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In Sunday’s election in Germany a new party, Alternatives for Germany, broke through the established power structure to become the second strongest force in parliament. A key factor in its success was a call to overcome the postwar guilt and shame that have been predominant in the country. For many years these were a necessary reckoning with past atrocities, but this burden of blame has increasingly lamed the country and become a handicap to its progress. Leaving it behind is part of a gradual evolution that has been going on since the 1990s.

When I came to Germany in 1993 as …

Belief without evidence is illogical and, arguably, unethical.

Never allow intelligence chiefs to speak publicly. Their prerogative lies in lying, their reassurance, cool deception. While the attractions of transparency are powerful, the result of a garrulous spook is always going to be unreliable.

In Australia, a comically looking individual by the name of Mike Burgess terrorises and terrifies the local populace as head of the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the domestic spy agency. It will surprise no one familiar with this approach that it resembles several that have come before. Keep them frightened, soften them for the next encroaching round, and await ever larger budgets for the already …

The German establishment is in crisis. Is has ruled for 80 years by charting a middle course between progressive and conservative policies. Labor and business have cooperated to achieve social and economic stability. But that consensus isn’t functioning anymore. The standard of living is declining, crime is increasing, fear and anger infect social discourse. Nothing the mainstream political parties have done has improved the situation.

The fundamental cause for this crisis is the decay of capitalism. This long-term trend is forcing European and North American governments into more intense exploitation: reducing benefits at home and aggressively manipulating the economies and politics …

If you know, you know.

Cowardice is the milk that runs in the veins of many event organisers, especially when it comes to those occasions that might provoke the unmanaged unexpected.  The same organisers will claim to be open minded, accommodating to stirring debate, and open to what is trendily termed in artistic lingo as “provocations”.

The dropping by Creative Australia of Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi as Australia’s representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale, along with the curator of the pavilion’s artistic team, Michael Dagostino, shows that true artistic subversion is not the game, and uncontroversial subservience the form.  If an arts body fears that the …

“Mind Games” explained by John Lennon.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen @ Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been told that former colonial powers must apologize and pay compensation for their historical involvement in the enslavement of Africans.

Addressing the 48th meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) heads of government in Barbados on Thursday, which was attended by von der Leyen, Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell urged Western leaders to recognize slavery as a crime against humanity and ensure appropriate reparations …

Soppy, soapy and interminable, the Australian series Neighbours, the staple for millions of British (and Australian) watchers for years, their tonic and medication from reality, is being terminated for the second time.

In 2022, steady followers and dedicated fanatics of this program of irritating suburban geniality were met with the news that Channel 5 would be concluding its support for a series that had incubated such Australian performers and thespians as Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce and Kylie Minogue.  Fremantle Media, the program’s producer, had failed to secure another broadcaster in the UK as a replacement, despite the 1.5 million regular viewers …

Today, the US/NATO Out of Our Americas Network officially launches, marking a bold and action-oriented next phase in the Zone of Peace campaign. This date, commemorating the assassinations of Malcolm X and Augusto C. Sandino, serves as a powerful reminder of the enduring struggle for sovereignty, self-determination, and liberation from colonialism, imperialism and all nefarious forces that impede peace. The Network is dedicated to building a coordinated, internationalist struggle to expel the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination from the Americas and beyond.

The Zone of Peace campaign has been building and coordinating …

The Israeli-Palestinian debacle has been my writing focus for over ten years. Other writers in our Veterans For Peace (VFP) chapter 27 newsletter have concentrated on political actions, educational outreach, or the far-reaching effects war has on military personnel, civilians and the environment. So far — three of us have been called antisemites.

The first was from a chapter 27 member who hollered in the street during a parade in Minneapolis that one of our other members was an antisemite. He gave no explanation and was kicked out of our group a couple years ago by the VFP Board for misconduct.

The …

For over a year now, Israel has been intensifying its military assaults on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, from mass killings to attacks on healthcare workers, mass arrests, forced displacement, home demolitions, and military airstrikes.

In our latest visual, we bring attention to the ongoing violence the Israeli military and settlers have inflicted on Palestinians in the West Bank over the past 16 months.

On January 19, the Israeli army invaded and laid siege to Jenin refugee camp. The siege is part of a …

IMAGE/Dawn/DUck Duck Go

She eloped

Over a hundred years ago, on February 20, 1918, she escaped from her parents house to unite with her love. Two months later, on April 19, at her sweetheart’s huge house atop Malabar Hill in Bombay, she got married and went to Nainital for honeymoon.

All over India, the news of their wedding caused a huge uproar and spread fast – it became the main talk of the town for many reasons:

The girl was Parsi;
the man was Muslim;
she …

Orientation
What is the meaning of politics?

Nine questions for determining what is politics
In Part I of my article Seven Theories of Politics I posed ten questions for narrowing down what the range for defining what is politics.

Temporal reach

How far back into human history does politics go? Does politics go back to pre-state societies? Or does politics begin with state societies? Is politics possible before there were political parties?

Cross species scope

Is politics confined to the human species or does it ooze into the life of other species? If so, which ones? If …

“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.”

– from Maya Angelou poem, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”

Thinking about what I would write in this column about the importance of group singing for a mass people’s movement I somehow remembered this Maya Angelou poem, this poem about singing at a time of adversity.

One of the first times I ever sang out loud outside of a church or school setting was when, at the age of 20, I was literally …