There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
Heroes or parasites: Europe’s self-serving politics on refugees
Language is politics and politics is power — this is why the misuse of language is particularly disturbing, especially when the innocent and vulnerable pay the price, writes RAMZY BAROUD
Labour’s new Treasury unit will ‘challenge unnecessary regulation’ by forcing nominally independent bodies like Ofwat to bend to business demands — exactly what Iain Anderson’s corporate clients wanted, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
DR DYLAN MURPHY looks at a Big Brother Watch report which exposes the government as an enabler of DWP secret spying on benefit claimants
The EU faces a critical choice: will it remain in the shadow of an increasingly unreliable US ally, or will it forge its own path in a multilateral world where co-operation with China is essential, asks MARC VANDEPITTE as leaders meet for the EU-China Summit
A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN
For Egypt trade trumps the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, but how long can the country’s ‘misleaders’ – and others in the region – continue their indifference against the popular will of their own people, asks ROGER McKENZIE
THE wars in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries in recent years have resulted in one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes, arguably unseen since World War II. Instead of developing a unified global strategy that makes the welfare of the refugees of these conflicts a top priority, many countries ignored them altogether, blamed them for their own misery and at times treated them as if they were criminals and outlaws.
But this is not always the case. At the start of the Syrian war, support for Syrian refugees was considered a moral calling, championed by countries across the world, from the Middle East to Europe and even beyond. Though often rhetoric was not matched by action, helping the refugees was seen, theoretically, as a political stance against the Syrian government.
Back then, Afghans did not factor in the Western political discourse on refugees. In fact, they were rarely seen as refugees. Why? Because, until August 15 — when the Taliban entered the capital, Kabul — most of those fleeing Afghanistan were seen according to a different classification: migrants, illegal immigrants, illegal aliens and so on. Worse, at times they were depicted as parasites taking advantage of international sympathy for refugees in general and Syrians in particular.
More from this author
RAMZY BAROUD highlights a new report by special rapporteur Francesca Albanese that unflinchingly names and shames the companies that have enabled Israel’s bloody massacre in Gaza
Israel’s genocide in Palestine and wars against its neighbours would be impossible without constant Western support — so we must amplify the brave voices demanding a halt, argues DR RAMZY BAROUD
Fifa must be held to account over its continued support for Israel, writes RAMZY BAROUD
RAMZY BAROUD on how Israel’s narrative collides with military failure
