Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

A list of songs which have been banned by the BBC over the years

“According to Caroline Rose, co-author of the New Lines Institute report  ‘most production happens in Syria, in labs she describes as ‘industrial-scale’. The operation is thought to involve at least 15 major sites, many on the coast, which is controlled by the Assad regime. It spans Damascus, Aleppo and Homs provinces, as well as areas on the borders with Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan. Since the regime rules with an iron fist, it’s clear that captagon production is only possible because the authorities turn a blind eye. Syria, diplomatically isolated, under Western sanctions, and until recently on poor terms with neighbouring Turkey and Iraq, is trying to diversify its revenue sources, even if that means being labelled a narco-state – an accusation Damascus rejects.” My sources suggest that Major General Maher al-Assad, the president’s brother and commander of the Syrian Republican Guard’s elite fourth armoured division, plays a key role. ‘ The fourth division oversees a series of indus...

“Jean-Daniel Lévy, managing director of Harris Interactive, which conducted the poll, said: “Overall, the French have the same views as those that were expressed by the generals. Researchers say that support for Le Pen in the army has been running at just over 40 per cent, which is not far off the level in the wider population given the far-right’s support among the young and the relative youth of active soldiers. In the police, support exceeds 50 per cent.”

 The Imaginary Separatism of Salafist Women

A very good movie. Free to watch on putlockers.fm (Patience required with pop up windows)

This was written in 2003 Deprivation is also a symptom

Gary Stephen Webb Kill the Messenger a movie by Michael Cuesta

In its latest report the National Crime Agency said "around 4,600 serious and organised crime groups existed in the UK and their activities affected more citizens than all other national security threats combined." I thought Muslims were the biggest threat to national security! Hang on! May be these group are run by Muslims! Organised crime in the UK

One of the paradoxes of social life in late capitalism is that, even as more and more people abandon certain types of drug -- alcohol, tobacco, ecstasy, sex -- addictions  ar on the rise .  The number of alcoholics, opioid addicts, gamblers , social media addicts, porn addicts and so forth shows a secular increase. In other words, the drugs of sociability are declining, while the drugs of solitude are gaining ground. What kind of problem is this?  Trump says, massacre the dealers . The Duterte option . Liberals, with the soft paternalism of the moral reformer, say treat the disease . So we murder the problem, or we medicalise it. Hard cop or soft cop; either way, the problem is being suppressed . Toxicity in late capitalism

From World War II to Vietnam and Syria, drugs are often as much a part of conflict as bombs and bullets

England In a recent report on HMP Bedford, inmates claimed it was  easier to get hold of drugs than clothes or bedding . (the BBC online)

The Secret History of Colombia’s Paramilitaries and the U.S. War on Drugs

"How the refugee crisis became invisible"