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The Glass Box for Tuesday

Comments

1. At 05:05 PM on 16 Oct 2007, wrote:

   Well done Ming!
   Slainte!
   ed

2. At 05:26 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Jake Addison wrote:

   Did I just hear Menzies Campbell misquote the unflappable John Major?

   Although I was only a 32 year old youngman in 1997, I recollect Mr. Major on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service said "When the curtain falls it's time to get off the stage", in reference to his election defeat.

   I guess it's important to remember people's saying correctly.

   Jake Addison
   Ghana
   

3. At 05:27 PM on 16 Oct 2007, wrote:

   So, the middle classes are drinking "too much", some of us are also very very stressed.

   Having seen our jobs, our pensions and our savings disappear with no one held responsible.

   If we did not drink (or in my case take lots of antidepressants) we might just kill ourselves some other way.

4. At 05:36 PM on 16 Oct 2007, wrote:

   AND well done Sequin and the PM team for getting the 'scoop' and not overplaying it. Does you all credit.

   xx
   ed

   The course of true anything never does run smooth.
   -- Samuel Butler
   

5. At 05:39 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Artemis wrote:

   Well of course the modelling industry is discriminatory. It discriminates against fat, short, ugly and bald people, people with big noses and flabby legs. What the difference?

6. At 05:42 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Alan Carver wrote:

   Vicars seeking protection is akin to the use of lightening conductors on churches. Necessary though both may be, neither encourage me to limit my experience of life by a dogma.
   

7. At 05:58 PM on 16 Oct 2007, George Barker wrote:

   The item on queuing in the House of Commons cafes: why ask Lembit Opik? I mean he'd never push anyone aside for a tart would he?

8. At 06:23 PM on 16 Oct 2007, wrote:

   So are we drinking more as a nation?

   No one seems to know!

   Not even the PM team?

   I'm surprised that nobody had the published figures on hand - but here is a useful link

   As regards a glass or two of wine a day being harmful. If that were - or is the case, then I suspect most of the French and Italians will have cirrhosis of the liver.

9. At 06:30 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Peter Bolt wrote:

   I could not see the point of a news item concerning racial discriminationon on the "Catwalks" of the USA fashion industry.
   In fact I cannot see the point of a news item about "cat walks" at all.
   What really captured my attention, however, was the remark "There are lots of black girls out there with talent"
   Quite so !
   But talent needed to walk down a cat walk ?
   So perhaps it was a worthy inclusion after all.

10. At 06:32 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Alex Pope wrote:

    So the Bishop on your prog states 'that priests are priests of their communities'. This is arrant and arrogant nonsense. Priests communities are the few elderly people who turn up to their churches on Sunday.

11. At 06:41 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Roger Stephens wrote:

    Re the drinking item, I do wish PM interviewers (especially Carolyn Quinn!) would listen to their subject's answer and then phrase their next question based on that rather than champing at the bit to ask the next pre-set question. Prof Williams, complaining about too much drinking leading to serious medical problems, stated (in order to justify his case) that since the extension of licensing hours there had been a 20% increase in drink-related admissions to hospital. I suspect this increase in hospital admissions is more to do with accidents and violence on the street due to excessive drinking in pubs and clubs than it is to do with medical effects (such as liver damage) due to drinking a bottle or two of wine at home! Ms Quinn should have spotted the apparent weakness in the Prof's "evidence" and questioned accordingly.

12. At 08:53 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Jonathan Axworthy wrote:

    certain this won't 'go public', but I have to say how glad I am to hear the clear dulcet tones of Caroline Quinn instead of the awful Eddie Mair, whose 'ichs' 'spits' and saliva-laden annunciation make him unbearrable to listen to. In fact I frequently just turn PM off when he's presenting the programme. Not forgetting the cringe-making habit of saying 'hi' to everyone.

    I know this'll be wiped, but had to have my rant, now I'm done.
    Jonathan

13. At 09:59 PM on 16 Oct 2007, Frances O wrote:

    I must say I did wonder what sort of drink-related maladies these people were presenting with. Heart attacks, hepatitis etc, or bruises, broken limbs and stab wounds?

14. At 12:12 AM on 17 Oct 2007, wrote:

    While we were spending today wondering how old is too old, the slide on financial markets worldwide continued, but perhaps we shouldn't talk about it in the open, or we might be accused of setting off a panic.

    It does seem that some foreign folks (a foreigner is anyone except US and Uk folk) have begun to discuss how indebted is too indebted:
    

    
    Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words, instead of being merely a substitute for actually having to sit down and write sentences about something.
    

    * Take today's Treasury data on foreign investment flows.
    * Turns out foreigners in August sold a record amount of U.S. financial assets.
    * Total holdings of equities, notes and bonds fell a net $69.3 billion after an increase of $19.2 billion in July, the Treasury Department reported.
    * Economists predicted international investors would buy a net $60 billion worth in August, based on a Bloomberg News survey.
    * Of course, this data is lagging. It simply shows what has already happened.
    * More than likely foreign net purchases increased in September.
    * But the key takeaway is how quickly, and to what extent, our foreign "helpers" abandoned their posts at the first sign of trouble.
    * The tells the story.
    

    Impressive, no?

    lalalalalalala
    ed

    Diplomacy is the art of letting the other party have things your way.
    -- Daniele Vare

    Wed Oct 17 00:12:45 BST 2007
    

15. At 01:03 AM on 17 Oct 2007, wrote:

    I forgot to credit the source of the alarming graph, where much more upon which to ponder may be found....
    

    Sweet Dreams
    ed

    If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress?

    Watch out, 502's about!

    I lay my head on the railroad tracks,
    Waitin' for the double E.
    The railroad don't run no more.
    Poor poor pitiful me. [chorus]
    Poor poor pitiful me, poor poor pitiful me.
    These young girls won't let me be,
    Lord have mercy on me!
    Woe is me!

    Well, I met a girl, West Hollywood,
    Well, I ain't naming names.
    But she really worked me over good,
    She was just like Jesse James.
    She really worked me over good,
    She was a credit to her gender.
    She put me through some changes, boy,
    Sort of like a Waring blender. [chorus]

    I met a girl at the Rainbow Bar,
    She asked me if I'd beat her.
    She took me back to the Hyatt House,
    I don't want to talk about it. [chorus]
    -- Warren Zevon, "Poor Poor Pitiful Me"
    

16. At 09:37 AM on 17 Oct 2007, wrote:

    I forgot to credit the source of the alarming graph, where much more upon which to ponder may be found at ....
    

    Sweet Dreams
    ed

    If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress?

    Watch out, 502's about!

    I lay my head on the railroad tracks,
    Waitin' for the double E.
    The railroad don't run no more.
    Poor poor pitiful me. [chorus]
    Poor poor pitiful me, poor poor pitiful me.
    These young girls won't let me be,
    Lord have mercy on me!
    Woe is me!

    Well, I met a girl, West Hollywood,
    Well, I ain't naming names.
    But she really worked me over good,
    She was just like Jesse James.
    She really worked me over good,
    She was a credit to her gender.
    She put me through some changes, boy,
    Sort of like a Waring blender. [chorus]

    I met a girl at the Rainbow Bar,
    She asked me if I'd beat her.
    She took me back to the Hyatt House,
    I don't want to talk about it. [chorus]
    -- Warren Zevon, "Poor Poor Pitiful Me"

    502'd to death, but still trying!
    Wed Oct 17 09:31:11 BST 2007
    

17. At 11:02 AM on 17 Oct 2007, wrote:

    GB (7)

    LOL....you wicked naughty person........MAGIC!

    DiY, 502'ing from Norfolk

18. At 01:03 PM on 17 Oct 2007, Peter Rippon - PM Editor wrote:

    
    Thanks for the comments. Re drinking we discussed the issue of what to do when two live guests flatly contradict each other on a matter of fact, as happened over whether drink consumption has gone up or down. Its hard but we need to predict it better and give the presenter some briefing material so they can inject some clarity when it happens.

    I was a bit dubious about doing the Honeymoon couple story. The producer, Ryan, was keen. The story had such a great 'kicker' line at the end... them discovering someone else in their hotel bed... that I think he was right in the end. Its a good example of a 'User Generated Content' story where the couple contacted the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and sent phone pictures first.

19. At 01:07 PM on 17 Oct 2007, Peter Rippon - PM Editor wrote:

    
    Thanks for the comments. Re drinking we discussed the issue of what to do when two live guests flatly contradict each other on a matter of fact, as happened over whether drink consumption has gone up or down. Its hard but we need to predict it better and give the presenter some briefing material so they can inject some clarity when it happens.

    I was a bit dubious about doing the Honeymoon couple story. The producer, Ryan, was keen. The story had such a great 'kicker' line at the end... them discovering someone else in their hotel bed... that I think he was right in the end. Its a good example of a 'User Generated Content' story where the couple contacted the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and sent phone pictures first.

20. At 01:17 PM on 17 Oct 2007, Peter Rippon - PM Editor wrote:

    
    Thanks for the comments. Re drinking we discussed the issue of what to do when two live guests flatly contradict each other on a matter of fact, as happened over whether drink consumption has gone up or down. Its hard but we need to predict it better and give the presenter some briefing material so they can inject some clarity when it happens.

    I was a bit dubious about doing the Honeymoon couple story. The producer, Ryan, was keen. The story had such a great 'kicker' line at the end... them discovering someone else in their hotel bed... that I think he was right in the end. Its a good example of a 'User Generated Content' story where the couple contacted the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and sent phone pictures first.

21. At 01:22 PM on 17 Oct 2007, Peter Rippon - PM Editor wrote:

    
    Thanks for the comments. Re drinking we discussed the issue of what to do when two live guests flatly contradict each other on a matter of fact, as happened over whether drink consumption has gone up or down. Its hard but we need to predict it better and give the presenter some briefing material so they can inject some clarity when it happens.

    I was a bit dubious about doing the Honeymoon couple story. The producer, Ryan, was keen. The story had such a great 'kicker' line at the end... them discovering someone else in their hotel bed... that I think he was right in the end. Its a good example of a 'User Generated Content' story where the couple contacted the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and sent phone pictures first.

22. At 01:55 PM on 17 Oct 2007, Fiona wrote:

    Jonnie has raised the point that I was going to make - about drinking in the cultures of other European countries. It seems there isn't a day goes by where there is not some alarming statistic about how we are all harming ourselves and are basically, well, doomed. It is literally enough to drive you to drink!! I would like to hear the thoughts of those in the know in those countries where wine at meals etc is the norm. What do studies in France and Italy show in this area? I lived in Belgium for a few years and there they have round the clock opening hours (I used to work night shift and we would go for a beer at 5am!), you can buy beer at McDs, in motorway service stations etc - it was all around you. Yet in the 4 years I was there (as a single girl I must add so I was out socially a fair bit), I only ever saw one drink related fight in a bar and it involved - yes you've guessed - a Brit! Now I admit I don't know what the national statistics there are in relation to alcoholism but certainly in the social context, because it was so out there in the open, very little taboos you saw far less binge drinking/secret drinking than you seem to get here (I realise I am slightly deviating from the topic last night but I think its all related)

    Fiona
    

23. At 02:06 PM on 17 Oct 2007, wrote:

    Re: Jonathan Axworthy (12)

    Jonathan, of course you are entitled to your opinion - however it would be nice if during future comments you actually manage to spell Carolyn's name correctly.

24. At 02:16 PM on 17 Oct 2007, Paul Smith wrote:

    'Course the wine you get nowadays is not like the mild varieties of our younger years.

    Today people are drinking 'skunk' wine and it is much stronger than the stuff we used to sup when we were teenagers.

25. At 06:51 PM on 17 Oct 2007, wrote:

    Re: Peter Rippon (18, 19, 20, 21)

    Thanks Peter - I think we got the point!

    What a 502 Day :-)

26. At 11:23 AM on 18 Oct 2007, Chris Ghoti wrote:

    Sorry about this being such a late comment: the difficulty of posting yesterday put me off somewhat. (And today it was malicious, first try at 11.20)

    Alan Carver @ 6, I think the point of putting lightning conductors on the tallest building in a given area is to protect the area from being struck by lightning. It also protects that tallest building, but that's a side-effect. In New York they probably put them onto the office-blocks rather than the churches, which are dwarfed by the monuments to mammon.