Friday, January 6, 2012 – 1:11
For some reason, the government here finds itself compelled to get involved in organizing cultural events even when they suck at it. Why? Maybe because they don’t allow non-governmental organizations that usually play such roles in other countries. Or maybe because they want to keep the matters of arts and culture under control. Anyway, they [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Arts, Blogging, Human Rights, Libs and Cons, Media, News, Politics, Women's Rights
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Tagged abdo khal, abdul aziz khoja, al-watan, hair, intellectual forum, marriott lobby, saleh al-shehi, saudi intellectual forum
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Sunday, December 25, 2011 – 20:10
Two stories were the focus of much debate and discussion in Saudi Arabia recently: a) the trial of what the local media likes to call the “Jeddah cell,” a group of reform activists accused of terrorism and plotting to overthrow the monarchy; and b) the tragic events in Qatif that resulted in the death of [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Libs and Cons, Media, News, Politics
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Tagged adhwan alahmari, grand mufti, jeddah, mohammad said tayeb, qartif, salman aldosary, samar almogren, saud alrayes
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Sunday, November 13, 2011 – 23:58
The latest player on the Saudi media scene was born this week, and its creators decided to deliver it on a very special date: November 11, 2011, at exactly 11:11 KSA time. Al-Sharq will also be the 11th general interest national daily newspaper in the country. I say ‘will’ because although the website was launched [...]
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 – 12:13
Two Saudi men were detained Sunday in relation to a YouTube video they produced about poverty in Riyadh, colleagues said. Feras Bughnah and Hosam al-Deraiwish were called by the police for questioning Sunday afternoon, and they are still in authorities custody in the police station in Sahafa district in northern Riyadh. “We asked the guard [...]
Monday, September 26, 2011 – 21:56
Yes, you read that headline right. Saudi women will be allowed to vote and run in the next municipal elections. They will also be appointed to the Shoura Council in its next term. As I said on Twitter yesterday, this is big news for women in Saudi Arabia any way you look at it. You [...]
Thursday, September 1, 2011 – 22:13
The Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) is at it again. There is a new directive signed by Ahmad al-Hout, (get this) the acting assistant undersecretary for domestic media affairs, that bans journalists from pretty much doing anything without getting permission from the ministry first. Al-Hayat daily reports that, based on the new directive, Saudi [...]
Sunday, August 28, 2011 – 6:00
As many people pointed out before, most of the US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks are boring. In the this huge pile of documents, shocking discoveries are rare. Today, I will continue what I began yesterday by looking into the some of the interesting cables from the US mission to Saudi Arabia. Some of the [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Human Rights, Humor, Libs and Cons, Media, News, Women's Rights
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Tagged animals, book fair, dogs, julian assange, pets, us embassy, wikileaks
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Saturday, August 27, 2011 – 19:06
Thanks to hurricane Irene, I’m stuck at home for most of the weekend. So I thought I could use the time to go through the latest dump of US diplomatic cables about Saudi Arabia that was released yesterday. One cable from January 2006 focuses on the cultural and sports programming by the US mission to [...]
Thursday, August 4, 2011 – 14:48
Adhwan al-Ahmari seems to think that there is some kind of war raging between Saudi journalists and activists. He said the revolution in Egypt has produced a divide between the two groups. This war is taking place in Twitter and in newspaper columns. First, let’s get some facts straight. There is a lot of broad-brush [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Blogging, Human Rights, Libs and Cons, Media, News, Politics, Technology
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Tagged adhwan, facebook, hashtag, social media, twitter
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011 – 13:55
It is rather sad that at a time when peoples are toppling dictators and changing regimes, we are still stuck talking about women driving, underage marriage and the right of prisoners to get a speedy, fair trial. I’m not saying these issues are unimportant, but let’s face it: their importance pales quickly when compared to [...]
By Ahmed
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Also posted in Blogging, Human Rights, Libs and Cons, Media, News, Politics, Women's Rights
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Tagged #alrayes, hani aldhaheri, hashtag, new activism, saud alrayes, twitter
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