http://alienmemoirs.typepad.com/my_weblog/
http://maa7ib-rasmiyaat.blogspot.com/ (This one is from Kuwait, not Saudi Arabia.)
http://classic-diva.blogspot.com/
[ 1 comment ] ( 8 views ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3.2 / 16 )Here is another article on the situation of women in Saudi Arabia:
http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/1730.cfm
I hope you find these interesting, but be forewarned they will probably make you very sad for the plight of women in Saudi Arabia.
And here is a blog by a Saudi man. There is a posting on the treatment of women second on this page: http://muttawa.blogspot.com/2004_04_01_ ... chive.html
Some of the other postings look interesting too but I haven't had a chance to read too much. There is another one about women's rights from May 30, 2006. Unfortunately he stopped blogging in June 2006.
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3.2 / 23 )Hey Everyone,
It appears that Senator Webb's amendment requiring the President to get the permission of Congress before attacking Iran was not included in the Iraq war funding bill passed by the Senate today. The amendment was introduced but I was not able to find a vote taken on it. But Webb also introduced a stand-alone bill for the same purpose, so I'm sure that will come up again later. In the meantime check out this adorable cartoon:
http://www.iranian.com/Satire/Cartoon/2 ... y/kit.html
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3.5 / 10 )The Senate is debating the Iraq war funding authorization right now. Thankfully, they have already included language setting a goal date of March 31st, 2008 for full troop withdrawal from Iraq. Now they are debating an amendment offered by Jim Webb to require the President to get Congressional authorization before going to war with Iran. This is very important since the President may otherwise claim that a war with Iran is part of the global war on terror, and proceed under the previous authorization for use of force.
War with Iran would be every bit as unjustified and destructive as the war with Iraq has proved to be. The United States has not exhausted diplomatic strategies for dealing with Iran. President Bush must get the message that we do not support another needless war of aggression.
Call your Senators right away and urge them to support the Webb amendment to bar President Bush from attacking Iran without explicit permission from Congress.
For those in California, here is the contact info:
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Phone: 202-224-3841
Senator Barbara Boxer
Phone: 202-224-3553
Otherwise, you can call the Capital Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators.
For an interesting and well-informed perspective on the possibility of war with Iran, see Scott Ritter's interview with Seymour Hersh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c5k3yLSQQk
Thanks to Koohyar for the link.
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 15 )As you probably know, polar bears are already suffering from loss of sea ice due to global warming, and it will no doubt get worse over time.
Right now polar bears are being considered for listing as a threatened species (one step away from an endangered species). This is a good step. However, the current proposal does not specifically address global warming, nor does it designate the bears' critical habitat. You can help by submitting an official citizen comment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at http://www.PolarBearSOS.org/takeaction . The deadline is April 9th, so take action now!
The National Resources Defense Council has made an ad highlighting the bears' plight. You can see the ad at http://www.PolarBearSOS.org/donate_rl . They are also accepting donations to keep running the ad.
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3.8 / 8 )On Saturday in San Diego, the streets of downtown were thronged with green-clad revelers, wearing tee-shirts with captions like, "Kiss me, I'm drunk." One young lady even sported shamrock sunglasses. But at the corner of 4th Avenue and Broadway, the holiday spirit was tempered by a sober purpose as hundreds of us gathered to protest the Iraq war, now four years too long. The creativity and passionate feelings of the crowd were displayed on a wide variety of hand-made signs. Soon we took to the street, chanting the familiar words of countless protests through the years: What do we want? Peace! When do we want it? Now!
We gathered feeling a familiar mixture of frustration at our government's past indifference and hope that we will finally be heard, sadness at the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost and joy at the peace signs and enthusiastic honking of passers-by.
The destination for our march was a green park where we listened to speakers including an active-duty service member, a veteran, and the bereaved father of a service member, as well as poets and local activists. We were exhorted again and again not to let our Senators and Representatives rest until they have ended this war. Speakers painted pictures of military recruiters who lie to high school students, veterans who are injured in combat only to find themselves unsupported by the government bureaucracy that is supposed to take care of them, and a House of Representatives that despite the fiasco perpetrated against Iraq, is still too timid to ask the President to explain himself before attacking Iran!
I was euphoric the night the Democrats swept Congress, but if we sit back and wait for them to fix things in Iraq, we will be waiting for a while. And every day that we wait has a cost measured in human lives.
Call your Congress members today and insist on decisive action to develop a new strategy in Iraq that rests on diplomacy rather than brute force, and troop withdrawal rather than troop surge. Then tell your friends to do the same. It's up to us to end this war.
Here's another account of the protest:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metr ... otest.html
Photos are now posted in my photo gallery . Thanks to Carl for the photos. I have some videos to add later.
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3.2 / 17 )I wanted to pass along the responses (or non-responses) I received from Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and Starbucks about their segregated restaurants in Saudi Arabia (from Women's Week Part 2).
Pizza Hut:
Thank you for taking the time to contact Pizza Hut. Your comments have
been received and we will forward them to the appropriate Pizza Hut
management team.
Again, thank you for contacting us. Pizza Hut values your patronage and
we look forward to serving you soon.
Mariam S.
Pizza Hut Web Coordinator
Case Number 477871
Read More...
[ 1 comment ] ( 2588 views ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3.4 / 13 )Here is another email I received in response to my email about Iranian laws. I will insert my responses in bold.
To any one who cares for the truth :
“ Saying half the truth is equal to a lie”, so I would like to clarify some of the issues presented in the email on woman rights in Iran . First of all, I would like to just point out that the previous email makes claims without proof or even providing any credibility. If you don’t bring a proof for your claims you should at least provide some level of credibility. Are you an expert or have you at least experienced some of these issues in Iran ?? …. These are all questions a truth seeker should ask.
I place great credibility in the women of Iran who have undertaken this signature campaign in order to change the laws that directly affect them. If anyone should know what these laws are, it is the Iranian women who are affected by them. They would not have undertaken this campaign if these laws did not exist or were not hurting them.
As for myself, I would not claim to be an expert but since meeting my Iranian husband I have tried very hard to learn about Iran, through Iranian books and movies, websites, studying Farsi, and getting to know many Iranian friends and family.
Second, the email assumes that these laws are wrong and have no basis and presents them as if this were obvious. I am not going to make such an assumption, I am not even going to argue for or against these laws, I just want to point out that this is all part of the truth seekers home work. One should go and study these laws and come to a conclusion, not just believe in a “hit and run” article….
Simply by reading these laws it will be quite obvious to most open-minded people that they are wrong. I don't think you have to look at case studies of how it affects people to believe that men and women should have equal rights under the law.
Read More...
[ 1 comment ] ( 16 views ) | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 19 )Here is one of the emails I received in response to Women's Week Part 5. My response is down below.
Hi Beth,
Most of this is sadly accurate. However these are the Islamic law. The civil law is somewhat improved. The effort to transform this situation is not limited to the liberal minded women, the writers and filmmakers that you hear about from outside. There are some Women's rights activists inside the system, members of the parliament, etc., that even though are by most standards backward, they wear Chadors and seem to have no problem admitting the discriminative constraints of the Islamic law, they still have been able to make some positive changes.
Read More...
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3.3 / 9 )Hello Everyone,
As Women's Week winds down I am passing along another important action item.
You may remember how the FDA dragged their feet before approving the Plan B emergency contraception pill to be approved for over-the counter sale. The pill, which can be used as a contraceptive up to 72 hours out, has been used safely as a prescription drug for several years already. It is not an abortion pill and will not harm an established pregnancy. It has now been approved for over-the-counter sale to adults, but must still be obtained from the pharmacy, and some pharmacists are refusing to sell it. Below is one woman's story of being refused Plan B, and how you can prevent this from happening to others.
Also for those of you who have responded to yesterday's email about Iranian laws, I will be posting my responses on my blog, and I encourage you to continue the dialogue there so that others can read and comment at their convenience.
Thanks for reading,
Beth
Read More...
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 2.8 / 6 )Back Next
Calendar
