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Film Review: Star Wars, The Force Awakens (If only)

In a world marred by confusion about values and directions the old myths that used to give reference to human beings pale in comparison with the effects of the new cultural myths that come in glorious Technicolor, 3D immersive technology…

This flood was not only foretold – it was publicly subsidised

By George Monbiot for The Guardian The government pays grouse moor owners to drain their glorified outdoor chicken runs. Meanwhile it’s the proles downstream who get a soaking These floods were not just predictable; they were predicted. There were clear…

The Precariat: A new term for Economic Violence

We know about the proletariat, aka the manual workers. The term comes from the Roman Empire’s five yearly census of citizens and their property. For those who had none their children, or proles, were their only asset, hence the name…

What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it’s fame and money, you’re not alone – but, according to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, you’re mistaken. As the director of 75-year-old study on adult development, Waldinger…

The Syrian opposition circus comes to town

In January, the Syrian government will – ostensibly – sit across the negotiating table from ‘the Syrian opposition’ to decide on the structure and make-up of a transitional government that promises to end the 5-year Syrian conflict. The ‘Syrian opposition,’…

Human beings sent back to war and poverty at the Greek border

I have been sent on a day trip to Idomeni on a mission with PRAKSIS NGO, just a metre away from the frontier of hope. The caravan of buses carrying people, who want to leave Greece, patiently waits at the…

The bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were acts of terrorism

The dropping of two atomic bombs that detonated over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6th and 9th of August 1945 caused the immediate deaths of 200,000 people besides those injured, the destroyed families, the ecological disaster and…

Prof. Hawking and the machines. Hopes, fears and possible misconceptions

“Prof Stephen Hawking, one of Britain’s pre-eminent scientists, has said that efforts to create thinking machines pose a threat to our very existence. He told the BBC: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human…

Democracy and Nonviolence go hand-in-hand

Democracy and Non-Violence go hand-in-hand, or should. In a true democracy there would be no violence and that is the strongest indicator of its presence. Conversely, in situations, whether political or other, non-violence is apparent when everything is running smoothly…

A South Asian mechanism for human rights

A South Asian mechanism for human rights Basil Fernando I propose that the discussion on a South Asian mechanism for human rights should concentrate more on what such a mechanism could positively achieve, rather than on justifying why such a…

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