Media

Some things I believe

Barack Obama has the mood, the momentum and the money in his favour – but John McCain’s character and record could yet swing November’s presidential election for the Republicans

High Court Judges may not like it but The Jeremy Kyle show has a consistent underlying morality

Wolf Totem is a disconcerting mixture of nationalism, lupine metaphors and nostalgia for the age of nomads. But what does the novel’s runaway success tell us of the aspirations of the new China?

From the Beatles and Wilson to Bono and Blair, the rise of rock stars to power and influence has tempted leaders all over the world to cultivate them – even at the risk of ridicule

Channel 4 News’s anchorman has to disguise his political bias as neutrality, a pretence that is both insidious and unmanly

‘To point a finger at “bankers” (whatever the word means) is as dangerous as stigmatising racial or religious minorities’

‘Some artists have finally had the courage to admit that they are scared. But we need them to do better than that. We need people with a voice to show that they aren’t scared’

‘To defend and celebrate Western civilisation is not merely desirable; it is imperative’

British newspaper writing is famously more vigorous and readable than its American equivalent. But this comes at a price: there’s a good chance that anything you read in a British newspaper isn’t true.