Weaver's News Spin
February 1998
A review of events and their interpretation.
Saturday, 14 February
UN chief Kofi Annan has been invited to visit Baghdad, according to Iraqi sources. Iraq are also claiming to be "flexible" over weapons inspections. The UN also intend to send a team of cartographers to Iraq, to map the eight presidential sites at the centre of the problem.
FA Cup Round 5 saw victories for Sheffield Utd (1-0 over Reading), Newcastle (1-0 over Tranmere), and Leeds, 3-2 winners after a tense match against Birmingham. After 23 attempts, Coventry finally notched up a victory at Aston Villa, 1-0 the score there. Wolves drew 1-1 at Wimbledon, and 10-man Blackburn held West Ham to a 2-2 tie. In the outstanding Premier League matches, Derby beat Everton, while Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool drew 3-3
In Scotland, the cup is also at its last 16 stage. Holders Kilmarnock lost 2-0 at local rivals Ayr Utd, while last season's runners-up Falkirk put out Raith. Both Dundee and Dundee Utd were embarrassed by Highland sides, drawing 1-1 against Ross County and Calley Thistle respectively. Rangers were held 2-2 at Motherwell, and both Hearts and St Johnstone progressed against lower league opposition.
The 3rd Test continued, with England losing wickets on a regular basis.
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Friday, 13 February
Britain experiences some very strange weather. While Glasgow suffered 5 inches of rain in a week, the south-east basked in temperatures of 19 degrees C (65 for those who insist on using other scales). This is weather more suitable for mid June than mid February. Prime Minister Toy Bair took all the credit for the weather, claiming it was part of the government's unheralded Snow to Sunshine programme.
Justice Harman resigned from the High Court, after one of his decisions was quashed by the Appeal Court. Harman had taken nearly two years to deliver a verdict, in a case that would have taken another judge around three months to decide. The Lord Chancellor commented "This is only to be expected of someone with that name. Harman. Not a sensible name."
An odd day to open the 3rd Test in Trinidad. The West Indies opened strongly, before crumbling from 93/1 to 159 all out. Both Gus Fraser and Andy Caddick took five wickets as the home side collapsed in a manner more befitting their visitors. By the close, England had reached 24/2.
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Thursday, 12 February
Ulster takes its turn at the front of the news stand. The IRA say that their ceasefire is still in place after killings on Tuesday. And news that the UDP will return to the negotiating table at the end of the month, following a five week absence.
Chelsea FC are looking for a new manager after Ruud Gullit was resigned. According to sources at Chelsea, the two parties could not agree on whether he was allowed to wear a red waistcoat at matches (or something). Gullit guided the club to the FA Cup last season, his first in charge, and leaves the club 2rd in the Premier League, and in the quarter finals of the Cup Winners' Cup.
And the Scottish League finally agrees its split into a 10-team Premier League, formed by the sides that would have made up next season's premier league. The new Premier League will negotiate its own sponsorship and tv rights, and will be a license to print money.
As predicted in this column yesterday, snowboarder Rabigliane was re-instated. The Court of Appeal pointed out that the Snowboarding Federation were not acting constitutionally in disqualifying the Canadian.
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Wednesday, 11 February
War in Iraq continues to loom large. Iraq offered to open eight palaces to inspection for two months; the US insisted that access should be to any place at any time. A report in London's Evening Standard suggested the first strike could be barely a week away. The things these people will do to distract from their sex lives / murder of a royal / disappointing performance of the Packers.
The spectre of drugs arose at the Winter Olympics in Nagano. Snowboarding gold medallist Ross Rabliagno was disqualified after marginally failing a test for marijuana. Rabliagno claimed that he was the victim of passive smoking, and would fight the decision. This is a hard decision, but given that the evidence is so marginal (0.19 ng in the sample, 0.15 ng is the limit) and the IOC has no research on passive smoking of illegal drugs, they would be foolish not to reinstate him.
And one quick football result from the CONCACAF Gold Cup. USA 1, Brazil 0.
Customs troubles dog Victoria A(a)dams, Posh Spice. Her 30,000 pound ring for fiance David Beckham was bought in New York, and is subject to 20% duty when she imported it to the UK. Only, she neglected to declare it to Customs. A down-payment of 5,000 has now been lodged, but this isn't enough to avoid the bad publicity. Something she might have avoided with a manager...
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Tuesday, 10 February
Further shootings in Ulster. Two Protestant men, one a known Unionist activist, were shot dead. Fingers of suspicion were pointed at front organisations for the IRA, denied by their political representatives in Sinn Fein.
The Oscar nominations were announced. Brits look to have Best Actress sewn up: Kate Winsome, Helena Bonham-Carter, Julie Christie and Dane Judi Dench are joined by American Helen Hunt. Elsewhere, Titanic picked up 14 nominations, equalling the record set by All About Eve in 1951. However, there's no nod for Titanic in the prestigious Screenplay award - nor for Leo di Laine in the Actor category. The Full Monty goes for the Big Three of Picture, Director and Screenplay.
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Monday, 9 February
Social Services secretary Harriet Harman announced further consultation on planned reforms of the pensions paid to disabled people, following many complaints by those affected. This is, quite clearly, a delaying tactic on the part of the government, who don't want to be seen taking money away from some of the more vulnerable in society, but obviously intend to.
Ho hum. The Second Test ended with 94* from Carl Hooper, who helped steer the West Indies to a three-wicket win. The home side thus level the six match series at 1-1. Test Three begins, also in Grenada, on Friday.
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Sunday, 8 February
The deaths of three men were announced today. Enoch Powell (85) was the Financial Secretary and Health Minister in the Conservative Governments of the 1950s and 60s. The political career of the member for Wolverhampton was destroyed by inaccurate reporting of a 1968 speech in which he appeared to warn of rivers of blood, warning against immigration. After this misunderstanding, he represented South Down until 1987. I never had the pleasure of hearing Powell speak in the flesh - he was booked to appear on the Ulster question when I was at university, but pulled out after hearing of the opposition resulting from the immigration albatross. He will be remembered as a man who used the English language to perfection, both in speech and writing.
Carl Wilson (51) founded the Beach Boys in 1961 with brothers Brian and Dennis, cousin Mike Love and friend Alan Jardine. The lead guitarist with the band was always in the shadow of creative genius Brian, but had a complete and simple grasp of the group's style. For me, the group's seminal works are the singles "Wouldn't it be nice" and the classic "Good vibrations".
Falco (45) died yesterday in a car accident. Best known in the UK for his 1986 number one single, "Rock me Amadeus", Falco was never afraid to experiment with the frontiers of popular music.
It's turning into an After you, Alfonse soccer title race on both sides of the border. In Scotland, Celtic were denied a chance to go top by a late Hearts equaliser, their match ending 1-1. South of the border, Arsenal beat 2nd place Chelsea 2-0 to boost their own championship credentials. Although they stay in 5th, the win puts the Gunners just one point off Chelsea.
And a topsy-turvy day in the cricket. Curtley Ambrose had a spell of 5/16 as England slumped to 258 in their second innings. Set 282 to win, the West Indies started strongly, helped by a commanding 62 by Stewart Williams. But three wickets in four overs from Gus Fraser tipped the balance back England's way. At the close, the match was finely poised at...
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Saturday, 7 February
A bad day for round-the-world balloonists. The crew of the Breitling Orbiter landed near Rangoon, Burma, after 9 days 17 hours 55 minutes aloft. They have the longest flight in a balloon, and the longest flight without re-fuelling. Meanwhile, Richard Branson is looking unlikely to complete his global flight, after being delayed first by his balloon taking off without him, then a date at the High Court.
The European Rugby Championships kicked off today, with France gaining an upset victory over England, 21-14, at the new Parc de France. Ireland were edged out by Scotland, 17-16.
England moved into a commanding position in the Test. Gus Fraser took 8-53, almost single-handedly dismissing the West Indies for 191. Lara (55) and Chanderpaul (34) were the only two to outscore Extras. Building on a lead of 23, Stewart made a sterling 73 as England progressed to 219/4 by the end of play.
And in the football. Man U came from behind to scrape a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Bolton. Blackburn lost 3-0 to troubled Tottenham, Liverpool were dumped 3-2 by a superb Southampton side, while Derby lost by the only goal to Aston Villa. Leicester took advantage of the melee above them - their 1-0 victory over Leeds takes them to 9th in the table. In lower league action, Middlesborough were held 1-1 by Birmingham, allowing Notts Forest to return to the top, winning 1-0 at Portsmouth. Wolves lost 1-0 to Sunderland, and now head West Brom on goals scored. In Scotland, Rangers were held 1-1 by Dunfermline. |
Friday, 6 February
Further pressure on Bill Clintern today. At a press conference with visiting British PM Toy Bair, the President's Husband admitted to doing it in the Oval Office "over and over and over". When pressed to elaborate further, Bair suggested that Bill was referring to how long the England bowlers would have to throw at the West Indies.
In Britain, the question is asked: is Bair being exploited? A guy facing a big crisis invites over Britain's most popular leader since the last one, the one for whom sunshine is never further away than his smile, to lend credibility to a stuttering presidency. Does this reflect well on Bair? And if it doesn't, who cares?
Certainly not backbench Labour MP Brian Sedgemore, who described the influx of nearly 100 female MPs at the last election as Labour's Stepford Wives, and pointed out that the leader was above Parliament, above Government, above the Monarchy, above God. Peter Meddlesome, taking a break from single-handedly building the Millennium dome, spluttered into his peppermint tea and called the attack vicious. A representative of the Labour Party was not available for comment.
Day 2 of the Second Test, and England finally fell for 214, in spite of a spirited 17 from Gus Fraser. But England broke back quickly, dismissing Sherwin Campbell and Carl Hooper for just 1 run each as the side fell to 155/7 by the close. |
Thursday, 5 February
Nanny State Watch: Health Secretary Frank Dobson unveiled his plan to make Britain more healthy. Aiming to cut heart disease and strokes by one third over 12 years, Dobson aims to tackle the causes, which he cited as poor housing, low wages, pollution and crime. So, no mention of more exercise, or further taxes on junk food.
The Second Test began in Trinidad, with the obligatory England collapse, not helped by the incorrect dismissal of Adam Hollioake. From a promising 87/1, England slumped to 143/7. Only Stewart (50) and Hussain (61*) offered any resistance as Curtley Ambrose led the attack, taking a superb 3 for 23 off 26 overs.
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Wendesday, 4 February
Never one to knowingly undersell a situation, President Yeltsin warned of World War 3 if the USA attacks Iraq. Analysts were quick to point out that this would entail Iraq fighting back, thus proving that there were grounds for the strikes in the first place. The thoughts run further that if Iraq attacks using biological or chemical weapons, Israel will nuke them and not lose sleep.
In slightly more cheery news, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates was splatted by a custard pie. Organisers said that a prank with commercial intent had taken place. Noel Godin, a career flinger of these flans, consisting of whipped egg white and shaving foam, was curiously unavailable for comment, as was TISWAS's Phantom Phlan Phlinger.
More Cup Replay action. Newcastle were scared by Stevenage, but won 2-1. Battle continued between the managers, with Toon boss Kenny Dalgleish claiming the Boro' players failed to show enough respect, but not considering the possibility that his players hadn't earned it. In the other match, Barnsley beat Spurs 2-0, with Jurgen Klinnsman suffering a broken jaw. He will only be out for three weeks.
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Tuesday, 3 February
Following yesterday's libel award against a member of G-Tech, lottery regulator Peter Davis tendered his resignation to Culture secretary Chris Smith. This is a move clearly aimed at restoring public confidence in the tarnished game. Speaking of which... the three jockeys arrested last week over bribe allegations were suspended the following day. These bans are now to be rescinded, as the three are to be assumed innocent unless proven otherwise.
Another round-the-world balloon bid neared an end, following the refusal of the Chinese government to allow the crew over their airspace. Libya will, Iraq did, what's wrong with China?
A poll of angst-ridden acts revealed Leonard Cohen is still the world's Mr Misery. Newcomers such as The Smiths, or Radiohead failed to register a place in the top 20. Management of Oasis were hopping mad at this news, as it's the 34th successive chart in which they've failed to finish at #1.
FA Cup 4th round replays saw Wolves power past Charlton 3-0, Sheffield United beat Ipswich 1-0, and Reading put out Cardiff on penalties.
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Monday, 2 February
Flamboyant Virgin boss Richard Branson won a libel action against Guy Snowden of GTech. In 1993, Snowden offered Branson a bribe to pull out of the race to run Britain's national lottery, subsequently won by the Camelot consortium - containing GTech. Snowden stood down from the Camelot board; Branson donated his 100,000 pound libel award to a local pickle farm.
At the Toy of the Year award, the Teletubbies picked up the award for most popular toy. First amongst equals Po was unavailable for comment, as she and the others were trying to persuade the dancing teddy bear to transport the award to Home Hill, where Noo-Noo will keep it sparkling clean. The Teletubbies can be seen on BBC TV daily, and on PBS from April 6.
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Sunday, 1 February
With US sabre-rattling against Iraq continuing, Madeline Albright embarked on a whistle-stop tour of the Middle East, calling on seven leaders over four days. It's designed to play well both with the Russians and French, lukewarm over support for military intervention. It's also playing well with voters in the US, who would bear the brunt of any casualties inflicted. The spectre of what would happen after strikes was raised by some commentators, and distinctly not answered...
Petr Korda of the Czech Republic won his first Grand Slam at the age of 31, beating Chile's Marcello Rios 6-2 6-2 6-2.
Mad: Croydon Borough Council towed away a car after the parking ticket was displayed on the driver's side, rather than the passenger's side. Apparently, lazy traffic wardens can't be expected to step into the road to check for tickets, as this would mean them having to think.
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This page updated Feb 14, 1998
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