Scott Walker vs Ed Miliband – lessons from Wisconsin
The analogy is obvious. I suppose it isn't surprising: when an official opposition is visionless, it is the grassroots who lead. But when it comes to elections, it is still…
LOLBoris and LOLObama
OK, I'm going to make a clear prediction: Barack Obama is gonna win. I should add that, when Gordon Brown was 10 points down in 2010, I predicted he'd be…
Aid is Aid, not a Bribe
by Alys Mumford Now normally I manage to resist the urge to rise to a Daily Mail article I disagree with. But for this one: 'Well that's gratitude! We give…
On Newt and Saul
A couple of things have struck me about Newt Gingrich's string of recent speeches. One is that he speaks in reasonably consistent iambic tetrameter. The other is stranger. Why does…
Pissing on the flag
Another day, another scandal involving United States servicemen. This time it's four marines pissing on the corpses of Taliban fighters they’ve killed. Each time this happens we’re asked to treat…
If in six months they say they didn’t know, they’ll be lying
Seve Cockburn writes from Dakar. This piece first appeared on his blog. Sometime last February I sat in a meeting when people were talking about how there was going to…
Don’t be fooled – the UK isn’t trying to save the climate
Murray Worthy, policy officer at the World Development Movement writes from the UN climate talks in Durban Cross posted from the World Development Movement's Durban Watch blog If you have…
New attacks on LGBT rights in Russia
By Nigel Warner In recent years state authorities in Russia have repeatedly tried to prevent LGBT people from campaigning publicly for their rights. This has been most evident in relation…
You, too, will come to love this Gideon
The most enthusiastic Bright Green fans, or Bri-hards as I believe you're called, might remember that I used to work on a World Development Movement campaign against the banks who…
Drenched in Oil – Ulster Bank, RBS and Ethics for the Belfast Festival
What links the suffering of the indigenous Cree Indians of Alberta, Canada, the international arms trade and the President of Belarus to a vibrant cultural event in Belfast, Northern Ireland?…