Building bridges, weaving nets, constructing words.

Saturday 26 October 2013

SAUDI ARABIA: DRIVING IS AN OVARIES MATTER.

Driving harms the pelvis and ovaries. 
Of all the sexist comments against women's ability to drive a motor vehicle, this is perhaps the most peregrine and absurd. It should be enough to say that while there are numerous scientific studies that support the link between prostate cancer and staying long hours sitting in certain professions, such as drivers, there are none in the case of women. Imams have outdone themselves with this shameful explanation which focus, once again, on the "crux" of the matter: only women wombs matter and therefore should not move at will outside the control of male relatives, lest they discover that the world is outside the four walls of their prisons, excuse me, homes.

Thursday 17 October 2013

BASHAR AL ASAD’S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE.


 Many were critical with the Norwegian Academy decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Barak Obama in October 2009. For them, the brand new President of the United States did not deserve it. The academy justified this award stating that: “Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.”[1]

Thursday 10 October 2013

Egyptian troops crossing the Suez Canal,
October 7, 1973
YOM KIPPUR, FORTY YEARS LATER.

Forty years have passed since the Yom Kippur War when in an unexpected move, Egypt and Syria, decided to attack Israel in one of its holiest days. It was the fourth major confrontation between Arabs and Jews since Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948. The overwhelming Israeli victory of 1967 and its overestimation of border security allowed this country to relax while its enemies’ desire for revenge was mounting. This surprise attack highlighted the vulnerability of Israel to the alliance of two of its strongest enemies. A vulnerability that was surmounted  - despite the initial strategic advantage of Egypt and Syria - due to poor communications between both that allowed Israel to recover and regain territory.