Too much media makes for too much speculation.

For closely followed sports teams like Liverpool Football Club, the media and readers' needs for new information can actually be detrimental to the efforts of the teams to implement change. Xabi Alonso's comments regards the arrival of Morientes at Anfield highlights this issue as Cisse and Baros struggle to find consistent form as starting forwards.

Hillsborough Taunts at Millwall

Fighting broke out at the Liverpool v Millwall match earlier this week and the story is circulating that it was taunts about the Hillsborough disaster that set it all off. The fans also said they were subjected to chants about murdered Liverpool hostage Ken Bigley.

Professor Rogan Taylor, head of the Football Research Unit at the University of Liverpool, believes the trouble was undoubtedly related to provocative chanting - "It is unusual to see that level of violence inside a football stadium these days. It was clearly related to the shenanigans of the previous week and the column in the Spectator and the desire of perhaps a handful of Millwall supporters to rile the Liverpool support as much as possible.

"I think it's an example of how the wafflings of an ill-informed fool can help to trigger disorder."

Another Hopeful Day

Most days at Infoware are hopeful - in that every day I am hopeful that my efforts there will someday prove to be well-spent & lucrative. I am hopeful because most days that are spent there aren't lucrative, and consequently I worry if they are well spent. The life of the salesman (or business owner I'd imagine) is a tough haul as there is a limited sense of accomplishment most days. Every day I am plugging away on projects to improve our visibility, writing proposals, trying to build distribution and relationships, doing damage control, doing research and otherwise trying to build the business.

Tomorrow I'm headed to what could be a very important meeting for the firm in the long-term as it could open up some important doors for Infoware in the Ontario market. I've prepared my materials. I've picked my focus. And I'm hopeful.

Liverpool beats Millwall

Apparently Milan Baros can get the job done, scoring two goals in the second half of the match in League Cup play, although the game did see several bookings

Website Finally Updated

My brother Neal has finally updated his site - wonder if he knows it's hard to complain about its status when the reporting features are all busted!

Clinton versus Giuliani

The big guns are out as Rudy Giuliani marches out for Bush and Clinton woos US voters for Kerry. Here is a battle of iconic American personalities, playing out in the dinwindling days of the election.

In the latest reported Iraq Blunder, the IAEA stated today that hundreds of tons of high explosive have gone missing in Iraq.

A European diplomat told The New York Times that Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the IAEA, is "extremely concerned" about the potentially "devastating consequences" of the vanished stockpile.

"The immediate danger" of the lost stockpiles is its potential use by insurgents to make small, but powerful, bombs, an expert told the Times. The expert said the explosives could be transported easily across the Middle East.

According to the Times, the stockpiles missing from Al Qaqaa are the strongest and fastest in common use by militaries around the globe.

The American election hinges on Great Lake States?

Reported in an excellent article on the Economist Website, the US election is getting heated in these its final days. A great deal of emphasis is being placed on the Northern States surrounding the Great Lakes. Bush is expecting to do well with the NRA endorsement in Pennsylvania where kids are let out of school for the first day of hunting season.

Castro Falls... to the ground.

Today, Fidel Castro tripped and fell breaking a knee and arm.

The Truth is out thereBut You won't hear about it.

Viacom, the media powerhouse, has declared itself behind the Republican Party and will now no longer be broadcasting advocacy advertisements on any of its stations (including MTV and Comedy Central). What Freedom! Truly democracy in action! And just think here we all were feeling safe that market forces would rule and alternative views could receive attention if enough cash was throw at the media outlets. Alas, it is not so.

In Way of Explanation

The points dropped by Liverpool FC yesterday were actually a draw against Deportivo in Champions League Play at Anfield. With three games remaining in group play, Liverpool are now in third place with 2 of the games away. If the side is to advance, they will need to pick up one win away... not the easiest task for the side this year.

Reds frustrated as points dropped

Ben frustrated as time zones forgot
No, I didn't hear the match. I messed up the time zone conversion. Agh!

Jon Stewart and Reparations.

Jon Stewart - one of my primary sources for news about the election - was on CNN's Crossfire the other day with right wing hack Tucker Carlson and Bob Novak (the ever so reliable fellow who "outed" CIA operative Valerie Plane in retaliation for her husband's - Ambassador Wilson - anti-White House comments). It was an antagonistic encounter and you can see it here.

And because you didn't demand it - Naomi Klein's new article from the Nation.

[Thanks Amanda]

Huh.

I write this as I head home. It's 9:42 according to my Pocket PC.

Today was a day of ups-and-downs. On the majorly up side, our InCourt article came out today and the review is very favourable. On second reading, perhaps not quite as gushing as I had first thought, but still very positive & useful. It is an excellent first piece of coverage that can be leveraged.

On the down side, two (well really three) things. 1. I'm having some bad feelings about the HK reseller I 've been working with the past few weeks - I'm not sure that we'll be able to make a long-term relationship work. 2. The Australian Shire Council did shaft me in the end - they didn't negotiate in good faith it would seem. 3. The address database we bought is far worse than I imagined - troublesome as I need to do a targeted mailing tomorrow.

So tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I have a meeting in the morning, a mailing to do (& addresses to find ) and the prep of materials for the show for next week. Boxing is in the early evening.

Rolex Spam?

I don't know what it is indicative of, but over the weekend I have received literally dozens of e-mail spam messages selling replica Rolex watches! 

Swing State Rundown

Who better to go to for Swing State info than BBC NEWS?

Lincoln Journal Star

There was a link in Doonesbury to a letter written by Rep. Doug Bereuter in the Lincoln Journal Star.

Canada posts 2004 Surplus

As reported in The Globe and Mail, the latest surplus marks the first time in Canadian history that the federal government has finished seven straight years in the black, a record unmatched by any other Group of Seven nation. As a result, the national debt stood at $501.5-billion at the end of the fiscal year, down from $560-billion in 1998 and the cost of servicing the debt fell by C$1.5 billion to C$36 billion, or to 19 percent of revenue - the ratio peaked at 39 percent in 1991.

Of course, large surpluses get lots of critics but in the end all Canadians will benefit as debt financing costs fall and more tax funds become available for public works (please note no mention of tax reduction). Of course, we really need to address health care funding and funding of cities.

In stark contrast, consider the current state of the economy in the US as deficits soar and government spending (by those anti-government masters, the Republicans) runs unchecked.

England Wins 1-0

BBC SPORT | Football | Photo Galleries | Azerbaijan v England photos
The England team are still tops in Group and Ireland defeated the Faroe Islands 2-0.

The Second Presidential Debate Review

The Third Presidential Debate is tonight, and this could be very interesting as the candidates are polling relatively neck-and-neck. Tonight's topic is domestic policy, which is not a strong suit for the President.

Regarding the Second Debate, Bush said it all - 'I'm Human'. It was all too apparent in that debate as Bush probably couldn't have done himself more harm if he had walked into a buzzsaw. His was not the figure of a composed and informed Commander-in-Chief. Was Kerry good? - well prehaps he was solid and well-prepared. Bush on the other hand was on the defensive and stumbling to address his record. Who can lead, Mr President? Well it may require someone who is steadfast, but having listened to your answers I'd be much happier with someone who is more given to reason.

I know that the 2nd debate is seen as a draw in the press. And for reasons already articulated I'm glad. Let's see if the Kerry camp tonight decides to deliver a knockout punch.

Terror Messages in the $20 bill

Check it out! Is it a Coincidence or Conspiracy?

Oil at $54/barrel

Today The Globe and Mail reports oil at $54/barrell - a record for the NY exchange which has been trading contracts for 21 years. Reasons include Nigeria (which hasn't stopped production) and the effects of hurricances in the Gulf, but bottlenecks at refineries are also a culprit (hmm... who owns the refineries?). The IEA reports that oil use will jump to 82.4M barrels/day up 2M in this year. Prices of $60/barrel are likely as we approach wintertime.

England beats Wales, Beckham Smarter than Expected?

Unsurprisingly, England beat Wales over the weekend as World Cup Qualifying play was underway. The game was pretty one-sided and the pace was slowly tremendously after the early England goal. Much more exciting was the France-Ireland game, which ended in a 0-0 draw. The Irish played extremely well in this fast game, and the passing was tremendous to watch. Bartez' elbow and the failure to send him off may have cost the Irish the match. Canada drew 1-1 with Honduras, again conceding a late eqaulizer. Of course, the Canadians were denied a victory against the same opponents a few weeks ago after some truly terrible referee decisions, so this result isn't very satisfying. After the England match, David Beckham told the Daily Telegraph that his booking was intentional after breaking a rib in a collision with a Welsh player. Beckham is thinking this was a brainy move given that he knew he'd be out with an injury. Brainy? Booking aside, telling everyone is NOT brainy. England plays Azerbaijan tomorrow.

I don't remember it being like this last season, but there is yet more January transfer window speculation today. Now it is Hamann who is linked to a move to Barcelona.

Doonesbury's Honest Voices Reading List

Here's the Poynter Online link that was referenced in today's Doonesbury. Farnaz Fassihi writes about the experience of being a reporter in Iraq (Sept. 29, 2004).

Shakespeare Bullsh*t?

In case you haven't heard, a New Bard has come to replace the Old. Billy Bob Thornton has weighed in on the ever intense "Shakespeare: Is He Crap?" debate, once and for all confirming that the old sausage from Stratford-upon-Avon is a useless tosser and performances of his plays are simply a way for dumb guys to look smart.

Thornton: 'It's enough. Who wants to see it again?' If I wanna hear Shakespeare, I wanna hear Shakespeare do it.''

Rugby Over?

The final run of the summer was canceled in the end when we couldn't muster enough guys. We'll have to work on staying in touch over the winter - I know I will see some at the Booty Smacker show in November (although some might be difficult to recognize in their disco duds).

Kerry Ahead in AP Poll

AP | New poll shows Kerry in lead
Tonight's debate may be all that more interesting considering that the Bush campaign seems to be struggling. A hard debate tonight may knock the Republicans off the ropes and down for the election - or would this be too soon? There are still many weeks left to yet fight. When it comes to deciding what will be the deciding factor for the election, I can't decide whether it will be the events in Iraq or Bush's domestic record. The employment numbers out today don't look good. The GOP is in trouble on domestic policy issues as they are in defensive mode and they don't have much to defend.

LFC News - Players just getting settled!

As Spanish signing Josemi talks about life in Liverpool and Kewell swears he'll silence his critics, one just can't help but get the sense that the Club is setting itself up for a rebuilding year. I disagree with Lawrenson - I think it might be time for Sami to move on.

Cheney-Edwards Debate a Draw?

AP Wire | 10/06/2004 | Viewers See Cheney-Edwards Debate As Draw
In retrospect, I'd have to agree, as Cheney was able to survive attacks on his record and Edwards fumbled at times but also zinged Cheney on a few items. Given that Cheney is far more articulate on the issues compared to his Boss, his inability to really address Domestic Policy issues probably doesn't bode well for the President in the next debate. The moderator's questions were good, but her handling of the format was shambolic.

Ad Scam Reports

As reported in today's Globe and Mail, the Auditors' report continues to show evidence of a culture of self-interest within the Liberal Governemt. With each new day, Chuck Guite's lies become increasingly transparent. Trips to Montreal by Guite coinciding with Canadien matches are only one of many self-serving "projects" made at the public expense.

History Made Today.

SpaceShipOne has won the X-Prize becoming the first civilian spacecraft to make back-to-back trips into space. Here's the video

Canada to keep North Free - of others.

In tomorrow's Throne Speech, the minority government of Paul Martin will unveil plans to establish Canada's sovereignty over the high North. One major issue of contention is Canada's claims over Arctic seaways - with the melting of the Polar Icesheet, the long sought Northwest Passage may be commercially viable. (although potentially an environmental disaster in the making)

The Rafalution

Another less-than-thrilling match on Sunday as LFC fell to Chelsea 1-0. The Liverpool Echo pretty much sums up the match and the state of the squad with this article.

eye - Weltschmerz - 09.30.04

Kerry Strong, Bush on Message, No Knockout

Here are a collection of post debate analyses...

In my view, Kerry came across as strong (stronger than expected) and was able to rock Bush but not knock him down. Given what should be the simplicity of his message, this is a disappointment. Bush was rattled by the format and his cutaways showed a man not able to handle criticism, but once into the debate seemed to gain composure and stuck to message.

BBC NEWS | World | Kerry, Bush clash over Iraq war
Guardian | First blood to Kerry in TV debate
CNN | Bush, Kerry: Nukes most serious threat
FOX News | Both Claim Debate Win; Polls Favor Kerry

Also for your reference - the Full Transcript of the Debate.

A Telling Match?

Liverpool v Chelsea
With Liverpool's struggling to find consistent form, I think this weekend's match is going to be critical in determining whether the current side is ready to step confidently into the top tier of English football rather than tryign to look that they're not tottering on the edge. On paper everything runs against the Reds, so we must ask which team is going to run out on the field - the dominators of West Brom and Monaco or the lead-footed ManU and Bolton opponents?