A bolt of Golden lightening!

Jamaica's Usain Bolt (R) crosses the finish line to win the men's 100m final at the National stadium as part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 16, 2008. Jamaica's Usain Bolt won ahead of Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson and Walter Dix of the US. AFP PHOTO

Once in a while comes along an event which captures the imagination of the public. A moment that imprints itself in the mind. A moment of history in the making. The Olympic games 100m sprint to find the 'world's fastest man' left the world speechless.

Date: 16th August, 2008
Venue: Bird's Nest - Olympic Stadium, Beijing

Name: Bolt, Usain
Age: 21 years

Facts (AP article)

• "only began competing in the dash 13 months ago."
• "skidded out of the starting blocks with the seventh-slowest reaction time in the eight-man final"
• "left shoelace was dangling."
• "official time: 9.69 seconds"
• "the first Olympic 100 in which six men finished in under 10 seconds"

Relaxed: Bolt's undone shoelace (Reuters)

Life in the fast lane: Usain Bolt of Jamaica runs past Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago to win the men's 100m final (Reuters)

Related Articles:
The world is left gasping as Usain bolts into history ~ Daily Mail, 16 August 2008

Bolt breaks 100-meter record, wins Olympic gold ~ Associated Press, 16 August 2008
The Fastest of all Time ~ The Australian, 16 August 2008

Pen with caution!

Strangest label ever on a pen! (Freemind Pictures ©)

Available at all stationary shops in Dubai! (Freemind Pictures ©)

Inspiration or Plagirism? Too close to call?

The tale of a two stories set in Palestine carried by two different news sources namely BBC and Gulf News, two different authors yet both stories have the same story flow from one paragraph to the next. It also shares the same source 'Kafr Birim'. Is it too close to call it a case of plagiarism or inspired story? What's your take? (Please observe dates, news source and words highlighted or in bold).

Article One
Clinging to dream of Palestine village
By Martin Asser
BBC News, Iqrit, Israel
Wednesday, 23 April 2008 09:13 UK

"They were, however, promised that they would return after a fortnight but these promises were never honoured and they continue to live to this day in nearby villages. Kafr Birim experienced the same treatment as many others in that region, falling prey to the "principle of an Arab-less border strip".

"On Christmas Eve in 1951, army officers took some village elders to a nearby hill and they watched as the old stone houses were blown up with dynamite and tank fire, as many other Palestinian villages had been."

Article Two
The lesson from Iqrit and Kafr Birim
By George S. Hishmeh,
Special to Gulf News
Published: May 14, 2008, 00:41

"They were, however, promised that they would return after a fortnight but these promises were never honoured and they continue to live to this day in nearby villages. Kafr Birim experienced the same treatment as many others in that region, falling prey to the "principle of an Arab-less border strip".

Three years later and on Christmas Eve, some of Iqrit's elders were taken by the Israeli army to a nearby hill to watch the demolition of the old stone houses in their village - a cruel step that was repeated elsewhere, presumably because of security concerns. "

Insensitivity? What's your take?

When the whole of Lebanon is on the verge of civil war, is it the time to highlight the winner of Lebanese Idol? Would any one really be interested in reading who is the Lebanese Idol when the whole country is under going a crisis. Perhaps an example of another insensitive sub-editor carelessly pasting an agency story onto the City Time supplement front page.

The City Times in the picture is dated 8th May, 2008 and the other papers placed around are from the the same day or after to highlight the seriousness of the crises in Lebanon.

Time for the Khaleej Times Editorial Board to meet more often to ensure stories on their supplements and main pages don't clash.

Doha Media Freedom centre to be set up! Bahrain moots more Media freedom!

Bahrain should build on its good intentions and remove the last obstacles to freedom of expression, the Secretary General of Reporters Without Frontiers has said.

Under pressure from journalists to amend the 2002 press law and drop its "repressive clauses", the government is currently drafting a new code.

Last month, Jehad Bu Kamal, the newly-appointed information minister, told reporters that the articles stipulating prison terms would be dropped.

This visit by Reporters Without Borders comes a month after the Paris-based organisation signed an accord with the Qatari authorities to set up the Doha Media Freedom centre.

The centre, funded by the government and run independently by Reporters Without Borders, will monitor freedom of the press in the region.

"Our mission as an international organisation is not to give grades to states, but rather to help improve the status of the press," Ménard said. "We want to work together and we are ready to offer assistance whenever requested."

Read the complete article: Activist tells Bahrain to scrap jail for journalists ~ Gulf News.com

New challenges face Qatar Journalists

Excerpts from "Call for creation of journalists' association in Qatar", published February 16, 2008 in Gulf News.com

Media experts have called for the creation of a journalists' association in Qatar to discuss and protect journalists' rights and denounce abuses.

Representatives of media freedom watchdogs holding a number of workshops during the past two weeks have urged local journalists to establish an organisation to defend their rights.

Media experts have called for the creation of a journalists' association in Qatar to discuss and protect journalists' rights and denounce abuses.

Representatives of media freedom watchdogs holding a number of workshops during the past two weeks have urged local journalists to establish an organisation to defend their rights.

However there are challenges faced by the Qatar Media:

"But journalists said the country's legislation hinders the creation of professional associations for non-Qataris, who represent the majority of the professionals working in the field.

"But even the fact that foreign journalists, who are the majority, cannot create a professional organisation of their own, is an issue hindering freedom of debate," said a reporter who asked not to be named.

"Without a free media there cannot be free elections," said Ali Al Merri, secretary general of the National Human Rights Committee.

Yahia Shukkeir, an expert with the Jordan-based Amman Centre for Human Rights Studies:

Shukkeir observed that 26 articles in the Qatari Press Law envisage fines, detentions and punishing measures against journalists that hinder media freedom and contribute to the practice of self censorship.

"A free media needs professional journalists, codes of ethics and an appropriate legislation. Any violation of these three conditions is a violation of the right of the public to know," he said.

Journalists attending the course argued they find it difficult to work in an environment where many officials and public servants ignore the right of the public to seek, receive and impart information, as per the international covenants on human rights. "Journalists try to do their best to avoid direct and indirect pressures from officials.

Read the complete article: "Call for creation of journalists' association in Qatar" ~ Gulf News.com

Shackling the freedom of Arab expression!

Arab media code 'risk to freedom'
Friday, February 15, 2008
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Al Jazeera has said a code adopted by Arab states to govern satellite broadcasting could shackle freedom of expression.

Arab information ministers meeting on Tuesday in Cairo endorsed the charter, which allows host countries to annul or suspend the licence of any broadcaster found in violation of the rules it sets.

Wadah Khanfar, director-general of Al Jazeera, said in a statement issued on Friday: "Any code of ethics or governance for journalistic practices should emerge, and be governed, from within the profession and not be imposed externally by political institutions.

"Al Jazeera considers the adoption of the charter ... a risk to the freedom of expression in the Arab world."

All members of the 22-member Arab League had voted in favour of the document, with only Qatar and Lebanon opposing.

Qatar said it was "still studying the document" and that it did not "currently want to adopt" it for legal rather than political reasons.

Al Jazeera has faced reporting bans in several Arab countries including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia over the past decade.

Iraq also banned Al Jazeera Arabic from reporting in Iraq three years ago - accusing it of fomenting sectarianism - but Al Jazeera English has a presence in Baghdad.

Read the whole article, "Arab media code 'risk to freedom'"~ Al Jazeera.net