UK
GARY SPEED IS DEAD AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY
The manager of the Welsh football team and Premier League stalwart may have taken his own life
Photo via
(via)
Gary Speed was found dead at his home in Chester on Saturday morning. The manager of the Welsh football team was 42 years old and leaves behind a wife and two children. Police say that he didn't die in suspicious circumstances. It's been widely reported that Speed took his own life, though at the time of writing these reports are unconfirmed. Speed's death is the nadir of a sad couple of weeks for football. Last week, German referee Babak Rafati attempted to bleed himself to death in a bath before a game in the Bundesliga, citing a fear of making mistakes and an ongoing battle with depression as root causes. And, on Saturday, former player and media personality Stan Collymore revealed in a series of Twitter posts that he hadn't seen the sun for four days, urging the game to do more to tackle depression within its ranks. Speed, who represented Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United during his career, had appeared on television on Saturday morning. His mood in the BBC studio was described as "bubbly" by presenter Dan Walker. No one knows why this has happened and the football world is grieving and shocked. A minute's silence was held before the game between Swansea and Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, but it quickly turned into a minute of spontaneous applause, with fans of both teams chanting "there's only one Gary Speed". The players on the field included some who had played alongside Speed, like Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given, who began the game in floods of tears. Four players Speed fielded during his brief but promising tenure as Wales boss also began the match. Speed was awarded an MBE for services to football in 2010 and was known as a brave, hard-working, honest midfielder, as well as a genuinely nice man. Many of the tributes that were made to him after news of his death broke described him as "ordinary". To me, the fact that word has been used so much is indicative of how jarring and weird this situation is. That ordinariness made him a man that not many will have thought about too often before Sunday. He played 535 times in the Premier League and captained his country, but he wasn't a glamourous or ostentatious footballer. Despite his semi-regular appearances as a pundit, he was never in the media for non-football reasons. He was simply someone who seemed as if he would always be there, who now is not. The hows and the whys will surely emerge, but it's unlikely that many will be able to get their heads around it. To learn about some other stuff that happened this weekend while you were busy burying your brain in booze, go to page two.Middle EastSYRIA'S FINALLY GETTING A BIT OF FLAK FOR KILLING ITS OWN PEOPLEThe Arab League has approved sanctions against Bashar al-Assad's regime
Syria has basically been excommunicated by the rest of the Arab world. The Arab League has imposed a number of sanctions upon Bashar al-Assad's government, freezing its assets, ending all dealings with the Syrian central bank and banning Syrian officials from other Arab countries. The move comes after at least 3,500 Syrian civilians have lost their lives in anti-regime clashes with security forces. Syria aren't too happy with the Arab League's decision, describing it as "a betrayal of Arab solidarity", according to the BBC. UK
ALAN MOORE GAVE HIS BLESSING TO ALL THE PROTESTERS WHO WEAR HIS "V FOR VENDETTA" MASKS
He said it makes protests seem more theatrical and enjoyable
Photo via(via)Kinda weird that it's taken this long for someone to ask Alan Moore what he thinks about the guys from the Occupy and Anonymous movements wearing the mask from his film all the time. Butthe Guardiandid, and it turns out he's fine with it.Here are some quotes to prove that this is true:"I suppose when I was writingV for VendettaI would in my secret heart of hearts have thought: wouldn't it be great if these ideas actually made an impact? So when you start to see that idle fantasy intrude on the regular world… It's peculiar. It feels like a character I created 30 years ago has somehow escaped the realm of fiction."It turns protests into performances. The mask is very operatic; it creates a sense of romance and drama. I mean, protesting, protest marches, they can be very demanding, very gruelling. They can be quite dismal. They're things that have to be done, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're tremendously enjoyable – whereas actually, they should be."I think it's appropriate that this generation of protesters have made their rebellion into something the public at large can engage with more readily than with half-hearted chants, with that traditional, downtrodden sort of British protest. These people look like they're having a good time. And that sends out a tremendous message."CroydonA RACIST CAUGHT A TRAMSo did her kid and some black people
She made children cry with her references to "Nigragrava".
GARY SPEED IS DEAD AND NO ONE KNOWS WHY
The manager of the Welsh football team and Premier League stalwart may have taken his own life
Gary Speed was found dead at his home in Chester on Saturday morning. The manager of the Welsh football team was 42 years old and leaves behind a wife and two children. Police say that he didn't die in suspicious circumstances. It's been widely reported that Speed took his own life, though at the time of writing these reports are unconfirmed. Speed's death is the nadir of a sad couple of weeks for football. Last week, German referee Babak Rafati attempted to bleed himself to death in a bath before a game in the Bundesliga, citing a fear of making mistakes and an ongoing battle with depression as root causes. And, on Saturday, former player and media personality Stan Collymore revealed in a series of Twitter posts that he hadn't seen the sun for four days, urging the game to do more to tackle depression within its ranks. Speed, who represented Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United during his career, had appeared on television on Saturday morning. His mood in the BBC studio was described as "bubbly" by presenter Dan Walker. No one knows why this has happened and the football world is grieving and shocked. A minute's silence was held before the game between Swansea and Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, but it quickly turned into a minute of spontaneous applause, with fans of both teams chanting "there's only one Gary Speed". The players on the field included some who had played alongside Speed, like Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given, who began the game in floods of tears. Four players Speed fielded during his brief but promising tenure as Wales boss also began the match. Speed was awarded an MBE for services to football in 2010 and was known as a brave, hard-working, honest midfielder, as well as a genuinely nice man. Many of the tributes that were made to him after news of his death broke described him as "ordinary". To me, the fact that word has been used so much is indicative of how jarring and weird this situation is. That ordinariness made him a man that not many will have thought about too often before Sunday. He played 535 times in the Premier League and captained his country, but he wasn't a glamourous or ostentatious footballer. Despite his semi-regular appearances as a pundit, he was never in the media for non-football reasons. He was simply someone who seemed as if he would always be there, who now is not. The hows and the whys will surely emerge, but it's unlikely that many will be able to get their heads around it. To learn about some other stuff that happened this weekend while you were busy burying your brain in booze, go to page two.
Annons
(via)
Syria has basically been excommunicated by the rest of the Arab world. The Arab League has imposed a number of sanctions upon Bashar al-Assad's government, freezing its assets, ending all dealings with the Syrian central bank and banning Syrian officials from other Arab countries. The move comes after at least 3,500 Syrian civilians have lost their lives in anti-regime clashes with security forces. Syria aren't too happy with the Arab League's decision, describing it as "a betrayal of Arab solidarity", according to the BBC. UK
ALAN MOORE GAVE HIS BLESSING TO ALL THE PROTESTERS WHO WEAR HIS "V FOR VENDETTA" MASKS
He said it makes protests seem more theatrical and enjoyable
Annons
(via)
She made children cry with her references to "Nigragrava".