The return of polygamy to the Arab ex-dictatorships?

In another blow to women's rights in the old Arab dictatorships, there seems to be a push to return to Shariah law and the polygamy contained within. Just recently, the head of Libya's interim government called for an end to the Qaddafi-era law that placed restrictions on multiple marriages. If Mustafa Abdel-Jalil gets his way, first wives will no longer have to give permission to their husbands before they seek a second wife.
Read details of this newest step backward for women's rights in this article.

Meanwhile, in Tunisia, the formerly banned Muslim party, Ennahda won 40 percent of the vote, giving it the largest share in the recent election. The secular minority are predicting that an Islamist-dominated national assembly will reverse legislation prohibiting polygamy. Read about Tunisia's move to a theocracy in this article.

After reading 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' and 'The Kite Runner', I gained a new respect for the way women's rights are often destroyed after the demise of a secular dictator in this region. Women who were well-educated and held respectable jobs were marginalized with the rise of Shariah law.

I can see why they fought for the end to the dictatorships that crippled their countries and left their children in poverty or jail but are they going to see any improvement under the theocratic governments that are springing up in their place?

Four Wins for this project

Imagine starting a company where you were paid to have your raw materials dropped off at your dock, where your workers were supplied free as part of a training program for the unemployed, where your rent was subsidized as part of a community redevelopment program yet you could sell your final product at high prices because of its ‘green’ value. Now that’s worthy of the term WIN WIN WIN WIN.

Check out the business model of Big City Forest, based in the Bronx, New York. I read about these people over ten years ago in an article in the Times and hope they are still going strong.

New York City sees thousands of full pallets entering every day and being discarded. Landfills won’t take them so trucking companies will charge for their removal. But these are usually turned into wood chips, a pity for the strong wood they are made from. Big City Forest charges people 75 cents for each pallet dropped off at their loading dock.

 

Unemployed people need experience and new skills. The governments, rather than simply pay for unemployment benefits, would prefer to see them learn these skills. So the workers are given to Big City Forest where they trade free labor for furniture-making experience and skills.

The South Bronx has a lot of abandoned buildings subject to drug use and other crimes. It is in the community’s best interest to have viable businesses operating in these buildings so the borough substantially subsidizes the rent on these buildings to Big City Forest.

Pallets turned into wood-chips, burned or thrown into landfills mean other trees need to be cut down to make furniture. And pallets are usually made of excellent wood like rosewood, cherry, oak, mahogany, maple. So here is the ‘Green’ hook for this company.

As chips, the wood is worth about $30 a ton. As flooring, the value rises to $1,200 a ton, and as furniture, the wood in pallets is worth $6,000 a ton.

This wood makes excellent furniture. Butcher-block tables and benches with the company's logo are sold to institutional clients like foster-care centers and Cornell University -- ''they're frat proof,'' Ms. Dimino said -- but are also showing up in chic shops like Terra Verde in SoHo.

Customers happily pay $750 for a five-foot table, said the shop's owner, Katherine Tiddens.

''They're like a rock,'' Ms. Tiddens said, ''like a lesson in wood.''

Twenty-first excerpt from 'Twelve Towers'

A page held his banner aloft as he began to speak.

Four weeks after the last of the snows had melted and the roads had been passable for two weeks, Gwilym spied a royal party crossing the river on the ferry. Bleddyn was reading nearby and Gwilym asked him, “What crest is on that banner, son?”

“Two golden keys on a blue field, Da!” shouted Bleddyn from below.

‘Kay,’ muttered Gwilym to himself. He was nervous about the deals he had made with the Saxons to get the tower built. He knew that he had overstepped his authority, and he hoped that Kay would acknowledge his brilliant plan, but he still had misgivings. He also knew that the tower was way behind schedule, partially due to his silo complications. Climbing down the tower to greet his sponsor, he wiped his hands and rehearsed his speech. He was still nervous when Sir Kay addressed him.

“When you didn’t come to Caerleon before the winter, Gwilym, I guessed you were just staying to finish up the last few parts of the tower. I was surprised when I took the ferry to see the tower still not even fully clad in stone. What’s the delay?”

Gwilym explained that he had been given only so much money to complete the tower and that a lot more should have been at the site to pay the workers. He had been forced to make a deal with the workers to get them to work for free. Unfortunately that cost some time as well.

Kay asked to see all the documents, and he spent the next two hours laboriously going over the materials accounts, the two contracts, and the charter and touring the job site. All the while, his face was impassive, and Gwilym was torn with suspense as to what Kay would say.

Finally Kay stood in front of Gwilym and surveyed him from head to toe. “You showed brilliance in the last tower you built for the kingdom, that’s why I gave you this job. And you repay me by turning into a little Duke. Making all the decisions in your dukedom with no regard to the king who sent you forth. Who do you think you are, Gwilym?”

Gwilym sputtered and tried to explain. “But all the money was stolen by Tarrant. How else could I have built the tower?”

“Look at the charter,” demanded Kay. “It tells you exactly what to build, when to finish it and for how much money. When you saw that the money was gone, you should have returned to Caerleon and asked for more money. You don’t have the authority to change the schedule of the project or the...the thing you are doing the…scope.”

“If I had returned to Caerleon the project would have been even more behind schedule.”

“That’s not true,” replied Kay. “You could have kept someone supervising the men with promises to pay and returned for the money. You made a decision that schedule and scope didn’t matter and that budget was all-important. That’s not your decision to make. I make that decision and I can tell you that schedule was most important, scope after that and cost least! Understand

Steve Jobs' four rules of success

Steve Jobs had a lot of success connecting with his customers. In an article in the Times Steve Lohr discusses four of his rules that led to his big successes: the i-Pod, i-Tunes, the i-Phone and the i-Pad. Let's look at these four rules:

DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO DELIGHT CUSTOMERS Six weeks before the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, Mr. Jobs ordered a crucial design change. Until then, the planning for supplies, manufacturing and engineering had been based on the assumption that the smartphone’s face would be plastic. Plastic is less fragile than glass, and easier to make.

But the plastic touch screen had a drawback. It was prone to developing scratches. Those scratches, Mr. Jobs insisted, would irritate users and be seen as a design flaw. “All the logical facts told us to go with plastic, and Steve’s instinct went the other way,” Mr. Fadell says. “It was Steve’s call — his gut.”

The glass choice was a challenge that seemed “nearly impossible” at the time, he says — a last-minute scramble to get supplies of specialized glass and tweak the design of the phone’s casing to reduce the chances the glass would crack when an iPhone was dropped. But with extra investment and a frenetic work regimen, the switch proved doable, despite the tight deadline.

GOOD IDEAS TAKE TIME After he was ousted from Apple, Mr. Jobs founded NeXT in 1985. NeXT computers, in Mr. Jobs’s vision, would marry technology and the liberal arts by including digital books, music and art. Mr. Jobs began pursuing the rights to works that could be converted to digital form. He persuaded a few publishers that because they would save the expense of paper, printing and distribution, NeXT should pay a royalty that was a fraction of the cost of a printed book. Mr. Jobs, Mr. Hawley recalled, struck a deal with the Oxford University Press for the complete works of Shakespeare for a royalty of $1 a digital copy.
NeXT’s foray into education fizzled; its machines were too expensive for that market. But Mr. Jobs’s concept and business model for digital media were “the instinct that was translated to Apple with the iTunes store, 99-cents-a-song pricing and all the media offerings that have followed,” Mr. Hawley says.

DON’T DWELL ON MISTAKES Mr. Jobs was also decisive in recognizing mistakes, even when they were his own. For example, he favored one model of a disk drive — for reading computer programs stored on small, removable so-called floppy disks — while other members of the team championed another design. They kept their disk project going surreptitiously. When they showed him the result, he embraced it. “He turned on a dime,” Mr. Capps says. “Don’t dwell on your mistakes. It’s a great lesson.”

PASSION COUNTS FOR A LOT The relentless intensity and total commitment that Mr. Jobs brought to his work, former colleagues and friends agree, had a simple explanation: he genuinely enjoyed what he did and found it worthwhile.

Andy Hertzfeld, a member of original Macintosh team who is now an engineer at Google, says: “The most important thing that I learned from Steve is to always follow your heart. He believed that the only way to do truly great work is to adore what you are doing.”

Mr. Jobs made a lot of money over the years, for himself and for Apple shareholders. But money never seemed to be his principal motivation. One day in the late 1990s, Mr. Jobs and I were walking near his home in Palo Alto. Internet stocks were getting bubbly at the time, and Mr. Jobs spoke of the proliferation of start-ups, with so many young entrepreneurs focused on an “exit strategy,” selling their companies for a quick and hefty profit. “It’s such a small ambition and sad really,” Mr. Jobs said. “They should want to build something, something that lasts.”

I don't intend to lionize the man in this post. He had plenty of faults, espcially with the way he handled his people, But there is a lot to learn from him and following the above four rules will help any Project Manager or Leader.

Christians being killed by Egyptian military



Egyptian security forces, in the background, clashed with Christians and other demonstrators in Cairo on Sunday night.

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK  Published: October 9, 2011

Now that the military is firmly in control in Egypt, the Coptic Christians are more vulnerable than ever. When one of their churches was attacked and the Christians went out into the streets to protest, the military crushed them, killing dozens and wounding hundreds.

State television urged "Honest Egyptians to turn out to protect the soldiers from Christian protesters."
Other Muslims ran out into the streets to protect the Christian protesters

According to a recent NY Times article: Thousands filled the streets of downtown, many armed with rocks, clubs or machetes. Witnesses said several protesters were crushed under military vehicles.
The protest took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population. Christians had joined the pro-democracy protests in large numbers, hoping for the protections of a pluralistic, democratic state, but a surge in power of Islamists has raised fears of how much tolerance majority rule will allow.

The military and riot police, on the other hand, appeared at some points to be working in tandem with Muslims who were lashing out at the Coptic Christians. As security forces cleared the streets around 10 p.m., police officers in riot gear marched back and forth through the streets of downtown alongside a swarm of hundreds of men armed with clubs and stones chanting, “The people want to bring down the Christians,” and, later, “Islamic, Islamic.”

“Until when are we going to live in this terror?” asked a Christian demonstrator who gave his name only as John. “This is not the issue of Muslim and Christian, this is the issue of the freedom that we demanded and can’t find.”

This is exactly what I was concerned about when the democracy movement started in Egypt. The Copts came out in force to protest the burning of their churches and helped spur the anti-Mubarak protests that became the 'Arab Spring.' Now they stand in a precarious position without the dictatorship protecting their rights. Will they be better or worse off in the new Egypt? And what will follow in Syria when Assad falls?

Metropolitan Etiquette Authority

Jason Shelowitz unveiled all the signs in his latest etiquette project and started placing them around Manhattan


Here's a one-man project we can all get behind. Mr. Shelowitz, a graphic designer and artist, has posted street signs across the city claiming authority of the “Metropolitan Etiquette Authority,” a one-man collective whose logo is printed on the bottom of each sign. The signs look like those that might come from a real organization like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

This follows on the heels of his earlier project putting up Subway Posters like those shown below:

Here's a video of him putting up his street signs:

Read more in this Times article.

Nobel committee highlights women's rights in Middle East

Yemen's Tawakul Karman, the chairwoman of 'Women Journalists Without Chains', shouts slogans during an anti-government protest in Sa'ana. Feb 10, 2011. Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

In addition to the winners from Liberia, the Nobel Prize committee chose to highlight women's rights in the governments emerging from the Arab Spring by granting an award to Tawakul Karman. They are saying quite clearly to the world that women's rights in these emerging governments are much on the minds of the West. This move will make great strides in ensuring that these emerging governments, in whatever form they take, must be careful in imposing Shariah law or other oppressive regimes on their women.

Look how the granting of a prize to Aung San Suu Kyi has granted her protection and shone a light on the oppressive regime in Burma. I expect a similar light to shine on the women who helped make the Arab Spring revolutions a reality and who don't wish to be shunted off to the sidelines as they were in Iran.

I loved the Tweet from Wael Ghonim about her award:

Hearty Congrats to Tawakul Karman as she made us all proud :) Our ultimate prize is a democratic Arab World that respects human rights.Fri Oct 07 09:31:39 via webWael Ghonim
Ghonim

Below is Tawakul Karman talking to the press after receiving her award.

For more details, click on the link to read the N.Y. Times article.

Twentieth Excerpt of "Twelve Towers"

Gwilym used his ruler to draw a wall from corner to corner that divided the tower neatly into barracks and silo.

“Now let’s write down exactly what this tower looks like,” said Gwilym.

The men all gathered around the second parchment. The overall placement and dimensions of the tower were set by Kay and caused no dispute. The placement and dimensions of the silo were hotly argued over. Half of the tower meant different things to the masons than to Gwilym. The masons expected that the interior dimensions of the silo should equal exactly half the exterior dimensions of the tower and they couldn’t be made to understand that the walls took up space.

Finally Fred spoke up. “This drawin’ down here shows a cross-section of t’tower, right Gwilym?”

Gwilym agreed.

“Then how about if I draw t’wall separatin’ t’tower from t’silo and t’masons pick which side they want?”

The masons were immediately suspicious and refused this trickery.

“Alright then, tha draw the wall and Gwilym will pick which side goes to t’tower.”

This brought a hurried consultation amongst the workers, farmer and shipper. They squatted on the ground next to the table and scratched out various options in the dirt until they realized what Fred was really proposing: the only fair way to divide the tower.

Finally Athelstan spoke to Gwilym. “You are de best writer here. You draw de separating vall and ve vill pick our side.”

Gwilym used his ruler to draw a wall from corner to corner that divided the tower neatly into barracks and silo. Athelstan picked one side and Gwilym drew the location of the stairs on the barracks side. Then he drew interior walls on the rest of the silo’s triangular section, indicating a smooth surface covering the wooden supports. There was still some grumbling as the men saw that their interior dimensions were smaller but Athelstan explained the fairness to them and they shut up.

Gwilym then worked with the farmer to decide where the road should go and where they should have an opening in the side to pour in the grain. Then he worked with the shipper on the placement of the openings leading to the channel. After computing in his head for a while, Gwilym wrote out a series of numbers, showing how much extra stone and clay they would need to line the silo and the channel to the water. “This you will need to supply,” he told Athelstan.

“Dis tower vill take all vinter to build,” replied Athelstan. “How do ve protect our grain until den?”

“Gather some building materials and build a temporary shelter here. Then, as we build the silo you can add grain as we go. You can use a temporary roof to protect it.”

When they had all reached agreement on every detail of the tower, Gwilym signed the bottom of both parchments and asked all men present to do the same.

He titled the first: Requirements of the Airmyn Watchtower.

He titled the second: Scope of the Airmyn Watchtower

Fred stared off into the distance, moving his lips, and Gwilym knew that he was composing another verse or two in his Project Management Guide song. Bleddyn brought more ale and then everyone broke off for lunch. 

Although Gwilym had solved the

What kind of Middle East will emerge out of the Arab Spring?

Ali Sallabi, left, a Libyan, and Abdel Moneim Abou el-Fotouh, an Egyptian, say

their states should blend Islam and modernity. 

Now that the dictators have been chased from office and the people hold the power, the fight over the futures of the newly 'free' Arab states of Tunisia, Libya Egypt and Algeria is being fought in earnest. Many different goups are vying for a say in the emerging governments and many outside forces and trying to have their say.

While Western governments are fearing another Islamic republic in the mold of Iran, Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing for a parliamentary system with room for Islamic parties like their own version of the Muslim Brotherhood: the Justice and Development Party.

Read this article for details on the debates. Below are some relevant extracts:

Mr. Ghannouchi, the Tunisian Islamist, has suggested a common ambition, proposing what some say Mr. Erdogan’s party has managed to achieve: a prosperous, democratic Muslim state, led by a party that is deeply religious but operates within a system that is supposed to protect liberties.

Abdel Moneim Abou el-Fotouh, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader who is running for president in Egypt, has joined several new breakaway political parties in arguing that the state should avoid interpreting or enforcing Islamic law, regulating religious taxes or barring a person from running for president based on gender or religion.

And the most powerful current in Egypt, still represented by the Muslim Brotherhood, has stubbornly resisted some of the changes in discourse.

When Mr. Erdogan expressed hope for “a secular state in Egypt,” meaning, he explained, a state equidistant from all faiths, Brotherhood leaders immediately lashed out, saying that Mr. Erdogan’s Turkey offered no model for either Egypt or its Islamists.

A Brotherhood spokesman, Mahmoud Ghozlan, accused Turkey of violating Islamic law by failing to criminalize adultery. “In the secularist system, this is accepted, and the laws protect the adulterer,” he said, “But in the Shariah law this is a crime.”

An interesting take on the Arab neighbors is the theory that the Saudi state is not operating within Islamic law at all. In an interview, one of the former Muslim Brotherhood, Islam Lotfy, argued that the strictly religious kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the Koran is ostensibly the constitution, was less Islamist than Turkey. “It is not Islamist; it is dictatorship,” said Mr. Lotfy, who was recently expelled from the Brotherhood for starting the new party. A lofty theory indeed. :)

Click on the last link for a series of readers' comments on this article.

Strauss-Kahn now wants immunity for rape.

After getting off from criminal rape charges because his victim had a dubious past, Strauss-
Kahn now has the gall to ask for diplomatic immunity against the sexual-assault lawsuit his victim is pursuing against him.

Even though he doesn't have diplomatic status now, he was head of the IMF during the crime so he feels he should be immune from prosecution for any crimes he committed at the time. This claim does wonders for explaining where his head was at while he raped the housekeeper. He truly felt that he was above the law.

In this article, notice the last chapter where the housekeeper's lawyers enumerate the reasons he should be denied immunity:
(1) he is not a diplomat;
(2) according to his own story, he was in New York on ‘personal’ business;
(3) he, not the I.M.F., paid for his room at the Sofitel; and
(4) he was obviously acting in his personal capacity when he violently attacked Ms. Diallo

Meanwhile one of his many other victims has come forth and is pursuing rape charges against him in Paris.

This time the victim, Tristane Barone, has an unblemished past and makes a more believable witness. Let's see how the weasel tries to get out of this one.