First posted December 15, 2017 The highest ideals of Locke, Hume and Kant were first proposed more than a century earlier by an Ethiopian in a cave The ideals of the Enlightenment are the basis of our democracies and universities in the 21st century: belief in reason, science, skepticism, secularism, and equality. In fact, no… Read More Dag Herbjørnsrud – The African Enlightenment
On 7 January, a massive protest broke out at the Zybio (Zhongyuan Huiji) medical supply factory in Chongqing that produces Covid-19 antigen test kits. About half of the company’s 20,000 workers were set to be terminated after orders for test kits have recently dropped. Workers were still owed some back pay and took to the streets to… Read More Massive protest in Chongqing belies company’s recent labour awards from the official trade union
Mehrub Moiz Awan. Welcome to the Incel Republic of Pakistan. We have 210 million citizens in our country, and many non-citizens: some men, some women, and some “transgenders.” Previously, we used to call them “shemales,” as that is what porn had taught us. Now, they call themselves “transgender” in English and “khwajasira” in Urdu, but… Read More An uncensored guide to the republics of Pakistan
The stories of police-perpetrated abuse of women that have emerged since the murder of Sarah Everard have been relentless and shocking – they show without doubt that there is something very rotten going on within the Metropolitan police force. In the wake of the case of David Carrick – a police officer who this week pleaded… Read More Police-perpetrated abuse of women in Britain
Tess McClure in Auckland On Thursday, the prime minister said abuse or threats to her and her family had not been a decisive factor in her decision to resign, and that she simply “no longer [had] enough in the tank to do it justice”. Prominent New Zealand political leaders and public figures, however, say that “constant vilification,” abuse… Read More Jacinda Ardern: political figures believe abuse and threats contributed to PM’s resignation
A federal judge has ordered Donald Trump and one of his attorneys to jointly pay nearly $1m in penalties for pursuing a frivolous lawsuit that accused Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and other perceived enemies of the former president of engaging in racketeering and concocting a vast conspiracy against him. The suit was dismissed in September and Trump was ordered… Read More Trump and lawyer ordered to pay $1m for bringing ‘frivolous’ lawsuit against Hillary Clinton
First posted January 19, 2018 NEW DELHI, January 20, 1948: Source: CWMG, Vol 90, pp 464-467 Link to Gandhi Heritage Portal Gandhiji was carried in a chair to the prayer meeting. As the microphone was not working and Gandhiji’s voice was feeble the substance of his speech was repeated aloud by Sushila Nayyar. BROTHERS AND SISTERS,The… Read More January 20, 1948. Mahatma Gandhi’s speech at his prayer meeting, where an attempt was made on his life
By Tania Branigan In an age of increased repression, few air their concerns. But as the party congress opened in October, a lonely figure protested in Beijing: among the demands on his banners was “Reform, not the Cultural Revolution”. That call was taken up by others at the remarkable protests against the zero-Covid policy that swept through cities weeks later.… Read More A tragedy pushed to the shadows: the truth about China’s Cultural Revolution
A tribute to Richard Bernstein, 1932-2022 “All academic thinking, whether right, left or middle, is conservative in the extreme,” Arendt had written to him. “Nobody wants to hear what he hasn’t heard before.” Recalling these words, Bernstein leaned toward his laptop camera, growing bigger on our screens. We must all fight off this tendency to… Read More A philosophy professor’s final class
NB: In India nowadays there’s a separate problem. You need to be in agreement with the world view of the ruling dispensation – whether or not you know any history. DS David A. Bell A historian friend once told me that when he went on the job market, he put in three applications and received… Read More So you want to be a history professor
