Today, our new Chancellor, George Osborne, took the initiative and introduced the toughest Budget for nearly a century. He has rightly been dubbed ‘The Enforcer’ by the British press.

George Osborne delivers his first Budget flanked by Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander

Like many, I will be analysing the impact of the budget on my finances and those of my family, but what has struck me most so far is the image above…

A Conservative Chancellor delivering a budget consisting of many things that the Liberal Democrats opposed flanked by the two most senior Liberal Democrats; priceless!

Who said that there is never anything exciting in politics?! I wonder how they felt and how their party will react to their leadership supporting policies that they campaigned against just weeks ago.

Believe it or not, the Prime Minister was sitting behind George Osborne, curiously out of shot – perhaps conveniently?

I commend George Osborne and this brave budget. Well done, George – no longer ‘Boy George’ I think!

With so much talk about the special relationship, and the recent Britain versus USA discussions emanating from the BP Oil Spill disaster, I was hopeful of a resounding victory and things got off to a fantastic start with Gerrard’s superb goal in the 4th minute.

However, that was the point at which we seemed to peak – allowing the USA to come back with a tame equaliser that was only scored as the result of a shocking goalkeeping howler from Rob Green.

Rob Green's World Cup Howler

I will never quite understand what happened; he simply seemed to let the ball slip through this hands into the goal. Even the Americans seemed embarrassed to celebrate.

The look on his face said it all – a combination of dejection, shock, anguish and shame.

It could well become a career-defining moment, and the important thing is that it happened now, rather than in a more critical day.

I suspect that the experience of David James is suddenly looking very attractive and Capello will not sleep easily tonight wondering whether or not he made the right selections for this opening game.

That said, we mustn’t underestimate the USA; they are ranked 14th in the world (compared to England’s position at 8th) and have a number of Premiership players in their side.

However, the Press will turn on Capello quickly, and he will have a restless night thinking about what has happened and what could have happened.

Fabio Capello looking dejected after the England vs USA World Cup opener

For me, there are several questions for him to answer:

1. Was Green the right choice for goal?

2. Is Ledley King really ready to be playing at this level considering his injury record and lack of match fitness?

3. Was it sensible to leave Walcott at home when pace and ingenuity are of critical importance in a tournament like this?

It’s early days,  but, like many England supporters, I’m feeling subdued and nervous.

The only positives were an incredibly solid performance by Heskey, who was a commanding presence on the pitch and brilliant play from Johnson who is may Man of the Match.

Come on England – you can do better!

Football is clearly something that one never grows out of, because I am just as fired-up by the prospect of England’s opening game against the USA next week as I was about the 1990 World Cup where the late Sir Bobby Robson inspired his team to such greatness  – and where Gazza left his indelible mark on the British psyche with his tearful reaction to his yellow-card during during the semi-final match against Germany.

Paul Gascoigne crying during the World Cup 1990 tournament in Italy

Looking back on World Cups also shows us how much the world has changed; 1990 World Cup was the first tournament in which African nations featured strongly, with Cameroon stunning Argentina in the opening game – countries like West Germany and Yugoslavia fielded national teams then, but no longer exist in those previous forms.

Football is one of the few things that genuinely brings the world together – even America is getting in on the act now!

The only fly in the ointment for me has been the steady commercialisation of football in the last 20 years – something that some would argue is inevitable, but that makes it no less desirable.

I typically shun the adverts of major brands tied into major sporting tournaments, but the ‘Adidas Originals – Star Wars Cantina’ advert is pure genius and has certainly got me in the mood.

If you haven’t watched this video, you should – David Beckham only has one line, but it is a classic!

Come on England!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Back then, at the heart of the Soviet Union, Russia was portrayed as a dangerous but powerful enemy that promoted Communism against the West’s preferred model of economic and democratic freedom.

My first visits to Russia were magical – the mystery of a nation that had developed in isolation behind an Iron Curtain creating a people and culture that were so different from what I was used to that I was captivated by its romance of its improbability and novelty. Even the light-bulbs worked in a different way, and it was like stepping into a parallel universe where the same sorts of things happened as in ours, but just differently.

However, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, many predicted that a short – but brutal – period of adjustment would see Russia transform itself in a market economy and a major world player.

That hasn’t happened.

19 years later, Russia’s survival as a nation is called into question due to the alarming rate at which its population is declining, caused by a number of factors:

• 10 million Russians are infertile;
• Life expectancy of a Russian man is 56 – the same as in Bangladesh;
• The Russian birth-rate is 50% of what is needed to sustain the population;
• More than 50% of Russian pregnancies end in abortion;
• A high percentage of Russian newborns have serious health issues;
• Many educated, health and attractive young Russian women remain single and do not have children.

According to the Russian government’s own statistics and projections, its population may have halved by 2050 and it may cease to be a viable nation.

What is the future for Russia, a country that combines developed world birth-rates with developing world mortality rates?

This video documentary looks at the issue in detail, with a bleak assessment of life in this once great nation, which I hope will find a way to get back on its feet.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I would encourage anyone who cares about the future of humanity to watch this documentary.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m certain that this will be a huge hit this summer; I’ve already pre-ordered it on iTunes and cannot wait to get it on my iPod.

Interestingly, the beautiful girl in the video is Elarica Gallacher who is best known for previously being in Eastenders and Harry Potter; nice to see that McLean is keeping it real with more British talent!

Elarica Gallacher

McLean

Firstly, let’s not forget that 11 men lost their lives in the fire that led to this spill; whilst it is important to consider the economic impact on the USA and beyond, we have to remember that these men died just doing their jobs and the suffering of their families mustn’t be forgotten.

The Horizon off-shore drilling rig exploded on 20 April 2010 and over a month later, thousands of gallons of crude oil are pouring into the Gulf of Mexico with all attempts to stop the leak so far having failed.

This is the worst environmental disaster in American history, and possibly the worst’ in human history and leads to one question – when are we going to take seriously our need to eradicate our dependency on fossil fuels?

Satellite image of the BP Horizon oil spil in the Gulf of Mexico

As long as we continue to extract oil from increasingly difficult to reach places, we will sustain the risk of major environmental catastrophes like this.

President Obama was right to ban new drilling around the American coast, but this is must be just the first step in what must be a concerted effort by governments around the world to encourage companies to invest seriously in alternative forms of energy.

Our current reliance on oil leads to inequality and conflict all around the world as we fight for control of dwindling supplies of ‘black gold’. Even without the inevitable ecological disasters that ensue, the continued exploration for oil generates a human cost that we must now consider unacceptable…

As the oil slick threatens hundreds of miles of US coastline, so it should threaten the continuation of oil exploration near human settlements.

It is time for us to get serious about looking at other forms of energy.

Now that ’24′ is finished, this would be the only reason for me to switch on my TV!

I talked about the challenges of managing an IT strategy and function in a dynamic, resource-constrained environment – something not unique to Comic Relief!

Computer Weekly Interview 18 May 2010

Click the picture to read an electronic copy of the full article at the Computer Weekly website.

Labour has traditionally had a difficult relationship with the United States, shunning the world’s largest capitalist economy in favour of its socialist-leaning European neighbours, and Prime Minister Blair was the first Labour leader to break the mould, forging a strong relationship with President Bush Jr.

His close relationship with George Bush sometimes led to accusations that Blair was acting like a ‘poodle’, demonstrating unswerving loyalty to his friend.

Ultimately, this created a less than healthy situation where America’s actions did not receive full scrutiny and where Britain had no choice but to follow its cousin ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’, which led us into two poorly-planned wars costing thousands of lives.

Blair’s instincts were, however, correct: America is our most important ally; It is his approach that was flawed.

He attempted to build upon Margaret Thatcher’s impressive legacy in which she created the ‘Special Relationship’ through her uniquely close bond with President Ronald Reagan.

PM Margaret Thatcher dancing with President Ronald Reagan at his Inaugural Ball in the White House following his election in 1984.

Blair mistook the mutual respect and admiration that Thatcher and Reagan had for each other as simple friendship and affection; his relationship with Bush Jr had a similar level of warmth, but not the depth and true objectivity that defined the Thatcher / Reagan era – and shaped world politics for nearly a decade.

Whereas Thatcher and Reagan were trusted confidantes and peers, the way that George Bush called out “Yo, Blair!” to Tony Blair reflected what was obviously a very different level of understanding.

Gordon Brown, as Prime Minister, was simply unable to build any kind of sensible working relationship with President Obama, New Labour’s totalitarian approach sitting much more comfortably with the neo-conservative Republican approach than with Obama’s democratic one.

It is no surprise that President Obama was so quick to congratulate David Cameron on his becoming Prime Minister; the new Conservative administration under dynamic young leadership is exactly the sort of partner that the President needs in Europe; he was quoted as saying of David Cameron:

“…smart, dedicated new prime minister… is somebody we are going to be able to work with very effectively…”

Hopefully, the Special Relationship is back; that will be good for Britain, good for America and good for the world!

Why am I here? Volcanic ash, apparently…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Not for the first time in recent months, events in Iceland are having a ripple effect across Europe and beyond, allowing the country to punch above its weight.
Since last night, winds from the north-west have been carrying volcanic ash from Iceland towards Britain closing many of our airports – including, unfortunately enough for me, airports in London where I was due to arrive early this morning.

Three months ago, if someone had told me that they were pr

edicting that flights across Europe would be delayed due to volcanic ash from a dormant volcano in Iceland I would have laughed at them. The very suggestion would have been ludicrous; like something from a low-budget disaster film.

However, today,  not only is it a a reality, but experts warn that this phenomenon could be with us for some time to come as the last time this volcano erupted, it continued spewing magma and ash for over a year…

Incidents like these serve to remind us of the power of nature and our relative weakness before it; despite all of our technology and our dependence on flying, there is nothing that we can do to stop or even to avoid the impact of this ash – planes simply have to stay on the ground.

Or do they?

Some observers, such as Sir Richard Branson, believe that the authorities are over-reacting and that they should not be in a position to close the airspace because of the ash, and insist that the airlines should make the choice for themselves and their passengers.

Sir Richard went as far as to describe the decision to close Manchester airspace as “once again beyond a joke”.

Why is he so angry? At one level, I’m sure that I’m sure that like many good businesspeople he has a natural aversion to Government meddling, but the more serious issue here for the airlines is that of economics.

Every hour of closed airspace means hundreds of grounded flights – not only lost business for the airlines, but potentially huge compensation bills from the affected passengers.

If the worst-case scenario came to fruition and the volcanic ash became a feature of our weather system for another year, the regular closure of airspace across Europe would devastate an already weakened airline industry that is coming out of the worst recession in living memory.

These economic eruptions may be more than the industry can take.

This situation does call into question our reliance on air travel as a primary mode of transport; perhaps this disruption will give us pause for thought, allowing us to consider the alternatives which are often more cost-effective and less damaging to the environment.

I must declare and interest here; I fly more than most and rack-up about 15 return flights a year due to my various business and charitable activities – it is nothing short of hypocrisy for me to be suggesting that people should fly less, but we really must!

This volcanic activity may force us to – although the economic cost may be very, very high indeed.