Essays

Joker: A Right-wing Postmodern Film?

Joker's actions are truly political actions. The symbol of the Joker is not something that can be re-absorbed into the status quo narratives. Find the square root of negative one. This math problem presents an interesting phenomenon: imaginary numbers. There are numbers that fit into our system of mathematics, yet they lack traditional numerical values. Particularly, these are i and -i. Todd Phillips’s shift from comedy to such a dark film is not an unheard-of move to make. However, through his most recent movie Joker, he seems to replicate some of the radicality of the square root of negative one. To say Joker was controversial is an understatement. The film about the classic Batman

Mason Mohon

Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP

Essays

The Kurdish People Made a Deal With the Devil

America has abandoned the Kurds for a century — while arming every neighbor that boxes them in. The Kurdish people have been in a pickle for decades. As Turkey begins an assault against the stateless nation, the situation only appears to be worsening; many people across the globe have placed blame on President Trump for moving small numbers of troops away from the Kurdish region of Syria. But it’s far from the first time the United States has turned blind eye to their so-called ally in the Middle East, so why does Kurdistan continue to place faith in the Pentagon? US history of Kurdish abandonment goes back nearly a hundred years to the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The nation temporarily

Ryan Lau

Delil Souleiman / AFP via Getty

Opinion

Why Action In Syria Was Justifiable

Under international law, the case for striking Assad after the chemical attack is stronger than critics admit. The recent attack on Syria carried out by the Trump administration has left many people at odds with each other with regards to whether or not it was justifiable by the standards of international law as well as the moral code of the nation in question. It can logically be deduced that the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad was fully aware of the implications of carrying out chemical attacks upon its civilians. These attacks do not adhere to global propriety and they are in clear contravention of international law; furthermore, the regime’s actions were an egregious abridgment of

James Lakin

Alaa Faqir / Reuters

World

Special Ops Soldier Killed

A soldier in an Afghanistan counterterrorism operation was killed late Saturday according to a recent press release. The soldier was doing a routine operation against the terrorist group Khoroson. The US military routinely fights the ISIS affiliate which is based in Afghanistan. Munir Ahmad Farhad, who is a spokesperson for the governor of the Northern Balkh Province stated that a roadside bomb killed 9 and injured several others. 5 insurgents were killed in the process. NATO estimates that 1,000 to 1,500 ISIS soldiers reside in Afghanistan. The image below shows the territory garnered by the IS in Afghanistan through various terrorist organizations.

James Lakin

Mohammad Anwar Danishyar / AP