Gair Rhydd

Out of the City, out of control

Sex and The City 2 is beyond awful - it gives Western women a bad name

You may be wondering why it has required two contributors to write an article condemning Sex and the City 2 as possibly the most racist, sexist and offensive piece of cinematic trash produced in the last decade. This has been necessary due to the fact that only one writer was able to sit through the whole film and did not feel she could fully convey her fury without the aid of another – one who had repeatedly left the film in disgust and napped intermittently for its duration.

We are both free-thinking, intelligent young women who went into Sex and the City with pretty low expectations; merely the desire for a couple of hours of escapism and over-the-top fashion. Neither of us are easily offended – in fact we tend to be fairly offensive ourselves. In fact, one of us cites Jeremy Clarkson, the most politically incorrect man on the planet, as her comedy idol. Yet Sex and the City 2 achieved such a high level of racial insensitivity and bigotry rarely witnessed in contemporary culture that even we were left squirming. Michael Patrick King, the film’s director, should be Clarkson’s new muse, so efficiently has he managed to offend both men and women from virtually every corner of the globe.

Times to start paying for news

Rupert Murdoch is right to start charging for The Times' online content

So Rupert Murdoch has finally begun his war on free online ,next month, The Times’ online content will be hidden away behind a controversial pay wall. Starting next week, if you want to read The Times on your laptop, phone or iPad, you will be charged £1 (or £2 for the whole week) for the privilege.

It hasn’t come as a surprise. Murdoch – perhaps the last great newspaper tycoon – has been opposed to distributing his news for free for years. The Times and The Sunday Times will be the first News International title to be hidden behind a pay wall – but if this pilot scheme proves successful, you can expect the other News International papers (which include The Daily Mail, The Sun, and The Daily Telegraph) to follow suit in some capacity.

More than meets the eye

The coverage of the Israeli flotilla debacle isn't what it seems

The aggressive Israeli interception of a Turkish naval flotilla heading towards Gaza this week, which has left at least nine activists dead, has been internationally condemned, and rightly so: it was highly disproportionate and reprehensible. It also handed Hamas a huge propaganda victory and served to further isolate Israel in the international community.

It would have been so very easy to hop aboard the ‘Let’s all slag off Israel’ bandwagon and go on a six-hundred-word Israeli-bashing rant for this article; Israel’s behaviour warrants plenty of criticism, and there has been enough coverage of this already. Much of the outrage in the aftermath of the incident has been, perhaps expectedly, anti-Israeli. But is this completely fair? Well no, not really. For, like so much in the myriad of complexity of the middle-east conflict, there is more to this incident than meets the eye, and much of this has been ignored by the mainstream media.

Getting shirty over patriotism

As England supporters prepare for the World Cup, we shouldn't let political correctness and xenophobia undermine our British pride

England has become awash with a sea of white and red; St. George’s crosses and replica shirts are out in force as the World Cup draws ever closer. But despite what the odd disgruntled Welsh or Scotsman will say, nobody really minds.

Just like every other nation going to the World Cup, England fans are gearing up to show their support to the team. However, this is not what the tabloid media would have you believe, with many curiously vague reports emerging which suggest that English flags are unwelcome in multicultural Britain. Once again we have the good aspects of national pride lumped in with the negatives of xenophobia for a World Cup year, and once again there was never really a problem in the first place.

The end of an era

Twenty-seven issues of gair rhydd and 14 issues Quench, and it’s all over. This is the last gair rhydd I will ever edit, and the last editorial I will ever write.

I can’t quite fathom how quickly these 27 issues have flown by. Twenty-seven late, late Thursday nights and 27 early Friday mornings, trying to get the paper off to the printers on time.

Ex-PM on the dole

You’ve quit your job, so on to big, new opportunities then? From envoys to public speaking, one thing’s for certain: they all publish a book.

Margaret Thatcher remained an MP after standing down as PM for an additional two years. But eventually retiring, Mrs. Thatcher remained a key figure in the Conservative party. She has published a series of books and memoirs leading up to her fading from the public eye from 2007.

How to blag politics

Can't tell your Gaza from Gazza? Don't worry, Politics is here to help.

Ed or Dave? Miliband that is. But who should win? And what divides these two men? When Gordon Brown stepped down as PM a few weeks ago, he also left his post as leader of the Labour Party, a post that both Miliband brothers want to fill.

David Miliband, a politician who emerged from Tony Blair’s mentorship, appeared as the first contender in the leadership race. Receiving the most nominations for the position, David has so far modelled his campaign around the idea of rebuilding a new Labour party.

Germany banks on Köhler

The resignation of the German President came as a shock to Europe. But what impact will this have on the under-fire German Chancellor?

German President, Horst Köhler, abruptly resigned this week over his suggestion that it would be economically advantageous for the German army to become involved in more international military conflicts.

During a radio interview given after he toured Afghanistan last month, Mr. Köhler announced that he thought the German nation had to be prepared to come out of its pacifist state. The President believed that it would help the country “protect our interests, free trade routes, or to prevent regional instability, which might certainly have a negative effect on our trade, jobs and income”.

Israel goes on the attack

The USA has been investing in Israel's latest rocket system, known as Iron Dome. Will Israel's attack on aid ships change anything change America's support of its ally?

At the beginning of this year, Israel tested Iron Dome, an anti-missile system that could intercept rockets launched from Gaza and South Lebanon.

The shield fires missiles at incoming threats that it identifies by radar. It has been described as a “gamechanger” in Israel’s defence mechanism.

This world, this week

Hatoyama splits

After just eight months in office, the Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has resigned.