The island of Islay is the place to go when you are trying to measure the temperature concerning the independency aspirations of Scotland as a whole. People here are used to hard work, under difficult conditions, being helped by no one, including their fellow Scotsmen on the mainland. Here you find the proud and independent men and women for whom London is as far away as, say, New York. Farmers and fishermen who have fought for their existence, adding a few pounds to their tiny income by distilling...

The change is for today, but not in this country! This could be the motto of the Qatari emir, with his good principles about freedom which he has been exporting ever since the start of the Arab Spring. Last Thursday, November 29th, a court in Doha has put a poet behind bars for life. His work is supposed to contain remarks that do not please the emir. The bold writer's name is Mohamad Al-Ajami, a.k.a. Ibn Al-Dhib. He has already been in prison for a year, despite protests...

Je moet oppassen met het gebruik van woorden. Zeg communisme, democratie, vrijheid, vriendschap of liberalisme en je weet bijna zeker dat je een discussie krijgt over de exacte betekenis die jij eraan geeft. De interpretatie van een woord kan zorgen voor spraakverwarring en zelfs voor oorlog. Een woord is dus niet zomaar een woord. Dat is althans de mening van de Franse filosoof Alain Badiou, die met zijn boek over het beladen woord ‘Jood’ (Het woord Jood, Kampen, 2008) al veel aandacht trok, maar ook van wanten weet...

Last Wednesday, the International Press Institute issued a report saying that 119 journalists have been killed this year, the highest total since it started keeping track in 1997. Government officials are suspected by the Committee to Protect Journalists of being responsible for more than one third of these killings, more than criminal groups or terrorists are. In Gaza, last week, three media representatives were killed by an Israeli missile. Rather then suggesting their deaths have been a mistake, an Israeli Defense Forces spokesmwoman, lt. col. Avital Leibovich,...

While many Europeans are wondering how they will financially survive the coming decade, the clever ones are focusing on Africa. They invest in funds that help modernize the continent (logistics, energy, medicine, education etc.) AND EXPECT DOUBLE DIGIT RETURNS. The continent is the world's next great growth engine, but it is not only optimism that leads the way: hundreds of millions are at risk of being left behind, corrupt leaders will keep on filling their own pockets, citizens filled with anger and frustration will go to the streets...

68 countries will focus on this question as from Sunday. During a week public broadcasters will try to inform around 500 million people around the globe about poverty, sometimes around unexpected corners (Amsterdam, Zuerich, Paris, New York), sometimes in the usually suspect countries. It is not about money. It is not about donations. The organizers want to start discussions animated by documentaries, films and even cartoons (Ben Lewis' 'Poor Us. An animated history of poverty.' In theory, there is enough food for all of us, we just can't...

Rockets on Tel Aviv. Bomb alarm even in Jerusalem. The provocations of Hamas are meant to draw Israel into a war nobody should want. For Israel the world has dramaticaly changed since the Muslim Brotherhood rules Egypt and the US is too preoccupied with itself to consider armed support. The Arab Spring has changed the game. The overt support by Qatar for the Palestinians, a few weeks ago, was just the first sign of the growing confidence one can see comimng from the occupied terroitories. Who is going...

De jongste crisis bij de BBC heeft alom twijfel gezaaid over de journalistieke kwaliteit in het algemeen. Dat is geen goed nieuws aangezien deze tijd juist doortastende, goed onderbouwde en moedige journalistiek nodig heeft. Corruptie en vals spelen in de politiek (VVD in Limburg), het justitieel apparaat (rechters, hoge ambtenaren, advocaten), de wetenschap (teveel om op te noemen) en de sport (gaan we nog fietsen? Effe wedden op een voetbalwedstrijd?) nemen hand over hand toe, zonder dat de kans op geheimhouding daarmee overigens groeit. De moderne communicatietechnieken hebben...

Former Dutch Prime Minister Dries van Agt (Christian Democrat) recently suggested during a lecture that Israel had been given an unlucky geographical territory and that it would have been a good idea to attribute parts of Germany as the place to create a new state. At first the shocked majority of the Dutch public thought that Van Agt was getting a bit too old to discuss these matters. Some felt angry or sad after hearing so much nonsense. In his weekly column, Dutch comedian and writer Youp van...

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert is op het eerste gezicht totaal verkeerd ‘gecast’ voor de post van Minister van Defensie. De in 1973 geboren liberale politica heeft een secretaresseopleiding als basisopleiding maar zij wist zich intussen wel via baantjes bij de Europese Commissie en KPMG (subsidieadviseur) op te werken tot gevierd lid van het Europese Parlement waar zij in 2004 aan de slag ging. Niet inzake defensie of veiligheid, wel met tranport en justitie in haar portefeuille. In 2010 werd zij uitgeroepen tot Europarlementariër van het jaar. Haar motto toen al:...