Barcelona (Not So Much Tiki Taka, as) Taken Apart

Barcelona really lost their way in the Champions League when they lost away to Celtic after over 80% possession. The warning bells were ringing loud and clear during the 1st leg away matches at AC Milan and PSG. Despite that Barcelona chose to go to the 1st leg away tie at Bayern without a defensive strategy and started an unfit Messi. Both arrogance and managerial inexperience promptly led to a Munich bloodbath. A more experienced manager might have taken the bold step of setting aside the much vaunted attacking philosophy and opted for a more defensive approach to shore up the obviously creaking defence that was literally on its last legs. Truth is, even under Guardiola Barca struggled tactically. Hiddink, Mourinho and even Di Matteo managed to shut them down to good effect. Hiddink's Chelsea only lost to a last minute Iniesta goal. If ever there was a need for a rethink and to adopt a fusion of tiki taka with more up to date defensive tactics now is the time. The sight of Puyol and Mascherano playing in defence in front of Valdez has not been a good look for tiki taka.

Real Justice

Following Conrad Murray's conviction Michael Jackson family and fans can be heard to yell that justice has been done. And in truth the court has certainly handed down a guilty verdict. But who has this version of justice really served.

From what we now know Michael Jackson was prone to using a range of sedatives, including propofol, to aid his sleeping. It was not Conrad Murray who introduced or recommended it to him. While it is true that Murray did illegally procure it for him, it was Michael Jackson's choice and decision to use it. It is unlikely that he was unaware of the dangers in using it.

However, Murray was the architect of his own downfall. He knew the procurement and use of propofol were illicit but did not exercise better judgement and integrity in deciding whether to enable this dangerous practice. He claimed to be a friend of Michael Jackson and did nothing to stop him continuing to put himself at risk through rampant prescription drug use. He also did not exercise better professional judgement in ageeing to administer dangerous and unnecessary medication.

Had Murray not complied would Jackson have found some other doctor who would have? Most definitely, yes! But the decision was Murray's to make and he made the wrong call. Maybe his inattention contributed to Jackson's death on the day. But in all truth Jackson was his own grim reaper. Murray was merely an accomplice. And as it turns out the classical fall guy.

So exactly where have the scales of justice fallen here? Murray has been called to account for his bad professional practice. That is rightly so and just. But is this justice for Michael Jackson and his family? I doubt it. A lot of them could probably have done a lot more to prevent him meeting the demise he chose for himself.

Intelligence in the UK

Living one's life with these days gives one reason to query so much about the actions and behaviour of so many of those around us. Sometimes its hard to understand the motives of people. However, it is becoming clearer that in most of one's dealings at work, on the streets, in groups and online there does appear to be a waning of intelligence in the UK.

When I was in university great effort was made to explain the difference between inteligence and wisdom. And it is a reasonable distinction. Intelligence being the innate ability to understand relationships between things, and interpret the order that things follow. This ability either remains stagnant or develops and attains new levels with our advancement in years. Wisdom on the other hand, is the application of experience and knowledge gained from interacting over time and groupings. Whether there is a point at which intelligence and wisdom merge into one is a thought for another ramble.

I beleive there is another component of intelligence that is fequently overlooked. For me that is the ability to apply a value system, and and make value based decisions. Now whether we deal with conflicts of morality or choices of preference there is a set of values that should guide us in this. In understanding our view of the world and our place in it our perspective is inherently value based. The effort we put into what we do or achieving our objectives is often dependant on how important we consider the need to do so is. The more committed we are the higher the likelihood that we will understand the elements that drive the activities we enagage in. Or in fact the thoughts we contemplate.

Jessica Ennis: Myth or Mistaken

I'm a big fan of Jessica Ennis. I think she has a pleasant personality and is a great competitor. Leading up to Daegu the story has been about how she was going to win the gold and go on to blaze a golden trail to the 2012 Olympics. She was the reigning world champion so clearly has some good form and ability. She had been performing well during the lead up to the games. She was even confident enough to elect to miss the Commonwealth Games. Ready for gold she certainly she was.

Once the heptathalon started it seemed that after 2 events maybe things weren't going Ennis' way. Fountain, the American got the jump on her after the high jump. By the end of the day Ennis was ahead and looking good. A personal best in the shot put had given her a mojor boost. However, the second day proved decisive. And a poor javelin series put her out of contention for the gold. She went on to run a personal best in the 800 metres but it wasnt enough to deny Chernova.

As it turns out even Ennis personal best would not have beaten Chernova on the day. I dont know what went on in the Ennis training camp but I wonder whether they had Chernova in their sights. I dont think that Ennis came into the competition believing she would need a personal best to win it. And if that is the case then her preparations fell a little bit short of what was required. Possibly she and her coach got carried away with all the press adulation and took their eye of the competition. They did so at their peril. Chernova literally shoved her aside. Chernova put in a solid performance but it was no supperhuman effort. No records were broken or threatened. No sensational peaks were attained. So it seems all it has taken to beat Ennis is a solid yet unspectacular performance. Am sure Ennis will go away and prepare harder but I am sad to say if Chernova improves just a little bit then there is almost no way Ennis will beat her to gold in London 2012.

Cynical

Recently the word cynical has cropped up quite a few time in the news. A few cases recent and past come to mind. The shutting down of News of the World. The backing down from prosecuting DSK for rape. David Cameron criticising Rebekah Brookes for not stepping down when he wasnt decisive with Coulson, Laws or Lord Young. Obasanjo's regime in Nigeria, paying off the national debt during its last years in under the stewardship of Okonjo-Iweala; two people who sought to profit from currying favour with international finance bodies. All these were cases of people taking calculated actions to subvert the public consciousness and secure some advantage for themselves.

There is the notion that cycnicism is something that particular people with very specific personality traits is prone too. It is based on the assumption that by and large all people are, or aspire to be, altruistic and compassionate by nature. To be truly cynical you had to be a misanthrope. This is why people found Machiaveli's The Prince so shocking. It went against every notion of human nature that people held to be true.

Even though babies are born innocent and guileless their first human thought and desire is to manipulate and acquire. In short, they set off on a mission of cynical exploitation. Of their mother's breast, people around them and their environment. So as it happens, cynicism is instilled at birth. Therefore all human beings are cycnical by nature.

Rather than being the preserve of the misanthropic and psychopathic, cynicism is actually a natural human capacity that is triggered during significant events or at key moments. Its a natural defensive mechanism that all humans call upon when they feel their self image or status is under threat. People with low self esteem tend to invert the process but they still have that rich wellspring of cynicism. It just so happens its themselves they find so unimpressive. So they exploit themselves in order to impress others.

It may come as no surprise that I have always been described as cycnical. I used to think that I was a breed apart. But I guess am just a regular joe doing what comes naturally to all of us.

Can I Get A Moment of Clarity

I had the opportunity to catch a little bit of Snoop Doggs show on a popular music channel recently. It seemed to really hark back to the old minstrel days just without the black face. No real creativity, intelligence, humour or edge to it. Just Snoop playing it up to the cameras and acting the glorified uneducated pimp.

Given that he is a truly talented rapper it makes you wonder how low the art form can go. From the looks of that show I guess there is some depth still to go. Its a shame that Black people still feel the only way they can relate to the mainstream is to caricature and ridicule themselves.

From Enemy Combatant to Tortured Terrorist

The case of Binyam Mohamed raises so many divergent thoughts that’s its impossible to even take a single view on the deeper issues that lie at the heart of the matter. However, one thing is true and indisputable; his detention and subsequent ill treatment were wrong. There are a lot of things that can be said and a lot of emotive words that can be dredged up to describe how wrong it was. However, one thing is clear, and that is that there is no justification for what the US ant its allies embarked upon as they sought to address the issue of people captured or arrested during the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is no doubt that Binyam Mohamed was arrested on reasonable grounds for suspicion. Maybe there might be a case for suggesting that the intensity of operations may have made the investigation of any claims against any such detainees a low priority. However, natural justice would suggest that there was a need to ensure that any detainees had their cases dealt with expeditiously. It was always possible some of them might have been innocent, and therefore there swift release would have been essential to maintain the rule of law. It is also possible that others may have been a rich source of intelligence in the fight against terrorism. It would have been tactically astute then to seek information from them that might have helped the campaigns and reduced fatalities.

It does seem that the US was content to treat any captured people as though they were guilty and deprive them of any due process. To all intent and purposes it appears the intention was to exercise as much retribution on any such prisoners as was possible to get away with. The general treatment of detainees has been completely against any notion of natural justice and in violation of any rules of law. If these people were innocent of the any crimes then their continued detention has been inhumane and immoral. If they were guilty of any crimes then the US owed it to the duty to public safety to put them on trial and have them dealt with through due process.

The case of Binyam Mohamed does leave one extremely conflicted. This is a man who fled political repression in Ethiopia and sought asylum in the UK. It would appear that he traveled to Pakistan with the intention of exploring the possibility of getting involved in some form of militia activity. He must have known that attending a military training camp could only likely lead to some form of terrorist activity. So it would appear that he was on the verge of joining what would have amounted to some form of radical movement that would have been promoting violent disorder. While he appears not be guilty of any specific terror related crimes, it seems he was harbouring intentions that are likely to, or could possibly have led him down that path. Maybe he was a young man burning with religious zeal or he just found himself swept up by a set of circumstances that compelled him to act. Whatever it was he found himself confronted by an enemy who were ready to do whatever it took and by any means necessary to combat the threat they perceived. There has always been a complacency amongst terrorists that they can sneak in and out of countries commit atrocities and then be treated ‘softly’ by the local justice systems if they are caught. Afterall when you have embarked on a campaign that demands an eye for an eye the rule of law is more concerned that you are treated fairly when you have been charged with multiple murders, you might be entitled to believe the costs are worth it. Unfortunately, the tide has changed and now terrorists can be rest assured that they will reap the whirlwind they have sown should they be caught. Binyam Mohamed certainly had his burning zeal tortuously extinguished. Unfortunately in doing so the moral high ground that had been occupied by the fight against terrorism has been seriously eroded.