Thursday, May 31, 2012

Barca announce Morocco visit

Barcelona will visit the Moroccan city of Tangier in the off-season to play a friendly match as part of their preparations for next season.

The game - which will be contested against a selection of local players led by Rachid Taoussi - is scheduled for July 28, and will be the Catalans' second pre-season friendly after an encounter with Hamburg on July 24.
"We have more than 50,000 supporters in Morocco with four Barcelona fan clubs and thousands of followers in this country on Facebook," Barca vice-president Jordi Cardoner told reporters.
"Our desire is to put on a football show but also go further."
Spanish media reports claim Barca will be paid one million euros for visiting the north African country.

///soccerway.com

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Morocco hosts musicians — and imprisons its own

Image: Lenny Kravitz performs Morocco's glittering Mawazine international music festival wraps up this weekend with performances by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, after nine days of showcasing the North African kingdom's cool factor — even as dissident Moroccan artists are imprisoned for their anti-establishment sentiments.

The 11-year-old "Rhythms of the World" festival in the capital Rabat has always highlighted Morocco's contradictions as the country spends millions to lure top world artists to perform at generally free concerts, while much the country remains mired in poverty.

In past years the festival has been attacked by Islamists for inviting gay performer Elton John in 2010 and by activists for the cost of attracting Shakira and other high profile acts in 2011, but this year the theme of protest is freedom of expression. Just a week before the festival began, Human Rights Watch slammed Morocco for sentencing a rapper to a year in prison for lyrics deemed insulting to police — a common theme in rap music elsewhere in the world.

"Morocco hosts one famous international music festival after another each spring, but meanwhile it imprisons one of its own singers solely because of lyrics and images that displease the authorities," Sarah Leah Whitson, Mideast director of the group said in a statement. "Morocco should be known as a haven for world music, not for locking up singers with a political message."

Image: Moroccan rapper Mouad BelghouatMoroccan rapper Mouad Belghouat, known as El-Haqed, or "The Enraged" was convicted on May 11 of "showing contempt" to public servants with his song "Dogs of the State" about police corruption. He is known for his political activism and vitriolic songs attacking social injustice, the monarchy and corruption.

A week later, dissident poet Youssef Belkhdim was convicted of attacking police — a charge he denies — at a sit-in he organized in support of Belghouat and sentenced to two years in prison.

The two men belonged to Morocco's pro-democracy February 20 movement that last year brought tens of thousands into the streets protesting corruption and calling for political reform.

The extravagant sums spent on the Mawazine have been a mainstay of the movement's slogans. Festival organizers maintain that the Mawazine's estimated $7 million price tag is worth it because it improves Morocco's image abroad and gives people at home access to music from around the world. The festival is funded largely by corporate sponsors with strong ties to the state.

"It's a celebration. It's a celebration of the city, a celebration of Morocco and it reflects a bit Morocco's good life to the world," said program director Mahmoud Lemseffer. "It is a vehicle to present the image of our country, of its hospitality and tolerance."

Tens of thousands attend each of the festival's eight venues which present Arabic music, Moroccan music, music from sub-Saharan Africa as well as international acts, which this year included Evanescence, the Scorpions, Gloria Gaynor, Nigel Kennedy and Jimmy Cliff.

Most of the acts have free sections open to the public and on Tuesday, families strolling along Rabat's Bouregreg river stopped to listen to Beninian songstress Angelique Kidjo belt out classics from South African diva Mariam Makebe and talk about the struggle against apartheid.

But for critics, there is irony in punishing artists at home while hosting international ones known for their support of freedom of expression. Lenny Kravitz, for instance, has striven in song after song to confront America's tortured attitude about race.

"I think that people should really say what they feel — everybody has the right to speak their mind, you see how things change in places where people were once condemned," said Kravitz at a press conference Thursday when asked about politics in music. "When I was in Brazil a couple of years ago, I was talking with (musician and activist) Caetano Veloso who dealt with that same thing, who did jail time — and now he has made a difference."

Salif Traore of the Ivorian band Magic System said that for African artists, speaking truth to power and freedom of expression is what their music is all about. "We in Africa, we say that artists, musicians and singers are the eyes, ears, and mouths of the people," he told The Associated Press, when asked about his views on the El-Haqed case.

Rachid el-Belghiti, who heads a national anti-Mawazine campaign, also contests the government's assertion that it's supporting culture in Morocco with this festival, countering that it's really just about making the country look good abroad. He said the Mawazine, which is run by a close confidant of King Mohammed VI, eats up the lion's share of corporate sponsorship so that little is left for other festivals around the country.

As millions are being spent to lure in big name acts, local theaters and dance schools around the country are closing down because of a lack of funding. "A country which puts its artists in prison simply for expressing themselves with their voice or their instruments cannot pretend to support culture," he said. "That's impossible."

///AP

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The Plan - Award Winning Short Film

A man quits his job, leaves his girlfriend and drives to Vegas to put all of his money on red.


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sarkozy couple holidaying in Morocco royal residence

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who was voted out two weeks ago, and his wife Carla are enjoying a holiday in one of the Moroccan king's residences in Marrakesh, a local official said Tuesday.

"The residence belongs to the royal family and is located in the heart of the palm grove," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"The residence where Sarkozy is recharging his batteries is generally reserved for the king's guests," he said. "It is very secluded, shielded from the press and the ex-president has been jogging in the palm grove."

Sarkozy arrived last week for a private visit after handing over the presidency to Francois Hollande, who defeated him in an election run-off on May 6. The former president is expected to stay until May 31.

///AFP

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Morocco: Prison for Rapper Who Criticized Police - Muzzling a Musician, Country Hosting Music Festivals Strikes Sour Note

The sentencing of a rapper on May 11, 2012 to one year in prison for "insulting the police" shows the gap between the strong free-expression language in Morocco's 2011 constitution and the continuing intolerance for those who criticize state institutions. The sentence was handed down one week before the opening of the international Mawazine music festival in Rabat, which is held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI.

Mouad Belghouat, better known as "al-Haqed" (the sullen one), has been in pretrial custody since March 29 because of his rap song "Kilab ed-Dowla" (Dogs of the State), which denounces police corruption, and a YouTube video set to the song.

"Morocco hosts one famous international music festival after another each spring, but meanwhile it imprisons one of its own singers solely because of lyrics and images that displease the authorities," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

The first-instance criminal court of Ain Sbaâ (Casablanca) found Belghouat guilty of "showing contempt" toward "public servants in the exercise of their duty," with the intention of "undermining their honor," under article 263 of the penal code, and "showing contempt" toward state institutions, under article 265. The court rejected all motions to free Belghouat pending a definitive verdict. His lawyers said they planned to appeal.

The main evidence was a YouTube video containing a photo-montage of a policeman whose head had been replaced by a donkey's. Belghouat denied any connection to the video other than that it was set to his song. Belghouat's lawyers told Human Rights Watch that no evidence was presented in court implicating the defendant in the production or online posting of the video. The court, which also sentenced Belghouat to a fine of 1000 dirhams (US$115) in addition to the prison term, has not yet issued its written judgment, which should explain the reasoning behind the verdict.

The case stems from a complaint filed by the General Directorate of National Security (Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale, DGSN), the security agency that includes the judicial police, among other police branches. The complaint refers to the donkey image and another image of three policemen carrying a person, perhaps a protester, by his limbs, as well as the lyrics calling the police corrupt and, according to the complaint, referring to them as dogs.

Belghouat, 24, lives in the low-income Oukacha neighborhood of Casablanca. His rap songs denouncing corruption, injustice, and the gap between royal opulence and poverty in Morocco have won him attention as a voice of the pro-reform "February 20 youth movement," which began in Morocco shortly after the start of protests in other Arab countries in early 2011. Police have generally allowed the movement to hold protest rallies in cities around the country, but have on several occasions intervened violently to disperse them.

During the trial session on May 7, attended by Human Rights Watch, police arrested Maria Karim, one of Belghouat's most ardent supporters, after she allegedly called a lawyer for the police "pathetic." She was detained overnight and released, but faces trial on June 7 for "insulting" the lawyer.

Belghouat attracted wide notice when police arrested him in an earlier case in September 2011 and charged him with beating a pro-government protester in a street altercation. His trial in Casablanca attracted crowds of supporters, who claimed that the case was a set-up. The defense team contended that there were many inconsistencies in the account provided by Belghouat's alleged victim. In January, the court convicted Belghouat of the assault, sentenced him to the four months he had already served in pretrial detention, and released him.

On July 1, 2011, Moroccans voted in a referendum to approve a constitution proposed by King Mohammed VI that affirms freedom of expression. Article 25 states: "Freedom of thought, opinion and expression in all its forms are guaranteed. Freedom to create, publish, and display literary and artistic materials and scientific and technical research are guaranteed." However, Morocco has yet to revise the repressive articles of the press and penal code that seem contrary to the new constitution, and the courts continue to apply these articles to punish peaceful speech.

Following the Mawazine Festival in Rabat, the city of Fez hosts an annual festival of sacred music in early June and Essaouira hosts a festival of gnawa and world music later that month. The Mawazine Festival lists on its program international stars such as Mariah Carey, Marwan Kfoury, Lenny Kravitz, Nancy Ajram, Scorpions, Fadel Shaker, Gloria Gaynor, Cheb Khaled, and Jimmy Cliff; and Moroccan stars such as Abdelmoughit, Karima Skalli, Outlandish, and Fnaire, a rap group.

/// AllAfrica.com

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Nokia cites 45 patents in lawsuits against HTC, RIM, Viewsonic

The mobile phone company says that the patents relate to everything from power management to application stores. The suits were filed in the U.S. and Germany.

Nokia has unleashed a massive lawsuit campaign against HTC, RIM, and Viewsonic. The mobile phone company said today that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against HTC, and a host of lawsuits across the U.S. and Germany against Research In Motion and Viewsonic, in addition to HTC. Nokia argues that the firms are violating a total of 45 patents.

"Nokia proprietary innovations protected by these patents are being used by the companies to enable hardware capabilities such as dual function antennas, power management and multimode radios, as well as to enhance software features including application stores, multitasking, navigation, conversational message display, dynamic menus, data encryption and retrieval of email attachments on a mobile device," Nokia wrote in a statement today.

Although Nokia hasn't been the most litigious company in the mobile space, it has indeed sought to protect its intellectual property. Last year, in fact, the company signed a deal with Apple that saw the iPhone maker license a host of mobile patents from Nokia. The licensing deal came nearly two years after Nokia sued Apple for infringement. Nokia didn't say which specific products HTC, RIM, and Viewsonic are offering that violate its patents. The company did point out, however, that it has licensed its patents to over 40 companies, seeming to indicate that it believes it has a strong defense.

"Many of these inventions are fundamental to Nokia products," Nokia's chief legal officer Louise Pentland said today in a statement. "We'd rather that other companies respect our intellectual property and compete using their own innovations, but as these actions show, we will not tolerate the unauthorized use of our inventions."

@cnet.com

Morocco minister won’t stop trial of YouTube rapper

The Moroccan rapper, Mouad Belrhouat, was charged on March 30, 2012 with insulting public authorities in a song that was posted on YouTube. (Reuters)Morocco’s justice minister said he would not stop the trial of an outspoken rapper charged with insulting the authorities in one of his songs, despite an outcry from rights campaigners who say the case is an attack on freedom of expression.

Human rights activists had expected this sort of prosecution would cease after a moderate Islamist opposition party, the PJD, was elected to lead the government last year with a promise of reform. But the government’s influence remains limited by the power of the monarch and his court.

Known as El-Haqed or “the Sullen One,” the rapper is awaiting trial over a music video posted on YouTube which showed a mocked-up photo of a policeman with a donkey’s head and a picture of servants bowing before Morocco’s King Mohammed.

Asked about the rapper’s case in an interview with Reuters, Justice Minister Mustafa Ramid said: “The human rights activists are doing their job in demanding what they see as appropriate, but we cannot give up on the state’s prosecution.

“The courts will consider this case and decide what they deem appropriate, either a conviction or an innocent verdict, and we cannot interfere in this matter,” said the minister, a PJD member who made his name as a lawyer campaigning against unfair detentions.

El-Haqed, whose real name is Mouad Belrhouat, offends some Moroccans with his provocative lyrics, especially when they touch on the king, a figure revered in the North African state.

But his songs - with titles such as “Dogs of the State” - have struck a chord with many young people disenchanted with Morocco’s lack of jobs, widespread corruption, and the gulf between rich and poor.

”Defamation” Official media said the rapper was arrested for “singing a song defamatory to a public authority” and for posting images “detrimental to public servants”.

He is in prison awaiting trial and, according to his lawyer, could receive a sentence of up to three years if found guilty. He has already served four months in jail on a separate charge of brawling with a supporter of the monarchy.

Morocco’s new government is also under pressure from rights activists to free dozens of Islamists who, campaigners say, are being held on spurious charges following police crackdowns on violent militant groups.

The monarch in February granted pardons to three leading Islamists, but the justice minister said it would be difficult to win the release of their colleagues still in prison.

His comments reflected the limited room for manoeuvre of the government. Under Morocco’s constitution, the king is head of the judiciary and has the final say on all issues of religion, national security and defense.

“I asked the king to pardon the three sheikhs, the leaders, and he accepted,” said Ramid. “Concerning the other Islamist prisoners, their cases are complicated and it will be difficult for me to ask for a pardon for anyone except those three.”

He said that the government planned eventually to examine the cases of other jailed Islamists. “But in the end, we do not have the final decision. It is in the hands of his Majesty the king,” said Ramid. “Only he decides who deserves a pardon.” @alarabiya.net

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