Bekir L. Yildirim Weighs In
This is another comment on the issue of Turkey Blocks WordPress. I really like it when, no matter which side the commenter weighs in on, their comments are to the point, well reasoned, and well presented. See for yourself:
Knowing a bit from the first hand experience with the Turkish judicial system and the bureaucracy , I blamed primarily the system in this ostensibly minor event turning into a saga. It appears now that there is enough blame to go around including possibly the WP which I held blameless so far (see for ex. “WordPress banned in Turkey: a case of throwing the baby with the bath-water“).
Perusing through some of the comments on the matter it appears that some of the commenters have an ax to grind with Adnan Oktar (a.k.a. Harun Yahya) . They make his an issue of creationism versus evolutionism, which it should not be. The position Matt seems to be taking is that it is a free exchange of information in the internet , as parti of fundamental right of free speech.
This is certainly a view held by many including myself in principle. However the matter gets a bit thorny when you get into the limits, boundaries of the exercise of such right. That is why we have caseloads before the courts dealing with issues such as slander, defamation, libel, trademarks, copyrights and so on, -some of which are involved in this case. I am not going to attempt to sort out all the legal and moral issues and heir ramifications in this case. All I am trying o do is to invite all concerned to differentiate between personal dislike for a person, or opposition to his views on certain matters and justice.
I understand the predicament Matt and WP finds themselves in. They see the issue as an undemocratic justice system and an individual with strong arming the system to demand immunity from criticism. They are taking a stand on the side of the free speech. I urge them however to go beyond that reflexive behavior and engage in a bit deeper analysis of what Edip Yuksel is doing , and whether he is going over the bounds vis-a-vis the free speech. He has made a name for himself for attacking various religious persons, institutions and values sacred to others. I do not contest his right to be wrong , but I am also cognizant of the fact that WP does render judgement on suitability of the content of the blogs. The method Edip Yuksel is employing , specifically targeting another individual, and inviting others to abuse the blogging system with multiple blogs directed at the same purpose should also be questioned. WP cannot judge the veracity of all accusations in millions of pages of content, however it can place certain limits such as selection of blog names etc, as it does in the terms of service it is offering. Edip Yuksel and others should also be mindful of the fact that they have the right to free speech but exercising it on WP is a privilege.
Dawn’s Early Glare
August heat has set in with a vengence. The temperatures are the same, but the humidity is rising, clothes are wilting, and bodies are glistening. Nights are cooler, thanks be to God.
This morning, there is one great glare of sunlight; no differentiation between sea and sky, just 180Β° of colorless glare:
Officially, the temperatures are dropping. Today, a big drop to 111Β° F, down from last week’s 118Β°F temps.
Pensacola Kitchen Renovation
Woooooo Hoooooo! Our son just sent us photos from the continuing renovations on our Pensacola house.
Kitchen before:
Kitchen after (we are still waiting for the tile man to put in the new wall tiles)
You can hear nightmare stories about renovations gone awry – but you won’t hear them from me. We found a truly wonderful contractor, David Murphy of Tacoma Construction. He personally checks the quality of the work, gives accurate estimates, and he has good ideas to implement what you want done.
One day, as I was having the house interior painted, I could hear voices rising, and I felt a little concerned. I listened, and what they were discussing, with great heat, was just what exactly a certain verse from the bible meant. π We feel so blessed; they did their work well, and the work was completed in a reasonable time frame. And how did I find this gem? On the internet.
Chevy’s Fresh Mex
At one time Adventure Man worked in Saudi Arabia, and came home every three months craving Mexican Food. His all time favorite restaurant was Chevy’s, which specializes in FRESH FRESH Mexican food.
Mom may be 84, but she is always up for a new experience. I asked her if she would like to try Chevy’s, and she was sure she would like to try it. You ROCK, Mom!
Mom’s Tostada Salad with beef:
My Spicy Salmon Fajita:
Totally delicious, but too much food! We brought home enough food for two or three more meals!
Where is Pensacola, FL?
It isn’t only my Kuwaiti friends . . . . many of my American friends don’t know where Pensacola is, either.
Pensacola is almost in Alabama.
You can see it at the far left of the map. It has a big bay, and a barrier island with a gorgeous, white sand beach. It is fairly unspoiled, as Florida goes, with more moderate temperatures, and some slight shift in seasons.
Hospitals Party Hearty?
I am telling you, as I tell my own family – if I am sick enough to go to a hospital, please, please, don’t come hang out with me in the hospital.
It happened to me once. I was suffering terribly, and I was very very dangerously ill. Suddenly, around my bed, were about 15 members of my family with deely-bobbers on their heads, in the emergency room, all coming to see how I was doing.
It was my Mom’s birthday then, too, and they had been celebrating, and felt sorry for me, and came so I wouldn’t feel left out.
I wasn’t feeling left out. I was in hideous pain. And the last thing on earth I wanted was to be polite to anyone, to be social. I was in PAIN.
But I also understand that other people feel differently. Some people like the support. Some hospitals – you really need to have an advocate watching out for you, so that you don’t get the wrong medications or the wrong treatment. No, I am not talking about Kuwait. It can happen anywhere, and it does!
And my dear friends in Qatar told me that if you go to visit a sick friend in a hospital ONE THOUSAND angels will pray for you, and while I don’t have that in writing, I like the idea.
So I have come to the conclusion, for myself, it is a good idea to have one very quiet trustworthy person at your bedside, someone who can read, and entertain him or herself, and will love you even at your very worst and not expect you to be polite.
How do you feel? What constitutes appropriate visiting in a hospital? How closely related do you want your visitors to be? Do you want a party atmosphere?
This is from today’s Kuwait Times.
KUWAIT: The medical care and hygiene in most of the public hospitals is dangerously below standard. Not only do nurses suffer from unfair treatment and low wages, but patients face a range of unpleasantness – none of it due to medical reasons – during their stays. Many patients and even nurses are complaining that hospitals have turned into restaurants, a party place and sometimes a garden or kids’ playground for the visiting families of patients.
Reda is a doctor in Sabah hospital who deals daily with the parties of visitors who come at all hours of the day, stay for long periods, bringing with them picnics and ice cream and toys for the kids. She says that visitors are selfish and forget the fact that they are in a hospital and that patients need quiet and time to rest. “These visitors don’t respect the visiting hours, they act as if they are in a hotel rather than a hospitals,” she noted.
An Egyptian patient in his early 50s currently hospitalized in Ibn Sina said “I can’t even sleep from the noise in the corridors. The room next to mine is always full of visitors all the time. The visitors bring their children along with them. The kids are very disturbing and they keep opening the door of my room and don’t let me rest.
You can read the rest of the article at this Kuwait Times link.
Stealing Kuwait’s Telephone Resources?
From the August 6 Arab Times:
(Once again, the government is getting tough on crime. The 23rd richest country in the world is worried about losing the revenue from poor Indians calling home and people using the internet to call their friends and family:)
KUWAIT CITY: Four government bodies β the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Communications, Kuwait Municipality and General Customs Department β have agreed to launch a joint inspection campaign against all illegal international call operators, reports Al-Jareeda daily. Reportedly, they obtained permission from the Public Prosecution to raid all suspected houses and shops conducting such illegal operations and arrest all those involved in the trade. They will also issue citations to people who illegally obtain a landline connection. According to sources, stealing international telephone lines amounts to stealing public funds and culprits will be suitably punished. A security committee too has been formed to follow-up and investigate all such thefts.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communications is planning to engage international companies to study and find ways to overcome illegal calling through internet. Kuwait considers such internet facilities an infringement of its resources and intends to safeguard its rights. In another development, sources say Kuwait will become the first country to have fully installed the optic fiber communication network. Government had earmarked a budget of KD 36 million for the first phase and another KD 80 million for the second phase of the project. Also, telephone connections will be available by next year in three new areas β Ashbiliya, Sabah Al-Naser and Abdullah Al-Mubarak areas.
Meanwhile, Director General of General Customs Department Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Ghanim says his department has been foiling all attempts to smuggle equipments used for stealing telephone lines.
Reportedly, the Ministry of Communications earlier showed department officials the kind of equipment needed to steal telephone lines and βthe department has been working hard to foil all smuggling attempts,β he added.
Autumn Plum Torte
We are watching the farmer’s markets for the first of the Italian plums, those elongated plums that show up around this time of the year. We are getting eager for Pflaumekuchen, or Autumn Plum Torte.
It’s really more like a pie. And I hate to tell you how easy it is to make.
This is my mother’s recipe:
Autumn Plum Torte (Pflaumekuchen)
1/4 Cup Butter
1 T Sugar
1/4 t. salt
2 eggs
1 c sifted flour
10 – 12 purple prune plums
1 c sugar
1 T Flour
Dash nutmeg and cinnamon
1/2 cup half and half
1. Cream butter and sugar, add salt and 1 egg yolk. Blend well, add 1 cup flour, mix well.
2. Press mix into bottom of greased 8β pie pan.
3. Cut plums in half or quarters; place cut side up on top of mix. It is pretty if you make a kind of circular pattern out from the center.
4. Combine sugar, 1 T flour and spices. Sprinkle over plums.
5. Beat 1 egg and 1 white, add half and half, pour over top.
6. Bake at 425 for ten minutes, then turn down to 350 for 40 – 45 minutes, until custard sets and plums are cooked.
The smell as it is cooking is divine. You can serve it in wedges, warm or cold.
You can also double this, and make it in a 9 x 14 pan, to serve to larger groups. It goes FAST!
Men’s Evolutionary Role
I love BBC Health News and find the most amazing stories there, things I don’t see anywhere else. Today’s has to do with women living longer, and studies on aging.
Women, not men, ensure the success of future generations, work suggests.
Grans surviving beyond the menopause appeared to increase the likelihood that their own children went on to have children, a Sheffield team found.
Yet grandfathers had very little influence on their offspring’s reproductive success, Proceedings of the Royal Society B reports.
But experts were quick to stress that both grandparents play a vital role in families and society.
The Sheffield University authors reason that women thrive following the menopause from caring for their own children and grandchildren.
In their study, grandmothers gained two extra grandchildren for every 10 years they survived beyond the menopause.
This link was not found with aged granddads, however.
Instead, the scientists say the “evolutionary” argument for a man’s survival to a ripe old age is to continue to churn out sperm and procreate.
You can read more about the study, conducted in Finland, HERE.
Libya Frees Medics
This has got to be one of history’s most bizarre news stories. For years, these Bulgarian (and one Palestinian) medics have been accused of deliberately infecting Libyan children with the AIDS virus at medical facilities.
Do you believe they did it? Most medical people are in the profession because they want to help. They have consistently denied their guilt, except under torture, and we all know that under torture people will say anything to make the pain stop.
I am betting the procedures in Libya were so primitive, the sterilization minimal to none, and the disease was transmitted by accident. Of course it would be too embarrassing for a nation to admit 1) that any Libyan had AIDS and 2) that poor hospital procedures and equipment caused the infection of children, so let’s accuse the guest workers from a poor country.
Here is a case where patient, persistent diplomacy prevailed. Although convicted in the Libyan courts, and although the guilty verdict was upheld by their courts, they were released to Bulgaria where they received an immediate pardon. Pardon my cynicism, but I don’t believe even the Libyans believed they were guilty. It became an embarassment all the way around.
HIV medics released to Bulgaria
The medics were greeted by tearful relatives and well-wishers
Six Bulgarian medics who were serving life sentences in Libya have arrived in Bulgaria following their release, ending their eight-year incarceration.
They were immediately pardoned by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.
The five nurses and a Palestinian-born doctor were convicted of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV – charges they have always denied.
You can read the full story at BBC News.
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