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We're in Athens!
When I was in Spain this summer, my friend Ryan and I started talking about the stuff you need to know that's never in guidebooks: What's the polite way to summon a waiter? At what time of day do people switch from "Good day" to "Good evening"? What do you do if a restaurant is full? Do you hand storekeepers money directly or put it down on the ( Read more... ) -
We're on a boat!
Today was our officially archaeology-free day, since Justin reminded me as ( Read more... ) -
We're in Chania!
I was surprised, when I started reading up on Crete, to realize that two familiar Greek myths take place here and not in Greece at all: Theseus and the Minotaur, and Icarus and Daedelus. Both of these stories revolve around the mythical King Minos, for whom the Minoan civilization was named. Whoever it was who really ruled the Minoans from Knossos ( Read more... ) -
We're in Crete!
The first thing that happened to me upon arrival in Crete at 6 this morning was that I tripped and fell while running across the street to see a Venetian arcade, skinning my hands and elbow pretty badly and bruising my knees ( Read more... ) -
We're in Greece!
Day 1: today's travel challenge was that we had a confirmation number for our ferry to Crete, but by law we needed paper tickets. These can be claimed from the ferry company's office, but by the time we got from the airport to the port, the office was closed. A man in a nearby travel agency pointed us towards a kiosk that was still open. Phew. I'm ( Read more... ) -
DCMF calls for repeal of 1979 Press Law
Ever since posting a fortnight ago about the freedom of speech/press laws in Doha, I've felt some doubt about whether it can really be true that nobody's ever bothered to repeal the 1979 Press and Publication Law. After ll, the Emir proclaimed press freedom in 1995; how could he have neglected to repeal the law that makes it illegal to criticize ( Read more... ) -
Alas, poor Bo
A few months ago I blogged about the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, who were cut off from the rest of humanity 50,000-65,000 years ago and thus have a lot to teach us about human prehistory.
CNN is now reporting that one of the 10 Great Andamanese tribes, the Bo, became extinct last week when its last member died. She was also the ( Read more... ) -
Text of Qatari laws
For reference: today I finally found a website that gives the text of Qatari laws: gcc-legal.org; Google translation.
Under "Quick Search" you can access a DROP-DOWN BOX LISTING QATAR'S LAWS. Damn. If you listed all US laws, how long would the list be? -
Limits on freedom of speech: how much is too much?
"If you believe in freedom of speech, you believe in freedom of speech for views you don't like. Stalin and Hitler, for example, were dictators in favor of freedom of speech for views they liked only. If you're in favor of freedom of speech, that means you're in favor of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise."
-Noam Chomsky
Although ( Read more... ) -
"The fundamental basis of free speech is the flame." -dpp
Insulting email, SMS can land you in prisonWeb posted at: 1/31/2010 6:53:32 ( Read more... )