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    <title>Issmat Al-Akhali</title>
    <link>http://communityherald.ca/list/126</link>
    <description><![CDATA[


A World Today

by Issmat Al-Akhali

International Business, Social, and Political commentary. Add a dash of marketing news and one tea spoon of fashion and lifestyle for a daily snack best served with a large cup of your favourite roast! Issmat is a Halifax-based International marketing and trade professional with an eye for what is new and exciting in the world today. He represents the growing voice of aspiring young professionals and entrepreneurs in Halifax. He draws much of his commentary and views from his global experience in the field of international business and his daily exposure to the latest trends and technologies.


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    <language>EN</language>
    <pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:45:33 -0400</pubDate>
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    <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
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      <title>Organic Nightlife at Vancouver 2010 Olympics</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/40633/40633#msg-40633</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[BC Hydro contracted the folks from Sustainable Dance Club (SDC) to install Canada's first sustainable dance floor in the company-sponsored 'Club Energy' during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Deejays will be spinning all types of music for all ages, and dance students and professionals from Harbour Dance will be leading visitors in salsa, swing, hip-hop, and country two-step dances.

Every day at 3 p.m. there will be a So You Think You Can Dance competition. And at 5 p.m. is a Fastest Feet Competition, to see who can generate the most energy by moving their feet. On Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. local b-girls and b-boys will spark one-on-one break-dance battles on the energy-generating floor. Throughout the Games, Club Energy will be measuring which country is able to generate the most power by dancing in the BC Power Smart Dance Challenge.
The Toyota TVC below features an animated showcase of the technology.



YWT reported on SDC's invention in early 2008. The world's first sustainable dance floor was installed at Club 'WATT' in Rotterdam - Holland. Through successful collaboration with the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, WATT is sports the world's first 'Piezo-electricity' dance floor. The dance floor harvests energy from the vibrations created by dancing clubbers and uses it to power the club's own LED lighting.

The dance floor is not the only sustainable aspect of Club WATT. Dutch architect Henk Döll is the visionary behind the club's design, and has creatively integrated the latest innovations in sustainability to reduce the use of energy and water and decrease waste production. He is a founding partner of project SDC (Sustainable Dance Club) along with ENVIU. The project aims to 'green dance clubs worldwide'.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/40633/40633#msg-40633</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:45:33 -0400</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Promoting Your Business By Insulting Your Customers</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/40558/40558#msg-40558</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[-
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Seen in the Bayer's Lake business park district in Halifax, Nova Scotia.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/40558/40558#msg-40558</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:13:19 -0400</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Haitian Pure: When Natural Disaster Strikes Ad Campaigns</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/40495/40495#msg-40495</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[-
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The launch of one of the most interesting campaigns to ever come out of Canada was recently canceled due to a curious case of political correctness.

The Toronto branch of Halifax-based Extreme Group has been tirelessly working on this unique branding and interactive campaign for a new Toronto business venture. The edgy campaign received final blessings and was about to launch when nature decided to rear its ugly head in Haiti.

So, instead of the massive launch this campaign was about to receive, a highly subdued roll-out took place. I'm being deliberately vague here because I don't want to spoil your first interaction with this campaign. Go ahead and click on the image below to visit HaitianPure.com. Turn your volume up, set your browser to 'Full Screen', then follow the website prompts and you'll know what I'm talking about.



While I can understand the potential risk of backlash, I can't help but wonder if the campaign (and the client) would have benefited from the publicity that would have resulted from any potential controversy. In the end, I think the client and the agency correctly decided to err on the side of safety.

Despite the quiet launch, the campaign's viral potential will make up for the lost attention. Extreme made sure to furnish the interactive with the necessary tools to squeeze as much social juice out of the site as possible. You can add it to your Facebook or MySpace profile. You can also Digg it and Tweet it (but for some reason, you can't Stumble it).

Regardless of the outcome, this campaign is surely heading for some national (and global) award nominations.

]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/40495/40495#msg-40495</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:53:09 -0400</pubDate>
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      <title>New Downtown Halifax Campaign Targets After-Work Crowd</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/35850/35850#msg-35850</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[The Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC), together with Extreme Group, are embarking on a unique new initiative to encourage Halifax residents to visit the downtown area to shop, dine, and play (or remain after work, if they work in the area).

Below: **Paul MacKinnon, Executive Director of the DHBC, unveils new campaign at Extreme's head office in downtown Halifax**


I say the initiative is unique because, unlike previous initiatives, this one seems to target a demographic that had previously been largely ignored by city and provincial initiatives. It is also unique in its abandonment of cliche imagery that is normally associated with such campaigns (lobsters, waterfront, Citadel Hill, etc.).

The poster below is one of four executions revealed at the campaign launch, along with a new website at www.downtownhalifax.ca. Unfortunately, I only took a picture of this one. I'll post the rest as soon as I am able to get my hands on them (hear that, Extreme?)



**Account  Director:** Geoff Wills

**Creative Director:** Cliff Thompson

**Account Planner:**  Martin Delaney

**Account Supervisor:** Allison Garber

**Designer:** Amy  Boehmer

**Art Director:** Tyson Hynes

**Copywriter:** Trevor Millett

**Project Manager:** Karen Bell

During the campaign launch event at Extreme's downtown headquarters, I asked the Account Director of the campaign and he confirmed that the departure from using common imagery was deliberate. The DHBC and Extreme group seemed to be on the same page in regards to what attracts the demographic they are targeting, and what imagery is seen as ineffective.

The campaign direction is interesting to me, as it reflects several conversations I have had recently with friends and colleagues that loathed the lack of an 'after-work' dynamic in the downtown. In other cities, the after-work crowd is a key soruce of business to shops, restaurants, and bars, resulting in an active downtown core throughout the business week.

Extreme Group is a local ad agency with offices in Halifax and Toronto. The agency received 13 awards in the 2008 ICE Awards, a prestegious annual advertising awards gala to recognize the Atlantic region's best advertising and design. ]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/35850/35850#msg-35850</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:45:43 -0300</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Saving Traditional Print Media By Looking In To The Business, Not Out To The Internet</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/35778/35778#msg-35778</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[The recent wave of closures and layoffs at Newspaper establishments like the Chronicle Herald is prompting observers to ponder the potential collapse of the Fourth Estate.

Internet enthusiasts believe that the solution is for traditional print media to simply &quot;get with the times&quot; and &quot;go online&quot;. Some even go as far as suggesting that with the proliferation of social media and citizen journalism (blogs, podcasts, vlogs, twitter, etc.), the market demand for traditional news reporting is diminishing and will soon disappear.

I disagree with this view, and I believe that market demand will always be present for traditional news reporting, specially investigative reporting. Unpaid bloggers simply don't have the resources or access to chase around a story for an investigative report, so they can never provide a viable substitute.

Saying that &quot;the only way traditional print media can save itself is by going online and embracing the way of social media&quot; oversimplifies (or fails to address) the various elements involved in making such decisions. This view simply suggests that the only saving measure is to change the medium of delivery.

To raise profit, any business must do one (or both) of the following:

A. Increase Revenue (Sell more units/sell to more people/raise unit price)

B. Decrease Costs

With advertisers holding back on spending, and a general demographical migration of audience from paid, subscription-based, print news consumption to free, on-demand, online news consumption, it appears that maintaining profitability by increasing revenue would be difficult at the very least.

This leaves the print industry with the option to pursue strategies aimed at decreasing costs to remain profitable. These cost cutting strategies can be applied to:

A. Content Delivery, and/or

B. Content Creation


(**Content Delivery:**)
-----------------------

I.e. increasing profit (or cutting costs) by modifying the methods used to deliver the content. This is the solution suggested by many internet and social media advocates.

Modifying the medium of content delivery can also fall under the &quot;increase revenue&quot; category. However, various current examples have proven that newspaper revenues from online advertising/subscriptions are a fraction of what the traditional paper copy yields.

This solution at its surface does not address the various demographic, geographical, and socioeconomic factors at play.

For example, in Nova Scotia, the demographical makeup of the population makes it difficult for Newspapers to simply decide to 'go digital'.

According to the latest statistics (2007) of population estimates from the NS Finance department, a significant percentage of the population is in an age category that remains quite attached to paper formats. If we don't count population aged 0 to 14 years as &quot;news readers&quot;, almost one-third of the remaining population is in the 55+ age category. This is the age category that largely contributes to the subscription revenue stream.



With the decline in advertising revenues, subscription revenues are now a growing contributor to the profit margin, and must be given its due consideration.

The 55+ age category remains attached to paper formats. It can be argued that it is much harder to 're-train' this demographic to change their news consumption habits, or increase their existing adoption of internet media. A quick look at news media research studies and surveys easily confirms the age distribution of paper vs. online news readers.



So, while newspapers in regions with a larger percentage of a 'younger' population may conceive a viable switch to an online business model, papers like the Chronicle Herald are bound to cost-cutting options and innovations that are less flexible given the comparatively older demographic of their audience.

However, as previously mentioned, there are two aspects to the 'News business': Content Delivery, and Content Creation. The above limitations of demographics and technology adoption are shortcomings for cost-cutting strategies that target Content Delivery because they involve changing consumer habits that are outside the locus of control of a newspaper like the Chronicle Herald.


(**Content Creation:**)
-----------------------

On the Content Creation side, a number of strategic options are available for consideration. Any strategic changes to the business model of &quot;content creation&quot; are internal to the newspaper, and therefore are much easier to control and modify without negatively affecting the audience of the paper or asking them to change their consumption habits.

The increased control over the outcome alone makes cost-cutting strategies targeted towards content creation a better alternative to strategies targeted at changing the content delivery medium. Still, we must remember that content-creation and content-delivery strategies are not mutually exclusive.

So how can costs be reduced by tackling  'Content Creation'? The answer is in good ole' fashioned Business Process Re-engineering (BPR).



First, the various elements of content creation should be identified and analysed:

**What the content is?**

	Which content is syndicated, which content is local


	 which content is based on press releases from 3rd parties (companies, government departments, etc.)
	 Which content is regular reporting, and which is investigative reporting


**How the content is created?**

	 What are the existing processes of writing, submitting, and printing content
	 Are there alternative methods or technologies that can be adopted to better (and more cost-effectively) manage how the content is written, submitted, edited, proofed, and printed


**Who creates the content?**

	 What kind of qualifications must be present in a reporter/writer/journalist to create each type of content identified in the previous analysis of &quot;what the content is&quot;
	 Is staff distributed adequately to match the qualifications required to create each content type, or does the paper have $100 reporters writing content that can be equally created by a $50 reporter
	 Can existing staff work with new technologies that the organization might introduce to cut costs and/or improve productivity?
	 Can existing staff be retrained? Will they adopt the change or will they resist it?
	 If existing staff can not be retrained or resist the change, does the paper have access to new staff candidates who possess the qualifications required for the content, AND have the know-how to use the new technology platform, AND are willing to work at an equivalent (or cheaper) rate to the old staff.


**Where the content is created?**

	 Does creating the content require a central physical space to house the creators (an office) or can the creators work off-site (e.g. telecommute)
	 Which staff must have a physical presence at an office
	 What operations/resources are required to create the content? Are they accessible only at a central physical location? Can they be digitized and provided online? Can they be outsourced?
	 What is the cost-benefit analysis of changing the business model from creating content on-site to content creation off-site (savings on office space vs. cost of deploying new technology and processes to support off-site content creation and retraining staff)


The point of the above exercise is to create a new business model that:

A. Keeps providing quality news reporting

B. Removes non-vital expenses through achievable technology adoption (telecommuting, online authoring and collaboration tools, video conferencing, etc.)

C. Realigns human resources to maximize productivity by matching experience to the content that requires it, and trimming staff that is unable or unwilling to adapt to the new business model (deadwood).

By doing the above, traditional print newspapers can emerge as a leaner and more responsive business machine. They can cut costs, remain positioned for online delivery, and continue to cater to their traditional paper market.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/35778/35778#msg-35778</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:00:32 -0300</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>&quot;Bad Dads&quot;: A New Online comedy series from Nova Scotia</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/35748/35748#msg-35748</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[&quot;Think of it as 'Entourage' plus twenty years, kids, and vasectomies&quot;, notes the website where mini webisodes of a new show dubbed 'Bad Dad' are piloting. The show is the creation of Halifax-based Craig Moore (of Spider Video)  and Michael Amo.

The show's first episode has that 'fresh online production' smell, combining a healthy dose of quirkiness and ease. The character building begins right away, casting each 'Dad' in the cheeky stereotype they will inhabit throughout the series.

Check it out below!
]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/35748/35748#msg-35748</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:49:40 -0300</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Re: Letter From A Homeless Man In Halifax</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32412/35580#msg-35580</link>
      <author>Ambereyes1010</author>
      <description><![CDATA[That letter is so sweet. Now, I wish that most homeless folk were that touched by our actions. Will, the little we give them (change/smokes etc.) And apparently shelter. I'm assuming everyone who reads this is going to be all warm and snuggly, but I have a bad opinion on the homeless after tonight. Well, the ones who stay out late at night still bugging people. Those people i find dangerous, especially if they have a liquor bag in there hands yelling, &quot;I am a UFC champion&quot; while following you into a store. THOSE are the types of homeless people I LOATHE! Yeah sure they're &quot;harmless&quot; but it's only a matter of time where that saying runs out of steam and something actually happens, who knows what they're hiding in their baggy clothes. Maybe they can't afford a gun, but they can have knives or anything! It seriously makes me want to move back to Newfoundland.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32412/35580#msg-35580</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:38:13 -0400</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>If Halifax was Palestine</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/34966/34966#msg-34966</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is much more complex and deep rooted than this latest flare-up will tempt you to judge. The tendency to simply scream &quot;it's Hamas' fault for sending rockets!&quot; is far more comfortable than to attempt a real and sincere look at the situation from the perspective of the Palestinians and in the context of their 60+ years of struggle with Israel.

One poet squeezed out this bitter piece at a recent Gaza rally in New York City. It may give you a glimpse into what the Palestinians see as the real unresolved issue. Before the suicide bombs. Before the rockets came along.



The root of the problem has persisted since the establishment of the state of Israel. Many believe that there is no real will from the international community (read: USA &amp;amp; Britain) to resolve the real issues, as they refuse to instate a permanent and viable solution for the Palestinian refugees who have been displaced by the creation of Israel. Palestinians feel that the only forthcoming propositions for peace are those that cater to the interests of Israel alone. 

According to the latest figures from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), there are currently over 4.5 Million Palestinian refugees who persist in shanty houses in refugee camps and cities in and around the disputed territories.

It is widely believed that there can be no two-state solution until clear provisions are made to address where the refugees will return to. You can't squeeze that many new people into the little slice proposed as the Palestinian &quot;state&quot; (that Israel and the US will &quot;bestow&quot; on the Palestinian people, but only if they begged nicely) and expect everything to be fine.

Surprisingly, most public comments I have read in Nova Scotian news articles regarding the recent Gaza situation show an overwhelming tendency by readers to fall into the practice of cursing the symptom while ignoring the disease. &quot;Hamas are terrorists&quot;, they say. &quot;The rocket attacks must stop&quot;. &quot;Don't poke the bear if you don't want to be mauled&quot;, they wisely offer.

So here is a crude attempt at providing a bit of perspective to those Halifax/Nova Scotia readers, from the Palestinian side of things. Feel free to dispute this version of events, but remember that truth is in the eyes of the beholder. What really happened is somewhere between the following fictional analogy, and what you believe to be the truth.

Imagine that tomorrow an army of Vulcans arrives at Halifax harbour, having been displaced from their Vulcan planet due to unfathomable reasons that have rendered their planet inhabitable, and with the understanding that Nova Scotia really belonged to their ancestors, who had landed and lived in the area some 10,000,000 years ago.

(**Jewish settlers arriving at Haifa harbour, Palestine in 1946**) 

This army, using the latest and greatest in military might, then proceeded to herd all current residents of Halifax (including you and your family)  into two designated areas: Sackville and Cole Harbour (Gaza and the West Bank). This army then proceeded to appropriate all vacant lands, and moved their families into the homes that previously belonged to Haligonians.

As Haligonians huddled in Sackville around camp fires and in gas stations, they pondered their future. The humiliation was unbearable. Food was scarce, medical capacity inadequate, and the ever watchful eye of the Vulcan troops surrounding their area are a constant reminder of their state of imprisonment in their own city.

Of course, they were always given the choice to leave the city altogether and seek shelter in another province or country, but Haligonians were silly people with salty sea-faring blood who clung to such old fashioned notions like 'home', 'freedom', and 'justice'.  So they decided to stay and resist.

Those without homes in Sackville and Cole Harbour formed camps and shelters which they built out of scrap metal and any materials they could gather to protect themselves from the harsh winters. The Vulcan army controlled entry and exit to these camps, ensuring that occupants do not obtain any weapons or significant means of resistance.

(**Palestinian Refugee Camp, 1952**)

Yet, Haligonians persisted. They refused to leave the city, and continuously caused trouble with various attempts at resistance over the years. This kept the Vulcan army at a constant state of alert, and prevented them from enjoying normal lives with their families and friends that had moved in to the rest of Halifax. So, they decided to create 'incentives' to encourage the occupants of Sackville and Cole Harbour to leave the area permanently.

For example, on one dreadful evening, guards at a particular camp (called Sabra &amp;amp; Shatila) in Sackville gathered a gang of known enemies of the Haligonians (let's call them the Lebanese Christian Phalangist militia). They let the armed gang into the camp, then closed the gates behind them. In the following 60 hours, the gang carried out a systemic rampage of rape and murder on the men, women, and children who occupied the camp. An estimated 400 to 800 were killed. (Israel launched an inquiry into the Sabra/Shatila massacre and found then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon to be 'partially' responsible, and forced him to resign his post. He later became Prime Minister of Israel, while preparing to defend himself against charges of war crimes.)

As similar 'incentives' were creatively introduced across the designated Haligonian areas, more and more Haligonians left the area for fear of the safety of their families and children. They became the largest known group of nation-less refugees in the world, surviving on the charity of neighbouring nations and requiring special permission papers to be able to move from one place to another.

Slowly, the simmering anger and discontent of Haligonians erupted into a major uprising (the first intifada). Men, women, and children picked up what they could and attacked their Vulcan prison guards in any way they could. They threw rocks, whacked tanks with sticks, and shot at anything wearing a military uniform, using any ammunition they could get their hands on. The resistance took to the streets of Sackville and Cole harbour, and urban warfare was in full effect.

(**First Palestinian Uprising (intifada) 1987-1993**)


The resistance continued for 6 years, yet the Vulcan army kept it firmly contained within the designated areas, ensuring that the daily lives of the Vulcan army's families and friends in Halifax were not being disturbed by the Haligonian nuisance.

The uprising yielded no results for the Haligonians, and the death toll was far more significant among the stone-throwing Haligonians and their families than the tank-riding Vulcans.    However, during 6 years of active resistance since the uprising, Haligonians formed guerrilla groups of former police officers, firemen, volunteers, and anyone who knew anything about handling guns and/or defence tactics. These groups paraded under a variety of uplifting names and acronyms, like HAMAS, FATAH, etc.

These groups studied the futility of the uprising, and came to a dreadful conclusion. They decided that, after nearly 40 years since the Vulcans arrived at the Halifax harbour, the stakes for the Vulcan army were not high enough for the Vulcans to consider any form of change in their policies towards the afflicted haligonians, let alone the idea of returning Halifax to its previous inhabitants.

These groups decided that in order to be effective, the fight has to affect the Vulcan army's families and children just as much as it is affecting the Haligonian families and children in their camps in Sackville and Cole Harbour. The suffering had to befall both sides of the conflict, not just the side that is trying to break free.

Since the Haligonians did not have the means to remotely launch attacks into Halifax (where the Vulcan families resided), they looked at options and came to the conclusion that the only way for their attack to reach places like the South End or Clayton Park is for one of them to smuggle a bomb in person, then detonate it manually, inevitably sacrificing his own self in the process. These 'martyrs' were to be praised as fallen heroes of the resistance, achieving near comic-book fame of caped/masked crusaders of the Justice League.

(**Following Role Models. A child dressed as a suicide bomber during a demonstration in the West Bank.**)


Thus began the era of suicide bombings. Unfortunately, the tactic worked. The vastly unaware Vulcan populace in Halifax began to take note that the chirping canaries they had locked up were screaming in pain, not singing in joy. International observers, previously silent, became active and rushed in with proposed 'solutions' to end the war and the conflict. Things began to look up, but not for long.

The Vulcan army came up with a new tactic. To stop Haligonians from escaping their settlements and sneaking into old Halifax to plant manual bombs, the Vulcans decided to build a wall around Sackville and shoot anyone that comes within a few hundred yards. This ought to bring things back to the way they were before the uprising, they thought. The same idea they used with the refugee camps in the past, but on a larger scale.

This way they could control what comes in and out of Sackville, and have total rule over the livelihood of the Haligonian inhabitants. If the Haligonians act up, the army can cut off food, medicine, power, and water. They will squeeze Haligonians into submission.    

However, the Haligonians have learned a few new tricks by now! With some help from PEI volunteers, they learned how to make potato-fueled rockets to carry their homemade bombs a limited distance.

They no longer needed to carry bombs in person into the army quarters in Halifax, so the rate of suicide bombings dropped significantly. Instead, they now lobbed as much as they can over their prison wall, as far as they can get it into Vulcan territory.    While the practice was virtually ineffective, it continued to send to the Vulcans the timeless message: that Vulcans will not live in peace in Halifax and drown out the injustice taking place in the besieged territories in Sackville (Gaza) and Cole Harbour (West Bank) until they face what they have done to Haligonians and fix it.

In over 60 years since the Vulcans landed in Halifax and began herding Haligonians out of their homes and concentrate them into the two camps of Sackville and Cole Harbour, no solution has been offered to Haligonians that truly addresses the humiliation and injustice they have suffered. It is as if this little part of the world called Halifax just doesn't matter to anyone other than the Haligonians themselves.

In 6 decades, Haligonians lost everything. Any notion of a normal future for them and their families had vanished one or two generations ago. There is no industry. There are no jobs. There are no schools. There are no Saturday morning cartoons. Food is scarce. Medical supplies are even fewer.     Death and destruction surrounds their daily lives, as they remain besieged in Sackville, hopelessly looking over that notorious wall, wondering if the nightmare will ever end, and if they will ever be let out.

Until then, they might as well send another message in a rocket to the outside world. 'Help Us'.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/34966/34966#msg-34966</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:59:39 -0400</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Should All Halifax Residents Pay for Extended Public Transit Services?</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/34527/34527#msg-34527</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[The latest city council meeting on Tuesday December 9 has provided the media with much fodder. Among the blunders was a report from city staff that studied increasing transit service to suburban and rural areas and recommended that the cost be paid for more by those residents who live in those areas. The suggestion follows the ongoing effort by the tax-reform committee to introduce a service-based tax system in the city instead of the current system that doesn't take into consideration the cost of providing certain services in one area or another, and the availability of those services when the tax is paid.

City councilors expressed their 'concerns' about staff's recommendation, to say the least of their reaction.

What they might not know is that Metro Transit already undertakes a service-based cost/revenue structure with certain parts of their service, but I doubt many people know this.

When the U-Pass was implemented to provide Halifax students with unlimited bus usage, I was the executive from Saint Mary's University (SMU) overseeing the roll-out of the program in its first year in the city. In the negotiation process, the student union and the university administration agreed to impose a flat bus pass fee on all full-time students at SMU, regardless if they use the bus or not. In return, SMU asked Metro Transit to provide better service to the university, and unlimited access for 8 months of the year to students who to use the bus.

Ultimately, a deal was reached where SMU students paid for the full cost of the extra servicing, which was collected through the annual UPass fee. This is public information available in articles that appeared in the university student paper in 2003 when the UPass was launched.

SMU students ultimately ended up paying for the full (unsubsidized) annual cost of the additional services, regardless of the fact that the buses were used by more than SMU students alone, and were existing buses that are already subsidized as part of the transit money the city gives to metro transit. While seemingly unfair, the  overall benefit outweighed the cost.  Transit ridership gradually increased as more students adopted the new mode and left their cars at home. Less parking spaces were required in and around the university, allowing for more academic buildings and less street congestions.

The precedent has been set for a pay-per-service system. And while the cost of the pass was higher than what it should be, everybody won in the end, and all universities in Halifax launched the UPass in following years under the same fee structure.

So, let's talk about the application of a service-based tax system in relation to transit services.

A service-based tax is a good idea, specially for transit. Transit is one of those services that can easily be linked to the elusive goal of good and environmentally-sustainable urban design. And so the question of transit planning is ultimately linked to the question of property taxes and their effect on housing distribution and sustainable service densities.

I understand why rural and suburban residents want good public transit options (who doesn't!). But it must be provided at a higher expense to their tax area (albeit, not without first resolving the question of affordable housing for low-income families, as described further in this comment).

Extending bus lines to every nook and cranny in HRM, then loading the cost of that on all residents regardless of their location, is a recipe that awards suburban sprawl. This backward and reactive strategy has no place in planning a city ready for the challenges of the 21st century; A city with an eye for a prosperous future.

Our local government should work more at creating tax and service incentives to encourage people to live together more sustainably in higher-density communities. HRM staff knows this, common sense dictates this, and scientific evidence supports this.

Yet, people are reluctant to swallow penalties for unsustainable residential choices. They want to live in the quiet country-side large house with a sprawling back yard overlooking a lake, AND they want all the services that a city dweller with smaller quarters and higher rents/taxes gets, AND they want good roads and transportation options to travel back and forth from their oasis to their city work, AND they want to pay less tax than urban dwellers!!

The argument that service-based taxation will negatively affect low-income families who can't afford to live in the urban core is a critique that has been misplaced. This is an issue that relates to the lack of rent-controlled housing for low-income families in the urban core, which is an issue that can be solved with a more equitable tax structure in the urban core along with a commitment by local government to provide affordable housing for low income families throughout the urban districts.

Affordable housing can exist in the urban core only with a service-based tax system that allows city hall to redirect its tax revenues into creating housing solutions. It can also use the new structure to provide tax incentives to encourage (or even mandate) developers to include affordable housing within their development projects.

The current tax system only helps to encourage the creation of ghettoized districts, where low income families are forced to collect in specific areas due to the financial incentive that the government inadvertently creates with a tax structure based on property value. Just ask France about how well it worked out for them to create suburban pockets in Paris where the cost of living was lower than in the city core!

So let's not say no to a service-based tax system that will benefit everyone in the long run and will bring us closer to an environmentally and fiscally sustainable city. Instead, let's take this opportunity to inscribe urban solutions to the low-income housing situation as part of the overall effort to move the city into the new tax structure. The structure that rewards dense community living with financial savings that allow the implementation of excellent public transit options and everything else that our city deserves.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/34527/34527#msg-34527</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:02:27 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The Halifax ICE Awards Taught Me How To Twitter</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33874/33874#msg-33874</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[I attended the 7th annual Ice Awards at Pier 21 last Friday and was treated to what I believe to be the most glamorous awards show in Halifax. Pity that the local TV stations don't cover such events. God forbid people turn on their TVs and come across an urban looking local event on Eastlink or Global that doesn't look like it was filmed with a cell phone camera on a hundred dollar budget.

For those who don't know, the Ice Awards is an awards show that celebrates creative advertising and marketing made in Atlantic Canada ('ICE' stands for Innovation, Creativity, and Enterprise). To see the winning ads, you can visit the ICE website or click on the TV below.



Halifax-based agencies Extreme and Colour, and Newfoundland-based Target took home the majority of awards.

One thing I noticed while mingling with the local advertising crowd is their common use of Twitter. Now, while I pride myself for having above-average knowledge of social marketing and interaction tools, I must confess that I never really adopted the micro messaging site, or really understood what it really does. For Arabic users, a similar site called WatWet.com offers the same service.

In comes the 'In Plain English' series from the folks at CommonCraft.com, a service by a young couple based in Seattle who specialize in 'explanations'. They produce short fun tutorial and training clips to explain, in plain English, whatever you want them to explain. An excellent substitute to boring corporate training videos that make you want to take a toothpick to your eyes for all the bad 80's style cinematography you just had to endure.

So, if you are like me and you just don't get what eveyrone is 'Twittering' about, here is Twitter - In Plain English.


]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33874/33874#msg-33874</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:50:20 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Survey Results Provide Opinion Comparison Between Halifax Public and Halifax Municipal Elections Candidates</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33780/33780#msg-33780</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Here is an interesting press release noting the results of a recent Halifax survey that asked the public for opinions regarding controversial issues like Heritage VS. Development, the Bedford Ferry, changing Halifax's name, dividing HRM, and other juicy bits.

Over 500 residents of HRM responded to this online survey, which was an effort by the group Citizens For Halifax to gauge public support for their vision of the future of Halifax.

The raw feedback from this survey can be found here.

Halifax, NS, October 16, 2008 -- Most municipal candidates are in touch with the interests of citizens and have a clear understanding of what Halifax needs to become the most vibrant and livable city in Canada, according to a recent poll conducted by Citizens for Halifax (CFH), an independent, non-partisan organization dedicated to encouraging citizen engagement and government accountability in the Halifax region.

Citizens for Halifax conducted the informal electronic poll of municipal candidates in recent weeks to see who supports its seven central positions -- positions that represent collective feedback from a series of citizen forums held within the last year. The poll found that 21 out of the 32 candidates who responded support at least six of the seven positions. This included mayoral candidates Sheila Fougere and David Boyd.

“It tells us the majority of candidates are on the right track when it comes to what citizens want and what this city needs,” said Malcolm Fraser, chair of Citizens for Halifax. “The general consensus is that Halifax needs a streamlined, sustainable municipal government, and tax rates that are more in-line with services delivered. We know what has to be done and this helps us identify who the right leaders are to get us there.”

Jim Connolly, Glenn Dodge, Andrea Hilchie-Pye and Dawn Marie Sloane are the candidates who agreed with all seven of the Citizens for Halifax positions, which include restructuring municipal government into more manageable units, tax reform that more closely matches services, development of the arts and cultural sectors, a comprehensive transportation system, and a more transparent and streamlined development process.

“We intend to work with like-minded candidates to achieve some of these strategic goals for the city. As citizens, we all need to work together to make sure the right people get in, and then stay engaged to help those leaders achieve change,” said Fraser.

Comments from the candidates indicate they strongly support the need for improvements to the current council structure, even though a majority (75%) are currently against dividing the municipality into two units.

In a simultaneous online poll of more than 500 Halifax area residents, Citizens for Halifax found that 62 per cent of respondents support the division of the municipality into two units, with smaller councils to better serve the rural and urban communities.

“Candidates and citizens have slightly different viewpoints, especially when it comes to dividing the municipality into two units,” adds Fraser. “But most candidates and citizens agree we need to make improvements to the governing structure, the tax system and the development process, and we need to put more muscle behind the arts, immigration and sustainability efforts.”

Key findings from the two polls include:

	67 per cent of citizens who responded support changing HRM’s name officially from Halifax Regional Municipality to Halifax. The strongest support for the name change came from Timberlea-Prospect (79%) and Dartmouth (80%).
	78 per cent of citizens and 72 per cent of candidates support tax reform that more closely aligns taxes with the actual cost of services delivered.
	78 per cent of candidates and 77 per cent of citizens support more aggressive development of the arts and culture sectors by committing a minimum of one per cent of the annual municipal budget to this sector.
	71 per cent of citizens and 72 per cent of candidates said yes to creating a chief sustainability officer position with the necessary authority and budget to ensure Halifax becomes the most sustainable city in Canada by 2020.
	Almost all candidates (97%) and three out of four citizens (75%) agreed with the development of an integrated intercultural strategy to attract and retain immigrants and to better support disadvantaged groups within our community.
	84 per cent of candidates and 87 per cent of citizens said yes to the creation of a transportation authority to develop and implement a long term comprehensive transportation strategy that integrates all modes of transportation.
	Nearly nine in 10 candidates (88%) and eight in 10 citizens (80%) support adopting a more transparent and streamlined development process as proposed by the HRM By Design initiative.

Full results of the candidate and citizens’ polls are available at www.citizensforhalifax.ca .
About Citizens for Halifax
Citizens for Halifax is an independent, non-partisan organization created by citizens who live and work in Halifax and its surroundings. It advocates intelligent, thoughtful, fiscally responsible civic government with the goal of making Halifax the most livable city in Canada. Citizens for Halifax wants Halifax to have a bold and confident vision of its place in the world and to embrace its future while respecting its past.

-30-



For more information, or to interview a Citizens for Halifax spokesperson, please contact:

Holly Dunn
Citizens for Halifax
902-422-2988 or 902-222-7316
holly@m5pr.ca
Citizens for Halifax Online Polls
Key Findings
Citizens’ Poll

	512 people responded between September 23 and October 4 – most (73%) were not members of Citizens for Halifax.
	67 per cent support changing HRM’s name officially from Halifax Regional Municipality to Halifax.
	The strongest support for the name change came from Timberlea-Prospect (79%) and Dartmouth (80%).
	The most resistance to the name change came from Woodside/Eastern Passage (75%) and Cole Harbour (78%).
	62 per cent of respondents support the division of the municipality into two units with smaller councils to better serve the rural and urban communities more effectively and efficiently (373 responded)
	90% of respondents from Timberlea-Prospect (District 22) and 81% of residents in downtown Halifax (District 12) support the rural urban divide.
	Eastern Shore – Musquodoboit Valley (District 1) and Waverley – Fall River – Beaver Bank (District 2) were 100 per cent against the division. Other districts opposing changes to municipal structure are Portland East Woodlawn (75%) and Middle and Upper Sackville-Lucasville (67%).
	78 per cent are for tax reform that more closely aligns taxes with the actual cost of services delivered. (373 responded)
	77 per cent are behind more aggressive development of the arts and culture sector by committing a minimum of 1 per cent of the annual municipal budget to this sector.
	71 per cent support the creation of a Chief Sustainability Officer with the necessary authority and budget to ensure Halifax becomes the most sustainable city in Canada by 2020.
	75 per cent are for the development of a integrated intercultural strategy to attract and retain immigrants and to better support disadvantaged groups within our community.
	87 per cent of respondents agree with the creation of a transportation authority to develop and implement a long term comprehensive transportation strategy that integrates all modes of transportation.
	80 per cent support the adoption of a more transparent and streamlined development process as proposed by the HRM By Design initiative.

Candidate Poll

	32 Candidates responded, including mayoral candidate Sheila Fougere, between September 20 and October 4.
	75 per cent of candidates were against the division of the municipality into two units with smaller councils to better serve the rural and urban communities more effectively and efficiently.
	72 per cent of candidates support municipal reform that would more closely align taxes with the actual cost of services delivered.
	Almost eight out of 10 (78%) candidates support more aggressive development of the arts and culture sectors by committing a minimum of one per cent of the annual municipal budget to this sector.
	72 per cent of candidates said yes to creating the position of chief sustainability officer with the necessary authority and budget to ensure Halifax becomes the most sustainable city in Canada by 2020.
	Almost all candidates (97%) agreed with the development of an integrated intercultural strategy to attract and retain immigrants and to better support disadvantaged groups within our community.
	84 per cent said yes to the creation of a transportation authority to develop and implement a long term comprehensive transportation strategy that integrates all modes of transportation.
	Nearly nine in 10 candidates (88%) support adopting a more transparent and streamlined development process as proposed by the HRM By Design initiative.

-30-]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33780/33780#msg-33780</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:52:25 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Nova Scotia Pomegranate Phone: Great Viral, but is it effective?</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33647/33647#msg-33647</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[A phone that translates what you say into any language? It comes with a built-in mini projector for presentations and movies? It also doubles as a harmonica?

That's where the features of the Pomegranate Phone start to draw scepticism from people. But the features that follow leave no doubt that this is a gag-ad. The ad showcases the phone as a personal shaver and mobile personal coffee brewer.

Thus begins Nova Scotia's latest, slickest, and most expensive endeavour into using new media and social networking to pass the message of the ‘Come To Life' campaign to their unsuspecting target market. The viral campaign peddles this ‘it does everything' phone with all the might that a $300K advertising budget can provide. Yet it seems that the jury is still out on the effectiveness of this campaign.

Visit the website by clicking the image below. Or see the videos below.






The campaign was produced by Bristol Group, Egg Films/Hatch, and Breathe Media.

	Art Director: Dan Couto
	Copy writer/creative director: Albert Ianni
	Production Manager: Collette Snow
	Designers: Andrew Grantham, Michael Gatto
	Internal Programmer: Melissa Castle
	External programmers/designers: Breathe Media
	Production/Post: Egg Films/Hatch Post
	Actors/Models: Christopher Killam, ??


Synopsis:
------------

The impossible-made-possible features of this phone are not so far fetched. In early 2007, I reviewed a new product by an Israel-based technology company that produced a pocket projector device not unlike the built-in fantasy projector showcased for the Pom. The Explay Nano Projector is effectively the world's smallest consumer projector and was planned to launch to market in 2008. The company was working on providing the technology as OEM for cell phone and camera manufacturers to incorporate into future devices. Click picture below to visit their website.



Similarly, the voice translation function currently exists, though the technology is not fit for seamless speech recognition yet (only phrase by phrase). Devices combining voice recognition and translation software are a dime a dozen. A simple speech-to-speech voice recognition translator can be bought from Ectaco for a little under $400 CDN. The software itself is available for installation on smart phones.

Last but not least, a hybrid musical instrument phone was recently launched by Japan's Kddi in collaboration with Yamaha. See my review of this technology here.



The campaign can be said to have three components:

	The medium
	The message
	The actual product it peddles.

The Medium: 
------------

A great viral campaign by Bristol, Hatch, and Breathe. World class, really. It achieves the desired effect of getting people to pass around the url to give their friends and colleagues a quick chuckle. The campaign was implemented in Boston, Toronto, Calgary, and Ottawa. On Tuesday of last week, 200 pomegranates (the fruit, not the phone) containing the url (pomegranatephone.com) were passed around to people by street teams in Boston, Ottawa, and Toronto during their morning commute.

Yet, there appears to be a disconnect from the Pom site and the site containing the client's message. It's as if two different companies were hired, one for the flashy viral campaign, and another for the Come To Life mini-site.

The Message: 
------------

Here is where it gets tricky. Critics of this campaign point to how the message is hard to locate in this viral. Even when you do get to the mini-site containing the video clips that are meant to pitch Nova Scotia to the target market, there appears to be a disconnect between the demographical target of the videos and the demographical target of the Pom's viral.

The Pom's viral appeals to a younger demographic that spends a lot of time on the internet and enjoys passing around virals. Another demographic that spends time on the internet and passes around junk mail and viral videos are employees without much to do. Still, Bristol notes that the key demographic they are after is &quot;influencers and business leaders in key markets&quot;, a group that usually stays on top of trends and the latest in technology.

Bristol is correct in that influencers and business leaders stay on top of technology and trends. However, the Pom phone is neither this nor that, so it appears to be of little interest to business leaders to visit the site or forward to their contacts. It is just a gag site, and we have already established who is attracted to gag sites.

So, ultimately, the demographic that ended up on this site are the expat young professionals who out-migrated from Nova Scotia seeking opportunities in other Canadian or international cities. They clicked, they chuckled, some sent it to their friends.

Then they followed the viral into the Nova Scotia Come To Life message, and were disappointed. The video testimonials mainly showcase entrepreneurs, doctors, and enterprises. No representative age group was showcased doing the things these expats fled the province to do elsewhere. This brings us to the third and final component of this campaign.

The product:
-----------

Regardless of how flashy the packaging is, the sale ultimately relies on the product itself. Does the product deliver as advertised? Is it reliable? Ultimately, the expat demographic left Nova Scotia for a reason. They are aware of the challenges, and are in touch with the motherland enough to know if these challenges have been overcome by the province/city or not.

So, you want people to ‘Come To Life' in Nova Scotia? Many believe all Nova Scotia has to do is actually provide the product they are peddling, not just market a false image with pretty packaging and slick marketing. What if HRM City Council actually spent time implementing this fantastic 5-year Economic Strategy they came up with in 2005?

I will leave you with this MSN conversation between me and one such expat that might shed light on what I mean (look! He is using technology too!)

Jeff Lohnes graduated from Saint Mary's University with an excellent record in student leadership and community involvement. Shortly after, he left for Toronto, where he currently works for the National Speakers Bureau as a Youth Market specialist.



]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33647/33647#msg-33647</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:57:36 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: HRM Elections Candidates Score Card</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33301/33540#msg-33540</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Score Card has been updated for the following candidates:

Tim Outhit - Bedford Districit,

Cameron Ells - Downtown District

Thanks for visiting the blog and for your messages!

Issmat]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33301/33540#msg-33540</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:30:29 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>HRM Elections Candidates Score Card</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33301/33301#msg-33301</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[With the impending triple election saga this fall (US + Canadian Federal Elections + Halifax Municipal Elections), it appears that many local news outlets in Halifax have determined that US and Canadian federal elections are more worthy of coverage than the more relevant Halifax municipal elections. Therefore, that leaves social media to do as much as we can to cover this important event and scrutinize the candidates so the public can make an informed decision when they head to the polls. 
 
First, allow me to clarify the parameters of this review. This review will not delve into the experience of each candidate. It will not scrutinize them on key issues either. While important, a review as thorough as that is simply beyond my capacity for time. Therefore, I hope readers will accept my attempt at deciphering the suitability of a candidate based solely on: Their use of technology in their campaign.

My reasoning is simple:
 
1.	For a city to grow and prosper, it must have a vision of how it wants its future to look like, and appoint capable people to lead it towards that future,
2.	Any talk of working towards or within ‘the future ultimately involves some form of interaction with the tools of this future, namely existing and upcoming technologies that are designed to provide leaders with the ability to efficiently and productively collect, analyze,  and communicate information,

In other words, if a candidate can not collect, analyze, understand, and communicate information quickly, accurately, and efficiently, then they will not be able to plan/implement/respond in a timely manner to the continuous pace of changes that are needed for a successful march towards the future. Of course, this is only a problem if a united vision of the future is present and if there is a collective will on council to achieve it within this lifetime.

The score card below will attempt to reflect a candidate’s ability to work with the communication tools of existing mainstream technologies (the internet), which may tell whether or not a candidate has access to the tools that open a world beyond Halifax or their district for their consideration, tools that allow this candidate to draw on this world’s marvel when it’s time to envision the future of Halifax as a city with its place in Canada and the world.
 
You may disagree with the above criteria. Certainly, an elections candidate can serve his/her immediate district constituents very well without ever having to send a single email. “What’s that Bob? Need snow plows to clear your cul-de-sac twice a day? I’ll call the person responsible and see what can be done about that right away.” 

However, I contend that a candidate that can get the street plowed AND use the internet is infinitely more productive, and more informed. But that’s just me.

The big question is: can a candidate’s awareness of technology (the internet, productivity and communications tools, etc.) be a good indicator of their capacity for visioning a future for Halifax? Does this mean this candidate is completely unfit for council duties? Is it more acceptable for a candidate to be less apt with technology, vision, and the future if these things are not a priority to their target voter? Where is the line drawn between individual district priorities and the priorities of the city as a whole? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

I will leave this determination to your individual and collective priorities for the city and your understanding of the qualifications you require of your elected leader to achieve these priorities.

So then, let’s proceed to the rankings!


Measurement Criteria:
-----------------------------

To offer a fair comparison, we will mainly analyze a candidate’s use of the internet to communicate in their campaign. If a candidate is unable or unwilling to use the most basic form of today’s communication technologies (a website), then I am willing to safely assume that this candidate does not have the knowledge of the tools of today’s productive leaders and visionaries. But, again, that’s just me.

Candidates will get 1 point on their use of each of the following online communication tools in their campaign. This does not mean that the candidate has to know how to program or create any of the following. It would suffice if they were merely aware of their existence/importance and have directed the appropriate resources towards addressing them. 

-	Website Presence
-	Website professionally built?
-	Mobile version of website? (For text message campaigns)

-	Website contains
-	Bio
-	Platform
-	Clear description of represented district boundaries
-	Contact Info
-	Form to join an email list or newsletter
-	Press Kit
-	Downloadable/Printable High-Res Candidate Photo
-	Downloadable/Printable High-Res Campaign Logo
-	Downloadable/Printable Bio
-	Downloadable/Printable Platform
-	Notable Candidate Quotes 
-	Dated Press Releases
-	Log of Candidate mentions in the media
-	Voting Information
-	Volunteer information
-	Donations information
-	Support information
-	Online Support signup form
-	Online Volunteer signup form
-	Online Donations capability (Paypal, etc.)
-	Useful links to related external information
-	Video clips (1 point for each video update to a max of 5)

-	Use of Social Media tools
-	Presence on Social networks (Facebook, etc.)
-	Presence on YouTube or other Vlog (Video Blog) sites
-	Frequently updated Blog
-	Provide link-back tags/banners/widgets
-	Use of RSS (Really Simple Syndication)


With the limited time at hand, I am only able to rate candidate websites that I am able to easily find. For those who do not have a readily identifiable web presence, I have assumed they don’t have a website altogether and are therefore marked as ‘0’ in the score card. If you know that a candidate marked with a ‘0’ actually does have a website, please send the web address and I will revise their score accordingly.

Here are some excerpts from the score card. Click on image to enlarge. The complete score card is available as a PDF file Here.

Mayoral Candidates Scores:



Downtown Candidates Scores



Bedford Candidates Score:



Notes: 

1.	The information in the score card is accurate as of Friday September 19. 
2.	Please allow for human errors. 
3.	If a candidate has updated their website to include any of the above elements after Friday, let me know and I will update their score.
4.	If you wish to apply your own criteria to rate the candidates, please feel free to use this score card format. You can download the Excel file by clicking here.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33301/33301#msg-33301</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:09:55 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Media disappointed in lack of municipal candidates from Citizens For Halifax</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33189/33189#msg-33189</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[This post was prompted as a response to an article appearing in the Chronicle Herald on September 11 titled 'They huffed and puffed, but Kelly's critics failed to find a rival'.

With the closing of the nomination period for HRM councilors and mayor, a number of articles and blogs are lamenting the absence of candidates from Citizens for Halifax. Today's article in the Chronicle Herald and a blog post from Tim Bousquet of The Coast are two examples.

As a Citizens For Halifax board member (and at the risk of drawing out the critics) I would like to take this opportunity to dispel some of the myths about Citizens for Halifax and its agenda in regards to municipal elections.

The overarching goal and mission of the CFH society has always been to 'build the most vibrant and livable city in Canada'. To accomplish this goal, it would appear that the best way is by striving to ensure that the people who make the decisions about the city:

- share this vision, and
- are well suited to pursue it, and
- are afforded the opportunity and resources to do so once in council.

Hence, you will notice the apparent orientation of CFH is to focus primarily on HRM issues related to council, council members, candidacy, and elections.

The group formed in late 2007 as a direct community response to a growing frustration with the handling of city affairs. If you remember, 2007 was ripe with controversy for city council, with frequent headlines criticizing discussions related to cat bylaws and chickens on one end of the spectrum, to the Celine Dion debacle and the handling of the Commonwealth Games on the other end of the spectrum. It appeared that council had lost direction and is no longer working on the big picture items that are vital for HRM's growth and the prosperity of its residents. 

From the outset, skeptics of CFH raised two important questions:

- 1 What are the intentions/agenda of CFH (i.e. which issues will you promote in council), and
- 2 Will CFH run their own slate of candidates for municipal elections

In terms of an 'agenda', the issues CFH is promoting to council are publicly listed the CFH website (Click here to see the seven CFH statements). They are a result of various public engagement sessions held over several months leading to the summer AGM where members gathered to vote on adopting these position statements. Identifying these issues is no stroke of genius. After all, any resident of Halifax agrees that taxes are too high, public transit is unsatisfactory, and that council is too rural or too urban focused (depends on who you are talking to).

Contrary to some opinions that the 'H' in CFH stands only for peninsular Halifax and does not include the concerns of all member of HRM, a crowning big-ticket item on CFH's agenda is the apparent urban/rural divide on council. This divide is causing a tremendous amount of inefficiency and territorial infighting on council, and dissatisfaction of residents in all areas of HRM who feel that progress on issues affecting their area of residence is extremely slow.

Such stalemate on council is counterproductive to creating 'the most livable city in Canada' within our foreseeable future. Many CFH members who reside outside the urban centers of HRM are therefore determined to ensure that ALL members of city council are committed to addressing the urban/rural issue, and that the candidate(s) have a clear plan and intention on resolving it within the next municipal governance cycle.

If a candidate's platform doesn't address the deadlock caused by the difference in rural and urban priorities on council, then HRM residents will be hard pressed to believe that this candidate is aware of the needs of the general public and the political advocacy work that will be required to resolve the root of the issue. Such candidate is more likely to to serve their term on council with no significant contribution to the future vision of HRM. The same logic would apply for candidates who feel that public transit in HRM is adequate, or that the existing tax structure is a fair reflection of services received in each municipality of HRM. 

Residents of HRM must demand that each candidate (rural and urban) show a clear understanding and plan for addressing each issue as it relates to the future of this great city. Taxes, transportation, sustainability, development, and arts and culture are top priorities of majority citizens and should therefore be top priorities for the next municipal cycle. Cats, fireworks, and booking concerts may not be the best use of time for HRM's highest municipal governing body. After all, if council is not discussing and working towards the big vision, who else will?  

This brings us to the question of whether CFH intended to slate people for council and mayor. CFH received much heat from critics and some members of the media when a CFH public meeting queried participants about running a CFH-endorsed slate of candidates and mayor. Frequent comments from critics noted concerns about 'lackey' councillors and a puppet council. Various unattributed hidden agendas suddenly materialized as the 'unannounced evil goals of Citizens For Halifax'. The society sustained many attempts at discreditation, painting its members as 'elitists' or 'development-alists'
who are far removed from what the 'real' residents of HRM are asking for.

Ironically, current headlines are now looking at Citizens for Halifax as having 'let down the public' by 'failing' to produce candidates for mayor and city council.

Regardless of controversy, CFH will continue to encourage qualified candidates to run and will lend its support and resources to any candidate who agrees to pursue some or all seven areas of priority (identified by CFH members) during their term on council. CFH will work with existing council members to ensure that priority council-time is being devoted to the big goals and creating the most livable and vibrant city in Canada, in this lifetime.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/33189/33189#msg-33189</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:27:48 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Halifax Municipal Elections and the Citizens For Halifax Society (Video)</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32969/32969#msg-32969</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Dear Blog Readers Who live in Halifax (HRM):

In 1961, John F. Kennedy orated &quot;Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country&quot;. His inaugural speech was a trumpet call for battle  against tyranny, poverty, disease, and war.

Kennedy derided inaction, and pretty much encouraged everyone who is standing around waiting for something to happen to either do something or get off the pot; a message that rings full of inspiration.



In the spirit of this noble message from one of the world’s most renowned cultural icons, I am here to shamelessly ask for your voice in support of the Citizens for Halifax society. With municipal elections less than 8 weeks away, the time to take action is now. We must make sure that candidates for city council understand that dragging their feet on the important issues for HRM will no longer be ignored. 



The Citizens For Halifax society (CFH) is actively recruiting new members who share the belief that Halifax can become the most liveable and vibrant city in Canada. To accomplish this vision, political involvement at the decision making level is unavoidable. Therefore, CFH has resolved itself to becoming a major citizen voice that will encourage qualified candidates who believe in this vision to run for office and promote and support them in any way possible.  The society is 500+ members strong and growing.

The criteria are simple: city council must contain a critical mass of intelligent, experienced, and driven visionaries who recognize that in order for Halifax to become the most vibrant and liveable city in Canada, council needs focus and common priorities. Transportation issues should be more important and imminent than cat issues. Sustainable development and equitable tax reforms should precede chicken bylaw discussions. Addressing the obvious deadlock on council caused by the significant difference in priorities between rural and urban HRM districts is paramount.

If an existing or incumbent candidate for city council is not able to sufficiently and convincingly describe their plan of action to address the real issues, then they should get off the pot. Residents of HRM would prefer not to wait for another four years before getting another shot at an effective city council.

The time for action is now. We must show determination and resolve in holding the politicians’ feet to the fire, and one major motivator for politicians is votes. If you agree with all (or even some) of the issue statements on the CFH website (Available Here), then please add your voice to the society and become a member.  Candidates for city council recognize numbers when it comes to public opinions, and if their own common sense doesn’t flash a spotlight on the issues they should be working on, then you can help them with that.  Your membership alone will tell them you recognize these issues are critical for the city’s progress, and they should recognize it too.

A membership form is available HERE. You don’t have to pay the membership fee ($20 or $10 for students) at this point unless you would like to be able to vote on society mandates. You don’t have to attend meetings or sit at volunteer tables in Sobeys parking lots. You will periodically receive notices of citizen engagement sessions that you may or may not choose to attend. In 6 weeks, and before the opening of the advance polls, CFH will hold a public panel discussion and invite all candidates for city council and grill them on the issues in front of citizens and the media. You should attend that meeting if you can.

Tell your friends about Citizens For Halifax.

- Issmat]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32969/32969#msg-32969</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:51:05 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>(Video) Japan's New Musician Mobile Phones and Canada's Miserable Cell Phone Service</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32931/32931#msg-32931</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[au KDDI (Japan's second largest cell phone operator) and Yamaha have collaborated to produce cell phones geared for musicians. Among the various instruments unveiled at the au Design Project x Yamaha mobile exhibition, the 'Band in My Pocket' cell phone impressed me the most. This is the first time I witness Yamaha's &quot;humming&quot; sound technology, which they already incorporate in some of their existing musical instruments.



This phone comes with a variety of attachments to allow the owner to switch between flutes, harmonicas, trumpets, etc.



Kilian-Nakamura.com notes additional musician/DJ mobile phone instruments that were unveiled at the exhibit, including a folding DJ scratch pad and synthesizer, a string-instrument cell phone, air-drum sticks, and keyboard instrument.



Mobile phone innovation is no big thing in Japan. Fierce competition by the three main mobile service providers (Docomo, KDDI, and Softbank) in the trend-loving Japanese market had already produced technologies years ahead of anything we have in North America or Europe (let alone Canada's dinosaur rate of adoption of new mobile technologies). Japanese consumers today use their mobile phone as an all-in-one lifestyle device. Phones are used as mini-TVs, email/internet devices, credit cards, RFID swipe cards, and for virtual gaming to name a few.

The early July launch of the iPhone in Japan (same day as its launch in Canada) was preceded by  speculations of poor uptake in a market where the 'wow' factor of the iPhone is eclipsed by existing technologies. (A previous blog post about the iPhone's in Japan can be found here).  However, early stats seem to show that the exclusive provider (Softbank) is raking in subscriptions that may have boosted their market ranking from number three (behind KDDI) to number two for the month of July.

However, skeptics still believe that the uptake is only a small percentage of the market, most likely comprised of &quot;gaijin&quot; (foreigners/outsiders) and Apple enthusiasts. They predict that the growth is unsustainable and will not crossover into mainstream Japanese consumers due to the lack of gadgetry in the iPhone (e.g. to use the phone as a charge card or watch Japanese digital television during daily commute).

It is almost depressing to talk about cell phone technologies while I sit in Canada, unable to blog through my mobile phone due to crippling data usage rates that restrict non-corporate consumers from shedding the tethers of connectivity and relying on the chains of home/office networks to communicate and innovate.

Japan's oligopoly resulted in constant competition to provide consumers with better cheaper mobile technologies, while Canada's big three (Rogers, Bell Aliant, and Telus) appear to have a silent price-fixing agreement. High cell phone and data rates in Canada are preventing entire industries from taking off due to low uptake of cellphone internet usage. Mobile internet commerce (.mobi websites) and software development for the cell phone industry in Canada is near obsolete.

When was the last time you saw a job posting seeking &quot;mobile application developers&quot; in Canada?]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32931/32931#msg-32931</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:17:36 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Letter From A Homeless Man In Halifax</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32412/32710#msg-32710</link>
      <author>jvangurp</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Thanks Issmat, for posting that. It's another in a series of articles that hopefully helps people get in touch with their humanity.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32412/32710#msg-32710</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:15:39 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Letter From A Homeless Man In Halifax</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32412/32412#msg-32412</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Every morning on her way to work, a friend of mine has been running into a couple of guys who have made 'home' out of the shielded entry way to her apartment at the corner of Spring Garden Road and Birmingham in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The doorstep enclave provides some shelter from the weather, among other things.

Though she never felt inconvenienced by having to make her way around/over their sleeping bodies in the morning, and the various leave-behinds they keep bundled in the corner, she always felt as though she ought to offer them a hot tea or a sandwich.

This week she moved to a new apartment.  Returning yesterday to collect the last of her belongings, she found this letter in her mailbox from one of her involuntary guests. His name is Daniel, and his friend's name is Safety.  Receiving this letter made her wish she had made a kind gesture first.



For those who find the hand writing difficult to read, here is the text of the letter:

&quot;
 I am unsure of how to explain this as obviously this situation is outside the normal realm.

I do simply want to say thank you on behalf of Safety and myself for what has been regarded as home for the last two weeks. Despite life taking turns for the worst, and finding myself in a situation I beyond dread, I have actually grown to find solace on your steps. This place has become the only &quot;safe&quot; place where it seems my defenses can be lowered after long days.

Why you have found the generosity to allow us here is special on your part. I know that it may have even scared you, but your willingness has been the only real act of generosity I have encountered. I will apologize that Safety has a habit of sleeping in and blocking the door. 

I do not even know your name but I hold you in the highest regard, and I thank you with the entirety of my heart.

Daniel

PS. I hope to once again have a home within the week. If I can do anything for you please find me and ask.
&quot;

There has been a lot of media coverage recently about poverty and homelessness in Halifax. Some readers are sympathetic, some disdainful. However,  when reading this letter, you can't help but be grateful for the luxuries we take for granted... like a roof over our heads.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/32412/32412#msg-32412</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 29 Jul 2008 22:02:14 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Abu Dhabi Buys Iconic New York Chrysler Building while Canada Stutters On Foreign Ownership Rules</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/31968/31968#msg-31968</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[The latest in M&amp;A news: Bloomberg announced yesterday that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council completed its acquisition of a controlling stake (75%) of the New York Chrysler Building. The stake was previously held by a Prudential Financial investment fund.

As an iconic part of the New York City skyline, the Chrysler Building has been depicted countlessly in almost every medium—film, photography, video games, art, advertising, music, literature, and even fashion, as its use quickly establishes without doubt the location in which the depicted events are occurring. (Wikipedia)

The purchase marks yet another major North American investment by a Middle Eastern fund. Gulf countries, flush with revenues from unprecedented oil prices, are taking that extra cash and pouring it back into the countries who paid for the oil in the first place.

In Canada, foreign ownership is a sensitive political issue. Critics decry the so called 'hollowing-out' of corporate Canada, and warn of its effect on national security and sovereignty interests. Meanwhile,  other countries with friendlier ownership regulations are realizing the positive effects of free markets. Businesses, consumers, and shareholders enjoy increases in wealth, competitive services, and exchange/transfer of global expertise.

The Canadian discussion on foreign ownership rules heated up last month with the release of a the 65 recommendations arrived at by the Competition Policy Review Panel after a one-year study commissioned by the federal government (click here for report). The panel concluded that &quot;the federal government needs to scrap its ban on bank mergers, lighten up its foreign ownership restrictions of uranium and airline assets, and liberalize the telecommunications industry&quot;, reported the Globe and Mail.

Shortly after the release of the panel's recommendations on foreign ownership, the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) countered the study with a report arguing that Canada needs less foreign ownership, not more. Readers of this blog who are from Atlantic Canada may remember that the CCPA is the organization that vehemently argued against Atlantica and the proposal led by AIMS (Atlantic Institute for Market Studies). Click here for a previous blog post that discussed the confrontation in more detail.

The recommendations regarding the telcom sector specially hit close to home with many Canadians. The existing oligopoly of wireless providers in Canada has seen increasing criticism in the past few months. In the spotlight are exuberant data charges highlighted by the advent of the iPhone which will hit Canadian shelves for the first time tomorrow exclusively through Rogers Wireless.

Bell Aliant (BCE) and Telus Mobility are also under fire for announcing the introduction of new charges for each text message received by cell phone users unless they subscribe to a monthly plan. Many consumers feel that the competitive landscape in the telcom sector is unfriendly to the needs of the consumer.

While protectionists scorn the findings of the panel, they fail to address a real hollowing-out currently taking place in Canada: existing foreign owners abandoning their Canadian assets and relocating elsewhere.

A rising Canadian dollar coupled with expensive union demands is leaving Ontario with an Auto Workers crisis as American auto plants shut down operations and moved out of Canada to friendlier markets. Atlantic provinces have been experiencing a drain of skilled workers for some time now as various plant shut-downs force skilled workers to relocate to western Canada in search of jobs in the oil sector.

So where will the next billion dollars of oil money be invested? Most likely not Canada.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/31968/31968#msg-31968</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:10:52 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Updates on Halifax, MENA, Business, Tech, and Global Affairs</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/31445/31445#msg-31445</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Summer is the busiest season for me personally and professionally. I hope readers will excuse the slacking on the blog front. To make up for it, here is a ‘Walmart’ post offering a variety of updates on all the exciting things that have taken place in the world since the last time I posted.

On the Halifax front:
---------------------------
Local developer and Lebanese Honorary Consul, Mr. Wadih Fares, had a good couple of weeks. He was named ‘Businessman of the Year’ by the Canadian-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, and his controversial 19-story condo building proposal was approved by city council in a historical 21-1 vote. Critics of the proposal involved the usual crew of Heritage advocates, with unbeatable arguments like ‘the building will throw a shadow that may touch a nearby heritage neighborhood’. The same critics are planning to show up en-mass to an upcoming public hearing for another waterfront development project, this one for the $30 Million complex proposed by Halkirk Properties as a restoration/redevelopment of the Alexander Keiths Brewery District.

Canadian News:
---------------------
CBC lost the rights to the theme song of ‘Hockey Night in Canada’. CTV immediately swiped up the license and locked it in for infinity and beyond. The theme is considered as ‘Canada’s second national anthem’. The news prompted this jab from Stephen Colbert.



International Business:
------------------------------
As of last week, Iran began pulling out their assets from EU banks to respond to the threat of additional sanctions. A new effort championed by the US seems to be on its way to convince EU member countries to increase their squeeze on Iran’s nuclear program. Before any potential asset freezing takes place, Iran is taking out their foreign exchange assets (reserves valued at $80 Billion USD) and converting it into gold and equities.

To the speculators out there: take note of the following three market reactions to the Iran asset-pull:

1. Gold will increase as a sudden increase of demand for bullion will hit the market through Iran’s bullion buyers

2. Oil prices will increase as the new potential sanctions may have an impact on supply out of Iran, the fourth largest oil producer in the world.

3. Look for investment opportunities in small banks who plan to continue dealing with Iran. Also look at banks in China, Middle East, former Soviet-bloc and other countries that remain friendly (or at least neutral) to Iran. These banks will be getting the windfall from the Iranian assets that will be pulled from European banks.

Technology:
------------------
Apple’s iPhone debuted in Japan in association with Softbank. The prospect of success for the iPhone in Japan was discussed in a previous post (click here for post). Meanwhile, Yahoo!’s board of directors is still in hot waters after they botched the Microsoft offer to buy them out. They went back to Microsoft begging for resumed negotiations, but were met with a firm ‘not interested anymore’. Quick to show SOMETHING to their investors and dodge a visit to the guillotine that Carl Icahn is setting up for the Yahoo! executive board, a deal was struck with rival Google to outsource a portion of Yahoo’s search advertising business for an estimated $250 to $450 million of additional annual revenue to Yahoo!.

———

That’s it for now. I will try to post more often!]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/31445/31445#msg-31445</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:01:05 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Pre-Historic Nova Scotia Community Receives Futuristic 'Green' Institute</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/30434/30434#msg-30434</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Joggins is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has so far enjoyed unparalleled geological fame. Joggins is famous for its record of fossils dating to the Pennsylvanian &quot;Coal Age&quot; of Earth history, approximately 310 million years ago.



Joggins mention dates back to the 19th century and the visits of Sir Charles Lyell, the father of modern geology who proclaimed the Coal Age fossil exposure as the 'finest example in the world'. The fossils have been used in Darwin's 'On The Origin Of Species'.

With all this history etched upon the fossil cliffs of this old mining community, it was only fitting to contrast it with a state-of-the-art research institute. As earth has documented the evolution of life in this area, it will now breath air and provide energy to one of Nova Scotia's (and Canada's) leading examples of sustainable design and architecture.

The technologies and green-design concepts used for the Joggins Fossil Center are showcased in the diagram below. The company behind this regional architectural icon is WHW Architects. Click Picture to enlarge.



More Pictures are below:





Joggins' green roof:

]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/30434/30434#msg-30434</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2008 09:32:06 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Innovative Political Campaigns:  Bedford Candidate First To Harness New Media</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/30142/30142#msg-30142</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Tim Outhit is making political history (well, around these parts at least) by becoming the first politician in Nova Scotia, and perhaps Canada, to truly utilize the power of new media and social marketing in seeking political office.

With his background in technology, sales, and innovation, Tim may have a unique edge in the race to represent Bedford following the untimely passing of its previous Councilor Gary Martin. But then again, it shouldn't be too hard for the CEO of an innovation and economic-research think-tank (NovaKnowledge) to conclude that using the aptly named 'information superhighway' is a most effective way of getting his message across, and is a formidable strategy in his communications arsenal.

So what is Tim doing that is so damn progressive?

YouTube, Facebook, and a superior web presence through his website: BedfordLeader.com.

In a stroke of genius, Tim and his team of supporters are releasing a mini-series of 'webisodes' on YouTube that feature Tim's journey for candidacy (TimTV). The reality-show format keeps viewers entertained, as they wait for Pussycat Doll 'Robin' to make an appearance and vote Matthew Christie (Tim's rival) off the race. The webisodes are released on YouTube, and the novelty alone is garnering the initial ripples of successful viral reach. Given the demographics of his constituents, the videos need to have a modest reach to a total market size of about 20,000 people to be effective. To compare, the Rodney-Letterman video on YouTube reached 30,000 people in under one month.



The second ballast in Tim's tripod of political marketing is Facebook. Like viral campaigns, a successful social networking campaign is determined by organic factors that rest with the audiences' perception of the value of the offer presented to them (join this group/forward this video and you will be rewarded with...?). Contrary to what some may think, the promise of financial reward is the least effective reward in viral campaigns. Emotional, social, and cognitive stimuli are much better carrots. (See result of recent IssmatBlog Facebook group social experiment). Facebook campaigns can achieve communication objectives promptly and efficiently.

Saving the best for last, Tim's website anchors his viral and social networking initiatives in a professional and polished web presence. While the website isn't exactly a visual orgasm, it is attractive, easy to navigate, functional, and far more superior to that of his only rival: Matt Christie. Do compare the two and let me know what you think: BedfordLeader.com VS MatthewChristieOnline.com.

The year is 2008, and while our promised flying cars aren't yet economically feasible for mass production, there is just no excuse for a sloppy web presence these days. Web 2.0 is a common platform, and folks are already talking about Web 3.0. Digital media is going ubiquitous, and Mr. Christie doesn't have the foresight to have a qualified web designer put together a basic website to showcase his platform and experience. Most unfortunate.

I don't live in Bedford and therefore have no vote to contribute. I also don't know either candidate personally. However, by examining their communication strategy alone, the least I can do is give Tim major brownie points. Evidence suggests that he has put a lot of thought into his campaign, produced a polished presence on and off line, utilized the latest technologies to spread his message quickly and efficiently, and has a strong following of qualified supporters who seem to believe in him enough to put some serious work behind him. If he carries these advantages with him to council, Bedford should anticipate some exciting things to happen.

Here is the latest TimTV clip. Hard to believe this quality of work is coming from a municipal elections candidate! (April 19 Edit: TimTV is produced in-kind by renown local writer/director Paul St.Amand of Sanchin Films.)

]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/30142/30142#msg-30142</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:09:26 -0300</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Business Trends - 5 Ways Canadian Companies Can Make Money From The Middle East in 2008</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/29132/29132#msg-29132</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[I usually charge a fee for this information through my trade consulting firm
Midman International. However, I am feeling charitable today. Besides, Canadian firms need all the help they can get to break out of their comfy shells and hatch into fully grown chickens who can fend for their own gruel in a global economy that is increasingly reducing its US trade dependence and directing it to the EU or eastern giants like China and India. This is my modest attempt at shining a small heat lamp on those companies to speed up the process.

Here are five leads into top business opportunities for businesses seeking to position themselves along growth sectors in the Middle East. Yes, that means those sectors are looking for SUPPLIERS to TAKE THEIR MONEY and PROVIDE PRODUCTS/SERVICES:

1. Finance and Banking ICT and Software: The Arab banking sector will  invest $1.8 Billion in information and communication technologies in 2008, a 15% increase from what they already spent in 2007. Arab banks boast one of the highest rates of growth in technology investment in the world (mainly because they got on the boat a little later than everyone else). Canada has 83 ICT companies that specialize in the Financial industry. Please, at least one of you should go down there and grab a contract or two!

2. Sharia-Compliant Hospitality Products: Aha! Read that again. It's not Sharia-compliant Banking. This time, a new Islamic trend is set to launch, and with it a new need for niche products. This May, Dubai-based Al-Mullah Properties will announce plans to invest $2 Billion to develop an Islamically-compliant hotel brand portfolio appealing to lifestyle travelers - both Muslim and non-Muslim. A new chain of up to 90 international hotels (branded as Cliftonwood, Adham and Wings) will operate with universal Islamic codes such as no alcohol and Halal food only. If you are a manufacturer/exporter of luxury and fine food products for the hospitality industry, now is the time to think about new product lines or re-branding existing products.

3. Cement and Construction Materials/Technologies: Everyone knows it. Dubai is the fastest growing city in the word, with anywhere between 15 to 25% of the world's cranes working constantly on its towers. The real estate boom in the UAE is about to face a crisis. Cement is on back log! Zawya.com reported that &quot;Companies that provide ready-mix concrete have issued their clients notices that they are not in a position to supply more than 45 per cent of the ready-mix orders. In some cases, ready-mix companies have even ceased production.&quot; If any company has a solution, get on the next plane to Dubai and bring home some goat meat! (sorry, no bacon in UAE)

4. Recycling and Industrial Waste Management Solutions: With all that construction comes much industrial waste. Lots of it. Recycling and Waste Management technologies have an open opportunity here.

5. Oil, Oil, and Oil: Duh! Oil services are still in high demand. Better, cheaper extraction technologies. Maintenance services for older wells. Training services for labour localization initiatives. It's all there. This week Bahrain announced plans to add 700 new oil wells to meet increasing energy demands. This summer, Yemen will award its first round of contracts for off-shore operations, prompting a scurry by local firms to find international partners who have much needed expertise in providing offshore services in a market that traditionally relied on on-shore production.

And there you have it. If you are a company that found this advice helpful and was able to capitalize on it in any way, shape, or form... congratulations! You are one of very few smart chicks who found a crack in the shell of Canadian reluctance and broke out successfully!]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/29132/29132#msg-29132</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:34:18 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Divorce Elevator</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/29126/29126#msg-29126</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[I just can't get enough of these elevator ads springing all across the Middle East. Here is one by Fortune Promoseven in Oman.

When the elevator doors separate... (get it? Hilarious!) Seriously though, divorce is not funny.

Seen on [AdBlogArabia].
.
.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/29126/29126#msg-29126</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:09:28 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Yemen’s President Longest Ruling In The World After Castro</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28742/28742#msg-28742</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[When I woke up this morning, I was treated to two major news headlines. Fidel Castro resigned his presidency, and Pervez Musharaf's ruling party (the PML-Q) lost the elections in Pakistan!

  

2008 is shaping up to be a very politically significant year. With the tantalizing hint of a black or female American President to succeed Bush, I can't wait to see what else this year has in store for us.

Most news reports seem to proclaim Castro as the 'longest ruling head of state in the world' (Barring monarchs). I believe that a close second to that title is Yemen's current President, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh became President of Yemen in July of 1978, a year before Saddam Hussein took power in Iraq and two years after Castro became 'President of the Council of State' in 1976. He has remained in office ever since.



If Saleh pulls a 'Castro' and resigns at 81, he will have served as President for a total of 51 consecutive years, beating Castros record by 17 years. If the news reports are accurate about Castro being the current longest-standing head of state, then Saleh will become the new record holder in approximately 26 months from today.

Ofcourse, I may be completely off here. Do you know of any other non-monarch head of state who took office between 1976 and 1978, and remains in power up to this day?
.
.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28742/28742#msg-28742</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:49:48 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Irony Defined: Paying $122,000 For a Speech About Fiscal Responsibility</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28430/28430#msg-28430</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[The Globe and Mail reported today that current Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has admitted handing an un-tendered contract to Hugh Macphie, a one-time speechwriter for former-Ontario premier Mike Harris, to work on last year's budget speech.

The article indicated that &quot;Treasury Board guidelines require multiple bids for contracts over $25,000.&quot;

While Canadian politicians are busy accusing Flaherty of administrative murder, I am yet to see anyone clearly and directly raise the following two obvious points:

1. The ironic audacity of a fiscal department paying $122K to someone to write a budget speech, and

2. The inference that neither Canada's top finance politician nor any of his aides are able to write a speech about the subject matter of which they are assumed to be experts.

What age do we live in when our elected leaders are unable to string thoughts together in written format that can be delivered orally in a clear, concise, and inspiring manner while adhering to the requirements of their political agenda?

I understand that a Minister's time may not afford for such trivial, administrative tasks, but to suggest that a few hours of his time are worth more than $122,000 is preposterous! In the same issue of the Globe and Mail, an executive coach (Jerome Shore) indicates that business owners and executives should outsource a business task only if it can be done &quot;cheaper than your hourly rate or better than you can do it&quot;.

A 2004 CBC News report notes that a Cabinet Minister's annual salary is around $230,000. If we assume 8-hour work days and 12 weeks of paid vacations (3 months),  that leaves us with 40 work weeks at 5 days per week times 8 hours per day, totalling to a rough 1600 of 'billable' hours. At $230,000 per annum, this translates to a (possibly wildly inaccurate) rate of $144 per hour for the Cabinet Minister's time.

Some reports estimate the size of the speech in question to be around 5500 words. Let's call it an even 6000 words. From my earlier days in university, I think it used to take me about 2 hours of serious thinking to churn 1000 words of polished literature (I am not the brightest bulb on the tree).

So, 6000 words would take a not-so-bright university student about 12 hours of work. At $144 per hour, 12 hours of the Minister's time costs tax payers $1730. Meanwhile, 12 hours of Hugh MacPhie's time cost the government a whopping $122,000 CDN of my dear, dear tax dollars.

So, it appears that outsourcing the task, in this case, was not cheaper. According to Jerome, that only leaves one other justification.
.
.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28430/28430#msg-28430</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 04 Feb 2008 23:41:25 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Canada's Promotion Campaign In London</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28266/28266#msg-28266</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Londoners' curiosity was piqued with an OOH teaser campaign created by DDB Canada featuring unique sights and sounds of Canada. First, sounds of the mysterious common loon were projected near key landmarks and in major city hubs. The street-level initiative was activated through a tongue-in-cheek public relations push that a &quot;loon was on the loose in London.&quot;

Large images of a wolf were also projected onto buildings at 13 different locations, including the Battersea Manometer, London Aquarium, Tate Modern, London Bridge and Covent Garden, accompanied by the sounds of howling wolves. The images included a call to action to &quot;Step into Canada. Visit Canary Wharf January 21 - February 15.&quot;





Seen on BestAdsOnTV.com.

..]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28266/28266#msg-28266</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:01:27 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: British Graffiti on West Bank Barrier</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/27344/28042#msg-28042</link>
      <author>shutterbug</author>
      <description><![CDATA[This grafitti is clever and somewhat humourous at the same time.]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/27344/28042#msg-28042</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:13:01 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Toronto Drops Its Pants for No Pants Day</title>
      <link>http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28000/28000#msg-28000</link>
      <author>Issmat</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Yesterday, January 12, Toronto had its first No Pants day. The movement started in New York by a group called Improv Everywhere. Improv Everywhere is a group based in NYC that stages large-scale &quot;Scenes&quot;. Other cities dropping their pants in 2K8 include New York, Boston, Washington DC, Portland OR, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Adelaide Australia, Baltimore MD, and Salt Lake City.

And so participating Torontonians descended on the TTC yesterday, and proceeded to casually remove their pants and ride the train. The story appeared on the Toronto Sun today.



The requirements for participation were simple:

1) Willing to take pants off on subway
2) Able to keep a straight face about it]]></description>
      <category>Issmat Al-Akhali</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://communityherald.ca/read/126/28000/28000#msg-28000</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:12:43 -0400</pubDate>
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