Category Archives: Current Events

The Game

29 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by in Current Events, Poetry, Society

≈ 2 Comments

I know you feel it. I know you all feel it:
This world is broken; we are broken

 

We walk around and pretend, but our smiles are just tokens
Paper masks that hide a fear, too deep, to be spoken

 

A fear that life may pass us by while we play by this system’s rules
A fear that we failed to even try for fear of looking like damn fools

 

It’s a game, it’s a game; it’s all just a game
And this game is really fear, to use another name

 

Instead of being human and being open, we disconnect and play it cool
Instead of love and raw emotion, we stay divided and we act cruel

 

It’s a game, it’s a game; it’s all just a game.
And this game is just the system, to use another name

 

This system has us running around
Like. Empty. Human. Shells.

 

Too asleep to resist it
And buying everything it sells

 

But can’t you see the bigger picture
Don’t you see the wider trap?
It’s just a ruse to make us feel empty
So we’ll fill the void with material scraps

 

But material objects can’t fill the void
It’s just our money and soul they sap

 

For it’s a game, it’s a game; it’s all just a game
And this game is just the rat race, to use another name

 

It’s a race to the bottom
A race to the end

 

We’re isolated and we feel lonely
Despite a million Facebook friends

 

For it’s a game, it’s a game; it’s all just a game

 

“Modern man”, and modern worlds
Obsessed with modern gadgets
These “modern girls”

 

Why not simplify
This “modern world”

 

For it’s a game, it’s a game; it’s all just a game
And this game is social transformation, to use another name
And the result is human commodification, total enslavement; such a shame

 

We’re a humanity in crisis
A society in decline

 

But the crux of the crisis, is that the decline is by design

 

For it’s a game, it’s a game
And that’s the essence of the game

 

 

© 2018

 

 

 

 

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The Minority

14 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by in Current Events, Poetry, Society

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This white man is not my enemy
No, this white man hasn’t done shit to me

Let’s talk about the E-C-O-N-O-M-Y
That’s the real issue here

Don’t. You. See.

It’s not just about race,
but economic d-i-s-p-a-r-i-t-y

Most white men today are suffering just like me

You see, the problem aint with the majority
But a tiny little minority:

The Uber Wealthy Authority
That enslave us through financial s-u-p-e-r-i-o-r-i-t-y

Black and brown do have it worse

But economic suffering is a global curse
Orchestrated by and for the globalists’ purse

And when we turn on each other
We. Make. The. Situation. Worse

For divide and conquer is an age old trick

It makes the majority weaker
And the rich more slick

Able to stop us from seeing our common plight
And prevent us from waging a common fight…

Against the ones with all the Authority:
That. Uber. Wealthy. Minority.

 

 

© 2018

Author’s Note: The white man I refer to in this poem is the everyday man on the street. The working class (or unemployed) man that is struggling to pay his bills and survive. While he may not be racially profiled while driving or shopping, he is not privileged in my mind—since privilege is tied to wealth.

 

 

 

 

 

Will the Mainstream Media EVER Talk About Economic Issues?

30 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Society

≈ 1 Comment

raial harmonyI was recently in New York City and observed many things that seemed to contradict the state of US social relations as depicted by the mainstream media. Watching US news media from Canada, one gets the impression that there is overwhelming racial tension in that country. As someone that is aware and critical of the divide and conquer schemes of the establishment, and as someone that does not buy into identity politics, I know that race is often used as a distraction, so I was not the least bit surprised to find Blacks and Whites and Latinos peacefully and jovially co-existing. I spent ten days in Bed Stuy Brooklyn, a gentrifying neighborhood made up of predominately Black and Latino communities with a growing influx of white residents. While gentrification creates a host of problems, not least of which is oppressive rent, with respect to “race relations” I did not witness any outward hostility or violence between the different races. And this was the same everywhere I went in Brooklyn or Manhattan as well as on planes, subways and in airports. Everywhere I looked, people of different races and ethnicities were getting along, and gasp, even helping one another out. While I am aware that there is racial tension in the US, it was not overwhelmingly apparent, at least not on the surface (and I say this as a brown person).

AP Counting the HomelessWhat was undeniably palpable, however, is something the MSM never talks about: the massive economic disparity in cities like NYC. If there is a glaring and unavoidable tension, it is between the classes not the races. Yes, “class,” that five letter word that no one in the west is willing to address. Everywhere I went in NYC, class was painfully apparent. The gap between the haves and have-nots was wide and oppressive. On the subway I saw the anguish of working class and poor people, those who are struggling just to get by. The struggle was written all over their tired and forlorn faces. And in Soho, Wall Street and—of course—Park Avenue I saw immense wealth; much of it built on the backs of those folks I saw on the subway. People who say that class does not exist in America are either blind or lying or both. So why does the media not talk about class, economic despair and economic disparity? Why is there an endless focus on  race, when the larger issue—the issue that affects the majority of people regardless of race and ethnicity—is class and increasing unemployment and underemployment.

Could race and identity politics be a distraction for the larger issues of class and economic inequality? And what about the current media focus on sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. While these issues are very important, I can’t help but wonder: “Why now?” In the US, the media-especially the entertainment media—are part of the Hollywood ecosystem and are privy to all of its dirty little secrets. This means that the media has long known that sexual harassment is prevalent in Hollywood. So why only report on it now? Why have the media been silent on a very real and serious issue for decades only to overwhelm and bombard us with it now. Whenever the media goes full force on a story I can’t help but think that it is using that story as subterfuge and distraction from something else. What is it we are not suppose to be thinking about right now– the failed western agenda in Syria, the increasingly failed economy, increased unemployment, crippling debt, etc, etc?

It is interesting to note that while Trump got elected by exploiting every day people’s concerns and frustrations over the economy and jobs, etc. (I say exploited because he has failed to actually address any of these issues since taking office), the media refuses to address any of these issues one year into his tenure and instead focuses on race and, more recently, sexual assault in the media and entertainment world.

While sexual harassment and sexual assault are very serious issues, it is likely that the MSM have long known about sexual abuse in Hollywood—since they swim in the same professional and social sea—and chose to remain quiet. So when the media come out like a loud speaker on the issue, one has to ask: why now and what is it distracting us from?

Just some food for thought..

As a Muslim Woman in Canada, I Understand Quebec’s Burqa Law

20 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Politics

≈ 6 Comments

burqa

The recent law passed by the Quebec government, known as Bill 62-the “religious neutrality law,” will require women to remove their burqa or niqab (meaning face covering in Arabic) while giving or receiving public services such as getting on a bus or taking a book out of the library. The controversial law is getting a lot of attention and criticism. As a Muslim woman living in Canada I feel compelled to weigh in, not least because I can say things that non-Muslims may be too afraid to say.

I should note that I am secular; and am not a practicing Muslim. However, I come from a very religiously observant family, and with the exception of myself and my sister and a few cousins, all of the women in my family and extended families wear the hijab (head covering). And three of them wear the burqa. The women that wear the burqa live in Egypt, and when they adopted the practice of face covering, many in my family—the hijabi women included—thought that it was too extreme. While my family members are devout and practicing Muslims, the majority of them find the burqa (or niqab) unnecessary. Indeed when my mother worked and lived in Saudi Arabia decades ago, she defied social customs, and the law, and refused to wear it.

All this is to say that, the niqab—or face covering—is something that many Muslims consider to be off-putting and wholly unnecessary. So if it is too extreme for the streets of Cairo or Beruit then it is definitely too extreme for the west. Now before you go accusing me of Islamophobia, let me remind you that I am Muslim and, more importantly, that the Quran—the Islamic holy book—does not call for women to cover their face. In fact, there is even debate among some Islamic scholars about whether or not the hijab or head veil is mandated in the Quran, with some arguing that the Quran only explicitly mandates modest dress and the covering of the bosom [1]. I am not an expert on Islam, far from it. There is much literature that explores these issues, especially the burqa or face covering, and I urge readers—Muslim and non-Muslim—to do their own research.

With respect to the buqa, it is widely held that the practice is not mandated in the Quran—nor is the word mentioned—but instead grew out of hadith, a collection of traditions based on the daily life and practices of the prophet Muhammad. As Chris Moore explains, most followers of these “traditions” know little of their origins or authenticity.[2] Moreover, Moore points out that “for the thousands of traditions attributed to the Prophet only one bears notable credibility:

‘Do not write down anything I say except the Quran. Whoever has written something other than Quran let him destroy it.’” [3]

This implies that hadiths are not something Muslims should base their religious practices on. The practice of face covering comes largely from Wahhabi Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism is a strict and archaic Muslim sect founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–92). It advocates a “return” to the early Islam of the Quran, rejecting later innovations. But there are many that argue that Wahhabism—which spread to many parts of the Middle East following the Saudi-US oil alliance of the late 1970s—is not a return to literal or early Islam but rather a complete contradiction of it or movement away from it [4]; meaning Wahhabism is not Islamic at all. In this respect, much like the practice of the burqa, Wahhabism should have no authority over the lives of Muslims.

Once upon a time, when Wahhabism far less influenced the Arab and Muslim world, Arab leaders, such as Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, were opposed to publicly mandating even the hijab (see the video below). Nasser believed that religious practices were a private matter and not a public obligation.

To date, most Muslim countries do not force women to wear neither the hijab nor the niqab, with Saudi Arabia being a notable exception on the latter. So why are western governments in countries that are secular and do not have a Muslim majority not allowed to regulate something as extreme and culturally incompatible as the burqa.

To argue that the burqa is necessary in Canada in order to ensure religious rights and freedoms is ultimately fallacious given that the burqa is not actually mandated by Islam. Like many things, the growing popularity of the burqa among Muslims over the last few decades can be attributed to politics, not religion. As I argue elsewhere, the massive oil alliance that was formed between the United States and Saudi Arabia after the oil embargo of 1973 led to religious radicalization in the Middle East. In exchange for Saudi Arabia only accepting US dollars for oil, giving the US and its currency global economic hegemony, the US allowed and (indirectly) helped the Saudis to spread Wahhabism and radical Sunni Islam across the Middle East for political ends.

Bolstered by its alliance with the US, Saudi Arabia has been able to promote Wahhabi extremism in the region. The Kingdom has spent millions and billions of dollars propping up Islamist movements and Islamist groups in the Arab world. Among many other things–such as increased terrorism in the region–the spread of Wahhabi political Islam has led to an increase in burqa wearing. Understood in its proper political and geopolitical context, the increased “popularity” of the burqa is as much political as it is religious; if not more so, given that the burqa is not mandated by Islam and the Quran.

But even if the Quran did mandate the burqa, I believe that a secular country such as Canada should be allowed to regulate expressions of extreme public religiosity, especially when matters of identity or public safety are concerned. While many Canadians are likely too afraid to say so in the current overly sensitive and rabidly politically correct culture, I suspect that a great many feel uneasy about the burqa. While most people may have no issue with a woman covering her hair (hijab), the complete draping of face and body in all black is a menacing and eerie sight that even makes me uncomfortable as an immigrant [5] from the Muslim world. This is something I tell my own burqa-wearing cousins every time I visit family over seas.

It is just too much for present-day urban society, whether in Canada or the Middle East. And what it connotes about women is very problematic. While it may be intended to reduce the sexual objectification of women, the burqa results in a different type of objectification altogether, for a faceless human being all in black garb, becomes little more than a moving object in black. For me, and I suspect for a great many others, the burqa is at once both dehumanizing and objectifying.

I feel the exact same way—though for opposite reasons—about overly exposed flesh, such as the ever-shrinking shorts some women wear that essentially reveal the entire lower buttocks. As I write elsewhere, while on the surface burqas and exposed butt cheeks are polar opposites, what they share in common is that they are both just too much for day-to-day life. Moreover, while the former may seem oppressive to women and the latter a sign of female liberation, I feel that both ultimately serve to overly objectify women, reducing them either to sinful bodies (and faces) to be covered up or sexual objects to be overly exposed. While they do so in opposite ways, by tending towards an extreme obsession or emphasis on the female form, both end up reducing women to the physical. In the end, both do not lend themselves to any form of moderation.

So before we enter into reactionary debates over the burqa in Canada, let us take pause and consider all of the above, especially the (western allied) political agenda of Islamic radicalization.

 

 

Notes

[1]http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_1451_1500/burka_not_mandated_in_the_quran.htm

http://www.quran-islam.org/articles/part_3/the_burqa_(P1357).html

[2] http://www.quran-islam.org/articles/part_3/the_burqa_(P1357).html

[3] Cited in [2]. Taken from: Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, Vol. 1, page 171 also Sahih Muslim, Book 42, Number 7147.

[4] http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=6308

[5[ My parents immigrated to Canada when I was two years old.

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Up On My Critique of Liberal Western Feminism

31 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Society

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This is a long over due follow up to my March 8 article, “We Need to Talk About Women: The Problem With Western Liberal Feminists”. In today’s post I will address some of the comments, questions and feedback that that article garnered. The main reason I decided to write this follow up piece is because, following the March 8 article on western liberal feminism, I received messages from young women who had shared that article on social media and received a lot of flack (mainly from other young women) over it. Today’s article is dedicated to the young women that bravely shared my article.

As a side note, the fact that some women were bullied for sharing that article, which was unabashedly critical of so called modern day feminism (what I describe as pro-establishment, liberal corporate  feminism) demonstrates just how intolerant and hypersensitive some of today’s politically correct Millennials are. But I digress. Back to the point at hand: Today’s piece addresses some of the concerns and criticisms that my March 8 critique of liberal, consumer feminism generated.

  1. The Article Bashes International Women’s Day

While the March 8 article was published on International Women’s Day, it was indeed not about International Women’s Day. The intention of the article was to make a statement about a certain segment of the female population in the west (liberal, consumer feminists), within the context of a broader critical analysis of identity politics. I chose to make that statement on international women’s day because it is a day where there is dialogue on women. Moreover, despite its title, the larger focus of the March 8 article is the critical analysis of identity politics. That is something I have been writing about for many years.

  1. The Article is Anti-Women

I was not going to reply to this one given its absurdity. But here it goes, anyway. First of all, I am a woman and I love being a woman; I revel in it. I am feminine or “girly” in my appearance, not that this is all there is to being a woman, and I am physically, mentally, and spiritually (in reference to the female essence, so to speak), in tune with and entangled with my femininity/femaleness. If I could be born a million times over, I would not choose to be a man instead of a woman. Well that’s not true, if I actually could be born a million times I would probably want to be a million different things—from an ameba to a giant tortoise and everything in between (including a man)—in order to have a million different experiences of existence. But in this one life that I have, I have never wished to be anything other than a woman; I love being a woman and cherish the experience thus far.

But these are all personal things. With respect to the non-personal stuff and to what people imply when they say that an individual is anti-women for writing a criticism of liberal, consumer feminists, I want to stress that being critical of a very particular segment of the female population does not make someone anti-women; it simply makes them critical. News Flash: As a social critic and writer, critical reflection and commentary is what I do. Writers are supposed to make critical observations about the world around them. And readers are allowed and encouraged to critically respond to those observations. Readers are free to disagree with my and any writer’s opinion; it is okay and it is healthy and necessary for society. Public debate and dialogue is a good and welcome thing. But today’s politically correct youth and “social justice warriors” have become so thin skinned and so anti-intellectual that they interpret any form of critical thought, opinion, analysis or commentary as “hate speech.” This is worrisome.

Nowhere in the March 8 article did I generalize about all women. On the contrary, I explicitly state that I am referring to a particular segment of the female population in the west—liberal, mainstream, consumer feminists (LMCFs). I was not singling out all feminists or all of feminism; indeed I explicitly differentiate between LMCF and other forms of feminism. And while I am not personally a feminist  (have not read feminist theory or literature, etc.), I venture to guess that some, if not many, traditional (i.e., first and second wave) feminists, socialist feminists, and third world feminists would also be critical of the type of ‘feminism’ I mention in the article.

What I critique in the March 8 article would not be considered traditional feminism (I do know enough about it to know the difference). I am talking about the co-opted, corporate, media hyped, establishment version of ‘feminism’ that we see in mainstream media culture today. A criticism of this version of ‘feminism’ is part of a much larger critique of identity politics, which, for me, is little more than a capitulation by and co-optation of the much of the traditional left en mass. Of course there are still people that are true to traditional feminism and traditional left politics, in general. In the article, I am referring to those women (and “new lefties”) that represent the co-opted, apolitical segment of the “new left”, or fake left, as it has come to be known by many.

Indeed I received positive feedback from politically minded women that identity as traditional (i.e., non liberal, non mainstream, non consumer) feminists. Here is a quote from one woman—reproduced here with her permission—that has been a feminist for almost fifty years. She linked to my March 8 article on her site, stating:

“Editor’s Note: …thank you to Ghada Chehade for so eloquently capturing my own thoughts on the subject…. I became a feminist in 1970, when Ms.Magazine printed its first, authentic edition. I followed up with the ubiquitous Feminine Mystique, The Second Sex, and The Female Eunuch, for starters. I wrote, spoke, and ran a consciousness-raising group and a local chapter of the National Organization for Women. I am appalled at the insouciance and the complete misappropriation of the terms “feminism” and “liberal” today by women who have both the means and plentiful opportunities to know better, and who have become the willing pawns of the ruling class’ classic divide-and-conquer games.

Pink hats? “Inclusive” and “Indivisible”?? Seriously?? So, all women’s genitals are pink on the outside?? And, how do your hats apply to the male “women” you claim to champion? Is a hat a serious or formidable weapon against oppression? Do you have any idea what real feminists – male and female – have gone through to achieve the level of parity you are currently crushing beneath your trivial hats, your layers of makeup, and your preoccupation with sexuality? Again, many thanks to Ms. Chehade for her work…”

I posted this quote not because I agree with everything in it (I happen to enjoy makeup now and then) but because it demonstrates that there are traditional, vanguard feminists that are deeply critical of what passes for feminism today. This is but one example. There are many other female voices out there that are deeply critical of both identity politics–and its apolitical obsession with personal and trivial matters–and liberal, consumer, corporate media-based feminism.

But I will not speak for these women. I am not an authority on feminism or women’s critiques of either feminism or identity politics. I will let these women speak for themselves. If one searches online and elsewhere there are numerous examples of such critiques. I suggest that individuals, male or female, that feel the need to bully or “shame” young women for reading and sharing articles such as mine, explore the numerous criticisms of modern day ‘feminism’ and identity politics–and how they have replaced political thought and action with an obsession over personal issues, personal feelings and personal image–by women from all walks of life.  Just some things to ponder…

 

 

Notes

Source for above quote: http://titaniclifeboatacademy.org/index.php/featured-articles/society/206-we-need-to-talk-about-women-the-problem-with-western-liberal-feminists#Editor

If You Can’t Take the Heat…. Bomb Syria: Trump Lifts Russian Collusion Heat By Bombing Russian Ally Syria?

08 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Geopolitics, Politics

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trump-putin

As the saying goes, everyone has a breaking point. Apparently for Donald Trump, the threshold is paper-thin. He came in a like an anti-Washington policy cowboy, vowing to stand up to Washington, “make America great again,” and focus his attentions at home. He trashed those that came before him for wasting time and money and US soldiers on the Middle East. He urged former presidents not to bomb Syria no matter what the circumstances, alleged chemical weapons attacks included.

And yet, less than three months into his presidency, he does just that: bombs Syria over a conveniently timed and highly suspect chemical weapons attack. Really? Is that all it took? Did Trump really fall for the played out “Assad is gassing babies” meme? It’s doubtful. There is likely more than “gassed Syrian babies” at work here. Some claim that Trump was under immense pressure; that the unrelenting political and media attack against him, especially with respect to accusations of collusion with the Russians, was too much to bear. And perhaps it was. We do not know what was happening behind the scenes. Maybe he was being threatened with impeachment over supposed collaboration with Russia during the presidential election (a fabricated pretext). Maybe it was something worse?

Whatever was happening behind the scenes, it appears that Trump couldn’t take the heat. It took less than three months for Trump to diametrically change his tune on Syria. What better way to take the heat off of him, and show the world that he is not in bed with Russia, than to bomb Syria, Russia’s ally in the fight against western proxy war and US-sponsored terror groups (like ISIS and Al Qaeda) in Syria. Whatever his motives for caving and surrendering to the deep state, Trump’s actions are a line in the sand. There is no coming back from this– for him and for those that believed or hoped, even for a brief moment, that Trump would back up his cowboy pestering and stick to his guns on foreign policy in the Middle East.

There is no doubt that Trump benefits some how from his bombing of Syria. But what he has gained may pale in comparison to what he stands to lose or has already lost. Any geopolitical and foreign policy support he may have had from the “alt right” and the anti-imperialist left—not to be mistaken with the pro-war, fake left of the liberal progressive mainstream—is either completely obliterated or on very shaky ground.

What makes his bombing of Syria all the more mystifying is his earlier sentiments about not getting involved in the Middle East and not continuing Bush and Obama era follies in the region. It seems he doth protest too much.

He may have proven to the powers that be—and the mainstream media, which is hypocritically praising the man they loath for this recent act of war—that he is not in bed with Russia, but in doing so, he now appears to be precariously in bed with the deep state.

What this means going forward is anyone’s guess.

Trump Bombs Syria–and Obliterates His Anti-Interventionist Promises

07 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Geopolitics, Politics

≈ 2 Comments

crazy Trump.jpg

On the evening of April 6 the U.S. military fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at an airbase in Syria. The bombing was a “response” to the alleged chemical weapons attack by the Assad government, which critics of the American deep state and the US imperial agenda have called a false flag attack.

The U.S. assault, which was done without congressional approval, marks a complete reversal of Trump’s campaign trail anti-interventionist claims as well as his condemnation of previous US presidents’—Bush and Obama’s –military actions in countries like Syria and Iraq.

As Think Progress reports, this action marks a “dramatic reversal from Trump’s position when Obama considered military action against Syria” after Assad allegedly used chemical weapons in 2013. “Trump repeatedly derided the idea of striking Syria, characterizing it as a foolish and expensive waste of time.” At the time, Trump released a series of quotes urging Obama not to bomb Syria. Some of Trump’s tweets stated:

Given Trump’s dogged resistance to and criticism of Obama’s involvement in Syria and his campaign rhetoric about focusing less on other nations as well as his numerous overtures about improving relations with Russia, many commentators—myself included—were guardedly optimistic about potential changes to US foreign policy under Trump and a movement towards less intervention aboard. This was compounded by the fact that the mainstream media was and remains staunchly opposed to Trump. [1]

But it appears that the opposite is true. With this bombing, Trump has joined the neo-con/neoliberal humanitarian imperialism band- wagon, which uses so-called “concern for human rights” as a pretext for imperial wars, ‘regime change,’ and invasions abroad. That Trump got on board with this meme indicates that he is as beholden to the deep state as any president before him.

bombs-2

Despite his condemnation of Obama’s involvement in Syria and despite his claims and allusions about making American less interventionist, it took less than three months for him to expand the US imperial war machine. With this move Trump is likely to lose much of his support base, including among the “alt right”, which is far less war mongering than the neo-con right, and is indeed often anti-war.

Syrian Chemical Attack a Ploy?

Many are calling Assad’s supposed chemical attack an obvious false flag attack, not least because it came just days after the U.S. Ambassador to the UN and the U.S. Secretary of State overtly maintained that it is up to the people of Syria to decide their leaderhip and the country’s future.

Former Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) has denounced the chemical attack as a false flag attack and believes that there is zero chance Assad is behind it:

 “Before this episode of possible gas exposure and who did what, things were going along reasonably well for the conditions…Trump said let the Syrians decide who should run their country, and peace talks were making out, and Al Qaeda and ISIS were on the run….“It looks like, maybe, somebody didn’t like that so there had to be an episode, and the blame now is we can’t let that happen because it looks like it might benefit Assad.”

The timing of the chemical attack is just too convenient and too suspect. Though, it takes much longer than two days to plan such an attack; and one can surmise that it may have been in the works for a while. What it took to get Trump to diametrically change his tune is anyone’s guess.

It will be interesting to see if mainstream “progressives” and “liberals”—i.e., the fake left—will applaud Trump’s bombing of Syria. This group has supported the imperial agenda to oust Bashar Al Assad (for so-called humanitarian reasons) from the outset. Now that Trump seems to have gotten on board with this agenda, liberals may have some strange common ground with the man they call public enemy number one.

Final Thoughts

Just when I thought that U.S. foreign policy might become just a bit less belligerent and less interventionist, things get even more belligerent and far stranger. It took less than three months for my guarded optimism to be dashed. I suspect I’m not the only one feeling this way at present.

This goes to show that the deep state is stronger and more entrenched than ever.

Notes

[1] Though the war mongering, mainstream media backed his bombing of Syria. Little surprise there.

We Need to Talk About Women: The Problem With Western Liberal ‘Feminists’

08 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Politics, Society

≈ 22 Comments

femen-not object-2.jpegToday (March 8) is International Women’s Day. No doubt there will be numerous articles about women’s issues, women’s struggles and women’s triumphs. In this article I take a different route and address an issue that is rather taboo and off-limits, but ought to be discussed. Before I do, I want to stress that women in the west have come a long way and have a lot to be proud of. Western women have fought hard and bravely for rights and privileges that were denied to generations of women before them and have made vast strides towards greater equality and representation in society. For this, western women and traditional feminism should be applauded.

At the same time, the version of feminism that presently functions in the west—liberal, consumer, mainstream feminism—has become problematic. That is what I wish to address in this article. I want to honestly address the issue of women. I don’t mean “women’s issues”; those have been discussed at length. I mean the issue with women, meaning the problem with certain segments of the female population in the west, namely: liberal, mainstream, consumer feminists. Before you bring out the PC (politically correct) lynch mob, please read on to understand what I mean by this.

There is a segment of the female population in the west today that is very puzzling and frustrating, especially to traditional or former left-wingers, such as myself.1 I am referring to the slut marching, pussy rioting, liberal consumer feminists that fancy themselves progressive or liberal or “left wing,” today. These are the women that fight the sexual objectification of women by sexually objectifying themselves (topless FEMEN protestors anyone).2 Or the women that talk about ‘girl power’ then turn around and applaud when a Woman of the Year Award is given to a male-turned-female woman. Or the women that think revering and emulating cheesy, female pop stars—like Madonna or Beyonce or Niki Manaj—makes them ‘fierce feminists.’

While they may think themselves politically avant guarde, many of these women come off as rather apolitical and seem to have purchased ‘feminism’ as a media constructed/promoted lifestyle; hence the term consumer feminists. Their ‘feminism’ or girl power is reflected largely in the products they purchase or the lifestyle choices they make. These consumer feminists mistake buying Activia yogurt (a product marketed solely to women) or practicing yoga (in stylish and expensive yoga outfits) for being political or “progressive.” Newsflash ladies: these are lifestyle choices, not political acts or movements.

Western Liberal Feminism and the US Presidential Election

And when these liberal, consumer feminists do attempt to tackle politics or political issues, it is often done through reactionary identity politics, which substitutes the personal—personal identity, personal feelings, etc—for the political in a manner that negates broader politico-economic understanding and analysis. For instance, women that support candidates like Hillary Clinton simply because she is a woman—despite her many political and geopolitical crimes and blunders. Mired in identity politics, their femaleness forces them to support a female candidate simply because of her sex, while ignoring her political actions and behaviour; however heinous it may be.

This reflects one of the many follies of identity politics: It excuses the crimes of people like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama–which includes the slaughter of innocent women and people of colour all over the world–based on their gender or race. As I argue elsewhere, it is not rational to support a president or presidential candidate simply because they are a racial minority or a woman. And I say this as a female racial minority.

Nor is it constructive to build a “political” protest movement centred mainly on feelings of personal offense.  A few days ago I was offered a pink hat with cat-shaped ears on it (the “pussy hat,” as it is being called), to wear as a symbol of “women’s resistance to Trump.” The pussy hat is part of the Pussyhat Project, a project begun by two American women following the 2016 US election. According to Business Insider, the hat’s name was inspired by Trump’s 2005 comments in the Access Hollywood audio leaked in October 2016, “in which he bragged about grabbing women by their genitals.”3

pink march.jpgAccording to one of its co-founders, the Pussyhat Project is “about women refusing to be erased from political discussion,” reports Business Insider.  While I am not sure exactly what she means by this, it seems to suggest that given that Hillary Clinton is a woman, and given that she lost the election, women—especially those women that voted for Hillary Clinton—are now being “erased” from political discussion. That does not make much sense. Are we to believe that Hillary Clinton lost the election because she is a woman? Last year in the UK, a female Prime Minister, Teresa May, was voted in and replaced the former male Prime Minister, David Cameron. Does that mean that men in the UK are being “erased” from the political discussion?

While there is a disproportionate amount of men in western politics in general, this did not begin with the 2016 US election, and statements about women being erased from political discussion need to be politically and historically situated and qualified. The Pussyhat Project and the sea of pink at the “Women’s March on Washington D.C.” on January 21 (the day after Trump’s inauguration), with thousands of women adorned in fuzzy pink ‘pussy hats,’ served to confirm something I have thought for many years now: That western women—especially liberal, consumer ‘feminists’—are extremely conformist and easy to manipulate as well as contradictory.

Where was the female indignation during the eight years of the Obama administration, when Obama and a female Secretary of State (in the first four years) repeatedly and systematically war mongered and deployed drones to kill scores of innocent people overseas, many of them minorities and women? Where was their women’s march on Washington, D.C. then? It simply did not exist. There were no mass women’s marches or female protest movements against the previous US administration, despite its myriad political, economic, and geopolitical crimes and atrocities.

While the Obama administration was among the most imperial and war mongering in US history, continuing and intensifying many of the policies of the George W. Bush era, and while Obama failed to keep any of his campaign promises, such as his promise to close Guantanamo Bay or to end the war on terror, there was no mass female uprising against him and his administration. Of course, during the Obama administration, the mainstream media were its biggest cheerleaders. The media was not helping to “trigger” women and rile them up as they are at present.

But protesting topless or wearing a pink hat does not, in and of itself, make you political. At best it makes you a cliché and, at worst, it makes you controlled (or fake) opposition. For there is nothing genuinely political or oppositional about following a herd trend, even if that trend is said to be a political statement or a “symbol of political resistance.”

Identity Politics is a Diversion From Bigger Issues

Identity politics is a form of political capitulation that gives into the establishment. It is a distraction from, and substitution for, a failed economy and a failed political system. Identity politics replaces political and economic power and choice, or lack there of, with personal choice and personal empowerment. The personal freedoms granted under identity politics—for instance, the freedom to choose among the ever-growing number of genders, etc—can mask how politically and economically un-free and powerless we are.

Under the present global neocon/neoliberal politico-economic mono-culture, people are increasingly politically and economically disenfranchised and dis-empowered. Rather than focus on the ever-creeping economic collapse, escalating unemployment, political dis-empowerment, the growing police and surveillance state, and the general economic despair that plagues much of the world’s population, identity politics (and contemporary progressives in general) points our attention towards differences, personal identity and personal choice. How convenient for the global power structure/elites. This is especially true among that segment of the western female population—liberal, consumer ‘feminists’—that I describe above.

Western Liberal Feminists are Largely Apolitical

pussyhat

While Donald Trump’s misogynistic comments may  warrant criticism, the problem with pussyhat wearing mainstream/consumer feminists is that they protest against him largely because they are personally offended. These women are apolitical in the broader, general sense. While they are raging against the pussy-grabbing Trump, they are silent on—if not oblivious of—the myriad other political, economic, and geopolitical problems and crises that plague humanity at present.

If these women were truly politically or critically minded, they would not have rallied behind the likes of Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. This is not about “defending Trump,” but about pointing out that a lack of political perception and critical analysis makes many ‘feminists’ blind to the crimes of the previous US administration as well as to the globalized, militarized, neoliberal/neocon politico-economic power structure in general.

Western, liberal mainstream/consumer feminism is different than radical feminism, socialist feminism, and, especially, third world feminism. This topic is too complex to address here. For now I merely wish to note that much of what passes for ‘feminism’ in the west today would potentially be questioned by veteran feminists and/or more political and class-based understandings of feminism as well as by third world feminism.

For instance, unlike many western feminists, who tout gender neutrality and the “anything you can do, I can do better” mentality, “African feminists do not attempt to rob the man of his value and worth. They simply want to be given value and worth, as well.” As Dr. Hildra Tadria of Uganda, member of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and co-founder of the African Women’s Development Fund explains, “For us, the fight is to dignify what the African woman does, not to try to get her to do what the African man does.” 4

For African feminists one of the most curious aspects of western liberal feminism is its emphasis on “sexual liberalization” or hyper-sexuality. Most third world feminism is not about sexual freedom but freedom from over sexualization and over objectification. While mainstream western feminists often use the term “rape culture” to describe the west, there are many countries in the world wherein women do indeed live under the constant threat of rape–where rape and sexual violence are rampant and ignored by the state. For these women, feminism includes the desire and struggle to be less sexualized.

Ironically, while contemporary western ‘feminists’ also claim to oppose the sexual objectification of women, they often employ sexual objectification as a tool to fight or denounce it (see the slim and sexy FEMEN protesters in the picture above). While this tactic may be aimed at reclaiming the female form and female sexuality, it is ultimately counter-productive in a society where the naked form (both male and female) is still seen as sexual. Protesting topless or naked takes attention, especially media attention, away from the issues these women are protesting, and focuses it instead on bare breasts and naked bodies. Here, the image ultimately distracts from—and upstages—the message.

I am aware that criticizing these types of women may be seen as catering to the divide and conquer tactics of the power establishment on some level; since we should seek to unite with others, not criticize them. But the liberal feminism of the fake left has reached a point of absurdity and counter-productiveness that simply cannot be ignored. And western women have to have the courage to call it out.

While wearing a fuzzy ‘pussy hat’ or slut marching topless may be said to be a symbol of ‘resistance;’ I ask, resistance to what? It most certainly is not resistance to globalist power or the US establishment. Let us not forget that, prior to Trump’s victory, there was very little anti-government dissent among so-called feminists and progressives in the US. Nor was there much resistance or opposition among them to the imperial war machine and western interventions abroad, which was as robust as ever—if not more robust—under the supposed feel-good regime of Barack Obama and his sidekick, Hillary. Indeed many on the new/fake left (including liberal feminists) support these imperial, regime change interventions, in the name of liberating oppressed women or protecting human rights,etc.

Final Thoughts

It appears that second and third wave western feminism has degenerated into something that is at once apolitical (or faux political), consumerist, and a service to the global establishment. In the midst of the feel-good, reactionary spectacle of contemporary western feminism, there seems to be very little that is political or left wing in the traditional sense, meaning politics and protest that is critical of hegemonic power, Empire, imperial wars, economic collapse and despair, unemployment, and class issues.5 You know, all those “old fashioned” and un-hip issues that the left used to care about before identity politics took over and/or forced its way in.

It also appears that contemporary ‘feminists’ have been manipulated through marketing and mainstream media and sold a clichéd lifestyle as politics and political opposition. Yet, as mentioned above, their form of politics—i.e., identity politics—actually serves the establishment inasmuch as liberal feminists, and liberals or ‘progressives’ in general, readily support imperial wars, policies and interventions. In this way, these groups have (unwittingly) become pawns and proxies of the global politico-economic power structure.

While the personal may be political, it will never be more political than actual politics and political consciousness. In reality, identity politics is the opposite of politics, in that, traditionally, politics or public engagement dealt with common issues, whereas identity politics further fragments consensus and is extremely divisive. Identity politics–women competing with men or racial groups pitted against one another–reflects the divide and conquer desires and strategy of the elite, since the masses are always weaker when they are divided. It forces a false polemic that stands in the way of consensus building, collective identity, and unity. As the old activist saying goes, “the people united will never be defeated.” Identity politics flies in the face of this and does the exact opposite; it divides people at a historical juncture when unity is most urgently needed.

Western liberal feminism has succumbed to the divisive and diversionary agenda of identity politics. I for one am not moved by the media-driven, diversionary spectacle of women in pink hats or topless FEMEN protestors, which is reactionary and provocative but lacking in deeper political thought and analysis. Like so much else on the establishment or fake left, it reeks of simulacra, or, put another way, it is more spectacle than substance.

So you can keep your pussyhat, ladies, this woman has more on her mind than what’s between her legs.

 

 

 

 

 Notes

1 I no longer use the term left wing due to identity politics. It should also be noted that I do not identity as a feminist. If I had to use a label it would be anti-imperialist humanist.

2 I am not “shaming” women for going topless but simply pointing out the contradiction of doing so in order to oppose the sexual objectification of women.

3 While misogynistic comments—such as those made by Trump—may warrant criticism, he made those comments privately. As Hillary Clinton once told a group of Wall Street banking executives in an email exchange leaked on wikileaks, “you need both a public and private position.” I’m sure Hillary’s husband Bill’s private “position” on women would be even more shocking than Trump’s. Bill is a notorious womanizer and his private comments on women and their bodies would likely leave many horrified.

4 http://www.newdmagazine.com/apps/articles/web/articleid/76478/columnid/default.asp

5 Today class is not just about money or income, nor is it simply about the means of production. Today class it is arguably equally about, if not more about, similarities in the way people live and the things they do.

The Roots of the Refugee Situation: Rising Above the Forest to See The Trees

10 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Geopolitics, Politics

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This post is a follow-up to my previous article on the refugee situation in the United States. For me, this is not about Trump. The fact that I even have to say this shows how anti-intellectual and devoid of rational dialogue our society has become, especially among the so-called left. Accusing someone of being a “Trump supporter” simply for being analytical is not a PC scare tactic I respond to.

It is because the majority of so-called progressives were sleep walking in an identity politics, feel good la la land during the foreign policy disasters of the Obama administration—which the mainstream media was completely silent on—that the current situation has come as such a rude awakening to so many.

But for those of us that have a political memory longer than nine weeks, the refugee situation can be interpreted within the context of a much broader geopolitical and foreign policy landscape that includes several previous administrations, including and most notably the Obama administration.

At the risk of feeding into the false and diversionary duality of good administration/bad administration, I wish to point out the following two things. First, in the wake of the arrest of two Iraqis in Kentucky on terrorism charges in May 2011, the FBI suggested that dozens of terrorists might have entered the US posing as refugees. This led the Obama administration to reexamine the records of 58,000 Iraqis that had been settled in the US and to impose more extensive background checks on Iraqi refugees, limiting intake for up to six months, according to the Washington Post. I do not mention this simply to point out that previous administrations were already scrutinizing and limiting refugees from certain Muslim countries—that is just a side note and something that has already been noted by others.

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On Donald Trump’s Syrian Refugee Ban: From A Muslim Immigrant in North America

28 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by in Current Events, Geopolitics, Politics

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Article Published on globalresearch.ca  

On Friday (Jan 27) President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt all refugees to the US for 120 days and to indefinitely ban refugees from Syria until “extreme vetting” measures could be put in place. It also limits VISA issuance to individuals from six other predominantly Muslim countries. While humanitarian groups are up in arms, this action needs to be given some serious politico-historical context. I say this as a Muslim immigrant in North America.

Like all incoming presidents, Donald Trump has inherited the mess of previous presidential administrations. Arguably the biggest mess is that of the US led ‘global war on terror,’ which was begun by George W. Bush and continued under the Obama administration, notwithstanding promises to the contrary by Obama.

Despite its supposed fight against terrorism and terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda—the reason this war on terror was purportedly initiated in the first place—it is now known that the US has been supporting certain terrorists groups in countries like Syria, Iraq and Libya. While the US has long claimed to be opposed to Islamic extremism and Islamic terrorism, it has been directly or indirectly fostering it in the Middle East for decades. For everyday people in the US, this might be confusing. Why would a secular country that claims to be opposed to radical Islam and Islamic terrorism actually support these things? Because it serves its political, economic and geopolitical interests, that’s why. I have written on some of these interests elsewhere.

Here I simply wish to state that despite its rhetoric about combating religious extremism and terrorism, previous US administrations have actually promoted terrorism and Islamic extremism in the Middle East while targeting secular Muslim leaders, such as Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and, presently, Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. The same is true of Lebanon, a secular mixed-religion country that has suffered decades of western meddling and sectarian destabilization tactics. Part of the reason these countries and governments are targeted is that they do not comply with the US’ (and Israel’s) imperial agenda and policies in the region. Rather than supporting moderate, “modern” and secular Middle Eastern states, the US has hitherto declared war on them while allying with the most backward and extremist countries in the region, such as Saudi Arabia.

So What Does Any of This Have to Do With Syrian Refugees?

When the US (and its western and Middle Eastern allies) fund and support Islamic extremists and violent terrorist groups against these secular countries, there are people internally that will opportunistically join forces with them, either as paid mercenaries or for ‘ideological’ reasons or other personal or political reasons. Many join the terrorist groups and kill and plunder alongside them, as has happened in Syria, Iraq and Libya. These are not the type of people any population would want to welcome as refugees and immigrants. Yet, without strict vetting practices, it is possible that such individuals could enter countries like the US and Canada under the pretense of seeking refuge or asylum.

This becomes more likely as terrorist fighters lose ground and are forced to retreat, as they currently are in Syria. With the many terrorist groups in Syria presently being defeated by Syrian and Russian forces, one can imagine that thousands will be frantic and eager to evade capture and escape the country. One way to do this is to leave the country as a refugee and head for the west, especially to sympathetic countries like the US, which were indirectly funding and arming these groups (until very recently) in the first place!

Anyone capable of historical-political analysis, and anyone with a critical and nuanced understanding of the current mess in Syria, and the US’ role in creating this crazy mess, should be capable of understanding this. It is naive to believe that not a single terrorist fighter could be among the thousands of Syrian refugees entering the US. While I do not support a permanent and indiscriminate ban of Syrian refugees, especially for children and women, it may be necessary to implement vetting and screening practices to try to ensure that none of the western-backed terrorist fighters and murderers find their way into the US. This would be a form of blowback that no one would benefit from.

In November 2015 at least 27 states—represented by more than half the nation’s governors—opposed letting Syrian refugees into their states (this was before Obama approved the intake of 10,000 refugees). The reason for this is not simply that they are racist, Islamophobic xenophobes, though this possibly could be said of some of them. The larger reason is because, whether they are willing to publicly admit it or not, these governors understood that part of the blowback—military speak that basically means when our actions abroad come back to bite us in the ass at home—of America’s duplicitous policies in Syria (i.e., supporting and arming terrorist groups while claiming to be against terrorism) could include some of these terrorists fighters/Obama-era proxy mercenaries entering the US later on as refugees.

Of course, the current executive order is far too sweeping and will impact people genuinely effected by US-initiated conflict and destabilization zones abroad, including in the other countries named in the order. The executive order prohibits entry to the United States for nationals from six other Muslim-majority counties — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — for at least 90 days, Reuters reported. The US created many of the crises in these countries and continues to turn a blind eye to the plight of the people of Yemen, where the Saudi offensive has resulted in near famine. While the order may be aimed at limiting entry of (US-backed) terrorist fighters and hardcore Islamists, there are people in these countries in actual need of help or refuge. One can only hope that following the initial ban, a screening system will be worked out that helps those that genuinely need it.

In the meantime, one has to remain cognizant of the context that led to all of this. To summarize the main points above, under previous US administrations, murdering lunatics were propped up in the Middle East, including in Syria as part of a US-led effort to oust Bashar al-Assad and completely destabilize that secular Muslim country. Now that this mission has failed, it is not unlikely that some of these murderous US cronies/terrorists could end up in the US as supposed refugees. This is a situation that would benefit no one; and makes a vetting process necessary. And I say this as a Muslim immigrant. [1]

While Trump’s sweeping executive order is likely to create serious upheaval and uncertainly for refugees and migrants already en route, it is borne of an even greater mess and chaos begun by previous administrations and their radicalization and destabilization campaigns in secular countries in the Middle East. In order to understand the current situation, one must have a critical understanding of that larger context.

 

Notes

[1] As a nonpracticing  person that was raised by Muslim parents.