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1. Regarding Liberation Day: Do Not Forget I wrote this article last year, and my views have...

1. <a href='http://herolike.net/blog/?p=695' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Eeeeee! Eeeeee! <3 Happy happy!...

Opposing Viewpoints: Sexual Violence. Mary E. Williams and Tamara L. Roleff. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. From Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.

Rape Is Frequently Used as a Weapon of War

"Isolated Incidents," by Robin Morgan, first published in Ms., March/April 1993. Copyright © 1993 by Robin Morgan. Reprinted by permission of Edite Kroll Literacy Agency.

The rape of Bosnian Muslim women in the early 1990s by Serbian soldiers was not an isolated case of rape being used in war, asserts Robin Morgan in the following viewpoint. Rape has been used as a weapon in war since the founding of Rome, she maintains. Morgan contends that invading armies use rape as a weapon to destroy a people's culture, heritage, and ethnicity. In such cases, according to Morgan, rape is a political act of torture. Morgan is the international consulting editor and former editor in chief of Ms. magazine.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How many women have been raped in the former Yugoslavia, according to the author?


2. What evidence does Morgan present to support her contention that the rape of Bosnian women is not an isolated incident?


3. How are the rapes in Bosnia unique, in Morgan's opinion?

Finally, the world believes it.

Estimates differ, but as of April 1993, it was thought that 20,000 to possibly more than 50,000 women and girls in the former Yugoslavia have been raped, and countless others killed. Although the overwhelming number of rapes and forced pregnancies appear to have been committed by Serbian men against Bosnian Muslim women, men of all the opposing sides—Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian Muslim—have apparently raped "each other's" women. That is the point: women are mere envelopes to carry the message of conquest from one group of men to another.

Not an Isolated Incident

Finally the world believes it—but still doesn't make the connections. Instead, it chooses to regard this atrocity as an isolated incident, much as the Montreal Massacre was perceived as an aberration rather than an extreme expression of the "normal" climate of terror and violence female human beings everywhere endure. [In December 1989, fourteen female students were killed and thirteen others wounded at the University of Montreal by Marc Lepine, who blamed feminists for his failures.]

In Somalia in 1993, men of one warring clan raped women of another. There were also reports of harassment by coalition forces there; to compound the horror, religious fundamentalists were blaming the women. In January, four women were stoned to death and a fifth lashed 100 times as punishments for "prostitution." Another Somali woman remained in prison, facing a possible death sentence for the same charge, because she sought the protection of some French soldiers....

An aberration? "Rape and take spoil" is an ancient motto of war. An isolated incident? Then what happened to the Sabine women? What did Alexander's armies do? Caesar's legions? The conquistadors and all the other colonizers? What of Chaka's Zulu army? The rape of Belgian and French women by German troops during World War I? What did their sons do to Russian women in World War II—and what did Russian troops do to German women "in response"? What about the institutionalized concentration-camp brothels where Jewish women were forced to supply "Enjoyment Duty" to their Nazi captors? The thousands of Chinese, Korean, and Filipina women conscripted into sexual slavery as "comfort women" for the Japanese army? The Chinese city where that army's actions were so extreme historians termed it "the Rape of Nanking"? The virtually ignored mass rape of Bengali women (estimated as high as 400,000) during the 1971 Bangladesh-Pakistan war? What about Vietnam? The Iraqi rapes of Kuwaiti women—and their Asian servants?

The First Open Policy of Rape

If Bosnia is unique, it is because this may be the first time mass rape and forced pregnancy have been used openly as a policy toward genocidal ends: the terrain is "ethnically cleansed" because victims die and survivors flee, wishing never to return. And what of the woman unable to get an abortion or find a home for the product of rape? Five, ten years from now, when the world has forgotten, will she have finally taught herself not to read the torturer's features on the face of her child?

Already we hear of captured Serbian soldiers claiming they were commanded to rape against their will. Is this to lay the ground for a war-crimes defense? Will the world remember that the phrase "I was only obeying orders" is an unacceptable defense for committing atrocities? Or is it different when only women suffer?

Rape has always been a military tactic, a combat "perk," whether by direct order or implicit prerogative. In 1992, when the U.N. Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) received protests about the troops' behavior, UNTAC chief Yasushi Akashi replied that "18-year-old, hot-blooded soldiers" have a right to drink and chase "young, beautiful beings of the opposite sex." Rape in war has always been a weapon—one that should be as expressly forbidden in international law as chemical weapons and germ warfare. Rape has always been an act of torment, though it was not until 1991 that Amnesty International recognized rape as sex-specific torture. Rape is a violent act—and a political act. How long must we scream to make the world understand?

An Act of Hate

Some honorable men who abhor the Bosnian tragedy still minimize rape in their own countries. Yet what is a "bias rape" but an "ethnic cleansing" sexual assault across racist lines? Some term this "hate rape"—a misnomer, since every rape is an act of hate. And what is the alleged gang-rape of a mentally disabled young woman in New Jersey in March 1989, if not a different form of bias rape?

"Animals," the columnists mutter, ignoring Hannah Arendt's warning about the banality of evil. Animals don't rape; men do. If rape in war is a weapon, then what is it in peacetime?

Quoted

I have recently read somewhere that to date, 18 people have rejected the prestigious post of the Chairman of the Capital Markets Authority. This could just be one of the most powerful financial jobs in Kuwait, perhaps second only to the Governor of the Kuwaiti Central Bank.This news snippet made me think, why would anyone refuse an offer as grand as this? I understand if one or two candidates refused it, but 18? It’s just not right…

From what I’ve heard, being the head of the CMA means family members will not be able to own shares of any kind. Maybe that’s the main reason why these candidates have rejected the offer. But if they accepted this job, then they would be adequately remunerated for not owning any shares. Maybe these people do not want to be in the spotlight and thus, on the firing line.

We could easily link these rejections with similar ones that the Prime Minister allegedly gets from prominent people when they’re offered a Minister’s office. This trend of avoiding influential and public jobs by many esteemed ladies and gentlemen is truly worrying because they are only offered this job because the employer (supposedly) believes they are the most competent in what they do. If the most competent person rejects, then the second most competent person will be offered the job. This process usually goes down the competency scale until they get someone who is willing to take the job. This would really deprive Kuwait of having the right people in the right places, a prerequisite to being a financial hub of the region.

I personally heard accusations of fear and that these people only refuse because they’re afraid of a possible public backlash and accusations from other people, especially MPs. In a sense, I don’t really blame them for fearing for their reputations but I believe that they should prioritize the benefit of Kuwait over any personal allegations, especially if they’re honest and hard working people. If they really did nothing wrong then they shouldn’t let these allegations distract them, you know, sticks and stones…

As I have previously mentioned, if the best people keep on refusing these vital positions, then Kuwait has lost their expertise. We are now facing an unprecedented multi-billion KD development program, I think now is the time we need them the most.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York State mentioned why he will not run for president earlier today.

(Excerpt from The New York Times).

Filed under: Politik, Yankee Panky Tagged: bloomberg, new york, politics, us president

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York State mentioned why he will not run for president earlier today.

(Excerpt from The New York Times).

Filed under: Politik, Yankee Panky Tagged: bloomberg, new york, politics, us president

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York State mentioned why he will not run for president earlier today.

(Excerpt from The New York Times).

ولا بعرس امك That is all the elaboration needed to refute this nonsense that Saddam Hussein Iraq is trying to stir up. Kuwait summoned Iraq’s envoy yesterday to protest against remarks attributed to an Iraqi official that Baghdad does not recognise the border between the two countries, the state news agency Kuna said. The frontier was […]

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Since most of yall kept sending me emails asking me questions like:

Who’s he ?

How can we know the latest 411/news bout him ?

Here is your FIX below

Click HERE Click HERE Click HERE Click HERE Click HERE Click HERE Click HERE

“THEY CAN HURT YOU ONLY IF YOU LET THEM”

To Khaled’s Family, I have nothing but love and respect for you.

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I received an email claiming that Google Translate is “Racist” and that if you try to translate the three following Arabic sentence to English

You will get the following translation in English

Arab does not like the peace

Israel is a peace-loving

The Zionist peace-loving

And just to make sure… I tried it myself:

Lets hope Google fix this soon!!!

Thanks Mimmi

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“Hello,
There’s absolutely no power crisis in Kuwait. Stop whining. As you can see, this issue sprung up overnight and there really was no way to avoid it. Please continue to donate your money elsewhere.
If you care about Kuwait, please resist the urge to help it.
Regards,
Not Anyone Who Has a Say in Anything
Now, who wants to […]

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I was just reading ilsul6ana’s blog, she posted a video showing Libya’s Muammar Al-Gaddafi calling for a boycott and jihad against Switzerland. the comments there looked like they have no idea what the whole story is.

The recent Gaddafi outburst came after a stupid Swiss law forbidding the building of anymore Minarets. Even John Stewart found that idiotic.

Of course that not the only reason, Gaddafi’s son was arrested last year while he was in his hotel room in Switzerland for assaulting his “servants”. Big daddy soon replied by cutting off oil sales to them.

I just wanted to shed some light on the story, I don’t want people to blindly side with either Gaddafi nor Switzerland.

Thanks Ananyah

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i would understand it if anybody threatened the US embassy or the UK embassy because of the recent trends and threats going on but this terrorist must be stupid or have shit for brains or he dialed the wrong number he threatened the Philippine embassy……. why?…..its the Philippine embassy? and he didnt even pick up the phone he sent a sms and said your embassy will blow up in thirty minutes i swear some times i am baffled by the way people think… Stupid!!!

Update:

Philippines Ambassador Ricardo Endaya has suspended all processing of domestic workers in Kuwait due to the bomb threat that was made Monday.

Link

Link

 
I waited for a day to see what would the reactions be, but I couldn’t find any notable ones, aside from one on Frankom’s Blog, so I decided to write my own

This MP, who considers himself as the protector of Islamic Principles, and has concocted himself his own political party, loosely translated to be called “The Ummah Principles Movement” has lodged what turned out to be a false complaint

I was depositing money into my account in the Surra branch when I see this guy sitting there Indian-style mumbling something incoherently (and relentlessly) under his breath. He was dressed in a qutra/3gal but clearly NOT Kuwaiti (another “friendly neighbor” thrust into our lives). He was sitting inside past the glass doors leading to the […]

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The Parliament just now ignored the pleas of the Central Bank and other financial/economic professionals to force the government to buy out all of the interest on loans taken by Kuwaitis. The result of the vote was 35 in favor and 22 naysayers.

I admit that I will benefit from this vote but I am extremely disappointed with this decision. The problem is the lack of foresight. Sadly, this has been a long-lasting trait of the MPs. Some of the MPs unfortunately decided to gain popularity at the expense of the well-being of the whole economy.

What do you guys think?

The Parliament just now ignored the pleas of the Central Bank and other financial/economic professionals to force the government to buy out all of the interest on loans taken by Kuwaitis. The result of the vote was 35 in favor and 22 naysayers.

I admit that I will benefit from this vote but I am extremely disappointed with this decision. The problem is the lack of foresight. Sadly, this has been a long-lasting trait of the MPs. Some of the MPs unfortunately decided to gain popularity at the expense of the well-being of the whole economy.

What do you guys think?

The Parliament just now ignored the pleas of the Central Bank and other financial/economic professionals to force the government to buy out all of the interest on loans taken by Kuwaitis. The result of the vote was 35 in favor and 22 naysayers.

I admit that I will benefit from this vote but I am extremely disappointed with this decision. The problem is the lack of foresight. Sadly, this has been a long-lasting trait of the MPs. Some of the MPs unfortunately decided to gain popularity at the expense of the well-being of the whole economy.

What do you guys think?

The Parliament just now ignored the pleas of the Central Bank and other financial/economic professionals to force the government to buy out all of the interest on loans taken by Kuwaitis. The result of the vote was 35 in favor and 22 naysayers.

I admit that I will benefit from this vote but I am extremely disappointed with this decision. The problem is the lack of foresight. Sadly, this has been a long-lasting trait of the MPs. Some of the MPs unfortunately decided to gain popularity at the expense of the well-being of the whole economy.

What do you guys think?

فيديو مقدم من الجبهة الشعبية لمكافحة الجمبزة (جشكج) مضحك لدرجة البكاء

نقدمه لكم مع تحفظنا على بعض ما جاء فيه

Link

Sout Al-Kuwait is a civic lobby group protecting personal and social freedoms through the activation and preservation of the rights stipulated in the Kuwaiti constitution. The Group meets its target through organized media campaigns, public relations and direct communication with the Parliament member and other State decision makers. Since its establishment, the Group published several booklets and brochures providing simplified review of constitutional rights, their impact and importance, and their conflict with some of the current legislations – (available on www.soutalkuwait.com). Sout Al-Kuwait also participated in several exhibitions, rallies, and carnivals in an attempt to educate the youth about the Constitution articles and relate them to our daily lives. We lead several educational activities in schools, colleges and universities introducing students to concepts like citizenship, human rights, constitutional rights and encouraging their involvement in volunteer civic and social work.

One of our most important events is the celebration of the anniversary of the  Constitution of Kuwait which was signed off by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem in November 11, 1962. This year we plan a grand carnival in front of the Kuwait Parliament (Sahat Al Irada). This event will be a collaborative effort by other NGOs and some civic groups. It is a family event filled with activities suitable to all ages and interests. There will be a special area for children and another for art and poetry  national music band lead by Belal Al-Shami and many other outdoor activities. Participants will be taken through the amazing journey of the Constitution in a fun and friendly environment.

We hope that you and your family will join us celebrating the Constitution anniversary this year on Wednesday, November 11 in front of the Parliament from 5:30 to 10 pm.

Special thanks go to the following for helping us spread the word:

Ansam

Blushberry

Buzberry

Frankom

iLSul6ana

P0ach

SOME contrast

Sout Al-Kuwait is a civic lobby group protecting personal and social freedoms through the activation and preservation of the rights stipulated in the Kuwaiti constitution. The Group meets its target through organized media campaigns, public relations and direct communication with the Parliament member and other State decision makers. Since its establishment, the Group published several booklets and brochures providing simplified review of constitutional rights, their impact and importance, and their conflict with some of the current legislations – (available on www.soutalkuwait.com). Sout Al-Kuwait also participated in several exhibitions, rallies, and carnivals in an attempt to educate the youth about the Constitution articles and relate them to our daily lives. We lead several educational activities in schools, colleges and universities introducing students to concepts like citizenship, human rights, constitutional rights and encouraging their involvement in volunteer civic and social work.

One of our most important events is the celebration of the anniversary of the  Constitution of Kuwait which was signed off by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem in November 11, 1962. This year we plan a grand carnival in front of the Kuwait Parliament (Sahat Al Irada). This event will be a collaborative effort by other NGOs and some civic groups. It is a family event filled with activities suitable to all ages and interests. There will be a special area for children and another for art and poetry  national music band lead by Belal Al-Shami and many other outdoor activities. Participants will be taken through the amazing journey of the Constitution in a fun and friendly environment.

We hope that you and your family will join us celebrating the Constitution anniversary this year on Wednesday, November 11 in front of the Parliament from 5:30 to 10 pm.

Special thanks go to the following for helping us spread the word:

Ansam

Blushberry

Buzberry

Frankom

iLSul6ana

P0ach

SOME contrast

Sout Al-Kuwait is a civic lobby group protecting personal and social freedoms through the activation and preservation of the rights stipulated in the Kuwaiti constitution. The Group meets its target through organized media campaigns, public relations and direct communication with the Parliament member and other State decision makers. Since its establishment, the Group published several booklets and brochures providing simplified review of constitutional rights, their impact and importance, and their conflict with some of the current legislations – (available on www.soutalkuwait.com). Sout Al-Kuwait also participated in several exhibitions, rallies, and carnivals in an attempt to educate the youth about the Constitution articles and relate them to our daily lives. We lead several educational activities in schools, colleges and universities introducing students to concepts like citizenship, human rights, constitutional rights and encouraging their involvement in volunteer civic and social work.

One of our most important events is the celebration of the anniversary of the  Constitution of Kuwait which was signed off by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem in November 11, 1962. This year we plan a grand carnival in front of the Kuwait Parliament (Sahat Al Irada). This event will be a collaborative effort by other NGOs and some civic groups. It is a family event filled with activities suitable to all ages and interests. There will be a special area for children and another for art and poetry  national music band lead by Belal Al-Shami and many other outdoor activities. Participants will be taken through the amazing journey of the Constitution in a fun and friendly environment.

We hope that you and your family will join us celebrating the Constitution anniversary this year on Wednesday, November 11 in front of the Parliament from 5:30 to 10 pm.

Special thanks go to the following for helping us spread the word:

Ansam

Blushberry

Buzberry

Frankom

iLSul6ana

P0ach

SOME contrast

I'd like to thank Hilaliya for letting me post in his website and promise and do solemnly swear not to use words like 'slut', 'prick', 'shit', 'fuck', 'bastard', 'tits', or 'whore', 'hooker', 'slut' (twice ..... apologies ......), 'bitch', 'hoo hoo', 'pee pee' or 'prick.'

It's very hard for us as Kuwaitis and as humans in fact to live without politics and politicians. For one thing we wouldn't have anything to complain about or anyone to blame and lets face it our parents would have very little to do at family gatherings if it weren't for these close-minded, hypocritical, lying, cheating, corrupt and lurid men (and recently women) who we have chosen to represent us and our stake in the country we live in.

Sadly, however as with most things involving money, power and the public eye, politics has become a foray for those of us who are smart - for the most part, some can't write their names yet but it's still early and I doubt that the people who voted for him know the significance of literacy in the modern world - have scrupulous and rather mercurial morals.

So how do we fix our politicians? (And no I do not mean neuter them - although the idea may appeal to some; it is simply not a solution in the civilized world).

How do we make them represent us the way they should and promised? Unlike the cure for cancer, the flying car or cloning, not even Hollywood could come up with an answer...politicians can't be fixed because they didn't get into politics to change things, they got into politics to become famous and gain respect.

And they can't be held accountable because no one can...lets face it, I've never been held accountable for a single unpaid bill or parking ticket and neither have you. We even have people who have been convicted of manslaughter in the US and are living happy k-town-esque lives and we enjoy our freedom to bypass rules, get things done quickly and forget about that speeding ticket.

So what solution could we possible come up with? (Before you ask, truth serum doesn't work)

The answer apparently lies in cleanliness and lemon scented Windex...According to Professor Liljenquist of some University I've never heard of morals are largely dictated by how fresh the place smells....ugh...She compared how likely people were to be charitable in a Windex scented room and in a standard one and found that people were about twice as likely to be charitable and morally bound if you provided them with a clean environment.

But the trouble with that - apart from the fact that it sounds like hogwash - is that knowing the people within our current "Majless," they'll probably end up killing each other for the government tender to provide lemon scented, morally assured freshness in their meeting hall.