Today’s post can only be about Angelina Jolie’s decision to speak about her double mastectomy. The statement has met with widespread admiration and support, and has inspired others in the spotlight, such as Barbara Walters, to come forward about their own decisions to prevent cancer through elective surgery. Who knows quite how many people will choose to take the test to determine their genetic susceptibility to cancer now that the issue is being more widely spoken of.
The addition of Jolie’s status as a sex symbol adds a whole new dimension to the story, as a woman known so often thought of as an object has chosen to alter what is arguably her most bankable asset for the sake of herself and her family. Jolie’s reputation as a de facto angel can only increase after this move, and hopefully it will help to change the perception of women as a body to be scrutinised. If women who would previously have been hesitant to consider such a radical treatment, due to the stigma associated with female perfection, can now see the infinite benefits that come with knowing that your chances of cancer are significantly reduced. That is not to say that it isn’t an incredibly difficult and life altering decision that is certain to have an overwhelming emotional effect, but hopefully Jolie’s choice will give people the sense that they are not alone in their plight, and make people realise that this horrific illness can happen to anyone-even them.
I know that I will be researching the availability of a test to determine the presence of the cancer gene in the UK, and I hope that others are as well. F*ck cancer.
7 Kinds of Mind
One for every day of the week
Tag Archives: news
Wednesday’s Got Issues : Coachella Hipsters Are a Nice Distraction
There are a lot of unsettling stories floating around this week and there’s not much that I can add to make a full blog post worthwhile, so instead I’m going to refer back to a fail safe coping mechanism for bad news : funny YouTube videos! In between reading about unemployment, collapsed buildings and the after effects of terrorism, it’s nice to know that one can always rely on a hipster to provide some comic relief. See below for a segment on Jimmy Kimmel in which Coachella attendees are asked for their opinions on non-existent bands
Wednesday’s Got Issues: Politicians act like, well, politicians
Warm, meaty, expensive goodness
Today the main topic of conversation seems to be Cornish pasties and petrol, as the government announced plans to increase VAT on hot convenience food, and told everyone to panic buy petrol in case of a strike. Not only are Cameron’s cronies insisting that the already struggling working class must pay for their comfort food, but we must also keep containers filled with flammable liquid at hand at all times. As usual it seems that a government does not have the best interests of the populace at heart.
Watching 10 O’Clock Live this evening, the pasty tax seemed to be characterised as an attempt to curb people’s waistlines and ease the pressure on the (now fucked) NHS. But making people pay an extra 20p for a Gregg’s pie doesn’t seem to be the most effective way to encourage people to lose weight. I would suggest more community exercise programmes, better diet education in schools, or make healthy food cheaper – the amount of times as a student that I chose 8p Tesco Value noodles over a £2 salad is really quite embarrassing.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Francis Maude is facing criticism over his advice to keep a jerry can (a large container with a capacity of 20l) full of petrol in our garages, to prepare for an upcoming strike, though the date has yet to be decided. This led to huge queues outside most petrol garages today, as people took the government’s advice and started to panic. This created chaos among the petrol suppliers, who struggled to keep up with demand, and may face further issues in the future.
Basically, it seems to boil down to politicians acting before thinking. Which should hardly come as a surprise to us, seeing as we are currently being ruled by an unequal coalition government full of such conflicting ideals that, in the only laws that they have managed to pass, they are the only ones in the country who support it. I give you the astronomic hike in tuition fees as an example of both how little thought there is for younger generations, or indeed pre-election promises, within 10 Downing Street.
I would quite like it if they could do something that the majority of people actually agreed with for once. I won’t hold my breath.
Wednesday’s Got Issues: Syrians are massacred and the UN doesn’t care
Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik
This week it seems that everyone has begun to talk about the unrest in Syria, particularly in the city of Homs, but that’s all that they are doing, talking. I’m not going to pretend to know all of the details regarding why President Assad is murdering his own people, or even why the UN and various governments seem reluctant to take action against a violent dictator. However, as I recall, the action against Colonel Gaddhafi was a lot more decisive and swift, and I refuse to believe that any governing body can think that it is preferential to do nothing.
Today the main story has been the deaths of American journalist, Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik, an undeniably tragic occurrence for people who strived to tell the stories of those without a voice. Hopefully the high profile nature of this news story will spur the authorities into action against Assad, who, according to Colvin’s final report, has been purposely attacking densely populated civilian areas and refusing to allow anyone to leave. However, it should not be the sad deaths of two dedicated professionals that inspire our world’s leaders to aid the suffering Syrians, the very fact that a government was murdering their own people should have been enough.
As I understand it, the hesitation is due to the strong Syrian army, powerful position of the country’s leader and, probably, it’s ownership of oil (please correct me if I’m wrong). But the fact that it may be a challenge to overcome a terrible regime should not be a deterrent. Many Syrians have died in their efforts to attain freedom, and their sacrifice should not be in vain. Call me crazy, but the entire United Nations against one administration doesn’t sound like much of a fight. I can’t understand what they are waiting for, do they think that a homicidal tyrant is simply going to stop his vengeful attack? Or are they waiting for all of the dissidents to be murdered and for the country to return to a dictatorship, so that they can return to the more important matter of rewarding the bankers that caused a global recession?
Hopefully our world leaders will grow a backbone soon, for the sake of the Syrian people.
Wednesday’s Got Issues: Something happened in the football world, and everybody cares
The main news story today has been the resignation of Fabio Capello as the England football team’s manager, it has been everywhere since it was announced. If you look on the BBC homepage this story, and the story of another aging manager’s court trial, are pretty much dominant features. And what irritates me is that everyone has an opinion, is talking about it as if it affects their life, and generally accepting the massive coverage that has been going on. Why? Because the UK is a nation of football fans, you only have to look at an average tabloid newspaper’s TV advert to see that the majority of the working and middle classes focus a lot of their attention on which of ‘their’ teams has beaten the hated rival (which incidentally changes to suit every single match), rather than realising that there are bigger news stories out there.
The same applies to the importance that the general media place on stories of celebrity hook-ups and break-ups, it is almost painful to see a BBC newsreader, used to reporting in a warzone, relegated to a red carpet event just to ask some jumped up ingenue about what it was like to kiss Brad Pitt. Fuck. Off.
I’ll admit, the world of entertainment is something of an interest of mine and while I can’t stand football, if there’s a story about the All Blacks then I’m all ears. But the point is that if I want to read about such subjects, then I go to the relevant source, I do not expect Perez Hilton to get as excited about a general election than he did about Kim Kardashian’s wedding. Of course, he does report quite often on political matters, particularly ones relevant to gay civil rights – which is very admirable – but that’s not why I read his website. If I go to the BBC News homepage, I expect to see stories that fit in with their reputation for high brow reportage, not the revelation that millionaire Russell Brand will not be asking for any money from millionaire Katy Perry. Yes, it’s refreshing to see celebrities mid-divorce behaving like adults (I’m looking at you Halle Berry), but I’d much prefer to hear about what has been going on in Syria, or at the Leveson inquiry.
In a way, I’m mostly annoyed with other people. The media has responded to signals from their viewers about what constitutes an engaging news story, and they are going to do whatever they can to increase their ratings, I get it. But just once it would be nice not to have to get my information about more serious topics from sources on Twitter, rather than have to wait even past the human interest story, in which a farmer has grown a marrow bigger than his entire family, to learn a bit more about what’s going on in my country.
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