Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

Book review: Charles Sobhraj, the Average and Slippery Bloke With Notions of Being a Super-Criminal

Farrukh Dhondy, who was Charles Sobhraj’s arm’s-length friend for much of his corpse-strewn career, leaves what the reader really wants to know for the epilogue: “How did he manage to seduce so many women ― is he really charismatic and charming?” Dhondy reports that he is “an average bloke”, but “there was something in his… Read More Book review: Charles Sobhraj, the Average and Slippery Bloke With Notions of Being a Super-Criminal

Dilip

Bharat Bhushan – Stuffing separatists in jail: A muscular Kashmir policy will fail

Yasin Malik’s life imprisonment in a ‘terror-funding’ case again displays the Narendra Modi government’s muscular Kashmir policy. Separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are either locked up or dead. Following the downsizing of the erstwhile state, its mainstream political leaders are being pushed to the margins, and the dialogue with Pakistan on the Kashmir… Read More Bharat Bhushan – Stuffing separatists in jail: A muscular Kashmir policy will fail

Dilip

“Hello darkness, my old friend…”

The story behind the first line of The Sounds of Silence     Adapted from Sandy Greenberg’s memoir: “Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: How Daring Dreams and Unyielding Friendship Turned One Man’s Blindness into an Extraordinary Vision for Life.”…  Lyrics It began when Arthur “Art” Garfunkel, a Jewish kid from Queens, enrolled in Columbia University. During freshman… Read More “Hello darkness, my old friend…”

Dilip

John Harris: Goodbye to the age of rage: why Piers Morgan’s outrage journalism is flopping

TalkTV is in trouble. Despite the millions Rupert Murdoch has invested in his newly launched television channel, and the supposedly magnetic presence of Piers Morgan, its numbers have sometimes been so low that the official broadcasting rating agency has not registered a single viewer. Last Wednesday, Piers Morgan Uncensored, the nightly showcase of debate and… Read More John Harris: Goodbye to the age of rage: why Piers Morgan’s outrage journalism is flopping

Dilip

William Hartung: Arsenal of Autocracy? The Major Weapons Makers Cash in Worldwide, Not Just in Ukraine

These are good times to be an arms maker. Not only are tens of billions of dollars in new military spending headed for the coffers of this country’s largest weapons contractors, but they’re being praised as defenders of freedom and democracy, thanks to their role in arming Ukraine to fight the Russians. The last time… Read More William Hartung: Arsenal of Autocracy? The Major Weapons Makers Cash in Worldwide, Not Just in Ukraine

Dilip

New evidence suggests Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in targeted attack by Israeli forces

Several shots ring out in quick succession, cutting through a clear, blue spring morning in Jenin, in the West Bank. Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack. The cameraman filming the scene scrambles backwards to take cover behind a low concrete wall. Then a man cries out in Arabic: “Injured! Shireen, Shireen, oh man, Shireen! Ambulance!” When… Read More New evidence suggests Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in targeted attack by Israeli forces

Dilip

American establishment looks on as its children are massacred regularly / America's gun culture – in seven charts

The second US mass shooting in 10 days, which left 18 young children and three adults dead at a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, led to an outpouring of disbelief and potent rage at America’s persistent failure to tackle its epidemic of gun violence….Donald Trump will be addressing a conference held by National Rifle Association… Read More American establishment looks on as its children are massacred regularly / America's gun culture – in seven charts

Dilip

Russia’s working class and Ukraine: hope for an end to expansionism? / ‘Warmongering, lies and hatred’: Russian diplomat in Geneva resigns

More than 70 years ago, Allied victory in the Second World War brought with it a powerful wave of hatred for all things German. Since the end of the war, the Germans repeatedly accepted responsibility for their actions. They made reparations to the Allied nations and lifelong compensation payments to concentration camp survivors. Nevertheless, it… Read More Russia’s working class and Ukraine: hope for an end to expansionism? / ‘Warmongering, lies and hatred’: Russian diplomat in Geneva resigns

Dilip

Australian voters throw out climate deniers and neo-liberals

The primary vote both for the conservative Liberal party and the shapeshifting, slightly self-embarrassed Labor party was down. Both parties were hurt in this case because leaders parachuted candidates into plum seats over the intentions of locals. They were heavily punished for it. The voters also wanted more movement on climate change now that individual Australians… Read More Australian voters throw out climate deniers and neo-liberals

Dilip