Week three was an eventful one for the NFL. On Friday, President Donald Trump called NFL players who protest police brutality by sitting during the national anthem “sons of bitches” who should be fired. This resulted in dozens of players taking a knee during the pre-game ceremonies in days following. Starting Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva received a lot of attention for standing in the tunnel with his hand over his heart during the anthem while his teammates stayed in the locker room.  Villanueva is a former Army Ranger who earned a Bronze Star medal and served three tours in Afghanistan. After his service, he joined the Philadelphia Eagles and then…

Picture by Non Violent Vigilante. Flickr.com (CC BY-NC 2.0). Some rights reserved. The strike was hailed as a small victory and highlights the dire conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. The demands throughout the strike have been within the minimum rights of political prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Conventions: Regular visits from their families, access to telephones to call home, access to media in Arabic, as well as better food and better health care. Unfortunately the Israeli authorities have long ignored those requests and these basic demands, failing to respond to the humanitarian crisis. I am just wondering what was it that moved Israel to respond to their…

It’s been six years since former NBA player Mike Bibby took to a pro court, but it’s clear from a stunt on March 21, 2018, that he remains a pretty wicked opponent — at least for the average streetballers. Since leaving the pro game in 2012, Bibby hasn’t strayed too far from the sport, serving as a coach for his alma mater, Arizona’s Shadow Mountain High School.  While the video below shows that Bibby has kept up his chops on the court, six years away from the public eye is long enough that you can understand why his presence on a random public court wouldn’t draw much attention or suspicion from…

Who gets to represent certain issues and how, is determined through complex social processes. By representing a ‘progressive’ cause, the spokesperson will also come to public attention and can bask in the light of ‘progress’. This is why the audacious display of progressivist virtue signalling is in a sense similar to conspicuous consumption, – it comes to signify one’s belonging to a more ‘refined’ social class.                       Representing certain issues functions as a signifier of class distinction because those issues are formulated according to class interests. If social problems are presented as originating from the prejudices of individuals rather than as deep-seated structural issues, questions about systemic problems can be avoided.…

THE GOOD NEWS: Over a hundred Washington D.C.-area schools are imploring Congress and the president to take action against gun violence.     It’s a little more than a month after the deadly shooting that killed 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Faced with government inaction, administrators across the nation are looking for ways to protect their students and themselves from another deadly rampage. One school in Potomac, Maryland, is uniquely qualified to help in the fight against mass shootings: St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. President Trump’s 11-year-old son, Barron, began attending the school last year. On March 14, St. Andrew’s was one of over 100 schools…

German protest against nuclear weapons and the escalation of tensions between US and North Korea, organized by ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) Berlin, November 18, 2017. NurPhoto/Associated Press. All rights reserved. The world was astonished by the news that President Trump is due to meet the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to discuss nuclear disarmament and other security issues on the Korean peninsula. But should the world have been so surprised ? On 15 December 2015 Donald Trump said “The biggest problem we have is nuclear – nuclear proliferation and having some maniac, having some madman go out and get a nuclear weapon. That's in my opinion that…

Cross 110th Street on a frigid Friday night, when bitter winds blowing off the surface of Harlem Meer have driven most New Yorkers indoors, and you might think you had Central Park to yourself. But Lasker Rink, the sturdy double skating rink located just inside the park, is rocking. In one rink, tiny figure skaters inch in the direction of their instructor, tiptoeing almost on their toe picks. In the hockey rink, players are perfecting their snapshots, whipping pucks against the boards. They shoot and pass, practicing classic hockey stops that sheer ice off the surface. Fast and accurate, they skate in practice jerseys with Ice Hockey in Harlem stitched on the…

It’s hard to imagine a world without tech behemoth Apple in it, but when Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded the company in 1976, the personal computer was rare. With the creation of the Apple I, and the more advanced Apple II model, Wozniak helped to revolutionize the tech computing industry and pave the way for innovations like laptops, smartphones, and high-tech gaming systems. Now, Wozniak is hoping to transform the industry once again by training a generation of workers for high-paying jobs. Recently, Wozniak announced he was launching Woz U, an online educational institute that aims to train students and connect them to companies looking for high-skilled workers. And…

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defense Gavin Williamson speak at the NATO Headquarters November 8, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. Jette Carr/Press Association. All rights reserved.Next week, the government is due to publish the conclusions of its overdue National Security Capabilities Review. Announced in July 2017, the declared purpose of the review is to examine implementation of the National Security Strategy, and “help to ensure that the UK’s investment in national security capabilities is as joined-up, effective and efficient as possible.” Publication of the review comes in the wake of the UK’s latest national security crisis, in the form…

A handout picture released by Syria’s opposition-run Shaam News Network shows Syrians looking for survivors amongst the rubble in the town of Qusayr, in the central Homs province – 21-5-2013 (AFP – HO/Fair use. All rights reserved to the author) This article is the outcome of a collaboration between SyriaUntold and openDemocracy’s NAWA For the first time since 2011, the Damascus International Trade Fair was organized and held for ten days in mid-August 2017 in a bid to bring back foreign investors and promote an image of normalcy in the country. Many companies from Russia, Iran, China, Iraq, India, South Africa, and Lebanon participated among representatives of more than 40…