“I have to apologise”, says Andy Cairns from the stage of Bologna's Estragon, to the Therapy? faithful, on the first night of the European tour in support of Never Apologise, Never Explain, “My Italian is fuckin’ bad, and, being an Irish man, my English is fuckin’ appaling too!”. The crowd lap it up, though not […]
In the 21st Century, as we try to assess the impact of mass industrialisation on our environment, and as fears grow over climate change, the popularity of the myth of Atlantis, as presented by Plato in his Dialogues is understandable. The story of Atlantis has exerted a powerful hold over the imagination of the Western […]
The Gilded Age- The price which society pays for the law of competition, like the price it pays for cheap comfort and luxuries, is also great; but the advantages of this law are greater still, for it is to this law that we owe our wonderful material development, which brings improved conditions in its train. […]
While Sarah Hall's first novel Haweswater dealt with the devestation of a rural English village, her second novel The Electric Michelangelo turns to the rarely broached topic, in literature certainly, of tattooing. Both novels have received huge critical acclaim, Haweswater won the Commonwealth prize for a first novel, while The Electric Michelangelo was one of […]
&ldquoThe more it changes the more it stays the same” says Greg Palast, this cold and wet Saturday three days before one of the most hotly contested elections in American History. Palast, author of The Best Democracy Money can Buy was the journalist who broke the story about the illegal removal of thousands of voters […]
David Lane's book Berlusconi's Shadow was to originally have been titled The Sinister Nexus, until a pragmatic intervention from the publishers put Silvio Berlusconi firmly in the spotlight. It was a reasonable change, as Berlusconi is most certainly the central character of the book, but the original title reveals the ambition of the book. &ldquoI […]
The decision by the European Commission to recommend the EU open accession negotiations with Turkey is a momentous one. It has been a long time coming. The Turkish application for membership was first lodged back in 1963. Over the past decade Turkey has watched thirteen countries negotiate with and then join the EU whilst it […]
“Part of it is to get out from under the idea that this is all mythical” says Professor Nancy Scheper-Hughes, speaking from the headquarters of Organs Watch, an organisation founded in 1999, operating out of the University of California, and with a research presence in over a dozen countries . Indeed, the myths surrounding organ […]
The signing of the European Constitution by 25 heads of state, amidst plomp and splendour, in Rome today, was a historic occasion. If this Monkey were in any doubt of that fact Italian TV put him to rights. The blitzkrieg started in earnest last night with all news channels and Bruno Vespa’s fawning current affairs […]