good.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=693409974001

FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS

The BBC Panorama program that's at the center of the FIFA World Cup bid controversy, Fifa's Dirty Secrets, is here, http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/default.stm where you can read about some of the accusations leveled against FIFA officials, but for copyright reasons, the program can't officially be seen in the U.S..
http://www.epltalk.com/how-you-can-watch-bbc-panorama-fifas-dirty-secrets-in-the-u-s-26989

Long story short: The alleged bribes to three officials are included in a confidential document listing 175 payments totalling about £64m.

Here are two videos on YouTube that comprise the FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS program, so watch it while you can before the BBC makes them take the videos down.

BBC Panorama: FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS - Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjlZw9NGSlU

-----

BBC Panorama: FIFA'S DIRTY SECRETS - Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQy4eT4M9I


The Channel 4 website article that accompanies this video at the top is here:

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Prince William, David Cameron and David Beckham fly to Zurich to try and boost England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup - but hopes have been dampened by the latest publication of bribery allegations. As delegates gathered to press the flesh at the headquarters of FIFA - football's governing body - ahead of Thursday's announcement of the winner, the English bid team have been frustrated by the timing of the BBC Panorama programme which accused three FIFA officials of taking bribes in the past.

Read the rest of it at:
http://www.channel4.com/news/world-cup-2018-bid-team-fly-to-zurich

-----

I wrote about the bid process on my blog on Monday and just loved Australia's bid videos, esp. the one hosted by Nicole Kidman, which emphasized the sorts of things that real fans care about: fun, safety and ease-of-access and no hassles.
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/even-before-2018-2022-fifa-world-cup.html

As you know by now, the announcements about who'll be hosting the 2018 and 2022 FIFA spectacles are to be made on Thursday, or Friday Australian time.

Nicky Campbell talked on his BBC Radio 5 live show Tuesday morning with some very knowledgeable guests and well-informed listeners about Monday night's Panorama program and whether there'd be a backlash among the FIFA officials against England's bid to host in 2018, or whether the truth is more important than commerce.

The podcast for the informative program is here and well worth listening to:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/fivelive/5lnpi/5lnpi_20101130-1045a.mp3


Tony Livesey’s show on BBC Radio 5 live on Thursday December 2nd will originate from the City of Manchester Stadium and "will gauge reaction to the FIFA World Cup vote which will have decided the host country for the 2018 World Cup."

"Win or lose, a panel of football pundits will discuss the result including former Hull Boss Phil Brown and 5 live football commentator Connor McNamara, and an audience of 5 live listeners."

It airs 10:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. U.K. time, or 5:30 p.m. Eastern/2:30 p.m. Pacific in the U.S. and Canada.

Catch it here at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live

Sublime and fascinating! Channel 4 News video: A Licence to Reveal: MI6 spy secrets uncovered; speech by MI6 "C" Sir John Sawers

Fascinating Channel 4 News video with reporter Jonathan Rugman on the evolving history of MI6, the British Special Intelligence Services, including an interview with former MI6 "C" Sir John Scarlett. For the first time since its creation in the run-up to the First World War, Britain's secret intelligence service has allowed its secrets to be unveiled in an official history covering its first 40 years. Jonathan Rugman reports. This segment is ten minutes and 23 seconds.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid64523559001?bctid=614006288001

Here's one of those many posts in Blogger Draft I was talking about earlier today that were just lingering on life-support, a fascinating report from late September that came on the heels of some very troubling news for MI6, with the death of an employee under very mysterious circumstances.

Here's the story from three weeks ago on the historic public appearance on TV by current MI6 "C" Sir John Sawers, the first public speech by a sitting Chief.

http://www.channel4.com/news/mi6-chiefs-historic-speech

Channel 4 News: MI6 chief speaks out on terror threat and torture

Story at http://www.channel4.com/news/mi6-chief-speaks-out-on-terror-threat-and-torture

See also: http://www.channel4.com/news/liveblog-mi6-chief-sir-john-sawers-speaks-live

----

See this interesting blog post by Channel 4 Political Editor Gary Gibbon story on whether or not the end is near for 'control orders,'

http://blogs.channel4.com/gary-gibbon-on-politics/could-it-be-the-end-for-control-orders/14032ns

-------

Sir John Sawers: profile of MI6 chief Described as a "smooth operator" and likened to Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of James Bond Sir John Sawers took up the post of head of MI6, known as "C", in November 2009. By Laura Roberts 10:22AM BST 28 Oct 2010

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/8092322/Sir-John-Sawers-profile-of-MI6-chief.html

-----

If you don't recognize the tune at the beginning of this next video, being hummed by an animated early 1940's John Bull, followed by his trusty bull dog, it's the same one that's instantly recognizable by anyone of a certain age who ever listened to BBC Radio's World Service.

In my case, that was for years via my Radio Shack short-wave radio while studying at Indiana University in Bloomington, from 1979-'83, especially on weekend mornings, and more recently, digitally from Washington, D.C., Arlington County, VA and South Florida.

My recollection is that the tune was played after the time chirp and the intonation, "This is London," just before the news broadcasts began.

British WW2 Public Information Films - Collection Three, Part 1 of 3.

Central Office of Information

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USye8ZoXye8

http://www.youtube.com/user/blaster2012

-----

Special Operations Executive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5aH8pLdv5g

-----

I previously mentioned it a few years ago on my other blog, South Beach Hoosier, soon to be revamped, but since many of you readers never saw that in the first place, I'll just mention here by way of circumstance that my family -and certain of my friend's relatives- have worked for U.S. intelligence agencies or in intelligence operations since George Washington was a Continental general fighting the British.

Here's a video tidbit that dovetails with the above stories.

BBC World Service idents over the years

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuJ5_j4U6HQ

1945: BBC Radio announcement of Adolf Hitler's death http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyZICBPh0wc

Gary Gibbon's blog: http://blogs.channel4.com/gary-gibbon-on-politics/

Channel 4 News Catch Up service for the past 7 days:
http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/

Channel 4 News homepage: http://www.channel4.com/news/

Like Rust, Water ALWAYS Wins: Flash floods in Cornwall, and the real fear of flooding on The National Mall and downtown Washington, D.C.

Channel 4 News - Floods hit Cornwall
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid601325122001?bctid=678927206001

See also: http://www.channel4.com/news/cornwall-floods-more-rain-expected

Latest news on the floods in Cornwall:
http://news.google.com/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&hl=en&q=Cornwall%2C+floods

By the way, in case you forgot. Camilla, the wife of Prince Charles, is the Duchess of Cornwall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camilla,_Duchess_of_Cornwall

-----

The Washington Post
A wall on the Mall protects against a long shot By Michael E. Ruane
Tuesday, November 16, 2010; B01

Eighty thousand cubic yards of dirt. Thirty steel girders. An eight-foot-high concrete wall.

All to hold back floodwaters that may, or may not, surge across the Mall in the next century or so.

But in the apocalyptic, post-Hurricane Katrina world, no chances can be taken.

So government officials announced Monday morning that work is about to start on a $9 million flood-control project that will alter the landscape of the Mall west of the Washington Monument to protect it, and part of Washington, from potential catastrophe.

Read the rest of the post at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/15/AR2010111507471.html

See also: National Coalition to Save Our Mall

http://www.savethemall.org

http://www.channel4.com/news/

Swiss couple humiliated at being called 'infidels' during wedding in the Maldives will get apology and satisfaction says Maldive President

Swiss couple humiliated at being called 'infidels' during their wedding ceremony at Vilu Reef Resort in The Maldives will get apology and satisfaction says Maldive President Mohamed Nasheed.
Tourism accounts for 20% of the country's GDP.

Channel 4 News video: Wedding prank in the Maldives





See Channel 4 News website article on this story at
http://www.channel4.com/news/couple-called-infidels-during-maldives-ceremony

Channel 4 News homepage: http://www.channel4.com/news/

Catch up on the latest Channel 4 news programs at:
http://www.channel4.com/news/catch-up/