Barack Obama, the greatest leader, ever?

Ever since Barack Obama stumbled onto the political scene, I was mesmerized.

Mesmerized by his charisma, mesmerized by his charm and more importantly, mesmerized by his ability to inspire.

On January 20, Barack Obama made history, and shattered taboos; becoming the first black President of the United States of America.

This fact alone tells you many things, not only the one-dimensional views of the country he now controls, but also Obama's love to take on a challenge, and succeed.

Barack was born into a family of challenges. His parents divorced when he was aged just two, he then saw his father just once more after the split, before he died in a car accident.

Throughout his childhood, Barack was moved from school to school, lacking stability and continuity, he lived with his Grandparents aged ten, until graduation, then lost his mother to ovarian cancer in 1994.

Obama reflects on his childhood struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multi-racial heritage; attributing his mutual respect for different cultures and beliefs to his Hawaii upbringing.

His inauguration speech alone was enough to win me over, a speech that will go down in history with Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I have a Dream'.

In his first days as President, he identified a number of issues as key on his presidential agenda, the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps and the withdrawal of troops from Iraq; he also took steps to reducing carbon emissions, and aims to reform the American health system.

Obama is also making positive steps in assisting in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza; and it is refreshing to hear such positive comments about the American President, after having George W. Bush in office for so long, almost every word that Barack mutters is a work of art.

Barack Obama has, without a doubt, a chance at being one of the most influential, and successful Presidents of all-time, and I for one hope he achieves everything he sets out to achieve.

Customising a Google Map.

For one of my Digital Newsroom module assignments, I have to prove my ability to perform as a multi-skilled journalist.

For this individual part of the assignment, I had to show my proficiency at using Google Maps, creating a custom map, using stories I found in the Lancashire Evening Post, then locating the online article, and linking it to my custom map.

Below, is the result.

View Map Skills Test in a larger map

5 tips for writing online headlines...

As part of the BA (hons) Journalism course here at UCLan, we delve into a module called Digital Journalism, which takes a look at optimising the internet for Journalistic use.

In last week’s workshop, we looked at effective headline writing for the web, and an article by “the guru of web usability” Jakob Nielsen.

We were set the task of writing five tips for the perfect headline.

Rule No.1 – and in my opinion, the most important, reveal as much information as possible. A lot of the time, be it RSS feeds, or one your mobile phone, the headline will be all you see, it needs to sell you the entire story in a sentence.

Rule No.2 – it should be understandable out of context, as referred to in my first rule, sometimes people don’t have the time to consume the entire story, at times a headline is all they will see, it needs to be understandable and revealing.

Rule No.3 – and in my opinion the most important, for the internet. The headline needs to optimise search engines. Headlines with words such as ‘a’, ‘the’ are pointless, as engines such as Google will simply filter it out; which leads me onto Rule No. 4.

Rule No.4 – make every single word count. Use ‘4’ instead of ‘four’, ‘PM’ instead of ‘prime minister’. Save every character, make it count. Use as few words as possible.

Rule No.5 – the headline should be front-loaded with information, for me personally this is paramount. Due to my wannabe i-Phone, ‘Samsung Omnia; when visiting an RSS feed, I can’t see the entire headline, so in order to get a real gist for the story, I need the key information immediately. This is true on the web too, as those in a hurry won’t hasten to skip by a headline which is too lengthy to read.

Feel free to comment whether you agree, or indeed disagree!

UK takes positive steps towards a low carbon future.

Britain is set to join the high speed railway craze that is sweeping the globe.

The plans to build a network of high-speed railway, linking London to Scotland in just three hours, is unquestionably overdue.

The United Kingdom has significantly less high-speed rail provision than other major countries across the globe, with just 113km of rail.

Japan currently has the most high-speed rail laid, with 2452km nationwide, 21 times more than Britain.

The new plans would not only cut journey times significantly, but it would also play a major role in a low carbon future.

Even Britain’s closest neighbour France, are putting us to shame. France has over 400 high speed trains across 1,100 miles of new high-speed lines linking the English Channel to the Mediterranean, and has numerous more planned.

The use of high-speed, electric railway, can eradicate the use of short-haul flights that just add to the nation’s ever-growing carbon footprint.

It’s about time that Britain joined the high-speed revolution, and hopefully Labour can leave behind a legacy to be proud of.

If you smoke, I smoke.

One of the best decisions our government has made, in recent years, was to ban smoking in all enclosed public places, but I for one think they need to take it one step further.

The legislation, that came into effect on the 1^st July 2007, made smoking in public or at the work place illegal, ensuring non-smokers can enjoy a second-hand-smoke free lifestyle.

Choosing to smoke is an individual’s personal decision, and one I don’t begrudge them for, however, taking away other’s right to a smoke-free environment is what really yanks my chain.

The legislation has done wonders in ensuring pubs, clubs, football stadiums, even bus-stops, are smoke-free at large.

As a sufferer of asthma, albeit very mild, I don’t appreciate walking down the high street and inhaling someone elses cloud of toxins.

I personally feel that smoking should be an activity that is undertaken in one place, and one place only, at home.

Since the 2007 ban was brought into place, England has seen the largest ever fall in smoking rates.

In the first year of the ban, about 400,000 people quit smoking and scientists have estimated that the new laws will prevent about 40,000 deaths from smoking-related diseases over the next decade.

We are constantly shown statistics showing how smoking causes consequences of unthinkable proportions, yet the slightest tweak in leglisation could potentially affect the decisions of millions.

21 percent of the population of Great Britain choose to smoke; but 66% of those who do, claim they want to give up.

Being unable to smoke legally outside their own homes, would aid the 66% who feel smoking is a luxury they can afford to drop.

Smoking is the cause of one-in-three of all cancers, and 87% of lung cancer cases, and every year 120,000 die because of their habit, but the figures do not stop there.

Second-hand smoke increases a non-smokers risk of getting lung cancer by a quarter, and it kills around 11,000 innocent people in U.K. every year, in the form of lung cancer, heart disease and strokes.

Research has shown that even 30 minutes of exposure to second-hand smoke can reduces blood flow in a non-smokers heart.

There are two types of tobacco smoke; mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke. Second-hand smoke consists mainly of sidestream smoke, which comes from the burning tip of cigarettes.

Should members of the public be forced to inhale this deadly cocktail of poisonous gases?

Sidestream smoke is four-times more toxic than mainstream smoke, so whilst smokers inhale their puff of tobacco, non-smokers are subjected to the poison-filled, cancer-causing toxic cloud.

In sidestream smoke, there is three times more highly toxic carbon monoxide and up to 70 times more ammonia, than in mainstream smoke.

For me there’s two options, smoke at home, or don’t smoke at all.

Is the health of the nation worth risking just so smokers can get their nicotine as and when they wish?

I think not.

The greatest sporting event in the world...

Today sees the start of one of the most physically enduring, mentally testing sporting events the world has to offer.

The 96^th Tour De France covers an incredible 3455km over the course of 23 days, consisting of 21 stages, with 10 flat stages, seven mountain stages, one medium-mountain stage, two individual time-trial stages, and one team time-trial stage.

The epic, gruelling race gets underway in Monaco, and reaches its climax in Paris.

There are several key battles in the prestigious race, and these are symbolised by coloured jerseys.

The yellow jersey, also known as the Maillot Juane, is for the race leader.

The green jersey, the Maillot Vert, is for the best sprinter, with Britain’s very own Mark Cavendish staking a serious claim for this.

A polka dot jersey will be worn by the king of the mountains, the Maillot a Pois Rouge, and the white Maillot Blanc is for the best rider under the age of 25.

The riders are amongst the fittest athletes in the world, burning a staggering 7000 calories a day, and getting the balance between intake and output is key to completing the full race.

This year race is special for a number of reasons, however the most exciting component being the return of cycling legend, and inspiration to so many, Lance Armstrong.

Having retired from professional cycling four years ago, cycling fans will be rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of seeing the heroic Armstrong back on the bike.

Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France seven times, more than any other competitior. Lance won these Tours in consecutive years, and considering the battles and challenges he fought just to stay alive, his success on the bike is all that bit more special.

In October 1996, Lance was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which then spread to his abdomen, lungs and his brain. He was given just a one-in-five chance of survival, at best.

The likeness between the Tour and cancer was uncanny for Lance, having to remain mentally strong at all times, and overcome a huge physical battle you could only begin to imagine.

Bout after bout of chemotherapy swept across Lance’s cancer-ridden body, cleaning up the various sites where cancer had settled.

Lance used the bike as means of escape, having been beaten by his step-father as a child; he would cycle for miles at a time, just to get away.

He continued to cycle throughout his therapy, despite his doctors warning him against pushing himself too hard. Lance learned to love his bike, before it was a means-to-an-end, a way of making money because he was good at it; now, he needed his bike.

Finally in late 1998, he got the all-clear, and just a year later, was celebrating his first Tour de France success, the first of seven.

Before the cancer, Lance was a stocky well-built cyclist, after his strenuous treatment he was just a frail frame of skin and bones, he had to start again from scratch.

Lance Armstrong is an inspiration to millions, he fought the dreaded disease so many of us face, and came out strong, going on to achieve unprecedented levels of success.

He has documented his story to the world, showing those who suffer that there is light at the end of the tunnel. He has also raised millions of dollars which has been used to aid research and try and combat the deadly disease.

As the Lance Armstrong Foundation states, “Unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything” and Lance is a shining example of this, and what can be achieved when you truly set your sights on it.

My greatest respect goes to Lance Armstrong, my idol both in the sporting world, and out of it.

Glastonbury, a truly magical place.

I was lucky enough to be one of the two-hundred thousand festival-goers at the world-renowned Glastonbury festival last week, and boy was I lucky!

Upon returning to my native Reading this summer and discovering a distinct lack of jobs, I decided to opt for a more unusual way of earning myself some hard-earned cash this summer, by stewarding at festivals!

I got to witness one of the world’s greatest music festivals, whilst being paid for the whole experience, cushty set-up I think you’d agree?

It wasn’t until I got to Glastonbury that I realised what a truly amazing place it really is.

For those that don’t know, Glastonbury music festival is situated in between two small villages in Somerset, called Pilton and Pylle.

It is located on Worthy Farm, which is fully operational for the remainder of the year.

The real magic behind Glastonbury is the sheer size of it, and the diversity it offers, it really has something for everyone.

I challenge anyone to go for a weekend at Glastonbury and be bored, there is literally so much to see, it is impossible to witness it all in just three or four days; which is why so many people keep coming back year after year.

Even the weather isn’t enough to put you off!

The festival not only offers unbelievable entertainment for its punters, it also raises a lot of money for various charities in the meantime.

Founder Michael Eavis, who has been nominated as one of Time’s 100 most influential people of all time, is keen for the festival to keep its traditional roots.

Eavis only takes a small salary from the event, reported to be the same amount it would be if he ran his dairy farm as normal.

Eavis and co, do an absolutely outstanding job in putting the festival on for us music lovers every year, whilst splitting half of the profits with charities such as WaterAid, Oxfam and Greenpeace, the other half is reinvested into the next year’s festival.

The festival also sticks to its original roots by being environmentally friendly, heralding the ‘Love the Farm, Leave no Trace’ campaign, urging attendees to consider their carbon footprint and leave minimal trace.

2009 was hailed as one of the best, and most successful festivals since the very first ‘Pilton Festival’ took place in 1970.

Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur were the guys given the huge responsibility of headlining the hallowed Pyramid stage, a job not to be taken lightly, and they did a cracking job of it.

With more than 700 acts playing across over 80 stages, you’re sure to be entertained!

Roll on the 40th anniversary of the world’s greatest festival, I for certain will be returning to those muddy fields of Worthy Farm!