More on Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty continues to suffer in the Big Brother house - and now the New York Times has picked up the story too. Meanwhile, bookies are listing her as their favorite to win this season's contest - some (for example, Germaine Greer) are claiming that Shilpa is simply a good actress, and is trying to provoke her housemates to be racist and therefore get eliminated from the house. Personally, I don't think that's the case. No one wants to experience racist behavior, and it just seems too convenient for white people to "blame" their target for "provoking" them into being racist. Hey, if it's not in your head to begin with, why would it come out, even when provoked? (Michael Richards, anyone?)

You already know that the issue has come up in the British Parliament. Now it's become an international incident, with the British prime minister and chancellor weighing in on the matter. British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown is visiting India, and was grilled on the subject by reporters. Meanwhile, there have been some protests in India, complete with burning effigies. It's almost as if they were protesting something that the Pope may have said - but that sounds unreasonable, doesn't it?