Prospects for Friday, 18 April
- 18 Apr 08, 10:32 AM
Robert Morgan is today's programme producer - here's his early email to the team.
Good morning everyone,
Lots of stories around today. Brown's foreign affairs speech in Boston, RBS, the arms shipment heading for Zimbabwe, Indian cricket. Let's debate what the best stories and treatments are for today.
Robert
Comment number 1.
At 18th Apr 2008, NickThornsby wrote:Woohoo, a new system, are you reading this comment? If so, thank god, and really, about time!
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Comment number 2.
At 18th Apr 2008, Neil Robertson wrote:Please spare us the excitable Robert Peston
who I see has even popped up on the 91热爆
South Asia website with his RBS witterings.
Of course 'it isn't bust' he tells South Asia - but forgets to point out that the Chinese
stake in RBS and other UK banks might
rise if there is a rights issue announced.
NB The acquisition of ABN-Amro last summer was the biggest bank deal in history so the
prospect of a rights issue has been on the cards since well before the "credit crunch".
Lead story in South Asia is not however Mr Peston but the election results in Nepal for their constituent assembly. 'Maoists' have
made dramatic gains and that is a story. It
is distressing to hear that the excellent Mr
Mahat was beaten up after winning his poll
(that is quite disturbing not least as he has been one of the economic technocrats who
has commanded respect across the board).
But one of the Maoist leaders Baburam Bhattarai is also an interesting Marxist
economist who studied architecture as
well. On the coverflap of his PhD thesis
he writes: 'At a time when people thought the era of communist revolution was over after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its East European satellites, a powerful Marxist-Leninist-Maoist movement has broken out in this tiny Himalayan kingdom .......'
Why not get the political ecologist Piers Blaikie from University of East Anglia -
or Dave Gellner from Oxford to brief us?
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Comment number 3.
At 18th Apr 2008, barriesingleton wrote:ONLY 600 YEARS TO GO (Ref: appealing to extremists - topical)
Christianity is around 600 years older than Islaam. 600 years ago, Christians BELIEVED in the tenets of their faith (similar tenets to those of Islaam, less the drink) and did terrible things to heretics. Britons (today, nominally Christian) must surely be viewed with horror and contempt, or worse, by anyone who is (or believes they are) a follower of Islaam? I suggest that 鈥渕oderate Muslims鈥 are decidedly immoderate, in their hearts-and-minds, when contemplating the effete British, wallowing in religious atrophy, monetary impropriety, alcoholic nihilism, sexual license, unhygienic laxity and crusader mentality. It follows that we cannot expect the 鈥渕oderates鈥 to ally themselves with US in the fight against extremism; indeed, we can count ourselves fortunate that they 鈥渁bstain鈥. Clearly, to make progress, either we have to get back to proper Christianity (but without the crusader spirit) or wait 600 years for Islaam to wear out its zeal and join us in the mire.
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Comment number 4.
At 18th Apr 2008, barriesingleton wrote:DEAD LINK
Niel Robertson's link at the end of his post is dead. Property of the new system?
www.barriesingleton.co.uk
Oh - yes.
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Comment number 5.
At 18th Apr 2008, Bill Bradbury wrote:At a time of bad news let's be positive. Forget the Financial problems. Forget Mugabe. Forget Iraq etc. etc.
THE DREADED 502 MESSAGE IS NO MORE.
To quote Blackadder Goes forth. Whoever is responsible I love you and I want your babies!!!
This is worthy of a mention on your programme tonight.
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Comment number 6.
At 18th Apr 2008, barriesingleton wrote:GOING WITHOUT GOLD
Will Dubya give 'Mr Prime Minister' (as he affectionately calls Gordon) a gold medal?
Perhaps for 'smiling in the face of incapacity', or 'wooden praise in the face of incredulity'?
Did Saviour Blair ever pick up HIS gold medal? Perhaps he popped in, unnoticed, when Gordon was signing the Treaty of Lisbon.
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Comment number 7.
At 18th Apr 2008, Rustigjongens wrote:I would hope that Newsnight will cover the following points:
1, Brown being 14 points behind in the opinion polls.
2, Livingstone being 10 points behind in the opinion polls.
3, 60% of UK citizens say that they fear race riots, and that immigration needs to be stopped.
Of course the 91热爆 will do it's normal PR job for Labour and give him even more airtime to spout his ridiculous comments.
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Comment number 8.
At 21st Apr 2008, NewFazer wrote:Barrie (3). I'm not sure you are altogether right here. Possibly the only way to sanity is for everyone to stop thinking that they have everlasting life to look forward to. We all might take things more seriously then - enough to try to put things right. The 'only one life' state of mind focuses one somewhat.
Recently the law has been changed and now those offering 'seances' have to prove they are not deceiving their audience. (Apparently they now mostly choose to call these meeting 'experiments'.) This might easily be applied to all religions with beneficial effect I believe.
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Comment number 9.
At 21st Apr 2008, HAYDON wrote:The 91热爆 pro Labour? Are you havin' a laugh?
The 91热爆 needs to get out more though. Why on the days, when nothing of consequence has happened in politics do we still have a political story? It is a joke a times.
Can we have more European news? I think Newsnight could easily have a five minute round up of the headlines from Le Monde, Figaro, Der Stern, Das Welt etc and even the St. Petersberg Times?
British headlines. It seems a sop to mates in Fleet Street. Maybe all the programme editors want a job on the broadsheets when they retire?
To show the audience headlines which they will see for themselves in a few hours is bad use of valuable air time. What next? A picture of the sun and moon to show what they will look like in the morning?
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Comment number 10.
At 22nd Apr 2008, NewFazer wrote:Any idea why my browser only shows odd numbered posts????
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Comment number 11.
At 4th Jun 2008, TorturedSyntax wrote:When Jeremy's eventually back , can he cheer us all up by inviting attack-dog John Read on to the show for a wee chat about John's view on life nowadays.
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Comment number 12.
At 9th Jun 2008, rhobert wrote:people caught carrying knives should be conscipted to army for one year as a deterent be positive
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