January 2nd 2026 Finding good Finding good New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor was sworn in yesterday. I am a fan. Mayor Mamdani said, after winning the election, I also think that we have found exactly the way to defeat organised money, which is organised people. Organised people. That is us. You. Me. People who care for all-human justice. People who have the courage to stand against oppression, exploitation, racism, and bigotry, even at great cost. Valarie Kaur organises...
1 day ago • 1 min read
January 1st 2026 Never perfect Never perfect Nine years ago today, I started writing this daily blog. I made a commitment to write every day for one year. I have missed a few days, here and there. I may miss more going forward. Many times, the articles I hesitated to post are the ones that get the most comments. I have learned to write and publish. Never perfect. I know the power of small steps taken every day. The accumulated effects. Last year, I wrote 102, 028 words. Easily a good-sized...
2 days ago • 2 min read
December 31st 2025 What cleaning legacy do you want to leave What cleaning legacy do you want to leave I am supposed to write something smart on this last day of 2025. But I am out of smarts. Yesterday, my sister, her husband, my daughter and my partner spent a day cleaning the home – if you could call it that – of my 92-year-old father and his recently deceased wife. This on top of three full days of cleaning before this. They were both hoarders and clearly didn’t care enough about cleaning....
3 days ago • 2 min read
December 30th 2025 Hussam Abu Safiya Hussam Abu Safiya Has been held in detention for over a year. A pediatrician. No known charge. Held in unknown places, treated in an unknown way. By a regime that is known to detain health workers, a regime that is known to rape prisoners and then insist on the rapists not being charged. A regime that seizes the opportunity of Gaza as a distraction to seize more territory in the West Bank. A regime that refuses foreign journalists access to Gaza, as if...
4 days ago • 1 min read
December 29th 2025 I don’t feel like it I don’t feel like it This is the threshold question of life. An inflection point that determines character. When we do not feel like doing it, taking action, smiling when we are lost in despair because we are in customer service (and we are all in customer service), completing the task, whatever it is – what choice do we make? Are we able to dig deep? Or do we capitulate to the lazy, lacking responsibility persona? Sometimes, though rarely, not doing...
5 days ago • 1 min read
December 28th 2025 Digital despair Digital despair Digital despair is a new and sophisticated tool of class domination, where algorithms and artificial intelligence are methodically and imperceptibly used over time to spread content that fosters feelings of helplessness and resignation. Rezgar Akrawi Over the last few days, I have deliberately deleted almost every article in my news feed. I turned off the news radio and stopped any form of scrolling. I have no idea what is going on outside of...
6 days ago • 1 min read
December 27th 2025 The beauty of pure raw emotion The beauty of pure raw emotion Even the sky has drama. One day, clear and blue; another, angry and yellow. But do we judge the sky for its drama? Do we try to change it? Or can we see the beauty in the drama? That the dark clouds and the passage of light make something so unique and unforgettable. Human emotion is like the clouds…some days clear, other days angry and dark… There is beauty to be found in all phases… In our world, where the...
7 days ago • 1 min read
December 26th 2025 Precious silence Precious silence The house is empty. Just for a sweet moment. No demands being made. No one to feed or clean up after. Just me and the empty space. I feel my being expand after days of contraction and holding my breath. I do my best to empty out all the pent-up rage, the pull and push of demanding others, the relentless requirement to feed, clean, shop, repeat. I watch my partner’s son, a natural carer, fluently manage our elder guests. What a blessing. His...
8 days ago • 1 min read
December 25th 2025 Christmas spirit Christmas spirit The heat hangs like a blanket. The crickets are chirping, a summer sound. An early morning ocean swim to soothe gangled nerves and heated blood. I would have stayed there all day, if I had the option. Christmas in Australia is heat, sand and water. The coffee shop was buzzing. Our little surf community celebrating the morning. The best part of the day. Being surrounded by very old people, bodies and minds slowed by age, stubbornness holding...
9 days ago • 1 min read