Q8Car.com Car Details : Chevrolet – Corvette – 97161377

Details Here

Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere

I came across an interesting case study conducted at Harvard University, where a ‘map’ of the Arab blogs has been created & discussed. For those of you who are interested whether our blogs actually count, then you definitely need to read the publication linked below. Also the map is linked and is very interesting.

Read the case study here: Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere

And check out the map here: Arabic Blogosphere Map

Muna Al-Fuzai is at it again?

This column by my (favorite) columnist Muna Al-Fuzai in the Kuwait Times prompted me to respond. I’m sorry Muna, but you really need to clean up your act. Lady, please spare me your articles and pursue some other career?

Read the following article found in Kuwait Times: How much do we know about swine flu?

Now I’ll paraphrase my favorite writer:

Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu and pig flu) is an infection of a host animal by any one of several specific types of microscopic organisms called “swine influenza virus.”

I wouldn’t depend on Wikipedia for much, if any of my information. True they started with pigs & humans working with pigs. But in case you haven’t continued reading, the form of flu contracted by humans is an altogether different strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1. This type is genetically related to the swine influenza, but it’s ORIGINS ARE UNKNOWN. Oh and by the way, pigs can be infected by the human influenza. Moving on.

I’m actually going to make this blessedly short because I don’t have much time on my hands right now. But the second part of the article honestly set me off on a laughing jag.

In Kuwait, six people were found to be infected with the swine flu virus. So we must be careful, unless you want to be a pig. We should exercise caution during this time and stay away from people with any kind of flu.

Now tell me what’s wrong with this part? “Unless you want to be a pig.” OH MY GOD WOMAN! What happened to you?! Seriously, I have no clue what was going through your mind when you wrote that single phrase. You see, it’s that specific phrase that prompted me to write this.

Here are my tips for you:

1- Stop plagiarizing. Be original.

2- Wikipedia isn’t a reliable source. Use reliable sources such as WHO and the CDC. (Click on each one to follow link.)

3- Once again as I’ve mentioned 2 years ago, go back to journalism class. Or creative writing. You might have slept through a couple of them.

Thank you Muna and I look forward to reading more of your articles.

IOC to Suspend Kuwait’s NOC

Here’s another bone for the hounds to fight over in Parliament. Really, this is a disgrace.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AFP) — The International Olympic Committee is set to suspend Kuwait’s National Olympic Committee from August 1 because of political interference, IOC President Jacques Rogge announced on Tuesday.

The Belgian said that if the public authorities in Kuwait did not amend a national sports law presently in force in the country then they would have no option but to suspend them as it contravened the Olympic Charter.

“The Kuwait Olympic Committee will be suspended on August 1 2009 if, by July 31 the process of amending the local law is not duly finalised, as per the agreements signed and the written commitment of the Kuwaiti authorities,” read an IOC statement.

Pere Miro, director of the IOC’s department of NOC relations said he was hopeful the matter could be resolved.

“It is critical that this situation is resolved as soon as possible for the sake of sport and in particular the Kuwaiti athletes,” he said.

“I am hopeful that satisfactory measures will be put into place before the July 31 deadline in order to avoid the implementation of such a sanction.”

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

Fired in sex scandal, ex-school chief takes post in Kuwait

A friend of mine pointed me towards a newspaper article he stumbled on today. The reason being that I have attended and graduated from one of the supposedly ‘elite’ private American schools in Kuwait.

After reading the article thoroughly, I admit I sort of snapped. Frothed at the mouth, ranted and raved at anyone who cared to listen. Here’s the gist of it, the rest of the article is provided in the link below: An ex-school chief in the U.S. has been fired in an uncovered sex-scandal and a 90-day suspension of his license was part of his punishment. Guess what? He’s been hired to be a superintendent in one of our American schools in Kuwait.

Why did I rant and rave? For the very simple reason of how the ’system’ in Kuwait works. They don’t do background checks on people hired to teach or to practice medicine. Either that, or they just don’t care.

How would a mother feel if she knows her kid is under the supervision of such a person? Personally, I would never put my kid under this man’s supervision. Why? I’ll tell you. I believe in proactively protecting my children, even if the person in question has repented and promises not to do such an act again. I wouldn’t want to risk my children’s health and future based on some stranger’s promise.

The same goes to some doctors practising in our hospitals. How many of you noticed how incompetent some doctors are? How many of you are puzzled by the bunglings of doctors here? I’m sure the list is endless, has the government checked on these people before hiring them? Anyone bothered to check if Dr. So-and-So has been fired for malpractice and literally booted out of the country he/she was in?

Parliament should pay more attention to these issues instead of the in-fighting we’re witnessing on a daily basis. This is a shame.

Minister of Education: where are you? Aren’t you supposed to protect the country’s children from corruption and assist in offering them a better future?

Click here for more details of the sex-scandal teacher hired in Kuwait.

Update: I have also found the Superintendent’s resume online: here