So, Greek investigative journalist Kostas Vaxevanis has been arrested under a ‘Violation of privacy’ law. The specifics of the crime with which he is charged are that he published in Hot Doc magazine a list of over 2000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts, with words like corruption and tax evasion being used a lot. According…
Political
A Class Act
by Dominic O'Byrne •
Malala Yousufzai has achieved more than just a blow for education and the emancipation of women in the third world. What she has set in motion will have far-reaching repercussions that we must hope will resonate for years to come. Not least among these is that it has demonstrated to most people in the developed…
Business
The Idiot-Bridge
by Dominic O'Byrne •
This is a new term to me… one I heard on BBC Radio 4 earlier in the week, and it’s indicative of our times. For the life of me, I can’t recall who spoke the term, as it was largely in the background, but the passive/intrusive nature of radio embedded the term in my brain…
Business
TaylorMade Adidas Buying Adams Golf is No Joke
by Dominic O'Byrne •
There is an old joke that goes, “Did you hear about the Dachshund that killed the Pit Bull Terrier…? it got stuck in the Pit Bull’s throat and choked it.” So cavernous is the maw of TaylorMade Adidas (TMAG) Adams Golf would barely have touched the sides as it went down, and Yes! Golf even…
Business
News on Golf Europe 2012 (…und weiter)
by Dominic O'Byrne •
The German PGA having been singularly unresponsive to requests for details of their re-invigorated strategic support for the Augsburg Golf Europe (see previous press releases on www.golfeurope.com), I sought out the opinions of one or two well-connected European golf journalists who were in Orlando for the PGA Merchandise Show last week. Golf brands at all…
Business, Golf
Golf Europe 2012 in Augsburg is an offer you can’t refuse, say new owners
by Dominic O'Byrne •
Although late in coming, some helpful further information from the new owners of Golf Europe throws some new light on the proposed 2012 trade fair and future events… In the light of dwindling attendance figures from 2002 until 2010, by the time of the show’s last appearance at MesseStadt (the monster venue at the end…
Business
Why read a 4-year marketing degree when what you need is here?
by Dominic O'Byrne •
Golf
McIlroy Quits ISM – the reverse perspective
by Dominic O'Byrne •
Chubby Chandler is respected for – among other reasons – having paid his dues. Retiring from the professional game in 1989 he gambled in true Frontier style with a 10 grand overdraft on setting himself up in sports player management. Hats off to him… balls of steel… all of that. Our paths cross once or…
Business
A European Golf Trade Event… Write-off or The Right Stuff?
by Dominic O'Byrne •
In May this year, Messe Munich announced the ‘postponement’ of Golf Europe 2011. While it’s true that we all have seen a decline in exhibitor and visitor numbers year on year since 2002, a good many businesses regretted the lack of an event this year; dwindling numbers aside, the event still represented the best opportunity…
Golf
Not Sure About Solheim Competitiveness
by Dominic O'Byrne •
Golf fans hoping for a glimpse of the genteel side of professional golf will likely be disappointed with a Solheim Cup spectacle, writes John Huggan in The Scotsman ( bit.ly/ocm6Yf 18 December 2011). The reported bad behaviour of previous US players Beth Daniel, Dottie Pepper and Christina Kim would never be tolerated by a lady captain’s…