Monthly Archives: September 2022
Revealed: jailed Saudi woman was convicted of ‘spreading lies through tweets’ | Saudi Arabia | The Guardian
The court records reveal – for a second time in weeks – a draconian sentence against a seemingly ordinary woman who used social media to voice support for dissidents but was not personally engaged in political activity. It contradicts the public image the Saudi government and its supporters have sought to foster of women enjoying more personal freedom under the rule of the de facto Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman.
Last month, a Saudi appeals court sentenced Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University PhD student and mother of two, to 34 years in prison for having a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissidents and activists. Shehab was arrested and convicted after she had returned home to Saudi Arabia for a holiday. The sentence was widely condemned and the US state department said it had several discussions with Saudi counterparts to discuss the case.
In Qahtani’s case, the court document states that she used two anonymised Twitter accounts. One of the accounts, @Najma097, appears to have last been active on 4 July 2021 and follows 293 Twitter accounts. Some tweets appear to be critical of Prince Mohammed and support the rights of political detainees.
Qahtani was convicted of several charges, including that she sought to “besmirch” the crown prince and King Salman; that she “encouraged participation in activities that damage the security and stability of society and the state”; that she expressed “support” for the ideology of those who wish to “destabilise” the kingdom; for joining a group dedicated to these causes on Twitter and following them on YouTube. She was also convicted of “insulting” state symbols and officials, seeking the release of detainees, and obstructing the investigation into her social media use by “destroying and hiding the mobile phone use in the crime”.
She was also convicted of being in possession of a banned book, which was written by Salman Alaoudh, a well-known reformist cleric – and father of Abdullah Alaoudh of Dawn – who is himself serving a life sentence in a Saudi prison. Salman Alaoudh has been in prison since 2017 after he called for peace on Twitter following the implementation of a Saudi-led blockade on Qatar.
The book Qahtani is alleged to have possessed was not one of Alaoudh’s political books. It was described by Abdullah – who is based in the US – as a book about self improvement and fighting selfishness within one’s self.
“It is a very apolitical book,” Abdullah Alaoudh said.
On my way home

On my way home I’m on demand
I see the rainbow in the sky
The red crab is dancing
In the golden sand
On my way home I have time
To enjoy the beautiful landscape
And I cannot believe
Mother nature has blessed me
On my way home I just breathe
The salted water on my hair
The seaweed cracking below my feet
The sky changes in a blink
On my way home I forget my pain
My eyes are craving for a miracle
Suddenly, the bush of the old tree
Is waving me again
On my way home I feel free.
Filipa Moreira da Cruz
Turkish Tuesdays, New Frames, and a Calendar? — Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story

Some ideas, like our calendar, or like women being business leaders, need repeating: – The previous year, 2016, has shown us that the entire world is in need of change, in particular in the ways that we see, or do not see, one another. Cultural dominance, as shown by the use of the Gregorian Calendar, […]
Turkish Tuesdays, New Frames, and a Calendar? — Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story
Turkish Tuesdays, New Frames, and a Calendar? — Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story

Some ideas, like our calendar, or like women being business leaders, need repeating: – The previous year, 2016, has shown us that the entire world is in need of change, in particular in the ways that we see, or do not see, one another. Cultural dominance, as shown by the use of the Gregorian Calendar, […]
Turkish Tuesdays, New Frames, and a Calendar? — Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story
Resiliência
” O espírito de resiliência é o que nos garante sobreviver as contradições e os dilemas da vida.
Marii Freire. Resiliência
https://Pensamentos.me/VEM comigo!
Imagem: pinterest/ Scarlett Kaur
Santarém, Pá 6 de setembro de 2022

FEATURED: How climate change altered the planet’s water balance and river flows – 💥Peace & Truth
Indoor masking optional at UMass, required at other colleges as semester begins
Smith’s policy will be similar to Amherst College’s, where a requirement for masks to be worn in all indoor locations resumed this week. That will remain in effect through Sept. 12, with the lone exceptions to this rule being inside residence halls and when an individual is alone in a private office with the door closed.
“We fully anticipate moving to a more relaxed masking protocol once we are past the first few weeks of the semester,” wrote Catherine Epstein, provost and dean of the faculty, Liz Agosto, chief student affairs officer and dean of students, and Kate Harrington, chief human resources officer. “That decision will be made based on the prevalence of the virus on campus at that time and communicated prior to Sept. 12.”
At Mount Holyoke College, Beverly Daniel Tatum, interim president, sent a letter to the community about its rules.
“Masks will be required inside all campus buildings from Aug. 21 through Sept. 16 while the campus quickly densifies. Students need not wear a mask in their residence hall room,” Tatum wrote.
Masks will not be required outdoors in most cases, but should cases on campus or in the county change, they might be necessary.
Of the private instutitions, only Hampshire College is committed to keeping masks as a prevention strategy all fall, with President Ed Wingenbach and the COVID Response Team writing that this could be relaxed a bit after Sept. 10, depending on falling case counts.
“Masks will be required in all classes, labs, and other mandatory indoor academic activities, throughout the fall semester,” Wingenbach wrote. “Masks must be worn by everyone at indoor campus events open to the public, throughout the fall semester.”
Source: Indoor masking optional at UMass, required at other colleges as semester begins
♫ We Didn’t Start The Fire ♫
Loved this tune and still do…
I last (and only) played this one three years ago, but it’s one of those songs like John Lennon’s Imagine that is timeless. The lyrics are a stream of consciousness list of more than 100 events that Joel felt his generation was not responsible for. Many of the references are to the Cold War (U.S. vs. Russia), a problem his generation inherited.

Joel says he got the idea for the song after a conversation with his friend, Sean Lennon, son of Beatle John Lennon, on the event of Sean’s 21st birthday, . The conversation went like this:
Lennon:It’s a terrible time to be 21!
Joel:Yeah, I remember when I was 21 – I thought it was an awful time and we had Vietnam, and y’know, drug problems, and civil rights problems and everything seemed to be awful.
Lennon:Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it’s different for you. You…
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