basit kareem iqbal
@biqbal.bsky.social
anthropologist, editor. author of THE DREAD HEIGHTS: TRIBULATION AND REFUGE AFTER THE SYRIAN REVOLUTION (https://fordhampress.com/the-dread-heights-hb-9781531510312.html). bookmarking in the wasteland
intriguing issue on mauss direct.mit.edu/grey/issue/n...
Volume Issue 102 | Grey Room | MIT Press
direct.mit.edu
January 26, 2026 at 4:58 PM
intriguing issue on mauss direct.mit.edu/grey/issue/n...
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
Sinan Antoon’s ‘Of Loss and Lavender’
In this conversation over e-mail, Sinan Antoon talks about the novel, the fraught nature of collective memory, the process of self-translation, and the sort of “security checkpoints” a book must pass through in the process of translation.
In this conversation over e-mail, Sinan Antoon talks about the novel, the fraught nature of collective memory, the process of self-translation, and the sort of “security checkpoints” a book must pass through in the process of translation.
Sinan Antoon’s ‘Of Loss and Lavender’
In this conversation over e-mail, Sinan Antoon talks about the novel, the fraught nature of collective memory, the process of self-translation, and the sort of “security checkpoints” a book must pass through in the process of translation.
arablit.org
January 26, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Sinan Antoon’s ‘Of Loss and Lavender’
In this conversation over e-mail, Sinan Antoon talks about the novel, the fraught nature of collective memory, the process of self-translation, and the sort of “security checkpoints” a book must pass through in the process of translation.
In this conversation over e-mail, Sinan Antoon talks about the novel, the fraught nature of collective memory, the process of self-translation, and the sort of “security checkpoints” a book must pass through in the process of translation.
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
brampton, ontario
Canadian-built Roshel armored vehicles are being used by ICE right now in Minneapolis, including in today's operation where ICE murdered someone else.
I wrote about this company in December. And we know this thanks to the work of World Beyond War Canada.
noraloreto.substack.com/p/canadian-b...
I wrote about this company in December. And we know this thanks to the work of World Beyond War Canada.
noraloreto.substack.com/p/canadian-b...
Canadian-built machines of war
“As we move from fighting the war to fighting the peace, I think we really have to see this as an opportunity for an economic renaissance" - Chrystia Freeland
noraloreto.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 9:43 PM
brampton, ontario
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
If you’re outside of Minnesota and you’re wondering how to help, this guide is excellent.
And seriously. Take down your Ring doorbell TODAY.
And seriously. Take down your Ring doorbell TODAY.
How To Help if You are Outside Minnesota
Last edited January 22, 2026 I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this, you more or less understand the situation in Minnesota and I don’t have to explain it to you! That sa…
naomikritzer.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:47 PM
If you’re outside of Minnesota and you’re wondering how to help, this guide is excellent.
And seriously. Take down your Ring doorbell TODAY.
And seriously. Take down your Ring doorbell TODAY.
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
I'm not one for false optimism. But what I witnessed today in Minneapolis was tremendous, both in scale and exuberance. It was a stunning answer to the federal assault on Minnesota, a show of solidarity that gives us something to hold on to during times that are unforgiving.
“Everybody Showed Up”: Stunning Crowds at Minnesota Day of Strike and Shutdown Against ICE
Extreme cold didn't stop the shutdown on Friday as some 100 faith leaders were arrested, residents stayed home from work, and an estimated 50,000 or more marched through downtown Minneapolis.
inthesetimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:42 AM
I'm not one for false optimism. But what I witnessed today in Minneapolis was tremendous, both in scale and exuberance. It was a stunning answer to the federal assault on Minnesota, a show of solidarity that gives us something to hold on to during times that are unforgiving.
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
Monsters. Gleeful, repugnant Monsters. Every single one.
These absolute fucks
Screenshot from the linked video. One hand with a phone, the other is empty.
January 24, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Monsters. Gleeful, repugnant Monsters. Every single one.
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
This is the kind of night we hunker down and stay off the roads.
People in Minneapolis are in the streets defending democracy and defying fascists. They are heroes.
On the coldest night of the year.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mwc...
People in Minneapolis are in the streets defending democracy and defying fascists. They are heroes.
On the coldest night of the year.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mwc...
Bruce Cockburn - The Coldest Night Of The Year (Toronto)
YouTube video by YYZChap72
www.youtube.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:18 AM
This is the kind of night we hunker down and stay off the roads.
People in Minneapolis are in the streets defending democracy and defying fascists. They are heroes.
On the coldest night of the year.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mwc...
People in Minneapolis are in the streets defending democracy and defying fascists. They are heroes.
On the coldest night of the year.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mwc...
hellfire too cool
January 23, 2026 at 7:33 PM
hellfire too cool
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
Diacritics (52.4) "Walter Benjamin's Fate and Character" is out! The editors invited a range of scholars from across the humanities to produce theory in a different register: free-wheeling, essayistic, associative, and digressive. Read here in Open Access on Project Muse: muse.jhu.edu/issue/56198
January 23, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Diacritics (52.4) "Walter Benjamin's Fate and Character" is out! The editors invited a range of scholars from across the humanities to produce theory in a different register: free-wheeling, essayistic, associative, and digressive. Read here in Open Access on Project Muse: muse.jhu.edu/issue/56198
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
For LARB, I wrote about the principled dissenters of Pluribus, The Lowdown, Andor, and The Pitt, and 2025 as the year TV celebrated resistance @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/lowd...
Opposition Party | Los Angeles Review of Books
In 2025, television offered a primer in principled dissent.
lareviewofbooks.org
January 22, 2026 at 5:09 PM
For LARB, I wrote about the principled dissenters of Pluribus, The Lowdown, Andor, and The Pitt, and 2025 as the year TV celebrated resistance @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social lareviewofbooks.org/article/lowd...
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
yeah, just out of interest, how many people choose the pen on the right for real work or art? See a lot of them in professional workplaces, do you?
January 22, 2026 at 12:21 PM
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
January 22, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
The Art Gallery of Ontario voted not to acquire a work by the famous photographer Nan Goldin, because of allegations that Nan Goldin is antisemitic. Nan Goldin is a Jewish artist who engages in Jewish themes in her work, and whose work is in the Jewish Museum in NYC. archive.is/jr3Wh#select...
archive.is
January 22, 2026 at 12:20 AM
The Art Gallery of Ontario voted not to acquire a work by the famous photographer Nan Goldin, because of allegations that Nan Goldin is antisemitic. Nan Goldin is a Jewish artist who engages in Jewish themes in her work, and whose work is in the Jewish Museum in NYC. archive.is/jr3Wh#select...
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
When the AI slop summer reading list dropped last year I knew I had to write about making book lists. Thanks to @thebaffler.com for letting me go long with bewildered nostalgia & regret on 20 years of Internet book culture & how we made the slop book list inevitable. thebaffler.com/after-the-fa...
List and Shout | Lydia Kiesling
The labor involved in making lists was as close to the opposite of a transcendent reading experience as a disillusioned culture worker could get.
thebaffler.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:18 PM
When the AI slop summer reading list dropped last year I knew I had to write about making book lists. Thanks to @thebaffler.com for letting me go long with bewildered nostalgia & regret on 20 years of Internet book culture & how we made the slop book list inevitable. thebaffler.com/after-the-fa...
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
A brilliant analysis of how sanctions have transformed the Iranian government into a Chicago School regime of austerity that benefits those attached to the regime, creates precarious labour, and rolls back all the redistributive and social measures of the past:
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
January 19, 2026 at 11:21 AM
A brilliant analysis of how sanctions have transformed the Iranian government into a Chicago School regime of austerity that benefits those attached to the regime, creates precarious labour, and rolls back all the redistributive and social measures of the past:
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
“Minneapolis learned a lot from the George Floyd protests and it shows. Well before Kristi Noem announced DHS operations in Minnesota, the neighborhood got ready.” New: a dispatch on mutual aid in South Minneapolis.
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
ICE vs. Everyone | Erin West
What we’re doing now is this: The trainings have evolved into street medic workshops on protecting yourself from chemical weapons and lessons on digital security; there’s a meet-up to sew reinforced u...
www.nplusonemag.com
January 18, 2026 at 4:31 PM
“Minneapolis learned a lot from the George Floyd protests and it shows. Well before Kristi Noem announced DHS operations in Minnesota, the neighborhood got ready.” New: a dispatch on mutual aid in South Minneapolis.
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
@matthewgreen.bsky.social is no longer an NDP MP, but he hasn’t stopped trying to transform the party.
He talks to @desmondcole.bsky.social about a campaign to renew the NDP—and what it will take to pry control from consultants, and put it in the hands of the grassroots.
He talks to @desmondcole.bsky.social about a campaign to renew the NDP—and what it will take to pry control from consultants, and put it in the hands of the grassroots.
The NDP is run by a clique—but it should be run like a movement ⋆ The Breach
Former MP Matthew Green talks about what it will take to renew the NDP
breachmedia.ca
January 16, 2026 at 2:51 PM
@matthewgreen.bsky.social is no longer an NDP MP, but he hasn’t stopped trying to transform the party.
He talks to @desmondcole.bsky.social about a campaign to renew the NDP—and what it will take to pry control from consultants, and put it in the hands of the grassroots.
He talks to @desmondcole.bsky.social about a campaign to renew the NDP—and what it will take to pry control from consultants, and put it in the hands of the grassroots.
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
2026 so far is giving Hardy vibes
January 17, 2026 at 3:06 PM
2026 so far is giving Hardy vibes
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
Storied anthropology journal announces "AI" translation initiative (picture... related???)
January 17, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Storied anthropology journal announces "AI" translation initiative (picture... related???)
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
I like to joke about Arnold, but this stanza slaps
January 17, 2026 at 12:49 PM
I like to joke about Arnold, but this stanza slaps
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
in addition to the infrastructure here which is obviously mindblowing (for americans), it must be noted that this dude, chu weimin, is an incredible photographer
January 16, 2026 at 6:58 PM
in addition to the infrastructure here which is obviously mindblowing (for americans), it must be noted that this dude, chu weimin, is an incredible photographer
Reposted by basit kareem iqbal
4. From the UK - While they did not win all of their demands, the Palestine Action hunger strikers claim victory as the UK government denies a £2bn contract to Israeli arms company Elbit Systems. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/... #MovementWins2026
Three Palestine Action activists end UK hunger strike
Prisoners for Palestine says move comes after subsidiary of Israeli arms manufacturer failed to win UK gov't contract.
www.aljazeera.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:12 PM
4. From the UK - While they did not win all of their demands, the Palestine Action hunger strikers claim victory as the UK government denies a £2bn contract to Israeli arms company Elbit Systems. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/... #MovementWins2026
as always, the only time i'm patriotic is 8pm on weeknights...so many good ones recently, but sharing this one here for future reference: share.google/F2Lx6BdeLuTP...
The Right to Remember: Memorializing in Syria
Under dictator Bashar al-Assad, grieving publicly in Syria was punishable. Now, people are starting to share stories about the loved ones they lost, and creating spaces for public grief. IDEAS hears a...
share.google
January 15, 2026 at 2:10 AM
as always, the only time i'm patriotic is 8pm on weeknights...so many good ones recently, but sharing this one here for future reference: share.google/F2Lx6BdeLuTP...