There's a War Crimes Act in the United States passed by a Republican Congress in 1996, which says that grave breaches of the Geneva Convention are subject to the death penalty. And that doesn't mean the soldier that committed them - that means the commanders.

In Mexico, a poor country, higher education is of quite good quality -- and is free. Ten years ago the government tried to impose small fees. There was a national student strike and the government backed down. High tuition is not an economic necessity, as is easy to show, but a debt trap is a good technique of indoctrination and control. And resisting this makes good sense.

In general, I think, U.S. policies remain constant, going back to the Second World War. But the capacity to implement them is declining.

The 'free-floating intellectual' may occupy himself with problems because of their inherent interest and importance, perhaps to little effect.

The intellectual is an individual with a specific public role in society that cannot be reduced simply to . . a faceless professional.

Since James Madison day (and long before), there have been constant struggles over "democratic governance".

There are some very general ideas that people can keep in mind; they're kind of truisms. It's only worth mentioning them because they're always denied.