Imperium

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on February 21st, 2012

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on February 16th, 2012

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on February 12th, 2012

Editor's note: This article is the third of a series of excerpts that Al Jazeera will be publishing from The Invisible Arab: The promise and peril of the Arab revolutions. You can also read an excerpt from the preface, and from chapter one, L'Ancien Regime.

Social media for social justice

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on February 9th, 2012

The following is the second of a series of excerpts that Al Jazeera will be publishing from The Invisible Arab: The promise and peril of the Arab revolutions. The excerpt from the preface can be found here.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on January 10th, 2012

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The Invisible Arab: The Promise and Perils of the Arab Revolution will be published on January 31 by Nation Books.

From the book's front flap:

The Invisible Arab is a brilliant essay from Marwan Bishara,  one of the Arab world's leading public intellectuals, on how the Arabs broke their own psychological barrier of fear to kindle the greatest revolutionary transformation in recent memory. It explains why the West was completely surprised by this and will continue to be surprised by the Arabs as long as the West is captive to the age-old stereotypes about the region and its people.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on December 29th, 2011
In an interview Newt Gingrich said the Palestinians were 'invented people' and had a chance to go to many places [EPA]

The film "Mission Impossible 4" opened in US theatre in recent weeks, starring BMW, Apple and Tom Cruise. A two-hour-long commercial on steroids.

If you are unfamiliar with it, Paid Product Placement (PPP) is a big thing in the movie industry.

This is how it works: Hollywood places in its movies certain watches, cars, or a laptop brands; preferably worn by George Clooney, driven by Angelina Jolie, or placed in front of Meg Ryan. In "The Transformers", for example, GM’s Cameros lead with Megan Fox.

PPP is indirect marketing that targets oblivious movie viewers, gender notwithstanding, Catherine Banning or Will Smith could be drinking Pepsi.

The spirit and soul of a movie are sometimes compromised when its script and shooting are shaped by commercial, rather than artistic, considerations.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on November 22nd, 2011

 

'The people have spoken loud and clear. It's up to the generals to stand up and salute the steadfast of their people and save the nation unneeded delays and suffering.' [EPA]

Why has there been an escalation in protests in Egypt?

The earthquake that transformed Egypt in the beginning of the year hasn't reached far or deep enough because the military - the backbone of the Mubarak regime - sided with the revolutionaries in the hope of safeguarding its status and privileges.

Tags: Egypt
By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on November 15th, 2011

Why has Syria called for an emergency summit of the Arab League?

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on September 29th, 2011
An ardent supporter of the Iraq war, Tony Blair is now tasked with brokering Middle East peace [AFP]

Tony Blair has been a political salesman since he first made his debut at the British Labour Party conference. And he is good, no doubt about that.

Not only because he speaks coherently; he is Scottish after all. Nor is it because he's often compared with George W Bush.

It's because Tony could peddle ideas and sell economic and military agendas better than most.

The question is: Would you buy a used car from Tony?

The Palestinians and the Arabs in general have concluded enough is enough.

Nabil Sha'ath, the Palestinian Authority's first ever foreign minister, told me last year: "Forget Tony Blair. I think Mr Blair is at the wrong time at the wrong place and he’s just making it easier for Mr Netanyahu to deceive us, really, in more ways than one."

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on September 22nd, 2011
Barack Obama has become even more pro-Israel than George W Bush, analyst argues [GALLO/GETTY]

Obama is the "the first Jewish President". That's the title of New York magazine's lead article, written by John Heilemann and quoting a major Obama fundraiser.

Listening to Obama speak at the United Nations on Wednesday many would nod in agreement, not less in Palestine and the Arab world. 

The US president has embraced the rejectionist Israeli position on the question of international recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

But that's not a Jewish position. It's a radical Zionist position. Many Jews, including US and Israeli Jews, do not embrace such extremist views.

But the fact that Obama surpassed his predecessor George W Bush, the most radical supporter of Israel among all US Presidents, has left everyone in Israel dumbstruck. The latest Zionist US president sounded like Israel's own founding fathers.

Never have they heard a US president read straight from the papers of the Israeli government.

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