Jenjie

where did you get your tickets from?

Police forces told to root out BNP members after list leaked on internet Police chiefs said tonight that they expect every force in the country to be scouring a leaked list of alleged BNP members that looks certain to cost at least one Merseyside officer his job. Problems for the far-right party continued today after Rod Lucas, a radio DJ, and a policeman became the first victims of the breach of privacy that saw the names of thousands of BNP members published on the internet. Officers in Liverpool referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission when they discovered the name of one of their officers on the membership list. This afternoon the IPCC said it had no need to intervene and suggested that Merseyside Police act firmly. “The national policies are clear that membership of the BNP is incompatible with the requirements of the role of a police officer and I know Merseyside Police will act robustly if necessary,” said Naseem Malik, IPCC Commissioner for the North West. Decisive action is expected to be replicated across the country as individual forces face questions on the political affiliations of their officers. The Association of Chief Police Officers has banned officers from joining the BNP and a spokesman said it was “highly likely” that forces all over the country would be scanning the list. Police are banned from becoming members of the BNP because it would damage race relations. TalkSport radio said today that it had "no plans to use" Mr Lucas, a chat show presenter who covered late-night shifts for the station this year, after he was listed among more than 12,000 BNP supporters. The presenter responded this afternoon by claiming that he had joined the party as an undercover journalist. “I am an investigative radio journalist and am a member of over 20 political parties and pressure groups,” he said. “I do this for research, in order to come up with material from my show. In 2004 I did a series of shows on Fusion Radio in which I delved into the BNP. “I have often mentioned on air my work on the BNP - it is certainly no dirty secret.” His name and contact details were included alongside his profession: "media: radio/TV production". Mr Lucas, a Sony Award winner who once worked for Radio One, had eulogised on his website how much he had enjoyed working for his "favourite" radio station, but this morning TalkSport bosses were swift to distance themselves from him. A spokesman said: “We were not aware of his membership of the BNP until today. We have no plans to use Rod Lucas in the immediate future.” The membership list was today removed from the original blog where it was published but remains available on other websites. Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, said that the party would take court action against those responsible for the leak. Earlier this year the BNP said it had obtained an injunction at the High Court in Manchester, banning any publication of the list. Mr Griffin said: “It was entirely wrongly used without authority by a very small group of previous party members who were expelled late last year who then passed it on, to who we simply don’t know. “All we can say is that if we find out who it was and they are one of those covered by the High Court injunction, then they are going to prison.” Mr Griffin was forced to deny that BNP spokesman Simon Darby had intended to threaten violence when he told The Times last night that if the culprit was found, "it will turn out to be one of the most foolish things they have done in their life", and that "I wouldn't be sleeping very well tonight". He said: "There is no threat of violence as is being reported." The BNP said in a statement on its website that it had lodged a complaint with Dyfed-Powys Police on the grounds that the "disgraceful act of treachery" breached human rights and data protection laws. Prison officers, like the police, are forbidden from joining the BNP but the leaked list appeared to include several prison staff. A Prison Service spokesman, however, refused to confirm whether they were investigating the individuals included on the list. Most other public sector professions including teachers, healthcare professionals and armed servicemen are not governed by similar bans but many workers now face questioning from colleagues and bosses over whether belonging to a party associated with racist views is compatible with the caring ethos and emphasis on equality in their work. The Ministry of Defence says that serving members of the Armed Forces who belong to the BNP are breaking no rules. At least two dozen people serving in the Armed Forces are members of the BNP, according to the leaked list, with well over a hundred people listed as ex-servicemen. "Individuals are free to join political parties but they are expected to abide by our values and standards in all they do," an MoD spokesman said. There is known to be unease within the MoD about some BNP policies, which are believed to be incompatible with military values, but it has no plans to follow the police in establishing a formal ban. One former soldier named on the list told The Times today that there were "a lot of serving BNP members in the British Army". Keiron Le-Mar, who served in Iraq with the Somerset & Cornwall Light Infantry, explained: "It's a party that thinks that England should be put first and when you join the British Army you're obviously a pretty patriotic person." Mr Le-Mar said that he was open about his BNP membership for two years while in the Army, before leaving twelve months ago. None of his colleagues expressed any hostility towards his political allegiance, he said. He said that he had not encountered any soldiers from ethnic minorities while in the Army but would have had no problem serving alongside them. Other servicemen contacted refused to speak. One had set up his mobile phone voicemail to explain that he was not answering his mobile phone "probably because I don't want to speak to any choppers like yourself". Several BNP members give their addresses as Army barracks or RAF bases. There is no rule against this, and the MoD confirmed that there is nothing to stop servicemen or women receiving BNP literature through the post on base. They would be banned from distributing leaflets on service property, however. Many people posting on the British Army's unofficial online forum appeared supportive of their BNP colleagues, before moderators deleted the entire thread, leading to accusations that the "thought police" were at work. That thread was also deleted. The Department of Health has a similar policy in place with no action to be taken unless a member of staff's views affected their work or they were found to be abusing their position to recruit for the BNP. Dee Lockhart, 44, a BNP member and a medical secretary from Cumbria, said that in six years working for the NHS she never encountered any problems when discussing her political beliefs. “It’s my feeling that you’re supposed to have political freedom,” she told The Times today, explaining that she had retired from work last year after a road traffic accident. The wife of one doctor on the list said that since his name had been published on the leaked list his life had become a misery. “My husband has been hounded and he’s not even a member of the party,” she said. “This is really hurting him. If there are any employment repercussions we will be seeing a solicitor.” Another care professional told The Times he was outraged that his name had been published. He claimed that he had done excellent work with young offenders in three years as a youth worker and said he did not feel his political views affected his work. “I’ve worked well with children from all walks of life and this will definitely affect my chances of getting future jobs. It’s sickening,” he said. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5192136.ece?token=null&offset=24&page=3

To link or not to link? Zaffar from London left a comment after reading the Times Online report on the leaking of the BNP membership list. He wrote: 'this is a joke read this article typed in google got the list in seconds". You can quibble with his punctuation, but not with his logic. Anyone could Google the phrase "BNP members" and get the list too, although the original weblog on which it was posted has been taken down. But The Times decided not to link to the list, even though we often do link to material without taking that as some kind of endorsement. There were various reasons for the decision, most of them expressed in other comments on our various online reports. Firstly, BNP members have as much right to privacy as anyone else. Secondly, last time we checked it was still a free country: there is no law against membership of the BNP. It is also a particularly emotive subject. One reader bragged of having spent his evening making prank phones calls to those on the list. A couple of others said that they had found friends or neighbours on it - and had already taken the offenders off their own Chrismas card lists. Both on Times Online and and on various blogs, BNP members expressed their concern at the leaking of the list. They are not necessarily police officers - a job from which BNP members are explicitly banned. One, for example, runs a computer shop and is frightened that he will be put out of business. The list is out there now, even if a Google search no longer throws it up. The anti-fascist campaigners and phone-prankers are having a field day. We don't need to help them. Posted by Times Online Newsdesk on November 19, 2008 at 11:05 AM http://timesnews.typepad.com/news/2008/11/to-link-or-not.html

and ty very much to Pete :D

I dunno. but #42 is good at posting stuff when I log off. nobody loves me :cry: thanks for all the reviews & photos, looking good :D

Pete Lusby is currently touring the world with Coldplay, promoting Oxfam’s campaigns to concert-goers. Joined by teams of dedicated volunteers, Oxfam are raising awareness of, and advising of how we can all take action to overcome, poverty. Coldplaying.com caught up with Pete, via email, to find out more about life on tour, volunteering and Oxfam. Hi Pete! Thanks for sparing some of your time to answer some questions. How did you become involved with Oxfam? I'd always known about it from the Oxfam shops in Britain. I learnt more through a Development Studies course at university.. and seeing Oxfam at Glastonbury Festival. I started out working for Oxfam as an intern. I volunteered full-time for six months from April 2007. I was working as the assistant coordinator on the Oxfam GB Festivals programme. We were doing a similar thing to what we do on band tours. Volunteer campaigners helped over 101'000 festival-goers sign a Climate Change petition. We also had a chill-out/Fairtrade coffee/dance tent and an Oxfam Campervan, at some of the festivals which was great fun to work on. After that I worked on 'Oxjam', Oxfam's fundraising music festival in UK, another band tour with Klaxons in the UK, and then on fundraising challenge events like the London Marathon and Trailwalker. Then Coldplay came up... and I jumped at the chance. What’s your favourite thing about working for Oxfam? I love meeting people who are enthusiastic about Oxfam's work to fight poverty, whether that's our volunteers or music fans who see us out there at the venues. It's good to know that the work we are doing can make a difference to people's lives. I won't lie to you though.. working at festivals and gigs is a great buzz too. The Strasbourg Volunteers Do Oxfam tour with other bands ? Yes. I started out with Klaxons in the UK. Oxfam has recently been out with REM too. When we had the launch gig (in an Oxfam shop basement), for Oxjam last year, loads of musicians turned out to play. Hot Chip, Fatboy Slim, The Kooks, Jamelia, Jarvis Cocker, Emmanuel Jal and loads more... Oxfam has also done tours with Kaiser Chiefs, Editors, and a number of bands in the states including O.A.R. Coldplay is the biggest tour we're on right now though. Do you get to see much of the shows? It depends.. Sometimes. I usually have some clearing up to do when the volunteers go in to watch the show. I try to get in for 'Cemeteries of London' and 'Chinese Sleep Chant' because I can tell the band enjoy playing those. 'Lovers' is great near the end too. I'm sometimes busy blogging away, so I miss the lot. What has been your favourite moment on tour so far? So many to choose from, for different reasons. Can I give a few highlights? For Oxfam, it was great to work in places where we don't yet have groups, places like Stockholm, Oslo and Vienna. People were so keen to find out about us. I had a great time in Ottawa too, when we broke our sign-up record! As far as the show goes.. Brixton was awesome at the start, for the bands comeback. Chicago had a great buzz, when they filmed 'Lost!'. Spain and Italy had an unforgettable atmosphere.. just incredible. Lyon was awesome too. My favourite moment though, might have been setting up Will Champion for his hat-trick in the second Band v Crew football match in Rotterdam! What’s it like living on a tour bus with the roadies? Cramped. I call the long trips 'submarine rides' because you don't have much space to move about and the bunks are tiny (but surprisingly comfortable). Some nights, it's a bit like trying to go to sleep in a submarine bouncy castle, with a boom-box next to your head. I'm on Bus 5, with the bands longest serving crew. They like to party. It's cool. They're all really nice people and fun to work with. Do you get chance to explore the cities/countries you’re visiting? That depends if we have a show the next day or day before.. If we travel in for a show and have another the next day, we bolt after the load-out, to the next city. There are some places we've been, that my only memories are of the inside of an arena. If we have a day off though, I get a chance to explore, usually when i'm out running. Seen some amazing places so far.. Barcelona, Paris, Zurich, Hamburg, Lyon, Rotterdam, Las Vegas, Pemberton, Chicago, NYC, Oklahoma... the list goes on. Barcelona Volunteers & Pete If I volunteered for a show, what should I expect? A great night of talking to fans about Oxfam, and then seeing an awesome Coldplay show for free. You'd get a briefing from me, a wristband and an exclusive Oxfam t-shirt on arrival, then do 2-3 hours of campaigning, where you would talk to fans about Oxfam's work and specific campaigns we are running, such as Health and Education For All. Then the free show and a big thank you from me. Are volunteers collecting signatures for the same causes or does it vary from country to country ? It varies. Last time out with Coldplay, we always had the Make Trade Fair campaign, as the band we're stongly supporting that campaign. Different Oxfam groups now have different campaign priorities, even though MTF is still going strong. So depending where we are, we have a different petition. In US, we have been signing people up to get involved through email updates, so they can take action on a variety of campaigns down the line. How are the sign-ups going? We have well over 50'000 so far! Amazing stuff. Really inspiring. It's great to see so many people wanting to make a difference. Collecting sign-ups in L.A. Will there be an opportunity to volunteer for the UK shows? Oxfam GB is recruiting right now for all the UK shows, as is Oxfam Ireland, for Belfast and Dublin. Check out their websites if you want to get involved. Thanks for taking time from in between shows to answer our questions. If you’d like to volunteer for Oxfam in the UK or Ireland, you can apply to Oxfam GB or Oxfam Ireland. You may get the opportunity to attend a Coldplay show!

my eyes are sleepy tired now. see you tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

it was when i checked about 30 mins ago

:D

I knew you all were loud, but I didn't think you'd be loud enough to carry over the Atlantic :P :laugh3: yay they found each other

I know, but I have to drive to work at 07:30. Anyways, not going anywhere for a little while. I have no husband tonight and too awake to go to sleep. If I go to bed now, I'll be listening to all the noises thinking burglars are breaking in. venues don't tend to like them, but also don't search very hard for them either. don't know about the meet and greet, but suggest you be covert

I ought to go to bed, but I may have to wait a little while now

*waves back* hey Carla! multi-quote is a god-send when you come into a thread and find yourself 10+ pages behind :D

I know!! I can't think of anyone who has done that recently :P You both should have a fab time :D Now we know the reason they looked so fed up in the pics of the other soundcheck party.

thanks for the review Trevor :)

seating plan will look a little like this, but Take That didn't have the ramps that Coldplay have

The Beatles - Can't Buy Me Love Oasis - Roll With It Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars Red Hot Chili Peppers - Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony

that would be the best show ever!! a Take That & Coldplay double bill would be heaven :D

gratz :D

Matic and I are back from a quick jaunt down to Ft. Lauderdale to see Coldplay perform at the Bank Atlantic Center. There are really only two bands Matic and I will go out of our way to see and Coldplay is one of them. U2 is the other, but when U2 is on tour, Matic and I will typically chase them around the country seeing them multiple times in multiple places. Coldplay is not quite at the U2 level and as such, we seek them in the closest possible venue. Sadly, they did not visit the Tampa area on this tour originally choosing Ft. Lauderdale as their sole stop in Florida. A show in Orlando was added later, but I had already bought tickets to Ft. Lauderdale, so the die was cast. As for the show itself, the band certainly did not disappoint. This was our second time seeing Coldplay (once on their previous tour) and I was then as I am now struck by how strong a front-man Chris Martin is. He has an energy and enthusiasm that is only rivaled by Bono (in his younger years). As in the previous show, Chris was all over the stage working the crowd trying to interact with the entire audience, not just the front sections. His gyrations and flailing about can best be described as those of an out of control sock monkey. About half way through the show, after finishing a song, all four members of the band jumped off the stage and ran towards the back of the arena eventually stopping at the top of the arena's lower bowl. They had a very small outcropping set up with four microphones and the band proceeded to play two songs from this perch "to give the people in the cheap seats a better view". The three set show lasted just over 90 minutes and touched on most of the new album and all the hits off their previous albums. For fans this was a treat, for critics I am sure the band provided plenty of ammunition for their fodder. Our drive from the Tampa area to Ft. Lauderdale took us down I-75 to Naples, then a quick turn to the East through Alligator Alley. Matic did not get what all the hub-bub was over the Alley, but a few minutes into the drive it all made sense. Laying along the waterway embankments that parallel Alligator Alley was a whole mess of Gators taking in the Florida sun. http://donmoonsio.livejournal.com/36936.html

Coldplay Goes South Coldplay’s epic post-election show in Atlanta, Georgia. ATLANTA—I only imagine what sorts of emotions would proceed a live performance were I in the “world’s biggest band.” Coldplay have bested their critics a great majority of the time, and no greater testament to their ongoing, colossal popularity was the packed out Phillips Arena on Wednesday night; all races, genders (including some ambiguous ones), creeds, age groups, and artistic and political demographics stood closer together than many had in their whole lifetime, and when the lights went down, the air tingled with something magic. Opening the night with the instrumental warm-up “Life in Technicolor” and Viva la Vida’s lead single “Violet Hill,” Coldplay began with business as usual. Both were mostly by the book, stripped of improvisation or extra live grandiosity. Even so, those around me took belted out “If you love me, won’t you let me know?” periodically, eliciting (if nothing else) the laughter of band mates Martin and Buckland, who it seems have completely adopted a Bono/Edge relationship—only without the intimidating strides, gentle kisses, and damnable sunglasses. Breaking up the introduction with audience participation and one laughable conversation between Martin and an adoring (presumably female) fan who cried “I love you, Chris,” the always-smiling front man launched into a diatribe detailing the band’s struggle to adjust to the Georgia heat. Martin removed his jacket, revealing his underarms to a squealing gaggle of teenaged girls and (oddly enough) used the moment to segue into “Clocks” and “Speed of Sound,” which I will finally admit sound so similar I couldn’t definitively indicate where one began and the other ended. With an impressive laser display and a light show harkening back to 80s new wave, the night took an unpredictable turn. Walking off stage directly into the crowd, the band wielded electric guitars and a handheld drum machine, performing a self-described “techno” fusion of “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face” and “Talk,” with pulsing dance beats and elaborate, wailing string parts. The experiment was immediately lost on the crowd, who could not identify the opening of “God Put a Smile,” eventually catching on in time to hum along with the Kraftwerk sample at the center of “Talk.” Another surprise came in the form of drummer Will Champion’s acoustic performance of “Death Will Never Conquer” in the “nosebleed” section, preceded by the band’s volley through the crowd, shaking hands and clapping high fives to brave fans forceful enough to make their presence felt. Coldplay closed the night by redeeming a track that, for me, never quite took off on the album (“Lovers in Japan”), the band rained flurries of glowing paper butterflies folded to hover over the crowd and eventually becoming so thick in the air that the stage became nigh invisible. Epic is an understatement, and not simply because of the extravagant sums Coldplay must invest to make their live highlights possible, but mostly due to Chris Martin’s joyful swagger and jovial references to Barack Obama’s election victory and a prevailing sense of relief in such trying times. In the evening’s small moments—the band’s interaction with their adoring mass, streamlined presentation of their latest album, Martin’s classical piano interludes, and a foray into dance music—Coldplay had defended their reputation in the popular music canon, shining new light on Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. It was a great day in Georgia. http://www.patrolmag.com/arts/961/coldplay-goes-south Retrieved from "http://wiki.coldplaying.com/index.php/5_November_2008:_Phillips_Arena%2C_Atlanta%2C_GA%2C_USA"

For our wedding gift to each other, Trisha and I bought tickets to see Coldplay in Atlanta. Tonight was the night. It was a pretty incredible concert. The band Sleeper Car opened for them from 7:30 - 8:05. Then at 8:45, Chris, Jonny, Will, and Guy took the stage...and the audience by storm. There were lights, lasers, big inflatable balls full of video, rock ballads, pianos, butterflies, guitars, scarves, love ballads, giant video screens and everything in between. They are entertainers...and they lived up to that. They used the entire stage...they even came out and did a few songs on an extended stage right in front of our seats (Section 4, Row 3). Before the night was through, they even did a song back in the back of the arena. I loved it. On one of the songs, blowers right above us shot paper butterflies all over the crowd. They really did captivate the audience from start to finish. It was a constant barrage of music that you couldn't help but sing along with...Viva la Vida, Fix You, The Scientist, Clocks, Speed of Sound, Cemeteries of London, Lost...I could go on. Before I know it, I look down and it is 10 till 10 and I know our time is coming to a close. When they were through, the proverbial cheer for the encore began. It started with clapping and slowly developed into a concise, "Yell-O, Yell-O, Yell-O"... They came back out...and the encore...Yellow, was performed. We had an incredible night. We got to hang out with Brad and Cat and rock out to Coldplay. http://brodybearden.blogspot.com/2008/11/viva.html

Last night I went to Coldplay, here in Atlanta. It was incredible. It was better than the last time I saw them in 2006. I love big events. I love how people from all over Atlanta and the Southeast came into Phillips expecting something amazing to happen. The anticipation in the room was ridiculous. I am blown away by how melody and chords move people. For a few hours last night the crowd was alive. People were singing every word of every song, and they were on their feet the whole time. Some people were even dancing. I am so intrigued by what moves people to this point. Why do we expect 4 guys from England to do something so great? How does the production engage all of our senses? This is why I love music. I love how it brings people together. Different people who don’t know anything about each other, but we know we like Coldplay. At the end of the show, people started singing the “whoa-oa” part of “Viva la Vida” calling them back for an encore. It was such a cool show. http://brettyounker.com/blog/?p=64

you predict a soundcheck happening? or being witnessed?

Coldplay brings the heat to Phillips Arena So this is going to be a bit more of an informal blog. This Girl has had her FIRST request for more blogs from her fans (Thanks Chicago!), and by fans I mean the 3 people who read this thing. So I'm going to start a few more off the cuff and unedited pieces, but of course they'll stay in the unending theme of the endless possibilities of music. So this past Wednesday night, This Girl attended the first of two Coldplay shows in Atlanta. Now, I am not the biggest Coldplay fan the begin with. Yellow was good, but as the songs and albums continued, I felt as if everytime I heard a song they were trying to put me under some sort of spell or play strange mind games, Clockwork Orange-style. As soon as Brian Eno, the world famous producer-maybe you've heard of U2's The Joshua Tree-and musician took the reigns of Coldplay's newest album Viva la Vida (Death and All of His Friends) they were reincarnated as the band who released one of This Girl's favorite albums of the year. As I listened to the Viva la Vida on my iPod, in my car, and at my home, I realized that these celestial songs must be heard live and in person. I convinced my concert buddy, who wants to be refered to as The Hot Asian but I'll just call him That Guy, to get bad seats and go anyway. As we sat in the very back of Phillips Arena waiting for Chris Martin and the boys to appear, I couldn't help but get caught in the anticipation of what the new sound of Coldplay would be to my senses. I say senses, because (lame-o alert!) I watch shows with every sense I have. Good music has the ability to speak to your ears like a lover, visually stimulate like the Northern Lights, create an aroma of hard work and sweat, make you physically feel each note and word throughout your entire body, and bake the sweetest treat on your tounge as you sing along. Money is wasted and time is spent better elsewhere if these guidelines are not met at each show. But I digress.... Coldplay appeared to a darkened stage and opened with the instrumental first song on Viva, and then launched with everything they had into Violet Hill, my personal favorite. The roars of Chris Martin's voice, the heavy banging of the drums, and the intensity of the guitars came through with every breath the band took, and the laser lights that accompanied created the feeling of climbing through a dark forest and up a hill to the top. All while broken and battered, parched, with nothing but sheer will driving you upwards. The song climaxes 10 seconds before its' end, just like as if you used every last bit of strength you had to pull to the top of a mountain, only to lay down and rest as soon as you reached the summit. Even though it was at the beginning, this song was the best part of the show. As the minutes went on, Coldplay played most of their new stuff, and all of their old favorites. Chris Martin's stage presence is nothing if not spectacular. He moves around the stage with every beat and bangs on the piano like he doesn't have a microphone and needs everyone in the arena to hear it. He throws himself on the ground, contorts his body in ways that you just can't choreograph. The drummer is so intense that he doesn't even look at the drum set througout most of the show, but plays by instinct and repetition of the songs he clearly loves. The boys who play the guitar seem to not even notice the crowd as they swayed with each strum and put all them had into each song. Coldplay is obviously grateful for all their fans, and clearly wants to provide an unforgettable show to each of them. Fix You was a fan favorite, and to end with Viva la Vida was absolutely genius. That Guy had not heard most of their new songs, so he spent most of the time trying to appreciate the newer sound, and I think that hurt him in the long run. I have had a few months to get acquainted with Viva and wasn't spending the entire night determining whether I like the new songs or not. I will suggest that anyone seeing a Coldplay show to introduce themselves to Viva, because the live show is definitely worth money spent. http://thatsjustthisgirltalking.blogspot.com/2008/11/coldplay-brings-heat-to-phillips-arena.html