The Real Debate Over Israel’s ‘Jewish Nation-State’ Bill The Real Debate Over Israel’s ‘Jewish Nation-State’ Bill
It’s not about whether systematic discrimination against Arab citizens should continue—it’s about whether it should be codified in explicitly racist legislation. ...
Jan 29, 2015 / Hassan Jabareen
Canada’s New Law Is Forcing Sex Workers Onto the Streets and Into Harm’s Way Canada’s New Law Is Forcing Sex Workers Onto the Streets and Into Harm’s Way
Advocates say the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act is trying to end sex work by making it too dangerous to perform.
Jan 29, 2015 / Michelle Chen
How the Roberts Supreme Court Has Strengthened the Powerful and Screwed Everyone Else How the Roberts Supreme Court Has Strengthened the Powerful and Screwed Everyone Else
From criminal justice to workers’ and voting rights to campaign finance, it has defied customs that buttress the Court’s legitimacy.
Jan 28, 2015 / Nan Aron, William Yeomans, and Michelle D. Schwartz
Why Is Marissa Alexander Still Being Punished for Fighting Back? Why Is Marissa Alexander Still Being Punished for Fighting Back?
As Alexander leaves prison for house arrest, it’s time to question the system that turns women into criminals for trying to stay alive.
Jan 28, 2015 / Victoria Law
What’s the Difference Between Sheldon Silver and Jamie Dimon? What’s the Difference Between Sheldon Silver and Jamie Dimon?
Federal prosecutors want to put one in prison for taking kickbacks for doing political favors. The other has been richly rewarded for defrauding investors and saving fellow bankers...
Jan 27, 2015 / William Greider
The Marshall Islands Versus the World’s Nuclear Weapons States The Marshall Islands Versus the World’s Nuclear Weapons States
The historic US nuclear testing site is taking its case for disarmament to the International Court of Justice.
Jan 26, 2015 / Peter Weiss
Why Is an Israeli Defense Contractor Building a ‘Virtual Wall’ in the Arizona Desert? Why Is an Israeli Defense Contractor Building a ‘Virtual Wall’ in the Arizona Desert?
Israeli companies are using the lessons they’ve learned occupying Gaza to militarize the US border.
Jan 26, 2015 / Todd Miller and Gabriel Matthew Schivone
This Long-Lost Constitutional Clause Could Save the Right to Vote This Long-Lost Constitutional Clause Could Save the Right to Vote
It’s time to start enforcing Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Jan 21, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Richard Kreitner
Ganzeer Versus the NYPD Ganzeer Versus the NYPD
One of the works appearing prominently in the Egyptian artist Ganzeer’s first US solo show has already been displayed to the thousands who attended this fall’s anti-police brutality protests. It’s a silkscreened print in yellow and blue, with a picture of Eric Garner being choked by an NYPD officer. Along the side, bold lettering reads: BE BRUTAL. The mock recruiting poster carries contact information at the bottom: NYPDKILLS.COM / 212-KILL-PEOPLE. Mohamed Fahmy, 32, who goes by the name Ganzeer (or “bicycle chain”) achieved international fame during the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt. For many foreign artists, a New York show might be viewed as an opportunity to focus an audience’s attention on their home country, but Ganzeer wasn’t interested. “I think that’s what they were expecting: ‘This guy’s from Egypt. He’s going to do a show about Egypt and the situation there,’” he said about being approached by the Leila Heller Gallery curator and Middle Eastern art expert Shiva Balaghi. But Ganzeer had other ideas; he wasn’t going to be Orientalized—a problem, he noted, that never seemed to be experienced by the British street artist Banksy or the Italian artist Blu. “I’m interested in making art about relevant things that are happening in the world,” he said. In other words, when in America, set your sights on America. “At first there was some hesitancy,” he said of the gallery, “but I think they really got into it.” Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50! He arrived in New York in mid-May, his first trip to the United States. He began to immerse himself in American politics and history. “He’s been reading Howard Zinn,” said Balaghi. The only link to his Egyptian work is a reference to a poster that landed him in the clink. In 2011, Ganzeer and two associates were arrested by Egyptian security forces while hanging a silkscreen called The Mask of Freedom, of a man wearing a ball-gag and blinders, wings protruding from his temples. In the new image, the ball-gag remains, the blinder is replaced by a full Captain America mask with no eye holes, and the man sports a business suit. “Great American Mask of Freedom,” the poster reads, “since 1776 and still going strong.” At least for now, Egypt’s loss is our gain. Ganzeer’s show will be on display at the Leila Heller Gallery through February 21. Read Next: Michelle Chen on police unions
Jan 21, 2015 / Books & the Arts / Ali Gharib
In the New World of Incarceration, Your House Is Your Prison In the New World of Incarceration, Your House Is Your Prison
So is your block, your school, your neighborhood… your city, state and country.
Jan 21, 2015 / Maya Schenwar