The case for giving ‘bad’ gifts this year
by Rashmee
Posted on December 25, 2020
If you’re reading this today, the headline probably caught your eye either because you’ve just received a few bad Christmas gifts or given them. Bad, in this case, meaning the definition that economist author of ‘Scroogenomics’ Joel Waldfogel offered in the early 1990s. Each Christmas, Mr Waldfogel moaned, we divert finite resources of energy, … Continue reading “The case for giving ‘bad’ gifts this year”
Read MoreHow to party like it’s 2020
by Rashmee
Posted on December 8, 2020 / The Economist
The holiday season may be here, but the traditional office party? Not so much. The holiday season may be here, but the traditional office party? Not so much. Social distancing and other pandemic-related restrictions have ruled out the usual end-of-year work celebrations. Gone are the staff lunch, after-hours drinks and team dinner. Remote workers won’t … Continue reading “How to party like it’s 2020”
Read MoreAmid the dreary state of Arab-Israeli relations comes Christmas cheer and a message of hope
by Rashmee
Posted on December 26, 2019 / The National
It being Christmas, there is a certain obligation to bring glad tidings, or at least as glad as is possible in a year marked by deepening discontent and divisions in many parts of the world. This despite the Palestinian-Israeli issue ramping up a contentious notch earlier this week when Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor at the … Continue reading “Amid the dreary state of Arab-Israeli relations comes Christmas cheer and a message of hope”
Read MoreIn Bethlehem, a Christmas story with a modern message-and Jingle Bells in Arabic
by Rashmee
Posted on December 25, 2019 / Quartz
At the newly-renovated Church of the Nativity where, the story goes, Jesus, the Prince of Peace was born, pilgrims from around the world are gathering for midnight mass. But for some, the real celebration of peace happened last week, a 10-minute drive away from the church, in as humble a place as the stable where Christ was born. At Canary … Continue reading “In Bethlehem, a Christmas story with a modern message-and Jingle Bells in Arabic”
Read MoreThe beginning of the end of American power? – Part I
by Rashmee
Posted on January 17, 2019
If you’re American it’s hard to imagine a happy new year in 2019. Let me rephrase that. If you’re an American foreign policywallah and aren’t a diehard Trump-supporter with murderous thoughts about migrants, Muslims and others, it’s hard to imagine a happy new year in 2019. It’s nearly the halfway point of Donald Trump’s unexpected … Continue reading “The beginning of the end of American power? – Part I”
Read MoreThe Christmas story is told in the Quran
by Rashmee
Posted on December 24, 2018 / The Arab Weekly
Far-right parties in the West often portray Islam as at war with Christianity. What gets lost in the white noise is a key fact: Jesus is an important figure for Muslims, too. The Quran explicitly makes mention of Jesus, one of 26 prophets named in the Muslim holy book. A Quranic passage referring to the … Continue reading “The Christmas story is told in the Quran”
Read MoreChristmas unsettled. A Christmas tagine rather than a Christmas tree!
by Rashmee
Posted on December 25, 2017
This is a very different Christmas for us. The Tunis house is in the process of being packed up and put into boxes large and small for dispatch across the seas. We don’t have a tree, decorations, a big Christmas dinner with family and friends to entertain. In some ways, it’s not much like Christmas … Continue reading “Christmas unsettled. A Christmas tagine rather than a Christmas tree!”
Read MoreNo need for a #Trump #FauxCrusade. Christmas is merry enough in US & elsewhere
by Rashmee
Posted on December 24, 2016
Given that Donald Trump has done a good job of stoking the anger of America’s majority white, mainly Christian population about the alleged liberal “war” on Christmas, let’s recognize a few facts: Everywhere in the world, Christmas time has become a collective Sabbath (click here to read a blog I wrote on the exact same … Continue reading “No need for a #Trump #FauxCrusade. Christmas is merry enough in US & elsewhere”
Read MoreThis Christmas it’s Tunis cake, British favourite that’s back in fashion
by Rashmee
Posted on December 25, 2015
The revival of Tunis cake is a puzzling thing. Not because it’s unpleasant – what’s not to like about chocolate ganache-covered Madeira sponge – but because of its name. Why does Britain have a cake that takes its name from the Tunisian capital? Is it because of the plentiful availability of ground almonds in Tunis? … Continue reading “This Christmas it’s Tunis cake, British favourite that’s back in fashion”
Read MoreIt makes really good sense to postpone Christmas to February. Here’s why
by Rashmee
Posted on December 24, 2014
Over in Slate, L V Anderson has rather a brilliant idea. Let’s postpone Christmas. To February. Not just this year, but every year. Christmas should be in early February – preferably February 7 – not the end of December, she says. She offers some excellent reasons, all of them practical (and financially hard boiled). Right … Continue reading “It makes really good sense to postpone Christmas to February. Here’s why”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK