Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

Iraq Odyssey by Samir (In English from minute 01:30) In  99 Homes , Iranian-American writer-director Ramin Bahrani ( Man Push Cart, 2005;  Chop Shop , 2007;  Goodbye Solo , 2008) has created a compelling work that puts flesh and blood on the foreclosure epidemic. 3000 Nights

The Christmas that was not. "The Social Conscienc e of the Saint John’s Bible II— On Syrian Refugees and the Reversals of Christmas"

Middle East Goes Monty Python on ISIS

Noam Chomsky was Right about Porn

Crimes at home and abroad For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" stinks — and here's why Also, What Makes Hollywood Run? (a free book) Filming the Middle East (an interview)

Benedict Anderson (1936-2015)

The Astounding Eyes of Rita أم الزين الجمّالية

Remembering Fatema Mernissi

The Novelist Salwa Bakr

Wars Past and Wars to Come

Rethinking Political Economy through the Middle East "What if oil prices are not received, but made? What if cartels raise prices by constricting supply, and use war, legal chicanery, and international property deeds to do so? Such questions led Jonathan Nitzan and Shimshon Bichler, two political economists, to examine the production, distribution, and political structure of the oil business. They derived from these patterns a theory of prices and power distinct from orthodox and heterodox worldviews alike. They see prices as the result of social processes, “a symbolic quantification of power.” One of them is sabotage, or the strategic disruption of production. Power, then, is the ability to create and order the world to ensure just the right mix of sabotage and supply in order to ensure profit rates beat out those of your competitors. It is this novel, fascinating, brash, and contested theory of capitalism which they lay out in a new book,  The Scientist and the Church ."

The Hijackers Read also Macmillan Backed Syria Assassination Plot

Pictures Expose the Absurdities of Modern Culture

Considering that we are speaking about an event which took place in the "civilized" part of the world, it was in fact  the most babaric event in human history.   WWII in numbers. Madrid officials to change street names marking Franco regime

The New Scramble for Africa Further reading: How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

Saddam Hussein’s Ba’th Party: Inside an Authoritarian Regime   (a book review) Comment by Salah Nasrawi, Cairo, Egypt " Salah Nasrawi: I have repeatedly raised this question which is underscored in the excellent review that : " Scholars whose research might build on or respond to Saddam Hussein’s Ba‘th Party will have to face the question of whether it is ethical to conduct research using Iraqi documents held by the United States." The archive should be sent back to Iraq and be open to Iraqi researchers, otherwise skepticism and doubts will be always raised about what others write on Iraq's history using an archive never seen by Iraqis.This will be a great deficiency for the US and world academia. عودة الارشيف العراقي من امريكا ضرورة ثقافية وحضارية وانسانية تاريخية اذ كيف يتاح للاجانب الاطلاع على وثائق في غاية الاهمية تخص تاريخ العراق الحديث في حين لا تتاح هذه الفرصة للباحث وللقارئ وللانسان العراقي...لماذا يكون بامكان جوزيف ساسون كتابة تاريخ حزب البعث ولا يستط

"Human Rights" "Since the end of state socialism in Eastern Europe, the revolutions of 1989 have become a central element in the mythology of human rights. Human rights are portrayed as a catalyst, alighting a revolutionary ethos within those living in the Eastern Bloc. By depicting 1989 as the result of a mass moral epiphany regarding universal human rights, such narratives naturalize and depoliticize the collapse of state socialism. While the discourse of human rights was important in unifying dissident groups, it had also been used to by socialist states to legitimize dictatorial rule.  "During the Arab Spring, international commentators and local actors invoked this mythological version of 1989 to declare that a similar awakening was once again taking place and that human rights were sure to triumph over dictatorship. The example of Egypt appeared to mirror that of 1989 with  mass demonstrations for human rights, prompting optimism that a similar revolutio

" The woman didn't take the ball, it was the invisible hand of the free market that allocated the ball where it can be put to use most efficiently."  — H. B. (the owner of this joke wants to remain anonymous)

Hard Evidence: how biased is the BBC? and How We Ended up Paying Farmers to Flood Our Homes

Forget the UN! Meet the Self-Determining Refugees in Kurdistan (You may need to open a free account to access the document)

Institutional racism “I completely and utterly reject the bad apples argument,” the director told EW . “Chicago just got caught with their pants down in a way that can’t be denied. But I completely and utterly reject the ‘few bad apples’ argument. Yeah, the guy who shot [Laquan McDonald] is a bad apple. But so are the other eight or nine cops that were there that said nothing, did nothing, let a lie stand for an entire year.” “And the chief of police, is he a bad apple?” Tarantino continued. “I think he is. Is [Chicago Mayor] Rahm Emanuel a bad apple? I think he is. They’re all bad apples. That just shows that that’s a bulls*** argument. It’s about institutional racism. It’s about institutional cover-ups that are about protecting the force as opposed to the citizens.” Quentin Tarantino

Gone but not Forgotten Golden Horseshoes (a movie, Tunisia 1989)