Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Lebanese women wed to foreigners want equality
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Every year, Salha Solh spends half her small income of $3,600 just to keep her three sons and three daughters from being deported from their homeland.
Solh is Lebanese but her husband is Pakistani, and under Lebanese law she cannot pass her citizenship on to her children. They are Pakistanis in the law's eyes and need expensive annual residency visas, even though they were born and raised here and have never been to their father's country.
A few months ago, Solh's eldest son was picked up by police for not renewing his residence permit on time and imprisoned for three months until he got a new one.
Nearly every Arab country has similar laws, rooted in Islamic precepts that emphasize paternity as the source of identity. Women's groups have succeeded in changing such laws in Egypt, Morocco and Algeria and are leading campaigns elsewhere, usually against religious conservatives.
In Lebanon, reformers are finally gaining attention for the issue — through a series of small public protests like one that Solh recently attended, of 100 people, on Beirut Martyrs' Square.
"It is my children's right to have Lebanese citizenship," said Solh, who works as a cook and whose husband is unemployed after falling sick recently.
But in Lebanon, the opposition is not only religious but also sectarian and nationalist. Many Lebanese fear that allowing women to pass their citizenship to their children will upset the country's delicate sectarian balance, or open a backdoor for the large Palestinian refugee population to gain citizenship.
"Definitely there is sexism" in such worries, said Information Minister Tarek Mitri, who supports changing the law. "I fear that this might take a bit of time (to change)."
He pointed out that many more Lebanese men are married to Palestinians or other foreigners than the reverse, and no one sees their children as anything but Lebanese.
But in the eyes of many — not just the law — a Lebanese woman with children by a foreign father is seen as bringing foreigners into the country.
Lebanon's population of 4 million is divided between 18 sects, including Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians and Druse, and every community is highly sensitive to anything that tips the demographics.
Moreover, Lebanese of all stripes are deeply suspicious of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees who live on the country's soil. The Palestinians, who live in a number of impoverished camps, have not sought mass citizenship, fearing that it would mean permanent settlement in Lebanon.
Nevertheless, many Lebanese remain wary of giving them any foothold.
"The Lebanese constitution prevents all forms of settling Palestinians in Lebanon," said Christian lawmaker Naamatallah Abi-Nasr, who opposes changing the current law.
He said he would only support a change if Lebanese are given the same treatment by other Arab countries — a condition not likely to be met. "If a Saudi woman gets married to a Lebanese, he should be given Saudi citizenship," Abi-Nasr said.
Reformers face a similar situation in Jordan, home to nearly 2 million Palestinian refugees. Queen Rania has pressed for new laws to allow women to pass on their nationality, but lawmakers have resisted, fearing the move could open the way for Palestinian refugees to gain citizenship.
In Lebanon, activists and women married to foreigners have in recent months held conferences and sit-ins, including protests outside the prime minister's office and near parliament in October.
A draft bill to allow women to pass on their citizenship has been submitted to parliament, though it is not known when lawmakers will take it up.
"Lebanon is the least-advanced country in the region when it comes to this matter," says Lina Abou-Habib, executive director of the Collective for Research and Training on Development Action, a campaign leader.
It is not known how many Lebanese women are married to foreigners, but they are believed to number in the thousands. Many live abroad and are not registered.
Syrians and Palestinians married to Lebanese also don't register with authorities since Palestinian refugees don't need residency permits in Lebanon, while Syrians can stay up to six months without applying for a residency permit.
Without citizenship, husbands and children of Lebanese women are barred from government jobs and cannot own property or businesses. They must also renew their residency every year, each time costing around $300.
"We, Arab women, want our rights," Ikbal Doughan, a women's rights activists and the lawyer of the citizenship campaign, told a conference recently. "We are not asking for more."
By BASSEM MROUE
Solh is Lebanese but her husband is Pakistani, and under Lebanese law she cannot pass her citizenship on to her children. They are Pakistanis in the law's eyes and need expensive annual residency visas, even though they were born and raised here and have never been to their father's country.
A few months ago, Solh's eldest son was picked up by police for not renewing his residence permit on time and imprisoned for three months until he got a new one.
Nearly every Arab country has similar laws, rooted in Islamic precepts that emphasize paternity as the source of identity. Women's groups have succeeded in changing such laws in Egypt, Morocco and Algeria and are leading campaigns elsewhere, usually against religious conservatives.
In Lebanon, reformers are finally gaining attention for the issue — through a series of small public protests like one that Solh recently attended, of 100 people, on Beirut Martyrs' Square.
"It is my children's right to have Lebanese citizenship," said Solh, who works as a cook and whose husband is unemployed after falling sick recently.
But in Lebanon, the opposition is not only religious but also sectarian and nationalist. Many Lebanese fear that allowing women to pass their citizenship to their children will upset the country's delicate sectarian balance, or open a backdoor for the large Palestinian refugee population to gain citizenship.
"Definitely there is sexism" in such worries, said Information Minister Tarek Mitri, who supports changing the law. "I fear that this might take a bit of time (to change)."
He pointed out that many more Lebanese men are married to Palestinians or other foreigners than the reverse, and no one sees their children as anything but Lebanese.
But in the eyes of many — not just the law — a Lebanese woman with children by a foreign father is seen as bringing foreigners into the country.
Lebanon's population of 4 million is divided between 18 sects, including Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians and Druse, and every community is highly sensitive to anything that tips the demographics.
Moreover, Lebanese of all stripes are deeply suspicious of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees who live on the country's soil. The Palestinians, who live in a number of impoverished camps, have not sought mass citizenship, fearing that it would mean permanent settlement in Lebanon.
Nevertheless, many Lebanese remain wary of giving them any foothold.
"The Lebanese constitution prevents all forms of settling Palestinians in Lebanon," said Christian lawmaker Naamatallah Abi-Nasr, who opposes changing the current law.
He said he would only support a change if Lebanese are given the same treatment by other Arab countries — a condition not likely to be met. "If a Saudi woman gets married to a Lebanese, he should be given Saudi citizenship," Abi-Nasr said.
Reformers face a similar situation in Jordan, home to nearly 2 million Palestinian refugees. Queen Rania has pressed for new laws to allow women to pass on their nationality, but lawmakers have resisted, fearing the move could open the way for Palestinian refugees to gain citizenship.
In Lebanon, activists and women married to foreigners have in recent months held conferences and sit-ins, including protests outside the prime minister's office and near parliament in October.
A draft bill to allow women to pass on their citizenship has been submitted to parliament, though it is not known when lawmakers will take it up.
"Lebanon is the least-advanced country in the region when it comes to this matter," says Lina Abou-Habib, executive director of the Collective for Research and Training on Development Action, a campaign leader.
It is not known how many Lebanese women are married to foreigners, but they are believed to number in the thousands. Many live abroad and are not registered.
Syrians and Palestinians married to Lebanese also don't register with authorities since Palestinian refugees don't need residency permits in Lebanon, while Syrians can stay up to six months without applying for a residency permit.
Without citizenship, husbands and children of Lebanese women are barred from government jobs and cannot own property or businesses. They must also renew their residency every year, each time costing around $300.
"We, Arab women, want our rights," Ikbal Doughan, a women's rights activists and the lawyer of the citizenship campaign, told a conference recently. "We are not asking for more."
By BASSEM MROUE
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Lebanese Underground Hacked!
The Lebanese Underground site was recently hacked and pictures of naked men were put on the news page.
They have issued the following statement on their site:
We hope u ll excuse us if u were shocked !
We need some time to secure the site many apologies...
We hope our gay hacker will stop playing with our site...
It seems that this gay hacker has understood Lebanese Underground as a place that can accommodate him and many others that don't fall into the mainstream category. I think that is a natural reaction when we live in a society that still has issues accepting ‘the other’ whatever his/her sexual, religious, etc. preferences might be. People must be allowed to live and love in honor.
(Lebanese Underground site)
They have issued the following statement on their site:
We hope u ll excuse us if u were shocked !
We need some time to secure the site many apologies...
We hope our gay hacker will stop playing with our site...
It seems that this gay hacker has understood Lebanese Underground as a place that can accommodate him and many others that don't fall into the mainstream category. I think that is a natural reaction when we live in a society that still has issues accepting ‘the other’ whatever his/her sexual, religious, etc. preferences might be. People must be allowed to live and love in honor.
(Lebanese Underground site)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Middle Eastern Operators Endorse Customer Value, Choice
Dubai: One week until the 13th annual GSM>3G Middle East- Towards a Broadband World Conference which will be held on Dec. 15-16 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It will be addressing convergence and new revenue streams and technological developments for operators in a market with high mobile penetration.
In a recent interview with Informa Telecoms and Media, Dr. Marwan Al-Ahmadi, CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia (participant in the conference), pointed to the opportunities created by the combination of Saudi Arabia's very low broadband penetration and its youthful, with 50% below the age of 15 and 67% below the age of 25. That is something that number two operator, Mobily, has capitalized on to achieve one of the largest HSPA customer bases in the world at the end of 1Q08, with an estimated 2.64 million subscriptions, according to Informa Telecoms and Media.
"It's a young nation," says Dr. Marwan Al-Ahmadi. "And these people, their consumption of information and telecommunication services is much higher than older people." Dr. Marwan Al-Ahmadi is scheduled to speak on day 2.
Another group involved closely with this year's GSM>3G Middle East Conference is Etisalat. As the UAE's leading telecom service provider, and an endorsing sponsor of the event, Etisalat has subsidiaries in markets including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. Representing the group on the panel of speakers will be Nasser Bin Obood, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President Carrier and Wholesale.
A recent mobile market update by Informa Telecoms and Media found that although Etisalat's net additions were 4.8% lower than in 2Q07, they maintained their leadership with 6.8 million subscriptions by the end of 2Q08. Of these 1.9 million were 3G subscriptions.
A further addition to the speaker panel from outside the Middle East region is Anthony Corbett, Head of M&A at leading Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom. Vimpelcom has a long-established footprint across a number of less-highly penetrated markets across Central Asia and has more recently been active in SE Asia. Corbett is therefore well-placed to contribute to a roundtable discussion focused on the exploitation of further growth opportunities in emerging markets, joining co-panelists from Vodafone and Turkcell.
In a recent interview with Informa Telecoms and Media, Dr. Marwan Al-Ahmadi, CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia (participant in the conference), pointed to the opportunities created by the combination of Saudi Arabia's very low broadband penetration and its youthful, with 50% below the age of 15 and 67% below the age of 25. That is something that number two operator, Mobily, has capitalized on to achieve one of the largest HSPA customer bases in the world at the end of 1Q08, with an estimated 2.64 million subscriptions, according to Informa Telecoms and Media.
"It's a young nation," says Dr. Marwan Al-Ahmadi. "And these people, their consumption of information and telecommunication services is much higher than older people." Dr. Marwan Al-Ahmadi is scheduled to speak on day 2.
Another group involved closely with this year's GSM>3G Middle East Conference is Etisalat. As the UAE's leading telecom service provider, and an endorsing sponsor of the event, Etisalat has subsidiaries in markets including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. Representing the group on the panel of speakers will be Nasser Bin Obood, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President Carrier and Wholesale.
A recent mobile market update by Informa Telecoms and Media found that although Etisalat's net additions were 4.8% lower than in 2Q07, they maintained their leadership with 6.8 million subscriptions by the end of 2Q08. Of these 1.9 million were 3G subscriptions.
A further addition to the speaker panel from outside the Middle East region is Anthony Corbett, Head of M&A at leading Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom. Vimpelcom has a long-established footprint across a number of less-highly penetrated markets across Central Asia and has more recently been active in SE Asia. Corbett is therefore well-placed to contribute to a roundtable discussion focused on the exploitation of further growth opportunities in emerging markets, joining co-panelists from Vodafone and Turkcell.
Kuwaiti Women Still Lag Behind: Watchdog
Kuwait: As Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of the World Declaration of Human Rights, the Kuwaiti Society for Human Rights issued a statement on the occasion enumerating its achievements so far and outlining the challenges ahead.
The statement pointed out that the past sixty years have witnessed significant developments, including the abolishment of slavery, human trafficking as well as the empowerment of the masses to exercise their human rights without restrictions.
"In Kuwait, we have seen significant political and social changes, including the establishment of a constitutional system in 1962," the Society stated in a statement. The Society, however, affirmed that although Kuwaiti women have been empowered to exercise their full political rights, they still lack some of their basic rights, including the fact that the children of Kuwaiti mothers who are married to non-Kuwaitis can't attain Kuwaiti citizenship.
"In the labor sector, there are obvious restrictions on the appointment of women to senior positions," the society lamented, while citing divorce and custody constraints as other issues.
Meanwhile, the statement decried the fact that stateless individuals, commonly known as Bedoun, remain unable to attain their basic human rights, adding that the issue needs urgent solutions.
Concerning the expatriate workforce, the society urged concerned authorities to consider the plight of foreign manpower by ensuring that they attain their rights in accordance with labor bylaws.
The Society also called for the endorsement of a new Labor Act in order to insure he rights and dignity of expatriate workers, including domestic laborers.
(Original Source: Al Watan Newspaper)
The statement pointed out that the past sixty years have witnessed significant developments, including the abolishment of slavery, human trafficking as well as the empowerment of the masses to exercise their human rights without restrictions.
"In Kuwait, we have seen significant political and social changes, including the establishment of a constitutional system in 1962," the Society stated in a statement. The Society, however, affirmed that although Kuwaiti women have been empowered to exercise their full political rights, they still lack some of their basic rights, including the fact that the children of Kuwaiti mothers who are married to non-Kuwaitis can't attain Kuwaiti citizenship.
"In the labor sector, there are obvious restrictions on the appointment of women to senior positions," the society lamented, while citing divorce and custody constraints as other issues.
Meanwhile, the statement decried the fact that stateless individuals, commonly known as Bedoun, remain unable to attain their basic human rights, adding that the issue needs urgent solutions.
Concerning the expatriate workforce, the society urged concerned authorities to consider the plight of foreign manpower by ensuring that they attain their rights in accordance with labor bylaws.
The Society also called for the endorsement of a new Labor Act in order to insure he rights and dignity of expatriate workers, including domestic laborers.
(Original Source: Al Watan Newspaper)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Leila Karam and Many Other Lebanese
Lebanon: Tuesday 2nd of December 2008, Leila Karam finally surrendered to death after a long period of sickness spent in the hospital. But Leila Karam's battle was not only with sickness but also with extreme poverty especially in her last days since she had to be seriously hospitalized. She spent her last days between hospitals and her wheel chair without any money to pay for her medication.
Her need for money to survive is the reflection of Lebanon's non-existing social security programs and the neglect and abandonment we endure daily as Lebanese. This country that not only saw the diaspora of most of its youth but also the slow death of all those who have decided to stay and fight.
Leila Karam was a long-standing actress that participated in many Lebanese and Egyptian movies from the 70's and 80's. She is the younger sister of another Lebanese actress Nabila Karam. Her famous role as 'Umm Melhem' with 'Abu Melhem' (Adeeb Haddad) made her a cultural/pop icon in every Lebanese household.
But that was not enough to ensure her a proud life, esp. in her old age, in a country she has served and represented for a very long time. That country has betrayed her and many other artists like her that were left for oblivion.
Leila's story reminds me and many other Lebanese of our responsibility to our parents and elders who have no one but us. Unfortunately, we do not live in a civilized country (as they proudly declare) and certainly don't have rich resources (like oil, etc.) to bail us out. All we have is ourselves and our will to fight and live.
Finally as Leila, in one interview, said: "They don't remember us except when we are dead, that is if they do, so why should we remember them or show our admiration."
Monday, December 1, 2008
Material for a film: A Tribute to Wael (work of Emily Jacir)
On Monday October 16, 1972, Wael Zuaiter left Janet Venn-Brown's apartment and headed to his apartment at No. 4 Piazza Annibaliano in Rome. He had been reading A Thousand and One Nights on Janet's couch searching for references to use in an article he was planning to write that evening. He took two buses to get from Janet's place to his in northern Rome. Just as he reached the elevator inside the entrance to the building of the apartment block where he lived, Israeli assassins fired 12 bullets into his head and chest with 22 calibre pistols at close range. Wael Zuaiter had become the first victim in Europe of a series of assassinations committed by Israeli agents on Palestinian artists, intellectuals and diplomats that was already underway in the Middle East.
A thirteenth bullet pierced his volume 2 of A Thousand and One Nights and got lodged in its spine. One of Wael's dreams was to translate A Thousand and One Nights directly from Arabic into Italian. He had been working on this project since his arrival in Italy in 1962. To this day an Italian translation from the Arabic does not exist.
In 1979, Wael Zuaiter's companion of eight years, Sydney-born artist Janet Venn-Brown published For A Palestinian - A Memorial to Wael Zuaiter. One chapter, titled Material for a Film by Elio Petri and Ugo Pirro, consists of a series of interviews conducted with the people who were part of Wael's life in Italy, including Janet herself. They were going to make a film, but Elio Petri died shortly afterwards and the film was never made.
Today, I am looking for others who can work with me to interpret Emily Jacir's installation 'Material for a film' into a short film.
This is a call for collaboration with people from diverse backgrounds...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Defense Team Of Jailed Saudi Activist Plans Hunger Strike
The wife of jailed Saudi Arabian activist Matrook Al-Faleh sent CNN producer Mohammed Jamjoom this note from her husband's defense team.
Jamila Al-Faleh says the lawyers for Al-Faleh, whom human rights organizations say was jailed for criticizing prison conditions in his country, will go on a hunger strike to protest their client's detention conditions.
The Saudi Interior Ministry has not yet responded to CNN's request for comment. Below is a note from Al-Faleh's defense team:
"The Saudi Justice system and legal procedures (e.g., Criminal Procedure and Arrest and Detention Laws) have failed to render just judgments to jailed Saudi human-right activists who have been arrested with no official indictments, and incarcerated indefinitely in solitary confinement with no right to an attorney or access to habeas corpus.
After exerting all means to get fair treatments to the constitutional movement’s detainees, the defense teams decided to observe a 48-hour hunger strike. The proposed strike will take place on Thursday and Friday, 6-7 November 2008, in protest against flagrant human rights violations for all detainees in Saudi prisons who have been deprived of their basic rights as guaranteed by [the Saudi] Criminal Procedure Law and Arrest and Detention Law."
(original source CNN)
Jamila Al-Faleh says the lawyers for Al-Faleh, whom human rights organizations say was jailed for criticizing prison conditions in his country, will go on a hunger strike to protest their client's detention conditions.
The Saudi Interior Ministry has not yet responded to CNN's request for comment. Below is a note from Al-Faleh's defense team:
"The Saudi Justice system and legal procedures (e.g., Criminal Procedure and Arrest and Detention Laws) have failed to render just judgments to jailed Saudi human-right activists who have been arrested with no official indictments, and incarcerated indefinitely in solitary confinement with no right to an attorney or access to habeas corpus.
After exerting all means to get fair treatments to the constitutional movement’s detainees, the defense teams decided to observe a 48-hour hunger strike. The proposed strike will take place on Thursday and Friday, 6-7 November 2008, in protest against flagrant human rights violations for all detainees in Saudi prisons who have been deprived of their basic rights as guaranteed by [the Saudi] Criminal Procedure Law and Arrest and Detention Law."
(original source CNN)
Saudi Hunger Strike - Your Thoughts
Some brave Saudis are going on a hunger strike and they want you to join them.
These are no ordinary Saudis; they're the intellectuals of the ultraconservative kingdom. The human rights activists, the bloggers, and professional journalists and lawyers.
They have established a group on the social networking site FaceBook to raise awareness and recruit supporters. Their call is adding new members by the day and there is no telling yet how the Saudi government will respond.
The "movement" is lead by Saudis themselves after lawyers for 11 men detained by the government called for a 48-hour hunger strike in support of their clients. They attorneys claim that their clients have been detained with no clear charges and without the possibility of a trial anytime soon. .
What does the Saudi government say about all this? Nothing. We have been reporting this story for five months, and all attempts to confirm the detention of some of these men, the charges they face and an update on their status were met with silence.
So, in light of this latest development --- the call for a hunger strike --- we made another call to the Saudi Interior Ministry. They said what they've said before. "Call back in 30 minutes." When we called back at the agreed time, the answer was a resounding "No Comment."
Who are these eleven men? The list includes a former Judge and four former university professors.. All eleven are described as "human rights activists." The earliest detentions date back to February 2007.
The most recent person taken into custody is Professor Matrook H. Al-Faleh, political science professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, detained by security forces in May 19, 2008. His wife told CNN that she saw him last Saturday and that he "currently" is not on a hunger strike. She refused to comment further and asked us to speak to the lawyers instead.
In the FaceBook posting, the announcement of the hunger strike is coupled with a plea for "all activists and citizens who have conscious" to show "sympathy and solidarity" by joining in.
The FaceBook page indicates the group believes that their move is "daring" and "bold" in the defense of human rights.
Do you think this hunger strike will make a difference?
(original source CNN)
These are no ordinary Saudis; they're the intellectuals of the ultraconservative kingdom. The human rights activists, the bloggers, and professional journalists and lawyers.
They have established a group on the social networking site FaceBook to raise awareness and recruit supporters. Their call is adding new members by the day and there is no telling yet how the Saudi government will respond.
The "movement" is lead by Saudis themselves after lawyers for 11 men detained by the government called for a 48-hour hunger strike in support of their clients. They attorneys claim that their clients have been detained with no clear charges and without the possibility of a trial anytime soon. .
What does the Saudi government say about all this? Nothing. We have been reporting this story for five months, and all attempts to confirm the detention of some of these men, the charges they face and an update on their status were met with silence.
So, in light of this latest development --- the call for a hunger strike --- we made another call to the Saudi Interior Ministry. They said what they've said before. "Call back in 30 minutes." When we called back at the agreed time, the answer was a resounding "No Comment."
Who are these eleven men? The list includes a former Judge and four former university professors.. All eleven are described as "human rights activists." The earliest detentions date back to February 2007.
The most recent person taken into custody is Professor Matrook H. Al-Faleh, political science professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, detained by security forces in May 19, 2008. His wife told CNN that she saw him last Saturday and that he "currently" is not on a hunger strike. She refused to comment further and asked us to speak to the lawyers instead.
In the FaceBook posting, the announcement of the hunger strike is coupled with a plea for "all activists and citizens who have conscious" to show "sympathy and solidarity" by joining in.
The FaceBook page indicates the group believes that their move is "daring" and "bold" in the defense of human rights.
Do you think this hunger strike will make a difference?
(original source CNN)
Monday, November 24, 2008
Lawyer To File Case Against Ministry Over Failure To Ban YouTube
Kuwait: A leading Kuwaiti lawyer Mubarak Al-Tasha has said that he intends to file a case against the Ministry of Information for not blocking the website Youtube or at least blocking infamous clips that are considered as insulting to Islam and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). The lawyer said that since the ministry failed to carry out its promises, a law suit will be filed against it in order to ensure that this is legally binding, and added that the Kuwaiti Constitution protects freedom of expression, press and publication however freedoms should not in any way insult Islam.
He added that the State needs to uphold the Constitution and respect it since law 70/2002 issued by the Information Ministry states that internet providers should not promote or encourage pornographic, indecent and anti-Islamic material. A few months ago, local newspapers reported that the ministry ordered local internet service providers to block the website over clips that could offend Muslims.
"Since the website displays the Quran in the form of songs sung with the oud... and displays disrespectful pictures of the Prophet Mohammed... Please proceed with immediate effect in blocking the website www.youtube.com," read a copy of a memo obtained by Reuters.
However, following the circulation of this memo, the ministry went back on its decision and the site was subsequently not banned.
(Original Source: Al Watan Newspaper - 24 November 2008)
He added that the State needs to uphold the Constitution and respect it since law 70/2002 issued by the Information Ministry states that internet providers should not promote or encourage pornographic, indecent and anti-Islamic material. A few months ago, local newspapers reported that the ministry ordered local internet service providers to block the website over clips that could offend Muslims.
"Since the website displays the Quran in the form of songs sung with the oud... and displays disrespectful pictures of the Prophet Mohammed... Please proceed with immediate effect in blocking the website www.youtube.com," read a copy of a memo obtained by Reuters.
However, following the circulation of this memo, the ministry went back on its decision and the site was subsequently not banned.
(Original Source: Al Watan Newspaper - 24 November 2008)
Female Ministers' Appointment Unconstitutional
Kuwait: Parliament's Committee for Legislative and Legal Affairs, during its meeting on Sunday, signed off on a report stating that the appointment of female Cabinet ministers Nouriya Al-Subaih and Mouhdi Al-Humoud is unconstitutional. The decision is said to stem from the fact that both women do not conform to the Islamic dress code because they refuse to cover their hair.
The committee's convener, Ali Al-Hajeri, announced that the report has been unanimously endorsed by the committee's members and that it is backed up by Article 82 of the Constitution and Article 1 of the Elections Law that stipulates that women should adhere to the Islamic dress code.
(source: Al Watan Newspaper - Sunday 23/11/08)
Historical Background:
Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Sabah issued a decree giving women full political rights in 1999. In a speech to the public, Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said: "I congratulate the women of Kuwait for having achieved their political rights."
The change in the law, which was agreed at the end of a 10-hour session, had previously been blocked by a majority of tribal and Islamist members of parliament. Many of these had argued that Islamic law prohibited women from positions of leadership. The amendment requires women voters and candidates to abide by Islamic law. Correspondents say this is an attempt by the ruling family to reassure Islamists. But it could also place restrictions on women campaigners.
The committee's convener, Ali Al-Hajeri, announced that the report has been unanimously endorsed by the committee's members and that it is backed up by Article 82 of the Constitution and Article 1 of the Elections Law that stipulates that women should adhere to the Islamic dress code.
(source: Al Watan Newspaper - Sunday 23/11/08)
Historical Background:
Kuwait's ruler Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Sabah issued a decree giving women full political rights in 1999. In a speech to the public, Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said: "I congratulate the women of Kuwait for having achieved their political rights."
The change in the law, which was agreed at the end of a 10-hour session, had previously been blocked by a majority of tribal and Islamist members of parliament. Many of these had argued that Islamic law prohibited women from positions of leadership. The amendment requires women voters and candidates to abide by Islamic law. Correspondents say this is an attempt by the ruling family to reassure Islamists. But it could also place restrictions on women campaigners.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
RITUEL ÉROTIQUE AU JAPON
Quelque part au Japon, un homme, Haruki Yukimura, et une femme, Nana-Chan, s'adonnent au bondage. Une curiosité contemplative pour la nuit.
Une jeune femme traverse un jardin japonais, puis entre dans une maison traditionnelle en se déchaussant avec lenteur. Elle vient rendre visite à un « maître », un homme âgé d'une soixantaine d'années qui l'accueille avec solennité et respect. A peine le rituel du salut accompli, il va inlassablement nouer des cordes autour de son corps composant des figures de plus en plus complexes. La jeune femme est d'abord habillée, puis seins nus, puis totalement dénudée.
En expert, le maître fait et défait ses liens, élaborés avec une sophistication extrême, l'obligeant à prendre des poses improbables.
La scène se passe dans un silence vibrant sans qu'aucun mot ni son ne soit échangé, le maître contemplant après chaque composition son oeuvre. Quelques secondes de temps suspendu plus tard, il la libère laissant cordes et corps abandonnés sur le tatami. Avant de reprendre une nouvelle composition...
Les liens du cinéma avec l'univers du fantasme, le voyeurisme et l'érotisme sont bien connus. Du désir au plaisir (des protagonistes), de la pulsion scopique à la gêne (des spectateurs), le film de Xavier Brillat, en joue, nous mettant dans une situation inconfortable. Quelque part au Japon, un homme, Haruki Yukimura et une femme, Nana-Chan, s'adonnent au bondage. Mais la lenteur des gestes, la douceur des voix, le parti pris d'enchaîner les scènes par des fondus au noir, la présence ténue de bruissements de la nature, tout nous invite à sortir de l'évidence voyeuriste. D'une situation qui ne pourrait être qu'érotique, le film nous amène peu à peu vers la performance, la cérémonie ritualisée : le corps de la femme, corps attaché, corps soumis, corps contraint, lieu d'inscription du nouage patient et méticuleux de l'homme, nous offre une succession de poses, sinon d'étapes. Pour qui ? Pour elle, pour lui, pour nous ?
La juste distance adoptée par Xavier Brillat pour filmer les scènes confère au documentaire un statut singulier, comme si nous assistions à un rituel érotique secret.
Une curiosité contemplative pour la nuit.
Le film a été sélectionné pour une présentation en avant-première au Festival du Documentaire de Marseille 2007.
Un film de Xavier Brillat
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Digital Communities
Forming communities is what humans do. We join communities to find one another, to belong. We join communities to express ourselves, whether religiously politically or any other way. The drive to form communities is as old as civilization, in fact it is why we have civilizations in the first place.
But communities today work very differently. Everything is all sped up - over night is not fast enough anymore. In the past, we've always seen the big eats the small, in the new knowledge-based economy the fast eats the slow. Speed is the new BIG! But speed isn't the only change. Digital technology has amplified the ability for a single individual to reach out to its swarm. In social networking communities, the voice of one quickly becomes the voice of hundred and one or 1 million and one. There are no geographic borders, no boundaries and no limits. These communities are on facebook and myspace. They're in your e-mail address book, they're the 1200 volunteers who edit wikipedia, they're the assortment of people who created linux, they're the 9 million who play second life.. They're the free form digital communities that arise, interact and disperse and they are the blogs that are alive and responsive as a school of fish.
Technology has made it possible for human communities to behave like swarms of their own. We are more in touch and more in tune to our peers than ever before. Lets capitalize on our networks and push these communities to move towards positive change through engagement and co-creativity.
(Reference: Chuck Brymer's The Nature of Marketing)
But communities today work very differently. Everything is all sped up - over night is not fast enough anymore. In the past, we've always seen the big eats the small, in the new knowledge-based economy the fast eats the slow. Speed is the new BIG! But speed isn't the only change. Digital technology has amplified the ability for a single individual to reach out to its swarm. In social networking communities, the voice of one quickly becomes the voice of hundred and one or 1 million and one. There are no geographic borders, no boundaries and no limits. These communities are on facebook and myspace. They're in your e-mail address book, they're the 1200 volunteers who edit wikipedia, they're the assortment of people who created linux, they're the 9 million who play second life.. They're the free form digital communities that arise, interact and disperse and they are the blogs that are alive and responsive as a school of fish.
Technology has made it possible for human communities to behave like swarms of their own. We are more in touch and more in tune to our peers than ever before. Lets capitalize on our networks and push these communities to move towards positive change through engagement and co-creativity.
(Reference: Chuck Brymer's The Nature of Marketing)
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Beirut Manifesto
Celebrate an absurd juxtaposition,
Glorify this informal language that is so easy and fast to learn and understand and how the absence of its limitations greets you in a chaotic manner.
Celebrate this roaring sound of the machines and the babbling of the people as we walk down the streets.
Celebrate while listening to the overlapping sounds of the mosques and the churches, the machines and the people, the sea and the mountains.
(One could perhaps never encounter war damage if they avoided most of the city. But it exists, and it adds a certain intensity to it. Perhaps only an intensity, which the individual brings. But the other intensities that the dichotomy between the two religions in the city, and the legendary hot-blooded middle eastern methods of resolving differences make Beirut memorable. Beirut’s true intrigue lies in its ambience as a tired postwar ghost town desperately trying to regain footing.)
Celebrate the informality, enthusiasm and magnificence of everything we see around us as we are taking a walk, where new compliments old, and high values low.
Celebrate this charming mix between East and West. Walk and contemplate the traces of where cultures interact and discuss their opinion.
Admire how smoothly this multi-cultural and yet identical city opens the floor to many discussions.
Walk, think and talk organically through a non-linear path, a movement that reflects in the daily activity of this city.
Celebrate a place where you feel that you are imprisoned yet free, lost but happy, mistreated but enjoying it.
Celebrate a whole that contains parts of ruined buildings as well as new ones, modern and classic, machines and people, Muslims and Christians, black and white, foreign and native, aristocrats and proletarians.
Honor old operating systems integrated with new ones.
Celebrate a city where everything is quite large and at an extreme edge.
A superheated atmosphere, watch how its molecules behave when everything is turned up.
A city of hope even with the never-ending destruction.
A multicultural homogeneity.
A cultural maturity and adulthood that is a result of several years of civil war.
An incompatibility of absolute place and form.
A reality of transforming history into an explosion of neutral colors and an overlaying of opinions.
Appreciation in a state of distortion.
A love for danger, adventure, risk and the habit of fearlessness.
Celebrate DENSITY.
Celebrate an immense Pompeii still whitening with sepulchers.
Enjoy pure spontaneity and subjectivity, complexity and contradiction, overwhelming contrast, constant recognizable change, mixture of colors, sounds and smell.
CELEBRATE BEIRUT!
Glorify this informal language that is so easy and fast to learn and understand and how the absence of its limitations greets you in a chaotic manner.
Celebrate this roaring sound of the machines and the babbling of the people as we walk down the streets.
Celebrate while listening to the overlapping sounds of the mosques and the churches, the machines and the people, the sea and the mountains.
(One could perhaps never encounter war damage if they avoided most of the city. But it exists, and it adds a certain intensity to it. Perhaps only an intensity, which the individual brings. But the other intensities that the dichotomy between the two religions in the city, and the legendary hot-blooded middle eastern methods of resolving differences make Beirut memorable. Beirut’s true intrigue lies in its ambience as a tired postwar ghost town desperately trying to regain footing.)
Celebrate the informality, enthusiasm and magnificence of everything we see around us as we are taking a walk, where new compliments old, and high values low.
Celebrate this charming mix between East and West. Walk and contemplate the traces of where cultures interact and discuss their opinion.
Admire how smoothly this multi-cultural and yet identical city opens the floor to many discussions.
Walk, think and talk organically through a non-linear path, a movement that reflects in the daily activity of this city.
Celebrate a place where you feel that you are imprisoned yet free, lost but happy, mistreated but enjoying it.
Celebrate a whole that contains parts of ruined buildings as well as new ones, modern and classic, machines and people, Muslims and Christians, black and white, foreign and native, aristocrats and proletarians.
Honor old operating systems integrated with new ones.
Celebrate a city where everything is quite large and at an extreme edge.
A superheated atmosphere, watch how its molecules behave when everything is turned up.
A city of hope even with the never-ending destruction.
A multicultural homogeneity.
A cultural maturity and adulthood that is a result of several years of civil war.
An incompatibility of absolute place and form.
A reality of transforming history into an explosion of neutral colors and an overlaying of opinions.
Appreciation in a state of distortion.
A love for danger, adventure, risk and the habit of fearlessness.
Celebrate DENSITY.
Celebrate an immense Pompeii still whitening with sepulchers.
Enjoy pure spontaneity and subjectivity, complexity and contradiction, overwhelming contrast, constant recognizable change, mixture of colors, sounds and smell.
CELEBRATE BEIRUT!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Wait
I am waiting for a rebirth of wonder. I am waiting for
someone to really discover me and live together the
fairytale. I am waiting for lovers and weepers to lie
down together again in a new sexual rebirth. I am
waiting for the war to stop and make the world safe
from anarchy.
I am waiting for the second coming. And I am waiting
for them to prove that God is really a woman. I am
waiting for my number to be called and I am waiting
for the meek to rebel. I am waiting for forests and
animals to reclaim the earth as theirs and I am
anxiously waiting for the secret of eternal life to be
discovered by some Lebanese bimbo.
I am waiting to set sail for happiness and I am
waiting for Alice in Wonderland to reincarnate in me
her total dream of innocence. I am certainly waiting
for the garlic bread to be served at the last supper
with a strange new appetizer. I am waiting for the
dead to rise and the living to engage in a public orgy
in worship of Bacchus.
I am waiting for the day of truth that will make all
things clear and I am waiting for retribution for what
I did to my mother. I am waiting to write my great
obituary. I am waiting for the last long ecstasy and
I am awaiting perpetually and forever a renaissance of
wonder.
I am waiting.
We Die
We die and we are rich with lovers and loved ones,
tastes we’ve experienced, fragrances we’ve sweated and
bodies we’ve entered.
We die and we are rich with multiple ecstasies, sexual
obsessions, unrealized dreams and city roundabouts.
We die and we are rich with erotic fantasies, human
parasites, whispered lies and garlic bread.
We die.
We die mutated freaks unrecognized by our own eyes.
She died and history is lost.
She died a Divine Freak.
tastes we’ve experienced, fragrances we’ve sweated and
bodies we’ve entered.
We die and we are rich with multiple ecstasies, sexual
obsessions, unrealized dreams and city roundabouts.
We die and we are rich with erotic fantasies, human
parasites, whispered lies and garlic bread.
We die.
We die mutated freaks unrecognized by our own eyes.
She died and history is lost.
She died a Divine Freak.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
MUSEUMS OR NOT!
The online dictionary defined museums as “places of study, buildings where objects of historical, scientific or artistic interest are kept, preserved and exhibited”. To The Museums Association, a museum is “an institution which collects documents, preserves, exhibits and interprets material evidence and associated information for the public benefit”.
Since 1998, this definition has changed. Museums now enable the public to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society. Mike Wallace (1996) categorised museums into four distinct types, namely National Museums that hold collection of national importance, Armed Service Museums, Independence Museums and Local Authority Museums. According to Wallace, the importance of museums lies in their role as a nation’s memory bank.
Personally, what matters most about museums is that they are one source of living history. But I guess the question here is not 'museums or not' but rather who defines what is of value and worth preserving?
I certainly get your point Fady... culture can never be restricted to museums but also can't be ignored.
WAIL "LEBANON'S NATIONAL ANTHEM"
My generation sits on its
beat ass and tokes on grass
A group of overgrown corpses
bumbling around town
between orgies and street deals
casinos and jail cells
sticking their mojo pins
watching their arms swell
Forlorn, foresworn
to a country so small
a country so squashed
that it has become
the bedouin's brothel
the Disneyland of the East
As the girls stumble
from one bar to the next
down Monot street
Replace the -t with a -p
and you get a den of
crackhead bourgeoisie
sucking on Osso Bucco
with bleached teeth
and bleached money
"Here we party
like there's no tomorrow"
Repeated like a mantra
So the kids dance on coffins
With their sleek hair
and their silken skin
until the men in the military
attire bust in
Pills scatter across the floor
the manic paranoia soars
there's no escape now
(not even the gaping ceiling)
Somewhere on a balcony
A maid stares out to the sea
Expires, pulls up the rug and
retires
to her one foot room
with a mattress and a picture
of Jesus
to keep her company
As the workers drip with sweat
and the housewives shop
to forget
A boy stands on a windowsill
and screams:
"My eyes are my worst enemy"
Somewhere in a sleepy Mercedes
A hand surreptitiously slips
into another
as the driver rants on about
how his religion outdoes
all the others
and smiles, toothlessly
Pearls of sweat roll off
the side of his head
as the clandestine sunshine
peaks through the glass
and shines on your pretty face
Babe
Now we no longer burn
our garbage on the streets
now the pavement shines brightly
and the lights illuminate
the city
And somewhere in all of this
I found myself
in a smoke-filled dive
where thhick white threads
were rising and writhing
from the ashtrays
People numbing their wounds
with alcohol
their gazes bouncing
like tennis balls
off the walls
Somehow I found myself with
no place to call home
I stood behind my paintings
that was the closest i ever got
to home
I stood there
fighting the chatter
for silence
trying to speak to you directly
to bear myself to you unveiled
from a whisper to a wail
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wear Sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Monday, October 27, 2008
In a relationship!
Like most relationships, it started with a spark of curiosity, a promise of encounter, fear and certainly a challenge. My relationship with the new digital is mainly the only full reciprocal relationship I have been in. Sharing has never felt comfortable and mindsets are definitely changed...
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