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A collection of 5 posts

The Ugly Side of Voltaire

I had always recognised Voltaire as a philosopher and an important cog of Western liberal thinking but I recently came across a play written by him:Le fanatisme, ou Mahomet le Prophete [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahomet_(play)], literally Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet. Voltaire, and his admirers, have

Israeli Desperation in Courting European Far-right

Diplomats don’t make many mistakes. Certainly not mistakes like attending a reception for 20 minutes and posing for pictures and also giving positive comments. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz is keeping them honest [http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-s-un-ambassador-attends-le-pen-meeting-by-mistake-1.393919] . But what is afoot here? Let us take a

Free Speech Update: Cartoons can be Censored

So, the Chicago Tribune censors the political cartoon strip Doonesbury. Here is what the editor had to say [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/tribnation/chi-doonesbury-pulled-from-chicago-tribune-this-week-20110912,0,5161792.story] : > To be sure, “Doonesbury” is a satirical cartoon, but the remarks are serious enough that we cannot publish the strip without

Lessons from Greek Financial Woes

The country that is widely considered to be the cradle of Western civilisation is bankrupt. Its bonds are now rated lower than any other country in the world. With a population of only 11 million, the country that was once regarded as an antidote to Turkey by traditional European powers

Free Speech Denmark Style (courtesy alQuds)

Cartoon equating star of david with Nazism — oops — anti-Semitism. Cartoon showing a black man — oops — racism. Cartoon insulting Muhammad — ahaa — freedom of speech.