Stipulating that men can expect to have sex with his wife at least "once every four nights"

The laws coming out of Karzai's Afghanistan seem bizarre even by Taliban standards. Here are some new rules to abide by... No, this is not an April Fool's joke.

• Women can only seek work, education or doctor's appointments with their husband's permission.
• Article 132 requires women to obey their husband's sexual demands and stipulates that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least "once every four nights" when traveling, unless they are ill. This in effect is said to legalize rape within a marriage negating any need for sexual consent between married couples.
• Only fathers and grandfathers are granted custody of children.

One has got to love the logic behind some of this warped thinking...

"Men and women have equal rights under Islam but there are differences in the way men and women are created. Men are stronger and women are a little bit weaker; even in the west you do not see women working as firefighters."

- Ustad Mohammad Akbari, an MP and the leader of a Hazara political party. The Hazara party is being courted by Mr. Karzai in a bid to win the upcoming elections. From here.

A digital appropriation of Piet van den Boog's oil paintings at Mike Weiss

Chelsea jaunt

I had the good fortune to be in Chelsea for a little bit yesterday and ran into some good and some not so good shows. I visited Jonathan Levine, Mike Weiss and Gladstone galleries. Rather than write impenetrable prose about the art and the artists, I decided to link to the press releases that explain the show:

A couple of quick words though:
Tim Biskup at Jonathan Levine: Multiple studies on a single subject done in figurative/cubist style. He also had a miniature book with an intimate collection of essays and short meaningless poems to go with the show. From reading the little book, he seems like a person who cares about the artworld and its future. Good show.
Christian Vincent at Mike Weiss: Great show, almost a junior Neo Rauch. I could attribute multiple meanings to the painted anthropomorphic forms. I also had an inclination to just stand there and try and understand what he was trying to tell us - alas, I did not have the time and the paintings decided not to give up their secrets easily - really enjoyed this one.
Anish Kapoor at Gladstone Gallery: Characteristic Anish Kapoor - large works, often spanning several rooms - seems more like an explorations of material than form – not too clear what he was trying to tell us other than inferences that one might make between monumentality and translated awe. I happened to run into a giant red breast-like sculpture made of resin and paint in one of the back rooms - of course, it was also a source of curiosity to many of the men around - OK show.


Tim Biskup at Jonathan Levine (cel vinyl acrylic on wood)

Christian Vincent at Mike Weiss (oil on linen or canvas)

Anish Kapoor at Gladstone Gallery (resin, fiberglass and paint)