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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/live/2017/mar/17/is-our-plastic-bottle-addiction-wrecking-the-planet-our-live-look-at-the-week
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| What happens when the Queen dies? Catch up on our live look at the week | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 4.48pm GMT | |
| 16:48 | |
| Sarah Marsh | |
| Thanks everyone - we are switching off the live blog now until next week. But encourage you to join us next week for more of the same! | |
| 4.09pm GMT | 4.09pm GMT |
| 16:09 | 16:09 |
| James Walsh | James Walsh |
| As ace pop/rock/folk singer Chris T-T advised all those years ago, “Find a job / buy a Nintendo”. | As ace pop/rock/folk singer Chris T-T advised all those years ago, “Find a job / buy a Nintendo”. |
| Having got over my late 1980s Sega tribalism, I’ve been an avid Nintendo fan for decades - but Nintendo’s hold over the gaming zeitgeist has been under threat these past few years. | Having got over my late 1980s Sega tribalism, I’ve been an avid Nintendo fan for decades - but Nintendo’s hold over the gaming zeitgeist has been under threat these past few years. |
| After the massive success of the Nintendo Wii, the venerable Japanese video game company struggled to sell units of its successor, the Wii U, in anything like the same number – in part, because of its terrible name, which led many to assume it was a Wii accessory rather than a new console in its own right. | After the massive success of the Nintendo Wii, the venerable Japanese video game company struggled to sell units of its successor, the Wii U, in anything like the same number – in part, because of its terrible name, which led many to assume it was a Wii accessory rather than a new console in its own right. |
| This is a mistake avoided with the Nintendo Switch, their latest gambit. The name hints at the unique selling point - a console that also works as a handheld, allowing you to quickly switch between playing on your telly to playing on the train, in the local park, or - if the official advert is anything to go by - alongside your terrifyingly aspirational friends. | This is a mistake avoided with the Nintendo Switch, their latest gambit. The name hints at the unique selling point - a console that also works as a handheld, allowing you to quickly switch between playing on your telly to playing on the train, in the local park, or - if the official advert is anything to go by - alongside your terrifyingly aspirational friends. |
| Following the console’s release two weeks ago, we asked our readers how they were getting on with it. We factored in the caveat that if you’ve splashed out hundreds of quid on the thing, you’re probably not going to say you’ve thrown it in the bin because it’s the worst thing since the Atari Jaguar. | Following the console’s release two weeks ago, we asked our readers how they were getting on with it. We factored in the caveat that if you’ve splashed out hundreds of quid on the thing, you’re probably not going to say you’ve thrown it in the bin because it’s the worst thing since the Atari Jaguar. |
| But they seem pretty happy. The latest Zelda game, Breath of the Wild, is impossibly gorgeous, and shows that Nintendo have been learning from other games companies - without losing their signature style. | But they seem pretty happy. The latest Zelda game, Breath of the Wild, is impossibly gorgeous, and shows that Nintendo have been learning from other games companies - without losing their signature style. |
| “That’s Nintendo’s charm, said one reader, Edward King from Edinburgh. “Everything they do has a magic to it. Playstations are devised in boardrooms, while the Switch was created by elves riding unicorns in some far off magical kingdom. | “That’s Nintendo’s charm, said one reader, Edward King from Edinburgh. “Everything they do has a magic to it. Playstations are devised in boardrooms, while the Switch was created by elves riding unicorns in some far off magical kingdom. |
| “That’s what I told my wife, anyway.” | “That’s what I told my wife, anyway.” |
| If you’ve bought the Switch, let us know how you’re getting on with it in the comments below. | If you’ve bought the Switch, let us know how you’re getting on with it in the comments below. |
| 4.07pm GMT | 4.07pm GMT |
| 16:07 | 16:07 |
| Sarah Marsh | Sarah Marsh |
| We are moving into our last 30 minutes now, please let us know if there are any topics you want to discuss before we draw to a close. | We are moving into our last 30 minutes now, please let us know if there are any topics you want to discuss before we draw to a close. |
| I am going to updating shortly on Nintendo Switch! | I am going to updating shortly on Nintendo Switch! |
| 3.46pm GMT | 3.46pm GMT |
| 15:46 | 15:46 |
| From "clemmed" to "scundered" :share your lingo with us | From "clemmed" to "scundered" :share your lingo with us |
| Pamela Duncan | Pamela Duncan |
| We want your word. Literally. This week published an article and interactive showing some of the wonderful, weird and wacky words people use around the UK. | We want your word. Literally. This week published an article and interactive showing some of the wonderful, weird and wacky words people use around the UK. |
| We discovered that you could, as a Northern Irish person, becomes scundered (embarrased) having misunderstood someone from West Yorkshire telling you to “put wood in the hole” (close the door). | We discovered that you could, as a Northern Irish person, becomes scundered (embarrased) having misunderstood someone from West Yorkshire telling you to “put wood in the hole” (close the door). |
| And that if you’re clemmed (hungry in Wigan), you might eat a maconochie (a stew in Sheffield) and end up brossen (a term for having eaten too much in Swaledale). | And that if you’re clemmed (hungry in Wigan), you might eat a maconochie (a stew in Sheffield) and end up brossen (a term for having eaten too much in Swaledale). |
| If it’s dreich (overcast in Scotland), it might oss to slart (start to rain in Huddersfield) and end up siling down (pouring rain in Yorkshire) meaning you might prefer to stay indoors with a Panad (cuppa in Wales). | If it’s dreich (overcast in Scotland), it might oss to slart (start to rain in Huddersfield) and end up siling down (pouring rain in Yorkshire) meaning you might prefer to stay indoors with a Panad (cuppa in Wales). |
| Okay, okay, you have the idea. So what’s your favourite local word? Share it with us here. | Okay, okay, you have the idea. So what’s your favourite local word? Share it with us here. |
| 3.39pm GMT | 3.39pm GMT |
| 15:39 | 15:39 |
| What is it like as a minority in a country lurching to the right? | What is it like as a minority in a country lurching to the right? |
| Carmen Fishwick | Carmen Fishwick |
| For those worried about the rise of populism across Europe, the Dutch elections offered momentary relief. Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom party (PVV), based on anti-Islam and anti-immigration rhetoric, was trumped by Mark Rutte’s ruling centre-right party, despite the PVV having led opinion polls for months. | For those worried about the rise of populism across Europe, the Dutch elections offered momentary relief. Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom party (PVV), based on anti-Islam and anti-immigration rhetoric, was trumped by Mark Rutte’s ruling centre-right party, despite the PVV having led opinion polls for months. |
| But what is it like as a minority living in a country whose far-right almost won the general election? Wilders was charged with inciting discrimination and hatred of Moroccans by describing them as “scum”, last year. And in a bid to win-back voters enticed by Wilders, Rutte veered to the right in supplication with an open letter demanding people conform or “go home”. | But what is it like as a minority living in a country whose far-right almost won the general election? Wilders was charged with inciting discrimination and hatred of Moroccans by describing them as “scum”, last year. And in a bid to win-back voters enticed by Wilders, Rutte veered to the right in supplication with an open letter demanding people conform or “go home”. |
| For the most part, voters I spoke to were grateful to live in the Netherlands. They spoke of freedom, opportunities, and – almost ironically – its functioning democracy. But there was a sense of fear over the country’s dwindling tolerant and liberal culture – something which had drawn people there in the beginning. | For the most part, voters I spoke to were grateful to live in the Netherlands. They spoke of freedom, opportunities, and – almost ironically – its functioning democracy. But there was a sense of fear over the country’s dwindling tolerant and liberal culture – something which had drawn people there in the beginning. |
| Jamila, who was born to Moroccan parents, doesn’t wear a headscarf which, she says, means she is not seen as a “typical Muslim” in the eyes of “an average Dutch person”. | Jamila, who was born to Moroccan parents, doesn’t wear a headscarf which, she says, means she is not seen as a “typical Muslim” in the eyes of “an average Dutch person”. |
| “My sisters have been discriminated against, due to the fact that they wear a headscarf and that they live in Noord-Brabant where the average citizen is not that world-experienced. I can honestly say that the climate for Muslims before 9/11 was much better ... a lot of Muslims here feel like second class citizens,” she says. | “My sisters have been discriminated against, due to the fact that they wear a headscarf and that they live in Noord-Brabant where the average citizen is not that world-experienced. I can honestly say that the climate for Muslims before 9/11 was much better ... a lot of Muslims here feel like second class citizens,” she says. |
| Hind Abdulaziz fled Iraq as a refugee almost 20 years ago to start a new life in the Netherlands, and has never experienced discrimination. But the PVV’s rising popularity has given her a different understanding of how some Dutch people view “foreigners” living in the country. | Hind Abdulaziz fled Iraq as a refugee almost 20 years ago to start a new life in the Netherlands, and has never experienced discrimination. But the PVV’s rising popularity has given her a different understanding of how some Dutch people view “foreigners” living in the country. |
| “I have become very careful when speaking Arabic with my children, and I have chosen Dutch names for my kids. I speak fluent Dutch, so people on the phone are not aware,” she says. | “I have become very careful when speaking Arabic with my children, and I have chosen Dutch names for my kids. I speak fluent Dutch, so people on the phone are not aware,” she says. |
| Idris Noor, a lawyer in one of the country’s largest corporate firms says that his “Dutch appearance” has protected him from discrimination. And he feels lucky, unlike some of his friends. “The Netherlands means freedom. Ironically, I feel this because of my Syrian roots. I know what dictatorship means, it has destroyed my father’s family,” he says. | Idris Noor, a lawyer in one of the country’s largest corporate firms says that his “Dutch appearance” has protected him from discrimination. And he feels lucky, unlike some of his friends. “The Netherlands means freedom. Ironically, I feel this because of my Syrian roots. I know what dictatorship means, it has destroyed my father’s family,” he says. |
| Read more on this here. | Read more on this here. |
| 3.13pm GMT | 3.13pm GMT |
| 15:13 | 15:13 |
| Is the Dutch election result a pyrrhic victory? | Is the Dutch election result a pyrrhic victory? |
| Randeep Ramesh | Randeep Ramesh |
| Randeep Ramesh gives his insight on the Dutch election today, arguing Geert Wilders was beaten, but at the cost of fuelling racism in the Netherlands. He writes: | Randeep Ramesh gives his insight on the Dutch election today, arguing Geert Wilders was beaten, but at the cost of fuelling racism in the Netherlands. He writes: |
| In the Netherlands, the defeat of Geert Wilders’ anti-EU, anti-immigration, anti-Islam Freedom party is a pyrrhic victory. The cost of this victory was that the country’s centre-right party appropriated the rhetoric of Wilders to beat him. Mark Rutte, who leads the VVD party, which won the largest number of seats in the election, talked of “something wrong with our country” and claimed “the silent majority” would no longer tolerate immigrants who come and “abuse our freedom”. | In the Netherlands, the defeat of Geert Wilders’ anti-EU, anti-immigration, anti-Islam Freedom party is a pyrrhic victory. The cost of this victory was that the country’s centre-right party appropriated the rhetoric of Wilders to beat him. Mark Rutte, who leads the VVD party, which won the largest number of seats in the election, talked of “something wrong with our country” and claimed “the silent majority” would no longer tolerate immigrants who come and “abuse our freedom”. |
| What do you think of this response? Share your views with us below the line. | What do you think of this response? Share your views with us below the line. |
| 3.13pm GMT | 3.13pm GMT |
| 15:13 | 15:13 |
| Sarah Marsh | Sarah Marsh |
| We will now move on to talking about the dutch elections, which have been much talked about this week. | We will now move on to talking about the dutch elections, which have been much talked about this week. |
| 2.56pm GMT | 2.56pm GMT |
| 14:56 | 14:56 |
| Sarah Marsh | Sarah Marsh |
| An interesting question from one of our readers: | An interesting question from one of our readers: |
| I enjoyed the London Bridge article. The photo you use at the head of the page illustrates one of the unanswered questions. How long until there are new stamps with Charles' head? Ditto for coins and notes? We have had an unusual period since decimilisation of having coins with only the one monarch, but many of the existing QEII coins will remain in circulation for decades, alongside new KCIII (or KGVII), and that will be quite a change for most people. | I enjoyed the London Bridge article. The photo you use at the head of the page illustrates one of the unanswered questions. How long until there are new stamps with Charles' head? Ditto for coins and notes? We have had an unusual period since decimilisation of having coins with only the one monarch, but many of the existing QEII coins will remain in circulation for decades, alongside new KCIII (or KGVII), and that will be quite a change for most people. |
| Some newspapers have speculated that Charles intends to reign as George VII - did you find out anything about that? | Some newspapers have speculated that Charles intends to reign as George VII - did you find out anything about that? |
| 2.23pm GMT | 2.23pm GMT |
| 14:23 | 14:23 |
| The secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death | The secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death |
| Jonathan Shainin | Jonathan Shainin |
| The idea for this week’s big long read – on the spectacularly detailed plans for the days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II – was first discussed last November. Every month or two, the long reads editors meet with a few of our regular writers for lunch at a pub near the office – a chance to chat over future ideas, and plot long-term projects. | The idea for this week’s big long read – on the spectacularly detailed plans for the days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II – was first discussed last November. Every month or two, the long reads editors meet with a few of our regular writers for lunch at a pub near the office – a chance to chat over future ideas, and plot long-term projects. |
| When our conversation at this particular lunch turned to the question of how the media would cover the eventual death of the Queen, and how many organisations had elaborate plans already in place, we quickly realised there was a much bigger story here. | When our conversation at this particular lunch turned to the question of how the media would cover the eventual death of the Queen, and how many organisations had elaborate plans already in place, we quickly realised there was a much bigger story here. |
| The bigger story is not just the elaborate and detailed plan held by the palace, decades in the making, but the taboo about discussing it. As Sam Knight writes: | The bigger story is not just the elaborate and detailed plan held by the palace, decades in the making, but the taboo about discussing it. As Sam Knight writes: |
| And yet this taboo, like much to do with the monarchy, is not entirely rational, and masks a parallel reality. The next great rupture in Britain’s national life has, in fact, been planned to the minute. It involves matters of major public importance, will be paid for by us, and is definitely going to happen.Of course, we were concerned that some people might see the simple act of publishing an article about the death of the Queen as a provocation. But Sam spent months reporting this story, digging in archives and interviewing dozens of broadcasters, government officials, and former palace staff who had worked on “London Bridge”, as the funeral plans are known – and readers seem to have responded, above all, to the astonishing level of care and detail in an extraordinary piece of reporting. | And yet this taboo, like much to do with the monarchy, is not entirely rational, and masks a parallel reality. The next great rupture in Britain’s national life has, in fact, been planned to the minute. It involves matters of major public importance, will be paid for by us, and is definitely going to happen.Of course, we were concerned that some people might see the simple act of publishing an article about the death of the Queen as a provocation. But Sam spent months reporting this story, digging in archives and interviewing dozens of broadcasters, government officials, and former palace staff who had worked on “London Bridge”, as the funeral plans are known – and readers seem to have responded, above all, to the astonishing level of care and detail in an extraordinary piece of reporting. |
| What do you think? Is there anything more you wish we had added? | What do you think? Is there anything more you wish we had added? |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 2.30pm GMT | at 2.30pm GMT |
| 2.02pm GMT | 2.02pm GMT |
| 14:02 | 14:02 |
| Our photos of the week | Our photos of the week |
| Joanna Ruck | Joanna Ruck |
| We always love the Holi festival on the picture desk, it provides us with such a range of bright, joyful images, and at least we don’t have to wash that paint out of our clothes. | We always love the Holi festival on the picture desk, it provides us with such a range of bright, joyful images, and at least we don’t have to wash that paint out of our clothes. |
| Continuing the colourful theme, it’s been a bright week for frogs as researchers in South America have discovered the first case of natural fluorescence in a tree-frog. | Continuing the colourful theme, it’s been a bright week for frogs as researchers in South America have discovered the first case of natural fluorescence in a tree-frog. |
| After a long week, the weekend is almost in touching distance | After a long week, the weekend is almost in touching distance |