Month: March 2010

Panorama

March 2010 Panorama

Murtadha
  • “You know, I have this awful paranoid thought that feminism was mostly invented by men so that they could like, fool around a little more. You know, women, free your minds, free your bodies, sleep with me. We’re all happy and free as long as I can fuck as much as I want”. Said Celine to Jesse in the movie Before Sunrise (1995)
  • “Fanaticism is the source of impurity in this world and that I feel that I need to wash my hands whenever I shake hand with a fanatic person!” That is what I said in my Arabic blog, in explaining how much I hate fanaticism of all kinds.
  • “Life is not a solid reality, it is a state of mind, however simple you want your life to be…it will!” Said Mohammed Al Saif in commenting at my Facebook status: what if life turn out to be way simpler than we thought it is?
  • “Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your nervous system. At any moment the tension inside you was liable to translate itself into some visible symptom.”- reading 1984 novel by George Orwell, Chapter 6.
  • “One of my decisions that made me psychologically and spiritually happy is that I no longer gossip” Said Nawal Saad in her blog’s post Day 36
  • “If many people think that the “Abaya” hinders Muslim women’s development and dreams, they should have a broader vision and a closer look at Muslim women in general, and at Saudi women in specific. Safeya Binzagr, a Saudi female artist, is a live proof of the fallacy of such a belief.” Said Maha Noor Elahi in her blog’s post A Saudi Woman; A Saudi Pioneer
  • “I realize in my life, the importance of telling people how much they shape my way of thinking, it isn’t that because they care, it is more because I care, I mean I feel I appreciate myself more that way” That is what I said to one of my friend in a conversation in Skype.
  • “I think people can live without religion  but not without sex” Said one of my friend in a discussion about the influence of religion, and sex on human behavior.
  • “I learned that it is totally stupid to spend 25 seconds on thinking about what other people would think of us.” I said that day 74 of 365 days journey
  • “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.” One part that really got my attention when I was reading George Orwell’s novel, 1984, Chapter 7.
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poetry

Think of Others

Murtadha

“As you prepare your breakfast, think of others
Don’t forget to feed the pigeons.

As you conduct your wars, think of others
Don’t forget those who want peace.

As you pay your water bill, think of others
Think of those who have only the clouds to drink from.

As you go home, your own home, think of others
Don’t forget those who live in tents.

As you sleep and count the planets, think of others
There are people who have no place to sleep.

As you liberate yourself with metaphors, think of others
Those who have lost their right to speak.

As you think of distant others
Think of yourself and say
I wish I were a candle in the darkness”

by
Mahmoud Darwish

discussion

Interrupting Others

Murtadha

Interrupting others, regardless of who they are and how much we disagree with them, is a disrespectful and an uncivil act. It is just so embarrassing and so ignominious to see people with university degree provoking and doing such an act.

I really hate to be in the environment where I feel that my self or any other speaker will be continuously interrupted by someone else. I really don’t understand why interrupting others has become an accepted phenomena in our society.

Now, I understand that some speakers have nonsense or wrong thoughts but if we want to engage in a discussion with them, we have to listen to their speech until they finish.  Then, we can ask them tough questions that will really show the weakness of their arguments.

It is very simple. If you agree to engage in a discussion with someone, you have the obligation to listen to his argument until he finish. If you just interrupt him every minute he speaks, then what is the point of the whole discussion in the first place. Also, keep in mind, that you may look foolish to others because of the way you handle the discussion.

What got me to write this post is the way UC  students behaved during the Israeli ambassador Michael Oren‘s speech. Oren has been interrupted continuously by (Arab or Muslim) students. I just feel their interruption made Oren looks like a hero to other students. They could have done a better job if they had ask Oren tough questions about human rights issues in Palestine and the criminal killing in Gaza.  These questions will really challenge Oren and put him in a very embarrassing situation.

discussion

Saudi Youth and The Labor Market

Murtadha

Olivier Arvisais is a university researcher at the University of Quebec at Montreal. He is currently doing an academic research on socials issues and labor market in Saudi Arabia. He want to know whether or not Saudis hold some prejudice with respect to certain kinds of jobs and whether most young Saudis prefer to remain unemployed, rather than to accept a manual labour job in the private sector or in the oil industry.

I really encourage every Saudi to participate in his survey by going to his website Saudi Identity . It is very short, and mostly Yes/No questions.

I think his research topic is really great and definitely touch upon very important social and economic problem in Saudi Arabia. Many Saudi youth grew up with the idea that working in a restaurant or any other manual jobs is shameful while the country suffer a dramatic increase in unemployment.

Anyway, it would be very interested to see  what Olivier would come up with from his research.  Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comment section.