Category Archives: Repression

Sam Harris’s inexplicable defence of Israel

Introduction:   I agree with a lot that Sam Harris has to say. I find him an erudite and intelligent commentator. I have been listening to his “Waking Up” podcast for some time. I sided with him in the Cenk … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on May 20, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Review: “Revolutionary Iran. A history of the Islamist Republic” by Michael Axworthy.

Posted on April 19, 2017 by

Axworthy has written a scholarly history of Twentieth Century Iran. He does justice to a country with one of the most complex histories in the world by unearthing painstaking detail on how various internal regimes have functioned down the years. There is … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Democracy, History, Iran, Iranian revolution, Michael Axworthy, Persia, Repression, Shia Islam, The Shah, theocracy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The burden on beasts

Posted on January 11, 2017 by

  The burden on beasts:   As 2017 begins, it is obvious that the world that George Orwell so accurately described in his 1945 classic “Animal Farm” still exists. Living in a free and democratic Western country, it is easy to … Continue reading →

Posted in Animal Farm, China, Democracy, George Orwell, Putin, Repression | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment