ONLY THE GERMANS SAW IT COMING

And to be honest I'm not even sure they did! Let me explain.

It was a Tuesday evening. Everyone was sat in front of the TV waiting for the football to begin. In Brazil, the stands of Belo Horizonte stadium were a sea of yellow jerseys as everyone came out to support their home nation in what they hoped would be a thrilling match against Germany. 

Except it wasn't. Well not in the way it was supposed to be anyway.

The German football team were literally on fire and the Brazilians never knew what the hell hit them.

Within twenty minutes, Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose, Toni Kroos, and Sami Khedira had steamrollered over Brazil to the humiliating tune of 5-0.

It was very painful to watch. The team that have won 5 previous world cups and are, to some, the epitome of what football is all about, were being systematically slaughtered by a German team who refused to give an inch. It was absolutely horrible. 

And it only got worse. Could it get any worse? Oh, yes.....!  

In the second half, Andre Schurrle scored two more goals to complete Brazil's worst defeat in years! 

Brazil's Emboaba Oscar  did give us a quick "Hello! Hello!" moment, as I'm fond of calling it, by getting a consolation goal, so well done to him. 

But the damage had been done. Brazil had been booed off at half-time and a lot of fans didn't even stick around to watch the end of the game.

We were wondering whether any of the players would leave Belo Horizonte stadium alive. We can only wonder what Luiz Felipe Scolari was thinking as he watched his team completely fall to pieces.

Most of us could only stare at the TV and wonder what the hell had happened!

On Saturday they played in a 3rd place match against Holland and it did not feel too good. Fans hoped to see them do better, if only to regain some shard of dignity out of this embarrassing scenario. But it didn't happen. They lost that game 3-0

As for Germany, well they are heading for the final on Sunday, at the expense of Brazil's humiliation. Will they hand out the same to Argentina. We can only wait and see.

One thing we do know. These defeats hurt like hell and it will hurt for a long time to come.

JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME

On 23 June 2014 the world of Journalism was torn apart after three Al Jazeera English journalists were jailed in Egypt. Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy were given seven years each and Baher Mohamed was given ten years (well, seven with three extra for possessing a bullet).

Yes, this nonsense trial in a kangaroo court finally came to its conclusion - the wrong way!

There was no credible evidence; the evidence they had was either nonsense (a pop video? Gimme a break!) or not relevant to the case. 

There was absolutely no reason for these men to have been given their respective sentences. For a start the so-called "bullet" was actually only an empty casing that Baher had picked up during a protest. He wasn't the first journalist to take a souvenir and probably won't be the last. To prosecute him for this is just ludicrous.

Egypt has effectively and unjustifiably made journalists and journalism it's enemy. They have received condemnation from all over the world.

As a freelance journalist, I feel this verdict has not only shown contempt for journalism but will encourage other  countries to think they have carte blanche to treat journalists in any way they see fit whether it be legal or not; whether it be humane or not and whether it is justified or not.  This ruling has effectively put journalists in even greater danger than they were before.

The journalists' families and respective countries are using diplomatic means to get the three journalists released. Meanwhile, everyone else - journalists and non-journalists alike - are continuing to scream, shout and tweet #FREEAJSTAFF and #JournalismIsNotaCrime until their fingers bleed.

And it must keep going. We must let these three brave men see that they have not been forgotten. We also need to show Egypt that we will not tolerate them treating any journalists like this.

Hopefully, but unlikely, the Egyptian authorities will come to their senses and release the staff of Al Jazeera.

Until then; we shall still scream #FREEAJSTAFF.


If you wish to send a message to Peter Greste please visit:  freepetergreste@gmail.com

If you wish to send a donation, please visit: http://www.freepetergreste.org 

If you wish to send a message to Mohamed Fahmy please go here: http://repent11.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/words-of-support/comment-page-1/#comment-90 …

"KISS ME! I'M IRISH!"

I'm Irish. Well, partly anyway. My paternal great-grandfather was from Cork in the Republic of Ireland.  And my maternal step-grandad was from Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Now as soon as I tell non-Irish people I have an Irish background, they will react in one of three ways. They will ask why I have no accent (I do - it's called Yorkshire!). They will ask if I am a Catholic or a Protestant (neither. I was raised through the Salvation army, but no longer practise).Or they will ask you about the troubles. They assume (incorrectly) that you know everything about it (I don't, but I'm learning) or that you even want to discuss it (most Irish would rather draw a line under the whole thing). Even though the troubles are essentially over, people have asked about them, as if I can give them a detailed history of the troubles. I've learned to live with it. And the first thing I get asked when I mention my name is, "Oh, are you Catholic?". No. I can see why they would make this mistake, but it's not the case. That's why I prefer to be called Terry. It means I don't have to explain all the time. 

So how proud am I to be Irish? As proud as it is possible to be. Do I celebrate St Patrick's day? Of course I do! Being Irish is awesome and I wouldn't change it for the world. And I wish everyone on the island of Ireland could be as proud as I am to be just plain old 'Irish'. 

Sadly that hasn't happened. From 1969 for nearly thirty years, Northern Ireland was scarred by division and violent conflict. Everyone had to be one side or the other. They were either Loyalist (Unionist) or Republican, and they were either Catholic or protestant. To think of themselves as just one people who lived happily together, but just had a different point of view from one another seemed unthinkable. but then, no-one thought the Berlin Wall would fall down either. Yet in 1989, that's exactly, amazingly, what happened. And on 10 April 1998 the Good Friday agreement was signed.

And here - in 2014 - are the people of Northern Ireland. All one people - just Irish -  living happily together (for the most part) who just happen to have differences of opinion and different beliefs. Brilliant! Long may it remain that way. There is still a lot of distrust, of course. In fact there are more walls up in Northern Ireland now, than there ever were during the Troubles. But everything is peaceful. People are no longer trying to destroy each other and that's a great start. Trust, however, takes time, but it will happen. The trust will build up and the walls will fall down. We are all one people - Irish - who just happen to have different beliefs. Nothing more or less than that. We are just plain old Irish. And I for one am proud to be so!

I leave you with this message I wrote on the peace wall.

WHERE IS MH370?

There have been many mysteries in regard to missing planes. For instance The Bermuda Triangle is notorious for missing planes and ships and Glenn Miller was on a plane in the English Channel that went missing in 1944. 

My favourite story is of pilot Amelia Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan who were attempting a circumnavigation of the globe. They disappeared on route to Howland Island in the Pacific. No trace of them was ever found. The question is: where did they go? As with all mysteries like this, conspiracy theories abound. Some people say they were shot down, some say they ran out of fuel and crashed, and some say they were captured by aliens. 

Sci-fi writers have used missing planes as a plot device for years. From Taylor and Braga writing about Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan being found on an alien planet in the Star Trek Voyager episode 'The 37's' to Peter Grimwade writing about a Concorde going missing in the Dr Who story 'Timeflight'. 

Which brings us to the mysterious case of MH370. This Malaysian Airlines plane left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. An hour into the flight, it vanished. There was an extensive search, but no trace of it has so far been found. So.....where is it? Where did it go? In this century of amazing technology, how can one plane just vanish into thin air?

The families of the passengers and crew want answers and have been given none. They have no idea where their loved ones are and no-one can tell them. 

Of course, there are the conspiracy theorists talking nonsense again, but the families don't need to hear that stuff, especially the rubbish about them being kidnapped by aliens. To me, all that does is dishonour the missing victims and it certainly doesn't help the heartbreak being suffered by those who love them. 

The question still remains: where is MH370 and where are the passengers and crew? We may never, ever know. But until this mystery is solved, that's all it will remain: A mystery.

I hope one day we do find out, if only to bring comfort to the relatives.

A CAPTAIN GOES DOWN WITH HIS SHIP
..........OR DOES HE?

There is a tradition in maritime history saying: "A Captain Goes Down With His Ship". I also found out in research that it's actually the law.

If things start to go wrong, a Captain is supposed to put the safety of everyone on board above his own. He should be the last person he is thinking about.

Or that's the way it's supposed to work. This is such a simple law and yet it seems that a lot of Captains in the last few years are either forgetting it exists or just not caring.

We start with the delightfully named Costa Concordia. This cruise liner capsized off the coast of Isola del Giglio in Italy. The Captain neglected his duties and 32 passengers were lost. 

Then we have the MV Sewol which sank off the Island of Jindo in South Korea. Again the Captain was negligent and there was a loss of nearly 300 lives. The most tragic thing was many of these were high school children who had their whole lives ahead of them.

The Captains of both these ships abandoned their passengers and crew, but why? Cowardice? Stupidity? Or callous disregard for anyone, but themselves? We may never know. Whatever happened, they broke the law and will possibly pay the price for it. 

The Captain of the Costa Concordia was charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship. The Captain of the Sewol was charged with homicide through gross negligence. And to add insult to injury, he tried to pass himself off as a passenger.

The sadness of all this is that the deaths didn't stop with the drowned passengers and crew. In the case of the Costa Concordia, one of the salvage crew also died. And in regard to the MV Sewol, there is the emotional and heartbreaking story of the teacher who believed he was at fault and committed suicide because he couldn't cope with his guilt. There is also the parent who threatened to do the same if her daughter was found, because she allegedly pushed her daughter into going on the trip in the first place. And one of the civilian divers also died.

These two Captains broke the law and let people die. They should never have been placed in charge of a ship - ANY SHIP - in the first place and they should not be allowed to serve on a ship EVER AGAIN. They are a disgrace to maritime tradition, maritime history and worst of all a disgrace to their respective countries. 

I must point out that there were other contributing factors to these tragedies. That is not in dispute, especially with the Sewol where the ship was overloaded and the ferry company were also believed to be at fault.

However, once on board a ship, the buck stops with the Captain. 

A CAPTAIN GOES DOWN WITH HIS SHIP. And that's the way it should be.

"There are three things to remember about being a Captain: Keep your shirt tucked in; go down with the ship; and NEVER abandon a member of your crew". ~ Kate Mulgrew   

Flowers for the Victims of the Sewol Disaster (with kind permission from NBC's Bill Neely)

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

                                           

                                                                                                                                                             THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

I have an admission to make before we start. I absolutely hated school (despite that I didn't bunk off once which I think is quite impressive). My educational experience was awful. I was bullied, I had useless unsupportive teachers and worse, unsupportive parents. So yeah, my school years were the worst of my life.

You'd have thought that would have put me off education forever. but it hasn't. It has only made me realise how important education is. And a few years ago I took a course in music at the University of Sheffield. I made some wonderful friends, had an inspiring lecturer, and my experience couldn't have been more different. It was wonderful. So, thanks Adam White (BMus), if you read this!

So do I believe in a good education? Of course I do. Wholeheartedly.

What I can't understand is why some fundamentalists in the Middle East do not.

They seem to have this bigoted  - not to mention sexist - view that the only thing women are good for are keeping home, doing chores and having kids (or as my mum so subtly puts it: "Being head cook and bottle-washer").

Now I'm not saying men in the West do not have these attitudes. They do. But when innocent women start dying for this principle then it becomes totally unacceptable.

First there is the appalling case of  Malala Yousafzai. She was brutally and cruelly shot by the Taliban simply because she wanted to go to school with her friends and learn like any other teenager. Thankfully, she recovered from this horrific incident and has continued to speak up for woman going to school. Though it is unlikely she will ever be able to return to her home country of Pakistan.

Then there is the recent frightening incident of over two hundred Nigerian girls who were abducted from a school in the village of Chibok by a terrorist group called Boko Haram.

The literal meaning of Boko Haram is 'Fake Education is a sin'. Boko being an abbreviation of  'Llimin Boko', meaning Fake Education.

Boko Haram - as their name suggests - believe that the Western-style education of woman (of any age) is unacceptable.

Sadly most these girls are still missing, The Nigerian military has said they know their whereabouts, but refuse to make it public. This could be for several reasons: They have no idea where they are and are blatantly lying, or they DO know, and are terrified of retaliation from Boko Haram, either towards them or the girls. In fact President Goodluck Jonathan refuses to make any move to help the girls whatsoever. He thought the best way of helping them was to take a trip to France.

My question here is: why should these girls not have an education? Do they not have the right to learn and be valuable and productive members of the society they live in, like their male counterparts? Yes, of course they do, and they should.

So, how do we change this horrible sexist attitude? It will take a lot of time and a lot of persistence. But there is hope.

As long as women like Malala stand up and say "We have rights", then eventually things will be different.

I have realised (a little late in life perhaps) that I love journalism and dream of pursuing a career in it.

These women deserve to have the chance to chase their dreams too, whatever they may be. I wish them all the very best of luck.

THE FIGHT FOR FOUR MEN

                                         

                                                    THE FIGHT FOR FOUR MEN

Let me ask you a question. What does Freedom mean to you? Some may say it's being able to go for a ride, or a walk. Some may describe it as being alone with their own thoughts, shutting the rest of the world out. However you interpret freedom is fine. For myself it's being able to have my own opinions and to be able to share those opinions even if others may disagree with them.

For four good men, the only freedom they needed was to tell the truth to - and about - the world, via their journalism.

Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed were arrested in Egypt in December 2013. Their colleague - Abdallah el-Shamy - was already in jail having been arrested in August of the same year. 

They were charged with spreading false news, bringing Egypt into disrepute (yes, really!), and having ties with (and providing a platform for) the Muslim Brotherhood, who Egypt class as terrorists. 

Al Jazeera's stand is "we reject all charges and continue to campaign for their immediate release". 

it is the consensus they are innocent of all charges. So the reason they are in jail is somewhat of a mystery. Not only to their colleagues and journalism as a whole, but to people who have friends who are journalists (myself included) and anyone who believes in the importance of journalism, free speech, and a sense of justice.

Justice sounds (and is) a strong word. But in this case it's definition is simple because it translates to something simple but just as powerful  - #FREEAJSTAFF

This hashtag has been appearing on Al Jazeera and Twitter every hour of every day since these men were jailed. There was also a global day of action for the men who were wrongfully arrested just for doing their job. The taped mouth and hashtag picture has become a symbol all over the world of freedom of speech and journalistic freedom specifically. A way to show the Egyptians we will not be intimidated and certainly not silenced.

By jailing these men, Egypt has effectively shot itself in the foot, because it only served to prove how important journalistic freedom is and how much it is valued. After 100+ days* (Al-Shami 236+*) in jail people are still fighting for their freedom. 

It's because these journalists and many others like them do not belong behind bars. They should be outdoors doing what they do best. Using their talents to tell the truth about the world around them.

Where this situation goes or how gets resolved is open to question. But Abdullah Al-Shami is in a precarious situation. And it would be be desperately sad if he had to die to prove how important journalistic freedom is. One thing is certain though.

The men of Al Jazeera deserve their freedom.  Until they are released, the support will continue and calls for their release will never be silenced.  All anyone asks of the Egyptians is that they #FREEAJSTAFF

For the four talented men of Al Jazeera "JUSTICE" is as simple as that!.

(*These numbers were correct at the time this was originally written).

NB On 17 June 2014 Abdallah el-Shamy was finally released from jail on medical grounds.