Category Archives: International issues

But Al Gore Grew a Beard

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Jeff Fecke

I don’t know if Barack Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize quite yet, and I’m actually serious when I say he won it in no small part for simply not being George W. Bush — for seeking to reengage with … Continue reading →

Posted in International issues, The Obama Administration | 61 Comments

Senator Smalley Delivers Some Justice for Jamie Leigh Jones

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Jeff Fecke

I take back any bad thing I’ve ever said about Sen. Al Franken, DFL-Minn. Why do I do this? Because in his brief tenure in office, Franken has shown himself to be exactly the kind of senator we need more … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Rape, intimate violence, & related issues | 38 Comments

Reading Suheir Hammad’s ZaatarDiva and Kazim Ali’s The Far Mosque

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

This review was originally posted on a literary blog that no longer exists called The Great American Pinup. My understanding is that the blog was hacked and that attempts by the people who ran the blog to resolve things using … Continue reading →

Posted in Anti-Semitism, literature, Palestine & Israel | Comments Off on Reading Suheir Hammad’s ZaatarDiva and Kazim Ali’s The Far Mosque

Baliksambayanan: Day 1, "You are surrounded by Victims."

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Jack Stephens

Cross-posted from The Mustard Seed. Latter on when I got back to the BAYAN office, after the noise barrage (and after having lunch with the Secretary-General of Bayan, Nato Reyes, in where I had a soft drink, rice, curry chicken, … Continue reading →

Posted in International issues, Prisons and Justice and Police | Comments Off on Baliksambayanan: Day 1, "You are surrounded by Victims."

The Pakistani People Are Our Friends? Really?

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Ampersand

Back in February, Dave Kilcullen said this in his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: All this suggests that the most appropriate diplomatic strategy is to identify, within Pakistan, our friends and allies (civilian democratic political leaders, some officials, … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, International issues | 18 Comments

Baliksambayanan: Day 1, Getting Oriented

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Jack Stephens

Cross-posted from The Mustard Seed. Today is the day I start my series on how my experience was in the Philippines. Basically I’ll be digging through my notebook and photos and will be posting a post or two a day … Continue reading →

Posted in International issues | 1 Comment

My Trip in the Philippines

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Jack Stephens

Mendiola St., Manila, Philippines: Protesters apart of BAYAN (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan) gather at Mendiola in Manila to oppose the president’s plans to change the constitution to allow her to become Prime Minister and hold power after 2010 (Photo by Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in International issues | 2 Comments

Lubna Ahmed Hussein: "if the law is constitutional, I'm ready to be whipped not 40 but 40,000 times"

Posted on August 13, 2009 by Ampersand

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudanese police fired tear gas and beat women protesting at the trial Tuesday of a female journalist who faces a flogging for wearing trousers in public. Sudanese journalist Lubna Hussein could receive 40 lashes if found … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body, International issues | 9 Comments

"We don’t have a police state here in Palestine. We have two police states."

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Ampersand

From Antiwar.com: “We don’t have a police state here in Palestine. We have two police states. One in Gaza and one in the West Bank,” says Rabie Latifah from the Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq. “The abuse of Palestinian … Continue reading →

Posted in Palestine & Israel | 7 Comments

Contrast

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Maia

The following advertisement aired on Israeli TV: The following clip was filmed in Palestine: Fantasy is a strange thing. (via Lenin’s Tomb)

Posted in International issues, Media criticism, Palestine & Israel | Comments Off on Contrast