Popular teen-themed channel 4 television show Skins is due to begin broadcasting its fourth series in January 2010. The show, which began broadcasting on digital station E4 in 2007, has built up a large number of devoted fans. Every two years the cast is replaced with a new set of core characters. About A Boy star Nicholas Hoult starred in the first series as Tony Stonem. The new series will be the last featuring the current cast, which includes Kaya Scodelario as Effy Stonem. There will be eight episodes in the new series. The show is also a hit in the states where an American version, set in Baltimore, is currently in development. A big screen version may also soon be made as it was announced, in May 2009, that Film4 and Skins production company, Company Pictures, are in preliminary talks about producing one. I’m looking forward to the new series and will be disappointed if it proves to be the last one they make. Thanks for reading.

HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 25. November 2009

Simon Plosker, Chefredakteur von HonestReporting, wurde von JNet Radio interviewt, wo er über Dispatches: Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby sprach. Hören Sie es sich bitte bei Humyo an oder klicken Sie auf die Abbildung unten.

Weitere Links zur Auseinandersetzung zwischen HonestReporting und Channel 4:

- Warum wir nicht mit Channel 4 sprachen

-  “Antisemitismus, demonstriert an meinem Beispiel“

- Under Attack: HR Accused by UK TV Documentary (sehr ausführlich; in Englisch)

- HonestReporting antwortet Channel 4

- Oborne nun mit Frontalangriff gegen „Israel Lobby“

- Verzerrter Blick auf Großbritanniens “Israel Lobby“

By Cara Sulieman

A SCOTTISH teacher has said that school kids should be encouraged to use Wikipedia for school research, despite doubts over the accuracy of the information on the site.

Ollie Bray, deputy head teacher at Musselburgh Grammar, said that pupils should use it to learn how to evaluate the credibility of information.

But the online encyclopaedia has a reputation for being unreliable as anyone can edit the information it carries, and parent groups say it makes their kids “lazy”.

There have been a number of high profile mistakes on the site – just last week Thierry Henry’s entry had to be locked as angry users vandalised his profile after his handball during the France Ireland football game.

Discussion

But Ollie insists Wikipedia is a valuable teaching tool – and reckons it is better to teach pupils how to use it properly rather than ban it.

He said: “We, as teachers, should be looking at these disclaimers and working with young people to discuss why articles are disputed or contradict themselves.

“If we start with the belief that everything is subject to opinion, then we can work on how to validate it.”

He suggests teachers and pupils study the “discussion”, “source” and “history” tabs on the website.

The discussion tab will show the youngsters how much debate goes into reaching a compromise when changing disputed facts.

Better access

And he thinks that these skills should be taught alongside internet safety and responsible use, as biased information could also be seen as “inappropriate content”.

He said: “There is extreme content on the internet, but kids only find it because they go looking for it.”

And the teacher – who is currently working for Learning and Teaching Scotland as a national adviser for emerging technologies – also wants kids to have better access to sites such as YouTube, which is banned in some schools and allowed in others.

He said: “Why is it fair that children in East Lothian can get access to hundreds of hours on Channel 4, National Geographic or the Scottish Parliament, when other schools and teachers have not got access to these resources?

“It means that children don’t get to benefit from it, or the teacher or head has to spend time procuring resources which are available for free.”

IT savvy

But the internet site has been blamed for making Scottish schoolchildren lazy, with parents worried that their kids are relying on someone else to do all the hard work for them.

Eleanor Coner from the Scottish Parent Teacher Council said: “Children are very IT-savvy, but they are rubbish at researching.

“The sad fact is most children these days use libraries for computers, not the books. We accept that as a sign of the times, but schools must teach pupils not to believe everything they read.

“It’s dangerous when the internet is littered with opinion and inaccurate information which could be taken as fact.”

Although Wikipedia is edited by its users, the site monitors the changes and responds to inaccuracies when it can.

A disclaimer on the site says: “While Wikipedia articles generally attain a good standard after editing, it is important to note that fledgling, or less well monitored, articles may be susceptible to vandalism and insertion of false information.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

There is nothing so current, surely, as wearing 3D glasses on your head as an accessory. Channel 4 are, of course, running there 3D season currently, and the next year promises as 3D revolution with the release of Avatar, a mainstream 3D film.

Except, looking at him, well, it would be kind to think he had any of that in mind. For this is fashion, darlings. And while those at its centre, those that work at and learn from it, are no doubt attuned to this sort of cultural relevance, those on the outside, fashion’s shrapnel, are not. The 3D glasses zeitgeist are probably coincidence.

For the orbiting moons of planet fashion, it is not about clothes or accessories or designers or trends. It is about a single all encompassing entity – themselves. They want you to look at them. They want you to believe that they are part of it, that they belong, that chic coolness is them, emanates from them.

Regular readers may remember a blog post I once wrote about fashion. My friend Rachel and her friend Jodie broke down my argument and academicised it with incisions and observations so sharp it changed my whole view of the industry. Suddenly there was so much depth, so much beyond Shoreditch. It wasn’t “look at me” it was look at how much influence this has. It is poetry and fiction, art and sculpture, business and money.

And that makes it so infuriating that those on the outskirts, those in the suburbs of fashion, demand such a central place in the overall picture. For they are such an unrepresentative faction. Unwilling to work to understand fashion, they instead try to be fashion – both through the ridiculous things they wear to grab attention and the vacuous, shallow things they choose to say. Every cell in their body is trying to prove that they are fashion, completely missing the fact that to be something you must understand it.

They wear the clothes, but what do they actually know about why that material was used, who brought it into prominence for clothing, what it’s provenance is, how it crossed into casual wear, how it got to the high street, what the cultural significance of it is?

I say ask them. What’s the 3D glasses about mate?

Tenner says the answer is “Caus I thought it looked really cool.”

Twat.

British Parliament - image courtesy of Flickr.com

Britain is taking the newest crack at Internet regulation, making a swipe at video games and human rights in the process. Cheers!

And Here……We…Go, Again

It’s no secret that the US has struggled to regulate both Internet content and usage. Without giving too much of a law history lesson, all previous attempts have failed. You can check out examples such as the CDA or COPA, but just take my word for it. So how is the rest of the world faring?

The UK just outlined its plans to deal with illegal file-sharers (those damn pirates!) as part of its Digital Economy Bill. According to the government the bill will:

“ensure ensure communications infrastructure that is fit for the digital age, supports future economic growth, delivers competitive communications and enhances public service broadcasting.”

Sounds awesome, right? As a future communication professional, it’s like a dream mission statement – so it probably won’t surprise you that the bill is a fail.

Digital Economy Bill – An Outline

For starters, you can read the entirety of the bill on Parliament’s website – here. Unless you’re accustomed to reading legal documents, I’d stay away.

According to the BBC the main points of the bill are:

• Legal framework for tackling copyright infringement by education and technical measurement
• New duties and powers granted to Ofcom (Office of Communication)
• Increased investment in mobile broadband and switch to digital radio by 2015
• Updating Channel 4 functions on TV and online
• Age ratings for all video games aimed at children 12+

Basically, the UK wants to protect creative content by punishing pirates and provide measures to introduce a thriving digital entertainment industry. I’d get more into it but for purposes of the blog, I’m only concerned with the bill’s problems.

Protecting Your Rights By Taking Them Away

For starters, the bill allows an entire household to be cut off from the internet if a single member is accused of copyright infringement. I say “accused”, because apparently there is no need for proof, evidence and/or trials. Although I doubt that is entirely the case, punishing everyone for the actions of a single person is unacceptable.

Additionally, the bill is intended to stimulate the digital economy yet doesn’t outline improvements to broadband infrastructure. Simply stated – many areas in the UK are without internet access, and this bill has no plan to fix it.

It also appears officials will be monitoring what users do on the internet. Shielded by the law, officials will be allowed to spy on a network and impose penalties wherever inappropriate actions are perceived.

Wrong Direction, Please Turn Around

I don’t have a problem with the video game rating system, because it’s already been established. I’m not going to debate why government deems one form of creative content appropriate over another – maybe another day.

The problem here is the wrongful application of law. You cannot promote a healthy online environment by stripping law-abiding citizens of basic rights. Piracy is an issue facing many industries, and governments are still failing to solve it.

As the video game industry moves deeper into the online and digital spaces, laws like this will continue to affect both professionals and their audiences. With globalization happening at an unprecedented rate, laws in one country will affect us all. As a PR professional, stay updated on legislature that stands to change your communication landscape. You can track the progress of this bill – here.

Source

Article that talks about the bill and its effects – here.

Peep Show – Channel 4 – Six Seasons – UK

Peep Show is the single most awkward comedy on television. I challenge you, the reader, to find me another show that delivers as many cringe inducing moments whilst still managing to deliver episodes jam packed with laugh out loud moments. I don’t doubt there are shows out there manufactured to make you feel uncomfortable, I just doubt that they have as many laughs as Peep Show.

Peep Show is a British sitcom that follows the somewhat pathetic lives of Mark and Jeremy, played by David Mitchell and Robert Webb of the also quite funny That Mitchell And Webb Look. Jez is a jobless layabout whilst Mark is a stuck up middle management snob. They’re the original odd couple! For six seasons we’ve followed their socially awkward and sexually frustrated lives through the first person. With every camera angle we’re either seeing the world through the eyes of Jeremy or Mark or any number of oddball’s they come across in their day to day lives. We see what they see, we hear what they think, and we make out with people when they make out with people…

Every season has been filled with wall to wall laughs, most of which are at the expense of Mark, Jeremy and their egos. If you watched the very first episode of Peep Show and couldn’t handle the scene where Mark leaves his hand on the bus seat when Sophie sits on it and then makes the executive decision not to move it because “it’s too late now” then I doubt you’d be able to survive later seasons where Mark wakes up to find himself being raped by the woman he fell asleep with.

Peep Show is a comedy about pain and misery. On The Office the painful antics of Ricky Gervais were always countered by the romantic aspirations of Tim & Dawn, but with Peep Show there’s no gooey centre. Peep Show is a raw look at the way life really is as we follow this pair of selfish assholes as they come to terms with the failure that is their existence. If that description doesn’t make you want to run out and grab your mum a copy for Christmas than I don’t know what will!

On any other show such selfish characters and painful situations would be enough to turn a viewer off for life but Peep Show is just so incredibly funny. It delivers a spot on dissection of how mundane our lives really are by spinning everyday dilemmas out to their most ridiculous, yet somehow logical, conclusions. The sixth season finds Mark and Jez both out of work, and Mark only really caring that he’s lost his job because now he won’t be able to afford the repayments on his new couch. Jez is just disappointed because if he’d kept his sales up he’d have been in line for the free Pizza Hut vouchers.

It isn’t all heavy doses of failure; Super Hanz is on standby as always to offer Jeremy a solution to his problems. He wants Jez to get a van so Jez can be a ‘man with a van’ and so the two of them can be ‘men with ven’. Things are even looking up for Mark, who may be in line for his dream job as History walk guide, where he’ll get his afternoons off for “Museums, lunch and a snooze. The big three.”

Whilst being out of work Jeremy has fallen in love with a girl who deals pot from their apartment building. He ends up buying weed three times a day just so he can see her. Of course that means he has to then sell the drugs himself just to get rid of all that excess dope. He defends this to Mark by saying “Just cause I’m dealing a little drugs doesn’t mean I’m a drug dealer.”

The sixth season hasn’t had any of the breakout moments that some of the previous seasons have had. There’s no ‘dog being eaten’ moment in this season, if you will. There are still dozens of funny lines that I just feel like repeating here, completely out of context:
“Is she from Russia or one of those other made up countries?”

“That’s not a bongo; it’s a small table in the shape of a bongo.”

And my favourite from season six:

“I’ve sold out; a little bit of me has died but you know what a lot of me doesn’t give a shit.”

Peep Show is a fantastic British comedy that is for anybody who thought The Office would have been better if it was told from the first person perspective of David Brent and if he was completely self aware, hated himself, his life and everybody around him. If on the other hand you found David Brent to be an insufferable fool, don’t even bother with Peep Show; these guys will make you cringe so much you’ll break your face.

Matt Robinson reflects on Channel 4’s 3D week, a hilarious comedy show and a slightly strange E4 drama.

We entered the third dimension last week as Channel 4 bought us a bevy of treats from the Queen to Siegfried and Roy in stunning 3D.

It was a rather strange experience donning a pair of black and white chequered coloured card 3D glasses to watch television though. However, after getting over the initial stage of adjustment it was a rather rewarding experience. The glasses bought us closer into the world of our television sets, bringing depth to our programmes providing us with a unique reason to switch on the tube. However, whilst Channel 4’s week of special programmes heralded a new era for British television, it was not without its limitations.

Click here to read more at www.inthenews.co.uk

To read my previous reviews of the week’s TV visit my online portfolio here

An insurance company has launched a competition to find a new name for pensions after research showed one in five people found the term off-putting.

Axa said just 4% of people liked the word pension, while 18% associated it with grey and one in 10 said they thought the term was too old fashioned.

Young people were most likely to be put off by the word pension, with 72% saying they associated it with old age.

Elaine Higgleton, editorial director at Collins English Dictionaries, said: “The word pension is part of the fabric of British life, but clearly some younger people are finding it off-putting.

“I’m not sure why – perhaps they associate it with a period of life that is just too far off for them to think about. Perhaps it’s the association with pensioner, meaning an elderly person.

“Whatever the reason, the word pension does not seem to be encouraging people to save for the future, and a new name might give pensions a new image.”

Axa has teamed up with Collins English Dictionaries to find a new word or phrase for pensions.

People can submit suggestions at www.axa.co.uk/mybudgetday between Monday November 23 and Thursday November 26, after which a shortlist of five potential names will be selected.

The public can vote on the shortlist and the winning name will be announced on Sunday December 6.

The creator of the new name for pensions will win £4,953, the equivalent of a year’s state pension for a single person.

Whatever your view on the matter serious considerations need to be made how to fund your retirement.

Credencis will put in place a programme for you to follow to achieve financial security at your chosen age.

Credencis

“Live for today, Invest for tomorrow”

There are certain things that I can remember seeing  on television that blew my tiny mind. These include the return of The Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VIII, seeing Michael Knight fly over a lorry in K.I.T.T., The Demon Headmaster. And in more recent years, Tony Soprano being shot and left for dead by his own uncle, Family Guy, the what if it actually happened scenario of nuclear explosions in Threads. Each of these moments made me realise that television can alter your outlook on things, and make you feel something powerful inside. Feelings of wonderement, joy, sadness, confusion, anger, hate and more.

The Execution Of Gary Glitter (Channel 4) made me feel a lot of those same emotions. I am aware that it was shown last monday, but I was gigging and forgot to Sky Plus. Silly boy. However, in a glorious decision by Channel 4 and YouTube, they have agreed to show full episodes and series of their most poplular output. You can watch the documentary here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIdQfFmNYP4

Seeing as the show is not recent, and most of you have probably seen it, I won’t do an indepth review. All you need to know is it is set in an alternative Britain where the death penalty has been reintroduced. And the first victim of the Capital Crimes Against Children legislation is one Paul Francis Gadd. Writer, director and producer, Rob Coldstream has crafted a nice documentary. It deals with both the public’s and Glitter’s reaction to the reintroduction of the law.

Glitter is played very convincingly by Hilton McRae. Almost eerily so. And he plays him as a creepy, self-deluded, unaware of able to see any wrong in what he has done character. A paedophile. The last ten minutes is possibly the best, dealing with Glitter pacing up and down the cell awaiting that long final walk.

I won’t say I enjoyed it. It’s hard to enjoy a show that deals with the mock execution of a man. However, it did, like those memories mentioned above, cunjure up strong feelings. Feelings of anger and hate. And for that, this television show did well.

Una delle indubbie trasformazioni indotte dal ruolo di enabler della tecnologia è la spinta verso la convergenza multimediale che si traduce, per il momento, nella proliferazione di mezzi su cui, potenzialmente, può viaggiare uno stesso contenuto.
In altre parole, i media sono ormai multipiattaforma ed è possibile fruire dei contenuti indipendentemente dall’origine dei contenuti stessi.
Ciò implica, spesso, uno stravolgimento delle industrie culturali dei singoli media e un’inarrestabile frammentazione di mercati statici e dominati da logiche pre-culturali.

Esemplificativo di quanto detto è ciò che avviene nel mercato televisivo.
Una pletora di attori, tutt’altro che pure player, si riversano nel mercato, allargato, dell’intrattenimento televisivo e sabotano i modelli di business esistenti e le dinamiche di relazioni consolidate da millenni.
Inutile sottolineare come la crescita dirompente di Internet e lo “switch off” della televisione analogica, siano concause di questo stravolgimento.
E gli osservatori faticano a credere ai loro occhi. Un mercato dominato dalla staticità offre, ogni giorno, spunti di riflessioni e novità assolute.

Ne faccio una rapida carrellata.

L’11 Novembre è partita Deejay Tv, emittente del gruppo L’Espresso che sostituisce l’ormai defunta All Music tentando di dare nuova verve al media meno riuscito del Gruppo. La tv si propone come “social tv”, aperta e contraddistinta dal contributo dei consumatori, e porterà nelle case degli Italiani molti dei programmi di sucesso di Radio Deejay (puntando, in prima battuta, sulla community di Fan della Radio lanciata da Linus) ed eventi in esclusiva.

Visto che si parla di tv musicali e tematiche è allora opportuno segnalare la nascita di MTVmusica.com, online dal 16 Novembre. Il tentativo, in questo caso, è di rendere disponibile “for free” l’intero patrimonio di video esclusivi, contenuti extra e quindi musica, tanta musica, del network MTV. La possibilità di registrarsi, creare la propria playlist e condividerla con i “vicini” ne fanno, da subito, una community aperta ad evoluzioni user generated oriented.

Passando ai giganti, invece, bisogna menzionare la definizione della nuova strategia Mediaset, “depositata” da Rti pochi giorni or sono. Il principale broadcaster Italiano intende avviare un progetto di convergenza multimediale che porterà, entro la fine del 2010, ad una perfetta integrazione tra Tv e Internet. Il primo passo sarà creare una Catch up Tv: i più “golosi” potranno attingere dall’intero repertorio dei programmi Mediaset (in chiaro o a pagamento) direttamente online. E non finisce qui. Mediaset proporrà anche una library di contenuti accessibili on demand e quindi fruibili in qualsiasi momento. Il terzo step, più avanti nel tempo, prevede la possibilità di creare playlist personalizzate e fruibili come un canale lineare su qualsiasi devide (pc, telefonino).

L’altro colosso Italiano, Sky, annuncia il lancio di un canale Dtt: Cielo. La mossa strategica è un tentativo evidente di arginare lo strapotere Mediaset sul digitale. Il canale sarà completamente free e riproporrà molte delle serie di successo di Sky nonché iservizi della redazione di Sky Tg24, una tra le migliori testate giornalistiche del nostro paese.

Infine, 2 novità sul fronte Youtube, una estera e una nostrana.
Channel 4 ha siglato un accordo con Youtube per veicolare i contenuti on demand (anche se non in esclusiva) nel Regno Unito.
In Italia, invece, la prima puntata del “Mostro di Firenze”, nuova produzione Fox Channels in onda su Fox Crime, è stata trasmessa in esclusiva su Youtube appena dopo la Prima sul Satellite. L’accordo, più ampio, tra Fox Channels e Youtube, prevede l’integrazione sulla piattaforma web di una serie di contenuti inediti (da Boris a Sos Tata).
Che dire, l’alba di una nuova era?

The Queen in 3D: Channel 4 (Recorded 16th Nov Watched 16th Nov)

I wouldn’t usually watch anything about the ‘royals’ if you paid me but this was an opportunity to use my Chuck 3D glasses again.

I started off being quite enthusiastic about the programme; it’s always interesting to see colour footage of life in the 1950s and earlier so it’s quite remarkable to see it in 3D.  Some of the scenes were incredibly effective and the ‘royal’ stuff wasn’t as interesting as the footage of ordinary people.

The problem was that the novelty wore off after about 10 minutes and then you’re just sat there watching boring clips.  It certainly made me question the current trend for 3D films in the cinema.

Top Gear: BBC HD (R 15th Nov W 17th Nov)

It’s the return of Top Gear (now in HD), the programme that evokes more conflicting emotions than any other programme that I watch.  On the negative side, the presenters are annoying, it’s too pleased with itself, there’s too much fakery and most of Clarkson’s views are reprehensible.  On the other hand it has a sense of adventure and wonder that you really don’t find anywhere else and it’s more beautifully shot than any Hollywood film.  Annoying but watchable.

Curb Your Enthusiasm: iTunes (Downloaded 17th Nov W 17th Nov)

I was distraught, last week, when I missed episode 5 of Curb but I decided to take Jed Unpopcult’s advice and download it from iTunes (as much as it hurt for me to pay for it).  And boy, was I ever glad that I did.  After last week’s somewhat disappointing episode Larry & co were right back on top form.  There really were too many funny bits to mention – but if I told you that the plot revolved around Larry dating a woman in a wheelchair, you might start to get the idea.  Highlights included: asking about a Chinese child’s proficiency with chopsticks, Larry attempting to kiss Denise in her wheelchair, Leon asking if Larry “brought it”, hiding the blackberry under the towel and Rosie O’Donnell being as pig-headed as Larry.

There haven’t been many programmes ever that have made me laugh so much.  If you’re not watching it then I want a written note from your mother as to why not.

Misfits: E4 (R 12th Nov W 19th Nov)

Misfits has, inevitably, been described as ‘Skins meets Heroes’ and this made me question whether I was actually going to bother watching it.  As much as the description put me off, there was no was that I was going to miss a British superhero programme.

Five, typically annoying, teens are struck by lightning while on community service and find that they have gained superpowers.  I have quite a low threshold for watching anything featuring ‘realistic’ teens, so the first ten minutes or so were a bit of a chore.  Things picked up, though, as the story gained momentum and it was really successfully done.  It’s rare that we get these high-concept sci-fi shows in the UK but when we do they often have a unique flavour.

Having the powers relate to the characters’ personalities wasn’t the subtlest touch (the shy one turns invisible etc) but by the end of the episode we did start to see them as real human beings.  I’ll definitely be tuning in for the second episode.

Stargate Universe: Sky One (R 17th Nov W 21st Nov)

I’ve been pretty underwhelmed by this series from the start but I stuck with it because it seemed like something might happen.  Well, it only took about 5 minutes of this episode before I decided that nothing was ever going to happen.  It felt like a relief to finally give up on it.

Kamikaze Girls: Film4 (R 13th Nov W 21st Nov)

I’ve got a habit of recording any foreign-language film that I spot because I’m a bit of a snob and they don’t tend to repeat them; you’ve got to watch them when you can.  The problem is that I’ve really got to be in the mood to watch a movie and when they’re sub-titled you really have to concentrate, so I’ve ended up with lots of unwatched films.  I’ve found myself deleting a few recently but I made an effort to watch this.

Kamikaze Girls could be described as a Japanese Amelie; it’s a quirky film that features an attractive female stuck in her own magical realism world.  This being a Japanese film, though, means that it has its own strangeness that makes it nothing like Amelie.  The plot, such as it is, revolves around two teenage girls who form an unlikely friendship – Momoko, who like to wear frilly ‘lolita’ dresses and Ichigo, a slightly psychotic biker chick.  In some ways nothing much else happens, but that would be really selling it short, and it kept my interest to the end.  There is a great scene towards the end when Momoko finally flips when trying to defend Ichigo against a biker gang that’s actually very funny.

I’d like to add that the reason that I liked the film had nothing to do with the main character being gorgeous and prancing round in ‘lolita’ outfits.  Honest.

Like Betty Blue remade in Louisiana, we opened with a near-silent, realistic looking lurve-making scene. It’s true I don’t remember Betty Blue’s boyfriend taking a large and  bloody munch out of her neck. Still, it’s a long time since I saw it and who knows with these Frenchies? Yes, Sookie finally succumbed to Bill. Knowing the actors are engaged gave this an extra dimension (mainly, wondering if they were doing it for real).

Sookie said later to Lafayette that ‘it hurt at first. But when I relaxed, it didn’t hurt at all.’ We were supposed to be unsure whether she meant the shagging or the biting, or both. Or quite possibly, something else all together, such as Tara’s mother undergoing an exorcism. Of which, more shortly.

Sookie and Bill shared an après-sex bath, as in all good telly. He swiftly dispelled some vampire myths, such as garlic being merely irritating, and mirrors working just fine. This made perfect sense; how else could Bill look so dapper if not using a mirror to properly employ his gel and straighteners? We got a bit of Sookie’s back-story, which contained the not very original trope of having been abused by some creepy old uncle. Later, Bill strolled over to the creepy old uncle and bit his head off. In the most literal sense.

Jason behaved like a crack addict in his quest for more V: selling the family silver, and hassling Lafayette, who was none too thrilled to be caught dancing in his gold knickers (and which of us would feel otherwise?) Finally Jason went to Fangtasia and got properly bounced by the scary door-woman. I love the Fangtasia scenes as there’s always a masterfully limp attempt to show us how wild and edgy it is. This week some dumb broad got her camera smashed and we were clearly meant to be as frightened as she, but as ever, I couldn’t help thinking of Raquel’s in Basildon and how we’d have considered it a quiet night to have got out with nothing more than a broken Olympus Trip.

Anyway, Jase got picked up by a dark beauty who I was sure was a vamp, but, so far, has just turned out to be a very boring hippie. Poor old Jase was dementedly trying to get his hands on her stash of vampire blood, but she wanted to gas about Gaia and Nature’s bounty. He tried to keep up by mumbling about brontosauruses, and really, you had to feel for him. Finally they snorted V together – what a versatile drug – and went off on a dreamy hallucinogenic sex trip, in which their bodies sparked with light. Honestly, I’m sure they’d get the same effects with some Irn Bru and a couple of paracetomol.

All very sweet, but if it was high-camp gothic malarkey you were looking for, you’d come to the right place. Tara finally caved in to her dreadful mother  and stumped up the exorcism fee. A shaven-headed woman took them into her backwoods trailer in the bayou for such over-the-top nonsense that I have no idea how the actresses kept straight faces. Actually Tara was smirking but then, she always looks like that. A great incantation went up, Tara’s Mum undulated like the Mississippi, and an innocent possum was drowned. That’s all you need to know.

Meanwhile, the baddy vampires showed up at Merlottes. Sam, who had earlier been spotted running around in the nuddy, was rather impressive. He snatched up a pool cue, and broke it in half, thus creating a handy stake, though he didn’t need it as Bill lured the baddies away. Then some rednecks went and burned out their house while they were sleeping. Apparently being burned can destroy vampires – who knew? – but I’m appalled to think we will see no more of that sexy Tina Turner-type one. Sookie was likewise appalled to think that Bill had gone up in smoke, and we were left with that as this week’s cliff-hanger; but as there is no story without Bill I am confident, and willing to bet two paracetomol, that he soon turns up safe and sound, and no more dead than he was already.

Posted by Qwerty

HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 21. November 2009

Weiterhin kamen E-Mails und Kommentare zur Reaktion von HonestReporting (hier kurz HR [bd]) auf Dispatches:  Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby.

Einige Leser fragten nach, warum wir beschlossen hatten, Channel 4s (hier kurz C4 [bd] Anfrage wegen eines Interviews mit HR-Chefredakteur Simon Plosker nicht zu entsprechen. Berechtigte Frage – wir dachten auch darüber nach.

Der aggressive Ton der auslösenden E-Mail, die Simon Plosker von C4 erhalten hatte, war ein sehr wichtiger Faktor. Er bestimmte auch den Form der Dokumentation, die die Existenz einer “Israel-Lobby” in Großbritannien als gegeben vorausgesetzt hatte. Die E-Mail, gedacht als Anfrage an Plosker, stank nach einem bewusst inszenierten Verriss.

Eine Chance, C4 auszubremsen, indem man sich auf sie einließ, beinhaltete das Risiko, dass Oborne sich die Rosinen aus dem Interview picken würde – ebenso die Erkenntnis, dass HonestReporting Obornes „Nachforschungen“ legitimierte, wenn man dort zitiert werden würde.

Plosker schrieb an C4 zurück, verbunden mit dem Angebot, auf spezifische  Fragen bezüglich HonestReporting mittels E-Mail zu antworten. Diese Mitteilung betraf Hintergrundinformationen über HR und seine Person. Aber Channel 4 ließ allen Anschein von Anstand fahren, als Peter Oborne in MediaCentral-Büro mit einem Drehteam aufkreuzte, um nach Plosker zu suchen.

(MediaCentral ist eine in Jerusalem ansässige Initiative von HonestReporting, die ausländische Journalisten betreut und unterstützt. Die Verbindung zu HonestReporting wird für jedermann sichtbar auf der Webseite angezeigt).

Hier der 7-minütige Ausschnitt des Channel 4-Videos, der sich mit HonestReporting befasst. Ich denke, er zeigt anschaulich, warum wir uns gegen die Legitimierung dieser Dokumentation entschieden hatten.

Bitte hier oder auf die Abbildung klicken.

Und hier die bisherigen Links von HonestReporting zu Channel 4:

“Antisemitismus, demonstriert an meinem Beispiel“

Under Attack: HR Accused by UK TV Documentary (sehr ausführlich; in Englisch)

HonestReporting antwortet Channel 4

Oborne nun mit Frontalangriff gegen „Israel Lobby“

Verzerrter Blick auf Großbritanniens “Israel Lobby“

Channel 4 has put various old shows on YouTube, though sadly not any classic Treasure Hunt or Crystal Maze, or even 15 To 1. And definitely not Qd. However, if you like ropey reality shows then boy are you in luck! Here’s the current list, largely Endemol shows:

Balls Of Steel
Coach Trip
Distraction
8 Out Of 10 Cats
Fool Around…
The People’s Book Of Records
Scrapheap Challenge
The Search
Shattered
Streetmate
Vanity Lair
When Women Rule The World
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Your Face Or Mine?

Find them at this link: 4oD on YouTube

Watching the latest edition of Dispatches on Channel 4 this week made me shriek. It is no longer what is right that really matters but who you are and how much money you are willing to sink into an establishment from which, you expect favours.

British support for Israel will forever be available as long as UK political parties exist and the struggle for power goes on. Yes, and this only spells disaster for the less connected species like of the world like Palestinians.

Lets face it, am no professor on Middle East politics nor am I a fellow on Israel foreign policy but at least I know something that you lots don’t know. I know for a fact that, today, thanks to such groups as Conservative and Labour Friends Of Israel (CFI), Jewish Leadership Council, The Zionist Federation and Board of Deputies of British Jews, British foreign policy is being dictated by Israel.

It is about power and money and where there is money, decisions are bound to go the “right way”. Growing up in Africa, (Rwanda) I was meant to believe that corruption, as well as nepotism were scandalous agents in a political test tube. Today, I know this was completely classroom stuff.

What the last episode of Dispatches set out to show the world was that whether those in power know the truth, it can always be subdued when political interest override morality. That’s why, even the sensible the reasonable and understanding will stutter when the person with power flexes and pulls the right string.

So today, we know that over 8 years, the Conservative Party, which is likely to be the party in power come next year, has received £10 million from CFI. Conservative party leaders have been forced—or should we use coerced—into changing statements or risk losing financial support and the results are showing. We also know for fact that media organisations, which had hitherto to prized themselves on objective reporting, are suddenly changing and bowing to intimidation, pressure and financial threats. The future looks bleak and unless something is done now, those with no lobbyists to push them through and no connections stand to lose everything they have stood for and worked on for life.

But how and why should Israel, a state big enough to sustain itself rely so heavily on lobbying? Unless you were in the wrong, why would you flex so much muscle to win over hearts of so many when you are very well aware that your actions are legitimate and clean?

“If I become Prime Minister, Israel has a friend that will never turn his back on Israel”, a beaming David Cameron noted at a dinner a couple of months ago.

He seemed keen to please each one of those listening in and his words, are understood to have been carefully chosen, especially now that we know he never said anything about Gaza and the Israel military attacks there even when the smoke was still bellowing out of smouldered buildings.

You have to wonder why Israel always gets things her own way. Why some countries bomb other countries, destroy their infrastructure, kill innocent civilians during the course of attacks and yet don’t seem to get the kind of condemnation that the others get. In the corporate world they call it PR, in politics, they call it political lobbying. Political lobbying because it cant simply be referred to as just lobbying for then, even the cry of the little Palestinian children should have been heard at least by Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC who cowardly refused to sanction the broadcast of a DEC ad calling for help for Gaza.

When you have a campaign to run and so many people conditioning their support to your campaign on your assurance to protect that, which they regard as sanctimonious, then you have limited choices as a politician and less if you are a deft one. What our MPs are doing is sell out the freedoms of those they claim to stand for. Those oppressed members of society like you and me, him and her or those living in abject poverty and distress orchestrated by a vicious desire to occupy and settle on illegal land.

3 years ago, Israel forces invaded Lebanon for attacks on Northern Israel. More than 1000 Lebanese lost their lives and 2 Israel soldiers killed while another 2 were hijacked. Early this year, alleging continued rocket attacks from positions in Gaza, Israel waged a full-scale attack leading to the death of over 1000 Palestinians and too much economic damage in infrastructure.

You would have expected at least most people watching the broadcasts from Gaza to agree first time that the force used was disproportionate. No way. Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague tried referring to the force used by Israel forces as disproportionate and it cost him financially and socially. Besides losing out on support from CFI, he got a stunning reminder from Tory peer Lord Kalms who wrote:

“Think again. William, for whom do you speak…your comments are not merely unhelpful; they are downright dangerous”.

And then, David Cameron backed off. He, according to Dispatches is said to have okayed Hague to change a statement to the UN as they prepared to vote on a reolution criticizing both Hamas and Israel for human rights abuses in Gaza to this, “unless the draft resolution is redrafted to reflect the role that Hamas played in starting the conflict, we would recommend that the British government vote to reject the resolution”. October 16^th 2009 signed by Hague.

So, is Israel censoring British politicians, or has the world become too materialistic that votes and financial support for elections and campaigns are now more important than lives? And if the same thing that is happening here was to happen anywhere in the world, should we expect to see the British government let the events of the day decide the case or move in to condemn political lobbying?

To be continued….

This E4 Advert by Ben Cavers is really good for a first attempt!  James taught him the animation on AfterEffects.

BOOM. Thoughts?

Cx

Buy Generation Kill here

HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 19. November 2009

Jonathan Boyd sagt, dass die Berichterstattung der Mainstream-Medien über Israel einen direkten Einfluss auf die verschiedenen Antisemitismus-Varianten hat. Das widerspricht der Aussage, die Guardian-Chefredaktuer Alan Rusbridger in Channel 4’s Doku-Programm Dispatcher tätigte.

Boyd schreibt:

Am wichtigsten ist wohl das Fehlen jeglichen Hinweises darauf, warum einige führende jüdische Persönlichkeiten sich verpflichtet fühlen könnten, Israel zu unterstützen. Lässt man einmal die Politik in der Regien beiseite – die Tatsache, dass Israel seit Urahnen angestammte Heimat des jüdischen Volkes ist, oder dass Israel der einzige Nationalstaat in der Welt ist, in dem das Judentum die gesellschaftliche Hauptströmung bildet, jüdische Kultur die Norm und die hebräische Sprache weithin gesprochen und im Kultus verwendet – all das wurde ignoriert.

Aber es ist offensichtlich wesentlich einfacher, alte antisemitische Mythen aufzutischen. Schließlich verdient die Öffentlichkeit zu wissen, was diese fiesen, reichen Juden im Schilde führen. Und was kann falsch daran sein, wenn die Wahrheit aufgedeckt wird? Es sei kaum eine Verbindung zwischen der Darstellung Israels und der Juden in den Medien und Antisemitismus in den Straßen Großbritanniens herzustellen.

So oder ähnlich würde Alan Rusbridger uns  einzulullen versuchen. Im Dokumentarfilm bestätigte er noch einmal, er fände es „schwer vorstellbar“ , dass irgendeine journalistische Berichterstattung über Israel Gewaltausschreitungen gegen Juden in Großbritanniens Straßen befördern könne.

Boyd fährt fort, indem er beschreibt, wie er im Jahr 2002 dank unverantwortlicher Berichterstattung über Jenin angegriffen wurde:

Erlauben Sie mir an meinem Beispiel, wie sich Antisemitismus manifestiert. Im April 2002, auf dem Höhepunkt der palästinensischen Intifada , zirkulierten Medienberichte, wonach die IDF in Jenin (Westbank) ein Massaker angerichtet hätte. Gerüchte waren in Umlauf, dass Hunderte Palästinenser getötet worden seine. Die BBC ging von 150 aus. Saeb Erekat, interviewt von CNN, sprach von 500. Yasser Abed Rabbo gab 900 an. Überwiegend herrschte der Eindruck vor, die IDF hätte entsetzliche Gräueltaten verübt.

Am darauf  folgenden Samstag ging ich in Finchley, einem Vorort in Nordlondon, zur Synagoge und trug meine Kippa. Unterwegs wurde ich von einem jungen Mann ins Gesicht geschlagen. Es handelte sich um einen völlig grundlosen Angriff. Unsere Wege kreuzten sich zufällig, als er mir plötzlich einen starken, rechten Haken versetzte. Völlig verblüfft fragte ich ihn gleich, warum er das getan hatte. “Das passiert mit Juden, wenn sie sich so aufführen“, war seine Antwort.

Mitch Bard kam zu einer ähnlichen Schlussfolgerung, was den zunehmenden Antisemitismus ab 2002 betrifft:

In Europa hat es eine verhältnismäßig hohe Zahl antisemitisch motivierter Aktivitäten gegeben, darunter körperliche Angriffe und Einschüchterungen gegenüber Juden ebenso wie Beschädigungen jüdischer Gemeindeeinrichtungen. Sie erreichten ihren Höchststand von April bis Mai 2002, also während der Operation Defensive Shield.

Rusbridger sollte es eigentlich besser wissen. Letztes Jahr entschuldigte er sich für diesen Gastbeitrag über die Kämpfe in Jenin, wo er behauptet hatte:

Israels Aktionen in Jenin waren mindestens so widerlich wie Osama bin Ladens Anschlag auf New York am 11. September.

The Guardian entfernte diesen abscheulichen Vergleich von seiner Seite – aber nicht, bevor Boyds Angreifer [Der Boxhieb oben] reichlich Zeit hatte, es zu lesen. Vielleicht sollte sich Rusbridger einmal als realistisches Beispiel für die Manifestierung von Antisemitismus zur Verfügung stellen, um die dynamische Wechselwirkung zwischen Mainstream-Medien und Antisemitismus am eigenen Leib zu erfahren.

HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 19. November 2009

HonestReporting reagiert auf eine Dokumentation Channel 4’s zur britischen „Israel-Lobby“.

Lesen Sie bitte das neue Kommuniqué von HonestReporting: Under Attack: HR Accused by UK TV Documentary.

昨日のCarluccio’sに続き、またもやイタリアン。セレブ・シェフのジェイミー・オリヴァーが手がけるお手頃イタリアン・チェーン、「Jamie’s Italian」Canary Wharf（カナリー・ウォーフ）店に、話の種に行ってみた。ロンドン中心部の古くからの金融街「シティー」と双頭をなすイギリスの金融街、カナリー・ウォーフ（イギリス英語ではワーフよりウォーフと発音）の高層ビルに囲まれたショッピングモール内にあるため、客層は近くで働くビジネス・ピープルが多い。ジェイミーのFifteen（フィフティーン。うちから歩いて8分のところにもある）に比べるとクオリティは少し劣るものの値段は安く、ホームメイドのパスタで£10前後、メインでも£10〜17だ。イタリアンと謳っているものの、カジュアルかつカラフルな店内は、ロサンゼルスにありそうな、アメリカン・ダイナーかメキシカンといった感じ。ハンバーガーがあったりするメニューは、イタリアンのテイストを加えたジェイミー流だ。

注文したBucatini Carbonara（ブカティーニのカルボナーラ）は、ヘルシーバージョンで、ズッキーニ、生のタイム、タマネギ入り。でも、これらの野菜の味とカルボナーラ・ソースの味が衝突する感じで、私は正統派のカルボナーラの方が好きだな。デザートのTuscan Chocolate and Hazelnut cake（トスカーナ風チョコレートとヘーゼルナッツのケーキ）は、しっとりして美味しかったけれど、Mの母の住むトスカーナでは見たことがないので、これも彼のオリジナルレシピではないかとちょっと疑っている。

ジェイミー・オリヴァーは、イギリスでは相変わらず人気者だ。現在放映中のChannel 4の「Jamie’s American Road Trip」という番組では、アメリカの各地を回りながら地元の人たちと食を通じて交流、アメリカ人とも気さくに打ち解ける姿を見せている。「Jamie’s School Dinners」では、ヘルシーな学校給食づくりに貢献（ジャンクフードに慣れた一部の生徒からはボイコットされると言うハプニングもあったけれど）。アメリカにも進出、全米で最も肥満率が高い都市に行って、地元の人たちの食生活改善にチャレンジするという番組も、来年アメリカでオンエア予定だそうだ。しかし「The Naked Chef」以来、ずいぶんふっくらしたジェイミー、自分の食生活も少々改めた方がいいかもね。

After yesterday’s Carluccio’s, today’s topic is also about an Italian restaurant as well. We went to Jamie’s Italian, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s casual Italian restaurant chain, in Canary Wharf, London’s another financial centre equal to rivaling the City. The restaurant is in a shopping mall surrounded by skyscrapers, and the restaurant was busy with business people working nearby. In compare to Jamie’s another restaurant chain Fifteen (one is in 8 minutes walk from us), Jamie’s Italian is not as good as Fifteen but more reasonable – homemade pasta cost around £10 and mains are in £10〜17 range. Although it is called Jamie’s ‘Italian’, this colorful restaurant looks more like American Diner or Mexican in Los Angeles, and its menus including hamburger are Jamie’s originals with Italian taste.

Bucatini Carbonara I ordered is a healthier version with courgettes, thyme, and onions. But these vegetables conflict with Carbonara sauce and I prefer the Italian traditional recipe. Tuscan Chocolate and Hazelnut cake for desert was nice and moist, but I have never seen it anywhere in Tuscany where M’s mother lives, and I believe it is Jamie’s recipe as well.

Jamie Oliver is still very popular in UK. In currently airing Channel 4’s Jamie’s American Road Trip, he travels around the USA and communicates with local people through cooking. He contributed to improve school lunch in UK in Jamie’s School Dinners in 2005, though some kids who are used to junk foods boycotted his new healthier lunch menus. Next year, a special TV series, starring Jamie visiting some of the most unhealthy cities in the USA and try to improve its residents’ eating habits, is expected to be aired in the USA. Jamie seems to have become a bit chubby since his first TV series The Naked Chef, and he may also want to consider changing his eating habit as well.