After series three’s exciting finale, it’s great news that the BBC is bringing back Being Human for a fourth season. Question is: what can we expect? The dust around Mitchell’s discarded clothes has barely stopped smouldering, and the BBC has confirmed that the show will indeed return for a fourth series. Not a great surprise, perhaps, given strong viewing figures and critical acclaim for the series – after a second year widely regarded to have mis-stepped, series three was rightly regarded as the best yet – but welcome news for fans. Toby Whithouse, the writer behind the series, says he was “overwhelmed” by the response to the third series . “We’re absolutely thrilled that the BBC has given us this opportunity to continue our show into a fourth year,” he said. “We’ve got another intense and epic story lined up for you, with some new faces and old, and even more horror and mayhem and mugs of tea. I can’t wait to get started.” Yet as inevitable as a fourth series has always looked, last night’s curveball – stop reading now if you haven’t seen the episode – with the staking of Mitchell and the departure of lead actor Aidan Turner (now confirmed by Whithouse over on the BBC Being Human blog ), nothing can feel certain. Turner’s departure was always anticipated, says the writer. “From the first moment we met Aidan, we knew we were really only borrowing him from global superstardom. The same goes for all our cast. You can’t have actors as good as Aidan and Russell and Lenora and Sinead and Jason, and not expect someone else to notice.” Killing off Mitchell did give his story some welcome finality, despite meaning he can’t return. And for a show that can delight in gore and killing, it’s good that the consequences of the Box Tunnel Massacre weren’t swept under the carpet. But Turner was a fantastically popular lead actor, and his departure fundamentally alters the show’s DNA. Being Human was never Buffy; it was about the domestic set-up and the gentle comedy, the characters trying to Be Human against a backdrop of all of this. That show’s gone forever now – George, Nina and Annie surely wouldn’t welcome another vampire back into their lives. Nina is also about to give birth, which raises questions about how Annie is realistically going to fit into their family unit? Will series four see things fall apart further as they come to terms with the loss of Mitchell? But the Being Human universe has widened to include some interesting characters we could see more of. There’s Adam the teen vampire; Lia stuck in purgatory; the swinging-dogfight-vampire-couple; and Tom the boy werewolf, whose story was left open-ended. There’s certainly plenty of opportunity for the series to thrive in a post-Mitchell world. For a start, there’s the small matter of Edgar Wyndham and the new vampire uprising to be contending with. But with Whithouse also promising new faces, you can’t shake the feeling that when Being Human returns, it will be something of a different show. Of course, the advantage of that is that they really can now take it anywhere. Your thoughts, theories, requests, hopes and fears for series four please … Being Human Fantasy Television Dan Martin guardian.co.uk
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As ‘unreal woman’ becomes the new pariah, let’s have more honesty and clarity about body image “Real”, says the OED, means actually existing, genuine. It’s often used to signal a contrast with something unreal, fake or conceptual. Thus real fruit content, real diamonds, real life. Where there’s no doubt, we don’t use it. So why the craze for “real women”? There’s Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail , proclaiming: “Even the original stick insect Victoria Beckham has jumped on the real woman bandwagon and designed her entire range around feminine curves.” And then Alice Fisher and Helen Seamons in the Observer discussing Issa designer Daniella Helayel , whose clothes “are for real women who are, like herself, ‘full of curves’.” We may not know what the real woman does or thinks, but we do know she’s all about appearance. She’ s curvy. But curvy like size 12? Size 16? No one’s willing to say. Maria Grachvogel’s autumn 2011 collection is “completely wearable for real women as well as beanpoles”, writes the Guardian’ s Jess Cartner-Morley . Women so real that the designer gets the samples made in – gasp – size 10 rather than 8, so her team, “most of whom are roughly a size 10″, can try them on. Grachvogel’s real woman, then, is different from Helayel’s. It’s possible for size 10 and curvy to go together – but they generally don’t. For those over, say, five foot five, it would be a challenge. For the men and the Americans, a translation. Keira Knightley is roughly a UK size 8, Carey Mulligan a 10, Kate Winslet a 12, Nigella Lawson a 14. Roughly. Sizes are determined by bust, waist and hip measurements, not height – so a 5ft size 10 and a 6ft size 10 will be quite different. Real women aren’t just about shape, though. Bidisha writes : “A man who likes a woman without pubic hair despises adult women so much that he wants us to resemble children … Upon seeing some real hair on a real woman for the first time they may well vomit or faint, or both.” So there you have it. Curvy + hairy + size 10 = real woman. Or three different real women? This is the problem with terms such as “real” , “normal” and “curvy” – they are so non-specific that they can be used to imply virtually anything. As Humpty Dumpty says: “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” There is no real woman. She is a backlash, albeit an understandable one, against the super-slim ideal of the past decade plus. She’ s not like the real man. He’s redolent of spanners, chest hair and sweat. He may glower, but he’s kind to his mother. He’s defined by what he does, not what he isn’t – he’s not in opposition to slightly podgy man, or hunch-shouldered man. The real woman, however, is defined in opposition and bitterness. Her vagueness contrasts with the specificity of what she is not: beanpole, waif, stick insect, undernourished. At the extreme is Platell, howling: “No breasts, no curves, so desiccated by starvation they’d be unable to have a child even if they wanted to.” Even leaving aside the implication that you’re not a real woman if you can’t conceive, or choose not to, this is still an insidious way to talk about thin women. (And to desiccate means to remove moisture, not food.) The creators of the real woman purport to promote good body image, particularly for those of “average size” and above. To a certain extent, they’re succeeding. But, under cover of deliberately vague language, they’re also creating a new pariah: “unreal woman”. There’s no place in journalism for linguistic cowardice, even less so when it’s born of casual bigotry. Writing should be done with honesty and clarity – especially when the subject is as delicate as body image. Can’t do that? Get real. Cathy Relf blogs at www.rantingsubs.com Language Women Beauty Health & wellbeing Health guardian.co.uk
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Corporation decides not to close digital radio station, but aims to cut its budget in half The BBC has reversed its decision to close the Asian Network digital radio station – but will look to cut its budget in half. The decision will be warmly welcomed by the station’s staff and listeners but will be seen by the corporation’s critics as a second embarrassing U-turn a year after the BBC Trust rebuffed management plans to close sister digital station, 6 Music . BBC executives are understood to have concluded that a national digital radio station remains the best way of reaching Asian listeners, rather than a collection of medium wave services that was mooted as one possible replacement. The station’s audience has increased by about a third since the closure plan was announced in March 2010 and had an average weekly reach of 477,000 listeners in the final three months of last year . As well as cutting Asian Network’s budget, management is expected to demand a further increase in its audience and awareness of the network among radio listeners. The decision, announced by BBC Radio 1 and Asian Network controller Andy Parfitt in a conference call to staff on Monday, follows a last-ditch effort to save the station launched by its supporters last month . BBC Asian Network’s future will now be rolled into the “Delivering Quality First” review being overseen by director general Mark Thompson of the corporation’s entire services and output aimed at saving more than £400m. The Asian Network’s budget is bigger than any other of the BBC’s digital stations, with £8.9m spent on content out of a total of £12.1m last year. At 8.5p per listener hour, it was more expensive than any other BBC radio station. The next most expensive, BBC Radio 3, cost 6.3p per user hour, while BBC Radio 2, at 0.5p per user hour, was the cheapest. The plan to keep the station will have to be approved by the BBC Trust in the summer. More details soon… •
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Click here to view this media Looks like Chris Wallace was in the mood to give Breitbart’s buddy James O’Keefe, another plug this week as his “Power Player of the Week.” Wallace’s omissions about O’Keefe’s record were nearly as bad as O’Keefe’s deceptive video editing. Shameful. Media Matters has more — Wallace’s “Power Player” Designation For O’Keefe Ignores His History Of Deception : For the second time, Chris Wallace named James O’Keefe Fox News Sunday’s “Power Player of the Week.” But Wallace ignored O’Keefe’s history of discredited claims and allegations that O’Keefe deceptively edits his videos, including the NPR video that earned him the latest “Power Player” designation. Wallace Touted ACORN Sting, Promoted Upcoming Video Release. Wallace began his “Power Player of the Week” segment by touting O’Keefe’s ability to go after “big targets” and get “stunning results,” regardless of “[w]hether you admire or condemn his tactics.” Wallace went on to tout how O’Keefe’s ACORN videos “pushed Congress to cut off federal funding,” and concluded by noting that a video from “an undercover sting of a public television executive” would be released by O’Keefe in the coming week. From the March 13 edition of Fox News Sunday: Wallace Ignored Deceptive Editing Of O’Keefe’s Videos Beck’s Right-Wing Website Found “Questionable Editing” In O’Keefe’s NPR Video. Citing an examination of the NPR video conducted by Glenn Beck’s website TheBlaze.com, Politico’s Ben Smith and Slate’s David Weigel reported that the video of Schiller released by O’Keefe’s Project Veritas was deceptively edited to portray certain statements by Schiller out of context. Smith described the editing as “some really serious, dishonest lily-gilding.” [Ben Smith, Politico , 3/11/11 ; David Weigel, Slate, 3/11/11 ; The Blaze, 3/10/11 ] In Touting ACORN Video, Wallace Ignored That O’Keefe Deceptively Edited Those As Well. Wallace noted that O’Keefe’s ACORN videos “pushed Congress to cut off federal funding,” but he didn’t mention that the videos were edited to falsely suggest criminal violations by ACORN employees. Then-California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s office conducted an investigation into the ACORN videos that concluded there was no evidence of illegal activity by ACORN, and that the videos were deceptively edited. According to Brown: “[T]hings are not always as partisan zealots portray them through highly selective editing of reality. Sometimes a fuller truth is found on the cutting room floor.” [California Attorney General's Office, 4/1/10 ] Wallace Plucked Schiller’s Statement On NPR’s Federal Funding Out Of Context Read on… Transcript below the fold. WALLACE: Whether you admire or condemn his tactics, there’s no debating that undercover activist James O’Keefe has taken on some big targets and come up with some stunning results. Once again he is our “Power Player of the Week.” (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAMES O’KEEFE, UNDERCOVER ACTIVIST: We thought it would be a funny YouTube video and we’d get them to say something silly like, “Oh, you guys, that’s cute.” But never in our wildest dreams did we ever imagine this. WALLACE (voice-over): That was James O’Keefe in 2009, marveling at the impact of his undercover ACORN videos that pushed Congress to cut off federal funding. Now he has struck again, masterminding a sting of NPR executives at what was supposedly a lunch with rich Muslim donors that showed their political bias here against the Tea Party. RON SCHILLER, NPR: I mean, it’s scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people. WALLACE: We wanted to find out what drives the 26-year-old O’Keefe, who describes himself not as a conservative, but a progressive radical. And what we discovered is an outrage with liberal hypocrisy. O’KEEFE: If you use their rules against them, you can really just tease them and mock them and really destroy them. WALLACE: As a student at Rutgers, he says he became fed up with political correctness, especially about race. So, on St. Patrick’s Day, 2004, he met with an administrator to demand they stop serving Lucky Charms cereal with its Irish leprechaun. O’KEEFE: As you can see, we’re not all short, green, but we have our differences of height. And we think this is stereotypical of all Irish Americans. They said yes. And then I realized, OK, now I’m on to something. WALLACE: Four years ago, he called Planned Parenthood offices to say he wanted to donate money to abort black babies so his child wouldn’t be hurt by affirmative action. O’KEEFE: So that’s definitely possible? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, always. Always. O’KEEFE: Can I put this in the name of my son? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely. WALLACE: In 2009, when Hannah Giles called and proposed they sting ACORN, O’Keefe was on board. O’KEEFE: She said, “I can be a prostitute.” And that’s when I said, “What if I’m a pimp?” And then we said, what if there are 13-year-old girls involved? And we just upped the ante and just made it more ridiculous. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I’m not (ph) sure now you can make it legal. WALLACE: O’Keefe has had problems. Last May, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for posing as a phone repairman to get in Senator Mary Landrieu’s office. But now he has a new scout. The head of NPR was forced out in the latest scandal. And Congress may oblige what that executive said was his secret hoax (ph). SCHILLER: Well, frankly, it is very clear that we would be better of fin the long run without federal funding. WALLACE: O’Keefe says his friends always tell him the next sting will never work. O’KEEFE: “They’ll never say yes. That’s ridiculous. That’s absurd.” Every time they say yes. So people say, “You’re never going to do it again.” I disagree with them. I think that I’ll come with a new strategy and I’ll get them to say yes. (END VIDEOTAPE) WALLACE: O’Keefe has also engineered an undercover sting of a public television executive. And his groups says it will release that tape this week. And that’s it for today. Have a great week, and we’ll see you next FOX NEWS SUNDAY.
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In press conference on Labour’s economic vision, Ed Miliband and Ed Balls claim repeating bank bonus tax would bring in £2bn Labour hopes to pressurise the chancellor into shelving the VAT rise on fuel by forcing a vote on the issue on Wednesday, forcing Tory and Lib Dem backbenchers to decide whether to join with the opposition to encourage relief for motorists and hauliers. The opposition want the government to shelve VAT on fuel, as petrol prices have risen to over 130p per litre, the VAT rise adding 3p. In a joint press conference by Ed Miliband and Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor said he had paid £74.50 to fill up his own family’s car over the weekend and that most people were struggling with a rise in the cost of living. MPs on all sides of the political spectrum are concerned. Asked whether the EU would block the UK from cutting VAT on fuel, Balls referred back to the success of then chancellor Ken Clarke who in 1995 cut VAT on fuel and said that had been “perfectly legal”. Though he said the government does have to go through the proper European procedures, the Treasury has already done so to cut VAT in rural areas. Ahead of the budget next week, Miliband and Balls set out how they would fund the hole in finances left by reversing the VAT rise on petrol, and begin stimulating activity for the UK economy – putting forward plans that could create 115,000 jobs. Their tests for next week’s budget, they said, included whether the chancellor took steps to relieve the pinch on living standards, and whether they set out a clear plan for growth. Labour’s central proposal is that the government to repeat last year’s bank bonus tax – which despite expectations, raised £3.5bn. Cautiously estimating the fresh tax could bring in £2m, they suggested: • establishing a £600m youth unemployment fund which they say would help more than 90,000 young people into work. • providing £1.2bn to fund the construction of 25,000 affordable homes which would also serve to shore up the “faltering” construction industry which, they said, had lost 27,000 jobs in the last year. These plans would generate 20,000 jobs, they claimed. • providing a funding stream for regional businesses by boosting regional growth fund by £200m. Miliband said: “We are under no illusions that at this stage the government will abandon their deficit reduction plan – they are too dug in for that. “But at least they should take some steps to deal with faltering growth in our economy – to start to establish a plan to create jobs in the private sector … to deal with the crisis of youth unemployment in our country and build the skills we need for the future. “The tests for next week’s budget are clear – growth and living standards. But the signs aren’t good that they will be met. The government should think again.” The Tories released a dossier totting up Labour’s spending commitments and said they believed the opposition had now made £12bn worth of uncosted commitments. Assertions from the government that Labour’s plans were unfunded were “total utter garbage and claptrap”, Ed Balls said. Though Labour would not raise VAT on any products, in the run up to the budget they are concentrating on getting the government to reverse just the VAT rise on petrol. The shadow chancellor underlined that a Labour government would still be sticking to the former chancellor Alistair Darling’s plan to halve the deficit by the end of the current parliament. He took on suggestions Darling’s plan to have the deficit was only £2bn less than Osborne’s plans. The government claims that Darling’s plans would have meant cuts of £14bn this year which are only £2bn less than George Osborne’s £16bn. Balls said these took no account of the fact that circumstances had changed since Darling produced his forecast and borrowing was £20bn lower than expected. However he stopped short of saying how that would be used, only suggesting it would have insulated a Labour government from having to make the cuts the government is now making. Balls said it was “complete nonsense” to claim that a Labour government would have been cutting spending by almost as much as the coalition. Labour Ed Miliband Ed Balls Economic policy Petrol prices Budget Tax and spending Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Digby writes a great op-ed in The Hill which shines a light on the obsession our media elites have with the federal deficit and believe that working class Americans aren’t pulling their weight when it comes to sharing the sacrifice. ” Share the Sacrifice .” In a piece in last week’s edition of The Nation titled “Why Washington doesn’t care about jobs,” Christopher Hayes points out that D.C. is doing much better than the rest of the country economically, which is a significant contributor to what he terms “social distance” from the Americans the government purports to serve. That distance is disorienting and bizarre to those of us outside the Beltway, and is hugely fueled by the annoying conceit of many in the political media that they personally embody the concerns of average Americans. This misguided assumption would be merely amusing if not for the fact that almost the entire political conversation in the U.S. takes place among this small group of people — and that these alleged champions of the middle class inevitably convey the impression that Americans across the land are obsessed with deficit reduction and low taxes, which require deep cuts to “entitlements.” Yet out here in the real world, poll after poll shows that, in fact, Americans are far more concerned with unemployment and favor surtaxes on the wealthy to close the deficit. And so, from time to time, these gilded Regular Joes are forced to regretfully admit that sometimes the people are like dotty old relatives who “just don’t get it” or that they just want a “free lunch” — after which they promptly forget those findings and go back to pretending that the American people see things exactly the way they do…. read on Please read the whole piece because the Villagers are filtering the very complex polices that make up a big chunk of the American budget into their own cynical belief system on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid which is damaging not to the very rich, but the average Joes and Janes.
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Allam stole the best actor crown and Smith was queen of musicals, but new plays were thin on the ground. And funding cuts were the ghost at the feast In pictures: The Laurence Olivier awards One incentive behind the creation of the Olivier awards – then known as the Society of West End Theatre awards – in 1976 was to celebrate commercial theatre. It was felt in the industry that the prime prizes, the Evening Standard awards , were too devoted to the subsidised sector. Yet the whirligig of time brings in its revenges. And at last night’s slap-up do at Drury Lane, who were the big winners ? Why, the National Theatre – which picked up seven gongs for After the Dance and The White Guard – and the Royal Court, which got three awards for Clybourne Park, Tribes and Sucker Punch. All of which proves how much of the power and energy has shifted away from the West End. Of course, the commercial theatre had its moments. Legally Blonde was voted best new musical and Sheridan Smith, quite rightly, best actress in a musical. And what an extraordinary performer she is. I first spotted her in a musical version of She Stoops to Conquer, where she radiated the same sense of mischief she brought to Legally Blonde. A few days before the Oliviers I was watching her play an ex-barmaid in Rattigan’s Flare Path . Not for a moment did she patronise the character by playing her as blowsily vulgar, yet she effortlessly communicated what it was like to carry a tray of drinks for a living. Sheridan Smith is a real star and deserves all the praise heaped upon her. The one big surprise in this year’s Oliviers was Roger Allam’s gong for best actor. I didn’t see his Falstaff, but everyone who did told me it was wonderful . To beat off the competition from Derek Jacobi’s Lear, Rory Kinnear’s Hamlet, David Suchet’s Joe Keller and Mark Rylance’s star turn in La Bête is quite an achievement. But I’m delighted for Allam, who for years has been one of our finest actors. I still recall his Stratford Brutus and Duke in Measure for Measure and his outrageously camp Terri Dennis in Peter Nichols’s Privates on Parade. And, on another front, I was thrilled to see the National’s production of The White Guard , the year’s richest theatrical experience, picked up awards for best direction, lighting and design. So I’ve few complaints about this year’s Oliviers. But two thoughts occur. For all the just acclaim for Clybourne Park, the new-play shortlist looked perilously thin. We have to face the fact that a whole generation of British dramatists – Churchill, Stoppard, Bennett, Frayn, Ayckbourn – are all in their 70s. Is there a new generation equally capable of combining an uncompromising personal vision with broad popular appeal? And, while this year’s Oliviers recognise the achievements of the National and the Royal Court, how much longer will the subsidised sector be such a powerhouse of energy? The insane cuts to the government’s arts budget are going to have a devastating impact. Chip away at all the regional theatres and the small-scale companies, and you will soon find this has a knock-on effect on the national institutions. So by all means let’s celebrate the Oliviers. But they might be a last hurrah before the cuts start to bite. Olivier awards Theatre Awards and prizes Michael Billington guardian.co.uk
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England need a centre who can run straight; Ireland backs on different wavelengths; Ruaridh Jackson is Scots’ best fly-half England must sharpen up for slam England will struggle to nail down their grand slam in Dublin unless their game is a lot more precise than it was this weekend. Their centre partnership continues to stutter, although Shontayne Hape did some good things against Scotland. He is tremendously strong in the tackle, has soft hands and offloads well but England need a centre who can run straight. There is not a lot wrong with England’s pack, although it must be a worry for Martin Johnson that, for all their possession in the first half, it was Scotland who competed best at the breakdown and Ireland will have sensed that they can disrupt England in this area. The English scrum are a lot better than Ireland’s and they do have replacements who can make an instant impact. Matt Banahan was particularly impressive and Jonny Wilkinson added some precision. Martin Johnson will consider starting with Tom Croft in Dublin but that will be hard on Tom Wood. Ian Malin Ruaridh Jackson should be Scotland’s fly-half against Italy Scotland need a try-scoring victory to rescue a bleak Six Nations and the young fly-half showed he can control the game if Scotland are on the front foot, which they can be at Murrayfield this weekend. The Scotland pack may struggle at the scrum but they have improved in this area since their set piece was obliterated in Paris. They will miss the physicality of Kelly Brown but Richie Vernon impressed as a second-half replacement. Mike Blair may also add extra pep with Rory Lawson subdued at Twickenham. What the Scots do not want is a dogfight against an Italian side who will be pumped up after their historic win over France. IM Marc Lièvremont is losing his grip Marc Lièvremont went through the ritual of saying he would not resign following his team’s first defeat by Italy on Saturday but the next six months are going to be rough for the France coach, especially if his side go down at home to Wales on Saturday. His team look dispirited and he appears to be hardly the man to lift them – at least judging by his body language and words. “They are lacking in courage. They are good guys but cursed with what is obviously cowardice,” he said. “This match was an hallucination. I do not want to clear myself from the blame but they invented things on the pitch.” After repeated admissions during the week that England were currently top dogs, the French press will like his latest observations even less. Mike Averis Nick Mallett needs a win at Murrayfield Nick Mallett has quite the opposite task. After beating France by a point, he has to get another performance out of his Azzurri next Saturday – a victory would be only their second away from home in the Six Nations – or he might be looking for work after the World Cup. There are suggestions that Jacques Brunel, manager at Perpignan, already has his feet under the table in Rome, although the Italian federation says it still has to talk to Mallett. A win at Murrayfield would go a long way to wiping out his employer’s memories of the eight-try drubbing by England and also Mallett’s record of only six wins from 35 since taking over from Pierre Berbizier. But remember, Berbizier ended his time with the Azzurri by winning at Murrayfield in 2007 when the Scots were generous enough to donate three tries on a plate within the first six minutes. MA Ireland’s work in progress stalled in Cardiff Peter Allan’s gaffe gave Ireland something to hide behind. That is not to suggest that Declan Kidney’s side should not have been incensed but put aside “ball-gate” briefly and consider that for the second time in this tournament Ireland lost a game which they should have won. Wales tackled well but Ireland eschewed at least two opportunities to score that they should have gobbled up. The dilemma over which fly-half best fits their game plan is a side issue compared with the moments when Kidney must have wanted to put his head in his hands at the daft mistakes in this tournament that have ruined his expansive plans. At the Millennium Stadium Brian O’Driscoll and Luke Fitzgerald were on different wavelengths in the first half but Paddy Wallace ignoring the outside man in the final minutes had to be the second most galling aspect of the evening for Kidney. Still defeat should make next weekend’s game against England in Dublin even spicier. Ireland simply cannot afford to lose three games, two at home, in the Six Nations with the World Cup in September. Claire Tolley The Welsh forwards can be more eye-catching than the backs To a certain extent, the forwards – Alun Wyn Jones and Ryan Jones to the fore – were more visible on Saturday because of the type of game the home side chose to play. Wales had already decided they wanted to kick for territory and pin Ireland back, making it odd that James Hook was preferred to Stephen Jones; and, coupled with often slow ruck ball (Mike Phillips might have benefited at times from taking a spade out after half-time), it meant the backs were denied a platform on which to dazzle. Shane Williams came inside looking for work but, a few cameos apart, a lot of Welsh possession was drilled up the middle through Jamie Roberts or the forwards and disappeared into Ireland’s solid midfield defence. Still, all of that conspired to make more work for the pack, with the Joneses and Bradley Davies popping up around the park to provide some momentum in attack and putting in their tackles in a fairly impressive defensive effort from Warren Gatland’s side. CT Six Nations England rugby union team Scotland rugby union team Marc Lièvremont France rugby union team Nick Mallett Italy rugby union team Ireland rugby union team Wales rugby union team Rugby union Ian Malin Mike Averis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …England need a centre who can run straight; Ireland backs on different wavelengths; Ruaridh Jackson is Scots’ best fly-half England must sharpen up for slam England will struggle to nail down their grand slam in Dublin unless their game is a lot more precise than it was this weekend. Their centre partnership continues to stutter, although Shontayne Hape did some good things against Scotland. He is tremendously strong in the tackle, has soft hands and offloads well but England need a centre who can run straight. There is not a lot wrong with England’s pack, although it must be a worry for Martin Johnson that, for all their possession in the first half, it was Scotland who competed best at the breakdown and Ireland will have sensed that they can disrupt England in this area. The English scrum are a lot better than Ireland’s and they do have replacements who can make an instant impact. Matt Banahan was particularly impressive and Jonny Wilkinson added some precision. Martin Johnson will consider starting with Tom Croft in Dublin but that will be hard on Tom Wood. Ian Malin Ruaridh Jackson should be Scotland’s fly-half against Italy Scotland need a try-scoring victory to rescue a bleak Six Nations and the young fly-half showed he can control the game if Scotland are on the front foot, which they can be at Murrayfield this weekend. The Scotland pack may struggle at the scrum but they have improved in this area since their set piece was obliterated in Paris. They will miss the physicality of Kelly Brown but Richie Vernon impressed as a second-half replacement. Mike Blair may also add extra pep with Rory Lawson subdued at Twickenham. What the Scots do not want is a dogfight against an Italian side who will be pumped up after their historic win over France. IM Marc Lièvremont is losing his grip Marc Lièvremont went through the ritual of saying he would not resign following his team’s first defeat by Italy on Saturday but the next six months are going to be rough for the France coach, especially if his side go down at home to Wales on Saturday. His team look dispirited and he appears to be hardly the man to lift them – at least judging by his body language and words. “They are lacking in courage. They are good guys but cursed with what is obviously cowardice,” he said. “This match was an hallucination. I do not want to clear myself from the blame but they invented things on the pitch.” After repeated admissions during the week that England were currently top dogs, the French press will like his latest observations even less. Mike Averis Nick Mallett needs a win at Murrayfield Nick Mallett has quite the opposite task. After beating France by a point, he has to get another performance out of his Azzurri next Saturday – a victory would be only their second away from home in the Six Nations – or he might be looking for work after the World Cup. There are suggestions that Jacques Brunel, manager at Perpignan, already has his feet under the table in Rome, although the Italian federation says it still has to talk to Mallett. A win at Murrayfield would go a long way to wiping out his employer’s memories of the eight-try drubbing by England and also Mallett’s record of only six wins from 35 since taking over from Pierre Berbizier. But remember, Berbizier ended his time with the Azzurri by winning at Murrayfield in 2007 when the Scots were generous enough to donate three tries on a plate within the first six minutes. MA Ireland’s work in progress stalled in Cardiff Peter Allan’s gaffe gave Ireland something to hide behind. That is not to suggest that Declan Kidney’s side should not have been incensed but put aside “ball-gate” briefly and consider that for the second time in this tournament Ireland lost a game which they should have won. Wales tackled well but Ireland eschewed at least two opportunities to score that they should have gobbled up. The dilemma over which fly-half best fits their game plan is a side issue compared with the moments when Kidney must have wanted to put his head in his hands at the daft mistakes in this tournament that have ruined his expansive plans. At the Millennium Stadium Brian O’Driscoll and Luke Fitzgerald were on different wavelengths in the first half but Paddy Wallace ignoring the outside man in the final minutes had to be the second most galling aspect of the evening for Kidney. Still defeat should make next weekend’s game against England in Dublin even spicier. Ireland simply cannot afford to lose three games, two at home, in the Six Nations with the World Cup in September. Claire Tolley The Welsh forwards can be more eye-catching than the backs To a certain extent, the forwards – Alun Wyn Jones and Ryan Jones to the fore – were more visible on Saturday because of the type of game the home side chose to play. Wales had already decided they wanted to kick for territory and pin Ireland back, making it odd that James Hook was preferred to Stephen Jones; and, coupled with often slow ruck ball (Mike Phillips might have benefited at times from taking a spade out after half-time), it meant the backs were denied a platform on which to dazzle. Shane Williams came inside looking for work but, a few cameos apart, a lot of Welsh possession was drilled up the middle through Jamie Roberts or the forwards and disappeared into Ireland’s solid midfield defence. Still, all of that conspired to make more work for the pack, with the Joneses and Bradley Davies popping up around the park to provide some momentum in attack and putting in their tackles in a fairly impressive defensive effort from Warren Gatland’s side. CT Six Nations England rugby union team Scotland rugby union team Marc Lièvremont France rugby union team Nick Mallett Italy rugby union team Ireland rugby union team Wales rugby union team Rugby union Ian Malin Mike Averis guardian.co.uk
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Foreign national, a nursing student in Glasgow, faces charges over alleged terrorism offences A nursing student arrested in connection with the Stockholm suicide bomb attack is expected to appear in court in Glasgow charged with terrorism offences. The 30-year-old man, a foreign national, was arrested in a dawn raid on a block of flats in the Whiteinch area of Glasgow last Tuesday in a joint operation involving several police forces, MI5 and Swedish intelligence. He was held on suspicion of being involved with the failed bomb attack by Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, 28, in central Stockholm last December. Al-Abdaly, an Iraqi-born Swedish national, blew himself up and injured two people in the attack. He had been a student at the University of Bedfordshire. The man arrested in Glasgow has not been named but was known to be a nursing student at North Glasgow college in Springburn. He is the first person to be arrested in connection with the Stockholm attack and is expected to appear in the city’s sheriff court. A brief police statement said: “Strathclyde police can confirm that a 30-year-old man has been charged with offences under the Terrorism Act (2000). “This follows an operation in the Whiteinch area of Glasgow on Tuesday 8 March.” Global terrorism Scotland Sweden Europe Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk
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