Lara Balaa

Editorial Designer, PhD Candidate @RutgersCommInfo studying Arabic calligraphy in design, print & visual culture, author of Emile Menhem (Khatt Books, 2019)

[Jason Hickel @jasonhickel]

The problem with liberalism is that it rests on a fundamental contradiction that cannot be resolved. It will always fail, it will always collapse, and this explains everything about our current moment.

Liberals try to hold two commitments at once: on the one hand, they are firmly committed to capitalism; on the other, they express support for principles like human rights, democracy, equality, freedom of speech, environment and the rule of law.  This duality is the core of liberalism.

But there's a problem. Capital accumulation requires cheapening labour and nature. This eventually comes into direct conflict with principles like rights and equality. And whenever this conflict appears, the liberal ruling class sides with capital, abandons their lofty principles, and throws workers and nature under the bus.  Every. Single. Time.

This results in flagrant displays of hypocrisy. They run on nice-sounding platforms but end up either betraying their promises or actively working against their stated values. They'll slash public services, bail out banks, imprison journalists, beat up students, expand fracking, coup democratically elected leaders in the global South, bomb liberation movements, fund a genocide - they'll even trash international law itself - anything that's needed to maintain the conditions for capital accumulation.

At most, they may try to negotiate mediocre compromises, a few social policies here and there - some abortion rights, a tiny increase in the minimum wage - but nothing that might pose any serious threat to capital accumulation. Thus the soul-crushing slowness of liberal incrementalism.  Ultimately they are unwilling to take any of the obvious steps that would actually resolve our urgent social and ecological crises.

This is why nobody trusts liberal politicians.  This is why they come across as so fantastically insincere, and even sneering.  This is why they feel so spineless and *empty*.

The center cannot hold.  Liberalism will always collapse, inevitably handing power to fascists, and this is not acceptable.  There is only one way to overcome this deadly impasse, and that is to mobilize a socialist alternative. A political movement that can unite the working-classes, overcome capitalism, deliver real economic democracy, and enable us to achieve rapid progress toward social and ecological goals.

[Rania @umyaznemo]

What western media does not tell you!

[RICK DEVENS’ ATTORNEY #FreeKashmir🍁#FreeWestPapua @fOrGiVeNcHy]

You don’t get to live in the imperial core & say foreign policy should not take precedence over domestic policy

You survived 4 years of Trump—460,000 Palestinians didn’t survive Biden/Harris

A vote for Kamala or Trump is a vote for genocide

So don’t be complicit & #VoteGreen🌻

[Peter Daou @peterdaou]

EVERY. F*CKING. WORD.

[ADAM @AdameMedia]

America is waking up.

[Connor Ewing @ConnorMEwing]

Today I get to pay $300 to take a 3-hour English test in order to be eligible to stay in the country where I am employed to teach English language courses at an English language institution, a prerequisite for which was the PhD I earned at an English language university.

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

This feels like a homecoming celebration! Thank you @yarakhoury, Khatt Chronicles and @afikra for the work you do https://t.co/Sal5gF68u3

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

What an honest and touching conversation. Nasri Sayegh and Judith Butler on Palestine, language, and resistance. https://t.co/WdMetyXuVo

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

On Thu Feb 29 and Fri Mar 1 (5–7pm Beirut time), I will be taking part of this online symposium. If interested in attending, please register on this link:
https://t.co/VKA8YqWKDd

[Omar Dewachi @omar_dewachi]

My op-ed on the #attacksonhealthcare from Iraq to Gaza
"Gaza’s plight has eclipsed the devastation I witnessed in Mosul and other conflict zones, with death and injury rates soaring to unthinkable levels."

https://t.co/UE3CUEzHfc

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

Love this!

[L'Orient Today @lorienttoday]

A series of suspicious assassinations has fostered doubts about the cause of the Beirut blast.
Christophe Boltanski wades through the tangle of facts and lies to try and assemble the puzzle:
https://t.co/F4eRxBPFrO

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

@cmcgowanthinks What a mess!

[Susie Dent @susie_dent]

Word of the day, again, is ‘ultracrepidarian’ (19th century): one who loves to give their opinion on matters they know nothing about.

[The Arabic Design Archive (ADA) @ArabicDArchive]

The Arabic design archive website is LIVE!
Check it out.
https://t.co/spvVK1K8SE

Official Launch date: 1st June.
#arabicdesign , #arabicdesignarchive, #arabicdesignhistory, #arabgraphicdesign #arabdesignwriting
Thank you:
@ProHelvetiaCai
@AFAC1
@acss_org
@BarjeelArt

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

@ThePhDPlace You are in the right place at the right time (my advisor)

[Karl Sharro @KarlreMarks]

Humans doing the hard jobs on minimum wage while the robots write poetry and paint is not the future I wanted

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

@PhD_Genie (1) Workshopping with colleagues might be useful, sometimes it is possible to take out entire sections that are not essential to the main argument. (2) Switching all sentences into active voice like @CharlesTrahan19 suggested earlier (see paramedic method).

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

@Unemployedneg I definitely vote for the white one!

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

@BenBigwheel @ruaaup @ruaaup_ptl @ABhsnj Negotiations are resuming on Monday and I expect that more demands will be met. My own view is that celebrating wins and mourning losses are not mutually exclusive.

[Lara Balaa @larabalaa]

Huge thank you to everyone who organized, went on strike, picketed, and negotiated @ruaaup @ruaaup_ptl @ABhsnj. You have inspired so many of us! Our strike is suspended but our work is not done ✊🏼

[Rutgers AAUP-AFT Academic Worker Union @ruaaup]

Good morning @RutgersU We have reached a tentative framework for a contract & the strike is *suspended while a TA is finalized. The wins that will come in this contract are owed to the amazing & powerful work of member organizers on the ground. You all deserve a restful weekend🙌