Known to psychologists as “the illusion of truth”, the propaganda law “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is used so often, blatantly and cynically by Israeli spokespersons that anything they say must be taken with not a pinch, but the pillar of salt the Bible says Lot’s wife turned into for looking back at Sodom and Gomorrah.… Read the rest
When you’re typecast as terminally polite and stuck next to a family determined to revel in being the stereotypical “neighbours from Hell,” the courteous thing to do is offer them a copy of Robert Burns’ poem, “To a Louse”.… Read the rest
The killing of five journalists in a tent in Gaza this week is a cruel lesson for world leaders who have played along far too long with Israel’s “righteous victim” shield: what you do out of fear is what you become.… Read the rest
A few days ago I spent some time with the loon family I wrote about last week. The parents called out twice, to help the two chicks find them in the choppy waves, which prompted the thought that my exasperation with news coverage, and the world in general, is directly related to the excessive use of pointless words.… Read the rest
Nature abounds in lessons and metaphors. But they’re subtle, only obvious when we pause long enough to actually see, rather than merely look through lenses clouded by haste or preconceptions.… Read the rest
Those who “speak truth to power” by calling out injustice and demanding change are exalted as courageous. So what word shall we apply to those with power who speak weasel words instead of acting?… Read the rest
In the fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, a small child pointed out that a vain leader was riding naked in a procession meant to show off what he had been conned into believing was the most magnificent wardrobe ever created.… Read the rest
Ask school-aged kids in a disadvantaged place what they want to be and the answer is almost invariably a variation of doctor or nurse or teacher. Their values and ambitions are skewed to serving the greater good.… Read the rest
They probably don’t know it and wouldn’t acknowledge it anyway, but Ali Khamenei, Binyamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump owe the common god they claim as an exclusive ally the same thing: a little time off.… Read the rest
The writer John Steinbeck called war “a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.” Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz characterised it as “the continuation of politics by other means.” The latest version is the triumph of hubris, ego and ignorance of history and culture.… Read the rest