Fulham FC: En sæson på det jævne…

Stiftet: 1879 (som Fulham St. Andrew’s Church Sunday School)

Stadion: Craven Cottage (Kapacitet: 27.726)

Kælenavn: Cottagers, Whites, Lilywhites

Seneste tre ligaplaceringer (07/08/09): 16/17/7

Første fem kampe: 15/8 Portsmouth (U), 18/8 Blackburn (H), 22/8 Chelsea (H), 29/8 Aston Villa (U), 12/9 Everton (H)

Manager: Roy Hodgson (Siden december 2007)

Fulham har efterhånden været et fast indslag i den bedste engelske række i en årrække. Holdet rykkede op i 2001 efter en markant længere årrække i de lavere divisioner. Holdets comeback i det fine selskab hang uløseligt sammen med rigmanden Mohammed Al-Fayeds økonomiske engagement, som startede i 1997. Med hans penge, og franske Jean Tigana (efter blandt andet Kevin Keagan havde haft fornøjelsen) på trænerbænken tromlede Fulham op i den bedste række med folk som Louis Saha og Luis Boa Morte blandt de absolutte profiler. Da Roy Hodgson kom til Fulham var klubben imidlertid i en bitter nedrykningskamp. Ikke mindst fordi det virker som om Al-Fayeds interesse for holdet er dalet betragteligt de senere år. Holdet reddede imidlertid livet ved at vinde fire af sæsonens sidste fem kampe under Hodgsons ledelse. I sidste sæson skulle man så undgå at havne i en tilsvarende situation igen, og denne mission mere end lykkedes. Fulham overraskede alt og alle, og snuppede til sidst også den 7. plads som gav en plads i dette års Euro League. Manden som nogle måske husker for sit år i FC København har således iscenesat en transformation på Craven Cottage som fortjener respekt og beundring.

Truppen generelt: The usual suspects…

En væsentlig årsag til Fulhams succesfulde sæson sidste år, var at holdet i det store hele undgik skader til de centrale spillere. Særligt vigtigt var det, at målmanden og backkæden stort set overhovedet ikke behøvede blive udskiftet. Således spillede keeperen Mark Schwarzer samtlige kampe, og viste sig at være et regulært scoop for Fulham, da de hentede ham på fri transfer inden sæsonen. Noget kunne også tyde på at Middlesbrough måske kunne have brugt ham et år til… Schwarzer presses i øvrigt fra bænken af ingen ringere end manden med et af fodboldverdenens dummeste navne: Pascal Zuberbühler. Venstrebacken Paul Konchesky missede to kampe, den ghanesiske højreback John Pantsil gik glip af en, det samme gjorde Brede Hangeland, mens hans makker i centerforsvaret, Aaron Hughes, spillede samtlige kampe. Den stabilitet skabte en meget stærk forsvarsenhed hos holdet fra Craven Cottage, som lukkede færre mål ind end alle andre hold i Premier League, bortset fra top tre. Særligt den tidligere FCK’er, Hangeland, tiltrak sig mange overskrifter for sit dominerende spil, og et skifte til Arsenal var på tale i flere omgange.

På midtbanen var den tidligere Liverpool-mand (og uofficielle verdensmester i dårlige mål på langskud som rettes af flere gange inden de ryger i kassen – nummer to er i øvrigt Deco) Danny Murphy i storform og startede også samtlige kampe for the cottagers. Han blev i første halvdel af sæsonen suppleret af Jimmy Bullard, som i januar tog til Hull. I anden halvdel af sæsonen satte Dickson Etuhu sig ofte på pladsen, hvor han foruden at bidrage med et voldsomt sejt navn, udfyldte sin rolle uden nonsense. Det tidligere Tottenham-stortalent Simon Davies så ud til definitivt at have lagt de skader som længe saboterede hans karriere bag sig, og spillede for anden sæson over tredive kampe fra start – hovedsagligt på højrekanten. Sæsonafslutningen blev dog trods alt ødelagt af en skade for den teknisk gode waliser, som dog regner med at være klar til sæsonstart. Venstrekanten tog Zoltan Gera sig af i første halvdel af sæsonen inden skader kom i vejen for ungareren som i mange år har været stjerne hos West Bromwich. Derefter blev han hovedsagligt brugt som indskifter. Amerikaneren Clint Dempsey spillede til gengæld en god sæson, hvor han tog sig af såvel rollen som kantspiller, offensiv midt og angriber, hvor det samlet blev til 7 mål.

På toppen spillede manden som mærker tyngdekraften tidobbelt i straffesparksfeltet, Andy Johnson og Bobby Zamora de fleste kampe. Johnson lavede næsten godkendte 7 mål, mens Zamora trods sin arbejdsiver og mange andre gode egenskaber ikke kan være tilfreds med blot at have bidraget med 2 mål. At Zamora alligevel spillede stort set spillede alle kampe alligevel, siger noget om at Hodgson må værdsætte hans indsats. Begge reserverne, Eric Nevland (som giver truppen ren og skær 90′er-glød) og Diomansy Camara, lavede faktisk dobbelt så mange mål i deres få kampe fra start og hyppige indskiftninger.

Væsentlige transfere: Don’t hassle the Volz…

Fulham har haft en relativt stille sommer på markedet, hvor to mand er gledet ud, mens to nye er kommet til. Den rædselsfuldt dårlige angriber Collins John har endelig fået gjort en ende på sine Premier League lidelser, og kan fremover henrykke i den belgiske klub KSV Roeselare. Mere sørgeligt er det, at ligaens måske mest sympatiske spiller, tyske Moritz Volz, ligeledes er blevet fritstillet. Volzy har med sit gode humør og sin tydelige kærlighed til fodboldspillet været et kærkomment afbræk i forhold til mange af de fimsede, krukkede, napoleon-kompleksramte, blingbling primadonnaer som render og surmuler lørdag efter lørdag. Volzys personlige hjemmeside volzy.com kan anbefales, hvis man vil vide mere. Her kan man blandt andet læse om hans sammenklappelige minicykel som han transporterer sig omkring på i London (når han ikke er med metro), og hans kærlighed til David Hasselhoff og tv-serien Nightrider, ligesom man kan blive linket til hans egen youtube-kanal.

Ind er til gengæld kommet Birmingham-højrebacken Stephen Kelly som kan give konkurrence til backkædens svageste led, John Pantsil, og den norske midtbanespiller Bjorn Helge Riise, som kommer til fra Lillestrøm.

Forventninger: Mere af det samme, bare dårligere…

Det er happy days på Craven Cottage. Næste sæson bliver dog sværere for London-holdet, da truppen i sin nuværende form virker foruroligende smal i forhold til både at spille med i ligaen og i europæisk fodbold. Det øgede antal kampe vil kræve at flere spillere kommer ind omkring førsteholdet, ligesom det synes usandsynligt at Fulham næsten kan undgå skader endnu en sæson. Ikke desto mindre har holdet i Roy Hodgson en træner som ved, hvordan han skal bygge sit hold op, han ved hvordan han vil have dem til at spille, og han har formået at få en række mindre spektakulære spillere til at fungere utrolig godt som en enhed. I næste sæson vil folk dog være forberedte på dette, ligesom den generelle distraktion fra europæisk fodbold plejer at have sin pris i den hjemlige liga. Sidste sæson sås dette med al tydelighed, da såvel Tottenham som Aston Villa i sidste sæson lod reserverne tage sig af deres sekstendedelsfinaler i UEFA-cupen. Derfor vurderer undertegnede, at Fulham – medmindre de virkelig åbner den store tegnedreng i løbet af de næste to uger – kommer til at få en sæson på det jævne. Nedrykning bliver næppe aktuelt, hvis holdet kan spille med cirka den samme stamme som sidste år. Til gengæld bliver der heller ikke tale om en gentagelse af sidste sæsons imponerende resultat.

Tip: Forventet placering: Nummer 13  Supersæson: For Fulham vil det være helt fantastisk, hvis holdet igen kan spille med omkring den nederste europæiske plads og slutte i top-8.

Yep, it actually happened. Yesterday Newcastle United were relegated, I have to admit that I did say after the home game against Hull very early in the season when we got beat 2-1 that you dont deserve to play in the league with a performance like that, and getting beat off a newly promoted team. I meant it at the time, but now that its a reality and we have been relegated it seems horrible that I even thought that, let alone said it.

But as Alan Shearer said after the game yesterday, if you dont play well over the 38 games then you cant expect to rely on your performance in the final game of the season to stay up. You have played badly in all season, it wasnt all on that last game. The standard of the perfomances through out the season have really been shocking, especially as on paper (yes I know games are not won on paper) these are good players, most of them international players. But for some reason they just did not care. What I do not understand and will never understand is how can you go out there, not even bother to put any effort in, infront of 52,000 people then 3,000+ travelling at away games and actually live with yourself. Really it should mean everything to them, to be able to play football as a professional in front of that many people, but they didnt care at all this season.

I know you should not live in the past and think about previous seasons but the downward spiral from playing in the Champions League to UEFA Cup and then not even finishing high enough in the league has all happened in the last 5/6 seasons . . . and the amount of bad press we used to get back then. And that our defence was terrible, but who cared then we still won nearly every game. One season we lost just 1 game at home . . . and that was against Leeds !!! But this season, the players we had and that the defenders were mostly held in high regard . . .unlike those we had the past. But give me back Bramble, Woodgate (O’Brien), Griffin, Hughes and Bernard and they would have put more effort in than the back four of this season . . . yes I do realise I have said Bramble, but when he played with Woodgate he was good!!!

We pretty much had no midfield this season either, they were terrible. We had no wingers no centre mid, so obviously that made Michael Owen useless (when he made an appearance) as he is not a team player . . . a goal scorer yes. But when the chips are down and its backs against the wall to try and grind out a result he is not the striker I would want on the pitch. I think he forgets the fantastic welcome the fans gave him (I was there too) . . . and has basically slapped each and everyone of us in the face by saying things about playing for England and pretty much not caring about Newcastle. To make it worse, he had the captains arm band . . .

Yesterday, it did take a few hours for it to all sink in. Baring in mind I am currently in the USA. Therefore did not actually get to see the second half of the game. Was being kept updated, and hearing that we were terrible did not help. But I was not suprised, recent performances have been just awful. But when I found out it was official and we were down, it did not sink in right then. Even though I was texting a couple of people about it. It wasnt until I got back to my computer and saw pictures of the fans at the game, and then the highlights and Alan Shearer’s interview. Then talking to my mam on the phone, and she was saying how sad everyone looked after the Fulham game and she just knew they had lost.

It is sad times, not only for Newcastle, not only for the North East but for football in general. A fantastic stadium like St James Park to host some very small clubs next season in the Championship is unthinkable. But now fact and reality. The other thing about yesterday, was that Middlesborough have gone down too (yes I do not like them, but for North East football it is awful that 2 teams have gone from the top flight), also that Sunderland and even Hull were both so close to going down as well. Something needs to be done for football in the north. But I am sure the press are loving it, as they never have good words to say about any of the North East teams.

While I have been out in the USA since March. I had been to every home game before I came away, and it was difficult to watch. I have watched or listened to every game since I have been out here trying to get links and things online when it has not been on TV. I have to admit that has been even more difficult, as I am not used to missing games or anything. But at one point yesterday I was glad that I was not at home, because I probably would have gone to Villa and would have been crying my eyes out at the end of the game, and probably even crying if I had been watching on TV. Being over here, kinda seperated me from it a bit. But when it started to sink in it now hurts so much. But dont get me wrong, it is very sad. But also more annoying and frustrating the fact the players were just terrible in defeat.

The goal we conceeded which condemed us to the drop, pretty much summed up the entire season. I dont really put a lot of blame on Damien Duff for that, as that could have been any player. At least he was actually making an effort to block the shot. He has come out today and said that he wants to stay, and I hope he does. He has not been the worst player this season, and has played at left back a few times. Which is quite strange to stay for a player who was once so highly regared as one of the best left wingers in the game.

I have had my season ticket for 4 seasons now . . . and next season will be my 5th . . . I am a supporter, follower, fan and that was not just for the “good times” . . . that is for all time.

Here is the latest ‘Leadership Lineup’ article from Christian Surfers International.

Enjoy!

Police Captain Charged With Theft Attempt www.privateofficer.com

ELKO NV Aug 26 2008

Kyle T. Greene

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com        An Elko city police captain has been placed on leave with pay following his arrest for allegedly attempting to steal equipment from a closed mining operation, authorities said.

Aaron Hughes, 36, was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of attempted grand larceny following the incident at the Jerritt Canyon Mine, Elko County Undersheriff Rocky Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said security guards at the mine found Hughes’ truck with a trailer, and saw a man sitting on an all-terrain vehicle belonging to the mine around 1 a.m. Sunday.

The guards said the man jumped off and hid when approached before they found him and confronted him, Gonzalez said Monday.

The man, matching Hughes’ description, gave the security officers a different name and indicated he was a recently laid-off Jerritt Canyon employee who had returned to retrieve property, Gonzalez said.

The security officials let the man leave, Gonzalez said, but then found damage to the ATV from improper removal from a trailer.

Another security officer also found an ATV parked on a mine road, the location “inconsistent with where it was supposed to be,” Gonzalez said.

Security contacted law enforcement with a description of the man and license plate information from the truck, which was registered to Hughes.

The truck was stopped at approximately 5 a.m. Sunday about 11 miles south of Jerritt Canyon.

Hughes was questioned and denied wrongdoing, but officers determined there was probable cause to arrest him, Gonzalez said.

Elko Police Chief Don Zumwalt said he was “shocked” and “disappointed” in Hughes’ alleged actions.

Besides the criminal investigation, which is being handled by the sheriff’s department, Zumwalt said there will be an internal investigation.

Gonzalez said the investigation is ongoing and will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office when complete.

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Published on Thursday, June 5, 2008 by YES! Magazine

The Way to a Just Foreign Policy

It’s time to leave behind old ideas of superpowers. A changing world brings new opportunities for peace and the chance to join a community of nations.

by John Feffer

Aaron Hughes spent the spring of 2003 transporting supplies from Kuwait to Iraq as a soldier in the Army National Guard. Today, he is an outspoken anti-war activist.

“I didn’t have an epiphany,” Hughes says of his turnabout. “I just continually hoped that I could help the Iraqi people, that my fellow soldiers would be respected as human beings by the military. And after one year and three months over there, that hope was shattered.” He thought his gun could be used to defend democracy only to “awake to my weapon pointed at the hungry, and I am the oppressor.”

Hughes is now an artist who makes videos, performance art, and drawings that capture his experience in the Iraq War. In one particularly moving performance, he stopped traffic by drawing on the pavement of a busy intersection in Champaign, Illinois, with a sign reading “I am an Iraq War veteran. I am guilty. I am alone. I am drawing for peace.” He likens his artwork to a spark of light. “In a desert you can see a match lit from miles away,” Hughes says. “Although it’s just a little match, it’s still being seen, and it can empower a lot of people.”

Aaron Hughes’ journey from war to peace mirrors the larger shift in the United States since 2003. What had once been the opinion of a vocal minority-that the invasion of Iraq was wrong-has become the position of a no-longer-silent majority. There are now many points of light, many matches in the desert. The U.S. public rejects the centerpiece of the Bush foreign policy, namely its doctrine of attacking any country that poses even a hypothetical threat. Americans support across-the-board change in our relationships with other countries on issues from climate and trade to arms control to cooperation on ending wars in the Middle East and Africa. After years of standing out in the cold, U.S. citizens want to rejoin the family of nations.

True, Americans are fearful of terrorism. And both the Democratic and Republican parties share a blinkered consensus on national security. But the counter-narratives at the heart of Aaron Hughes’ art and in the programs of social movements throughout the country are becoming more prominent. The polls suggest an overwhelming desire for change, even if the pols are behind the times. Meanwhile, the world has undergone a profound transformation in the last few years. All of this means that a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy, not seen since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, may be just around the corner.

A Changing World

The administration of George W. Bush may well go down in history as the straw that broke the U.S. empire’s back. The Bush administration replaced the Cold War with a “global war on terror” that dragged the country into an unlimited conflict with a dispersed adversary. The Bush team increased Pentagon spending by 70 percent and, along with generous tax giveaways to the wealthy, managed to erase all the deficit reductions of the Clinton era. In 2000, the United States recorded the largest budget surplus in its history: $230 billion. By 2002, even before the Iraq invasion, the Bush administration had taken the country $159 billion into the red. Goldman Sachs economists predict that the 2008 deficit will be $425 billion, which would be a new record.

All this money has not built the United States a strong economic foundation, nor has it bought Washington any new friends. The goodwill that flowed toward the United States from other nations after September 11-even from such unexpected quarters as North Korea, Iran, and Libya-quickly evaporated when their populations witnessed U.S. behavior in the “War on Terror.” It didn’t help that the United States rejected key international treaties such as the Kyoto protocol on global warming, withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty in order to pursue a costly and technically questionable missile defense system, and unsigned the accession agreement to the International Criminal Court.

By shifting the tax structure in favor of corporations and the wealthy and by tilting the international playing field in favor of the rich, the United States has further widened the global divide between haves and have-nots. Add the metastasized military budget to the ballooning federal debt, the mortgage crisis, and the eroding manufacturing base and the United States begins to resemble an empire stretched thin to the breaking point, like 4th-century Rome or Britain of the 1930s. If recent U.S. history were a Greek tragedy, the triumphalist rhetoric coming out of Washington would qualify as the hubris that audiences expect just before the tragic fall.

By no means does all the responsibility fall on the shoulders of the Bush administration. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States had a unique opportunity to help move the world from the Cold War system into a new, equitable global arrangement. Instead of strengthening the United Nations and taking the lead in shifting resources from the military into a much-anticipated “peace dividend,” the Clinton administration tried to preserve the unipolar moment and the U.S. status as the largest military and economic power in the world.

In the 1990s, the United States maintained a sanctions regime against Iraq that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, and conducted unilateral military actions against Serbia, Afghanistan, and Sudan. The Clinton administration failed to support a land mines treaty, pushed for a North American Free Trade Agreement that largely benefited big U.S. corporations, weakened the ABM treaty, and greatly expanded U.S. military exports. In the 1990s, Washington viewed international cooperation as a way to bolster the geo-economic power of the United States. By scorning international cooperation and relying instead on the unrestrained use of U.S. military power, the Bush administration went one step further in its attempt to remap the globe.

The next administration, Democratic or Republican, will face a world very different from that which confronted George W. Bush in 2000 or Bill Clinton in 1992. New centers of power are emerging in the form of China’s new global economic and diplomatic reach, Russia’s energy politics, India’s economic leverage, and a new generation of Latin American leadership. The euro has a good chance of replacing the dollar as the world’s currency, which would substantially undercut U.S. global power. Beyond governments, civil society has gained a new prominence as “the other superpower.” Civil movements have forced military base closures, succeeded in securing an international convention on land mines, pushed the international financial community into granting substantial debt relief to impoverished countries, and helped to block further rounds of multilateral trade negotiations.

Americans want their country to stop being the neighborhood bully and instead to be a good neighbor. The nation’s economy is flagging, our military is over-stretched, and our global legitimacy is exhausted. The public no longer wants to shoulder these costs of empire.

In deciding how to negotiate these demands for change and these changed realities, the United States faces a stark choice. In the next decade, we could try to maintain our grip on global power only to watch it slip through our fingers. Burdened by debt, armed to the teeth, and isolated from the world, the United States would become the “sick man” of North America, as the Ottomans were once labeled in Europe. Like many failing empires, we would be all the more dangerous the weaker we got.

Or the United States could try something unprecedented. We could turn our back on empire, much as Spain and Portugal did in the 1970s and the Soviet Union did in the late 1980s. But rather than waiting until the bitter end as these countries did, the United States could use its still considerable power to help create a more equitable world order that operates on a truly level playing field. Rome failed to pursue this option, and the Dark Ages ensued. The Ottomans, Romanovs, and Habsburgs likewise attempted to extend their imperial leases, and a barbarous world war was the result. By turning its back on global dominance, the United States can learn from the past and stop the Greek tragedy before its fatal denouement.

A Post-Superpower U.S.A.

How much difference will it make if a Republican or Democrat is elected president?

On some foreign policy issues, the Republican and Democratic candidates sound like they live on different planets. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq eventually, while John McCain is more supportive of Bush’s surge than Bush himself. The Democrats are more sensible than the Republicans on climate change, trade, and overall global cooperation.

But in other respects, the two parties are indistinguishable. For instance, no major presidential candidate has called for freezing the military budget much less reducing it. And terrorism remains a central preoccupation of both parties even though other threats-rising temperatures, nuclear apocalypse-challenge the very existence of humanity.

Although both Clinton and Obama have called for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo, neither has challenged the “global war on terror” framework. Nor have they called for closing the Guantanamo base or any of the other 700-plus U.S. military bases around the world. By failing to challenge the half-trillion dollar military budget, the Democratic candidates will be hard-pressed to find the funds to pay for their comprehensive health care and education plans.

The polling data suggest that Americans are eager to embrace a considerably more positive, more cooperative, and more optimistic approach to international relations. A majority of Americans believe their country should play an active part in world affairs and that the United States “should do its share in efforts to solve international problems together with other countries.” Most Americans prefer economic and diplomatic approaches to military action and believe that all countries should eliminate their nuclear weapons given a well-established international verification system. And Americans strongly believe that trade should help raise labor standards globally rather than precipitate a race to the bottom.

In other words, Americans want their country to stop being the neighborhood bully and instead act like a good neighbor. In this, Americans are not giving voice to utopian aspirations. The polls in fact reflect a new realism. The nation’s economy is flagging, our military is over-stretched, and our global legitimacy is exhausted. The public no longer wants to shoulder these various costs of empire.

Until now, Americans have not translated this realism into political expression. When this happens, regardless of who is president, the days of the American empire will truly be numbered.

From the One to the Many

Rejecting militarism and empire would not be entirely unprecedented for the United States. There have been moments in the past when the country turned decisively toward global cooperation. During the 1930s, the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt adopted a “good neighbor policy” toward Latin America that replaced militarism with cooperation in allowing countries in the region to pursue their own models of political and economic development. Other important, if imperfect, programs have included the distribution of Marshall Plan aid to Europe after World War II, the creation of the Peace Corps during the Kennedy administration, and the adoption of a new human rights policy in the early years of Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

To chart a new way in the world, we can look at these models from our own past. But we should also take a look around us.

The European Union is an example of what can happen when countries that once pursued global dominance and colonial empire decide instead to work together to solve common problems. The EU has been comparatively inclusive-expanding to embrace some countries from the former Soviet sphere and considering Turkey as well for membership. It has transferred income from the richer to the poorer parts of Europe, which has enabled countries like Ireland and Portugal to become prosperous. And with the principle of subsidiarity-the notion that authority should rest at the lowest possible level-the EU has attempted to preserve participatory democracy in what otherwise would be an all-encompassing bureaucracy. Through it all, the EU has generally favored cooperative diplomacy over military action. Although the EU is far from perfect, these initiatives still represent a distinct alternative to the U.S. go-it-alone ethos.

The United States should apply these approaches to the international system to make it similarly inclusive, economically equitable, and democratically rich. For this to happen, though, the United States must stop placing itself above the law. Only when we recognize the international rule of law will the specter of unilateralism fade away. The United States must acknowledge the higher power of international law in the same way that Germany and France accepted the sovereign power of European institutions.

European countries did not, of course, simply decide to create the European Union because their interests magically converged. Rather, the United States helped to push them together by amplifying the threat of the Soviet Union. This external threat helped to overwhelm the inevitable internal bickering among countries that imperiled European integration at several points after World War II.

The world today faces a similar cohesive threat. In place of the “red scare” there is the life-threatening “green scare” of climate change. All the countries of the world are affected by climate change, and this threat should convince them to redefine sovereignty in order to save the planet. The United States must show it can be part of the solution by once again taking the rule of law and international institutions seriously.

Through binding international mechanisms, the United States can help radically cut back on carbon emissions. It can achieve global security through agreements that shrink the arms trade and reduce nuclear arsenals eventually to zero. Other treaties could establish corporate codes of conduct and set a floor for labor and environmental standards in trade negotiations. The United Nations would need to be restructured to reflect post-Cold War realities and be given a financial shot in the arm to mount peacekeeping operations that can end simmering conflicts and prevent new ones.

The United States must lead by example, not by force. Our country is number one in several dubious categories-most powerful nuclear arsenal, largest greenhouse gas emitter, leading arms exporter, biggest military spender, greatest number of overseas military bases. So, if we want to change the world we have to start by changing ourselves.

Where Will Change Come From?

Politics is too important to be left to politicians. Hemmed in by powerful special interests, forced to devote an increasing amount of time to fundraising, and ever more beholden to focus groups and demographic calculations, politicians are less and less likely to come up with visionary plans or muster the courage to implement them.

Unless they are pushed to do so.

Social movements have in the past mobilized the American public behind dramatic shifts in U.S. policy. The civil rights movement and the women’s movement have both remade U.S. society. The successes of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would have been inconceivable a mere generation ago. They are remarkable people, but they also stand on the shoulders of powerful social movements.

Today, we need a different kind of social movement-one that focuses on U.S. foreign policy. Such a movement, drawing heavily on the peace and global justice efforts, would aim for nothing less than a transformation of the U.S. role in the world. This would be no mere change of politicians or adjustments to a few policies. It would be a change of truly global proportions.

After all, the pursuit of empire is neither feasible nor desirable. At this pivotal moment, it’s time to strengthen the structures of international cooperation and consign empire once and for all to the dustbin of history.

John Feffer wrote this article as part of A Just Foreign Policy, the Summer 2008 issue of YES! Magazine. John is the co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies and the author of numerous articles and books.

We are grateful to the Institute for Policy Studies for their advice and editorial contributions to this issue of YES! Their paper, “Just Security: An Alternative Foreign Policy Framework,” is here.

Mit vækkeur ringede.. Højt og grusomt, syntes jeg selv…

Jeg klaskede min knyttede næve ned over det lille SWATCH-ur og åbnede mine øjne, så godt som jeg nu kunne..

Det var middag, og jeg kunne godt mærke, at jeg havde siddet oppe til klokken 3 i nat…

Jeg rejste mit dvaske kadaver fra sengen, og begyndte at klæde mig på…

Sløvt gik jeg langsomt ned af trappen, og indtog en plads i køkkenet..

Jeg var dagen forinden taget hjem til de gamle, da jeg skulle have lidt afstand fra alle distraktionerne (jf. øl, kabeltv og Football Manager) i Dobbelt A, så jeg kunne blive færdig med mit teori til P4 projektet på Uni..

Anspændtheden var tydelig i mine skuldre denne morgen, og min mimik viste en smule nervøsitet, mens jeg slubrede mine cornflakes ned i mavesækken..

Jeg sad og stirrede lidt tomt ud i luften, og mest af alt lignede jeg en fjernstyret robot, der i takt løftede og sænkede skeen gang på gang..

Det var lørdag den 3. maj 2008, og Fulham skulle møde Birmingham i Premier League..

En vigtig kamp i den engelske bundstrid, og en af de vigtigste kampe i Fulhams historie..

Begge hold lå under nedrykningsstregen, og med en sejr kunne Fulham, hvis alt flaskede sig, rykke op over den røde streg..

Jeg varmede lidt op til bundbraget med kampen mellem Manchester United og West Ham, hvor ”De Røde Djævle” klart var deres modstander overlegen..

Jeg sad selv og håbede på samme scenarie i Fulham kampen, men tvivlen lagde stadig i baghovedet..

Klokken var nu 15.46, og stillingen var 4-1 til Manchester United, der, selv med en mand i undertal, havde forholdsvis let spil mod et svækket West Ham mandskab, der dog bed godt fra sig i dele af kampen…

Tilbage i Kanal 5 studiet sad Claus Thomsen og indikerede, at han ikke troede på Fulhams overlevelseschancer, mens Jacob Laursen høfligt mente det modsatte..

“Bare Jacob Laursen får ret”, tænkte jeg, hvorefter jeg søgte mod køleskabet for at finde en lille let snack til kampen..

Tilbage i lænestolen med et par leverdrenge i mit skød, var jeg nu klar til dagens helt store brag: Fulham versus Birmingham på Craven Cottage..

Kampen havde påtaget sig klart mest opmærksomhed i de engelske medier, da det var en kamp mellem liv og død, og man kunne næsten føle nervøsiteten gennem skærmen fra alle involverede…

Fulhams startellever havde fået selskab af tomåls-skytten fra sidste weekends meriterende comeback mod City, Diomansy Kamara, mens David Healy havde taget plads på bænken..

På slaget fire fløjtede dommer Chris Foy kampen i gang, og jeg kunne nu se frem til 90 neglebidende minutter i selskab med to hårdt kæmpende mandskaber i bunden af verdens bedste liga.

Brian McBride – GOOOOOAAALLLL

Fulham var altdominerende i startfasen af kampen, og man fornemmede, at de virkelig prøvede at vise deres fans, at de fortjente deres plads blandt de bedste..

Flot flydende spil langs jorden førte til flere gode chancer for Fulham, der kulminerede i Brian McBrides hovedstød på overliggeren allerede efter fem minutter, som dog fejlagtigt blev dømt offside.

Efter tyve Fulham dominerede minutter, begyndte Birmingham at komme bedre med i kampen. Brede Hangeland kom godt imellem et par halvfarlige Birmingham forsøg, og den gigantiske midtstopper viste rigtigt format i denne hektiske fase af matchen.

I det 42. minut kunne det dog være gået galt, da James McFadden, efter et Jimmy Bullard boldtab på midten af banen, fandt en fri Mikael Forssell oppe i front, men en befriende fod fra nordirske Aaron Hughes reddede Fulham fra at komme bagud..

De to hold måtte gå til pausen med stillingen 0-0, men man fornemmede stadig en opløftet stemning på et fyldt og larmende Craven Cottage.

“Pyha…”, tænkte jeg, “… jeg er sgu for gammel til det her pis”, mens mit hjerte langsomt begyndte at optage en normal hastighed efter hektiske 45 minutter.

Et hurtigt kvarter senere gik de to hold på banen til anden halvleg, og pludseligt røg mit signal på computeren… “NEEEEEJJJ”, råbte jeg, mens jeg bandede og svovlede…

Jeg spurtede ind og hev kablet til modemmet ud, som man nu gør, når Internettet ikke virker… Men intet skete, og forbindelsen var stadig ikke at se nogen steder… “Argggh.. Det er ikke fair”, småhulkede jeg, mens jeg forbandede alt og alle…

“GOD DAMMIT YOU F*CKING PIECE OF CRAP”

“Det er ikke fair, det er ikke fair, det er ikke fair”, blev jeg ved med at gentage, alt imens jeg rodede rundt med ledningerne bag i computeren…

Efter 7 minutters frustrationer var signalet på mystisk vis tilbage, og jeg hoppede ind i det 50. minut…

Bare to minutter senere sendte Jimmy Bullard et frispark ind i feltet, hvor Brian McBride dukkede op med sin amerikanske skal, og gjorde det til 1-0!!

“JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”, råbte jeg højlydt, mens min mor var ved at tabe både potter og pander… “Du var ved at give mig et hjerteanfald”, vrissede hun, mens jeg hoppede rundt i køkkenet som en kænguru på speed…

Troen var for alvor tilbage, og det var da også Fulham, der stadig havde teten.. Bare få minutter efter havde Kamara en ganske god chance for at afgøre kampen, men hans flade skud voldte ingen problemer for den tidligere Fulham-keeper Maik Taylor.

Mellem det 70. minut og det 80. minut begyndte Fulham at have lige lovligt mange boldtab, som dog ikke førte til det helt store for modstanderholdet, der kvitterede med selv at smide bolden tilbage i Fulhams sort/hvide favn.

I Fulhams højreside fortsatte  walisiske Simon Davies med at voldtage Birminghams venstreback med mange gode raids op af kanten.

Bagved ham fortsatte, den i Tottenham, lånte Paul Stalteri med at overbevise ledelsen om, at han ikke skulle have en permanent kontrakt.. Jeg ved ikke selv, hvor mange gange jeg råbte: “Hvad Fanden laver du Paul Stalteri din canadiske retarderede skovhugger”!!!

Klokken rundede nu de 85 minutter..

Frustrationerne hos Birmingham-spillere og tilhængere var nu brudt ud i lys lue, mens Fulham fansene optimistiske sad og svingede med flag, tørklæder og hvad de ellers havde i hænderne..

Ude på sidelinjen stod træner Roy Hodgson og var eftertænksom, mens ejer Mohammed Al-Fayed så mere rolig ud med et uldtæppe foldet hen over sine ben.

Fulham har dog i denne sæson indkasseret mange mål i de sidste ti minutter, så jeg sad stadig og borede mine negle ned i egetræsbordet foran mig.. Desuden har Fulham været foran i 13 kampe og kun vundet tre, så intet under at dette sad i baghovedet…

Erik Nevland – Pure Class

Men ud af det blå kom forløsningen i det 87. minut…

Venstreback Paul Konchesky tonser en lang bold op ad banen, hvor Birminghams venstreback, den tidligere Fulham-mand Frank Queudrue, ser ud til at have styr på begivenhederne..

Men Queudrue går håbløst galt i byen, og får slet ikke kontrol over bolden, hvorefter indskiftede Erik Nevland hugger til den lille runde kugle og udplacerer Taylor i Birmingham målet..

Mine øjne blev større end tekopper (Lige en lille intertekstuel reference til Fyrtøjet), og jeg gryntede højt i triumf, som levede jeg i stenalderen og havde lige nedlagt et vortesvin…

Jeg strakte begge arme op i luften, knyttede mine næver og skrålede: “FULHAAAAAAAAM… YAAARRRRRRHHHH… TRIUMF!!!”..

Min mutter fik igen et chok, men undlod at kommentere på det, andet end: “Nå, nu står der to nul eller hva?”… Jeg havde store bloklys i øjnene, og smilet fyldte hele mit lalleglade fjæs, for hun havde ret..

2-0… Nu kunne det ikke gå galt… Og det gjorde det da heller ikke…

Chris Foy fløjtede af efter fire minutters overtid og alle supporterne holdte deres “Come On You Whites” -skilte op mod himmelen..

“Klasse perfomance med gude spillere”, som Martin Birn sikkert ville have udtrykt det!

Samtidig tabte Reading til Spurs, og det betyder, at Fulham selv kan afgøre sin skæbne på udebane mod Pompey i næste uge.. En gyser af dimensioner!

Portsmouth har ikke noget at kæmpe for samtidig med, at de har en pokalfinale få dage senere… Fulham har naturligvis ikke den bedste udebanestatistik, men med to udebanesejre i træk er formen god, og jeg håber naturligvis på et hattrick…

“Cheer Up Roy, you old buggar, We got a fucking Victory”

Come On You Whites!!!

Das Zimmer direkte fra Craven Cottage blandt eufori og pure class!

Alan Blayney is due to continue in goal for Southampton for their match away to Charlton on Saturday. First choice Antti Niemi is still struggling with a virus and Paul Smith is still out with an arm injury.
Maik Taylor is set to return for Birmingham on Saturday after his suspension. The Blues will take on Blackburn at Ewood Park.