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Talk about Newsnight

A blog and forum.

Tuesday, 22 April, 2008

  • Newsnight
  • 22 Apr 08, 06:22 PM

Jeremy's presenting tonight - he's currently out of the office interviewing cabinet minister Tessa Jowell about a damning select committee report about the cost of the Olympics.

obama.jpg is deciding today who it wants to be the Democratic nominee for the presidency. Hillary Clinton is tipped to win - but not by much. Meanwhile Barack Obama is facing a more hostile press than he has at any other stage of the race. Details of his relationship with a Chicago property dealer who is facing corruption charges have come to the fore, as has his continued backing of his controversial pastor. Peter Marshall's been to Chicago to assess whether any of this mud is beginning to stick.

And we'll have the latest from Philadelphia on the state of the vote.

The government is still desperately trying to appease potential rebels over the . Have their latest attempts borne fruit? David Grossman is looking in to it.

You may remember a film we ran some months ago featuring a former member of the Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir. Majid Nawaz had decided to leave the organisation, after becoming deeply concerned about what it stood for. He's now launched the "Quilliam Foundation" with some other former radicals, which aims to counter extremism. We'll be hearing from them live, along with a high profile Muslim who is very critical of the foundation's aims.

And - has lap dancing become socially acceptable? There's certainly a profusion of lap dancing clubs on our high streets, and even pubs are now offering lap dancing nights. Recent licensing laws make it far easier for them to open these days. A campaign has been launched today to try and make it harder for such establishments to start up. We'll hear from a member of that campaign, and from the owner of a lap dancing chain.

Join Jeremy at 10.30

Idle scrawl = Xian Ren San Ji

  • Paul Mason
  • 22 Apr 08, 05:08 PM

(bad writing by idle person)

I am in the process of rebranding the blog for the newly expanded Chinese audience. There's some interesting stuff about the ongoing protests against 大象传媒, CNN etc and I repeat my offer to appear on CCTV to discuss this live for a Chinese audience, provided the Chinese audience can see one of my reports on China with subtitles.

I think the Chinese government is anxious for there to be a period of reflection now, after the torch relay controversy, and is concerned at the vehemence of some of the reactions by demonstrators at Carrefour branches - comparing Joan of Arc to "a prostitute" etc.

As to the rebrand, I got my Chinese producer to translate Idle Scrawl into Chinese. It comes out as "bad writing by lazy person": Xian Ren San Ji. - sadly the other bit of the double meaning, a Lancashire epithet denoting pure sloth, does not survive translation.

Prospects for Tuesday, 22 April

  • Newsnight
  • 22 Apr 08, 11:09 AM

Liz Gibbons is today's programme producer - here's her early email to the team.

What do you fancy doing today?

There is masses around - but which would produce the best journalism and the best interviews?

Is there more to be done on 10p tax? Report on cost of Olympics? BAA report? RBS? Lap-dancing?

Two things in train already - Robin and Warwick are off to the launch of the Quilliam Foundation (formed of ex members of Hizbut Tahrir) and Peter Marshall and Ben have been to Chicago to investigate some of the murkier allegations about Obama, dating back to his days as a city politician. We can get the latest from Pennsylvania off the back.

Liz


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