New Agenda on Sunday. is out! Edition of 27 November 2016

https://paper.li/f-1346065353

Good morning everyone.

It has been some time since I commented on that awful television garbage filling many screens on Saturday nights, followed by another shorter slot on Sunday nights for the "Results show". Not that I watch this contrived nonsense of course as I am normally too busy washing my hair, but with the amount of television media coverage through out the week with analysis, instant replays, explanations and "Celeb" interviews etc. coupled with the speculation of press and media as to who will win the "contest" it is difficult if not impossible to avoid any contamination. (I always have a sneaky feeling that the results of each programme, and the ultimate winner are determined at some secret meeting immediately after the first show, and everything following that is just hype and publicity for the celebs). I learn today, that the next show is the quarter finals which may or may not have the former shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer doing his stuff. Last night, (Saturday) apparently had him strutting around "dancing" a Tango to the tune of, "I can't get no satisfaction". A performance which propelled him and his partner to the bottom of the leader board. It is to the constant amazement of thousands around the country that he remains in the contest. Who knows, he may even actually take the trophy in next months final. Those faceless people at the secret meeting may have decided that the former MP for Morley and Outwood is, "good television" whether he can dance or not.

Fidel Castro was a South American revolutionary who together with Che Guevara freed the people of Cuba from the despotic and corrupt Mafia controlled rule of Fulgencio Batista in the late 1950's.

Castro created a socialist society in Cuba building schools, hospitals and public utilities and improving living standards, providing free health care and education and improving adult literacy. Against a background of perpetual American sanctions and embargo's in place for almost 50 years, together with numerous assassination attempts, Castro maintained programmes which have led to Cuba now having first-world levels of literacy and life expectancy.
Loved or hated the world over, Fidel Castro was a giant on the Latin American and world political stage.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz August 1926 – November 2016 RIP

Black Friday. An American "event" imported to this country by shops and retail businesses driven by possibilities of making even more profits.
Black Friday soon to be followed by Cyber Monday, yet another American phenomenon rather than "a UK tradition" as the Sun (who else) would have us believe, giving consumers the opportunity to purchase products at ridiculously reduced prices.
However, these two now annual events, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, arise in the middle of November and continue at an ever increasing pace right through until Christmas Eve!

(Read the full story at http://new-agenda2012.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/black-friday-and-probably-cyber-monday.html. Copy and paste link)

There will be a recount of the US presidential vote in Wisconsin

The prospect of reliving and having to sit through wall to wall media coverage of huge chunks of the American Presidential election, fills me with dismay. The prospect arises due to a bid from Jill Stein, the Green Party Presidential Candidate, demanding a recount of the votes results reported by Wisconsin as well as Michigan and Pennsylvania. Theoretically of course, this could result in the election results being changed, a reallocation of the electoral college votes and Clinton being declared as winner. The consequent constitutional crisis in America, the backlash from Trump supporters, the celebrations of Clinton supporters will undoubtedly be endlessly and hysterically covered by Sky News (and their sister channel Fox News) and the rest of the media circus. We shall just have to endure the interruption of normal programmes to to bring us a "Special News update from Washington" every 15 minutes.

Every evening at 10:30pm and again at 11:30 pm Sky News have their preview of the following days papers. There are some "reviewers" seated on the sofa, who actually have sensible and enlightening views or comments to offer on the news on the front pages of tomorrows pages. However, there are other "reviewers" who only ever come across as patronising, arrogant and clearly lacking in any knowledge of the subject upon which they are offering an opinion. Last night's (Saturday) occupants of the sofa were no exception. Arrogant reviewer in chief was the odious Christina Patterson who shared the sofa with Mathew Sayed as they reviewed, amongst other stories, the story covering the death of Fidel Castro. Without once referring to free health care, free education, improved living standards for the people of Cuba or the crippling sanctions and embargoes imposed on Cuba over the last 50 years Patterson especially managed to demonstrate a complete ignorance of the subject particularly when she confused the botched and abortive "Bay of Pigs" invasion of 1961 with the "Cuban missile crisis" of October 1962 describing the Bay of Pigs as the greatest threat of nuclear war the world has ever seen. She did not even mention theCuban missile crisis, which leads me to the view that she has probably never even heard of it. I reiterate my plea to Sky News, that they at least try to invite reviewers onto the sofa who have some knowledge of their subject, are not arrogant and patronising and are able to offer balance rather than bias in their opinions.

Next week it will be December. If anyone finds out where the rest of 2016 has vanished to, please let me know.

The weather is sometimes wet, sometimes cold sometimes mild. The weather forecasters could do with some new seaweed.

Have a nice week.