Category Archives: Global Politics
BDS court case verdict and the surrounding campus politics
Tetrault reacted positively to the court verdict and stated that “the courts basically rejected the attempt by the pro-Israeli forces on the UBC campus to shut down [the] debate… [The verdict] was a very good decision for free speech, student union independence and I think it will discourage people from going to court to decide political issues.”
A Palestinian’s response to Koby Michaels’ Op-ed
Dear Koby Michaels, I’m writing this open letter to inform you and those who have read your article that your intentions behind writing it was not that of genuine fear, but of an ideological impetus to preserve your privilege. You benefit as a colonizer of unceded Coast Salish territory, and also Palestinian land if you […]
Standing up for Human Decency
In June 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel began its occupation of the West Bank. Less than six months later, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 242. Resolution 242 invoked the foundational legal principle of the “inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war” and called for “withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in […]
How 4chan Radicalizes White Men Online
Content warning: racism, misogyny, animal cruelty 4chan is an imageboard where users post anonymously. It’s a simple premise, but within that ephemerality they’ve still made their mark on the web. They’ve been known to pull off stunts ranging from leaking celebrity nudes to calling in bomb threats, and from stealing jokes on Reddit to lighting […]
Inside the BDS court case against the AMS
Edit: read the full verdict here On Monday March 6, 2017, Toronto-based lawyer Alexi Wood appeared in the BC Supreme Court to defend the Alma Mater Society (AMS) against a lawsuit brought forth by a UBC Commerce student, Logan Presch. The litigation involved the proposed Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) referendum question that was put […]
An Open Critique of Sophie Gregoire Trudeau
Dear Mrs. Trudeau, By now, the reality of your Women’s Day Instagram post, where you showcase your husband’s activism, has reached hundreds of thousands of people, and the backlash has been swift and brutal. It is not my intention to approach this with anger, or contempt; but rather with this letter I attempt to educate […]
Speech Given at Portal Park, February 5th, 2017, at the Stand Against the Ban Rally
As-salamu alaykum, peace be upon you all, friends, comrades. Today I stand here in solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attack in Quebec. I stand here with the victims of Trump’s ban, and with all the victims of Trump’s America. I stand here in solidarity with all those who live their lives in fear, […]
UBC’s Second Chance to Stand for Justice: the 2017 BDS Referendum
Two years have passed. In the past two years the world has been marked by attacks, peace deals, attempted and successful coups, tragic diasporas, referendums and elections. Often times change has been for the worse, yet sometimes for the better. Those who have been following the Middle Eastern vicissitudes may agree with me that the […]
Naked Power
Content warning: graphic descriptions of violence The presidency of the United States of America has more exclusive access to military force and more unilateral deployment power than ever before. The United States of America is often spoken of as the ‘richest and most powerful nation the world has ever seen.’ This power is generally attributed […]
Reflections on Raising and Burning Flags…
As a queer man, the recent burning of the gay rainbow flag at the University of British Columbia has not caused me any lost sleep. I can assure you, however, that I’m not impervious to homophobic threats or attacks, nor am I apathetic to the struggles of the several marginalized communities that I navigate and […]
