Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Thinking differently about the sex trade
ANNA FISHER explains why you should go to the ‘Students for Sale’ event on Saturday October 15 for some real-world perspectives on prostitution
Artwork by Chelsea Geddes, who will be speaking at the conference
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
THE next time you’re in a crowded place — a pub perhaps or a train coming home from work — you might want to imagine what it would be like to have to have some form of sexual intimacy with each man you can see. Oral sex? A hand job? “Penis in vagina” sex? What about anal?
One man after another after another. Each one expecting, demanding even, that you act pleased to see him, thrilled at the sight of his genitals, at his smell, his standard of hygiene, his urgent penetration of your private cavities.
If you reveal, even momentarily, revulsion or fear or hilarity or boredom, he is likely to get shirty.
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ROS SITWELL reports from the Morning Star conference on ‘Race, Sex and Class Liberation’ last weekend