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the columnists

Independent on Sunday, The, Nov 4, 2007

'Showing al-Qa'ida how truly to make a martyr video''

Heather Mills McCartney's decision to go on television so dismayed her PR adviser that he quit. The columnists' reaction showed why. Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail led the charge. "Yesterday morning, on national television, we witnessed Heather Mills undergo a very public and very painful divorce - from reality ... If her intention was to show the public the real woman behind the headlines then she succeeded in a quite unintentional way. No one who watched her yesterday can now be in any doubt about the extent of her self-delusion."

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BRIAN READE in the Daily Mirror wrote that "the majority of famous people who try to convince the world there is a concerted press campaign to destroy them and their loved ones are deluded hypocrites". He cited the examples of Earl Spencer, Jonathan Aitken and Cherie Blair. "And then there's Heather Mills. Planting herself before various TV cameras yesterday, showing al-Qai'da how truly to make a martyr video."

But Terence Blacker came to her defence in The Independent: "An ugly form of public bullying is taking place. The victim may be shrill and charmless and the specifics of her case, dead dog and all, might seem silly, but her central complaint is justified."

'Lift the lid on the treaty and look in the toolbox: all the same tools are there'

'Children's imaginations are too often shackled to adult cares and needs'

'The French first lady ... has fled her gilded perch, acting all- American'

'Hardly any of us eat the kind of meat-laden diet that I enjoyed as a kid'

Valery Giscard d'estaing, who chaired the convention that drew up the European constitution, wrote in The Independent: "The difference between the original constitution and the present Lisbon treaty is one of approach, rather than content ... The concessions given to French opponents of the constitutional treaty are more symbolic than substantial ... Far more important are the concessions made to the British ... But lift the lid and look in the toolbox: all the same innovative and effective tools are there."

ANDREW O'Hagan wrote in The Daily Telegraph about why Hallowe'en was his favourite night of the year. "I have always preferred Hallowe'en to Christmas - something about being on the side of the devils. But I also think it exhibits less hysteria and forced enjoyment than the Yuletide season. It involves a certain degree of inventiveness and it marks the onset of winter in dazzling style ... It celebrates the freedom of children's imaginations, which these days are often shackled to adult cares, adult needs and adult responsibilities."

Maureen Dowd in The New York Times contrasted two presidents' wives: "The French first lady, who has traditionally overlooked her husband's peccadilloes for the greater gain of keeping her marriage intact and running the Elysee palace, has fled her gilded perch, acting all-American. The former American first lady has overlooked her husband's peccadilloes for the greater gain... as she tries to return to the gilded perch."

Antony worrall thompson, the chef, demanded an end to the "madness" of food scares in the Daily Express.

"Our meat consumption, per capita, has dropped in recent years. There are more vegetarians and vegans than ever before and hardly any of us eat the kind of meat-laden diet that I enjoyed as a kid.

"Yet cancer rates are rising and these scientists say it's because we eat too much meat. It just doesn't add up."

the columnists

Independent on Sunday, The, Nov 4, 2007

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