Glass box for Bank Holiday Monday
Even though it's a bank holiday, we will have a little meeting after PM this evening. Amanda Lewis is editing. Tell us what you thought of the programme.
Archives for August 2009
Simon Dee has died.
´óÏó´«Ã½ News coverage .
Upshares Downshares on You Tube.
(It's from Alan Burge in Scarborough)
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. The PM editor Ryan "Mike Yarwood" Dilley will read your comments and may well add his own.
A note from the blog czar
Hello everyone,
As the new 'Blog Czar' (with special sub-portfolio for 2.0-transitional social media) on the PM team, I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself. When I was asked to be Czar, of course I had questions: 'Do I get a stick to wave?', 'Can I get a raise?' and 'Who can I sack?' for example. 'No', 'no' and 'no-one' apparently. So instead, I'll be looking at ways to improve the blog, to make it a better vehicle for conversation and a more fun, useful experience for users.
I'm keen to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to do this. We're already looking at the issues you've raised over comment moderation -- and are working on them. But what about other changes we could make? Should we on the production team be using the blog to post extended cuts of interviews? Would a message board work better for The Beach? What's with those sprawling tag clouds at the bottom of each page? Should the PM blog be more like iPM? Less? With more William Shatner?
Jump in and share your ideas, big or small, in the comments.
O M G.
Something big is about to happen to this blog.
Big.
I am about to go upper case.
BIG.
Ted Kennedy's cancer...
...and in passing, US healthcare, are written about in New York Times piece.
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The Beach.
Everyone should have a Beach to go to, chill out, meet their friends and relax.
In other words it's the off-topic area of the Blog, renewed every week on a Friday, to keep it to a manageable length. Bad attitudes not welcome. No bridges for Trolls to hide under. Just warm sun, sand and virtual sangria. Plus the odd (make that very odd) camel wandering around.
Big economic ideas.
Read more here.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. The PM editor Eloise "*cough "caffeine-free" cough* Twisk will read your comments and may well add her own.
Scottishness.
Nigel Wrench in Edinburgh writes: "Here's one mischievous idea of Scottishness, by the graffitti artist Richie Cumming at an exhibition of street art at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, part of the Edinburgh Art Festival. It's all auctioned off on Sunday if you happen to be in Edinburgh.
The Enlightenment, a celebration of Robert Burns, the islanders of St Kilda, Rona Munro's new play The Last Witch -- Scottish history has been one of the themes of this year's mainstream festivals, but what version of Scotland have audiences been seeing and hearing?
It turns out that events with a link to Scottish history have been hugely popular -- at the Edinburgh Book Festival for instance, where I'll be broadcasting from later, even the most serious and political of talks and debates have sold out.
Live on PM, rain on the broadcast tent permitting, I'll be speaking to the historian and author Tom Devine, of Edinburgh University and to the author Eleanor Thom, whose debut novel The Tin-Kin draws on her own family's history as Travellers living in the north-east of Scotland, a history she says has been forgotten. More about her .
A postcard from Roberto in Miami.
"This is the stamp from the US Postal Service commemorating salsa, the international dance that originated in Cuba and the US Latin community".
Basic care lacking in hospitals?
The ´óÏó´«Ã½ News coverage is . What's your experience?
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Big economic ideas.
Our original thread is here.
Terry Stiastny writes: "Tonight's big economic brain is Professor Andrew Gamble of Cambridge University; although his job title is professor of politics, he describes himself as a political economist. He's written on economic ideas across the political spectrum from Marx to Hayek. His latest book is ". He believes governments need to learn the lessons of the 1930s in order to deal with the current crisis, and that the international economy risks breaking apart unless they do. He tells me they should take a leaf out of the book of one of that period's great economists, John Maynard Keynes, and pursue his idea of creating a new international reserve currency to replace the dollar.
You can read more about the ideas of Paul Romer, of Stanford University, who we heard from yesterday, he has set out his plans for Charter Cities on his .
And we'll be discussing the ideas we've heard through the week on the programme tomorrow."
Nils on worklessness.
"Workless households
There are masses of figures flying around about unemployment. I thought it might be helpful to break them down a bit.
Comedy.
Nigel Wrench in Edinburgh writes: "Here's Barry Cryer and Ronnie Golden posing on the terrace at the famous Gilded Balloon in the heart of the Edinburgh Fringe. Sunglasses, models own. They have a show of "21st century protest songs" running for a few days.
I've been speaking to them, to Marcus Brigstocke and to the comic Ava Nidal about whether comedians, like civil servants, prepare for a potential change in government, with an election due in the next year. Do they all keep a Nick Clegg in their back pocket?
All on the day that the shortlist for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards comes out. This year the awards are without the commercial sponsorship that gave them the name of a popular sparkling water, and then of a finance company in the past.
Shortlist around lunchtime. Expect a little lewdness on the list, and perhaps some comedy about relationships. Check if I'm right as that list is announced."
Wasps.
They've been a talking point in the PM newsletter.
Anthony Harrison in North Yorkshire writes:
"Over the last weekend I have been repairing the damage done to my gate by wasps eating the top bar. It took 1½ tins of wood filler to repair. I have just finished re-painting it with wood preserver and now look at the damage already done to it. The three photos show some of the new damage and the whitish stuff is the filler which they have re-exposed."
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. The PM editor Eloise Twisk will read your comments and may well add her own.
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. The PM editor Jo "anonymity" Carr will read your comments and may well add her own.
Upshares Downshares on You Tube.
(It's from Alan Burge in Scarborough)
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Artist takes puppets to the opera.
Nigel Wrench is in Edinburgh for us this week and he writes:
"These are some snaps from an extraordinary production of Monteverdi's The Return of Ulysses, first Edinburgh performance at the International Festival last night.
Onstage with the singers are puppets playing the main roles, with animation as a backdrop. The puppets are the work of the South African company Handspring, whose huge wooden creations have made the National Theatre's award-winning version of Michael Morpurgo's War Horse such a hit in the West End of London.
The animations are the work of William Kentridge, arguably South Africa's greatest living artist, who also directed the opera. He has a retrospective coming up at the Museum of Modern Art, New York next year and simultaneously in the city a major production of Shostakovich's The Nose, complete with eight-storey high animations, at the Metropolitan Opera.
I'll be speaking to him on PM tonight.
PS: What is it with puppets on stage at the moment? War Horse of course, now this and Avenue Q still a huge hit in London. Any ideas?"
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. The PM editor Jo "I'm here all week, try the veal" Carr will read your comments and may well add her own.
It's the economy, clever.
Terry Stiastny writes: "It's a question even the Queen has been asking. On a visit to the LSE last year, Her Majesty asked the assembled big brains of economics why they didn't see the crisis coming sooner. The big brains then put their heads together to come up with an answer: in a letter several pages long, their conclusion was that it had been "a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people". So what are those imaginations coming up with now in response to the crisis? I have been trying to find some of the economists with the most imaginative and edgy ideas for PM.
For the first in the series, I spoke to Tyler Cowen. His big idea is that the way we think and work is changing because the internet economy gives us so much access to information that is essentially free; what we need to do now is learn how to make sense of it. He's professor of economics at George Mason University in Virginia; and his blog, , has been described as "the best economics blog in the universe". (Not by him, I hasten to add). He writes not only on economics but also on art and restaurants -- that kind of eclectic approach is something he believes is made far easier these days. His latest book is called "Create Your Own Economy". He tells us that the combination of the changing world of the internet economy and the economic crisis created a "perfect storm" -- and we haven't yet found our way out of it. And he goes even further than the British academics who wrote to the Queen, saying economists suffered from a "mass collective delusion" of the intellectuals.
Could you come up with better ideas about the economy? We'd like to hear your views about the ideas you hear during the week, and we'll be discussing them on Thursday."
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Afghanistan goes to the polls. Words and photos by Hugh Sykes.
Here are some photgraphs from Hugh in Kabul to match the Afghan election voices in his report on PM last night.
"Election poster explaining the procedure.
Voters arriving at a women's polling station.
Democracy with a smile.
Peyruz (left) and Samiullah, aged 60 and 72, they think.
Tamina Saki and her medical student niece Sarah Safi.
Dr. Tajuddin Millatmal and his sister Khoar Bibi. Dr. Millatmal says there was no one at the polling station to help his sister in her own language, Pashtu. He is a fluent English speaker, his sister is illiterate. He readily acknowledged how strange, and offensive, that
is. He told me he has opened a village school where girls and boys can both get educated.
Kabul family and election posters.
Kabul kebab stall and election poster.
Kabul bookseler, Turaj Mohammed Rais, who told us on PM earlier this
week "this is not a real election - people vore for who they're told
to vote for".
Crossroads in Kabul city centre. A strong smell of sewage. Evidence of
neglect until it's fixed. Where has the $62 billion of aid money gone?
Maybe that's what this question mark means:"
Could this be a symphony?
Nigel Wrench writes: "The beauty of the reed beds at Snape in Suffolk, just in front of the Snape Maltings concert hall. The Suffolk landscape was, of course, an inspiration to the man behind that concert hall, the composer Benjamin Britten.
Now a very different group of musicians and composers have come up with another work from this landscape: the Suffolk Symphony they're calling it, performed at Snape tomorrow night -- and in a special version for us here on PM this evening.
I'll be live from Snape with those behind the Suffolk Symphony. It's made up of found sounds from all around the county. Their website is part of the project, it's if you fancy a look."
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Briony "is Mihir Bose leaving the ´óÏó´«Ã½?" Harris will read your comments and may well add her own.
Do average speed cameras work?
Someone who drives a lot told me recently that no-one has ever been fined for speeding in an average speed zone.
I expressed my doubts about that, but wondered what you know. Urban myth? Or have we just stumbled over something so huge it needs its own postcode?
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The Beach.
The beach is a state of mind, where we escape from the must to the maybe and what if, where thoughts may be lightly etched on the shore or sculpted in the sand, admired and commented on by others, then swept away by the waves or jumped on by small children of all ages...
Freeing the Lockerbie bomber.
´óÏó´«Ã½ News coverage is .
Is it right to free him on compassionate grounds?
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Eloise "still caffeine-free" Twisk will read your comments and may well add her own.
Older presenters...
a new poll in .
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Eloise "caffeine-free" Twisk will read your comments and may well add her own.
Take vodka. Add actors.
Nigel Wrench writes: "I'm reporting from Stratford-Upon-Avon this evening, and the Royal Shakespeare Company's productions of new plays from young Russian and Ukranian playwrights.
Pictured in the RSC rehearsal rooms, are Peter Peverley, Brian Doherty, Paul Hamilton and a prop (water, apparently) from The Drunks, written by the Durnenkov brothers.
On a table, more props give a flavour of a political satire set in a small town during election time.
Just coming up to twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Has it taken that long for a post-Soviet voice to emerge onstage? Some thoughts on that on PM from the RSC's artistic director Michael Boyd.
Not a new Berlin wall, but a big red fence in front of the RSC's home on the River Avon as their theatres are rebuilt. On schedule and on budget, Mr Boyd says."
Hugh Sykes in Afghanistan.
On PM last night Hugh visited a children's hospital in Kabul.
He writes: "Here are some of the people I met, and some children on the dusty streets of the Afghan capital:
On the wall in the French Medical Institute for Children - run by the Agha Khan Development Network and a French charity La Chaine d'Espoir, which means chain of hope.
The senior paediatrician, Dr. Gul Ghutai, Sara, aged 28 days, and her grandmother Parveen. Sara has an infection and is hooked up to tubes to give her oxygen and intravenous nutrition.
Mohammed Kabir, a Kabul tailor, and his daughter Tuba, who's two years old. She was vomitting persistently, and is in hospital for a blood transfusion.
The hospital playground.
Two women leaving the hospital with a little girl.
Children with their donkey and cart in a Kabul street.
A child in a dusty street."
Knives.
An iPM listener has emailed this:
"Much publicity has been given to the knives amnesty, and pictures of mostly kitchen knives. I have just received a mail order catalogue illustrated with pages of vicious knives designed to kill, which any teenager with access to their parent's credit card could obtain by post."
Have you discovered your child looking at knife websites or trying to buy a knife online? Or getting hold of a hunting or fighting knife in some other way? Drop an email to iPM@bbc.co.uk.
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Hugh in Kabul.
Last night Hugh reported from Kabul. Here are some of his photos and words to go with it..starting with the "little boy who works as a minibus caller:
Samiullah, aged 10 and a half. He does his homework early in the morning, works as a taxi caller (shouting out the destinations of the minibuses) from 9am to 1pm, and then goes to school until four in the afternoon. He told me he gets 100 Afghanis a day - about $2. A oaf of flat Afghan bread costs 8 Afghanis, an apple costs 10.
Cry the rugged country. Kabul from a hotel in a compound on a hillside near the city.
Running the gauntlet of Kabul's traffic.
An antique dealer on his balcony in Chicken Street. Some of the jewellers say business is good - but only if they set up stalls in military bases and sell to ISAF personnel.
City Centre.
Wazir Akbar Khan suburb.
City centre
Reconstruction! Too little, and much too late, most people tell me.
Surreal billboard overlooking the city
Sunlight through an old Kabul door".
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Briony "I need to win" Harris will read your comments and may well add her own.
A word about the blog, from Jo Carr, the editor of PM.
"Hello everybody,
I know some of you are feeling very frustrated about the blog at the moment, so I wanted to jump in with my two ha'pporth. I think Paul has explained very carefully the reasons behind some of the moderations, and I hope that we can sort out the rest soon. And (whisper it softly) the mods do good work- look at what they did for the moped.
Going forward, I'm pleased to announce the creation of a new 'Blog Czar' within the PM team. Fab George (for it is he) has accepted because he's always wanted to be a czar, and he has insisted on a sub portfolio with responsibility for social media. George is currently in Bermuda (really) but when he returns, we'll be working with the mods to get everything working more smoothly, so bear with us. In the meantime, Paul kindly held a moderation clinic on this very blog not so long ago.
Generally, the team at PM get a huge amount out of the blog. Carolyn Quinn, for instance, gets some of her best jokes (anyone remember 'knead to know' on the French baker story?) and we look every morning for your story thoughts and ideas in the AM glass box. And that's what I'd like the blog to be- a vehicle for you to discuss and tell us what you'd like to see on the programme, and what you think about what we actually do. As Eddie used to say, before he got into the habit of giving inexplicable nicknames to the team's editors, "We try to be honest with each other, but not hurtful, as we talk about what worked and what didn't...what met our expectations and what fell short."
So go ahead, 'tis the word of the Mair. By the way, if anybdy wants Eddie, he'll be in the situation room with Wolf Blitzer and Angela Rippon."
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
A High Pay Commission?
What do you think?
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Jeremy "spot on" Rawlins will read your comments and may well add his own.
How annoying must it be,
to be a top class athlete competing against . In tennis, Andy Murray has achieved something by becoming the World Number 2...but still has to overcome Roger Federer, widely regarded as one of the giants of the sport.
In PM tonight, we'll hear from .
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Well-known people
I saw today in London. Angela Rippon and Susie Orbach (they were not together).
Can anyone top that?
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Amanda Lewis will read your comments and may well add her own.
The USA and the NHS.
We've had a huge response. Read our original blog post, and see the US TV ad here.
´óÏó´«Ã½ News coverage is . What other bloggers are saying is .
More in , the , and the . has an interesting angle too.
The AM Glass Box
Good morning. James Landale is your host tonight. I know you'll make him welcome. Carolyn has been fired for stealing clear plastic folders from the office.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The Beach.
Welcome to The Beach, a very special place on the PM Blog. The sun shines, the drinks are free, there are more than enough sun loungers and hammocks to go round, and the camels are friendly. So, take a break from your day to day stresses and strains and relax. There are only two rules; 1) be nice to everyone, and 2) don't eat the petunias."
Memories of Les Paul
leave them here. ´óÏó´«Ã½ News coverage is .
This is what says.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Eloise "office day" Twisk will read your comments and may well add her own.
Lockerbie.
is the ´óÏó´«Ã½ News coverage.
What do you think? 
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Language on air.
This is a serious request for your thoughts.
The story today relates to comments he thought he was making in private, but which are now public.
In the recording, he uses the word sh*t. It's not essential to people's understanding of the story that we broadcast it...as you can see from the ´óÏó´«Ã½ News online story, it's possible to convey his meaning without saying it. Yet I know we sometimes get complaints from Radio 4 listeners if we are deemed to have censored swearing without good cause.
Should we use the word on the programme?
Is this good fun or demeaning to female politicians?
Or both?
In the programme tonight we hear from Vera Lengsfeld, seen here on the right.
There's more from Spiegel International .
In PM tonight, how the NHS has become part of the health reform debate in America.
The ad comes from the .
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Mark "can I show you the photos?" Frankel will read your comments and may well add his own.
More on THAT video.
Our original blog post is here.
There's this comment in the .
in The Guardian.
in The Times.
reports for The Independent from Washington.
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Amanda "bespoke" Lewis will read your comments and may well add her own.
The AM Glass Box.
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Jeremy Jeremy Rawlins will read your comments and may well add his own.
Got a sentence of news about you?
Send it please to ipm@bbc.co.uk. If you haven't come across Your News before, there is a flavour here.
Muslims and Europe.
Christopher Landau will report for us tonight and he writes: "With the number of Muslims living in Europe set to increase substantially in the coming decades, can Islam contribute to a peaceful future for the continent? That's the question at the heart of a groundbreaking gathering of young Muslims from across Europe, taking place in Switzerland this week. They've been brought together by a Swiss charity with a long history of promoting peace, which is working specifically with European Muslims for the first time."
He sent these words and photos to go with his report.
(Right) "Muslim delegates at prayer, above Lake Geneva"
(Below) "listening to the sermon, with Caux palace, now an international centre for promoting peace, in the background"
Charging for carrier bags?
The Welsh Assembly Government is considering a charge on single use carrier bags. In the programme tonight we'll hear from the Welsh Environment Minister.
There's more on the consultation . 
Badminton: are the England players right to come home?
We'll hear from one of them, Nathan Robertson tonight. There's more coverage . 
Food for thought.
I'm sorry, it's not a very inspired headline is it? Anyhoo, it relates to the launch of the government's assessment of the threats to the security of what we eat. You can read more . 
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
I don't want you to think
I forget about you on AQ days. Yesterday afternoon I spent some time on the train trying to send this photo of Charing Cross station in London, from my mobile device. Oh what fun!
And for lovers of great photos which have no reflection on them, please marvel at the shot taken from the train en route to last week's Any Questions in Fishguard.
Should we start a "dull, badly taken" photos competition?
The PM Glass Box
Be your own radio critic!
Tell us here, frankly, what you thought of tonight's programme.
In the PM office we meet every night at 1800 in the Glass Box you see above. Add your comment here.
Use your.....
We're trying to find someone in the French village of Sayat to talk to us this evening. Apparently the baker has gone on holiday for three weeks and they've had to bring in firefighters to prevent the disaster of having no bread. They're taking it in turns to get u at 5am to knead the dough and put it in the oven. The Mayor of Sayat has declared it "an act of solidarity and fraternity".
sweet.
The Beach.
Welcome to the Beach. The off topic place for froggers and peeps to be frivolous, have fun or just to chill out. The weather is always perfect, the sea is never cold and the breeze always warm and gentle, ideal for blowing away the woes of RL and flying kites. The company is always engaging and there is usually a something going on at 'The Nick Clarke' bar where tipples and nibbles can also be had. There are hammocks to laze in, a dog walking area and even a naughty step for those that want to self administer mild punishment! Whether it is a herd of camels wandering by, parties or semi organised beach games and activities there is always something to watch or join in with, so why not come and join us? All we ask is that you be nice to everyone.
The AM Glass Box.
Good morning. Carolyn tonight - do make her welcome.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Jay Winter on Broadcasting House.
On Broadcasting House last Sunday, the historian Jay Winter offered us his thoughts on the death of Harry Patch, the last British veteran of the Western Front, whose funeral service was held today.
Many listeners asked for a transcript of the essay, and Paddy's been typing it out ever since. You'll find it here.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Eloise "hand wash" Twisk will read your comments and may well add her own.
Gillianian sends this:
"I'd be surprised if this door wasn't featured in the film 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin'. Yammas!"
Showering update.
The Guardian has to the etiquette of peeing in the shower.
The original video is here.
The original story is at
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Amanda "orangutan" Lewis will read your comments and may well add her own.
You want me to WHAT? In the SHOWER??
New ads are encouraging people in Brazil to pee in the shower...to help the environment.
The original story is at
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Those awkward photos....
..are and suggests the photo is "weird"
The PM Glass Box.
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Jeremy Jeremy Rawlins will read your comments and may well add his own.
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Shhhhhhhhhhh!
You heard our guest's tales of trying to keep people quiet in cinema.
I'm keen to hear about your experience, as a patron or perhaps as someone who works in cinema. Leave a comment.
Airbrushing. Which of these photos do you prefer?
There are some photos that cry out for a bit of help from technology. The alarming snap that adorns the top right of this page for example.
But the Liberal Democrats think some airbrushing is wrong - because it puts young girls under pressure to achieve an unattainable look. The Independent has more .
In the programme tonight we'll try to demonstrate what difference airbrushing can make. There are two photos of the Lib Dem leader below. The one on the top is (as far as we know) untouched, but the one underneath has been altered by airbrushing expert James Middleton.
What do you think?
UPDATE:
John McReynolds writes (photo 3): "I think I've overdone it":
And we got the Mr Darcy version (photo 4) from Alan George who "thinks he looks rather dashing.
The PM Glass Box.
(Tonight's glass box has been airbrushed to make it look thinner)
The Glass Box is where the PM team meets in at 18.00 every weeknight to discuss the content of the programme. If you want to let it all out in this virtual glass box, be my guest. Tonight's editor Briony "I've never heard of him" Harris will read your comments and may well add her own.
The AM Glass Box
Good morning.
You may have read your morning paper and listened to the radio, and have some ideas you want to hear on PM tonight.
Perhaps a question about something in the news you would like answered - or better still, direct experience of something topical. Or maybe there's an aspect to a big story you haven't heard explored that you would like to hear.
It's best to post before 10.00, so we can work ideas into our 11.00 meeting.
Jump to more content from this blog
About this blog
PM The evening news and current affairs programme presented by Eddie Mair.
iPM The programme that starts with its listeners. Join the discussions online and contribute ideas for a weekly programme presented by Eddie Mair and Jennifer Tracey.
The PM Privacy Commission
Read the final report of the PM Privacy Commission.
- Full Audio and Transcripts
- Hugh Tomlinson QC
- Zac Goldsmith MP
- Max Mosley
- Stephen Abell
- Hugh Grant
- Sir Charles Gray
- Alan Rusbridger
- Helen Wood
- Max Clifford
- Marcus Partington
- John Kampfner
- Christopher Graham
- Louise Mensch
- Andy Trotter
- John Mullin
- Avril Sanders Royle
- Jimmy Wales
Meet the commissioners, view the terms of reference and hear the Commission Chair Sir Michael Lyons explain his approach.
RSS feed
Email us
Listen to PM
