Just heard on the BBC World Service.

"Jane Goody's educational career went nowhere, she became a dental nurse."

Sorry, so being a nurse is some kind of dead end job, a testament to academic failure? I hope the reporter who wrote this remember those thoughts the next time they need medical treatment. On the other hand they are now asking their Kabul correspondent about the significance of Goody's death to people in Afghanistan. Civil mayhem, armies of occupation, rampant poverty and what you want to ask is what some participant in a reality show half a world away means to you? Are they completely mad?

I find the interest in Goody's controversial life and death baffling. I guess I must be losing touch with my roots when I consider massive economic dislocation, global ecological meltdown and recurrent conflict are more important than the the demise of a Big Brother candidate.