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 →
9/11 commemorations: ritualizing and celebrating civilization rhetoric
Yesterday the tenth anniversary of 9/11 was commemorated in New York. Yet the commemorations started more than one week in advance with newspapers, TVs and magazine building up the momentum. There is little need to summarize the incredible amount of special dossiers, reports, commentaries and documentaries which have been written during these days for a... Continue Reading →
Plutocracy of blood? Afghanistan post-election
How much blood has been spilled in Afghanistan? It is very difficult to say; official estimates speak of an improbable 12,000 to a more probable, but still conservative, 32,000 casualties. Of these deaths, the "insurgents" of various affiliations (so not only the Taliban) would have been responsible, according to very conservative statistics, for almost a... Continue Reading →