Culture

By Antonia Pont | – (The Conversation) – Kahlil Gibran (original spelling at birth “Khalil”) is a strange phenomenon of 20th Century letters and publishing. After Shakespeare and the Chinese poet Laozi, Gibran’s work from 1923, The Prophet, has made him the third most-sold poet of all time. This slim volume of 26 prose poems […]

Featured

Remembering Stan Lee

Juan Cole

“There is only One in the universe who is All-Powerful, and his only weapon is . . . Love.”

Featured

Top 7 Signs Willie Nelson Might not be a Republican (That’s ‘TeaPot Party,’ not Tea Party)

Juan Cole

“Christians everywhere should be up in arms,” Nelson said about Trump border family separation policy

Brazil

Corrupt Gov’t Kept slashing Nat’l Museum, Now Brazilian History up in Smoke

AFP

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazilian officials on Monday blamed years of government cutbacks for an inferno that gutted the treasured National Museum, described by President Michel Temer as a “tragic” loss of knowledge and heritage. Even before the embers had begun to cool Monday, grief over the huge cultural loss gave way to anger […]

art and photography

From State Censorship to Western Stereotypes. Interview with Iranian Artist Maryam Palizgir

Omid Memarian

This is part of a series done by Omid Memarian for Global Voices called How globalization, identity and culture intersect in art. ( GlobalVoices.org) – Maryam Palizgir is an Iranian-born artist and designer who currently lives and works in the U.S. Her work is interdisciplinary in nature, combining two and three dimensional drawing, sculptural painting […]

African-Americans

Aretha Franklin’s Reminder to Trump Era: Women, Minorities, Humans owed R E S P E C T (Video)

contributors

The Guardian: “Aretha Franklin, who has died at the age of 76, reflects on her 1967 cover hit Respect in a collection of archive clips. The queen of soul discusses how she and her sister injected Otis Redding’s song with their own twist and its subsequent use as a ‘battle cry’ and ‘women’s anthem’ 1. […]

art and photography

Haider Ali, Pakistan’s Truck Art, and Islam’s Message of Peace

Juan Cole

A sort of Muslim pacifist, the artist maintains that Islam is all about peace

Cartoon

America was Asking ‘Where’s Melania?’ when the Question was ‘Where’s Razan?’ (Cartoon)

Paul Jamiol

Via Jamiol’s World

Israel/ Palestine

Rumors of Shakira Israel Concert Cancellation called Incorrect

Juan Cole

The initial news was carried widely, including by the Jerusalem Post