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Iddeskrivi lilek innifsek f’mitejn kelma. Mitejn. Kemm tiflaħ tgħid f’mitejn kelma? X’tip ta’ arbitrarjeta’ hi din? Mitejn kelma miżgħuda tifsir jewilla mitejn mot imlissen b’mod frivolu u qarrieqi li jsawwru maskra – satret il-verita. Tabilħaqq. Għax mill-kelma jsir kollox. Fil-bidu kien hemm il-kelma. U kelma, kelma bi ftit tajn u bżieq sawwar il-bniedem. Ikun…
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The Supreme Court building in New York sports a quote spread along its facade. Attributed to George Washington it states “The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government”. There are many other quips in similar vein that can be formed into a digest of civic education necessary to form a Havel-inspired…
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In this part of an essay entitled “Politics, Morality and Civility”, Havel concentrates on an important aspect in the development of citizenship. It is evident that Havel’s ideal state involves a cultured citizenship – what he calls “civility” in the wider sense of the world. The fundamentals of a state lie in the building and…
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Back in 1992, Vaclav Havel was the President of a reborn Czechoslovakia. The fall of the Wall and the crumbling of the Iron Curtain was still fresh in recent memory and Havel’s new republic was making its way towards the ideal of “Western Democracy”. Fukuyama might be standing round the corner proclaiming the end of…
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The works of a psychopath in Mosta (whether direct or through a hired hand) have tickled the curiosity of the Maltese public. It does not take much for anything to get onto the media these days (as I discovered to my chagrin thanks to a what I thought would be an innocuous Eurovisionjoke involving Gary…
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Jean-François Copé, president of France’s UMP party, is currently in the news for his attack on a book that he claims is being suggested for the official primary school reading list. Entitled “Tous à poil” (Everybody naked), this book reminds me of another great bestseller among young kids nowadays (Everyone poops). Part of a wider…