Recently a piece of news from an otherwise internationally unknown college attracted the attention of social media, news, and created a huge twitter and blog response. The object of such (probably unwanted) attention is the South Puget Sound Community College where staff members decided to hold a 'happy hour' to 'build support and community' for 'people of color'... Continue Reading →
American Muslims, Muslimphobia, and dangerous chemerias
The debate concerning Islam and Muslims in the US is a very heated one - sometimes beyond metaphors. The fear that Sharia will rule in the land of the free is a strong one, so much so that there has been more than one attempt to legally ban 'sharia'. Newt Gingrich, former House speaker who led the Republican takeover... Continue Reading →
Not all children are the same – some are collateral damage
President Barack Obama, looked terribly distressed at the vigil to commemorate the victims, twenty of whom were children. Obama's words, as well as his emotions, were sincere. He said The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of five and ten years old..They had their entire lives ahead of... Continue Reading →
The Palestinian UN statehood bid and the ideology of dystopia
To write about the Middle East is always difficult, but to write about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is even more so. Emotions, religious fanaticism and global geopolitical interests make this region the trap of many commentators, journalists and academics whom wish to propose ‘the best solution’. Analysis seems to be the only refuge.In the past I... Continue Reading →
Repeating the same mistakes? The Libyan revolution, tribes and the risk of Afghanistization
A tiger cannot change its stripes, nor a leopard its spots, so too have the US, UK, France and Italy appeared to have not learnt very much from previous disastrous interventions within Muslim societies and nations. The revolution in Libya is more complex than a majority of mass media reports, both in the US and... Continue Reading →