Gender in the News #10 - One for the guys

Looks like men are beginning to feel the pain of fashion confusion as the boxers-briefs debate gets more complicated.

Umm Qais Pics

The partially excavated Roman ruins at Uum Qais in the northern tip of Jordan

Gender in the News #9

On the downside: Women bullying women at work ... and on the upside: A place for mommies at the Capitol

In as economic targets: Pharma targeting women ... and targets of violence: Why men abuse women

Ah, la difference: Men viewing women as objects and Women like funny men

The Extra Cost of Rape in Texas

CNN reports Texas AG defends practice of charging rape victims the $1200 to $1800 for a rape kit. Misogyny knows no bounds in the Lone Star State. Are burglary victims charged for fingerprinting kits? Are murder victims' estates charged for DNA and other forensics tests? Shame.

The Case for a Female Supreme Court Nominee

Here's a point for appointing a woman. But, GA Supreme Court Justice Leah Sears may not make the list due to her friend and neighbor. Plenty of others in consideration.

Luxor Pics

Luxor Temple (amazing in-town site)
Temple of Hatshepsut - the only female pharaoh! (I love the juxtaposition of the local and the tourist guy)
Colossi of Memnon - actually it's pharaoh Amenhotep III, but the Greeks named it after their Trojan hero (distance shot gives a bit of perspective on the size)

Gender in the News #8 - Women and the Law

Very impressive book review "Taking Inequality to Court" - can't wait to read the book!

Twitter sparks the next revolution?

UPDATED (from April 21st tweet): So, my instincts on "spontaneous revolutions" in E. Europe were not wrong... Moldova - the Twitter revolution that wasn't http://is.gd/tzTk

The NYT reports that 10,000 show up at protests in Moldova after the call to the streets went viral on Twitter and Facebook. Is it real or was it another seemingly spontaneous action that was really very well planned... remember the London subway spontaneous flash mob dance (aka a T-mobile commercial)? I'm guessing there's a back story in Chisinau too.

US military proselytising in Afghanistan

Swift response by US military to this story picked up by HuffPost- one that likely did not make news back home in Georgia. I suspect Obama heard an earful during this week's visit pf Pakistan's President Al Zardari and upcoming discussions with Afghanistan's Karzai on how to tackle Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Bad idea to feel the concept of jihad... especially one of Christianity vs. Islam!

Ending blogging hiatus - Middle East Media

Work travel and blogging don't mix well. Twitter's expectation of 140 characters seems much more manageable, so my social networking was mostly limited to tweeting while in the land of the Pharoahs (Egypt) and neighboring Jordan. Media there give many different perspectives: on TV, Al Jazeera English competes well the BBC and CNN International and for printed news, the Daily News Egypt and the Jordan Times provide local news in English. The big controversy in Egypt was the culling of all 300,000 pigs that are raised and eaten by its minority Christian population. Financial devastation takes a deadly turn as well. US politics regularly makes it in the news such as this analysis of US-Arab relations inAl-Ahram. On a lighter cultural note, hip-hop hits the streets of Helwan. Jordanians get ready for the Pope's visit and contemplate the significance of social networking.

(View from Umm Qais in northern tip of Jordan)