Incendiary language in U.N. address renders efforts futile


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Last Friday, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas delivered an incendiary address to the United Nations General Assembly. His speech was packed with fighting words — rhetoric that, in an ironic twist, has turned out to be points of weakness.  Though his proposal to end Israeli occupation in the West Bank expresses his people’s frustrations well, Abbas’s […]

President Abbas’s speech opens up a chance at lasting peace


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In perhaps his most fiery speech since this past summer’s violence between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the United Nations General Assembly Friday, blasting Israel for conducting a “war of genocide” over its 50-day operation in Gaza that resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 Palestinians and 69 Israelis. In […]

Sam Pepper’s prank video crossed the line


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Earlier this month, YouTuber and British prankster Sam Pepper released a video, “Fake Hand A– Pinch Prank,” that featured him groping women on the street. Pepper, posing as a confused pedestrian with his hands tucked into his sweatshirt pockets, dissolved into giggles when the women discovered his arm reaching out from behind to touch them […]

Watson’s UN feminist speech relays inspirational message


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This past Saturday, actress Emma Watson gave an impassioned United Nations speech introducing the HeForShe campaign, a promotion through UN Women that invites men to join women in the conversation about gender equality. Watson’s speech could not have come at a more opportune time. After major hacks exposing celebrity private photos, domestic violence cases marring […]

Daniele Watts needn’t apologize for standing up to racial profiling


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The ever-heavy topic of racism’s presence in our judicial system is impossible to ignore. Though there might be more laws in place to protect minorities from structural and hypothetical discrimination, it’s all too easy for racism to present itself in practice. Last week, Django Unchained actress Daniele Watts was arrested in Studio City after a […]

Focus on accountability needed for good to come out of fare hike


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Public transportation regulars will have to bring extra change with them on their commute following the recent hike in Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority fares. The fare increase, which took effect last Monday, came after the Metro Board of Directors voted to increase bus and rail fares by 25 cents last spring. Though the […]

Festivals still provide a relevant platform to promote films


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For the film connoisseur, the four seasons might as well be renamed Sundance, Venice, Cannes and Toronto. Each is a huge celebration highlighting new cinematic works, while recognizing the old and influential. It’s a year-long chase that eventually leads to the epitome of excellence in film, the Oscars. Yet, the Academy Awards, or any critically […]