Don't Wait For Global Politics To Fix Climate Change – We Can Do It Ourselves

By James Dyke, University of Southampton

It’s now almost certain that 2015 will be the warmest year ever recorded. However, rather than reduce green house gas emissions – something that has to happen quite urgently in order to avoid crashing through the safety barrier of 2℃ warming – we continue to pump more into the atmosphere.

#RefugeesWelcome - Communities Across Canada Preparing to Welcome Syrian Refugees

OTTAWA, Nov. 29, 2015 /CNW/ 

As the Government of Canada has stepped up efforts to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada, communities from coast to coast to coast are also preparing to welcome Syrian refugees with open arms.

What Your Musical Taste Says About Your Personality

David Greenberg, University of Cambridge

We’re exposed to music for nearly 20% of our waking lives. But much of our musical experience seems to be a mystery. Why does some music bring us to tears while other pieces make us dance? Why is it that the music that we like can make others agitated? And why do some people seem to have a natural ability to play music while others have difficulty carrying a tune? Science is beginning to show that these individual differences are not just random but are, in part, due to people’s personalities.

How Islamic Law Can Take On ISIS

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, Emory University

The media coverage of the terrorist atrocities of Friday November 13 in Paris would seem to promote an almost mythical image of the Islamic State (ISIS). What humanity needs, however, is to demystify ISIS as a criminal organization. And that need is particularly important in my community – the Muslim community.

The vast majority of Muslims almost certainly (we do not have exact figures) feel moral revulsion and outrage about the violence perpetrated by ISIS. Indeed, Egypt’s top Sunni cleric, to name just one example, was quick to denounce the perpetrators of Friday’s “hideous and hateful” attacks.

However, the truth of the matter is that ISIS leaders and supporters can and do draw on a wealth of scriptural and historical sources to justify their actions.

Traditional interpretations of Sharia, or Islamic law, approved aggressive jihad to propagate Islam. They permitted the killing of captive enemy men. They allowed jihadis to enslave enemy women and children, as ISIS did with the Yazidi women in Syria.

I am a Muslim scholar of Sharia. It is my contention that ISIS' claim of Islamic legitimacy can be countered only by a viable alternative interpretation of Islamic law.

Right-Wing Populism Is Surging On Both Sides Of The Atlantic – Here's Why

Ruth Wodak, Lancaster University

On both sides of the Atlantic, right-wing populist parties are enjoying another moment in the sun. In Europe, the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) recently doubled its vote in a state election. Fellow travellers are making headway across Europe – France’s Front National, Hungary’s Jobbik, Bulgaria’s Ataka, and the party formally known as True Finns.

Many explanations for the European surge point to a xenophobic knee-jerk reaction to the refugee crisis, but that’s far too simplistic; the phenomenon is hardly confined to Europe. Look at the surprising success of Donald Trump in the US’s Republican party primary campaign. Many of his fellow candidates are struggling to keep up with his firebrand pronouncements, not least his proposal to deport millions of illegal immigrants.

So why exactly are these leaders and parties enjoying such success – and are they really all birds of a feather?

US: Join Michael Moore In Defying Politicians And Helping Syrian Refugees

The following is an email from Michael Moore I received yesterday evening and I'm very happy/keen to share it through this blog as it somehow shows that, contrary to what some Right Wingers and (of course) Far Right peeps seem to believe, some of the "leftists" who support the #RefugeesWelcome hashtag on Twitter are also willing to help them with housing by actually welcoming them into their homes... Restoring our faith in Humanity in the process.

Stay safe,,,

Loup Dargent

#ClimateMarch - Big Oil Companies Would Not Want People To See This Video.

Dear friends, 

Big oil companies would not want people to see this video.  

Let's make sure it goes viral. Click to watch and then share it with everyone -- it's only seconds long.

Building Hitler's Supergun: The Plot To Destroy London And Why It Failed [Video-Clips Included]

Hugh Hunt, University of Cambridge

The V-3 “supergun” was meant to win the war for Germany. In 1943, for the first time since World War II began, Hitler was on the back foot. Allied bombs were devastating German cities and the Fuhrer was rattled. His proposed V-3 cannon would be the biggest gun the world had seen.

The V-3 was built in a truly enormous bunker buried deep in a chalk hill in northern France. Millions of tonnes of rock were excavated by hand and among the workers were hundreds of slave labourers. In its original conception, 25 barrels were to point at London – about 100 miles away – delivering up to one bomb per minute and to create an environment of fear that would turn the course of the war back in Hitler’s favour. And it was a doomed secret “drone” mission to destroy the V-3 that led to the death of Joe Kennedy Junior, a pilot and older brother of the future US president, John F. Kennedy.

Daily Mail Reverts To Type As Media Makes Sense Of Paris Atrocities

John Jewell, Cardiff University

You can trust the Daily Mail to lead the race to the bottom and its coverage of the Paris terror attacks was no different. On November 17, while the world was still reeling from the atrocity in which 129 people died and hundreds more were injured, the paper carried a cartoon featuring imagery sickeningly evocative of 1930s anti-Jewish Nazi propaganda.

London Marches For Paris And Everything We Love

"Security concerns are keeping the people of Paris from joining our massive global climate march on November 29th, the eve of the biggest climate summit this decade. Paris can't march, but London can. Let's step up now, for Paris, and for everything we love.  

Click here to join the London climate march on November 29th!"

#ParisAttacks - WTF? Czech President Speaks At Anti-Islam Rally

The following is the email I've received today from Nick Lowles (Hope Not Hate) regarding the presence (and speech) of the Czech Republic's President at an anti-Muslim rally only a few days after the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris happened.

I'm sharing it here because it shows that the Far Right and its supporters are so blinded by their own xenophobia/racism that they are actually freely giving the Daesh (ISIS) terrorists exactly what they want... 

Who needs enemies when you have people like Miloš Zeman and Stephen Lennon/Tommy Robinson on your "side"?

Stay safe...

Loup Dargent

Stephen Lennon aka Tommy Robinson during his EDL days...

#ParisAttacks - The World Stands As One

"The attacks in Paris and Beirut were designed to shake the very foundations of all our societies. They are an assault on our sense of connection and shared humanity, our tolerance, liberty and respect. Let’s project a beacon of light and togetherness back to the cities in shock and mourning."
Click here to say ‘Nous Sommes Unis’ and share a message of solidarity.