The Real Meaning Behind the Picture: Man’s Inhumanity to Woman
DANIEL M. VARISCO: It is a picture that has sent shockwaves around the world and provoked shame throughout Egyptian society.
Further Thoughts on Saudi Women/Autos/Virginity
MELODY MOEZZI, TABSIR: The storm that erupted following a Saudi cleric’s declaration regarding women, cars and virginity shows no sign of abating.
Hostage Taking in Yemen: Rules of Engagement
DANIEL M. VARISCO: For many years foreigners taken hostage in Yemen had little to fear. That was until Al Qaeda killings in the mid-2000s.
Karman’s Prize: A Better Image for Muslim Women
DANIEL M. VARISCO: The award of the Nobel to Tawwakul Karman represents many positive developments not least a shift in the view of Muslim women
Yemen: The Desperation of Ali Abdullah Salih
DANIEL M. VARISCO: It’s the ‘same old, same old’ with Yemen’s recently returned President, blather, bluster and baloney. In the words of the song ‘he just keeps hangin’ on’
‘Arab Spring’ Is All About Sex, Apparently
DANIEL M. VARISCO: Here we go again. ‘Orientalist Historian Takes Warped Freudian View of Entire Arab population.’ Hmm, what about all those women who were in Tahrir Square?
How NOT to Educate Children About 9/11
DANIEL M. VARISCO: “We Shall Never Forget” is a masterpiece in truth-twisting and bigotry. The bad news is that it’s a coloring book aimed at U.S. children.
‘Live Long and Prosper’: My Message to Region
LEONAR NIMOY, TABSIR: There is a viable plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s the ‘two-state’ solution and its application is, how should I put it, simply logical.
Threats to the ‘Arab Spring’ Growing by the Day
DANIEL M. VARISCO: Where there was once optimism of fundamental change taking hold as a spirit of freedom swept the region, there is now growing pessimism.
‘Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls, Ali Abdullah Salih’
TABSIR: It looks like Yemen’s President has finally reached the end of the road but he’s giving new definition to the phrase ‘clinging to power’.
The Luridly Literal Cartoonist Unfunny in Hate
DANIEL M. VARISCO: Jack Chick’s one-dimensional, nasty view of the world has been played out for more than 40 years…
Stakes Getting Higher by the Day in Bahrain
GENIEVE ABDO, JASIM HUSAIN, TABSIR: While the mainstream opposition in Bahrain distances itself from Iran, the noises from Tehran are becoming more strident and belligerent
Plus ca change: Boom time for arms dealers in the Middle East
TABSIR: As missiles and bullets rain down from the skies of Libya they are falling on materiel provided by the countries whose pilots are enforcing the ‘no fly zone’. As ever, it’s a win-win for the arms dealers.
A No Fly Zone, A “CeaseFire”, but Still No End Game
Daniel Varasico: Even after the “No fly zone” and the “ceasefire” there is still no more clarity on what the end game looks like in Libya.
The Parallel Ends of Mubarak and Don Giovanni
DANIEL VARISCO: In ways he is a stark iconic shadow of Mubarak. In the end Don Giovanni meets his stone-cold fate: A statue of Ozymandias drags him down into hell
Ramses II, Mubarak I: Spot the Difference
DANIEL M. VARISCO: His survival as Egypt’s modern day Pharaoh is looking less likely by the hour. How will his legacy stack up?
Ibn ‘Big Ben’ Casts its Shadow over Mecca
DANIEL MARTIN VARISCO: One understands the need to provide hotel rooms for the faithful, but Gucci bags?
New Lawrence of Arabia Bio – “Fabulously Weird”
TABSIR: Fanatically brave, chillingly ruthless, he was fastidious, repressed, allergic to physical contact, addicted to roasting baths. He was fabulously weird.
