Dropsite News: Disruptive, New Media in the Age of Misinformation

Dropsite news has been one of my go to sources of news information since the war on Iran began. Apart from leaning in the same direction, there's something about the... dispassionate way in which they present facts and stories that really registers. In a world where our collective spider senses tingle so hard when reading the news, Dropsite brings a sense of objectivity and, well, truthfulness that you would struggle to find elsewhere.

Today Ibraaz hosted Jeremy Scahill, Sharif Abdel Kouddous, and Nika Soon-Shiong, all from Dropsite, to present a talk on new media. It was for sure a pitch, but an effective one, a lot reaffirming what fans of the news source already knew. There's value in hearing the story anyway - today brought a sense of passion that can't be found in objective reporting. All three speakers were sharp, articulate and confident - something that is sometimes lost behind a screen.

A note about the space - Ibraaz immediately threw me back to the vibe felt City Circle at Abrar House, except perhaps a little more prestigious and posh. I hope it becomes a regular venue for these type of events. 

I can't remember a time I've been so enthralled by speakers - and in a moment I'm beginning to see as my return to the talk circuit I left over a decade ago, it's a good affirmation that I'm coming back at the right time.

After the local elections: where next for class politics?

Between Faiza and Leanne we're quite spoilt for choice when it comes to community based political discourse. Today was the former's first post election talk and it's safe to say that it was a little abstract as a result. Yes, it's easy enough to relate anything to the slapping that the Labour Party recently got, but Class Politics is a subject of its own.

Much was learned, and yet I had a feeling that today's talk was more of a catharsis - a sounding board to rant about where we are with respect to class in the UK. Some interesting points were made about class and its relation to the surge in populism, but to my cynical ears we were just dancing around the fact that sometimes people vote in stupid ways.

Otherwise business as usual here.

Ilford in Conversation: Women Challenging the Political Status Quo

Tonight's conversation was of particular interest to me having been moved from the host's constituency to the guest's, Faiza Shaheen's. It turns out that this didn't make much of a difference to the latter, but was of benefit to the former... leaving the redrawing of the boundaries largely an academic exercise.

But that detail aside, tonight was less explicitly about women in politics and more about political troublemaking - although given the vicinity of the two impressive figures on stage you can't help but feel that their power may have come from their chromosomes after all.

I think the main takeaway was one of inspiration and hope, reassurance that there are people who think about things and more, take action. Both were soaked in their humility as well as their struggle, and it was nice to hear first hand Faiza's historical position with Labour.

Ilford in Conversation: Hunger Strikers #Filton24

I've mentioned before how important the Ilford in Conversation talks tend to be - they manage to remain current, honest, and present a depth that is far more than the usual talking points. The guests have been relevant, the audience (largely) sensible and all this with a sense of intimacy that can actually obscure how special and valuable this forum is.

Take tonight's topic for example - yes we may each have some preliminary knowledge into the hunger strikes being held by the Filton 24 but to hear accounts from those closest to them added a dimension you can't get by following social media accounts and reading blogs. I learned plenty over what I already knew, but the real value was in having the story shared.

The evening held no surprises, but that's okay - this particular subject matter wasn't about shock and awe. However if my suspicion about how many such forums have been held covering the topic holds (that they can be counted on one hand), the fact that we were fortunate enough to be present in one is of value enough.

Ilford in Conversation: The Rise of the Far Right and the Fight Back

Regardless of what you might think of Ilford or Leanne Mohamad, Ilford in Conversation is starting to become a very decent forum to hear people who have something to say, speak. Tonight we had the journalist Taj Ali to talk about the development of the Far Right phenomena, both in the UK and elsewhere. Where it could have been a very shallow topic ("everyone is racist, amiright?"), Ali gave it a sense of depth and nuance that I'd have struggled to find elsewhere.

The conversation format seems to work well versus the typical speech style. Various perspectives were covered: the historical, the theoretical and the practical aspects of the Far Right. It was also a very human conversation - not quite "we should all hug a racist" but the vibes were there - without compromise.

All in all, another impressive show, accessible and free. It's the kind of altruistic stuff that goes beyond typical politics, and as a result always manages to be refreshing.

Ilford in Conversation: Marking Two Years of Genocide: Courage and Sacrifice

Titles aside, this was actually a conversation between Leanne and Ibtihal Aboussad, famous for making that stand against Microsoft, her employer at the time. Today's talk showed that Ibtihal wasn't just full of hot air, but a principled, thoughtful and meticulous activist who is very clear on what she sees as our responsibilities in this world we find ourselves in.

Leanne deserves some credit too, being a host asking some decent questions while making us all forget exactly how young she is. Of course, as is par for the course, the lowlight of the session was the audience Q&A with the usual droll and self-serving questions being asked. Thankfully it didn't make up the meat of the talk.

For a last minute gathering the space worked well, and I look forward to the next one. 

The Lioness of Justice: Dr Naledi Pandor vs Israel

Apart from obvious contextual stuff, there were a few other things that I learned during tonight's audience with Dr Pandor. The most striking was that, yes, it is possible to have a genuine, humane, intelligent and articulate leader (where "leader" is to be taken in its most literal, governmental form).

Perhaps it's as basic as being highly educated, or maybe something a little more deeper about not having travelled through the usual path of hypocrisy and compromise that makes one a candidate in western democracies. Whatever the reasons, this alone, the fact that leaders can be excellent and are not inevitably awful, brought hope (and possibly despair if it's proven such integrity is impossible where we live).

But to the talk itself. A lot wasn't new, apart from in how it was presented (I may have mentioned how excellent the speaker was), and it's the precision and conciseness with which Dr Pandor expressed ideas the audience already knew of that shows why she is so valuable to the cause.

Aamer Rahman was excellent as the QA host - he kept out of the way and acted as a filter to a passionate, yet potentially tiresome, crowd. It was especially cute when the event ate itself when the question of SOAS's actions against its own Palestinian advocates was raised.

The topic is hot, with various deadlines approaching (both legally and on the ground in Gaza), so this was a useful opportunity to re-shift our minds to the apparent working of justice going on miles away from ground zero. 

ELSC London Fundraiser: Solidarity Forever

Although I was already planning to attend this, I was looking forward to it even more as a counterpoint to a recent comedy gig I attended. The link of course was Palestine, but whereas Sundeep was a new voice on the scene (and doing a job), this was a fundraiser which for me made it more authentic and of a greater depth than previously. Of course Aamer Rahman was the main ticket but I was also looking forward to the "variety show" line up it promised.

And on that it delivered. All the acts were great, educational and moving - albeit in different ways. It had Rebel Music vibes, where you could enjoy the material at whatever level you wanted (or were ready for). Aamer Rahman stood out of course - but in a lot of ways his higher profile made him seem a little out of place with the rest of the ground roots being laid. Of course, that didn't take anything away from the power of his content.

Which brings us to the ELSC. We were told a lot about the charity and its work, and it seemed very important to support during the days in which we find ourselves living. Knowing that this was all in support of that greater cause made the evening even more special, and I hope they managed to hit both their fundraising and word-spreading targets.

The evening ended at 10.45pm which made it quite the long night, and indeed some acts did feel like they were overly long. Otherwise it was a great evening out and I'm glad I got the chance to attend.

Ceasefire! By Sundeep Bhardwaj

Okay full disclosure: I didn't know who Sundeep was before I accepted the invitation to go see him. I am not ashamed of this (well, not at this basic level) as I quite like how I've begun to miss various social media hype trains over the past couple of years or so (and as an aside, I'm not quite sure what I did to achieve this but I hope it remains).

But the tickets were cheap, and of course the theme was important and overall we had a great night out (I may have laughed the most unreservedly from our group). Sundeep had some great bits, and some not so great bits: this was as demonstrative of being "hit and miss" as you could get. It was also quite raw at times - and not in the way stand up is supposed to be.

Going to a pro-Palestinian gig did make me wonder exactly how much Sundeep has monetised his (clearly authentic) take on the issue. I understand that this wasn't a charity or fundraiser, but anyone could see how empty the room would have been if Sundeep didn't have such a strong position on things.

To be clear this is a comment on my own position and the ways in which I can show support for this (or any) cause. It's a mild struggle and I've landed on the conclusion that any kind of show of solidarity ultimately counts, as long as the stronger gestures aren't compromised for the smaller ones.

Overall though it was Sundeep's energy and charisma that propped up the show the most - this is clearly someone on a bigger journey and I hope I get to see it as he progresses. 

The Long Human Tragedy of the Nakba and Israel's Settler Colonial Genocide

There are few worthy champions to the Palestinian cause than Francesca Albanese. It's clear that she didn't become such a force off the back of a UN mandate, but there's little doubt that we (I?) probably wouldn't have heard of her if she wasn't the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. So it was a simple enough decision to jump on the chance to see her speak in person at Greenwich University even if it was only with a few hours' notice.

Most viral content on Albanese have her shooting down yet another errant journalist or questioner, an impressive skill but also telling in that we don't really tend to see much of her pre-canned stuff. And so it was tonight, with the actual presentation lacking slightly - possibly because it wasn't telling an informed audience anything new. That said there were still insightful gems like how the original colonialists happen to be the main beneficiaries of post war peace.

A timely fire alarm went off as the main presentation finished, ringing as loud as the paranoia in the audience. Luckily (?) it turned out to be a genuine false alarm (you know, as opposed to Zionist sabotage), so was as amusing as it was annoying, not least because of the awful scenes of idol worship, selfies and sycophancy on display during the interval by many attending. Ironically Albanese shot it down in her razor sharp yet non-patronising way, making the point that some were missing her point.

Of course the Q&A more than made up for the wait. Albanese was more human than she appears in her tiktoks, and as impossible as it might sound, far more wise. Of course at this point of the more recent developments we're not going to hear any truly novel points, but it was enthralling to see how she was able to connect the war in Gaza (as well as the occupation as a whole) to more wider debates like socialism and capitalism.

I was lucky enough to ask a question about whether domestic policy in Western countries were in the scope of her work (and generally the definition of genocide) and although it wasn't answered directly (probably because it's a no), it did lead to further points about our own respective responsibilities with respect to Palestine and elsewhere. A particularity pertinent point was how boycotts were more essential than protests, and wider financial leveraging was more important than boycotts.

Overall the evening was exactly what I was expecting and in no way disappointing. I am pleased to say the internet hype is real and Francesca Albanese is the real deal.

Aamer Rahman: Culture War

It's been a whopping ten years since I last saw Aamer live on stage, and the various more casual interactions in the meantime have firmly made him more of a "human I happen to have met" than a minor celebrity that lives in a completely different world.

So I'm kind of lucky that a spare ticket turned up for a show he was performing that I had otherwise decided to skip as tonight's set was quite excellent, and I suspect I enjoyed it even more than The Truth Hurts a decade ago.

Not much has changed. Aamer is still precisely (and wonderfully) mocking the obvious topics of racism and privilege, but now he's doing it with the more powerful contexts of wars in the Middle East and more personally, becoming a father.

As before the insight isn't necessarily novel - you may have cracked the same jokes and made the same observations yourself in whichever generic brown social media group with a level of intelligence you happen to be in. But with the platform and the ease and confidence and charm in which Aamer delivers, the message is compounded to a sublime level.

There was lots of laughter, pride, hope and assurances tonight, in an hour that flew by way too quickly.

Decoloniality London Workspace Launch

Although I initially attended tonight's event in order to offer my personal support, it turned out that it was actually myself who had been the lucky one to be invited. The crowd was large and engaging enough anyway, and even before the evening began it was clear that much success had already been achieved in having them all gather in one place.

If I've skipped forward a little, it's only because I'm writing this with the same sense of discovery that I had at Mile End. At first glance it was just a larger and better lit Rebel Muzik, a room full of hippies-but-not-really who were just going to have a bit of a intellectually poetic party for a bit. But no, it soon became clear that this was much more than a jolly; this was to be academic and structured (although they will pour scorn on me for saying so), well presented and accessible. If there was any question of whether good organisation really kills a message tonight was proof that it can be done.

But what is Decoloniality London? To be frank I don't think I understand it enough to do it complete justice here, but it appeared to be a commentary on the exact immensity of control that the establishment has on society. Okay, so it was a little western and white bashing at times, but it did manage to get away with it on the whole.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to hang around for the whole of the session, but the presentations that I did see were illustrative, fun and (in my opinion most importantly) accessible and manage to engage even the biggest cynic in me; as cheesy and facebooktastic as it sounds I learned a lot from the interactive game of Simon Says we played. I was actually a little disappointed that I had to leave early, but I will be catching up via the recordings.

As the title of the night says, this was actually marking the launch of a set of educational modules based on the subject of (de)colonisation and the effects and conditioning it's had on us as a population. There's more info via the title link of this post, and I would suggest it's well worth checking out the Decoloniality London website for a more in depth presentation of how exactly they're trying to end the world.

Link of the Day

On the Phenomenon of Bulls**t Jobs

It actually started with my stumbling across what appeared to be a couple of 200 unauthorised posted on the tube (see here and here). On searching for the quote I reached the original source, an article by David Graeber originally written in 2013 when it appeared in Strike! magazine.

Amongst other things, the genius of the article is in its length, conciseness, clarity and especially in its content: I don't think there will be many people reading it who wouldn't have been doing so while nodding their heads in agreement. For me personally, it was able to vindicate some of the things that friends and I would have concluded a long time ago; that productivity of a workforce doesn't equal the number of man-hours expended. And as someone who has long established their relationship with work (I certainly know my own answer to the "What would you do if you won the lottery?" question), I thought some of the ideas in the article were bang on.

Because We're Crappy

Even if it does mean blowing my own trumpet I do see myself as the (if not, one of the) original proponent of seeing women in a hijab as human. But just to reiterate the more subtle point of that post, I wasn't excusing egregious behaviour but more arguing that the standards to which any person is measured should depend on more the specific attribute of whether a woman happens to have her hair covered or not.

I mean hey, it's not like I'm particularly modest or well behaved myself. A case in point: I love music way more than I should and I still have N.E.R.D.'s Lapdance on my track list and loved Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines (and not just because of that video). Both tracks happen to feature Pharrell Williams, someone who won't need any further introduction if you happen to be in that most wonderful and cherished of demographics - a Muslim on the Internet - right now.

But seriously, I'm really not sure what's the worst thing about this whole Hashtag Happy Muslims topic (and no, you won't find any links to the video here) that's keeping everyone so busy on Twitter and Facebook right now. The video itself was bad enough but at least that just made the makers of it look like fools, however the following halal vs haraam debate, although inevitable, made common folk like us really look dim and shallow. That debate was such a pointless distraction that I wonder if it was actually deliberate and strategic - perhaps it came for free with whatever paint-by-numbers media consultant was hired to advise on the video?

I can't write such strong words without actually explaining why the video really was such an awful thing, not just for Muslims, but for the universe as a whole:

1. The insecurity and irony of it all. Just like their rich and religious counterparts, truly happy people really don't need to shout it out.
2. And even if you did want to tell people how happy you were, creating videos backed by chart hits just smacks of tacky overcompensation. Happy people generally do not suck up either.
3. It's inconsistent. If any of these guys and gals danced at a non-segregated (I'm pushing things, I know, but baby steps eh?) Muslim wedding, then maybe I'd give them a round of applause. If they instead made an exception for some media exercise, then no, sorry, you're fired.
4. It should have at least tried to plausibly deny its political agenda loading. Even worse, the people behind the video seemed ready to fall on their swords and defend themselves before they had even published it. But hey, martyrdom is our thing I suppose.
5. The only thing worse than the professional management of an idea is when that professional management tries to dress things up as a grass roots enterprise. At least be subtle about the spin - although admittedly this is harder to do when your KPIs are measured in "number of retweets and likes". But hey look - rock star imams, yay!
6. The Internet sucks, and anything that relies solely on in will remain virtual and always lack credibility.
7. For heavens sake stop making Islam a brand. I have no intention of buying your blummin' t-shirt.
8. And finally, it's a bit outdated. There's a reason why we don't see happy happy joy joy United Colours of Benetton and Gap ads any more: they're lame.

There's more here on Fug's blog. And hey: all of the above is invalid and void if, as I'm still hoping it will be, the video turns out to be a massive joke and example of some genius satire.

You see, here's the thing. This isn't about religion or Being a Muslim™, but about our shocking level of creativity, depth and critical thought, the lack of which we so desperately seem to want to hang on to. The dumbing down and common denominating of such a rich way of life is disappointing at best, and it seems the only way we can think of making it accessible is by creating some kind of Islam-by-numbers, easy listening variant that also happens be easy on the eye.

The consequences of this are both internal and external. Bandwagon jumping is obvious to all but those doing the jumping and as we continue to dumb ourselves down and volunteer for these self inflicted lobotomies, we push others away. On the other hand, the self harm comes in the form of us normalising our ever increasing shallowness. It's just so immature and not only unhealthy for us, but unattractive for those we may want to collaborate and work with.

The real shame is that we were doing pretty well for a bit. Outlandish are an excellent example of a truly creative and spiritual venture (although it doesn't count if you only liked Aicha because: OMG hijab). Real grass root initiatives like those from Imran JK (<3) and the much loved Rebel Muzik did more for us than this video ever will. But things seemed to have stagnated over the past decade as things like the GPU become the main event of the calendar with which we're all associated. Because, well, Islam innit.

The real measure of maturity, confidence and security of us as Muslims will come when we don't see these kind of stunts any more - when we'll be provoking instead of responding, actively pushing forward with society instead of actively defending ourselves against it. Will it come soon? Who knows, but I certainly hope so.

I Once Ran a Marathon

There are pivotal moments in every person's life which are so life changing they end up remembering them every year in the form of anniversaries. The obvious and generic ones are birthdays (which if you think about it might be more special for a parent than for a child) weddings and deaths, but there are many more which although more personal and intimate can be just as potent. The start of a new job maybe, or a season in which a Muslim performed a Hajj - perhaps even a house move. Some dates you just remember.

Today marks ten years[1] since I ran the London Marathon (back in the days when it was a Flora and not Virgin), and I've never understated exactly how much that day (as well as the six or so months leading up to it) had an effect on me. I could say that the lesson was that anything is possible with hard work or something, but I think what I actually learned was that everything in life has a cost, and the more major it is, the higher the cost. In those terms it's a pretty obvious statement to make, but then I guess most life lessons are.

Blogs (well this one for me anyway) are quite handy in that they catch the moment at its most raw; before one has time to process or even misremember it. I regret not having Radio Shak for many pivotal life events, but the two I do the most are the marathon that I ran and the Hajj that I performed. Still, I did manage to get a "one year later" post down, which captured part of what I was feeling at the time. On the other hand a part of me is disappointed with how hard I'm clinging on to the achievement, if only because this essentially implies that the last thing I managed to do of any great value was a decade ago - and that compounded by the fact that I don't really run any more at all.

But lament aside, I am proud of being in that club of people who have managed to run 26 odd miles in one go, and although I'm not quite sure where my medal is the whole day ten years ago does stay with me. Perhaps that's another reason why anniversaries are useful - to both remind us that not only is time always moving, but that it makes space for further achievements too.

[1] Well not exactly - we ran on the 18th of April in 2004.

The Annual Inevitably Cynical "I Hate Valentine's" Post

Oh don't worry: the fact that this is my tenth post of vitriolic rambling is as depressing for me as it might be for you. On the other hand, I am impressed by the sheer stamina of the theme and although I don't know how they would look, I reckon I have at least another ten posts in me. Crikey. Ten! You can click the title link for the rest by the way.

But what exactly do I talk about this year? Could it be the unprecedented increase in apparent losership (a clear sign of whippage in my opinion)? Or how about how pervasive it's becoming in places I previously thought immune (oh why Karachi, why?)?

No, perhaps what I will talk about is my increasing indifference to the theme here, not because I denounce most forms of blatant commercialism, but because I've become even more cynical about anything and everything, of which my distaste of this day is but a mere iceberg tip.

Woah there, this post almost became seriously dark. Let's bring the humour back:

But hey, at least I got my own back on the day - Krispy Kreme offered me some sweets if I was to complete the old "Roses are red..." poem at the time I was claiming. I did so, humorously so I might add, and got not just one but two original glazed doughnuts as a reward. That extra doughnut was the difference between me being exploited and doing the exploiting, and so I see no problem seeing it as a win for the little man. There's no need to thank me.

The Annual Inevitably Cynical "I Hate Valentine's" Post

A very, very easy one this year:

All true, yet I'm still struggling to think which category I fall into. And no, that isn't an invitation to comment.

Katie, Freed

I'm sure all of you would have heard the amazing, yet sadly unsurprising, news by now. Of course, I'm not the kind of guy to say "I told you sohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif", so instead I shall link you to all my commentary on the whole saga:

28th April, 2005: I Have Straight(ish) Teeth Too

11th June, 2005: Link of the Day

6th January, 2006: Link(s) of The Day

13 December, 2007: Katie Holmes In No More Babies With Tom Shocker!

Being a mature gentleman, I am of course still able to express affection for dear Katie. Just so she knows. If she's reading.

My Name is Ahsan

The really scary thing is that I'm actually not writing this post freely. I was going to make some satirical remark about how I'm not really safe from extradition either (seeing as these pages are hosted in the USA), but then I asked myself "what if the US government don't find me funny?". The point here isn't about terrorism or even the concept of extradition itself, but the manner in which it can so easily be done by party that has no sovereignty over here. The US wouldn't have to make an argument that I wasn't being funny or sarcastic, their word and request would have been enough to get me a free flight across the pond to face trial - and that even though I had written this post at my home in London.

For those who don't know, that pretty much covers the situation that a few British citizens currently find themselves in. You may have already heard of Babar Ahmad, but there are others too, including Gary McKinnon and Talha Ahsan. Tonight was mainly about supporting these guys, raising awareness and creating some kind of actions afterwards.

It's actually quite shameful, not from a universal justice view (although yes, that too), but in terms of how easily the US managed to get into a position where it could violate citizens of another country so easily - even more so that that country is the UK. Where's the self respect?

The speakers today included Gareth Peirce, Bruce Kent, Victoria Brittain, Salma Yaqoob, David Bermingham and Riz Ahmed. For sure, I only knew of Riz, but judging by their presence and received reception the others were big names too. Some spoke objectively, some from a personal viewpoint, some were fun and exciting other were boring. All were passionate and compelling and even the cynicism and polemic I always have waiting for these kind of political movements was stemmed. It really is as straightforward as this: there is no way that this arrangement can ever be seen as fair or just even from a subjective or US-biased viewpoint.

Regardless of whether you care enough to do anything about this or not, I do request that you all reading at the very least privately acknowledge that this is wrong. And if not, then to please spend some time explaining why you hold that position.

Damien Hirst

Despite it no longer being fashionable to hate on good ol' Damien, I must stress that this visit was specifically made to point and laugh at all the other visitors who paid to get in, each pretending to "get" the pieces they were looking at. And laugh we all did.

Okay, that's a little harsh. Generally though I think it's better to knock something after you tried it, and now that I'm actually a little more informed at what Hirst has come out with over the years, I can with confidence say that it's all a little boring, wasteful and even a little gross.

I'm sure I actually enjoyed one or two pieces, but I'm damned if I can remember them. Either way I can't say I can particularly recommend the current collection being presented at the Tate Modern, although perhaps if you were checking out the rest of the awesome gallery you could spare a few moments for him. Oh but if you do, just be prepared to be laughed at.