The Myth of Austrian Neutrality

Austrians are proud of their identity as a neutral state. Neutrality is a core part of the country’s political identity and has served as one of the few topics with near-universal consensus following the country’s re-establishment after World War II. Such is the devotion to it, that it has been enshrined in Austria’s constitution as a commitment to “everlasting neutrality”. Yet, upon closer inspection of Vienna’s foreign policy conduct, it becomes overwhelmingly evident that, at least since its accession to the EU in 1995, Austrian neutrality is more fictional than based in reality.

Why We Need to Imagine Again: Kohei Saito and the Chaos We’re Living Through

It is interesting that we have built a system where your retirement fund, your savings, your rent, are all basically chips on a casino table. And somehow, we have convinced ourselves that is okay. That it is okay for someone like Trump to have this much power over everyone’s future. This made me think of a book that I read last year by the Japanese Philosopher Kohei Saito, by the name Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto, and Marx in the Anthropocene.

From Ceasefire to Catastrophe: The Politics behind Israel’s war on Gaza

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that was signed in January has collapsed. Since the collapse in March, Israel has restarted its devastating bombing campaigns in Gaza that indiscriminately target civilians by bombing schools, hospitals and even refugee tents. In just a couple of days, over 700 civilians have been killed with even more injured, a number that will only increase over time.

Syrian Swedes are cautiously dreaming of a free Syria again– “But returning is still difficult, our home is completely destroyed”

Now that the Assad era in Syria is over, Syrians all over the world dare to dream again. Nader Machhadi (64), Aya (21) and Mohamed Alhaded (27) are some of the many Syrian refugees who fled to Sweden to escape one of the Middle East’s bloodiest dictatorships. What do they think of the sudden fall of Assad’s regime? And how do they see their country’s future?

The Scissorhands of a blue dyed dollar

The illegal ‘blue’ currency is popular amongst Argentineans who prefer the stability of the official dollar but are restricted by the government to use it. However, the fake currency has become an inconvenience for international transactions from unaware tourists as prices at the official rate are double.

Journalism Is The First Draft Of History

March 2024. Award Winning investigative journalist Walid Batrawi (1969, Jerusalem) left his home in Ramallah after working for almost 30 years as a journalist and witness of modern day Palestine. As one of the few Palestinian voices left he continues his work from his new home in Toronto. His most recent project being the crossborder collaborative Gaza Project with Forbidden Stories.