My only friend...The End.

Time flies when you're having fun.

Saturday September 22nd: And that's that. I could have filed last night but I wanted to savour the occasion. To mull it over in the confines of my own brain before sharing it with you. Wouldn't want to get anything wrong now, would I?
Gordon will be going into the Labour Party Conference with his opinion poll lead intact, according to The Press Association, which is to say that when it comes down to him the country would rather be led by him than grinning oaf, Dave.

The Prime Minister has also made headlines in the past 24 hours for refusing to attend an EU summit if Zimbabwe's President Mugabe is present. Now, I'm not sure where I stand on this. With Gordon (along with French President, Nicolas Sarkozy), appointing himself a saviour of the African continent, wouldn't it beneft him to actually sit down and talk to Mugabe? Zimbabwe has problems whichever way you want to look at it, and while Mr. Mugabe is, shall we say, not a fan of the West, he could probably show Gordon a couple of things about the continent as a whole which aren't in any MI5 or MI6 dossier. Just a thought.

The Independent reports that Zimbabwe's UN ambassador, Boniface Chidyausiku, said Mr Brown had "no right to dictate" who should be at the summit. He told the BBC's Newsnight programme that Mr Mugabe "has a sovereign right" to attend the summit. He said: "He is part of Africa. Gordon Brown has no right to dictate who should come to Lisbon."

I don't buy the whole 'It's because he's a dictator who steals from people what rightfully belongs to them' bit coming from Gordon, because, as we all know, he hangs around with George.
The Tanzanian president of the Pan-African Parliament, Gertrude Mongella, went as far as accusing Gordon of trying to "manipulate" Africa. He's been doing the whole 'puppet-master' thing quite a lot recently. Ask Thatcher The Everliving - and seems to be quite adept at it. Definitely not one of the traits that I would have attributed to Gordon on the evening of July 31st. It's amazing how much you can learn about a person when you watch their every move for a month and a half.

Tonight, the entire world was put on alert. Around mid-morning it was announced that Sky News would be broadcasting two songs from tonight's show, live. So everyone gets to feel the love - providing they kneel before Rupert Murdoch.

This evening was a mad scramble across London. I esacaped the Exclusion Zone, only to get stuck in traffic at the infamous A3 bottle neck in Tolworth. Anyone who has driven with me - will be able to tell you that I take tailbacks as a personal affront. If I'd been late, there would have been hell to pay. After a quick stop in Clapham, it was full speed ahead to Greenwich. Upon arriving in Greenwich, one of the capital's finest Hackney Carriages conveyed us with all speed to The O2 and after collecting that manilla envelope from the good people at the desk, it was off to the seats. For the other two shows (August 1st and August 24th), I was on the 3rd floor, behind the loop of the symbol. Tonight, the delightful Stephanie hooked us up (By the way, Ms. Jones - Going to see Prince 3 times is an extravagance. Seeing him 15 times is truly next level. Prime Minister Vs. Prince salutes you). Second floor suite. Right at the pointy, business end of the stage. I was just getting round to breaking my fast for the day (All my people going through, Ramadan - I see you) when the lights went out and the screaming started. Ms. Duck and I ran to the box seats to witness what will, I'm sure be ingrained permanently into the memory of everyone who was present tonight. A sea of purple glow-sticks. No video montage tonight. Just the sound of thunder rolling around the arena, before Prince emerged from the centre of the stage, surrounded by dry ice and tore into a bruising rendition I Feel 4 U. He wasn't playing around tonight. Controversy followed as 20,000 shards of purple light waved in time to the beat.

Damn! That man is so funky, music dances to him.

After a brief break to let the band get settled in, Prince returned to the stage and hit us with some joints. Musicology. Nothing Compares 2 U (which still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up) and a heartbreakingly beautiful rendition of Somewhere On Earth, Kiss, Let's Go Crazy, When U Were Mine, Sometimesitsnowsinapril were all present and accounted for. Tonight - more than ever, Prince treats the crowd like an extra band member, letting them carry the weight and sing his own words back to him. You get the feeling that this is the performance that will stick with him for the longest. The closing night of a great run.
As ever, Prince's rapport with the crowd was on some sort of telepathic level. "This is confusing, London," he said at one point. "The quicker I get through theses hits, the quicker I'll be gone." Teasing again. He knew as well as we did that he could probably do this for three nights a week for a good while yet.

Tonight however, was all about the double keyboard set. Sign O The Times knocked as hard as ever. We got Little Red Corvette, The Beautiful Ones, Diamonds and Pearls, Alphabet Street Delirious and When Doves Cry pretty much in full, too. No point in teasing them tonight - Mr. Nelson was there to get his thang off. He started Purple Rain at the keyboard before being presented with his symbol shaped guitar and delivering a solo that shredded the venue to pieces before rebuilt it in his own image.

The man thinks nothing of playing hide and seek with his audience. We waited for half an hour after he appeared to have left the stage for the final time, only for him to be wheeled back into the arena in a flight case, with both of the Twinz sitting on top of it. After that, he came back one more time with the number '21' spray painted on the back of his jacket, and wilfully almost caused a riot by flinging his white derby hat into the crowd. Once again seated at the keyboard he flirted with Darling Nikki, the song that changed the course of popular music with it's 'adventurous' lyrics, for a few bars before deciding "I can't play that..."

What struck me the most about the whole thing was the fact that - he doesn't play that song anymore since he handed in his gun-shaped microphone and turned in his 'Freak' badge, but he had it loaded on the keyboard anyway. The question I had to ask is - exactly what does he have stored on there, in that case? I'm pretty sure, he could have played an entire set by himself looping up the drums, and driving the crowd a little wilder with each song, but that's been the beauty of the residency. He wanted to share the virtuosity of some of the planet's finest musicians with the crowd.

The Telegraph enlisted Matt Thorne, a novelist writing a book about Prince, to review the last night. Mr. Thorne estimates that 504 songs were played over the course of the tour, to half a million people. If that doesn't touch a nation's collective psyche, nothing will.

I'm sorry I can't be anymore precise than that. The night became a rum soaked blur after a while and doing The Wop non-stop for two and a half hours makes it a little hard to take notes.
Musical redemption finally came for Amy Winehouse, who managed to put the woes of the past month and a half behind her to open the Aftershow party with Love Is A Losing Game. 3121.com reports the embattled chanteuse drove the crowd quite nuts and moved Prince to tears in the process. Beverley Knight, who must be one of Mr. Nelson's all time favourite artists also came back for one more jam,

I honestly feel for every act who will play there in years to come as the residency will undoubtedly be the barometer by which they are measured. Just looking through internet forums, I get the feeling that despite the £7 hot dogs, the playing of 'half songs' expensive beer and according to some people, poor sound quality, absolutely no-one could fault him Prince as a showman or a musician. He is the last of a rare breed and no matter how much he infuriates his fans, they know as well as he does that they'll always love him.

We, the people, have been starved of footage and photos since August 1st. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you - courtesy of 3121.com....

Joy In Repetition (Live):

http://www.3121.com/joy/

I Feel 4 U & Controversy (Live)

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1285079,00.html

I also met England football manager Steve McLaren, tonight. He's a miserable bastard. Perhaps he could smell my indifference to his sleep inducing style of coaching. I was having too good a night to start up a chant of 'Jose's gonna get your job (If the FA have any sense)', so he got off light. Any other time or place; it would have been on.

My life is my own again. I can go out and get blind drunk without journalistic responsibilty hanging over me like The Sword of Damocles. So what will become of this blog now? Will it be retired - like an hall of famer's basketball vest - taking it's place proudly alongside the other greats in the rafters? Or will my digital message in a bottle end up drifting into the shipping lane disappearing without a trace? All that wit, insight, sensitivity and raw charisma lost, forever. To everyone who told a friend to tell a friend; I hope the higher power that you look up to treats you kindly for the rest of your days.

So who won our epic bout? You know what? I don't think I'm going to tell you. In fact, why don't you tell me. I have my own idea, but I've been refereeing. I've been to close to the action for the past 52 days and nights. I never promised an answer to all the world's ills - kids shooting kids, racism, disappearing children, Blair - none of that. But I hope you might have worried about them less while reading this blog.

As of this morning, Gordon has a country to run and Prince is off to study The Bible.

What am I gonna do now that the run is finished?

I'm going to Disneyland.

Thanks to Dame Lucy Ellison, Baronness Stephanie Jones, Corrinne Bailey Rae & her sister, Jimmy @ Reverend Media, Brad @ FMTV and family, Ms. Natalie Duck, Diet Blair, DJ Merkin, Mickey @ The O2, Common & Band, Chuck Gabrielson, The O2 staff, the support acts I didn't get to see, Thatcher The Everliving, Full Fat Blair, George, Mrs. Annobil, Gordon Brown, Prince and the NPG,everyone who read the blog, everyone who left a comment on the blog, all the unborn babies who were conceived after one of the 21 shows, every single daily newspaper circulated in this country and last but not least the concert going public and Electorate for giving me something to write about everyday.

Take care of each other, ya hear?

Bless,
Kobi

*Descends through the stage in a cloud of dry ice*

Quotes: "Next year we will have a stronger Labour party. But even more important, we will have a stronger, more united country too." - Prime Minister

"If Eye imagined perfection, If Eye imagined Paradise...It would be being here with U, London, for 21 nights" - Prince

P.S. There's a rumour (and I stress the word "rumour") that we might not be done here yet...

Prime Minister(s) Vs. Prince

The White Rick James?: He's Phil Spec', bitch!

Thurdsday September 20th: Both contenders must be sensing that the end is near, today as they've been out and about in the capital, making sure their faces are seen and their voices are heard.

According to the Guardian, Gordon was one of three Prime Ministers to meet Rudy Guliani - Former mayor of New York and one of the Republican candidates who may end up running in the race for the White House next year. Yesterday, while on the international campaign trail he also met with Blair and Thatcher (*Boo, Hiss*) who had left the comfort of their respective bunkers and crypts to meet the man from Brooklyn, deep in the heart of Knightsbridge. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but does the campaign trail not end at the most eastern point of the East Coast and the most westerly point of the West? Has Blair's incessant toadying led to a silent agreement that Great Britain is the newest state in the Union? Unless this is an attempt by the Republicans to repair links with the Crown and restore colonial rule than there is more to this than meets the eye.

Perhaps it's because the London has played Igor to so many of Mad Professor Washington (D.C.)'s hairbrained schemes over the past few years that they feel we should get a choice of leader. Never mind that we can't vote for them. It's like the 'Here's What You Could Win' bit on a game show.

With flying visits expected from Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama in the next few weeks, it seems that they'll come over here because they don't want to feel that they're missing out on something. If they don't know what it is by the time they get on the plane, they can make it up over a pint of bitter and a plate of fish and chips in a good old country pub

NB: Any cheques, breifcases and/or swag bags full of legal tender that they receive from British backers will be paid to them in Gordon's mighty Pound Sterling. It's like a buy one get one free sale when they go to the Post Office to get them changed into Dead Presidents.

Elsewhere, the near collapse of Northern Rock still dominates the news. Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank Of England has remained defiant in the face of rumours and in the process earned himself as many column inches as both Prince and Gordon today. For now, both Gordon and the Chancellor Alastair Darling have stated their confidence in his ability to continue in the role. But if he so much as looks at either of them funny, he's gone. Right now, they're probably just looking for reasons. If all else fails Gordon will have the Secret Services plant child porn on Melvyn's computer. Job done.

I admit that I am intrigued about Cherie's memoirs of her time at Downing Street. If she spills the beans one everyone and everything, than it will make Blair look like a pussy for not saying anything himself. Is Tony hiding behind his wife? Is he taking orders and being told to shut up and grin for the camera? Ladies and gentlemen, you know as well as I do, that this would not be the first time.

The Guardian reports that relations between the ex and current Prime Ministers have thawed to the point where Gordon now feels comfortable referring to Blair as "Tony" in private conversations. As opposed to "That big-eared, grinning twat".

Following on from the OJ Simpson mentions from the past couple of days, I would like to talk about Phil Spector. He's one scary looking sonuvabitch. For some reason when I see him rocking those wigs, I am reminded of Norman Bates dressing up as his mum in Psycho. I can imagine him deciding to go for the strawberry blonde bob-cut and the Ginsu. Well, he's found the knife, but wears the wig?? Bloody Spector...

I hope it's a wig anyway. He fucked up if, as rich as he is, he actually pays someone to make his hair look like that. In an odd (but completely non-psychopathic) way, I admire the level of eccentricity Spector has displayed up until now. He's like a more extreme, White version of Rick James. Does he plan to get off a murder rap because he produced The Beatles? He must have something hidden up his sleeve, because it doesn't look like the judge is going to buy that whole 'she-was-showing-off-and-shot-herself-through-the-mouth-to-impress-me' schtick. (Yeah, that old chestnut). Nope - the motion for a mistrial was shot down, (no pun intended), where it stood. In the near future Spector will either go free or go down.

Prince dominates the front page of The Times, dressed all in black and blowing kisses to the audience as he swaggers down the catwalk at Matthew Williamson's show in Eaton Square yesterday.

He's also back at work tonight for the penultimate time in the tour.

I, personally, am as excited as a child on Christmas Eve about the prospect of tomorrow. Not only because of the show, but because I will finally be free of the millstone of current affairs and I can go back to spending my evenings watching episodes of Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm until I nod off and wake up four hours later, still in my work clothes. That, my friends, is the life...

P.S. - While I am not a Chelsea fan, (Condolences, Bainer), I've gotta say that Roman Abramovich screwed up by letting Mourinho leave. He's been, hands down, the most interesting character in British football since Eric Cantona. No-one else will ever pull off that 'stayed-in-a-strip-club-all-night-and-caught-a-cab-from-there-to-the-stadium' look, like The Special One. All I will say is; God help Roman if the team Jose ends up managing plays against The Blues...

The Ballad Of The Outlaw Orenthal James

The City Is Mine: Prince hits London Fashion Week.

Wednesday September 19th: Just a quick one today as I am trying to maintain strength for what promises to be a big Friday. I've booked the afternoon of work and everything...

Is it possible that all the secrets and intrigue of Blair's term in office could soon be public knowledge? Today's Evening Standard's leads with the story that Cherie has sent word from her bomb-proof house of her £1 million book deal which will more than likely dish the dirt on Gordon's temper tantrums. I'd watch that if I was you. The Prime Minister has been in a bullish mood recently and he'd think nothing of having you and his ex-boss 'touched' and buried under his Big Tent.

Good news for Gordon comes in the shape of a new opinion poll, which suggests that his approval rating is up, despite a horrendous week in which a whole lot looked set to come crashing down around his ears. The poll also found Diet Blair to be the most unpopular of the main three party leaders. Well there was always a good chance that would be the case, wasn't there? This poll was in The Guardian, so take that as you will.

In other news, OJ is out on bail. Is it coincidence that MTV Base played ("What ya gonna do when you get out of jail? I'm gonna have some fun with the") Bop Gun by Ice Cube while I was ironing earlier? I think not. I watched the BBC's footage of him leaving Las Vegas, followed by press helicopter. It reminded me of watching Michael Jackson's motorcade weaving down the freeway after his acquittal a couple of years ago. If I was 'The Juice', I would be off to Mexico on a private jet, tonight.

Mr. Nelson has popped up randomly again today. Looks like they finally pulled the plug on the oxygen bar. This time it was at Matthew Williamson's show at London Fashion Week. A quick search on google shows he's got the Internet goin' nuts. Elle.com, Vogue, Metro, The Reuters website are reporting that he played a few numbers - U Got The Look, Kiss and Chelsea Rogers accompanied, as usual, by The Twinz. The audience apparently left their cool at the door and gave the man quite a welcome. According to Williamson, he asked if he could take part in the show. The decision was an easy one. "You don't say 'No' to Prince." He said.

Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos

This time they'll squeeze The Juice until the pips come out...

Tuesday September 18th: Gordon has now personally stepped in to quell the fears of building society account holders, assuring them that their money is safe. The 'Rock is no longer in a hard place.

Media outlets are reporting his first comments on the matter since it first happened late last week. "We are an economy that will continue to grow, continue to create jobs, continue to have low inflation. Everything that has been put in place in the last two days is designed to ensure that. And I will kill anyone who stands in my way" He said. He didn't say the last bit out loud, though.

The front page of today's Times features a picture of Chancellor Alastair Darling, red-faced, head bowed. You just know what's going through his head. Punishment.

"That's the last time you fail me, cur!"

*Whack*

"Please Master, no..."

I feel for him, in a funny kind of way. Following Gordon 'The Number Man' Brown as Chancellor must be a little like sitting in a crowd at The Staples Center, enjoying a beer and nachos, when you're told Kobe's putting his feet up for the rest of the night and thinks that you should take his place...

One of the editors at the Telegraph took her son to Sunday's show and had him review it.

Wow.

I thought my mother was pushy.

It was the kid's first gig and he seemed to know what he was talking about, even though a couple of sentences seem to be written by someone considerably older.

Probably someone with journalistic experience.

It reminds me of my old school projects. Especially the one about scientific discoveries. If my piece on Marie Curie could talk it would have spoken with the voice of a man in his 40's who didn't sound all that different from my dad. I feel bad for the boy, in a way, because seeing Prince before you've seen anyone else live is guaranteed to ruin the concert-going experience for you. Surely everything else will pale into comparison. I've been going to gigs since I was 15 and I'm contemplating giving up after this (or maybe after Pete Rock at The Jazz Cafe), because I have a feeling I'll end up standing at the back of the venue, arms folded, thinking "I know this is Mobb Deep - but they still haven't played Purple Rain..."

One name.

2 letters.

O.J.

They wanted him bad. They waited over a decade and it appears that the American Justice Sytem will finally get its hooks into him. Reports say that he robbed a sports memorobilia salesman in a Las Vegas hotel room, at gunpoint. I sincerely hope he didn't do it. Not only is he a 60 year old man, who should be enjoying his retirement with dignity but.....HE WAS FUCKING LUCKY TO GET AWAY WITH IT LAST TIME. Johnnie's not around no more, fam (God rest the dead). Unless your current lawyer sees him like Luke used to see Ben Kenobi, they're gonna put you under the jail this time.

Damn, can't a brother live...

Where's Your Money?

Northern Rock need to hold a seance and holla at the late, great Mr. Jones - he's got ya money.

Monday September 17th: As I write to you tonight, my friends, I am wondering why media outlets have been so slow to pick up on the obvious. According to the BBC website, Vince Cable - the Treasury spokesman for the LibDems has today said that Gordon Brown's actions in the past week have been "a threat to democracy."



The creation of Gordon's 'Big Tent', an all encompassing, all comprehending, all knowing clique of Britain's finest political minds, has this afternoon been denounced as nothing more than an attempt to engineer "a permanent dominance" for the Labour Party. A bit like The Borg. The Liberal Democrats won't be joining the party then.





That's too bad - Gordon had such high hopes for his one nation under a groove.



Have I or have I not been saying for over a month now that Gordon is looking to established a never ending dynasty, as unyielding as the granite cliffs of John O' Groats? He'll also jettison the name 'United Kingdom' for something more catchy and reflective of the glory of his reign. Gordonia, perhaps?



Shame on you all for putting my premonition down to extreme paranoia and good ol' weirdness.





Soon there will be no more Labour Red, Tory Blue, LibDem Yellow or, erm, Green Green. There will be only one colour from now on.



Brown.



And on top of that all, The Daily Record reports that Gordon has requested a painting of Thatcher for Downing Street. The sick fuck.





Also in todays news - The banks are shafted. Following on from the nosedive Northern Rock took last week, Alliance and Leicester have today declared themselves 'screwed' after share prices dropped by a third. They have said that they didn't think the decline was serious enough to appeal to The Bank Of England to help, which seems a bit like saying that you'd watch your house burn down in the middle of the night, because you didn't want to bother the nice men at the Fire Brigade. I guess Gordon was really making the whole money thing work, because less than 3 months after leaving the job, the economy already appears to have started crumbling



As for Prince today, well - several websites chose to run with the Elton John collaboration story and his Youtube strop. Sooooo last week...

Last night, however, was another show. Money Don't Matter 2nite popped up - the first time it's been played on this tour - and in honour of the O2's future guests he also banged out Led Zeppelin's A Whole Lotta Love.

Mr. Nelson seems to be having real fun and cutting loose at the aftershow jams if the good folks of 3121.com are to be believed. A whole bunch of cover versions and alternate versions of his own joints (3121 remixed with DMSR's lyrics, anyone?) Is there like a switch that he flicks that takes him from 'Stadium' to 'Club' mode?

I think this city will miss him come Saturday morning...

PUUUUUUUULLLLLL UUUUUUUUUP!!!!!

~(Photo by Reverend Media)

In celebration of the summer's late arrival, here's a mixtape by my good friend DJ Merkin from his Smoke On The Hills Series:

Smoke On The Hills: Volume 4

http://www.divshare.com/download/1984810-a81

1. Bob Marley – Natural Mystic 2. Sizzla – Really & Truly (Natural Mystic) 3. Sizzla – Somewhere out There (Rewind) 4. Delly Ranks – Kette Drum (Rewind) 5. Lutan Fyan – Why do we have to fuss and fight (Rewind) 6. Jah Cure & Jah Mason – Out of Control (Rewind) 7. Fantan Mojah – Unity (Atariq) 8. Capleton – Longest Time (Atariq) 9. Capleton – Rise 10. Cherine – Kingston State of Mind (Darker Shade) 11. Mr Vegas - Lean With It (Darker Shade) 12. Chuck Fender – So Many Girls (Darker Shade) 13. Beenie Man – Pardon (Darker Shade) 14. Elephant Man – Put dung di Gun (Statement) 15. Morgan Heritage – Brooklyn & Jamaica (Statement) 16. YT – No Sandweed 17. Collie Buddz & Buju Banton – Sensi Come Around 18. Buju Banton – Driver (Taxi) 19. Mitch – Transporter (Taxi) 20. Tony Rebel – 15 Years (Taxi) 21. Capleton – Be like Dis (Taxi) 22. Lutan Fyah – Hungry Mouth (Tears) 23. Vybz Kartel – No Violation (Tears) 24. Maxi Priest – Always with You (Tears) 25. Maxi Priest – Never met a woman like you (Continuation) 26. Beres Hammond – Give it all you have got (Continuation) 27. Beres Hammond – Sweetness 28. Beres Hammond – Doctor's Orders 29. Beres Hammond – Live On 30. Beres Hammond – 360 Turn 31. Sanchez – Frenzy 32. Jacob Miller – Tenement Yard 33. The Congos – Fisherman (Fisherman) 34. Early One – Jig Jig Jig (Fisherman) 35. Lutan Fyah – Whitewash Walls (Fisherman) 36. Jadakiss – Why (Merkin's Fisherman Special) 37. Pinchers – Slaughterer (M16) 38. Buju Banton – Bobby Red (M16) 39. Tony Rebel – Email (M16) 40. Buju Banton – Love Needs (Jamdown) 41. Capleton – No Guns (Jamdown) 42. Lutan Fyah – Mightier than Them (Jamdown) 43. Jah Cure – Sticky (Jamdown) 44. Junior Kelly – Take those Blows (River Bed) 45. Lutan Fyah – Silent Weapon (River Bed) 46. Chuck Fenda – Upside Down (Chaos) 47. Elephant Man – Good Good Kingston (Chaos) 48. Capleton – Jah Love (Chaos) 49. Busy Signal – Rat Race (Chaos) 50. Queen Ifrica – When will it Cease (Green Heart) 51. Lutan Fyah – Vacancy (Green Heart) 52. Lutan Fyah – Crab Fight

For every download, Merkin has promised to personally save a kitten from a tree wherever there may be a kitten stuck in a tree.

Free at last?

Nuff said.

Sunday September 19th: Amidst the meltdown of a bank and the uproar over Tetleygate, Gordon has taken a leaf out of Diet Blair's book today and turned his focus away from home. He is all over the news, demanding the deployment of a task force, made up of African and UN troops to bring peace to Darfur. I'll wager Sudan wasn't on his mind when he was munching Digestives with She-Who's-Name-Shall-Not-Be-Mentioned. When the going gets tough, the tough go to Africa. By this thinking, if Gordon ever got caught having an affair, poverty and disease on the continent would probably be wiped out within days.

So, we edge ever nearer to Party Conference season. Each leader is setting their stall out ahead of time, so the relevant people know when to applaud/cheer/laugh. Gordon, in light of managing to return some semblance of dignity to the office of Prime Minister, will be running on the Scarface ticket this year (Who put this thing together? ME - That's who!). Short of bringing out Thatcher and getting her to body-pop, is there anything Dave can do to divert attention back to the Conservatives? I'm not sure. They might well end up sitting in the conference hall in total silence, with only the occasional embarassed cough to break the tension. As for the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies has also made a statement, prior to the seaside trip, saying that he intends to remain Party Leader. Reports that he said this in a huff after finding aides checking his pulse while he had an afternoon nap are totally scurrilous and completely unfounded.

Bar the Youtube story, Prince is out of the news for the moment. I'm sure this will change in the next five days, as reporters and photographers across London realise that they haven't managed to get a really juicy story out of one of pop music's last great enigmas in the past month, and begin stalking him around the clock.

Don't think I'd forgotten...The Jena 6.

The whole debacle began at a High School in Louisiana on September 6th 2006, as an argument over black students being able to sit under a tree which was 'reserved' for white students. When the principal said that any student was free to sit under the tree, it was less than 24 hours before 3 nooses appeared in its branches. When the school's principal recommended the culprits for expulsion, he was overruled by the board of education who said that the punishment should be reduced to three days in-school suspension and the incident was dismissed as an "adolescent prank". Even the District Attorney, one Reed Walters got in on the foolishness, declaring to an assemble of Jena High School students that he could end their life with a stroke of his pen (reports state that the claim was made to black students in particular).

Leading up to the 'Jena Six assault', a catalogue of violent events involving students, should have hinted that something was going to happen. It all came to a head, when a white student threatened a group of black students with a shotgun and had it taken from him. While white students who had been found guilty of violent acts were charged with simple battery. The black students who wrested control of the shotgun from a would-be aggresor, found themselves being charged with theft of a firearm, second-degree robbery and disturbing the peace. The white student who owned the shotgun was released. Had the charges been allowed to stick some of the students would have found themselves imprisoned until they were about 50 years old. At one point in proceedings it was made clear to the jury that in order for the charges to stick, they would have to classify tennis shoes as a deadly weapon. Hmmmmm.

By the time Mychal Bell's felony conviction was thrown out yesterday, America had ended up dredging up some of the uglier legacies that America's citizens inherited from their forefathers. There is still a march planned in the style of Dr. King's civil rights protests scheduled for September 20th. If the American justice system wasn't already ashamed of it's treatment of ethnic minorities, than the fact that there needs to be such action in the 21st Century should do the trick.

Why did this happen now, though? Is it the zeitgeist of the screwed up times we're living in? Could this be a reflection of George's good old Southern roots? Could the fact that the convictions were thrown out mean the end is nigh for all for the international robber baron and his ilk? Well, George's term is up next year - and common sense would dictate that almost a decade spent wandering in the wilderness would be more than enough for America. But we all said that after four years....

Perhaps they're ready for a whole new outlook. Is there more to this superpower than 'the buy low, sell high' mantra and releasing the hounds on anyone who doesn't agree with them? If the Democrats are returned to the White House next year, one thing will be for sure; Gangstas just don't get it as good as they used to. After last week, 50 Cent will tell you that....