let’s not forget that mother’s day is supposed to be an anti-war day.
May 16, 2013
by mara.ahmed
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Category Archives: media
May 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
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Bain Capital leads $6.9 billion buyout of BMC Software, among largest deals of the year
first a story in the NYT and now in the boston globe. my brother doing his usual magic at BMC which is now being acquired for $6.9 billion. as my husband said yesterday, “couldn’t have happened to a better person!” … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
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Indian Officials Suggest Swiss Tourist, Husband Partially To Blame For Gang Rape
“Blaming a female victim of a sex crime is common in India because of a woman’s role in society, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.” – what? and it’s not common in america? do the sydney morning herald and the … Continue reading
April 7, 2013
by mara.ahmed
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A Young Man Gets ‘Filthy Rich’ Boiling, Bottling Tap Water: NPR
i don’t like terry gross. for many reasons. here, i find her sniggering comments and questions to be condescending and pointed. her question to hamid, “have u seen a drone?” is incredible. she seems to talk from the far side … Continue reading
March 15, 2013
by mara.ahmed
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media and popular culture
march 12, 2013: i was invited to speak about “media and popular culture” to high school students at the global citizenship conference at nazareth college today. i used photographs and videos to showcase the power of media in shaping our … Continue reading
February 9, 2013
by mara.ahmed
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How to deal with a mansplainer starring Hillary Clinton in gifs
so this video has become viral and my feminist friends r posting about how proud they r of hillary. no mention of what she’s actually saying – which is completely moronic. her point is that after americans were killed in … Continue reading
November 20, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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november 16, 2012
my thoughts today: this is so scripted it isn’t even corny. escalating violence in order to provoke a reaction then exaggerating that reaction in order to simulate a state of war. one of the best equipped armies in the world … Continue reading
September 28, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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Power of passion
i’ve always found the pakistani newspaper “dawn” to be disturbing in its greedy embrace of american imperialism. now i’m more sure than ever that dawn is just a sad pakistani version of the NYT. i commented on this article “power … Continue reading
September 17, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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#MuslimRage
From Heba Youssef on Twitter: If anyone wants to witness true #MuslimRage, attend any Egyptian wedding: the belly dancing is practically terrorism using bottoms. More powerful images of Muslim rage here.
August 2, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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Syria Is Iraq
o m g. the man is insane. can’t believe he can write for any newspaper at all (even the nyt) after belen fernandez demolished him unequivocally, irreversibly, permanently. … And Iraq was such a bitter experience for America that we … Continue reading
July 24, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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summer walks…
walks by the erie canal with my husband, almost every day, all summer long when we’re in pittsford (he took this picture).
May 12, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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are u mom enough
on the time magazine story (are u mom enough) that everyone’s talking about: i don’t have any problems with pictures of mothers breastfeeding their kids, even if their kids r toddlers, but i do have a problem with the pressure … Continue reading
May 6, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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Wallace interview with Ahmadinejad was little more than deliberate demonization
“Rather than allow Ahmadinejad to speak for himself, Wallace and his production team at CBS decided to create their own narrative, shaped by decontextualized quotes, selective editing, and subjective voice-overs by the renowned interviewer. As a result, the interview that … Continue reading
May 6, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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Mahtab Mansour: “Riding Teheran”
Mahtab Mansour: In Iran, we have a saying: “Women are like tea, the hotter the water, the stronger they get.”
March 26, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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stand against racism PSAs
was filmed this morning for a public service announcement related to the ywca’s stand against racism. so important. was nervous about being in front of the camera, rather than behind it, but it all went v well. here’s more on … Continue reading
February 25, 2012
by mara.ahmed
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career fair today
some filmmaking tools i shared with high school students when speaking to them about being a part of the media – career fair, islamic center of rochester, feb 25, 2012.
November 17, 2011
by mara.ahmed
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how effed up is this?
cartoon by michael ramirez, democrat and chronicle (the biggest selling local newspaper in rochester), november 16th. how effed up is this?
November 4, 2011
by mara.ahmed
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amy goodman in syracuse!
november 3, 2011: just met amy goodman at syracuse university. she had been invited by the syracuse peace council as part of their 75th anniversary celebration. she talked about the importance of independent media and the power of grassroots movements … Continue reading
July 9, 2011
by mara.ahmed
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What Jaron Lanier Thinks of Technology Now
In his book “You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto” Jaron Lanier criticizes digital technologies, including Wikipedia and social-networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, which he describes as dehumanizing and designed to encourage shallow interactions. … “The thing about technology … Continue reading
April 21, 2011
by mara.ahmed
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My Monster, My Self: On Nicholas Carr and William Powers
Reading has been supplanted, as Carr puts it, by “the speedy, superficial skimming of information” culled from the links generated by a Google search, which discourages “any deep, prolonged engagement with a single argument, idea, or narrative.” Whereas once we … Continue reading
April 4, 2011
by mara.ahmed
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The Internet: For Better or for Worse by Steve Coll
The Internet’s distributed structure contributes to the impact it has had on speech, assembly, and politics—it has lowered economic barriers to entry for publishers and activists alike, and it has enabled peer-to-peer or many-to-many audience strategies that seem to favor … Continue reading
March 7, 2011
by mara.ahmed
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Rape? Women? Stripped? What really happened to Lara Logan?
this was my position throughout this sad episode: we must wait to hear what logan has to say, we must wait to get more info before making any comments. unfortunately, msm had a field day with this. it fit their … Continue reading
December 7, 2010
by mara.ahmed
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Life goes online after death
As a person dies, should their online presence end too? What should happen to all that personal information? Full article.
August 11, 2010
by mara.ahmed
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covering the war in afghanistan
one picture that’ll never make the cover of time magazine. Samia, a 26-year-old activist from Kabul who took part in the demonstration, said that NATO has only aggravated the situation over the past decade and fed a parasitic and dependent … Continue reading
May 26, 2010
by mara.ahmed
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From Facebook, answering privacy concerns with new settings
Here are the principles under which Facebook operates: – You have control over how your information is shared. – We do not share your personal information with people or services you don’t want. – We do not give advertisers access … Continue reading
May 24, 2010
by mara.ahmed
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Creating a Network Like Facebook, Only Private
They have called their project Diaspora* and intend to distribute the software free, and to make the code openly available so that other programmers can build on it. As they describe it, the Diaspora* software will let users set up … Continue reading
February 23, 2010
by mara.ahmed
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Al Jazeera English – The role of media in the USA
amy goodman on the riz khan show: Has the mainstream media in the US replaced serious coverage with “junk news” and tabloidism? Especially in foreign affairs, are Americans less informed than ever? Who is shaping their perceptions of the rest … Continue reading
August 3, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY – HD TRAILER
Michael Moore’s next film explores the root causes of the global economic meltdown and takes a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore has described as the biggest robbery in the history of this … Continue reading
May 28, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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political art – john heartfield
Whoever Reads Bourgeois Newspapers Becomes Blind and Deaf: Away with These Stultifying Bandages!, 1930, John Heartfield
May 23, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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chicks with guns
talking of images and their effect on transforming culture, here is an exhibit by christopher slack. in view of the statements he is trying to make about war and violence, what do u think? i like the idea of the … Continue reading
May 7, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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Chris Floyd: A Full-Court Press for Pakistan War
finally someone who sees it clearly – the case that is being built for war in pakistan. nothing new. same MO: the press creates gradual hysteria (although everything seemed to be alright in pakistan when the swine flu first struck), … Continue reading
April 8, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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ala. wife alleged abuse before quadruple-slaying
when a muslim man killed his wife in buffalo, everyone became obsessed with the news. there was a lot of “let’s study islamic culture and religion to understand this.” unfortunately domestic abuse and wife killing are not endemic of any … Continue reading
April 6, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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the human cost of the war in iraq
when someone posted the number of civilian deaths in iraq (about 600,000 from 2003-2006) on facebook, there was a lot of brouhaha over how that number seemed too high. interesting how people sitting on their couches, watching cnn, think they … Continue reading
April 1, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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katha pollitt’s answer to my write-up “katha pollitt’s misguided take on free speech”
Dear Mara, thanks for writing. If you read my work you know I am totally opposed to Guantanamo and similar violations of human rights. I am not a defender of US imperialism. I don’t see why attacking “blasphemy,” “defamation of … Continue reading
March 9, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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katha pollitt’s misguided take on freedom of speech
Although I am a committed subscriber to The Nation, I was immensely disappointed by Katha Pollitt’s narrow and unoriginal piece, “Freedom of Speech Round 5,425“, The Nation, 2/18/09. By quoting fatwas against Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasreen, Theo van Gogh and … Continue reading
January 23, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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thomas friedman – journalism or infotainment?
here’s the deal. when mr friedman is quoted by people as if he were a real journalist, i find it hard to keep a straight face, for i am constantly entertained by what naomi klein calls his “fake-sense pronouncements”. some … Continue reading
January 21, 2009
by mara.ahmed
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ten myths about pakistan
hope president obama will talk to some people who know something about pakistan (for real, not just from books by people who spent a weekend there once or flew over pakistan on their way to another country) before deciding to … Continue reading
December 31, 2008
by mara.ahmed
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harold pinter dies at 78
one of my heroes, harold pinter, died last week on dec 25th. he was a man of uncommon intellect and integrity. he was also, of course, a man who understood the power of words. in “weasel words” by john lahr … Continue reading
September 8, 2008
by mara.ahmed
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HerRochester’s women to watch
Mara Ahmed Occupation: Filmmaker (producer, director, writer), artist and senior financial analyst (in my past life). Community activities: Member of Rochester Against War, Women in Film and Television Rochester and interested in interfaith dialogue and social activism. My favorite thing … Continue reading
September 3, 2008
by mara.ahmed
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musharraf goes bye bye and why that’s a good thing
it is a fine day when the people of a country are able to oust a military dictator through sheer gumption and tenacity – congratulations to the people of pakistan on this unprecedented achievement. i am no fan of asif … Continue reading
August 26, 2008
by mara.ahmed
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anti-muslim bias post 9/11 – bayoumi on npr
my friend ruth peck urged me to listen to moustafa bayoumi’s interview on npr today. bayoumi, who is professor of english at brooklyn college, the city university of new york and co-editor of “the edward said reader”, has written a … Continue reading
July 14, 2008
by mara.ahmed
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the hedonists of power
my friend nancy o’donnell sent me this article. it speaks of how skeptical we should be of the media, at all times but especially when we are at war with an intractable enemy like terror. the article also echoes a … Continue reading
January 2, 2008
by mara.ahmed
1 Comment
benazir’s assassination – my take
we were in puerto vallarta, in the middle of a sunny mexican vacation, when i turned on the tv to check out some spanish programming and found out instead that benazir bhutto had been assassinated. i was shocked. it seemed … Continue reading
January 1, 2008
by mara.ahmed
1 Comment
benazir’s assassination – william dalrymple and tariq ali’s excellent articles
Pakistan’s flawed and feudal princess It’s wrong for the West simply to mourn Benazir Bhutto as a martyred democrat, says this acclaimed south Asia expert. Her legacy is far murkier and more complex William Dalrymple Sunday December 30, 2007, The … Continue reading
December 13, 2007
by mara.ahmed
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another response to hirsi ali
here’s a good response to hirsi ali, by jill, on her blog “feministe”: 12.8.2007 Where are all the moderate Muslims? Posted by Jill @ 10:31 am Ayaan Hirsi Ali has an op/ed up in the Times about “Islam’s silent moderates,” … Continue reading
December 10, 2007
by mara.ahmed
2 Comments
islam’s silent moderates – if you repeat it often enough…
hitler’s chief propagandist joseph goebbels was a firm believer in the “big lie”. he understood that if you repeat a lie often enough, people start to believe it. and so it goes with the relentless accusations levelled at moderate muslims. … Continue reading
October 20, 2007
by mara.ahmed
2 Comments
women in america, post 9/11
my friend sarita recently made a connection between the aftermath of 9/11 and women’s rights. i had never thought about that. i had never looked at the fallout from 9/11 and parsed it in terms of gender. being a muslim … Continue reading
September 7, 2007
by mara.ahmed
1 Comment
terrorism – flip side of imperialism?
in his book “the last mughal”, william dalrymple talks about how india went from a london-like, ‘culturally, racially and religiously chutnified’ melting pot where westerners (or so called white mughals) went native and lived in relative racial and religious harmony … Continue reading
August 9, 2007
by mara.ahmed
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peace, propaganda and the promised land
saw this film at the anti-war storefront on monroe avenue, in rochester. being a hyphenated american who moved to the u.s., as an adult, from one of the oldest parts of the world, i was born with a healthy dose … Continue reading
June 13, 2007
by mara.ahmed
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where are the moderate muslims?
i’ve often been asked why the moderate muslim majority in america is so silent and invisible. there is a two-part answer to that question. first of all, everyday muslims are afraid to raise their voices and be labeled “troublemakers” for … Continue reading