The Seductive Power of Red I ARTE.tv Documentary

Aug 29, 2022 Lipstick has been around since the dawn of time. It is often a symbol of power and rebellion. Across the centuries, queens, politicians, workers, actresses, geishas, drag-queens, rock stars, and make-up lovers all over the world have called upon its ability to flatter and enhance. In the modern age of the beauty influencer, this ancient beautification trick is more popular than ever.

The Seductive Power of Red I ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until the 28/09/2022

How Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Seduced the West
BBC: The director of the London School of Economics Sir Howard Davies has submitted his resignation after admitting an "error of judgment" in establishing links with the regime of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi.

Sir Howard visited Libya to advise the regime about financial reforms and accepted a £300,000 donation from the Libyan leader's second son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi for research at the LSE.

His departure underlines just how politically toxic links with the Gaddafi regime have become ever since it began its brutal suppression of the Libyan uprising.

Saif al-Islam's former friends and business associates in the west have become embarrassed to admit ever knowing him now his reputation as a liberal reformer has been scuttled.

Yet just a few weeks ago Saif was socialising with the crème de la crème of British society.

So how did so many respectable people get it so wrong?

In part this is because Saif makes such a good impression in the media. Tall and handsome, he speaks fluent English and presented himself as the acceptable face of the Gaddafi regime.

With few exceptions, he sided with the reformers in Libya and seemed prepared to go head-to-head with his father in an attempt to develop the fledgling Libyan private sector and open up the atrophied media.

'Like the Godfather'

But Saif's warm reception in influential business, academic and political circles in the West was also attributable to the eagerness in some quarters to gain access to Libya's oil wealth.

"If Libya was a country without an oil producing capacity, I don't think Saif would have convinced the West," said Dr Omar Ashur, a lecturer in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. >>> Hugh Miles, BBC Radio 4, The Report | Friday, March 04, 2011

Damascene Perversion: Syria's Underwear Sellers Peddle Sex and Seduction
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Maid's costumes, musicial negligee and remote-controlled underpants: You'd be surprised what you can find in a Damascus market. Syrian underwear is now so famous that it is exported throughout the Middle East -- and Palestinian women, reportedly, have the wildest taste.

Syrian underwear has become famous throughout the Middle East for its audacity. "Ever since people started going to Internet cafes and seeing what the rest of the world is wearing, demand has completely changed," says underwear merchant Abdullah Hayek. Photo courtesy of SpiegelOnline International
It's the "latest thing," Abdullah Hayek says, holding the garment up. It's an almost non-existent bra and thong, which consists of strings and a tiny triangle. It's made, not of fabric, but of sugar fondant, which has been rolled out until it is wafer-thin, held together with elastic cords.

"This allows the husband to nibble the underwear off of his wife's body," explains Hayek. The garment, which costs the equivalent of about €3 ($3.9), is available in a selection of flavors, including pineapple, apple, honey, chocolate and mango. "I probably sell 15 of them a day," said Hayek.

The Hamidiyeh souk in Damascus is without doubt one of the best markets in the Arab world. Naturally you can find carpets, inlaid crafts and Oriental kitsch being hawked to tourists within the maze of alleyways. But the majority of customers are Syrian. They push through the souk by the thousands, buying washing powder in one alley and dishes in another -- and, at the intersection where the lingerie merchants sit, they buy sexy underwear. >>> By Ulrike Putz in Damascus | Friday, April 17, 2009

Trust a Stupid Saudi Cleric to Come Up with This One!: The Cyclops’ Veil
BBC: A Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia has called on women to wear a full veil, or niqab, that reveals only one eye.

Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan said showing both eyes encouraged women to use eye make-up to look seductive.

The question of how much of her face a woman should cover is a controversial topic in many Muslim societies.

The niqab is more common in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, but women in much of the Muslim Middle East wear a headscarf which covers only their hair.

Sheikh Habadan, an ultra-conservative cleric who is said to have wide influence among religious Saudis, was answering questions on the Muslim satellite channel al-Majd. [Source: BBC] | October 3, 2008

Cyclops >>>

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