Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

The nation state is anti-human.

David Bowie describes the feelings behind the song Related America, America Damascus, 1995

Along with many other Muslim women, I wonder about the feelings of  Muslim women athletes , who have been kicked out of sporting events for body-covering clothing or head coverings. Tell these Muslim athletes that the German gymnasts are being celebrated, and they may ask: Is “girl power” a function of who these women are, white and European?  Are Muslim women also celebrated for their choices when they resist sexist rules and demand control over their apparel and bodies? Quite the opposite.  Muslim women are scorned for modest dress

From Sykes-Picot to a dysfunctional ‘democtacy’

It is natural for a liberal to speak of “democracy” in general; but a Marxist will never forget to ask: “for what class?” —V. I. U.

A couple of points need updating–the death toll of the sanctions on Iraq, for example–but it is still accurate and prophetic. Arundhati Roy in September 2001: Once war begins, it will develop a momentum, a logic and a justification of its own, and we'll lose sight of why it's being fought in the first place. Operation Enduring Freedom is ostensibly being fought to uphold the American Way of Life. It'll probably end up undermining it completely. It will spawn more anger and more terror across the world. For ordinary people in America, it will mean lives lived in a climate of sickening uncertainty: will my child be safe in school? Will there be nerve gas in the subway? A bomb in the cinema hall? The US government, and no doubt governments all over the world, will use the climate of war as an excuse to curtail civil liberties, deny free speech, lay off workers, harass ethnic and religious minorities, cut back on public spending and divert huge amounts of money to the defence i

Here’s where they get their money from