‘The bawdy, fertile, redheaded matriarch has kicked it’: A son’s hilarious obituary makes us laugh and cry at the same time

A loving and unusual tribute to Renay Mandel Corren, who died in El Paso, Texas at age 84    Some obituary notices open with the grand achievements of a life well-lived, or the tender details of a person’s passing with loved ones at their side. The death in El Paso, Texas, of Renay Mandel Corren, however,… Read More ‘The bawdy, fertile, redheaded matriarch has kicked it’: A son’s hilarious obituary makes us laugh and cry at the same time

Dilip

George Pattison: Human, all-too human? Anastasia Filippovna’s ‘Portrait of Christ’

NB: I dedicate this post to the memory of Fr Stan Swamy, S.J., (1937-2021), presumed guilty before trial, denied bail and who died in the custody of the state. Rest in Peace Fr Stan. Nothing you did was in vain, nothing forgotten. DS Christ’s depiction in Dostoevsky’s novel ‘The Idiot’ creates layered religious, historiographical and… Read More George Pattison: Human, all-too human? Anastasia Filippovna’s ‘Portrait of Christ’

Dilip

Richest 1% Took 38% of New Global Wealth Since 1995. The Bottom Half Got Just 2% / India: extreme inequality in numbers

Jake Johnson/Common Dreams    In the nearly three decades since 1995, members of the global 1% have captured 38% of all new wealth while the poorest half of humanity has benefited from just 2%, a finding that spotlights the stark and worsening gulf between the very rich and everyone else. That’s according to the latest iteration of the World… Read More Richest 1% Took 38% of New Global Wealth Since 1995. The Bottom Half Got Just 2% / India: extreme inequality in numbers

Dilip

Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The limits of the Hindu vs Hindutvavadi debate

NB: This is a thoughtful article. The author reminds us that good and evil, better and worse, cruelty and kindness, decency and barbarity co-exist in all cultures, and all communities, religious or otherwise. In brief, these qualities are part of what it means to be human; and they cut across the boundaries of time, place… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The limits of the Hindu vs Hindutvavadi debate

Dilip

Memories of 1971

NB: December 1971 is a time I remember vividly. I was in Kolkata and travelled to Purnea in North Bihar to meet my dear comrade Lalloo, (Rabindra Ray). We were then amongst the last remaining comrades from amongst our collegiate group who were still in what was known as ‘the underground’. That story has been… Read More Memories of 1971

Dilip

RAMONA WADI: Why does the US turn a blind eye to Israel’s expansion of Squatter-Settlements on Palestinian Land?

(Middle East Monitor) – Israeli media have been pointing out that the Biden administration in Washington is not too bothered about the occupation state’s illegal settlement expansion. There is little reason to doubt the veracity of the claim. So far, US President Joe Biden has managed to maintain a fine balance between his agenda in favour of… Read More RAMONA WADI: Why does the US turn a blind eye to Israel’s expansion of Squatter-Settlements on Palestinian Land?

Dilip

CHRIS HEDGES – The execution of Julian Assange: He exposed the crimes of empire; and that can't be tolerated

Assange committed empire’s greatest sin. He exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption and innumerable war crimes. Republican or Democrat. Conservative or Labour. Trump or Biden. It does not matter. The goons who oversee the empire sing from the same Satanic songbook… The execution of… Read More CHRIS HEDGES – The execution of Julian Assange: He exposed the crimes of empire; and that can't be tolerated

Dilip

Memorial and the liberating power of history. By Timothy Snyder

NB: Attempts to rewrite history with the use of political power are taking place in India as well. Ironically, the infamous habit has been connected to communist regimes, but is quite clearly popular with anti-communist ones as well. As George Orwell remarked in his dystopian novel 1984: “He who controls the past controls the future;… Read More Memorial and the liberating power of history. By Timothy Snyder

Dilip