ignorance

muslims are no longer safe in bangladesh, anyone looking “islamic/muslim” are being attacked by the brutal regime.

may god protect them.

the US increasingly irrelevant to arab audiences

the arab uprisings have transformed many peoples views on the role played by the US in their region, writes mousa.

US policy in the arab world has long been widely unpopular, to put it mildly. nonetheless, many in the region recognised the influence of the US on their governments and consequentially on their own lives, and paid careful attention to american statements. signs of change in president obamas 2009 speech in cairo were met with great enthusiasm. from the halls of cairo university to the old citys souks, obama was a near iconic figure.

throughout the region, people celebrated obama as a potentially revolutionary force via US policy in the arab world. they were quick to be disappointed, however, as they came to realise the emptiness of the presidents rhetoric, especially regarding palestine, among the most important issues for many throughout the region.

the arab uprisings transformed many peoples views on the role played by the US in their region. while obama and secretary of state hillary clinton did offer verbal support to most of the protest movements, hypocritical selective support, initial american hesitation in backing the uprisings and past policies bolstering dictatorships were not forgotten.

more crucially, it became clear to many that the outcome of the uprisings was up to them, and not to US policymakers. in the case of egypt US statements only called for hosni mubarak to step down when it became entirely clear that it was inevitable. while the gesture may have been appreciated by parts of the egyptian opposition, it was not viewed as a significant turning point.

declared support for the uprisings also came to plainly confirm the incongruity between US statements and actions. even while obama celebrated egyptian protesters, US made tear gas which continued to be sent to cairo long after the toppling of mubarak, confirmed for many that american policy remained antagonistic to popular arab interests. while US actions such as this may be obstacles to realise popular interests in the arab world, they are no longer viewed as deterministic.

obamas recent visit to the occupied 1948 palestinian territories and west bank was the first of his presidency. here in the US, obamas tour of the area and speeches in jerusalem and ramallah were widely covered many american media outlets commended obamas performance as a bold call for peace.

in palestine, it was viewed quite differently. young activists referred to the speeches as "insipid" and "sycophant". the part of obamas jerusalem speech that many palestinians paid most attention to was an interruption by palestinian audience member

rabeea eid:

“did you really come here for peace or to give israel more weapons to kill and destroy the palestinian people? did you happen to see the apartheid wall on your way here? there are palestinians sitting in this hall. this state should be for all of its citizens, not a jewish state only. who killed rachel corrie? rachel corrie was killed by your money and weapons!”

more important than the points eid brought up was obamas reaction. as eid was dragged out of the hall and handed over to police, obama referred to the interruption as a good display of "lively debate", to which he was greeted with wild applause from the israeli audience. obama even joked about how he was accustomed to similar incidents at home.

in palestine, news and recordings of the incident quickly spread. while obama may not have heard the actual statements made by eid, his failure to address any of these issues throughout his visit and the irony of his response, said cheerfully just as eid was dragged away and handcuffed made him a mockery in palestinian eyes.

the US is increasingly irrelevant to movements throughout the region. in his march visit to cairo, secretary of state john kerry extended invitations to meet with members of opposition parties. many turned him down. distour party member gamila ismail explained her rejection of the invitation in a scathing letter to kerry, in which she criticised self interested US policy that has supported repressive regimes in egypt for decades. ismail asked the US to step back and allow revolutionaries to continue their struggle. she turned american rhetoric upside down as she

wrote: “this is a revolution that will teach the world, as obama, your president has said. and we want to teach the world and be a model for it. and we will become different than what you see. your embassy reports see that we do not deserve anything except this [limited] amount of democracy. and that this [limited] amount is 'enough'.” with the arab uprisings, a new wave has emerged one less forgiving of decades of american antagonism towards popular arab interests and less willing to allow for a continuation of self entitled US claims to dominance of the regional trajectory.

sarah mousa graduated from princeton universitys woodrow wilson school of public and international affairs in 2010, and was a 2010-2011 fulbright scholar in egypt. she is currently a graduate student at the center of contemporary arab studies at georgetown university. the views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect al jazeera’s editorial policy.

march, 24 2013

seleka coalition VS suspected looter

in bangui central african republic, rebels in the seleka coalition that captured the city over the weekend confronted a man suspected of looting a house.

march 26, 2013.

drone war: every attack in pakistan visualised

if i had to sum the viewing of this up id use one word: chilling.

if i had to talk about americas knowledge and consensus on these attacks in pakistan id use one word: typical.

initially when i would discuss drone strikes within pakistan, i would often receive very angry emails and messages highlighting (wrongly) how america "cares" about these lives but later on as polls showed the american public not only has very little authentic knowledge of these drone strikes in pakistan as well as afghanistan, yemen and somalia but the majority supports what is being supposedly done in the name of US drone strikes in these countries. you are told that actual terrorists are being targeted, that USA is being protected from a very prominent threat to its security and freedom, ad nauseum, ad infinitum but most of you do not realize that since 2004 more than 3000 pakistanis have been killed by US drone strikes. less than 2% of pakistani victims under US drone strikes are high profile targets. the remaining are children, civilians and alleged combatants.

in october 2006, 69 pakistani children were killed in a drone attack. no word from the US government or local government was heard on such mindless bloodshed.

this interactive map will show you the commencement of the drone strikes under george w bushs regime and the aggressive, reckless increase of strikes under barack obamas. please spare a few minutes of your routine to see the mayhem these drone strikes cause in pakistan.

to viewCLICK HERE

passover preparations

two boys watch as leavened items are burned in final preparation for the passover holiday in the ultra orthodox jewish town of bnei brak, near tel aviv israel, jews are forbidden to eat leavened foods during the passover holiday that celebrates the biblical story of the israelites escape from slavery and exodus from egypt.

march, 25th 2013

standing proud

an anti-mursi protester stands with the national flag after protesters burned muslim brotherhood buses during clashes near the muslim brotherhoods national headquarters in caiross moqattam district

march 22, 2013

iraqi orphan

this is a picture of an orphan iraqi boy who lost his mother so he drew himself a mother on the ground and slept next to her.

PNK TAXI

a female taxi driver fetches a passenger in arbil, about 220 miles north of baghdad, on november 19, 2011. inspired by the success stories of the ladies taxis services in lebanon and dubai, 25yrr old civil engineer "lana khoshabaan" has recently started an all women taxi firm in the kurdish city of arbil. the black cars imprinted with the words "PNK TAXI" are dispatched upon calls to pick up female passengers from all parts of arbil. currently, only three cars are in operation on two shifts daily.

something to think about

you know, when osama bin laden worked with the CIA in the cold war years as an ally.... that part of our imperialist history your textbooks keep hush hush.

car bomb in somalia

at least 10 people were killed when a car bomb exploded in mogadishu, the capital of somalia.

march 18, 2013.

bomb goes off as little girl sings

this little girl was singing about a "free syria".

syrian child speaks on "bashar al-assad"

mystery child

i came upon this image by accident, not exactly sure where it comes from nor the story behind it but it speaks to me. its very horrifying that a child goes through such things at a tender age (any age for that matter). i think to myself, what exactly is going through this childs mind as he runs towards safety? if he even managed to get there in the first place.

how european immigrants became "white" in america

in siskiyou county, california, lumber industry in 1909, complaints from immigrants reached an italian consular official who contacted the governor because italian americans were being treated as nonwhite. the governor replied frankly that the term “white” was one way people of that locality had of distinguishing “americans” from italians.

late european immigrants including irish, jewish, eastern european, and italian immigrants were often referred to as not being part of the “white race”. this can be attributed to the fact that race was a very muddled concept around the turn of the century. anthropologists, sociologists, politicians, courts, and the general population could not agree on what race truly meant. the lack of opportunities that late european immigrants faced is no way comparable to what people of color in the united states faced.

there were numerous ways to classify new immigrants: by nationality (the “italian race”), as a kind of racial mix with black or asian ancestry (as southern italians and hungarians were sometimes classified, respectively), or as white. in reality, race was not a concept of white and non white, but the general population instead picked up on social hierarchy that could be observed from public opinion surveys only in the early 1920s held that early white americans were at the top, followed by late european immigrants, then asian americans, and finally, black americans.

the racialization of white european immigrants was often dependent upon customs and culture, rather than purely appearance, as proven by early 20th century studies. a study of over 2,000 jewish men in new york city revealed that only 14 percent had the nose that is stereotypically referred to as a “jewish nose”. a study done before world war II showed that italians and jews in ethnic enclaves in new york city had very particular gestures and mannerisms, but this was only applicable to those who were not working class and unassimilated. the same could not be said about asian, black, or latino americans who were distinguishable on sight (with the exception of the few who passed for white). additionally, white immigrants could marry into “old european stock” and lose class markers through education and distinguishable surnames through marriage or name change.

the emphasis on racialization for white americans was on was on their class and cultural markers their desire to assimilate, the social problems associated with their arrival, and their english language and technical skills. as stanley lieberson notes, for black americans the main barrier was that they were castigated if they dared to leave their “place” or “station”, particularly with the “racial etiquette” present in the south. european immigrants, on the other hand, were actually encouraged to achieve. they were encouraged to assimilate and to become american (and white). black americans tried as hard as european immigrants but were considered to be biologically inferior and thus not suitable for many jobs or neighborhoods and even rights. chinese immigrants faced a different experience than european immigrants. they were unable to assimilate and were oppressed by other immigrants.

what european immigrants experienced was for the most part prejudice and effects of nativism. they were largely not denied access to institutions based on their race, and even when they were, they were considered better than people of color. courts decided that european immigrants were white before world war I (as it was necessary for citizenship). michael omi and howard winant believe that europeans’ race was actually settled by the 1890s. robert blauner believed that these immigrants were “viewed racially” but were not victims of racism. while the earlier experiences of white european immigrants were not ideal nor equal to those of earlier immigrants, they were also not the same as those of asian, black, latino, or native americans though it is important to note that racialization of many ashkenazi jewish immigrants was not the same as that of gentiles.

the ignorance never stops

a pakistani christian woman weeps after visiting her home which was damaged by an angry muslim mob in lahore, pakistan.

march 10, 2013.

protestors clash

an egyptian protestor evacuates a wounded man during clashes between protestors and riot police near the state security building.

march 6, 2013

hugo chávez

imprisoned for his role in the rebellion, chávez spent two years in detention. he was released in 1994 by then president rafael caldera who also pardoned him. here he speaks to the press after being freed.

desolate

8yr old warda stands in front of the ruins of her house in saddam city.

april 27, 2003.

syrian proxy war: 3/4/13

a syrian rebel took aim during clashes with government forces in the streets near the aleppo international airport.

march 4, 2013