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Aaron Swartz and the Freedom to Connect

Aaron Swartz wanted nothing more than to change the world. He was doing just that until he ended his own life, at the age of 26, on Jan. 11. Aaron was a social justice activist, gifted with deep understanding of…

The Intranauts

By Francisco Javier Ruiz-Tagle It’s curious that the word in the title of this article doesn’t exist.  Other words have been coined like internaut, cybernaut, astronaut and Argonaut, but this word that might allude to a journey towards our interior…

When buying cheap turns out expensive

Three, two, one, zero… The sales are now on.  Offers, discounts, % off… fill the shop windows of the high streets and the shopping centres.  It is the time to buy and to buy cheaply.  But… Is what we’re buying…

USA: Building a Peaceful Future for Our Children

Guns. Media. Mental Illness. Lax Security. All these and more have been offered as explanations for the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary on Friday, December 14 that left 26 people, including 20 children, dead. And all of those…

USA saved from the Fiscal Cliff – An immodest proposal

We are saved —so our politicians tell us —from a plunge off the fiscal cliff. In all reports, however, it is mentioned that President Obama settled for a slice of what he claimed to be after, which was to raise…

Climate Change – the unavoidable reality

Australia has recently experienced it’s hottest weather since records began, with the Weather Bureau forced to ‘add new colours’ to its temperature mapping system to accommodate thousands of hectares subject to temperatures exceeding 50 deg C. Major Bushfires raged out…

The reality of the Egyptian identity

By Tarek Osman In a taxi in central Cairo this week, a friend commented on the passing of Egypt’s new constitution by saying: “It’s now settled; Egypt will become an Islamic state,” which prompted the taxi driver to retort: “Egypt…

A Christmas Story: a tribute to the diversity of tolerant and peace loving Christians, Jews, Muslims and Hindus.

According to legend the Christian world celebrates December 25th as that special moment when the divine and the earthly connect for an eternal instant.  It’s the moment of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. It tells of a modest birth…

The unbearable lightness of memory: Germany and Switzerland

Germany and Switzerland: two solid financial rocks in the EU crisis or just fantastic at “social maquillage”? (with thanks to Mr. Kundera). These days the EU is going through serious growing pains. The economic disciplining is in full motion and…

The real ‘End of the World’: 1000+ nuclear warheads launchable in minutes or less

With just hours to go before the 21st of December arrives in the author’s home country of Australia, one of the first places on the planet to see if the Mayan doomsday prophecy will be proven true or false, John…

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