Netizens in Qatar have responded indignantly to an article published on the Sydney Morning Herald website, which claimed that Qatari women were not allowed to go shopping, and did not have easy access to technology.
The article, published on May 23 and called “Tech tea parties help women stay in touch with the world”, addressed the difficulties women in certain countries face in accessing technology.
Qatar was the first country to be mentioned; journalist Matthew Hall wrote:
The seemingly simple act of buying a phone can come with stigma in some countries if you're a woman. In Qatar, women can usually communicate only with men who are family members. Going to a shop is mostly off limits. This has prevented women from joining the technology revolution their counterparts enjoy so freely in other places. The solution? Tech Tupperware-type parties, in one case by Vodafone, hosted by female sales agents in women's homes across Qatar's capital Doha.
“Cultural issues come to play in a number of ways,” said Ann Mei Chang, a senior adviser for women and technology at the US State Department, and an advocate for women's right to benefit from technology. “Husbands or brothers or fathers are concerned that if the women and girls in their lives have access to mobile phones or the internet they will become promiscuous. So they don't want them to have access, even though there are a lot of benefits.”
Villaggio Mall, Doha, Qatar. Image by Flickr user Frédéric Gloor (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
At the Doha News blog, Shabina Khatri responded to the Sydney Morning Herald article. She said:
In the latest example of how journalists egregiously, woefully, incorrectly report on Qatar, Hall includes the country as an example of places where women miss out on technological developments because men hold them back. Qatar is mentioned only in the first few paragraphs of the article, mostly because female sales agents working for Vodafone do house calls here. But the assumption behind why these agents hold tech tea parties in Qatar is just plain wrong. […] More than likely, Vodafone visits Qatari women’s homes because it’s well worth their while, not because these women can’t go out and buy themselves a nice phone (or two, or three). The rest of the article goes on to state very real examples of countries in which women are being left behind in terms of their access to technology, a legitimate problem. But as anyone who has spent even five minutes in a mall here can attest, Qatar - which recently launched a national women’s basketball league - is not one of those places.
Reactions on Twitter varied from disbelieving and sarcastic to offended.
Jennan asked:
@Dalla3ah: What era do they think we're living in?!!!
VelvetinQatar tweeted:
@VelvetinQatar: Seriously? I read it and was like “Qatar Qatar? As in, the Qatar where I live? I must be missing something!”
Sybil Knox said:
@SybnDoha: Poor poor Qatari women…are those just TOY Blackberries they hold to their ears?! I'm so confused.
She added:
@SybnDoha: They [the Sydney Morning Herald] are in need of some serious “calling out”. #ignorance
Sarah commented:
@quizzy_mj: Ridiculous. They should know every single Qatari owns at least one Blackberry or iPhone and goes shopping pretty often.
Meanwhile, Vallath imagined the subject of the next article about Qatar's women:
@Vallath: At least they're getting creative. Next up: Women-only internet to be launched in Qatar.
Clip joint: Shopping malls - The Guardian
This week's Clip joint is by Martyn Conterio. Think you can do better? If you've got an idea for a future Clip joint, send a message to adam.boult@guardian.co.uk
The shopping mall on screen: where bland commercialism meets high drama. Over the past 40 years, cinema has used this environment for all sorts of strange and unusual scenarios, ranging from Woody Allen comedies to zombie sagas. A major lure for film-makers and producers is the salient matter of dispensing with constructing an expensive set – there's already one there.
That Anywheresville quality to shopping-mall interiors lends various films a universal feel. Don't all malls look basically the same on the inside, dominated by bright lighting, displays, food courts, neat rows of shops, fountains and sculptures? Almost naturally, American movie-makers have utilised the mall for many, often violent, cinematic ventures.
1. Dawn of the Dead
When there's no more room in hell, the dead will go shopping. (That's not the exact quote, but you get the idea.) George A Romero's use of the mall provided keen symbolism and pointed comments on rampant consumerism in western societies. The zombies, with their reanimated brains carrying vague traces of memory recall, continue a sorry semblance of their previous lives when not attracted to chomping on any survivors that cross their path. "They're after the place. They don't know why, they just remember," says Peter. "Remember that they want to be in here," he adds, noting the tragedy of the living and the walking dead alike.
2. Jackie Brown
This scene in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown works as a joke with a macabre punch-line. The stereotypical male who loathes shopping, forgets where he's parked the car and puts up with a teasing partner is something many can relate to. At the very start, the couple appear like any other bickering pair, but dumb lug Louis (Robert De Niro) finally snaps and shoots Melanie (Bridget Fonda) in cold blood, in the parking lot, demonstrating how psychologically threatening the mall can be. Tarantino shot this at Del Amo Fashion Center in California, once the biggest mall in the world.
3. Mallrats
Kevin Smith's second feature cemented Jay and Silent Bob as movie icons. The mall here represents a cultural institution where "everybody knows your name", as it were. It's the perfect setting for a farcical teen movie (even if the characters are in their twenties). Jay and Silent Bob, those adorable skeevy stoners, are reintroduced after their appearance in Clerks outside a pet store: Jay dances and checks out the ladies none-too-subtly, while Silent Bob attempts the famous Jedi mind trick. Brodie and TS, the film's heroes, want the pair's help in sabotaging a dating game show. "We were gonna do that anyway," Jay says. Hanging out with total losers never seemed like so much fun.
4. Chopping Mall
The Roger Corman-produced Chopping Mall ("Where shopping can cost you an arm and a leg") is an ultra-schlocky take on what can happen when security robots short-circuit and go on the rampage. Originally released as Killbots, one of the film's "highlights" features a young girl being chased down by a robot and shot in the head. The robot on wheels is naff, the effects rubbish, the scream rather admirable. Chopping Mall is a trashy hoot. The film is also noteworthy for cameos by Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov reprising their characters from Eating Raoul. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into menswear …
5. Back to the Future
What would you do if terrorists turned up in a VW camper armed to the teeth? Poor Marty McFly doesn't know what he's letting himself in for when a midnight rendezvous in the parking lot of Twin Pines Mall (shot at Puente Hills Mall, again in California) turns into a confrontation with said terrorists after Doc Brown nicks their plutonium for his time-travel machine. A wacky chase scene in the carpark features the killer line: "Let's see if you bastards can do ninety." Director Robert Zemeckis's use of quick-cutting heightens the comedic aspects and absurd sense of threat. Note how many times the JC Penney logo appears.
Last week, Emily Cleaver gave us a selection of ghosts featured in films. Here are Martyn's favourite suggestions from the thread.
1) HeresJohnny gives a worthy nod to the ghostly twins from The Shining.
2) MikeRichards's shout out for Julian Beck from Poltergeist II is bang on the money.
3) GreatPoochini declares The Lady in White (1988) as a great film ghost.
4) Mald2 quite rightly gives mention to the comedic rotting ghost played by Griffin Dunne in An American Werewolf in London.
5) Finnyfish stakes a claim for Patrick Swayze's role as Sam in Ghost. Not all ghosts need to be scary.
Vitacost.com Upgrades Mobile Shopping Experience - Yahoo Finance
BOCA RATON, Fla., May 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vitacost.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:VITC - News), a leading online retailer of health and wellness products, announced today the inclusion of new features for its Apple iPhone and Android mobile apps, designed to encourage comparison shopping and improve the user experience. These apps now include a bar code scanner allowing for easy price comparisons, as well as shopping lists and offer the functionality to set a "vitamin alarm" to ensure compliance with health regimes.
The bar code scanner allows customers to scan any product from any retailer to check whether the items are available at Vitacost.com. If the product is among the thousands of items sold at a discount on Vitacost.com, the customer can purchase it through their Vitacost mobile app rather than paying full-price at the store. If the item is not in Vitacost.com's inventory, other product recommendations will be offered. Another improvement to the Vitacost mobile apps is shopping list functionality--so customers can create and save a list of their favorite products and have the option to purchase every item with just the click of a button. In addition, with the "vitamin alarm" feature, customers can set daily alarms reminding them to take a vitamin or pill, drink water, exercise--or any other healthy habit. The customer does not need to be browsing on their Vitacost mobile app to receive the alarm, as this technology notifies the consumer automatically.
Vitacost.com began transforming its mobile site in October of 2011 in response to customer feedback, requesting an improved experience. Additional enhancements in March of 2012, including recommended products and the ability to checkout with PayPal or Bill Me Later, were designed to make the sales cycle--from research to checkout--easier and faster.
Customers can shop from their iPhone, Android, Blackberry or on the Web at www.vitacost.com, to see Vitacost's extensive array of more than 35,000 health and wellness products, priced up to 50% off retail prices, with orders over $49 shipped free. Exclusive coupons for mobile customers--offered during weekend promotions provide additional savings to the Vitacost mobile customer.
"We are excited to add the ability for easy comparison shopping to the Vitacost mobile apps, making it easier for customers to find the products they want at more affordable prices while they are conducting their everyday grocery and vitamin shopping," said David Zucker, Ph.D., Chief Marketing Officer of Vitacost.com. "The addition of list functionality makes shopping with Vitacost's mobile apps easier than ever, and the vitamin reminder will help customers comply with their health regimens more easily. We are proud to offer a free mobile shopping experience that is good for customers' health--and their wallets."
About Vitacost.com, Inc.
Vitacost.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:VITC - News) is a leading online retailer of health and wellness products, including dietary supplements such as vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids and metabolites, as well as cosmetics, organic body and personal care products, pet products, sports nutrition and health foods. Vitacost.com, Inc. sells these products directly to consumers through its website, www.vitacost.com. Vitacost.com, Inc. strives to offer its customers the broadest selection of healthy living products, while providing superior customer service and timely and accurate delivery.
MD Wholesale settles sexual discrimination suit - Kuam News 8
Milan shopping: how to dress like an Italian - Daily Telegraph
"People are scared to consult an image consultant," Perico explains, smiling. "They think it will be expensive or embarrassing. Yes, you need money – and beautiful clothes do cost more – but expensive fabric performs very differently from cheap fabric, and the outlay brings savings in the long run. Improving your look is an incredible help in life – and everyone can do it, whatever their budget." By this time, with my coffee growing cold, I am almost begging her. Tell me the rules, Margherita! How can we all look like Italians?
"So. The secret of Italian style is simple yet complex: fit, colour and fabric," she begins. "Every client, the first thing I tell them is 'Please, keep it easy, keep it clear, keep it simple'. The first rule is to know your body. Dressing well means time in front of a full-length mirror. Stand, turn, sit and lie like a Velasquez painting in front of a mirror. Analyse and accept yourself, good points and the bad. Otherwise, you will be dressing something you don't know. It will be like having a round table and buying a square cloth. It could be nice, but it also could not."
The second rule is to restrict the colours you wear. "Italians wear just two at a time," Perico advises. "They buy only four: black, blue, brown and white. In winter, black is king; in summer, white is black."
The third and most important rule is to pay close attention to fit. "Clothes should skim the body," Perico says. "Too tight, and it is as if you are exploding. Too big, especially if you are curvy, and people worry what is underneath."
So there you are. As we stand up – in front of a full-length mirror in the café – she gently grasps the back of my jacket. "You see?" she says. As I look at my new, waisted silhouette, I feel as if my eyes have only just opened. It's my favourite jacket, but how could I have been so blind? It doesn't fit!
Take me shopping, Margherita, I implore. The surrounding streets have to be the best trying-on territory in the world: Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Armani, Prada, Gucci, the DMagazine outlet at via Montenapoleone 26… She laughs. "Women go too crazy for the shopping. Start with accessories; be the diva with those. Study more before buying more. Women should be like men, and know that the most beautiful thing can be to go not to a shop but to a very good tailor. Then you must wait, but you get perfection." On behalf of the nation: thank you, Margherita.
When to go
Avoid Sunday/Monday: shops in Milan close from 7.30pm on Saturday to 3.30pm on Monday.
Where to start
Margherita Perico (00 39 348 493 8665, www.margheritaperico.com) charges from £580 for an image consultation, including photographs.
Where to shop
For costume jewellery at brilliant prices (£60 for a necklace Versace would sell for £300), try the tiny treasure trove Anna Tarabelloni & Co (00 39 02 760 21 169) at via Gesù 15. And for the ultimate sartorial treat, visit master tailor Gianni Campagna (00 39 02 77 88 11, www.campagna.it) at via Palestro 24, where Karl Lagerfeld and Valentino go for their own hand-made suits.
Where to stay
In the centre, close to the four most famous fashion streets (della Spiga, Montenapoleone, Sant'Andrea and Manzoni), hotel options include The Townhouse, Four Seasons, The Gray, Park Hyatt and Bulgari. Ten minutes away, the grandest of all is the Principe di Savoia (00 39 02 62301, www.hotelprincipedisavoia.com), where heads of state and fashion editors stay, with marble bathrooms, one of Italy's great bars, and a complimentary limo shuttle to the centre. Rack rates start at £630, so book through a tour operator. Abercrombie & Kent (0845 618 2213, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk) is offering two nights from £530 per person, b&b, with Alitalia flights and private transfers.
Where to eat
Busy Pasticceria Cova at via Montenapoleone 8 and chic Caffè Baglioni at via della Spiga 6 are good for a pre-shop cappuccino. At lunch, fashionistas still pack Nobu (00 39 02 6231 2645, www.armaninobu.it) at Armani's store on via Manzoni. In the evening, try the coolly dramatic, two-Michelin-starred Trussardi alla Scala (00 39 02 806 88201, www.trussardiallascala.com), by La Scala opera house, or Antica Trattoria della Pesa (00 39 02 655 5741) at viale Pasubio 10, full of atmosphere and flavour.
What to read
The tiny Luxe Guide to Milan (www.luxecityguides.com, £4.99) is fun.
Lisbon shopping guide: hide and chic - Daily Telegraph
On Rua do Loreto, I step inside the wood-panelled Casa das Velas do Loreto (in the same family since 1789) and find tall, honey-scented ecclesiastical candles for £15. At A Vida Portuguesa, on Rua Anchieta, my heart quickens at the fine Portuguese soaps and beautifully-packaged tinned sardines. Junk stalls in the Estrela park yield some irresistibly touching, framed black-and-white family photographs from the 1930s, costing a few euros each. Exploring the new waterfront design area, Santos, provides a satisfying few hours.
Back on Rossio, at the the 120-year-old Chapelaria Azevedo Rua, I finger a handmade man's fedora for £57 – the double of one I swear I saw on Jermyn Street at £120. I postpone checking out handmade riding boots at Vitorino de Sousa on Rua dos Correeiros. And it is just as well that, before I hit the antique shops of Rua de São Bento, I meet the art-restorer owner of the new Palacete Chafariz del Rei boutique hotel, a 1906 mansion he renovated. "Lisbon has great antique stores," he says, "but so does Oporto – and 50 per cent cheaper." So it's advisable to take a large suitcase there? "A van!" he says with a grin, and points to a beautiful 1920s leather sofa and chair bought for £170.
How to do it
When to go
Any time, but May is best: it's not too hot, the purple jacaranda is in blossom, and you can take a 30-minute train ride to the beaches at Cascais – home now to the Casa das Histórias, showing the surrealist work of Portugal's brilliant Paula Rego. Bear in mind that Sunday is quiet; only museums open.
Where to stay
On the outskirts, the Lapa Palace and Pestana Palace hotels are very grand, but all the chic new spots are central: LX Boutique, Inspira Santa Marta and, just off Rossio, the Altis Avenida (00 351 29 172 4307, portugal-live.net; rooms from £115), with young staff, black-carpeted rooms, a spa, and a seventh-floor roof terrace brasserie. For more information, see visitlisboa.com and flytap.com
What to do
Pack flat shoes: you will walk a lot. On arrival, get the Convida Lisboa shopping guides, free at all hotels, and a three-day Lisboa Card (£28) for the trams, Metro and buses. In bustling Baixa, see the new Mude design museum (mude.pt); in Chiado, old shops; in Principe Real, new design stores, cool cafés such as Orpheu, and boutiques such as Kolovrat (lidijakolovrat.org) at Rua Dom Pedro V 79, for witty printed silk scarves and spider-web silver necklaces costing £330. Go to Bairro Alto at night, for the bars, and medieval Alfama for almost hilariously mournful fado. Hottest area: waterfront, ex-industrial Santos, buzzing with lifestyle stores, bars and restaurants; see LX Factory (lxfactory.com) and Ler (lerdevagar.com).
Where to eat and drink
Have cocktails at new, glass-walled Le Chat (00 351 91 779 7155) at Jardim 9 de Abril. Have dinner at rough-chic 560 (00 351 21 346 8317, restaurante560.com) at Rua das Gáveas 78: wild mushrooms in Azores cheese, swordfish with banana, then pineapple carpaccio with coriander sauce. Finish at the new Sol e Pesca bar (00 351 21 346 7203) at Rua Nova do Carvalho 44.
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