In the Loopy
'The Sexual Politics of Meat' is a dotty book, but a dangerous book too
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
The Serpent in His Own Eden
Paul Gauguin forged the myth of himself as a South Seas primitive — but his painting was not just a pose
Tea Party Politics
‘Why do grown men in the Tea Party dress up as George Washington?’
Did the Earth Move for Galileo?
New books on the great Italian reveal him to have been wiser than many modern scientists
How Foes become Mates
The political situation in Russia transformed the sulphurous relationship between Karpov and Kasparov
Do the Times Require a Conyers Middleton?
He is an 18th-century deist with a message for today's aggressive atheists: religion has a social value, and saves us from the return to a Hobbesian state of nature
Xinjiang: Taming China’s Wild West
'The Chinese government is destroying the mud-brick maze of traditional Kashgar to cement control over its rebellious Turkic natives. Uighurs are terrified that by mid-century they will have become the Apache or
Displacement activity
So it seems that some of the usual suspects among the cultural great and good - Stephen Fry, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman - have signed up to a campaign in opposition to
Darting On At Dartington
A welcome chat with David Francis, head of arts at Dartington, produced some interesting info the other day. I'd like to flag it by way of addendum to my recent column in
Choudary’s Flag Burners
When Anjem Choudary's Islam4UK/al-Muhajiroun organisation was banned in January of this year, many (including this blog) questioned the efficacy of such a move; would they merely change their name and continue to
ONLINE Only: An Important Distinction
Islam isn't Islamism — but Muslims are too quick to defend extremists
Death Fatwa for Terry Jones
It has been reported that al-Qaeda's Anwar al-Awlaki has issued a fatwa calling for the murder of Terry Jones, the Florida Pastor organising the 9/11 'Burn a Koran Day'.