New York Times (September 10)
“The queen’s death last week, at 96, is a genuinely traumatic event, leaving many in this stoic country anxious and unmoored. As they come to terms with the loss of a figure who embodied Britain, they are unsure of their nation’s identity, its economic and social well-being, or even its role in the world.”
Tags: 96, Anxious, Britain, Death, Economic, Embodied, Identity, Loss, Queen, Social, Stoic, Traumatic, Unmoored, Unsure
Irish Times (September 23)
“Brexit may be a price worth paying for the cohesion of British society. The economic arguments of the past three years have done nothing to sway people whose vote was about culture, identity and fairness.” The only way to overturn the first referendum is a second referendum, “but if the narrow lead were reversed, we would simply have prolonged the uncertainty to arrive somewhere equally unstable.”
Tags: Brexit, Cohesion, Culture, Economic arguments, Fairness, Identity, Prolonged, Referendum, Society, Vote
Reuters (November 10)
“The common element” in the U.S. and Europe “is a revolt, greater or lesser in extent, against rapid change, against liberal elites and against a loss of identity – white, in the main, but also of settled communities of past waves of immigrants. Populists, right to signal these concerns, are wrong to claim that answers are simple. But arguments of complexity are, in an impatient time, suspect. Divisions, not only in the United States, presently deepen.”
Tags: Arguments, Common, Complexity, Divisions, Europe, Identity, Immigrants, Impatient, Liberal elites, Populists, Rapid change, Revolt, U.S.
New York Times (November 12)
“For a majority of Canadians, Mr. Trudeau and his cabinet symbolize a renewed sense of national identity rooted in diversity, in humane and inclusive social policies at home and in humanitarian service overseas. The thrill of the moment may be fleeting, but it is invaluable for awakening new generations to public service and as an antidote to the cynicism about politics that has sadly become the norm in established democracies.”
Tags: Awakening, Cabinet, Canadians, Democracies, Diversity, Humane, Identity, Inclusive, Public service, Trudeau
Chicago Tribune (March 11)
“No one steals and uses someone else’s passport for legitimate reasons. Only those who are inclined to violate the law and want to get away with it are given to this practice.” The role played by travelers with stolen passports on the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight remains unclear. What is perfectly clear is that authorities should “take the trouble to verify the identity of every person” by availing themselves of Interpol’s passport database. Currently, only a few countries make frequent use of this tool. Regrettably, more than one billion boardings went unscreened for misuse of lost/stolen passports last year.
Tags: Authorities, Boardings, Flight, Identity, Interpol, Law, Legitimate, Malaysia Airlines, Passports, Stolen, Travelers, Unscreened, Verify