| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
21 Jan 2007 08:21:33 AM |
| Object: |
OT: Are you sitting comfortably? Well, you shouldn't be |
Are you sitting comfortably? Well, you shouldn't be
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1995238,00.html
We could all learn something about ourselves from this spectacle
Mary Riddell
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Exit Jade Goody, spirited away to a safe house, lest the disciples of
British tolerance tear her limb from limb. She denied that she was
'racial' and said sorry for bullying her Celebrity Big Brother
housemate, Shilpa Shetty, but no one wanted repentance when it was more
fun to carry on goading the most loathed woman since Myra Hindley.
Greek myth had Harpies, Sirens and Keres. We got Jade, Danielle and Jo,
a mean-minded coven in velour tracksuits. The gang-leader is gone, and
hot winds of hatred may be replaced by an atmosphere so balmy that it
would barely ruffle Dirk's lacquered blow-dry. Now can we all calm
down?
Serves us right if the domestics turn dirty
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1995313,00.html
Cristina Odone
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
When Naomi Campbell gets cross, she throws things; one projectile (a
jewel-encrusted mobile phone) happened to hit her maid Ana Scolavino on
the back of the head and cut her deeply enough to require four
stitches.
Even for a member of the most put-upon section of society, this is a
bit much: long hours, poor pay, and the odd visit to the A&E should not
be part of anyone's job description. But for the (mostly) women who
work as domestic help, this is not far from the truth.
We must never forget Turkey's 'first solution'
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1995358,00.html
Jasper Gerard
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
My wife is only alive because her great-grandmother hid in a laundry
basket, peeking through slats as troops bayoneted the rest of her
family to death. She is crying upstairs as I write because history
stubbornly refuses to move on. A fellow Armenian, a newspaper editor,
has been shot dead in Istanbul. His mistake? Reminding Turkey it still
hasn't apologised for - or even admitted - the genocide of 1.2m
Armenians under the cover of the First World War.
It's not Big Brother's fault
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,,1995303,00.html
Leader
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
It is a sad fact of human behaviour that when people are thrown
together in groups, in order to bond they find a scapegoat - someone in
the group who differs from the rest. Then they bully them. It happens
all the time in offices, military barracks, schools - wherever there is
insecurity and pressure to conform.
There are many ways to pick a scapegoat, but race is a favourite among
bullies. That is what happened to Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty in the
Big Brother house. The ringleader of the gang that victimised her, Jade
Goody, behaved like an all-too-typical playground tyrant. The racial
component of her aggression was petty, no worse than is, regrettably,
experienced by millions of black and Asian Britons every day. That does
not excuse her, but nor does it make her a monster. Jade Goody is no
white supremacist.
'Crap' Big Brother is hindering deals in India, says CBI chief
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1994938,00.html
Richard Wachman
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Richard Lambert, director-general of employers' organisation the CBI,
has waded into the row over alleged racism on Channel 4's Celebrity Big
Brother by describing the programme as 'complete crap' and 'unhelpful'
to British firms trying to establish themselves in India.
'I don't think it helps at all,' said Lambert during a tour of the
subcontinent alongside Chancellor Gordon Brown. Both men became
embroiled in the row over comments made to Bollywood actress Shilpa
Shetty by other contestants in the Big Brother house.
Doha and trade with India - now that's a reality show
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1994953,00.html
Ruth Sunderland
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Jade Goody probably thinks Doha is a new boy band. But surreal though
it is, the behaviour of so-called celebrities on a reality TV show has
blighted Gordon Brown's attempts to improve Britain's trade links with
India.
The antics in the Celebrity Big Brother house coincided with Brown's
first-ever visit to India, accompanied by an entourage of 150 UK
businessmen and women. In the furore, no one paid attention to the
reason the Chancellor and Trade Secretary Alistair Darling were there
in the first place.
Jams tomorrow as TV hits the internet
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1994968,00.html
John Naughton
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Many years ago, Nicholas Negroponte, the suave visionary who founded
the MIT Media Lab, coined the phrase 'the Negroponte Switch' (he
doesn't do modesty). The phrase captures a simple but profound truth:
that one day everything we once received via wires (eg, telephony,
internet access) would come through the ether, and what had hitherto
come via airwaves (eg, television, radio) would come via wires.
The Negroponte Switch was a startling idea when he articulated it in
1995. It's looking slightly dog-eared now because digital technology
continues to blur the boundaries between media that were once separate.
But in relation to television, it's still spot on. And just as internet
telephony (VoIP) is going mainstream, the IPTV (television delivered
over the net) bandwagon is beginning to roll.
Why our love for M&S will make other stores green
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1994963,00.html
Simon Caulkin
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Marks & Spencers return from the corporate valley of the shadow of
death - even ultra-cautious chief executive Stuart Rose has said the
'r' word, conceding that the company has moved from the emergency to
the recovery ward - is cheering and instructive in several ways.
First, the story was, and is, a sharp reminder of how few companies
there are that people actually like. M&S, the BBC, perhaps Boots and
John Lewis - they can be counted on one hand.
News that's right up your street, but stops at the corner
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1994967,00.html
'Hyper-localism' is attracting big money, writes James Robinson. So
could the newspaper of the future cover the news of just a few blocks?
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Anyone who enjoys reading about cats stuck up trees, or the village
fete, is in for a treat; the humble local paper is about to become even
more parochial.
At a time when newspapers are under threat from rival media, some
executives believe 'micro-papers', delivered to just a handful of
streets and covering extremely local events, could hold the key to
growth.
Former Daily Express editor and Financial Times executive Richard
Addis, who now runs a consultancy, is one of them. He is drawing up
plans for a paper that will be distributed in the affluent London
suburbs. Although he is tight-lipped about the details, it is likely to
be delivered free to wealthy surburbanites, satisfying a demand that
the capital's existing freesheets - which are handed out in the city
centre - don't meet.
Why I had a change of heart about bully Jade
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1995386,00.html
She's young, a British Asian, and she's always been a fan of Big
Brother - her cousin is even a Bollywood star. So what did The
Observer's Anushka Asthana make of an extraordinary week when a
television reality game show suddenly became an international crisis?
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Jade Goody's shrieks reverberated around the room where I sat with
friends. With every insult her screams became louder: 'You're not some
princess ... you're a liar and a fake ... you're so stuck up.' By the
time she called Shilpa Shetty a 'fucking loser' our giggles had been
replaced with a stunned silence, soon broken by the phone ringing.
It was my Dad calling from Manchester. 'This is absolutely disgusting,'
he said. 'What is the telephone number for me to complain about this?'
A working-class bully? Yes. But not a racist
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1995387,00.html
Barbara Ellen
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Jade Goody's best-selling perfume is called Shh, and I bet she wishes
she'd heeded that advice. As things stand, she has destroyed her
career, or at least her public image, which, in this era of
micro-celebrity, amounts to the same thing.
While the gobby Bermondsey girl had legions of fans, the Jade we've
been watching on Big Brother is a different matter - a foul-mouthed
bully, spewing vitriol at the Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, to the
amusement of her cronies, model Danielle Lloyd and ex-pop star Jo
O'Meara, the three of them coming across like some bored, nail-biting
Essex girl version of the witches from Macbeth.
Is it too late to be Goody two-shoes?
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1995021,00.html
Kathryn Flett
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
What she watched
Celebrity Big Brother C4
Big Brother's Big Mouth C4
'I don't want to be hated. Before, I didn't have anything to lose, and
now I have so much ... I'll be going because people will think I'm a
racist ***** and I'm not. I'm so scared. I've never been so scared in
my life. The whole feeling of being rejected absolutely kills me.' Thus
Jade Goody spoke to Big Brother in the Diary Room.
The woman who would be President: Hillary declares 'I'm in'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2171681.ece
Hillary Clinton's announcement sets up the intriguing prospect of a
race between a female and a black candidate for the White House. By
David Usborne
Published: 21 January 2007
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the US Senator from New York and former First
Lady, yesterday answered months of fevered speculation about her White
House ambitions and formally embarked on what will be a historic
campaign to become the first woman president of the United States.
The Senator, who only won re-election to a second six-year term as a US
Senator last November, shot out of the starting gate with a feisty
video-taped statement on her website, making clear her determination to
sweep aside any competition in 2008. "I'm in, and I'm in to win," she
declared.
How the Moon rules your life
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article2171687.ece
At last, scientists claim to have found a link between our satellite
and human behaviour - like how it governs the size of your dinner By
Roger Dobson
Published: 21 January 2007
For eons, folklore has blamed the Moon for everything from lunacy to
bad luck. And, for the last few centuries, scientists have scoffed.
Now, according to new research they're not so sure. The Moon may not be
made of cheese, but it seems to influence a lot more down on Earth than
we previously thought.
According to new research, the Moon affects not only the tides of the
oceans but also people, producing a range of symptoms from flare-ups of
gout to bladder problems. It may even lie behind the causes of car
crashes and affect people's hormonal balances.
How the Moon rules your life
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article2171687.ece
At last, scientists claim to have found a link between our satellite
and human behaviour - like how it governs the size of your dinner By
Roger Dobson
Published: 21 January 2007
For eons, folklore has blamed the Moon for everything from lunacy to
bad luck. And, for the last few centuries, scientists have scoffed.
Now, according to new research they're not so sure. The Moon may not be
made of cheese, but it seems to influence a lot more down on Earth than
we previously thought.
According to new research, the Moon affects not only the tides of the
oceans but also people, producing a range of symptoms from flare-ups of
gout to bladder problems. It may even lie behind the causes of car
crashes and affect people's hormonal balances.
Assassination: The night Bobby Kennedy was shot
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2171577.ece
After the deaths of JFK and Martin Luther King, he was America's great
hope. Then Bobby was murdered too. As a new film tells his story, Liz
Hoggard explores how history was changed at the Ambassador Hotel
Published: 21 January 2007
For many, 5 June 1968 represented the end of hopes for a better
America. Two months previously, Martin Luther King had been murdered.
Now senator Robert F Kennedy, heir apparent to his brother's
presidency, was dead too.
The night of 4 June was one of triumph for Bobby and his supporters.
Five years after the assassination of President John F Kennedy, his
younger brother Bobby had assumed the political mantle. He had just won
the Californian primary for the presidency. He was on his way to the
White House.
Faith & Reason: Ruth Kelly, her hard-line church and a devout PM
wrestling with his conscience
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2171678.ece
Catholic-run adoption agencies should retain the right to ban gay
couples, say Tony Blair and Ruth Kelly. Most other cabinet members are
horrified at the thought - and the scene is set for a political holy
war. Francis Elliott reports
Published: 21 January 2007
She is a devout Catholic and member of the Opus Dei sect. His leanings
to Rome have been rewarded with audiences in front of successive Popes.
So, when Tony Blair and Ruth Kelly team up to deny gay couples equal
access to church-run adoption agencies, as we reveal today, it is
little wonder that their opponents believe it is the "Catholic
tendency" at work.
Happy now?
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2163700.ece
As a nation, we are more affluent than ever. Yet, strangely, we only
seem to be getting gloomier and more pessimistic. William Leith takes a
personal journey to the heart of our collective darkness
Published: 21 January 2007
It was the week before Christmas. I should have been happy. The people
around me should have been happy. We were safe, we had enough to eat
and drink, homes to go to. More than this - we were affluent, we were
on holiday. We were in the middle of a cycle of feasting and partying.
In two days' time, we would eat a meal that had taken several days to
prepare, and toast each other with fancy drinks.
I was walking through a shopping mall. Everybody around me was doing
the same thing - buying gifts for their friends, their family. I can't
remember when, exactly, but at a certain point, I had a thought I've
had about a million times lately.
Leading article: Oh Brother, where art thou?
http://comment.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/article2171586.ece
Published: 21 January 2007
We are all ashamed now. This newspaper is certainly ashamed that
Britain is a country in which the issues raised by an exploitative
television show should so dominate the national conversation. However,
as you will see from our coverage, it is a conversation in which The
Independent on Sunday enthusiastically takes part.
Despite the fact that Big Brother is a manipulated, ratings-chasing
programme; despite the fact that putting a well-mannered Indian actress
in a human zoo with ill-disciplined young Brits is a crass idea;
despite all that, the programme and the resulting furore do matter
because they are about something important.
Rupert Cornwell: She's in, but Democrats can't help worrying she won't
win
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2171594.ece
Her calculated style makes you wonder about her true convictions
Published: 21 January 2007
She's in, but can she win? That is the question after Hillary Clinton's
announcement yesterday that she is seeking the Democratic presidential
nomination in 2008. The timing was a tactical surprise, but the
substance of it had been expected for months. Technically, she is
merely forming an exploratory committee, but there is no more doubt she
is running than that Barack Obama, the Illinois Senator who is her
biggest rival, will make it official in a speech at Abraham Lincoln's
house in Springfield, Illinois on 10 February.
Name recognition, money and a proven ability to raise lots more of it
make her the clear front-runner on the Democratic side. In her six
years as junior Senator for New York, she has moved carefully to shed
her liberal image, taking centrist positions on many issues and
launching bipartisan initiatives with Republican colleagues. By common
consent, she has been an excellent Senator - even though she made the
mistake of voting for the Iraq invasion in October 2002. To the dismay
of the left, she has never recanted that vote, blaming the present mess
not on the strategy, but on the execution of the strategy.
Wersha Bharadwa: I feel for Shilpa, but she doesn't speak for British
Indians like me
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article2171579.ece
Shilpa's brand of feminity appeals to middle-class men in authority
Published: 21 January 2007
As a British Indian, watching Friday's eviction of Jade Goody from
Celebrity Big Brother was especially surreal. I felt compelled to watch
it even though last week's events had pushed me into a hellish
recollection of the humiliating and cruel racial jibes I've experienced
in my life. Stupid how seriously some people take a gameshow, isn't it?
One thing's for sure; the fatuous, slicked-up new faces of racism -
Lloyd as the wag, Goody as the chavvy celeb and O'Meara as the pop
singer - has at last allowed young British Indian women to sigh in
collective relief. Their exposure ventilates the prejudices we still
face long after our parents arrived here in the Seventies. There's just
one problem: we're still struggling to find a voice that'll speak out
for us - and it isn't Shilpa Shetty?
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: OT: Are you sitting comfortably? Well, you shouldn't be |
21 Jan 2007 12:22:21 PM |
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maff wrote:
Serves us right if the domestics turn dirty
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1995313,00.html
Cristina Odone
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
When Naomi Campbell gets cross, she throws things; one projectile (a
jewel-encrusted mobile phone) happened to hit her maid Ana Scolavino on
the back of the head and cut her deeply enough to require four
stitches.
Even for a member of the most put-upon section of society, this is a
bit much: long hours, poor pay, and the odd visit to the A&E should not
be part of anyone's job description. But for the (mostly) women who
work as domestic help, this is not far from the truth.
In Singapore, of the foreign maids who have been accused of a
crime (usually a false accusation) one has been executed after a
questionable trial. The US and UK aren't the only countries
that look down on foreign unskilled workers.
We must never forget Turkey's 'first solution'
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1995358,00.html
My wife is only alive because her great-grandmother hid in a laundry
basket, peeking through slats as troops bayoneted the rest of her
family to death. She is crying upstairs as I write because history
stubbornly refuses to move on. A fellow Armenian, a newspaper editor,
has been shot dead in Istanbul. His mistake? Reminding Turkey it still
hasn't apologised for - or even admitted - the genocide of 1.2m
Armenians under the cover of the First World War.
While it's good that the EU is forcing Turkey to change its laws
on some things (eg. women's rights), you have to wonder why they
don't pressure them to admit to the genocide. The Japanese have
admitted to some of their actions in World War II and they are
pressured more than Istanbul (not Constantinople) to admit to
more.
A working-class bully? Yes. But not a racist
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1995387,00.html
Barbara Ellen
Sunday January 21, 2007
The Observer
Jade Goody's best-selling perfume is called Shh, and I bet she wishes
she'd heeded that advice. As things stand, she has destroyed her
career, or at least her public image, which, in this era of
micro-celebrity, amounts to the same thing.
While the gobby Bermondsey girl had legions of fans, the Jade we've
been watching on Big Brother is a different matter - a foul-mouthed
bully, spewing vitriol at the Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, to the
amusement of her cronies, model Danielle Lloyd and ex-pop star Jo
O'Meara, the three of them coming across like some bored, nail-biting
Essex girl version of the witches from Macbeth.
Racism? Probably not. I'd call it xenophobia and jealousy. I
mean, have you *seen* these women? The three imbeciles are ugly
as heck, and Shilpa Shetty is a doll. It's like Cinderella and
her three goosestep sisters.
Bob Dog
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