Bashar al-Assad’s wife in Vogue: Ill-timed, lashes out Lebanon opinion

Lebanon&Syria respond to the storm on light n frothy Vogue piece on Syria's first Lady.Would it have been the same if it were Queen Rania being celebrated, asks a Syrian blogger. &On Sexing-up Jordan.

Vogue on Syria's First Lady [1]

Syrian's First Lady is most magnetic of first ladies, says Vogue.

Now Lebanon [3]

Bashar al-Assad’s wife in Vogue

Says Now Lebanon: "No doubt, she is a beauty worthy of focus by a high-end fashion magazine. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s wife is highlighted in a Vogue magazine article titled: Asma al-Assad: A Rose in the Desert." "But it’s all glamour and chic, here; no mention of her husband’s oppressive regime."

Syria News Wire [4]

Vogue responds to Asma Al-Assad criticism

And Syria, not surprisingly, brings us the defence from the Syria-friendly Vogue 'piece-makers.' (no Mid-East pun intended- ed) adding a personal gripe: "They slam Vogue for running this story, but I suspect (and some have admitted) that they would stay silent if Vogue ran a fawning story on Queen Rania of Jordan. I don’t seem to remember many cries when Glamour magazine picked Rania as a Woman of the Year 2010." "It whipped up a storm on the net. Now Vogue is explaining why it chose to run an apolitical profile of Asma Al-Assad at a time like this": 'We thought we could open up that very closed world a very little bit.' And what of the weird timing: 'By the time the article was closed and shipped, in mid January, we had only just learned about events in Tunisia.' "

CALEDONIYYA [5]

The Saudi Revolution’s First Martyr

Iran had Neda Agha Soltan. Tunisia had Mohamed Bouazizi. As of this afternoon, Saudi Arabia has Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahadwas. Founder and convener of the Facebook group calling for the ‘Day of Rage’ on March 11, Faisal was kick-starting the Musk Revolution. And for that, he had to die:

Creative Jordan (Urdun Mubda) [6]

A Sexy Movement

"Let’s face it. It’s not that bad in Jordan, after all it’s not a police state. We have a royal family that, for the most part, is decent." But let's sex it up, says Jehad Momani, with the nation's popularity and best interests in mind. Public perception of Mid-East regions and comfort levels is increasingly being scrutinized and re-assessed. He wants Jordanians to keep on their toes, and to keep up in the game of preserving or even revamping the attractive image and appeal inside and out, and proving that Jordanian's have a good deal. "And so that we don’t fall back in the ranking any further, I propose that we keep the protests going, and increase the number of protesters to at least a million." And how does he want to inject funk and sexiness into these protests? "First, I propose to move the focal point of the protests away from the Husseini Mosque area to a venue that is more reflective of modern Jordan and Jordanians."

Digital Moey [7]

“The best burger in Amman” was the motto or the idea that two Ammani sisters wanted to achieve.

The movement of people power, manifested in burgers seemingly, still spreading in the Middle East. Gourmet Burgers are sweeping the region just as they descended upon Europe, they are arriving here. The American diner is back with a more chic spin. "Frankly speaking… I’ve been here since 2005 and it was always a challenge for me to find good a good burger, fast-food chains in Amman lack the quality of those in the gulf, they’re usually greasy and the burgers are either over-cooked or under-cooked."

anggiaputrinilasari's posterous [8]

10 Brilliant Quotes About Social Media

Social media: it’s everywhere. You’re either on the bandwagon or you’re living in the Stone Age. Love it or hate it, it’s revolutionized the way we market and the way we communicate. Here are some of the most brilliant and insightful quotations about social media from around the ‘net.' “Those who ignore the party/conversation/network when they are content and decide to drop in when they need the network may not succeed." As social media, or whatever you want to label it, becomes more prevalent, there will be blunders. We’re in experimental mode right now.”