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.

Knox cleared and flies home

AFTER four horrifying years in prison, Amanda Knox flew back home to Seattle in the United States as a free woman.  Her conviction was overturned in Perugia for the murder of fellow student; Meredith Kercher was overturned after over ten hours of deliberations.  Amanda nearly collapsed and wept when she heard the verdict that the gates towards freedom had just been well and truly opened.  The former boyfriend of Knox, Raffaele Sollecito, 27, also had his jail term quashed, leaving the Kercher family stunned and searching for answers.

     21-year old Meredith Kercher was found murdered in the house she had shared with Amanda Knox in Perugia in 2007, with her throat cut.  In the first trial, Knox and Sollecito were given 26 and 25-year jail term sentences respectively.  Now, they can look forward for a chance to restart their lives after this turbulent and hellish experience.  Amanda Knox has already written a letter and published it to the media; “Those who wrote, those who defended me, those who were close and those who prayed for me – I love you, Amanda.”  She is now thought to want some time back with her family in her hometown, though she is bound to be the target for a major primetime TV interview in the United States.

     Knox’s lawyer in the case told media outlets of her state of mind; "She was calm, serene and looking forward to going home and just spending some time with her friends and family.  She wants to get on with her life. She is a clever and intelligent girl who has been through a lot.  Amanda will now have some time in Seattle and then get on with her life and her family will also want to get back to theirs."

      Meanwhile, while the Kercher family will want to pursue potential legal challenges in the coming months, Perugia will try to return to some form of normality and the Italian legal system must now be under scrutiny for an urgent review.  Prosecutors claim that the decision is wrong and clearly disagree with the judge’s viewpoint that the evidence is unsustainable.  They are now considering taking the case to the Italian Supreme Court, which could take another year to sort out.  However, it is extremely unlikely that Knox will be sent back to Italy for any retrial, as the US would be unlikely to allow her extradition back to the country.  As for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, normality is something that they now have the chance to restore and establish their lives after a traumatic few years in prison.

US MotoGP 2011: Stoner surges clear

CASEY Stoner increased his lead at the top of the MotoGP standings to 20 points last night, with victory in the United States Grand Prix.  The Repsol Honda rider, 25, took his fifth win from ten outings in 2011, to move further clear of his only title rival of the championship, defending champion Jorge Lorenzo.

     On an absolutely gorgeous day in California, the Laguna Seca played host to the final event before the summer break.  Lorenzo, suffering from a big practice crash which meant he could barely walk, started on pole position.  He made the most of it, by making a belting start and leading the three Honda’s of Dani Pedrosa, Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso into the Andretti bend.

     As Lorenzo zoomed into the distance, others were finding the tight and twisty circuit harder to cope with.  Britain’s Cal Crutchlow lasted only four laps, before suffering another expensive accident on his Tech-Speed Yamaha bike.  After a promising start to his rookie season, Crutchlow has now only scored two points in his last five outings.  Moments later, American wildcard Ben Bostrom retired with a brake problem and Marco Simoncelli made his customary exit.  The Italian slid off on the way upto the undulating Corkscrew bend, to record his fourth crash already of an error-prone season. 

MEMORABLE: Stoner's passes deserved his glory

     Back at the front and as in the German Grand Prix a week earlier, Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner had managed to gap the rest of the chasing pack.  At half-distance, Stoner decided to make his move on Pedrosa, forcing his team-mate to concede position or crash at the Corkscrew.  Sensibly, Dani chose the latter and as his fitness levels dropped off, so did his pace and it meant no repeat of his Sachensring success seven days earlier.  Casey, who was worried about his lack of race pace going into the event, hunted Lorenzo down successfully and bravely passed him on the outside of the start-finish straight with just six laps to run.  Lorenzo left minimal space and the Australian was lucky not to end up in the back of the Yamaha’s exhaust. 

     After that, Stoner cruised away into the distance, to win by nearly five seconds.  Lorenzo’s ride to second was heroic and keeps him right in the thick of the title battle, with eight races still to run this season.  Pedrosa held onto third, whilst home hero Ben Spies recovered from a bad start to pip Dovizioso for fourth.  Sixth and seventh for the Ducati’s of Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden was the best they could hope for, although Alvaro Bautista’s Suzuki had a chance of beating both Italian bikes, if he hadn’t chucked his bike into the dirt.

     Brno is the next event in three weeks time and for Stoner, it is the perfect response to some increased Lorenzo pressure.  The second half of this MotoGP season promises to be spellbinding!  

Challenger remembered 25 years on

THE space race used to be one of the biggest events through the decades as the United States and the Soviet Union battled for supremacy.  In 1981, the US launched the space shuttle, the first reusable aircraft for space exploration.  By the time of 1986, space flights weren’t of any news to Americans, as they weren’t historic and were considered very safe.  This all changed with Challenger’s ill-fated tenth space shuttle flight.  All seven astronauts were killed when the shuttle exploded on Tuesday 28 January 1986, just 73 seconds after take-off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral. 

On Friday, the 25^th anniversary of the disaster was marked by NASA, with a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Centre.  Widows of the dead, schoolchildren and former president George Bush Snr were present at the ceremony, where a new memorial statue was erected for the dead.  Even today, it is still remembered as one of the most dramatic and catastrophic incidents to have happened live on American television.

Challenger was the 25^th space shuttle mission since operational flights began in 1982.  It was already seen to many as a very reliable spacecraft.  This flight was a special landmark, as among the seven astronauts was the first citizen to go into space; American schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe from New Hampshire.  McAuliffe had won a competition in 1984 to become the first civilian not connected with the space programme to go into space.  Over 11,000 people applied, which showed the country’s addiction to these missions, despite the lack of news coverage.  Due to some unusual faults with the spacecraft and Superbowl Sunday, there were two aborted launch attempts, but eventually – all systems were go for Tuesday 28 January 1986.  It was a clear morning at Cape Canaveral, with bright blue skies and conditions absolute perfect for takeoff.  This disregards the fact of the launch pad dropping to its coldest ever temperatures overnight.    

EXPLOSION: Challenger rips apart into a fireball

Liftoff was greeted at the Kennedy Space Centre to a sense of relief for NASA and delight for the spectators watching.  In schools across America, children packed into auditoriums and classrooms to watch the launch live on CNN; hooters going off and balloons popping at the sight of one of their own, McAuliffe entering space.  Sadly, a mission that was meant to last seven days, ended in tragedy after just nine miles.  NASA’s final command was; “Challenger, going throttle up.”  Commander Dick Scobee’s response was clear too; “Roger, go at throttle up.”  Some recordings then suggest that pilot Michael Smith noticed a problem, as he mentioned “uh-oh” milliseconds before the catastrophe.  73 seconds in, Challenger ripped apart like a fireball into the cloudless sky.  Debris fell into the Atlantic Ocean with the cabin still intact.  However, with an impact speed approaching 300mph, the seven crew members had no chance.  All are thought to have been killed by the impact with the water, rather than the initial explosion.

DOOMED: The seven Challenger crew members who had no chance of survival

The American space programme was badly hit.  The space shuttle was grounded for nearly two and a half years, whilst investigations into the disaster were made.  President Ronald Reagan was deeply affected by the tragedy, paying tribute to the lost seven in a televised address to the nation on the night of the disaster; “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of Earth’ to ‘touch the face of God’.”  McAuliffe’s presence on the flight was well-known, but there was plenty of experience on the doomed shuttle.  Dick Scobee was a former Air Force pilot, Michael Smith had flown aircraft during the Vietnam War and Judith Resnik was a mission specialist, who had led a training programme for American women in space exploration.  The other three to perish were Ronald McNair, Greg Jarvis and Ellison Ozinuka.    

A report into the disaster in June 1986 by the Rogers Commission, which included the first American woman in space, Sally Ride and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong concluded that a failure of the joint in the two lower segments of the shuttle’s right solid rocket booster had caused the destruction of Challenger.  The unusually cold temperatures prior to the launch, which had caused the rubber ‘o-ring’ to become less elastic, also, played its part in Challenger’s downfall.  During the investigation, it merged that engineers at NASA and Morton Thiokol, the booster rocket contractor had been fully aware of the ‘o-ring’ flaws. 

Recommendations made from the report included design changes to the rocket boosters and joints and in the management structure of NASA.  These were both successfully met with when Discovery relaunched the space shuttle programme in September 1988.  Fifteen years later, the explosion of Columbia in February 2003 set back the programme even further.  Another seven astronauts died when the ageing shuttle broke up on re-entering into the earth’s atmosphere.  Later on this year, the US plans to retire the shuttle, which has had its moments of magic, such as playing a role in the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.  However, we shall never forget those who lost their lives on both Columbia and Challenger.  They gave their lives to the ultimate quest to know more about space technology.  

Nine Years On From 9/11

New York is leading the tributes and remembrance ceremonies across America on the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States.


Joseph Biden, the US vice-president was amongst those who attended the traditional memorial service held at Ground Zero, where the names of the 2,752 people killed at the former site of the World Trade Centre was read out.  Barack Obama is attending a similar ceremony over at the Pentagon, where another hijacked plane crashed on September 11th 2001.


No other words can describe the feeling that the US and the world feels about these attacks.  See below for some of the UK TV coverage on the day of 9/11.

RIP to those who lost their lives on that shocking day, you will never be forgotten.

Fallen Car Giant Recalls More Models Over Engine Concerns

Despite a recent upturn in fortunes, Japanese fallen car giant Toyota is facing more pressing concerns from customers in the United States, after over 1 million Toyota Corolla models were recalled, amid fears of engine issues.

Although this latest recall is not thought to affect those, who own the Corolla from the UK, it will drive fear into many Toyota drivers, following the plague of issues they suffered in February this year, which battered their reputation significantly.  Reports in the US suggest that there have been at least three accidents with the Corolla, due to the engine fault detected.  However, these have not been confirmed by the under-pressure Japanese company.

The models affected are thought to have built before 2008.  The latest batch of recalls take Toyota above the 11 million mark for this year, which is absolutely staggering figure for a company that previously was well trusted for its safety and security of its established model.  The recalls have been previously prompted through braking fluid issues and sticky accelerators that were leading to shocking stories of accidents and more tragically, deaths.  Some will argue that the quick recall could be seen as the company pressing into immediate action, but others will say that they shouldn’t be in the sorry mess that they have been engulfed with in 2010, so there is little sympathy towards Toyota’s plight.

Models made in Canada have also been recalled for safety issues, though it is widely believed that these models have been recalled on a precautionary basis.  Toyota has said that the engine fault can cause the engine to stop whilst the car was being driven, or for it to not fire-up properly on start-up.  For the earlier problems this year, Toyota was fined £10.6million pounds and despite a record increase in profits worldwide in the spring, these issues don’t seem to be going away.  Toyota are going to have to produce a lot of convincing with people to ensure their cars won’t cause any issues, and that is certainly not going to be an easy job.

ITV Cleared Over World Cup Ad Gaffe

Television regulator OFCOM has sensationally cleared ITV for their incredible World Cup gaffe, which saw thousands of fans miss England’s first goal at the 2010 World Cup.

Those who had tuned into the ITV HD service, including myself were treated to a 10-second advert from the Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, which sponsored ITV’s coverage of the finals from South Africa.  By the time the situation had been restored to normal, England captain Steven Gerrard had already steered England into a 4^th minute lead against the United States in Rustenberg. 

As a consequence of this fault, plus the previous glaring error when millions missed Dan Gosling’s extra-time winner for Everton against Liverpool in a 2009 FA Cup 4^th Round Replay, ITV will now be fitting foolproof covers on key buttons in its control room, to stop anymore fiascos like these during live televised events. 

A full investigation was launched into the event afterwards, with OFCOM receiving 800 complaints over the incident.  Having listened to ITV’s explanation of what happened on June 12^th, the media regulator has accepted their reason as valid and cleared them of any blame and wrongdoing.  ITV insist that the incident was down to “human error” and due to the precautions they will be putting in, this kind of incident will never happen again.  I am not convinced whether that will be the case, as ITV have a proven track record for missing key events and angering many fans in the process.

ITV also said that 90% of those who watched the England v USA game were not affected by the glitch, as they were watching the game in standard definition.  Nevertheless, although it is something that everyone hopes will never be repeated again, it does leave another stain on ITV’s football coverage, which has suffered several moments of misfortune and inadequacy since they began their association with the FA in the autumn of 2008.

BP Finally Plug The Gulfing Oil Leak

There was massive relief for the under-fire petrol company BP last Wednesday, when they managed to finally plug the ruptured oil well off the Gulf of Mexico.  News quickly filtered through that most of the oil spill has now been cleaned up or been broken down by natural forces.

The White House claim that the majority of the remaining oil off the Gulf has now evaporated, been collected or has burnt off.  Even the fiercest critic of all, US president Barack Obama has hailed the fact the operation and the ordeal was coming to an end. 

Five million barrels of oil have spewed into the ocean since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20^th, killing 11 oil rig workers.  Local businesses and wildlife have been seriously affected by this environmental crisis, in the worst oil disaster since the Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska in 1989.  BP have taken some significant hits in the markets, both in the UK and in the United States, with their chief executive stepping down at the beginning of October.  Their handling of the spill has given the worldwide company some very troubled and distressing times.  However, it now appears that like Toyota, who have recorded handsome profits since their disastrous worldwide recall in February, BP may be about to turn the corner.

ITV's Abysmal World Cup Coverage

It may be a week since the Greatest Show on Earth began, but ITV have made an abysmal start to their coverage of the tournament.  It has left the channel well and truly red-faced.

Below is the ITV World Cup theme tune, which is the only plus point of their entire coverage.

The first cock-up was during England’s first World Cup match, against the United States in Rustenberg last Saturday.  When Steven Gerrard brokethrough the American defence to put the Three Lions infront, inside of four minutes, ITV HD viewers were treated to this:

This isn’t the first time, as many viewers were gobsmacked to see Dan Gosling’s winner for Everton in an FA Cup 4^th Round Replay against Liverpool missed for a Tic-Tac commercial back in February 2009. 

Adrian Chiles, the new face of ITV football, taking over from the dependable, if obtrustive Steve Rider has brought over his humour from BBC’s Match of the Day 2 to the channel.  However, this style does not suit live coverage, and his bumbling apology to HD viewers for missing the crucial England goal last week only made matters worse.

Less than 72 hours later, ITV pundit Robbie Earle was flying back to England in disgrace.  Ex-Wimbledon striker Earle, who scored for Jamaica against Croatia in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, has been part of the ITV team since 2001.  However, he was sacked by the channel, after 40 of his tickets were found to be in the possession of some Dutch girls, portraying a marketing campaign for the Dutch beer, Bavaria.  FIFA rules clearly state that only family and friends can have tickets from these established experts of the game, and allegedly, this isn’t the first times that Earle has committed the offence.  The incident took place during Holland’s Group E opener in Soccer City on Monday against Denmark.  Earle’s insistence that he didn’t do anything wrong only makes matters worse. 

ITV’s humour to try and embarrass North Korea as much as possible is another low.  Though the Koreans weren’t helping themselves with some of their antics, ITV made them a laughing stock and were forced to grovel almost, following the Asians brave display against Brazil at Ellis Park on Tuesday.

It has been a disastrous start for the broadcaster, but sadly, these failings fail to surprise me too much.

Cheryl and Ashley Split - No Surprises

After weeks of speculation about sordid affairs involving another top-paid Premiership superstar who plays for Chelsea Football Club, the news broke yesterday of Cheryl Cole’s split from her husband, Ashley.

The England left-back, who is currently out injured with a broken ankle and faces a race against time to be fit for the World Cup in South Africa has seen a series of front page headlines for the wrong reasons, with allegation of affairs with up to six different women, whilst with Cheryl.  Eventually, the Girls Aloud singer has decided enough is enough and rightly so.

Following the recent furore surrounding Chelsea skipper John Terry, this is the last thing that both Carlo Ancelotti and Fabio Capello needed.  Capello has come out today with a quote, warning the England team about their future conduct.  It will be very interesting to see what the spirit in the camp will be like, with next week’s friendly against Egypt at Wembley looming large.  Chelsea have taken action and fined Cole for his actions, reports suggesting up to £400,000.  Ashley should be hanging his head in shame, he only has got himself to blame.  Excuses are the saddest and oldest trick in the book when it comes to infidelity. 

For Cheryl, it’s time to move on and she has such incredible support from her fans and close friends.  Girls Aloud will be backing her all the way, as they have done throughout, as will her close associates from The X-Factor.  Her performance at last week’s BRIT awards showed bravery, but in reality, she probably should have pulled out, as it sounded terrible.  A few days away in the United States were the best thing she could have done, and it is clear that she has done a load of thinking.  Ashley had played away before, back in 2007 and it took a lot of courage for him to be forgiven for that.  Stupidity should have been stamped on Cheryl’s head if she took him back again.  I still think she probably still loves him, but if there is no trust in a relationship, then it just isn’t going to work.

The Cole marriage has been under scrutiny for a while now; it has been one of the most talked about celebrity couples, but nowhere near on the strand of ‘Brand Beckham.’  Yesterday’s news was no surprise at all; it had been expected for a long while.  Cheryl has now requested for the media to leave her alone and give time to sort her head out.  I would hope that will be the case, though knowing the British media, that’s probably more of a hopeful rather than expectant plea.  She can do a load better than Ashley Cole and I do hope that everything will end up working for her in the end.

My final point is on relationships involving sportstars.  The Tiger Woods shenanigans before Christmas still burn very bright, especially after his frank press conference last week.  Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton went his separate ways with Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger at the start of the year, though there is now talk they are back together and now the latest implications involving Terry and Cole.  This is the case of ‘Men Behaving Badly,’ and big time.  You’d think these highly-paid global stars would be able to keep their trousers on, especially considering the farcical wages they pick up during a horrible economic period.  It would be nice to see these guys began again to dominate the back pages for their actual talents, rather than their clear lack of relationship skills on the front pages.  Lessons need to be learnt from this wave of cheating scandals, but will they….I really find that hard to believe…