I sometimes think I did not love my son enough…..

On a sunny March 2^nd afternoon in a classroom at the Wong Tai Sin Community Center, Tony bounced in with father Rickie and little brother Gareth right at his heels.

 

Dressed in black tracksuit with orange trims, 17-year-old Tony was more than ready for his cooking class.  He could not wait to begin.  But, before all else, he posted his first question to tutor May Ng.  Today the first of his long line of fixations was whether he could invite a friend to see him cook.

 

Three years ago to the day, one of his fixations had propelled him to get off a bus midway to this destination, rush across a busy traffic black spot and be hit by a truck.

 

It was a Wednesday like any other school day in 2005. Tony had left King George V, an ESF school with special education in Ho Man Tin in the early afternoon for swimming practice in Kowloon Park.  He was to take bus 81C to Tai Wai, Shatin and change to 88K to Fo Tan.  He did.

 

He also did the thing he was not supposed to do.  He got off at Lucky Plaza on Wang Pok Street in Shatin town centre, midway before his usual stop.

 

A police report says Tony rushed onto the road without a second glance at the traffic.

 

Bam! A truck hit him hard.  The time was 7.30 p.m.

 

He was conscious enough to tell the police his mom’s number.  His mother later said Tony has a remarkable talent for numbers, unlike many kids with his condition.

 

Icy, the mother, was in a prayer group with two female friends she warmly addresses as sisters when the unwelcome call from the police broke the group’s otherwise tranquil meeting.

 

Rickie, the father, was quickly alerted.  He was fortunately in the vicinity when he received the call and arrived at the accident scene just in time to accompany Tony to the Prince of Wales Hospital.

 

Gareth, the five-year-old brother, was summoned to the phone and was told mom and dad would not be home any time soon as Tony had a car accident.

 

In the casualty ward, Icy and Rickie met. 

 

“I told the police Tony was autistic.  Immediately they said they would not rule out the possibility of prosecution because of our negligence,” Icy said without a trace of emotion.

 

“Rickie and I didn’t hug, or cry or anything when we saw each other at casualty.  We just said ‘this thing’ really had happened.”

 

‘This thing’ refers to the incident on winter solstice in 2004.  Tony was let off one hour early but had not arrived home by 8 p.m.  Panicky Icy called his coach.  A while later Tony got home but he wouldn’t say where he had been. 

 

Thinking about that day now, both Icy and Rickie thought that they had a premonition then, but had done nothing to stop it from happening.

 

The doctors at Prince of Wales weren’t compassionate enough for the guilt-ridden couple.  Mom and Dad even thought them arrogant.  They were given patchy information on injuries sustained— fractured bone in Tony’s left leg and skin ripped on the thigh of his right leg when it scraped the road surface.  But there was no imminent danger and no need for an operation yet.

 

The sight of Tony in bed all bandaged up was not what shocked Icy when she saw her son in a men’s ward upstairs.  It was a scene like any hospital one.  What shocked her was that he was strapped into his bed, to prevent him from moving and banging around and hurting himself more.  Kind words were not on offer that evening at 11.  Instead there were plenty of cold hard seats outside along the corridor.

 

Onto one Icy sat.

 

Somebody had to go home to Gareth and off went Rickie.

 

The night dragged on. 

 

Thoughts of how Tony was trained to take on the task of getting home himself and be independent like any other teenager his age never left Icy.

 

Dr Icy Lee is a normally calm, collected and analytical academic who has been involved in teacher training for many years in many academic institutions.  Would she have let her son get home by himself without proper preparations and guidance?  The word ‘negligence’ the police used could never have been applicable in Tony’s case.  An intelligent couple could never have been neglectful of their children.

 

After that incident on winter solstice in 2004, Rickie followed Tony during several of his rides home and didn’t find any unusual behavior.  Although a few of Tony’s teammates did mention Tony was obsessed with looking at car license plates to the point that he sometimes did not take care of his own safety on the road, Icy did nothing to take away Tony’s freedom to get home himself.

 

That was what bothered Icy on the night in the hospital by herself.  Could the answer be the couple was too busy to schedule time for pick-up and delivery?  Was it possible to take away freedom once it was given?  In the case of Tony, would he be willing to comply given his tempestuous character at the time?  Would it be because it would have cost a lot more to hire another domestic helper?

 

And the one question Icy could not stomach.  Did she love her son enough to care for his safety?

 

In the summer of 2004, Icy had the idea to train her son to use the public transport to get home after his swim lesson by himself.  Tony was tall and muscular and looked every way a capable teenager albeit he was autistic.  But it was not his height or physique that Icy took into consideration.  It was his sense of direction that impressed his mother.  The ‘technicalities’ Icy mentioned refers to Tony’s ability to locate the bus-stop, the bus, the way to pay his way by octopus card, where to change to another bus, where to get off at the final stop and walk home.  The route home offered no complexities at the time.  It was also supposed to be safe.

 

Icy and Rickie took turns shadowing Tony for two weeks after he was told he could do it on his own.  That was mid-August.

 

“I thought he was willing and he was ready. By ‘willing’ I didn’t mean he initiated the whole thing, I mean he did it a few times on his own and he told me it was fun and he wanted to do it.  I had never imagined there would have been such complications.”

 

Icy still could not believe she would have thought Tony would stay on the bus all the way home without any mischief.

 

In the middle of the night, a nurse saying a doctor had come to give consultation on Tony’s injuries roused Icy.  Icy could still remember the doctor was short and stocky and he gave assurances that there would be no need for immediate operation.  Still, the news did not induce sleep.

 

When the sleepless night ended at 6 in the morning, Rickie came back and they were summoned to Tony’ bedside to hear an orthopedist give his opinions.  Dr Bobby Ng was all somber when he looked at Tony’s x-rays and sternly pronounced the need for an immediate operation.  The couple was told of the urgency because the bone just below the knee in Tony’s left leg was fractured into small pieces.  The doctor even said if in the course of the operation, blood could not reach that part of the leg, then the leg had to be amputated.

 

Lightening and thunder flashed through Icy’s head. Her son already suffered from one kind of disability. He certainly did not need another.

 

If Icy and Rickie were expecting a compassionate doctor, they would not find any trace of that in the orthopedist.  Dr Ng, in all his manners, gave the impression he was there to make things right but not to comfort.  He even arrogantly told the couple that if he was not the one to do the operation, nobody in the hospital had the ‘guts’ to either.

 

At 10 a.m., Tony was wheeled into the operating room.  The seriousness of Tony’s condition descended on the couple. They prayed in the waiting room and they cried their hearts out.

 

No news came from the operating room.  They waited and waited.

 

Icy went home for a shower.  At home by herself, she finally broke down.  In the shower she cried hysterically, overwhelmed by guilt and worry. She screamed her lungs out and was blanketed with the darkest gloom ever. She reproached herself again and again before she was finally able to reclaim her sanity.       

 

The operation was proclaimed a success when Tony was ferried out at 10 at night.  He had both legs intact.  A huge relief swept over Icy and Rickie.  Their prayer to God was answered.  They were thankful.

 

Within half an hour, Dr Ng came to explain what happened.  He was thorough in telling the couple how tiny fragments of bone had to be removed carefully and that initial skin grafting had to be done to the damaged skin on the other leg as well.

 

Icy and Rickie saw the doctor in another light, that he was a caring doctor after all.

 

The next day after visiting Tony at the hospital, Icy twisted her ankle when she got on a mini-bus.  Her foot was so swollen by the time she got home that she had to be taken to Union Hospital and had to spend a lonely night there herself.  Although she had to walk in crutches, her one-week sick leave gave her the time she thought she did not have with her son and the time to reconcile her guilt.

 

Icy now calls that week a blessing in disguise.

 

For an intelligent woman who thinks efficiency is her hallmark, Icy was given the chance to make patience her number one task.

 

It took five and a half months before Tony was discharged from the hospital.  He went home at the end of August.  The healing process had strengthened Tony’s character.  He still does not talk about his feelings nor has he divulged where he wanted to go the evening of the accident.  But the pain he endured with two more skin-grafting operations and the cleansing of the wound somehow tamed his temper.

 

Before the accident, Tony was not able to answer the phone.  Now he makes phone calls as told to announce his whereabouts.  Now Icy retains the service of the Rainbow Express Scheme for the pick-up and delivery service at a fee of $50 an hour.  Now even if the escort does not show in person, Tony is being shadowed and he knows it.  Now he believes his mother when she says God is watching him.

 

Both Tony and his little brother Gareth are more careful when crossing roads. Still Tony has not asked to be completely on his own again.

 

The next project Icy has in mind for Tony is a food and beverage course with Caritas when he leaves KGV this September.  Then, maybe a housekeeping course.  She hopes with the cooking skills and the household cleaning skills, Tony will be able to replace the domestic helper at home.

 

On March 26, 2008, Tony and Gareth returned home at 1 p.m. from their swimming lessons to find mom waiting to take them to lunch at a McDonald’s.  It was Gareth’s eighth birthday.  Gareth and mom were talking about which secondary school would give the best chance for university while Tony was quietly satisfying his appetite with burgers and fries.

 

“You could have my fries too,” Tony was told. 

 

Tony nodded happily.

 

A writer ’s view on Islam

Ziauddin Sardar’s paradise on earth

 

Sitting in front of an audience of a hundred as guest in the Man Literary Festival, 2008, Ziauddin Sardar spoke last evening of his hope in turning earth into paradise while he still lived.

 

Sardar was in conversation with Mark Clifford about his book ‘Desperately Seeking Paradise’ which was published in 2003.

 

He said although the mood in the book might have swung from optimism to despair, he now felt more optimistic. 

 

“Why believe if you’re pessimistic?” asked Sardar.

 

He said believers needed to turn metaphor into what was real and that the notion of paradise was important in Islam.

 

He said because the West once colonized the Muslim world, they now treated it as a spoiled child rather than looking at it as a culture.

 

‘What has gone wrong inside of Islam is Muslims stopped interpreting the Qur’an since the 19^th century and they have been stuck in history for quite some time, as a result, a victim mentality is developed,’ said Sardar.

 

Sardar said a believer must have doubts instead of absolute certainty.

 

“It is doubt that puts us in the human domain.  The moment we stop doubting we become totalitarian,”

 

Sardar said the real conflict was not between Christianity and Islam, nor was it to do with Arab and the West.  He saw the real conflict lie in the notion of doubt and those with absolute certainty.

 

“As long as we are human, we cannot have complete truths,” said Sardar.

 

In answer to the question about why not many books had been published in Arabic, Sardar said the notion of imitation was very strong in the Arab world. 

 

“If the whole culture is deeply embedded in imitation.  If religious life is dominated by imitation, your other lives follow the same road,’ he said

 

He said he did not see any hope in the Arab world but he praised Turkey for having many bookstores and he commented that there was a vibrancy of intellectuals in Indonesia.

 

He said the first word in Islam is ‘read’ and if there were engagement of ideas, there would be hope to reform Islam. 

 

He said his relationship with Pakistan was a love and hate one.  He loved Pakistan because he was born there but hated it for its military influences and its feudal core.

 

He ended his talk by saying most young people, regardless of beliefs, were passionate and so the ‘battle’ would not be easily over.

 

Ziauddin Sardar is writer, editor and Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the City University, London.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s in store for the Kwan Tai Temple

Temple’s future hinges on the fortune foretold by a ‘Cim’ 

A nondescript temple in North Point is drawing attention from the public in an ad calling for donation to ease its rent hike crisis.

The privately owned Kwan Tai Memorial Tong at Kin Wah Street, North Point is at the brink of eviction in mid-March if it cannot come up with the $38,000 monthly rent demanded by the owner.  It is more than a two-fold increase from its present rent of $18,500.

Mr Kevin Yu Li-min is the head of the Kwan Tai Tong Charity Association Ltd..  He, along with five other friends, founded the temple five years ago.

A firm handshake was made with the owner of the premise as a signed lease for five years at the present rent.  The group had offered to purchase the premise then at $2.38 million but was rejected. Now the landlord wnats more than $5 million.

Kwan Tai Tong, at the corner of Kin Wah and North View Street in North Point, is a temple dedicated to Kwan Tai (or Guan Yu or Guan Yi Gor),  a deity who blesses those in observance of the code of brotherhood and righteousness.

Mr Yu emphasized that the temple was losing money each month.  The money in donations given by believers who came to the temple was a meager $9000-$15,000; it could not have covered the monthly expenses.  Incense sticks are free of charge and most of the believers are elderly people from the neighborhood. They could not be expected to give much to the temple.  Members of the charity association regularly put in money to cover expenses.

Mr Yu claimed the temple had been a solace for the elderly as it was the only Kwan Tai temple in North Point.  He compared the temple with the work of a social worker.  They both helped sooth hard feelings in people’s minds.

Rent is to be increased to $38,000 when the five-year lease expired on March 17^th this year.  Faced with the inevitable move, Mr Yu put a 10×6 inch ad in several newspapers including The Oriental Daily entitled ‘Kwan Tai Temple forced to be evicted, calling for emergency pledges’. It called upon benefactors to buy the premise and rent it to the temple at reasonable rent.  It also said a plaque would be made with names of benefactors regardless of the amount donated.

Mr Yu explained the ad was put according to the wishes of Kwan Tai.  By that he means he asked Kwan Tai to point the way and the ‘cim’ or fortune stick he received told him to go ahead with the ad.  He explained Kwan Tai said a benefactor would come forward to make sure the temple would stay in its original place.

Mr Yu was quick to point out he had never had any fear in asking Kwan Tai for his wisdom in matters of importance.  He said he had been a staunch believer in Kwan Yi Gor since he was 18, a lifespan of over 40 years.  From the day he left his native village in Shantou, China, to Hong Kong and to New York, USA, he had been guided by Kwan Yi Gor’s wisdom in the form of ‘cim’.

His successful life, first as waiter in Hong Kong then owner of a steak house in New York, is already testament of Kwan Tai’s power.

He said his temple was the first to publicize the fortunes as revealed in the ‘cims’ on events before their results were known.  He cited the last Legco race between Mrs Chan Fong On-sang and Mrs Yip Lau Shuk-yee in which the fortune stick predicted a victory for Mrs Chan before the votes were counted.

The temple celebrated Kwan Tai’s birthday on February 19 by inviting legislator Ms Choy So-yuk as honorary guest to distribute free rice or ‘peace rice’ to the elderly.   Mr Yu again asked Kwan Tai for his wisdom on several current events.

He wanted to ask Kwan Tai if Ma Ying-jeou could succeed in his quest for presidency in Taiwan; if Chan Chun-chuen’s challenge to Ms Nina Wang’s fortunes could succeed; and if the quest for one man one vote could be granted in Hong Kong.

The fortune sticks revealed that Mr Ma would have a real fight from Democratic Progressive Party’s Frank Hsieh, his opponent in the presidential race and that there would be a great possibility he might not succeed.  The litigation initiated by Chan Chun-chuen might have an out of court settlement possibly in October and there would be steady progress on the Hong Kong’s democratic progress.

The fortune-forecasts could only be verified at the soonest in when Taiwan elects its president this weekend.

A notice found in Kwan Tai Tong’s website also made the same emergency call about a rent increase and it was dated August 2006.  Mr Yu said he did not know about such notice and it was only this year the temple faced the possibility of eviction due to the huge rent hike.  He explained the website was done by his second son in New York and as a native American he did not know how to write Chinese so there could be a mistake in the date. Legislator Choy So-yuk also said it was the first time she heard about the temple’s rent crisis.

Ms Choy said she had introduced a ground floor site on Kam Ping Road, also in North Point, to Mr Yu but he said the premise was too small.  She said she did not know the owner of the present premise so she could not help to mediate between the two parties.

Ms Choy said she had a shrine of Kwan Tai at home but Kwan Tai Tong was not her temple for worship, still she would not like to see the temple go but she could not think of anything she could do to help the temple.  Ms Choy was a guest at the temple’s inauguration five years ago and helped distributed rice last year.

Visitors to Kwan Tai Tong’s website may be baffled by the song Light up the Sky by the rock group Yellowcard.  Yet it was precisely this song that had attracted the freelance journalist to the temple.

Mr Yu repeatedly stated although the temple was a private venture, it was registered as a charity association and as such no money was made as profits.  In fact he said he had been putting in money from his pocket every month just so he could do something for the community.  He pointed to the grey suit he was wearing and said he had had that for over ten years.  The tie clip said NYPD (New York Police Department) and it was the only thing on him that revealed his root in New York.

At 3 p.m. on the day of Kwan Tai’s birthday, the 800 sacs of rice were all given away.  Mr Yu and his association wait for the savior of the temple, one who can offer $3 million to put a down payment on the premise.

On March 18^th, Mr Yu said he did not have the appetite for breakfast as no one had yet come forward to help.  The landlord spoke to him two weeks before but his position remained the same, he even mentioned the premise was now worth more. When asked what might happen next, Mr Yu, although worried, said, ‘Kwan Yi Gor will make things happen for me, as always.’

 

         

  

      

  

 

       

Instead of teabreak, we have Tan Twan Eng

Author who takes away the aridity in everyday speech

Penang-born Tan Twan Eng was a guest speaker yesterday in an event co-organized by the Man Literary Festival, 2008 and Hong Kong University’s Department of English at Rayson Huang Theatre in Hong Kong University to speak on the theme ‘redemption’.

Tan Twan Eng has just published his first novel, ‘The Gift of Rain’, and although he said he did not come up with a theme until he finished his first draft, his book was none the less about the redemption of his main character, Philip Hutton.

“Redemption is a popular theme in novels,” said Tan, and he quoted King Lear, The Atonement.

He said there had to be huge and grievious mistake committed by the main character, and the process of redemption dated far back into the past.

In a tale of redemption for a novel to work, Tan said acts of how far and how badly the character had fallen had to be included so the readers would be riveted in reading how the character had made his way back to life from where he had fallen.  The readers’ hope to see how the character would redeem himself would prolong their reading pleasure.

“A novel has to make a balance between the fall and the climb back,” said Tan.

He quoted Kazuo Ishiguro as the writer who had the most influence on him.  The Ishiguro book he said  he particularly liked was “An Artist of the Floating World” in which the main character, the artist, was haunted by his military past in the Second World War. 

Tan said in order for a character to achieve redemption, he had to dig deep into his memory where his secrets rested.  “But the protagonist is only able to remember to his best ability.”

“When a person becomes old, memories will be his constant companion,” said Tan.

Even then, Tan said, “inconsequential events in the past suddenly take on epic proportions.”

In the preface of his book, Tan quoted from “The Diving-Bell and the Butterfy” by Jean-Dominique Bauby, ‘I am fading away.  Slowly but surely.  Like the sailor who watches his home shore gradually disappear, I watch my past recede.  My old life still burns within me, but more and more of it is reduced to the ashes of memory.’

Tan said Ishiguro dropped hints on the main character’s memories in his book “An Artist of the Floating World” to let the readers create the bigger picture and to let the readers decide on the truthfullness of the memories.  He, on the other hand, fragmented his character into four segments: half Chinese, half English, young and old.  He used flashbacks a lot in the book.

Tan’s advice to new writer was to take on smaller task, that is not to aim at a huge novel and ‘to write as you are.’

Week 8’s Progress

On previous occasions I took pictures of CMI students having an English lesson.

I have lined up some interviews with students who have graduated, who are studying in universities, and who are doing their matriculation courses. 

The interviews for those doing their matriculation course might need to be in Chinese.  I have given the interviewees some questions to think about or prepare first so they can try to speak in English.  Those who have graduated should have no problem using English in the interviews.

I want to focus more on their views on mother tongue education and how implementation of mother tongue education has affected their academic lives.

This is a project giving voice to the small people and I want to concentrate on the subjects more.

Photos, audio clips and text to supplement background on each interviewee will be the main multimedia used. 

7.2 On-line media types

My project is about people and their stories in their journeys in the pursuit of knowledge.  The stories are about their struggles with a second language that may on the appearance have the look of a language second in position to their mother tongue-Cantonese, but is of utmost importance if they want to further their studies in one of the eight universities.

Their stories will not be told in ordinary circumstances because who wants to feature anybody who is a failure rather than a success.  Until one of them succeeds against all odds, his/her story will not be of interest in the mainstream.

So back to what kind of on-line media I think would be best to tell the story(ies) I have in mind?  No doubt  a combination of text with or without link, photo and audio would illustrate each of the story I have in mind nicely.

I plan to feature students who have studied  in Chinese (Cantonese) for either four years,  five years or seven years in their secondary school life.  Each student interviewed or profiled will be featured in a short piece, say about 300-400 words, as Mindy McAdams said in her Using Online Media Types about how much a person reads on a Web page,  so there will be several pieces all together.  If the circumstances  demand, a photo essay without the  text accompaniment  would be a better way to portray an English lesson taken by a subject.  The photos might even be put as a slideshow.

What about audio?  Definitely.  What is a better way to tell the story than to allow the subject to tell his/her own story in his/her words.  The subject can describe experiences, frustrations, doubts and aspirations.  He/she can tell listeners his/her hopes and worries.  The voice will paint a picture and give listener a sense of closeness to the subject.

Video will be distracting if it is used in my project.  Faces should remain annoymous.  Let the viewers or listeners draw their own pictures and supply visuals themselves.

The project is about students in the CMI schools.  Of course, readers’ comments will make the story bigger and more representative and up to date.  Blogs let others join in to comment or share experiences.  The only worry is most do not read English language blogs.   Most students have blogs in Chineses.  A link to these blogs will enrich the story but readers/viewers must be bi-lingual to understand it all.

Links to other resources might be a bit dry for my project.  These links inevitably are about education policy or academic research papers that might put readers off rather than interest them.

As for charts and graphs, I think it might be a touch too ambitious at this point to say they are necessary.

7.1 Podcast

Margaret Lam wants to tell us about the various ‘think tank’ organisations in Hong Kong, how they operate, where do they get the funding, who is behind each one and what is their main focus.

What is a think tank?  How can an organisation call itself a think tank?  Why is think tank necessary in a city like Hong Kong?  Why do we see more and more think tanks being set up in Hong Kong?  Are they doing the same things or are they doing different things?  Are the things they do related to the pulse of the society or are they  just the personal whims of a few outspoken individuals?

Christine Loh’s Civic Exchange will of course be featured.  Regina Ip’s Savantas Policy Institute is the latest addition to Margaret’s list.  One country, Two systems and Roundtable, the list grows longer by the minute.

The questions you have in mind about think tank will be answered if you tune in to Margaret’s podcast and follow her investigations.

6.1 Video production

Our video is about Vivian, Eric and Michelle who are Hongkongers learning latin dances in Shenzhen every weekend on Saturday and Sunday.  Vivian has just been crowned champion in four categories in the 3rd Inter-school dance sports competition.  The four catigories are Rumbe, Samba, Cha Cha and Jive.  Eric who normally partners with Michelle was Vivian’s partner for the first time when they won.

Our video named Latin Dance can be seen on Podomatic.

Our team consists of Janice Hui, Margaret Lam and myself.  We couldn’t believe the number of hours we needed to put into this piece of work.  Being part-timers, we could only meet last night at the expense of Doreen’s class and we stayed until 11.30 p.m.  A big apology for Doreen.  Sam and Spider were great, at least they were there to help.  Thanks.

5.2 Photo-essay

It is said a picture tells a thousand words.  I hope mine at least can illustrate the kind of work students put in to prepare for their final battle.  These are Secondary 7 students who know they have been disadvantaged because they have been picked to learn in Chinese.  Chances for them to pass the English test in the subject named Use of English are not in their favor.  The odds are very much against them.  Yet, they are fearless and determined. 

The photos were taken on March 12th when students came back to practise their oral presentations and discussions.  They had just finished their mock examinations and evaluations.  These students are all in the CMI stream, which means they learn in Chinese.  They had taken time to come back for more practice because they are well aware of their shortcomings and they are all willing to give their best shot.  It’s an uphill battle for all pictured here.

Starting from the left, three students worked on their ideas as soon as a presentation topic was given.  They had 10 minutes to prepare for a 3-minute speech.

The 2nd picture is a teacher busily scribbing down notes while she’s listening in order to give comments at the end of each presentation.  She concentrated on the good points first and gently let each know the mistakes made.

This picture was taken when one of the students gave his presentation.  He might not be an eloquent speaker or his choice of words might not have been appropriate, but he tried his dauntest to get his thoughts across in a steady and controlled voice.

The fourth picture is one that students discussed a topic.  It was an intense discussion and one that every participant was deeply involved.  The speaker utilised not just his voice but gestures and facial expression to get his points across.

The last picture was taken when a student brought back an essay he wrote at home for a teacher to mark.  The teacher had a free period so was able to mark the essay immediately and gave feedback to the student at once.

It was just one day that the activities were recorded, but it was a busy day indeed for teachers and students!

5.1 Copyright matters

Andrew Heavens used a Creative Commons license with his Ethiopian protest photos on his Flickr page and received unexpected results.

The license he got is one that allows anyone to re-use anything – as long as they credit him and don’t change the original material or make any money out of it.

The license allows his photos to have a new lease of exposure after the world engages itself in more pressing concerns.  His photos have been republished in their original full resolution.  People have written to ask if they could use the photos.  Even when Heaven’s photos were used without giving him credit, they weren’t used to make money but towards a good cause, that’s spreading the injustice of the June protest in Ethiopia.  To him, Creative Commons can give a longer lifespan to the photographs taken by  press photographers.  The fact that his photos are still swimming in the Internet with a CC license attached is gratifying to him.

The idea that original works can have a new lease of life is exciting. Freelance journalists can really get their gears moving in all directions.  If they are writng their copies and taking their own photographs, provided they are neither obscene or indecent, they need not worry about all the legal and moral implications mentioned in Foust’s Chapter 10.  Reading about all the legal and ethical issues  a journalist has to be beware of is both an eye-opener and scary.  It seems like the best policy is to check things out about a link in order to prevent lawsuits.  Like Sylvia said in her blog about her Oriental Daily experience, the time used to check the authenticity of what’s said in a link was equal to repeating what the other journalist did and that could mean precious time wasted.  But truth and accuracy should take priority of time.

 Lawerence Lessig’s digression on piracy and his question on weighing the protection of the law against the strong public interest in continued innovation bring us to the realm of how harmful it is to use creative property of others without their permission.  If the use involves profit gain, then it is wrong, but what about use that is about spreading content?  Should it be made legally impossible?  

A look at the Creative Commons site tells us the licenses apply to works that are protected by copyright.  Again having that copyright is important before we do anything.  Once a license has been applied, it is non-revocable, which means we can stop offering our work under a Creative Commons license but will not affect the rights with any copies of our work already in circulation under a Creative Commons license.  Once again the right we give others to use our work is a thing we need to think about carefully first especially for those of us who intend to work alone as a freelancer.