language

Orientation
From the macro to the micro

Image: Wisconsin State Journalbiden (n.)– an Aristotelian zoon politikon, subsisting exclusively on the decaying remnants of political “spoils”
blair (n.)– a small parasite, which rides on, and feeds off of, the posteriors of its hosts

Updated below
An open letter published by Harper’s magazine, and signed by dozens of prominent writers and public figures, has focused attention on the apparent dangers of what has been termed a new “cancel culture”.
The letter brings together an unlikely alliance of genuine leftists, such as Noam Chomsky and Matt Karp, centrists such as J K Rowling and Ian Buruma, and neoconservatives such as David Frum and Bari Weiss, all speaking out in defence of free speech.

The current wake-up call being experienced by more Americans about historic racism is leading to hopeful actions but if all that results is removal of symbolic remnants of a wretched past these may lead to very little substantial change of the present and future.

Michael Lesher Growing up as I did in the Cold War, I still experience a special kind of shudder whenever I come across an anecdote like that of Katya Soldak, whose Soviet nursery school teacher once showed her class a photograph clipped from a Western newspaper, “depicting skinny [Russian] children in striped robes walking in …

Darren Sammy has revealed he faced racism in India at a time when the world is battling racism. India needs to join this fight. Darren Sammy, the famous all-rounder from West Indies, is a legend. He has led his country team and is the only captain to have won two T20 World Cups, in 2012 … Continue reading How Many Times Will India Deny Apartheid? →

Fawlty Towers

Guest post by MAYA JOHN Under the condition of lockdown while we are confronted with images and accounts of the suffering of the labouring poor, and all around us there appears to be a pervasive social chaos, in our universities students and teachers are supposed to return to an atomized life condition, and essentially pursue … Continue reading Fears and Furies of Online (Mis)education – Lockdown and Beyond: Maya John →

Journalist Sam Husseini, was once known for challenging the Neocon warmongers on the Iraq War in a former lifetime. He now seems to have joined them, becoming a promoter of anti-China Neo-con conspiracy theories on the origins of Covid-19.