Gone in thirteen seconds
China fires a test missile in to space, destroying one of its weather satellites, a move with serious political and economic ramifications if it triggers a debate over extending the multi-billion dollar "son of star wars" missile defence programme; not to mention worries about increasing amounts of junk in space.
As a news story, however, it receives slightly less attention than Big Brother house evictions. As a political story in the UK it rates somewhat lower than the chancellor's hopes for national success on the football field.
But it's much easier for media commentators to pass a view on human relations and football than it is to say anything seemingly intelligent about the geopolitical implications of a Chinese missile test.
Besides, the China missile story does not allow us to indulge in what has become a favourite national pastime - watching people squirm.
So when Chancellor Gordon Brown said he wanted the World Cup in England in 2018 it was only natural that the Scottish-born soon-to-be Prime Minister of Britain would be asked which team he hoped would win it.
A well-briefed Brown would have smiled mischievously and said: "England v Scotland final, with the Scots nicking it 3-2 in the last minute of extra time." Everyone would have laughed and the agenda would have moved on to more important things.
But he fluffed it, saying he would be backing the host country, only changing his mind when he chose to temper his sensitivity to the West Lothian question with what most right-thinking people would accept as a reasonable national sporting sentiment - a Scot wanting a Scottish victory. So we watched the chancellor squirm and felt better about things because it wasn't any of us in the frame.
This celebration of the misfortunes of others extends far beyond Britain's borders. Bizarrely it earned a US chat show invitation for Midlothian barmaid Mairi Duncan, all because of her misfortune in one 13-second video clip taken 10 years ago. Who says you need 15 minutes of fame? Today it's measured in seconds.
As a news story, however, it receives slightly less attention than Big Brother house evictions. As a political story in the UK it rates somewhat lower than the chancellor's hopes for national success on the football field.
But it's much easier for media commentators to pass a view on human relations and football than it is to say anything seemingly intelligent about the geopolitical implications of a Chinese missile test.
Besides, the China missile story does not allow us to indulge in what has become a favourite national pastime - watching people squirm.
So when Chancellor Gordon Brown said he wanted the World Cup in England in 2018 it was only natural that the Scottish-born soon-to-be Prime Minister of Britain would be asked which team he hoped would win it.
A well-briefed Brown would have smiled mischievously and said: "England v Scotland final, with the Scots nicking it 3-2 in the last minute of extra time." Everyone would have laughed and the agenda would have moved on to more important things.
But he fluffed it, saying he would be backing the host country, only changing his mind when he chose to temper his sensitivity to the West Lothian question with what most right-thinking people would accept as a reasonable national sporting sentiment - a Scot wanting a Scottish victory. So we watched the chancellor squirm and felt better about things because it wasn't any of us in the frame.
This celebration of the misfortunes of others extends far beyond Britain's borders. Bizarrely it earned a US chat show invitation for Midlothian barmaid Mairi Duncan, all because of her misfortune in one 13-second video clip taken 10 years ago. Who says you need 15 minutes of fame? Today it's measured in seconds.
Labels: Big Brother, China, England, football, Gordon Brown, Mairi Duncan, Midlothian, missile, Scotland, son of star wars, west Lothian, World Cup
posted by Richard Donkin at
12:28 PM
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