Opinion
This anti-gay marriage stance is far worse than homophobic
It took about an hour after reading the article, “Tory MPs go to war over gay marriage”, for that feeling to rise within me. That savagely-brimming, almost eye-watering fury. It surges up from the base of the gut, hovers a while in the midsection of the chest, before flowing out through the triceps into the wrists and then into the fingers, which are now angrily chattering against this keyboard. Meanwhile, whatever spare rage remains flies north and resides in the eyes, and the brain simmers.
By Musa Okwonga | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Friday, 20 January 2012 at 12:47 pm
In defence of Elly Nowell, the girl who rejected Oxford
When the news appeared earlier this week that 19-year-old Elly Nowell from Winchester sent a rejection letter to Oxford University parodying the style of the thousands pedaled out by such institutions each year, it wasn’t long before the cries of “obnoxious!”, “arrogant!” and “ungrateful!” came screaming out from all corners of the internet.
By Steve Anderson | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Friday, 20 January 2012 at 12:00 pm
The hypocrisy of the filthy rich
The benefits of being rich are numerous, and probably don’t need a great deal of explanation from me. The ability to travel the world at the drop of a hat is, I imagine, one of the many advantages great wealth brings, as is the possibility of doing away with a number of the banal inconveniences that plague everyday life. Not having to get out of bed at the crack of dawn for work has its appeal, as does eating the best food and never having to cook any of the damn stuff.
By James Bloodworth | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Thursday, 19 January 2012 at 12:02 am
The Wikipedia blackout: A reminder we shouldn’t take internet freedom for granted
It’s striking how you can take things for granted online. Since the Wikipedia blackout commenced, I have already hit its holding page well over 20 times while googling certain topics. I know I’m not alone – it’s been estimated that about 75 million people worldwide will be affected by the blackout today.
By Patrick Hayes | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Wednesday, 18 January 2012 at 4:14 pm
The New Muslim suffragettes of the United Kingdom
An increasing number of Muslim women activists are receiving death threats, fatwas and even hate-mail from extremist male and female Muslims. Their crime? Rescuing fellow Muslim women from violent and life threatening situations.
By Charlotte Rachael Proudman | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Wednesday, 18 January 2012 at 11:59 am
Tackle behaviour so teachers can do their jobs
The news last week that underperforming teachers could face the sack under new measures seems incredibly ruthless and draconian. Teachers are too often judged on a narrow range of statistics, without being given enough support to deal with the specific problems in the classroom that prevent them from doing their job to the best of their ability.
By Liam Don | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Tuesday, 17 January 2012 at 4:47 pm
There is no homogeneous “stripper tragedy”
Winning the 2011 Galaxy book of the year award, Caitlin Moran’s stout rewrite of Greer’s The Female Eunuch has fast become a feminist manifesto with a difference. How to Be a Woman has a laugh out loud approach to everyday feminism and whilst there is no burning of bras, it certainly packs a punch to anyone who is flaky about calling themselves a feminist.
By Eleanor Herzog | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Tuesday, 17 January 2012 at 12:02 am
Why I’m quitting my job and moving to Australia
No sensible person would do this. Resign from a perfectly good job in this uncertain economic climate. Pack up the bags, bid farewell to brilliant friends and family and move to the other side of the world – to a continent they’ve never set foot in. To a country where, for years, the only people to be sent there from here were undesirables: convicts, orphans, vagabonds and minor royals.
By Gary Nunn | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Monday, 16 January 2012 at 10:57 am
10 years since Guantanamo Bay
It’s ten years since the first detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay. To give some sort of perspective, that’s almost as long as the ipod and the Euro have been around. In the same way, it’s become hard to imagine a world without Guantanamo, to the extent that it has entered our language as a by-word for unending imprisonment beyond the rule of law – the 21st century synonym for ‘gulag’.
By Clare Algar | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Wednesday, 11 January 2012 at 4:39 pm
Should we be giving money to the homeless?
For millennia people have given to beggars in the street. Money being placed in an outstretched hand is a defining mental image of charity. Yet late last month housing minister Grant Shapps appeared to call for an end to one of civilisation’s oldest traditions.
By Jack Hewson | Notebook - A selection of Independent views -, Opinion | Wednesday, 11 January 2012 at 5:00 am
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