Lighten Up!
More from Arab Times – guys, it’s just for fun. It’s just a day for sweet cards and taking your sweetie out for dinner – this isn’t a pagan anything.
Seeing red on roses … Group warns on Valentine’s Day
KUWAIT : Thawabet Al Umma, an Islamic group, has condemned the celebration of Valentine’s Day and warned the media against misguiding Muslims by “glorifying such pagan practices.” The media is playing an important role in popularizing such celebrations and leading Islamic nations on the path of disbelief, the group added. “Such traditions are imported from the West, and people blindly follow them without looking into the good and bad aspects. Participating in such celebrations will tarnish the image of Islam.”
Feb 24 Off Day in Kuwait
Headline on today’s Arab Times:
Feb 24 ‘off’ in Kuwait
KUWAIT (KUNA): Sunday, Feb 24, has been approved as a rest day as it falls between a weekend and the National and Independence Days official holidays said Deputy Premier and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Faisal Al-Hajj on Monday.
5 Women Shot in Clothing Store
On AOL News this morning, there is a story about five women being shot in a Chicago clothing store. The story is still emerging; the police suspect it was a robbery.
I had a friend who lived in Berlin, when Berlin was still a divided city. From time to time she would be asked to take some visiting VIP across the checkpoints to see the sights and do some shopping in East Berlin. One time she took a distinguished visitor to a shop specializing in optics.
He cried out “DID YOU SEE THE PRICE ON THOSE BINOCULARS??”
Those were his last words. He clutched his chest and had a heart attack right then. He died on the sidewalk.
Of all the things in the world I don’t want, I don’t want to die like that, not shopping for clothing, not so excited over a bargain in the Leica shop that I have a fatal heart attack. We never know when our time is up. As believers, we don’t get to choose.
I pray to be able to die with some kind of dignity.
American Unipolarity
One of the top five articles e-mailed to others this week in the New York Times was this fascinating article called Waving Goodbye to Hegemony by PARAG KHANNA, published January 27.
It is 2016, and the Hillary Clinton or John McCain or Barack Obama administration is nearing the end of its second term. America has pulled out of Iraq but has about 20,000 troops in the independent state of Kurdistan, as well as warships anchored at Bahrain and an Air Force presence in Qatar. Afghanistan is stable; Iran is nuclear. China has absorbed Taiwan and is steadily increasing its naval presence around the Pacific Rim and, from the Pakistani port of Gwadar, on the Arabian Sea. The European Union has expanded to well over 30 members and has secure oil and gas flows from North Africa, Russia and the Caspian Sea, as well as substantial nuclear energy. America’s standing in the world remains in steady decline.
Why? Weren’t we supposed to reconnect with the United Nations and reaffirm to the world that America can, and should, lead it to collective security and prosperity? Indeed, improvements to America’s image may or may not occur, but either way, they mean little. Condoleezza Rice has said America has no “permanent enemies,” but it has no permanent friends either. Many saw the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as the symbols of a global American imperialism; in fact, they were signs of imperial overstretch. Every expenditure has weakened America’s armed forces, and each assertion of power has awakened resistance in the form of terrorist networks, insurgent groups and “asymmetric” weapons like suicide bombers. America’s unipolar moment has inspired diplomatic and financial countermovements to block American bullying and construct an alternate world order. That new global order has arrived, and there is precious little Clinton or McCain or Obama could do to resist its growth.
Its premise is that during the two terms of George Bush, American power has altered in ways he never anticipated. While he foresaw America leading the world into a peaceful place (like the Pax Romana), he never dreamed American power would unite friend and foe into powerful opposition. The author foresees a future – not that far off – where there are three major powers, the EEC, China, and the US in “a global, multicivilizational, multipolar battle.”
You can read the rest of this fascinating piece by clicking Here: Waving Goodbye to Hegemony
Hegemony
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Hegemony:
Hegemony (pronounced [hə.ˈdʒe.mə.ni (Amer.), hɪ.ˈɡe.mə.ni (Brit.)])[1] (Greek: ἡγεμονία hēgemonía) is a concept that has been used to describe the existence of dominance of one social group over another, such that the ruling group—referred to as a hegemon—acquires some degree of consent from the subordinate, as opposed to dominance purely by force.[2] It is used broadly to mean any kind of dominance, and narrowly to refer to specifically cultural and non-military dominance, as opposed to the related notions of empire and suzerainty.
The processes by which a dominant culture maintains its dominant position: for example, the use of institutions to formalize power; the employment of a bureaucracy to make power seem abstract (and, therefore, not attached to any one individual); the inculcation of the populace in the ideals of the hegomonic group through education, advertising, publication, etc.; the mobilization of a police force as well as military personnel to subdue opposition.
If you want to learn more, you can read the complete article at Wikipedia on Hegemony.
Morning Coffee: Meal in a Cup
Some very very bad news from BBC Health News.
Morning coffee is ‘meal in a cup’
Milk is one of the reasons some cups of coffee had so many calories
*Counting the calories
The coffee you grab on the way to work may contain up to a fifth of your daily recommended calories, a study says.
Some of those tested topped the scales at almost 400 calories.
Researchers said lashings of full-fat milk, cream and chocolate are the culprits with a skimmed milk cappuccino weighing in at fewer than 30 calories.
The consumer group also found that a burger would be a healthier option than some coffee house snacks after testing products from three leading chains.
Most of the big chains do have information about the nutritional value of their products on their websites, but we’d like to see this displayed prominently in their shops.
They found that one mocha coffee made with full-fat milk added up to 396 calories, and the same coffee with semi-skimmed milk – but topped with whipped cream – contained 326.
You can read the rest of this dismal article HERE.
How Work Stress Changes Your Body
From yesterday’s BBC Health News:
Work stress ‘changes your body’
Stress seems to produce biochemical changes
A stressful job has a direct biological impact on the body, raising the risk of heart disease, research has indicated.
The study reported in the European Heart Journal focused on more than 10,000 British civil servants.
Those under 50 who said their work was stressful were nearly 70% more likely to develop heart disease than the stress-free.
The stressed had less time to exercise and eat well – but they also showed signs of important biochemical changes.
The studies of Whitehall employees – from mandarins to messengers – started in the 1960s, but this particular cohort has been followed since 1985.
As well as documenting how workers felt about their job, researchers monitored heart rate variability, blood pressure, and the amount of the stress hormone cortisol in the blood.
They also took notes about diet, exercise, smoking and drinking.
Then they found out how many people had developed coronary heart disease (CHD) or suffered a heart attack and how many had died of it.
Lead researcher Dr Tarani Chandola, of University College London, said: “During 12 years of follow up, we found that chronic work stress was associated with CHD and this association was stronger both among men and women aged under 50.
“Among people of retirement age – and therefore less likely to be exposed to work stress – the effect on CHD was less strong.”
You can read the rest of the study HERE,
270,000 KD for What?
I found this in today’s Kuwait Times. I think maybe I am out of touch . . . I haven’t heard of anyone sending or receiving a telegram for a long time. I don’t believe my husband’s office even uses a telex anymore? Am I missing something?
Kuwait Times: 20 January 2008
Telegram, Telex services
Kuwait: The Ministry of Communication is planning to create a new telegram and telex service system. The system will cost KD 270,000 and will be using modern equipment and up to date methods. A contract for creating the system was first given to a Bahraini company, but then the ministry decided to create the system themselves. The ministry will start working on creating the system two weeks from now.
Anyone? Anyone?
Kuwait: Women Leading? Not Permitted!
In today’s (17 January 2007) Kuwait Times is an article entitled MPs still divided over no-confidence motion. You’d think this issue would be put to rest by Minister of Education Nouriya al-Sabeeh’s stellar presentation, meeting her “grillers” with calm dignity and restraint, and with facts and figures. After the grilling, her accusers admitted to newspapers that they didn’t have the votes for a no-confidence resolution, and many spoke of her in admiring tones.
In today’s paper, this issue once again rears its ugly head, and buried deep in the article (read it for yourself by clicking on the blue type above) is this paragraph:
“The Secretary General of the Thawabit Gathering Mohammad Hayef Al-Metairi asked Islamist MPs to support voting for a no-confidence motion because women MPs are not permitted to hold leading positions according to Islamic principals.“
Women not leading is an Islamic principle?
Kuwaiti Women, Minors from Cradle to Grave
In an article in today’s Kuwait Times sure to raise discussions throughout Kuwait, staff writer Ahmad Al-Khaled brings up the laws requiring Kuwaiti women to have a husband /father/ guardian present to apply for a passport and other legal papers:
Published Date: January 15, 2008
By Ahmad Al-Khaled, Staff writer
KUWAIT: The issue of gender equality under the law has come under fire of late after an exasperated Kuwaiti woman wrote to a local Arabic newspaper telling the tale of her frustrated quest to renew her passport and was told the law required her to be accompanied by her male guardian. “It is frustrating that we are not considered equipped to act as our own guardians in 2008,” said a middle-aged Kuwaiti wife and mother of five, Um Talal, who read the woman’s letter describing how she was denied the right to renew her passport unless her husband accompanied her to the ministry.
While Kuwait is a Muslim nation, Kuwaiti law is not solely Sharia based, although it uses Sharia as a primary source of legislation according to the Constitution. Adult-aged Kuwaiti women are required under the law to be accompanied by their husband or father to renew their passports. If their father and husband are deceased or should they be divorced from their husband, they may be required to provide authorities with proof of their male guardian’s death or proof of their marital status.
“Why should we be required to offer such proof. It is insulting to be treated as if we Kuwaiti women are in need of guardianship. Shame on the government for continuing to allow such a law to remain in the books,” said a 30 something Fala Jassem. “It is not Islamic to treat women poorly, we are not children! Shame on anyone that calls this law Islamic,” said 65-year-old Bedour Bader.
While Kuwaiti women speaking to Kuwait Times were staunchly against the law, Kuwaiti men were divided with some going so far as to call the law a necessary requirement to keep their women protected. “It is a husband’s duty to act as a guardian for his wife. We must lead our families and this includes the wife,” said 53-year-old father of four Abdullah Nasser.
You can read the rest of the article HERE.
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