Debating defence Global security needs popular engagement – so international thinktanks are organising an online debate with Nato Giles Merritt, Robin Niblett and Narcis Serra guardian.co.uk, The Haitian earthquake has made two things horrifically clear: security challenges are not only man-made, and military forces are often a vital part of humanitarian aid. This is a timely reminder, because security and defence are now the focus of a major debate within both Nato and the European Union. Generals, it is said, always prepare to fight the last war – an old jibe, but one that contains an element of truth. Indeed, … Continue reading Global security needs popular engagement – so international thinktanks are organising an online debate with Nato

The new Hindu state school is welcome – so long as it opens its doors to those of all faiths, and none Saptarshi Ray guardian.co.uk, I spent my sixth form at an Anglican school that had chapel twice a week, which meant we had to come in half an hour early. One dreary, yawn-filled morning after our dose of some parable or other about leading a better life from the school vicar, a fresh-eyed, fully-rested Sikh classmate asked me: “What are you doing man? You’re a Hindu, don’t you know if your parents sign a note saying you’re not Christian … Continue reading Non-Hindus please apply

The women of my family influenced me by invoking the spirit of Islam which allows an individual to practise religion according to her own light. In the context of my upbringing, when I examine the Supreme Court’s observation on the burqa and voter ID cards, I find there is nothing inimical in it to the Quranic injunctions about a dress code for Muslim women… In the Quran there are three references to dress code and none of them refers to the naqab, or veil… Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the great translator, commentator and interpreter of the Quran, has asked the … Continue reading Muslim Women: Nothing In The Quran And Therefore Islam Which Mandates Veiling

Note: By resolution of the Board of Trustees on 17 August 1997, The SETI League, Inc. officially endorses the following Protocols, and respectfully requests that our members embrace them. Adopted by the International Academy of Astronautics, 1989 We, the institutions and individuals participating in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, Recognizing that the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is an integral part of space exploration and is being undertaken for peaceful purposes and for the common interest of all mankind, Inspired by the profound significance for mankind of detecting evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, even though the probability of detection may be low, … Continue reading Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence

The Royal Society in London is the academy of science for the United Kingdom. Just last week they held a conference that may be one of the most relevant for First Contact. The two-day meeting featured an examination of not only the scientific possibilities of extraterrestrial life, but also the impact of extraterrestrial First Contact. Perhaps the most newsworthy moment came from the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. Dr. Mazlan Othman called for an international protocol to deal with the detection of life in outer space. The Office for Outer Space Affairs has been in … Continue reading The United Nations Moves Forward?

by David Newman Just when there seemed to be a consensus inside Israel concerning a two-state solution to the conflict, we seem to be in danger of losing it altogether. The growing number of settlement-related facts on the ground, the harder it is to make a clean territorial cut, evacuate hundreds of thousands of settlers and demarcate a border of ethnic and national separation. Drawing borders is a pre-requisite for implementation of a two-state solution. The two alternatives, a single bi-national state and continuation of occupation, do not require any form of territorial separation. There are two options for the … Continue reading AN ISRAELI VIEW Nothing sacred about the green line