24 years old from Sheffield. I spend my time thinking about films, football and politics, occasionally I write those thoughts down. Read, share, comment, shrug your shoulders and close the tab- it's up to you.
So last night there was a post on the 'Gay Girl in Damascus' blog which i have been following for the past few weeks, where a heterosexual, 40 year old American, currently studying at Edinburgh University, named Tom MacMaster told the world that there was no such person as Amina, that she was an entirely fictional construct designed to allow him to share his views of the Arab world in a manner that would actually get attention rather than the dismissal that greeted a white American man expressing the same ideas.
I feel a bizarre sense of betrayal at the revelation; i had avidly followed "Amina's" posts for the past month or two and felt genuine concern when there was a post about her having been detained by Syrian security forces. Despite the understandably mysterious circumstances of a lot of the details/posts i never really questioned too much whether the posts were genuine. Maybe that was naive but the writing seemed heart-felt and most other media sources that i trust seemed to have believed that the posts were written by the supposed Syrian revolutionary.
It's a horrible feeling when you find out that your faith in something was misplaced but i don't intend to let it change how i view the next similar story. Now that again may seem hideously naive but if the choice i face is either naivety or cynicism i'm going to stick with the former for as long as i can. In the modern world with blogs, twitter accounts and the ability to be almost completely anonymous while reaching a potentially huge audience, there are often going to be questions about the veracity of writers, especially those telling stories from nations and areas where there is no free press and no easy way of verifying identities without compromising the author's safety.
In that context readers will have to make a choice between choosing to trust that people like Tom MacMaster are rare and that most people aren't so desperate for attention that they would exploit people's emotions to such an extent, or deciding that it's easier to treat everything as lies until there is definite proof.
I can't be sure what MacMaster's motives were, he tries to justify his actions here, but i don't believe any of his arguments excuse the deception. Writing a piece of fiction set within a political context is one thing, claiming to be at the centre of one of the most important political movements in the Arab world for decades is a completely different issue. When he wrote that Amina had been abducted people all over the world started writing letters, signing petitions and trying through a range of methods to pressure the Syrian authorities to release her. That was time and effort that could have been put to much better use, attempting to help genuine revolutionaries in Syria and other nations.
He may claim he meant no harm in writing the blog and that it was just an experiment that got out of hand, but he can't defend it on those grounds; if as the blog began to take off he had explained the truth behind the blog then all would have been well, but he carried on writing more and more emotive pieces, deliberately aiming to make the readers connect with and believe in them and only owned up to the deceit once he was already close to being found out and even the most devoted readers were at least having doubts as to who Amina really was.
So i'm disappointed that the truth about Amina was so far from the reality that had been portrayed but i'm going to try my best to make sure that i don't allow the lies of MacMaster to change how i view the next blogger to write from a country like Syria.
So today i have to write a story that's surprised me quite a lot, one i really don't know what to make of yet and perhaps won't be able to for quite a while.
As i stated in my blog on Tuesday evening the Syrian blogger that i have admired the work of Amina, was reported to have been arrested by the Syrian security forces. There is still no news on the location or condition of her and i will be sure to report anything when i read it.
However what is unusual and unnerving is that there is now a lot of speculation as to whether Amina is who she says she is. A number of newspapers have now taken a photo (below) off of their website that they were previously stating was Amina after a girl from London claimed that it was actually a photo of her.
Jelena Lecic, from London, claims that the photos used all over the internet in the past week as a picture of Amina are actually of her. So far that hasn't been confirmed but it's only added to the speculation as to the identity of the Syrian blogger.
Then there's the fact that the American embassy in Syria can't find any record of a woman by her name in Damascus, so aren't able to offer consular assistance to the woman, if she is in prison and is actually an American citizen.
Since the speculation began earlier today a large number of national newspapers, internet bloggers and interested neutrals have been scrambling to find some proof of the girl's identity. People want to know whether there even is a half American, half Syrian lesbian writer and revolutionary. I'm one of those people; the thought had occurred to me that she seemed almost too good to be true but she seems so real, honest and detailed in her posts. I'm not going to speculate too much but the evidence on The Guardian and Andy Carvin's twitter feed isn't filling me with confidence that this won't turn out to be some sort of hoax. I'm going to leave the investigative journalism and speculation to people who have a greater level of experience, contacts and incentive (i.e they're getting paid to find out this stuff, i'm tired after a few days of work experience).
That does bring up the next question, is it a hoax being executed by someone who is not even in Syria, or is it a deliberate effort by the Syrian blogger to create a false trail so as to keep the security forces away. I really hope it's the latter because i'd find it quite depressing to learn that it was all someone just writing fiction. The blog posts were seriously inspirational and challenging, arguing about some of the big issues facing the Arab spring, Islam and homosexuality in general.
There is a perfectly good possibility that it is just a deliberate effort on the writer's part to try and avoid detention; writing under pseudonyms and under a false identity is fairly standard procedure when writing in a situation where there is a very real chance of violent repercussions for speaking out against a repressive regime. The worrying fact is that if it is a pseudonym, unless her family comes out with the real name, thus confirming the Syrian security forces suspicions that they've got the right person, it will be impossible for the world to put real pressure on the Syrian government to release her.
If it does turn out to be a hoax then I don't feel any shame in having been taken in by the lie, if it is an impostor then they have fooled the majority of the Western media.
Until i see anything resembling proof i'm going to do my best to reserve judgement either way but it's tough when i've invested quite a bit of interest and affection in the blog and drawn a huge amount of inspiration from the story of the brave, determined Syrian who kept blogging even after it became clear that the Syrian authorities were aware of her and trying to track her down.
The one conclusion it seems overly stubborn to refuse to arrive at is that it seems unlikely whoever the 'Gay Girl in Damascus' is, she's probably not called Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari.
I hope that all of the political prisoners in Syria are released and there somehow is some kind of positive solution to the unrest as on top of the obvious benefits of potential democracy and a decrease in violent repression, there's the chance that we will get some answers on this topic. Sadly however i suspect that it will be nowhere near that clear cut, because in the world of political unrest, oppressive governments and the potential anonymity of the internet, nothing is ever that clear cut.
Today, instead of one song i'm going to post a link to a Guardian page where they are streaming the new eponymous Bon Iver album in it's entirety. It's well worth a listen, in my opinion a little more varied than the superb first album, but i'm not certain after only hearing it once whether that's a change for better or for worse.
Today's blog is going to have a more sombre tone than many of my posts.
I have written previously about Amina Abdallah Araf al Omari, the half Syrian, half American blogger, i list her as one of the people whose writing inspires me towards wanting to become a journalist.
Since the unrest began in Syria on the 26th January 2011 she has been blogging regularly, honestly and bravely about the experiences that she and her countrymen and women have been going through as they pursue democracy and try and avoid or survive the brutal repression by President Assad and his security forces.
She has repeatedly wrote about the risk of arrest, torture or worse; never fishing for sympathy, merely making sure her readers are aware of the stakes involved in the Arab Spring.
Worryingly in the past two days Amina has been taken by members of the security services. Her cousin has posted two messages since she was taken informing her readers that they don't know where she is or how to contact which ever element of the security forces may have taken her.
I don't know what the future will hold for Amina, her family or the people of Syria but all i can do is hope that she is released soon and that she is unharmed. It may be a naive hope but it's one i'm determined to stick with for as long as possible. If you're reading this and religious, if you want to pray for her i'm sure her family would appreciate it.
I'm going to look at two separate stories with a clear link; homosexuality.
First up is a story that has been around for a long time but is beginning to near a conclusion.
By the time the Ugandan parliament's current session comes to an end on May 12th it is expected their will have been a vote on a controversial Anti-homosexuality bill. The bill would broaden the criminalisation of homosexuality to mean anyone convicted of homosexual activity could face life imprisonment and anyone with previous convictions, HIV positive or engaging in homosexual activities with people under the age of 18 could face the death penalty.
The bill has been met with international condemnation from all corners but it is still seeming likely to be passed; a representation of growing anti-gay sentiment in the country. One of the key proponents of the bill, an MP named David Bahati has claimed that if the committee studying the bill recommend the removal of the death penalty elements of the bill he will concede to their judgement but right now it's unclear what the judgement of the committee will be.
I find it depressing when i see this kind of legislation because i really can't understand where the hatred and fear needed to want to kill someone for the gender of the person they are attracted to comes from. For that matter i can't understand any form of homophobia; i can list some of the justifications that are often given for people's distrust, dislike or open hostility to people who are gay, but i don't understand them.
There's a petition going around on facebook which i'm sure will get plenty of signatures but i sadly don't see it making any difference. Most politicians in the West have come out with clear condemnation of the bill but it's seemed to have little effect on the overall attitude in Uganda to the bill or the statements from the politicians involved.
I really hope that this bill is defeated but i just don't see it happening, the coverage of the story seems to really suggest that there is more than enough public support for the politicians to get behind it. If it is passed it's a tragedy for the gay community in Uganda; beyond just the punishments carried out by the government it will also further entrench the idea that there is something wrong with being gay for the next generation of Ugandans.
However i'd like to think that regardless of the views of anyone who reads this towards issues of homosexuality, that they'd agree that no one should face imprisonment or death for the person they love.
The other story i want to talk about is one coming out of Syria that i read about in The Guardian over the weekend. It's an inspiring and uplifting story coming out of a country where there's been so little good news. During a period of revolution in a Middle Eastern country Amina Abdullah is perhaps the perfect heroine; half Syrian, half American, Muslim and openly gay. Here's the link to her blog - http://damascusgaygirl.blogspot.com/.
It is worth noting that homosexuality is illegal in Syria, but unlike Uganda, the authorities mostly turn a blind eye to it. She claims that when she came out to her family they were glad in that a lesbian daughter was preferable to a promiscuous heterosexual one.
When the protests began in Syria she took to the streets and documented what she experienced in her blog; it was this blog post that saw her blog really take off in terms of readership and international attention, when she wrote about the moment two security officers came to her house to arrest her but her father stood up to them in what is one of the most impressive examples of the genuine heroism which has characterised the revolutions across the Middle East and Northern Africa.
She blogs very regularly, over the past few days writing two or three separate posts each day and she offers a unique view of a country in turmoil and is a fascinating read that i would really recommend.
Today's song is quite a well known one but it's another which always makes it into any 'favourite songs' lists i try and compile.
So there's been the Local Elections and a vote on AV, the results of which we'll know by tomorrow probably. Osama Bin Laden is dead. Two wealthy people have enjoyed a week of marriage. You'd be forgiven for thinking that that is all that has happened in the past 7 days. Rightfully (in the case of the first two) and inevitably (in the last one's) those 3 stories have dominated all news coverage for a week. All three are potentially historic moments and it's understandable that people have focussed on them, but i thought i'd use this blog to give mentions/links to a few of the other very important news stories which have been shoved down the news agenda, both in the UK and abroad.
1. Bahrain & Syria - The crackdown on the protests in Bahrain continues and the international response has highlighted the double standards in terms of condemnation and intervention. What is taking place in Bahrain is incredibly serious as news comes of 4 protester's being sentenced to death by firing squad and in some ways more tellingly the attacks, arrests and intimidation of medical staff in the country intensifies.
The authorities in the country have confirmed that 47 doctors will face prosecution, on spurious grounds, for what in reality was simply maintaining their principles and treating people regardless of the circumstance of their injury. Medical professionals in the country face threats, random arrests, detention without cause or any sort of due process and with no promise of release and physical attacks.
The protests in Bahrain currently are not on the scale of the uprisings in Egypt or Libya, partly because of the intervention of Saudi troops to back up the Bahraini authorities. In that sentence lies, in my belief, one of the main reasons why the West has been comparatively muted in their criticism of the Gulf state; Saudi Arabia doesn't want any protests there to be successful and seeing as the Saudi's are economic, military and political friends with the UK and US it's hardly surprising the response has been less dramatic than when Gadaffi attempted to crush the democratic aspirations of his people, we would have lost more than we gained in the Bahrain. The US also has a military air base in the Bahrain and the risk of a government less interested in accommodating a US presence on their soil is hardly one the US will want to embrace.
In Syria the southern city of Deraa has seen a 10 day military operation to crush the growing pro-democracy protests. The city is under siege and their are serious concerns about a humanitarian crisis developing if aid isn't brought in soon. Elsewhere in the country, especially in the capital Damascus, a high military presence and mass arrests are limiting the ability of the revolutionary movement to make any real progress.
There's been more condemnation of the government response in Syria though as of yet it's unclear whether that will come to anything or if the history books will look on it as the West making meaningless noises while political repression carried on.
It's depressing to see that as the UK bickers over which voting system is the most democratic, there are people across the world fighting and dying simply for the opportunity to have a fair vote. It puts the AV argument into context; i'll be sad if the referendum comes down on the side of NO as seems likely, a continuation of a system that only worked when there were just two parties that got 95% or so of the popular vote. The reality is that FPTP will guarantee centre right governments for the foreseeable future and we're unlikely to get another chance to be this involved in shaping our country. Regardless though, compared to the people in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria, Yemen and a number of other countries, i am grateful even for FPTP, because at least i get to vote without fear of violence or corruption.
2.Libya - There were two major developments in Libya this week. Overall the situation seems to have stagnated into a situation of civil war where neither force has the capability to oust the other. The exception to this is the battle still raging around Misrata. In previous weeks the rebels managed to drive Gaddafi's forces out of the city and are a testament to the spirit and determination of the revolutionary movement. However they are still under siege and Gaddafi has proven in the last 48 hours yet again why it is so important he is not allowed to retake either Misrata or Benghazi; his forces bombarded a humanitarian ship attempting to extract refugees and injured citizens. It also highlighted that though the UN intervention may have saved Benghazi, it hasn't defeated Gaddafi and the UN now faces the question of whether to do more to intervene or to let the Libyan leader gradually defeat the people of Misrata through bombardment and starvation.
Now my gut reaction is that we should do more; it'd be a true tragedy if in a months time i was reading about the fall of Misrata and the subsequent brutal response by Gaddafi's forces to the people who defied him for so long. However international politics can't be ruled by gut feelings and i have to concede i do not have the answers. All i do know is that Gaddafi is as much of a brutal dictator as Saddam Hussein and has as little regard for human life as Osama Bin Laden and one day in the not too distant future, people will have to stop arguing about the legality of Bin Laden's killing and consider the reality of the situation in Libya; if we do nothing more we might have the blood of those revolutionaries on our hands, if we intervene does it mean we're committing to another lengthy war with no clear exit plan and more condemnation from much of the world. It's decisions like that that make me VERY glad i'm never likely to be a politician on the international stage. There's no right or wrong answer; they'll be damned if they do and damned if they don't.
3. Ivory Coast - The democratically elected president Allasane Ouattara's forces have finally defeated the remaining forces loyal to ousted leader Laurent Gbagbo in the commercial capital Abidjan. It is suspected that many of the troops were mercenaries from neighbouring Liberia and they've been holding out for the past three weeks, ever since Gbagbo himself was captured in a bunker and arrested.
Once military operations are truly over for Ouattara the next big challenge of his leadership begins; his victory came at least partly due to the co-operation and military strength of a number of warlords who will now all want their share of the spoils. Ouattara will have to try and strike a balance between keeping those same warlords on his side (the last thing the Ivory Coast needs is more conflict) and avoiding being beholden to them to the extent that he struggles to achieve a strong and effective rule over the country.
4. Palestine - This week saw a reconciliation pact between the two main Palestinian factions, Hamas who control the Gaza Strip and are considered by Israel to be a terrorist organisation and a threat to them and Fatah who control the West Bank. Now for me this is good news; any move towards communication and peaceful negotiation between these two groups who only a few years ago were engaged in a bloody power struggle is progress. In my opinion the only way there can ever be meaningful progress towards peace in that region (total peace is a pipe dream but there can be improvements made there) is if the different factions in Palestine are united behind a cause of peaceful interaction with the international community. Divided they're easy to pick apart for the many groups that i believe have little real interest in the peace process, including if i'm honest, a lot of important figures in the Israeli government. United they can put pressure on the UN and in some ways more crucially the US, to in turn but pressure on Israel to come to the table with real intentions of finding a solution.
The move has been met with hostility from Israel and distrust by the US, which is hardly surprising, but i really hope the potential for genuine political progress is embraced rather than shut down as has happened so many times before. Israel will claim that they refuse to deal with a terrorist organisation but they, and the international community as a whole, need to ask themselves how they've allowed the situation in the Gaza Strip to reach the point where a group like Hamas could be democratically elected. I hope Israel responds well to any negotiation offers that this new agreement could lead to, but even after only 6 or so years of paying attention to the situation over there, i'm highly cynical because i quite simply believe there are powerful factions in Israel and abroad who view a unified and democratic Palestine as a major threat.
5. WW1 Veteran - Today saw the confirmation that the last known veteran of World War 1, Claude Stanley Choules, had passed away aged 110. Within a blog post where i've written about people's efforts to protect and attain democracy, it seems a fitting tribute to praise a man who fought in both World Wars. Now i have no idea what kind of man Mr Choules was, i only have the testimony of his family and friends, but the sentimental side of me means that i'd like to think he was a good man. I'd like to think that all the hate and death he must have seen will have influenced him to be a better person, someone who made the world a happier place. In the end though, almost regardless of the kind of person he was, he deserves respect simply for serving during both wars, for raising a family and for living to the ripe old age of 110. I never know what to say as an end to an obituary seeing as i'm not religious but i guess a fitting final statement would be:
"May my generation never have to know the kind of sacrifice your generation went through twice."
6. Ian Tomlinson - Finally, this week an inquest jury ruled that Ian Tomlinson was "unlawfully killed". Now for anyone not familiar with Ian Tomlinson's story he was a newspaper seller in London who on the 1st of April 2009, at the time of the G20 protests, was walking home through London when this happened:
As the video states, Mr. Tomlinson died from the injuries suffered at the hands of that Police officer. Now i'm not claiming for a minute that the officer intended to kill the man, but it highlights, just as many incidents at the student protests have, that brutal, misdirected and unjustified violence are not the sole reserve of the protesters. The fact is that Ian Tomlinson had his hands in his pockets and his back to the police officers when he was assaulted. It is a disgrace that it has taken this long for his family to even get the relatively small concession from the authorities that it was an "unlawful killing" and i hope the Crown Prosecution Service takes this opportunity to prosecute the officer responsible.
It doesn't deal with either the institutionalised violence amongst riot police officers or the corruption and collective arse-covering which followed Mr Tomlinson's death and saw lie after lie presented to the public in defence of the actions. Both elements will go unpunished even if the police constable, Simon Harwood, faces criminal charges, but it will at least be a warning to police at other protests in the future that they are not immune from prosecution and that violence towards people offering no threat to them will not be tolerated. It's a message that is crucially important in the current climate.
That's just a sample of the other important news stories which have been kind of buried under the whole Will & Kate, Osama V Obama and Yes/No coverage but i hope i gave a decent amount of coverage to a number of important issues that i'd advise if you're interested you go and read more on. The official media coverage is there, you just need to dig a little deeper than usual.
This has turned into a really long post so i'll end it here with a song from the upcoming new Friendly Fires album:
The Internet is kind of scary. The sheer scope and scale of it is incredible and though there are a lot of brilliant sides to the world wide web, it has it's flaws and the very freedom it grants people is often abused or misused.
My reason for writing this is that last night highlighted for me just how brilliant it can be. It was a bit of a weird night all in all; i couldn't focus on any one thing for the majority of the evening and kept chopping and changing what i was doing, but eventually i started writing, working on a fledgling idea for a new story, and somehow i managed to keep going until it was gone 3am. I'd had no intention to stay up so late but i've written so little creatively this year that when i am in a mood like i was last night i'm loathe to stop myself from writing more. Like i said though i ran out of steam a little after 3, but i still wasn't all that tired. It was then that i remembered something i'd seen on Twitter earlier that day but dismissed as impractical. Frank Turner was playing a gig in Brooklyn, New York yesterday evening and he'd posted a link on his twitter page where the entire gig would be streamed live from 3am onwards.
It may have been late but a chance to watch a Frank Turner gig live, even if on a computer screen rather than in person, isn't something i was going to miss out on. Here is the link to why i think the Internet is incredible; for two hours i sat watching a live video of a man playing a gig on the other side of the Atlantic, talking to other fans who were watching the gig via the stream and just enjoying this sense that distances were somehow made smaller by the web. The picture and sound quality was great to say it was a live stream and it made it all worth while staying up that late when i got to watch him perform one of my favourite songs of his - 'Smiling at strangers on trains'. I've never seen it performed live and, as someone who values live music pretty highly and Frank Turner equally so, it was a big deal for me.
The sense of being connected with people thousands of miles away was a more intense version of the feeling i get when i look on the statistics bit of this blog and see that it was read by people in Singapore, China and Indonesia. I'll never meet these people, i almost certainly have very little in common, yet on the far side of the world there are people who've read things i've written. It's a cool concept.
An extreme example of this inter-connectivity is the role the Internet has played in the so called 'Arab Spring'. Social networking sites have allowed oppressed communities to organise protests and mobilise people in a manner that the various "security" forces of the region simply weren't prepared for. It also allowed people to get their stories heard by the wider world even as governments desperately attempted to stifle the flow of news in and out of their countries. Though their problems are all very different and each situation is unique, the revolutionaries in different countries drew inspiration and practical advice from each other, for example Tunisian protesters advising their counterparts in other countries how to deal with tear gas. The Internet didn't cause these revolutions or even inspire them, the reasons for the unrest in the region goes back much longer and are much deeper than that, but it facilitated them, it offered citizens a weapon to fight back with against repressive governments.
The Internet's undoubtedly got it's flaws; it offers people anonymity to be crueller than they'd ever dare be in person, people feel free to insult and threaten other people from the safety of their computer keyboards, never having to face up to the consequences of their actions. Even the most cursory glance at the average YouTube video will show you that the old adage "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all" isn't really acknowledged online. The song 'Friday' by Rebecca Black is a terrible song, but the level of abuse thrown at this teenage girl by people who get some sort of kick out of writing the most horrible thing they can think of is just depressing.
I'd write more but one of the consequences of staying up past 5am watching a gig in America is that i'm extremely tired already this evening and i fear if i write any more i'll lose any sense of narrative flow or structure and it'll just become a complete ramble, rather than the traditional partially rambling nature of my blogs.
The song to finish this blog post is the Frank Turner song i mentioned earlier. That feeling of being so close to the answers, yet so far away, especially when it comes to girls, is one i'm more than a little familiar with and that is at least part of the reason i love the song. Plus it's just a good tune.
Today's post is going to be one of those eclectic combinations of thoughts that is probably the most accurate representation of what's going through my mind that the format of a blog will allow.
Firstly i watched Forest play Leicester on Friday evening and i have to say that despite how happy i was with the win, i can't see us winning the play offs even if we scrape into them; we're too mistake prone in defence and no where near clinical enough going forward to threaten any of the teams above us over two legs.
I was frustrated by Davies' team selection yesterday; We're at home against a local rival, it's an opportunity to make a point to the teams around us, eliminate a rival from the pursuit of that final play off spot and build some confidence for the run in, yet he played two defensive midfielders (McKenna and Moussi), with a central midfielder on either wing as well (McGugan and Cohen). As much time as i have for the 4 players he picked as individuals, all 4 of them playing in the same team simply doesn't work. We looked desperately short of width and inventiveness and it was frustrating to watch Davies persevere with it for effectively the entire 90 minutes. We have a good right winger in McCleary and i don't understand why he isn't given more of a chance, especially in home games where we should be really attacking teams, rather than merely setting up not to lose.
I've got a lot of respect for Davies, compared to Megson or Calderwood he's practically god-like, but i get frustrated with how unwilling he is to go on the attack sometimes. 5 wins and 5 defeats gives you more points than 10 draws, a fact that he doesn't seem to appreciate.
A promising element of the match was the debut of Robbie Findley. The American striker came to us injured, then just as he neared fitness around February became injured again. Due to this it's been impossible to know what he might offer us when fit; i've never watched much in the way of MLS and youtube videos are hardly guaranteed to be fair representations of a player's ability. However within moments of coming on he showed signs of being a very good signing; he looked pacy, determined and capable of a bit of skill, three elements we've been lacking in recent months. Earnshaw and Tudgay are useful but inconsistent and slow, Boyd could be good given the right service but we don't play to his strengths, McGoldrick is just poor no matter how much effort he puts in and Tyson may be quick but sadly it's becoming clear he has no idea what to do once he gets into a decent position. Maybe it's the desperation brought on by this lack of consistent quality but i am definitely hopeful that Findley could chip in with a few goals, especially if next season he can stay fit and have a sustained period in the team.
In other news the efforts of the rebels in the Libyan city of Misrata are hugely inspirational; isolated and seemingly out-gunned they have held off Gaddafi's forces since February and are actually occasionally making gains. This is despite daily bombardment from mortars and other artillery as well as the constant threat of sniper fire. Their courage and determination is undoubtedly at least partly born out of a fear of the reprisals the loyalist forces would inflict on the city if they surrendered but this doesn't take anything away from the importance of what they are doing or the respect they deserve.
So far as Britain and NATO's involvement in the conflict is concerned my opinions are less clear cut; the Iraq situation has tainted any questions of intervention regardless of the comparative nobility of this situation. I'd be loathe to see British troops on the ground in Libya, creating another situation where they have to be there for years, taking away from the home grown nature of the revolution. At the same time though i'd feel sick to read about Gaddafi's forces eventually storming Misrata or even Benghazi and crushing the rebellion while the 'West' stood and watched. It's an impossibly delicate decision and is one of the few policy areas that, for the time being at least, i'm not going to judge Cameron on; there is no amount of money that would make me want to have to make those particular decisions. Whatever he decides to do he will be slated by some elements of the media/society in general and what's worst is they will have a legitimate point.
Elsewhere i spotted this story on the Guardian's website - "Tuition fees will deter state school students, admits Cambridge University". My reaction was a simple, "Well, DUH." May not be my most eloquent moment but it's perfectly accurate. The idea that charging £9,000 a year was going to increase the number of state school students attempting to get into the most prestigious universities was one born utterly outside of reality.
The last thing i want to mention is the fantastic storm that my area of Sheffield enjoyed this afternoon; after a week of beautifully warm sunshine mother nature decided to surprise me today. The perfect BBQ weather of the past few days was replaced with thunder and torrential hail storms. It was almost surreal in how abruptly different it was to the weather i've become used to recently and i've rarely seen hail that heavy or dramatic; my mind almost immediately reminded me of the scene in Tokyo in the film 'The Day After Tomorrow'. The fact that about 3 hours later we'd returned to blue skies and a mild evening only added to the peculiar nature of the afternoon's weather.
To finish this blog i'll post a song that is so bad it rivals Rebecca Black's classic "Friday". It's called "My Jeans" and it's by a girl named Jenna Rose. I post it not because i want to join the ranks of people who've posted frankly disgusting insults and threats to either girl for simply making a music video via the anonymous medium of the internet, but because there is a simple pleasure in any art form being produced so terribly; the film that's so bad it becomes good (Dead Snow and Volcano spring to mind), the TV show so utterly inane it is bizarrely watchable (The first couple of seasons of Big Brother for example) or the play so poorly acted and directed it becomes entertainingly farcical (one performance of Romeo and Juliet i saw at the Lyceum would fit this description). So here it is - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DwT_2QQU64 - enjoy, despair or both, it's your choice.
I've decided to write each of these things as separate blog posts so that they stand in their own right and don't detract from each other.
This is what, to my eyes at least is the most important thing happening in the world right now. The Middle East Protests. Since December 17th when Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26 year old street vendor, set himself on fire in Tunisia, protests have developed in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Iran, rumours of protests in Jordan and Morocco. Reports have come out today of a man in Senegal setting himself on fire in what has to be assumed to be a deliberate reference to Bouazizi's deliberate immolation. In all these countries people are marching, and in many fighting and dying in pursuit of a concept we in the west proudly boast about yet far too often take for granted, Democracy. Such a basic premise, the idea that everyone's voices should be heard within a nation, that people's rights should be respected, that governments should serve, rather than exploit the people of the nation. Horrific scenes are unfolding day by day (if anyone doubts just how horrific they can watch this video from Bahrain, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fwnUQcKXmMM but it is very graphic so consider yourself warned), the worst of which seems to be in Bahrain and Libya, where there are reports of government officials explaining that if people engage in the protests they are "committing suicide".
One of the uncomfortable truths for the 'west' is that a number of these governments that people are attempting to overthrow, are ones which have been supported financially, and with military supplies, by ourselves, especially the United States and the UK; Egypt and the Bahrain are the primary examples of this. I've been trying to remain up to date with the news from these states (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/feb/18/middle-east-protests-live-updates) has been particularly useful in this regard. I am under no illusions about the likelihood that in all these cases, or even any, the people will get the government their revolutionary spirit merits. History has taught us often enough that revolutions often only provoke cycles of violence that only come to an end when someone equally as dictatorial as the person kicked out in the first place. However i hope (and if i was religious i'd consider this something well worth a whole heap of prayers) that at least some of those brave people find a form of democracy that makes all their efforts worthwhile.
I can't imagine the courage it takes to go out onto the streets and protest in states like the ones mentioned above. So many brave men and women are putting their freedom and their lives at risk, simply in pursuit of the freedoms we hold dear. I hope it doesn't get any worse, but it seems almost inevitable that it will for the time being.
I have to hope that at some point in the future this unrest will die down because the majority, but preferably all, of the governments which have ruled that region with violence, corruption and nepotism have been replaced with something closer to the democracy we hold dear. It may be a naive hope, but it would seem cruel to hope for anything less.
I'm going to cover a few different topics in this blog, i had several things i wanted to write about but none of them particularly in enough depth to justify an individual post.
First up - EGYPT
Yesterday saw Hosni Mubarak step down after 30 years of dictatorial rule as Egypt's president. It was the outcome that so many Egyptians had been bravely pursuing over the last few weeks. In a movement that mirrored in so many ways the revolution in Tunisia that preceded it, a huge proportion of the population rose up against a regime which had become synonymous with corruption, unemployment, brutality, repression and nepotism. The revolution was organised to a large degree on the internet, through facebook and twitter and has been a wonderfully powerful example of the innate power and potential within any populace. I'll leave the description of the actual day to a journalism much more capable of explaining this momentous day, Robert Fisk, a reporter for the Independent who lives in the Middle East (in Lebanon) and knows an awful lot more about the situation than i do - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/robert-fisk-a-tyrants-exit-a-nations-joy-2212487.html . I really hope the Egyptian people get the government their revolutionary efforts have deserved. I'm trying to ignore my natural cynicism about revolutions, hoping that the lessons of history prove irrelevant and that the removal of Mubarak doesn't simply lead to another dictator or a permanent military leadership. For now though i'm just happy that Mubarak is gone, that the passion, and in a tragic number of cases, lives of the Egyptians that took part in this revolution has not been in vain and that it is yet another example of people refusing to settle for the government they have.
Secondly - The Fighter
Saw this film on Wednesday and i have to say i was VERY impressed. I'm not the biggest fan of sports films in general, and find boxing films even less appealing normally as i've never been able to muster any passion for that particular sport. I have a lot of respect for it, it's incredibly tactical, it requires a level of physical fitness few sports demand and it has the potential to be incredibly dramatic. Saying all that though, i've never really connected with it. I've watched several boxing matches and though as i said i respect the endeavour, i don't really enjoy it.
The Fighter however is an excellent sports movie and a superb boxing movie. For once the challenge facing the 'hero' (Micky) isn't his own demons, but the demon's of the people around him, especially his mother and his former boxer brother (Dicky). The family dynamics were portrayed brilliantly, the dilemma of having to balance your own interests and your family's hopes perfectly displayed. It also taps into that staple of American cinema, the fear of being trapped into a particular future. As fears go it's up there with the fear of terrorists and the fear of a liberal social agenda for many Americans.
The script is good, the shooting is excellent (mixing standard cinematic techniques with documentary film making and elements of sports camera work) but it is the central performances that make this film superb. Though the entire cast is great, the film relies on 4 performances in particular to achieve the quality this film offers.
Bale (Dicky) will get many of the headlines and the awards for his portrayal of a man whose potential was destroyed by addiction and weak will power. From the moment he first appears on screen, shockingly thin and bursting with nervous energy, it is obvious that this is a long way away from the Batman performances that offer very little for him to work with. He is brilliant throughout, capturing a whole rang of conflicting emotions and motivations with all the subtlety of a truly great actor, which perhaps he is, time will tell.
Equally important are the performances of Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. Adams plays Micky's romantic interest and is a wonderfully atypical romantic lead. She's powerful, spirited and gets some of the best lines in the entire film. The scenes involving her and Micky's objectionable sisters (there's a lot of them) are some of the funniest, filled with tension and brilliant put downs. Leo is superb as Micky's mother, playing a deliberately dislikeable role excellently. She could in many ways be considered to be the villain of the piece (don't worry, this isn't a spoiler of any value) yet the performance has enough complexity that i never dismissed her as without redemption despite her manipulative role throughout.
It may lack the drama of the aforementioned three, but Wahlberg's performance as Micky, the boxer at the centre of this tale, is superb. He ties the whole plot together, offering a stable yet intriguing centre to the chaotic relationships around him. The film wouldn't work without that performance, it would feel like a collection of caricatures, yet it will not gain any awards most likely and will get little critical recognition. It is like the classic comedy scenario, the funny man wouldn't be anywhere near as amusing without the straight man to play off, in the same way none of the other performances would reach the heights they do without Wahlberg's influence. As with any good sports movie, you are rooting for him throughout, but there is an impressive depth to his character that i feel set this apart from the majority of sports movies.
Thirdly - Music
This bit is just a selection of recommendations. A collection of bands and artists that i consider worth a listen. There's an old favourite who i always try to champion, Frank Hamilton, who plays superb acoustic folk music with lyrics that capture a very English sense of romance. There's Hannah Trigwell, an acoustic singer from Leeds with huge potential who i hope gets the recognition her talent deserves. The new White Lies album is excellent, capturing the epic quality and catchy hooks that the first album delivered while moving on enough to be praise worthy in it's own respect. I've really been enjoying the new Boxer Rebellion album as well, subtle and in places atmospheric, yet with an extremely enjoyable eye for a tune. The last one i'm going to mention in this post is the Cee Lo Green album, that man has the voice of a god and an ability to create a song that you don't even mind getting stuck in your head.
Finally - Football
I'm starting to get properly nervous about the Forest v QPR match. Any game away at the league leaders is a big one, but especially as all the teams around us managed to win today it puts more pressure on us. If i'm being honest i'd take a defeat tomorrow if we could win the 3 after as i feel they're going to be more important in the grand scheme of things. I don't really mind whether we win the league, so long as we go up automatically. As with any Forest fan i really don't want to go through the play offs, they are a simply evil creation. I'm going to the home match against Preston on the 22nd and can't wait, i've well and truly caught the football bug again in the last few months (see an earlier post if you want to read more about my susceptibility to that particular illness).
I watched the Manchester derby today and though it didn't entirely live up to the hype, as games between the big teams in the Premiership go it was pretty entertaining. As much as i'd like to believe otherwise for entertainments sake, i can't see anyone catching Man U now, they're winning regardless of whether they play well and that, as anyone, especially pundits, will tell you repeatedly, is the mark of champions. I'd love it if Arsenal could catch them, i like Wenger and it'd just make a nice change from either Man U or Chelsea winning the league but i can't really see it. At the other end of the league, despite their inspirational comeback i can't see West Ham staying up this year, which is a shame as i have a definite soft spot for them. My tips for the Premiership would be:
