All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

TIMEBOX, an Urban Trail of 20th Century Beirut

Hummus For Thought

TIMEBOX Installation TIMEBOX Installation

Short of creating an actual time-traveling machine, old photographs and video footage are all we have to ‘re-live’ our ever-changing city. If images of Beirut in the 50s and 60s make the city look like a radically different place, what would images of 100 years ago look like? TIMEBOX Beirut puts us one step closer to satisfying this curiosity.

TIMEBOX Beirut, the brainchild of Razan AlSalah (concept, research and photography) and Lotfi AlSalah (product design), produced in cooperation with Heinrich Böll Stiftung – MENA, is described as “an urban trail of early 20th century 3D images on the streets of Beirut.” Each TIMEBOX holds one archival stereograph at the location where it was originally taken 100 years ago. Passersby experience that same street a century back in 3D. TIMEBOX is latched on 10 different street poles across the city.

The Map of Beirut where TIMEBOX is Present The Map of Beirut where TIMEBOX is Present (click…

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No oil hunt in South China Sea without nod: Beijing to Delhi – The Times of India

“Any oil and gas exploration work should get approval first from China,” said a top official of China’s ministry of foreign affairs (MFA). The official added that pending the final settlement of territorial disputes in South China Sea, China would encourage “joint development” in the region.

The official made the remark in reply to a query from TOI in a recent meeting – facilitated by the US-based East-West Center – with a group of international journalists. The meeting took at a time of fresh acrimony between the US and China over Beijing’s reclamation and island building in South China Sea. According to US authorities, China has reclaimed 1,500 acres in the Spratly island chain in the past 5 months alone by dredging sand.

via No oil hunt in South China Sea without nod: Beijing to Delhi – The Times of India.

Serena Williams rallies to see off Victoria Azarenka at French Open

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• Williams grinds down Azarenka 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
• Books fourth-round match against Sloane Stephens

There were 17 American women in the French Open draw at the start of the week. At the end of play on Monday – if rain does not sluice through the entertainment – there will be one and her name is likely to be Serena Williams, despite trailing by a set and being 3-1 down in the second.

Related: Serena Williams v Victoria Azarenka: French Open 2015 – as it happened | Les Roopanarine

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via Serena Williams rallies to see off Victoria Azarenka at French Open.

Why ex-Communist Manuela Carmena is set to be Madrid’s next mayor

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The retired judge could be about to lead a leftwing coalition into power, with a plan to transform the politics of Spain’s capital

The candidate enters the stadium, fist pumping the air and shaking as many hands possible en route to the podium, as thousands of supporters cheer wildly. For most politicians, scenes like that are an invaluable part of the campaign, a chance to flaunt their supporters in the face of the opposition: but not so for the woman poised to become Madrid’s mayor.

“Rallies are one person going blah, blah, blah and then leaving,” Manuela Carmena tells the Observer. “I refuse to do them.” To her, rallies simply reinforce the chasm between people and their politicians. “We said no to rallies. Instead we held meetings in neighbourhoods and said, ‘We’re your candidates, tell us if what we’re doing is good or bad, ask us questions.’ We gave the word to people – we didn’t want to speak.”

We were unknown candidates, we didn’t have any money for the campaign. I like to say we ran on the currency of hope

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via Why ex-Communist Manuela Carmena is set to be Madrid’s next mayor.

Blatter launches “blusterous” attack on FIFA’s critics after re-election

Sepp Blatter launches a scathing attack on FIFA’s critics, saying efforts to unseat him were down to “English media and the American movement” because of their failed World Cup bids.

“The more corrupt you are, the more bluster in your defense!”

 

via Blatter launches attack on FIFA’s critics after re-election.

Behind the Niqab: The (Male) Photographer’s Perspective of Life Through the Veil – Part 1 — BagNews

It’s true that in many countries women wear niqabs without threats of legal punishment or death; however, to assert, as does Ammar, that “for most, the niqab is a choice,” glosses over the ways in which women are compelled by religious tradition, family expectation, or societal convention to adopt a religious practice that is so confining and restrictive, it would never have survived as a requisite sign of religious piety had men been required to participate. The Quran instructs both women and men to “lower their gaze and guard their modesty.” If the goal is reducing the likelihood that men will lust after women, doesn’t it make as much sense for them to use a veil to curtail their own gaze as it does to enshroud women in perpetual darkness?

via Behind the Niqab: The (Male) Photographer’s Perspective of Life Through the Veil – Part 1 — BagNews.