James Denseiow

Whilst the US President may not think that the election is settled, the rest of the world continue to dissect what the election of the 3rd of November tells us about American politics. The broad-brush strokes of what has emerged as now almost settled, barring a significant upset in Georgia America will have a split Government with a Democratic President, a Republican Senate and Democratic Congress.

Already the narrative of American divisions has been accelerated by record turnouts for both the Biden and the Trump vote. Those close to Biden are frequently asked what plans he has to ‘heal’ American divides. I would argue that a democratic system that can peacefully process the demands and identities of a nation of some 328 million people through the prism of two major parties is a pretty good template. What is more concerning however, is that the identities of the two major tribes of America’s body politic are being increasingly defined by their marginal and extremist elements.

While political ‘centrism’ is supposedly dead we surely must recognise that a world that understands Americans as either attendees of Trump’s rallies or mask wearing members of Antifa is simple false and a incorrect minority report as to the health of the nation.

There is arguably no better time to be a fringe player in this political psychodrama. The rise and rise of political social media could mean that an individual composing conspiracy theory on twitter from the safety of his own home, could suddenly be retweeted by Trump himself to some 80 million followers. Likewise, events like the march for Trump over the weekend see coverage focused on the handful of clashes at the fringes of a fringe event. It is almost as if algorithms of modern news reporting are fuelling a story of deepening difference and irreconcilable political identities.

This is made significantly worse by the culture around attack ads that dominates the media and social media airwaves. The Democratic party is licking its wounds after losing Congress seats and already a debate is raging as to whether they lost votes due to their association with the radical policy position around defunding the police.

Yet this was never Democratic party policy, but instead almost a by-product of Republican attacks looking to tie more progressive members of the Democratic party to the most extreme ideas of the political spectrum. In short it is political strategy for many to paint a picture of such stark divisions and demand that voters take a side.

It is continually fascinating that voters could have turned out in such high numbers for President Trump despite his cack-handed response to a pandemic that has killed close to a quarter of a million Americans. Yet the analysis of issues that Trump voters responded to - particularly law and order and the economy – were almost more existential terrifying than the virus itself.

Whilst headlines and social media clicks are dominated by those on the far left and the far right how can more centralist and representative voices cut through? Well President Biden may be about to demonstrate one answer to that conundrum. His digital footprint is radically different from his predecessor. Gone are the days where the world will hold its breath waking from Trump to wake up and tweet a 360 reversal of a previous US policy position.

Biden is a self-styled consensus politician who ran as a ‘proud Democrat’ but promised to Govern on behalf of all Americans. The trust he will need to establish for those worried that he is going to immediately lockdown the country, shut down the fossil fuel industry and defund the police is going to be aided by the fact that those things were never genuine fears in the first place.

Meanwhile news networks, and more importantly social media networks, will have to get a lot better at not being driven by covering the most extreme actors. The Steve Bannons of this world have already been kicked off Twitter for and you can almost speculate as to whether we will see Trump kicked off the platform once he loses his privileges as President. The Biden-era may be the majority report overtake that of the minority.

by : jamse danselow

Syria’s Battle for History The Coronavirus Vaccine Moment

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”