Caledoniyya

Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.

À Dimanche

Simply, Sunday:

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Filed under: Africa, Frivolities & Miscellaeny, Imagery , , ,

On Lemons and Volcanic ash

A not-so-old adage runs that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

I might venture at this point that when Iceland gives you volcanic ash, make sandcastles, for I shall be remaining in Tunisia for the foreseeable future as all flights have been cancelled.

Ordinarily, this is exactly the situation I would envy of others: toiling in my mist-ensconced office, I would glare at their Facebook status and turn varying shades of green.

Oddly, despite the incredible delightfulness that surrounds, I am heedless to the cajoling heckles of “extended holidays!” and instead beset by the familiar guilty gnawing of “but… deadlines… no books! Argh!”.

I am not sure which is more terrifying: going a week without work or the dwindling pages of Frankenstein – an utterly delightful holiday read – that draw one inexorably closer to curly-paged hotel copies of Mills & Boon.

I knew I should have braved the baggage limit and accompanied Shelley with Chekhov and Turgenev.

Otherwise, the sun is beaming relentlessly and my consumption of brik has been curtailed for fear of no longer fitting into jeans once home.

I shall construct a makeshift office, thank the God of Technology for Google Docs and that heavenly Goliath that is WiFi and plod on.

Today: sun, swimming, archery, and perhaps some work.

Of course, I would be loathe to leave – I just wish I had come more prepared.

Filed under: Africa, Frivolities & Miscellaeny, Layla , , , , ,

Kafka’s Tunis

A delightfully tense article on the fickle nature of the Tunisian police statedom.

Rather hoping to visit Tunis tomorrow.

Though minus the roughing up, obviously.

Also, I have never successfully accessed YouTube here; not sure if it’s merely my computer or a higher hindrance… Ho-hum.

Filed under: Africa , , , ,

La Tunisie, J’adore Parce Que…

Let me count the ways:

Damn. Possibly the best country on earth.

And yes, I am biased – but when it is this beautiful, delicious and wonderful, it no longer matters.

Filed under: Africa, Frivolities & Miscellaeny, Imagery, Layla , , , , , ,

Moroccan Blogger Arrested

This time, Moroccan democracy at its best:

Police arrested blogger Abdellatif Ouaiss, last Sunday, after they had searched his house on Friday evening in Temara and seized his laptop computer. He was presented in front of the Public Prosecutor on Tuesday.

His family did not know the charges against him, but a close source confirmed that Ouaiss, who signed the Procès-verbal under duress, was arrested because of an article published in his English-language blog in which he criticized the ten-year rule of King Mohammed VI. [Source]

Filed under: Africa, Culture, Pop culture , , , , ,

Best of the Rest: Perky breasts won’t fix your life

Two Best of the Rest posts in one week – if that wasn’t a source for joy, then the following certainly is.

As I write this the fog is curling moistly against the window and the still naked trees are mooching despondently, waiting for summer.

It is then, the perfect recipe for a grey day, the perfect time for a trip to the doldrums.

Until this post appeared, that is, and set alight a warm glow in the midst of the bleak cold.

Ostensibly a meander through the tales behind Christy’s scars (with a few pearlets of wisdom thrown in), it is a much-needed critique on the perception of post-birth bodies:

I, personally, am bored with the message that the act of childbirth has left me less than who I once was, that my body needs repair, and that becoming “mommy” left the greatest scar on who I am as a woman and as an individual. I can assure you (and Dr. Perky) that if there is any ugliness here that needs fixing, it isn’t because I’m a mother. A woman’s beauty is damaged, even destroyed by many things. I would suggest to you that childbirth is the least of these. [Source]

Quite why a woman’s body is not revered post-childbirth as much as before is a source of consternation.

Far from being lambasted for stretch-marks and pot-bellies, women should be showered with snow-drop petals and bear entourages of fawning, grateful men clasping palm-frond fans.

The act of giving life is one of the greatest miracles of all: the pain, danger, gift and blessing that women bear and bring forth is incredible.

That the aftermath should merely be focused on the perkitude of their breasts is beyond comprehension.

Christy captures this, and more, gorgeously – read on here.

Filed under: Americas, Best of the Rest, Culture , , , , ,

Best of the Rest: Falling in and out of love while feminist

It’s been a while since a Best of the Rest post, but this one cannot pass without note.

Feminism is a term much branded and bandied, but rarely do we stop to honestly reassess what it means to be a contemporary feminist, foibles and all.

In the following post Natalia expands previous explorations of ‘fucking while feminist‘ and ‘dating while feminist‘ to the less-covered, though more significant ‘loving while feminist‘.

The genius of the subject lies in its frankness – I know that I can see myself glaring back petulantly in sections such as this:

Oddly enough, feminism does play a huge role in the most personal, the most painful moments of my life. It’s when I’m screaming things like “you just want a woman you can CONTROL!” that I’m being a real feminist, not the flirtatious “hardcore” girl you might meet at the theater or in a club, but someone who, when the layers of make-up and mini-dresses are stripped away, just wants to be treated like a human being, goddamit. And it’s when I’m crying about a guy who faked friendship for a chance to be with me that the phrase “but you can get by on your own” becomes the equivalent of a warm and reassuring hand squeezing my shoulder. [Source]

Equally, she touches upon the struggle between sustaining the battle-hardened feminist values that have sustained us, but bring future happiness into peril.

The Fly of Feminism, Lurking

We want to independent, but all too often this proves irreconcilable with the conventionality of relationships.

Although it may seem a pitiful call from a 1950s male, I often wonder whether The Man has a point when he states that my “fierce independence diminishes his masculinity”.

While it infers that we should soften our approach as female companions (as girlfriends, fiancees, wives), it is easier to imagine than done.

On the one hand it makes sense and works: when I shelve an outburst that would otherwise strike a point for feminism, life runs smoother and more sweetly.

Consessions are made, but not easily.

Feminism, as Natalia notes, gets us through the bad times.

It is our moral and political saviour: picking us up when dejected, strengthening our resolve as women in the inexorable march towards a seemingly unobtainable goal.

But what price with love?

On a personal level each concession feels a risk: if I give this time, would it constitute another step towards doormatdom, or merely the compromise that renders relationships workable?

And therein lies the crux: love is a risk that involves compromise.

I just loathe that the indomitable feminist has to be that sacrifice, even if partially.

Filed under: Culture, Layla, Womyn , , , , ,

Tunisia, the Cyber Wife-beater

At least, this is the conclusion that we reached in my office during an impromptu venting on Tunisia’s censorship.

Tunisia is full of promise: it is beautiful, forward-looking and charming in the extreme.

But it has a dark side, one which rarely surfaces in response to external presences (except in this instance) and is covered even less in the wider media.

Tunisia is like a charming wife-beater: by day it flits winsomely winking and flattering, oozing progress through symposiums on the promotion of the Internet and galvanizing the youth to go online.

By night its wrath is unbridled and its fists of censorship free to flail, with bloggers daily confronting harassment, beatings and in certain cases imprisonment.

Which is why the publication of the Human Rights Watch report, ‘A Larger Prison: Repression of Former Political Prisoners in Tunisia‘ provides a brave and much-needed peek beneath the underbelly of the über-chic state.

Quite why the abrogation of free speech (amongst other transgressions) has failed to stimulate interest is open to interpretation, though the following quip hints most cogently:

Tunisia has been criticized for its human rights record by a number of international organizations, but maintains close economic and intelligence ties with most Western countries, including the United States. [Source]

Perhaps it would be facile to brandish the notion that to be a friend of the West is tantamount to a get-out-of-jail-free card on human rights abuses.

But realistically, it is most likely true.

In which case, we can only be thankful for human rights organizations and the blogosphere.

It’s the only way these cases will ever garner the attention they deserve.

Filed under: Africa, Censorship, Culture, Pop culture, note-to-self , , , , , ,

Sandcastles of Democracy

Sometimes you just cannot put it better.

To wit, on the rise of Israeli-Palestinian non-violent resistance:

The majority of Jewish Israelis are complicit in the perpetuation of the current state of affairs. When growing groups of conscientious people refuse to play the game of building a fictitious democratic sand castle on the shores of the Mediterranean, the Israeli Jew behaves like a spoiled rich brat, who would rather destroy his own castle than see natives share his world and his dreams. [Source]

The article goes into greater depth, but the above encapsulates Udi Aloni’s clear message: either the façade of democracy in Israel can continue, or the reality be addressed.

That, and the lamentable rise of the pseudo-lefties: equality and peace across the board, or a rock concert – decide, already.

Filed under: Conflict Zones, Israel, Middle East, Palestine, Politics , , , ,

Of Gay Soldiers and Srebrenica

Where do you go with this?

Gays in the military ‘led to Srebrenica massacre’ claims U.S. General

Gay soldiers were to blame for Dutch troops being overrun during the Srebrenica massacre, a retired general has claimed.

John Sheehan said allowing homosexuals to serve had led to a collapse in morale.

The massacre in the Bosnian war was one of the worst in Europe since the Second World War.

Some 8,000 Muslims were killed after Bosnian Serb forces overwhelmed the Dutch in a UN ’safe area’ in 1995.

Mr Sheehan, a former U.S. and Nato general, blamed European nations’ efforts to ’socialise’ their forces by, among other things, letting gay people join.

Mr Sheehan was speaking in opposition to a proposal to allow gay people to serve openly in the U.S. military. [Source]

One can only conclude that such bull-headed masters of prejudice have even less of a right to represent their country than the men and women who served.

Filed under: Americas, Conflict Zones, Europe , , , , , ,

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