The coverage of Team GB’s successes in the 2016 Olympics makes a fascinating case example of a cultural shift from the legendary British stiff upper lip to an embrace of emotional reactions to change. It may also help understand the persistence of charismatic leaders and their unconditional acceptance by cult-like followers
Hillary duffs up Donald
August 26, 2016Donald Trump’s recent decline in the polls has been traced to his reactions to the Democrat’s National Conference. Hilary Clinton’s speech was one important and damaging blow before the Kahn family’s interventions
I first heard Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech as she was making it, and late into the night European time. This gave me benefits of live radio (BBC5) as well as its drawbacks.
I missed the opening few minutes, but then listened to its ebb and flow uninterrupted by commentary. (Except for one brief period when two American voices assessed the impact of a pre-announced demonstration and walk-out by Californian delegates supporting Bernie Saunders).
Rehearsed but not over-cooked
The delivery sounded to me rehearsed but not over-rehearsed. Hillary does not do warmth, and did not attempt to do so. The voice was familiar, somewhat detached, slightly strident (yes, I know that’s a judgement open to criticism as gender discriminatory. Men are rarely described as strident)
Hillary does Tough better than Warmth
The would-be POTUS may not do Warmth, but has to do Tough. Hillary mostly let the words carry the Tough message.
Two portions of the speech struck me and rather surprised me. There was lot of what our own dear Sun or Daily Mail would have sneered at as loony-Leftie stuff of the sort expected from Jeremy Corbin. Holding Wall Street to account. Even I. Did she say that? Surely I missed some vital qualifiers there. Leveling out inequalities. (Are you listening Bernie?). Whatever, the reception to her words seemed rapturous, but that was more predictable.
Trump kippered
I had wondered how she would deal with Trump. On this I am more confident. She kippered him. It was as clinical and merciless as the weekly going-over which David Cameron handed out to Jeremy Corbin over the last few months. She took as her main point the megalomaniac claim thatTrump alone could rescue a weak America. She contrasted it with her belief that no President fixes things alone. America is best when it works collectively, the United bit, right? I remembered how Obama had a rare failure when he once tried out that theme. He was challenged for dissing the entrepreneurial giants of big business, and the spirit of free enterprise.
‘Us not me’
Tonight Hillary got across the ‘Us not me’ point well. But how to deal with the giant shadow cast by Husband Bill? I couldn’t she how that could be done. Hillary just said she had learned how to deal with a lot of bad stuff, and when knocked down got up fighting. I think the audience got what she was driving at.
Will she be a great President? I don’t know. Will she even become President in the first place? I don’t know. Incidentally, the great futurologist Alvin Toffler died this week, but if he had lived I guess he would have found a way of predicting while maintaining residual doubts.
Her remark about not trusting the Presidency to someone easily riled was seized on and maybe will continue to rile the thin-skinned Trump. I do know that today’s speech [July 28, 2016] has not harmed the chances of a woman becoming the next President of the United States of America.
Postscript
Since the post was written, the Trump campaign has dropped further behind Clinton’s efforts. A series of misjudgements starting with the attack on the parents of an American fallen hero appear to have added to Mr Trump’s problems. At the same time, the setbacks may have strengthened his core support.
The campaign remains fascinating to students of politics, leadership, and trainwrecks.
How Cheadle Hulme became an innovation hub
August 16, 2016Recently I have received several examples of medical innovations originating in the nearby community of Cheadle Hulme. A little thought revealed a dubious marketing strategy
First there was Sensational eye surgery stuns Cheadle Hulme. Then, incredible ways of detecting unpaid PPI compensation rocks Cheadle Hulme. This burst of close-to-home creativity had passed me by, although I regularly visit the pleasant townships of Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme.
Today, after another such notification I realized what was happening. I had become my very own innovation hub. The news items were disguised and targeted advertisements. It may have come about because I had mentioned East Cheadle rather regularly. It is the fictional locational setting of my recently published book The Double Houdini.
Targetted messages
The clever folk who are blanket bombing the web on behalf of banks and medical services are only doing their jobs. In was after my recent eye operation that I learned of sensational eye procedures in nearby Manchester. Another targeted message. Did someone get hold of hospital records for that?
I suppose the ads pop up like Pokaman Go characters close to your identified location. Not too difficult for a markeing outfit to discover that, in a world of Satellite technology, Google Maps etc.
I may be wrong
Or there may indeed be local versions targeting consumers with ever more precise advertising messages.
A little more research
A little more research showed that the messages were targetted to ‘land’ appearing to come from a specified target location (in my case Cheadle, and sometimes Wigan but I haven’t worked out that one). They appeared to be part of the BBC website, which also was misleading.
I would wecome any comments that would shed more light on this dubious marketing strategy.
Pogba’s fantasy signing ends
August 11, 2016One of the most cited stories of the football pre-season is about Paul Pogba’s move from Juventus to Manchester United. Journalists have been able to fan interest. Or maybe fan interest has been able to encourage journalists
For several months, for football fans, the signing (or non-signing) of Pogba has been the story (or non-story) of the day.
I took a little Tiger Moth
August 9, 2016
I took a little tiger mothOn its last journey, today.We started out from Woodford,Where before, great planes were builtIn peacetime and in war.It was sunny.Blue skies, no windAll clear on the smooth unhurried run.So smooth, I hardly noticed the familiar sights.We approached Bramhall, where they are building nowTo speed the flow of Cheshire traffic to the airport.It was only as we arrived, and I stopped the engineThat I noticed my companion,The beautiful tiger mothSecurely strapped inAnd attached to my driving mirror.