Another of the Tories' "rising stars" has found himself compromised by circumstances; some that maybe he shouldn't have allowed himself to be found in. Aidan Burley, MP for Cannock Chase, was involved in preparations for the stag do for an old Oxbridge friend at the French ski resort of Val de Thorens and it has been alleged that he helped to make arrangements for (and attended) a Nazi-themed evening with the sourcing of an SS uniform for the prospective groom.
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| Val de Thorens - Nazi Stronghold? No, not at all. |
Now whether Burley (who was recentlly elevated to a junior ministerial post as PPS to Justine Greening at Transport) did any of this is immaterial really. The merest whiff of something as distasteful as Nazism is enough to get you canned (or caned, I suppose, in the case of Max Mosely). Mind you, it was probably a greater crime in the eyes of the Tory Central Office Ministry of Truth that he might have been involved in organising something in France and, what's more, on behalf of a friend with a suspiscously French-sounding name, M. Fournier. Downing Street was accused by Labour of "dithering" over the sacking for a few days when in reality they were satisfied with Burley's contrition and a lengthy letter of apology to the (outraged) Jewish Chronicle until the story of the SS Uniform emerged. Then it was "off with his head".
Burley might have what is considered to be, in these days of po-facedness, a dodgy past inasmuch as he was a member of some all-male society at St John's College, Oxford called 'The King Charles Drinking Club' for which some commentators could almost be forgiven for inserting "...just like Bullingdon...". During the do in Val de Thorens, Fournier's party were overheard "goading" a French waiter before moving on to a British-themed pub at the resort called the 'Frog & Roast Beef' where, hopefully, they were goaded by some French people in return. Only fair. OK, the references made at the party to Hitler, Himmler, the Third Reich plus the one idiot who thought it was OK to dress up in the uniform (like one other idiot Prince did a few years back) was at best ill-conceived. Burley's real mistake was just being proximate to the action.
A bit like the intense media scrutiny over a few rugby players getting pissed after a match down-under, a bunch of privileged toffs getting pissed in France and being politically incorrect is no story in itself. But add a Tory Boy (Burley is 32 - going on 16) and we get all po-faced. I have no idea whether Burley is a good MP or whether he had the mettle and ability to slide upwards through government, but in the latter case, I doubt we'll ever know now. It's a wonder there's anyone left at Westminster given that the slightest gaffe can ruin political careers and the people that could probably do a great job in Parliament or Government and that are also equally free of public and media opprobrium wouldn't touch the job with the proverbial barge pole.
Maybe we should just laugh at the silly boy - you never know, he might have just been able to learn from his mistake but, no...he must be cast out.
And then there's the tiresome case(s) of racism in football. The Football Associations in Britain have, to be fair, done a reasonable job of reducing racism in the game or, at least, of making the point that they have. In my long experience of attending professional matches in the English Premier League, racsim these days is largely self-policed with occasional interventions by stewards brave enough to stand up to the remaining thuggish elements that appear to still hold opinions that were once prevalent in that it was de rigeur to hoot like a cartoon chimpanzee when a black player was on the ball or to go to the nearest fruit and veg stall on the way to ground to stock up bananas rather than garnering sharpened coins or glass bottles to throw onto the pitch.
So now the spotlight is on the players of this once "beautiful game" made ugly by the wealth of the often moronic rich who have run out of toys. I learned on the BBC today that the Venky family, who bought the beleaguered Blackburn Rovers recently, were of the opinion that Premier League clubs "...could never be relegated..." So much for the FA's 'Fit and Proper Persons' rules for those that wish to own a club.
The two cases that have resulted in po-faced responses surround Liverpool's Luis Suarez and Chelsea's John Terry. Suarez has been found guilty of misconduct as a result of calling Patrice Evra a name that the authorities deemed to be racially offensive. In the light of Sepp Blatter's stance on racist abuse basically being all part and parcel of the game and that players should just shake hands at the end and forget about it, the FA decided to underpin their ridicule of the loony Blatter's remarks by handing down an eight-match ban to Suarez. Apart from annoying the hell out of Liverpool FC who have relied hugely on the Uruguayan so far this season, the FA have been accused of po-faced show-boating. And rightly so. The case against Suarez seems to have revolved around whether the word 'Negrito' is racially offensive. It probably is, but I don't know. Sitting where I used to at my home club, quite close to the action, the abuse and sledging meted out by the players upon their opposite numbers is no better or worse than the usual garbage you can hear on the park at weekends, liberally splattered (or 'Blattered, maybe) with f-words, c-words, questions over parentage and sexual orientation and, on the racist spectrum, plenty of references to a player's home country especially if that happened to be Wales. I cheerfully recall Robbie Savage living up to his moniker one game when he was called an "f***ing Welsh sheep-shagging c**t" by one of our defenders. In deference to the terpsichorean Savage, I won't repeat his response but it was an hilarious rejoinder, both barbed and self-deprecating at the same time and received a round of applause from those that could hear him even though it was aimed at one of our own. Good on him. That's how to deal with it. And I wish the boy every success in his new media career...
There are a lot of things wrong with professional football; wages spirals, prima-donna behaviour, WaGs, cheating, abuse of referees, escalating ticket prices (and resultant declining sales), and so much more including corruption, illegal betting and the sleaziness of some agents. Yet news coverage today (21 December) has been almost exclusively given over to the decisions on Suarez from the FA and on Terry from the CPS...along with some hate-reporting on Piers Moron, of course, which always makes good press. A good day to bury bad news then, like Kim Jong Un having his finger on a really scary button.
The CPS have decided that it is "...in the public interest..." to prosecute John Terry for the alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand. The FA must be rubbing their hands with glee as the tortuous process of the criminal justice system means that they won't have to act on this allegation for months on end and Chelsea FC will be equally pleased seeing as their ageing, lumbering central defender can play on for the same number of months given that he is, of course, innocent for the time being and maybe for ever (unlike his dad). He might even still be able to play for England at the European 2012 Championships, but only if Fabio Capello has become blind and/or mad in the meantime. Nothing to do with racism allegations...Terry's just not good enough anymore on the pitch.
But is it in the public interest or just "...of interest to the public..."? The latter, I'd venture. Famous footballer allegedly calls a another famous footballer, a black one, a name that might be construed as racist. OK, it could be a big deal in professional football in a sort of thin-end-of-a-wedge kind of way but some of the po-faced reaction has been laughable; from both sides of the argument. There'll only be one winner and it will be neither Terry, or Ferdinand, or the CPS, the FA or the some hack saying "I told you so". Nope - it'll be the lawyer with the most ludicrous fee structure, as usual. All the rest will lose money, time and face. What a mess.
BBC Radio 5 Live ran the concurrent stories of Suarez and Terry non-stop while interviewing various "experts" on the potential ramifications. I was listening to Richard Bacon's show as this unfolded, partly because I wanted to hear his interview with Bear Grylls, just to hear if the adventuring boy scout could be even more sanctimonious and hyperbolic as he was the last time; he didn't disappoint. Grylls is held up to be some paragon of the great outdoor pursuit generation as opposed to the media-savvy, self-promoting income generator that he has become. Bacon gloried in the "fact" that more than 1.3 billion people had watched Grylls' TV programmes with his biggest audience now being in the USA. No suprprise there then, as the lard-arse americans probably thought they were going to see a feature on grilling bears (a-la Palin). If William Hill would take the bet, I'd put £1,000 on Ray Mears to kick the shit out of Grylls any day.
But I shouldn't be po-faced about any of these people. Maybe I should just go to northern Italy and face the Po. That'd be fair...
Burley might have what is considered to be, in these days of po-facedness, a dodgy past inasmuch as he was a member of some all-male society at St John's College, Oxford called 'The King Charles Drinking Club' for which some commentators could almost be forgiven for inserting "...just like Bullingdon...". During the do in Val de Thorens, Fournier's party were overheard "goading" a French waiter before moving on to a British-themed pub at the resort called the 'Frog & Roast Beef' where, hopefully, they were goaded by some French people in return. Only fair. OK, the references made at the party to Hitler, Himmler, the Third Reich plus the one idiot who thought it was OK to dress up in the uniform (like one other idiot Prince did a few years back) was at best ill-conceived. Burley's real mistake was just being proximate to the action.
| "I'm sorry...I've no idea who this chap is and I never did..." |
Maybe we should just laugh at the silly boy - you never know, he might have just been able to learn from his mistake but, no...he must be cast out.
And then there's the tiresome case(s) of racism in football. The Football Associations in Britain have, to be fair, done a reasonable job of reducing racism in the game or, at least, of making the point that they have. In my long experience of attending professional matches in the English Premier League, racsim these days is largely self-policed with occasional interventions by stewards brave enough to stand up to the remaining thuggish elements that appear to still hold opinions that were once prevalent in that it was de rigeur to hoot like a cartoon chimpanzee when a black player was on the ball or to go to the nearest fruit and veg stall on the way to ground to stock up bananas rather than garnering sharpened coins or glass bottles to throw onto the pitch.
So now the spotlight is on the players of this once "beautiful game" made ugly by the wealth of the often moronic rich who have run out of toys. I learned on the BBC today that the Venky family, who bought the beleaguered Blackburn Rovers recently, were of the opinion that Premier League clubs "...could never be relegated..." So much for the FA's 'Fit and Proper Persons' rules for those that wish to own a club.
 |
| "Hey, Michel...are you really sure this is a John Terry replica kit?" |
There are a lot of things wrong with professional football; wages spirals, prima-donna behaviour, WaGs, cheating, abuse of referees, escalating ticket prices (and resultant declining sales), and so much more including corruption, illegal betting and the sleaziness of some agents. Yet news coverage today (21 December) has been almost exclusively given over to the decisions on Suarez from the FA and on Terry from the CPS...along with some hate-reporting on Piers Moron, of course, which always makes good press. A good day to bury bad news then, like Kim Jong Un having his finger on a really scary button.
| CPS: Serving Justice or Public Titillation? |
The CPS have decided that it is "...in the public interest..." to prosecute John Terry for the alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand. The FA must be rubbing their hands with glee as the tortuous process of the criminal justice system means that they won't have to act on this allegation for months on end and Chelsea FC will be equally pleased seeing as their ageing, lumbering central defender can play on for the same number of months given that he is, of course, innocent for the time being and maybe for ever (unlike his dad). He might even still be able to play for England at the European 2012 Championships, but only if Fabio Capello has become blind and/or mad in the meantime. Nothing to do with racism allegations...Terry's just not good enough anymore on the pitch.
But is it in the public interest or just "...of interest to the public..."? The latter, I'd venture. Famous footballer allegedly calls a another famous footballer, a black one, a name that might be construed as racist. OK, it could be a big deal in professional football in a sort of thin-end-of-a-wedge kind of way but some of the po-faced reaction has been laughable; from both sides of the argument. There'll only be one winner and it will be neither Terry, or Ferdinand, or the CPS, the FA or the some hack saying "I told you so". Nope - it'll be the lawyer with the most ludicrous fee structure, as usual. All the rest will lose money, time and face. What a mess.
| "Grylled Bacon?" |
But I shouldn't be po-faced about any of these people. Maybe I should just go to northern Italy and face the Po. That'd be fair...
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