Tag Archives: politics

How The Middle East Became Another Planet

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

From Flash Gordon’s Ming the Merciless with his harem and his war rocket Ajax, to Frank Herbert’s prophecy-obsessed desert tribes in Dune battling over a valuable resource, the Middle East has always been another planet to western science fiction creators. … Continue reading →

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Brunel, Bristol and re-forging history

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

Confession. I have this big crush on Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Or rather, on Kenneth Branagh as IKB, with those sideburns and a stovepipe hat, quoting  Shakespeare at the Olympic opening ceremony; an engineering Renaissance man. Perhaps it played a subconscious … Continue reading →

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Hacks on Film: Essential viewing and reading

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

This is an updated version of an article I first wrote for The Spectator blog, that formed the basis of a lecture to journalism students at Kingston University in October. It has links to scripts, films and articles about all … Continue reading →

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The Politics of Spin: Beware the bland bomb

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

Image copyright & courtesy of http://www.barrydbulsara.com “I’m not sure it says government is crap,” said Armando Iannucci recently, of his political satire The Thick of It. “I think it says the people in government are crap.” Nowadays politicians and their … Continue reading →

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In Hulme: a stately Hippodrome decree’d

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

There is a grand Victorian theatre house where Laurel and Hardy once performed, Nina Simone sang and the Beatles made their first radio recording. If it were in Stratford-Upon-Avon or central London, the rich paintwork and red plush seats and … Continue reading →

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What the hell’s the Presidency for? Re-assessing LBJ

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

This is based on my interview with  author Robert Caro and fellow American writer, Michael Goldfarb for BBC Radio 3 Night Waves on June 6th. You can listen to the programme here. (last 18 minutes) Which US President won an election with the largest ever … Continue reading →

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Mea culpa: But only after making the money

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

Sir Mervyn King’s recent admisson that he should have been “shouting from the rooftops” about the dangers of the banking system before the 2008 crash seems to add to my theory, written for The Big Issue about the number of … Continue reading →

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The Missing Angle on the Arab Spring: The Soviet Era dissident’s tale

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

I met renowned Polish Jewish journalist, Konstanty Gebert, from Gazeta Wyborcza at an EU conference for Arab journalists last year. His family had mostly died in the Warsaw Ghetto, his mother survived to take up arms with the Communists and … Continue reading →

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Don’t Go There, Lady

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

I wrote to journalist and future doctor Lucy Mathen as a child when she presented Newsround. More than 30 years later we met. I wrote a feature about it for The Guardian. And as a result of learning about how … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, journalism, Politics, Radio, Science, Travel, Uncategorized, War | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Women and the Arab Spring

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Samira Ahmed

Here are some good links on the speakers at the Women Of The World (WOW) Arab Spring panel discussion 3pm Saturday March 10th it the Purcell Room in London’s Southbank Centre. I’m chairing.  Whether you are coming or not, the … Continue reading →

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