From Ringside

CLASH OF THE TITANS

Watching the Heavyweight Championship of the World this weekend, a bout between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschenko, from pretty much ringside seats in Düsseldorf, I was amazed at how much money people will pay for a sporting spectacle and for what can be poor entertainment. It's intriguing to learn who gets what when the purse is so high and how boxing makes so much money for those involved.

I like the art of boxing and I like the idea of two evenly met gladiators fighting each other, as much as they fight themselves; to have courage for stepping into the ring, to test their strength of character and body and to deal with honour in victory and defeat.

The spectacle of a major boxing match itself is filled with tense energy, extravagent lighting and loud music, but if like me at this fight, you're in a football stadium but at the back of one of the higher seating tiers, you'll question what the point is in investing even £30 for a very poor viewing experience? Even the pay-per-view is ridiculously high these days. Yet even more people are prepared to pay around £500 for a ticket at a major boxing event and be barely in earshot of the ring which is mostly obscured by the heads in front of them. It's a true sign of the times that globalisation is making everything more accessible - but at an increased price to match the demand.

I remember watching the major boxing matches with my nan & granddad, mum & dad back in the 1990's - it was often a family affair that we enjoyed together, yet cost nothing more than the cumulative cost of the TV licence. Now everything has a high price much greater than the value it offers us these days. Looking at boxing in particular, we have to ask ourselves the questions; how can it justify paying such high prices? Is it just the point of being present at the time of the event that we want, or are we really interested in the skills of the fighters?

The way the bouts are locked down to the networks, we are having to pay the money just to be part of the event and that means going in person or paying a premium elsewhere at little guarantee of any value - especially with the risk of a no-show, early knock-out or just a poorly matched contest.

It's one thing to give sportsmen the chance of glory - but now such excessive payouts must severely corrupt the sport's promotors and all those that stand to make so much from these bouts that we really need to go back to boxing roots - and that's possibly where Premier Boxing comes in. The matches are broadcast on major US TV/cable networks or highlights can be watched on Youtube - something the current boxing fraternity ensure is securely locked down to the likes of Sky and the other cable companies only.

A Fine Injustice

CONTESTING GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS

I received a parking ticket the other day. If you have a car in the UK, it does happen from time to time and 99.9% of these occurrences will likely be happening because the rules are either misleading or unclear. This is where the council can step and rub their hands together, because parking fines are a a very lucrative racket.

But, before getting on one's high horse about all the injustice in the world and how you've been paying your taxes, yardy, yardy... stop and compose yourself. Realise this fact: the rules are rigged against you with any justice or reason. These government institutions won't listen to your pleas of how it's not fair. There has to be a good reason why you would deliberately break the rules risking a fine with the attentive parking attendants these days. So, unless you are in the minority of those who deliberately flaunt the parking regulations, there won't be a single person bucking rules at the risk of throwing away £60.

So, to convince the council that we aren't so rich we can afford to chuck money away on fines, we have to justify to them  why their rules are defunct. And this takes time and patience. The people working for the council do not care about your gripes, but they do have a job to to and they aren't going to help the angry person on the phone. Their job is to work for the people of the borough to make the places we live in function well. It's our right to question their ability because we pay for their services. If they are not upholding their side of the bargain, we are legally within our rights to withhold paying our council taxes.

Blindly Corrupted Power
In order to properly defend against the council, you have to showcase where their negligence has resulted in the PCN being issued in the first place. They are very quick to take our money, because it is easy. And this kind of systematic money-taking activity needs to be addressed more if we are to stop them doing it. Unfortunately, too many are quick to part with their money for a quiet life. However, there are now many educated and knowledgable people eloquently standing up to corruption found rife in high places and uncovering the fraudulent behaviour occurring in government which has in turn trickled down to our local councils. This corruption is upheld through our courts and by our blindly obedient police force. Interestingly, all of this activity is being contested and displayed to the world via social media channels. This is not just a UK phenomena either but happening all over the world.

A global tide is changing very slowly and although it's tiring, stressful and inconvenient - making a small stand against an incorrect parking infringement - as insignificant as it may seem at the time, form the first steps for standing up against the harassment and heavy-handed behaviour of our money-grabbing establishment. Without us standing up to these people and the problems within our crumbling society, just as a spoilt child with over-lenient parent eventually become an out of control monster, our system falls down without the proper monitoring and restraint.

We just need to speak up more in a way that highlights just how far wrong these people in power have gone, show a mirror up to their faces and in the case of an erroneous parking ticket, ensure that a £60 parking fine is dropped.

Catching Up on Power

REQUIRED READING

Up until recently, I'd failed to pick up any of the books written by one of the greatest minds of our generation. I'd heard the name, know he was a free thinker and even seen him interviewed by Ali G (AKA Sasha Baron Cohen) and yet I've never read any of his books. I've always believed I was fairly well read and especially knowledgable about the more left-field authors like Noam.

I've been through a bit of a catch up these last couple of days - listening to, watching and reading some of Noam's books. These books are required readings for everyone if they are to truly understand how and why we as human beings have arrived at a situation that has to change for the better if we are to survive as a species. Understanding Power is is an easy to digest book - covering a very complicated, yet very revealing topic on how supreme power in the USA has culminated in us arriving at the current status Quo.

Some will say he's a bit of a conspiracy theorist and discredit his writings - but it always pays to keep an open mind. Be prepared to feel a bit uncomfortable when the pennies start to drop. It completely makes sense that powerful families, corporations, governments and ruling classes would want to keep their power. They'll stop at nothing to stay at the top. Knowing a bit more about how the world goes round, will open our eyes to some of the dealings that are going on amongst these power-hungry elite. I suggest we all have a catch up with Noam Chomsky to get a better understanding about what the powerful are doing right now and see how we can all collectively make a change for the better.