When I’m tootling about on the blogs of an evening I’m aware of the possibility of embarrassing myself – ie I could fire off a poorly thought out comment that immediately gets jumped on by other commentators. Or, when I rattle off an...

Having just attended my boys' nativity plays (well done everyone at All Children's Primary in Newcastle, Co Down!) my mind wanders to the series of flagrant human rights abuses related in the biblical tale and how they might be...

The One Shows special feature on the use of Tasers in the UK kickstarted a lively discussion both online and in the studio. Bette Midler thinks that theyre terrible and doesnt think that British police officers should be carrying them...

Having been laid low (low-ish) with illness this past fortnight I’ve been breaking a rule and forcing myself to take Paracetamol and Strepsils. (I’m a classic bad patient who won’t submit to sensible medication until I’m barking my...

Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World (Hardback, 640 pages, Allen Lane, rrp £25, available £17.50) Samantha Power is mostly famous for one thing on this side of the Atlantic. She was the foreign...