language

Catalan was banned during the Franco-era, but the language survived and now the Spanish region could be closer than ever to gaining independence

One of the defining features of the corporate media is that Western crimes are ignored or downplayed. The US bombing of a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, on the night of October 3, is an archetypal example.

On 16 July 1964, at the San Francisco Republican Convention—where Ms Clinton began her career of political opportunism—Senator Barry Goldwater accepted his nomination for the presidency by declaring:

I would remind you that extremism in the defence of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.1

Some would say I was a lost man in a lost world
You could say I lost my faith in the people on TV
You could say I’d lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me
— Sting, “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You” from the 1993 album ‘Ten Summoner’s Tales”

How can countries help refugees integrate? The question looms large in Europe, which is experiencing a refugee crisis many are calling the biggest since World War II. In Ireland one organisation believes communication could be the answer

Beneath a three-column headline in my local newspaper was a barely-edited press release.
That’s not unusual. With the downsizing of newsrooms, there’s more room for wire service soft features and press releases. But this one caught my attention.
SystemCare Health in New Jersey promoted a graduate of a college in my town to the lofty position of Senior Director of Doctivity.

I'm not sure how relevant Bill Kristol, son of Irving, is to anything anymore, but the neoconservative fanatic, the founder and editor of the Weekly Standard, sits on a bunch of wingnut think tank boards with Robert Kagan and Liz Cheney.

What does it mean to be a ‘liberal Arab’? Even in the West, definitions of the ‘liberal’ vary.
In the American context, the demarcation of the ‘liberal’ overlaps cultural and political lines. Republicans use the term in a derogatory way to describe their opponents. Watch Fox News to understand. (On second thought, please do not watch Fox News!). Europeans are hardly keen on the term altogether. Many often use the term ‘progressive’ to liberate the ‘liberal’ from its political baggage and imprecise cultural insinuations.

Strange how intellectual discussion concerning the so-called “Arab Spring” has almost entirely shifted in recent years – from one concerning freedom, justice, democracy and rights in general, into a political wrangle between various antagonist camps.
The people who revolted across various Arab countries are now marginalized in this discussion and are only used as fodders – killers and victims – in a war seemingly without end.
But how did it all go so wrong?

In recent weeks, I have been part of a haphazard and ad hoc process to compose an open letter to Pope Francis in advance of his September, 2015 visit to the United States. The promotion of this letter has been taken up by Friends of Franz Jagerstatter, a community of peacemakers inspired by the Austrian Catholic farmer who was martyred for his refusal to fight in the German Army during World War II.