Posted on January 1, 2014 Leave a Comment
It has become a media tradition around the New Year to look back at the highlights of the year – and, indeed, I have always done so here on Topical Creativity. This year, however, I am not giving you a blow-by-blow reminder of the past twelve months. Instead I present you with a list of […]
Posted on July 9, 2013 Leave a Comment
Fear is as thick as tear gas in Cairo’s streets this week. Uncertainty is the only thing which everyone which everyone can agree on. Indeed, there is even debate about whether we have or haven’t witnessed a military coup. Is a coup a coup when the citizenry support the military’s action? Of course it is; […]
Posted on July 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
Democracy is an illusive thing. A pure form of it has not existed since the glory days of ancient Athens – and even then women and slaves were excluded from the metaphorical electoral roll. The modern world’s democratic bastion – America – does not elect its President via direct universal suffrage, but a complicated electoral […]
Posted on June 24, 2012 Leave a Comment
So the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi has beaten Ahmed Shafiq in Egypt’s Presidential elections. After decades of being forced underground during the years of the old regime, the Brothers have gained power in the first democratic elections in Egypt’s history. This is, obviously, a victory for freedom – the people gathered in Cairo’s now-infamous Tahrir […]
Posted on January 6, 2012 Leave a Comment
Welcome to my 2012 predictions post, where I’m going to detail how and why I think things are going to go this year. I’d love to get some debate going, so please comment to tell me why I am wrong – there’s nothing better than an argument. The Arab springI think 2012 will see a […]
Posted on December 31, 2011 Leave a Comment
It’s been quite the year. Let me take you back in time and show you how the world changed – mostly for the better. January and February saw most of Europe glued to its television screens as people in the Arab world joined together in open rebellion against the despots who have ruled the Magreb […]
Posted on December 4, 2011 Leave a Comment
The world was enthralled last December when democracy reared its head in the Middle East for the first time. It was like watching a film crescendo during January and February when the Presidents of Tunisia and Egypt were literally swept away by the full force of popular opinion. All the good news made us heady as events spread […]
Posted on July 19, 2011 Leave a Comment
The headlines are still dominated by the phone-hacking saga, which is now dragging on a tad. This author welcomed the resignation of the News of the World’s former Editor and CEO of News International, Rebekah Brooks, but is now getting bored. Well, I was, until the Met’s chief commissioner resigned on Sunday. I did not […]
Posted on July 8, 2011 Leave a Comment
The Arab spring has turned into summer and looks set to continue through 2011 and beyond. Already, Egyptians and Tunisians have freed themselves from decades of autocratic rule. In Syria, a rising force of protesters is battling the army, which is still loyal to the brutal Assad regime – a close-knit family affair. Hundreds have […]
Posted on April 14, 2011 Leave a Comment
Ever since Hosni Mubarak resigned from his post as Egypt’s President, crowds have remained in Tahrir Square, demanding that he should face justice. They wanted him tried for the use of violence against protestors in January and February, as well as for numerous abuses of power during his thirty year rule. At one point this week […]
