Over My Shoulder, Reading Today’s Qatari Newspapers
by Lorelei Loveridge on September 6, 2011
Here’s a bird’s eye view of what I spent my evening doing…yep…reading the Qatari newspapers at the main Starbucks on Salwa Road in Doha, instead of penning a paper (I’m doing a master level global business course) on the foreign direct investment of Starbucks, in fact, into China. And, yes, I like the coffee.
Enjoy the pics and brief commentary.
1. Not 100% true, but in spirit, I agree (better …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
A New Concept For The Middle East/World: Pay Attention To Non-Violence
by Lorelei Loveridge on September 6, 2011
Returning to Doha, Qatar after a summer away in the UK and Canada, it couldn’t feel more peaceful than it does here on a lazy post-Ramadan/Eid afternoon. I’ve had lunch at the splendid Caspar and Gambini’s restaurant, in the local mall – a Santa Fe Chicken Salad and Chai Tea Latte with cinnamon. Mmmmm. A few ‘sisters’ (term of endearment for Muslim/Qatari women) browsed in the shops. A few small …
Read the rest
3 comments
In Doha, Qatar, The Middle Lane Is The Slow Lane
by Lorelei Loveridge on June 29, 2011
If you’d like to know how to drive in the Middle East, take a car from the outskirts of Rome (say, uh, from the airport) and point it straight into the centre. Be sure to follow the dots in the circles and go where the majority go. That’s it. Like a jockey on a camel, just ride. Ride and don’t look back. That’s how everyone does it.
You’ll find out …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
Campaign for Saudi Women’s Right to Drive Motors Right Along
by Lorelei Loveridge on June 24, 2011
Saudi women are at it again, and here was one reaction to their activism:
View the full slideshow here.
Approximately 50 Saudi women participated in the June 17th defiance against the ban in the Kingdom. They drove, videotaped the experiences, were issued tickets, made it home safely after some were also escorted to police stations where their husbands were reprimanded for allowing women to drive. All in all, it …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
Longest Syrian flag In The World? So What. Ghadafi Plays Chess.
by Lorelei Loveridge on June 15, 2011
“In war, truth is the first casualty.” So said the Greek tragic dramatist Aeschylus who also stated, “Death is better, a milder fate than tyranny,” something that Syrian protestors must live by.
Read this BBC article on the current status of Syria, or the Syrian refugees, 10,000 of them, who fled the country to cross into Turkey for refuge against what some call a crackdown by government forces (on whom is …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
The World’s Grassroots Support Of Saudi Women Protesting For The Right To Drive In The Kingdom
by Lorelei Loveridge on June 11, 2011
Here are two actions in support of Saudi women drivers in 2011, in the process of defying the ban that remains on women driving in Saudi Arabia (original Paltry Sapien article on the subject here):
Grassroots Action 1:
One Danish cartoonist’s efforts before Saudi woman protester Manal Al Sharief was released from prison on May 30, 2011 for driving in Saudi Arabia and, more seriously, inciting rebellion against …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
Under The Radar – Saudi Women Press (Again) For The Right To Drive
by Lorelei Loveridge on June 11, 2011
Those interested in the rights of Saudi women specifically, at this time of the great ‘Arab spring’ or uprisings against oppressive government regimes, will be interested to follow the current actions planned and underway in support of a June 17, 2011 protest in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world to ban women from driving. Computer scientist and single mother of a son, Manal Al …
Read the rest
4 comments
Katara brings together, once again, Arabs and Flamenco
by Lorelei Loveridge on May 28, 2011
It is hard not to sing the praises of the general manager of Qatar’s cultural village ‘Katara‘ for bringing together Arabs, Flamenco and all who love both under one ‘roof’. Spanish Ambassador Juan Jose Santos-Aguado, working together with Katara, stated it was his personal mission to “develop an interest in Flamenco in Qatar”, and it’s been interesting, alright.
I caught the tail end of the educational portion of the …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
Two Ways To Get To Syria In Time For A Revolution
by Lorelei Loveridge on May 20, 2011
I have been to Damascus, Syria, said to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It is 1.5 hours from Beirut, Lebanon by share taxi, ten US dollars each way. The share taxis are big old Chevrolets or these yellow beauts:
The journey is peaceful. Up into the hills where the Christian Armenians live, down into the Beka’a Valley where the bedouin farm, across the land border, past …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
The Latest Up-To-Datest Arab View On Obama’s Second Policy Speech On The Region
by Lorelei Loveridge on May 19, 2011
Want to know what people in the Arab world have to say about Obama’s latest policy speech on the region? You’ll have to wait for the Arab print media to catch up tomorrow…or…no…lookie…it’s 1:20 a.m. here in Doha…Arab News (English version) out of Saudi Arabia (a paper I have long read and do respect) has an editorial about Obama’s second speech in two years about the Middle East that about sums it …
Read the rest
3 comments
What’s A Canadian Songwriter Doing In Doha, Qatar?
by Lorelei Loveridge on May 17, 2011
What’s a Canadian songwriter doing in Doha, Qatar?
Languishing about on the Hotel Intercontinental‘s outside pool patio, wandering from the leather sofa bed underneath the gazebo to the barstools in the pool for a drink that costs about $10-15 per cocktail after the Big Day Out festival sponsored by Vodaphone.
Listening to (usually) the Brits splash much too loudly and happily as they guzzle and as girls flirt with …
Read the rest
Leave a comment
