The return of Irish people from emigrant destinations is a novel phenomenon and a reflection of new realities in Ireland which make people want to return & to be able to do so. This contrasts with the 19th century when Irish emigrants had very low rates of return. #IrishEmigration #ReturnToIreland #NewRealities #IE
A Crown Instead of the Barracks: An Idea From Outside the Box Could Egypt’s exiled opposition use constitutional monarchy to dismantle the legitimacy of the 1952 coup? By Adham Hasanin Egyptian journalist and political writer, based in the Netherlands To understand what follows, a reader unfamiliar with Egypt needs one basic fact: since 1952, Egypt has never been governed by anyone who did not first wear a military uniform. Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarak, and today Abdel Fattah el-Sisi four men, four eras, one common origin. All rose through the armed forces. All inherited a state built by a coup that year, when a group of officers calling themselves the "Free Officers" overthrew King Farouk I and, within a year, abolished the monarchy altogether and declared a republic. For seventy-three years, the underlying equation has not changed: the army rules, power passes from one officer to the next, and legitimacy is drawn from the barrel of a gun rather than the ballot box. Every conceivable form of opposition has been tried legal parties and banned ones, Islamist movements, liberal and leftist coalitions, the 2011 popular uprising, and the 2013 elections whose result was overturned by force within a year. All of them hit the same wall: a military institution that reproduces itself under different names, while the core of the system remains untouched. So what if the problem, all along, has not simply been who rules, but the constitutional framework that makes military rule possible in the first place? And what if the answer lies not in swapping one president for another, but in dismantling the underlying equation itself, through a framework Egyptian opposition movements have never seriously tried: a purely ceremonial constitutional monarchy, on the model of Belgium, the Netherlands, or Spain where the head of state becomes a symbol above the political fray, while the army is permanently expelled from politics and returned to its barracks. This is not a call to revive a particular family, nor nostalgia for a golden age that never quite existed. It is a proposal for a political and strategic tool that has not yet been used in the intellectual arsenal of Egypt’s opposition in exile a tool that deserves serious discussion, regardless of whether it is ever literally realised or simply serves to expand the boundaries of what is politically thinkable. I. Why 1952, Not 2013 or 2011, Is the Root The strategic error made by most Egyptian opposition movements from the Muslim Brotherhood to the April 6 Youth Movement to the various civil opposition parties has been treating each political crisis as an isolated case: Mubarak was corrupt and had to be toppled; Sisi staged a coup that must be condemned; the interim military council was a transitional phase to be endured. This piecemeal approach treats the symptoms while leaving the original illness untouched. That original illness is the very structure of legitimacy established by the coup of 23 July 1952. The Egyptian republican system, from Nasser to today, has never built its legitimacy on a genuine democratic social contract. Instead, it has rested on a fixed trinity: the rhetoric of "revolution against feudalism and colonialism," charismatic individual leadership, and military protection of the regime framed as the guarantor of stability. This trinity has repeated itself from Nasser to Sadat to Mubarak to Sisi, with only cosmetic variations. Each new president was never a break from the system he was its continuation. When the opposition says "let us return to the constitutional framework that preceded the coup," it is not criticising a particular policy. It is declaring that the legal foundation of everything that came after 1952 was illegitimate from the start. Here lies the rhetorical power of "returning to the pre-1952 order": it does not merely demand swapping one ruler for another. It withdraws historical legitimacy from the entire republican military system including today’s regime, which draws its own declared legitimacy from that same "1952 legacy." II. Why a "Ceremonial Crown," Not "the Return of a Ruling Family" Here is the most important distinction anyone advocating this idea seriously must grasp: the project does not rest on restoring any particular individual from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, nor on nostalgia for King Farouk or his ancestors. The real power of the idea lies in the constitutional form, not in the person who happens to sit on the throne. Three successful European democracies illustrate the model clearly. Belgium, where King Philippe is a purely constitutional symbol with no real executive power, while the state is run through an elected parliament and a complex coalition government reflecting the country’s linguistic and political diversity. The Netherlands, where King Willem-Alexander formally opens the parliamentary year and signs laws, but where actual decision-making rests with the prime minister and the elected parliament. And Spain, where the king represents symbolic continuity of the state above party politics, while the military and security services answer entirely to civilian authority a transition achieved after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, when King Juan Carlos I voluntarily relinquished the extensive executive powers he had inherited and backed free elections, most dramatically in February 1981, when he personally ordered the armed forces to remain loyal to the constitution during an attempted military coup, causing it to collapse within hours. The common thread across these three models is not "the presence of an ancient royal family." It is the principle of separating symbol from power. The monarch in these countries does not rule; he represents. He issues no political decisions; he provides the continuity and symbolic stability that allows party political competition to revolve beneath him, without every transfer of power becoming an existential crisis of legitimacy. This is precisely what Egypt’s military republican system lacks: a neutral mechanism for guaranteeing state continuity that does not depend on the person of the ruler or his security apparatus. When Egypt’s military-republican president is absent, it is always the army that fills the vacuum, because it is the only institution built to be the "guarantor of stability." Under a ceremonial monarchical model, by contrast, it is the king not the army who represents that symbolic guarantee, genuinely opening the door to removing the military institution from the political equation altogether. III. Egypt’s Standing Under the Monarchy: An Honest Reckoning, Not Blind Nostalgia For a Western reader with little prior knowledge of Egypt’s monarchical period (1922–1952), it helps to know this: Egypt was nominally independent under its own king from 1922, but Britain retained enormous informal control over the country’s foreign policy, military bases, and the Suez Canal throughout the period a reality that shaped everything that follows. Any honest invocation of "Egypt’s standing under the monarchy" must avoid the trap of mythologised nostalgia that many advocates of this idea fall into. Egypt in that era was no lost paradise, and any honest article must say so plainly. The Egyptian pound, for instance, often invoked as a symbol of "national currency strength" in that period, was not strong because of independent Egyptian monetary policy. It was pegged to the British pound sterling as part of Egypt’s complete colonial financial dependency until 1947, with Egypt exercising no independent oversight of its own currency whatsoever. The pound’s strength, in other words, was not a sovereign Egyptian achievement it was a reflection of British imperial power ruling Egypt from behind the throne. But this does not mean Egypt lacked a genuine regional standing worth studying. Cairo, in the 1930s and 1940s, was the undisputed cultural capital of the entire Arab world: the Egyptian film industry produced more than half of all Arabic-language cinema; its theatre scene, led by figures like Youssef Wahbi and Naguib al-Rihani, and its music, with Umm Kulthum and Mohammed Abdel Wahab, set the standard across the region; Cairo University was the first modern university in the Arab world; and the Egyptian press was the reference point for Arab public opinion from the Atlantic to the Gulf. Cairo was, quite simply, to the Arab world what Paris was to Francophone Europe: an unrivalled centre of cultural and intellectual gravity. This standing was not necessarily a product of monarchy itself, so much as a product of a relative space of political and press pluralism that allowed Egyptian civil society to flourish, despite all the flaws of the political system and the interference of both palace and occupier. The lesson here is not "bring back the king and the standing will return." It is: when even a limited margin of civic freedom exists, Egypt flourishes culturally and intellectually almost by its own nature. And that margin is precisely what has been entirely absent across the past seven decades of unchallenged military rule. IV. What Reform Would Actually Require Not Repeating the Old Mistakes Any serious advocacy of this model must include, even briefly, a clear vision for avoiding the flaws of the old monarchical system itself otherwise the proposal collapses into simply replacing one form of authoritarianism with another wearing a different crown. First, the armed forces would need to be placed fully under a civilian ministry of defence, with its budget subject to transparent parliamentary oversight the exact opposite of its current status as a state-within-a-state, and equally opposed to its role under the monarchy, when it often served as an instrument of British influence. Second, a judiciary fully independent of both palace and government alike, unlike the old model, which saw direct royal interference in political life as when King Fuad I dismissed the elected government of Prime Minister Saad Zaghloul’s successor, Mustafa al-Nahhas, in 1928, in one of the clearest "constitutional coups" in modern Egyptian history. Third, a parliament that genuinely represents the people rather than landowners and the aristocracy, as was the case before 1952, when membership in the Senate was effectively conditional on the ability to pay land taxes meaning political representation was, by law, restricted to the wealthy. Fourth, genuine economic sovereignty, with a truly independent national currency rather than one pegged to a foreign power’s currency, unlike the historical dependency of the Egyptian pound on sterling. These four principles are enough to clarify that the project on offer is not a literal "return to the past," but a borrowing of the constitutional form (symbolic monarchy) combined with an explicit rejection of its old substance (colonial dependency, palace interference, parliamentary feudalism). V. The Role of Egyptian Movements in Exile: Between Goal and Instrument This raises the most practical question of all: how might Egypt’s opposition abroad actually adopt this idea, and in what capacity? The honest answer is that the power of this proposal does not necessarily lie in its literal fulfilment, but in its dual strategic function. On one hand, it can be advanced as a genuine political goal adopted by broad coalitions of Egyptian movements coalitions that might include Islamists, liberals, leftists, and traditional monarchists, united around a single shared premise: rejecting the legitimacy of the 1952 order and everything that followed from it, even if they later disagree over the precise final shape of the state. On the other hand and this matters more in practice the idea can be deployed as a rhetorical instrument of pressure to widen a Egyptian political debate currently trapped between two false choices: "continued military rule" or "no alternative, chaos awaits." When the opposition puts forward a clearly defined third model a European-style constitutional monarchy it breaks this false binary and opens new intellectual space in Egyptian public discourse, even if the project is never realised in its literal form. This kind of "leverage idea" is common in the history of political movements worldwide: it is not necessarily proposed to be fulfilled immediately in full, but to redraw the boundaries of the politically possible, and to force the existing regime to defend its legitimacy rather than simply assume it. Conclusion: An Invitation to Debate, Not a Ready-Made Prescription This article does not claim that restoring a monarchical form would magically resolve Egypt’s chronic crisis of legitimacy, nor does it ignore the immense difficulties facing any transformative project under a military institution as economically and securitywise entrenched as Egypt’s is today. But it raises a question that deserves serious debate among Egypt’s opposition in exile, rather than automatic dismissal simply for being unfamiliar: Has the Egyptian opposition exhausted every available tool for dismantling the legitimacy of 1952, or has it remained trapped in the same old binary swapping one ruler for another while the framework that makes military rule possible remains untouched? The idea is on the table now, not as a finished solution, but as an overdue invitation to think outside the box.
Metaphysics of the Solitary Absolute: Philosophical and Legal Analysis of the Thesis of Solitary Amorality The Thesis of Solitary Amorality, formulated by Tom Nesky under the banner of the Axiom of Relationality of Law and Being, constitutes a radical challenge to classical and contemporary normative theories. Its central premise—stating that law, morality, and the category of crime are not inherent properties of reality, but artificial products of social relations—requires a rigorous deconstruction at the intersection of legal positivism, phenomenological existentialism, ontological anarchism, and monistic metaphysics. This paper attempts a systematic analysis of the intellectual pillars of this thesis, examining its internal coherence, genealogical roots, and consequences for the understanding of freedom and human subjectivity. The Systemic Construction of Crime vs. Pure Theory of Law The first pillar of the Thesis of Solitary Amorality, designated as Nullum Crimen Sine Systema, posits that law does not discover pre-legal categories of evil, but brings them into existence through the very act of establishing a boundary of permissibility. This assertion exhibits a profound convergence with 20th-century legal positivism, particularly with Hans Kelsen's Pure Theory of Law (Reine Rechtslehre). Kelsen advocated for a methodological purification of legal science from ethical, sociological, and political elements, defining law as a normative system founded upon a hypothetical basic norm (Grundnorm). In the Kelsenian view, the legal system functions as a coercive apparatus devoid of inherent moral value. A crucial point of intersection with Nesky's thesis is the elimination of the traditional dualism between acts that are inherently evil (mala in se) and acts prohibited merely by law (mala prohibita). Kelsen argued that an act becomes unlawful solely when a legal norm attaches state-enforced coercion to it. Unlawfulness is not an ontological property of the act, but the result of a relationship of normative imputation. This implies that the law does not penalize an act because it is intrinsically evil; rather, an act is considered evil solely because it has been subjected to systemic penalization. This clash became prominent during the debates surrounding the Nuremberg trials, where positions based on natural law and legal positivism collided. While prosecutors such as Robert Jackson invoked universal moral norms (mala in se) as the basis for punishing criminals despite the previously binding positive law of the Third Reich, Kelsen pointed out the theoretical inconsistency of such an approach. He argued that judging on the basis of retroactive law (ex post facto) constitutes a breach in the systemic coherence of positivism, even if it might be justified by political and historical necessity. Nesky's project imparts an existential dimension of oppression to this structure, bringing it close to the critique of the state formulated by Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche famously described the state as "the coldest of all cold monsters," which devours the individual's singularity and imposes herd morality upon them. The gaze of the state, mediated through the Other, paralyzes the sovereignty of the individual and forces them to navigate within arbitrarily designated normative boundaries. Every stroke drawn across the chaos of reality establishes a boundary, and every boundary instantly creates the concept of its transgression. The Paradox of the Systemic Cage and the Limits of Ontological Anarchism The second pillar of the thesis—The Paradox of the Systemic Cage—points to the impossibility of escaping the system through rules alone. Every attempt to negate the existing order, from establishing anarchist structures to escaping into geographical isolation, immediately transforms into a new system whose primary imperative becomes the defense and maintenance of that very absence of rules. This process of structural looping finds its reflection in the current of ontological anarchism formulated by Hakim Bey (pseudonym of Peter Lamborn Wilson). Bey, drawing on a synthesis of Nietzscheanism, Situationist theory of the spectacle, and chaos esotericism, recognized that classical revolutions striving to overthrow the state inevitably reproduce structures of domination, becoming new forms of confinement. As an alternative, he proposed the concept of the Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ). TAZ is a tactic for creating temporary, non-hierarchical spaces that deliberately evade formal structures of state control. The key element of TAZ is its ephemerality: before the system can map, define, and absorb the autonomous zone, it must dissolve itself and relocate to another point in space-time. Attempts to transform TAZ into Permanent Autonomous Zones (PAZ) immediately encounter the paradox noted by Nesky. The need to defend and codify freedom within a lasting community gives rise to internal rules, mechanisms of exclusion, and hierarchy. For this reason, Murray Bookchin criticized ontological anarchism (calling it "lifestyle anarchism" or "bourgeois anarchism") for its lack of political realism and its flight from systemic struggle against capital and state in favor of aesthetic rebellion. The convergence of these perspectives demonstrates that freedom defined as reactive resistance to a system remains structurally determined by it. The Dissolution of the Relational Mirror: The Existential Gaze and the Collapse of Morality The third pillar of the thesis, designated as The Dissolution of the Mirror (L'Autre), posits that good and evil require the presence of an external witness and judge. This assertion represents a direct application of Jean-Paul Sartre's existential phenomenology, particularly his analysis of the Gaze (le look / le regard) and the relation to the Other (l'Autre) presented in Being and Nothingness. Sartre illustrates the constitutive role of the Other through an analysis of the voyeur's situation. At the moment of complete absorption in the act of peeping through a keyhole, the subject's consciousness is pre-reflective—the voyeur does not reflect on himself; his consciousness completely merges with the act being performed. Only the sudden sound of footsteps in the hallway shatters this unity. The voyeur realizes that he himself is seen, and is instantly paralyzed by shame. For Sartre, shame is not a purely internal emotion; it is shame of oneself before the Other. The Gaze of the Other objectifies the free subject (being-for-itself—pour-soi), freezing them into a specific role and moral evaluation (being-for-others—pour-autrui). As Ellie Anderson points out, Descartes' formula "I think, therefore I am" is replaced in Sartre by "I feel shame, therefore Others exist." The Gaze of the Other marks the birth of social morality, wherein the individual learns to view themselves from a third-person perspective. This existential dynamic corresponds to the Nietzschean genealogy of "bad conscience." Nietzsche demonstrates that morality and guilt are products of the forced internalization of human instincts that could no longer be discharged outwardly due to social barriers. Forced into the constraints of society, man turns against himself, creating an internal judge (conscience) modeled on the external tyrant. This vision also resonates with the classical theory of Thomas Hobbes. In Leviathan, Hobbes explicitly declares that in the state of nature, where there is no common power, there is no law, and where there is no law, no notion of injustice exists. Concepts of good, evil, justice, and property are attributes of man living in society, not in solitude. Removing the social fabric reverts the individual to a state in which theft and injury lose their raison d'être due to the absence of relational reference to the Other. #philosophy # metaphysics # thesis # morality
WE TRIED TO BREAK THE SIEGE ON GAZA‼️ https://t.co/3zVPlmE2d2 My reflections and motivations for joining the Gaza Flotilla 🇵🇸 @NOOWSHOW #GazaFlotilla #FreeGaza #BreakTheSiege #PS
The Guess Who is een Canadese rockband die hits scoorde als American Woman en Clap For The Wolfman. Het festival Le Guess Who? is naar hen vernoemd. De geschiedenis van The Guess Who gaat terug tot 1958, toen Chad Allan (zang) in Winnipeg zijn band Al and the Silvertones oprichtte. Deze band veranderde haar naam later in Chad Allan and the Reflections en daarna in The Expressions. Ze bestond naast Allan uit Randy Bachman (gitaar), Jim Kale (basgitaar) en Garry Peterson (drums). In Engeland oogstten ze succes met de single His Girl, waarna ze bij Mills Music en King Records tekenden. Met Bob Ashley als pianist werd in 1965 de single Shakin' All Over uitgebracht (een nieuwe versie van een nummer van Johnny Kidd and the Pirates uit 1960). Als publiciteitsstunt werd op de hoes enkel de vraag "Guess Who?" in plaats van een bandnaam vermeld. https://hvdommelen.nl/efg/guesswho.html
The Internet makes smart people even smarter and stupid people even stupider. My aphorism, my reflection. The text is in Bulgarian. Translate it because here are said the most important truths that have never been said before and you have nowhere else to learn them.https://mewe.com/group/5ffa641aa700a844a0c8c9b3
Today is the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the Srebrenica Genocide. Healing the wounds of the past requires courage, sincere engagement, and a genuine commitment to reconciliation. This means to choose responsibility over division, dialogue over https://t.co/VrzDWCviWj #Srebrenica #GenocideMemorial #Reconciliation #BA
Ιούνιος 2027: «Αν ζεις σε ένα τοξικό περιβάλλον, αρχίζεις να σκέφτεσαι όπως σκέφτονται και οι υπόλοιποι γύρω σου. Ο τρόπος που αντιδρά ο Γκέρσον αντικατοπτρίζει σε έναν βαθμό αυτό το περιβάλλον. Αλλά όλοι είμαστε άνθρωποι.Όλοι κάνουμε λάθη» https://t.co/QXYBpA2Q5E #toxicity #mentalhealth #reflection
Contrary to previous assumptions, administering testosterone does not impair critical thinking ability. The cognitive reflection test is widely used throughout the social sciences to measure individuals’ tendency to rely on intuitive versus deliberate judgments and #Testosterone #CognitiveReflection #CriticalThinking #Therearenospecificcountrycodesrelatedtocountriesmentionedinthetweetprovided.
In Trumpistan, people are being put in prison for touching the water of the "Reflection Pool." (translated)
Merci Scam 🫶 Dès ton arrivée à Montréal, tu as apporté un état d’esprit de gagnante qui a rapidement marqué l’équipe. Ton intensité, ta constance et ta détermination ont élevé le niveau autour de toi, autant sur la glace que dans le vestiaire. Cette saison a parfaitement reflété la joueuse que tu es : compétitive, engagée et décisive dans les moments importants. Tu as contribué à notre identité et à notre succès en incarnant les standards de notre organisation. Et maintenant, tu repars championne, un accomplissement qui reflète ton impact immédiat dans notre groupe. Merci pour tout, et bonne chance à Vegas! From the moment you arrived in Montréal, you brought a winning mindset that quickly made an impact on the team. Your intensity, consistency, and determination raised the level around you, both on and off the ice. This season perfectly reflected the player you are: competitive, committed, and decisive in key moments. You helped shape our identity and success by embodying the standards of our organization. And now, you leave as a champion, a perfect reflection of your immediate impact within our group. Thank you for everything, and best of luck in Vegas! #Hockey #Champion #TeamSpirit
Merci Erin ❤️ Notre tout premier choix au tout premier repêchage, tu as contribué à bâtir les fondations de cette organisation dès le premier jour. Sur la glace, ton talent, ton leadership et ta détermination ont aidé à façonner l’identité de cette équipe. Hors glace, ton professionnalisme, ton authenticité et ton engagement envers la communauté ont laissé une marque tout aussi importante. Tu as inspiré tes coéquipières, marqué nos partisans et joué un rôle essentiel dans la croissance de notre organisation. Merci pour tout ce que tu as apporté à cette équipe au cours des trois dernières saisons. Et maintenant, tu quittes Montréal en championne. Un accomplissement qui reflète tout ce que tu as apporté à cette organisation au fil des années. Tu feras toujours partie de l’histoire de la Victoire. Nous te souhaitons la meilleure des chances pour la suite. —— Our very first selection in the inaugural draft, you helped lay the foundation of this organization from day one. On the ice, your talent, leadership, and determination helped shape the identity of this team. Off the ice, your professionalism, authenticity, and commitment to the community left a lasting impact. Over three seasons, you inspired your teammates, connected with our fans, and played a key role in the growth of our organization. Thank you for everything you’ve brought to this team over the past three years. And now, you leave Montréal as a champion, a fitting reflection of all you’ve contributed to this organization over the years. You will always be part of the Victoire’s history. We wish you all the best in the next chapter. #Hockey #Leadership #Inspiration
One of the most remarkable development journeys in modern history. The Republic of Korea is today an essential partner in delivering real results for people around the world. My reflections from Seoul 🇰🇷 @UNDP @undpspc @MOFAkr_eng @ROK_Mission https://t.co/hHXTIkNYFJ #Korea #Development #UNDP #KR
The 60th anniversary of China's Cultural Revolution is marked by reflections on the tumultuous period that began on May 16, 1966, when Communist leader Mao Zedong launched a campaign to purge capitalist influences and eliminate rivals, leading to widespread violence, persecution, and the loss of millions of lives until Mao's death in 1976, leaving a controversial legacy that continues to challenge Chinese Communist leaders today. #CulturalRevolution #ChinaHistory #MaoZedong #CN
On Saturday, a gathering on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, brought together civil rights leaders, activists, and supporters in mourning and reflection following a recent Supreme Court decision that undermined the Voting Rights Act, emphasizing the need for continued struggle and civic engagement in the fight for civil rights. #CivilRights #VotingRights #SocialJustice #US #LA #AL
Jason Collins, who became the first active openly gay athlete in major North American sports when he came out in a 2013 Sports Illustrated essay, passed away at 47 after battling brain cancer, prompting reflections on the impact of his announcement on both his personal journey and the broader sports community. #LGBTQ #SportsHistory #Inclusion #US #IE #CA #ZA
"Sixty Years of Hurt with David Baddiel" examines the evolution of English identity and cultural significance through the lens of the England Men's Football team, highlighting key historical moments and societal reflections while featuring insights from various contributors. #Football #EnglishCulture #NationalIdentity #GB #WA #AR
The article covers a variety of stories including President Trump's visit to China where he and President Xi held positive talks amidst shifting power dynamics, reflections on the Palestine Marathon’s hopeful return amidst conflict, the political tensions at the Venice Biennale, a young woman's journey to find her birth mother in India, and an adventurous ride with Sierra Leone’s First Lady Fatima Bio. #USChinaRelations #GlobalPolitics #CulturalExchange #CN #US #PS #IN #FR #SL
Jason Collins, the first active openly gay player in major North American sports, announced his sexual identity in a groundbreaking 2013 Sports Illustrated essay, sparking conversations about LGBTQ representation in athletics, and his recent passing at 47 due to brain cancer has prompted reflections on his impactful legacy and the ongoing challenges faced by LGBTQ athletes in professional sports. #LGBTQ #Sports #Inclusion #US #IE #CA #NG
