Mail accidentally accuses itself of trying to “coerce” Lilly Wachowski into...
Copy, paste, fail. The perils of churnalism have been revealed by the Independent today. It has spotted the Mail inadvertently reporting that its own journalist had tried to "coerce" the Matrix...
View ArticleGoodbye, Marco Rubio
The Republican race is now between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, while the Democratic race remains Hillary Clinton's to lose. Wow, Marco Rubio’s had a terrible few days. He had a pretty bad night on...
View ArticleIt's great that Emma Watson is standing up for feminism - but #HeforShe is...
When we pander to make feminism more palatable, we ignore the unpalatable truths of patriarchy. If there are three things I love in this world, it’s international relations, women and days. It’s a...
View ArticleThe fall of Maria Sharapova
Should we be surprised by her humiliation? I was a spectator on Centre Court that warm afternoon in July 2004 when Maria Sharapova, who faces suspension from tennis after testing positive for a banned...
View ArticleLeader: In defence of Project Fear
The Leave camp must make its case with a sober assessment of the arguments. The aftershocks of the Scottish referendum continue to reverberate. The vote on 18 September 2014 settled nothing in...
View ArticleKeep Kalm and Karry On: how I tried using Kim Kardashian to treat my anxiety
Playing the Kim Kardashian iPhone game didn’t soothe me, but it was a surprisingly progressive experience. A blonde cartoon woman shaped like an even more oppressive Barbie just called me “hashtag...
View ArticleGeorge Osborne’s stock has fallen, but it’s too soon to write off his...
The Chancellor's position was never as strong as suggested. Nor is it now as weak. At last year’s Conservative conference in Manchester, Tory MPs spoke confidently about the identity of their next...
View ArticleDefeat over Sunday trading heightens the pressure on George Osborne's next...
The Chancellor is developing an unwelcome reputation among Conservative MPs and activists as error-prone. In 1986, the then-Conservative government was defeated over plans to liberalise Sunday...
View ArticleAdam Johnson and the see-no-evil monkey: what happens when emojis turn up in...
Emoji are used worldwide and transform the tone of our messages and social media posts, but their multifarious meanings make it difficult for courts to interpret them. When England footballer Adam...
View ArticleWhat does Brexit mean for the environment? It's a question that the Leave...
As far as our country and our planet are concerned, it's open and shut: we're stronger in. What has the European Union ever done for us? Except for the cleaner beaches, air and water, lower...
View ArticleDan Jarvis offers himself as a tougher Ed Miliband as he pitches to Labour's...
The favourite to succeed Jeremy Corbyn criticised his leader only in code. "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all" runs Thumper's law. Dan Jarvis's speech this morning applied this...
View ArticleAre the media ignoring Corbyn supporters’ #JC4PM tour?
Jeremy Corbyn is winning over the country, one former SWP comedian at a time. Last night in Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre, a bunch of Labour supporters and Jeremy Corbyn diehards came together to...
View ArticleDan Jarvis isn't ready. And it's all David Miliband's fault
Labour's attempts to "skip a generation" are part of the problem. David Cameron became an MP in 2001. He became Prime Minister in 2010. Tony Blair became an MP in 1983. He got the top job in 1997....
View ArticleIt’s not only a story: why it matters how J K Rowling depicts Native American...
When an update is made to the Harry Potter universe, it makes news around the world – whether for good reasons or bad. The combined word count of the seven Harry Potter novels is 1,084,170 words– and...
View ArticleStop-motion film Anomalisa reminds us that perfection is an illusion
Charlie Kaufman may be the most original voice in US cinema since David Lynch, and this latest film has a unique tactile tension. No one would start a punch-up if they said that the screenwriter...
View ArticleThe Coen brothers on the music that scores their films
The brilliance of Saturday Night at the Movies on Classic FM is that it gets people sick to death of talking about movies to talk about movies - by focussing on the music. To the Coen brothers talking...
View ArticleDavid Cameron vows to stay in the Commons after 2020
The prime minister intends to leave Number 10 before the next election, but stand again as an MP. David Cameron will stand again as an MP at the next general election despite intending to step down as...
View ArticleCommons Confidential: Bipartisan tandoori
Menu faces, press gallery places and why you should never get on the wrong side of Michael Dugher.Tribune, the best-known group in Labour history, is to be revived by MPs. The party isn’t short of...
View ArticleHow the migrant crisis is helping Erdogan control the Turkish press
The clampdown on critical media groups is just one element of Turkey’s censorship of journalists. Last week in Turkey, a media group critical of the government was raided by police and put under state...
View ArticleJulian Fellowes is back - and this time it's Trollope
Though my loathing for Downton borders on the pathological, I am keen on Trollope - but while Doctor Thorne is not bad, it's not great, either. Plus: Cooked. I suppose it was only a matter of time...
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