And on a lighter note

Now this article I will whole heartedly comment on. In this day and age of black and white when it comes to acceptance and hatred, I find it more and more prudent to be able to make light of a negative situation. In this case, the suggestion fronted by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, who are in full swing in attempting to slap censorship on the Blackberry phones. Reason being?

Well...that's quite simple. The Blackberry has heralded itself as being capable of encrypting messages, one of the reasons it is so popular a device for business people to use. Not only can you safely view and send emails via your Blackberry, the infamous BBM is also encrypted to ensure no possible interception of your messages. Of course, this does not fly too well with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, whose media ("censorship") authorities distrust the encryption capability. Translation --> we don't like not being able to read everything and anything that you are sending. So the ideal result? Banning the Blackberry's ability to access the Internet/Email/BBMs within Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

This article puts such a great spin on this ridiculous suggestion, that I have to share it.

Gulf states order Blackberry users to cover their phones in a tiny burqa

New laws in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will require that every Blackberry user dress their phone a miniature burqa and face veil.

‘The Blackberry burqa means that people can still use their phones,’ said a Saudi government official, ‘but the tiny niqab that covers the screen will stop them from reading emails or accessing the Internet.’

The introduction of the burqa is intended to conceal the Blackberry from unwanted attention. With the veil in place only a tiny slit remains revealing just the time and date, thus preserving its modesty.

‘This is not about censorship or oppression,’ said UAE telecommunications regulator Mohammed al-Ghanem, ‘this is about preserving the essential purity of the Blackberry and protecting it from being corrupted.’

ome businessmen believe that making their phone wear a burqa can be very liberating. ‘It’s great,’ said one, ‘with the veil in place I am free to walk about with my Blackberry in public without the feeling that people are staring lustily at my multi-media application. It also covers my shame for not owning an iPhone.’
Some religious groups have welcomed the policy. ‘If Allah had meant us to freely access the Internet He would have given us web browsers in our heads,’ said a local imam, adding ‘There is absolutely no mention of instant messaging in the Koran and at no point did Muhammad, or any of his eleven wives, ever say LOL, ROFL or PMSL.’

If the Blackberry burqa is successful it may spread to other countries. However, experts say that dressing your phone in a burqa could result in poor reception, especially in France and Belgium.
The British government has yet to declare an official line on phone burqas although Immigration Minister Damian Green said that to ban them would be ‘very unBritish’. He went on to explain that, ‘the British thing to do, as always, is to grumble and tut.’

The Saudi government have promised that anyone who refuses to dress their Blackberry in a burqa will face harsh punishment. ‘I am not saying exactly what we will do,’ said their Minister for Justice, ‘but suffice to say that it isn’t so easy to text with your toes.’