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A new row about Big Ben has broken out after it emerged that a historic lamp installed by Queen Victoria to show that Parliament is sitting will be turned off for months.

The House of Commons confirmed that the Ayrton Light at the top of the Elizabeth Tower which houses Big Ben will be switched off for months while maintenance work is carried out.

It will be the first time in over 70 years that the lantern has not been lit when MPs or peers are sitting.

The last time it failed to shine was when German bombers were strafing London during the Second World War.

It came as John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, defied Theresa May, the Prime Minister, and refused to order a rethink of the decision to silence Big Ben for four years from this Monday to allow for the maintenance of the great bell's clocktower.

Nigel Evans MP, a former deputy Speaker, asked why the lamp could not be restored...

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'Silence of the Bongs' row grows over switching off of Big Ben's historic 'democracy lamp' above Parliament - Telegraph.co.uk

Last year, a young Chinese citizen and I were trying to connect for a conversation. Skype seemed to be the most convenient medium, although once our chat commenced, she started apologising. That was not just for the quality of the connection, which kept dropping as during a cellphone conversation in Delhi. It was also because she had to use a virtual private network since she was in Beijing and foreign-owned instant messaging services are considered illegal there. The virtual private network (VPN), anonymising her local network, bypassed that block. This year, we wouldnt be able to re-connect on Skype, since VPNs are now blocked by China. Obviously, VPNs with their ability to circumvent the Chinese checkers and gatekeepers of the Great Firewall, allowed access to content that the Communists find abhorrent, like those about same-sex relationships.

Silicon Valleys behemoths that have been at the forefront of social justice combat in the United States, have happily capitulated before Beijing as is their collective track record since the advent of the Web. Freedom of expression, in their corporate calculus, is an optional extra, one, that at times is unaffordable.

But in coddling the Chinese censor, they compensate by getting a little more strident where free speech is protected. These are, obviously, democracies, like the US, Canada and India, three countries where Ive spent the majority of my life. As a journalist, Ive found each of their leaders has attracted less than laudatory lines, though the current US President, Donald Trump, has taken that to another level.

As India celebrated the 70th year of its freedom, it has largely maintained the part of its destiny that relates to being home to particularly argumentative people. Social media have amplified that noisy contest for duelling ideas, even if trolls go to war with weaponised words. In the US, Trump attracts historic opprobrium. Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a global liberal darling, isnt exempt from extreme opinions, both of the fawning and flaming varieties.

Which is great, actually. The thing about democracy is that its an equal opportunity offender; it often leaves half, sometimes more, of the population miserable. And the volume of that angst has been pumped up recently. This right to debate and dissent exists in exactly one system.

As British author EM Forster wrote in What I Believe: Two Cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism. Two cheers are quite enough: there is no occasion to give three. And it offers plenty of latitude for jeers, as with the righteous chorus of outrage against the neo-Nazi extremists storming Charlottesville, Virginia.

This, then is a pause for praise before returning to our regularly planned panning. And relief that residents of democracies dont often require VPNs to get their messages across. Today, I will take a deep breath and thank a system that allows me the space to vent; tomorrow, I can do just that, if I so wish.

Anirudh Bhattacharyya is a Toronto-based commentator on American affairs

The views expressed are personal

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Democracy is an equal opportunity offender - Hindustan Times

USA Today NetworkRochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press Opinion Published 7:00 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2017 | Updated 7:57 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2017

From Trump Tower in New York City, President Trump told reporters that both sides were to blame for the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia. USA TODAY

President Trump(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

We have reached that point in American history where one must take sides.

It happened at the beginning when Americans had to choose England or America.

It happened in the New World when the colonists had to choose union or separation.

It almost happened during the U.S. civil rights struggles of the 1960s, but people remained too conflicted or sat on the sidelines watching as one side fought for the America of the past while the other side fought for the America of the future.

And now it has happened in 2017 as the President of the United States has taken the side of white supremacists and Nazis.

It is up to the rest of us now.

There are no sidelines in this battle now.

What happened in Charlottesville, Va., was not about the removal of a statue ofConfederate Gen.Robert E. Lee, who surrendered to Union Gen.Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox in 1865.Even in death, Lee, whose cause was wrong, and whose side lost, is not someone America should be forced to celebrate with public dollars on public land. Let those who wish for those times, who want those times, celebrate him in private on their own. Lee is just a poster child for the wishes of self-appointed white nationalist leader Richard Spencer (I will never use the term alt-right). Spencer isthe Joseph McCarthy of the 21st Century, trying to convince people that diversity is the boogeyman at the door.

How silly. Nothing about increasing diversity or making the pursuit of happiness possible for more than one race of people is keeping white Americans from what theyve always had: a leg up. Even his argument is racially specious: Theyre taking our jobs. Theyre taking our seats in classrooms. It reeks of thebelief that everything belongsto white people first.

Why are we surprised by what happened in Charlottesville? We've seen it coming for some time. It is the latest stage in a cancer that has afflicted America for more than 150 years, a cancer now being fed by apresident taking us to the brink of world war abroad while empowering racists, intentionally or not, to foment civil war at home.

His decision to initially blame the victims of an act of domestic terrorism as much as the terrorists was not where the problem started.

His decision to campaign on the mantra of taking the country back and making America great again were not where the problem started (although most black people in America knew what he meant, and apparently so did many Nazis and white nationalists).

No, the problem didnt start with Donald Trump. The problem has been with us since 1619 when Americas founding as a white supremacist nation was cemented with the free, tormented labor of stolen lives from Africa.

More: Charlottesville unmasks Trump. Stop expecting him to denounce white supremacists.

More: Trump's Charlottesville disgrace: White supremacists aren't just another 'side'

... since 1863, when those souls were turned out from plantations and metobstacles at every turn as they sought to succeed

... since 1954 when America tried to use black children to equalize society in a failed experiment that now has black children so behind they may never catch up

... since 1967 when cities like Detroit erupted in rage after decades of mistreatment that some white people werent even aware of

... since 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated because he was about to join black, brown and poor people in a single battle for justice (that could not be allowed)

... since 2008 when America elected a black president and Congress fought to ensure that he wouldnt be successful because (that could not be allowed again).

Since last November when America elected a man who actually told a TV interviewer that he didnt understand what hemeant by white supremacy.

What happened in Charlottesvillehas been coming since 1863, a runaway train on a track that finally has reached places where people can no longer ignore it.

The problem started at the point the Rev. Dan Hauge, pastor ofGrace Bible Church in Bellevue, Neb., cited on Twitter this week:

I think one issue is we whites imagine the endgame of anti-racism as harmonious relationships rather than equal power to shape society, he wrote.

And there you have it.

The goal of life after emancipation was not for black folks to get along with white folks. It was to be full citizens of America, with the same rights to vote, live and pursue happiness.

Weve spent 150 years trying to get in to fit in, sit in the same classrooms, work in the same jobs, live in the same neighborhoods while many white folks felt their job was to tolerate us, that if they did that, they were fulfilling their duties as great American citizens all the while putting up gates, blocking financial capital to increased success and making sure that we were just second-class enough to ensure that they and their children could still be considered superior.

POLICING THE USA: A look atrace, justice, media

More: Charleston shooting could be defining civil rights moment: Column

We are here now, really here. There are no more sidelines. All those other times in history (where people watched what happened, either shaking their heads, shedding private tears or cheering hate) are past. There is no place for complacency anymore.

There are no sidelines. Everyone CEOs, chefs, comics, mail carriers, mayors, magicians, principals, pet store owners, power brokers, actors and zookeepers needs to stand up and be heard and fight for America.

When the comedian Jimmy Fallon opened his show Monday night with a powerful and serious monologue about what happened, he said:

"Its my responsibility to stand up against intolerance and extremism as a human being.

What happened over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., was just disgusting. I was watching the news like everyone else, and youre seeing Nazi flags and torches and white supremacists, and I was sick to my stomach. My daughters are in the next room playing and Im thinking, How can I explain to them that theres so much hatred in this world? Theyre 2 years old and 4 years old. They dont know what hate is.

But as kids grow up, they need people to look up to to show them whats right, and good. They need parents and teachers, and they need leaders who appeal to the best in us. The fact that it took the president two days to come out and clearly denounce racists and white supremacists is shameful. And I think he finally spoke out because people everywhere stood up and said something. Its important for everyone especially white people in this country to speak out against this. Ignoring it is just as bad as supporting it.

That is where we are now. To ignore what ishappening is to support it.

WhenTrump said last year that he and his ilk wanted to take the country back, Fallons answer is mine and should be ours:

We cant go back. We cant go back.

Rochelle Riley is a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, where this column first appeared. Follow her on Twitter:@rochelleriley.

You can read diverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers on theOpinion front page, on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment toletters@usatoday.com.

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Trump chose bigotry over democracy. It's time to act: Rochelle Riley - USA TODAY

In Holocaust education, we use the phrase Never Forget. While referring specifically to the six million Jews slaughtered by the Nazis, Never Forget has a broader meaning never to allow the abandonment of democratic values, the loss of moral clarity.

The fear has now struck again. Six months ago, it was bomb threats, cemetery desecrations, and verbal assaults. This time, it is an angry mob, fueled by hatred of the other, especially the Jews. The chants, full of vitriolic hate, were of Jews will not replace us and Jew, Jew, Jew.

Watching the footage brought me back to my childhood, when I heard many Holocaust survivors paint unthinkable pictures with their words of atrocities suffered for one, and only one reason they were Jewish. And I was reminded of the soldiers, our parents and grandparents, who fought against the Nazi regime and liberated Europe from Hitlers inhuman chokehold.

Our families, yours and mine, Americans, fought for democratic values, for pluralism, for the right to protest and speak freely. They fought not only to defend the United States, but also to free countries and citizens around the world whose democratic way of life had been stolen.

The neo-Nazis, white supremacists and their hateful brethren who marched in Charlottesville are just the opposite. While they do take advantage of the Constitutional right to protest and speak freely, they are nothing short of un-American. We should never forget that hate groups and their leaders cannot be legitimized. We should never forget the utter lack of moral equivalency between haters and those who oppose them. Whatever they may call themselves, the bigots have one end-gamethe destruction of our democratic value system in the name of white supremacy.

In the South, the Jewish community has been one of its victims. Just to speak of the Atlanta area. More than 100 years ago, Leo Frank was lynched. Fifty years ago, The Temple on Peachtree Street was firebombed. Throughout our history, we have faced the constant attacks, the derogatory remarks, quotas in schools, physical assaults, and forgetful scheduling of events that conflict with our most sacred religious holidays.

Charlottesville made me recall my childhood, when my parents shared their own stories of standing up to the KKK. They told me about Holocaust survivors who confronted hate in the U.S. in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Imagine the post-traumatic stress and the strength it took after the Holocaust to once again stand up to threatening bigots seeking to suck democracy dry. Never forget.

But just as important, never forget or underestimate the uniqueness of American society or the strengths of our pluralistic democracy. We are stronger and more united as a community. We saw in Charlottesville counter-protesters from all faiths, ethnicities, and nationalities. It was a reminder to never forget that we, and the vast majority who oppose the purveyors of hate, are not alone.

Over the years, these trials and tribulations have inspired the American Jewish Committee (AJC) to create the Atlanta Black-Jewish Coalition, the Latino-Jewish Task Force, and the Muslim-Jewish Initiative. These have given us opportunities to create dialogue and build understanding so we can preserve the privilege of living in a democracy.

We invite all of Atlantas multicultural citizenry to gain from AJCs programs founded on the principle that our differences are actually our strength. While the programs are separate and distinct, they often reinforce each other to strengthen our community bonds and ensure that none of us ever forgets that neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and their sympathizers are unequivocally placed outside the pale as immoral, illegitimate, and anti-democratic. Never forget they have no place in our precious, democratic American society.

Dov Wilker is Atlanta regional director, American Jewish Committee.

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Opinion: 'Never forget' remains an apt slogan for democracy - MyAJC

Joshua Wong (L) and Alex Chow, leaders of Hong Kongs Umbrella Movement, before their court appearance Photograph: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

Hong Kongs democracy movement has suffered the latest setback in what has been a punishing year after three of its most influential young leaders were jailed for their roles in a protest at the start of a 79-day anti-government occupation known as the umbrella movement.

Alex Chow, Nathan Law, and Joshua Wong, the bespectacled student dubbed Hong Kongs face of protest were sentenced to between six and eight months imprisonment each.

The trio, aged 26, 24 and 20 respectively, had avoided jail a year ago after being convicted of taking part in or inciting an illegal assembly that helped spark the umbrella protests, in late September 2014. But this month Hong Kongs department of justice called for those sentences to be reconsidered, with one senior prosecutor attacking the rather dangerous leniency he claimed had been shown to the activists.

Judge Wally Yeung argued the sentences were a necessary deterrent to what he called a sick trend of anti-government protest. Such arrogant and self-righteous thinking [has] unfortunately affected some young people, and led them to damage public order and peace during protests, he said, according to the Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK.

See you soon, Wong tweeted shortly after the verdict was announced.

In another message he wrote: Imprisoning us will not extinguish Hongkongers desire for universal suffrage. We are stronger, more determined, and we will win.

You can lock up our bodies, but not our minds! We want democracy in Hong Kong. And we will not give up.

The decision to increase the activists punishments sparked outrage among supporters and campaigners who condemned what they called the latest example of Beijings bid to snuff out peaceful challenges to its rule.

It smacks of political imprisonment, plain and simple, said Jason Ng, the author of Umbrellas in Bloom, a book about Hong Kongs youth protest movement.

Mabel Au, Amnesty Internationals director in Hong Kong, said: The relentless and vindictive pursuit of student leaders using vague charges smacks of political payback by the authorities.

It is not a surprise but it is a shock. It is another blow for basic freedoms and the rule of law in Hong Kong, said Benedict Rogers, the deputy chair of the conservative human rights commission.

There was also criticism from the United States where Republican senator Marco Rubio attacked the decision as shameful and further evidence that Hong Kongs cherished autonomy is precipitously eroding.

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow and other umbrella movement protesters are pro-democracy champions worthy of admiration, not criminals deserving jail time, said Rubio, who heads the congressional-executive commission on China.

Beijings heavy hand is on display for all to see.

Beijings heavy hand is on display for all to see as they attempt to crush the next generation of Hong Kongs pro-democracy movement, he added.

Speaking before the verdict, Wong told the Guardian he was sure he would be jailed since the decision to seek stiffer punishments was driven by politics, not legal arguments. Its a political prosecution, he said. It is the darkest era for Hong Kong because we are the first generation of umbrella movement leaders being sent to prison.

Wong claimed the decision to use the courts to crack down on umbrella activists showed Chinas one-party rulers had managed to transform the former British colony, once a rule-of-law society, into a place of authoritarian rule by law.

No one would like to go to prison but I have to use this as a chance to show the commitment of Hong Kongs young activists, he said. It is really a cold winter for Hong Kongs democracy movement but things that cannot defeat us will make us stronger.

Thursdays controversial ruling caps a torrid year for the pro-democracy camp of this semi-autonomous Chinese city, which returned to Beijings control on 1 July 1997 after 156 years of colonial rule.

During a June visit marking the 20th anniversary of handover, Chinese president Xi Jinping oversaw a tub-thumping military parade which observers said underscored the increasingly hardline posture Beijing was now taking towards Hong Kong amid an upsurge in support for independence. The implication is: We will come out in the streets and put you down if we have to, the political blogger Suzanne Pepper said at the time.

A fortnight later, the democracy movement suffered a body blow when four pro-democracy lawmakers, including Law, were ejected from Hong Kongs parliament for using their oath-taking ceremonies to thumb their noses at Beijing. That decision robbed the pro-democracy camp of its veto power over major legislation.

In an interview with the Guardian, Law, who had been the youngest person elected to Hong Kongs legislature, said the disqualifications were an attempt by Beijing to suppress the more progressive voices in Hong Kong.

I wont give up fighting. If Liu Xiaobo can persist under much harsher circumstances, so can we, Law vowed, referring to the late democracy icon who died in Chinese custody last month, becoming the first Nobel peace prize winner to perish in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who died in 1938 after years in Nazi concentration camps.

On Tuesday, 13 umbrella activists were jailed for storming Hong Kongs parliament in 2014, a decision Human Rights Watch condemned as part of a surge in politically motivated prosecutions.

Ng, the author, said he believed the decision to jail Wong and Law was deliberately designed to stop them running for office later this year in local byelections. Their imprisonment was not intended to deter violence or social disorder but to crack down on the willingness of young, idealistic people to engage politically.

[These sentences] significantly increase the cost of dissent in Hong Kong, Ng warned. From now on, protesters will need to think about the possibility of getting locked up for months or even years.

It has an enormous chilling effect especially on young people, and sends a strong message to them that they should shut up or else.

Speaking on Wednesday night, Wong said he would not be silenced, even behind bars where he planned to spend his time reading novels, studying and writing columns about politics.

Wong also used his final hours of freedom to send a message to Xi: Please respect the desires of Hong Kong people. The people are united and they will never stop.

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Hong Kong democracy campaigners jailed over anti-China protests - The Guardian