Posted on June 8, 2017. Tags: Alternative facts, Barack Obama, Brexit, Islam, race, Racism, Trump, Truth
Truth and Democracy have always had a troubled relationship, but perhaps never as troubled as now. From Plato’s Noble Lie to Kellyanne Conway’s Alternative Facts, there has always been a tension between the presentation of an objective truth and the exercise of political power. Michael Ignatieff, himself an academic turned not particularly successful politician, mused […]
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Posted in Europe, US, World
Posted on September 13, 2016. Tags: 9/11, America, Falling Man, First Responders, Idealism, Islamophobia, Patriotism, Politics, Racism, Remembrance, September 11, September 12, Tolerance, Unity
My seventeen-year-old brother doesn’t remember 9/11 – but it’s a day my country can’t forget. Nor should it. Many “millennials,” myself included, will only have vague memories of the day itself and the outpouring of patriotism that followed. Every year, we are reminded of the men and women that died so needlessly and so courageously […]
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Posted in Conflict, Security Issues, Terrorism, US
Posted on January 24, 2015. Tags: Al Qaeda, alienation, Bowen, British Muslims, Charlie Hebdo, deprivation, France, French Muslims, Giles Kepel, identity, ISIS, Islam, Islamic State, jihadi, Jivraj, multiculturalism, Racism, Religion, Salafism, Salafist Islam, Theo Van Gogh, United Kingdom
The tragedy of Charlie Hebdo has provoked an immense response from Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world. Almost all who have written about this issue have condemned the killings in Paris, equating them to other similar terrorist threats and attacks such as the Rushdie Affair and the 7/7 bombings in Britain, the 9/11 attacks, and […]
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Posted in Europe, Islam, Religion, Security Issues, Terrorism, World
Posted on January 2, 2015. Tags: European Union, eurozone crisis, Germany, Immigration, Merkel, Racism, UK, UKIP, United Kingdom
I haven’t been wildly impressed by how Angela Merkel has handled the eurozone crisis, but this speech to the German people shows why (for my money) she’s easily the most impressive political leader in Europe, if not the world, right now. At a time when too many UK politicians have been pandering to extreme tendencies in a craven attempt […]
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Posted in Economic Security, Europe, Germany, Global Economy, Refugees, World