A Global Injustice

In Malmo, hundreds of people have taken to the streets to show their anger against the far right Danish party ‘Stram Kurs’ (Hard Line). The leader of the group, Rasmus Paludan, and his party is against immigration - which consequently led to the leader burning a copy of the Holy Quran, an act which has drawn international condemnation. The History The riots took place on the night of August 28th wherein rioters were captured on video setting fires and throwing objects at law enforcement officers. Many people at the protests were detained due to the aggressive violence taking place. Moreover, the Islamaphobic acts done by the party's leader, Rasmus Paludan, has caused the authorities in Sweden to take action. Rasmus Paludan has already been convicted of spreading hatred towards various ethnic groups within the regions and has also come into light for making Islamaphic remarks through Youtube such as burning the Islamic holy book, sometimes also wrapped in bacon. Additionally, althou...

Presidential Candidate Joe Biden revealed on Tuesday afternoon that he had chosen California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate for Vice President. This announcement sparked an outpouring of responses - many hailed Harris as a favorable choice given her experience as a U.S. senator, having already been put through the media wringer as a former presidential candidate, and being the first woman of color ever to be a part of a major party’s presidential ticket. Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, is Black and Asian-American.  But contrary to the Democratic establishment’s promotion of Harris's vice presidential candidacy, a substantial cohort of progressives and liberals greeted the news with critiques of her career, both as a prosecutor and lawmaking Senator. From denying affirming healthcare to a trans inmate to barring forums sex workers used to protect themselves, the former “ top cop ” has a concerning record of endangering the American community’s most...

The ground-breaking (laying the first brick for construction) ceremony for the Ayodhya Rama Temple (one of the deities in Hindu culture) took place on the 5th of August 2020 after 500 years of the social and legal claims and dispute on the land. The city of Ayodhya in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India has had numerous riots and protests regarding the contested land on the basis of whether a temple or mosque rightfully belongs there. This dispute dates back to the 16th century and has seen many peaceful and violent demonstrations along with court cases after which this year, the side representing the Hindus (Ram Lalla) won the case to construct a temple on the land. This now brings into question whether it was truly a “wrong” that was done “right”, or a ploy by Prime Minister Modi to forcibly change India into a Hindu state.  The History In the Hindu religion, the city of Ayodhya is considered to be extremely sacred and holy as it is regarded to be the Ram Janmabhoomi or birthplac...

It is unarguable that accessing or developing a vaccine against the novel Coronavirus is necessary for us to fully combat it, and make a recovery. However, whilst this is a vested global interest, could its clashes with profit and other economic motivations endanger universal access to it? Many countries are in the later stages of developing an effective vaccine, with pharmaceutical companies in the USA and Thailand already set to begin human trials. However, a success of a vaccine lies in not only its potency, but its accessibility for millions of individuals. This blog will consider the likely situation of the development of a Covid vaccine, and the barrier that could prevent us from ever accessing it.  Patents and Intellectual Property According to the World Trade Organisation, patents and intellectual property serve a purpose of promoting goods and services innovation, by disallowing replicas of products and their certain designs. However, this also implies that should a pharma...

Credit: Mongabay Wildfires have raged on in 2020, leaving millions affected; the Siberian Wildfires are not any different. Siberia has been burning for months due to a spike in temperatures causing extreme heat, consequently leading to rampant wildfires. However, what is especially worrying is that there has been no major news coverage about the issue at hand.  The History The fires have been burning hectares of land since the beginning of 2020. According to Greenpeace Russia, it is reported that 19 million hectares and 47 million acres of forests, steppes, and fields have been burnt across Siberia since January. Additionally, although fires have occurred in remote areas, villages and towns nearby have been affected due to the smoke impacting the air quality in the region. Due to the poor air quality of the region, the symptoms of the COVID-19 could greatly aggravate the issue.  According to National Geographic, if the fires become a regular occurrence in Siberia, this will le...

Fueled by the persistent gender inequalities and attitudes about gender and sexuality, our social environment has evolved to represent something that knowingly allows sexual violence to be normalized and justified. With the rise of the #MeToo movement, the eyes of feminists have been on Hollywood. Feminists around the world describe a “ matrix of sexism ” in which elements of rape culture in cinema have formed a taken-for-granted backdrop to their everyday lives. We readily discuss examples we witness through cinema and TV, including victim-blaming, “slut-shaming,” rape jokes, the celebration of male sexual conquest, and demeaning sexualized representations of women.  Rape culture and sexual assault have ingrained into the lives of anybody with a Netflix subscription or ticket from their local movie theater. With recent social media upsurge over a Polish Film, 365 days , many viewers around the world criticized Netflix for providing a platform for ‘cinema’ that romanticizes kidnap...