Teaching Arabic as Second Language (TASOL)

Have you ever wondered or thought about learning Arabic as a second language?

It might be very hard and it seems as if you are learning the old Chinese. However it is a flexible language and very fun to start with.

The problem, though, is with the old teaching methodologies. This is a an innovative approach to teach arabic and I am sure you would love it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlxd7HpMC60 (sample )

Check the complete set at this link: http://www.arabicinenglish.com

Concordia Graduate Students Association (GSA) Elections

If one follows the trends in students' life, she/he would be amazed to see the extreme shocks in the dynamics of one-to-one relations.

Now, people are fighting and sacrificing extremely expensive time to support their slates at the undergraduate levels. I admired this spirit since I was in my late teens at my undergraduate college in Lebanon. I joined Concordia as a graduate students and I missed all the beauties of this life.

I tried to delve into the electoral activities at the graduate level but it was a total disappointment because mature students are trying to imitate the mistakes of young teens instead of bringing some of their experience to the table.

For the first year, I really enjoyed working with a Leftist group who brought the GSA above the sea level and people start to think about this association and its services.

Some students vote for their ideology, political stand, race, color, language or religion only without thinking about competencies of candidates. As a result, the most incompetent team arrived and got over the council. They start fighting within each other directly. The president accuses the VP finance and the VP advocacy accuses the president. VP external accuses everybody and the council members selected one adored VP and accused everyone else.

This is another aspect of civilization clash in a civilized world without civilized manners.

The executives were soon accused of corruption and illegal usage of money and were requested to leave or cooperate. None of this work because of not enough evidence and because both teams are to be blamed and both are of course playing on one side to get rid of something on the other side.

The council members formed a weird collection of some leftists, right wing, arrivists, and left-jumping-to-the-right guys. The mix has some dynamics but their chemistry could not mix with the chemistry of the executive members at all.

I can not blame any of the two parties for their attitude against each other but I surely blame them not to call for an early election to re-start from the beginning instead of fighting each other and get kicked out from the office because the dean of students does not want to babysit them.

What is even worse, the same people who got drifted out last year would like to come back to GSA to abuse the resources again!!!
In here, I do not mean one side only because people from both sides are running again and both of them had the chance to abuse and (have done it maybe) but both of them could not prove their competence to fix such a position.

Whom you are going vote for?
Of course, you vote for United :)

Big Brother by chance

I wanted to help someone and be a big brother for a while but all the smart matching were in vain because when parents try to find someone to help their son, they have already tried and could not succeed to bring him back to the correct path that they want for him.

I tried with few guys in Montreal and I could convince them to forget about the sadness they perceive in their life and look at the other side of the story. They started dreaming of their future with a rosy eye. However, I failed (I admit) with other guys. This does not mean I would not continue.

I did not wrote this note for these guys. I wanted to note, here, that the best small brother you can get is the one that you just find by a chance or a divine consideration and then you become friend with him. This is the true big brother experience.

This happened to me more than once. I really feel they are my younger brothers and I get sad for their sadness and happy for their happiness. I put as much efforts for their success and I do for mine or for my real younger brother.

At least now I can see something good of me coming to Canada after all :)

GMAIL Down

You would not beleive what people start saying when gmail went down today in the afternoon. An excellent free service that was running perfectly for the past two years.

Suddenly something strange happened today and I am sure that it would happen again because the net can not be 100% online. There should be some minor downtime.

However, people do not appreciate what is free unless they feel the cost of email addiction.

For me, I will go out have some fun with my wife :)

Little Mosque on the Prairie

I have not watched the film yet but I feel that this buzz would not come for free. I like and respect the courage of the producer to tackle such issues. However, I am still afraid that the film would have a lot of hidden messages.

new sitcom, Little Mosque on the Prairie, about a fictional Muslim family living in rural Saskatchewan. But instead of hoisting pitchforks, rolling down hills and selling eggs at Oleson's General store like Michael Landon's Ingalls family, this transplanted clan will be trying to interact with the denizens of a little Prairie town in a post Sept. 11 world.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061002.wxmosque02/BNStory/Entertainment/home

Muslims in Canada (or the west in general) needs to show themselves and expose their backyards to show that they are really like any other human in the upper hemisphere. However, Muslims do not have to over-punish themselves and try to assimilate any difference they might have in order to attrack the praise of the Southern Neighbour. Whatever you do, you would always receive some negative comments. A film would help to clarify some ideas and clear some thoughts. However, what is needed is to really approach the OTHER in this society and build a trust relationship.

One comment from G&M article:

Lorraine M from Canada writes: I am looking forward to seeing this show.
Right now, Muslim and terrorist are synonymous in many people's minds. I think
the show will allow people to see that not all Muslims are extremists - any more
than all Christians are the extremist religious right.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070104.wmosquee0104/CommentStory/Entertainment/home#comment546796

or this one

Phil Morris from Canada writes: As Mark Steyn put it, "Muslim"
is the new "Gay." In other words, only uptight squares fret bout Islam.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070104.wmosquee0104/CommentStory/Entertainment/home#comment547955

At the end of the day, I would not like to comment on all the negative comments that I have seen on the internet but I would like to thank every logical writer and I am proud of the Canadian society that is so open and franc to appraise what is good and to refuse what is bad even it was home-made.

The series would be fun and as Jeff Keay, a CBC spokesman, said:

“The producers recognize that this is a potentially sensitive topic. But the show is a comedy. We hope people will laugh"

Finally some serious hope for HIV positive patients

Gatineau vaccine maker lands $35.7-million cash injection
This is a brand new approach to build vaccine and hopefully it would yield better results than previous approaches.

Variation Biotechnologies has landed $35.7 million U.S. in the biggest
financing for a new company in the region in more than 18 months.

Over the next three years, the company will use the money from U.S. venture
capital firms to complete development of new vaccines for the treatment of
influenza and HIV.

It seems that the family got the IT talent at the father and son level without being in IT even. I met Francisco (the son) a while ago and he got a brilliant new idea for the internet world. I expect that Francisco would delve into the world of young entrepreneurs very soon and maybe reap some millions. From time to time, I meet entrepreneurs in Concordia -JMSB to help them with their startups and rarely did I see such match in a family.

Back to the vaccine issue, the company is planning to launch

A cocktail of Variosite vaccine designed to treat viruses as they change
with human exposure and escape detection by the immune system.
...
The company believes the vaccines will eventually treat a wide variety of
viruses including HIV, hepatitis C, influenza and SARS.

Finally, I wish Dr. Diaz all the best in the business jungle.

A couple forgets their baby in the hotel?

"Travel Lodge" declared that they found a baby within the leftover stuff after a couple checked out.

It is weird right?
However, this shows the importance of the children for the 21st century's families.