It’s not easy being a writer these days. In the past few weeks, the administration has implied that cuts in funding to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, organizations that provide much needed financial support to artists, are imminent. But it’s not just the possible financial losses that cut to our core. As a nation, we’ve never witnessed such devastating attacks on truth from the executive branch—and one only needs to review Thursday morning’s bizarre press conference for evidence. We’ve been bombarded with “alternative facts,” while almost daily, Trump lambastes the press, calling journalists “among the most dishonest human beings on earth.” Truth will be a subversive act. We should have acts of truth and…

Mock road signs go up near EU Council HQ in Brussels,when heads of government refuse referendums on new EU treaty,December,2007.Yves Logghe/Press Association. All rights reserved.If a spectre is haunting Europe today, it is not the spectre of communism or socialism. To be sure, leftist politics has never completely disappeared from European parliaments and from civil society. But it is no longer the sort of presence that needs exorcizing, more perhaps a shadow of what it used to be. There are profound causes for this predicament, and some notable exceptions. But the general pattern is very clear. The left is either unable to gain the support necessary to secure power, or…

Adel Hana/AP/Press Association. All rights reserved.Next year will mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration as well as the 50th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. With no sign of an active peace process between the parties, here in Britain we have a historic responsibility to seriously challenge the Israeli government’s conduct in the West Bank and Gaza. On a recent visit to the West Bank, I saw powerfully for myself the need for better legal protection for young Palestinians. Without this I fear that we will engender an entire lost generation of forgotten Palestinian children.  Yair Golan, the deputy head of the Israeli military, caused an uproar…

Two days after opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick is looking for a new team to sign with, and sources tell ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the quarterback will not continue his national anthem protest during the 2017 season. Kaepernick didn’t stand for the pregame playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” throughout the entire 2016 season because he was “not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he told Sam Wyche of NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are…

Amnesty International campaigners protest against human rights abuses linked to Vedanta's aluminium refinery in Orissa, India, 2010. Lewis Whyld /Press Association. All rights reserved.The greater the effectiveness and reach of human rights defenders (HRDs) and organisations, the more attention will state institutions give them. This means they can be more influential, but also that these institutions will put more time and effort into knowing what they are up to and, potentially, disrupting it. Present threats At Amnesty, we’ve seen a very significant increase over the last two years in HRDs telling us that they fear their communications are being monitored by their governments. We have, ourselves, been the subject of…

Don’t expect Trump’s “Winter White House” to survive the century. That was one clear takeaway from a Monday Senate hearing, which featured climate scientists testifying just across the lagoon from the President’s Mar-a-Lago Club.  Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, convened the field hearing, titled “Extreme Weather and Coastal Flooding: What is Happening Now, What is the Future Risk, and What Can We Do About It?” Through statements and testimony, the panelists—who included two climate scientists, the chief resilience officer for Broward County, and the U.S. head of “risk accumulation” for Munich Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies,…

A 'Stop the War' demonstrator calls for Tony Blair to be prosecuted for war crimes. Photo: lewishamdreamer. Flickr. CCEditor's note: This is the second of two articles in which Geoffrey Bindman investigates the possibilities and pitfalls of launching such a case against former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for his involvement in the Iraq War. Now that the Chilcot report has been published, do we know more than we already knew from previously published accounts of the Iraq war, its preparation and its aftermath? Does it throw any new light on the prospect of legal sanctions against those whom it has criticised? The answer to both of these questions is 'not much'. Nonetheless, there…

Egyptian lawyer and leftist opposition figure Khaled Ali celebrates in courthouse in Cairo after the verdict. NurPhoto SIPA USA/PA Images. All rights reserved.In April 2016, an agreement was reached between Egypt and Saudi Arabia to transfer two islands in the Red Sea from Egyptian to Saudi sovereignty. Human rights lawyer and ex-presidential candidate, Khalid Ali, took the case to court and much to people’s surprise, the agreement was annulled in January 2017. However, in what appears to be an attempt to circumvent the courts, the Egyptian government sent the agreement to parliament for ratification, with the head of parliament stating that the ratification will proceed regardless of the court verdict.…

Frame grab from a Dec. 13, 2016 video, shows people walking among damaged buildings on a street filled with debris near the ancient Umayyad Mosque, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria. Uncredited/AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved. The recent offensive of Assad and Russian forces in the city of Aleppo have led to the worst setback for the opposition since the start of the war, not to mention the human tragedy. This offensive has lead to the loss of the largest urban center under opposition control, the eastern part of Aleppo. This is the strongest indication yet that the tide of the civil war has shifted decisively in favor…

Tony Blair facing growing calls to be brought to court following damning verdict of the Chilcot Report. Stefan Rousseau / Press Association. All rights reserved.In October 2002, the Oxford Research Group were approached by a senior Middle Eastern Prince with strong working ties to Saddam Hussein. The Prince wanted to become an interlocutor to talk to Saddam Hussein as part of attempts to avert war. He proposed to explore whether the Iraqi ruler could be coaxed into a quiet passage out of his country, somewhat in the spirit of Napoleon to Elba. From previous experience he believed that he might have influence over that unpredictable and ruthless character, not least…