As leftists, we should reject the sexism and racism that saturates contemporary mass-marketed pornography.

As leftists, we should reject the capitalist commodification of one of the most basic aspects of our humanity. As leftists, we should reject corporate domination of media and culture.

Anti-pornography feminists are not asking the left to accept a new way of looking at the world but instead are arguing for consistency in analysis and application of principles.

On the other hand, there are those who consider themselves to be on the 'libertarian' left. It becomes a conflict between culture and politics.

One can be an ardent critic of capitalism, but more 'postmodern' when it comes to culture. It is a clash that I have to deal with in myself   more »

Peter Clarke, the Met's anti-terrorism point man, gave a press conference claiming he was not going to speculate, but then doing everything he could to indicate it was an Islamic plot.

He referred to other recent cases, including the Barot case, in which night clubs were mentioned as targets, and the use of gas canisters in cars discussed.

The one bit of modus operandi pointing another way - the fact it wasn't a suicide bomber - he was at pains to explain away by speculating that the driver had lost his nerve.

But whoever did this, the only people who can possibly benefit are the vast and ever-burgeoning security industry of all kinds, and those who want discord between the Islamic World and the West.   more »

"Gore can say that the American people wanted him to run. So the image about him being a sore loser or desperate to become president or someone that is not a man of the people can be thrown into the trash."

"If Al Gore runs, Republicans should be very afraid," said one blogger on Politico.com yesterday. "As much as they like to make fun of him, no one can deny that he is the candidate that has the most appeal and ability to energise his base."

Mr Gore's rehabilitation is accelerating as America's political agenda steadily moves towards issues such as climate change that he has long championed.

"In what may be the greatest brand makeover in history, Gore is being hailed as a visionary who was right about everything from global warming to Iraq," writes Fast Company's Ellen McGirt. "At 59, he's an Academy award winner, a bestselling author, a frontrunner for the Nobel prize, and a concert promoter."   more »

After more than six years of his rule, the US is waking up to the reality that it has been a Cheney-Bush affair in all but name.

Despite being written off on numerous occasions, the Vice-President's ability to influence events remains unrivalled.

Although he is approaching the final months of his career and will never run for office again, more surprises may be in store as he seeks to complete his agenda.

Cheney will have his heart pacemaker installed next month and even with mortality knocking on the door, there is every possibility he will engineer yet another foreign policy surprise, possibly against Iran.   more »

Every report from Basra in recent months has pointed out that the city is in the grip of armed strife between a variety of Shia militias intertwined with criminal groups.

It is a chaotic contest in which, in the words of one British officer, "we are just another tribe" - though the British have the distinction of being the least popular and most conspicuous one, hence the fact that they are targeted by every militia.

Even Blair publicly conceded that there is no al-Qaida activity in Basra, nor a Sunni insurgency. So Brown's point about defeating terrorist extremism is irrelevant in Basra.

The new prime minister should read the International Crisis Group's latest report, Where is Iraq Heading? Lessons from Basra, which argues convincingly that Britain's effort to clean up the city's police through Operation Sinbad has failed.   more »