Lebanon gets Sectarian and Anti-Syrian Over Christian Rape-Murder

A sordid tale of a woman leaving her prayers to walk home and facing a violent finish from a sick man opens up a can of sectarian worms, anti-Syria sentiment and debate on workers and immigration; To vote or not to vote on the Egyptian morrow; And 'Time' editorial lines of the world contrast to that of the USA.

Lebanon's Myriam Achkar loses her life at the hands of a rapist-murderer who happens to be Syrian.

Feminist Attempts [2]

Rest in Peace, Myriam Achkar

The real problem in this story is not Syrian-Lebanese sectarian strife but Lebanon's laxity toward rape: Our law, Article 503 says a rapist can be acquitted if he marries the victim. He would often get a reduced sentence if he proposes marriage. The maximum sentence is 5 years. As well as, the police who never take rape complaints seriously. "The attempted rape and murder of cin Sahel Alma has angered and outraged all of us. Myriam’s story is tragic and brings us face to face with the cruelest, most heinous of crimes. We are frustrated and enraged because it is unjust that she dies like this. A young woman, 28, takes a 20-minute walk from her home in the suburbs and gets sexually attacked and then murdered by a man."

A Separate State of Mind [3]

Myriam Achkar’s Murder: What It is, What It Isn’t And The Need for Foreign Workers Regulation in Lebanon

"Myriam Achkar’s murder earlier this week was truly a horrific crime, the tragedy of which can only be grasped by her family and those who knew her. Earlier in the week, she was a regular 27 year old woman, going about her life normally. She prayed, she partied, she lived her life abundantly."

Not Green Data [4]

When The Heart And Mind Collide

"Should I vote or boycott the upcoming elections in Egypt? This might seem to be an illogical question to most of you, it was illogical to me myself a while ago, till I witnessed that debate on twitter and then participated in the same debate with about 70 other people in Goethe Institute days ago [Ar]. In brief, those who are calling for boycotting the elections see it as a cosmetic surgery for the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, they believe that there might also be corruption and the parliament is not going to represent the revolutionaries."

Dunner 99 [5]

Cowardly Editors

"What is Time magazine's American editors afraid of? Cowards!"