Free Speech in Fiji
It was prime drive time in Kuwait, and I almost laughed so hard that I might have been a danger on the road. A brief news article on BBC News featured the national leader in Fiji saying “free speech is nothing but trouble.” The news reporter was saying that the only real news in Fiji right now is from the bloggers. Here is a fragment of an article on BBC April 15th:
Free speech ‘trouble’
In an interview with Radio New Zealand, Mr Bainimarama said he was determined to carry out what he described as reforms.
He defended the introduction of emergency regulations that include an edict that the local Fijian media publishes only positive news, saying Fiji does not need free and open public discussion about current issues.
“That was how we ended up with what we came up with in the last couple of days,” he told Radio New Zealand.
“The circumstances have changed. We [the government] now decide what needs to be done for our country, for the reforms that need to be put in place for us to have a better Fiji,” he said.
Fiji’s Court of Appeal ruled last Thursday that the Bainimarama regime, in power since staging a 2006 coup, was illegal under the country’s 1997 constitution.
In response, the country’s ailing President Josefa Iloilo sacked the judges, dissolved the constitution and reappointed Mr Bainimarama, who then said there would be no democratic elections until 2014.
Amer al-Hilal on Global Voices
Kuwait Community blogger Amer Al-Hilal has accepted the invitation to be one of the Kuwait desk editors at Global Voices, an aggregator followed by many who want to keep up with the blogging scene all over the world. An active and passionate blogging community member himself, Amer will be trolling the Kuwait blogs for interesting bits to compile.
Amer is a former Kuwait diplomat and a frequent columnist in the Arab Times. He has his own business – and a family – and still makes time to keep the blogging scene relevant and engaging. Alf Mabruk (a thousand congratulations!) on your selection, Amer, and many many thanks for accepting the responsibilitiies of promoting the Kuwait blogging community. 🙂
Bu Yousef – World Digital Library
Thank you, Bu Yousef, for your focus and your generosity. Because his blog(s) are special interest – photography, Mangaf, bird-photography – he passed along to me this information on the World Digital Library, which he heard about on BBC during his morning drive. Because my blog is . . . well . . . here, there and everywhere . . . he knew I would love to share this with you.
This is what the World Digital Library looks like when you go there:
Of course, the first thing I had to do was go to the Middle East, where there are all kinds of early maps of the Gulf – and this! Look! The old trading routes through the Sahara!
WARNING! WARNING! You could lose hours of your life on this website!
Speaking of hours of fun, my friends, please go visit Neubronner, Bu Yousef’s new web page about his pigeons, and watch his movie of his pigeon, Charcoal, flying around his neighborhood. He even has a photo of a pigeon with the camera strapped.
Sunrise March 21, 2009
For all your Kuwaiti students back in the USA who check in daily to see what Kuwait looks like – I am sorry to tell you, you are missing one of the most beautiful days of the year. The sun rose over a sea so still it is like glass; it looks so solid you could walk on it:
You wonder how I know you are Kuwaiti students? I use this wonderful software called StatCounter which I love.
What is STATCOUNTER?
A free yet reliable invisible web tracker, highly configurable hit counter and real-time detailed web stats. Insert a simple piece of our code on your web page or blog and you will be able to analyse and monitor all the visitors to your website in real-time!
It allows me to see where people who check my blog are checking in from – like if you are at University of Arizona, for example, it might show me that. People who have commented are identified from previous comments. It is a great little utility, and a lot of fun when you have a little time to spare.
For those of you in Kuwait – look at this week to come:
It doesn’t get any more beautiful in Kuwait. Get outside today! It is gorgeous out there!
Icons Challenge, The Locard Principle 2: The Middle East and Me
The best thing, the very best thing about blogging, for me, is what I learn from my commenters. The old Locard’s Exchange Principle is a constant in life – with every interaction, a part of you rubs off on me, and a part of me rubs off on you. It’s why we’re careful about the people, books, movies, blogs and ideas we spend time with. . . we either feel better for hanging around them, or slightly uncomfortable. Sometimes, hugely uncomfortable. The internet is a microcosm, good and evil all mixed in together and we make our choices.
Fragonard: The Reader
Above: that is me. That’s pretty much who I am. I am quiet, I am a reader. I still get input, from newspapers, books, e-mails, the internet, friends, groups, etc.
What I love about blogging is that I throw something out, and you throw something back. Many many times, what I get back is unexpected, and forces me to re-examine my assumptions. Many times, I have to force myself to stop. Not to respond. I have to force myself to let the new information, new point-of-view sink in, percolate, settle. Minds don’t change in an instant, but . . . they do change. New information brings new, often surprising, perspectives. When I find myself getting angry, I have to step back and ask myself “what is going on here? What are you reacting to?” It helps me to know myself better, and it helps me to understand whatever-little-corner-of-the-world-I-am-living-in better, too.
There are about six different blog entries radiating out like a spider’s web from the thoughts I am now thinking, fed by your input and comments, and behind the scenes e-mails back and forth with new thoughts.
So here is my challenge for today. I’ve shown you one of my life icons, this Fragonard paining, The Reader.
Your mission, your challenge – identify / find a piece of art that shows us who you are. Post it on your blog and link here with a comment, or send it to me, and I will publish it.
(No graphic violence or pornography; I won’t publish it and I will break the link if you publish it on your blog and link to me.)
Honored Guest
In every country where I have lived, we have felt like honored guests. This week, I have been truly honored, my blogging friend Hilaliya has asked me to be an occasional guest blogger on his revamped blog, now featuring a Kuwait Blogging Diwaniya. Pretty cool, huh? I have to admit it, I have a smile from ear to ear.
The revered blogger Don Veto led the way with an article yesterday, and I jumped in today.
In honor of my ear-to-ear smile, it’s called Smile for me Baby – Let Me See Your Grill but fair warning – it’s political polemic, about parliamentary gridlock, so you will see a grittier side of Intlxpatr.
Pecha Kucha Night at the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
Thank you, Little Diamond for sharing news of an upcoming event in Kuwait that sounds like a pretty cool evening, full of creatives sharing a small part of their vision. It sound like an evening full of energy, to me. Thought you might want to go, too! 🙂
Dear All,
I would like to invite you to Kuwait’s first Pecha Kucha Night at the
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
Date: Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Al-Maidan Cultural Centre ‘Abdullah al-Salem School, Maidan Hawalli, Near al Sha’ab Leisure Park.
Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein
Dytham architecture), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young
designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Pecha Kucha
Night is a not-for profit event, conceived, inspired, and performed
solely to strengthen creativity whether it be famous or famous-to-be
talents.
But as we all know, give a mike to a designer (especially an
architect) and you’ll be trapped for hours. The key to Pecha Kucha
Night is its patented system for avoiding this fate. Each presenter is
allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes
40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps
presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.
Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has
tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily
and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a
magazine editor. This is a demand that seems to be global – as Pecha
Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 160 cities across the world.
It comes to Kuwait for the first time on 11th of March.
Speakers for PKN #1 will include:
Lubna Saif Abbas: LB o J?zzaz
Ghadah Alkandari: Artist
Adlah Al-Sharhan: Chef
Maha Al-Asaker: Photographer
Mai al-Nakib: Kuwait University
Thomas Modeen: smArchitecture
Abdulaziz al-Humaidhi: Najeeb Al-Humaidhi Consultants
Khalid al-Hamad: American University of Kuwait
Waleed Shaalan: BrainStorm
Amera al-Awadhi: Amar International Real Estate Co.
Fatma al-Hamad: Amar International Real Estate Co.
Warmest regards,
Asseel al-Ragam
Asseel al-Ragam PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Architecture
Kuwait University
Office: +965 24987595
Cell: +965 99761150
alragam@gmail.com
Masks: Quote from AWAD
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. -Oscar Wilde, writer (1854-1900)
Interesting thought, especially to those of us who are hiding behind a mask of anonymity. What do you think? Are we more free to tell the truth when we blog anonymously? Do we tell the truth? Or does anonymity encourage us to stretch the truth? embellish the truth? strain the truth?
Hmmmmmmm. What do you think?
Kuwait Independence / Liberation Holiday Treat
My friends, run to the nearest newsstand and pick up a copy of today’s Arab Times. On page 3, one of Kuwait’s most eminent bloggers, Amer al Hilal, has a full page article; his diary as a soldier during the Liberation.
It is an awesome article. He brings the liberation period, with its thrills and challenges, to life. He is a very readable writer, and his story is compelling. Now! Right now! Go read the paper! Its YOUR history!
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Blog Comment Scam
I’ve noticed a random few times recently that frequent commenters have double comments. When one showed up today with the same added line of a previous one, different commenter, something like “forgot to say – great post!” it made me look a little closer. Like someone who comments says they like your post, what’s to check, right? But when it shows up, exact same working, it’s time to check.
First time, Daggero, second time, exact same comment but “great post” added – only it’s some cell phone salesman, if you follow the blue hypertext on the name. Today it was 1001 Nights, but the copy-cat was selling acai berries.
If you get these duplicate comments showing up, no matter how flattering, check them out. It’s likely some scammer, trying to get you to their site to sell you something.
April 27, 2009 Posted by intlxpatr | Blogging, Lies, Marketing | comment scams, scams | 6 Comments