I submit here an informal human rights ‘law’. Basically it’s just another banality for the information age, as a corollary to Moynihan’s Banality:
As the number of instances of human rights violations committed by a country increases, the probability that it will take measures to restrict access to information on such violations approaches one.
In other words […]
I don’t want to wax my own johnson here, but it’s quite gratifying to find out that two of my favourite bloggers don’t think with their Suzanne Dandoos* when it comes to Iraq.
Johann Hari:
I haven’t written about Iraq recently, because I think those of us who supported this catastrophic invasion should apologise and then have […]
A polar reversal in British politics, seen only once a generation, has come upon us. Labour now firmly occupies the right wing and the Conservatives are sheepishly wading into the left. And the Daily Mail (yes, the Daily Mail), actually comes up with a superb editorial from Peter Osborne which wraps the whole situation up.
It […]
The full human consequence of the daily shootings and bombings in Iraq are absent from the coverage that we see on TV.
Jon Snow of (Channel 4) report in this 6 minute video.
Hat Tip: Lenin
Following the continuing hysteria that has been drummed up in the media since Jack Straw started a “helpful” debate, anti-Muslim feeling has shot through the roof. Now we have had a slew of politicians from all parties play to the anti-multiculturalism gallery in a scramble to appear receptive, open to debate and protective of British […]
The devastation and extreme carnage that has enveloped Iraq over the last 18 months has finally(!) caused many of the Pro-war or “Decent” Left (precipitated by the Johns Hopkins/Lancet reports possibly) to change their minds.
Most notably this includes Norman Geras, theorist and chief “monger” of the pro-war Left movement. In a post on his blog, Norm has finally admitted that Iraq has […]
The Prof Yunus celebrations have eclipsed slightly, for me at least, another great piece of Nobel news: Orhan Pamuk, Turkish writer, has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. What a superb choice. A profile of the man.
I was overjoyed on Friday when Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and we’ve been on a weekend of wild and debauched celebrations since. Microcredit, Yunus’ brainchild, has been implemented in over 100 countries all over the world, and has empowered millions of poor and poverty stricken people, mostly women.
The Bangladeshi blogosphere has […]
In Iraq, as with other conflicts, civilians bear the consequences of warfare. In the Vietnam war, 3 million civilians died; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, conflict has been responsible for 3·8 million deaths; and an estimated 200 000 of a total population of 800 000 died in conflict in East Timor. Recent estimates […]
This is tragic and sickening.
The Joacph family home and its neighbouring garage, in the Saltersgill area of Middlesbrough, were covered with messages.
These claimed that the family were terrorists, and also called for the killing of Muslims.
The Joacphs, who are practising Roman Catholics, say they are devastated by the incident.
Originally from India, they have lived in […]