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Whatever happened to telling jokes at work?

Whatever happened to telling jokes at work?

The Guardian9 hours ago

Whatever happened to sharing jokes in the workplace (or even among friends)? It used to be commonplace; not any more. Nigel Parsons, London
Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday.

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BBC chiefs have blood on their hands, says family of man murdered at Nova music festival by Hamas terrorists in October 7 massacre
BBC chiefs have blood on their hands, says family of man murdered at Nova music festival by Hamas terrorists in October 7 massacre

Daily Mail​

time30 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

BBC chiefs have blood on their hands, says family of man murdered at Nova music festival by Hamas terrorists in October 7 massacre

The family of a young man murdered by Hamas terrorists in the October 7 massacre has accused the BBC of having 'blood on its hands'. Yoram Yehudaj, who lost his 24-year-old son Ron when the Nova music festival was attacked, said the broadcaster should be 'ashamed' for televising a Glastonbury punk act chanting about the death of Israeli soldiers. Bob Vylan's performance caused outrage as its singer shouted 'death, death to the IDF' on Saturday. Relatives of the 364 festival-goers killed on October 7, 2023, said calling for the death of members of the Israeli Defence Forces was Hamas propaganda. Mr Yehudaj said last night: 'I am a bereaved father who lost his son at the Nova festival. Hamas terrorists raped, murdered, burned and kidnapped our children. 'And yet, the BBC gives a platform to Hamas propaganda. This is unacceptable. They have blood on their hands. 'Bob Vylan's performance was disgusting and the BBC should be ashamed for running it. The BBC did not stop the broadcast, this deserves condemnation.' Ron was murdered during the biggest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. He was shot dead with eight others after hiding from the terrorists in a rubbish dumpster. 'My son was innocent, he just went to a festival just like Glastonbury. Palestinian terrorists wouldn't hesitate twice to kill everyone there either,' Mr Yehudaj added 'I call on the BBC and UK authorities to investigate this incident, issue a public apology, and ensure such incitement is never again normalised in the name of 'art' or 'freedom of speech'.' Mr Yehudaj said he had been in constant communication with his son on the day he died. In an emotional interview, he recalled Ron telling him he was 'okay' and showing more concern for his parents than himself. By tracking the messages they shared, he knows that his son died at exactly 11.47am.' Mr Yehudaj was too distressed to tell his wife what had happened. Seven days later, the Israeli authorities told the family that Ron had died. In an effort to protect his wife from further anguish, Mr Yehudaj refused to let her identify the body, which he and Ron's brother did by looking at his tattoos. 'I didn't tell my wife Sigal all night what I had heard. I kept it in. I wanted to protect her but I refused to believe my son was dead,' he said. 'I wanted to believe that maybe he's alive and he's kidnapped, but now we know we lost Ron at 11.47am. His last text to me was that he loved us. I didn't know where they shot him. I didn't know what the condition was so I decided that I will not let Sigal go to identify him. 'I asked my son and just to recognise him by tattoos. That is how we identified his body – by his tattoos. I think it was a mistake to make for my older son as it was very difficult for him.'

Olivia Rodrigo, Glastonbury Festival, review: Monster show that puts rock royalty on notice
Olivia Rodrigo, Glastonbury Festival, review: Monster show that puts rock royalty on notice

Telegraph

time40 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Olivia Rodrigo, Glastonbury Festival, review: Monster show that puts rock royalty on notice

Glastonbury's youngest Pyramid Stage headliner delivered a monster set that crossed the best of old rock values with contemporary pop energy. 22-year-old Olivia Rodrigo came to conquer. She brought out the big guns, all the fireworks, pyro, smoke, illuminated beach balls ... and goth legend Robert Smith. On Saturday night, old Neil Young sang that 'rock and roll will never die' to a devoted but dwindling audience. Well, if rock does have a hope of surviving it will be this new generation of pop punk girls who keep it alive. There are arguably bigger young stars around, such as Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish, but Rodrigo's triumphant Glastonbury set showed she has the generation-spanning appeal and star-powered determination to take this to the limit. She is armed with big, smart, super-catchy power-pop songs that she sings with melody and emotion. She plays piano and electric guitar, at least when she's not stomping around the stage in her short dress and big boots like she owns every inch of it. There was a huge audience but the female presence was particularly strong. I was surrounded by young girls (and their mothers) singing every word with every inflection. They lit up the field with their phone lights during vindictive ballad Happier, and roared with delight as her all-female five-piece band's lead guitarist ripped out a Brian May-level Queen-style solo. Rodrigo left more experienced headliners in the dust. Alannis Morisette may have been an inspiration for this new wave of boldly lyrical female pop rockers, but compared to her festival set of old-fashioned rock wailing and shaggy arrangements, this was a sleek master class. Charli XCX might be sparkly insisting that criticising her for using autotune and miming to backing track is 'like, the most boring take ever' but her production was solipsistic and narrow compared to the expansiveness and dynamism Rodrigo was able to bring with a characterful live rock band. Such excellent musicianship gives a whole extra dimension, not to mention another set of tools to entertain her audience. And compared to the confusing archness of Friday night headliners the 1975, Rodrigo is refreshingly straight down the line, determined to do her very best to give the audience what they want. Dressed for her encores in Union Jack mini shorts, she made all the right crowd pleasing remarks about how honoured she was to perform at the world's greatest festival, and how much she loves British pub culture, sticky toffee pudding, and British boys. The way she looked at Cure leader Robert Smith in awed delight suggested she was sincere about her love of Anglo rock music as they played joyful duets of his 80s classics Friday I'm in Love and Just Like Heaven. It seemed like a symbolic moment, a passing of the torch from an older generation to a new one. Glastonbury's youngest star delivered the headline set of Britain's most venerable festival, and probably helped ensure it has a future when the old guard shuffle off the stage.

KATIE HIND asks: Did Kneecap trick fans at Glastonbury into watching Bob Vylan's vile rant by encouraging them to arrive early?
KATIE HIND asks: Did Kneecap trick fans at Glastonbury into watching Bob Vylan's vile rant by encouraging them to arrive early?

Daily Mail​

time40 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

KATIE HIND asks: Did Kneecap trick fans at Glastonbury into watching Bob Vylan's vile rant by encouraging them to arrive early?

It was an Instagram post from West Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap that sent me racing towards Glastonbury 's West Holts stage on Saturday afternoon. 'You'll need to be very early to catch us, father... VERY EARLY!!!' read the message on the band's Instagram page at 1pm – three hours before they were due to play. I'm no fan of the group, but needed to be there to report on their performance after band member Liam O'hAnnaidh, 27, was charged with a terror offence. As a result, critics had called for them to be barred from Glastonbury altogether. It was safe to say their set was expected to be controversial. But when I arrived at the West Holts stage at 2.30pm to secure my spot, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. The 30,000-capacity area was already heaving – but not for Kneecap. Instead, Bobby Vylan was on stage, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Before a sea of Palestinian flags, the frontman of punk duo Bob Vylan launched into a tirade against 'Zionist' music industry executives, who he accused of trying to have Kneecap banned. Even more shocking than Vylan's hateful words was how strongly the audience were clamouring and cheering for him. 'You'll need to be very early to catch us, father... VERY EARLY!!!' read the message on the band's Instagram page at 1pm – three hours before they were due to play 'Free, free Palestine,' he chanted. Then, the crowd joined in as he screamed: 'Death, death to the IDF.' I stood frozen, stunned. Around me, no one looked remotely disturbed by his abhorrent words. In more than two decades of Glastonbury reporting, I've never felt afraid. But on Saturday, I was genuinely worried there was going to be a crush. It makes me wonder whether Kneecap, furious that the BBC had refused to live-stream their set, timed their Instagram post to make sure fans were there to see Bob Vylan's performance, which was being broadcast live. The two acts are long-time allies – bantering on social media about crowd-surfing arrests back in 2022. Were they working together to make sure their message – an anti-Semitic rallying cry – was heard on live television? Vylan's outburst has brought shame on Glastonbury and plunged the BBC into crisis. And it's time for founder Sir Michael Eavis to face reality: his beloved festival is being hijacked by those intent on spreading hate.

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