Torie DeGhett

www.guernicamag.com — "Singers and rap artists in the Middle East and North Africa have done more than simply provide the soundtrack to the revolutions and protests across the region this past year. Music (among other possible dissident art forms) can and has been a powerful participant in the region's cultural and political narratives of dissent, providing a widely accessible medium for rejecting systems of oppression."

Guardian — "Since the initial popularity of Moroccan rapper El Haqed's incendiary lyrics calling out police corruption and the oppression of the monarchy, he and his music have become one of the dominant public voices of the Moroccan protest movement. Morocco's revolutionary story has been granted a lot less media focus internationally than some of its north African neighbours, partly because of how crafty the regime has been in creating the veneer of democratic reform while maintaining an oppressive political and economic hold, trying to deftly spin its way out of a full-on Tahrir situation."

theriskyshift.com — "The events of this presidential election both recognize the newly gained power of the far-right movement in France and further the process of mainstreaming its radical stances on immigration and economic policy. The Socialist party's François Hollande may have come in first in round one of the French presidential elections, but the third place spot earned by the far-right National Front's Marine Le Pen is has been one of the biggest news stories in French electoral politics. She brought in nearly 18 percent of the vote, the highest percentage yet won by the National Front."

www.jadaliyya.com — "Music has been one of the most invigorating and beautiful forms of activism across the Middle East and North Africa during the revolutions and uprisings of 2011. People have rallied around the musicians and their messages, from rappers like Morocco's El Haked or Tunisia's El Général to singers like Syria's Ibrahim Qashoush and Egypt's Ramy Essam. The music is a lasting and emotionally rich record of the demands and sentiments of protesters and revolutionaries. It expresses the decades of suffering, corruption, and oppression under autocratic rule. France24's multimedia documentary, , is a welcome contribution to the growing discussion about artistic and musical elements of protests in the Middle East."

AlterNet — Is Karachi's long hot summer of targeted killings and ethnic violence a window into Pakistan's future?

byliner.com — "Now That We Have Tasted Hope-whose title is drawn from the poem "Now That We Have Tasted Hope," by Khaled Mattawa-collects the most important primary source documents from those historic uprisings, telling the story of the Arab Spring from the perspective of those who lived it." I contributed translations of several protest songs from a number of countries, complete with background translation.

theriskyshift.com — "In the wake of the Pentagon's announcement of a loosening of restrictions for female service-members last week, we were treated to Rick Santorum's considered opinions on these matters. Last week CNN asked him about his support for measures that might eventually allow women to serve in all combat positions. It wasn't surprising that he opposed the idea, voicing his reticence to John King."

www.theriskyshift.com — "Ongoing violence in Karachi has its roots in numerous issues, the NATO presence in Afghanistan being one that is often disregarded. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 300 people (more than this by now) have been killed already this year in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan's economic hub and the provincial capital of Sindh. The organisation also states that more than 1,700 people were killed in similar violence that persisted over the course of last year. It's hard to put a finger on where the original root of the turbulence lies."

www.genderacrossborders.com — Water policy is rarely approached as a feminist issue.

smallwarsjournal.com — "The purpose of this article is to explore the use of private military contractors as a policy tool and their place in the context of rapidly changing ways of fighting wars. Its primary goal is to defy the conventional wisdom of contractors as overpaid, gun-toting mercenaries who wreak havoc in operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. The hope is that this article shows a bigger picture, correcting misinformation and highlighting the real problems with privatization, namely the lack of bureaucratic clarity and control, and offering solutions."