Hillary for President

Hillary Rodham Clinton has finally declared that she wants to be President. This announcement was long expected and she enters the race as the front runner:

"I'm in, and I'm in to win," she said.

She has entered a race crowded with many hopefuls both Democrats and Republicans. She announced her intentions on her website HillaryClinton.com and promised to hold more video chats in the future.

Racism on Big Brother Cont'd

Shilpa Shetty has survived and Jade Goody is gone. That was the result of the audience vote on Celebrity Big Brother. It wasn't even close. More than 80% voted to cut Jade. Both Shilpa and Jade received the most votes by their fellow roommates and it was up to the audience to decide who should go. As each roommate voted they gave their reasons for selecting who they wanted off the show. This is captured in a two-part video clip:

Part one of the Nomination Process

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=DdRV6cZS5F0]

Part two of the Nomination Process

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=SGkK6O-1mrk]

In an effort to ease the tensions caused by the fight between Shilpa and Jade, Indian Tourism Office (ITO) issued the following invitation in an open letter to Jade Goody:

"Dear Jade Goody. Once your current commitments are over, may we invite you to experience the healing nature of India? Being one of the world's oldest civilisations, our land is one where the ancient and the modern culture co-exist and a multitude of religions live in harmony.

"As a beauty therapist, you may be especially interested in visiting one of the many spas where you can cleanse your stresses away, enjoy yoga in the land that invented it and experience Ayurvedic healing, which promotes positive health and natural beauty."

See how it all started here

Racism on Big Brother

Shilpa Shetty , 31, is one of India's most famous movie stars. She started her acting career in 1993 and has since made numerous films. She is also an AIDs activist and PETA supporter. Although she is quite popular in her native country, India, she has had very little worldwide recognition. This movie star is now at the center of an international debate over racism.

It all began when she agreed to be on the British version of the reality show, Celebrity Big Brother, and became involved with another female participant, Jade Goody, who is accused of using racist and abusive language towards her:

She has been asked whether she has "stubble" and lived in a shack.
One housemate has made derogatory remarks about Indian hygiene and said Shetty "wants to be white".
She has been called a "dog". Housemates refuse to learn her name, have referred to her as "the Indian" and "Miss Poppadom"
"She should f*** off home and have a “day in the slums”. She can't even speak English."
She has been taunted about her skin colour, accent and cooking
Jo wouldn't eat chicken Shilpa made because she touched it with her hands

This has caused a firestorm of protest in India and has made headlines in both the British and Indian press. Both the Prime Minister of England, Tony Blair, and Gordon Brown, who is expected to succeed him, have issued statements condemning racism. Thousands of viewers have registered their disgust at the treatment Shetty has received. The news report below captures some of the issues involved:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=u7sqAIPR50c]

Shetty herself has questioned the motives of her antagonist and wonders why she has been subjected to this animosity:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=77hX-ijXFFQ]

There have also been Financial Consequences to this controversy:

• Carphone Warehouse suspended its sponsorship of Celebrity Big Brother as a record 36,000 people lodged complaints over alleged racism on the reality television programme.


• The motorcycle insurance firm Bennetts said it would be dropping Danielle Lloyd, a former Miss England, from a lucrative 12-month modelling contract.


• The Perfume Shop said it had decided to withdraw Miss Goody's perfume, "Shh...", from its shelves.


• Hertfordshire police confirmed that they had launched an investigation into allegations of racism in the Channel 4 programme's house.

Others have also offered opinions on this topic like former Celebrity Big Brother contestant Makosi and the motives of the TV station, Channel 4, has also been questioned. Some Indian newspapers, while deploring the situation with Miss Shetty, have noted that India itself still engages in it's own form of racism.

Sky News offers this synopsis of the controversy:

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=g8Hz-ksX_jM]

Obama will run for President

Sen. Barack Obama has decided to throw his hat into the Presidential sweepstakes. If successful he would be the first Black man to occupy the White House.

He joins a list of Democratic candidates: 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich have all announced. Others considering running include: Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Joe Biden of Delaware and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson........ and of course Hillary Clinton

Iraqi University Attacked

On Tuesday, Jan 16 2007, a total of 142 Iraqi civilians were killed. This includes at least 65 students leaving classes at Al-Mustansiriya, a prominent Baghdad University.

"The only guilt of our martyred students is that they pursued education. They belong to all religions, sects and ethnic groups," said an angry al-Moussawi, himself a Shiite. "The terrorists want to stop education. ...Those students had nothing to do with politics."

Meanwhile the United Nations released a report saying that:

• 34,452 Iraqi civilians were killed in 2006.


• 14,534 prisoners were being held in US custody


• 407,094 people have been forced to leave their homes


• Many young women were abused and killed by armed militia

President Bush continues to be criticised for his decision to send more troops to Iraq and his interview with CBS was ridiculed by Keith Olbermann again.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=IgDtt1Thtfs]