Watch Out

Jordan and Dubai: parallel universes

If Dubai was a person it would be Katie Price. Both have tumbled from extravagant success built on virtually nothing

The pantechnicon of porn hits a roadblock

A few amateur but angry campaigners have won a significant battle to stop the sex industry seeping on to the high street

Time to put pole dancing on the curriculum?

The president of the Girls' Schools Association thinks cheerleading is a sport. "It involves gymnastics and dance." So does poledancing.

Worship of children has gone too far

Since when did raising a child elevate you to a state of grace with big benefits attached?

Let’s target our ire on the things that matter

Who cares about Jimmy’s jokes or Jan’s prejudices when there are big issues like war and bankers’ bonuses to enrage us?

Old age is a foreign concept for Somali pirates

It is the ultimate culture clash: the retired Tunbridge Wells couple and the gunmen who can’t expect to live beyond 48

No garlic and silver bullets are needed

To nip the BNP’s support in the bud, we need to expose its myths and smears in TV debate

Drunkenness knows no social boundaries

It’s glass war: the Tories don’t just hate violence and lawlessness, they hate these disgusting common drinks as well

New Labour is like a hipster dad who just got heavy with his daughters

This Government has been like the worst kind of parent. We’re tired of swings from anything goes to everything’s banned

Cycling should be dull, not an extreme sport

We must overthrow the cult of the car and the Lycra-clad vanguard of aggressive men, if more of us are to take to our bikes

High heels won’t help high ambitions

Women teeter about on 4in spikes because they bring power. Sadly it’s all just an illusion

Julie and Julia: the tyranny of meals

Thanks to the food fetishists a woman’s work in the kitchen is never done, says Janice Turner

Steel yourself and come with me to Edlington

When the pit goes, it destroys a fragile eco-system of work, money and stability. But the people stay and most tough it out

America has no right to speak ill of our NHS

Free healthcare is the mark of a civilised society. It is the one principle that unites British politicians across the spectrum

A guide to getting off rape charges

Juries will only convict if there is DNA under the fingernails, a screaming victim and torn clothes

To push, you must know where the door is

Children of all backgrounds can achieve undreamt-of success, but only if we spot what makes them special and nurture it

Strike a blow, or a medal, for marriage

The joint suicide of Sir Edward and Lady Downes shows how vital a lifelong partnership can be