The Help by Kathryn Stockett
In my book club last year, one of the themes that continued to arise as we read books from many cultures was how we are perceived by the people we hire to help us in our homes. In The White Tiger, a Man Booker Award Winner, the main character lucks into a job working for a family as a driver. We see the people for whom he works from the inside, their sweet acts and all their flaws. We see how callous they can be, and, ultimately, how the driver takes his revenge and becomes his own boss. (Not one of my favorite books, but then again, I’m still thinking about it a year later, so there is something to be said for it.)
In Half of a Yellow Sun we saw an entirely different relationship (in a book I totally loved, BTW) between employer and employee, but it shared with White Tiger the aspect of employer as seen from the eyes of an employee inside the house who sees the family and all its interactions intimately.
The Help, a surprise best seller, does the same to 1960’s era Mississippi. A recent graduate from Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) starts interviewing the maids from local households, any maid that will talk to her. At first, no one will talk with her, but after traumatizing racial clashes, one by one, they share their stories. Just interviewing the maids, just the maids sharing their stories, is enough to bring on serious consequences.
First, the book is riveting. I have a million things I really REALLY need to be doing, and I can’t stop reading. There is something about peeking into your neighbors house, seeing how they behave when they think no one is looking, that appeals to the voyeur in each of us.
Second, these women are taking serious risks. I am on the edge of my chair with each reading, hoping nothing bad happens to them.
Third, there is something that makes you squirm, it is the old “wee giftie” that shows us the worst in ourselves as others might see us; our own hypocrisies, our condescensions, our patronizing acts, how cruel our charitable acts can appear through the eyes of others, and how callous we are in the end towards those who take care of us every day.
It has rocketed onto the best seller list, now the #6 best selling book on Amazon.
If your book club is looking for a book to read that will get you talking and keep you talking for a long time, this is one of the best.
If you have hired help in the house, I double-dog-dare-you to read this book. (OOps, sometimes the little Alaska girl in me pops back out!) Fair warning, though, once you start, you won’t want to put it down.
FBI Press Release Re: FaceBook, Social Networking Sites
Read the message for yourself on the FBI Press Release Page
No, Your Social Networking “Friend” Isn’t Really in Trouble Overseas
According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), there has been an increase in the number of hijacked social networking accounts reported to http://www.ic3.gov.
One of the more popular scams involves online criminals planting malicious software and code onto to victim computers. It starts by someone opening a spam e-mail, sometimes from another hijacked friend’s account.
When opened, the spam allows the cyber intruders to steal passwords for any account on the computer, including social networking sites. The thieves then change the user’s passwords and eventually send out distress messages claiming they are in some sort of legal or medical peril and requesting money from their social networking contacts.
So far, nearly 3,200 cases of account hijackings have been reported to the IC3 since 2006.
Cyber thieves are also using spam to promote phishing sites, claiming a violation of the terms of service agreement or creating some other issue which needs to be resolved. Other spam entices users to download an application or view a video. Some of these messages appear to be sent from friends, giving the perception of legitimacy. Once the user responds to a phishing site, downloads an application, or clicks on a video link, the electronic device they’re using becomes infected.
Some applications advertised on social networking sites appear legitimate but install malicious code or rogue anti-virus software. These empty applications can give cyber criminals access to your profile and personal information. These programs will automatically send messages to your contacts, instructing them to download the new application too.
Infected users are often unknowingly spreading malware by having links to infected websites posted on their webpage without the user’s knowledge. Since the e-mail or video link appear to be endorsed by a friend, social networking contacts are more likely to click on these links.
Although social networking sites are generally a safe place to interact with friends and acquaintances, keep in mind these suggestions to protect yourself while navigating the Internet:
• Adjust website privacy settings. Some networking sites have provided useful options to assist in adjusting settings to help protect your identity.
• Be selective when adding friends. Once added, contacts can access any information marked as viewable by all friends.
• Limit access to your profile to only those contacts you trust with your personal information.
Disable options, such as photo sharing, that you might not regularly use. You can always enable these options later.
• Be careful what you click on. Just because someone posts a link or video to their wall does not mean it is safe.
• Familiarize yourself with the security and privacy settings and learn how to report a compromised account.
Each social networking site may have different procedures on how to handle a hijacked or infected account; therefore, you may want to reference their help or FAQ page for instructions.
If your account has been hijacked or infected, report it to by visiting http://www.ic3.gov or http://www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
Young Adults Report Anxiety Overload
Young adults ‘anxiety overload’
No, it’s not just your imagination. And you are not alone – others in your age group are likely suffering the same anxieties you are, and covering it up.
You can read the entire article at BBC News
Young adults are suffering from “anxiety overload”, a UK charity warns.
A survey of 18-24 year olds found 66% feel stressed or anxious at least once a week, with money and job worries being the main cause.
Almost a third of respondents said they did not tell anyone of their worries, raising the need to teach young people “coping strategies”, said Rethink.
Women seemed most badly affected, with one in three suffering frequent anxiety, compared with one in 10 men.
The YouGov poll of 2,000 adults, 250 of whom were aged 18-24, found 33% of young women felt stressed or anxious most days or every day.
Attempt to Kidnap Kuwaiti Girl: Print Their Names
From the Arab Times
Here is what scares me about this story – the language. It says “the side glass of the car broke.” That is very neutral language. I am pretty sure that the girl who was the intended victim would not break the glass; it was part of the barrier protecting her from the would-be kidnappers. It bothers me that it doesn’t state that the man broke the car glass attempting to kidnap the girl.
It also bothers me that the language says that they have been “detained for interrogation.” These men are a danger to society. They need to be locked up, for their own good and for the sake of the innocent young women who are their potential victims. There are witnesses, including the police. Enough! Try them, convict them and put them away!
It is also time to start publishing the names of the men who commit these acts. Would you want your daughter to marry such a man? Your cousin? Your sister? Doesn’t a woman have a right to know what sort of man she is marrying? Yes, it would shame the families from which the kidnappers have come. It seems that maybe shame is the only effective tool for deterring this kind of shameful behavior. If the families forbade this kind of behavior, you would see a drastic drop in the crime of kidnapping. Print their names.
Women are not the only victims. These same entitlement-loaded kidnappers seize boys and young me off the streets, sometimes lure their own friends, take them to the desert and rape them. What are they thinking? What makes them think they have that right? What makes them think there will be no consequences for bestial behavior?
Police save Kuwaiti girl from kidnappers’ clutches in Shaab Entertainment Park
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 2: The Hawalli police recently foiled at attempt by two Kuwaitis to kidnap a female compatriot from the parking lot of the Shaab Entertainment Park, reports Al-Shahid daily.
It has been reported as the victim was about to pull out of the parking lot, the youths blocked her way with their car and one of them got down from his vehicle and tried to drag the girl into his vehicle.
At this point the victim strongly resisted and in the confusion the side glass of the car broke. The victim then cried for help and a passing police patrol went to her rescue.
Seeing police the suspects grabbed the victim’s handbag containing her personal documents, cell phone and money and tried to escape but police chased and arrested them.
They have been detained at the Hawally Police Station for interrogation.
Predators prey on those they perceive to be weak and without protection. We, society, are supposed to be protecting the weak. When this man is refused sex, he and his friends try to rape the man, and trash the entire massage parlor?
Kuwaiti Man attempts to rape Jordanian massageur
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 2: An 18-year old Jordanian teenager reported at Jahra Police Station that a Kuwaiti man attempted to rape him while he was massaging the suspect inside a men’s salon — where the complainant works, in the Industrial Area on Thursday.
He narrated the man offered to pay him certain amount of money if he acceded to his demand for immoral act, which the complainant turned down and immediately asked the suspect to leave the salon.
He stressed the suspect later tried to kidnap him, which he resisted, so the suspect fled with his friends, but they destroyed some contents of the salon before fleeing the scene. However, he managed to record the number plate of the suspect’s car, which the detectives found out it belonged to a Kuwaiti man. A case has been registered against the suspect.
Karabaa in Rubble
It’s even worse. Rubble everywhere. It looks like a war zone.
Ripping out the Heart of Doha . . .
Drive to Reduce Traffic Deaths in Qatar
I am a great admirer of Brig Mohamed Abduallah al-Malki. I remember once, when Qatar was much smaller, when he printed his phone number in the paper and told people to call him when they saw drivers misbehaving. What a brave man, a committed man, and a courageous man.
I admire his persistence, his sincere desire to bring down traffic deaths in Qatar.
Yesterday, as I was driving, I noticed most drivers slowing down – when that happens, you know there are new speed cameras set up, and you slow down too. You slow down – or most of us do. There are a visible few who seem to believe that the rules do not apply to them.
There is a persistent rumor that traffic fatalities fell dramatically when the new laws were introduced – and enforced – equally – against all law breakers. As long as laws are enforced equally against ALL nationalities, the death rate will lower.
To me, it is a huge national tragedy that so many young Qatteri men lose their lives, or are seriously physically damaged, in traffic accidents that could have been prevented. It is like a huge national resource, just wasted, all that potential, gone.
This is from today’s Gulf Times
Drive to raise students’ road safety awareness
Traffic department and IBQ officials at the launch of the campaign yesterday
By Riham el-Houshi
The ‘Schools without Accidents’ campaign launched yesterday for the second year running by the Traffic Department is aimed at cutting the number of road accidents in Qatar by half, a top official has said. The campaign aims at raising awareness about road safety among students.
Traffic Department expert and general co-ordinator of the National Campaign for Road Accident Prevention, Brig Mohamed Abduallah al-Malki, said “there has been a decrease in the number of deaths in 2009 but a final picture will emerge only by December.”
The number of road accident deaths in the country fell by 20% in 2008 compared to the previous year. The total number of road accidents last year was 20,455, with approximately 200 deaths, according to the Traffic Department.
The initiative, launched within the framework of the ‘National Campaign for Road Accidents Prevention,’ is a programme to raise awareness on the importance of road safety among students across Qatar.
Al-Malki added that 35% of road accident victims were pedestrians who were usually expatriates.
“Therefore the campaign this year will focus on expatriate schools as well as local ones,” al-Malki pointed out.
The campaign will be funded by the International Bank of Qatar (IBQ), who has given QR500,000 to the Traffic Department. The bank donated QR250,000 to the cause last year. According to al-Malki, the money will be spent on brochures, signboards, and competitions.
“Too many of our young people never have the chance to realise life’s opportunities as their lives are cut tragically short by preventable road accidents,” said IBQ managing director George Nasra.
“We can and must do even more to reduce the number of traffic accidents and fatalities – especially among our youth.”
A recent survey conducted by Gulf Times had shown that 41% of the respondents feel that Qatar was the worst country to drive because of the number of accidents caused by reckless driving.
Qatar Rents Expected to Fall Further as Supply Exceeds Demand
Hot off the press, in today’s Peninsula:
Experts expect house rents to fall further
Web posted at: 9/28/2009 0:55:46
Source ::: The Peninsula
DOHA: Real estate experts estimate that some 6,000 new housing units have sprung up in Doha and its suburbs for uptake this year alone.
With supplies having gone up, the experts expect house rents to fall by a further five to 10 percent over the short term.
House rents are believed to have dropped between 30 and 40 percent until now, says the manager of a real estate company, Falah Matar.
“So due to higher supply, tenants now have a lot of option,” he added.
According to Khalifa Al Muslemani, another real estate expert, some 6,000 new housing units have come on the market this year, further pushing supplies higher.
These are both private and semi-government projects. “Higher supplies have led to a fall in rents,” added Al Muslemani.
Talking of the existing rent law which was enforced in early 2008 for two years, Matar said there was the need for a new legislation to replace it once it expires in February next year.
The proposed law should either lower the limit by which landlords can raise rents annually to five percent, or retain the existing limit of 10 percent.
He allayed fears among tenants that once the current rent law expires landlords would begin to raise rents unjustifiably like they did in the previous years.
He said that due to excess supplies, tenants facing this kind of pressure from property owners would have the option to leave and look for alternative accommodation.
Agreeing with this view, an official from a real estate agency, Mahmoud Al Jirsha said tenants need not worry about landlords raising rents unjustifiably because of huge supplies.
The situation in the previous years was different because housing supplies were limited and the demand was far too more. “Reverse is the case now as supplies far exceed demand,” he added.
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa AlSanea
“Have you read Girls of Riyadh?” my friend asked me on the phone, and when I said I had not, she said she would bring it to me.
“It’s an easy read” she said, “it will take you an afternoon.”
Sometimes life intruded. It took me a little longer. I had expected this to be lightweight, along the lines of the shopaholic books, read ’em and forget ’em. Airport reading, stuff you save to read when you know you will have time to kill.
I was surprised. I guess I had gotten the impression it was lightweight because I had seen it discussed on some of the blogs, and there are some light-hearted moments in the book. The four young women are well drawn, and their experiences are handled with sensitivity. She never reveals which character from the book she is, but I have my suspicions. 🙂
Each girl has her own unique experiences as she reaches young womanhood, and mating. Although the experiences are treated deftly, there is a serious undercurrent that belies the light tone. The underlying circumstances surrounding the mating rituals in a country so tradition-bound as Saudi Arabia turn mating into a dark ritual, full of unseen pits and minefields.
The very worst fear during these years is the wagging tongues of others. I have heard this theme over and over in my own dealings with young women in this part of the world.
“You know, khalto, a woman’s reputation is like glass, it is easily shattered,” explained my young-woman Qatteri friend, solemnly.
(for my Western readers, Khalto means ‘aunt’ literally, and is a term used respectfully for family friends, meaning ‘sister of my mother’)
“I don’t want to get married,” she continued, “They come for you as a bride and they are so nice and they make you feel so in love with them, but then, when you are married, they change. Men are . . . men are . . ”
“Dogs?” I asked.
“Yes! Yes!,” she exclaimed, “Dogs!” (pause)
“How did you know, Khalto?”
LLLLOOOOLLLLLLLLLL! It’s one of those moments when you know we are all more alike than we are different.
Girls of Riyadh is a worthy read. It is thought-provoking, and compassion-provoking. You grow to love these girls, and you hope a happy ending for them.
Exporting Trash to Poorer Countries
From The New York Times, where you can read the entire article on exporting trash by clicking here
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: September 26, 2009
ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands — When two inspectors swung open the doors of a battered red shipping container here, they confronted a graveyard of Europe’s electronic waste — old wires, electricity meters, circuit boards — mixed with remnants of cardboard and plastic.
“This is supposed to be going to China, but it isn’t going anywhere,” said Arno Vink, an inspector from the Dutch environment ministry who impounded the container because of Europe’s strict new laws that place restrictions on all types of waste exports, from dirty pipes to broken computers to household trash.
Exporting waste illegally to poor countries has become a vast and growing international business, as companies try to minimize the costs of new environmental laws, like those here, that tax waste or require that it be recycled or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally responsible way.
Rotterdam, the busiest port in Europe, has unwittingly become Europe’s main external garbage chute, a gateway for trash bound for places like China, Indonesia, India and Africa. There, electronic waste and construction debris containing toxic chemicals are often dismantled by children at great cost to their health. Other garbage that is supposed to be recycled according to European law may be simply burned or left to rot, polluting air and water and releasing the heat-trapping gases linked to global warming.
While much of the international waste trade is legal, sent to qualified overseas recyclers, a big chunk is not. For a price, underground traders make Europe’s waste disappear overseas.
After Europe first mandated recycling electronics like televisions and computers, two to three tons of electronic waste was turned in last year, far less than the seven tons anticipated. Much of the rest was probably exported illegally, according to the European Environment Agency.
Paper, plastic and metal trash exported from Europe rose tenfold from 1995 to 2007, the agency says, with 20 million containers of waste now shipped each year either legally or illegally. Half of that passes through this huge port, where trucks and ships exchange goods around the clock.
When we were blogging about pirates in Somalia, a Somali wrote in that part of the problem was that rich western countries were dumping toxic trash off the coast of Somalia and damaging the traditional fishing wealth of the country. Once trash is exported, there is no telling where it will be dumped, or what problems we are causing for our descendants down the road. I can’t help but think that we reap what we sow – and that we need to be paying attention to what we are dumping and where we are dumping it.
Recent Comments
intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow Abou Tabblouleh on t… on Waiting for Snow Abou Tabbouleh on in… on Waiting for Snow intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow Wikipedia Donate Button
Amazina
Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 