Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

The point here is what ‘West’? The article itself does not mention a single major European state and its position. All is about the US vs. the rest. Related A shift in global power structures World Oil:  Contemporary transformations in ownership and control

  توقفت الاحتجاجات ولكن ما سيبقى هو الغضب الذي يمكن أن يتجدد

“From the point of view of the regime, it may well be that riots are welcome , for they guarantee  renormalisation , they permit social ‘bantustans’ to remain such, and they deflate discontents that could otherwise be perilous. Naturally, for them to perform this stabilizing function they must be subject to outward condemnation: vandalism should be denounced, violence should spark indignation, looting should cause disgust. Such reactions justify the ruthlessness of the repression, which becomes the only means to beat back the tide of barbarism. It is under these conditions that riots serve to ossify social hierarchy.” “A social system is not only characterised by its internal structure, but also by the reactions it provokes: a system founded on commandments can, in certain moments, imply reciprocal duties of aid carried out honestly, as it can also lead to brutal outbursts of hostility. To the eyes of the historian, who must merely note and explain the relationships between phenome...

"There was a wave of racist videos on social media. I was seeing such disgusting posts. So I was already worried such an upsurge of anger could only result in violence …  What was shocking was finding myself in the minority, defending basic principles against violence and racism," says Ms Bribri. Not a single hint to the EU’s responsibility  and as if such a violence was disconnected from another violence.

“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...

The main points in this long but very good article Gautam  Adani “was not only a beneficiary of the new political and economic order devised by Modi to consolidate Hindu supremacism in India. The neglected details of his frictionless rise show that after their calamitous romance with Russia’s oligarchy, Western politicians, journalists and bankers facilitated the ascent of another hyper-nationalist elite with dubiously sourced wealth and an extreme aversion to the rule of law and civil liberties.” “When Modi was barred from travelling to the United States and the European Union because of his suspected complicity in the anti-Muslim pogrom in Gujarat in 2002, and many Indian businessmen recoiled from him, Adani worked hard to rehabilitate his associate. Since becoming prime minister in 2014, Modi has repaid the favour: he turned Adani into India’s biggest operator of private airports and ports, as well as its leading producer of power from coal-fired plants. McKinsey’s global managi...

وعن الدور الغربي والعربي في دعم السيسي مدة سنوات ، أكد الباحث المصري، أن "الخليج أراد القضاء على موجة ثورات الربيع العربي في مصر وسوريا واليمن وليبيا، وسحق الإسلاميين، لذا دعم الجيش بمصر، وخليفة حفتر بليبيا". متعلق  سياسة قطر الخارجية وموازين القوى في الخليج

He wanted Americans to see the truth about war

A biography of a town – and camp – in resistance

A new centre of attraction for the Middle East? Related World Oil:  Contemporary transformations in ownership and control

From 2021 Rich countries drained $152tn from the global South since 1960

Lessons from the struggles in Sudan, Syria, and Palestine

John Nichols does not delve into class and capitalist imperatives that have shaped the American ‘foreign policy’. Class and capitalism in the US are the two drivers why she became “ the dictatress of the world’ and ‘no longer the ruler of her own spirit’. To know the origins of the US imperialism and its features one should refer to Gabriel Kolko Williams Appleman Williams Howard Zinn Robert Brenner Eric Foner Ellen Meiksins Wood Peter Gowan Dylan Riley and others.

Old, but very interesting and not a difficult read. It is in English and translated to Arabic . Today we speak about universes, not a universe, though. According to Paul Thagard, Stephen Hawking was wrong

Another example of the fragmentation of modern social thought : marginalisation, ghettoisation, inequality, unemployment, class … do not feature in this good article as an answer to the ‘why’ in the title, and it gives the impression that a ‘Muslim’ is not affected by those socio-economic phenomena along racism, ‘Islamophobia’ and police violence. Update: Alain Gabon responded to a question I had sent to him with the following: The Middle East Eye  editorial policy “dictates that a piece must be read in 5 mns and be easy reading, due to the fact everybody reads online on their cells these days).”  “Rather than a repetition  of History ,” wrote Gabon in his draft article, “all those  interrelated events —the murder of the Arabic youth, the  banlieues  riots recalling those of 2005, and this new legal discrimination against the ‘ hijabeuses ’— a re different  symptoms  of the  same long , deep, and structural problem s  that France—its va...

The policy of postmortem detention

The UN has accused France's security forces of systemic racism. Poor French suburbs catch media attention when they are in flames Related Reading Britain’s 2011 riots

Hassan Hamdan / Mahdi Amel 

An account available in four languages “We had great hopes and dreams of a better world in which social justice would prevail, and even if we were not able to fulfil our dreams, others will follow us to accomplish what we failed to achieve.” Albert Arié Related The Arab Gramsci

“Egypt’s historical trajectory is emblematic of pervasive military rule, particularly during the republican era that began in 1952. To entertain any notion to the contrary implies either a lack of historical understanding or a novice comprehension of political dynamics.” “This stance not only exposes the moral bankruptcy of some Egyptian liberals, but also underscores their complicity in endorsing state violence against their ideological and political adversaries. Such actions run counter to the basic principles and commitments of liberalism, which are firmly rooted in values of pluralism, tolerance and acceptance.” This is misguided/selectively liberal-biased approach. Liberalism from its inception was contradictory . Liberalism cannot be taken in isolation from the political economy of capitalism and its operations worldwide. “Pluralism, tolerance and acceptance” have to be analysed in history and reality, not by a sweeping statement such as the one made by Al-Anani in his article . ...