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Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

Video Feature #9: "Ode to Tamiflu" by Harry Houseago (HQ)

I Need a Break AKA Exams

Sorry, that for the last couple of weeks that the blog has taken a back seat, but I have exams coming up, so I'm putting the blog and news in general on the back burner for a while.
O'Dea

No SatMornVue This Week (HD)

Sorry, but this week to much has happened for me to do a SatMornVue this week, but if everything goes well next it it should return. In the mean time please watch this for your entertainment:

And also check out the Rock Challenge website, as this will be the subject of my SatMornVue next week.
And please buy a ticket or two or three for Rock Challenge at the Hackney Empire on Friday 1st May (this Friday), only £10, from this link.

Video Feature #8: Obama Addresses CIA Employees (HQ)

Video Feature #7: Selection of Flight Of The Conchords Season 2 (HQ/HD)

New Look: "Silver Version"

Welcome to the New Look "Silver Version" Thoughts HD Blog. Even though I've only been going since 20th February 09, I thought that a change was in order and hopefully this new look will take this blog through every new piece news and comment that comes our way.

Video Feature #6: American View on Iraq Situation (HQ)

SatMornVue #4: G20 Justice

More than two weeks after the G20 Protests in London, we are hearing more and more about anything and everything that happened on the day. Firstly, is the death of Ian Tomlinson is being trivialized by the press a bit too much, yes the information about his death coming about by internal bleeding might link to the attack on him by a police officer, but don't go on about it, having recaps of events and blah blah blah. I'm sure everyone knows what happened; in the week of the summit you couldn't turn over without the news being painted with everything about the summit, the press and mostly 24/7 News Channels were squeezing every little detail out of the protest and the summit.

Anyway, I digress, I hope that firstly the news channels can stop having it as headline news and definitely don't, BBC, have someone popping up during the credits of the Weakest Link to tell us about the latest developments, from a show we will see in less than 30 seconds! I really hope that there is some justice for Ian Tomlinson's family and that the police take responsibility, you don't what this to be a repeat of the way that the police didn't take any responsibility for the Hillsborough disaster.

To be honest, this post has been a bit of a ramble, and that's kind of what has happened with this series of events, and that's not good for anyone.

Hillsborough Clips & Audio Slideshow

BBC News has put up an Audio Slideshow with images and audio from the BBC Archive from the Hillsborough Tragedy. To view click here.

This Video shows clips from Saturday 15th April 1989, from BBC and ITV News Reports.

SatMornVue #3: Where's all this money coming from?

No, I'm not talking about any Bank getting a government bail-out, I'm talking about the amount bet on today's Grand National, apparently standing at £200 million and could rise to £300 million! Yes three-hundred million pounds. With everything to do with the economy, global banks and markets, you do wonder how we can afford this.

It might be that this is one way to make quick money or that no-one really wants to trust anyone else with their own money, they want to invest it themselves, in the easiest way possible. And with so much on the line for so many people, I wouldn't be surprised if this one event changed the stock market value of most high street banks, and of course the fates of the Betting Companies.

But in this time of financial difficulty of everyone, it seems that saving isn't what everyone wants to do, they want some sort of excitement that could also bring them a nice amount of money, instead of waiting for their nearly inexistent interest to help their cash-flow.

The Grand National is one of the biggest events of the year and brings the biggest amount of money in betting, and this year isn't any different, strangely.

The Big Race is at 4:15pm live on BBC One.

UPDATE: Who ever backed Mon Mome (which means "My Kid"), you would have got a 100-1 price, nice pay day, but last year's winner came second and most of the favorites, well didn't win and most of the country just got slightly less wealthy.

Video Feature #5: Psych Bloopers Season 1

For more Psych go to the official USA Network Website, here.
Psych on TV in UK: BBC Two, Saturday Afternoons, Around 3pm, Double Header, Season 1;
Hallmark Channel, Sundays, 8pm, New Episodes, Season 3

Video Feature #4: G20 @ The Excel Centre (HQ)

Another "Messiah" Moment

In the week that America's "Messiah" visits the UK, up in Newcastle we are seeing the start of a new era at the club (and "era" doesn't always mean good, like Keegan's second era at the club). As Today marks the return of Alan Shearer to Newcastle and his first training session, and lets be honest, returns haven't been the best thing for the Toon of late. When Kevin Keegan returned not so long ago, Newcastle United FC started selling 3-Year Season Tickets, a lot a good that did, hopefully that will be one thing they don't do this time. Considering Shearer only wants to do the last 8 games of the season, it sounds like if he does well, it would have been a quick fix that could be extended, but if he doesn't do so well, he could blame it on lack of time and blah blah blah.

All I hope is that the Newcastle fans don't place everything on him and then turn on their hero if it all goes tits up. Shearer has never coached or managed a team, but with his 10 years from 96-06, until he retired, at Newcastle he has the backing of everyone at the club. And with Dennis Wise going out the back door, it seems that things are looking up for the Toon.

Shearer has made it clear that he wants his own side, that boardroom politics shouldn't change anything about his decisions. But getting his own team and his own way with only 8 games left, will be harder than it sounds.

Newcastle United have had more people in charge coming in and out recently, its had to keep track of how many people they've had in the top position and with the team sliding down the premier league table, the could become the next Leeds Untied, which is hard to think about, that a team as big as Newcastle could ever think about playing in the Championship and making their way through the play-offs.

This, of course, is a critical point in the club's history, let alone the club's season. It's make or break and could turn Newcastle's most loyal sour on one of their greatest yet again.

SatMornVue #2: F1 Revs Up

So, with a new season of Formula One we have had everything, before the cars leave the grid in Melbourne. Honda are gone, the newly Virgin approved Brawn GP are in (and are making a stir), Kers are in, groves in the tyres are out, rear spoilers are much slimmer, defusers, moveable front wings and new aero[dynamic] qualities. The only thing that hasn't changed is practically the drivers, which is normally the only thing that does.

A certain Sir Richard Branson was due and turned up this morning in Melbourne and would you believe it, in the time since the friday practice and the Saturday qualifying and Sir Branson turning up, "Virgin" Signs seem to have turned up on the Brawn cars.

But it doesn't matter now after Brawn ended up 1 and 2 on the grid, with Button and Barrichello, for the first Grand Prix of the season. In the same qualifying season Lewis Hamilton ended up finishing 18th in qualifing, and Toyota being excluded from qualifing putting them back 19th and 20th.

All the changes are meant to make overtaking easier and with all the changes someone will and has found lopeholes in the rules and start to use defusers and etc, before everyelse. And of course that leads to arguments and hangbags between the teams, before bringing in the technology themselves.

All the new rules and Kers and blah blah blah, should mean a better season and already this weekend we haven't seen the usual domination and boring same old teams that we have seen in the last decade or so, it's shaking things up (and also the timing of the races, because Bernie Ecclestone wants the times to be "kind" to us in Europe, I'm not complaining, but that means the Australian Grand Prix will start at 5pm local time, just a bit late without floodlights).

Video Feature #3: Ready for G20? (HQ)

SatMornPreVue: Fomula One Revs Up

Tomorrow, I will be looking at the new F1 season which will be starting up, by tomorrow we will know who will be at the top of grid for the Australian Grand Prix Sunday and who's ready to make the run for the title, no matter how may points you need to win.

Video Feature #2: Mandelson in Speedos (HQ)

Let the Games Begin, Sugar Style

Yesterday saw the start of the new series of the Apprentice, which was already one man down before they got meet Sir Alan. Now as usual the first week is full of manual labour and cleaning, how unoriginal. Anyway, the 12 week slug-fest has started and for the next 12 weeks, the nation will forced to a diet of Sir Sugar and the equally annoying apprentices. And lets be honest, that is part of the show, the whole dynamic and of course there will be people you want to win or want to stab.

Already, after seeing the first week and whats coming up next week, they need some more ideas on tasks, considering they did cooking last series about the same time as well. I'm not here to blast the show, because I like it, it's a good piece of TV, and strangely not the sort of thing you want to watch on box-set, unlike dramas that are done in this long week-by-week style. And also the fact that it is straight after Waterloo Road helps it even more.

It's sister show in America is a smash hit as well with no more than Donald Trump as the Sir Alan figure. But in the end the winners do go to work, but for one of Sugar's sons because he doesn't have anywhere to put them, he doesn't have a real company anymore (but he's still worth A LOT!!!).

It has been reported that the show is a bit, as we all are, struck for cash. For example, the overseas task is no more, they just can't afford it anymore, but don't worry it wasn't coming out of Sir Alan's pocket, it was coming out of the TV licence, in other words they saved half an hour TV for you.

Also the new series means the return of Match of the Day 2, The One Show and so on presenter, Adrian Chiles, the jack of all trades, and his stupid, at times, panel of guests on the BBC Two Show, "The Apprentice: You're Fired". Yesterday, the panel included Carol Vordaman (because she was on the Comic Relief Verison, by the way I was at Comic Relief and she needs to lose some weight or wear less relieving clothing), Rufus Hound and Multi-Millionaire businesswoman Gill Fielding. What?

The only thing I would say against the show is that half of the show is in the "Board Room", a whole half an hour (that's more bitching than ITV's Goldenballs, and I've seen it live, most boring thing ever). And only a half an hour with them actual on the task. But sometimes the early weeks can be not great with so many people, when over half the people can't sit down in the Board Room thats not great.

It should hot up and will be one of the top and most watched shows on TV but the end, also it will be an easy News story for the BBC. Lets be honest, by this time the lady with the calculator who got fired, would have done the rounds on the BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio and might be doing some interviews for Newspapers and so on and until the last week when they all return, no one will remember who she was tomorrow (unless you watch it on BBC iPlayer, they've got it on Series catch up, so the week after its over you can take 12 hours out to watch every single episode).

SatMornVue #1: Didier Coined

Being a overpaid footballer, it was ironic that Didier Drogba threw away money last November, after scoring a goal against Burnley in a Carling Cup tie. And firstly what is "common" assault, and why would any assault be common, that's just stupid, if I threw a coin into a massive crowd of people that don't like me, that would obviously be intentional and would be classed as something towards assault.












And I sorry Didier, but your a professional footballer you got to be able to take the heat. Strangely this sorry has only returned to the front of the news because the police decesion has come through. Straight after the match Didier apologied for his actions; but why do something as stupid as that anyway, he was asking for trouble celebrating his goal in front of the Burnley fans to start off.










And that gesture is charming aswell, not going to help your cause. He was banned for three games by the FA after the incident (the same as a read card), I don't see why he didn't get more than that. He should be able to control himself considering he would be getting "stick" every week, what was different about that game?

What ever the answer he can't get away from the fact that he acted like an idiot that day; that's for the fans to do at a football match (if they can afford a ticket at Chelsea), your paid to go and score goals, not score goals then piss off the opposition fans by throwing coins and throwing your middle finger up.

Video Feature #1: "SuperNews! Twouble with Twitters"

From tomorrow I will be starting a new feature on the Blog called "SatMornVue", which is a view and/or comment on any news story that is in the mainstream media on Saturday Morning, yes, whatever happens, whatever is out there in the world of news, I will try to give my own view on this and so on.

Just A load of... Plane Stupid

I'm sorry to say that on the 25th Anniversary of the miners strike the closed thing we have to a protest is a woman from "Plane Stupid" (need I say more) throwing Green Custard over the "unelected Business Secretary" Peter Mandelson; then the fact see was on the news in person really does show how... well it doesn't show anything to be honest, this strange event was all caught on tape and is more to be laughed at by the general public then taken all that seriously by anyone with any common sense.



She, as Konnie Huq before her, was on all the major 24 hour news stations (sorry, BBC News 24 and Sky News) hours after the even and started canvasing practically anyone who was watching. But on serious note behind everything, everyone has forgotten the serious matter of the 3rd runway at Heathow and that was the fact that Lord Mandelson was arriving at a meeting about lowering carbon-emissions and her point being that he and others were just using these events and the "political band-wagon" just to boost their credibility and add as more publistity.


Later, live on camera, a BBC reporter put some of her criticisms to Mandelson (namely about him being unelected and having pushed through the third runaway at Heathrow despite opposition) he failed to answer and made a joke about the custard. Sorry mate, I thought you were a "Lord" (I'm using that term very carefully) and not a stand-up comedian or satirist (Considering I went to the recording of "The Now Show" yesterday, which didn't include you). And to finish off American style, the news was picked up by CNN, they totally shied away from the issue and ran a bit on politicians getting attack, an apparent tradition, sorry what?

(And did Prescott THUMP that guy on the chin, hardly got anywhere near and doesn't look any better in slow-motion).
I didn't know Peter Mandelson had a politician's smile and where he was flashing it is none of my business.

140 Characters of Revolution

I am of course talking about Twitter, which has seemed to hit the seen quicker than MySpace or Facebook and the other other social networking sites that are all the rage. With twitter there's nothing silly or outlandish about it. It is what it is 140 characters of simplicity which in the fast-paced society we live is the most obvious way of networking, isn't it?

Except for the service of semi-linked picture site, it just takes all the complexity out of networking. You could go as far as saying that it is mini-blogging, fitting as much as you can into the space of a text message. The rise of Twitter has come about around the fifth birthday of Facebook and that shows how people are still enjoying that sort of networking. And to be honest Facebook has anything you could think on it, and its succes will come like a craze in the playground with each generation passing it to the next generation.

Twitter is a well thought system with, as I said it working like a mini-blog, as celebrities add comment to their lives just like any average Joe with a mobile or computer does. For Example, it was well documented that whilst on his last trip across and through every state of America, Stephen Fry used Twitter to tell people where he was, see his progress and allow others to help him find the best places to visit.

In short Twitter can be used by anyone, and will act as a simple version of Facebook, because do people really have the time these days? Especially when they can update on everything and add photos straight from their mobile phone.

By The Way: http://twitter.com/deevue/

The Oscars - For Money's Sake

The Oscars, a once a year event that brings film-makers and actors from every corner of the earth. As usual there are many nominations from this years biggest blockbusters, actors, actresses and directors.

But sometimes can the event be bigger than the movies? The event is becoming a farce just more screen time for these money-grabbing "actors" and "actresses". To be honest, films like Slumdog Millionaire, this year, have illustrated REAL film-making, for example sometimes the actors become bigger than the movies, and not even the actors, but just their names. I ask, who now-a-days actually goes to the movies to see a decent movie with totally unknowns in it?

Yes, the Oscars are about outstanding film-making, but the event is too over advertised, everything in Hollywood is about money, money, money and if they can't get over that than they will never have truly amazing acting. One Example of truly shocking Hollywood money grabbing, and at the same time wrecking a tradition of film-making: James Bond in Quantum Of Solace, firstly, what's up with the title, if the film wasn't already terrible for being a 2 hour advert, and incorporating enough explosions and special effects to fund the whole 2012 Olympics.

Now, not everyone will agree with me and recently it has become a piece of TV. And when News Stations like BBC News are reporting on it more than once or twice every hour and probably when it officially happens will become closer to E! than BBC.

The only good thing that has become of the Oscars has been Mark Kermode getting a lot of TV time on the BBC, and I think that he is one of the best reporters and film critics in this country and he has work all year round as well as the award season.

And with the fake released results on the internet earlier this week just added to the hype, I wouldn't be surprised if they did for more publicity. I might see who won the awards because it will be impossible to not to hear any of the results. But it is hard to connect and be disappointed or happy by the results, if you understand what I mean. And I'm sure that someone will try to use the results of the Oscars tomorrow as "small-talk" and epically fail, because what can you say other than: "Oh Yeah, I heard about that" and maybe "I was going to watch it but it was too late to waste all that sleep over". Simple-As.

54% in other words 20 year high

Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said that the rate of repossessions has risen by 54% to 40,000 reposssessions. They have also said that it rise to 75,000 by the end of this year. To be honest, 40,000 doesn't sound like that much, but in an ideal year it will be 0; the economic situtation has hit everyone up and down the country and is starting to show its face now. The rate of repossessions has been rising since it hit a two decade low in 2003/2004, and now is expected to serpass that two decade high from 1991, which was at 75,000 homes.

These figures are for England and Wales. And Wales was the least hit with only a 1% rise (to 1,770) and the worst hit was the South West with a 20% rise (with 2,378 repossessions in total). And all the other areas of England are very high as well, showing that anyone can be hit by this, from former bankers to the self-employed, money can be hard to come by in these troubled times.

Knife Crime Capital?

This week has been of the worst weeks in recent history for Knife Crime in London, and to be honest the rest of the country, with a taxi driver being robbed at knife point in Northamptonshire on Thursday and two other knife attacks in North and East London on Thursday night. The most recent of these was during the Friday rush hour on Westminster Bridge.

And only in the early ours of today 3 people where injured outside a pub in Greenwich as a gunman shot randomly. On Friday in Hackney 3 other people where injured after being shot at, the event was at about ten to ten, two 17 year olds, and one 18 year old where taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries. As a resident a of the capital, I find that (youth) crime is a thing that is that is highlighted a lot and adds to the stereotype of certain areas and people in the capital, and personally it has added to what I think about people. It happens with everyone that people are stereotyped into groups; be that by age groups, racial groups, or just on where they live.

Crime rates are said to be going the right way by the Met, yet the evidence of the last couple of days haven't shown that, and this is the perfect however not best time to add this as a comment, it always happens with many people obsessed with figures throughout anything directly linked with the government always say. To any normal, common sensed person you would think about the here and now, not how this adds ups and increases or decreases percentages year-by-year.

And Overall the chain of crime goes from knifes up to guns and more extreme measures, London soon could become like a British Los Angeles or North Philadelphia.

With Hindsight... Yes

Now...

Jade Goody just over a week ago was told that she had weeks to live and since that time her ever move has been documented by every piece of media on this earth. And some reporting that you expect from the Daily Star you see on the BBC News, with her movements and actions tracked, but obviously adding comment by respected people, Gordon Brown, with his second comment, somehow (on his second comment) got her name wrong "Jane Goody".

Ever since the start of all this you would expect some sort "withdraw" (for want of a better word) for the internal media, I mean this is the time that you show some respect. But I have to be fair, the way she lived her life, it was the nature of the beast, you live your life in the open, your gonna live every waking moment in the open.

I hope that everything goes well for Jade with her wedding on Sunday and well played but the Ministry of Defense for letting her to be husband, Jack Tweed to stay with her on her wedding night, but apparently it's not unusual and why would it be, in this situation you would have to be heartless to not allow anything like that.

Even writing this blog I can see that I am myself part of the media's view and reporting on the events and no-one wants to be part of that and this will be the only thing I say on this, you know that's like. Only today I went to my first funeral and at any level death isn't something you want to shine on in a way that today's media seem to be doing.

Also in news Sir Allan Stanford (the only American ever to be knighted, due to his citizenship in Antigua and Barbuda) because of being part of fraud investigations in the states, over $8 million, yes $8 million in the fraud over certificate of deposits, he was missing over the first couple of days when this was released and in the end was found by the FBI (what a cool way to go, you can just imagine it, anyway) on behalf on the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). It turned out that he had been a dodgy case for quiet a while.

The people who are getting the real backlash for this over here is the ECB and ever since Sir Allan landing his helicopter at Lord's and the ECB finally getting in bed with him, people have been a bit nervous about all this was going, with the 20 million dollar game and the push and influence his money has had in Cricket in England really not helping (but now the England and Wales Cricket Board have broken all ties with him)... Heads will role.

If it was bad for the ECB they should spare a thought all the people who use his airlines and have money in his banks in the West Indies and Latin America who have been withdrawing quicker than every single former customer of Northern Rock were. Interesting that, actually, because Robert Peston had a piece on news night during the week he week up to (Not so)Newcastle and meet some people his report on them going down effected, it was posted on his blog, you can see the video here. And Now Stanford's Banks are being seized and suspended of trading throughout the Caribbean and South America, if the world economy wasn't bad enough, Sir Allan has help make a hash of it again, well done, shows you never to trust bankers in the world of sport (of even in banking for that matter).