2013-05-20T14:54:40-04:00 Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=marcus-middleton Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Marcus Middleton Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2564797 2013-01-29T11:45:25-05:00 2013-03-31T05:12:01-04:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
The 'old media' mediums have had their day in the sun. Rome is certainly on fire and instead of evolving, the 'old media' is mostly happy to sit back, play the fiddle and watch the world burn.

I'm not happy about it... Working as a TV Journalist myself, I know that unless we can institute dramatic change, I'm going to find myself fifty, retrenched and unemployable. Because I never planned on doing anything else with my life, this is all I wanted to be and this is all I know.

In a media unchanged, I can see my future clearly. Twenty years from now, I'll be sitting in a bar, midday on a Wednesday, drinking beers with former road toll collectors and elevator operators while we all ponder together where we belong in the world. That's right, if we don't do anything, in my future I'm 'Norm from Cheers'. Right now the smartest career move I can make is to start buying weekly lottery tickets.

Because for the nightly news bulletin, the party is over, everyone's going home and we're just trying to tap what's left of the keg to convince people to stay. Despite what the critics say (namely those on Fox) Stewart's show, which is rebroadcast on Comedy Channels all over the world is NOT an indication we're getting 'more stupider'... In fact, it proves for the first time since television was invented, the audience is getting smart. The audience doesn't need to be told the news anymore, because for the first time, they already know it.

Back to my drinking buddy, the elevator operator. I remember when I was a child, my Uncle took me to a department store in Sydney and told me there used to be a guy with a lever and he'd stop at every floor and tell you what's there. I couldn't understand this concept. All I'd ever known was to get in, press a button and decide where I wanted to go for myself.

Soon, I'll tell my children a similar story; that is once upon a time, at exactly the same time every evening someone would come on the TV and tell us what happened in the world that day... I can see it now they'll think that's insane!

Have you ever watched a nightly news bulletin or read a newspaper and had Déjà vu? It's because what you read, what you see, what you hear... You saw and heard it all 12 hours earlier.

Anyone with a smart phone, a £10 per month pre-paid mobile plan and access to free Wi-Fi at Starbucks now has the same access to information as us Journo's sitting in our £100 Million newsrooms complete with fancy helicopters and satellites. Do me a favour, buy a newspaper tomorrow (if you still know where to get them) and scan the first 27 pages and I promise you... you're going to find it filled with stories that broke on the internet the afternoon before.

It wasn't even broken by their competitors! Newspapers now publish the very same stories they put in their next day's papers on their very own websites at 4pm the afternoon before, and they wonder why circulation is down! The Major TV networks aren't much better... When you get home tonight, watch a TV News bulletin and you'll find it's filled with the same stories that you read that day on your computer while pretending to do work in the office.

If however, you're some kind of pure 'Mythical Unicorn' and don't surf the web on company time, you'll still find TV News is still old hat, because I am certain you will have at least read or watched the events of the day on your phone as you tried to avoid eye-contact with other passengers on the bus or train trip home.

It's not just in the UK, around the world; major television news bulletins are becoming redundant. This is how the news has changed. The first war I remember in my lifetime was 'Operation Desert Storm'. I remember waiting all day for the 7pm ABC (BBC to you) News to learn exactly what had been happening in the Gulf that day.

Yet in 2011, when the most evil terrorist of the 21st Century was 'taken out' in Abbottabad, President Obama's historic speech from East Room should have been the single moment that defined this Century, yet it lost all meaning- Can anyone even remember the words?

Because we didn't have to wait for a news bulletin or a historic speech, there was no "This is our finest hour", there was no "Tear down this wall" and there was no "day that will live in infamy". The speech and news of Bin Laden's death was over before it began, thanks to 'The Rock' who so eloquently announced to the world on Twitter "America Brought It!"

In the history of mankind there have only ever been two forces so evil that their bodies had to be taken out and dumped at sea. They were of course Osama Bin Laden and Megatron. Yet rather than hear it from the leader of the Free World, we heard it from a Pro-Wrestler, and I'm sure his language wasn't vetted by the State Department.

If you monitor the internet and have access to CNN, BBC World, MSNBC, Sky News, Al Jazeera, & yes... even Fox News then the Network Nightly TV news bulletins are now as tedious as a trip to the dentist. A News Anchor throwing to packages and sitting there reading you the news in an order they deem important is just as redundant as getting in an elevator and being told "third floor, menswear!" Like picking your own floor in a lift, we can now pick what news we want ourselves and when we want it. Same goes for newspapers... I suspect if we didn't need something for Guinea Pigs and Budgies to crap on, we would have stopped printing the damn things years ago!

In 2005, the UK Newspaper industry was worth £8 Billion. The most conservative forecasts have that figure falling to £5.49 Billion by 2015.TV is not immune either, numbers suggest that for 2012, TV ad revenue in the UK was forecast at £3.56 Billion. In that same period Internet spending was expected to hit £5.35 Billion. So as the smart people always say, follow the money.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE television news... It's my passion, calling and career. It just needs to adapt. Forget comedians, the funniest men and women I know in the world are ALL journalists... But they've been trained so that once you switch a camera on, they become as funny as the colour beige. When appropriate, TV needs to let those personalities loose. TV News needs to give the public a reason to watch, because the facts, they already know.

I've had the privilege of working with some of the most brilliant journalists, incredible News Directors, most talented cameramen and editors in the business. What they can do when telling a story is nothing short of magic. Yet since the day Nathan Rothschild brilliantly made millions off the Battle of Waterloo, news has always been about speed.

These days technology just moves too fast. News breaks online in minutes. Forget talent, all it takes is some jerk with a smart phone to capture 20 seconds of raw, grainy, shaky footage, post it online with 200 words, littered with typos explaining what happened and then that story is over- Why tell it again that night?

Point being... News is information. Whether it's told in a professional, polished evening news bulletin or by a rookie with a smart phone makes no difference. Once you know a story, even if someone can tell it to you better later, it's too late; you already know the punch line.

While Newspapers on paper are done (I still read them, but on a tablet) Television still has time to beat the internet.

So how can TV win? Simple... Just do what Jon Stewart does.

This is where my 'man crush' on Jon Stewart comes in... He's one thoroughly entertaining and clever bastard. So why does his show work? Because it doesn't patronize me with the facts, it assumes I'm smart enough to already know them.

Keep Cable News as it is, we need those channels for breaking news, emergencies, times of note, and they can compete on speed. As for the Network Bulletins, they need a serious overhaul because in this century, waiting until the end of the day to watch them, that's not news, it's just a good looking guy or girl telling me a bunch of stuff I already know.

Nightly News bulletins can still conquer the internet, improve their ratings and make themselves relevant in society once again. They can be just as powerful as they once were; they can be influential and can be a force to be reckoned with.

All they need to do is stop wasting that precious 22 minutes of air time they have every night telling me WHAT the news is... Instead they need to use those 22 minutes, like Jon Stewart does, explaining to me WHY that news matters.

News should be objective; in a perfect world we'd get that unbiased, factual, objective news on the cable channels and the internet.

The internet is faster than television. TV and the Internet need to make peace. The internet can be where we get information and TV should be where we debate it. Not the other way around. Presidents and Prime Ministers, Nobel Prize Winners and Professors won't do online forums. They will do debates on TV.

I'm not promoting we have shows on the air every night to push conservative or liberal agendas. I disagree with what Stewart and his team say just as often as I agree with them, but they do something that no news bulletin can ever do. They force me to THINK.

Rather than just showing me what's wrong with the world, they debate ways on how we can fix it. These shows, love them or hate them are the forum of tomorrow. They're a place where public figures can be prosecuted. Where issues are raised and ideas are bred.

And even if they can't solve the problems of the world... At least, they can make you think about them and they can make you laugh.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2385281 2012-12-30T14:47:41-05:00 2013-03-01T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
Before I start, no, I'm NOT a Communist. In fact, I'm not even 'a little bit pink'. It isn't relevant, but for the record, I'm more of a 'Stealers Wheel' kind of guy; 'clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right'.

Yet whatever your political persuasion may be, you have to agree, there's a hidden poverty in Great Britain and it's becoming too great a problem to ignore.

Early December, the UK experienced its biggest quarterly drop in the unemployment rate since 2001, down 0.2 points to 7.8%. But, the sad truth is the 'base working class' in this country is so exploited it would make no difference if unemployment was at 78%!

One week ago, I quit my job, packed up my life in Australia, and moved to London to try my luck as a journo (yes, I know, how cliché).

Now with 2.51 Million unemployed in Britain, you might find this next bit hard to believe, but I swear it's the truth. My first day in this country, Christmas Eve, I hit the streets looking for work and found a pub desperate for staff. I was hired with a handshake and a "don't worry, we can sort out your NI number later". I couldn't believe how lucky I was to land a bar gig that could pay the bills until I found my dream job, and I did it all on my very first day!

Well I thought I did. I worked my FIRST and LAST shift on Boxing Day. I quit.

I'm not a 'job snob'... Rather than sit on my arse, I'll work any job to pay my bills providing I don't get 'taken for a ride'. And trust me... working minimum wage in London is definitely being 'taken for a ride'.

Maybe I am too young and naive on how the world works... But thanks to what the once powerful Aussie Unions achieved decades ago with 'Award Wages and Penalty Rates' the shift I worked Boxing Day would have netted me about £220 Down Under.

Yet here, in good old GB this exact same shift and work netted me a paltry £37.20.

I couldn't believe it! I was shocked to learn the national minimum wage in this country for a person over 21 is just ₤6.19 per hour. Think about just how little this amount is. ₤6.19 isn't enough to buy you a kilo block of Sainsbury's brand cheddar! You'd need to work two hours to treat yourself to a roast from Tesco!

Let's do the math; a worker earning £6.19 takes home after a 45 hour week 'give or take' just £250 after tax. Forget living a 'modest life' for you and your kids. On £1,000 per month it's impossible to survive alone.

Because if you take away the national monthly average rent which is ₤725, that would leave only £275. Then, let's say, because this worker can't afford to live right 'in' London they need a monthly zone 1-4 rail pass. This costs another £167.50. So after rent and transport, that's leaves only £107.50 a month to pay for the little luxuries in life such as their utilities and food.

You cannot describe this in any other way, how we force the working class to live, it's unfair, cruel, and just plain wrong.

I'm not saying "just give them government handouts". Most wouldn't take them. Most want to earn their money, but to have any sort of life beyond simply 'existing' they need to be paid a fair and reasonable wage.

Equal opportunity and access to a free education must be most important part of any democracy. The next most important thing should be a free and equal access to medical care. After this though it should be 'everyone for themselves', spending our lives striving to get ahead of the pack.

However, this is NOT what is happening in the UK today. After one hundred years of social progress, the UK is slowly slipping back into the dark days of the industrial revolution. Because today, in the same city, there are people buying five bedroom flats at One Hyde Park for £150 Million while others live on £3.60 per day. How is that a free and just society?

I quit the pub because I wanted to spend that 45 hours a week exploring my new home and looking for a better job, but before I left, I asked the manager; "where do all your staff live and how can they afford to live on what you pay them?" His answer; "well, put it this way, it's not a very good life. They share slums, with fifteen people or more, cramming two, sometimes three people into every room".

And no, I'm NOT just talking about illegal immigrants being exploited here. I'm talking about Britain's own sons and daughters. People born and bred in this country, raised in its suburbs and educated in its schools, these are the people being trapped and forced into a life of poverty. They're living on the basic sustenance their master's provide. 200 years ago, we called this 'slavery'. Today we call it 'private enterprise'.

The hype around the major events of 2012 bought them some time, but for those in power, those who run the big companies, own the mansions and drive the fancy cars... If they want it to stay that way, they need to be willing to reduce their profit margins a little bit next year and even more the year after that.

The haves of this world would be wise to note that historically, when the gap gets too big between them and the have nots, those at the 'wrong end of that stick' take extreme measures to close it, and right now that gap is growing larger than Rik Waller's waist line.

Strange as this will sound, while the rich need to lower their profits and pay more to their workers. A large proportion of the blame for working class poverty and the great divide in society can be placed solely at the feet of the working class themselves.

They've allowed this to happen. Right now, across the world, the working class is letting their unions grow weak, bloated and corrupt. They've become indifferent and disinterested in politics. They're more concerned with voting on Big Brother than in General Elections.

No one else was going to look out for their interests, so when they stopped caring, is it any wonder they started to be forgotten about and left behind?

Sadly, so far, the working class has tried to bring change in completely the wrong way. They either whinge through frivolous protests like those idiots who claimed they were the 99% or they turn to thuggery and violence like we saw in the London riots. All these half-hearted and dramatic extremes do is backfire and turn what remains of a middle class against them.

The working class can't rely on hand outs and need to stop attempting to make their point through violence in one hand or weak, pointless protests in the other. They can't complain for just one day and hope it will all get better. No one will help them if they don't make the changes themselves.

If they ever want to get ahead of the pack and succeed as individuals, then first they must stand together as one group.

They need powerful and organised unions in every industry, so strong, that the big end of town can't just walk over one worker, but has to confront them all as a whole, a force not to be trifled with.

Ironically, I draw this example from an Australian Conservative PM, Malcolm Fraser. In Margret Simons' superbly written biography on his life, she writes of Mr. Fraser recalling a story from his childhood where a "young Malcolm" was listening to his father, John Fraser, a wealthy pastoralist giving advice to the shearers on the family farm.

Prime Minister Fraser remembered his father saying something along the lines of;

"When it comes to negotiating your pay and conditions, I have the money, the influence, the power, and the very jobs you need, I hold the upper hand, because you let me hold all the cards. Yet when all a man has to bargain with is his hands like you blokes do, then you need to get together as a group. On your own you're powerless. Together, you control the labour, the biggest bargaining chip of all"

The working class needs to once again take control of their own destiny and the capitalists in charge need to let them.

Because if there isn't meaningful change to the way our system works now. Then one of these days, someone will grow tired of the Kardashians and pick up a dusty old book written by Engels and Marx. And if that happens... then we'll have REAL problems!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2371813 2012-12-27T15:41:52-05:00 2013-02-26T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
It's always been a tradition in my house, to gather around as a family and listen to our Sovereign report on the year that was, and impart her words of wisdom on the year ahead, and offer up hope on all that we can be. I see that it is even more so of a tradition here.

This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.

To herald the Queen's Christmas Day message, our television screens were awash with a close up of the Royal Standard, flying high and flourishing proudly above Buckingham Palace. This was followed by no less than an orchestra inside the Ballroom, in front of the throne, playing "God Save The Queen".

This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.

The pomp and grandeur announcing the presence of Her Majesty was not excessive, it was appropriate. We are not just respecting the Queen, but respecting the Crown she wears. For Crown, it's bigger than the person who wears it; it's bigger than a Palace, a flag, an address. The Crown is who we are; it's what we stand for and what we believe. It's something that we ask our soldiers to swear allegiance to, we ask them to protect us in the name of it, we ask them to die defending it.
The Crown is Great Britain, Australia, the Commonwealth, the citizens. And The House of Windsor is the family that has the sacred duty of representing it.

This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.

It is only appropriate that the Crown is revered and worshiped as a symbol of nationalistic pride. I use the example of one Sunday this June, watching the Queen, lead a thousand boat flotilla in her name down the Thames to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, with the banks bursting with beaming and cheering faces, all of them brandishing a Union Jack. If only we could celebrate the Crown this way every single day of the year.

This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.

Why am I talking about this? Because as I look back on 2012, I feel that we are in danger of making our Royals "too common". I wonder, are we in danger of cheapening their standing and place in our National and Commonwealth identity?

Don't we realise that they are a part of who we are? So sure it's fun to laugh, yet think about it... When we embarrass them, we are in fact embarrassing ourselves.

Sure, if I was chief on a News desk when wind of a fresh royal scandal came in, I would start salivating at the mouth, knowing I would be on the verge of broadcasting a sure fire ratings winner, because truly, a Royal Scandal, it's must see TV.

Now I am aware that this makes me a part of the problem. Yet as a journo, I am keen to expose a Royal scandal because of our intense appetite for Royal mischief. Tall Poppy syndrome dictates as "have nots" we relish in the embarrassment of the "haves". It's sad, but it's true, and by doing this we are unknowingly undermining the Crown, our history, and all we stand for.

When we make our Royals look anything less than Regal, we weaken the institution, our identity, our resolve, and our sense of purpose. What the French this year did to the Duchess of Cambridge is nothing short of criminal. It may just be harmless embarrassment today, yet one day; she will be the Royal Queen Consort. Thanks to the internet, we now have on file for anyone with Google, topless photos of a future ruling monarch. So this is not just a Royal Embarrassment. This is now an embarrassment and affront to every citizen in the British Commonwealth.

We should never just guffaw at this and say "oh well". This was an attack on all of us. Once upon a time, we knew and we believed this. The treatment of The Duchess, well throughout history, wars have been fought over much less!

There is more at stake than the red faced embarrassment of a few sheepish Royals. When we cheapen them, we cheapen the country and we cheapen us all. By publishing naked photos, sex scandals, and all sorts of trivial indiscretions we pile the Royals into the same crowd as actors, WAG's, and pop stars.

Would there be a Charge of the Light Brigade again tomorrow? Would brave men and women be willing to risk their lives for a Crown that is being represented by people we hold in the same esteem as "The Spice Girls"?

I admit, when I heard of the nude photos of Prince Harry in Vegas, my first thoughts were "good on him", "he's one of the lads", and "what a top bloke"! Later on, when I thought about it I realised, hang on; this is the Prince who is currently third in the Royal line of succession. He shouldn't be simply "one of the boys"... He should be Regal, Stately, and something much, much more.

We should hold the Royal Family to a higher standard. The argument when a scandal breaks is; "they should behave in a more Royal manner". Well, maybe they should. But, as they are people, maybe we should go a bit easier on them, can you even begin to imagine the pressure that must come with being the symbol of an entire Nation, Commonwealth, and all it's history? It would drive anyone bonkers! So, unless we want to be represented by a bunch of half crazed lunatics, maybe we should leave them in their Privacy.

We cheapen the Royals by constantly putting them on television and in magazines. Personally, I only want to see my Queen on Christmas Day, at National Events like the Olympics, or alternatively, putting on a brave face and comforting us at times of tragedy and times of crisis.

Seeing the Queen, it should mark an occasion of grandeur, of celebration, of importance, or sadly, it should also mark a time of mourning. What I am trying to say is, if a Royal is present, then we should automatically know, it is an occasion of extreme significance and of importance. Don't even get me started on the fact that the Queen has a Twitter Account! Now that is a Royal Scandal! I wouldn't mind giving a backhand to whoever thought up that idea!

As for the other members of the Royal Family, I would be just as happy not knowing they even exist, only seeing them when they are sent out in place of the Queen when she can't attend her Royal duties.

Looking forward to 2013, I pray we do not have cause to mock the Royal Family, because to mock them is to mock ourselves. By lowering the Royals to tabloid fodder alongside Katie Price and Kerry Katona... We are not damaging the Royal Family, but our whole existence as a Commonwealth. So as the New Year is upon us, if The Duchess of Cambridge wants to sunbake topless, let her. If Prince Harry wants to unwind after a Tour of Duty by downing a few bottles of Tequila with some Army mates, then get nude and play a game of backgammon... Then I say let him. He's earned it, let him do it... And leave him alone, leave her alone... Let's back off... And leave them ALL ALONE!

Sure it's a good story, but no lasting good can ever come from embarrassing our Royal Family.

So where our Royal Family is concerned, let's make 2013 not a year of scandal, but a year of celebration. Let us give them privacy and eagerly await and then celebrate the arrival of a young Prince or Princess. Who is not just a child, but a symbol of the future of the entire Nation and Commonwealth. A symbol of how we will continue to grow, evolve, prosper, do good, and as a people strive for better things.

The Royal Family has enough to worry about, with all the responsibilities of the Crown it wears. They should not have to worry about being caught on camera during their private moments.

This is the respect we should reserve for our Royal Family. For this is what the Royal Family should be.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2318995 2012-12-17T20:14:33-05:00 2013-02-16T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
Last week, Mr. Walsh's comments made him look arrogant and stupid... Saying "Virgin Atlantic won't be around in five years" is as idiotic as saying "Manchester United will never win another Premier League title"!

If anything, Delta Airlines acquiring a 49% stake in Virgin will actually strengthen the Virgin brand and catapult it to a powerhouse in global aviation. It's a win/win. On one hand, you've got Virgin, the most comfortable, glamorous and stylish airline. While on the other, you have Delta, the largest and most disciplined airline in the world. How can that not be an exciting partnership? Pardon the pun- But on this one "the sky's the limit".

The jewel in aviation crown- The transatlantic route, is the most profitable route in the world; it makes up more than a quarter of all global business travel. Until now, British and American Airlines have held 60% of the market between the US and London. The lazy buggers haven't had to do anything for this Lion's share, and it has clearly showed... Well now, you can expect that all to change, all for the benefit of consumers.

Once it gets off the ground (Ha! There I go again!), the Virgin/Delta Partnership will finally see Virgin Atlantic as a real player and viable alternative for the business traveler. They will share costs and revenue on routes flying between Britain and North America. Hopefully this will see airfare prices fall thanks to the emergence of a real challenger. They'll be looking first to operate 31 daily round trips during peak season, 23 of those into Heathrow, a MUST for the business dollar and this number of flights is only expected to grow.

Whatever happens, the Virgin/Delta deal will stimulate competition in a heavily uncompetitive industry. I know it is ambitious, but I hope this deal will smash the 'Mafia Style' cartels that currently control the skies.

The One World and Star Alliances claim they are "built for convenience, ease, smooth transfers, and greater flexibility". Furthermore, don't forget the giant carrot they dangle in front of you which is they allow it so you can redeem frequent flyer points from one member airline with another member within the group.

The alliance system pitched like that sounds fantastic!

However, in reality, what it really achieves is that consumers pay more for travel while receiving poor service. Those alliance systems abolish all competition that's in the marketplace and encourage collusion. So instead of countless independents vying for your dollar, you only have two players running a giant duopoly of the skies.

Whenever I think of those two alliance systems mentioned, I picture in my mind all the member airline CEO's sitting around the dining room of Transylvanian castle on a stormy night, cackling deep throated and evil laughs. Can you blame me? Who really knows how they operate and how they make decisions? They're hidden, secretive, non-transparent, shady and a law unto themselves.

Moving away from the Atlantic, Look at 'The Kangaroo Route'- Sydney to London. You would think because there is so many airlines flying this route, there would be a rush for cheaper prices? Wrong.

While there are multiple airlines, they're all in the same two alliances and they are all working together- So no matter how much they try to appear independent, they're the same service underneath their tail livery.

Now I am an educated man, but for the life of me, I cannot work out how Qantas and British Airways get away with claiming to be in competition with each other on the 'Kangaroo Route'?

To prove my point, I went online and got the return airfare prices for both Qantas and British Airlines flights from Sydney to London return.

Return Ticket Airfares; Sydney-London

British Airways- £2,833

Qantas- £2,838

Not only are the prices similar, but on BA ticket, you fly out of Sydney on British Airlines plane and return from London flying Qantas. It is the same when you buy the Qantas ticket, however the roles are reversed, you fly to London on Qantas, but return home on BA.

How is that competition? How is that choice?

At first, the trusting, naïve traveller in me thought because the prices were so remarkably similar, that must just be how much it costs to operate the service and still maintain a respectable margin. Wrong again.

Because I went to the Virgin Atlantic website for a comparison and found for an identical ticket on the same dates. Now keep in mind, on Virgin Atlantic, you fly Virgin there, you fly Virgin back.

While expecting the ticket to be dearer than both British Airways and Qantas, I found they charged only £2,185. I could not believe it! No alliance, no cost sharing but £650 cheaper!

So my question is; if these alliances are meant to be good for travelers, reduce costs and be saving consumers' money, then how come the only independent airline, Virgin Atlantic's was able to provide a fare more than £650 cheaper? Having flown all three carriers, not only do you save money on Virgin, but you don't have flight attendants waking you up for autographs! On Virgin, you also get a better plane, better staff, and a better seat!

I know this one example isn't a "smoking gun" of cartel behaviour. I know there is no proof of collusion or price fixing... But c'mon? You've got to admit... It doesn't look good does it? At the VERY least it indicates that the major airlines operating under the One World Alliance aren't exactly going out of their way to offer travelers the most competitive prices are they?

You would think with all their combined and pooled resources, along with shared operating costs, BA/Qantas would have the cheapest fares for the consumer. The fact that Virgin Atlantic has shamed them with a dramatically lower airfare is a sad testament to just how flawed alliances can be.

To their credit, Virgin Atlantic have endevoured to stay independent for as many years as possible. But in this tough economic climate where every airline is losing money, they needed a stronger partner than Singapore Air to survive.

Their refusal to join one of the two major global alliances, Star Alliance or One World, is a position I have always commended. It has been proof and pride that the company has stood by the original purpose it was built for- to always be a 'Value for Money' alternative.

However, while their independence has been morally commendable, it has also been economically irresponsible and fraught with financial folly. I would have hated to be a shareholder. Virgin's refusal to join an alliance was one of the reasons the company operated at a loss of over £80 Million last year. A pretty big price to pay for doing the right thing.

Alliances in the modern aviation industry are "damned if you do, damned if you don't". As Sir Richard Branson said himself to Bloomberg TV in October. "to survive we need to have an alliance."

This partnership with Delta has done just that. It's a master stroke. It will give Virgin the resources it needs to expand and flourish, while allowing the brand to keep its identity and capitalize on what makes Virgin Atlantic the world's most innovative and exciting carrier. And most importantly... The deal keeps control of the company in British hands.

No wonder British Airways is running scared!

(I do not have any commercial agreements, interests or relationships with Virgin Atlantic Airways or Delta Airlines).]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2269358 2012-12-10T02:35:47-05:00 2013-02-08T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
While you were sleeping, there has been action to assure this never happens again. The Radio Network, Austereo has suspended all advertising until further notice, they have pulled the Hot 30 show off the air for good. They instituted a company-wide ban on prank phone calls, (traditionally a staple of all Australian FM radio shows), and are placing all company policies under review.

But the biggest news that came to light while you were sleeping was that the two Australian radio DJs at the centre of this storm finally broke their silence. The pair, in the face of immense public persecution bravely took part in a tough interview on Australia's premier Nightly News and Public Affairs programme, Channel Seven's Today Tonight. But it was their blank faces that gave away more than their answers ever possibly could.

These two young lives have clearly been broken. These two young lives are suffering. These two young lives I hope are not beyond saving. I honestly fear for the safety and wellbeing of these two kids and when you see this interview, you will as well. I am certain it will be played on British television in the next few hours... When you watch it, you will see just how traumatised these radio hosts are, and hopefully, you will regret the attacks on them over the weekend by both the Australian and British Media.

There is a shame that runs parallel alongside the tragedy of this nurse's death. There is a shame that is just as horrific as any that has befallen her or her family. It is a shame of equal sorrow and of equal sadness.

It is the treatment that these two young radio DJs have received by the hospital, the public, and the media. These two DJs are now also the victims and they are hurting. They look as if they are two tormented souls. They obviously feel as if they have caused this tragic death, this is evident in the interview. Never in my time have I ever seen two people's faces more wracked with guilt or more riddled with remorse.

Look... No one could have ever predicted that this would happen. Certainly no one ever wanted this to happen. But at the end of the day... It DID happen and while it is a tragedy, it is a tragedy that is no-one's fault.

Shouldn't we be giving comfort to these two young DJs, not condemning them to a lifetime of pain, guilt and anguish?

It's an abhorrent, cruel and twisted irony that these two DJs are being chastised for bullying and humiliating this nurse in public... Because we now all stand guilty for doing the same.

Please, this is a call for the media at large, for the public, for the internet trolls, and for the cyber bullies... Call off your dogs. For these two young journalists, they have suffered enough, they will suffer for the rest of their lives.

Alexander Pope said, "to err is human, to forgive divine." So isn't it time we forgive and show that most unique and sacred of all human emotions... Isn't it time we show compassion?

I have been conflicted as a journalist in writing this. In fact, I almost didn't.

If you haven't noticed... Unlike my colleagues, I am refusing to name this nurse and I am refusing to name these DJs. A small and insignificant gesture I know... But it is a sign of respect of what we should be doing. As journalists, some of the first rules we learn are to "always be objective" and to "never report on suicide".

Here in this story, we have broken both. Where is the objectivity? Unless you live on Mars, you'll see that every news headline the world over is telling these DJs that they have 'blood on their hands'.

While it is extremely hard not to report on suicide when it is a celebrity who takes their own life, when it is a private citizen, suicide is meant to remain unreported. The reasoning behind this is not to encourage others drowning in emptiness and despair to seek the same attention for themselves.

According to the Office of National Statistics, 5,608 people committed suicide in the United Kingdom in 2010, the most recently reported year. Think back to how many of those sad stories made front page news?

It is morally bankrupt and completely unforgivable how we have turned this story into a media circus, we should be ashamed of ourselves. We're reporting this story as if it is some abstract tabloid fodder, like it is a fictional soap opera unfolding right before our eyes.

In reality, we are talking about real people's lives. There are family, friends and colleagues of this nurse who are trying desperately to find answers. There is also the guilt, pain and suffering of the two DJ's who are being used by a sadistic world press as some kind of scapegoats.

I appreciate the fact that in times of tragedy we look for answers. I know we look for reasons why and we look for someone to blame. Unfortunately, these two young DJs are the ones being hung out to dry. Punished for a crime they didn't commit with the world's press just pouring petrol on the fire.

Logically we all know... These DJs did NOT kill this woman. Yet we are blaming them for her death anyway. Isn't that the real crime? These two young people are at the start of their careers. Imagine their pride being made hosts of this show just weeks ago, now... They face a future where they will never work in media again... They face a future where they will be traumatised for the rest of their lives. They face a future where they will forever feel guilt. For them, while we all move onto the next story, this will be a wound that will never heal.

It's that penance enough without the world calling them killers?

Imagine if it was a member of your family? What would you say? I know... It would be along the lines of;

"It is not your fault... You cannot kill a person with a phone call."

This nurse, in my opinion, must have been an already troubled woman. The reason why she took her own life... No one will ever know. But I do know it would not have been because of a prank phone call. I will admit, the stress this prank phone call caused could have been the last straw, the trigger that finally saw her take her own life. It is this reason why those two radio DJs are now suffering, and this is the same reason why we should comfort them.

If they never made that phone call, maybe she would be alive today... That is what the two DJs are living with. Could you ever possibly imagine having that albatross hanging around your neck? However, even if the DJ's never made that phone call... This nurse may still have died, because this was only ever the trigger, not the reason for her killing herself.

This nurse could have easily been one of those 5,608 people that didn't make the papers in 2010. Something else could have driven her to take her life that day. A fight with her boss, her husband, even fear of losing her job, crashing a car... Who knows? All we know is this nurse must have been suffering in silence.

This nurse was deeply troubled, she should not have died, and we all wish that she didn't; however wishing won't change the fact that she is gone. Just as blaming these DJs won't bring her back.

These two young DJs committed a prank, that had the worst possible outcome anything could ever have and they will have to live with that for the rest of their lives. We should be comforting them at this dark time. We should not be beating this up into a sensationalised story, painting them as villains.

Do not make this brave nurse's life all about this phone call. Do not let her legacy on this earth be an immature prank that went wrong. She has a grieving husband and two children that will grow up without a mother. She has a mother herself in India who has had to suffer the worse experience on this earth, being a parent who outlives their child.

So let her children, her husband, her family and friends memories of her be pleasant ones. Let her colleagues celebrate the wonderful work as a care giver that she used to provide. Let us look at making life better for nurses so that they are not worked to breaking point.

Let us forgive these DJs. Let us offer them comfort during this tragedy, and most of all... Let us stop blaming these kids for something they didn't do... It is not their fault.

I bet you there is one more angel in Heaven tonight. And she is saying exactly the same thing.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2228910 2012-12-02T19:06:14-05:00 2013-02-01T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
There are still a lot of upset and angry people and I understand why. But believe it or not, the most upset and angry people among us are not the public, the politicians, or the victims of these crimes. They are the journalists.

Trust me, as a journalist (a phrase I can never use again) we are furious. We are furious because the immoral and reprehensible behaviour of a limited few has tarnished our profession in the eyes of every decent person in the world. The immoral and reprehensible acts of that few; they have left a stain of shame upon us that can never be removed.

I cannot begin to imagine how the McCann family felt when they had their lives torn apart for the sake of a story. Nor the false hope that was given to the parents of Milly Dowler. We cannot forgive nor can we forget how the sacrifice of our fallen soldiers was repaid when unscrupulous journalists invaded their family's grief. We cannot forgive, because this behaviour can never be excused.

But despite the anger, tempers must remain idle. We must ensure that we stop, we think, and that cooler heads prevail. We must punish the 'people' responsible for these practices, rather than attack the principal of free speech.

This is what I think Prime Minister David Cameron was trying to say when he said;

"It would be a dereliction of our duty in this House of Commons, which has stood up for free press for centuries, to cross the Rubicon by legislating without thinking carefully."

I applaud the Prime Minister today. Because he stood up in the face of intense pressure from public opinion and he didn't say what was popular, he didn't say what would make life easier, and he didn't say what would win him some votes.

He stood up and he said what he knew in his heart was right, no matter how unpopular it was.

Those are not the actions of a politician... Those are the actions of a leader.

He knows, (like I am sure we all do deep down), that it was the people at fault, not the principle. The people were wrong and hey, look where the News of the World is now? Doesn't that prove we don't need to legislate against free press? We have a free people that will hold the press accountable for their actions.

At the end of the day, that's what it all comes down to... Accountability.

It comes down to us doing what is right.

There shouldn't need to be a code of practice, there shouldn't need to be laws, rules and regulations. All there should be is a journalist sitting there saying "No. What we're doing or what I am about to do... I cannot do it because it is wrong."

Why is there no one in this world that is willing to stand up these days and say "Sorry, I was wrong"?

We all did it when we were children, why don't we do it anymore? I am ashamed to say that there is a new breed of journalists out there with no morals, no values, and no conscious. These are the few who simply have to have "the story at any cost".

I've already seen a swag of them come and go in my short career. They walk into the newsroom, always larger than life. They file the big stories, get the big scoops, have their name up in the headlines and become the darlings of the news directors.

However sooner rather than later, they're caught out doing something they shouldn't have done or they burn and backstab one contact too many, and they're gone. They're discarded, tossed aside never to be seen again... They're cast out to live the rest of their lives working as real estate agents or used car salesman. That is all they're good for.

I've been lucky enough in the first decade of my career to be apprenticed to some of the finest and talented journalists in the world. The first lesson they all taught me before anything else was; "never do anything that will give you trouble sleeping at night."

We shouldn't need legislation. I put it back on all journalists; "before you take action, think about what you are doing. If you feel that it's wrong, or if you feel guilty for doing it, than chances are... You shouldn't be."

We do not need regulators, we can regulate ourselves. I put it back on all audiences, whether it be a new 'palace scandal', 'celebrity love rat' or 'insiders view on tragedy'. Please don't buy a paper, don't read a website, don't listen to a radio or watch a television where you think that the journalists are engaging in practices that are anything less than honest.

After what has transpired so far this century in the press, I think all journalists need to remember the responsibility and trust we are given by the public and need to be accountable for our actions. We don't just owe to the victims and the wider audience, but we owe it to the great people who did this job before us.

We owe it to the greats who didn't need legislation to tell them what was right or wrong because they had a moral compass show them the way. We owe it to those journalists who didn't bow to political pressure, that weren't intimidated by their network sales departments, and that weren't bought off by a free TV, holiday, or I-Pad. It is up to us now to remember their example and to bring a bit of 'personal accountability' back into our profession.

Our careers are spent dealing with people who are trying to hide the truth. However there is 'searching for the truth' and there are the unspeakable acts that have come to light during this whole affair. It is up to us to tell the difference, to do what is right. Through free press we have the power to change and shape the world. Whether we change it for better or worse is solely up to us.

No story is that big or that important that it's worth selling your soul for. And if there really is a story that big and that important, there will always be another, legitimate way to get it. You just have to try harder, otherwise you're just being plain lazy.

Freedom of the press is a fundamental human right that cannot be tampered with. It must be preserved and protected; there should be riots in the streets and blood on our hands if any Government ever threatens to take it away from us. Because once it is gone, it will never come back.

Every society that has ever forfeited its press freedom has gone backward. Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Communist China. Even if we give up just a little ground, then all is lost.

You can't legislate, even just 'a little bit'. Because once the voice of the people is silenced, who will be left? Who will be there to stand up, speak out with strength and defend the defenceless?

Lord Leveson is right in his report. All of his concerns are valid ones. He asks all the right questions, and all of his objections should be made. We should all be aware so we can question the material that we read. But in the market place of ideas, truth is the most powerful currency. In the marketplace of ideas, a good argument will always beat a bad, in the marketplace of ideas, fact will always overpower fiction.

We hold our public figures to a higher standard because of the responsibilities they are entrusted with. Maybe it is time we started doing the same with the people that write about them too.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2176597 2012-11-23T01:27:58-05:00 2013-01-22T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
How could any parent explain to their child the scenes we have witnessed this week?

I cannot begin to imagine how you can explain to children, gangs of angry men on motorcycles dragging bodies by their ankles through the streets, like we witnessed in Gaza City.

I don't know about you... But to me that's not war, its cold blooded murder. They are not soldiers, they are not freedom fighters, nor are they rebels with a cause. They are nothing more than cowards with guns.

My entire life I have known nothing but conflict in the Middle East. For me, Beirut was NEVER compared to Paris. Iraq was never a sight to behold, Israel never a peaceful religious state, nor was Iran friendly ally. For me these have forever been places in the nightly news where bombs are detonated and lives are lost. These are places that we in the western world learn at a young age to fear.

No matter if it is an Arab or Israeli death, the despair is no different. Ask an Arab mother or an Israeli father- What was it like to lose your son? What was it like to lose your daughter?

Their answers will be exactly the same. The worst part for parents is, whether your Arab or Israeli - when your child dies fighting for this cause, you know they died for nothing.

What I know of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict you could fit on the back of a postage stamp. Neither do I pretend to be as knowledgeable a 'Miss Universe' contestant when I speak on matters such as world peace.

But people not familiar with the history ARE the ones who should be talking about answers... This region of the world, now more than ever needs people with objective eyes. I can promise you there will never be peace in the Middle East until all past deeds are forgiven and forgotten.

Forget the peace talks, conferences and the summits... The more complicated the issue, the simpler the answer is. Everyone just needs to chill the bloody hell out, relax, and say "starting from now, we all live together". Any grudges and you may as well not even try. Peace will only come when there is a secular Israel. A place where Muslims, Jews, and Christians all live together under common law, common peace, and are free to worship as they see fit.

It works in the Commonwealth, why can't it work there? Forget the history and move on as one people, despite your diverse religions; nationally they can all unite as one state, filled with citizens of diverse faiths, who band together with the national purpose of being the guardians of the Holy Lands. I'm sad to say it, but the onus is completely on the Palestinians. They need to put their arms down, then Israel will follow suit. I hate to be blunt, but if the Palestinian people don't forget their past, they simply will not have a future.

The Israelis will never allow Palestinians live without restriction or fear until they stop the violence within their ranks. As we have seen, the Israeli Defence Forces are well equipped, highly disciplined professionals. They're not dragging bodies and shooting wildly into the air.

There's nothing romantic about warfare. However there is some degree of honour when an armed military face another armed military. Terrorists however are the lowest forms of cowards. Too frightened, too scared, too afraid to attack an armed military force, they attack mothers, fathers, children... Those unarmed and unable to defend themselves fall with the bullets and bombs. It's incredible though, these moronic imbeciles never realise that every murder they commit as an act of terrorism that strengthens Israel's resolve to never surrender.

Okay... Put it this way... I used to get so frustrated watching Wile E. Coyote as a kid.

Every afternoon, I would see him come up with another plot, another scheme, and another crazy plan to finally beat the Road Runner. He'd always think; "this time is it, I'll get him!" Yet time and time again, he failed.

While his persistence was admirable, I just used to wish Wile E. would just give up already! Doesn't he know that he's getting nowhere?! When he would fall off a mountain, drop an anvil on his head, or blow himself up with ACME TNT, it was proof that rather than catching the Road Runner, he was just harming himself!

Sometimes you just have to say 'enough is enough' and call it a day. For the Palestinians, all they ever do is harm themselves. Their brutal, cold and heartless attacks of terror and intimidation do nothing but hurt their cause; it's time for them to let it go. I know that sounds harsh, I know that sounds unfair, but it is simply the way it is- The Palestinian nation state is a lost cause. And hostilities against Israel only prolong their victimisation. They've been beat.

The continuous violence in this region has to stop. Because when you have been fighting a nation for 64 straight years and losing- Wouldn't you think it is time to try something else?

Am I the only one that remembers that the Palestinians had their chance at having a homeland and they blew it? Why are we not making a bigger deal of this? Israel was born along with another nation state- Palestine. Yet only Israel remains strong.

I feel that most of my generation does not realise that the day the State of Israel was formed in 1948, SIX neighbouring Arab nations declared war. Imagine a Jewish people who had just faced the horrors they had faced at the hands of the Nazi's being threatened yet again with extermination, only this time at the hands of Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq?

Palestine had their country, yet they refused to exist alongside Israel so they paid the price. Complaining now is like a gambler trying to get his money back after he's bet the house and lost.

Could you possibly imagine how peaceful the world would be right now if the Arabs had just recognised Israel's right to exist? For one; today there would be a nation called Palestine, and the biggest rivalry between the two states would involve an annual soccer series not shootings.

Instead, we have seen countless wars between Arab nations and Israel- At every turn, Israel has survived. Surely it might be time to rethink this strategy.

And the only way to do it is to forget the past, start again, and call a 'do over'... The greatest minds of the Twentieth Century failed bringing peace to the Middle East... Maybe we need to try something else... So I know I was only joking, but maybe adopting Miss Universe contestants to draft proposals for peace wasn't such a stupid idea after all!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2121685 2012-11-13T10:07:43-05:00 2013-01-13T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
(I'll pause sufficiently for you to be outraged and disgusted... Got that out of the way? Good).

Now before you ask; No, I don't burn bibles, watch reality television or club baby seals to death... I simply enjoy a fag. Now, if you can hold your tongue for just five minutes before you start frothing at the mouth and hurling abuse at me, listen to what I have to say because a rather interesting thing has happened here in Australia that may be coming your way.

Today, I bought my first packet of cigarettes under the Australian Federal Government's new Plain Packaging Laws. Without going into detail, as of December, no matter the manufacturer, every brand and every variant must now be sold in identical vomit green/brown packaging, with the full face of the packet carrying a horrific image of a smoking related illness. The only way to tell brands apart is small identical text on each packet naming the product so shopkeepers know what to give you when you ask.

Our Federal Government, void of any imagination or real ideas, decided to implement this strategy as a clever attempt to turn people off smoking. Of course big tobacco fought it and it went all the way to the High Court of Australia (equivalent to the Privy Council) where they argued that it was unconstitutional, obviously, Big Tobacco lost.

The case did however cost Australian tax payers tens of millions of Pounds to make sure that the legislation carried.

But was it money well spent? Well... I bought a packet of cigarettes from my local newsagency this morning, I looked down at the bland, Orwellian packaging, with its full colour, graphic image of a gangrenous foot about to be chopped off and do you know the first thought in my mind was?

"At some stage I've got to go and buy a Sterling Silver Cigarette Case".

That's it. Furthermore, I also bought a packet this afternoon... And I can't even tell you what the image on the front is... My mind is blocking them out already!

For all the pomp this legislation has provided, it will have NO impact whosoever.

For crying out loud! I've persevered after being banned from smoking in the workplace, in pubs, at clubs, at the beach and in Football Stadiums. I continue to smoke even though the Government jacked up the price to £12.00 per packet. They know this won't stop me.

Why do Governments persist in taking these ridiculous half measures trying to stop smokers? If they were Fair Dinkum, they'd just make it illegal altogether. That's the only way I am going to quit. Don't get me wrong, I love smoking, but I am NOT going to chase shady looking characters down dark alleys to 'score' a bag of tobacco that has most likely been cut down with pencil shavings.

Governments around the world LOVE smokers, because we build hospitals, highways, schools, and transport networks... We're their Golden Cash Cows.

They know us better than we know ourselves. They know they can keep scoring cheap political points off us and we'll cop whatever they dish up. They know beating up on us will make them the darlings of the non-smoking majority.

Because when has it ever hurt a Government or Political Party to beat up on a minority that everyone hates? And after all, on this issue, the added bonus is they make a bloody good quid doing it.

I will gladly concede the ground that smokers put a burden on the hospital system. In fact, the figure according to the National Drug Strategy here in Oz places that cost at £394M per year.

However, according to the Medical Journal of Australia, obesity is a much greater burden to the Australian hospital system- Costing roughly £573M per annum.

So why may I ask aren't there graphic labels, images and warnings on cupcakes, deep fried foods, and chocolate bars? How come junk food isn't taxed to oblivion like cigarettes are?

Because it's simple mathematics. Only 14% of the Australian population smoke, whereas according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics- 61% of all Australian adults are overweight or obese... Hmm... What's the bigger (pardon the pun) health crisis? Obesity or Smoking?

But hey! Put health issues aside, we're playing politics here. Why get 61% of voters offside by calling them fat and taxing their favourite foods when you can look even better victimising only 14% of voters?

That's why I am calling 'Shenanigans'! 'Shenanigans, Shenanigans, Shenanigans'!

If Governments around the world were genuinely trying to do a right thing I would congratulate them and I wouldn't call them out... But the hypocrisy is so transparent it makes me sicker that the 25 cigarettes I'm pumping down per day!

Now... I've had my say on the Government and I am turning to you... The righteous, non-smoking public.

Please stop trying to 'save me' and please just please can you leave me be.

I see you all judging me every minute of every day. At the bus stop in the morning, I am looked upon by fellow travellers at best with mild distain... And worst, like I am standing there in an 'SS' Uniform complete with red arm band.

We smokers are seen as the hated instruments of Satan. Sorry, but unlike heroin addicts, I have NEVER broken into your home to steal your laptop, nor smashed your car window to take your GPS for a pouch of tobacco... So please, tell me... What have I ever done to you?

I have had people viciously... I mean really viciously attack me. Even emboldened strangers saying;
"You are disgusting; give me one good reason why you smoke?"

I usually say; "No, I'll give you two... James Dean did it and it makes me look awesome... Now shut up!"

Why should I have to give you a reason? Why does it make you feel better for abusing me for smoking? I am NOT a moron. I know that smoking is bad for my health and it will one day kill me. We've all seen the statistics; we've all read the literature. Why do you come and abuse me on the street for smoking? Do you think you're the first to point out it will kill me? Is it breaking news? Do you think I might not know? "Sorry, my space shuttle just landed from Mars, I have been living there since 1953... Thanks for the tip!"

Every single adult on the planet knows smoking kills. But I was hooked and addicted before I got out of high school thanks largely to profit hungry, irresponsible shopkeepers... If you want to make a difference, stop teenagers smoking- Now teenagers... They ARE morons!

As for yours truly, I'm a man grown. I'm big enough and ugly enough to make my own choices in life. I did quit once, I went cold turkey for 12 months and contrary to popular belief, it was relatively easy (Okay, a girlfriend made me do it!). Then I remembered I honestly love smoking and took it back up... So instead of trying to make me quit. Just quit judging me, quit hassling me, and quit giving me a hard time.

If I may quote a dear friend of mine, Colonel Nathan R Jessup United States Marine Corps; Next time you see me smoking on the street, instead of giving me a death stare, shaking your head, 'tisk-tisking' and feigning a fake cough, "I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way".

Thank me because financially, I contribute more to this country than you do.

Thank me because the Old Age Pension in this country costs taxpayers £25 Billion per year- It's the biggest expense in budget. But according to the Queensland Health Department, smokers die at least a decade before non-smokers, if not more. So when I get older I am saving the country at minimum £131,685.26 in pension payments- Hey I'm happy to do my bit.

Thank me because as mentioned in previous posts; while cigarettes cost £12.00 per packet, £8.50 of that goes straight into Government Coffers. As I buy a pack a day, so I am kicking in an extra £3,102.50 in tax per year then you non smokers do. Is there any more I can pay for you?

When it comes to smoking, I know I am wrong, I know I am stupid, I know I am slowing killing myself, however I am enjoying doing it. These figures are attributable to Australia only, and they'll vary from nation to nation, but the sentiment is the same.

So all in all... Thank Me For Smoking... If you do, I will say "You're Very Welcome". Now I better get back to enjoying sucking back on my favourite brand. Which now has been given the very catchy and very marketable name "LDN 02"!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2087389 2012-11-07T07:21:24-05:00 2013-01-07T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
When I was inevitably caught, my mother used to give me a dressing down that would reduce me to tears! My five-year-old frame would cower in fear as she waved the wooden spoon at me like a musketeer brandishing a rapier.

This fearful memory was the first thing that came into my mind once I heard about the 'showdown at number 10' taking place tonight. I don't know about you, but I think Chancellor Angela Merkel is the most terrifying woman on the planet! It's almost like she's a 'German Margaret Thatcher'... Hold on a moment... She IS the 'German Margaret Thatcher'!

Forget the charming PR spin parroted in the media about a 'quaint working dinner' tonight. The debate will be fearsome. Chancellor Merkel will be playing the part of my powerful and intimidating mother, whereas Prime Minister Cameron will playing me; A extremely intimidated five-year-old being scolded for having his hand in the fruit tin!

You'd think that with Two World Wars and one World Cup under Britain's belt, it would be the Germans who would be intimidated. Not so, such is the power of that incredible woman. She's a master politician, stateswoman, and enforcer who commands respect and overshadows any world leader.

Tonight Chancellor Merkel will be even more furious because she has a lot more to lose. She isn't just fighting for the European budget. She's fighting for the survival of the German nation.

Now I must admit, as an outsider I have only recently been swayed to supporting the prime minister's stance on a real-terms spending freeze. I originally thought "Hey, Britain should be supporting Germany. Hell, even the Italians, who are so disorganised they can't run a pub raffle kick more money in the pot than GB... So shut up and pay up".

My opinion however has slowly turned over the past few months. Every day I get into work, I look at the news wires and I see that the EU has put their hand out again. On 4 October it was reported the bureaucrats in Brussels required another £1 Billion from Britons because they had overblown their budget. Now, only four weeks later, that figure is closer to being an extra £2 billion over two years.

I've been turned in the UK's favour, because there comes a time when you just have to show tough love and cut someone off.

As US Senator Everett Dirksen famously said; "A Billion here, a Billion there, pretty soon, you're talking real money." C'mon! What on earth is the European Union spending so much money on? They must be buying a helluva lot of paperclips!

The European Union budget would be hilarious if they weren't serious. Whoever heard of a rubber stamp costing one trillion Euros?

I cannot work out what they need the money for - each member state does all their own heavy lifting. Sure the EU would have some expenses; like letterheads, office space, sandwiches for meetings, parking spaces and what not...however for the amount of money they're flogging from their wealthiest members - can you tell me that none of it is going to waste? In any other circumstance what they are doing would be called a 'shake down' and police would be called to investigate.

We all know the stories about national governments wasting money and spending it like drunken sailors. They love waste, if they can they will spend money on everything and anything all at an inflated price! However the only thing stopping British parliament putting twenty-four carat gold toilets in Westminster today is the fact they'll get voted out at the next election.

So, the question then becomes 'who and how' do you hold a body like the European Union accountable?

I'll tell you who holds them accountable, prime minister David Cameron does....And how? Well, he's doing it right now.

The German response to his threats is predictable. Publicly they support the EU; however I would guess that secretly, they're fuming about the hyper inflated EU budget also. The only reason they're not jumping up and down is because they are tied to the currency. They didn't have the 'exceptionally brilliant' caution that the UK displayed by keeping the pound.

The Germans are stuck neck deep in something they can't get out of. So the only solution they have is to keep throwing money at the problem and hope it comes good. Look at the sentiment in Britain at present. Look at how furious the public is about the state of the EU.

At least you've got a strong pound. Spare a thought for the poor, everyday, ordinary German citizen. They should be living in one of the top five economies in the world, if not the strongest. They should be enjoying the life of Riley right now. Instead they're being held back and going without, spending their hard earned trying to keep afloat a continent in ruin.

Germany, not Britain, is the true parent and true victim of the European Union. In the sense that they're the head of a house that's full of immature teenagers who think money grows on trees and no matter how much they spend, their parent Deutschland has an endless supply.

While this is at Germany's peril, it's great for countries like Portugal and Greece. They can p*** away cash like they're on a stag weekend in Prague with no responsibility...Their attitude, 'not to worry, no matter what we do, daddy Germany will bail us out'.

Don't tell me that senior German statesmen aren't sitting around the Reichstag late at night, sipping whiskey and muttering to each other; "S**t. What did we get ourselves into?"

The only reasonable and fair solution I have heard so far is to have two separate European budgets. One budget should apply to all the nation states that trade in the Euro. Another separate budget for the remaining ten nations that make up the European Union.

If the EU does not go for the total spending freeze, then this is the last play. I would love to be a waiter at the dinner at Downing Street tonight. It would be incredible to watch the master stateswoman, Chancellor Merkel rip the prime minister to shreds. It will be spectacular to see how she does it because she is the only politician in the world brilliant enough to have a chance of successfully debating a redundant argument when she knows Britain is in the right and Germany is in the wrong.

So while I understand Germany's plight and am sympathetic towards her, she SHOULD NOT be allowed to drag Britain down into her hole. Britain is RIGHT to threaten to veto the budget increase. Britain SHOULD veto the budget increase. It's not Great Britain's fault Germany is in too deep to walk away.

And if all else fails and the European Union doesn't agree to freeze spending or draft two budgets, then the only thing left will be for the best and brightest minds in Whitehall to be locked in Churchill's bunker under Treasury and not be let out again until they find a way to leave the doomed union altogether without causing the UK any collateral damage.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2084883 2012-11-06T20:15:49-05:00 2013-01-06T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
Commenting on youth, he said the following;

"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers."

Now, I find when you respect someone's opinion, even if you disagree with them, it's still wise to give their argument some consideration, even if only to strengthen your own against it.

So reading this rant about how inept and disappointing youth are, I found myself thinking;

Is my Generation, 'Generation Y' ready to step up to the plate and take over the world?

Well... Once I tell you who I'm quoting, you'll understand why we most certainly are!

I'm thinking about it, because this month in New South Wales, the first batch of Generation Z'ers are graduating from high school. At the same time, that loveable bunch known as the baby boomers are thinking it's time to 'tap out', buy a caravan and go do... well... whatever the hell it is that old people do with their time.

So the question is; who will lead and mentor the Zs? Who will fill the vacuum left by the retiring baby boomers? It will have to be the Xs and the Ys. But are we ready?

You wouldn't think so if you ask the baby boomers. As a proud, card carrying member of Gen Y I've spent the last decade hearing how useless I am. I've heard I'm lazy, arrogant, soft, materialistic, and narcissistic. I've been told "me and my Gen Y mates" are pretty much going to destroy human civilisation as we know it.

Well... Tough luck because with Generation Z now here, there is no longer any choice, it's time for the old farts to give Generations X and Y the keys and let us drive. They should sit down and grab a cup of tea because it's time for us to run the show.

I will concede it's going to be hard going to rise to the occasion and take over the world. In fact, it's going to be even harder with all the resistance we're facing. But hey, we kids love a challenge! The reason it's going to be hard is because if you're under thirty and don't work at Google, Facebook, or one of the other dot com companies where the CEO is a person too young to shave, then chances are you have a baby boomer boss...and sorry...but it's almost certain that he or she hates you. They're going to try stay in their job as long as they can just to keep you out!

You like me are probably frustrated by their lack of faith and find yourself asking; why don't they trust us? Why do they hate us? And why don't they want to transfer power to our generation?

Short answer, just like the quote above; they hate us because baby boomers think we're lazy, irresponsible and that we lack respect, loyalty and commitment.

If only they knew the truth. Just like they were misread by their seniors, all of our strengths boomers misconstrue for our weaknesses. We're the misunderstood Generation and I'll tell you why;

The boomers call us lazy because they don't see us toiling away at our desk from nine to five every day just like they did. They're right, we're not clock watchers, but also we're not lazy.

Unlike our parents, we don't know what a 45 hour week is. Actually, the boomers were the lazy ones. They came to work and went home...Now, thanks to globalisation, business transcends all time zones. We gen Y'ers often work up to twenty-hour days even though we're nowhere near the office! We don't need to be seen like they were, we just shut up and do it.

I for one am never in the office. Thanks largely to my love/hate relationship with Samsung, creators of the most incredible invention ever to known - The Galaxy Smart Phone. I can now work anywhere - my office is where I am. I say love hate because it's a great tool for missing peak hour, but rubbish when it comes to not having an excuse for getting something done!

I'm sure our bosses think we are pretentious little 's**ts' (if you're not gen Y, you probably do also)...But what you guys don't realise is when we talk back, we're doing it out of admiration. Questioning the every move of our superiors (while granted it is annoying if you're the boss) is the gen Y way of showing respect!

Back when boomers were our age, talking back to their bosses simply wasn't done. This is why baby boomers mistake our challenging their authority as an act of insolence. All we want is to learn from their experience to know how they came to that decision. Baby boomers always seem to forget that we are thankful for their direction 99% of the time. It's just the other 1% when we have a better way of fixing the problem.

And considering they need their 10-year-old grandchild to fix their computers and DVD players of a weekend they'd be wise to realise that when we do disagree on that 1%, it's probably because there's a new, better way to do things.

Putting this aside, the most insulting thing that baby boomers get wrong about Gen Y is the fact they think we lack loyalty. This is beyond hurtful seeing as many of us consider loyalty as the north point of our moral compass.

Gen Y is loyal to our families, our friends and our partners - Granted, we're not so loyal in the workplace, however it isn't so much that we are NOT loyal... It is just that we are NOT as naïve as they were.

In this day and age, employers think of loyalty as a one way street (or maybe they always have and gen Y is the first generation to call them on it). We've witnessed, particularly in the last few years, employers sacking thousands of staff. We know that every change of season is sure to bring a new round of redundancies. So we're under no illusions that we are nothing more than a 'number' to the companies that hire us.

So if loyalty is a one way street, it's hardly right for baby boomers chastise us for lacking loyalty and 'job hopping. So what if they've spent their entire careers at one company. I say to them; "I would LOVE nothing more than to work for one company for the rest of my life. But, have you tried to get employed in perpetuity lately? Everything on offer is only six, twelve, eighteen month contracts or freelance - No one wants to lock you in for life or reward you enough that you want to stay...Put no faith in me and I will put no faith in you!"

Baby boomers please understand; we are not lazy, we are not irresponsible, nor are we careless or disrespectful. We're simply the product of our time.

We are the most resourceful, compassionate, considerate and educated generation in the history of man and with age we're only getting smarter. In my home, Australia, 2.3 million people reported they had an undergraduate University degree in the 2011 Census. That figure has jumped 27.2% from 1.8 Million in 2006. It will rise again the same amount or more in the next five years.

Baby boomers you shouldn't fear us taking charge. You should be excited. You've done your time, you've worked hard, you should be looking forward to relaxing. So shut up and sit back like the proud parents you all are and watch with anticipation to see what we can do. Don't worry, the future is in safe hands.

Remember when you were our age? You were nothing more than a bunch of no good, filthy hippies spending your time getting jacked up on drugs and playing Frisbee. The establishment back then didn't want to give you the reigns, they were worried like you are now, that you were going to destroy the world too...

But guess what? You proved them wrong! You came good, don't worry. We will too!

Sure we've had our bumps, our bruises, our stumbles along the way, but we were learning. We will keep making mistakes, but so did you (WMD'S anybody?). We're ready to take the torch and run the world - So hand it over.

How am I certain of this? So, who was I quoting who was so worried about youth? Well, despite sounding like it was said only yesterday...It was actually an Ancient Greek bloke by the name of Socrates.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2037758 2012-10-29T07:56:27-04:00 2012-12-29T05:12:02-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/ "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics". If it was American humourist Twain or Prime Minister Disraeli who first coined the phrase, really... Who cares? All we need to know is it's a bloody good one!

Because it's a fact. Never believe a statistic you read in print, hear on the radio or see on the television without questioning it first. Reason being, "86% of statistics are completely made up". Because while the numbers never lie, the statistics almost always do.

I am particularly weary of percentages used without hard data behind them. A journalist who uses these to validate their argument is either incompetent or lazy. Why? Because the first thing we learn straight out of the gates is to be cautious of statistical traps. There is no greater example than the sponsored survey.

Nothing is as 'conveniently catchy' as the press release from some sponsored survey trumpeting a big percentage headline. I don't know what outdated play book some PR companies are still using when they pitch these surveys, however they're pointless and a waste of their client's money because in this day and age well all know these surveys are rubbish.

My introduction to the sponsored survey was back in my talkback radio days when I was just a whelp working on a Sydney drive show. Some PR company offered up their client, a psychologist to talk about relationships and discuss the alarming new research that "42% of Australians Cheat on their Partners".

This troubling statistic would definitely be worthy of a debate if it were true and it had me a novice journalist fired up with my guns blazing. Luckily, my then boss, keen to teach me a lesson, instructed me to go back and quiz the spin doctor on their survey size before it went to air. I did this and reluctantly after several minutes probing they told me. To my shock horror, I discovered they'd only surveyed 1,000 people. That's right they were basing a whole nation's relationship habits on nothing more than 1,000 people and I nearly took the bait hook, line, and sinker!

In hindsight, I cannot believe how stupid I was not to question the percentage. How could 1,000 people give a clear indication on the practices of 23 Million? If this survey was accurate, and 42% of all Australians had in fact cheated on their partners, then by that count, it would mean we have over 9.6 Million philanderers running around down under!

That's nearly half the population! This purely isn't possible. Let's argue for a minute that people under 15 years old aren't getting 'any' and let's say people over 65 years old aren't cheating because they're too old to bother with such shenanigans. Right, based on raw data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, that eliminates 4.4 Million and 3.1 Million Australians respectively.

So once we've cancelled out the elderly and the underage, there's only 15.5 Million people left in Australia aged 15-65. Of those, you would need at least 10 Million to actually be in committed relationships to make the 42% of all Australians supposedly cheating possible, but then the number would be closer to 100% of all people in relationships are cheating!

Don't get me wrong, it's a great headline, but either we're all terrible partners and going to hell or it is just plain untrue.

While that was targeted towards talkback and trashy tabloids, it seems these days no one is immune from dodgy numbers. Just last week, I even saw one the most venerated current affairs program in the land, Four Corners fall for an 'unquantifiable statistic'.

To give you a bit of background, Four Corners is an Australian institution. It's similar in many respects to the BBC's Panorama, and like Panorama, Four Corners also airs on our government sponsored broadcaster, the ABC.

Traditionally the bastion of investigative journalism in this country, it's a program of the highest standard and has always been beyond reproach. Maybe I am just nitpicking but I was very surprised when Four Corners dropped this 'clanger' last week.

When airing an investigation into the fishing industry, the following ludicrous statistic went unchallenged; they had a representative from the recreational fishing association claim "There are five million recreational fishers in Australia - about a quarter of the population."

Really? May I ask... How on earth would they know that? How convenient that it's such a high number coming from the recreational fishers. I for one never knew fishing was so popular. Who does the number crunching on that one anyway? I can tell you right now... I don't fish and I don't know anyone else who does either.

However, I did cast a line off a boat once in my teenage years. I believe it was around 1997 and I never did it again because of the sheer boredom. Does this mean I am one of the 5 Million recreational fishers? Is it people who "do" fish or "have" fished? There's a big difference.

While that granted, is a rather innocent little harmless fact open to interpretation the statistic can also be the main weapon of choice for scaremongering, abusing the facts and creating what we Journos call... 'A Beat Up'.

An example of a beat up is media outlets claiming that "On average 30,000 Australians go missing each year".

While that number might sound plausible in a population of 23 Million, break it down and see its faults; if this were true, it would mean 80 go missing per day or one person every 18 minutes which is completely impossible. If someone was going missing every 18 minutes never to return, I'm sure we'd know about it. Surely you'd notice it when your Christmas card list kept getting considerably smaller every year?

Sourcing the original Australian Institute of Criminology report its easy to see how the number is manipulated. While it did state on average 30,000 go missing every year, the next paragraph of that same AIC report, (a statistic never quoted by the newspapers) states that on average 27,000 are found that same week. Now that makes more sense. While far less dramatic, that figure of 30,000 now seems reasonable because it is not just people who never return, but includes teens who run away from home, shack up at a mate's and return three days later. It includes elderly family members who wander off for a day and it even includes other careless people in their late twenties who forget to call their mum to tell her they're going to Europe for a few weeks! (again, I'm really sorry about that!)

The point is that these numbers are far less dramatic when explained, so some journalists try to spice up their stories not by lying, but by 'omitting' facts. There's an excellent example of the role the media plays in statistics and scaremongering by Canadian Journalist, Dan Gardner's in his book Risk: The Science of Politics and Fear.

Gardner stumbled across a statistic that said "50,000 paedophiles were trawling the internet at any given time". Due to it being a 'conveniently round number' He immediately grew suspicious and questioned it.

Doing a bit of digging, Garner's search for the origin of this statistic led him through newspapers, the FBI, the office of the US Attorney General, NBC's Dateline, then right around back to the beginning.

What had happened? It began in the press as "there could be up to 50,000". The authorities quoted the press, then press quoted the authorities and it passed through various publications and government bodies until the number somehow became credible. The fiction became fact.

All we know, is no one knows the real number. 50,000 was a guess. Gardner traced this number back to find it used before.

During the 1980's it came up twice. First, where it was claimed that 50,000 children were kidnapped by strangers per year. Then secondly, at the end of the decade in was later suggested 50,000 was how many people are murdered in a year by satanic cults.

People think they can fool you with numbers. I can't speak for you, however I am more likely to respond and be won over by someone's thought provoking and meritorious debate. I can respect any argument, from a person with substance before I trust a person rattling off a bunch of statistical lies instead.

Just because a number sounds plausible, it doesn't mean that it is accurate. So for young players, if you see it, don't repeat it. Never reference an article, broadcast, or news package without citing the source first. Find the raw data and if you can't find it, you shouldn't use it because it probably doesn't exist.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1999979 2012-10-22T10:50:29-04:00 2012-12-22T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
The look of disgust on people's faces when I mention my profession is usually accompanied by them saying. "I can't believe what you people call news these days".

And I always reply; "Yeah, but whose fault is that?".

Last week national strikes in Greece threatened once again to cripple Europe. There were 245 dead reported in Syria, 80 of which were found in one mass grave. And the North Koreans again threatened to march below the 38th parallel sparking a conflict that could potentially plunge the world into Nuclear War.

However if you were in Australia during this time, you would not have known any of this. Because it wasn't the evil totalitarian state of North Korea making headlines, but a single South Korean known as 'PSY'.

Down Under on a publicity tour, the hype was inescapable. As it appears that the bloke has as much talent as other great long lasting musical acts such as MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice and Rick Astley, was his presence an event of such extreme importance that he warranted featuring in every news bulletin of the day, every day of the week?

Not in my opinion, however, with over half a billion hits on You Tube, the public certainly seems to think that he does. So this unexplainable phenomenon known as PSY became newsworthy.

By Friday, as pretty much all PSY story angles had been explored, we Journalists were 'clutching at straws' to deliver the next Gangnam installment . So, the major debate that ended up dogging headlines that day was whether or not Australian X Factor Judge Melanie Brown, aka "Scary Spice" was wearing underwear or going 'commando' when she got up on stage next to PSY to dance 'Gangnam Style'.

To justify it to myself, I argued that questions surrounding an ageing Pop Stars knickers or lack thereof could be interesting to some. Hey, it definitely warranted a couple of 'cheeky puns' in the gossip tabloids (see what I did there?).

Yet deep in my heart, I knew that such a trivial matter shouldn't have had any airtime in National News Bulletins or take up any precious column inches in newspapers. Sadly, this story did both.

It's no wonder 'some people' get upset that we no longer tackle the 'serious issues' in the news. All I ask is those people don't blame me, because it is not my fault alone. While I am at it, I should also say it's not my Executive Producer's fault. Nor is it my News Director's, Station's CEO, or for that matter even the Media Baron's fault. To be brutally honest, the blame belongs to everyone!

Curse the journalists as much as you like, but you're the ones watching!

Most newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations are commercial entities. So while we do a great public service, as Journalists we do not work for charities. We're employees of businesses that run just like yours. So I want you to ask yourself; whether you sell tyres, mortgages, sneakers or stationary. Does your company aim to make what they think is the best possible product without consultation? Or do they listen to the market and then make what the public wants to buy?

No company will last long making a product no-one will use. Same goes with the media, we can't afford to make anything that no one will read or watch.

I've actually had people say to me "You should be ashamed of yourself". Shame on me you say? Really, shame on you! Shame on us!

Does anyone really think we pluck random stories out of thin air? News stories and their importance are measured by how many people watch them. While ratings aren't bulletproof, they're the best tool for determining what the public wants that we've got.

Higher ratings allow us to charge more for commercials, which means more money. Our objective is to stop you changing the channel. We attempt to fill every minute of air time with what viewers want. Some people even have this down to a science. I worked for an Executive Producer once who possessed the most brilliant television mind I will ever see in my lifetime. I'd go and pitch a story to him or what I believed to be an important news issue and he'd say something like; "No, I tried doing that in 1998 and 362,000 viewers changed channel before the package ended, the public doesn't care."

I learned more of this bloke in a short time than I will the rest of my career, and the greatest lesson he ever taught me was; "The public knows what matters to them, they're smart, so give them what they want". He also told me; "Never be so self-righteous that you think you know best and try make important something they don't care about... They'll turn straight off!"

So while I personally think there are more important things happening in the world, if the viewers want to know if a Spice Girl is 'freebuffing'... Then it's my job to go and find out. That's what I get paid for so I would appreciate it if you stop approaching me in the pub or at social functions giving me such a hard time about it! Do I hassle you about what you do for a living?

If you don't believe me that the public is the reason the news isn't newsworthy, let's pretend every single one of us is the 'News Directors' and let us put the public in charge.

2011 saw some historical world events. There were the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi. There was the truly horrific natural disaster in Japan and economically, the terrifying uncertainty during the European Sovereign Debt Crisis.

So as the United Kingdom's New News Directors- Which of those stories did you decide to run?

The answer is none of them.

That's right. Using Britain's Top Ten Google searches from 2011 as judge, Britons did not place value in any of those 'major' news events. In fact, there were only two out of the top ten searches that you'd consider 'traditional news stories'. They were The Royal Wedding and the FIFA 2012 World Cup. The other eight items were all entertainment stories or consumer based ones.

This is why it bothers me when all over the world when people act so superior and give Journalists a hard time. Don't tell me you want to be better informed about European Bailouts or an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Because when these stories come on the television you change the channel. When they're in the paper, you turn the page.

There is nothing wrong enjoying what could be described as 'Tabloid Journalism'... So why do we try to pretend we're better than it?

I'm a tabloid journalist and the truth is I would rather report on a trashy tabloid story about a Pop Star's undies watched by a million viewers any day of the week over doing a noble and credible story about some rare and endangered Bolivian tree-moth watched by no-one!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1966885 2012-10-15T10:20:00-04:00 2012-12-15T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
Watching him on my computer screen I was as nervous as all get out. It was as if I was standing on the ledge myself, I could taste the bile rising in the back of my throat, my stomach was contracting as it turned into knots and just when I thought I was about to explode... He jumped.

Then he became no more than a white dot on my screen, knowing I was not missing out on all that much and as it was five in the morning here in Sydney. I went into the kitchen, put my kettle on, made a cup of coffee and grabbed a banana.

Only after this I came back into my study... And hey! Wouldn't you know it? Felix was still free failing! I probably had time to go back and make a sandwich!

However I stayed and drank my coffee and ate my banana just to make sure his chute opened properly, nervously waiting until finally the crowd at mission control began to cheer as the parachute burst open with success. From here it was just a matter of waiting for Felix to float safely back down to terra firma.

This was when the adrenaline and excitement of the morning's mission started to wear off. When it was over, I found myself left alone and half asleep asking this question;

Why is my generation content to 'turn back' in our pursuit for greatness at the stratosphere, when our parents and grandparents generation reached for the stars?

For us, why does the sky have to be the limit? It's not fair. Is there really nothing left to explore? No boundaries to push? No new ground to discover?

I don't want to take anything away from this man or his achievement... But at the end of the day, if you look at it objectively... all he did was jump with a parachute... Albeit it was a very high jump, but still... what was its purpose?

Granted it truly did make me very excited to watch and around the newsroom today it was all people were talking about... but still... I hate to be the one to say it, but it's been done before.

It's this fact that made me rather sad. Because if we are so jubilant about this very courageous (yet by no means magnificent) feat then it is clear to me we've given up the quest for innovation and greatness altogether.

Don't get me wrong. I want to thank Felix Baumgartner for making me feel alive with pride in all that we, the human race can achieve. What he accomplished today is an example of our pursuit of excellence, our intimate curiosity, our desire to discover, achieve and our courage to 'jump into the unknown'.

As exciting as watching this jump was, it was still 'just a jump'. I could not help but think about and envy my parent's generation, because they lived in a time when human achievement was only limited by what you could imagine.

They were in their late teens when man was first shot into space and they were as old as I am now, in their mid-twenties when man first walked on the Moon. I wish I was there to see that. What that moment must have been like I am jealous to know? Just to be able to live in those times, to see them and to be free to dream what man will conquer next.

Our parents and our grandparents were lucky enough to live in an age of greatness that has so far been unequalled in all of human history.

Theirs was the age of space travel, airplanes, motorcars and even ships that could travel for months on end underneath the seas. It was the age of antibiotics, social security, women's suffrage, civil rights, free education and the creation of NHS... While it's not perfect and they made mistakes, they at least had the courage to change the world and they changed it for the better.

The Twentieth Century was born with Captain Scott racing Amundsen to see who would be first to be able to reach the South Pole and look, it ended with the common person being able to traverse the globe in under a day!

It also began with parts of the world unseen by human eyes, now I can look down upon any corner of the Globe with Google Maps from my lounge room!

Our world changed so much in one hundred years, but we were promised a future in the stars. Yet at the turn of this Century, we've let ourselves turn back at the sky.

Look back at the first half of the Twentieth Century. Their brightest minds eradicated small pox and polio. Now, I stand ashamed as I compare that to the turn of Twenty-First. While previous generations bettered the whole of mankind, our 'best and brightest' were not curing disease, because they were sadly too busy perfecting plastic surgery and inventing little blue pills that could give you a "hard-on" for hours.

What went wrong? Where did we lose our way? Wasn't 2001 meant to be a Space Odyssey? Or what of Stephen Spielberg' vision of a 2015... filled with flying cars and hover boards. Now 2015 is only three years away, but in reality we are still wondering what to do when we run out of the fuel that drove the last Century of innovation.

I for one, I want my hover board. You told me it would be here... I waited... Now where is it?

I'm not taking anything away from what took place in Roswell, New Mexico yesterday. What Felix Baumgartner achieved was courageous sure... But it was by no means revolutionary. I would like to think of his jump as a child getting back onto a bike after it had fallen off, not inventing the wheel. I hope that we as the human race will use this daredevil feat as the "kick start" we needed to inspire us back towards that wonderful ambition we once had, discovery.

Let this Century be the one that cures Cancer, Aids and Alzheimer's. Let this Century be the one that ends poverty throughout the world once and for all... I say let this Century be the one where we learn progress without destroying the Earth and finally achieve a true and meaningful peace... Let's make this Century the Century where man will set foot on Mars.

And please... For the love of God... Let this Century be the one where I get my bloody hover board!

These are just a few examples of what we can achieve... I know it's ambitious, but if we hurry... There's still time. We dared to be great once... Why can't we dare to be great again?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1946825 2012-10-07T17:24:18-04:00 2012-12-07T05:12:02-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
I know that to some, fighting over "what flag flies where" might sound a bit petty and maybe even a touch 'precious'... And you might be asking why I think a piece of cloth is so important.

When I heard that British institutions were not going to be forced by the "Bureaucrats in Brussels" to fly the "Eurosport Logo" above Government Buildings permanently throughout the year... It made me feel good inside.

I remember when Local Government Minister Eric Pickles decided back in April to lead the charge against the EU diktat, many applauded him, but some also thought there were more pressing matters to deal with rather than what flew above Whitehall, and some of the cynical of you out there even thought this fight was just an easy way to score some cheap political points. Whatever you may have thought about that melee, I can assure you it was the right thing to do.

I was in London for Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee and upon driving from Heathrow into town, straight away I was immediately inspired by the wash of red, white and blue bunting decking every High Street. I was taken back with just how many flags were being flown. Immediately upon seeing this marvellous sight, the first thing that came into my mind was the phrase "British Valour" as the scene invoked in me memories of our rich, proud and distinguished past.

Is this something you would ever want to give up?

When I return to London, if I was to see the circle of stars flying above any building in the place of the Union Jack, I'm not sure how I would feel... Although, the feeling of disappointment springs to mind.

Because is there any symbol as widely known, respected and as awe inspiring as the Union Jack?

Sure, you can argue there's the flag of our greatest ally, the "Stars and Stripes". However, that surely has to come in second, because disgracefully, in some pockets of the globe, especially in the Middle East, the "star spangled banner" does on occasion have a tendency to 'spontaneously combust'.

However the Union Jack constantly stands strong. While its roots are in Great Britain, to the world over it means many great things to many people. To me, it's always been a symbol of pride. It represents who I am, what I believe in, what I stand for and where I come from... I know I'm an Aussie... But it's my flag too.

Granted since it was first raised here, we've taken the liberty of 'sprucing' it up a bit, you know, adding a few things, namely a Federal Star and Southern Cross, but still... 'Our' Union Jack has always flown proudly.

So, if you were to replace the Union Jack on the great British establishments that created your country, and my own, it would be a symbol that you were willing to sacrifice our past so you can conform in a bland, European future.

Like anything in life, the harder you push for something, the greater the chance it will slip through your fingers. This can also be said of the European Union.

I for one have always found the push for conformity in Europe puzzling. Because to me, the most inspiring thing about the European Union is that each country is so different and yet still you find a way to band together. It really is a vision of what the future should be.

But the Union should never jeopardise a countries own national identity. Some of the wisest words I've ever been told were "If you want to know where you're going... Make sure you always remember where you've been". The only way to truly have a great, noble, rich and vibrant global community is not through assimilation, but through valuing your own traditions while respecting those of others.

I would never place another country or culture above Australia and the Commonwealth, nor would I expect any other patriotic person anywhere else in the world to place Australia or the Commonwealth before their own.

That's why I think the flag debate is important. Because a flag isn't just a piece of fabric, as nations, a flag represents the fabric of whom we are.

So give the continentals their week of seeing the European Flag flying in May if it keeps them happy and gets them off your back, but for the other 51 weeks of the year keep our Union Jack flying high and flying proud!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1931370 2012-10-02T03:29:36-04:00 2012-12-01T05:12:01-05:00

Marcus Middleton http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-middleton/
By escaping onto Facebook, all the pages, status updates and hilarious comments posted by my "friends" in the Facebook Universe remind me just how boring and empty my own life truly is.
That was until I had a shocking realisation.

Moments ago, I was cruising down the Information Superhighway, making good time getting to 5pm until I detoured to check out a photo gallery on Facebook. Straight away I was envious of this person's magnificent life! It looked like somewhere, this someone had attended the party of the century. I clicked out of the gallery and further examined this person's page. Their life was one big holiday; they were either partying at all the trendiest hotspots around the globe or always travelling to far off remote and exotic destinations for work.

To rub salt in the wound, scrolling down their time line, I saw that they were time and time again snapped with their arms draped around girls who wouldn't look out of place at a Victoria Secret Lingerie Parade ... After this I immediately thought;
"Geez... This guy truly does have it all!"

That is when my curiosity caused me to look at whose page I was on... And that's when I discovered... I was looking at my own!

Why does everyone's life always look better on Facebook? I can only think back to Ben Elton's novel Blind Faith, and I ask have we become so self-absorbed and so shamelessly self-promoting that we are leading the world towards a meaningless dystopian future worse than anything Orwell could have dreamed up in 1984?

Behind the pictures of 'My Great Life', I remembered what the moments really were like... That 'awesome party' was in reality, the worst night of my life. Shortly after where I am photographed laughing and dancing, my then girlfriend and I got into a fight, which ended in her calling a cab and in the morning 'us' parting ways.

Or all those incredible overseas trips to places like Mykonos, Ibiza, Bali and Prague... As fun as they look online, all I can remember is lost luggage, fist fights, hangovers, missed flights and in one case, a rat infested hostel! Work trips weren't much better, whizzing around the world, trying to fight unwinnable battles against time zones and deadlines and losing consciousness as I play the game of "how many hours my body really can go without sleep?"

And as for the long list of girls I've been snapped with... Well, some are ones I've tried to conquer... and failed, others are simply those met on a night out, never to be seen again... Then there are my friend's girlfriends... As for the rest? I don't even know... They must have been just walking past!

So understanding this, from now on, I won't be upset or jealous looking into the lives of others on Facebook anymore... Because, it's not really what our lives are... Facebook is simply what we want people to think they are. In reality, we're all just as boring as the next bloke. Facebook is nothing more than the greatest self-promotion vehicle ever constructed!

Once you get your head around the fact Facebook is only an aspirational platform, then it's not hard to see what type of people your friends really are and what they want to be seen as... Already, I've put my friends into six categories... You should have a look at yours to see where they fit, and also see which category you fall into, because like me, you might not like what you find!

1) The Soapboxer:
This is perhaps the MOST annoying 'Facebooker'. They status update no less than 100 times a day, offering their 'expert' commentary on everything from national sporting selections to exit strategies for Afghanistan. This friend has an opinion on everything and just wants to be heard. In another life before Facebook they called Talkback Radio stations... That was of course until all of them finally blocked their number.

2) The Liker:
This is the person has their finger permanently stuck on the "Like" button... Selling a car? "Like"... Going on Holiday? "Like"... Just wrote something heartfelt about your family pet that died on this day last year? "Like"... Got sacked from work today? "Like"... They "Like" every post ever written, no matter how inappropriate "Liking" something may be... Seriously... "Liking" some comments, it makes no sense! If you can't say something, sometimes you shouldn't say anything at all. These are the people you want to take out to a bar one night and say they cannot say anything in any conversation for the entire evening except "Like"... Only then, will they see how stupid they really are.

3) Little Mr. or Miss "Look at Me":
A stalker's best friend, they insist on keeping the world updated with where they are, what they are doing, who they are with and how awesome it is... My question is; if they are really having such a good time, while would they be feeling the need to take time away from the fun they are having, fish out there smart phone, and log what they doing? Previously, this person was the one in your group who would spend a whole party telling tales about the last party they were at and what relatives of semi famous C-List celebrities may have been there.

4) The Hoarder:
Perhaps the loneliest person on Facebook... They're usually a combination of 'The Soapboxer', 'The Liker', and the Little Mr. or Miss "Look at Me". What makes them different is they usually have over 1,000 Facebook Friends compared with your paltry 217. They're more active than most on Facebook, making them exceedingly popular in Cyberspace. In real life, they usually have no meaningful relationships and no friends good enough that they can ask them to help move house. They "Hoard" friends to satisfy their insecurity... Look for the Hoarder in your Facebook Friends... It's probably the person you haven't spoken to since High School!

5) The Philosopher:
The internet can't be all sunshine and free porn. It has a downside... The internet also allows stupid people to think they're smart. As philosopher's cannot come up with any of their own Status Updates, they pinch memorable, witty and famous quotes from history's greatest minds... They are usually annoyingly frequent and out of context. Think Ron Burgundy saying "When in Rome".

6) The Traveller:
This is the wealthy cousin of Little Mr. or Miss "Look at Me". They are always travelling around the world on fantastic, exotic and exclusive holidays. They feel the need to give you hourly updates of where they are and how much better they are than you because you are not there with them. The more humble traveller might try hiding their bragging by checking in at airports overseas saying "can't wait to come home"... Or; "Geez... Italian Drivers are Crazy"... But still, they're not really complaining, it's only to let you know they are not at home. Hopefully, because they befriended your convicted criminal brother... They will arrive back from holidays to a burgled home and have that smug superior looked wiped straight off their face!]]>