Facts Are Subversive. Subversive Of The Claims

One Thing, However, I Know With Certainty: Violence, Or The Direct Threat Of Violence, Of The Kind We Have Seen In The Past Few Days, Is Totally Unjustified As A Response To Any Published Word Or Image.

What Is The Elephant In All Our Rooms? It Is The Global Triumph Of Capitalism. Democracy Is Fiercely Disputed. Freedom Is Under Threat Even In Old-established Democracies Such As Britain. Western Supremacy Is On The Skids. But Everyone Does Capitalism. Americans And Europeans Do It. Indians Do It. Russian Oligarchs And Saudi Princes Do It. Even Chinese Communists Do It... Karl Marx Would Be Turning In His Grave. Or Perhaps Not, Since Some Of His Writings Eerily Foreshadowed Our Era Of Globalised Capitalism. His Prescription Failed But His Description Was Prescient.

Europe Is A Woman, Now Middle-aged, Who Has Already Had A Number Of Heart Attacks And Is Currently Experiencing The Biggest Health Crisis Of Her Life, But One That Need Not Be Fatal.

In A Democracy It Is Ultimately For Us, The Citizens, To Judge Where To Place The Balance Between Security And Privacy, Safety And Liberty. It's Our Lives And Liberties That Are Threatened, Not Only By Terrorism But Also By Massive Depredations Of Our Privacy In The Name Of Counter-terrorism. If Those Companies From Which Governments Actually Take Most Of Our Intimate Details Want To Show That They Are Still On The Side Of The Angels, They Had Better Join This Struggle For Transparency Too.

The Whole Project Of European Union Is One In Deep Trouble.