Archive for May, 2017

A Real Reason to Value Linguistic Diversity

Sunday, May 7th, 2017

There’s been some discussion on other sites about whether we should regret the loss of small languages, and if so, why. Many of the usual points have been made about how change is not something that should be seen as bad just in itself, and we can’t expect to preserve ...

On Castro’s Resignation

Sunday, May 7th, 2017

Well, no, not really. The title should really be something like ‘Thoughts on the Occasion of Castro’s Resignation;’ but then people might expect poetry. All I wish to do here is make some remarks with reference to a conversation that I had with a small group of graduate students a ...

The Three State Solution

Sunday, May 7th, 2017

When people say that they support an Arab state in the West Bank and Gaza that is ‘contiguous’ I wonder what they think that word means. How do they propose that the Gaza Strip is to become contiguous with the West Bank? Geography seems to be their enemy here, more ...

Secret Lawyers’ Business

Sunday, May 7th, 2017

On Wednesday (13/02/2008) Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made his famous Apology to the Stolen Generations - that is, to those Australian aboriginal children who were removed from their parents because of their aboriginality. The theory behind the term ‘Stolen Generations’ is that in doing so government agents were implementing a ...