North East news columnists, comment & opinion

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Force nothing new

IT’S the age of the confessional and of saying sorry, even the PM says it . . . eventually.Read

Dumb doorknob definitely exists

DUMB as a doorknob? I had my doubts and I’m sure some of you did, too. But I can tell you that I’ve Googled the phrase and it gets more than 4000 hits.Read

Decent Brit MEPs, where are you?

THERE must be some British Euro MPs who work hard for their money. People who always put this country’s interests ahead of their own, and who don’t shirk or abuse the system.Read

Why all the fuss over an exposed nipple?

WHAT a bunch of boring old farts we’ve become. Not all of us, obviously, but some of us clearly need to get a life.Read

Why so sniffy Parky?

I WAS never much of a Jade Goody fan but Michael Parkinson’s poorly-timed character assassination of her struck me as uncalled for and ever so slightly hypocritical.Read

Archbishop slams safe sex ads

I SEE the new Archbishop of Westminster has weighed in with his views on plans to screen condom adverts on TV.Read

Unforgiveable

IT’S impossible not to feel sympathy for the family of Hayley Adamson, the teenager whose life was cut short by a speeding traffic cop.Read

LibDems right on MPs’ second homes

IN this week’s episode of The Apprentice, Sir Alan Sugar accused one of the wannabes of spending so long sitting on the fence, he probably had a big, red mark on his backside.Read

Crucified over Pope condom criticism but experts back up comments

JUDGING by some of the mail I’ve received over the last couple of weeks, I won’t be winning any popularity contests among devout Catholics.Read

Why should Kylie have to ‘confess’ to using Botox?

POP princess Kylie Minogue has apparently “admitted” to having tried Botox and says she’s “not ashamed.”Read

Should we trust politicians behind G20 economic bail-out?

THE world’s most powerful nations have waved a magic wand and suddenly we’re a trillion dollars richer.Read

Rubber stamp condom ads

WE’VE all seen the steamy TV advert featuring a young couple discarding their clothes before sex.Read

Rihanna roles out barrel

WHAT a fabulous role model for young people Rihanna is. She’s talented, hard-working, ambitious and a walking advert for gun ownership.Read

To cut a long story short, I’ve lost my mind

I KNOW nothing. If I were you I’d stop reading now because I clearly haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about.Read

Time to end tips top-up

RESTAURANTS are legally obliged to display their prices clearly, a rule I’m sure most of us would agree makes perfect sense.Read

Pope’s African condom ban is shameful

LET’S hope Africans — 22 million of whom have HIV — don’t take Pope Benedict too seriously after he urged them to stop using condoms.Read

Spotlight's on safety

PEOPLE die in skiing accidents all the time. Not in great numbers, but enough for it to be significant. It’s also estimated that 10,000 Britons are injured every year.Read

First with the news

WE live in a world of 24/7 news channels and information as it happens being communicated in an instant on the internet.Read

Is Prince making a Charlie of us?

IT can only be a matter of time before Prince Charles is pictured holding aloft a placard declaring that the end of the world is nigh.Read

No sympathy for pop stars

I’M sure the newly formed Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) has a point. The lobby group — which includes Robbie Williams and members of Blur and Radiohead — is taking on the might of Google.Read