Dive into the archives.
- Annapolis, Ramallah and the Siege on Gaza
I wanted to wait for a few days before jumping to conclusions about the Annapolis Summit (they seem to have finally stuck to a name). Now that I have had some time to sniff around (i.e. sit in front of the TV flipping between the news networks), I have reached two conclusions and some predictions [...]
- The White Man’s Burden
Arguably, the strong aid pessimism that persisted during the 1980s and 1990s had faded a little at the turn of this century. In 2000, at the Millennium Summit at the UN Headquarters (the only UN gathering in which all heads of state were present) all governments agreed upon the Millennium Development Goals as a grand [...]
- Interesting Times
I was so eager to read the memoirs of this great Marxist historian that I could not wait to read it. Finished it on the plane last night. What a big disappointment. You can be a great historian and write a lousy memoirs. You don’t even learn much about who he is from reading it. [...]
- The Crete Files: Bloody Vendettas & Organized Crime
To Greeks, the island of Crete is thought to be a scenic holiday location – albeit isolated by a particularly wide expanse of the Mediterranean sea. It is an island with a great history and a unique polymorphic landscape. As a girl, I remember hearing stories of the oddity of Crete’s inhabitants and of the [...]
- “Electronic Intifada” Debut
Electronic Intifada just published an article I wrote here – the article was previously posted on harmonicminor.com as Disengagement Two Years On and was taken from research I conducted with my good friend Jonas Ecke. I was also interested to notice that as soon as my name was published on EI, the University College of [...]
- The Gaza Strip: Disengagement Two Years On
The Gaza Strip: Disengagement Two Years On Electonic Intifada. November 24, 2007. Two years ago, Israel completed its unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. We all remember the intense media campaign shamelessly portraying the settlers as dispossessed victims of a bold move for peace. Among others, Harvard economist Sara Roy argued that Israel’s version of [...]
- Occupying Justice
Writing about the serious flaws in American justice a la the “war on terror” is not especially easy. Where does one begin? From Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib to the secret CIA detention facilities scattered across Eastern Europe – there is surely an abundance of outraging cases of Orwellian malfeasance. One case in particular has been [...]
- The Bush Doctrine in Somalia: Yet Another Success
Over 500,000 people have now fled Mogadishu and its seems safe to assume that the Bush doctrine is alive and well in Somalia. With the Islamofascists overthrown and the bloodshed intensifying, America has added yet another success to its long list of accomplishments in spreading freedom and democracy. Somalis may yet throw candy to the [...]
- Be Good Victims.
First it was called a “conference”, then a “summit” and the latest preferred terminology is “meeting”. But whatever you call it, the Annapolis Conference/Summit/Meeting planned for November 27 is not being taken seriously. Just over a week away and there have been no invitations sent out, no joint declaration – not even a consensus on [...]
- The Drones: Gala Mill
The Drones is one of those bands I got into accidentally – and possibly one of the only live acts that impressed me more than the group I went to see. I had become somewhat taken with The Devastations, (another Australian band) through Myspace, waited and looked for their CD for ages before it actually [...]
- Authoritarian Inanity & Singing Policemen
The inanity of authoritarian movements can never be underestimated. The horrific shooting by Hamas of unarmed demonstrators is only the latest example of the Islamist group’s unwillingness or inability to control its forces in the Gaza Strip. Squandering the general support they enjoyed here by forcibly seizing control of the Strip last June, many Gazans [...]
- Live From Gaza City
As I write this, thousands of pro-Fatah demonstrators are pouring through the streets of Gaza City, collecting at al-Anzar park near Islamic University to commemorate the third anniversary of Yassir Arafat’s death. Already, Hamas thugs have killed one and injured dozens of demonstrators. Because these events are literally occurring just blocks away from my flat, [...]
- Disengagement, Two Years On
Two years ago, Israel completed a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. We all remember the intense media campaign shamelessly portraying the settlers as dispossessed victims of a bold move for peace. Among others, Harvard economist Sara Roy argued that Israel’s version of disengagement would bring disaster to an already desperate Gaza. Today, we are [...]
- Comment: Pakistan’s Authoritarian Falstaff
George W. Bush seems terribly confused these days (and not just because he can’t decide whether the U.S. supports the Kurds in Iraq, opposes the Kurds in Turkey, encourages Kurdish terrorism in Iran or does all three simultaneously). With Pervez Musharraf declaring emergency rule in Pakistan, the Bush Doctrine has come face to face with [...]
