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Join NOW!Fear of terrorism has frightened the British Library into rejecting a cache of digital archives and other documents relating to the Taliban, reports the Guardian. The archive includes more than 2 million translated words, but accepting the documents might violate Britain’s anti-terror laws. The archive included newspapers, magazines, books of Sharia law, and poetry.
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The first thing my parents bought when they earned money in America was a giant bag of almonds as a talisman for success.
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The Americans is no self-help book, no guide to suburban living. Rather, [it] offers all of us a chance to examine the places we make our homes, to remember what these places might mean in the context of American history, and to consider how they might shape American culture.
...moreAs the world continues to mourn the 12 dead in Wednesday’s terrorist attack on the controversial French magazine Charlie Hebdo, satirists, cartoonists, writers, and editors have come together with PEN America to stand against the attack and bolster the necessity of free expression, even when that expression is offensive to some. From PEN America’s statement: Peaceful […]
...moreIn Egypt, as elsewhere, journalists are under fire.: Those who do not adhere to self-censorship are likely to face pressure from the state. Al-Masdar website features political news and is loosely affiliated to the recently banned secular activist group April 6 Movement. “We can’t do most of the work we want to do,” says Ali Asem, director […]
...moreThe Islamic State of Iraq in Syria, known better as ISIS, has operated in Syria and Iraq since 2003 as an offshoot of al-Qaeda—at least until al-Qaeda disavowed any connection. The military organization is neither a political party nor religious group, though membership primarily consists of Sunni Muslims, the “orthodox” branch of Islam and the […]
...moreWilliam Vollmann is the author of dozens of novels, short stories, essays, and articles, and the recipient of a multitude of nominations, grants, and prizes, including the National Book Award. He is also, according to a piece he wrote for the latest issue of Harper’s, the subject of a 785-page FBI file related to suspicions that […]
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What wearies me is how often I have found myself stunned and silent in recent years. What especially wearies me is having such a finely honed vocabulary for tragedy.
...moreNature investigates the rising number of terrorism attacks, and threats, against researchers in the field of nanotechnology. Those perpetrating the violence claim to be environmental activists, and believe that nanotechnology will result in further harm to our planet. They are not afraid to make their mission known: “The next day, an eco-anarchist group calling itself Individuals […]
...more“Any potential act of terrorism simply feeds the system, creating new opportunities to add yet more layers to one bureaucracy or another, or to promote new programs of surveillance, control, and war-making.” Guernica Magazine’s Tom Engelhardt discusses terrorism in the context of the most recent E.Coli outbreak. Nothing is absolutely certain in terms of national […]
...moreThe Avian Gospels is a strange, compelling parable about an authoritarian city-state, an underground resistance, and a plague of mysterious birds.
...more“My parents, with admirable foresight, had their first child while they were on fellowships in the United States. My mother was in public health, and my father in a library-science program. Having an American baby was, my mother once said, like putting money in the bank.” So begins Daniel Alarcón (who is reading at the […]
...moreMohaned works at a small hotel in Palmyra, a desert town in northeast Syria. On the side, he helps a friend pitch taxi rides to tourists. (Mohaned speaks Arabic and English; his friend speaks only Arabic.) The following is an edited account of our conversation during the three hour taxi journey between Palymra and Damascus.
...moreIt’s Saturday morning. Get the sleep out your eyes and start clicking. Farhad Manjoo has some solid ideas on how to beat the Kindle. Now, if only Amazon’s competitors will listen. There is great sadness in Sequoia National Park, at least for someone. Do you love car chase scenes in movies? They look a lot […]
...moreIt’s nice when green design actually look pretty cool, such as this Mexico City stackable solar powered park. On the other hand you have these bus shelters, which leave something to be desired. Actually, it turns out the answer to keeping ourselves safer is through sugar free cookies. “Fairy tales and legends” was the theme […]
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