Message from Karnataka: Mallikarjun Kharge must take centre stage

He invites respect, not rivalry. He is seasoned in politics and experienced in governance  Rajmohan Gandhi As has been said a million times, a year is an eternity in politics. Any one of a hundred different things can upend the calculations of the smartest visualiser of the 2024 election scene. All, however, will agree that Karnataka has… Read More Message from Karnataka: Mallikarjun Kharge must take centre stage

Was Vichy France a Puppet Government or a Willing Nazi Collaborator?

The authoritarian government led by Marshal Pétain participated in Jewish expulsions and turned France into a quasi-police state Lorraine Boissoneault On November 8, 1942, in the thick of World War II, thousands of American soldiers landed on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, while others amassed in Algeria, only to take immediate gunfire from the French.… Read More Was Vichy France a Puppet Government or a Willing Nazi Collaborator?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez torches Big Pharma’s ‘out-of-control’ and ‘predatory’ profiteering

United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) decried the massive profits of the pharmaceutical industry during a House hearing on Tuesday, arguing that the public should be given the option to buy into government programs like Medicare. “I believe that the profit-seeking motive in the pharmaceutical industry is out of control, and I think that… Read More Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez torches Big Pharma’s ‘out-of-control’ and ‘predatory’ profiteering

Racism in Australian media

Christopher Knaus Stan Grant walks away from presenting job at the national broadcaster, after coverage of the King’s coronation prompted torrent of vitriol It was a moment of reckoning. Stan Grant, one of Australia’s most prominent Indigenous journalists, stared down the barrel of a live camera, stony-faced and red-eyed, to explain why he was stepping… Read More Racism in Australian media

Vinesh Phogat: ‘Like many other girls, I had to suffer silently all these years because of this man…why Brij Bhushan’s being protected is anyone’s guess’

Our fight for justice is a month old yet it feels like we have been at Jantar Mantar for a year. Not because we have been sleeping on a footpath in the heat, getting bitten by mosquitoes, having stray dogs for company once dusk falls or don’t have access to a clean toilet at night.… Read More Vinesh Phogat: ‘Like many other girls, I had to suffer silently all these years because of this man…why Brij Bhushan’s being protected is anyone’s guess’

Centre-left politics has been dealt a crushing blow in Greece. What can we learn from it?

Marina Prentoulis New Democracy’s victory was not unexpected, but the eye-watering share of the vote the party received is a different matter. The conservative government often points to its record of growth and investment, backed by European Commission forecasts, but the proceeds of this have not been felt evenly: a growing number of Greece’s population over… Read More Centre-left politics has been dealt a crushing blow in Greece. What can we learn from it?

A scandal in Kathmandu rocks the Prachanda govt and threatens the system

Bharat Bhushan Indians, obsessed with Pakistan going down the tube, seem unable to smell the rot that has set in Nepal’s polity and administration. Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, aka Prachanda, is facing one of the worst corruption scandals to have hit the country since it became a democracy. If he acts against the… Read More A scandal in Kathmandu rocks the Prachanda govt and threatens the system

Alternatives to the nationalism of the conspicuously ignorant: Markha Valenta

First posted July 14, 2012 The word ‘nationalism’ itself dates from the early nineteenth century and marked the increasing use of national identity in order to make political claims. So to argue that national identity is pre-political is itself a political statement.  It is becoming chic among some of Europe’s young elites to call for… Read More Alternatives to the nationalism of the conspicuously ignorant: Markha Valenta

Jimena Canales: This Philosopher Helped Ensure There Was No Nobel for Relativity

First posted June 06, 2016 Henri Bergson’s debate with Albert Einstein reached and swayed the 1921 Nobel committee. NB – it is remarkable that the Roman Catholic Church banned three of Bergsons books in June 1914; and the Nazi’s banned Einstein after Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 – DS This Philosopher Helped Ensure There Was No Nobel for… Read More Jimena Canales: This Philosopher Helped Ensure There Was No Nobel for Relativity