Category Archives: Uncategorized

#StripForJackie: Why Jackie Chamoun Matters

Those who protest as Mr. Karami do so to build themselves or just want to be in the spotlight by downing others?

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

In certain ways, Faysal Karami is an interesting man. He’s the minister of sports and youth in our defunct government. He’s a parliament member representing the city of Tripoli. He’s also offended by the possible impact of Jackie Chamoun’s breasts on the reputation of his country and has asked the Olympic committee to launch an investigation into the incident, which has taken place about three years prior to current events.

Can Mr. Karami be outraged? Well, it’s his right I give him that. But Mr. Karami, don’t you have other things that require you to be infinitely more outraged about?

Lebanon’s sports have always been our pride and joy. We’re a small country with not much to give the world in many of the sectors that count but we did deliver, to the best of our financial capacities, in sports. But let’s forget about sports, of which Mr. Karami is…

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In Defense of Jackie

Hummus For Thought

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“Caretaker” Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami thinks it’s more damaging to Lebanon’s reputation that one of our best athletes, Jackie Chamoun, participated in a photoshoot where she showed as much skin – less, actually – as what we find in every lingerie shop and in every night club rather than his own refusal to sign a law protecting women from domestic violence?

It was this very man who, two years ago, called the draft law written by activists designed to protect women from domestic violence a “blow to family values” because apparently his conception of family is the same as our conception of rape, torture and murder. Roula Yaacoub is fucking dead. Manal Assi is fucking dead. But a woman athlete showing some skin last year is what moves our minister to demand an “investigation”.

Jackie is Lebanon’s Alpine Skier for this year’s winter Olympics in Soshi. She…

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Coalition cut flood defence by 27% – Labour increased flood defence by 33%

Pride's Purge

(not satire – it’s ConDemNation today!)

I certainly don’t want to be seen as a cheer leader for New Labour – but downright government lies and spin are something I can’t ignore.

Cameron has tried to blame the recent floods on the last Labour administration.

However the figures are very clear – so clear in fact I’m surprised few people in the mainstream press have put them together.

In the 4 years until 2010, government spending on flood defences under Labour rose by 33%.

In the 4 years until now, government spending on flood defences under the coalition has been cut by 27%.

The comparisons can be found in greater detail here:

Flood defence budget cuts: who’s spinning what?

Of course the government could always argue they couldn’t predict the present flooding.

Only one problem with that line of argument.

A rather senior member of the government…

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Here’s Cameron’s response to the flooding in a nutshell:

Pride's Purge

(not satire – it’s David Cameron!)

This is David Cameron’s response to the flooding in a handy timeline:

Camerons response to flooding

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Erm … that’s it. So far.

I’ll let you know if he holds another meeting. Named after a snake.

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Related article by Tom Pride:

Cameron announces plan to reduce flooding by forcing it to work in Poundland

Cameron responds to floods crisis by holding a meeting. Named after a snake.

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Please feel free to comment .

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Egyptian Aak. Week 6 ( Feb 3-9)

Nervana

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(Hamdeen Sabbahi, Egypt’s presidential candidate)

Main Headlines

Monday

Tuesday

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A quick mea culpa

Fit and Feminist

For a writer, getting a lot of exposure can be a double-edged sword. It brings you into contact with more people than before, and while that is something a lot of us desire, it can come with some pretty gnarly stuff.

That’s exactly what happened over the past few days.  I wrote something that got a lot of attention, and I handled some of that attention in ways I am not very proud of.  The situation has been upsetting to me, not because of the things people have said to me, but because of the way I reacted.  I have made an effort over the past two years of operating this blog to try to cultivate a space that is above the usual din of discourse on the internet, and for the most part I think I – with the help of the regular readers and commenters of this blog…

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Labour MP apologises for Holocaust remark | Politics | theguardian.com

When in doubt – accuse the victim or defender of the victim of being a victimizer… this kind of trying to avoid today’s realities by burying it in the past, is wearing thin. The world weeps over the genocide of the Armenians, Jews in Europe and Russia, Cambodia, Darfur and prays that a similar fate is not visited upon Palestinians.

“Of course, many millions perished. It is quite strange that some of the people who are running the state of Israel seem to be quite complacent and happy to allow the same to happen in Gaza.”

Her words drew sharp condemnation from the chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, Karen Pollock.

“We expect our politicians to speak responsibly and sensitively about the past and about events today,” she said. “These lazy and deliberate distortions have no place in British politics.”

Qureshi, the MP for Bolton South East, said she had not intended to draw a direct parallel and felt “personally hurt” that anyone could think she had done – especially as she had visited one of the most notorious death camps.

“The debate was about the plight of the Palestinian people and in no way did I mean to equate events in Gaza with the Holocaust,” she said in a statement. “I apologise for any offence caused.

“I am also personally hurt if people thought I meant this. As someone who has visited the crematoria and gas chambers of Auschwitz I know the Holocaust was the most brutal act of genocide of the 20th century and no one should seek to underestimate its impact.”

Pollock said: “Whilst current events in the Middle East understandably stir emotions, it is astonishing to think that anyone could visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, learn about the industrial nature of the Nazis’ murderous regime, even walk through a gas chamber – and then make these offensive and inappropriate comparisons.”

via Labour MP apologises for Holocaust remark | Politics | theguardian.com.