There is an expression, "good things must come to an end" but we never know about the bad. Does 'bad' continue until we admit it has no end? It does seem to be the case this week as there have been four stories which show we must appreciate life to the full and become aware of contemporary affairs.
I'm going to write about Syria first as this has been an on-going saga, if I may call it that. The Middle Eastern uprising has been occurring for over a year now and yet there are still countries who are upset about their governments. Syria in particular has been dominating our headlines. Watching scenes on the television and reading heartbreaking stories in newspapers must make the public think why isn't President Assad doing anything about this uprising where thousands of his people are being killed?
Of course, the people of Syria are protesting against Assad's regime however it seems as if he doesn't care anymore. The President's situation there is almost like Hosni Mubarak in Egypt last year where he was persistent that he wanted to remain as President of the country but when he resigned eventually, he now faces criminal charges for breaching human rights and so on during his tenure as leader. President Assad faces a similar fate and with him being considerably younger and lead his country for lesser time than Mubarak, he doesn't want to face severe punishment although if he'd resigned months ago and moved on with his life, he wouldn't have been in this extreme situation. If he followed Tunisia's former President Ben Ali's footsteps by walking away like the Tunisians requested, then he wouldn't have been the most hated man in Syria. Only time will tell if anything drastically changed.
Time will only tell in football also and its long-term battle against racism. I read a column from Neil Warnock in The Independent on Saturday who said he had a "Sliding Doors" moment when in charge of Queens Park Rangers in August when he was interested in getting Sebastian Bassong on loan from Tottenham but that would have only went ahead if Harry Redknapp (Tottenham's coach) purchased Gary Cahill from Bolton. Since Cahill's potential move to north London fell through, Warnock went and got Anton Ferdinand instead. Two months later, Ferdinand was racially abused, allegedly, by John Terry who faces trial come July, just after the European Championships conclude for this incident. Because of this, Mr. Terry lost his captain's armband for perhaps moral reasons whether he is guilty or not.
Nevertheless, Fabio Capello lost his job as England manager this week after his outburst on Italian television protesting against the Football Association's decision to get rid of Terry's captaincy. To me, although I really cannot think who can be the new captain on a permanent basis, Capello made a mistake. Nobody rants about their employers on national television and expects a pat on the back. Employment has limitations and if you cannot have a captain of your choice, then you have to live with it. Capello took his £6 million a year job for granted and now England has to look for a new coach in time for Euro 2012. Personally, I don't think favourite Harry Redknapp should take it. I realise the likes of Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney want the Spurs coach to lead England to the next level but I think they want him to leave Tottenham so they can fall back in the title race they and the Red Devils are currently in. Again, only time will tell but it is interesting how the football cycle works.
Talking of Manchester United, they played Liverpool again this weekend meaning Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra met for the first time since the ordeal between both players back in October when Suarez made alleged racial remarks to Evra. The Uruguayan completed his suspension in the last week (and missed his side's FA Cup 2-1 win against the Red Devils) and before the Old Trafford clash yesterday, he refused to shake hands with Evra. The Frenchman reacted angrily by grabbing Suarez's arm and so their hostile relationship reached a new level. My response to this, both players need to move on and deal with their problems away from the pitch. What we must all try and forget the whole thing. Racism is awful and needs to be given a red card.
The third story I would like to discuss is News International and Rupert Murdoch insists The Sun's future is safe despite a further five key people of the paper were arrested. This isn't due to phone hacking this time (but later evidence may suggest otherwise) but staff members were arrested "as part of the Operation Elveden probe into payments to police", according to the BBC. With fresh police tactics the Met has faced in recent months due to their poor handling of the phone hacking case, they are finally bringing culprits in the press to justice.
Better late than never, you could say that but this comes at a hectic time as the Leveson Inquiry gets even more interesting. Indications show it was not just the News of the World breaking the law and The Sun's recent revelations is certainly unwelcome as far as the Murdoch Empire is concerned. I'm sure Murdoch will cling onto the paper for his dear life as it is a paper which he has made the most successful in the UK after it had been The Daily Mirror's shadow before the early 1970s. Murdoch will not surrender and with 3.5 million reading the paper daily, the public will not lose faith in it. The printing industry is balancing on a tight rope and because of the latest controversies, the rope is getting closer to being snapped and this particular saga will be a major talking point for months to come.
I mentioned racism earlier and how that issue in football has been a long term battle, now it's a good time to write about another topical discussion which has circulated in the news again in the last day - drugs. It has been heartbreaking to hear Whitney Houston passed away aged 48. Houston was a singer whose influence was the likes of Cousin Dionne Warwick and Godmother Aretha Franklin and influenced millions may have been another victim to drugs. It may not have been confirmed that her death was due to this sort of abuse however people assume this was the case, same applied to Amy Winehouse when she died last summer.
I am a massive fan of Whitney. She had a stunning voice and was a talented actress. She had number ones galore in the singles and albums chart and her charms was admired by many. As Simon Cowell continuously says, "nobody can sing like her". There were rumours that her careers went downhill after her divorce with Bobby Brown and the comeback album "I Look to You" in 2009 didn't do as well as perhaps people may have hoped despite the fact it came number one in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Taiwan and of course the United States. I was one of those who purchased that album and contributed to its third place peak at the British charts. Even if she released something which critics may have called "average", she'd still collect number ones and constant music awards.
I mentioned "influence" and having admitted to a drug problem in the past, this does not send a positive message to her fans. Her supporters, depending on the level of this influence, may have felt drugs are the right way forward simply because your idol is using them. I can assure you the effects are alarming and passing away at 48, taking drugs on the day of death or not, there needs to be a greater awareness towards the use of drugs. It can help celebrities and therefore help their fans. I don't want to dare and think which next well-known public figure will be the next victim to this travesty but the quicker it gets to people's heads that drugs is "bad", the better. I am glad Amy Winehouse's father Mitch has launched a foundation to support younger people to combat their addiction but does more need to be done?
No drugs, following the law, shutting your mouth at appropriate moments and leaving when people want you to leave are four exceptionally vital aspects which can possibly improve lives. Indeed, there are hundreds of more ways but if you want to "live long and prosper" then altering these mistakes and doing "right" is helpful. As Whitney Houston sung, "I hope life treats you kind, and I hope you have all you've dreamed of and I wish to you joy and happiness, but above all this, I wish you love".
Enjoyed reading this blog post, like "John Saleh Price blogging" on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @johnsalehprice or add me on Google+ (John Saleh Price).
I'm going to write about Syria first as this has been an on-going saga, if I may call it that. The Middle Eastern uprising has been occurring for over a year now and yet there are still countries who are upset about their governments. Syria in particular has been dominating our headlines. Watching scenes on the television and reading heartbreaking stories in newspapers must make the public think why isn't President Assad doing anything about this uprising where thousands of his people are being killed?
Of course, the people of Syria are protesting against Assad's regime however it seems as if he doesn't care anymore. The President's situation there is almost like Hosni Mubarak in Egypt last year where he was persistent that he wanted to remain as President of the country but when he resigned eventually, he now faces criminal charges for breaching human rights and so on during his tenure as leader. President Assad faces a similar fate and with him being considerably younger and lead his country for lesser time than Mubarak, he doesn't want to face severe punishment although if he'd resigned months ago and moved on with his life, he wouldn't have been in this extreme situation. If he followed Tunisia's former President Ben Ali's footsteps by walking away like the Tunisians requested, then he wouldn't have been the most hated man in Syria. Only time will tell if anything drastically changed.
Time will only tell in football also and its long-term battle against racism. I read a column from Neil Warnock in The Independent on Saturday who said he had a "Sliding Doors" moment when in charge of Queens Park Rangers in August when he was interested in getting Sebastian Bassong on loan from Tottenham but that would have only went ahead if Harry Redknapp (Tottenham's coach) purchased Gary Cahill from Bolton. Since Cahill's potential move to north London fell through, Warnock went and got Anton Ferdinand instead. Two months later, Ferdinand was racially abused, allegedly, by John Terry who faces trial come July, just after the European Championships conclude for this incident. Because of this, Mr. Terry lost his captain's armband for perhaps moral reasons whether he is guilty or not.
Nevertheless, Fabio Capello lost his job as England manager this week after his outburst on Italian television protesting against the Football Association's decision to get rid of Terry's captaincy. To me, although I really cannot think who can be the new captain on a permanent basis, Capello made a mistake. Nobody rants about their employers on national television and expects a pat on the back. Employment has limitations and if you cannot have a captain of your choice, then you have to live with it. Capello took his £6 million a year job for granted and now England has to look for a new coach in time for Euro 2012. Personally, I don't think favourite Harry Redknapp should take it. I realise the likes of Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney want the Spurs coach to lead England to the next level but I think they want him to leave Tottenham so they can fall back in the title race they and the Red Devils are currently in. Again, only time will tell but it is interesting how the football cycle works.
Talking of Manchester United, they played Liverpool again this weekend meaning Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra met for the first time since the ordeal between both players back in October when Suarez made alleged racial remarks to Evra. The Uruguayan completed his suspension in the last week (and missed his side's FA Cup 2-1 win against the Red Devils) and before the Old Trafford clash yesterday, he refused to shake hands with Evra. The Frenchman reacted angrily by grabbing Suarez's arm and so their hostile relationship reached a new level. My response to this, both players need to move on and deal with their problems away from the pitch. What we must all try and forget the whole thing. Racism is awful and needs to be given a red card.
The third story I would like to discuss is News International and Rupert Murdoch insists The Sun's future is safe despite a further five key people of the paper were arrested. This isn't due to phone hacking this time (but later evidence may suggest otherwise) but staff members were arrested "as part of the Operation Elveden probe into payments to police", according to the BBC. With fresh police tactics the Met has faced in recent months due to their poor handling of the phone hacking case, they are finally bringing culprits in the press to justice.
Better late than never, you could say that but this comes at a hectic time as the Leveson Inquiry gets even more interesting. Indications show it was not just the News of the World breaking the law and The Sun's recent revelations is certainly unwelcome as far as the Murdoch Empire is concerned. I'm sure Murdoch will cling onto the paper for his dear life as it is a paper which he has made the most successful in the UK after it had been The Daily Mirror's shadow before the early 1970s. Murdoch will not surrender and with 3.5 million reading the paper daily, the public will not lose faith in it. The printing industry is balancing on a tight rope and because of the latest controversies, the rope is getting closer to being snapped and this particular saga will be a major talking point for months to come.
I mentioned racism earlier and how that issue in football has been a long term battle, now it's a good time to write about another topical discussion which has circulated in the news again in the last day - drugs. It has been heartbreaking to hear Whitney Houston passed away aged 48. Houston was a singer whose influence was the likes of Cousin Dionne Warwick and Godmother Aretha Franklin and influenced millions may have been another victim to drugs. It may not have been confirmed that her death was due to this sort of abuse however people assume this was the case, same applied to Amy Winehouse when she died last summer.
I am a massive fan of Whitney. She had a stunning voice and was a talented actress. She had number ones galore in the singles and albums chart and her charms was admired by many. As Simon Cowell continuously says, "nobody can sing like her". There were rumours that her careers went downhill after her divorce with Bobby Brown and the comeback album "I Look to You" in 2009 didn't do as well as perhaps people may have hoped despite the fact it came number one in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Taiwan and of course the United States. I was one of those who purchased that album and contributed to its third place peak at the British charts. Even if she released something which critics may have called "average", she'd still collect number ones and constant music awards.
I mentioned "influence" and having admitted to a drug problem in the past, this does not send a positive message to her fans. Her supporters, depending on the level of this influence, may have felt drugs are the right way forward simply because your idol is using them. I can assure you the effects are alarming and passing away at 48, taking drugs on the day of death or not, there needs to be a greater awareness towards the use of drugs. It can help celebrities and therefore help their fans. I don't want to dare and think which next well-known public figure will be the next victim to this travesty but the quicker it gets to people's heads that drugs is "bad", the better. I am glad Amy Winehouse's father Mitch has launched a foundation to support younger people to combat their addiction but does more need to be done?
No drugs, following the law, shutting your mouth at appropriate moments and leaving when people want you to leave are four exceptionally vital aspects which can possibly improve lives. Indeed, there are hundreds of more ways but if you want to "live long and prosper" then altering these mistakes and doing "right" is helpful. As Whitney Houston sung, "I hope life treats you kind, and I hope you have all you've dreamed of and I wish to you joy and happiness, but above all this, I wish you love".
Enjoyed reading this blog post, like "John Saleh Price blogging" on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @johnsalehprice or add me on Google+ (John Saleh Price).
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