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Nick, little bit tenuous as Carol Thatcher was in the jungle, not a house. More importantly, she left the jungle a winner, something Tony will not be able to say with any honesty or sincerity. Mind you, he has survived his own Parliamentary jungle for a long time, so maybe we should be thinking up questions for the point he gets called to the Diary Room?

Why are all those Cabinet Ministers taking time off to have lunch with someone from Celebrity Big Brother? John Reid, in particular, must have a few more pressing items on his 'to-do' list?

YES!MORE THAN LIKELY TONY WILL GO TO THE LORDS.

Yes, I can just see Tony Blair making his entrance into some future fantasy Big Brother house, joining fellow house-mates; Margaret Thatcher, Jacque Chirac, Elton John, Boy George and Edwina Curry. Fantasy? more like a nightmare!

So, there’s me trying to achieve a serene mind and Nick’s comment makes it go completely blank. A fuse blew somewhere between the heavy duty contemplation of the House of Lords and the delightful but vacant celebrity.

Looking beyond the fluff of power and celebrity, it’s possible they might be laying the foundations for a mutually beneficial deal for both their respective communities. After all, you don’t get far on idleness and daydreaming.

The moment is now, and it’s not a bad place to be.

Why all the fuss over a stupid TV show? The ratings for CBB must be through the roof-- all that publicity! Its just feeding on itself now.

Of course, Tony Blair had to speak "sweet" because of his political interests. He can't afford to face one more controvesy based on racism against India or any other country. India is a very strategic business partner for the UK.
Also, all in all, it was a mistake by Shipla Shetty in this reality show "big brother" which looked like what appeared on TV, a third grade television program- sort of low budget. Shipla should not have been on that show, and in addition to that she talks as if "she represents India". She is not. It was her will and choice to participate in this show. She mentions that "she thanked the British PM, for supporting her ad her country- India". i don't think anyone should take this whole issue as a prestige issue against India - because clearly this is not Olympics or the UN where a person went as a representative from India. It is wrong on Shilpa's behalf to mention over and over again about "respecting India" or " respecting my country". It is incorrect, it was her personal choice for either monetary benefit or for career reasons.

will phoney tony meet the man on the street? will he walk unguarded around the streets?
fathers for justice cant get into the commons anymore, yet an indian film actress who meets anyone on the street in india, walks straight in and gets to meet with him!

unless you have money, you cant get near the prime minister

Is there anyone out there willing to acknowledge that India happens to be one of the most racist countries on the planet?

Education would go a long long way in helping most in politics like Tony Blair to brush up on terms like Caste System and Untouchables.

For anyone to come to the UK which is awash in multi-culti diversity and drone on about racism is a disgrace.

I just want to respond to Cliff's comment - Untouchables, caste are sort of in the past in India - unless you count the most backward villages in remote parts of the country that Cliff could probably not find on a map. Before making comments on a country's attitudes, maybe Cliff should visit it. And I'm afraid, the multi-cultural diversity of the UK he talks about maybe existant in Central London, but take the tube just a bit further and the term wog can be heard pretty much everywhere. But I do agree with Cliff on racism in India in part though - The country has a severe case of white man hangover!!

Cliff Taylor writes that India is a racist nation and therefore Indians simply have no right to complain. Isn't that akin to saying that because there is much violence and war in Africa, an African immigrant murderously assaulted on the streets of New York has no right to complain?

As an Indian, I will readily acknowledge that India has a very discriminatory society with strong biases against women, lower 'castes', minorities and darker races. But that doesn't mean all Indians are racist and it certainly doesn't mean its OK to be racist to them! Such an argument is simply obtuse.

One more thing. I watched some clips of Big Brother and I'm not too sure that the bullying was racist. It is quite possible is was not since it is hard to gauge a person's intentions in the absence of blatant and overt racism (which Jade Goody did not exhibit in my humble judgement). I find the whole episode quite excessively sacchrinous with all the fawning on Shetty, visiting Parliament et al which is sheer nonsense. Get over it! The programme producers are laughing all the way to the bank.

India cannot fairly be called "one of the most racist countries on the planet". Yes it has its problems and many people with racist attitudes - there are after all over a billion people - and caste prejudice is still strong (though hardly racism as they are the same race).

But having just spent some time there I was struck about how well everyone gets by and the lack of antagonism. Don't forget that India has the second largest Muslim population in the world and there is by and large little ethnic tension.

In any case, it was not Shipa Shetty who "droned on about racism" but the British viewers!

Instead of his unseemingly haste to make time to meet with Shipla, it would have been a decent thing if Prime Minister Blair had the courage to meet with Mrs Gentles, the mother of the young Scottish oldier killed in Iraq, allegedly because of insufficient protective gear. Mrs Gentles has been seeking a meeting ever since her son died - it's sad to think that an appearance by a foreigner on BB counts for more than that.

Thank you Cliff, for that admission. It is true that the Indian caste system smacks of racism and as an Indian, I have no qualms about admitting that. As for it being one of the most racist countries of the planet, that is simply not true. For a country that is 85% hindu we have a Sikh Prime minister, a Muslim President and the de facto leader of the Lok Sabha (House of Commons of India) is a Roman Catholic of Italian birth. For all its multi cultural hoohaa, the UK has 1 Muslim MP, for a good 1.6 % of the population. India has many problems, but blatant racism is not one of them.

B'liar will go to the Lords as the majority of politicians will not let go of any polical power of the huge payments that they receive from the fools that vote them in. not satisfied with the damage they have done in the past the perpetuate their influence and crimes of hate towards the general public who are continually bled to keep those living in the manner that they are now accustomed to.

Ronnie Cohen.