Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

Google search results suggest Palestinian keffiyeh ‘a symbol of terrorism’

The German philosopher Jürgen  Habermas is right to reject the UAE’s prize. But, like the German establishment – Merkel’s and Heiko Mass’ support of the last Israeli warfare on Gaza – Habermas has been complicit. It’s a German value, not different from the American or the British historical values. This article , for example, does  not refer to the hypocrisy of Habermas who has been  in Israel, spoke there publicly and kept silent on Israeli occupation and the state’s crimes .

New Atheism, Old Empire

The Women of Raqqa Are Building Their Future

“Because good causes do not sell themselves but rather have to be sold, aid agencies have developed considerable marketing prowess…they will advertise if not embellish the tragedy in order to tap into the guilt of the rich.”  Agency self-promotion is part of the humanitarian aid business model, although there is a fine line between utilitarianism and exploitation. Benefiting from the Misery of Others

“Foreign policy=imperialism” Foreign policy, who cares?

 A review of The Perfect Fascist

A ‘democracy’ that condemns the Chinese dictatorship  Remains of 215 children found in indigenous school Update 751 unmarked graves found

Marx’s Law of Value

Vekuii Rukoro, a Herero paramount chief who tried to sue Germany for compensation in US courts, said the deal is not enough to cover the "irreversible harm" suffered at the hands of colonial forces.   "We have a problem with that kind of an agreement, which we feel constitutes a complete sell-out on the part of the Namibian government," he told Reuters. Germany acknowledges colonial era Namibia genocide Related Link between the Herero genocide and the Holocaust

How Israel Went From Helping Create Hamas to Bombing it Related My interview with Khaled Hrub , author of A Beginner’s Guide to Hamas

It will exceed $600 billion in the next decade

  We’re Loving Our Favourite Cities to Death

Interesting, but how to create the alternative is not convincing. Some main pillars of big agriculture are not tackled in the article: the big corporation, the profit system and productivity. Big Agriculture is Leading to Ecological Collapse

I first knew Bob in 2001 when I started going to Speakers’ Corner in London.  It did get worse  —for many people. R.I.P., Bob.

Ten Myths About Israel An Army Like No Other

Poll: 72% of Israelis believe Gaza operation should continue, with no ceasefire yet In fact, there is nothing new here.  Occupied Minds: A Journey Through Israeli Psyche by Arthur Nelsen My interview with the author

 

Good satire, but ...   Another pundit calling it a conflict

"There is a striking discrepancy between the lack of feeling aroused by the deaths of tens of thousands of human beings—in their majority anonymous, unrecorded by the authorities and denied the dignity of a proper burial—with that excited by, say, the 1,000 lives lost in the crossing from East to West Germany during the Cold War. There is one obvious explanation: an African, an Arab or an Afghani who drowns in the Mediterranean, in flight from war, oppression or extreme poverty, is not seen as a human being in the same way as the Germans who were trying to flee ‘communism’ and were hailed as martyrs for liberty." — Stathis Kouvelakis Endemic racism One photo shows a volunteer with the Spanish Red Cross comforting a migrant (above) on a beach in Ceuta. The young woman, identified as Luna, told Spanish TV she did not know the man's name, only that he had come from Senegal. "He was crying, I held out my hand and he hugged me," she told RTVE. After the image of th...