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Geopolitics

ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing

ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing

As major media outlets tried piecing together scattered battlefield reports from Libya, and the possibility of a US-led intervention, others were buzzing with satirical and sartorial perspectives….

A R A B I C A ارابيكا

By Kristen Gillespie

LIBYA LITE

As major media outlets tried piecing together scattered battlefield reports from Libya, and the possibility of a US-led intervention, others were buzzing with satirical and sartorial perspectives….

*The inevitable YouTube clip "Hitler Gaddafi" has arrived, with the voice of a Gaddafi rant running over footage of an Adolf Hitler speech. "He is a crazy person," one person commented.

*Al Arabiya posted a feature called "The clothing of Gaddafi: Strange accessories and a variety of designs." The network featured a video montage of Gaddafi's dubious yet often unforgettable duds, including a clip of the Libyan leader from last week looking in the mirror and posing in the moments before a speech. He is seen buttoning and unbuttoning the top of his ensemble and modeling each look. "It would be difficult to separate the Libyan leader from his physical appearance," the article noted. "The changes in his clothes reflect the changes in his ideas."

ARAB UPRISING:JOBS

*The Gulf Cooperation Council is considering a "Marshall Plan" to improve living conditions and job prospects in Bahrain and Oman, Kuwaiti paper Al-Qabas reported, citing "high-level sources." Both countries face high rates of youth unemployment, which has helped spark uprisings against the regimes in other Arabic countries.

ARAB UPRISING: STOCKS

*Recent protests rocking the Gulf states have sent regional stock markets on a downward spiral. The BBC Arabic reported that Saudi Arabia's market touched its lowest point since November 2008 with the headline: "Saudi Arabia's stock market drops amidst fears that protests move to kingdom."

ARAB UPRISING:POWER

*A new Facebook group calls for the creation of a constitutional monarchy in Jordan, which could effectively strip King Abdullah of his ultimate authority over any and all matters of state. The group's mission statement echoes the demands of the street protesters and organized opposition. The formation of a constitutional monarchy will "enable the Jordanian people to recover the sovereignty over their homeland, and so the king shall be head of state…and should be spared day-to-day running of the country." The king's role would be relegated to serving as a "reference, a balance between different powers and a guarantor of security."

KICKER TWEET

*@Randa_Mohammad asks: The Sheikh of Al Azhar Islamic university was handing out fatwas on Libya as if they were handfuls of jasmine, yet where were you, Sheikh, when Egyptians were in Tahrir Square…?"

March 2, 2011

photo credit: illustir

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My Wife, My Boyfriend — And Grandkids: A Careful Coming Out For China's Gay Seniors

A series of interviews in Wuhan with aging gay men — all currently or formerly married to women — reveals a hidden story of how Chinese LGBTQ culture is gradually emerging from the shadows.

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A friendly game of Checkers in Dongcheng, Beijing, China.

Wang Er

WUHAN — " What do you think of that guy sitting there, across from us? He's good looking."

" Then you should go and talk to him."

“ Too bad that I am old..."

Grandpa Shen was born in 1933. He says that for the past 40 years, he's been "repackaged," a Chinese expression for having come out as gay. Before his wife died when he was 50, Grandpa Shen says he was was a "standard" straight Chinese man. After serving in the army, he began working in a factory, and dated many women and evenutually got married.

"Becoming gay is nothing special, I found it very natural." Grandpa Shen says he discovered his homosexuality at the Martyrs' Square in Wuhan, a well-known gay men's gathering place.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Wuhan used to have different such ways for LGBTQ+ to meet: newspaper columns, riversides, public toilets, bridges and baths to name but a few. With urbanization, many of these locations have disappeared. The transformation of Martyrs' Square into a park has gradually become a place frequented by middle-aged and older gay people in Wuhan, where they play cards and chat and make friends. There are also "comrades" (Chinese slang for gay) from outside the city who come to visit.

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