Tag: justice

‘Reporters Shield’ Launched on World Press Freedom Day

To confront the growing threat of vexatious lawsuits intended to harass and silence independent media worldwide, Reporters Shield launches today as a new membership program defending investigative journalism against such lawsuits, known as “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” or SLAPPs.  Corrupt and criminal figures file SLAPPs to threaten, intimidate, and financially burden journalists. Fighting them entails paying… Read More ‘Reporters Shield’ Launched on World Press Freedom Day

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Mafiacraft, or how to do things with silence. Toward an ethnography of crime

Mafiacraft An Ethnography of Deadly Silence Deborah Puccio-Den’s Mafiacraft is a kind of ethnography that is much needed in our part of the world. Here’s the abstract of an earlier article. It has recently been expanded into a book-length study: How to construct an ethnography about such a phenomenon as “the mafia,” shrouded in silence? What methods… Read More Mafiacraft, or how to do things with silence. Toward an ethnography of crime

Dilip

Climate nihilism in the USA

By SABRINA HAAKE Anyone who watched the first Republican presidential debate last week watched the candidates — minus Donald Trump, of course —punt on climate. Ron DeSantis, who angrily deflected the issue, has called climate change “left-wing stuff,” while Vivek Ramaswamy exuberantly declared that “climate change is a hoax.” Nikki Haley, whose debate performance was otherwise borderline-reasonable, thinks the U.S.… Read More Climate nihilism in the USA

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Belligerence and hostility: Trump’s mugshot defines modern US politics

the law is the only thing capable of making people equal: The Judge (2014) Chris McGreal Mugshots define eras. Bugsy Siegel peering malevolently from beneath his fedora in a 1928 booking photo summed up the perverse romance of gangsters in the prohibition age. Nearly half a century later, mugshots of David Bowie, elegantly dressed but dead-eyed after his arrest… Read More Belligerence and hostility: Trump’s mugshot defines modern US politics

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Trump yearns to govern a mafia state. Fitting that he faces racketeering charges

The perfected mafia state uses ostensibly legal procedures and insider loyalty to protect corrupt autocrats from accountability Jan-Werner Müller Could there be such a thing as Trump indictment fatigue? Every week seems to bring a new set of charges; one might be forgiven for losing any sense of what’s what in the four major cases… Read More Trump yearns to govern a mafia state. Fitting that he faces racketeering charges

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Modi is hell bent on building an administrative system that treats him as King

Jawhar Sircar There is no doubt that the increasing politicisation of the bureaucracy has been corroding, for quite some time, the pillars on which fair and efficient administration rest. The pains taken by the founding fathers of our constitution to protect and insulate the civil service from political interference had ensured a large degree of… Read More Modi is hell bent on building an administrative system that treats him as King

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Slavoj Žizek: Manipur is not only in India

With the new Netanyahu government, the anti-Palestinian violence (the pogrom in Huwara, the attacks on the Stella Maris Monastery in Haifa, etc.) is no longer even formally condemned by the state. To a Western European with a vague knowledge of Italian, “Manipur” automatically associates with “mani pulite” (pure hands), the big anti-corruption campaign in the… Read More Slavoj Žizek: Manipur is not only in India

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Safeguarding Academic Freedom Is the Bedrock of India’s Constitutional Morality

Any attempt to reimagine or recreate a constitution may fall woefully short in its objective if ‘freedoms’ are threatened and ‘unfreedoms’ are instilled by a usurper of power Deepanshu Mohan Source: The Wire In an attempt to initiate a discussion on the ‘new’ foundations of the Indian Constitution, chief economic advisor to the prime minister Bibek… Read More Safeguarding Academic Freedom Is the Bedrock of India’s Constitutional Morality

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Driving out the rainforest invaders: crackdown on illegal mining brings hope after Bolsonaro

 Jonathan Watts in Altamira Like mechanised Valkyries, nine helicopters filled with armed men and women in camouflage uniforms swoop over dense forests and remote rivers – but this is not a scene from Apocalypse Now, it is a Brazilian government mission to forestall catastrophe in the Amazon rainforest. The aircraft from the country’s two main environmental agencies,… Read More Driving out the rainforest invaders: crackdown on illegal mining brings hope after Bolsonaro

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