Author Archives: Kia Makarechi

To many of us Westerners, the Middle East seems to be a perpetually doomed, inevitably warring place.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to be a part of the Department of Homeland Security’s “Roundtable on Security and Liberty: Perspectives of Young Leaders Post-9/11.” Despite its deceptively complex name, the event simply consisted of six panels questioning young members of Middle Eastern, Sikh, Muslim and other “relevant” ethnic and religious communities. As […]

The signs are everywhere, but they are not new: The journalism industry is in free fall.

The day has come, as they say. Barack Obama has been duly elected president of the United States.

It’s July 4th, 2008. A group of professional cyclists are politely hurling down a hilly road off Sunset Boulevard. A red car pulls up behind them and begins honking. Responding to the driver, the cyclists pull even tighter to the right and allow him to pass. But he does not pass. Instead, he pulls in […]

A little more than a year ago, I wrote a column titled “We’re voting next year, so come back then.”

When accused of ethical wrongdoing, most public figures immediately adopt a strategy of denial.