SNAP THAT

The Bombshell That Could Detonate Your Internet Written by Robert McGarvey 9/30/2011  The question does not get more savagely blunt: Do you want government running your Internet -- deciding what is permissible content, or what could land you in jail? That debate is not academic. It is happening in real time, as you read this, in Nairobi, Kenya, at this year’s Internet Governance Forum . Haven’t heard of the IGF? Join the club. Created out of an initiative by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2006, the IGF is an attempt to impose some UN-style supervision on the Internet Wild West. A lot of what it covers is the expected: how to stop spam, how to protect children, how to bring the Internet to rural communities... Hard to get much friction on those topics. But if you want real friction, the IGF indeed is the place to be, because while some are discussing the harmless (how to insure linguistic diversity online), others are zeroing in on the very is

When out on a walk to the neighbourhood movie theatre I spotted this flower in someone's yard.  The gentle breeze was rocking the tall stalk of flowers back and forth and giving me a bit of trouble in capturing the flower.  Valiently I tried to capture a macro in fading light with a dying battery. I was trying to "see" inside one of the blossoms and capture the bumble bee without getting stung. I finally did manage a glimpse of the prize; the bumblebee!

It was sad news that greeted me this morning. A friend in Kenya informed me that Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Wangari Maathai has died after battling cancer. This was sad news indeed. Sad because the world and the country of Kenya have lost a courageous woman of vision. I'm thankful that she left this world a little better place and I hope someone is there to continue on her important work and that others would make it grow. I'm happy too that she is now out of pain. Wangari Maathai was the first woman from Africa to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. What I loved about her was she founded a movement in Kenya to plant trees so that women and girls could get the timber they needed for making fires. This resonated well with me because of  my interest in providing jiko stoves for the women and girls in Kenya. (You can read more here about jiko stove project). The story of this brave woman reminds me of the power and influence that one person can make.  Remember, you too

Well, I'm trying very hard to be on a diet (about my 4th day now) and also to eliminate water to reduce edema and relieve the pressure on my leg. I am still seeing the acupuncturist and I am also now receiving pneumatic compression therapy on the legs. I look a little like the lady in the photo immediately below when I get my legs compressed except that the garment stops at my hip area. The compression feels a little strange but I enjoy it because it relieves some of the pressure and heaviness I feel in the legs.  Hence it reduces the pain in my knee and my foot though the feeling doesn't last so long.   I will get about 8 of these treatments altogether as they are very expensive.  I also continue to get the acupuncture. Photo credit: Squidoo Photo credit: me My acupuncturist has me on several herbal medicines to eliminate excess water (not drugs as those weaken the kidneys even more so) and to address pain issues. These aren't working that quickly so yeste

Purple flower Hostas and white Astilbis. Thanks to all who identified these. Believe it or not these lovely plants are planted by the roadside on a quiet residential street near my place.  Isn't it amazing that people will plant small spaces in the city just to give the rest of pleasure? I don't know what the white bush and the purple flowers are but they are lovely. I see there are also numerous varieties of hostas planted here. Maybe the purple flower is even from a hosta. I can't quite tell from my photos. Purple flowering Hostas.

This is an awesome story of how the Missions of Hope is bringing hope and help to those who otherwise have none. Please read and share this story with your networks. I'm praying someone or several someones, can help this little family go the next step in the care required for the little one. Blessings! (click on the title in red font below to read the story). Missions of Hope: This Baby Needs Your Help : Hello friends, This is the little girl in pink. For over a month now I have been coordinating efforts to save this little girl from loo...

Hello friends, I just realized I am now over the basic storage limit of 20G so I will be considering what to do about my posts before I continue with more posts here. I may move my blog to another service or I may continue here with more photos posted from my computer rather than uploaded to picasa web albums. I ask for your indulgence as I contemplate what to do since it will likely mean many of my photos disappear from posts. Stay tuned.

Once again I'm promoting the humanitarian and Christian relief effort to the Turkana people in northern Kenyan. I hope you will read ( click on the highlighted words in red font below ) and comment on this last installment, especially if you haven't commented already. In my part of the world our weather has turned to rain.  In Kenya, when it rains, it is considered a blessing.  As you can imagine when you have little to no water, rains truly are a blessing. A dignified and beautiful Turkana woman.   Missions of Hope: Last Update From Turkana : Hello friends, This is my last update about the Turkana relief effort. We had a great time in Turkana serving the people there with our l...

The summer here is fading fast. We have had beautiful weather in the month of August and though my garden didn't do very well this year, I have enjoyed the beauty of other gardens. Here are some photos I took when I went to my acupuncture doctor yesterday. This community garden was near to her parking lot and I went over after my treatment and snapped these photos. I couldn't resist. The colourful flowers stood tall and were beckoning me come and stay awhile. Although the sky had been overcast, the sun peeked out as if to say it wanted me to see the garden in all it's splendour.  (You can click on the photos to enlarge). If you missed my update on food relief in the Horn of Africa, please read my previous post. Also consider leaving a word of encouragement for Jonah. Thank you so much! Join Tina and Maia for Weekend Flowers and Macro Flowers and experience some awesome flowers.

Click the highlighted title to read about the continuing food relief efforts in Northern Kenya.. Don't forget to leave your comments at source post. Thank you so much!  Missions of Hope: More Photos of the Turkana Relief Effort : Hello, Thank you so much for following our updates from here in Turkana country in northern Kenya where we are bringing much needed food ...   Photo credit:  Jonah, Missions of Hope

Friends, you know about the food crisis in the Horn of Africa. I'm showing you what one man can do when he has the heart to help. Please read this post (by clicking on the title in red font) and, if you can, let him know you support his work by logging on and leaving a comment at his blog. Many will soon have food and water in their bellies due to these efforts. Thanks so much! Missions of Hope: Relief Effort to Northern Kenya : Hello friends, This morning, along with other partners, Missions of Hope was able to flag off 5 lorries (large transport trucks) full of ...

I captured these hydrangeas a few months ago. I was intrigued by the colour because they seemed to be light green and turning blue.  I know little about flowers so perhaps blue hydrangeas start out green. There seems to be an over abundance of wasps in the area this year. I'm not sure why.  They even came into a restaurant when a friend treated me to dinner last week.  The owner had to scurry around trying to kill them and shoo some out the door. Please join in the Weekend Flowers and Macro Flowers memes for some true beauty.

I left off my journey in Dawson Creek where we were able to find a room at the George Dawson Inn for the evening. In the morning we had to make the hour drive back to Chetwynd for the funeral. There wasn't much time to take photos and the ones I got in drive by shooting are not so great but I think they will give you an idea of the place. This photo is taken as you enter Chetwynd from the north. One of the first buildings you come to as you enter town is the white building. It is the Legion Hall and is where many of the wakes for funerals takes place. Chetwynd is a small town of a few thousand people but it has all the basic services, including a swimming pool. It is always busy work wise but the town itself never grows very large. One of the old hotels in town has been demolished (right of photo).  It looks like there may have been a fire involved. This is a slightly better view.  note the wood carving in the foreground. These wood carvings are all ov

For a very long time now I've been having issues with my right leg. Problems started in my heel and later I noticed problems with my knee. I got physiotherapy for the knee and began using my stationary bike a lot more. The problem seemed to get better in the knee but returned with a vengeance. After my recent trip to the north country (which I've posted about), I could barely walk. This wasn't the first time things had gotten that bad. I was told by my doctor that the heel problem is plantar fasciitis and by the physiotherapist that the knee problem was caused by tight muscles. Neither of these medical professionals associated the two problems as being related. My own assessment is that the heel problem which was long untreated and for which western medicine can't seem to do too much except surgery (yikes, I'm not having surgery on my feet), led to the other problem of tight muscles. Many years ago I'd gone to a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (DTCM)