Talking points for 26th March

It’s not exactly a quiet day – with more violence in Iraq, and warnings of an impending catastrophe in Somalia, where hostilities continue between government forces and Islamist insurgents – but in terms of talking points, the most interesting possibilities seem to lie around the edges of the main news agenda.

Talking points for 25th March

My post yesterday about allegations of Western media bias stirred up quite a few comments. The Chinese official media have been accusing Western journalists of focusing unduly on their crackdown on the Tibet protests – without, they say, drawing attention to brutal attacks on ethnic Chinese people and their businesses by Tibetans. Of course others have pointed out that this is a bit rich coming from a country that so tightly controls its own media – Chinese television reports have replayed footage of rioting Tibetans without, of course, explaining any of their political and social grievances.

Is the Western media biased?

Official Chinese newspapers have been attacking Western media coverage of the recent unrest in Tibet. They’re quoting Chinese journalism experts and editorials in the international press on what they see as the bias and distortion of various reports in the British and American media.

Should boys and girls be taught separately?

A feature on the New York Times website which caught my eye today makes fascinating reading. It starts by introducing Leonard Sax, an American doctor who is abandoning his career to become a full-time advocate of single-sex education.

Do supermarkets make our lives better?

A piece by well-known British food critic Jay Rayner caught my eye in the Observer newspaper yesterday. There’s been a raging debate about supermarkets in the UK for the last few years, with many people accusing them of ripping off food-producers, wiping out independent shops and selling too much junk food. But Jay says they are ‘bloody convenient’ and that working families like his can’t do without them. Have supermarkets improved your life?

Morning musings

Greetings from a cold, crisp, magnificent morning in London…

We’re planning to devote most of tonight’s programme to the subject of pain, as you’ll see from Ben’s posting. But there are a few other interesting stories around. In Australia, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is promising firm action to help Aboriginal communities, after his formal apology for the injustices perpetrated by two centuries of white settlement. Can anything really make amends for the past suffering of Aborigines? What do you think the government should do to help improve Aboriginal lives?

Nepotism – where would you draw the line?

Thanks to those of you who responded to Peter’s post about nepotism – it’s a subject that cropped up again at our editorial meeting today. And the discussion ranged from “where do you draw the line ?” to confessions from two members of the team that their parents had got them summer jobs when they were younger. It’s certainly a subject that gets people going – do you think it’s something we should cover in the programme?