The big Trump surprise
Donald Trump has won the US presidential election despite popular and media consensus that he would not. Hence, the prevalence of global disbelief and shock. Similarly, a few months ago, the unexpected result of the Brexit referendum caused shock in the UK and beyond. In both situations, prior public opinion surveys had persistently pointed in […]
Why I’m actually moving to Canada
My wife, Hana, emigrated to the United States from Kosovo as a child in the early 1990s. Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia back then, as a province of Serbia. She is Albanian, like most Kosovars. Albanians were always outcasts in Yugoslavia, a country exclusionary in its name, which refers to the South Slavs who comprised […]
Students Walk Out, Call for ‘Sanctuary Campus’
As daily protests against the election of Donald Trump continue a week after vote results were announced, more groups of students are staging walkouts. A large number were planned Wednesday at universities across the United States. Some protesters are calling for their campuses to be named “sanctuary campuses.” The campuses would be safe spaces for […]
US Progressive Organizations Report Jump in Post-Election Donations
In the week since the U.S. elections, numerous organizations whose agendas counter those proposed by President-elect Donald Trump have reported a dramatic surge in donations. Within hours after Trump was declared the winner last Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union unleashed feisty fundraising appeals, including one warning that if Trump implemented certain campaign promises, “we’ll […]
Accused Harford County, Md., Islamic State plotter makes free speech defense
BALTIMORE — Lawyers for a Harford County man who has been accused of providing material support to the self-declared Islamic State are asking a judge to throw the case out on free speech grounds. Federal prosecutors say Mohamed Elshinawy pledged allegiance to the terror group and received thousands of dollars from overseas to carry out […]
Why is Israel silencing the call for prayer in Jerusalem?
As I was growing up, I was always reassured by the sound of the muezzin’s call for prayer in our refugee camp’s main mosque in Gaza. Whenever I heard the call very early in the morning, announcing in a melodic voice that the time for the “fajr” (dawn) prayer was upon us, I knew it […]
Who Is Frank Gaffney?
A man with extreme views on Islam who once claimed President Barack Obama was a secret Muslim may, or may not, be advising President-elect Donald Trump during his transition into the presidency, according to differing reports. Frank Gaffney was brought on by Trump to “assist on national security issues” after officials who were brought on […]
Stephen Hawking Puts An Expiry Date On Humanity
Stephen Hawking believes that humanity has less than thousand years on Earth before a mass extinction occurs, the leading theoretical physicist said during a speech Tuesday at Oxford University Union, U.K. According to Hawking, the only way humans can avoid the possibility of extinction was to find another planet to inhabit. At the talk, Hawking […]
Sanders, Warren Given Senate Leadership Roles
After Senator Charles Schumer of New York was elected as the new leader of the Senate Democrats earlier on Wednesday, he gave both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren leadership roles in the upcoming first Congress under President-elect Donald Trump. Their roles are less meaningful than those of others on the leadership team, but their appointments […]
Nearly 3 Million Muslim Americans Face Trump Travel Ban
Donald Trump’s ban on all Muslims entering the United States could prevent over three million American citizens from traveling freely to and from their home country. That’s because, as of the latest estimates in 2016, there are over 3.3 million Muslims already living throughout the nation – and that figure could more than double by […]