Nations are not such new phenomena. The concept of Irish and Norwegian Nations dates back to medieval times. What is relatively new however, is an acknowledgement on the part of the general population of their membership of the Nation. Humans are social animals and have since earliest times tended to define themselves as X, son […]
The recent United Nations attempt to restore relations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots on the divided island of Cyprus, brought me back over 30 years to 1972, to the peace talks that began that year, and to the opportunity that gave me to encounter one of the legendary figures of the post-war anti-colonial movement, […]
Shoah isn't the only word that we have to remember when talking about the Nazi Holocaust at the heart of the 20th century, because the Jews weren't the only victims of Hitler's insane project. Political opponents, common criminals, homosexuals, Jehovah's witnesses and gypsies all shared with the Jews that tragic destiny of suffering and death. […]
Alain de Botton in interview with Three Monkeys Online. “the abundance of information will be such that either you have reached such a level of maturity that you are able to be your own filter, or you will desperately need a filter, some professional filter. So once again you will ask somebody…an information consultant…to be […]
When you think of mountains, and their connection with religion, where do you go in your mind’s eye? Mt Sinai with Moses sweeping down its slopes, burdened with divine legislation? Mt. Olympus with Zeus and a pantheon of Gods gazing with a playful eye on mortal affairs? It’s probably safe to say that few are […]
Translated from Italian – The original article may be accessed here. I can remember a pair of girls, in secondary school, that became pregnant by 'accident', or unwittingly, maybe because they didn't know enough about the mysteries of human reproduction, or maybe because they were careless. I remember as well the solidarity, partly from compassion […]
It is somehow grimly appropriate that ten years after he shot himself through the heart, Guy Debord, an acute analyst of how the media can blandly neuter transgressive figures, has become a ‘celebrity’. Surrounded by calumnies and myths, the one-time leader of the Situationist International (SI) has become indelibly associated with the euphoria of the […]
Depending on what side of the sesame seed bun you stand on, it's either the best or worst of times for the fast food industry. Sure, the fast food chains have been taking some big hits of late; not least from Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me which has helped put burgers and fries firmly back on […]
[Editor’s note: Hugo Chavez won the recall referendum of August 15th.This interview was conducted prior to the referendum on the Chavez Presidency. For further info The Guardian] In 1998 Hugo Chavez was elected with an overwhelming majority as the President of Venezuela. This election marked the demise of a cosy oligarchy that had ruled in […]