August, 2010
Arts & Culture, Features - Saturday, August 21, 2010 12:09 - 1 Comment
Arts & Culture: Redo Pakistan
With Pakistan now a major item on the news agenda – instability, violence, and recently, of course, the devastating floods – what hope is there for Pakistani artists? Can they hope to address the situation of the country in a way that could possibly make a difference? Is the contemporary art world just too Eurocentric to let them in? Musab Younis, Ceasefire deputy editor, speaks to the curators of an innovative new art project, ‘Redo Pakistan’, which has issued a call to artists to ‘Declare War Against the Present Time.’
Arts & Culture, Books, Features, Science - Friday, August 20, 2010 23:35 - 2 Comments
Decoding Reality: The Universe as Quantum Information
What is reality? Is the universe, ultimately, no more than bits of information?
Physics, and Quantum Theory in particular, have grappled with the fundamental structure of nature's basic building blocks for decades, but the answers remain elusive. Quantum physicist and Ceasefire columnist Sebastian Meznaric takes a look at a new book on the topic and finds it full of intriguing and original insights.
Columns, Sabir on Security - Friday, August 20, 2010 9:10 - 6 Comments
Sabir on Security">The battle against Schedule 7 starts now Sabir on Security
Everyone knows that "you have the right to remain silent" when dealing with a police officer, and everyone is wrong. This is what Rizwaan Sabir has come to realise from both his personal experience and academic research. The police have, over the past few years, been given an extraordinary number of powers, including "Schedule 7", that most members of the public know nothing about; and for good reason: these are not only intrusive but often deliberately used to harass, and spy on, campaigners, activists and members of the the Muslim community.
Columns, Devil's Advocate, Politics - Thursday, August 19, 2010 23:50 - 6 Comments
Devil’s Advocate: On the right to offend
Is there a right not to be offended? If so, what about the right to offend? In particular, are some Muslims simply conflating being justifiably criticised with being illegally abused? Omer Ali, Ceasefire's very own Devil's Advocate, ruminates on the matter...
Columns, Diary of a Domestic Extremist - Thursday, August 19, 2010 11:38 - 10 Comments
Diary of a Domestic Extremist – The EDL: Street fighting for the establishment
The last 18 months has seen the meteroic rise of the EDL. In two weeks, they are planning to organise a protest in Bradford, their 'Big One'. In his new piece, Mikhail Goldman provides a powerful analysis of the socio-political reasons behind the popularity of the EDL and provides a few pointers as to how the response to it should be; puncturing, in the process, a number of myths and illusions that are harboured by both EDL supporters and their opponents.
Arts & Culture, Theatre - Thursday, August 19, 2010 0:04 - 0 Comments
Theatre: ‘The Duchess of Malfi’
"After seeing a man strangle a woman with a telephone cord he then dragged me into a room, locked the door behind us, he then sat me in a chair, took off my mask and stared into my face. I had actually paid for this experience, and this is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping would happen." Catherine Oshea reviews the 'Duchess of Malfi', the latest offering in 'immersive' theatre production
Politics, Stateside - Wednesday, August 18, 2010 11:09 - 1 Comment
STATESIDE – BDS campaign: hopes and disappointments at UC Berkeley
In March, the student body of the University of California at Berkeley voted in favour of a bill that advocated divestment from companies that helped and benefited from Israeli occupation and human rights abuses. The vote was supported by a wide and diverse collection of groups and individuals but strongly criticized by pro-Israel activists and, over the following weeks, has led to a series of further votes and counter votes. Ceasefire US correspondent and BDS activist Humza Tahir reports.
Columns, Modern Times - Tuesday, August 17, 2010 11:02 - 14 Comments
Modern Times: Confessions of an ex-racist
Are you a racist? no? what makes you so sure? to put it differently, what would you do if you discovered that your attitudes to other people contained, in fact, elements of racism? How would you deal with such a revelation? Corin Faife thought his attitude to race was unblemished, then he took a test...
Politics, South of The Border - Monday, August 16, 2010 1:54 - 1 Comment
South of The Border: The View from Latin America
The past few years have been interesting times in Latin America, and this week was no exception: from protests in Bolivia, to a Brazilian possible u-turn on the Iran question to the remarkable warming of relations between Chavez and his Colmbian neighbours. In this week's dispatch, our correspondent Tom Kavanagh reports on what's been going on south of the border...
