Michael Moore - a self-described liberal who has criticized globalization, large corporations, gun ownership, the Iraq War, and the American health care system – is the Academy Award-winning director of films exposing the reality behind the American dream. He called President George W Bush 'that frat boy' and ‘a thief-in-chief, a trespasser on federal land, a squatter at the Oval Office’.

Moore is a ground-breaking filmmaker who uses satire and dark humour to undercut the poignancy of his stories. Unlike most liberal dissenters, however, he has found his niche. He enjoys a broad-based audience that goes deep into mainstream America.

The Swedish Network for Nuclear Disarmament met just before the traditional Swedish midsummer weekend at the Swedish parliament to highlight a revival of the drive for the disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction

The seminar was headed up by Hans Blix, (Chairman of Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission), and various colleagues and allies that make up Sweden’s Nuclear disarmament network, writes Rachel Aspögård.

Tommy Cooper was one of Britain's best loved commedians, famous for his funny one-and-two liners (cooperisms), and for making an art of getting magic tricks wrong. He died in 1984, during a TV show in front of millions of viewers.

 Two blondes walk into a building..........you'd think at least one of them would have seen it.
          
Phone answering machine message: '...If you want to buy marijuana, press the hash key...'

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.
          
 

Burning left-over food and supermarket waste to provide energy sounds like a good idea writes Julia Stephenson. Wind farms, nuclear generators and coal powered gas stations are controversial so anything that can create energy out of rubbish is a great idea. Isn’t it?

Yet the news that that Tesco is sending 5,000 tons of leftover meat a year to be burned to generate electricity for homes created shock waves with vegetarians and meat eaters alike. It seems that green washing has reached a new low.

Cultivating mindfulness isn’t only for the benefit of other people, writes Richard O’Connor, we should also develop a compassionate curiosity about ourselves.

READ MORE 

Being relentlessly upbeat and cheerful is seen as an important aspiration, while those who are faintly critical of their future are seen as being part of the ‘pity party’, writes Louise Ellis

We are told that those who strive to be positive, seeing the sunny side of life, or viewing situations from a ‘glass half-full’ perspective, will have better health and live longer. However, some experts warn that optimism can create a naïve headiness, and could even have helped cause the recent financial meltdown. 'Defensive pessimism' could help us to evaluate our lives more carefully, and therefore protect ourselves from future problems.

READ MORE