David Aaronovitch



Profile: Timeline
Full name: David Aaronovitch

Area of interest: International politics and the media

Journals/Organisation: The Times | The Jewish Chronicle

Email: [mailto:david.aaronovitch@thetimes.co.uk david.aaronovitch@thetimes.co.uk]

Personal website: http://www.davidaaronovitch.com

Website: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch

Blog: Conspiracy latest

Representation: AP Watt

Networks:



Biography:
About: "David Aaronovitch is a writer, broadcaster and commentator on culture, international affairs, politics and the media. His regular column will appear every Thursday in The Times from April 1st. A former television researcher, producer and programme editor, he has previously written for The Independent, The Guardian and The Observer, winning numerous accolades, including Columnist of the Year 2003 and the 2001 Orwell prize for journalism. He has appeared on the satirical TV current affairs programme Have I Got News For You, presented a number of radio and television series and programmes on current affairs and historical topics. His first book, and account of a journey by kayak on the rivers and canals of England, Paddling to Jerusalem, was published in 2000 and won the Madoc Prize for travel writing. In 2009 he published Voodoo Histories, a book on the history and attraction of conspiracy theories. David also writes a blog about conspiracy theories" - http://www.davidaaronovitch.com/html/biography/bio.html

Education: Balliol College, Oxford 1972/1974 (sent down, failing German History exam); University of Manchester: BA (Hons) History, 1978; elected President of the National Union of Students, 1980

Career: Researcher, then producer for ITV's Weekend World; founding editor of BBC's On the Record, 1988; The Independent and Independent on Sunday's chief leader writer, television critic, and columnist until 2002; contributor, columnist and feature writer with The Guardian and The Observer from 2003; in June 2005 he joined The Times, writing a regular column, he also writes regular columns for the Jewish Chronicle

Current position/role: Columnist


 * also writes/written for:

Other roles/Main role:

Other activities:

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: Frequently endorses the New Labour position, but has opposed them on issues concerning civil liberties, voting reform, House of Lords

Broadcast media: Presented and contributed to many TV and radio programmes: Newsnight; Parkinson's Radio 2 programme; the Jimmy Young Show; guested on Have I Got News For You and Question Time; most recent programmes: three part series for Channel 4 on Sex on TV; three part series for Channel 5 about sex and culture, Whatever Turns You On; programmes for Channel 4 on Muslim Anti-Semitism; the Iraq war; three part series for Radio 4 on the Romans; Radio 4 programme, The Copysnatchers. see IMDb filmography

Video: http://www.davidaaronovitch.com/html/voodoo_histories/about_voodoo_histories_video.html

Controversy/Criticism: Strongly supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq: [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch/article758334.ece ''Here's my apology on the 'disaster' of the Iraq war. Now, where's yours?'']

Awards/Honours: What the Papers Say award for the best Writer about broadcasting, 1998; George Orwell Prize for Political Journalism, 2001; WTPS Columnist of the year, 2003

Scoops:

Other: Son of economist and communist Sam Aaronovitch, brother of actor Owen Aaronovitch and scriptwriter Ben Aaronovitch



Books & Debate:

 * Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country OCLC 44562051, 2000
 * Arson, rape and bloody murder OCLC 48784738, 2002 (recalls his growing up amidst the trials, triumphs and eccentricities of the Communist Party in Britain)
 * The Hutton Inquiry and its impact OCLC 53709129, 2004 (with Simon Rogers, et al)

Latest work: Voodoo histories: the role of the conspiracy theory in shaping modern history OCLC 310154675, 2009. Reviewed here by Johann Hari.

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate:http://www.intelligencesquared.com/people/a/david-aaronovitch 

The Times:
Column name:

Remit/Info: International politics and the media

Section: Features

Role: Commentator

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:david.aaronovitch@thetimes.co.uk david.aaronovitch@thetimes.co.uk]

Website: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/david_aaronovitch

Commissioning editor: Daniel Finkelstein

Day published: Tuesday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length: 1050



Articles: 2012

 * You can trust the public. They’re not savages - People can judge the press for themselves, they can judge TV debates and they can judge how to spend their money - 29th November
 * Drones or jihadis? Which would you prefer? - Unmanned aircraft are effective at hitting militants and preventing terrorism. But this success brings its own dangers - 22nd November
 * Misplaced lust is no reason to lose David Petraeus - He was the best man for the job. But we are disturbed by sexual indiscretion and have to punish it - 15th November
 * Beware a modern Salem over child abuse - Pursuing witch hunts is as dangerous as ignoring victims. Don’t launch inquiries on the back of lurid claims - 8th November
 * Box office status doesn’t put you above the law - Like bankers and TV celebs, football’s giants have cultivated an aura of impunity. But wealth won’t protect you for ever - 1st November
 * If we can’t have the DJ’s head, the DG’s will do - There were 40 years to stop the abuse while Savile lived. Don’t obsess over one programme made after he died - 25th October
 * Behold, we have a new Sir Humphrey Appleby - The Attorney-General’s specious reasons for not publishing Prince Charles’s letters are beyond parody - 18th October
 * But what if Europe follows a different map? - The Cameron-Hague plan for a new relationship with the EU forgets only one thing — all the other members - 11th October
 * Savile’s time was different. We’ve grown up - Today, rumours of sex with under-age girls bring instant investigation. Forty years ago people looked the other way - 4th October
 * UKIP’s disturbed vision is a Tory nightmare - Nigel Farage’s party offers only dangerously appealing right-wing comfort politics that don’t stand up to scrutiny - 27th September
 * Global Muslim anger: is this the reaction of a grown-up religion? - We can’t discuss or depict Islam without causing mortal offence. Surely 1.8 billion Muslims can’t all be victims - 20th September
 * Shakespeare got it: great art is popular art - A million housewives – or groundlings – can’t be wrong. The best art is inspired by what people will pay for - 6th September
 * Yes, but can we really imagine what it’s like? - Being disabled is not heroic, as images from the Paralympics suggest. We need empathy with the ordinary grind - 30th August
 * The Stalinists of the mind are alive and well - Whether they are Eurosceptic monomaniacs or Assangeite conspiracy theorists, reality cannot shake their beliefs - 23rd August
 * It’s Sweden that Assange fears, not America - Whether the WikiLeaks founder likes it or not, he is no political refugee. But he has a real case to answer in law - 17th August
 * Mystery of Dorak will stay buried for ever - Did a world-famous archaeologist invent the finds that made his reputation? His death means we will never know - 9th August
 * Praise to the man who beat about Mr Bush - Gore Vidal dazzled in his early novels and essays, but gradually turned into a mildly unhinged isolationist - 1st August
 * My advice? Don’t give up the ziggurats - The monumental scale of the Olympics will be remembered long after our tiny moans about them have faded - 26th July
 * Is the truth ever true? Let’s have an inquiry - We kid ourselves if we think e-mails and texts reveal who is really lying. Haven’t you heard of the Rashomon effect? - 19th July
 * Welcome to Britain, the ludicrous Land of No - Our middle classes have the depressing knack of preventing any changes that will make this country better - 12th July
 * Nutty, yes. But judge them by their actions - Scientology has its bizarre beliefs, as have all other religions, but that is not enough for us to condemn it - 5th July
 * Let’s not be a whiskery, scared old nation - There’s a Habsburg feel to ageing Britain. Politicians should be wary of pandering to its reactionary prejudices - 28th June
 * Pay tax according to conscience, not the law - Instead of asking their accountants if a tax avoidance scheme is legal, the rich should ask themselves: is it moral? - 20th June
 * Modern Britain demands a modern airport - The same rural fantasies projected at the Olympic opening have delayed Heathrow’s third runway for 40 years - 14th June
 * Barry Unsworth opened the pages of history for me - Hilary Mantel’s choice of Losing Nelson among her top five modern historical novels was an excellent one - 9th June
 * You shouldn’t need a beard to bless a Queen - There can be no justification for the ban on women bishops. How religions behave matters to all of us - 7th June
 * Remember Bosnia, seedbed of radical Islam - The people of Syria wonder why the West will not help. Twenty years ago, jihadis stepped into a similar breach - 31st May
 * Whaddya want? More, not less, Nato – now! - The naive Chicago protests ignore the inconvenient truths of success in Libya and other missions to bring security - 27th May
 * Enough placebo politics. Vote for the geeks - There are too many lawyers in Parliament. For less rhetoric and more rigour we should take the scientific approach - 20th May
 * Let’s be honest. There’s a clear link with Islam - Sex grooming is committed by misogynists who want to control women’s modesty. It is a cousin of honour killing - 10th May 2012
 * The Left believes it was The Sun wot won it - Murdoch is still blamed for the Catastrophe of Thatcher. Without him, the workers wouldn’t have voted Maggie in - 3rd May 2012
 * As the mood darkens the mad bats take wing - Throughout Europe, the far Left and far Right target the same scapegoats. But should we listen to their anger? - 25th April 2012
 * Does tax make us slaves or good citizens? - Many want the freedom to spend more of their own money. But they still want the police if they are robbed - 19th April 2012
 * There’s a conspiracy, but who is it aimed at? - A man dies in a hotel: it happens. An authoritarian state whips up suspicion against an enemy: that happens too - 12th April 2012
 * Our lives change but the party’s not over yet - Political parties are dying, but for democracy’s sake we need a better replacement than ‘George and the Muslims’ - 5th April 2012
 * So why did he choose to stand in Bradford? - George Galloway fights only in Muslim seats where he can spin his narrative of grievance and victimhood - 31st March 2012
 * We shouldn’t destroy this tweeting idiot’s life - 56 days in prison (and a possible university expulsion) for sending racist messages is grossly excessive - 29th March 2012
 * Florida shows the danger of a Tony Martin law - The shooting of a young black man provides an uneasy reminder of how our own law might have turned out - 22nd March 2012
 * We are still living in the land of Bill Sikes - To our shame, for every ten women you pass in the street in Britain today one has probably been raped - 15th March 2012
 * Ahem. We need to talk about colonoscopies - Squeamishness about bowels and intestines can cost us our lives. We are all human. Let’s acknowledge it - 8th March 2012
 * The parable of the not-so-clever Samaritan - Men are left bloody and beaten by the side of the road. Do we intervene? Well, we can always find excuses not to . . . - 1st March 2021
 * If the benefit cap doesn’t fit, don’t wear it - The limit of £26,000 is easy to understand but is largely symbolic. The trouble is, it’s unfair on too many people - 26th January 2012
 * There’s nothing noble in this Wiki blackout - Cutting off millions of users is self-serving and arbitrary. And it shows that the online world isn’t serious - 19th January 2012
 * Ulster needs peace. But it needs truth more - It’s the hardest of moral dilemmas – does one family’s desire for justice trump the goal of ending all the violence? - 12th January 2012
 * Block your ears to the siren call of Ron Paul - The septuagenarian Texan attracts support from the Left and the young. They should take a close look at his past - 5th January 2012



Articles: 2011

 * Goodbye, Europe, a New World awaits us - Not being in the EU doesn’t mean not being in anything. So let’s rejoin America, a land where we can truly be free - 29th December 2011
 * Piers Morgan is the vulgar price of Václav - The Czech dissident fought for freedom of expression. We have that in Britain and celebrity gossip is the result - 22nd December 2011
 * It’s grim. But how will a strike make it better? - You don’t put your livelihood at risk without a clear plan of action and yesterday’s strikers just don’t have one - 1st December 2011
 * You still want celeb gossip, but not the way that we get it - Suddenly, in the case of Gary Speed, the machine falls silent - 29th November 2011 [in the Thunderer column]
 * Blaming Tesco won’t bring us social justice - The moral economy is Labour’s latest idea. But in an open world there’s no practical alternative to capitalism - 24th November 2011
 * Joblessness breeds the slow riot of social decline - The headlines are about youngsters but it is the legions of long-term unemployed that should really alarm us - 17th November 2011
 * Let down by Obama? Well, you were warned - American liberals disappointed by the President have found out that what they wanted wasn’t what they needed - 10th November 2011
 * Cruelty has a human heart. Look in the mirror - We attack the tabloids and popular TV for their callous attitudes, but we are shifting the blame from ourselves - 3rd November 2011
 * We are sleep-arguing our way out of Europe - With John Major’s ‘bastards’ filling half the Tory back benches, nobody is putting the positive case for staying in - 27th October 2011
 * The August rioters really were the usual suspects - This was not some watershed or sign of a broken society - 25th October 2011 [in the Thunderer column]
 * No research. No runway. That’s anti-progress - We focus on the fears of scientific advance and ignore the benefits – until it’s too late. This reactionary crusade must end - 20th October 2011
 * Can the best trump the passion of the worst? - Across the Middle East, Yeats’s words have a chill echo. The moderate majority needs protection from the minority - 13th October 2011
 * May’s wrong story hides the real rights issues - The Human Rights Act needs reform but ignorant, populist speeches by ministers are a barrier to change - 6th October
 * The immigration triffid is growing. Eradicate it - Even the Labour leader seems to believe – wrongly – that foreigners (a) take British jobs and (b) drive down wages - 29th September
 * very scared – bad science will get you'' - It can start with laughable claims about TV and life expectancy. But then it can become seriously life-threatening - 18th August
 * alienated, just on a power trip. As ever'' - We have chucked resources at these rioters. But violent young men will always be with us, so let’s not panic - 11th August
 * take it ill, but there’s no medical utopia'' - The search for a biological answer to all our problems is a false trail. We humans are more complicated than that - 4th August
 * with this Olympic gloomster-in-chief'' - Only believers in neglect and misery rather than money and action quibble at the success of London 2012 - 27th July
 * will strengthen our enemies. Give anyway'' - From pointless wars to religious terror, Somalia is the perfect failure. But that’s no reason to ignore this famine - 21st July
 * or mutiny? On with the revolution'' - The expenses firestorm did little to improve our politics. Will we do any better after this furore over the press? - 14th July
 * can never be a luxury for the press'' - Passion and mischief make British newspapers what they are. But phone hacking blatantly oversteps the line - 7th July
 * Swiss way of death is a victory for optimism'' - I don’t have the courage to take my own life, but I admire the doctors willing to help those that are ‘ready to go’ - 16th June
 * Nimbies mean nothing can get done'' - Whether it’s turbines or high-speed rail, the vocal and time-rich will dredge up any argument to stop progress - 10th June
 * Fifa furore shows the game is changing'' - This week’s crisis is welcome. The Blatters of this world are under scrutiny and can no longer do as they please - 2nd June
 * me it’s adultery. To you it’s a disgrace'' - Considering how many Britons are unfaithful, it’s remarkable how quickly they condemn extramarital affairs - 26th May
 * complaint is personal and political'' - The Booker judge reveals her own prejudices in her attack on the genius of Philip Roth - 20th May
 * the tweeters tweet and the judges judge'' - The courts are doing a good job of balancing freedom and privacy. So let’s not rush into a half-baked new law - 12th May
 * voters have changed. Now the system should'' - First-past-the-post was fine in the old two-horse race. Today it means too many winners with minority support - 5th May
 * birthers’ idiocy is to Obama’s advantage'' - Activists and ideologues are out of step with ordinary votin’ folk. That’s what the President knows and they don’t - 28th April
 * orders won’t stop the gossipmongers'' - The tide is going against the judges (and me). We might want bedroom activity to stay private, but it won’t - 21st April
 * our patience only helps our enemies'' - It is less than four weeks since we intervened in Libya to stop a massacre. And no one promised a speedy victory - 14th April
 * should we expect Dylan to do what our governments won't?'' - the silence from the West over the latest crackdown has been deafening - 8th April
 * people are on your side. Why arrest them?'' - An artist, a journalist, a lawyer . . . For a superpower, China has some pretty tiny enemies, but so do all despots - 7th April
 * nuclear scaremongers are a toxic lot'' - Don’t listen to Angela Merkel and the Greens. We need a cool look at the (not so great) risks of nuclear power - 31st March
 * of Merrie Englande won’t help Ed'' - Miliband’s new guru is the architect of Blue Labour. But are his ideas anything more than a retreat into the past? - 23rd March
 * price of inaction in Libya is far too high'' - If we don’t bomb Gaddafi’s tanks, Europe is likely to face a wave of refugees and a new generation of jihadis - 18th March
 * not become a speech therapist, Andrew?'' - The Royal Family must decide if they belong to the shallow world of celebrity or the world of public service - 10th March
 * column is all my own work. Honest'' - It seems that being a plagiarist makes you unfit for office. But what you can get away with depends on who you are - 3rd March
 * for a no-fly zone over Libya or regret it'' - Lord Owen is right. If Gaddafi is murdering his people from the air, we cannot stand by and permit it - 24th February
 * vote: it’s a headless pirate witch!'' - Horror stories about the proposed voting system are desperate. Not even Scooby-Doo would believe them - 17th February
 * don’t set a thief to catch a terrorist'' - The Prime Minister is spot-on: we should promote democratic values, not cosy up to those who reject them - 10th February
 * power to this parade of human dignity'' - Critics of ‘Western-style’ democracy ignore the humiliation and frustration of life in a dictatorship, however stable - 3rd February
 * gains from denying prisoners the vote?'' - I’m with the bishops and the do-gooders on this. Allowing inmates to choose MPs can only be a good thing - 21st January
 * Clegg nauseating. Good Clegg promising'' - Detaching his party from the Tories would be the most misguided path the Lib Dem leader could follow - 13th January
 * culture is also at fault for this awful abuse'' - It was brave of Muslim voices to denounce sex gangs. But we have helped to make the victims easy prey - 6th January



Articles: 2010

 * glib anecdotage is blinding us to science'' - Is there really a global medical conspiracy against home births? Or is there merely one born every minute? - 29th December
 * to control riots: calm down and carry on'' - Some say get tougher on protesting students. Some say ease off. But restraint and common sense are enough - 16th December
 * is no Robin Hood. They were our secrets'' - The Assangeists don’t trust the State to run foreign or defence policy. So why do they trust it to run everything else? - 8th December
 * secret’s out: the Yanks are a force for good'' - The WikiLeaks cables prove that the world’s most powerful democracy is on our side, the side of liberty - 2nd December
 * for tennis on a level playing field?'' - Just because times are hard, there’s no excuse for seeking comfort in the nonsense thinking of the past - 25th November
 * hatters revel at the Tea Party of the Left'' - The Millbank riot has fired up Labour supporters to resurrect wild ideas of opposition for opposition’s sake - 19th November
 * politicians change. That’s what Bush did'' - The former President shifted from isolationism to a belief in intervention. His critics should study the facts - 11th November
 * Obama and the Tea Party went wrong'' - They campaigned as insurgents, fighting ‘Washington’, a childish illusion that there is another way. Grow up America - 4th November
 * what you like. You’ll probably be wrong'' - Most experts are no better at telling the future than a dustman. So why do we prize their simple certainties? - 28th October
 * solar lamp lights the way Britain must go'' - Which would you choose – inward-looking pessimism or cheering intellectual curiosity? Green or MacGregor? - 21st October
 * fees and U-turns on the road to hell'' - All parties have tripped up after turning a political posture into a principle on the hard subject of university funding - 14th October
 * can’t retreat into the Goves of academe'' - The Education Secretary’s prescriptions ignore ordinary life and the history of education over the past 30 years - 7th October
 * Miliband’s no leader. He’s too busy messaging'' - The new leader’s reluctance to pick a fight and keenness to play to the Left made for an unconvincing start - 30th September
 * more to fairness than what you earn'' - Universal benefits are a way for society to show that it supports those who deserve help, irrespective of need - 23rd September
 * not just the Tea Party that are mad as hatters'' - Politics should be about hard work and compromise rather than following the latest crazy demands of Left or Right - 16th September
 * atheists should want good religion'' - When millions find solace in churches, mosques and spiritual codes we should think twice before attacking faith - 9th September
 * is Labour’s future, MiliE is just its past'' - The elder brother is a bit geeky, but he is braver and has sounder instincts than his family rival for the leadership - 26th August
 * giving away £5m a reason for such hatred?'' - The reaction to Tony Blair’s donation is bewildering. The tone of his critics reveals a form of collective madness - 19th August
 * is no mystery over David Kelly’s death'' - A body, a knife, pills, a cut wrist — conspiracy theorists and campaigning doctors must accept the truth - 14th August
 * isn’t just brutal, it’s dangerous'' - The misogyny that leads to stonings and ‘honour’ killings also leads to poverty and, ultimately, terrorism - 12th August
 * war on drivers is over. More will die'' - All the evidence shows that speed cameras save lives. Only selfishness tells us otherwise - 5th August
 * put WikiLeaks on the moral high ground?'' - Secrecy causes damage, but so can disclosure. Julian Assange has no right to decide which makes the greater evil - 29th July
 * nice Mr Cameron away with the fairies?'' - Like Tony Blair, if he wishes something hard enough he believes it will happen - 23rd July
 * reform? Great. Thanks for warning us'' - An enormous upheaval in health has suddenly materialised. I’m sure we weren’t told about it before the election - 15th July
 * but learning to swim: living Labour fossils'' - Tory cuts and anti-union laws are designed to push the Opposition to the left - 8th July
 * reform, David: there is no alternative (vote)'' - If Ken can be bold on prisons, you can swing your party behind a new electoral system. If you don’t, you’ll be out - 1st July
 * reasons not to cheer the Budget'' - And a jeer for its opponents: stop pretending this was unforeseeable and unavoidable - 25th June
 * journey by rail into Europe’s heart of darkness'' - Think of the adventures you’ll have if you go by train rather than by air - 18th June
 * world won’t stop to let Britain get off'' - The PM tells us that our way of life has got to change – but I fear his ‘change’ is about returning to the past - 10th June
 * waves will crash on Turkey’s shore'' - If the flotilla incident turns Turks against Israel and towards the east, it should fill us with fear for the future - 3rd June
 * make Labour relevant. But not yet . . .'' - With the coalition getting all the attention, the Opposition’s would-be leaders have time to work out their message - 27th May
 * too much Old in this New Politics'' - Nick Clegg’s first big speech as Deputy PM was let down by evasion, contradiction and overblown rhetoric - 20th May
 * Politics is here. Now let’s have new votes'' - If Labour is serious about renewal it must lead the campaign for electoral reform. More than fairness is at stake - 13th May
 * how to vote? My contortions may help'' - I agree that it’s time for a change. Electoral reform is my top priority. So guess who am I going to vote for? - 6th May
 * came, we saw, but what did we really learn?'' - We can judge whether a leader is a grump-bucket. But on the big stuff they won’t tell us what we don’t want to hear - 30th April
 * have been waiting for this for years'' - Policies and ties don’t matter. Clegg represents the break from stale two-party politics that many crave - 23rd April
 * or conservatives? How can we tell?'' - He drives a Porsche and a Range Rover, but offsets his carbon. My candidate personifies modern Tory contradictions - 8th April
 * bombers were a threat once, they still are'' - We can fret about human rights or question the special relationship, but fundamentalist terrorism has not gone away - 1st April
 * Byers and the sad ghost of new Labour'' - The former Cabinet minister was tipped as a future leader. But his fall from grace mirrors that of his party - 23rd March
 * attitude to kids shows we need to grow up'' - The refusal to listen to voices of reason feeds our vengeful instincts towards young killers and rapists - 16th March
 * has moved forward. It’s time we did too'' - Seven years on, these elections are a miracle. But the anti-war brigade is too blinded by prejudice to see it - 9th March
 * truth is more valuable than privacy'' - Protection of personal information is the web’s latest ethical battleground. But is it the most important? - 1st March
 * campaigners reap what GM sowed'' - Global warming deniers are defying all the evidence now. But once it was the green movement that rejected science - 23rd February
 * lives should never belong to the public'' - Politicians have to pander to the relentless appetite for disclosure. But knowing too much can lead to bad mistakes - 16th February
 * Amnesty chose the wrong poster-boy'' - Collaboration with Moazzam Begg, an extremist who has supported jihadi movements, looks like a serious mistake - 9th February
 * peculiar urge to sack the England captain'' - Is adultery a sufficient reason? Or perhaps betraying a team-mate? A refresher in anthropology might provide an answer - 2nd February
 * Edlington boys are not beyond redemption'' - We treat child-raising as a matter of intense privacy for ourselves, but of overt public interest when it comes to others - 26th January
 * is real life, not an episode of Thunderbirds'' - Do we really expect heroes to swoop from the skies? It’s far too easy to criticise the rescue from the ignorance of home - 19th January
 * who wields the banana can wear the crown'' - Charges of dithering will not stick. David Miliband’s critics dislike his politics, not his refusal to challenge Gordon Brown - 12th January
 * anti-sex brigade are the worst of hypocrites'' - Those who want to police the behaviour of women and gays do not really have faith in their traditional vision of sexuality - 5th January



Articles: 2009

 * failed terrorists spell trouble'' - First the shoe bomber, now the pants bomber. But those who dismiss al-Qaeda are making a deadly mistake - 29th December
 * well that made us think, didn’t it?'' - Agreement was always going to be almost impossible. But it wasn’t a waste of time: it gave us a crash course eco-education - 22nd December
 * critics are asking the wrong questions'' - All the talk is of WMD, lies and the decision to go to war. But the Chilcot inquiry is uncovering a much bigger scandal - 15th December
 * it or not, Big Brother is your friend'' - A semi-apocalyptic report this year about the surveillance state has turned out to be partisan and full of holes - 8th December
 * up: we cannot wish away Iran’s bomb'' - Iraq and Afghanistan may seem problem enough, but this threat is too big to ignore. Only concerted sanctions will work - 1st December
 * away the figleaf and reveal naysayers'' - Lord Lawson’s foundation claims it wants a ‘balanced’ climate change debate. But really it wants to disprove the science - 24th November
 * goodness for our touchy-feely age'' - Of course we should apologise for callously deporting children abroad. It makes a genuine difference to those who suffered - 17th November
 * you live on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall?'' - It is becoming fashionable to prefer stability to democracy. The oppressed will never forgive us for such world-weariness - 10th November
 * suggest a night at the theatre, Mr Cameron'' - A sop to the party’s Europhobes has left the Conservative leader defending the indefensible. He should be ashamed - 3rd November
 * fear change, not immigration'' - Migration can enrich us but politicians are not brave enough to put the positive case - 27th October
 * steps to wrong-foot Griffin'' - The BNP leader won’t rant, so here’s some ammunition to fire at him on Question Time - 20th October
 * price of the ‘power tax’ is far too high'' - Our belief that senior politicians have forgone their right to privacy makes leadership impossible in a modern democracy - 13th October
 * shouldn't just play for laughs'' - Boris Johnson says Blair isn’t up to being EU president, but who has the better track record? - 6th October
 * Tories should beware the Irish'' - If the referendum backs the Lisbon treaty, Cameron will have to say where he stands on Europe - 29th September
 * demand to end my life when I want'' - Freud’s doctor helped him to die 70 years ago. Now more and more of us want that same final choice - 22nd September
 * those panting for spending cuts'' - Of course there is room for savings. But slashing spending for ideology’s sake will hit health and education where it hurts - 15th September
 * has crept up on us, again'' - Concern about civil liberties should not distract us from the very clear and present danger of terrorism - 8th September
 * absurd MEP should oppose Bercow'' - Nigel Farage, retiring leader of UKIP, is right to break with convention and stand against the Speaker - 5th September
 * up to the Colonel'' - Lockerbie was a plot against Americans. The US is right to be outraged by al-Megrahi's release - 25th August
 * thought for the undeserving rich'' - A High Pay Commission? Making people’s earnings public would create a fairer society – and be fun - 18th August
 * gives birth to some genuine hatred'' - Why does the American Right insist its opponents are not just wrong, but illegitimate; not mistaken, but anti-American? - 11th August
 * isn't bad for our young'' - The Archbishop of Westminster is just the latest in a long line of pessimists to be bewildered by youth - 4th August
 * Tories win over Holby Woman?'' - Shiny new candidates are appealing straight to the centre but plenty of the old school wait in the wings - 28th July
 * leave. And then horrors begin'' - Opponents of the war in Afghanistan ignore the consequences of withdrawal. We supporters live with the price of staying - 24th July
 * unrest in haze of conspiracy'' - Inventing secret plots is fun — except when done by an oppressive theocracy trying to conceal its crimes - 7th July
 * said school targets don’t work?'' - Teachers may be celebrating, but parents should fear another ‘golden age’ of learning - 30th June
 * if it's all in public, they'll cry whitewash'' - Of course the entire Iraq inquiry should be open. But that will take time and is still unlikely to satisfy critics of the war - 23rd June
 * to help Iran's reformers help themselves'' - Governments will tut and do nothing. But new technology means that individuals can support the protest movement - 16th June (See: Iran: summary)
 * five changes to make Labour electable'' - Fresh thinking is needed after the carnage at the polls. First, the party must close the gap between politics and real life - 9th JUne
 * George, I've got it! Now let's tell the MPs'' - Politicians are subject to non-stop scrutiny of their policies and personalities. Their failure to adapt has led to this crisis - 2nd June
 * show you mine if you show me yours'' - That's electoral reform, obviously. One subject is now top of every politician's agenda - 29th May
 * life. Esther won't clean up Westminster'' - You can try riots, fresh elections or independent candidates. But the real problem is a lack of public interest in politics - 19th May
 * we want democracy, we have to pay'' - We are intoxicated by our own outrage. When we sober up we'll face some tough decisions - 12th May
 * of God's return greatly exaggerated'' - Religion is on the rise, religion makes you happy. It may seem bad manners for we atheists to say it, but so do pets - 5th May
 * wand won't cure our ills'' - Encouraging the poor to stop smoking or to read to their children is unlikely to dent the intractable problem of inequality - 28th April
 * politicians, truth is never its own reward'' - Our leaders might be more honest with us if we were more likely to give them credit for being open about harsh reality - 21st April
 * is a disaster. Can Obama force change?'' - A small shift in US policy may not be enough for those struggling with tyranny, unemployment and crime in Havana - 14th April
 * policing of protests must change'' - The death of Ian Tomlinson throws up questions about collective guilt - 9th April
 * statistical lies'' - Did you hear the one about the Turin Shroud? Or bad pupil behaviour? The research was a joke - 7th April
 * war between Jade and the jaded'' - Cynicism comes as easily to a journalist as hyperbole - sometimes even in the same article. There is a small media industry to build a Goody-type phenomenon up and a slightly smaller one to lament that such a vulgarity exists at all - 4th April
 * prurience is a disgrace, not the porn films'' - Publishing the Home Secretary's personal bills for millions to read is as big a breach of privacy as one can imagine - 31st March
 * convicts, if you want to be fair'' - Civil libertarians who oppose the database state pick and choose which innocent people they are brave enough to defend - 24th March
 * mess everything up' - wrong'' - Yes, in a democracy stupid errors occur. But our constant carping ignores the greater danger: the rise of authoritarianism - 17th March
 * they've missed the pleasure of hating'' - The shooting at the Massereene Barracks wasn't designed to get rid of the British Army; it was designed to bring it back - 10th March
 * case of surveillance cameras'' - How often are we caught on CCTV? 300 times a day. In search of the truth about a big statistic - 3rd March
 * on Terror goes on - whatever we call it'' - Binyam Mohamed may have been maltreated, but that doesn't mean that the threat from Islamic theocracies is not real - 24th February
 * the dosh, it's choking you'' - Giving Abu Qatada compensation is a triumph for democracy over medievalism - 20th February
 * must hate kids to put them through this'' - People moan about invasion of privacy but are happy to see children exploited for their own sneering entertainment - 17th February
 * prejudice of the anti-MMR lobby'' - Campaigners were always irrational. Yet paranoia persists and children are more at risk than ever - 10th February
 * fear and loathing'' - The unofficial strike over foreign workers at Lindsey oil refinery was based on half-truths - 3rd February
 * together now: we're doomed'' - Most of us are not greedy or profligate. Yet we insist on blaming ourselves for the downturn - 27th January
 * ask what Obama can do for you...'' - If he is not to disappoint, a coalition of willing must be prepared to rethink entrenched positions - 20th January
 * revolting parade of the toughest'' - The so-called debate on immigration in Britain shows all three parties guilty of half-truths - 13th January
 * or Hannas, they're not black and white'' - Good and bad, victim and murderer, Jew or Palestinian or Nazi sympathiser... we can't afford our simplistic arguments - 6th January



Articles: 2008

 * enough pointless outrage about Gaza'' - The trouble is that we have no idea what the arguments inside Hamas are or how they are affected by Israeli actions - 30th December 2008
 * shoe is mightier than the grenade'' - One may protest in Baghdad but not Damascus. That is part of the legacy of the Iraq war - 23rd December 2008
 * mention crass Keynesian policy'' - It may be fun to watch the Tories lionising the Germans, but history backs economic intervention - 16th December 2008
 * Menezes was the 53rd victim of 7/7'' - The inquest jury was too harsh in its judgment of the actions of the police at Stockwell - 13th December 2008 (see: De Menezes jury record open verdict and rejects police version of shooting, The Times, 12th December 2008)
 * old-style subjects deaden minds?'' - The call for a new primary curriculum has met predictable opposition. But it is in a fine tradition - 9th December 2008
 * terrorists in search of a grievance'' - Those who wreaked havoc in Mumbai were not thinking of Kashmir. They were brainwashed by an ideology of hatred - 2nd December 2008
 * only one question: is this enough?'' - These are extraordinary times and normal matters of political debate are irrelevant to those who might lose their jobs - 25th November 2008
 * can never make itself respectable'' - Conditions ought to be ripe for the far Right. But its unsavoury militancy will always repel the voters - 20th November 2008
 * abusers when they're toddlers'' - After all the outrage and the prejudice about Baby P, the rational approach is to intervene early - 18th November 2008
 * mixed race dilemma'' - Obama says he is a 'mutt'. We, too, should acknowledge our fastest-growing ethnic minority - 11th November 2008
 * patient. Britain is getting fairer'' - We are quick to write off unsexy social projects. Support for children assists upwardly mobility - 4th November 2008
 * is no time for heroes with bad causes'' - We must resist being seduced by the revolutionary glamour of Che Guevara, Bobby Sands and Ulrika Meinhof - 28th October 2008
 * no future for prophets of doom'' - Those who are predicting the death of capitalism need new crystal balls - 7th October 2008
 * back (but not up to much)'' - If you want to join a tolerant, slightly sanctimonious, small-C conservative party, it's there in Birmingham - 30th September 2008
 * leader essential for next election'' - Labour has brought huge benefits to working people. But humiliation still looms for the party - 23rd September 2008
 * caught in a web of sinister untruths'' - The inventor of the internet is worried about the spread of conspiracy theories. A quick Google proved him right - 16th September 2008
 * could fall'' - The thing about population projections is that they are usually wrong. Our problem in future may be getting people to stay - 9th September 2008
 * things aren't so bad really'' - Tales of the decline of Britain are gloomy. Our Olympic success is one of many things to celebrate - 26th August 2008
 * web shrinks your brain? Rubbish'' - We should ignore the Jeremiahs who think the digital age is killing our ability to think - 13th August 2008
 * sees the real problem'' - Sacking the Foreign Secretary would not help the Government. It needs to persuade the voters instead - 26th August 2008
 * Completing the London Triathlon: I'm ready for more - How I fared in the London Triathlon - 16th August 2008
 * The internet shrinks your brain? What rubbish - We should ignore the Jeremiahs who think the digital age is killing our ability to think - 13th August 2008
 * I am a fragmenophile - The Times correspondent finds love in the rocks - 9th August 2008
 * David Miliband sees to the heart of Labour's problems - Sacking the Foreign Secretary would not help the Government. It needs to find an argument to put to the voters instead - 5th August 2008
 * David Aaronovitch: one week to go until the triathlon - How Times columnist David Aaronovitch is feeling the week before the triathlon. Is he ready? - 2nd August 2008
 * Abortion: a worrying tale of leeches - The viability of a baby at 24 weeks has not changed in years - so why this renewed debate? - 20th May 2008
 * ‘Listening’ politicians are a menace - If a politician does what I want and not what is best, that is not what I pay my taxes for - 6th May 2008
 * Post offices: we killed them - Everybody seems to want to save them. But get real. Hardly anyone uses them much these days - 8th April 2008
 * Dammit, I think I've had a change of heart - Of course the culture of complaint and 4x4s are a good thing - 1st April 2008
 * Who wants to kill the elderly? - I'm still waiting to hear back from the Bishop of Durham - 31st March 2008
 * Wicked untruths from the Church - The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is stoking up indefensible views - 25th March 2008
 * Supermac, a true hero for the old Left - The left-wing playwright Howard Brenton tells how he was seduced by Tory PM Harold Macmillan, the hero of his latest work - 24th March 2008
 * My oath to the Land of No - How British to sneer at the idea of a vow of loyalty and continue a tradition of negativity - 18th March 2008
 * The future is where all the judgments must be made - The Great Divide: Times writers continue the debate that still splits the country - 17th March 2008
 * The sanctions were failing, people were dying - David Aaronovitch: For the war (Iraq invasion debate) - 14th March 2008
 * It's Horrid Ken v Chaotic Boris - He has his unattractive side but the present mayor of London has got the big issues right - 11th March 2008
 * No Heathrow runway? Stop flying - The objectors to the Heathrow expansion are hypocrites if they plan to use planes as normal - 4th March 2008
 * Ignore the paranoid fantasists - It has become an intelligentsia default position, or IDP for short, that we in Britain are - as one of my favourite intellectuals put it the other day - “sleepwalking into a surveillance society” - 26th February 2008
 * Portillo on Thatcher as Tory pin-up - A BBC documentary reveals the extent of the Tories' love for Margaret Thatcher - 23rd February 2008
 * Dave versus David - What does your name say about you, and do others judge you because of it? - 21st February 2008
 * Ignore GPs. Polyclinics are the future - Cradle-to-grave healthcare is as realistic as Dr Finlay's Casebook. We need specialists - 19th February 2008
 * I've read it so you don't have to - The Archbishop of Canterbury meant well and was quite aware of some of the objections - 12th February 2008
 * Flat Earth News by Nick Davies - book review - 8th February 2008
 * No retreat from the War on Terror - If the West backs out of Afghanistan the consequences would be plainly catastrophic - 5th February 2008
 * A time of split-screen politics - What we see on the surface of the presidential race has little connection with reality - 29th January 2008
 * Another day of internet abuse - Why has Oprah disappeared? Why did an ambassador insult me? More online mysteries... - 22nd January 2008
 * A green light for red-light areas - Ignore the Swedes. I can see nothing wrong with paid sex between consenting adults - 15th January 2008
 * The Second Plane by Martin Amis - book review - 11th January 2008
 * White woman v black man. One's got problems - Never underestimate the misogyny of the American voter. Barack has his flaws but he'll probably beat Hillary - 8th January 2008



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