Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

My Prediction: Joe Stevenson is handy but he's ultimately a gate keeper and I see Nate Diaz having too much for him, but barely.

Round Two: Stevenson gets an explosive takedown but Diaz immediately locks him in guillotine but he can't get the guard and it gives Stevenson enough space to escape. We then get some scrappy ground and pound from both men. They wrestle around with Stevenson on top landing some good shots from a crucifix position. Diaz tries to power up but Stevenson really has him hooked. Stevenson then gets Diaz stuck in a crazy position, absolutely bizarre, Diaz rolls out of it but straight into a gullotine choke, it's on tight, Amazingly Nate Diaz does a forward roll off the cage to escape, that was absolutely crazy! Stevenson avoids a triangle choke before Stevenson is put in a double arm which he crazily counters with a rolling takedown. They both get to their feet and Joe lands some hard knees, Diaz cleverly drops to a knee so Stevenson can't knee him in the head.

My Scorecard: 10-9 to Stevenson after a scary start he recover with great takedowns and some amazing holds and wrestling on the floor, he showed more control and intent. Great Round.

Round Two: Diaz tries some funky stand up but Joe dives in with a takedown and Joe ends up in a guillotine again? He does a really weird style from the top and Joe rolls out to counter and Joe gets in a position to throw knee strikes and Diaz yet again drops to his knees to avoid the headshots. Stevenson gets another lovely takedown right into side control. Diaz avoids the transition to full mount and Stevenson unloads from an open mount but nearly gets cuaght in a triangle choke. Stevenson drops knees to the gut from the sprawl. They then go up against the cage and the fight lulls. Nate tries another clever takedown but Joe counters landing on top in half guard.

My Scorecard: 10-9 to Stevenson very much more of the same.

Round Three: Nate tries to trade but Stevenson gets another rolling takedown before they go up against the cage and Stevensont gets another rolling takedown but Nate responds with a hard judo throw. Nate gets into guard. Nate throws some wild strikes before going for an arm in guillotine but Joe escapes, Nate tries a rear naked choke but Joe scrambles to escape and they get pressed up against the cage. Nate says "come Joe get to work Bitch". They seperate and Nate tries a Judo throw but Stevenson blocks and Nate begins to swing wildly. Nate avoids a takedown and throws wildly.

My Scorecard: 29-28 to Stevenson, I gave the last round to Diaz for the submission attempts.

We then head to our first final, the all UK final between Andre Winner vs. Ross Pearson in the lightweight division and we get the life stories of both men.

My Prediction: Well the smart money has been with Pearson from the begining, but for some reason I'm going against logic and going for Winner to be the erh....Winner, I think he's more desicive and will finishs this in the second round.

Round One: They juke around to start the fight before Pearson goes inside and unloads with a fast flurry, they then exchange leg kicks, Winner goes in wtih a lightening combo Pearson dodges the worst of it and replies in kind. Pearson fakes a jab and hits a leg kick. They go against the cage to the thrill of exactly to one, Pearson tries to throw knees but Winner goes for the takedown but its blocked easily. Joe Rogan says they know each other so well they are cancelling each other out. The morons in the crowd chant "USA". Winner hits a knee to the gut and follows it with an elbow. Ross goes for a takedown but Winner stays on his feet and Ross gets caught with a knee to the balls. Pearson unloads with a hard flurry but Winner replies with some nice dirty boxing. Both men exchange knees. Winner unloads with a body shot flurry to end the round.

My Scorecard: 10-9 Winner, bloody hell Joe Rogan was right on the money this is so fucking close, they are cancelling each other out but that nice final flurry from Winner gave him the edge for me.

Round Two: Pearson gets two nice leg kicks and then goes for a pair of straight punches but Winner avoids the worst of it. Winner counters punches by using dirty boxing techniques and taking the fight to the cage. Pearson goes for the takedown but Andre continues to block it and counters with an uppercut. Winner lands a knee to the gut, Winner does some nice dirty boxing work. Winner now has control and keeps it tight. Winner gets a nice elbow from inside. Pearson grazes Winner with a knee and tehn goes for a head kick but its blocked. Pearson hits a right hand over the top and then follows it with a knee but yet again Winner stuffs the take down. Winner lands a nice knee. Pearson throws an inside elbow and they exchange knees. Winner finishes the round with a flurry.

My Scorecard: 10-9 Pearson, very tough to call but I thought he showed more aggression.

Round Three: Pearson is tenacious taking Winner straight against the cage. Pearson gets the better of the dirty boxing with some elbows and uppercuts. They exchange shots nicely, both men land hooks but Pearson hits one big shot at the end and Winner takes it against the cage and goes for a takedown but it's blocked. Pearson unloads with some nice uppercuts, Winner seperates and lands some short hooks. Pearson lands a leg kick but Winner counters with a straight right. Winner does some good work on the inside. Pearson goes for the takedown but Winner scrambles to avoid it just. Both men unload from the inside, Pearson lands a nice hook adn they exchange some big shots. Winner throws a combination against the cage and then gets a knee. Both men throw flurries in the final ten seconds with Pearson landing a huge knee and elbow.

My Scorecard: 29-28 to Pearson, Insanely close.

We then get an interview with Brock Lesnar and Joe Rogan, Lesnar actually seems quite nervous but still delivers a cool calm promo, he says what's important to him to winning. Joe Rogan then gives Brock Lesnar his most Dangerous man award.

We then go to the hype for our second Ultimate Fighter Finale between Damarquez Johnson and James Wilkes, we get both their back grounds and why they want to win.

My Prediction: Well I've got everything wrong so far, but despite this I'm yet again going to go against the bookmakers and critics and back Wilkes for a KO victory.

Round One: They excahange strikes and Wilkes lands some hard right hands before hitting some nice knees. Johnson recovers and they seperate. Wilkers gets a leg kick and then thows some big knees and rights but Johnson recovers and responds. Wilkes gets a takedown, but Johnson looks dangerous on the ground. Johnson avoids and heel hook and unloads but Wilkes gets an insane leg lock but Damarquez escapes. Damarquez escapes a trianle choke but gets stuck in an armuplatu that was just insane, but Damarquez escapes again, Wilkes gets another takedown, but Damarquez is lookin for an arm bar, but Wilkes slides into a rear naked choke but Johnson escapes, twice before Wilkes reapplies the hold with seconds left and Damarquez taps the fuck out!!! James Wilkes is the Welterweight Ultimate Fighter! It's a total victory for the UK.

My Prediction: Diego Sanchez, Guida is exciting but Sanchez should have way to much for him.

Round One: They do a mean arse staredown, seriously this is the best staredown ever. Both men come out swinging with insane punches, and Guida gets rocked but Diego can't finish, Guida recovers from two insane knees. Both men trade again with Sanchez ontop with some huge shots. Diego again scores with the leaping knee but Guida survives and replies with a takedown, holy shit! Guida works over Sanchez with some elbows and he begins to pound and grind the life out of Sanchez. Both men are bleeding. Sanchez uses the rubber guard but Guida explodes and goes for gulliotine. They seperate and the referee gives Guida his mouth peice back. Sanchez knocks Guida FLAT ON HIS ARSE with a head kick, but Guida explodes back up and goes for a a takedown. Sanchez unloads with another flying knee. Sanchez just unloads with uppercut flurries, but Guida again recovers and powers Sanchez across the octogon into the cage. Sanchez responds with a takedown and gets half guard. Twenty seconds remain, They stand and trade Sanchez gets the best of it.

My Scorecard: 10-9 to Sanchez, but honestly who cares, what a fucking round, honestly this is just insane, the fact that Guida is still standing is a miracle whats even more astounding is that he is scoring with a takedown and powering Sanchez across the ring.

Round Two: Guida blocks the head kick this time, Sanchez lands a nice flurry but Guida responds with a nice takedown. Sanchez and Guida both throw elbows. Guida tries to unload from open guard but can't get anywhere. Diego is going for a camora but Guida puts his head in to block, haven't seen that before. Guida escapes and tries to pound the crap out of Sanchez. Guida avoids a guillotine but Sanchez locks up the arms as the crowd chant for "Guida". Guida draps Sanchez away from the cage and tries to pass guard. Guida tries to smash the crap out of Sanchez but Sanchez responds with some sick elbows from the guard. Diego goes for the rubber guard but he's not flexible enough, both men just slug the holy shit out of each other and their is blood everywhere. Guida avoids the arm bar and the round ends with both men drench in blood.

My Scorecard: 10-9 Guida, that was so tough to call, and in many ways I thought Sanchez was better and more technical but he never really got in a dominate position in the entire round. I can see many scoring that to Sanchez its a tough call. Not as insane as the first round but still great stuff.

Round Three: Guida gets a leg kick, Sanchez leaps in with an uppercut but Guida responds with a wild flurry. Sanchez slips and Guida tries to unload, Guida dodges the head kick, The crowd chant for Guida and he chases Sanchez with some wild swings, but Diego responds with some brilliant counter punching and some heavy uppercuts. Guida lands a right hook, Sanchez lands a huge right hook and both men trade, Both men land big shots and Sanchez responds with a combination, this is a war. Guida blocks a headkick, Guida goes for a takedown but misses, Sanchez gets the back, but Guida slips out but ends up in an arm triangle but Clay escapes adn is on top. They then both go to town, Diego goes for a camora, Clay does his best to avoid it, blood is just draining over both men. Guida uses his head to block. Guida goes for an arm bar but Guida slips out and unloads.

My Scorecard: 29-28 to Sanchez,

Judges Scorecard: Judge one scores it 29-28 Guida, Judges two and three score it 29-28 Diego Sanchez. Therefore the winner by Split Decision is Diego Sanchez.

The intention is to span genres and the decades, I may even throw in some "classics" from artists who I have little or no respect for Notorious B.I.G and Korn immediately spring to mind. So I devised a little list of Albums in no particular order:

Looks like I have plenty to classics to blow through and I'm sure I'll trickle these reviews out at my own leisure across the next year or so. So which album do I start with, well guess what, it's not one from the above list, yep, the album that I'm going to start with is hailed by many as the greatest album of the eighties, considered one of the truly great alternative albums of all time and a corner stone of American Youth culture from its 1988 release right through the 1990s. Got it yet? Well my first album is.......

Before diving into the music one has to comment on both the album cover and the title itself. The album artwork is among the greatest, most iconic and sublime in all of music history, there is something so poignant and indefinable about the candle artwork. It posesses such deep symbolism; the candle, the light in the dark is one of the most common literary images it normal depicks hope, education, safety here Sonic Youth have made it seem glib and forbodining a symbol of bleak dissolution. It fits so perfectly with the sublime title Daydream Nation combined with that cover it so suncinctly sums up everything you need to know about Sonic Youth and this record before you even hear it, it's perfect. It represents a moment in time, the emotions, the feelings, the timing perfectly, just as the Strokes couldn't have picked a more perfect title than Is This It for their much anticipated debut.

There is one factor that always makes reviewing albums like this so tough, it's who I am, I was a one year old when this record came out, living in England, and even as a devout student of history and politics I can never understand what it was like to first hear Daydream Nation in the US in 1988, as much US tv as I watch and history I read I can never asimilate that culture and can never recreate those feelings. However, I can fully understand the importance of The Smiths in Thatcher's Great Britian as I've grown up with that cultural legacy. But I can't tap into the emotional ressonance of that this LP evoked in the US. Now you maybe thinking "JUST REVIEW THE MUSIC DICKHEAD" and in many respects you'd be right but there is an important situational factor that turns a Great album into an all time classic, and I get that nagging feeling that as much as I listen to this album I'll never quite "get it" in a way that the American audience will. Just like as much as they try American's can't understand just how fundementally important the Arctic Monkey's debut was in this country and while it will forever adorn greatest album lists in this country.

With that in mind this is an incredibly powerful effecting record. It has huge emotion resonance from the moment Teen Age Riot kicks in till the last scratchy lick of Trilogy. It's an amazing power how this record makes you feel depressed, full of sympathy and pathos like and outsider. In many ways it is a staple of American alternative music yet at the same time as it feels ghostly like a fleeting daydream (did I mention how bang on that title was) it hits you with wonderful bubble gum choruses that the Beach Boys would have been proud to pen before dropping into a suddenly into an extended scratchy, abbrasive yet always tuneful guitar break down. It's a hell of a ride. This whole experience is encapsulated within the walls of The Wonder (part one of trilogy). It's a majestic work of artistry following from section to section never feeling dull or unneccesary and always feeling perfectly organic. It truly is a staggering work and the 14 minutes of The Trilogy in many ways perfectly encapsulates the whole album.

To step away from the cultural and emotional importance of this record, which is a bloody hard task as this record is so affecting, it's full of superbly written music and pop gems. Teen Age Riot kicks off the album in sublime fashion its just a wonderful track so effortless, so relaxed, the soft melodies are just superb it feels like a warming summer anthem but it's not, its a track with balls, that rocks hard, with with tight guitar work and pounding drums. It sublimely sums up a sense of pent up frustration that's conteracted by that overiding disinterest and apathy "It takes a teenage riot to get me out of bed, right now". I think we've all been there, God knows I have.

Lyrically there are two distinct themes, one coming from Thurston Moore and the other from Kim Gordon. Thurston lyrically feels disinterested yet vital telling stories of walking through the city or laying in bed thinking and dreaming. Kim on the other hand channels the spirit of Patti Smith spitting out lyrics with vile agression that are absoluting dripping with cool; "I wanted to know the exact dimensions of hell, does this sound simple? Fuck You, Are you for sale? Does fuck you sound simple enough? This was the only part that turned me on". You do not want to get on the wrong side of this chick. Its a great contrast, it's almost like Deal and Black reversed.

Ultimately what makes this album so great is that musical it packs a punch, it can be frantic, visceral, aggresive almost like an indy Metallica at times but it's also bloody humable, it's amazing, even at the albums most abbrasive, when the guitars thrash, squel and zip it still feels totally accessable. It's a remarkable feat that certainly doesn't feel like it's by design. This is an album in the truest sense its not merely a collection of tracks its one single entity that should be listen to in full from start to finish. Truly an album that ticks all the boxes, great songs check, huge influence check, cultural significance check. While this album will always be a cornerstone of American culture it goes sadly unapprecaited over here in little old England. It remains an incredible work.

Sonic Youth will forever sit aside the Pixies and Dinosaur Jnr. as one of those incredibly brave and important bands of the eighties that were kicking and punching away at the door that Nirvana would eventually smash through when US Alternative culture went supernova. However like so many scenes and movements in music history the original is always the best. Daydream Nation and Doolittle both remain beyond special records while Ten and Nevermind will have to settle for merely great. Even if incomparision they feel like Total Trash ;)

Is this the greatest album of the Eighties? Well that's an incredibly tough to say, without a doubt it's in the debate but with The Queen Is Dead, Doolittle and Master Of Puppets as competition, it will take a hell of a lotta dislodging on the rock front alone to sneak to number one. But who cares? Honestly? An absolutely classic how I could go twenty years with out hearing this record, I do not know. A masterpeice, a moment in time, that is forever timless, as great now as it was then, perfect. (10/10)

Wow if album one is this good I look forward to the rest (asides from Korn)! I'm open to suggestions as ever.

I have to say to start as always it was an insanely lovely weekend, great weather, loads of hot girls and a nice festival crowd. So mellow and chilled in comparison to reading anyway on with the review.

Iglu & Hartley (Mainstage): Wow this band is so lame, on record there whiny and annoying and live they are equally whiny and awful. However I'll give them credit they had good energy and executed their terrible songs well, the crowd all loved This City but it was just complete bland dated garbage. (4/10)

Ting Tings (Mainstage): Last year at Reading I vowed that I'd never see the Ting Tings again, well one year later and I broke my promise and boy oh boy do I wish I'd kept that promise. This band is unbelievably awful live, it's ridiculous, they are constantly falling behind the beat, Katie cannot sing whatsoever she yelps and shouts and falls ages behind the track with her screeching, it's just horrible. To make matters worse their stripped down beat based sound is limp and pathetic live and certianly doesn't live a festival stage. They had the huge singles but they just don't have mainstage level skills. (1.5/10)

Pendulum (Mainstage): Pendulum were the band in the right place, at the right time, they turned the momentum of the day around in one fell swoop. They brought huge energy and massive drum and Bass-lite beats, and had the crowd bouncing from start to finish. From Propange Nighmares to drum and bass classic Tarantula it was high tempo awesomeness. Now I have some huge issues with Pendulum they are the ultimate one trick ponies and their set is really repetative but clocking in at 45 minutes it was just the right lenght. (7.5/10)

Basement Jaxx (Mainstage): Basement Jaxx should with this set why despite some of the most morose singles in recent memory that they are infact bonified dance legends and slot in above Groove Armada and alongside Prodigy and Chemical Brothers just below the all mighty Daft Punk. They blew through hit after hit from Good Luck to Do Your Thing via Where's Your Head At, Oh My Gosh, Romeo (acoustic), Rendevouz and everything else you'd possible want to see. They brought a cool graphics display and a host of guests and created a real carnival feel. (8.5/10)

Prodigy (Mainstage): Prodigy are just awesome live, it's what Prodigy exist to do, you don't listen to Prodigy in your bedroom, you see them live you dance to them in the club. this was and hour and a half of non-stop dancing and non stop jumping. However Prodigy have managed to get even better since their appearence at the Isle Of Wight three years ago. This is completely attributable to Invaders Must Die, that album has given them huge live anthems like Omen, Warrior Dance, the title track itself and even the morose Hounds turns into an anthem live. It's a massive tribute to Prodigy's back catalog that they can headline a festival now and leave out both Spitfire and much more importantly No Good For Me. Great stuff, after two steps back in the early 21st century they are finally taking a step forward. (9/10)

Paulo Nutini (Mainstage): My God how on earth I've managed to see this waste of breathe three times I do not know. He is just uniformly horrible, he butchered a cover of one of my favorite songs of all time, but at least he didn't resort to singing tracks from the jungle book to keep the crowd awake this time. As Vanilla as it gets. (3/10)

White Lies (Mainstage): I'm a fan of White Lies but I really wasn't sure how they'd translate on the mainstage infront of a huge crowd but I shouldn't have worried. With there slow pulsating beats and the leads singers simply superb vocal performance arguably the best of the week end they won the crowd over with considerable ease. To Lose My Life and Farewell to the Fareground were suitably mamoth sing alongs but the show was of course stolen by set closer the suitably gargantuan epic Death and lucky the only drops of rain of the weekend fell just in time for the songs finale, it was only fitting. White Lies certainly did ensure that it'd be a wonderful death. (7.5/10)

McFly (Big Top): Argh....after unfortunately missing Will Young due to clashes we had to settle for McFly for our silly pop moment. Unfortunately they were pretty terrible, they just don't have the voices or the skills for the live arena. However they do have the songs and the energy, it's not my cup of tea but all the twelve year old boys and girls seemed to adore it. They did do one thing I liked a cover of Black or White by Michael Jackson unfortunately they decided to rap over the final third, yes McFly rap. A take it or leave it set, for fans only. (5/10)

Razorlight (Mainstage): Well this was a real mixed bag, when they were laying on the hits, and there were alot of hits (In The Morning, Before I Fall to Peices, Stumble And Fall, America, Somewhere Else, Golden Touch, Vice, Wire to Wire), they were very good, and they were fun when they played stuff off the first album generally but when they decided to play random ballads Johnny Borrell proceeded to milk every song for everything it was worth in the most pretentious fashion imaginable. All in all the hits out weigh the misses. (7/10)

Ultravox (Big Top): We only caught half an hour of the eighties synth popsters but it was more than enough. It was fun and light, a water down Kraftwerk for the masses but and hour and half was way too much to bear so we left Ultravox to it. (5.5/10)

Stereophonics (Mainstage): Without doubt the worst headliner I've ever seen at a major festival. A complete dirge, me and Gareth left after 45 minutes feeling suicidal, even hits like Mr. Writer and Handbags and the Gladrags were just a long death like dirge, horrible. Not Headline materiel. (1/10)

Simple Minds (Mainstage): Okay me and Nick had a very long raging political debate about the EU and potential world governance so we basically didn't notice that simple minds were playing, but they seemed mild and innoffensive, but one couldn't help but wonder why on eath the Human League were on Thursday for Campers not Sunday instead of the far less relevant, far less talented and far less popular Simple Minds. (5/10)

The Pixies (Mainstage): The Pixies are just a special band and I was privalleged to see them so close up especially seeing as I'd chosen to skip the Horrors to see the College Rock legends for a second time. There is just something different about this band, from dead cool of Black Francis to the smacked up chirpiness of Kim Deal. Frank looked like he didn't want to be there but in a cool way and Kim looked like she was of her face and loving every minute of it. The interplay between the two was fantastic as ever deciding to stop dead in the middle of tracks for some banter. Their crowd grew and grew and by the second half when the Horrors had finished those seeking to get the best of both worlds had arrived to give them the biggest crowd of anyone on the sunday. They had seemingly clearer and louder sound than any other guitar band of the whole weekend and blew through hits and live classics Velouria, Allison, Where Is My Mind, Tame, Debaser, Wave Of Mutilation, Here Comes Your Man and of course the epic Bone Machine. Kim Deal got her moments to shine with Gigantic and I'm in Heaven before they milked a seemingly never ending string of applause as they bowed and wave in delight. (10/10)

Killing Joke (Big Top): Now Killing Joke are one of Gaz's favorite bands but some one I knew very little about but they quickly blew me away with there brand of syth tinged Gothy Industrial. They really developed cool grooves and almost marching beats and judging by the crowd and Gaz's reaction fired through some of their best loved tracks. Their front man was amazing and clearly as mad as a hatter, fantastic stuff. (8.5/10)

Neil Young (Mainstage): Ah the incredibly devisive much debate Headline. Well we caught what we thought would be the last half hour but turned out to be the last forty five minutes (what a gip) and in this time he played four songs. Yes you read that right four songs! To say Neil Young milked it would be an understatement he was practically running a dairy farm bring back the refrain to keep on Rocking at least eight times. The tracks he played were actually pretty damn good, including a cover of the Beatles' greatest ever track A Day In The Life, which I enjoyed greatly. It was an interesting experience, he both showed that he was very capable, still rocked and more deserving of headlining than Stereophonics but failed to show ups why he's truly regarded as special as mainly due to the milking never seemed to reach awesomeness. A good fun ending to the weekend but he could live up to what preceeded him. (7/10)

We go straight to the fight.

My Prediction: Very tough one to call, I would normally back Cameron as he has the better skills but the injury makes me think he'll be off his game and I'm backing Winner.

Round One: Cameron throws some big hooks straight away, Andre keeps his composure dodges some wild swings and hits a plum hook and uppercut. Cameron throws wildly and Andre picks him off with a lovely right hook. Cameron goes for a takedown but Andre escapes and hits some heavy artillery, Cameron gets another nice trip but Andre escapes quickly and there up against the cage. Cameron fails on a takedonw but nails a nice rightn hand and gets a takedown but Winner superbly counters first into a full mount and then into a triangle choke and the referee has to stop it after Cameron puts up a noble effort. Andre Winner by Triangle Choke.

We now go to the build for Ross Pearson vs. Jason Dent. Pearson is training and his shoulder pops out, wow! He tells Bisping to pull his shoulder sharply we hear some nasty crunch sound and Ross is fine. God that's a hell of a dodgy recurring injury for a MMA fighter. We then go to Dana who says he wasn't happy with Dent's fight, said he played it safe and tried to squeek by. Dent says he may be boring but he's intelligent and defeatedhis opponent without sustaining any damage. Ross says he's going to make this fight messy, so this could be a styles clash.

My Prediction: Hmmmn....see I fancy Pearson for this fight, if his shoulder holds up, but that would make for an all England final which would be a bit odd, either way I think Dent will be too defensive and be overwhelmed.

Round One: Dent goes for a high kick but its blocked and he opts for a leg kick instead. Ross goes after him with a jab combo and hits a gut kick but against the fence Dent turns it around and hits a knee strike to the head and then gut. Ross does some good work from inside the clinch, Ross throws some sloppy offences landing to the face and gut. Dent is very composed. They go from one side to the other without either man getting the advantage. Ross looks tired. Dent unloads against the cage with uppercuts but Ross escapes and fires back. Dent is guarding his head well but is being repeatedly rocked with hard body shots. Both men slug but nothing is landing. Ross throws some big hands but Dent guards really well, both men stand and trade Ross does well but catches one straight right. Dent nails Ross with a hard combo right at the end of the round.

My Scorecard: 10-9 to Pearson, very close, but Dent landed well at the end but was desperate and wild throughout.

Round Two: Dent goes for a superman punch and head kick combo but misses both. Pearson hits a nice counter punch. Dent throws an inside flurry before being met with a head kick. Both men tag each other with some good shots. Pearon again powers Dent back against the cage with some big shots. Pearson does a great job of takedown defences. Ross hits a plum counter punch, Dent looks gassed, Ross has to cover up before both men trade. Pearson then scores with a takedown. Pearson begins to ground and pound from the guard and then passes guard but Dent escapes. Both men stand and trade against the cage. Ross blocks a takedown and unloads from open guard, Ross then pounds it out.

My Scorecard: 10-9 to Pearson, easily Pearson's round a good takedown and an excellent takedown defence give him the round.

Rount Three: Dent unloads with a combo but Pearson deals with it well. Ross hits a huge counter right hand, Ross works against the cage with some nice shots and then gets a takedown and elbows down on Dent from the side of the cage. He drops some hammer fists on Dent. Dent tries an arm bar but Pearson avoids it and pummels the side of Dent's head They go to the sprawl but Ross maintains control and pounds away. Dent rolls back into gaurd and Pearson continues to pound it out but he keeps leaving his hands in. Pearson avoids a arm bar and continues to pound down Dent who can't get out of the sprawl position. Ross passes guard and unloads as the round ends.

My Scorecard: 30-27 to Pearson, no doubt about it he dominated every round.

So it's an all UK lightweight final Andre Winner vs. Ross Pearson

The other final Damarquez Johnson vs. Either James Wilkes or Frank Lester

I've decided to stick to the politicsy history books rather than reviewing Sci Fi as aside from telling you if the stories any good and being able to assess the writing quality I really don't have a broad enough grasp of the genre to make any credible conclusions, so no Asimov reviews, yet.

Anyway on with the show for my first book I've chosen (drumroll followed by dun, dun, daaaah):

This work by Christopher Hitchens (renouned American Journalist and Liberal) is the mock trial of Henry Kissenger, before you get to worried it's not a goofy fictionalized trial it'd be more accurately stated as the "case against" Henry Kissenger but that doesn't sound half as exciting now does it.

The book has it's ups and downs but is continually intriguing as Hitchens flies through a number of topics with great vigour; The 1968 Election, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Chile, East Timor, Cyprus and Greece as well as Kissinger's business interests and the one particular case of a Greek Journalist.

The book is very powerful and is correct in it's accusations however the Hitchens doesn't always write in a particularly readable style and too often comes accross as if he's on a vendetta with little more than inferances for evidence. However these are minor quibbles in an otherwise well argued peice. The real high points in the work come not when Hitchens is drawing together a wider conspiracy theory but when he allows the documents to speak for themselves, Kissinger's conversations with Pinochet and the account of when he was questioned by citizens of East Timor speak more strongly and powerfully than two hundred words of second hand prose ever could. This book is at its best when it is Kissinger himself not Htichins, who is digging his own grave.

The undoubted strenght of this book is the fact that it clocks in at just 147 pages, a light afternoons reading and Hitchens for the most part manages to clearly explain the main scandals succinctly, only on rare occasion delving into pointless historical narrative or going of on tagents.

On the wider political issue I'm inclined to almost totally agree with Hitchens, I view Kissinger as one of the principal war criminals and a consistant committer of crimes against humanity. Kissinger is possibly the ultimate example of a politician who chose expidency and business interests over human life, international law and morality. Unfortunately as Hitchens made clear the Library of Congress will keep Henry Kissenger safe from a real trial, as Kissinger simply marked all his most devious of files "personal" and they are forever locked away in the library of congress.

I don't think Henry Kissinger needs to be strung up, although I'm sure Hitchens and many Chileans, East Timorians and Cambodians would disagree, but instead he simply deserves to have his legacy discredited in a similar way to his partner in crime Tricky Dick. The Cold War marked a very dark time in the history of US foriegn policy, Kissinger was not the first nor the last to carry out some truly odious and disgusting acts in mostly but not exculsively the third world all in the name of the Cold War (or US business interest), but he is the symbolic figurehead associated with these deeds. Were he every to be tried or even the remainder of the secret documentation where to be released it would go a long way to closing a brutal and bloody chapter in US history.

On a final note what that I find most disgusting and distateful about the whole affair is the seceracy and the contempt for the American polity. To draw a notable comparision Goerge W. Bush has carried out some terrible deeds in the name of the war against Terror but at least he does it for the whole world to see, Gauntanimo couldn't be more visable, he even said on American TV that'd he'd go beyond the rule of law. George Bush at least looks you in the eyes as he stabs you through the heart. Henry Kissinger doesn't even stap you in the back, he's hiding in the bushes accross the road firing a poison dart into your neck.

Overall Thoughts: As you have no doubt gathered this book was very much a case of preaching to the converted and yet at times I found Hitchens overbearing and thin on evidence in places (not suprising when Kissinger refuses to release the evedence in the first place). He is also let down in places by less than stellar prose, however these are minor quibbles in what amounts to suscinct sysnopsis of Kissinger's role in some of humanities most brutal deeds. The use of primary documents is superb, and if you have even a passing interest in this period, this book is the perfect starting point to wet your beak. (8.5/10)