Archive for March, 2008

Travel writing about Morocco - Part 17.

Monday, March 31st, 2008

Oh dear! Now the Wall Street Journal has succumbed to tabloid writing about Morocco. Yes, sad but true. The usual standards you expect from the WSJ have plummeted.

In an article headed: Morocco’s Dangerous Mystique, one STAN SESSER manages to get in snake charmers and faux guides in the first paragraph. Mind you this is a man who got lost in the Marrakech Medina… now if it had been Fez, we might have understood.

Visiting Morocco can evoke that kind of anxiety. There are real safety concerns: The U.S. State Department says the potential for “violence against American interests and citizens remains high.”Oh really? According to the people who said Sadam had WMDs.

And then there is:

Moroccan families who own crumbling old mansions are discovering that they can sell them for a small fortune to be turned into these high-end boutique hotels. Marrakesh, the center of Moroccan tourism, got its first one only a decade ago, but today there are more than 500. Fez, the cultural capital, has 40.

Where has this man been?

While the riads are indeed luxurious, there’s a downside. The rooms are long and narrow, with windows only on one side looking out into the inner courtyard. You have to keep your curtains closed since guests are walking past, making the rooms dark and stuffy. And since the alleys are too narrow for taxis, going out for dinner can be a hassle.Stan, going out for dinner is part of the fun…Oh forget it… I give up.

Earlier Travel Writing stories:

Travel writing Sixteen.
Travel Writing Fifteen.
Travel Writing Fourteen.
Travel Writing Thirteen.
Travel Writing Twelve.
Travel Writing Eleven.
Travel Writing Ten.
Travel Writing Nine
Travel writing eight
Travel writing Seven
Travel Writing Six
Travel Writing Five
Travel Writing Four
Travel Writing Three
Travel Writing Two
Travel Writing One

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Turmoil at the Port of Seattle

Sunday, March 30th, 2008

On virtually every front, the Port of Seattle is under fire.

Are these issues to be expected with an agency as large as the Port? Or does the Port need some major changes?

Consider the recent controversies: A quarter-million dollar severance package offered to the Port’s CEO. Lax accounting found in a couple state audits. Homeowners around the airport who say the Port failed to check the financial stability of a window manufacturer, before installing defective windows in their homes. A third of the Port’s police force involved in a scandal over pornographic and racist e-mails. A ongoing debate over Christmas trees at Sea-Tac. And a face-off over the proposed demolition of affordable housing units near the third runway.

But now, consider some of the other stories at the Port: Completion of a major remodel of Sea-Tac airport. A booming cruise industry. New environmental programs for cruise ships and taxis. Renovations along the waterfront and Shilshole marina. Light rail coming to the airport. A new rental-car facility in the works.

Do you feel you’re getting your money’s worth out of the Port of Seattle? Sure, the Port has stumbled many times this past year. But if you consider the Port’s operating budget is more than $400 mil., should we expect some problems? Are these issues out of line, or is there a fundamental problem with the way the Port operates?

Missed the show? Watch it on streaming video:
KING 5 News Up Front with Robert Mak
EVERY SUNDAY: THE ISSUES THAT MATTER
KING-5 @ 9:30 a.m. NWCN @ 8:00 p.m. KONG-TV @ 10:30 p.m.

How Does an Implantable Defibrillator Work?

Friday, March 28th, 2008

Implantable defibrillators, often referred to as an Automatic Rifle Internal Cardiac Defibrillator (AICD) or internal defibrillators, usage electrodes that are surgically inserted into a bosom patient’s chest. You may be wondering, “how makes an implantable defibrillator work?” Implantable defibrillators are similar to pacemakers. In fact, most implantable defibrillators can reduplicate the mathematical functions performed by the pacemaker.Implantable defibrillators supervise bosom rhythm. They can administrate dazes if programmed to make so. Most implantable defibrillators are programmed to present an unsynchronized daze upon sensing of ventricular fibrillation. Keep in head that the bulk of defibrillators are implanted after person have got already experienced at least one bosom onslaught or other serious bosom problem.Some bosom onslaught victims have experienced jobs with implantable defibrillators. One such as job is when the defibrillator presents dazes constantly or at inappropriate times. This job can usually be corrected fairly easy. In fact, most exigency response force are trained in reprogramming or resetting implantable defibrillators.Another possible complication is infection. If an implantable defibrillator goes infected, it have to be surgically removed. The patient will be treated with antibiotic drugs until the infection is cleared. It may be as long as two calendar months before another defibrillator is implanted. In the meantime, an external defibrillator will be used until the new internal defibrillator is implanted.The implantable defibrillator can malfunction. It is a mechanical device so there is the hazard of malfunction. Malfunctions cannot always be corrected while the defibrillator stays in the body. Often a new defibrillator is implanted in the topographic point of the nonfunctional defibrillator.A concluding potentiality complication is a recollection of the defibrillator. As with pacemakers, this have happened. The full defibrillator may be recalled or some portion of it, which in kernel is the same thing for an implantable defibrillator. The engraft volition have got to be surgically removed. As long as the unit of measurement did not malfunction in anyway, causing internal damage, another defibrillator can be implanted at the same clip the recalled one is removed.So the adjacent clip person inquires you, “how makes an implantable defibrillator work?”, you’ll be able to give them an intelligent answer. Implantable defibrillators are indispensable for bosom onslaught survivals. Since they self-monitor and adjust, they supply an improved quality of life for bosom patients. Heart patients no longer have got to sit down around, waiting for the adjacent onslaught that may kill them. Instead, they can travel about their lives, enjoying each and every moment.

Hello world!

Friday, March 28th, 2008

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