The White House’s distorting mirror

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.”

Rooting out torture

The moral imperative against torture seems obvious. And yet there is public debate about its legitimization. But justify torture, and the floodgates open for horrendous crimes that stain the world’s conscience.

Law enforcement in the USA is out of control

When will it end? The indiscriminate shooting of teenagers, a disproportionate number of them black, is a festering wound in a nation struggling for equality.

Shall we play hide-and-seek or shoot the Uzi? You choose!

On 25 August 2014 a firearms instructor in the USA died after being shot by a nine-year-old girl wielding an Uzi. The incident took place at a shooting range in the Arizona desert. What were the girl’s parents thinking when they allowed her anywhere near this lethal weapon?

Gun control in the USA: A moral obligation

Barack Obama is under pressure to tighten gun laws. No wonder, when the US has the highest gun ownership rate in the world: 89 guns for every 100 Americans. In 2011 – the latest year for which detailed statistics are available – there were 12,664 murders of which 8,583 were caused by firearms.

Dirty doings in Whitehall

At the end of 2012 the UK government agreed to pay £2.2 million ($3.5m) to Libyan dissident Sami al-Saadi and his family, who say MI6 was involved in their illegal rendition. They were forcibly transferred to Gaddafi’s Libya in 2004.

Lunatic fringe strikes back

On 5 December 2012 the House of Representatives passed legislation approved earlier by the Senate removing the word “lunatic” from all Federal laws in the USA. Not everyone is in agreement.