Gillian Duffy

It's very easy to criticise Gordon Brown's gaff captured by Sky News when he drove off with one of their microphones, but more respectable reporting would not spy on someone's private conversation in this way. I'm quite sure that any politician will have said equally damning things in private. In fact we all have. The real question for me is what did Gillian Duffy actually say. Here is a transcript:

"But there's too many people now who aren't vulnerable but they can claim and people who are vulnerable can't claim, can't get it.....You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you are ... But all these Eastern Europeans what are've comin in, where are they flocking from... And what are you going to do about students that are coming in now...."

Is this bigoted? Or to put it another way, do you think she would be a suitable recruit into our immigration department?

Three Ghosts for Your Money

In Roman Polanski's film "The Ghost" (renamed "The Ghost Writer" when released in USA; presumably so that that particular audience would be able to understand the title), you get three ghosts. Based on Robert Harris' novel, the naive unnamed narrator is appointed to ghost write the memoirs of Adam Lang, ex-prime minister of the UK. Lang is taking refuge at the holiday home of his publisher, on Martha's Vineyard, whilst charges of war crimes are being levelled. Our second ghost is the previous ghost writer, Mike McAra, who drowned in suspicious circumstances following a row with Lang. The third ghost is the UK prime minister, who has ghost-written the justifications for invading Iraq, in support of the US president. This film has a worrying credible plot and a curious twist at the end. What was not credible to me was why our narrator would reveal what he discovers near the end of the story and so put himself in such jeopardy. A desire to show off your deductive powers for me would be outweighed by a desire to survive.

Tattoo Transcendence

Stieg Larsson’s bestselling thriller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” was originally entitled “Men who hate Women,” and divided critics on the question: is this book feminist or misogynist?  The film depicts the violence alarmingly accurately for UK audiences and whilst any entertainment depicting violence will always be condemned by some as indulgent, the scenes here are truthful and informative. English speaking cinema has ratings chasing conventions about the depiction of violence that are intended to be slick but are now hackneyed. This film is refreshing in its honesty and has a satisfying story line: the misogynists get their come-uppance. I highly recommend it, but the 18 rating is there for good reason.