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Private Notes
Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Bernard-Henri Levy on the rights and wrongs of foreign intervention.
Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Thomas Friedman on the morality of America's global role.
Is there really a problem with Islam today Critics see Muslim women as downtrodden and sectarian conflict dominates the headlines, but for many Muslims this is a gross misrepresentation.In this episode of Head to Head at the Oxford Union, Mehdi Hasan challenges controversial Canadian author Irshad Manji, writer of The Trouble with Islam Today and also Allah, Liberty and Love on the need to reform Islam, the notion of Ijtihad, the problem of Islamophobia and what Muslims need to own-up to.
At the famous Oxford Union, Mehdi Hasan challenges former top financial regulator Lord Adair Turner on the role of the banks, the politics behind austerity and whether capitalism has failed.It seems that mistakes made in Wall Street and the City of London are paid for by people around the world, but can we govern greed within the realm of capitalism or is it all just money down the drain Is austerity really needed Can we trust the banksJoining our discussion are: Jon Moulton, a venture capitalist and the founder of the private equity firm Better Capital. He has nurtured a reputation for forthrightness even to point of challenging his private equity peers for abusing tax regimes. He is also one of the few men in the City of London who warned about the impending crash before it happened; Professor Costas Lapavitsas, who teaches economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London and is the author of several notable books on the crash and its consequences including Crisis in the Eurozone and Financialisation in Crisis; and Ann Pettifor, the director of PRIME (Policy Research in Macroeconomics), and a fellow of the New Economics Foundation. She was one of the first to warn about the debt crisis in her book The Coming First World Debt Crisis, and is also well-known for her leadership of the successful worldwide campaign to cancel developing world debt - Jubilee 2000.
A UN report says Israeli settlements violate human rights and could be prosecuted as war crimes, but many Israeli settlers consider themselves patriots. So what hope is there for peace in the Middle East? In a country where settlers are now one of the biggest and strongest political movements, Dani Dayan, a Netanyahu advisor and the outgoing chairman of the Yesha (Settlers) Council, says there is no two-state solution to the conflict and that he is happy with the status quo. Dayan has been a major in the Israeli army, a successful IT entrepreneur, and a University lecturer. In 1999 he became an executive committee member of the Yesha Council, which represents the settler movement, and in 2007, its chairman until February 2013. He completely revitalised the movement until his resignation to campaign openly for Binyamin Netanyahu. Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Dayan at the Oxford Union, discussing whether Zionism is a colonialist project, whether the so-called apartheid roads are just an urban legend - and more importantly, what is the solution to this protracted conflict? Dayan claims settlements are irreversible but preaches in favour of dismantling the wall. With a lively audience and robust debate from the expert panel, Head to Head is tackling the hard issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Are the settlements a natural extension of the Israeli state or the single biggest obstacle to peace in the Middle East? Will the Palestinians ever be able to build an independent and viable state? Joining our discussion are: Dr Ghada Karmi, an academic and the author of The Palestinian Exodus (1999), In Search for Fatima (2002), and Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine (2007); Sam Westrop, a former director of the British Israel Coalition, and a fellow of the New York-based Gatestone Institute; and Hannah Weisfeld, the director of Yachad, a pro-peace, pro-Israel NGO based in London.
Some scientists say the earth's climate changes constantly and naturally, but the vast majority of them believe the current rise in global temperature is man-made, and could be catastrophic for the planet. But is all this but a case of extreme ‘climate alarmism' Climate change sceptic Richard Lindzen is challenged on his view that concern about global warming is alarmist nonsense.
Scientist and atheist Richard Dawkins is challenged on whether religion is a force for good or evil in the world.
With one question, journalist Mona Eltahawy unleashed a harsh critique of women's rights in the Arab world.
The deadline of the latest round of US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is looming. But can it produce an agreement after decades of failureFor more than 20 years, from the Madrid talks in 1991 up to recent times, Dr Saeb Erekat has been negotiating peace with the Israelis - without success.In this episode, Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Dr Erekat on the shortcomings of the Palestinian strategy, and whether his government's alleged corruption and human rights abuses have played a part.
Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami.
Mehdi Hasan challenges Martin McGuinness, exploring the definition of terrorism and when to negotiate with the enemy.
Controversial Muslim intellectual Tariq Ramadan discusses Islamism and the rise and fall of the Muslim Brotherhood.
A decade of Western interventions in the Middle East is coming to an end. But is the West leaving behind better countries than they found Or were their campaigns total fiascos Nicknamed Darth Vader by his men and Macho Jacko by the British tabloid press, General Sir Mike Jackson, the former head of the British army, says the West did not always achieve its objectives, but will not admit failure.
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan questions Jimmy Wales, one of the world’s most renowned internet gurus, on his future plans, on whether Wikipedia is advancing or degrading our knowledge, and on whether liberty, privacy and security can coexist in an online era.
Mehdi Hasan challenges former French FM Bernard Kouchner on whether interventions are a facade for Western imperialism.
Iraq's former National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie debates ISIL strategy, sectarianism, and the nation's crisis.
Viviane Reding, the former vice president of the European Commission, on austerity, democratic deficit and Ukraine.
Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Otto Reich, point man for Latin America for the last three US Republican presidents.
Author and activist Norman Finkelstein discusses whether the two-state solution can solve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Mehdi Hasan challenges Chinese scholar Dr Zhang Weiwei on whether China can afford Western-style democracy.
Mehdi Hasan challenges former Reagan economic adviser Arthur Laffer on whether slashing taxes helps rich and poor.
General Asad Durrani, the former head of the ISI, Pakistan's notorious spy agency, on its role in the 'War on Terror'.
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister and former NATO chief, on the West's military alliance's role in Eastern Europe and the so-called War on Terror.We examine his record since assuming office in 2001, his role in the European support for the Iraq War and ask whether his NATO policies since 2009 have backfired.Is it the West, or Putin who calls the shots in Ukraine Has NATO reignited the Cold War Did it create a bigger problem in Libya And did it botch its mission in Afghanistan
Mehdi Hasan challenges Robert S. Wistrich, one of the world's leading scholars of anti-Semitism, on why he thinks criticism of Israeli policies is a modern manifestation of historical anti-Jewish hatred.
Mehdi Hasan challenges Obiageli Ezekwesili, the former World Bank vice president for Africa, Nigerian minister of education, and the woman behind the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, on Nigeria's rise as a regional and global power.
A UN report says Israeli settlements violate human rights and could be prosecuted as war crimes, but many Israeli settlers consider themselves patriots. So what hope is there for peace in the Middle EastIn a country where settlers are now one of the biggest and strongest political movements, Dani Dayan, a Netanyahu advisor and the outgoing chairman of the Yesha (Settlers) Council, says there is no two-state solution to the conflict and that he is happy with the status quo.Dayan has been a major in the Israeli army, a successful IT entrepreneur, and a University lecturer. In 1999 he became an executive committee member of the Yesha Council, which represents the settler movement, and in 2007, its chairman until February 2013. He completely revitalised the movement until his resignation to campaign openly for Binyamin Netanyahu.Mehdi Hasan goes head to head with Dayan at the Oxford Union, discussing whether Zionism is a colonialist project, whether the so-called apartheid roads are just an urban legend - and more importantly, what is the solution to this protracted conflictDayan claims settlements are irreversible but preaches in favour of dismantling the wall. With a lively audience and robust debate from the expert panel, Head to Head is tackling the hard issues surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Are the settlements a natural extension of the Israeli state or the single biggest obstacle to peace in the Middle East Will the Palestinians ever be able to build an independent and viable stateJoining our discussion are: Dr Ghada Karmi, an academic and the author of The Palestinian Exodus (1999), In Search for Fatima (2002), and Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine (2007); Sam Westrop, a former director of the British Israel Coalition, and a fellow of the New York-based Gatestone Institute; and Hannah Weisfeld, the director of Yachad, a pro-peace, pro-Israel NGO based in London.
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Sir Paul Collier, the former head of Development Research at the World Bank, author of Exodus: Immigration and Multiculturalism, and professor at Oxford University, on the costs and benefits of migration.
Mehdi Hasan goes Head to Head with Michael T. Flynn, former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, on how to deal with ISIL and Iran.Flynn was the former head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and a commander of J-SOC, the ghost military unit whose squads hunted Al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan all the way to Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. With no panel or audience, we ask him whether the US is to blame for creating ISIL and whether the War on Terror has become a crusade. We also discuss torture in US bases and why he is opposed to a deal with Iran.
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Naomi Wolf, one of the world's best-known feminists and author of the seminal book The Beauty Myth, on where the feminist movement is headed, and whether her controversial latest writings are furthering or undermining the cause of women's rights.
In this Head to Head special from Washington DC, Mehdi Hasan challenges Paul Bremer, who was appointed by President George W Bush to run the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in the wake of the Iraq war, on whether his policies led to the rise of ISIL.As the man in charge of the so-called reconstruction effort in post-Saddam Iraq, Bremer ordered the disbanding of the Iraqi army and banned members of the Ba'ath Party from holding public office. These measures, critics say, were directly responsible for Iraq’s descent into chaos.With no panel or audience, we discuss the US track record in Iraq and the region, from the 2003 invasion to the rise of ISIL. We ask him how personally responsible he feels for the birth of ISIL and whether the US should put a significant number of soldiers back on the ground in the region.
In this episode of Head to Head , Mehdi Hasan talks to Natalia Narochnitskaya, a Russian historian and former member of the Duma, or Russian parliament, for the ultra-nationalist party Rodina (Motherland).We discuss with her Russia's intervention in Syria and Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and the consequences of these actions for its relationship with Western powers and NATO. We also discuss President Vladimir Putin's rule and examine the country's human rights record.
In this episode of Head to Head , Mehdi Hasan challenges Hina Rabbani Khar, former foreign minister of Pakistan, on whether the army is in control of the country, and if Pakistan has been supporting the Taliban.Joining the discussion are:Omar Waraich, an award-winning British journalist and former Pakistan correspondent for Time Magazine; Humeira Iqtidar, Pakistani Senior Lecturer in Politics of South Asia at King's College London and author of Secularising Islamists Mosharraf Zaidi, former advisor to Foreign Minister Rabbani Khar as well as the EU and UN.Who rules Pakistan with Hina Rabbani Khar will be broadcast on December 18 at 2000 GMT and will be repeated on December 19 at 1200, December 20 at 0100 and December 21 at 0600.Follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/AJHeadToHead; and @AJheadtohead Head to Head is Al Jazeera's forum of ideas, a gladiatorial contest tackling big issues such as faith, nationalism, democracy and foreign intervention in front of an opinionated audience at the Oxford Union.
In this episode of Head to Head, Mehdi Hasan challenges Ram Madhav, National General Secretary of India's ruling BJP and former spokesman of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the right-wing Hindu nationalist organisation and ideological wing of the BJP.
