http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/?service=Rss http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-as-with-iraq-the-reasons-for-staying-in-afghanistan-are-sliding-slowly-into-gibberish-14566454.html http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-as-with-iraq-the-reasons-for-staying-in-afghanistan-are-sliding-slowly-into-gibberish-14566454.html?r=RSS <p> Bit by bit, as happened with Iraq, the reasons for staying in Afghanistan slide into gibberish. So Gordon Brown's reasons for the war seem to change every week. </p> Mark Steel Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:28:59 +0000 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-you-almost-have-to-feel-sorry-for-gordon-brown-14558636.html http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-you-almost-have-to-feel-sorry-for-gordon-brown-14558636.html?r=RSS <p> Now Gordon Brown's got the Sun against him, so every morning he gets up to see whether he's on their front page for losing everyone's money, or deliberately driving a caravan over a disabled child's tortoise or sneezing phlegm over the Crown Jewels or whatever they say he's done that day. </p> Mark Steel Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:50:13 +0000 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-why-should-i-be-pressured-into-wearing-a-poppy-14548806.html http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-why-should-i-be-pressured-into-wearing-a-poppy-14548806.html?r=RSS <p> It's Poppy Week, which means if you don't wear a poppy all week you're a filthy, dirty, low-life, scummy traitor. Yesterday, there was outrage in newspapers because a library in Derbyshire would not sell poppies, and a headline in the sports section of the Daily Mail complained: &quot;Why are only 12 Premier League clubs wearing their poppies?&quot; </p> Mark Steel Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:51:11 +0000 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-this-is-what-tony-blair-does-he-wrecks-a-place-then-gets-the-job-of-uniting-it-14544978.html http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/mark-steel/mark-steel-this-is-what-tony-blair-does-he-wrecks-a-place-then-gets-the-job-of-uniting-it-14544978.html?r=RSS <p> Blair can't really become President of Europe, can he? There must be millions of us who've been slowly managing to forget about him for the last two years, recovering as he fades into the past, the way torture victims rebuild their lives day by day, and now this dreadful figure we thought had gone forever might be back ruling us again. </p> Mark Steel Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:37:00 +0000