I find this much too hilarious to not mention.
A new Canadian company has very happily decided to give Red Bull a run for their money. Slow Cow, has been designed to be the antithesis of Red Bull- it's a de-stresser in a drink. Surprisingly, it's not the first relaxing drink on the market -whatever happened to good ol' Sleepytime?- Drank is another relax-in-a-can.
Red Bull is not pleased- they've sent an official letter to Slow Cow to let them know their packaging (definitely a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the popular energy drink's design), is too close for their liking, and that the company should close.
Ah, the beauty of capitalist markets.
The Pakistan Supreme Court ruled recently that transvestites were equal citizens and should be allowed to benefit from the country's financial support schemes.
That's all.
That's all.
The leftist weekly, The Nation, decided to print one of the lamest articles I have ever read.
It starts badly with this headline: Lewd Stares Distressing To Women.
Was that really contested?
Then, the article goes on to chronicle a poor Muslim woman's suffering as insults are shouted at her.
However, it is this section of the article that made me literally laugh out loud.
"The Emirates is the most female-friendly country in the Middle East. The Government’s efforts to encourage women to use public spaces is admirable. The Abu Dhabi beach was quickly divided into two sections last year after women expressed their discomfort at gangs of labourers roaming about and leering. Emirati men are courteous. They never stare.
By contrast, sexual harassment levels in Egypt are endemic. In the Punjab and Karachi, images of women on billboards are defaced or just banned.
1. I have seen quite a few non-defaced billboards of women in Karachi. In fact, I don't believe I've ever seen a defaced billboard with women on it.
2. While sexual harassment is indeed terrible in Egypt, I would never use the word endemic to describe it.
3. How exactly can you just claim something such as Emirates being the most female-friendly country, then chalk it up to "Emirati men are courteous. They never stare."
4. How can she say that a country is doing well when instead of attempting to solve the problem of sexual harassment it further segregates men and women?
It gets better when the author writes:
"Yet western women are also fascinating because they are considered a third gender. They look like females but have the independence of men. Men who have no shame at leering at women make clear distinctions between those who deserve respect and those who do not."
Is she implying that no women in Muslim countries as a rule ever have the 'independence of men?'
There is no mention of the idea of education, strict laws, lack of empowerment being a cause of any of them. Instead she writes that she hoped that she could have a burqa to wear in Afghanistan because she wants it be a barrier between them and abuse. What of the strict Taliban rule that prevented women from leaving the house without the burqa? Was that a result of the Taliban wanting women to be protected from abuse?
How is Hamida Ghafour solving the problem of sexual harassment?
It starts badly with this headline: Lewd Stares Distressing To Women.
Was that really contested?
Then, the article goes on to chronicle a poor Muslim woman's suffering as insults are shouted at her.
However, it is this section of the article that made me literally laugh out loud.
"The Emirates is the most female-friendly country in the Middle East. The Government’s efforts to encourage women to use public spaces is admirable. The Abu Dhabi beach was quickly divided into two sections last year after women expressed their discomfort at gangs of labourers roaming about and leering. Emirati men are courteous. They never stare.
By contrast, sexual harassment levels in Egypt are endemic. In the Punjab and Karachi, images of women on billboards are defaced or just banned.
1. I have seen quite a few non-defaced billboards of women in Karachi. In fact, I don't believe I've ever seen a defaced billboard with women on it.
2. While sexual harassment is indeed terrible in Egypt, I would never use the word endemic to describe it.
3. How exactly can you just claim something such as Emirates being the most female-friendly country, then chalk it up to "Emirati men are courteous. They never stare."
4. How can she say that a country is doing well when instead of attempting to solve the problem of sexual harassment it further segregates men and women?
It gets better when the author writes:
"Yet western women are also fascinating because they are considered a third gender. They look like females but have the independence of men. Men who have no shame at leering at women make clear distinctions between those who deserve respect and those who do not."
Is she implying that no women in Muslim countries as a rule ever have the 'independence of men?'
There is no mention of the idea of education, strict laws, lack of empowerment being a cause of any of them. Instead she writes that she hoped that she could have a burqa to wear in Afghanistan because she wants it be a barrier between them and abuse. What of the strict Taliban rule that prevented women from leaving the house without the burqa? Was that a result of the Taliban wanting women to be protected from abuse?
How is Hamida Ghafour solving the problem of sexual harassment?
"When it becomes too much I create a mental buffer zone to tune out the calls and stares. If that doesn’t work I try the shoe trick. When the offender shouts an insult, I stop, point at his shoes and laugh.Disgusting. Next time, just ask them to look away, or to shut up. It does the trick in a much less stupid way.
It subtly shifts the balance of power. And I won’t get arrested."
Hillary Clinton was recently awarded the Margaret Sanger award.
Here's a particularly amazing section of her award speech:
Remember how elated I was when Hillary Clinton was selected as Secretary of State. This is why. From repealing the global gag rule, to offering asylum to women in foriegn countries who have suffered domestic abuse- it's a beautiful thing to watch the Obama administration decide to move on the issue of women's rights so early on.
Here's a particularly amazing section of her award speech:
"Too many women are denied even the opportunity to know about how to plan and space their families, and the derivative inequities that result from all of that are evident in the fact that women and girls are still the majority of the world's poor, unschooled, unhealthy, and underfed. This is and has been for many years a matter of personal and professional importance to me, and I want to assure you that reproductive rights and the umbrella issue of women's rights and empowerment will be a key to the foreign policy of this administration."
Remember how elated I was when Hillary Clinton was selected as Secretary of State. This is why. From repealing the global gag rule, to offering asylum to women in foriegn countries who have suffered domestic abuse- it's a beautiful thing to watch the Obama administration decide to move on the issue of women's rights so early on.
Living in Egypt, I became quite accustomed to the slew of things that people blamed on the Israelis (the stabbing of Naguib Mahfouz included).
However, this may be the best one yet-
Hamas is blaming the Israelis of exporting an aphrodisiac gum into the Gaza strip to corrupt their young.
However, this may be the best one yet-
Hamas is blaming the Israelis of exporting an aphrodisiac gum into the Gaza strip to corrupt their young.
In light of the recent Jamat Islami "Go America Go" movement, I thought it'd be interesting to see what the Pakistani populace thought of the current situation in their country.
Here's what I found:
According to a new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org, it seems that the majority of Pakistanis now see the Pakistani Taliban as well as al Qaeda as a critical threat to the country--a major shift from 18 months ago.
What's so amazing about this, is that now the majority of Pakistanis support the government and army in their fight in the Swat Valley against the Pakistani Taliban. An overwhelming majority think that Taliban groups who seek to overthrow the Afghan government should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan.
While these results may not seem surprising considering that the tactics and undemocratic bent of militant groups--in tribal areas as well as Swat--have brought widespread revulsion and turned Pakistanis against them.
The poll also found that Pakistanis, regardless of a change in administration, still resent the U.S. as much as before. A majority does not trust Obama to do the right thing. Overwhelming majorities believe the US wants to divide and weaken the Muslim world, and 82% reject Obama's predator drone strikes on Pakistani soil. Some 79% want the war in Afghanistan ended now.
The poll, which was conducted entirely in Urdu and interviewed 1,000 applicants face to face in 64 sampling areas seems fairly legitimate, and their methodology and report can be found on the website here.
While to many it may seem as though resentment towards the U.S. is unfounded, I found a recent interview in Guernica with Fatima Bhutto to be quite revealing of why the Obama Administration may not be viewed as favorably as people may think.
Here's what she had to say about it:
Here's what I found:
According to a new poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org, it seems that the majority of Pakistanis now see the Pakistani Taliban as well as al Qaeda as a critical threat to the country--a major shift from 18 months ago.
What's so amazing about this, is that now the majority of Pakistanis support the government and army in their fight in the Swat Valley against the Pakistani Taliban. An overwhelming majority think that Taliban groups who seek to overthrow the Afghan government should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan.
While these results may not seem surprising considering that the tactics and undemocratic bent of militant groups--in tribal areas as well as Swat--have brought widespread revulsion and turned Pakistanis against them.
The poll also found that Pakistanis, regardless of a change in administration, still resent the U.S. as much as before. A majority does not trust Obama to do the right thing. Overwhelming majorities believe the US wants to divide and weaken the Muslim world, and 82% reject Obama's predator drone strikes on Pakistani soil. Some 79% want the war in Afghanistan ended now.
The poll, which was conducted entirely in Urdu and interviewed 1,000 applicants face to face in 64 sampling areas seems fairly legitimate, and their methodology and report can be found on the website here.
While to many it may seem as though resentment towards the U.S. is unfounded, I found a recent interview in Guernica with Fatima Bhutto to be quite revealing of why the Obama Administration may not be viewed as favorably as people may think.
Here's what she had to say about it:
I think the problem that Obama has made in Pakistan is an enormous one. Empowering Pakistan’s military and empowering this incredibly criminal and corrupt government with drone access and all the rest of it, and with billions and billions of dollars of aid, he’s just repeating the cycle.Fatima Bhutto on Pakistan's current President:
Before he became president, Zardari was standing trial in four murder cases; it’s eleven people, I believe, killed in these four cases. The man can barely string a sentence together in Urdu; forget about English. This is a man whose entire mandate rests on the fact that his dead wife named him heir apparent in a letter. He was elected by Parliament in the same way that General Pervez Musharraf was elected by Parliament. So it’s very difficult to say Musharraf was not democratically elected but Zardari was. Both of them were elected by their own parliaments. I think this is part of the great doublespeak you get when you talk about Pakistan. Zardari has not entered into a popular vote, and he’s got no mandate of the people. In my book, that’s not democratic. And I think that Obama has given the man a lifeline that he very desperately needed to stay in power.That's all the food for thought I have.
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