Tag Archives: Politics

JOIN COSMOPOLITAN’S EDITOR, LOUISE COURT AS SHE DEBATES: ‘I AM A FEMINIST – CAN I VAJAZZLE?’

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JOIN COSMOPOLITAN’S EDITOR, LOUISE COURT AS SHE DEBATES:

‘I AM A FEMINIST – CAN I VAJAZZLE?’

WITH DAWN PORTER & KATE SMURTHWAITE AT SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S WOW – WOMEN OF THE WORLD FESTIVAL

Cosmopolitan, the magazine for smart, spirited young women has teamed up with Southbank Centre’s WOW – Women of the World Festival, to host a debate on the hot topic of modern-day feminism. The event is part of a series planned to support the magazine’s ‘F Word’ campaign.

WOW – Women of the World festival is Southbank Centre’s annual festival to recognise, celebrate and promote women and runs from Wednesday 7 March to Sunday 11 March across the Southbank Centre site. On Saturday 10th March, Louise Court, Cosmopolitan’s Editor, writer and broadcaster, Dawn Porter, comedian and feminist activist, Kate Smurthwaite and Dr Kristin Aune will battle out the following question – ‘I am a Feminist – Can I Vajazzle?’. The debate will be chaired by columnist and author, India Knight.

This debate is part of Cosmopolitan’s ‘F Word’ campaign, launched to celebrate its birthday issue, on sale 1st March. The campaign aims to shine light on the myths and outdated stereotypes surrounding feminism and starts deliberately with this controversial subject to explore the multiple aspects of women’s relationship with feminism in the 21st century.

Cosmopolitan believe there has never been a more important time to be a feminist, with the world we live in today still far from equal for men and women. The first thing the magazine wants to achieve in its bid for equality is equal pay for men and women doing the same jobs. The magazine is campaigning for the government to get tough now on equal pay, by making it mandatory for companies who employ 250 people or more to carry out a public, annual equal-pay audit. If you want to fight for your right for equal pay in the workplace, sign the Cosmopolitan Equal Pay petition now at www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/equalpay.

To book tickets to for the Cosmopolitan debate – ‘I am a Feminist – Can I Vajazzle?’:

Saturday 10th March, from 3pm – 4pm, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Tickets cost £30 for a weekend pass (£15 concessions) and £12 for a day pass (£6 concessions), and are available from the Southbank Centre Ticket Office: 0844 847 9910 / www.southbankcentre.co.uk/wow

NB – Some events have a limited capacity and entry is on a first-come first-served basis.

Frost Mag is supporting Cosmopolitan magazine's F-Word campaign.

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COSMOPOLITAN Launches the ‘F-word’ campaign. Cosmopolitian is launching its campiagn on International Women’s Day, and Frost Magazine is supporting them.

This International Women’s Day (8th March) Cosmopolitan will be launching its ‘F Word’ campaign, a series of initiatives championing women – and men – to stand up and be counted and get what they deserve; equality in all aspects of their lives. The ‘F word’ has been created by Cosmopolitan to highlight the fact there has never been a more important time to be a feminist. The magazine has teamed up with some of the UK’s biggest stars who all support the campaign, including Annie Lennox, Jameela Jamil, Emma Bunton and Professor Green.

Miquita Oliver:

“I’ve gone up and down in weight and I’ve never been very glamorous so I’ve always used what I have which is my personality. It would mean so much to me if there were girls who watched me on the telly and thought ‘Oh actually I can just be a funny cool person.’ It’s important to push your personality rather than wearing ‘the right’ skinny jeans.”

Emma Willis:

“People think of it as a dirty word but being a feminist doesn’t mean you’re loud and lairy. You can still be feminine and be a feminist.”

According to the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for equality between men and women, men are currently getting paid almost 15% more than females, rising to 55% in the banking sector. It has also revealed that this is likely to widen, due to public sector job cuts, which are historically female dominated.

Cosmopolitan, the magazine for smart spirited women, believes it is time to take action. It wants the government to get tough now on equal pay, by making it mandatory for companies who employ 250 people or more to carry out a public, annual equal-pay audit – this was due to become law under the last government, but was shelved in 2012 in favour of making these audits voluntary.

The magazine is calling all British women to fight for their right to an equal pay packet by signing the Cosmopolitan Equal Pay petition at www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/equalpay. Cosmo is hoping to gather 100,000 signatures and plans to present the petition to David Cameron later in the year.

Louise Court, Cosmopolitan, Editor, said: “When we heard that the pay gap looked likely to widen in 2012 we felt it was time to stand up and make a difference for women in the UK today. Many women don’t even realise that they could be doing exactly the same job as their male colleagues and not being paid the same wage – it’s time to highlight this unfairness and make positive changes!”

According to a poll of Cosmopolitan readers, 58% would not describe themselves as being a feminist. However, Cosmopolitan believes that there has never been a more important time to be a feminist with inequality between the sexes at an all time high. “It’s time to grab back the word ‘feminism’. It’s a perfectly good word. But we need to simplify it. It’s about equal rights; that’s all. It’s not about being enemies of men.” Says Annie Lennox of the Cosmopolitan F Word campaign.

THE DAREDEVIL SOCIALIST

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By Frank Huzur in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh-India)

With elections to India’s most populous province coming to a close this week, the rise and rise of young socialist politician Akhilesh Yadav has upset the applecart of Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi and also sparked the hopes of revival of hitherto moribund Socialist Party. Come 6 March 2012 the people of India would know who rules Lucknow and stakes claim for more share in New Delhi.

He is only 38 years old. For the minefield of Indian politics, any age below 40 could be a gawky position to start the race. Worse for dark and stormy politics of Uttar Pradesh, it could be like having two left feet and two left hands. This is the heart of India, where six Prime Ministers have sharpened their political grammar skills and polished their realpolitik positions. In the spring of 2012, he is nimble-footing the pedal of bicycle of Indian socialism. The young warhorse talks softly and walks briskly. His hello on mobile phone is heavy with scent of honey-jar happy expression. Any punctuation in conversation is dotted with solemn, quick-wit humour and big smile. The smile shorn of scowl, sneer and smirk! Happy expression falls in torrents when he appears in the crowd. In the midst of mammoth public rally, his right hand rises in gentle whip to greet each of the expectant eyes. His strong personal charm lifts the spirit of the crowds when his left hand joins the right hand to offer a salute of delight and dignity. The red socialist cap, sitting prettily on his sheaf of cropped black hair, puff up the picture of pride and joy. When he rides his cycle, he shuffles his blackberry between his right and left hands like a trapeze artist, shooting messages to socialist cadre through facebook statuses and tweets. His statuses on facebook are mission statement. He tweets to tease the tweeple. Fcebook and twitter are his gravy train. Akhilesh considers internet as a strong force of democracy. The tech-socialist is an adventurer in his own rights. Undoubtedly, he is the politician who takes risk.

He steers the wheel on shiny stations of virtual world as ingeniously as he rides bumpy roads of villages and towns. A swelling army of socialist cadre dotes on him. They address him by many affectionate titles, Bhaiya (dear brother), chhote Netaji (veiled reference to his father, socialist patriarch who is hailed as Netaji, dear leader) and samajwaadi yuvraj (the socialist heir apparent). This is Akhilesh Yadav, the state president of Socialist Party of India, Samajwadi Party, and a man of the moment in the battleground UP elections for more than one reason.

So, what violent gust of wind has propelled a shy, simple and smooth talking young socialist politician into the centre of national and international attention? Six months ago when he was bracing for the big battle on snazzy red motor chariot of revolution (Kraanti Rath), Indian media was guarded in its judgment. Far from being a toast of mocktail discourses in neon-lit salon of New Delhi and Bombay, he was dismissed by heavy list of opinion makers and mediaratti as ‘son of his father’s socialist palace which was pockmarked with un-sophistication and complex legacy. The blue bars of corporate Indian media didn’t give him a notch above the ‘darling dynast of Gandhi family,’ Rahul Gandhi, the 42 year-old man billed as the original heir apparent. In bewildering contrast, the arc-light on Akhilesh wavered and he was just a naïve member of Parliament, unschooled in guile and stratagem of power politics though remembered and acclaimed in certain political quarters for his guileless, artless and unaffected manners.

Rahul Gandhi had proved cynics in 2009 General Elections that he was not a Peter Pan. Only three springs later, he began to belie the expectations. In Uttar Pradesh election campaign, he was an angry man, rolling his sleeves beyond the elbow in fit of rage-fight. Quite a bunch of youngsters applauded his desperate act when he tore into a piece of paper, claiming he was tearing the list of promises of Opposition parties but media camera zoomed in to expose he was tearing the paper bearing the name of Congress party members. The young socialist Akilesh had the last laugh when he quipped on his campaign trails that Rahul might jump off the stage by the time electioneering comes to a close. Humour is the high point of Akhilesh’s electoral campaign. Rahul’s antic was ridiculed as a public stunt. He is spontaneous and spot on. Little wonder, his comments drew nation-wide attention.

Rahul’s each public appearance was a television spectacle whereas Akhilesh’s toiling on his cycle and chariot in villages and towns was a blank grain on the television screens. Akhilesh was, however, austere in his resolve. He was stirring a quiet revolution in hearts and minds of hungry eyes and broken hearts of rural hinterland. There was a long road to walk before he could accomplish his starry dreams. His party so assiduously crafted in homes and hearths of 200 million people of Uttar Pradesh by his father Mulayam Singh was in shambles in the summer of 2007. The party was badly mauled at the husting. Its reputation hit rock bottom for some monstrous allegations of hooliganism, retrogressive public policies, such as anti-English and anti-Computer public posturing, not to speak the mounting assault on socialist charter of the party from left, right and centre. Gerrymandering was the constant refrain from the vast swathe of opponents. English has been used to target Indian socialsits in the past. Mulayam, the socialist stalwart, himself was an English teacher at school. Nonetheless, Akhilesh busted the myth by releasing party advertisements in English on English dailies and questioned crown prince of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi’s ridicule by saying why doesn’t he canvass in English when he had raised the issue of Akhilesh’s command of English and provoked voters by saying that Mulayam doesn’t want them to learn English while he has got his son Akhilesh to learn English. Akhilesh was pumped up the next morning to give a befitting reply. He told the national press, “The Socialists are not anti-English. They want people to learn English as contact language. But the software is available in vernacular languages, Hindi and Urdu, so they can make most of it. In China, France and Spain, people are proud of their mother tongue. Why should we feel inferior about our mother tongue?”
The Amar Singh phenomenon had created a wedge among several socialist stalwarts, including Azam Khan, a firebrand Muslim leader and others. Only to burn more holes in the socialist bandwagon, Akhilesh was shaken with the unexpected defeat of his better half, Dimple, in October 2009 bye-elections in his own bastion, Firozabad, the city of bangles. The defeat at hands of Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party left socialist ship sailing in the sunset of its confidence. The fiasco of Firozabad was a personal tragedy. Akhilesh was badly afflicted with Rahul’s decision to campaign during elections. For the man who may not be a deity dancer, it was an act of god. Hereafter he drew the battle line and resolved deep within to set on the silent voyage of recovery that would surprise people and pundits alike over the next couple of years.

The challenges before the young socialist were herculean. He was hoisted in the office of state presidency by his father and told in no uncertain terms to reverse the setback. Debacle, actually, was a blessing in disguise for Akhilesh. When I met him in 2009, he was on the ball with arrows of assault. He told me, “I’ve known defeat, suffering, struggle, loss and have found my way out of the depths. Come what may socialism will not die in India. I will meet people with fresh set of ideas and programmes and reinvent socialism to wipe out their fears and despairs.”

The way he toiled in the past three years has left political observers in India with their foot in the mouth. An environment engineer by degree and training from Mysore and Sydney, he set the ball rolling by launching mass engagement with young and old on the social network sites. No other Indian politician could connect with so much felicity and fruition as Akhilesh did. Indians are crazy about their fortune stars. Being a son of ex-defense minister of India as well as three times chief minister of Uttar Pradesh had its head-start as well as hiccups but he shed the cloak of being a socialist patriarch’s son and began to communicate with netizens in their lexicon. Even when he was smelling the scent of mustard flower and sugar plantations in the green fields of farmers as well as courtyard of peasants in Bundelkhand who are trapped in sinkhole of debt, drought and distress, he kept parity with learning and unlearning lessons. Slowly and steadily, he was marking out the path of his revolution in neat details. He had eyes on everything, from recording of socialist jingles to the designing of poster, bill, bunting and flags of the party. He would quip sometimes to me, “The devil is in the detail. Socialism is not only about economic equality and caste and class-free society. It is also about smart dressing and physical drills. I am a fitness fanatic. So I want every single person to work as much on fitness regimen as on his economic and social responsibilities. Flags are first stop. They are as good as the face of leader.” Like a polymath, he handles everything from designing of posters to mapping the path of his political journey on tablets.

I recall an interesting commentary of Imran Khan about Rahul Gandhi in summer of 2008. During my visit to Pakistan I was interviewing legendary cricketer-turned-politician for his biography. Imran had read in Pakistani papers about Rahul Gandhi’s visit to a Dalit home where the Gandhi scion spent the night on the stringing cot under the dark Sun. Imran was infatuated with the taste of Rahul. He told me that Bilawal Bhutto should learn politics from Rahul Gandhi. Today when I look at Akhilesh’s political pilgrimage, I wonder whether Imran would exercise discretion in branding the banal value of political histrionics. Akhilesh has been eating his meals cooked by a Dalit for years but he never advertised the identity of his kitchen inspector. Especially in Uttar Pradesh, where identity politics trumps merit of all hues, the young socialist could have chosen to scream from the rooftop but it was quite a non-issue to him. He wonders, “Why should a Dalit home and meal become an issue? It is about the intentions. Somewhere intentions of advertisers of having slept and taken food of a Dalit are suspect. Dalit are as much human as anybody else. Why make a political capital out of eating at a Dalit’s home? I have been eating Dalit-cooked meal for a decade.” Dalit, the black-skinned aboriginal, are the untouchable in the Hindu-caste pyramid. They constitute around 25 per cent of Indian population but have been subjected to social discrimination on the lines of apartheid in Africa. Socialists forged an alliance with Dalit icons Kanshi Ram in 1993 and stormed to power with two-third majority but the marriage couldn’t last beyond eighteen months. The endgame was a chess game at the altar of exigencies of politics which only harmed the greater interests of Untouchables and socially and economic backward people of India. Socialists are only political block who ruminates to transcend the caste pyramid. Akhilesh volunteered to award tickets to some bright and promising candidates from both upper and lower castes, including Cambridge alumni Abhishek Mishra and host of others. He has broken out with the stigma of Yadava-Muslim caucus with much success. Besides, he also built solid bridge with Muslims by inducting vivacious young, educated Muslim faces like Naved Siddique, a radio jockey and others like Nafis Ahmed. His father has lived with the epithet of ‘Maulana Mulayam’ (Cleric Mulayam) for decades. The son is least perturbed.

I was running around with Akhilesh in the first two rounds of revolutionary chariot race in middle of September, 2011. His father had launched his maiden chariot journey in November of 1987 from Jalaun in Bundelkhand, which catapulted him into power corridor two years later. What actually struck me during the chariot journey was the ever-swelling surge of privileged and underprivileged to steal a glimpse of him wherever he stopped for the brief address. He was not a star of Bollywood or Indian cricket world. Yet, his drawing power was spectacular and it had astonishing influence. His address would be brief and on the boil, “I will give employment allowance to every single unemployed. Our last government gave special allowance to girl who coveted higher education. I will finish the cycle of unemployed father in the age of inflation and price hike. Let us bring back pride and glory of socialism.”

The chariot would run and stop as and where scheduled stops were determined. Akhilesh would rise on the top of the chariot with the hydraulic lift and address the surging crowd in simplicity and sincerity. Once inside the chariot he would continue to look beyond the window and wave in revolutionary spirit imbued with smile and self-gratification. Just as his gaze would fall on a struggling worker fighting for his attention, he would ask the assistant for grinding halt of the chariot and immediately order his acolyte to bring that particular surging worker in the crowd to the chariot. There were countless occasions in Unnao, Kanpur, Rae Bareli, Jalaun, Laliltpur, Jhanshi and other areas of Bundelkhand where Akhilesh ordered unscheduled stops of the chariot to mingle with starry-eyed populace. He not only asked after their welfare, but he also promised them resolution of their knotty issues.

Akhilesh is not a demonstrative politician. I can quietly agrue he is the most reading politician. For the past few years he has been quietly reading about Bolshevism, Fabianism, Leninism, Maoism, Marxism, collective ownership, collectivism, communism, state ownership and host of socialist stalwarts. Albert Einstein intrigues him as much as Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx. In his view, Einstein was one of the towering socialists. Einstein picture with his bicycle thrills Tipu like a child is thrilled with his desirable toys. Tipu is the nickname of Akhilesh. Behind the red curtain, he was learning about the levers of social security, social Darwinism, social hierarchy, social psychology, social distortion and social health wellness while he was comparing communism, capitalism and socialism. It is true that one of India’s top brass billionaires Anil Ambani is a family friend of Akhilesh. And, he knows that capitalism is an economic system where all business, production, and distribution are owned by private individuals or corporations who then use the profit earned to reinvest in their companies to promote the fundamentals of free market systems. However, Akhilesh believes in command system where both socialism and communism mingles to set the stage where government owns all property rights and also makes all the decisions. In a way, he wants the government to own all of the business firms and produce what the government deemed necessary, especially where peasantry welfare is concerned. And, India is an agricultural country and the socialists draw maximum support from the farmlands. There are skeptics who argue equal opportunity society is not conceivable under socialistic umbrella because there are not enough tax revenue to pay for the large number of social programmes, especially pro-young men and women policies.

When Akhilesh began his most coveted political journey six months ago, his socialist party, Samajwadi Party, was an antiquated and archaic organisation. He was determined not to let the party stay in the closet. With the onset of the spring, he has achieved a turnaround even his bitterest baiters didn’t conceive. Whether he wins or loses, he has registered his presence in emphatic way. The environmental engineer has astutely revived the socialist campaign in India’s most populous province, which is reputed for paving the way for coronation in New Delhi. The man who could engineer the u-turn in the fortune of Socialist party can as well impact the fortune of New Delhi throne in 2014. He is the original heir apparent of the Socialist bandwagon and radiates the promise and potential to rule not only a province but the country in future. Akhilesh is the daredevil socialist.

(Frank Huzur is biographer of Imran Khan. Imran Versus Imran-The Untold Story. He is also finishing writing the biography of India’s socialist patriarch, Mulayam Singh Yadav. The Socialist is the title, expected for April release. www.mulayamsinghyadav.co.uk and www.frankhuzur.com )

Watermelons Book Review: Is Climate Change a Conspiracy?

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James Delingpole is known for being controversial. He is right wing and speaks his mind. You may know of him not only because of climategate, but also due to the furore he created when he debated in Tatler magazine whether people were sending their daughters or sons to private school.

One sometimes feels he is saying things for effect, but if there is one word I would use for his new book, Watermelons, it’s “interesting”.

It takes courage to be apart from the general conscious, especially on something like climate change. A subject most people in power have stopped debating over. The environment is at the forefront of political agenda, newspapers, televisions and people’s minds. You can’t go to a supermarket without being asked if you really want a plastic bag. I try to never use them (after seeing the effect they have on animals and the ocean thanks to Greener-upon-Thames) but when you have lots of shopping and someone asks if you need a bag you just feel like asking them if you should just juggle it all home.

I don’t judge people on their political beliefs, but I feel that will stop some people reading Delingpole’s book. Some of my liberal friends were not amused I was even reviewing Delingpole’s book, but, really, who cares.

I found this book interesting. Even if you get to the end and don’t agree with Delingpole it is a fascinating read. The name ”watermelons” is Delingpole’s description of people who are red on the inside and green on the outside. In this book he is debunking the myth of anthropogenic global warming (CAGW). Delingpole has a chapter on the evidence behind his theme of the book, which is; politicians and scientists are using the myth of man-made climate change to raise our tax and control us. Delingpole is not just a crack pot conspiracy theorists. Alain De Botton is mentioned in the book, Delingpole asked him what he wanted to read in the book and he said the science, the evidence, of Delingpole’s claim. Delingpole took his friends advice and included this.

The chapter on the climategate emails is hilarious. Really funny. The scientists involved to not come across well. I will still recycle and be environmentally aware but the book has some good points. It expose hypocrisy in droves, and takes people to task.

This book is for anyone interested in the debate on climate change. Whether environmentalist or sceptic. Delingpole is educated and outspoken. Most people follow other people’s opinion rather than make up their own minds . Which is why I do think you should read this book, it is entertaining and political and sparks debate Then make up your own mind.

Watermelons: How the Environmentalists are Killing the Planet, Destroying the Economy and Stealing Your Children’s Future

Rupert Murdoch Flying to UK to Stop Sun Going Down.

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Rupert Murdoch is flying to London to meet staff at The Sun this week, after the arrests of five senior staff members over bribery allegations. The source told the AFP that Murdoch would fly to London “later in the week” and News International has said that Murdoch has given “personal assurance” that The Sun will not be closed like the News of the World.

The News of the World was closed on July in the midst of the phone hacking scandal.

 

News International chief executive Tom Mockridge said in an email to staff that Murdoch would stand by The Sun in the “greatest challenge” it faced.

 

“You should know that I have had a personal assurance today from Rupert Murdoch about his total commitment to continue to own and publish The Sun newspaper,” Mockridge said.

 

The Sun journalists that were arrested were deputy editor Geoff Webster, picture editor John Edwards, chief reporter John Kay, chief foreign correspondent Nick Parker and reporter John Sturgis.
News International has not made a statement on Murdoch coming to London, and neither has Murdoch himself.

 

Allegedly The Sun were furious at the fact that News Corp had handed over the information to police that led to the arrests.

 

First Cut Returns To C4

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Channel 4 Commissioning Editor Aysha Rafael has commissioned 12 x 30 minute First Cut films which will TX early summer.

The First Cut strand showcases original and bold documentary films by up and coming first time directors as part of Channel 4’s continuous commitment to nurturing new and diverse talent. It first launched in 2007 and now in its sixth year. These forthcoming films chronicle a range of fascinating stories from the world’s first IVF lottery, a finishing school for Chinese students in London, Britain’s oldest stand-up comic – to the moving story of the mother of one of Ian Brady’s victims who is making one last plea to him to reveal where her boy is buried.

First Cut Commissioning Editor, Aysha Rafaele said: ‘First Cut continues to be one of the very few platforms on primetime TV for emerging film making talent in the UK. I am proud that Channel 4 continues to showcase and support distinctive singular documentary films and is always open to introducing fresh new opinions and ideas. This new series of First Cut once again delivers a run of thought-provoking films from a variety of talented first-time directors.’

Films for the 2012 run will include:

The Harry Hunters
Since the marriage between Kate Middleton and Prince William, Prince Harry has been thrust into the spotlight as the most eligible bachelor in Britain. Handsome and third in line to the throne, the remaining Prince has become an object of desire for girls across the globe. The Harry Hunters follows five girls on their quest to snag a royal including Cassie who grew up in rural Iowa watching Disney movies and dreaming she would one day marry Prince Harry. She’s done her background research and has a plan – to hit his favourite haunts – from Polo clubs to exclusive Mayfair nightspots. Production Company: Rare Day; Producer and Director: Emily Hughes; Exec Producers: Emily Renshaw-Smith and Peter Dale.

Dear Mr Brady
This sensitive and poignant film tells the story of Winnie Johnson, and her son Keith Bennett who was horrifically murdered by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in the 1960s. Out of the five victims of the Moors Murderers, only Keith remains buried on Saddleworth Moor. Almost 50 years after Keith’s disappearance, Ian Brady still refuses to say where he buried the 12-year-old boy. Now 78 years-old and recently diagnosed with cancer, Winnie refuses to give up her quest to find and bring home her eldest son and makes one last plea to Ian Brady to tell her where he buried Keith. Dear Mr Brady examines the extraordinary relationship between Manchester Matron Winnie Johnson and Britain’s most notorious serial killer, Ian Brady, and reveals how Winnie has coped with every mother’s worst nightmare. Production Company: Century Films; Producer and Director: John Coffey; Exec Producer: Liesel Evans.

Fraud Lord
Lord Davenport is the extraordinary tale of ‘Fast Eddie’ Davenport and his spectacular fall from grace. How did this titled London socialite end up sentenced to 7 years behind bars? He was already notorious for a lifestyle that was said to include orgies, fast cars, and dodgy property, even before he hit the front pages following his conviction for a multiple-million pound financial fraud. Davenport has property around the world and who could not be impressed by his website which includes a gallery of photographs showing him at parties that were attended by the likes of Mick Jagger and Paris Hilton. It turned out he used the movie star pseudonym James Stewart to execute his multimillion pound con. Production Company: Ronachan Films; Producer and Director: Ruth Reid, Exec Producer: Helen Littleboy.

Stalked
Stalked is the story of how one man became entangled in the murky waters of 21st century sexual manners; and how easily the word of one person can transform your life, causing you to question your own past, and fear your own innermost thoughts. When a single, thirty-something writer living in London awoke to find a woman he’d met just hours earlier saying she loved him, an alarm bell started to ring. Six months later, his life changed for the worse. Told through dramatized sequences and interviews with friends, family, workmates and neighbours, Stalked reveals how a confident young man ends up as a terrified victim. What are the rules of contemporary sexual politics? How does it feel to be transformed on the say-so of one person, from victim to sexual assault suspect? And why does nearly everyone view the idea of a man being stalked by a woman as a joke? Production Company: ACME Films; Producer and Director: Lottie Gammon; Exec Prod: Jaimie D’Cruz.

A Tale of Two Chinas
China has an increasing impact on the UK. The Peking pound now props up the British housing and education market, Chinese hunger for haute couture accounted for a third of the spending in 2010 London Christmas sales and almost half of London’s Canary Wharf apartments are Chinese owned. The largest number of foreign students in the UK are Chinese, but they can find it hard to comprehend British culture. This is where Anglo-Chinese businesswoman Carrie Waley comes in. Carrie escaped to the UK from Beijing and now runs a strict, straight-talking finishing school for Chinese students studying here, eager to learn British customs and snap up the top international jobs, but also to take on the ‘correct’ etiquette, fashion and business persona. The film follows Carrie back to Beijing as she revisits the places of her childhood and hears her mother talking for the first time, about their family’s humiliation and persecution during the Cultural Revolution and asks if China too can reconcile past and present? Production Company: Keo Films; Producer and Director: Frankie Fathers; Exec Producer: Katie Buchanan.

Britain’s Oldest Stand Up
Chelsea Pensioner, 90-year-old Jack Woodward has a dream: to revive his career as a stand-up comic and perform on stage at the Hammersmith Apollo. This film follows Jack on a heart-warming journey as he attempts to make it in the modern world of stand-up comedy. Jack has grown restless and is looking for a challenge and wants to do one last gig to rival them all. His comedy CV is already impressive – he cut his comedy teeth in working men’s clubs in the North, performed on troop ships during WW2 and was a BBC warm-up comic in the 1960s. He complains that comedians today swear too much, but can they actually teach him a thing or two about modern comedy and help him update his act so he can compete with the best of them? For an old dog learning new tricks, the road to the Apollo will be littered with obstacles, both practical and emotional. But the reward will be the opportunity for Jack to feel the buzz of a live audience once again – and to finally achieve a life-long ambition. Production Co: Testimony Films; Producer and Director: Clair Titley; Exec Producer Steve Humphries.

Win a Baby
Fertility problems affect one in seven couples in the UK so when single mother Camille Strachan announced back in July 2011 that she would be launching the world’s first IVF lottery, it caused both a media storm and provoked a huge ethical debate. The scheme comes at a time when more and more people are citing a ‘postcode lottery’ with regards to receiving IVF treatment on the NHS and promises a monthly chance of winning a luxurious all-inclusive fertility treatment package worth £25,000, all for a £20 ticket online. Win a Baby follows Camille as she prepares and launches the first lottery of its type in Britain and meets the people who are planning on entering in the draw. Production Company: Roast Beef Productions; Producer: Danielle Clark; Director: Joseph Martin; Executive Producers: Mike Lerner and Martin Herring

What’s My Body Worth?
Could selling your hair, fingernails or eggs make you rich? Filmmaker Storm Theunissen examines the reality of the body parts industry and embarks on a hilarious yet painful personal journey; trying to sell every bit of her body she legally can from a lap-dance to her own eggs. Setting her sights on Hollywood – the market leader in egg-brokering for IVF – Storm learns that model looks and intelligence could easily net you $15,000. Egg donation must be altruistic in the UK and What’s My Body Worth is a timely contribution to this moral minefield. In April this year, the UK government is tripling the payment for expenses to £750 in a bid to solve a shortage of these donors. The film also follows Storm as she aims to discover whether her body is worth more dead than alive. Production Company: Ronachan Films; Producer and Director: Storm Theunissen; Executive Producers: Monica Garnsey and Angus Macqueen .

Interview with Homeland creators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa

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Writers and creators, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa talk 24, the process behind Homeland and ‘misunderstanding’ while shooting in Israel with Claire Danes.

When did you first become aware of Gideon Raff’s original Israeli television series Prisoners of War upon which Homeland is based, and what was the thinking surrounding the decision to adapt a U.S. version from the Israeli original? How is it similar/different to its predecessor?

Howard: I became aware of Prisoners of War when I got a call from my agent, Rick Rosen, who was stepping off a plane from Israel. He represents Keshet – the television company responsible for In Treatment, among other formats – and he said, pretty definitively, “I have your next show.” He described it briefly and it sounded good, and I suggested that it might be something Alex and I could do together (since Alex also happens to be a client of Rick’s). But the truth was, Alex and I were both so deep into the eighth season of 24 that when we agreed to do the project, we had no idea how different our final product would be from the original. So while the source material offered some compelling ideas for us to work with, making it work as a series for a U.S. and, really a global audience, required some wholesale reinvention from us.

What were some of the challenges in both story and character with translating Gideon Raff’s original vision? What are some of the factors involved in writing for an Israeli audience versus and American audience?

Howard: The imagined homecoming of two long-time POWs was really the dramatic engine of Gideon’s story. While this has a deep and immediate resonance with Israeli society (the capture of Gilad Shalit by Hamas for the last five years has been a national crisis) we have no analogous situation in the U.S. While Gideon’s was essentially a family drama, ours became a psychological thriller when we posited the possibility that the returning soldier had been turned into a terrorist and was being sent back here as the tip of the spear of a major terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

How did your experience on working on 24 influence your decision to do Homeland?

Howard: It felt like an opportunity to explore some of the same themes which we are still grappling with ten years after 9/11 – national security versus civil liberties, the nature of real threats versus imagined threats which we create out of our fear – but in a more nuanced way than we would ever achieve in the relentless pedal-to-the-metal narrative that 24 required. And while 24 was born and came of age in the shadow of 9/11, so much has changed in the world since then, the complexities and tangled consequences of our military actions being one of them, and Homeland lives in this far more complex world we now find ourselves trying to navigate as a nation.

Homeland premiered in the US almost directly after the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Was that a conscious decision?

Howard: It was just a confluence of events, which in the end turned out to be quite fortuitous, as did a number of other things. Osama bin Laden was killed when we were on Episode 2, eerily like the scene of Damian’s rescue; the Arab Spring. So a lot of the issues, you know, that seem to be a conflation of war on terror and the two wars we find ourselves in. This is after Abu Ghraib, after Guantanamo, after the prosecution of two wars of questionable merit. So this looks at the price to this country of what happened to us ten years ago. So the timing of it, I think, is significant, accidental, and fortuitous.

Both 24 and Homeland share similar themes of national security, terrorism and politics. Can you talk about your interest in exploring these subjects and how the two shows differ in their approaches?
Howard: Although the real-time format of 24 gave it a certain energy and a seeming realism, the fact that it told a story inside the course of a single day inevitably made it embrace improbabilities. So the idea of exploring themes like national security, terrorism and politics was subverted to the rigorous requirements of an almost impossible format. Because Homeland isn’t bound by the real-time format, we’re able to dramatise relationships and story arcs that take place over a longer time period, which has given us an opportunity to explore some of the same themes in a deeper and more nuanced way.
Alex: We also wanted to address the experience of veterans. The conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are arguably the longest wars in U.S. history. Members of the armed forces are struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress and physical disabilities in record numbers. How will their experiences overseas find a context once these soldiers are back home? Brody’s journey is a way to ask that question in depth. What was he was fighting for? Just what are the values of his homeland? “24” existed in a real post9/11 world. And Jack was an action hero. In response to that, ten years later, things have become deeper and more complex. And the heart of this show is really psychological, how America is dealing with that tenyear period. And now it’s post Osama bin Laden.

Tell us about the cast. How did Claire Danes and Damian Lewis come to join the production? And can you describe the greatest attribute and flaws in the characters they play – Carrie Anderson and Sgt. Nick Brody?

Howard: Claire Danes was our first choice from the moment we sat down to write the pilot. She had just appeared in Temple Grandin and we were blown away by her performance. We even named the character Claire in our first draft. As much as Alex and I were fans of Damian’s from Band of Brothers, he became our first choice when we saw him in an independent movie called Keane.
Alex: Carrie has an extraordinary passion for life; her mental illness gives her an unparalleled intuition and appetite. But the highs give way to crippling lows, and that can be an intensely lonely experience. Brody trained as a sniper. He’s focused. He has incredible will. He’s survived an experience that would break most people. He’s also a soldier with a strong sense of duty and justice. As the season unfolds, we’ll learn how his eight years in captivity changed him, or just uncovered something he always carried inside him. Carrie and Brody are a great match in this season-long cat and mouse game. Each harbours secrets. And each understands the other in a way that no one else can. They have an intense connection-despite the fact that they might have radically opposing goals.

What can you tell us about the end of these 13 weeks? Will you solve the mysteries of Damian’s character?

Howard: This is a very, very interesting narrative experience. We’ve all discussed it. The first conversation we had with Damian and Claire was, how long can we keep the “is he or isn’t he” of it alive without feeling like we’re annoying the audience. And I think we have found a really satisfying way to tell that story where this uncertainty is actually compelling. And the answer is that we hope, that we answer those questions at the right time.

Are you working with any official consultants from the CIA or another government agency to advise on storylines? How do you make the plotlines authentic?

Howard: Alex and I have very different processes when it comes to this. Alex tends to do a lot of research, and I tend not to because I’m lazy and I prefer to keep my imagination unencumbered by the facts – and usually find myself able to retrofit reality to what I need the characters to do. I find that plotlines are authentic when the characters are authentic – which is to say, act like people you recognise.
Alex: At the writers’ office, we do a significant amount of research in order to get the details right – and given the subject matter, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find that we’d been flagged for the terrorist watch list. We’re very lucky to have a few official consultants, including a contact at the CIA and the representatives of Muslims On Screen & Television. We even have an imam on set to work with non-Muslim actors to perfect their salat prayer rituals. But, as Howard says, the authenticity of the characters comes first.

Where is production set? Did any of the filming be on location in the Middle East?

Howard: The production is set in Charlotte, North Carolina, which will double as Washington DC and Virginia. For the pilot, we were able to film in Israel, which doubled as Baghdad. There was a little misunderstanding with the location person, and so there was a little bit of an adventure while we were there.

What do you mean by “misunderstanding”?

Howard: Well, it wasn’t like shooting in L.A. where you lock down a street and, you know, get a license from the city. This was a little bit more ad hoc than that, and so let’s just say certain people didn’t get distributed their location fee. And then the rumour circulated that we were actually CIA plants, and then you can imagine what happened.
Alex: And the next thing –
Howard: The next thing, Claire was being rushed away in a van by security.
Alex: Claire was in the back of a car going a hundred miles an hour out of town. We got it on film
Howard: We hope we’ll have the chance in the future to do some more remote shooting in that part of the world.

Frost would like to thank Channel 4 for this interview.

Is President Obama Right About Engineers?

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Is President Obama Right About Engineers?: Significant Numbers Unemployed or Underemployed

WASHINGTON,  During a recent video chat session, President Obama told a woman that he could not understand why her engineer husband was unemployed because “industry tells me that they don’t have enough highly skilled engineers.” However, in an analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies of the data from the American Community Survey collected by the Census Bureau show that there are a total of 1.8 million U.S.-born individuals with engineering degrees who are either unemployed, out of the labor market, or not working as engineers. This is true for those with many different types of engineering degrees.

For a complete review of the American Community Survey, including a table containing detailed employment figures for specific engineering degrees, visit the Center for Immigration Studies website at: http://cis.org/obama-and-engineers

The 2010 American Community Survey shows:

  • There are 101,000 U.S.-born individuals with engineering degrees who are unemployed.
  • There are an additional 244,000 U.S.-born individuals under age 65 who have a degree in engineering but who are not in the labor market. This means they are not working nor are they looking for work, and are therefore not counted as unemployed.
  • In addition to those unemployed and out of the labor force, there are an additional 1.47 million U.S.-born individuals who report they have an engineering degree and have a job, but do not work as engineers.
  • President Obama specifically used the words “highly skilled.” In 2010, there were 25,000 unemployed U.S.-born individuals with engineering degrees who have a Master’s or Ph.D. and another 68,000 with advanced degrees not in the labor force. There were also 489,000 U.S.-born individuals with graduate degrees who were working, but not as engineers.
  • Relatively low pay and perhaps a strong bias on the part of some employers to hire foreign workers seems to have pushed many American engineers out their profession.
  • There are many different types of engineering degrees. But unemployment, non-work, or working outside of your field is common for Americans with many different types of engineering degrees.
  • The key policy question for the United States is how many foreign engineers should be admitted in the future. Contrary to President Obama’s statement, the latest data from the Census Bureau indicate there is a very large supply of American-born engineers in the country. It would be better for the president to seek more diverse sources of information than simply relying on “industry” to determine what is going on in the U.S. labor market.

Data Source: Figures for the above analysis come from a Center for Immigration Studies analysis of the public-use file of the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Figures on degrees and employment are based on self-reporting in the survey and have been rounded to their nearest thousand. The survey asks about undergraduate degrees, so some of the individuals who have a Master’s or Ph.D. may not have their graduate degree in engineering. Also, those who indicated that they have a “professional degree” are not included in the discussion of those with Masters’ and Ph.D.s because a large share have law degrees. The 2010 data is the most recent ACS available.

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institute that examines the impact of immigration on the United States.

 

SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies