Guilty verdict for Jackson's former doctor

LAST night was a sense of déjà vu for television viewers in the United States and on the rolling UK news networks.  The wall-to-wall coverage of the ‘trial of the 21^st century’ came to a conclusion.  However, unlike O.J Simpson in 1995, there was not a ‘no guilty’ verdict.  Conrad Murray, the doctor of the legendary pop star Michael Jackson was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in relation to the singer’s tragic death in June 2009.

SILENT: Conrad Murray remained unmoved throughout the verdict

      It was a guilty verdict from all 12 jurors as the six week trial concluded yesterday; the final outcome not surprising many in the US or journalists around the world.  The always opinionated Piers Morgan gave his thoughts on Twitter; “Whichever way you viewed the evidence, #ConradMurray’s behaviour was clearly unethical for a doctor.  Right verdict!  Murray has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on November 29 where he faces upto four years in jail and almost inevitably, the removal of his medical certificates so he can practice in the future.

      Throughout the verdict at the Los Angeles superior court yesterday, Murray remained very pensive and showed no sign of emotion when hearing his fate from the jury.  Outside the court, fans of Michael Jackson reacted in delight at the verdict.  Throughout the trial, Murray’s stance was that on the fateful day when Jackson died in 2009, he had taken the fatal overdose of the drug propofol without any consent.  Last week, Murray’s defence team announced that he would not testify himself at the trial.  The prosecution’s argument was that Jackson had died after Murray had administered him an IV drip infused with propofol.  They also believed that Jackson was fully aware of his medication levels and he could get easily addicted to painkillers, especially as he was busy at the time preparing for the London farewell concert gigs at the O2 Arena later that year.

       However, it seemed like the prosecution had a stronger case.  A number of witnesses had agreed to testify and these included Jackson’s former bodyguard, who told the court that Murray had told him to hide drug vials.  Alberto Alvarez claimed to have trusted Murray’s actions as a doctor, but told the court that Murray had told him to put vials of medicine into a bag before calling an ambulance.  Alvarez was the first person to discover Jackson unconscious on that fateful day.  They also used pictures of some damming contents inside Jackson’s home, including a syringe in his bedroom and other items such as a saline bag and a bottle of propofol in evidence against Murray.

       This verdict might finally give Michael Jackson’s family the belief that justice has been done.  For Conrad Murray, a very dark time awaits the doctor, whose actions have not only seen him lose his medical career and his reputation, but sees him face time for what he has done.

London riots escalate

ONLOOK: Riot police watch a fancy dress shop on fire in Clapham

FEAR, astonishment and disgust are amongst the emotions for many British citizens after the dramatic pictures and videos last night.  For the third successive night, the police were fighting a losing battle against hundreds of violent gangs, simply intent on causing as much destruction and damage as possible.  Hundreds of arrests have been made as London begins to count the cost of the damage.  Homes and businesses have been looted and set ablaze as British society faces upto its biggest problem for many decades.  Prime Minister David Cameron has had no choice but to cut short his summer holiday in Italy and make pleas for calm.  Tonight, 15,000 policemen will be out on the streets of London, but the trouble has now also descended outside the capital.  There were major disturbances in Birmingham last night, along with minor skirmishes in Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol.

     The trouble began at the weekend in Tottenham, after the shooting of Mark Duggan by police last Thursday.  It spread to Ealing and Brixton on Sunday, with cars being smashed up, shops looted and set on fire, with police seemingly standing back and allowing the mob to take whatever possessions they felt like.  Yesterday, the initial trouble began in Hackney, as hundreds of youths attacked riot police and looted stores in broad daylight.  As the Hackney situation was brought under control, fires began in Peckham, with a Greggs store and a local electrical shop set ablaze; the gangs having no regard for the safety of innocent bystanders.  As YouTube footage came in of a man having his bag pack ransacked, dripping blood on the pavement floor, more London boroughs were targeted.  Gangs flooded the high street at Lewisham, once again, torching cars and looting stores at almost freewill. 

     At Clapham Junction, remarkable footage came in from a Sky News reporter close to the scene of a Ladbrokes store being robbed, with windows smashed, cash points targeted and a plasma TV being hauled off the wall.  Amazingly, it seemed like these idiots were being cheered on by people who found it funny!  The spread of violence has come through organised rumours on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, as well as the BlackBerry private messenger service.  Research in Motion, the Canadian company that owns BlackBerry has promised it will help police to catch those responsible.  In Croydon, a large local furniture store was set on fire and destroyed in one of the most dramatic images of the evening.  The owner is devastated, as it was a business that had gone through four generations of his family.  168 years of graft all burnt out in less than half an hour.

     Prime Minister Cameron has faced a barrage of criticism for his lack of response to the dire situation.  CNN figurehead Piers Morgan wasn’t impressed on Twitter; “Now Cameron’s finally woken up, he should recall Parliament NOW.  This is a national emergency and the British public need protecting.”  This morning, the PM held a meeting with the police and under-fire Home Secretary Theresa May, before revealing in a statement that parliament will be recalled on Thursday for one day.  London Mayor Boris Johnson and Labour leader Ed Miliband are also returning home early from their summer breaks. 

     May went on BBC breakfast this morning to refute claims that heavy-hitting police tactics should be the order of the day, rejecting calls for the army and water cannons to be used, which would be a first in this country.  Yesterday, she pledged that those responsible will face strict action;

“I want to be clear – those responsible for the violence and looting will be made to face the consequences of their actions.”

     The outrage on social networking sites was clear from many shocked onlookers watching on their television screens.  Journalism student at the University of Northampton Chris Ola told me via Twitter the implications will be felt for many; “I can understand the outrage over the police killing the man…but this is ridiculous…it’s going to hurt the taxpayer.”  Another student at the University of Northampton, Stef Ventura fears the worst; “I fear for our country, we might be rewinding to the 1980s.”

     The blame game has already started, with some of the blame being laid at the Metropolitan police, who were over-stretched massively last night.  They made pleas for parents to know where their children were and get them inside as the mayhem continued.  From the skyline, London looked more like a disaster movie, not a bustling capital city that should be looking forward to host next year’s Olympic Games.  Former Labour mayor Ken Livingstone blamed the coalition’s dramatic spending cuts, telling the Daily Mirror; “The economic stagnation and cuts have inevitably created social division.”  Ex-deputy Prime Minister John Prescott expressed his viewpoint by setting-up a Twitter hash tag #where’sthegovernment.

BURNING: The Sony warehouse in Enfield burns to the ground

     However, it isn’t now London where this is happening now.  Birmingham saw trouble too.  Over 50 businesses were targeted by yobs in the Bullring shopping centre.  Melissa Hicks gave me a quick update of the situation on Facebook; “Birmingham City Centre is being smashed up and the big Primark shop has been burnt down.”  In Liverpool and Bristol, it was a similar, if quieter story.  This morning, the large Sony CD warehouse store on the corner of the M25 in Enfield was still burning to the ground, after it was set on fire in the early hours.  The FA have cancelled tomorrow’s night international friendly at Wembley between England and Holland and Carling Cup matches at Crystal Palace, Charlton, West Ham and Bristol City have been postponed on police advice.  The Premier League is also in contact with the police on a regular basis, with significant doubts over the fixtures taking place on the opening weekend involving Tottenham, QPR and Liverpool.  However, despite the Birmingham trouble, the third Cricket test at Edgbaston between England and India is set to go ahead on time tomorrow morning.

     As the cleanup began this morning, the whole country has to reflect on the trouble and the damage it has done to our society, with fingers crossed that tonight doesn’t bring the same amount of carnage and chaos in the country that last night did.

Deadlines, presentations and friendships - The final curtain

By Simon Wright (Personal Blog)

YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ A PARTY BROADCAST BY THE HAPPYDUDE88 PARTY!

SO, THAT is it.  It has been a powerful year and the recent events have proven to me that hope should be there for all of us.  What a year it has been, and it is scary to think that just one more remains before graduation.  For the final time for a while, I will reflect on events involving me from the week.

DONE: No need for any more of that constant stress!

     Monday was absolute madness, and I was the focus point, although not directly affecting me.  Although I had a couple of minor evaluations to type up, and one of those pain-staking, irritating Harvard bibliographies, Monday was deadline day as far as the rest of the journalism course was concerned.  Four key projects had to be handed in, and by the cut-off point of 7pm.  It was chaos in our journalism workroom.  Books, bits of paper, USB drives, and headphones – you name it, lying around in all directions.  I had to double-check and triple-check that I still had all of my equipment intact.  It felt like the last hours of the current football transfer window process and those final moments when managers are shaking hands on agreements to loan or buy players at the last minute.  I don’t think I was helping with my ‘24’ hour style timing countdown.  Probably should have just put the Countdown clock on repeat, because that’s how it felt like!  Thankfully, everyone beat the deadline and the relief was palpable in the SU bar afterwards.  The burden off many shoulders had just been lifted.  I was pleased to be there, and although I had done the more sensible thing of getting all my projects in and not doing a last-minute job, I couldn’t help but be there and try to offer my sensible advice and help to the best of my powerful abilities.  It did take it out on me by the end of the day.  I was exhausted, really hungry and wasn’t in the mood for celebration.  I can’t imagine how it would have been like for everyone else.  Thursday was a totally different story.

     It has just gone 10am on Thursday and all the tension of a hard year can be let out.  I exit the presentation room and do let out a ‘Fernando Alonso’ style of ‘COME ON, COME ON!’ as I realise quickly that my second year of journalism at the University of Northampton is over.  The year concluded with a magazine presentation infront of the usually, miserable lecturers – promoting my reasons for producing my 12-page TV Gold magazine.  Typically, the presentation times were changed at the last minute less than 24 hours earlier, but that was hardly surprising.  To be honest, having an organised slot is now more of a shock and I think most of us were just past the point of caring.  Luckily, I only had to whizz through a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation infront of one of the senior lecturers, rather than two and it made things far easier than they might have been.  Time to party!

PARTY: Celebrating the end with Rochelle, Emily and Stef

     In the evening, the journalism crew headed out into the town once again, for another wild and wacky night at the Balestra nightclub in Northampton.  We met up inside the club, having gone to various houses and bars in the build-up to the night.  Tom Campbell came in with a bottle of champagne, courtesy of us being on a special guest list.  There was a real cause of celebration within the crew.  As the bottle was passed around and we all took big gulps from the bubbly, you could feel the party mood everyone was in.  I must admit, it tasted good!  No more exams, no more presentations, no more deadlines, time to dance and enjoy!  It was so nice to see so many people make it, people who I don’t normally socialise with.  I was able to let my hair down (I don’t have much of that by the way), and not have a care in the world for where I would be in state of mind 24 hours later.  There was some wild dancing, to some cracking club tunes.  I think most will remember me for singing ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rumble’ and ‘Karma Chameleon,’ out loud.  I have one of the Lips singing games for the Xbox 360, so I am practicing, but let’s face it, I can’t sing!!  The majority of us belting out ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears summed up the fantastic atmosphere inside the club.  It was all over, and the journalism crew was going out on a high!  Hopefully, there will be more of this next year. 

     As the year has gone on, I feel we have bonded far closer as a group.  At the end of the day, we are in the same boat.  We are on the same degree, aiming for the same ambitions at the end of the three years.  We see each other on a daily basis, so what’s the point of not getting on.  I know that there have been some disagreements or personality clashes in the past, but for me, there has to be a real domestic to not get on or share some form of communication with anyone, however small that may be.  Even I have had to admit that I’ve made mistakes and not treated everyone totally fairly this year.  One of these people is the ‘Beautiful Birmingham,’ herself; Ellie.

     I first met Ellie on induction day in September 2009 and we have had a friendship built on a solid foundation, and have about as much drama as a month’s episodes of Casualty could contain!  Even then, having made the first public introduction, I never thought she would have made the significant impact she has on my life as a whole.  Throughout the first year, we spent so much time together, in fact, almost inseparable.  This year, things have been more awkward for us, for a variety of reasons.  I won’t go into all the details, because that is totally unfair, but I haven’t thought about her feelings at times, particularly at the start of 2011.  Mistakes were made, by both of us, but more so by me.  In March, I nearly lost her as a friend for good and it did drive me to the brink.  In life, you need to make a success of yourself and you are your own person, but there are people who do build your strengths up and make up the rest of your overall character.  Some friendships you just could say ‘Screw it, what’s the point anymore,’ but I’ve never felt that way about Ellie.  Together, we’ve always tried to sort things out and we’ve come out stronger for the experience.  Around Christmas time, she was the one person I could turn to when I had a relationship issue and she was so caring, sweet and amazing about the whole dilemma I had.  That’s a true friend for you, not one who just would say; ‘It’s your problem, deal with it!’  No friendship can be perfect, I don’t think it is feasibly possible, and everyone makes mistakes.  After all, that’s why they put erasers on pencils!  Nobody’s perfect, or ‘Pobody’s Nerfect’ as they’d say Down Under!  However, Ellie has such a big heart and always looks out for me, no matter how much trouble I might be in.  She has always been there for me, and I’m incredibly lucky to have her as a big part of the jigsaw puzzle that is my life.  After all, I have so much drama in my life; it won’t be long before I appear on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories haha!! 

     I can’t complain about how this year has gone, and the final curtain has come down.  No more journalism until October 3^rd, ironically my birthday. 

Have a great summer everyone, I will ultimately reflect on the year 2010/11 at the University of Northampton as ‘I did it My Way!’

THAT WAS A PARTY BROADCAST BY THE HAPPYDUDE88 PARTY!

King bids farewell to CNN

LARRY King bought down the curtain on his CNN live talk show on Thursday evening, with his final words being “Let’s not say goodbye, but so long.”

The veteran interviewer bid farewell to an audience that sadly doesn’t seem to be interested in the US chatshow than it was over a decade ago.  Just ask the likes of David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. 

DEPARTING: Larry King bids farewell after 25 years to CNN

Larry King Live has been a stalwart in the CNN television schedules for the past 25 years.  He managed to get celebrities to open up to him, which so many have failed before him.  This was down to his laidback approach and style to the interview.  Paris Hilton granted him the first interview when she left jail, whilst Bill Clinton, always a favourite with King, talked openly about the heart operations he went under. 

In a taped interview, Barack Obama thanked King for the 25 years of dedicated service he had given, not just to the CNN network, but talk shows in general.  Clinton made a live appearance from Arkansas to wish him the best of luck, as did the governor of California and film actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Sadly, a show that promised ‘loads of surprises,’ failed to deliver and it was a sad end to such a distinguished figure on US television.  In 1993, he attracted 20million viewers for chairing a heated debate between 1992 US President candidate Ross Perot and Clinton’s vice-president Al Gore.  By the end, ratings had diminished down to 700,000, as audiences drifted away from his show to other networks and different styles of programming.

NEW: Piers Morgan takes over in the New Year

From January, he will be replaced by former Daily Mirror editor and Britain’s Got Talent judge, Piers Morgan.  Morgan has experience in America, having already been a judge on America’s Got Talent and although some will not be pleased with his appointment, his comfortable and soft approach to talking to celebrities might mean that it is a better selection for CNN’s future.  If his fantastic ITV programme Piers Morgan’s Life Stories is anything to go by, Piers Morgan Tonight will be an interesting watch.

So, after over 40,000 interviews from George Bush to Marlon Brando, Larry King bids farewell and unfortunately, it wasn’t the explosive and fitting end that a TV legend deserved.

Britain's Got Talent - Has It Reached It's Peak?

Saturday night saw the curtain draw on the ITV hit primetime show, Britain’s Got Talent.  As ever, the final was as captivating as ever, and it drew one of the greatest live performances ever seen, by the winners, gymnastic artists Spelbound.

Spelbound’s performance was absolutely stunning, inch-perfect and was summed up by judge, Amanda Holden saying they would ‘perfect to open the 2012 Olympic Games.’  Series four of the show though show rapid signs of decline, which has left a few to question whether it has reached its peak?

Firstly, Saturday’s final drew figures of just over 14million viewers.  Not too bad, but it was a staggering 5.2million less than the 2009 final.  ITV were expecting a hit, but surely not quite as steep as that.  The audition round also failed to draw in the audience crowds, which suggests that the normal people are getting a bit bored with the show.

Secondly, the judging has gone very stale on the show.  No wonder why Simon Cowell has already decided to not do the audition round next year.  At times, the other two judges, Holden and former editor of the Daily Mirror, Piers Morgan were putting acts through just to annoy Simon.  When Louis Walsh stood in, whilst Cowell came down with the flu, the Irishman allowed some shocking acts through into the judges’ selection stage.  The semi-finals highlighted this, with the first two on the road: Last Monday and Tuesday, full of dreary, drippy acts that simply had no talent whatsoever.  It was all a bit of a joke.  Especially Holden, who seemed to love everything and almost throw herself at any bloke around her, she seemed pretty desperate.  Perhaps it’s time she was replaced, because although she maybe a top-quality actress, her criticising judging skills are far less to be desired. 

Thirdly, without Susan Boyle, the show was always going to struggle.  I think some were expecting to see one of the contestants produce a ‘SuBo’ moment like last year.  That was simply never going to happen, as she was a ‘one in a million’ contestant.  Largely, because of the staggering media interest last year.  Again, it was interesting to see the lack of media coverage the show got this year.  Maybe the critics are tired of the same old routines.  It must be noted on my Facebook and Twitter pages, that whereas everyone was talking about the show on their statuses in 2009, there was a lack of this when I explored this social networking buzz on Saturday night.  Lastly, Ant & Dec’s dry-witted humour has always been funny and a joy to watch, but sometimes it went far over the top in the last series just gone by.  You can’t really ditch the pair, simply because ITV can’t afford to lose them, but at times, I even found the Geordie duo to be fairly tiresome to watch.  The humour they portrayed on Wednesday night, after the murders in Cumbria wasn’t very satisfying.  Okay, I understand that the show must go on, as must the acts.  However, things could have been toned down a little, especially with the traumatic events going on last week.

On the positive side, there was plenty of talent in Saturday’s final and the final ten acts, were the right ten to make the final.  Twist & Pulse were surprising and creditable runners-up, considering they went first in the running order, normally a significant disadvantage in previous finals.  Drummer Kieran Gaffney was third, as he bounced back brilliantly from being rejected at the auditions stage in 2009.  Other highlights on Saturday night were 40-year old Christopher Stone’s opera voice.  He is surely destined for a career in the West End, rather than the accounting job he currently has.  Another act, which will have received a lot from this programme, is impressionist Paul Burling.  Burling, a former failure on the holiday park tour, was a revelation with his celebrity impersonations.  He was unlucky to miss out on a top three spot, but definitely has a lot of potential for the future now.

Although Saturday’s final ended up being a joy to watch, the series in general has been a major disappointment and similar to Dancing on Ice this year, showed minor cracks and signs of its age.  Simon Cowell has already said that a revamp is needed and I feel it does need some major tweaking, to win back the people and especially, the media.  It wasn’t a diabolical watch, but changes will have to be made, maybe some controversial ones, to keep Britain’s Got Talent afresh.  Otherwise, I am totally convinced that it already might have reached its peak performance.

Gordon Brown - A Likeable Guy, But Is It Too Late?

This blog was first published on February 15th at http://happydude88.livejournal.com/

 

Last night, Prime Minister Gordon Brown opened his heart out to millions of television viewers, but is it going to be too late for his future, with the General Election only a matter of months away. If we believe Sky sources, it could be as early as May 6th. Did it have any effect on his personality with the voters, or was it just a media-management exercise?

Politically, Gordon Brown certainly has his critics, both from inside and outside the political circle. In fact, he barely raises a smile for the cameras, and is often made an easy target when things go wrong within the Labour party. He is an independent man, who loves his job of leading our country and is determined to do the right things that he believes in. Let’s face it, he hasn’t had it easy in the tenure as Prime Minister: A global recession, war conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan and having to overcome numerous party opposition challengers to remain top dog. On ITV’s ‘Piers Morgan’s Life Stories’ last night, many of us got to see Gordon Brown the man, Gordon Brown the normal bloke, rather than the perception to many, Gordon Brown the clueless Scottish Prime Minister.

The way he was talking to Piers, it was clear that he hasn’t had an easy time of it, from the numerous operations required to save the sight in both his eyes, to the day he finally got the keys to No.10 Downing Street. 1994 turned out to be a key year for our country. Labour leader John Smith died from a heart attack, and Brown was many people’s favourite to succeed Smith as leader. However, after a series of discussions, it was decided that Brown would step aside for Tony Blair, a decision that changed the way Labour thought in their desperation to win back the country. Three years later, Blair was swept into office with a landslide vote and Brown had to bite his lip for a whole decade, watching Blair achieve his aims that deep down, he must have thought he could have done too. Last night, he admitted a deal was struck with Blair over the leadership decision in 1994, and admitted that the strain on his friendship with the former Prime Minister was fairly strong. However, he conceded it was the right decision at the time, and that’s something I fully agree with.

The most emotional part of the whole interview was Gordon opening up to the public about the tragic death of his and wife Sarah’s first child, Jennifer. This happened nine years ago and for someone, still clearly affected by the pain of this horrific event, to open up to the British public this sad tale was an act of courage and bravery. Watching it, I really felt sorry for him, nearly being reduced to tears. Some will say it would be for the symphony vote, but I wholeheartedly disagree with that viewpoint. At least he held it together, unlike Alistair Campbell’s shameful attempts at waterworks over the Iraq enquiry last week, when interviewed by Andrew Marr.

Whoever asked Gordon Brown to do this, whether it was Sarah, Peter Mandelson or just his advisors, the interview went across really well and was a very creditable performance. Piers Morgan was the right man for the interview too. Piers is a close friend of the Brown’s, he knows what they have been through and he didn’t make it hard for Gordon to speak – better than Jeremy Paxman, who might be a stronger interviewer face-to-face, but would have ripped the Prime Minister to pieces in the same scenario, with his interrogative question.

The final outcome of the General Election shouldn’t be affected by this, but for me, Gordon Brown has won a few more friends and a load of respect for his dignified and gracious appearance and accounts last night. The leadership debates will be his next big test, to see if he really has a future in running the country. Though maybe we need a change for the better in this country, Gordon Brown is a likeable, nice guy and nothing should be drawn personally against him. It could be worse; you could be a BNP member, supporting the coward that is Nick Griffin! Thumbs up Gordon, you deserve a lot of credit!