San Marco, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – In early February 2023 a 22-year-old Iraqi YouTube star, Tiba Al-Ali was strangled by her father in an “honor killing,” part of the quotidian violence the nation has endured over the last two decades. In November 2023 Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old engineering student from the Venice region […]
Archives for March 2024
The Fate of Nations depends on Women’s Equality: Int’l Women’s Day
On March 8, 1908, women garment workers marched through New York City’s Lower East Side to protest child labor and sweatshop working conditions and to demand women’s suffrage. By 1910, March 8 became observed annually as International Women’s Day and continues to be, more widely in other countries often with protests, than in the United […]
Growing ‘Despondency’ And Hard-Liners’ Dominance: Key Takeaways From Iran’s Elections
By By Kian Sharifi ( RFE/ RL ) – Iran’s parliamentary elections on March 1 witnessed a historically low turnout, in a blow to the legitimacy of the clerical establishment. The official turnout of 41 percent was the lowest for legislative elections since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Critics claim the real turnout was likely even […]
Tempest in a Teapot: British Illusions and American Hegemony from Iraq to Yemen
Review of Tom Stevenson, Someone Else’s Empire: British Illusions and American Hegemony.. London: Verso, 2023. Munich (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – Everything is going well in the “Special Relationship” between the US and the UK. After an American chemist dared to suggest that adding salt to the quintessential British cup of tea could represent an […]
As Gaza is obliterated, Scholars and Academics need to Speak Up
BY Yasmin Saikia & Chad Haines Nikolas Gannon/Unsplash . Yasmin Saikia and Chad Haines co-direct the Center of Muslim Experience in the U.S. at Arizona State University. They are signatories of an open letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, signed by over 4,000 scholars across leading American universities and colleges, calling for a ceasefire in […]
Ramadan finds greater Recognition in America’s Public Schools
By Amaarah DeCuir, American University | – Ramadan – the Islamic month of fasting – is expected to begin at sunset on March 10, 2024. The likely first day of fasting will be Monday, March 11. Amaarah DeCuir, who researches Muslim student experiences, offers insights into how public schools can move toward greater recognition of […]
Trump, Like Biden, supports Israeli Campaign against Gaza: “You’ve got to finish the Problem”
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump telephoned in to “Fox and Friends” on Tuesday, breaking his long silence on Israel’s campaign against Gaza. So reports Sanjana Karanth at HuffPost. One host, Brian Kilmeade, asked Trump, “Are you on board with the way the IDF is taking the fight to Gaza — in Gaza?” Trump replied, […]
A Dictionary for Understanding the War on Gaza
Written byCivic Media Observatory This story is part of Undertones, Global Voices’ Civic Media Observatory‘s newsletter. Subscribe to Undertones. Welcome back to Undertones, where we study narratives from around the world. Since the end of 2023, the Civic Media Observatory has started a new project focusing on data governance. But we still have some important stories […]
Living on the Wrong World: A Planetary Cease Fire is Desperately Needed
( Tomdispatch.com ) – On this planet of ours, it almost doesn’t matter who’s right and who’s wrong when it comes to our wars. Actually, let me correct that thought slightly: it certainly does matter, but what matters so much more is that we humans simply can’t stop fighting them. That is (or at least […]