Online Educa Berlin 2008

The year 2008 ended with fantastic ideas for me on using technology to learn and teach English at the conference of Online EDUCA Berlin, Germany.

It was my first time I attended an OEDUCA Berlin that I found so useful in terms of the people I met in person and the connection I made, activities, and ideas. It was networking at its best, indeed.

I was thrilled to meet some of my virtual friends and colleagues, like our Webhead, Cristina Costa (aka Cris). Cris and I had such a wonderful time meeting for the first time face to face. I also met other great people and virtual friends for the first time in person, like Heike Phlip, Graham Attwell, Inge de Waard, and Jay Cross.

Below is my interview done by Cris:

Kuwait Parliament 2008: Give Change a Chance, People!

Well, I'm not surprised or shocked by the results of the Kuwait parliamentary elections that were announced finally a short while ago.

As was expected, the same people who prevented reformation plans and change to the better in the country regarding education and health services, especially, have won the elections and will soon be back in the new parliament to resume their negative or destructive practices!

Some friends have blamed the current government for the current problems in the country since it has not tried to implement any of the reformation plans or projects announced earlier. Well, I'd like to ask those friends this question:

How could a 2-year old government start solving critical security, educational, or health problems in the country - that have started about 30 years ago -while working with a parliament that was dominated by Muslim fundamentalists MPs, (representatives of both Muslim Brotherhood's and Salafi movements)?




And now with such results of the parliamentary elections of today, do you expect this 2-year old government to be able to work with yet another parliament that would be probably controlled by representatives of the Salafi movement?

If some of you are happy that Muslim Brotherhood's are not heavily represented in this new parliament, remember that the Salafi's and other conservatives', enemies of change and development, who are even worse than them in terms of pulling the country to the bottom, preventing any kind of innovation, are going to dominate this new parliament.

Hope this new parliament is dissolved soon so that the government can work effectively at least for a year!

Situation in Kuwait Just Before the Storm!

The video you see shows the news item that I received immediately after the strong dust-storm that hit Kuwait City a few hours earlier. The irony is that while this kind of action was taking place somewhere in the country, mother nature disapproved. The interesting part by nature was that showers of rain followed the storm and the political actions, and everything was back to normal and the weather became nice and clear later.

A Strong Dust-Storm Hit Kuwait!

It was very scary! I felt like our house was being pulled from up and kept looking at the ceiling expecting it to be lifted any minute! The storm took less than 3 or 4 minutes, and then a heavy shower of rain followed that for few minutes. At that point,the call for maghreb (dusk)prayers started, which was heard loud from the mosque opposite to my home. It was a strange experience that happened to us, people in Kuwait City.

The irony is that in the middle of all this the local news I got on my cellphone stated that the interior special forces managed to separate a large group of citizens (all men)near a diwaniya in Asubahia area who were trying to run an illegal pre election meeting!

Education and Public Freedom in Kuwait

Hundreds meet early Wednesday to file a law suit against Jamiyat Al-Islah and MP Abdul Samad at the Justice Palace

Hundreds angry Kuwaiti citizens, including students, parents, and professionals in the public and private sectors in Kuwait agreed to meet early Wednesday to file a law suit against MP Abdul Samad and Jamiyat Al-Islah (Muslim Brotherhood) at the Justice Palace.

The agreement on this action was announced at the end of a Symposium titled, Education and Public Freedom, organized by the National Democratic Alliance, and was held at the Graduates Society, yesterday.

The event expressed strong anger against Jamiyat Al-Islah that represents Muslim Brotherhood Party in Kuwait for issuing and publishing an abusive statement against innocent citizens.

The statement by MB, which was published in main Kuwaiti Arabic dailies on Saturday, lashed out at citizens who supported mixed classes in universities and private schools, and accused them of being the source of corruption in the country by encouraging sexual sins and serious sexual diseases through mixed educational institutions in Kuwait!

Moreover, the conference announced agreement on fling another law suit against MP Abdul Samad for his support to terrorists, like Mughnia, a Lebanese Hizb Allah leader who committed two major acts of terrorism against Kuwait in the 1980s.

More photos here and here!