Jumblatt 1984 Playboy Interview Resurfaces!

Unbeknownst to most, Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt did an interview for Playboy back in 1984! Check it out here; Jordanian designer parodies and celebrates local issues and events via graphic desgin; Does font define a movie? ; Lebanese women's rights activists are not backing down as the fight against marital rape rages on.

Among other topics, Walid Jumblatt discussed Beirut, reincarnation, the meaning of power and classic 1980's soap

Beirut NTC [2]

Wikileaks: The Playboy Joumblatt invterview (July 1984)

Everyone has a little something in their past that could be deemed a bit unsavory. Well, Lebanese politician and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt surprises with his forgotten interview for Playboy back in 1984. This blogger has posted the entire thing, so you can definitely know what was on Jumblatt's mind back then. Some of the topics include "Beirut and civil strife, 'Dallas' and reincarnation". How quaint. Yet, his comments are surprisingly "philosophical" and are broadly thoughtful at times, considering Playboy's salacious readership.

And Far Away [3]

Good Design is Joy: Designer Mothanna Hussein

By sheer serendipity, Roba from Jordan had come across these clever, creative and minimalist designs by local designer Mothanna Hussein on Facebook. The designs range from Arab Spring celebrations to parodies of the Jordanian mini gas crisis.

A Designer By Day [4]

Guess the movie from the font!

Movie marketing, poster design and the font of the credits play a large part in how people define a film, particularly a film that has reached an iconic status and has redefined popular culture as we know it. This Lebanese designer plays a nifty little game. She has taken the title fonts of some cinema's most well-known and beloved films and has used them on unrelated text. Now it is up to you pop culture fanatics to guess the movie.

Cafe Thawra [5]

Raising Fists and Voices: Lebanese Women's Struggle to End Violence

Al Bawaba has previously reported on the marital rape law issue in Lebanon and the subsequent protest that followed. Even though sectarian control has affected governmental decisions on issues of gender equality, women's rights activists are not backing out of the fights for equality. "The message is clear: streets might no be safe for women, society might think a woman has no place on the streets anyway and should stay at home, our bodies and choices might be controlled by external powers and values, yet we are on the streets, asking public powers to act to fill in their duties, the duties they have towards us as citizens, and we are breaking the logic of oppression by breaking your useless roadblocks.