It was a pleasure and an honour to host John Allen for a seminar series in Mexico. During two weeks in the spring of 2016, we found time to discuss many issues beyond science or academic slavery in British universities: in a typical Sanborns café in Coyoacan we also discussed the upcoming referendum that would recommend on whether the United Kingdom (UK) should severe ties with the European Union (EU). Sharing internationalist values, but also valuing sovereignity, democracy, social justice, education, the call was not obvious. John had recently read a Guardian article by Yanis Varoufakis and was keen to hear my views on him. So I tried to summarize the turbulent first half of 2015…
Category: Politics
These are lies, Dicky, not misrepresentations
This is how Dicky Clymo, emeritus professor at Queen Mary University of London, came into my life. First, he taught me about iron pans in peatlands. Second, he taught me that calling someone who is conveying a false statement a liar has implications (difficult to know and/or prove) over a) the person’s knowledge of the truth, and b) the person’s intention to confuse, manipulate or cheat her audience. A polite gentleman, he advised me to use instead the phrase that X manager was misrepresenting Y or Z fact or opinion. (more…)
Turning the ship around
The Times Higher Education has published an article by Carolina Guzmán-Valenzuela, the ship in this case being higher education institutions in Latin America. My comment: (more…)
Αποχαιρετισμός στον Φιδέλ
Στάσου.
Ο Καταράχτης από μακριά μοιάζει πιο ήσυχος.
Δυο νέοι ξεσηκωμένοι.
Η αδικία τους κίνησε.
Ελευθερία κι αδελφοσύνη αναζητούν.
. (more…)
Προεκλογικά
Επιτρέψτε μου τρείς προτάσεις στην ξύλινη γλώσσα (ή περάστε στο ψητό και εφήμερο προσπερνώντας την εισαγωγική παράγραφο).
Ποιος δικαιώνεται από τις εξελίξεις;
Δημιοψήφισμα
Σε ρώτησαν αν συμφωνείς με το μνημόνιο
παροτρύνοντάς σε ν’ αρνηθείς
στο σφαγείο να σε παν ωσάν να ήσουν πρόβατο
Έστιν ουν τραγωδία
Έστιν ουν τραγωδία___________________It is a tragedy
τα πανιά που δεν άλλαξες Θησέα,_that you didn’t change the sail Theseus,
αφού το Μινόταυρο νίκησες__________ since you have won the Minotaur
χάρη στη γενναιότητά σου____________thanks to your bravery
και χάρη της Αριάδνης._______________ and thanks to Ariadne.
_
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