What our fear of refugees says about Europe

What our fear of refugees says about Europe

Jacques Lacan claimed that, even if a jealous husband’s claim about his wife – that she sleeps around with other men – is true, his jealousy is still pathological. Why? The true question is “not is his jealousy well-grounded?”, but “why does he need jealousy to maintain his self-identity?”. Along the same lines, one could say… Continue reading What our fear of refugees says about Europe

Is something rotten in the state of Turkey?

Is something rotten in the state of Turkey?

My short comment on the “war on terror” published online by New Statesman has triggered a series of critical reactions which definitely looks like a well-coordinated campaign, so it deserves a short reply. With regard to the statements quoted in my text and falsely attributed to Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkish intelligence, things are simple… Continue reading Is something rotten in the state of Turkey?

We need to talk about Turkey

We need to talk about Turkey

There is something weird about the solemn declarations that we are at war against the Islamic State – all the world’s superpowers against a religious gang controlling a small patch of mostly desert land… This doesn’t mean that we should not focus on destroying Isis, unconditionally, with no “but…”. The only “but” is that we… Continue reading We need to talk about Turkey

The Paris attacks and a disturbance in a cupola

The Paris attacks and a disturbance in a cupola

Yes, the Friday 13th Paris terrorist attacks should be unconditionally condemned, but… no, no alleviating circumstances, it is just that they should be REALLY condemned, for which more is needed than the simple pathetic spectacle of solidarity of all of us (free, democratic, civilized people) against the murderous Muslim Monster. In the first half of… Continue reading The Paris attacks and a disturbance in a cupola

Are the worst really full of passionate intensity?

Are the worst really full of passionate intensity?

Now, when we are all in a state of shock after the killing spree in the Charlie Hebdo offices, it is the right moment to gather the courage to think. We should, of course, unambiguously condemn the killings as an attack on the very substance our freedoms, and condemn them without any hidden caveats (in… Continue reading Are the worst really full of passionate intensity?

Zero Dark Thirty: Hollywood’s gift to American power

Zero Dark Thirty: Hollywood's gift to American power

Here is how, in a letter to the LA Times, Kathryn Bigelow justified Zero Dark Thirty’s depicting of the torture methods used by government agents to catch and kill Osama bin Laden: “Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement. If it was, no artist would be able to… Continue reading Zero Dark Thirty: Hollywood’s gift to American power

The Un-Shock Doctrine

The Un-Shock Doctrine

The Left today faces the difficult task of emphasizing that we are dealing with political economy—that there is nothing “natural” in the present crisis, that the existing global economic system relies on a series of political decisions—while simultaneously acknowledging that, insofar as we remain within the capitalist system, violating its rules will indeed cause economic… Continue reading The Un-Shock Doctrine

Two-state solution is the greatest obstacle to peace

Two-state solution is the greatest obstacle to peace

Two years ago, the city of Petah Tikva created a hotline that parents and friends can use to inform on Jewish women who mix with Arab men. The women are then treated as pathological cases and sent to a psychologist. In 2008, the southern city of Kiryat Gat launched a program in its schools to… Continue reading Two-state solution is the greatest obstacle to peace

Israel’s best hope lies in a single state

In Israel, there is a growing number of initiatives – from official bodies and rabbis to private organisations and groups of local residents – to prevent interracial dating and marriage. In East Jerusalem, vigilante-style patrols work to stop Arab men from mixing with local Jewish girls. Two years ago, the city of Petah Tikva created… Continue reading Israel’s best hope lies in a single state

A Soft Focus on War

A Soft Focus on War

When Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker won all the big Oscars over James Cameron’s Avatar, the victory was perceived as a good sign of the state of things in Hollywood: A modest production meant for independent festivals clearly overran a superproduction whose technical brilliance cannot cover up the flat simplicity of its story. Did this mean… Continue reading A Soft Focus on War