The Comment Factory

Persistence is an integral aspect of success and the frustration of a seemingly impenetrable industry leads too many potentially brilliant musicians to abandon their course. Without radio stations and showcases like 6 Music, fewer will hold onto that drive and determination to be heard, and music’s art will suffer. If the only viable course becomes strictly mainstream, music’s development will not only become regressive, but will lose credibility and become debased further as an art form. I dread the day when CDs are stocked solely by supermarkets and truly great bands are left with nothing with which to establish a career

“The gap between public perception and scientific reality is now enormous. While some of the public is just becoming aware of the existence of global warming, the relevant scientists – those who know what they are talking about – realize that the climate system is on the verge of tipping points. If the world does not make a dramatic shift in energy policies over the next few years, we may well pass the point of no return.”

This documentation initiative is a welcome step in community safety, and can only help one of the world’s safest nations. If the strategy is adhered to and implemented effectively then the result will likely slightly lower an already low crime rate. It is a step in the right direction and should be followed with more moves towards an increased focus on crime prevention and a pro-active focus.

Hatoyama has broken out into the digital realm with power and with panache, well sort of. His start into Twitter and blogs and generally increasing his on line persona has come later than it should have, but none-the-less, he is the first Japanese politician to embrace the new tools at his disposal in any notable manner

The Home Office’s findings, quoted above, indicate that they would at least partially be evidence of the extent of racist discrimination by the institutions of criminal justice. In other words, the very evidence that the state continues to oppress ethnic minorities, not least young black men, is what would be being used to damn them

Dhondup Wangchen’s trial reportedly started behind closed doors in September this year. According to Amnesty International he is being charged for “subversion and incitement to separatism” and has contracted Hepatitis B in prison for which he has received no treatment. After his Beijing lawyer was forced by the Chinese government to stop representing Dhondup Wangchen, local lawyers were appointed, leaving little hope of a fair trial

Why the BBC is right to engage and scrutinise the British National Party, who have benefitted enormously from most attempts to marganalise their viewpoints.

It is a mistake to imagine that media corporations are impervious to all complaints and criticism. In fact, senior editors and managers are only too happy to accept that their journalists tend to be ‘anti-American,’ ‘anti-Israel,’ ‘anti-Western,’ indeed utterly rotten with left-wing bias

The public death of Jade Goody and uproar over Google Street maps in the UK has again bought up the defining issue of our day: privacy, or the lack of it. Natasha Proietto disentangles how we got here and what it portends for the future

David Edwards parses Obama’s words on Iraq, and the slavish media reaction.

Kate Winslet has come under unfair criticism from her countrymen and women.

Fashion isn’t just about pretty clothes. Right now, it’s about keeping people employed. At least that’s how Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, looks at it. Rachel Kings reports on her Delacorte Lecture at Columbia University in New York.