Joan Smith
Joan Smith: A tale of two politicians of a certain age
Published: 12 October 2007
I've never been a fan of Hillary Clinton but I have to admit to a sneaking admiration for someone whose 60th birthday present to herself is a run at the American presidency.
Joan Smith: Why is Jacqui Smith punishing the victims of sex crime?
Published: 07 October 2007
It isn't often a government minister destroys years of hard work in an afternoon. But one day last week, as the second nationwide operation against forced prostitution got under way, the Home Secretary made remarks which amount to an immeasurable setback for campaigners against sex-trafficking.
Joan Smith: Burma lies bleeding
Published: 30 September 2007
Joan Smith: Read between Cherie's airbrushed lines
Published: 23 September 2007
Joan Smith: We are withdrawing into our own tribes
Published: 20 September 2007
Even before it was officially published yesterday, the final report of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) made dramatic headlines. Britain remains a place of "inequality, exclusion and isolation", despite decades in which governments have tried to tackle the problem of discrimination.
Joan Smith: Pavarotti's starring role in 'Jerry Springer: the Opera'
Published: 16 September 2007
In grand opera, characters fall passionately in love with the wrong people, but at least they don't have second thoughts. No "friend" appears on stage after Violetta's tragic death to murmur that she always had her doubts about Alfredo, while Butterfly remains true to Pinkerton (unwisely, in my view) to the very end.
Joan Smith: Such a criminal waste of time and effort
Published: 13 September 2007
I don't know whether it's standard issue in London police stations these days or evidence that someone has a sense of humour. But when I went to report that someone had broken into my car last week, while I was in Spain, I did so under the beady eye of Dixon of Dock Green, whose framed portrait hangs behind the reception desk in my local nick. In fact, I could have used the services of Jack Warner in the half hour I spent in a dingy waiting room, trying to comfort a distressed elderly woman who had lost her purse and keys.
Joan Smith: Oh, put a sock in it lads: it's OK to grow up
Published: 26 August 2007
Joan Smith: Are devil girls really on the rampage?
Published: 23 August 2007
It's a bit like watching the trailer for that hilarious sci-fi classic, Attack of the 50 Ft Woman, which thrilled audiences with the news that "the most grotesque monstrosity of all" was on the loose. This time, to be fair, the monsters are the same size as the rest of us but the really terrible thing about them, like the deranged avenger in that Fifties movie, is their sex.
Joan Smith: I'd rather confront a terrorist than a litter lout
Published: 19 August 2007
At the end of June, when two men tried to drive a blazing Jeep into the entrance of Glasgow airport, members of the public risked their lives to help the police. A baggage handler, John Smeaton, was praised for his courage in tackling a man who continued to struggle with officers despite having set himself on fire. Mr Smeaton emerged unscathed from an incident in which he could have been seriously injured. It seems likely, in the post-9/11 world, that many of us would behave as he did if lives were at stake.
Joan Smith: These preachers of hate must be exposed
Published: 14 August 2007
Joan Smith: It's raining. It's all the Government's fault
Published: 29 July 2007
Joan Smith: The politics of pandering to Middle England
Published: 26 July 2007
Joan Smith: The whim of wealthy men
Published: 22 July 2007
Joan Smith: The common factors behind the bombers
Published: 11 July 2007
Joan Smith: The evidence indicates that political Islam hates our way of life, not our foreign policy
Published: 04 July 2007
Joan Smith: Rushdie's gong almost made me ask for my MBE back
Published: 24 June 2007
From time to time, someone who has accepted an honour from the Government makes a big point of returning it, declaring that they can no longer stomach Tony Blair's policy on this or that - or just Tony Blair. In the case of Joseph Corré, purveyor of racy underwear to British women, it took a mere three weeks to accept and reject his award, a conversion so swift that he never had the opportunity to grasp the insignia (as I believe purists call it) of the MBE in his hot little hand.
Joan Smith: Children of a lesser nation
Published: 10 June 2007
Joan Smith: A minority is trying to impose its morality on us
Published: 01 June 2007
Whenever people start talking about abortion becoming a political issue once again, I know they're speaking in code. What it means is the religious right has spotted a chance to impose its opinions on the rest of us, first in the guise of more restrictive criteria for terminating pregnancies and then in the form of an outright ban.
Joan Smith: Punishment for people who don't deserve it
Published: 31 May 2007
Joan Smith: So, farewell then Paul Wolfowitz, at least this time no one's died
Published: 20 May 2007
Joan Smith: I'm sorry, but Shambo gets my bullet
Published: 13 May 2007
Joan Smith: Back in Africa on missionary work: Madonna, I presume?
Published: 22 April 2007
Joan Smith: America, a nation that believes in violence
Published: 20 April 2007
Joan Smith: It's not just black boys who carry knives and join gangs to be hard
Published: 15 April 2007
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