green eggs&balalee6

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:01:00 +0000

(via postsecret August 9, 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 08:56:00 +0000

I want to ~~stare at this~~ live there for the rest of my life.

Drafts: Arabs and journalism

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:10:00 +0000

This is a post from my draft folder. Some ideas may be underdeveloped.

(image)

March 16, 2011

As someone who's interested in journalism and public discourse, it surprised many when I got annoyed at the public for overcelebrating Aljazeera's involvement in Arab revolutions.

Because the idea of journalism isn't fully developed in the Arab world, people have undeservingly celebrated Aljazeera even as it does 75% of it's job.

The fact that no news organization in the Arab world is actually doing it's job completely makes Aljazeera the one-eyed king of the blind.

The idea of free journalism is one of the tenants of free society. Journalists brings facts to the table, not commentary, not judgements (atleast not explicitly).

What Aljazeera did in Egypt, although it was a valuable role, was not the role of free news media. It was propaganda plain and simple. Propaganda most of us liked but propaganda nonetheless.

Then again the problem is probably mine. I need to manage my expectations. It's unreasonable to expect credible journalism from an institution funded by an autocratic government.

I think Aljazeera's credibility as a news organization will be tested over and over again throughout this wave of Arab turmoil.

Take back Jihad.

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 08:21:00 +0000

via

I was lucky enough to take part in Erbakan's funeral procession last week. Standing in the street surrounding Alfatih mosque with the millions who were chanting "Mujahid Erbakan!" I entertained one question all day:

What happened to us that the word Jihad scares the daylight out of us?

Why have we allowed those fringe elements to not only hijack our religion but make our values of fighting for what we believe is right and living for a worthwhile cause obsolete?

I think it's time we take back Jihad. It's time we called those who live and die for worthwhile causes a mujahid.

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:13:00 +0000

I'd secretly vowed to stop writing about politics all the time on here. But this caught my eye:

Alrai had this both in its print and online newspapers.

I remember late 2009 when ir7al's sign was first seen online. People were irate. How dare they put someone's face with a red slash through it! He's a shaikh! It's disrespectful!

Now, a newspaper is using it. Oh how the world changes.

Very proud of ir7al for doing what they did.

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:35:00 +0000

“I don’t want to impress people I wouldn’t cross the road to talk to. I want there to be a strict door policy at my club. I want to go, “You can’t come in. You won’t like this. And I don’t want you to like it.” -Ricky Gervais

واحنا شكو بتونس؟

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 07:48:00 +0000

My 15 month old nephew started walking recently. And at first, whenever he unfurled his hand from the table's edge to walk two steps and land with a thud on the couch, he would squeal with joy. His face lit up with excitement as he walked around. Every time he left the safety of the couch behind and ventured into the middle of the living room we would all watch intently with both worry and delight.

I remembered Abdulrahman, my nephew's first few steps while watching Tunisia's protests. The familiar Oh-my-God-did-you-see-that feeling was back. It's thrilling to realize that Arabs are capable of ridding themselves of tyranny. That people, like you and I, are a force that can change the course of history.

I love what's happening in Tunisia. What comes next is a mystery and I pray for a real democracy and prosperity in Tunisia.

What do Tunisia's events have to do with Kuwait? Aside from providing an example of the power of the people, nothing.

We don't have a despot who's in power illegally. We don't want anyone exiled. We don't even have a personal problem with the person we're calling on to resign. We want the law applied equally to everyone. We want people to take responsibility for their decisions.

Any parallels being drawn to say we want a total revolution and regime change is a lie. Some people have a limited mental capacity and they have a hard time understanding relativity.

From day one all we've called for is responsibility and reform. Tunisia or no Tunisia, we won't back down.

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 07:45:00 +0000

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

-Goethe

Why I'm going to Parliament tomorrow...and you should too

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:09:00 +0000

This is the choice we have:

a) Live in a country that has three types of citizens, 1-Shyoo5, 2-their "service providers", and 3-others, in that order.

When a Shaikh breaks the law, he gets sentenced, goes through this huge charade of going to jail and knows he's going to get released a few days later. (Compare to how Khaled Alfadala, who criticized the PM's squandering of public funds was treated.)
Or when the "service provider" e.g. Juwaihel does something wrong, he gets flown out of Kuwait on a private jet, brought back to safety. When he does something stupid and gets beaten up, he's taken to the ICU even when it's not required and gets VIP treatment.
When an academic says something they don't like, they send the police, an institution drafted to ensure the security of citizens, to drag him out of a house and beat him up and then leave him in the street unconscious. And then they charge him with crazy State Security crimes and decide to keep him locked up for 21 days before his trial even begins.
Those who speak for the government, even those who spread hate speech, are given free reign on all television stations at night. When those who were beaten, even if they are members of Parliament, are censored out of the media. The government closed Aljazeera's local offices for airing video Kuwait's Ministry of Interior used in it's fake press conference (I still don't understand how it's justified).

b) Live in a country where equality and justice is guaranteed for all.

Tomorrow's session isn't a panacea for all our problems, I do realize that. But it's a message that working for a government that disregards it's citizens' basic rights to private property, free speech and congregation is not acceptable anymore.
It's a message that we're done with a Prime Minister who not only squanders public money like it's birdseed but persecutes those who criticize him in anyway.

I will be making my choice loud and clear. Tomorrow, I will be standing outside Parliament, standing for a better Kuwait.

8:30 a.m. outside Parliament. (Closed door session almost guaranteed.)

Be there.

Or you lose your right to complain when they come after your people.

This changes everything...

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 07:30:00 +0000

Dr. Ubaid Alwasmi being pulled by force out of MP Jima'an Al-Herbesh's house by high ranking police officers, Major General Khalil Al-Shamali and Colonel Shukri Al-Najjar, seen in the video.

This isn't even about the right to a peaceful assembly anymore.

This is about security forces violating personal property,going into someone's house to find a wanted person without any kind of official warrant.

This is about police brutality.

This is about the government running amok, acting like a mob, without respect for the rule of law or it's people.

This is about our dignity.

This is about making sure no person drunk on power decides to take your house, fire you from your job because they don't like you.

This is about not having to dance on command.

This is the about the right to feel safe in your home.

This is about knowing that if they can do this to a respected law professor, they can do this to you.

If this disgusts you as much as it does me, say something. Anything.

Don't come running in 20 years when a shaikh spits on your kid and you're forced to say "ماي ورد طال عمرك".

حق اليور ياحبه

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 08:20:00 +0000

شوف حرية بلدنا

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:04:00 +0000

Trampling Juwaihel, trampling the Constitution

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 06:19:00 +0000

(photo)

I really didn't want to write about this. But sane people saying insane things on twitter have finally driven me to it.

When a football game ends beautifully and a fight breaks out in the crowds, it doesn't nullify the game's result.

What happened yesterday at Diwan Alsa'adoun was beautiful. Twenty-six people representing a diverse segment of the population spoke for the constitution and against the government's plain to void it.

Even people for the government, MP AlHuraiti/ MP Hussain Mizeed spoke unequivocally for the constitution and for preserving Parliament's role as a watchdog over the cabinet.

It was a beautiful event that expressed clearly how frustrated everyone was with government and the disdain it has for us.

Unfortunately, while MP Msalam Al-Barrak was speaking at the podium, we heard shouting outside. (We were in the basement.) Organizers stopped us from going out or having anyone come downstairs till the mayhem was over.

Al-Barrack stopped for a few seconds and but continued speaking ignoring the chaos in the diwaniya (visible from the big screens).

Word was Juwaihel spat at Musalam's face as he walked across a big screen, an obvious provocation. Juwaihel got beaten up by a mob outside, while the police, who were too busy giving out parking tickets, didn't step in to stop the fight but waited for orders.

He got really hurt. It was a sad event. I wish it hadn't happened. It's wrong to beat up people with which we disagree. But I won't waste my tears on him. Aljuwaihel knew what he was getting into in coming, he took a calculated ($$$$) risk.

On a more personal note, I was shocked by the reactions of people I consider sane, logical and funny online. People were spewing his hate all over the place. "اللي طقوه مزدوجين" ..."هذوله لفو"... "هذا اللي ياخذه السعدون من البدو" Comments about not the constitution changing but the people are veiled racist comments about bedu. Let's not kid ourselves with our talk about unity.

The people who beat him up were so very wrong but I can find a few excuses for them: group mind, emotionally charged setting, young age...whatever. But for someone who was sitting at home tapping at a keyboard spewing hate, what's their excuse?

The messages were disgusting and I ended up un-following a bunch of my favorite tweeters because racism isn't funny. We don't know who beat him up (whether they're bedu, 7athar, shia). It doesn't matter. It shouldn't have any bearing on our judgement of the incident or the event.

I hope Juwaihel gets better soon, I really do. But he isn't the only thing that's being trampled in this country: our constitution is. And I find preserving our constitution and the potency of democratic institutions much more troubling than a bunch of thugs beating up a hatemonger.

Aljarida hates women?

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:07:00 +0000

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Notice the pattern?

Every day Aljarida publishes a picture of a pretty woman with bare shoulders on it's main page (top half). Other newspapers don't do it.

Aljarida, please stop using women to decorate your frontpage. It's annoying and insulting to your readers. It's also extremely unprofessional. Objectifying women is so passe; haven't you heard?

Just stop. Please, keep back page fodder on the back page.

There are plenty of women who deserve to be on your frontpage for newsworthy items, just not the ones you've been choosing. (Also, who the hell is that in green on Tuesday?)

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:01:00 +0000

(photo credit)

There are some people in our lives that we are meant to lose touch with over time. These people come into our lives for a certain time period, enrich it, help in a transition and then completely fade out. We both move on, living life as different people.

There should never be bitterness or sadness about it. It is what it is. We as people are constantly changing. Our interests, our circumstances, our environment and our values are in constant motion.

To lost friends I say, it was good while it lasted. Thanks for everything.

The day Abdulwahab Al-Essa became an internet douchebag

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:37:00 +0000

Last Thursday, Abdulwahab Al-Essa, one of Alwatan's main news anchors/Alwatan daily columnist tweeted an insult following (or during, not really sure) the Saudi-Kuwait football game.

The insult, بقايا حجاج, is one tribal Saudis often use to taunt Saudis from the Hijaz (eastern) region. Alessa then tweeted two other mundane tweets and called it a day.

Saudis were livid and rightly so. Some on twitter demanded an apology but all they got was a day later, Alessa deleted that tweet and protected his profile.

The next day , Abdullah Wabran, a Kuwaiti sports commentator, apologized to the Saudis and said Alessa doesn't represent Kuwait (obviously). It's rumored that MP Marzoug Alghanim also apologized.

As much as I find his tweet inexcusable, the actions that followed magnified his words 100x.

Let's go through a few internet rules Al-essa forgot:

1) The internet is a public place/echo chamber. Whatever you say is open to everyone else, even with a private profile, and will be repeated a bazillion times.

2) The internet demands immediate action. Allowing the tweet to go undeleted for the amount of time it did was one of the mistakes he made.

3) The internet is forever. Google doesn't forget. Abdulwahab Alessa's name search results will bring up this insult forever.

4) Take control of your narrative as soon as possible. He should've issued an apology and press release IMMEDIATELY following the incident. It's two days later and he still hasn't apologized. Douchey move. He still hasn't sent out a press release.

5) You can only have one identity on the internet. You're either a news man or a stupid kid who can't handle the consequences of his actions. You can't be both.

Abdulwahab may be young but hiding behind his mother's skirt right now isn't doing him any favors.

I WENT TO HAJJ!

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:48:00 +0000

1889

2010

1888-9

2010

1889

2010

Mount Arafah 1889

Mount Arafah 2010

Pilgrims from Basrah and Bahrain (1889)

My friends and I, hajj 2010

(With our designer cross bags and oversized sunglasses and dettol wipes)

1888/9 photos courtesy New York Public Library Digital Gallery

2010 photos courtesy Boston Globe

VI Questions

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:16:00 +0000

(via Alwatan)

1) Where are all the cries about the uncivil language?

2) And why does he sound like a petty teenager?

3) Why are our shyoo5 hailag?

4) Is this really the best one they've got?

5) Didn't he say he's going to shut his pie hole? What happened to that?

6) Is there a cure for diarrhea of the mouth?

How to be Kuwaiti (Woman)

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:34:00 +0000

How to be Kuwaiti (Woman)

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:34:00 +0000

You've got to be kidding me...

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 08:56:00 +0000

Things I cannot believe are real-and not a joke:

MP BuRamiya, enough said. (I'm convinced he's Kuwait's Stephen Colbert.)
"Ground Zero Mosque" brouhaha
Small businesses who sell Kuwait Mills cupcakes with chocolate fudge drizzled over them for a million dinars.
Sarah Palin's career.
People who say things like "OMG, Mino ma ra7 iroo7 London this holiday?" or "Maligait badla ib a8al min KD 1,000" (They are their own parody.)
the U.S. is really still in Iraq fighting to rid Saddam of WMD/rid Iraq of Saddam and to preserve the American way of life. (what?)
Kuwait's Sephora staff.
Sheikh Sabah attended Fajer Alsaeed's wedding (it was a prank, right? Someone tell me he has a wicked sense of humor and punked all of us)
The lines at Pinkberry.
Salwa Aljassar is a Member of Parliament. (I've never needed something to be performance art more than her tenure in parliament.) (google: لا تسيسون السياسه)
Hassan AlBallam's new teeth (I really thought they were part of the costume for his Ramadan show).

In which I doodle the week's events

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 13:43:00 +0000

Caption uncaptured by camera continues:
My Grandfathers > Your Grandfathers. You sue my sister?? You should sue your face for being so ugly!!!

In his fury, random Almalich dude forgets to put on clothes.

Heeding their leaders call, some of the mob forgets the rest of their bodies at home.

Fajer wishes she were this skinny.

I have a knack for drawing ghutras.

Addendum: 10 things I have to say about the doodle situation.

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:59:00 +0000

1) All this craziness remind me of Arabic dubbed telenovelas of the 90's. Now, what we really need is a girl/guy from Alsaeed to fall inlove with a girl/guy from Almalich to add to the drama. Forbidden love! I cannot resist!

2) Does this mean that all Alsaeed's as a family agree with Scope TV's line?

3) Class cannot be bought, seriously.

4) What Almalich (those who were involved) proved is (a)their mistrust of the system, (b)their immaturity (especially Faisal, who's a diplomat for God's sake) (c)the craziness that is Kuwaiti politics.

5) Freedom of speech sucks. I mean, it's a great thing and absolutely necessary for a strong democracy...but it really sucks when it allows idiots to do whatever they want with no restraint but their warped judgment. We don't have to like what they say but we must accept the practice.
Whether it's in Kuwait, Florida, London, or Doha..in person or across the airwaves...people are free to say whatever they want.
If you don't like what someone says about you on television you can do one or more of the following:
a) file a lawsuit
b) demand that they retract,
c) turn off the station and never watch it again
d) start your own station and say whatever you want about them
e) ignore them.

6) I'm glad the people who mobbed Scope TV were from the "Royal Family". I can just imagine the racist editorials about bedou and their lack of civility if they were the ones who attacked. Speaking of civility, by and large bedou were the ones who held a demonstration when Scope aired Juwaihel's racist rant.

7) Schadenfreude, I have it. Scope totally deserved it and totally had it coming. And my hate for Fajer Alsaeed and her brother, Talal, know no bounds. (Yes I know, hate's a big word.)

8) Two million dinars in damages are nothing. Especially considering their alleged backing by the Prime Minister and his peeps.

9) Now Sabahi's are suing Scope? A few days too late?

10) This is hilarious. It's like a YouTube comments battle coming to life. Please do not let us get in the way.

Hijab's hard y'all

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 20:45:00 +0000

A weekend at the beach when you're hijabified means looking like a frog themed superhero for the most part and weird tan lines. Clothing almost always looks ridiculous, especially when you're wearing at least 4 pieces of clothing in our hellish summers.

This isn't a diatribe to discourage anyone from wearing/practicing hijab. I believe that it's an obligation (this is not a discussion of that argument). To me it's not a choice, it's a duty. Some people oblige, others don't. I also believe it's a personal freedom, as in no one should be forced to wear it if they don't believe in the obligation.

This is a discussion of the sacrifices the practice demands. I think people who live in Muslim-majority countries become so accustomed to hijab that it becomes the default setting. It's not like people are running around naked here, how much can you be giving up? Hijab is challenging regardless of where we live. Our Nafs is unruly and it wants what it wants (to be comfortable, to look good, to get attention, to fit in...).

I get annoyed when people complain about inadequately covered hijabies-especially when the complaints come from men. You know what? Women in tight clothing, full makeup, some sort of attention-seeking ensemble who do manage to cover parts of their hair are at least trying. Maybe instead of tsk-tsking in their general direction we should accept that they're trying and try harder ourselves.

Hijab is but a snapshot of one way nafs can physically manifest for women. There is no equivalent for men. There's no way to judge a man's morality as he walks by.

It sometimes seems unfair that my personal fight with temptation--as a woman--takes place in the public sphere. (Although, public accountability is an invaluable part of my arsenal against nafs.)

What if all our shortcomings were visible to people?

Regardless of where we are, let's acknowledge that covering up isn't always the easiest option and commend those who are trying.

How my blog turned into Shayma Ali

noreply@blogger.com (G) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, if I ever even begin to consider plastic surgery smack me. I have no self control. A simple exercise on this blog has lead me to believe that I will inevitably turn into Shayma Ali if I ever went the surgery route.

So this is what happened, I was uninspired by the look of my blog, so I considered a face lift.

Add another sidebar. Change the colors. Find a completely new theme. Add enough widgets to make a blog reader's head spin. Delete all the widgets. Bring some back. Change the header. Decide that the header was too girly. Change it back. Make it bigger.

Search other blogs. Hmm Nav Menus are for important people. Decide I am important enough for a menu. Get a menu. Have nothing to put in the menu since I'm actually not important enough for a menu. Delete the menu. What the heck, bring the anorexic menu back. Change the display picture. Consider branding. Rethink branding the blog with my feet. Decide I like my feet picture so much, I keep it.

I had to stop somewhere. Readers, this way taking over my day. I don't like the way it looks but I'm going to keep it anyway. Because ultimately unlike Shayma Ali, this is not my face. And I don't care.

So that's the story of my blog face lift and how it lead me to understand Shayma's conundrum.