This can be read as a continuation of the previous parts; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand_7.html
Daniela Ruah.
This year there were four presenters of the Song Contest; Silvia Alberto, Catarina Furtado and Filomena Cautela. However it was the fourth that really caught everyone's attention.
Daniela Ruah is probably best known for her role as Special Agent Kensi Blye in the US TV Show; "NCIS: Los Angeles."
Like the other Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) franchises NCIS: Los Angeles is really at the coal face of syndicated, network TV.
All shows of this type have to produce around 25 episodes each year. Those episodes can't be particularly violent and portrayals of sex or bad language are strictly forbidden.
In order to allow them to be sold on and chopped up by other broadcasters each of those episodes need to be self-contained. That means a crime happens, a crime is investigated and a crime is solved all within the same episode. This leaves little room for complex story arcs and character development.
So rightly no-one would believe me if I claimed that shows like NCIS: Los Angeles are better than high budget, premium cable shows like; "Westworld" or "Game of Thrones."
However in many ways I think that the people involved in shows like NCIS: Los Angeles are more talented. They have to work with fewer resources and more restrictions than the people involved in shows like Westworld. That's something that appeals to people who have to create songs within the strict confines of Eurovision rules.
Incidentally Westworld doesn't half have a sense of superiority about it. For a show that is really only rehashing very rudimentary concepts from Animist religions and the Humanistic school of psychology. The likes of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
I think the people involved in NCIS: Los Angeles will appreciate then that I don't watch it in the same way that I watch something like the Eurovision Song Contest.
Also when watching any sort of TV show or movie I like to completely suspend my disbelief and totally believe the characters are real people living in a real world. I find that the more I know about the actors the harder that becomes.
A prime example of this is the show; "Big, Little Lies" which I watched recently.
In it you've got the Jane character who is new in town and has a troubled past. You've also got the Madeline character who seems a little crazy but is generally a good person. Then for reasons that are in no way explained these two women are friends with real-life Hollywood movie star Nicole Kidman.
Nicole Kidman's portrayal of the Celeste character has been widely acclaimed. However I just couldn't get past the fact it was Nicole Kidman to realise that there was a fictional character being portrayed. I think though that was a problem with my brain rather than her performance.
So like a lot of people when it popped up in my Twitter timeline that Daniela Ruah was presenting the Song Contest I did that thing were I sort of recognised the name but couldn't place it. Discovering that she's the woman from that American TV show really posed more questions than it answered.
Daniela Ruah was born in Boston, Massachusetts in the US to Portuguese parents. Aged five the family returned to Portugal where she lived for the next 13 years making her TV acting debut. Daniela Ruah then spent the next six years living the UK. However from her work in NCIS: Los Angeles its clear that she has been based in the US for the last 11 years.
The Eurovision Song Contest has a long and rich history. Amid the round of shows, rehearsals, press events and parties that make up the contest week there is an unwritten rule; "You Can Only Talk About the Song Contest." You really have to wonder whether someone who has been based in the US for the past 11 years has the depth of knowledge needed to let them stick to that rule.
According to her Wikipedia biography at least Daniela Ruah does not have any previous experience presenting live TV. The Eurovision Song Contest presents a massive challenge for even experienced TV presenters. The mixture of a wide number of competing nations along with almost experimental broadcasting technology means that invariably something goes wrong.
One of the longstanding traditions of the Song Contest is announcement of the results. This involves doing a live satellite link with each of the participating nations and the host nation. The participating nations then give their scores one-by-one.
At the 1981 Song Contest these satellite links failed spectacularly. The presenter Doireann Ní Bhriain was forced to resort to bringing a telephone on stage to call each of the participating nations up one-by-one. They were unable to establish even a telephone connection to Yugoslavia and when they finally did get through no-one in Yugoslavia had any results to give.
There are also a few things in Daniela Ruah's biography which risked being controversial at this year's Song Contest. Not least her role in NCIS: Los Angeles.
All of the NCIS franchises enjoy a close relationship with the US military. In return for letting the show play with some of their more expensive toys such as aircraft carriers the show portrays the US military in a positive light. The joke is you almost end every episode overwhelmed by this strange desire to join the US Navy.
Occasionally this has crossed into the show pushing US political propaganda. For example in the third season episode; "Deadline" which first aired in October 2011 the team race to protect a blogger who is helping to support the anti-Qaddafi 'revolution' in Libya. This pushes the American line that Libya's Islamist militias are heroic freedom fighters rebelling against tyranny.
Seven years later no-one, particularly not anyone at the Song Contest are any under illusion that Libya's Islamist militias are the bad guys. Not least with the current focus on the US support for those militias leading to the resumption of the African slave trade. Watching it now you find yourself hoping the NCIS team fail.
I do not know Daniela Ruah's personal political affiliations.
However working in the entertainment industry, particularly in a show set in Los Angeles she is very representative of America's Democrat supporting Hollywood liberals. Something which is not helped by the fact the actual First Lady Michelle Obama appeared in a 2016 episode of NCIS to promote the Democrat Party's Presidential election platform on US veterans.
Particularly at this year's Song Contest Barack Obama's Presidency is viewed as an unmitigated disaster. Many seem happy that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats were defeated in 2016. Despite all the support from NCIS.
Also Daniela Ruah is Jewish. Her father is of Portuguese-Moroccan Jewish heritage while her mother is of Ukrainian-Russian Jewish heritage.
A massive issue at recent Song Contests was the decision by former US President Obama to back the Waffen SS to overthrow the Ukrainian state in 2013 creating Shamali Province and plunging the area into civil war. Funnily enough the Waffen SS have some robust views about Ukrainian and Russian Jews.
At the time of the 2014 Winter Olympics probably the most famous Ukrainian Jew was the actress Mila Kunis. Due to her role in; "Black Swan" based on Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet; "Swan Lake" she received a lot of attention at the games. Particularly in the figure skating.
Unlike Daniela Ruah Mila Kunis is actually Ukrainian born and Russian is her first language. English is only like her third. In November 2017 Mila Kunis and her husband Ashton Kutcher tried to visit the town of her birth - Chernivtsi.
Despite being globally famous the local residents refused to let them in because they didn't want to be reminded of the time the Soviets forced them to live alongside filthy Jews.
So the conflict between Daniela Ruah's apparent support for Obama and her Ukrainian Jewish heritage would seem to put her in a tight spot at a Song Contest where those were both huge issues.
For these reasons Daniela Ruah caught the attention of quite a few participants this year.
Adopting the slogan; "All Aboard" the entire event had quite a nautical theme to it. The Netherlands focused their entry around the Soviet Naval flag which has been adopted by the ethnically Russian forces in Shamali Province's civil war. Israel even sent an actual veteran of their navy.
The biographies of many of the artists and songwriters trumpeted the fact they had studied at the Berklee College of Music based in Boston, Massachusetts. Britain went one step further boasting that their singer SuRie had also studied at the Berklee College. Only at its more prestigious New York City campus.
However there were two nations that made Daniela Ruah the central part of their entries.
Cyprus: This year they were represented by Eleni Foureira with the song; "Fuego (Fire)."
I hesitate to say that there is a main character in NCIS: Los Angeles. However then the show launched in 2010 I think the main audience draw was Chris O'Donnell who played Robin in the 1997 movie "Batman & Robin" alongside George Clooney.
In the show Chris O'Donnell's character; "G Callen" has this really complicated backstory. Raised as an orphan he has no idea of his family or heritage. He doesn't even know what the initial "G" stands for. Many of the early episodes are about him trying to uncover the secrets of his past.
One of the ways that NCIS; Los Angeles in particular tries to show the US military in a good light is by pretending that the problems which exist in wider US society such as racism don't exist in the US military. Daniela Ruah's character Kensi Blye and LL Cool J's character Sam Hanna are key to this.
Sam Hanna's backstory is that he is an ex-Navy SEAL. As such the fact he is black doesn't really come up. His family is the US Navy and the US Navy doesn't see race. Likewise Kensi Blye's father was a US Marine so the fact she is Hispanic doesn't really come up. Her family is also the colour blind US Navy.
That said Kensi Blye is of obviously Hispanic appearance. So when the team are investigating Mexican criminals she goes undercover as Mexican. When the team are investigating Colombian criminals she goes undercover as Colombian and so on.
In one episode they're trying to bluff their way into an exclusive members only club. So Kensi Byle pretends to be; "Paula" this very famous Brazilian lingerie model.
I think this stuck in my memory because I first saw it around the time of the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Brazil. A big part of those games - particularly the Para-Olympics - was Brazil making a point of reminding people that they speak Portuguese rather than Spanish. NCIS: Los Angeles seemed to be reminding their viewers of that same point.
I think what really made it stick in my memory though was just how bad Kensi Blye's fake Portuguese accent was. It was a surprise then to learn that Daniela Ruah is actually Portuguese and her Portuguese accent is beyond reproach.
Although from her name you may mistake her for Hispanic Eleni Foureira is actually Albanian. Rather like 'Paula' she is probably most famous as a model. Both on stage and on social media she likes showing off her body in skimpy costumes and lingerie.
Almost every member of the songwriting team has been very successful in Latin American pop music. Alex Papaconstantinou, Geraldo Sandell and Viktor Svensson have all written for Jennifer Lopez. In a twist Sandell who is known as Teddy Sky and wrote Jennifer Lopez's hit; "On the Floor" is Brazilian-Swedish.
The reason why the 2018 Song Contest was hosted in Portugal is that the 2017 Song Contest was won by Portugal with the song; "Amar Pelos Dois (For the Both of Us)."
Due to their shared language with Brazil they benefited from a lot of good feeling due to a deal between the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and International Paralympic Committee (IPC). That made the 2016 Para-Olympics the most widely broadcast Para-Olympics ever.
The tone of cash strapped Portugal's 2017 entry was really them adopting that shared language to go to Brazil and say; "I hope you're not expecting us to pay for the both of us!" Due to the 2016 Olympics Brazil is one of the nations which is very keen to compete in the Song Contest in future.
The fact the Eurovision community's response to this was to force Portugal to pay to host the 2018 really drives the main theme of; "How Did We All Get it So Wrong."
By playing about with the notion of whether Brazilians speak Portuguese or Spanish Cyprus was really highlighting this mistake. It seemed to be suggesting that the Eurovision crowd are so stupid they still don't realise that Brazilians don't speak Spanish.
At around 18:30 on 11/6/18 (UK date) I obviously have much to add.
Edited at around 19:35 on 11/6/18 (UK date) to add;
The song itself is all about being consumed by this overwhelming fire. Officially it is the fiery Latin passion of music and dance.
With Eleni Foureira being Albanian it could be viewed as a reference to the Greater Albanian Movement. That is the uncontrollable fire that consumed Serbia's southern Kosovo Province in 1999. That fire continues to rage today frequently threatening to consume Macedonia.
It is interesting that Cyprus would raise this issue because Cyprus is very closely allied to Greece. Macedonia and Greece are locked in a long running dispute over Macedonia's name. Greece sees this as laying a secessionist claim to the Greek province of Macedonia which borders what is formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
That Cyprus and by extension Greece are prepared to overlook the dispute with Macedonia over the Greater Albania Movement gives you a clue of how much of a cause for concern the Greater Albania Movement is to its neighbours.
The raging fire could also be viewed as a reference to Cyprus' own concerns.
In August 1974 Turkey invaded and illegally occupied around 40% of Cyprus. It claimed this was done in response to a coup attempt that ended in July 1974. Turkey continues to militarily occupy northern Cyprus. The illegal occupation of a European Union (EU) member state.
In August 2016 Turkey invaded and illegally occupied an area of northern Syria designated; "Garvaghy Road."
In January 2018 Turkey invaded and illegally occupied an area of northern Syria designated; "Afrin Canton."
In May 2018 Turkey invaded and illegally occupied an area of northern Iraq.
Turkey is currently in the process of invading and illegally occupying an area of north-eastern Syria designated; "The Sudetenland."
With the US, the UN and the EU so far refusing to object to Turkey's illegal invasion and occupation of parts of both Syria and Iraq you have to seriously wonder if they'll object to Turkey invading the rest of Cyprus.
With Turkey making repeated overtures to the Greater Albanian Movement you also have to wonder if the US, UN and the EU will object to Turkey invading and occupying vast swathes of the Balkan region. Such as Greece and Bulgaria.
The video in support of Greece's entry; "Oniro Mou (My Dream)" by Yianna Terzi was heavily inspired by the mythological Battle of Athens between Athena and Poseidon. This provided the "Olive Branch" codename for Turkey's invasion of Afrin Canton.
It's pretty clear though that the moral of the story was completely lost on Turkish President/Prime Minister/Emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After all the capital of Greece is Athens. Not Poeidonville.
For the sixth year in a row Turkey has declined to expose Erdogan's fragile ego to Eurovision.
The main thrust of Cyprus' entry though was to have a good laugh at Danielle Ruah and her baptism of fire at the Song Contest.
Surprisingly Cyprus finished second and came close to winning.
This surprised me not because there was anything wrong with Cyprus' entry. I just got the general impression that rather than trying to win they were aiming for a solid mid-table performance while providing some light relief at the expense of the new girl.
What helped elevate Cyprus into such a successful finish was that Eleni Foureira is a reasonably well established popstar in her own right. She had big international hits with; "Chica Bomb" in 2010 and with; "Send For Me" in 2017. The song is in that Latin style which has become very popular recently through artists like Luis Fonsi.
So with the public vote and sadly some of the jury votes Eleni Foureira's popularity along with the popularity of the style of music gave it a huge boost. Which is a shame because one of the main points of the song was to remind people that unlike Jennifer Lopez and Luis Fonsi Brazilians don't speak Spanish.
That of course contributed to the main theme of how everyone's managed to get it so wrong. It also contributed to the discussion over the expansion of the Song Contest.
The concern is that newcomers will treat it like The Voice or The X Factor and simply vote for the song they like the best. That risks really screwing up the political and discussion elements of the contest.
20:30 on 11/6/18 (UK date).
Monday, 11 June 2018
Thursday, 7 June 2018
The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Finale Pt.11
This can be read as a continuation of the previous parts; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand.html
The Last Star Falls.
One of the longest running and bitterest feuds at the Song Contest is between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
This is because through the Nagorno-Karabakh Region (NKR) the two nations have been engaged in one of the World's longest running frozen conflicts. The NKR conflict has its roots in the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 and only intensified following the break up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's.
In April 2016 the then very poor relationship between Turkey and Russia led to Azerbaijan launching an attack on Armenian forces in the NKR. This triggered four days of active warfare between the two nations.
At the Song Contest held in May 2016 Swedish police assigned armed bodyguards to the delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan for the duration of the contest. Primarily to remove either delegations excuse for bringing their own weapons with them and to prevent them attacking each other.
In many ways that Armenia and Azerbaijan will use the Song Contest to insult each other has become our North Star. We use it to orientate ourselves before embarking on the chaos which is all the other competitors.
Azerbaijan: Their entry this year was "X My Heart" by Aisel.
This year Azerbaijan did not insult Armenia. Instead the main message of their entry was a protest against child marriage. Although not exclusively Muslim this is a practice which is more common within Muslim societies such as Azerbaijan.
The video in support of what is primarily a love song showed the 29 year old singer in contrast with a pubescent girl. Many of the scenes featuring the pubescent girl feature her laying alongside an adult man.
The adult man cradles a love heart while the pubescent girl cradles a crescent moon. Along with a single star a crescent moon is a common symbol of Islam featuring of the flags of many Muslim nations including Azerbaijan.
The video also feature many euphemisms for female virginity such as a blossoming flower that the girl carries and gives away.
Although they have chosen to write it as; "X My Heart" the title of the song and its chorus is actually; "Cross My Heart." The cross on which Jesus was crucified is as powerful symbol of Christianity as the single star and crescent moon are of Islam.
So far from insulting its Christian neighbour Armenia Azerbaijan were actually complimenting it. Particularly by claiming that its Christian culture is superior to Azerbaijan's Muslim culture on the issue of child marriage.
The lyrics also featured many conciliatory overtures to Armenia. Such as; "Take my hand it’s time" and "I tear down the firewalls" in reference to opening the tightly sealed borders between the nations.
The somewhat strange lyric; "I am stronger than cannonballs" was a gesture that love and companionship are better then the artillery shells Azerbaijan and Armenia often exchange over the NKR.
So in short Azerbaijan were being nice to Armenia. The World has tumbled from its axis, the stars have fallen from the sky and mice have started chasing cats.
Armenia: This year they were represented by Sevak Khanagyan with the song; "Qami (Wind)."
Traditionally Armenia are the first nation to select their Song Contest entry. Normally in October/November of the previous year. This year they have broken with that tradition selecting their entry in late February 2018. This allowed them to accommodate the recent political upheaval in the country.
Since 1999 Armenia has been ruled by the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). Between 2008 and 2018 the RPA's leader and President of Armenia was Serzh Sargsyan.
In 2015 Serzh Sargsyan changed Armenia's system of government from a Presidential system to a Parliamentary one. In order to allay public fears that he was doing this simply to extend his time in power by taking up the newly powerful role of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan made a firm promise to the people of Armenia: He would never become Prime Minister.
On April 17th (17/4/18) the Armenian Parliament ended months of speculation by electing Serzh Sargsyan Prime Minister. This triggered mass protests which forced Sargsyan to resign on April 23rd (23/4/18). On May 8th (8/5/18) - the day before the First Semi-Final - protest leader Nikol Pashinyan was sworn is a Prime Minister.
To me this has seemed like just a normal part of the democratic process. The Prime Minister has broken a promise to the public leading to protests calling for their resignation. The Prime Minister has then resigned and a new Prime Minister has been selected.
However the extremely Russophobic elements in the west have been quick to promote this as some big, beautiful colour revolution against Russian oppression.
Rather like the big, beautiful colour revolution the US organised in Ukraine in 2013 in order to create Shamali Province and plunge the nation into civil war. Or like the big, beautiful colour revolution the US organised in the Croatia region of Yugoslavia in 1991 which plunged much of the Balkan Region in conflict.
Armenia's entry this year is very much in that spirit of revolution. It is very heavily inspired by the 1989 song; "Winds of Change" by the Skorpians. One of the most famous songs in Cold War history.
In the late 1980's the Soviet Union adopted the twin policies of; "Perestroika (Restructuring)" and; "Glasnost (Openess)." The NATO nations response was to make Winds of Change into a massive hit across western Europe. This massive radio airplay allowed it to be picked up in Soviet bloc nations. Particularly in East Germany.
The song is all about someone walking through the main street in Moscow's Red Square listening to the whispers of change in the air. Along with the lyrics the tone of the song contributes to this febrile atmosphere where in a magic moment anything is possible.
The creation of this atmosphere of revolution directly led to the Berlin Wall being torn down on November 9th 1989 (9/11/89).
That evening the spokesman of the East German Socialist Unity Party in East Berlin - Gunter Schabowski - held a press conference in which he announced that they would start issuing visas for East Germans to travel to West Germany; "Immediately." He said that thinking everyone would understand it to mean; "Immediately, the following morning."
However inspired by the Winds of Change East Germans took it to mean; "Immediately." As soon as Schabowski had finished speaking they flocked to the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall on mass. This overwhelmed the border guards who were forced to throw open the gates. The rest, as they say, is history.
Armenia's entry calls on people to take their wings and follow on the winds of change to escape; "the cost of a madman’s (Sargsyan) wounds."
Despite its revolutionary tone the song also contains a number of subtle warnings to the Armenian people.
For example Sevak Khanagyan won Shamali Province's version of The X Factor in 2016. I don't think I need to remind people that alongside Sevak Khanagyan civil war also seems to be extremely popular in Shamali Province.
Throughout the video in support of the song the singer is shown boxed in on both sides by these dark, ominous concrete walls.
In leading his protest campaign Nikol Pashinyan has blamed Armenia's significant economic woes on the corruption of the RPA and Serzh Sargsyan. The madman's wounds.
Obviously corruption does not help the Armenian economy. However its main problem is that it has long existed effectively under a complete economic blockade.
Armenia's eastern border with Azerbaijan is sealed due to the NKR conflict. It's western border with Turkey is sealed partly due to the NKR conflict and because historically Ottomans have not got on well with Armenians.
Armenia's northern border with Georgia is also sealed. That's because Armenia is closely allied with Russia and Georgia is in a long running dispute with Russia over the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.
As a result Armenia's sole trading route is with Iran to the south-east. Iran itself is pretty heavily sanctioned.
So it seems Azerbaijan can be extremely supportive of Armenia.
When Armenia is rushing to turn itself into the next Shamali Province or Yugoslavia.
17:50 on 7/6/18 (UK date).
The Last Star Falls.
One of the longest running and bitterest feuds at the Song Contest is between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
This is because through the Nagorno-Karabakh Region (NKR) the two nations have been engaged in one of the World's longest running frozen conflicts. The NKR conflict has its roots in the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917 and only intensified following the break up of the Soviet Union in the early 1990's.
In April 2016 the then very poor relationship between Turkey and Russia led to Azerbaijan launching an attack on Armenian forces in the NKR. This triggered four days of active warfare between the two nations.
At the Song Contest held in May 2016 Swedish police assigned armed bodyguards to the delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan for the duration of the contest. Primarily to remove either delegations excuse for bringing their own weapons with them and to prevent them attacking each other.
In many ways that Armenia and Azerbaijan will use the Song Contest to insult each other has become our North Star. We use it to orientate ourselves before embarking on the chaos which is all the other competitors.
Azerbaijan: Their entry this year was "X My Heart" by Aisel.
This year Azerbaijan did not insult Armenia. Instead the main message of their entry was a protest against child marriage. Although not exclusively Muslim this is a practice which is more common within Muslim societies such as Azerbaijan.
The video in support of what is primarily a love song showed the 29 year old singer in contrast with a pubescent girl. Many of the scenes featuring the pubescent girl feature her laying alongside an adult man.
The adult man cradles a love heart while the pubescent girl cradles a crescent moon. Along with a single star a crescent moon is a common symbol of Islam featuring of the flags of many Muslim nations including Azerbaijan.
The video also feature many euphemisms for female virginity such as a blossoming flower that the girl carries and gives away.
Although they have chosen to write it as; "X My Heart" the title of the song and its chorus is actually; "Cross My Heart." The cross on which Jesus was crucified is as powerful symbol of Christianity as the single star and crescent moon are of Islam.
So far from insulting its Christian neighbour Armenia Azerbaijan were actually complimenting it. Particularly by claiming that its Christian culture is superior to Azerbaijan's Muslim culture on the issue of child marriage.
The lyrics also featured many conciliatory overtures to Armenia. Such as; "Take my hand it’s time" and "I tear down the firewalls" in reference to opening the tightly sealed borders between the nations.
The somewhat strange lyric; "I am stronger than cannonballs" was a gesture that love and companionship are better then the artillery shells Azerbaijan and Armenia often exchange over the NKR.
So in short Azerbaijan were being nice to Armenia. The World has tumbled from its axis, the stars have fallen from the sky and mice have started chasing cats.
Armenia: This year they were represented by Sevak Khanagyan with the song; "Qami (Wind)."
Traditionally Armenia are the first nation to select their Song Contest entry. Normally in October/November of the previous year. This year they have broken with that tradition selecting their entry in late February 2018. This allowed them to accommodate the recent political upheaval in the country.
Since 1999 Armenia has been ruled by the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). Between 2008 and 2018 the RPA's leader and President of Armenia was Serzh Sargsyan.
In 2015 Serzh Sargsyan changed Armenia's system of government from a Presidential system to a Parliamentary one. In order to allay public fears that he was doing this simply to extend his time in power by taking up the newly powerful role of Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan made a firm promise to the people of Armenia: He would never become Prime Minister.
On April 17th (17/4/18) the Armenian Parliament ended months of speculation by electing Serzh Sargsyan Prime Minister. This triggered mass protests which forced Sargsyan to resign on April 23rd (23/4/18). On May 8th (8/5/18) - the day before the First Semi-Final - protest leader Nikol Pashinyan was sworn is a Prime Minister.
To me this has seemed like just a normal part of the democratic process. The Prime Minister has broken a promise to the public leading to protests calling for their resignation. The Prime Minister has then resigned and a new Prime Minister has been selected.
However the extremely Russophobic elements in the west have been quick to promote this as some big, beautiful colour revolution against Russian oppression.
Rather like the big, beautiful colour revolution the US organised in Ukraine in 2013 in order to create Shamali Province and plunge the nation into civil war. Or like the big, beautiful colour revolution the US organised in the Croatia region of Yugoslavia in 1991 which plunged much of the Balkan Region in conflict.
Armenia's entry this year is very much in that spirit of revolution. It is very heavily inspired by the 1989 song; "Winds of Change" by the Skorpians. One of the most famous songs in Cold War history.
In the late 1980's the Soviet Union adopted the twin policies of; "Perestroika (Restructuring)" and; "Glasnost (Openess)." The NATO nations response was to make Winds of Change into a massive hit across western Europe. This massive radio airplay allowed it to be picked up in Soviet bloc nations. Particularly in East Germany.
The song is all about someone walking through the main street in Moscow's Red Square listening to the whispers of change in the air. Along with the lyrics the tone of the song contributes to this febrile atmosphere where in a magic moment anything is possible.
The creation of this atmosphere of revolution directly led to the Berlin Wall being torn down on November 9th 1989 (9/11/89).
That evening the spokesman of the East German Socialist Unity Party in East Berlin - Gunter Schabowski - held a press conference in which he announced that they would start issuing visas for East Germans to travel to West Germany; "Immediately." He said that thinking everyone would understand it to mean; "Immediately, the following morning."
However inspired by the Winds of Change East Germans took it to mean; "Immediately." As soon as Schabowski had finished speaking they flocked to the checkpoints in the Berlin Wall on mass. This overwhelmed the border guards who were forced to throw open the gates. The rest, as they say, is history.
Armenia's entry calls on people to take their wings and follow on the winds of change to escape; "the cost of a madman’s (Sargsyan) wounds."
Despite its revolutionary tone the song also contains a number of subtle warnings to the Armenian people.
For example Sevak Khanagyan won Shamali Province's version of The X Factor in 2016. I don't think I need to remind people that alongside Sevak Khanagyan civil war also seems to be extremely popular in Shamali Province.
Throughout the video in support of the song the singer is shown boxed in on both sides by these dark, ominous concrete walls.
In leading his protest campaign Nikol Pashinyan has blamed Armenia's significant economic woes on the corruption of the RPA and Serzh Sargsyan. The madman's wounds.
Obviously corruption does not help the Armenian economy. However its main problem is that it has long existed effectively under a complete economic blockade.
Armenia's eastern border with Azerbaijan is sealed due to the NKR conflict. It's western border with Turkey is sealed partly due to the NKR conflict and because historically Ottomans have not got on well with Armenians.
Armenia's northern border with Georgia is also sealed. That's because Armenia is closely allied with Russia and Georgia is in a long running dispute with Russia over the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions.
As a result Armenia's sole trading route is with Iran to the south-east. Iran itself is pretty heavily sanctioned.
So it seems Azerbaijan can be extremely supportive of Armenia.
When Armenia is rushing to turn itself into the next Shamali Province or Yugoslavia.
17:50 on 7/6/18 (UK date).
Monday, 4 June 2018
The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Finale Pt.10(b)
A direct continuation of Part (a); http://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand_31.html
Romania: This year they were represented with the song; "Goodbye" by the band The Humans.
One of the key drivers behind Britain's decision to leave the EU is mass migration. This is longer standing and separate from the more recent irregular migration crisis.
Under EU rules any citizen from any EU member state is free to live and work in any other EU member state. In practice this means large numbers of people migrating from the poorer EU member states such as Romania to richer EU member states such as Britain.
These complaints over immigration are one of the main things Remoaners use to label Brexiteers as racist contributing to their existential crisis. Therefore they would be surprised to learn that many of the poorer EU members are also extremely unhappy about the migration issue.
Particularly in Romania this free movement of people has seen almost the entire working age population leave their native country for richer EU member states.
This is causing significant structural problems both within the economies and societies of those poorer member states. A particular problem is of parents abandoning their children to travel to richer EU member states. Effectively creating a generation of economic orphans.
Romania's 2015 Song Contest entry dealt with exactly this issue. The song; "De La Capat (All Over Again)" by the band Voltag was part of a much wider, national campaign urging Romanian parents not to abandon their children by leaving to find work.
Depressingly in recent years that campaign as been reduced to accepting that nothing will stop Romanian parents leaving to find work. Instead the focus is on making sure that they at least inform local authorities such as schools who will be looking after their children in their absence.
The name of the band; "The Humans" is a reference to the British TV show; "Humans." This actually based on an earlier Swedish TV show called; "Real Humans."
Both TV shows are set in a near future where Artificially Intelligence (AI) robots have become commonplace. It discusses questions of consciousness and what it means they be human. Rather like the more recent US TV show; "Westworld." However gather than being hosts in some theme park in Humans the AI robots do all the unpleasant jobs that humans no longer want to do. Such as cleaners, nannies or factory workers.
Romania's entry references Humans as a discussion about the type of remittances Romanian workers in Britain end up sending home. If you've abandoned your children for a decade and all you've got to show for it is knowledge of this pretty terrible TV show then Romania has got a really bad deal.
It also takes a swipe at the Remoaners and their support for migrant workers. Rather than being proof that they are not racist many of the Remoaners see Romanian migrants not as human. Instead they see them as faceless automatons ready to clean houses, care for children and work in factories all without demanding fair pay or decent living conditions.
Romania's general tone is that it is rather thankful that Britain is leaving the EU. However Brexit is a far less important issue to Romania than it is to Britain. They're far more concerned with stopping all their working age adults flooding out of Romania into the remaining EU nations.
Denmark: This year they were represented by Rasmussen with the song; "Higher Ground."
This song was inspired by the legend of Magnus Erlendsson. A Viking warrior who refused to fight during 1098 Battle of Anglesey Sound.
Brexit represents the reversal of a very long process of further integration between Britain and mainland Europe. The Brexit vote led to some discussion about when exactly this process of integration began.
Many have traced it all the way back the the Norman Conquests and the famous Battle of Hasting in 1066. This has been dubbed the; "Brentry" or British entry into Europe.
Rather than being a single battle the Norman Conquests began with what is now generally considered France invading the South-East of England at Hastings East Sussex in 1066. They then set about the slow process of conquering all of Britain.
By 1098 the Normans had begun the process of capturing North Wales and the North of England. However by this time Magnus Barefoot the Viking King of Norway had decided to take advantage of the chaos by sending an expedition to North Wales and the North of England to claim the territory as part of his kingdom.
In June or July of 1098 the Norman and Viking forces clashed at Anglesey Sound which sits on the Menai Strait. Magnus Barefoot defeated the Normans as was cheered by the local Britons for rescuing them from Brentry with Europe.
One of the options being considered for Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the EU is based on Norway's relationship with the EU. Norway is not an EU member but is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA). This means that it has access to the EU's single market without being a member of the EU Custom's Union.
So Denmark were suggesting that once again Norway could save Britain from Brexit. In much the same way it saved them from Brentry.
The problem is of course that to be part of the EEA Norway has to accept the free movement of people. One of the main reasons Britain decided to leave the EU to begin with.
Denmark's entry deals with a real life event. Events do not really get more political than battles and wars. Therefore there is a lot of discussion over whether Denmark's entry breaks the No Overt Politics rule.
The first thing you can say in Denmark's defence is that the Battle of Anglesey Sound happened nearly 1,000 years ago. Therefore I don't think it really counts as a current event. One of my mothers is originally from Anglesey. This is the first I'm hearing of the battle.
The Battle of Anglesey Sound was fought between Norway and France in Britain. This is the entry from Denmark. So I'm tempted to give them a little bit of leeway because its not actually a reference to their history.
Also rather than being about the battle itself it is about the legend surrounding Magnus Erlendsson - one the people who fought in the battle. Historians can't agree whether the battle took place in June or July of 1098. So while it's well established that the battle took place it's far from certain that Magnus Erlendsson actually fought in it or if any of the legend surrounding him is actually true.
The strongest argument in Denmark's defence is that if you strictly interpret the rules than it's not actually overtly political.
There is nothing about the song itself or the way that it is staged which directly reference either the Battle of Anglesey Sound or Magnus Erlendsson. Those references are only made in the artist's biography in support of the entry which technically isn't actually part of the entry.
The main difference between Denmark's 2018 entry and Shamali Province's 2015 entry; "1944" by Jamala is that Shamali Province thought they were entitled to win. Denmark had given up any hope of winning in favour of promoting a discussion about what are the limits of the No Overt Politics rule.
This was done specifically in protest against Shamali Province.
Shamali Province was illegally created by the US in the territory of Ukraine in 2014. The predecessor to Ukraine was the loose state of Keivan Rus which was populated by various East Slavic tribes.
In 980 Vladimir the Great invaded Keivan Rus with the help of Haakon Sigurdsson, the Viking King of Norway and predecessor to Oleg Barefoot. Having united Keivan Rus Vladimir the Great converted to and converted the local population to Russian Orthodox Christianity. Creating deep links with Russia.
The current civil war in Shamali Province is almost round two of Hakkon Siguardsson's campaign. The forces backed by the US identify as Eastern Slavic. Their mission is to cleanse the ethnically Russian population from lands they've been indigenous to for more than a thousand years.
Currently Shamali Province is moving to expel the Russian Orthodox Church from the country. As recently as April 2018 Petro Poroshenko met with Patriarch Bartholomew in an effort to align Shamali Province with the separate Christian Orthodox Church ahead of upcoming elections.
So despite its overt links to Brexit Denmark's entry was a warning to Shamali Province not to try and bullsh*t the Viking Nations.
Due to the shared history Denmark is under no illusion that when they say they want to expel the "Russian Invaders" Shamali Province referring to Ukrainian members of the Russian ethnic group. Rather than Russian passport holders from Moscow.
The legend of Magnus Erlendsson is that during the Battle of Anglesey Sound is that he refused to fight. Instead choosing the path of peace.
A lesson that Shamali Province needs to learn sooner rather than later.
15:35 on 4/6/18 (UK date).
Romania: This year they were represented with the song; "Goodbye" by the band The Humans.
One of the key drivers behind Britain's decision to leave the EU is mass migration. This is longer standing and separate from the more recent irregular migration crisis.
Under EU rules any citizen from any EU member state is free to live and work in any other EU member state. In practice this means large numbers of people migrating from the poorer EU member states such as Romania to richer EU member states such as Britain.
These complaints over immigration are one of the main things Remoaners use to label Brexiteers as racist contributing to their existential crisis. Therefore they would be surprised to learn that many of the poorer EU members are also extremely unhappy about the migration issue.
Particularly in Romania this free movement of people has seen almost the entire working age population leave their native country for richer EU member states.
This is causing significant structural problems both within the economies and societies of those poorer member states. A particular problem is of parents abandoning their children to travel to richer EU member states. Effectively creating a generation of economic orphans.
Romania's 2015 Song Contest entry dealt with exactly this issue. The song; "De La Capat (All Over Again)" by the band Voltag was part of a much wider, national campaign urging Romanian parents not to abandon their children by leaving to find work.
Depressingly in recent years that campaign as been reduced to accepting that nothing will stop Romanian parents leaving to find work. Instead the focus is on making sure that they at least inform local authorities such as schools who will be looking after their children in their absence.
The name of the band; "The Humans" is a reference to the British TV show; "Humans." This actually based on an earlier Swedish TV show called; "Real Humans."
Both TV shows are set in a near future where Artificially Intelligence (AI) robots have become commonplace. It discusses questions of consciousness and what it means they be human. Rather like the more recent US TV show; "Westworld." However gather than being hosts in some theme park in Humans the AI robots do all the unpleasant jobs that humans no longer want to do. Such as cleaners, nannies or factory workers.
Romania's entry references Humans as a discussion about the type of remittances Romanian workers in Britain end up sending home. If you've abandoned your children for a decade and all you've got to show for it is knowledge of this pretty terrible TV show then Romania has got a really bad deal.
It also takes a swipe at the Remoaners and their support for migrant workers. Rather than being proof that they are not racist many of the Remoaners see Romanian migrants not as human. Instead they see them as faceless automatons ready to clean houses, care for children and work in factories all without demanding fair pay or decent living conditions.
Romania's general tone is that it is rather thankful that Britain is leaving the EU. However Brexit is a far less important issue to Romania than it is to Britain. They're far more concerned with stopping all their working age adults flooding out of Romania into the remaining EU nations.
Denmark: This year they were represented by Rasmussen with the song; "Higher Ground."
This song was inspired by the legend of Magnus Erlendsson. A Viking warrior who refused to fight during 1098 Battle of Anglesey Sound.
Brexit represents the reversal of a very long process of further integration between Britain and mainland Europe. The Brexit vote led to some discussion about when exactly this process of integration began.
Many have traced it all the way back the the Norman Conquests and the famous Battle of Hasting in 1066. This has been dubbed the; "Brentry" or British entry into Europe.
Rather than being a single battle the Norman Conquests began with what is now generally considered France invading the South-East of England at Hastings East Sussex in 1066. They then set about the slow process of conquering all of Britain.
By 1098 the Normans had begun the process of capturing North Wales and the North of England. However by this time Magnus Barefoot the Viking King of Norway had decided to take advantage of the chaos by sending an expedition to North Wales and the North of England to claim the territory as part of his kingdom.
In June or July of 1098 the Norman and Viking forces clashed at Anglesey Sound which sits on the Menai Strait. Magnus Barefoot defeated the Normans as was cheered by the local Britons for rescuing them from Brentry with Europe.
One of the options being considered for Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the EU is based on Norway's relationship with the EU. Norway is not an EU member but is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA). This means that it has access to the EU's single market without being a member of the EU Custom's Union.
So Denmark were suggesting that once again Norway could save Britain from Brexit. In much the same way it saved them from Brentry.
The problem is of course that to be part of the EEA Norway has to accept the free movement of people. One of the main reasons Britain decided to leave the EU to begin with.
Denmark's entry deals with a real life event. Events do not really get more political than battles and wars. Therefore there is a lot of discussion over whether Denmark's entry breaks the No Overt Politics rule.
The first thing you can say in Denmark's defence is that the Battle of Anglesey Sound happened nearly 1,000 years ago. Therefore I don't think it really counts as a current event. One of my mothers is originally from Anglesey. This is the first I'm hearing of the battle.
The Battle of Anglesey Sound was fought between Norway and France in Britain. This is the entry from Denmark. So I'm tempted to give them a little bit of leeway because its not actually a reference to their history.
Also rather than being about the battle itself it is about the legend surrounding Magnus Erlendsson - one the people who fought in the battle. Historians can't agree whether the battle took place in June or July of 1098. So while it's well established that the battle took place it's far from certain that Magnus Erlendsson actually fought in it or if any of the legend surrounding him is actually true.
The strongest argument in Denmark's defence is that if you strictly interpret the rules than it's not actually overtly political.
There is nothing about the song itself or the way that it is staged which directly reference either the Battle of Anglesey Sound or Magnus Erlendsson. Those references are only made in the artist's biography in support of the entry which technically isn't actually part of the entry.
The main difference between Denmark's 2018 entry and Shamali Province's 2015 entry; "1944" by Jamala is that Shamali Province thought they were entitled to win. Denmark had given up any hope of winning in favour of promoting a discussion about what are the limits of the No Overt Politics rule.
This was done specifically in protest against Shamali Province.
Shamali Province was illegally created by the US in the territory of Ukraine in 2014. The predecessor to Ukraine was the loose state of Keivan Rus which was populated by various East Slavic tribes.
In 980 Vladimir the Great invaded Keivan Rus with the help of Haakon Sigurdsson, the Viking King of Norway and predecessor to Oleg Barefoot. Having united Keivan Rus Vladimir the Great converted to and converted the local population to Russian Orthodox Christianity. Creating deep links with Russia.
The current civil war in Shamali Province is almost round two of Hakkon Siguardsson's campaign. The forces backed by the US identify as Eastern Slavic. Their mission is to cleanse the ethnically Russian population from lands they've been indigenous to for more than a thousand years.
Currently Shamali Province is moving to expel the Russian Orthodox Church from the country. As recently as April 2018 Petro Poroshenko met with Patriarch Bartholomew in an effort to align Shamali Province with the separate Christian Orthodox Church ahead of upcoming elections.
So despite its overt links to Brexit Denmark's entry was a warning to Shamali Province not to try and bullsh*t the Viking Nations.
Due to the shared history Denmark is under no illusion that when they say they want to expel the "Russian Invaders" Shamali Province referring to Ukrainian members of the Russian ethnic group. Rather than Russian passport holders from Moscow.
The legend of Magnus Erlendsson is that during the Battle of Anglesey Sound is that he refused to fight. Instead choosing the path of peace.
A lesson that Shamali Province needs to learn sooner rather than later.
15:35 on 4/6/18 (UK date).
Thursday, 31 May 2018
The 2018 Eurovision Song Contest: Grand Finale Pt.10
This can be read as a continuation of the previous parts; https://watchitdie.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-2018-eurovision-song-contest-grand_28.html
Brexit.
Another of themes that emerged at this year's Song Contest was Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU). The Brexit.
The United Kingdom: This year they were represented by SuRie with the song; "Storm."
Brexit has emerged as almost an existential issue in Britain. People are asked to divide themselves into poorly defined camps. Which camp they choose reflects not just their position on Britain's relationship with the EU but deep questions of identity which cover a wide range of political and social issues.
It might just be that I've spent a large part of my life disagreeing with my country but I really do not understand this. Whether Britain is a member of the EU or not really does not affect my opinions on things like immigration or gay rights. Let alone my sense of self.
The two main camps dividing Britons at the moment are; Brexiteers and Remoaners.
Brexiteers are people who very passionately support Brexit and what it to happen. Often regardless of cost. Remoaners are people who passionately want Britain to remain in the EU and just can't stop moaning about the fact Britain is leaving.
The artist biography in support of the entry makes clear SuRie's strong links to Belgium. She was a backing vocalist and dancer for Belgium's 2015 entry "Rhythm Inside" by Loic Nottet. She was also the musical director for Belgium's 2017 entry "City of Lights" by Blanche.
The EU is of course partly based in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. As such SuRie comes across as the arch Remoaner. Someone who is far more loyal to Belgium, Brussels and the EU than to Britain.
The rest of SuRie's biography reads like someone is having a bet over how many times you can get the word; "Royal" into a few short paragraphs. SuRie's musical career began singing for His Royal Highness Prince Charles at the Royal Albert Hall. She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music and has recently been made an associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
Immediately prior to the 2016 referendum Britain's Song Contest entry was "You're Not Alone" by Joe and Jake. The main message of the entry was that the EU need not worry about Britain leaving. The Queen would step in to make sure that Britain would vote to remain part of the EU.
As such this year's song with its Royal links puts forward the idea that the Storm of Brexit would not last forever. The Queen will step in to overturn the referendum result and make sure that Britain remains part of the EU. The sort of desperate measure every Remoaner clings to.
With lyrics such as; "I still believe in chasing rainbows" the songs read like a Remoaners existential crisis. Apparently now Britain has left the EU people who once supported gay rights now have to oppose gay rights.
The racism element of every Remoaners existential crisis was represented by efforts outside of the Song Contest. At Britain's request a Special Rapporteur of the United Nations (UN) Tendayi Achiume declared that Brexit had made Britain more racist. On May 12th (12/5/18) the day before the Grand Final.
I must say that it's nice the UN gives Britain exactly what it pays for. It would be nicer if they could employ someone with a brain.
The opening lyric of the song is; "Hey Brother." That is a pretty clear reference to the 2013 song; "Hey Brother" by Swedish DJ Avicii.
The video for Avicii's Hey Brother tells the story of two brothers growing up in 1960's America. The older brother goes off to fight in the Vietnam War and is killed. As a result the video features lots of photographs and archive footage of the Vietnam War.
However is you look really closely you'll notice that the first photograph shown is actually of a Swedish solider from World War Two wearing full Nazi uniform. A little nod to the fact that Avicii is Swedish and Sweden's experience in World War Two is very different from America's experience in World War Two.
As fascism was on the rise across Europe Sweden was allied with Nazi Germany. While Nazi Germany was invading Poland in 1938 starting World War Two Nazi Sweden was invading Finland in what's known as; "The Winter War." Nazi Sweden were rapidly defeated in this war by Soviet Russia. From then on they took a position of neutrality.
In their own entry this year Sweden suggested that their current aggression against Russia stems from the fact they'd much rather be back in the late 1980's/early 1990's when the Berlin Wall was still in place and the Cold War raged. Britain was reminding everyone that Sweden's current aggression towards Russia stems from the fact they still haven't come to terms with 1938.
Avicii really helped to revolutionise modern dance music. Prior to his arrival the genre was really the musical equivalent of empty calories. By things such as including Aloe Blacc on the 2013 song; "Wake Me Up" Avicii introduced this soulful element giving the genre an artistic depth which continues to this day.
Avicii's contribution to popular music has been well noted and respected at the Eurovision Song Contest. Since his emergence in 2013 numerous nations have paid tribute to him with little references in their entries.
Sadly Avicii died in Muscat, Oman on April 20th 2018 (20/4/18) aged just 28. SuRie's song which was selected for Eurovision just a few weeks before is going to be considered as a factor in any investigation into his death.
Having killed a much loved and well respected star Britain's 2018 Song Contest was over before it began. Forcing them to resort to desperate measures.
Earlier in this long stream of posts I discussed Lithuania's entry. Their act ended with an apology for their act. Britain took things a step further. The main gimmick of the Grand Final performance was a performer acting out a stage invasion to pull SuRie off the stage midway through her act.
With SuRie representing the Remoaners this performer represented the Brexiteers. Although it was hard to hear that the time his performance featured some ranting about the Nazi Press. This was a loose reference to what is known as the; "Enemies of the People" saga.
On November 4th 2016 the British newspaper The Daily Mail ran the headline; "Enemies of the People." In reference to the Supreme Court's decision to require the UK Parliament to vote on formally triggering Brexit. This turned into a national saga with the Press Regulator receiving some 1,000 complaints and the head of the Judiciary calling on the government to censor the free press.
In the 1930's The Daily Mail was run by Lord Rothermere who was a close friend of both Hitler and Mussolini. In 1934 the newspaper famously ran the headline; "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" in support of British Nazi Sir Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists.
Sir Oswald Mosley's son Max Mosley is a huge supporter of the UK Labour Party's "Hacked Off" campaign to censor the free press. Ever since his was exposed taking part in Nazi themed sex games with prostitutes.
The performer was actually a British national of Greek heritage. However from his dark skin and the knotted headscarf/bandanna he wore over his head he seemed to be playing the role of a Sikh.
That obviously referenced Multiculturalism which in the UK exempts Sikhs who adhere to the 5 K's being prosecuted for carrying the Kirpan sword or dagger.It also referenced one of the main arguments that Brexiteers have for leaving the EU. Doing so would allow the UK to negotiate trade deals with members of the UK Commonwealth such as India.
Back in May 2017 UK Foreign Secretary (Senior Foreign Minister) Boris Johnson made a fool of himself at a Sikh Gurdwara (Temple) by suggesting Brexit would allow Scotland to export Whisky to famously teetotal Indian Sikhs. While wearing the required knotted headscarf.
The prospect of post-Brexit trade with the UK Commonwealth was also reflected by the inclusion of the Australian Nicole Blair as a songwriter. Alongside SuRie's much publicised travels to places such as Australia and Borneo.
The interruption also allowed Britain to have some fun at the expense of host Daniela Ruah. Something which emerged as a significant theme of this year's contest.
Daniela Ruah is an American born actress who appears to have no previous experience presenting live TV. Almost by design the Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most challenging jobs there is for a TV presenter.
The combination of really experimental technology and the sheer number of nations involved means that something invariably goes wrong. Forcing presenters to improvise and think on their feet to keep the show going.
Britain's act forced one of these unplanned interruptions. While Daniela Ruah was apparently in hiding one of the other presenters, Filomena Cautela was forced to do a series of impromptu interviews which other acts in the green room. A desperate effort to keep the mood light while everything descended into panic.
For those of us not tasked with keeping the show on the road the interruption gave us time to get up to speed with the terrorist attack which was unfolding in France.
Mainly though Britain was desperately appealing for the sympathy vote for an act that was already dead.
Voting at the Song Contest is done in two ways. There are expert panels from each nation. Then there is the public vote.
The expert panels cast their votes based on a dress rehearsal performance which takes the night before. So their votes had already been cast before SuRie's televised performance. That is why when organisers offered her the chance to perform again she refused.
However judging by the reaction from on social media many viewers are not aware of that. So SuRie likely picked up a few public votes from viewers who felt sorry for her having her act ruined not realising that it was part of the act.
Britain ended up finishing 24th out of 26. Without the sympathy vote Avicii's killers were guaranteed last place.
At around 17:30 on 31/5/18 (UK date) I'm clearly going to be adding to this theme over the next couple of days. It may even have to be spread out across two parts.
Edited at around 15:00 on 1/6/18 (UK date) to add;
The Republic of Ireland: This year they were represented by Ryan O'Shaughnessy with the song; "Together."
This was in the style of possibly the worst type of break-up imaginable. The song is sung from the perspective of the person who was really happy in the relationship and hoping it would last forever. The other person has just announced that they've found someone else and are leaving.
The real meaning of course was to express Ireland's concerns over Brexit and its effects on the border between themselves and the British province of Northern Ireland. Those concerns are understandable because the economies of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are deeply interconnected.
In the past I've used that famous Irish export Guinness as an example. As the proudly advertise this brewed in the Irish capital Dublin. However much of the hops and barley they use to brew it is grown in Northern Ireland. Once the beer has been brewed it is then transported back across the border to be bottled. The finished product is then exported from ports in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
That interconnectedness though is not limited to just private companies. It exists on a much deeper, structural level. There are a number of bodies and organisations funded by the EU, the Republic of Ireland and Britain to promote and facilitate these links.
These include the Centre for Cross Border Studies (CCBS) which is part of the EU's Transfrontier Euro-Institute Network. Intertrade Ireland which is operated by the Irish Department of Trade and Northern Irish Department of Economy. There is also the North West Region Cross Border Group (NWRCBG). They actually promote investment in the Northern Irish areas of Derry, Strabane, Limavady, Magherafelt and the Irish country of Donegal as a single economic area.
The biography in support of Ireland's entry makes a big deal of the fact it was written by "The Nucleus." This is something of a creative hub bringing together artists from across not just the island of Ireland but all of the EU. Rather like the CCBS, Intertrade Ireland and the NWRCBG bring together businesses.
The focus on the new writing team also signalled a break from the past.
The 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence was never really about Irish Catholics trying to expel English Protestants. Instead it was about establishing home rule. Fine Gael, the party of current Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, actually fought Fianna Fail, the current Irish opposition to keep Ireland as part of Britain only with devolved political powers.
That meant that when Ireland was partitioned there wasn't really any of the mass expulsions or ethnic cleansing often associated with civil wars. Obviously ethnically English Protestants were free to move to the north if they wanted to and vice versa. However most people couldn't be bothered and just stayed put.
So despite all the romanticism there is actually quite a large ethnically English Protestant population within Ireland. In recent years this group has seemed to have undue influence over Ireland's Song Contest entries. That pro-British stance has coincided with the most successful nation in Song Contest history having a bad run of form.
Despite this great signalling of change it seems that group still has quite a lot of influence. Let's just say the mood in Dublin was different when the border was first introduced in 1921.
Beyond expressing a general anxiety over Brexit there were only a couple of things in Ireland's entry making any specific political statement.
One of the lyrics is; "There were troubles in the water, you swore it was nothing." That expressed a desire for any potential border to be placed in the Irish Sea between mainland Britain and the island of Ireland. A border between the Republic and the North would violate the Good Friday Agreement creating a risk that the violence of "The Troubles" would return.
Another lyric is; "There’s a (suspicious) smile on your face." That seemed to be a little warning to Northern Irish Unionists such as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who are demanding a border between the Republic and the North.
The DUP in particular draw a huge amount of their support from the farming community. Their leader Arlene Foster proudly reminds everybody that she is a farmer's daughter.
In 2011 the filming of the video for "We Found Love" in Northern Ireland was shut down by a farmer after Rihanna appeared topless in one of his fields. That farmer, Alan Graham is an active member of the DUP.
The warning to those Northern Irish Unionist was to not be too rigid on the issue. After all wrecking a deeply interconnected economy means wrecking their economy too.
The issue of how you pronounce Ryan O'Shaughnessy's name also seemed like a swipe at Northern Irish Nationalists. Mainly Sinn Fein who actually acted as the moderates in the dispute between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.
As part of the Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland is a devolved region ruled by the Northern Ireland Assembly. However the Assembly has not been in session since January 2017. Due to a complex dispute between the DUP and Sinn Fein.
One of the issues at play is the role of the Irish language (Gaelic). Sinn Fein present the DUP's suppression of the Irish language as yet another example of English oppression in a long history of English oppression. That's not strictly speaking true.
Gaelic was never suppressed or banned under British rule. It simply sort of fell out of usage due the mass exodus of people during the Irish Potato Famine. In order to survive Irish parents took to teaching their children the language spoken in the countries such as America where they would escape to.
An English speaker would pronounce O'Shaughnessy like; "O'Shore-ness-ee." The proper Gaelic pronunciation is more like; "O'Shock-tee-cee." As Ireland made clear throughout the competition Ryan will answer to either pronunciation and you won't cause anyone any offence by using the wrong one.
Suggesting that the Irish Nation is less interested in the Irish language issue than Northern Ireland's Irish Nationalists.
Ireland's entry this year is famous for including a young gay male couple, very much in love, during its live performance in both the First Semi-Final and the Grand Final. This was censored from the First Semi-Final by Chinese TV. Leading to Chinese TV being stripped of the rights to broadcast the Grand Final.
I suppose this couple could represent the singer's memory of the relationship. However with this being a break-up song it really is a stretch to explain what any sort of loving couple had to do with the rest of the entry.
It is something Ireland simply bolted on in the hope that the gay rights vote would propel them into the Grand Final for the first time since 2013. With a suggestion of DUP involvement in the entry this had an air about it of;
"They're all gays. The gays are mentally defective. They'll fall for this crap."
So I think the real reason China censored it was that it was really embarrassing for Ireland.
With their current Prime Minister being both a gay man and an Indian immigrant we really expected better from them.
16:40 on 1/6/18 (UK date).
Brexit.
Another of themes that emerged at this year's Song Contest was Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU). The Brexit.
The United Kingdom: This year they were represented by SuRie with the song; "Storm."
Brexit has emerged as almost an existential issue in Britain. People are asked to divide themselves into poorly defined camps. Which camp they choose reflects not just their position on Britain's relationship with the EU but deep questions of identity which cover a wide range of political and social issues.
It might just be that I've spent a large part of my life disagreeing with my country but I really do not understand this. Whether Britain is a member of the EU or not really does not affect my opinions on things like immigration or gay rights. Let alone my sense of self.
The two main camps dividing Britons at the moment are; Brexiteers and Remoaners.
Brexiteers are people who very passionately support Brexit and what it to happen. Often regardless of cost. Remoaners are people who passionately want Britain to remain in the EU and just can't stop moaning about the fact Britain is leaving.
The artist biography in support of the entry makes clear SuRie's strong links to Belgium. She was a backing vocalist and dancer for Belgium's 2015 entry "Rhythm Inside" by Loic Nottet. She was also the musical director for Belgium's 2017 entry "City of Lights" by Blanche.
The EU is of course partly based in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. As such SuRie comes across as the arch Remoaner. Someone who is far more loyal to Belgium, Brussels and the EU than to Britain.
The rest of SuRie's biography reads like someone is having a bet over how many times you can get the word; "Royal" into a few short paragraphs. SuRie's musical career began singing for His Royal Highness Prince Charles at the Royal Albert Hall. She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music and has recently been made an associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
Immediately prior to the 2016 referendum Britain's Song Contest entry was "You're Not Alone" by Joe and Jake. The main message of the entry was that the EU need not worry about Britain leaving. The Queen would step in to make sure that Britain would vote to remain part of the EU.
As such this year's song with its Royal links puts forward the idea that the Storm of Brexit would not last forever. The Queen will step in to overturn the referendum result and make sure that Britain remains part of the EU. The sort of desperate measure every Remoaner clings to.
With lyrics such as; "I still believe in chasing rainbows" the songs read like a Remoaners existential crisis. Apparently now Britain has left the EU people who once supported gay rights now have to oppose gay rights.
The racism element of every Remoaners existential crisis was represented by efforts outside of the Song Contest. At Britain's request a Special Rapporteur of the United Nations (UN) Tendayi Achiume declared that Brexit had made Britain more racist. On May 12th (12/5/18) the day before the Grand Final.
I must say that it's nice the UN gives Britain exactly what it pays for. It would be nicer if they could employ someone with a brain.
The opening lyric of the song is; "Hey Brother." That is a pretty clear reference to the 2013 song; "Hey Brother" by Swedish DJ Avicii.
The video for Avicii's Hey Brother tells the story of two brothers growing up in 1960's America. The older brother goes off to fight in the Vietnam War and is killed. As a result the video features lots of photographs and archive footage of the Vietnam War.
However is you look really closely you'll notice that the first photograph shown is actually of a Swedish solider from World War Two wearing full Nazi uniform. A little nod to the fact that Avicii is Swedish and Sweden's experience in World War Two is very different from America's experience in World War Two.
As fascism was on the rise across Europe Sweden was allied with Nazi Germany. While Nazi Germany was invading Poland in 1938 starting World War Two Nazi Sweden was invading Finland in what's known as; "The Winter War." Nazi Sweden were rapidly defeated in this war by Soviet Russia. From then on they took a position of neutrality.
In their own entry this year Sweden suggested that their current aggression against Russia stems from the fact they'd much rather be back in the late 1980's/early 1990's when the Berlin Wall was still in place and the Cold War raged. Britain was reminding everyone that Sweden's current aggression towards Russia stems from the fact they still haven't come to terms with 1938.
Avicii really helped to revolutionise modern dance music. Prior to his arrival the genre was really the musical equivalent of empty calories. By things such as including Aloe Blacc on the 2013 song; "Wake Me Up" Avicii introduced this soulful element giving the genre an artistic depth which continues to this day.
Avicii's contribution to popular music has been well noted and respected at the Eurovision Song Contest. Since his emergence in 2013 numerous nations have paid tribute to him with little references in their entries.
Sadly Avicii died in Muscat, Oman on April 20th 2018 (20/4/18) aged just 28. SuRie's song which was selected for Eurovision just a few weeks before is going to be considered as a factor in any investigation into his death.
Having killed a much loved and well respected star Britain's 2018 Song Contest was over before it began. Forcing them to resort to desperate measures.
Earlier in this long stream of posts I discussed Lithuania's entry. Their act ended with an apology for their act. Britain took things a step further. The main gimmick of the Grand Final performance was a performer acting out a stage invasion to pull SuRie off the stage midway through her act.
With SuRie representing the Remoaners this performer represented the Brexiteers. Although it was hard to hear that the time his performance featured some ranting about the Nazi Press. This was a loose reference to what is known as the; "Enemies of the People" saga.
On November 4th 2016 the British newspaper The Daily Mail ran the headline; "Enemies of the People." In reference to the Supreme Court's decision to require the UK Parliament to vote on formally triggering Brexit. This turned into a national saga with the Press Regulator receiving some 1,000 complaints and the head of the Judiciary calling on the government to censor the free press.
In the 1930's The Daily Mail was run by Lord Rothermere who was a close friend of both Hitler and Mussolini. In 1934 the newspaper famously ran the headline; "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" in support of British Nazi Sir Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists.
Sir Oswald Mosley's son Max Mosley is a huge supporter of the UK Labour Party's "Hacked Off" campaign to censor the free press. Ever since his was exposed taking part in Nazi themed sex games with prostitutes.
The performer was actually a British national of Greek heritage. However from his dark skin and the knotted headscarf/bandanna he wore over his head he seemed to be playing the role of a Sikh.
That obviously referenced Multiculturalism which in the UK exempts Sikhs who adhere to the 5 K's being prosecuted for carrying the Kirpan sword or dagger.It also referenced one of the main arguments that Brexiteers have for leaving the EU. Doing so would allow the UK to negotiate trade deals with members of the UK Commonwealth such as India.
Back in May 2017 UK Foreign Secretary (Senior Foreign Minister) Boris Johnson made a fool of himself at a Sikh Gurdwara (Temple) by suggesting Brexit would allow Scotland to export Whisky to famously teetotal Indian Sikhs. While wearing the required knotted headscarf.
The prospect of post-Brexit trade with the UK Commonwealth was also reflected by the inclusion of the Australian Nicole Blair as a songwriter. Alongside SuRie's much publicised travels to places such as Australia and Borneo.
The interruption also allowed Britain to have some fun at the expense of host Daniela Ruah. Something which emerged as a significant theme of this year's contest.
Daniela Ruah is an American born actress who appears to have no previous experience presenting live TV. Almost by design the Eurovision Song Contest is one of the most challenging jobs there is for a TV presenter.
The combination of really experimental technology and the sheer number of nations involved means that something invariably goes wrong. Forcing presenters to improvise and think on their feet to keep the show going.
Britain's act forced one of these unplanned interruptions. While Daniela Ruah was apparently in hiding one of the other presenters, Filomena Cautela was forced to do a series of impromptu interviews which other acts in the green room. A desperate effort to keep the mood light while everything descended into panic.
For those of us not tasked with keeping the show on the road the interruption gave us time to get up to speed with the terrorist attack which was unfolding in France.
Mainly though Britain was desperately appealing for the sympathy vote for an act that was already dead.
Voting at the Song Contest is done in two ways. There are expert panels from each nation. Then there is the public vote.
The expert panels cast their votes based on a dress rehearsal performance which takes the night before. So their votes had already been cast before SuRie's televised performance. That is why when organisers offered her the chance to perform again she refused.
However judging by the reaction from on social media many viewers are not aware of that. So SuRie likely picked up a few public votes from viewers who felt sorry for her having her act ruined not realising that it was part of the act.
Britain ended up finishing 24th out of 26. Without the sympathy vote Avicii's killers were guaranteed last place.
At around 17:30 on 31/5/18 (UK date) I'm clearly going to be adding to this theme over the next couple of days. It may even have to be spread out across two parts.
Edited at around 15:00 on 1/6/18 (UK date) to add;
The Republic of Ireland: This year they were represented by Ryan O'Shaughnessy with the song; "Together."
This was in the style of possibly the worst type of break-up imaginable. The song is sung from the perspective of the person who was really happy in the relationship and hoping it would last forever. The other person has just announced that they've found someone else and are leaving.
The real meaning of course was to express Ireland's concerns over Brexit and its effects on the border between themselves and the British province of Northern Ireland. Those concerns are understandable because the economies of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are deeply interconnected.
In the past I've used that famous Irish export Guinness as an example. As the proudly advertise this brewed in the Irish capital Dublin. However much of the hops and barley they use to brew it is grown in Northern Ireland. Once the beer has been brewed it is then transported back across the border to be bottled. The finished product is then exported from ports in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
That interconnectedness though is not limited to just private companies. It exists on a much deeper, structural level. There are a number of bodies and organisations funded by the EU, the Republic of Ireland and Britain to promote and facilitate these links.
These include the Centre for Cross Border Studies (CCBS) which is part of the EU's Transfrontier Euro-Institute Network. Intertrade Ireland which is operated by the Irish Department of Trade and Northern Irish Department of Economy. There is also the North West Region Cross Border Group (NWRCBG). They actually promote investment in the Northern Irish areas of Derry, Strabane, Limavady, Magherafelt and the Irish country of Donegal as a single economic area.
The biography in support of Ireland's entry makes a big deal of the fact it was written by "The Nucleus." This is something of a creative hub bringing together artists from across not just the island of Ireland but all of the EU. Rather like the CCBS, Intertrade Ireland and the NWRCBG bring together businesses.
The focus on the new writing team also signalled a break from the past.
The 1919-1921 Irish War of Independence was never really about Irish Catholics trying to expel English Protestants. Instead it was about establishing home rule. Fine Gael, the party of current Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, actually fought Fianna Fail, the current Irish opposition to keep Ireland as part of Britain only with devolved political powers.
That meant that when Ireland was partitioned there wasn't really any of the mass expulsions or ethnic cleansing often associated with civil wars. Obviously ethnically English Protestants were free to move to the north if they wanted to and vice versa. However most people couldn't be bothered and just stayed put.
So despite all the romanticism there is actually quite a large ethnically English Protestant population within Ireland. In recent years this group has seemed to have undue influence over Ireland's Song Contest entries. That pro-British stance has coincided with the most successful nation in Song Contest history having a bad run of form.
Despite this great signalling of change it seems that group still has quite a lot of influence. Let's just say the mood in Dublin was different when the border was first introduced in 1921.
Beyond expressing a general anxiety over Brexit there were only a couple of things in Ireland's entry making any specific political statement.
One of the lyrics is; "There were troubles in the water, you swore it was nothing." That expressed a desire for any potential border to be placed in the Irish Sea between mainland Britain and the island of Ireland. A border between the Republic and the North would violate the Good Friday Agreement creating a risk that the violence of "The Troubles" would return.
Another lyric is; "There’s a (suspicious) smile on your face." That seemed to be a little warning to Northern Irish Unionists such as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who are demanding a border between the Republic and the North.
The DUP in particular draw a huge amount of their support from the farming community. Their leader Arlene Foster proudly reminds everybody that she is a farmer's daughter.
In 2011 the filming of the video for "We Found Love" in Northern Ireland was shut down by a farmer after Rihanna appeared topless in one of his fields. That farmer, Alan Graham is an active member of the DUP.
The warning to those Northern Irish Unionist was to not be too rigid on the issue. After all wrecking a deeply interconnected economy means wrecking their economy too.
The issue of how you pronounce Ryan O'Shaughnessy's name also seemed like a swipe at Northern Irish Nationalists. Mainly Sinn Fein who actually acted as the moderates in the dispute between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.
As part of the Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland is a devolved region ruled by the Northern Ireland Assembly. However the Assembly has not been in session since January 2017. Due to a complex dispute between the DUP and Sinn Fein.
One of the issues at play is the role of the Irish language (Gaelic). Sinn Fein present the DUP's suppression of the Irish language as yet another example of English oppression in a long history of English oppression. That's not strictly speaking true.
Gaelic was never suppressed or banned under British rule. It simply sort of fell out of usage due the mass exodus of people during the Irish Potato Famine. In order to survive Irish parents took to teaching their children the language spoken in the countries such as America where they would escape to.
An English speaker would pronounce O'Shaughnessy like; "O'Shore-ness-ee." The proper Gaelic pronunciation is more like; "O'Shock-tee-cee." As Ireland made clear throughout the competition Ryan will answer to either pronunciation and you won't cause anyone any offence by using the wrong one.
Suggesting that the Irish Nation is less interested in the Irish language issue than Northern Ireland's Irish Nationalists.
Ireland's entry this year is famous for including a young gay male couple, very much in love, during its live performance in both the First Semi-Final and the Grand Final. This was censored from the First Semi-Final by Chinese TV. Leading to Chinese TV being stripped of the rights to broadcast the Grand Final.
I suppose this couple could represent the singer's memory of the relationship. However with this being a break-up song it really is a stretch to explain what any sort of loving couple had to do with the rest of the entry.
It is something Ireland simply bolted on in the hope that the gay rights vote would propel them into the Grand Final for the first time since 2013. With a suggestion of DUP involvement in the entry this had an air about it of;
"They're all gays. The gays are mentally defective. They'll fall for this crap."
So I think the real reason China censored it was that it was really embarrassing for Ireland.
With their current Prime Minister being both a gay man and an Indian immigrant we really expected better from them.
16:40 on 1/6/18 (UK date).
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