Syria’s Invisible Refugees
Before there were allegations of chemical weapons—and breaking news that Bashar al-Assad had gassed 426 children—Bashar al-Assad and his regime had already killed 100,000 of his own people over...
Category: Human Rights
Here She Comes: The Racist Reaction to Miss America
The Miss America pageant may be a bizarre and largely outdated cultural ritual, but it still occupies an iconographic status in a nation obsessed with appearances and the objectification. Even young...
We Will Not Be Silent: On Being Banned From Israel For a Decade
When I was twenty years old I got my first tattoo—it says “We Will Not Be Silent” in Arabic. It is located on the back of my right shoulder—just small enough to be discreet and easily covered...
Getting Private Chelsea Manning’s Gender Right
Whenever a prominent transgender person hits the news, the US media seem to stumble. Not just on the respectful and humane treatment of the transgender community, as ample lascivious, gross, and...
Union Bashing in San Francisco: The BART Strike
California's Bay Area, home to San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Marin, and points surrounding, is widely considered to be one of the most liberal areas of the United States—so much so that...
An Open Letter to Big Feminist Media Regarding Hugo Schwyzer*
Dear Big White Upper-Middle Class Cis Heterosexual Media: Let’s get this out of the way straight out of the gate: No one is buying that you’re shocked by the latest revelations about the sordid...
John Kerry’s Empty Peace Plan
On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israeli and Palestinian leaders had agreed for the first time in three years to meet for “Peace Talks” in Washington, DC. "I am pleased...
The Moral Monday Movement in North Carolina
You wouldn’t exactly know it if you’re in the habit of following national U.S. news happenings by checking out the front page of major news outlets or watching 24 hour cable news networks, but...
Egypt: A People Divided
On the night of July 3, exactly 48 hours after General Abdul Fatah Sisi of the Special Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) gave President Morsi an ultimatum—either he listen to the demands of the...
Review: Orphan Black
Ever feel like you’re having difficulty keeping characters straight? That could have been a problem in Orphan Black, a new BBC America scripted series based on the premise that a set of cloned...