Launching my official website

As I left Haveeru Daily in January, and started freelancing, I’ve felt the need to continue my journalistic adventures, whether in the form of writing, photography, etc.

And with the launching of my official website, www.hilath.com, I hope to do more in the way of journalism but with regard to time availability as freelancing means I would be obliged to work on projects for various parties.

But I am happy that I am finally getting some time for myself, to work at ease, and also relax at any time I chose to, which of course translates to the opportunity now available for me to go bodyboarding at any time the best waves are on offer, and also visit other islands, something which I’ve always wanted to do but so far haven’t been able to. :-D I know it’s a hedonistic lifestyle now but hey, half my life is over, so I might as well relax and enjoy the remaining half! Who knows, I might even die tonight ‘cos you never know how the forces of nature work when you start counting the second half of your life!

Regarding the journalistic endeavors I plan to undertake…. I’ve found it difficult to maintain three blogs of mine (a personal blog, a photo blog, and this news oriented blog) so after the advice of a close friend, I decided to launch the official website of mine (www.hilath.com) and integrate all of my work there.

From now on, I won’t be updating this blog or any previous blogs of mine but they will continue to remain as an archive for visitors to refer back to. I will be updating only my official website.

Some glitches remain on that site but another close friend, who set it up by modifying a WordPress format, will take care of it in the coming few days. He will also be adding some additional features.

Cheers.

- Hilath -

The quirks of a super intelligent mind revealed

Iran clones female goat named Hana

ISFAHAN, Iran – Iranian scientists have cloned a goat and plan future experiments they hope will lead to a treatment for stroke patients, the leader of the research said Wednesday. The female goat, named Hana, was born early Wednesday in the city of Isfahan in central Iran, said Dr. Mohammed Hossein Nasr e Isfahani, head of the Royan Research Institute.

"With the birth of Hana, Iran is among five countries in the world cloning a baby goat," said Isfahani, an embryologist. Full story from Yahoo News

In new book, deaf actress claims actor abused her

...The pair co-starred in the film "Children of a Lesser God," for which Marlee Matlin won an Oscar in 1987 - she was the first deaf actress to win the award.

Matlin and William Hurt met while making the film and began a romantic relationship.

In her book, "I'll Scream Later," Matlin describes a turbulent and violent courtship and one abusive fight in which she claims Hurt threw her on a bed and ripped her clothes off while she sobbed, "No, no, no. Please Bill, no."

In an interview on Access Hollywood, Matlin told host Nancy O'Dell, "I was always afraid ... of him, but i loved him."

Matlin said Hurt was battling alcoholism at the time and she was addicted to cocaine. Full story on New York Daily News

Why do women kill?

...Forensic psychologists and criminal profilers say women who kill have backgrounds and motivations that are often quite different from their male counterparts. Compared with men, women are more likely to be related to their victim, less likely to plan in advance and less likely to use extreme violence.

"Women are different in whom, how and why they kill," said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University. "The victims are younger, they're more often related to them, they kill with means other than guns.

"The traditional female role is a nurturer, not a murderer. Extreme violence is far more alien to females than to males," he added. "When a murder is committed by a female, it's more likely to be self-defense or can reflect some sort of mental illness."

Though women committed roughly 10 percent of murders between 1976 and 2005, they were involved in nearly 35 percent of murders of intimate partners and nearly 30 percent of murders of where the victim was another family member, according to the Justice Department. Full story on ABC News

Man lands plane after pilot dies

A passenger has landed a twin-engine King Air plane in Florida after its pilot died during the flight.

"It was a focused fear," he said after landing the plane. "And I was in some kind of a zone that I can't explain."

Full story on BBC News

Navigating the road to Parliamentary elections: who may win and why

It is undeniable that both parties have unqualified candidates who are not well-versed in politics either because they have never studied the subject or because they have never worked in the field.

As democratic as it may be to give the chance for any Mohamed, Ahmed or Ibrahim to rise to the ranks of parliamentarian, considering the primary duty of MPs – shaping the country’s legislation – I, frankly, would prefer candidates who were competent rather than just loud-mouthed.

Parliament needs to become less of an arena for slurs and individuals pursuing ulterior agendas, and business interests, and more for MPs who genuinely have the best interests of the country at heart.

For me personally, this means voting for the individual rather than along party lines, especially considering how prone members are to party hop – after casting your vote, you just never know which party your candidate will hop to next.

Over recent months, leaders of the two rival parties have been urging their party members to win as many seats as possible.

Full story by Ibrahim Mohamed on MinivanNews.com

Convicted child abuser an MDP candidate for Parliament

At least one of MDP's candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections, Ibrahim Manik, who is contesting a Dhaalu Atoll seat, was convicted of sex offense involving a minor. When concerned people contacted the party about it, they were told the candidate would be removed from the party ticket. But at the time of the publishing of this post, he was still on the MDP list of candidates. Full story from Maldives Dissent

Maldives to run for seat in UN Human Rights Council

MinivanNews.com reports:

A visit by Amnesty International in 2004, noted torture, including rape of detainees, a de facto ban on political parties, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, fear of unfair trial and, arbitrary arrest and detention.

In a speech given at the Royal Commonwealth Society last week in London, President Mohamed Nasheed, a former political prisoner who triumphed in the country’s first multi-party elections in October 2008, said the country had made great strides as it had “ratified a new constitution that enshrines a Bill of Rights, held peaceful multi-party elections and facilitated a smooth transfer of power.

I guess human rights here does not include Maldives' MOST PRESSING problems such as child abuse, violence against women, xenophobia, homophobia, etc?

MinivanNews.com reports Anni as saying:

“All this is very new and we witnessed events that people thought impossible only a few years back. We now have independent institutions, and a separation of powers that serve as a check on power.”

I guess Anni is again being ironic?

NGO condemns PG’s decision to start criminal proceedings against journalists

Maldives Journalists Association has condemned the Prosecutor General’s announcement on April 1 that it will start criminal proceedings against journalists for defamation.

The MJA was registered just a day before the PG’s office made the announcement, and on April 5, the association held a press conference in which it said that the PG’s decision was “against the spirit of the new Constitution that came into effect last year.”

MJA is a collaboration of local journalists after the Maldives Media Association (established in 2007) failed to function properly. (See Ibrahim Mohamed’s article, Maldives Media Association on verge of collapse, on MinivanNews.com)

“Though the draconian Penal Code in place provides for criminal defamation, over the past four years the government of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom did not implement this as an act of good faith to pave way for the smooth transition of Maldives into a liberal democracy,” Ahmed Zahir, executive editor of Haveeru Daily, and a founder of MJA, told reporters.

“Following the announcement by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the new government under President Mohamed Nasheed has kept silent on the issue. We strongly condemn this move by the Prosecutor General,” Zahir said.

He went on to say that MJA would greatly appreciate any support and pressure on the new government to change the Penal Code to decriminalize defamation, and establish a free and stimulating climate that is conducive for journalists to practice their profession without fear and self-censorship.

Coldplay's "Lovers in Japan"

The best song in their new album Prospket's March -- a song in the tradition of their Speed of Sound, A Rush of Blood to the Head, Amsterdam, and Muse's Hyper Chondriac Music.

Official site: Coldplay.com

Original YouTube link to this song