Friday, December 31, 2010

Days; I miss..!!

Thanks to Elham Saeed..



The Last Anniversary..!

 
1st January 2011

Today; it is officially my country's 55th independence day, but also the last as ONE nation, overwhelmingly sad :(
Thanks to Elsadig Salatin for the painful thought..!!

Despite who knows or not.. Who cares or not.. Who feels or not.. Who is ours or not.. Who is sad or not.. Who is Sudanese or not..
I shall keep this graphic on my profile till the Southern Sudan State (SSS) is officially announced..!!
(I know it will, not by voting, but by politics..)

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Commemorate Gaza War..



I've changed my profile picture to commemorate the second anniversary of Israel's war on Gaza.. Which had been notoriously done under our sights..!!
Thanks to Kathleen Wells and  Suzan Papadelis for the inspiration..




http://on.fb.me/95ydE3  Photography Collection by Middle East Fine Arts
 
 

Young Muslims 2010..


This poll shades lots of ideas and concepts about the Young Muslim in 2010.. Thier scope of life and cross cultural integration..
In my view; it is the most critical factor for the future of Muslims.. and subsequenty: Islam..

Nuba.. What does it mean in Hieroglyphy..?


Khartoum Changes its Tone ..

I need to say Nothing..!!


Summary
The tone of the Sudanese government’s rhetoric concerning Southern Sudan’s upcoming referendum has shifted, indicating that Khartoum has accepted the eventuality of Southern Sudanese independence. Though most northerners do not want the south to secede, the north has begun planning for southern independence — and, despite many outsiders’ expectations, war is not necessarily likely. Northern Sudanese opposition parties are using the referendum as an opportunity to push for the formation of a new interim government, a new constitution and for fresh elections, but the ruling party intends to serve its full term and maintain control for years to come.

Analysis
Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has demonstrated a noticeable shift in rhetoric over how it intends to react should Southern Sudan vote for independence in a referendum scheduled for Jan. 9. No longer threatening to force a delay to the vote, or even to refuse recognition of the results, Khartoum now appears resigned to the inevitability of a new state arising in the south. This does not mean that tensions between the north and south will dissipate suddenly. The breakup of the country will not be smooth, and there will likely be moments where it appears that war could erupt. But Khartoum is not preparing for a fight as its first recourse; rather its focus will be on achieving two main objectives in the months ahead: ensuring it obtains a favorable new oil-revenue sharing agreement with the south, and staving off a looming political crisis in what will remain of Sudan.

Voting in the referendum will occur from Jan. 9-15, but independence cannot legally become official until July, when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement — the document that ended the latest civil war (1983-2005) — expires. This is also when Sudan’s interim constitution will have to be amended to account for the departure of the south, assuming a majority of southerners vote to secede. Between the referendum and July, the north and south will have to come to terms on a new oil-revenue sharing agreement to replace the one that has been in place since 2005, which gives Khartoum roughly half of all oil revenues from crude pumped in Southern Sudan.

There is a natural inclination that the oil issue alone will lead to war if Southern Sudan secedes, as most of Sudan’s oil comes from the south. However, Sudan’s geography and the location of its oil infrastructure give Khartoum enormous leverage. Southern Sudan is landlocked, and the only export route for its crude oil is a pipeline network that goes through the north. Discussions about building an alternative network through Kenya have yet to lead to anything tangible, and any real alternative is a minimum of three years off. The south certainly maintains the option of trying to sabotage its own production should the north refuse to substantially increase the share of oil revenue that goes to Juba, but this would hurt them more than the north. Khartoum is aware of all of this.


Politically speaking, southern secession has been more difficult for the north to accept, as is the case whenever any country loses a significant portion of its territory. Khartoum has repeatedly threatened war if issues such as border demarcations, citizenship, international debt obligations and the status of the Abyei region are not settled before the referendum, and also sought to find ways to delay the Southern Sudanese vote. These issues remain unresolved, yet there are now signs from several leading NCP figures that Khartoum has accepted that not only will the vote take place on time, but also that Southern Sudan will break away:

On Dec. 16, state-run media quoted presidential adviser and NCP Deputy Chairman Nafie Ali Nafie as acknowledging “the failure of all the efforts to maintain the unity of Sudan.” Nafie reportedly said, “We shall accept the reality and must not deceive ourselves and stick to dreams.”

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti said Dec. 23 that “even if South Sudan votes for its independence in the referendum, we are interested in creating two viable responsible states that would honor their international obligations. We want cooperation to develop between them and all of the issues to be resolved. We do not want any conflict to exist between our two countries.”

Sudanese President Omar al Bashir said Dec. 28 that he would be “the first to recognize the south” if it chose independence, referring to southerners repeatedly as brothers, and promising to help them “build their state” regardless of the outcome of the referendum.

Bashir has also specifically addressed the oil issue. During a Dec. 19 rally in al-Qadarif state, he said that Southern Sudan “is part of our body, but (its secession) is not the end of the world.” He then reminded the crowd that the Sudanese oil industry is still relatively new (Sudan only began exporting crude in 1999), saying, “People said that the south’s oil will go, [but] how many years has the south’s oil been there? Before the oil, were we not living?” Furthermore, Bashir emphasized the potential for the north to develop its own oil industry, which is currently thought to produce between 100,000-115,000 barrels per day (bpd) out of Sudan’s total estimated production of 475,000-500,000 bpd. Playing up the potential for northern Sudanese oil production (Limited Open Access) has been a recent strategy of Khartoum’s to allay public concerns that southern secession would lead to economic catastrophe in Sudan.

The majority of Sudanese people do not want to see the south secede, though, and so all of these statements are usually adjoined to criticism of foreign influences for the south’s determination to leave (a “Zionist conspiracy” is the most popular explanation).

The national elections held in Sudan last April left the NCP with a solid mandate; it won just more than 72 percent of all the seats in the national assembly, with 22.3 percent of the seats going to the south’s leading party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The SPLM’s seats would become vacant if the independence referendum passes, and this essentially would turn Sudan into a one-party state run by the NCP. Bashir’s party is thus completely opposed to calls by northern opposition parties (most of whom decided to boycott the April elections) to voluntarily concede its power by forming a new transitional government that would craft a new constitution before calling for fresh elections.

Bashir and his allies see such demands by Sadiq al-Mahdi’s National Umma Party and Hassan al-Turabi’s Popular Congress Party as an invitation to create an unnecessary risk to its political power. Al-Mahdi and al-Turabi, on the other hand, feel that the south’s imminent exit from the government of national unity will provide a rare opportunity to place significant pressure upon the NCP. Both opposition party leaders know that once this window closes, it will be extremely difficult to reopen. Thus, they fervently are pushing the notion that southern secession — and the void it will leave in the democratically elected government, not to mention the problems that will arise with the interim constitution — will strip the NCP of its political legitimacy. This, they argue, would require a reorganization of Sudan’s political framework. Bashir is not budging, however. He has vowed to merely amend (not discard) the interim constitution so as to account for the south’s departure, and declared that he and the rest of the government will remain in office for the remainder of their five-year terms won in the recent elections. Anyone opposed to this, Bashir said Dec. 28, can “lick his elbow.”

Bashir’s recent pledge to reinforce Sharia as the law of the land in Sudan after the south secedes, with Islam as the national religion and Arabic as the national language. Having lost the role of the protector of Sudan’s unity, the NCP is seeking to return to its roots in a way, playing up its Islamist credentials as a means of regaining whatever political legitimacy it risks losing with the breakup of Sudan. While Khartoum has decided that going to war with the south is not worth it (as long as the SPLM does not try to overstep its bounds, say, in the oil-revenue talks, or by increasing its support for Darfur rebels), it will not be so compliant when it comes to how it intends to wield control in what is left of Sudan.

http://www.stratfor.com/memberships/178948/analysis/20101229-southern-sudans-referendum-khartoum-changes-its-tone

Helen Thomas: Thrown to the wolves


Did any Arab or Palestinian support her..??

In 1960, I was fixated on emulating the courageous media personalities of the times, from Edward R. Murrow to a distinctive figure I came to admire at presidential press conferences - a wire service reporter named Helen Thomas.
In recent years, my faith in the power of dialogue in politics has been severely tested - as, no doubt has hers - in an age where diatribes and deliberate demonization chills debate and exchanges of opposing views.
Once you are labeled and stereotyped - especially if you are denounced as an anti-Semite - you are relegated to the fringes, pronounced a hater beyond redemption, and even beyond explanation.
As the legendary Helen Thomas soon found out.

The rise of a legend:
As a member in good standing of an activist generation, I saw myself more as an outsider in contrast to Helen’s distinctive credentials as an insider, as a White House bureau chief and later as the dean of the White House Correspondents' Association.
Yet, beneath her establishment credentials and status, she was always an outsider too - one of nine children born to a family of Lebanese immigrants in Winchester Kentucky, who despite their Middle East origins were Christians in the Greek Orthodox Church.
She became a woman who broke the glass ceiling in the clubby, mostly male, inside-the-beltway world of big egos and self-important media prima donnas.
Her origins were more modest. She grew up in an ethnic neighborhood in Detroit.
Helen received her bachelor's degree from Wayne State University in 1942, the year I was born. Earlier this year, her alma mater, of which she had taken so much pride in her achievements, canceled the award in her name.

A fall from grace:
The withdrawal of her name from the prominent award was a striking gesture of cowardice and submission to an incident blown out of proportion that instantly turned Helen from a 'she-ro' to a zero.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center put her on their top ten list of anti-Semites after angry remarks she made about Israel went viral and exploded into a major story.
President Barack Obama who cheerfully brought her a birthday cake, later labeled her remarks as "reprehensible".
You would think that given all the vicious ad hominems, Godwins and putdowns directed at him, he would be more cautious tossing slurs at others.
But no, all politicians pander to deflect criticism whenever the wind of enmity blows their way.
Now it was Helen who was being compared to Hitler in the latest furor.

Snakes and Foxes:
Then suddenly last June, I, like everyone in the world of media, was stunned to witness her public fall from grace, partly self-inflicted, perhaps because of the inelegant language used in response to an ambush interview by provocateur father-son Israeli advocates posing as journalists.
They were following in the footsteps of the vicious comments by Ann Coulter earlier denouncing Thomas as an "old Arab" sitting yards from the President as if she were threatening him. She refused to dignify that smear with a response.
I didn't know until she told me that she had also been hounded for years by Abe Foxman, a leader of the Anti-Defamation League who demanded she explain 25 questions she asked presidents over the decades.
"I didn’t answer," she told me, "because I don’t respond to junk mail."

Bait and switch:
Helen always stuck to her guns. She was considered the marquise of journalists that presidents respected. She even went to China with Nixon.
She has, however, always been polite enough to try to answer questions from strangers without always realizing who she was dealing with in a new world of media hit jobs, where "gotcha" YouTube videos thrive on spontaneous embarrassing moments, what we used to call "bloopers."
She had been baited and fell for it. Unaware of how the video could be used, she vented and then regretted doing so. It was too late. That short media snippet triggered millions of hits.
Helen later apologized for how she said what she did without retracting the essence of her convictions.
But by then, it was too late. Her long career was instantly terminated. The perception became everything; the context nothing.

Damage control:
She tried to be conciliatory, saying, "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."

Her remarks were derided and dismissed, with the pundits and papers demanding her head. She had no choice but to resign after her company, agent, co-author and many "friends" started treating her like a pariah.
"You cannot criticize Israel in this country and survive," she says now.

She was forced into retirement and thrown to the wolves in a media culture that relishes stories of personal destruction and misfortune. It's the old 'the media builds you up before they tear you down' routine.
As blogger Jamie Frieze wrote, "I don't think she should have been forced to resign. After all, freedom of speech doesn't come with the right to be comfortable. In other words, the fact that you're uncomfortable doesn't trump my free speech. Thomas made people uncomfortable, but that doesn't mean her speech should be punished."
But punished she was.

A lesson learned:
When I called Helen Thomas to ask if she might be willing to share some of her thoughts on what happened, I found her as eloquent as ever, supportive of Wikileaks, critical of grand jury harassment in the Mid West against Palestinian supporters and angry with President Obama for his many right turns and spineless stands.
She was, she said, on a path outside the White House when a rabbi, David Nesenoff, asked to speak to her, and introduced his two sons whom he said wanted to become journalists (one of whom wasn't actually his son).
"That happens to me a lot," she said, "and I told them about my love of journalism and that they should pursue their goals. I was gracious, and told them to go for it."
Then the subject abruptly changed. "'What do you think of Israel' they asked next. It was all very pleasant and I don't blame them for asking,” she told me. But, then, she added, she didn't know the people would've "shoved a microphone in my face like a jack knife."
It wasn't just any rabbi making conversation. Nesenoff is an ardent Israel supporter who runs a website called 'Rabbi Live' and can be a flamboyant self-promoter. He says, "Even though I was born in Glen Cove and grew up in Syosset Long Island, Israel is my Jewish homeland. It is the homeland for all Jewish people."

The sin of silence:
She remembered being moved by a rabbi who spoke alongside Martin Luther King Jr at the March on Washington in 1963. I was there also, and heard him speak too, and so I looked him up.
It was Joachim Prinz of the American Jewish Congress who made a speech that influenced a younger Helen Thomas. He said, "When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence."
Helen says her whole career has been about combating the sin of silence. She says she has now been liberated to speak out.
"All I would like is for people to know what I was trying to say, that Palestinians are living under tyranny and that their rights are being violated. All I want is some sympathy for Palestinians," she says.

Forgotten but not forgiven:
Now it's the holiday season, allegedly a time of peace and forgiveness when presidents issue pardons to convicted criminals and reflection is theoretically permitted, a time when even a State Department hawk like Richard Holbrooke can, on his deathbed, it is said, call for an end to the Afghan war that he had dogmatically supported.
We have watched the rehabilitation of so many politicians over recent years who have stumbled, taken money or disgraced themselves in sex scandals, including senators and even presidents.

Helen Thomas is not in that category:
Yet, many of those "fallen" are back in action, tarnished perhaps, but allowed to recant, to work and then reappear in the media.
But, to this day, there has been almost no compassion, empathy or respect shown for one of our great journalists, Helen Thomas, who has been presumed guilty and sentenced to oblivion with barely a word spoken in her defense.
How can we expect Israelis and Palestinians to reconcile if our media won't set an example by reconciling with Helen Thomas?

Danny Schechter edits Mediachannel.org. He directed Plunder The Crime of Our Time, a film on DVD about the financial crisis as a crime story. (Plunderthecrimeofourtime.com)
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/12/20101229124751864918.html

Sunday, December 26, 2010

16-Storey Hotel Build in Six Days


Watch as workers in China build The New Ark Hotel, breaking construction records by starting with an empty plot in Changsha and leaving the site with a 50m tall building in just 136 hours.

Developer Broad Sustainable Building, who worked until 10pm each night, say the five days and 16 hour construction time is thanks to the use of pre-fabricated parts.

The frame of the 50m building - which is built to withstand a magnitude nine earthquake - took just 46 hours to put together, with the building enclosure taking another 90.
 
 
http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-10436-in-video-16-storey-hotel-build-in-six-days/
 
 
My Catches..
1. How long it took to prepare all components off site?
2. Are foundations part of the six days? if not, how long to took to be done?
3. How much is the cost for this Ft2 140,000 GBA? Cost Model?
4. Was the building fully operational after these 136 hours?

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Love vs. Hatred..!


No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
Nelson Mandela

Happy Holidays....♥
Amela Omerika



Although I agree on the notion.. yet disagree on the conclusion..!!
Learning love is never simpler than hatred.. It is easy to get any one furious due to conflict over belonging, target or concept..
On the opposite; many hidden constraints are there when talking love..
This why religions, philosophies and fairy-tales were there..!!
Adil

Friday, December 24, 2010

Digitopolis or Pre-Robotopolis..?


Eric called it Digitopolis..; which is perfectly true.. Should I add description as "The Pre-Robotopolis.."
I guess; A threshold for futuristic and perfectly functioning Cities & Citizens; yet neither pretty to adore nor attractive to belong to..!!


The end of our less-perfect, yet livable and lovable humane experience..
Global technology companies are offering “smart city in a box” solutions. Governments are responding to their pitch: a smarter, cleaner, safer city. But there is no guarantee that technology solutions developed in one city can be transplanted elsewhere. As firms compete to corner the government market, cities will benefit from innovation. But if one company comes out on top, cities could see infrastructure end up in the control of a monopoly whose interests are not aligned with the city or its residents.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1710342/the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-smart-city

Thursday, December 23, 2010

India & GCC..!

A Confusing Picture.. regardless true or fabricated..!

Dr Nasser Saidi ; Chied Economist at DIFC, posted on Linked-in:
Gulf countries are missing out on US$1 trillion (Dh3.67tn) worth of infrastructure projects in India http://bit.ly/eCcdcL


Dear Dr Saidi..

I do value and follow your picks and notes..
I hope to avoid the unnecessary row..!!

I’m not an economist nor investment professional, yet during the last few years, had closely observed the stakes of GCC (Mubadala & KFH) in Malaysia, had lots of insights on corporate structures (Dubai Properties, Nakheel, Tatweer and Qatari Diar), in addition to the chronicles of the bubble since 1996..

I can say that the culture of investment is different (never win-win), breakdown of products & services is special (Cheap migrant labors, Almost no tax & High consuming trends), and confusing strategies (over supply, over sppecify and over valued) .. Maybe overwhelmed by lots (incompetent decision makers); which raises the said question..

If the world’s top officials are racing for that $1Trillion cake; are there traces of priggism or fierce which drive the frozen actions?

Or just both SWFs and Conglomerates are not efficiently-governed to compete..?

I shall appreciate your reply
Adil

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Sharawy & Mubarak


Few years ago, Sheikh Mohammad Mutwali AlSharawy, who was an extraordinary Islamic scholar in Egypt, had made a famous speech in front of Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak.. The speech was one of the last the late Shiekh had made, as passed away few weeks later..

However it had created a fierce controversy between two contradicting groups; each included Religious, Secular and Hypocrites as well..
The row still there, while parties are neither agreeing, compromising nor fighting..!!
Simply, it reflects the common declining intellectual environment that perfectly interprets the current happenings and predictions among Muslim communities worldwide..!

English translation is provided below the clip..
I shall put my views in the comments, while asking you to repeatedly watch, dive and enjoy a modern piece of true Islamic Philosophy, Literature and Morals..!!




Please note that this is in Arabic and here is the English translation courtesy of Tamer Abouzeid and Farah Haddadin. (Please note comments in [brackets] are further explanations/annotations where deemed necessary.)

And I am, Mr. President, standing at the doorstep of my life [close to death], to receive God's fate; so I will not conclude my life with hypocrisy, nor publicize my strength through feigned courage. But I shall say a new word to the entire [Islamic] Nation; Government and Party, Opposition and Men, and a Peoples, I am sorry to say, that is complacent. I want of them to know, that all Dominion is in the hand of God; He gives it to who He wills: there is no conspiring to take it, and no conniving to reach it. Indeed, The Truth [God] (Glorified and Almighty), when He told of the dialogue between Ibrahim [Abraham] and Namrooz [Nimrod], what did He say to him? [Quotation from Qur'an, Sura Al-Baqara 2:258:] "Have you not considered him who argued with Ibrahim about his God," and he is a non-believer, He said "...because God had given him dominion."

For dominion, when God grants it, He said, "brings dominion to who He wills." So there is no conspiring on God to get dominion, and there is no conniving against God to get rule, because no one will rule in God's Dominion except with the want of God. (Crowd yells: Yes, God is Greater) And so if he [the ruler] was just, he has done good with his just rule; and if he was oppressive, he makes oppression ugly and hated in the souls of all people, so they end up hating every oppressor even if he weren't a ruler.

And because of this, I say to the entire Nation: it, thanks be to God, has been confirmed to us the truthfulness of God in his words, through what has transpired of events. For how did we explain the words of God, "And they scheme, and God schemes." (Crowd: Yes, God is Greater) And how did we explain, "And they connive, and We connive." [The sheikh is referencing his explanations of the meanings of the Qur'an, saying that people plan and connive but in the end God does so as well and His will is done. It may also be a reference to the assassination attempt on Egyptian President Mubarak who is listening, since this was an event to celebrate the failure of this assassination attempt in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.]

God wants to prove His command of his creations, and so I advise every person who thinks about becoming a ruler, I advise you not to ask for it; verily, you must be asked to do it. For the prophet of God said, "He who is asked to do something, is assisted in it; and he who asks for something becomes obsessed with it."

Mr. President, the last of what I would like to tell you, as this may be my last meeting with you (Crowd: May God elongate your life): If you are our divine decree, may God make you succeed; and if we are your divine decree, may God help you to endure.

India, Indians & Space

  

 In my response to a joke on the 1st Indian Astronaut coming back to earth; I had found interesting information, which should be shared..


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/23/india-space-astronauts
http://www.isro.org/
http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Russia_To_Take_Indian_Astronaut_On_Space_Mission_In_2013_999.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation
http://www.spacetoday.org/India/IndiaSpaceHistory.html


 
Kalpana Chawla & Sunita Williams

Rakesh Sharma

This how the Rocket Cone was transported to the Launch Pad at Thumba 1960

Chandrayaan I which landed on the moon on November 14 last 2009

Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO)


Sunday, December 19, 2010

Us & Them..!!



It is the cultural divide between “Western” hemisphere and “Us”..
I did not refer “Us” as the “Eastern” one, because in the “East” they are almost approaching the same levels of civic excellence and Service philosophies..
It is “Us”, referring to only “Arabs & Africans”, who are mysteriously joined the careless for order, discipline and organization..
Despite the flood of “Military” who repeatedly ruled “Us” for a while, they could not bring order to “Our” culture.. They could not change or teach the people to stand in ques..!!
There is something seriously wrong, yet no one admits, nor explains..!!
You can never blindly heal, unless the illness is defined, medications are just waste of time, money and effort..
This is what is going for decades, with no serious outcomes..
Petty..!
Similarly, while it looks a different subject; everyone is excited about the 9 billion claim, while the same released bundle of Wikileaks talked seriously about the dozens of Sudanese and Eritreans who are abused or killed in their odd migration to Israel.. The Sudanese role in creating and enforcing the Somali Militia, as related to the hijacked T-72 tanks.. The true stand of SPLA on independence issue.. or the Sudanese role in smuggling arms to Hamas and Hizb-o-Allah..
What a heart-ache..!!
I regret being lazy on migration.. when I was fit for..!!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Pouring Cold Water on WikiLeaks...


by Daniel Pipes
National Review Online, December 14, 2010
http://www.meforum.org/pipes/9182/wikileaks-arab-leaders

Of all the WikiLeaks revelations, the most captivating may be learning that several Arab leaders have urged the U.S. government to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. Most notoriously, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called on Washington to "cut off the head of the snake." According to nearly universal consensus, these statements unmask the real policies of Saudi and other politicians.

But is that necessarily so? There are two reasons for doubts.

First, as Lee Smith astutely notes, the Arabs could merely be telling Americans what they think the latter want to hear: "We know what the Arabs tell diplomats and journalists about Iran," he writes, "but we don't know what they really think about their Persian neighbor." Their appeals could be part of a process of diplomacy, which involves mirroring one's allies' fears and desires as one's own. Thus, when Saudis claim Iranians are their mortal enemies, Americans tend uncritically to accept this commonality of interests; Smith maintains, however, that "the words the Saudis utter to American diplomats are not intended to provide us with a transparent window into royal thinking but to manipulate us into serving the interests of the House of Saud." How do we know they are telling the truth just because we like what they are saying?

Second, how do we judge the discrepancy between what Arab leaders tell Western interlocutors sotto voce and what they roar to their masses? Looking at patterns from the 1930s onwards, I noted in a 1993 survey that whispers matter less than shouts: "Public pronouncements count more than private communications. Neither provides an infallible guide, for politicians lie in both public and private, but the former predict actions better than the latter.

The Arab-Israeli conflict, for example, would have ended long ago if one believes confidences told to Westerners. Take the example of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt's strongman from 1952 to 1970 and arguably the politician who most made Israel into the abiding obsession of Middle Eastern politics.

According to Miles Copeland, a CIA operative who liaised with Abdel Nasser, the latter considered the Palestine issue "unimportant." In public, however, Abdel Nasser relentlessly forwarded an anti-Zionist agenda, riding it to become the most powerful Arab leader of his era. His confidences to Copeland, in other words, proved completely misleading.

The same pattern applied to specifics. He spoke in private to Western diplomats about a readiness to negotiate with Israel; but addressing the world, he rejected the very existence of the Jewish state as well as any compromise with it. After the 1967 war, for example, Abdel Nasser secretly signaled to Americans a willingness to sign a non-belligerency accord with Israel "with all its consequences" while publicly rejecting negotiations and insisting that "That which was taken by force will be regained by force." The public statement, as usual, defined his actual policies.

Not only did Abdel Nasser's shouts offer a far more accurate guide to his actions than his whispers, but he tacitly admitted as much, telling John F. Kennedy that "some Arab politicians were making harsh statements concerning Palestine publicly and then contacting the American government to alleviate their harshness by saying that their statements were meant for local Arab consumption." Thus did Abdel Nasser precisely describe his own behavior.


Contrarily, when speaking privately not to Westerners but to their own, Arab leaders do sometimes reveal the truth. Memorably, the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat publicly signed the 1993 Oslo Accords recognizing Israel but he expressed his real intentions in private when he appealed to Muslims in a South African mosque "to come and to fight and to start the jihad to liberate Jerusalem."

It's intuitive to privilege the confidential over the overt and the private over the public. However, Middle East politics repeatedly shows that one does better reading press releases and listening to speeches than relying on diplomatic cables. Confidential views may be more heartfelt but, as Dalia Dassa Kaye of the Rand Corporation notes, "what Arab leaders say to U.S. officials and what they might do may not always track." The masses hear policies; high-ranking Westerners hear seduction.

This rule of thumb explains why distant observers often see what nearby diplomats and journalists miss. It also raises doubts about the utility of the WikiLeaks data dump. In the end, it may distract us more than clarify what we know about Arab policies.

Mr. Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Osman Jnni..!!


"A women is publicly humiliated in Sudan.."

Our suspicious silence is our “Guilt of Accessory”.. Our fear-for-life is our “Likeness of Dictatorship”.. Our “Complacent Deactivation” is our seeds for the future..

Maybe it is an ancient “Illness” that cripples Sudan from catching the mate-nations of mid 1950th..?

Maybe we are not a ”Nation” enough in the true eyes of our own people; otherwise they would defend its name and pride..?

Inqaze-Generations are victimized as all home-citizens 0-35 years old had known nothing but “Inqaz”.. Had memorized nothing but “Inqaz”.. Have no model but “Inqaz”..

(Hip Hop of Sudana 2010 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23230422742)

They may curse it, but unconsciously keep its deformed morals in practice..!!

Years ago; when I predicted that Exodus-Sudanese are the only hope for Sudan, I was given names..!!

Practically & emotionally; I had repeatedly failed to obtain a foreign passport..!!


I respect Dr Tinay, but disagree on his deformed costume, which symbolizes confusion confustion rather than the integration he consciously meant..!!

I do not taste their music, lyrics or performance, yet they have a cause to defend; which I do not know..!! Simply, it is a global trend or "Headless-Imitation.."

Inqaz Generations in a party at Greek Club of Khartoum 2010; by Phil Moore

Friday, December 10, 2010

SS 2011

No Comment...!


Certainly this banner was created by someone who doe not know politics..!! Yet it came in a time of debate to set a new threshold for the so-called independence and self determination..


Thursday, December 9, 2010

A Decline of Monarchy..!!


Is it the countdown of a world without Monarchs..??
The New Furious Generations are questioning everything, and there are no "Holy Rights" any more, nor "Blue Bloods"..!!
As Camilla correctly said: "There is always a first time for everything.."
It was histoically the first time for the British Royals to come under a direct deliberate attack..
This is a serious issue all sociologists are carefully examining at this very moment..
There are many other signs in all monarchies worldwide..
Is it the decline of "Royalty" worldwide..??


Furious student protesters attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, vandalized buildings and battled riot police Thursday as a controversial hike in university fees triggered Britain's worst political violence in years. In a major security breach, demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne's Rolls Royce as it drove through London's busy West End on its way to a theater. A group of up to 20 struck it with fists, sticks and bottles, breaking a window and splattering the gleaming black vehicle with paint. In the frenzy, some chanted "off with their heads!"

Adnan Nazir, a 23-year-old podiatrist who was following the protesters, said Charles, 62, kept his calm, gently pushing his 63-year-old wife toward the floor to get her out of the line of fire. "Charles got her on the floor and put his hands on her," Nazir said. "Charles was still waving and giving the thumb's up. "It was just a surreal thing," he said. "It was completely manic."

Charles' office, Clarence House, said the royal couple was unharmed. But the attack took police completely by surprise and raises serious security questions. The chief of the Metropolitan Police, Paul Stephenson, said the force would launch an investigation into Thursday's violence. Prime Minister David Cameron said the violence against the royal couple was "shocking and regrettable."

"It is clear that a minority of protesters came determined to provoke violence, attack the police and cause as much damage to property as possible," Cameron said. "They must face the full force of the law." Police said it was unclear whether the royals had been deliberately targeted, or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The couple arrived looking somber but composed at the London Palladium theater, where they were attending a Royal Variety Performance. Camilla later managed to shrug off the ordeal, saying there was "a first time for everything," the Press Association news agency reported.

ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12360807
The Guardian http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8193115/Royal-car-attack-How-did-the-police-get-it-so-wrong-again.html

Adhu Dance

Adhu is one of the traditional dances of the Luo people of the Sudan..
They live on the banks of Bahr Alghazal river; which almost divides the territories between Darfur/Kordofan and Southern Sudan..
Luo People are spread in six countries, without known reason for their ancient defragmentation..
It is a typical competition between men and women on who bear to steadily continue the violent quick moves of kicking the grounds..
It is always full of fun, laugh and peace..

 




Cofradía Sufí-Andalusí Al-Shushtari

حضرة صوفية مغربية أندلسية

This is the true Morocco, not the one known for leisure, entertainment and night life.. I guess this theme is not known for many visitors about that marvelous country and creative nation..

With such deep mythic culture, the civic wonders of Morocco and Andalusia were created, operated and very few are lift alive in our modern times..

It is a shot-fit by the Moroccans themselves, who are short from promoting their true treasures.. Understanding the distress of poverty and unemployment would make the blame rest on both government and ruling elite.. who are encouraging the commons to sell their pride to pay for the food.. To trade their creativity with black magic to hunt the opportunities, and accept the naughty comments from their fellow Arabs in exchange of their moneys..

Petty..!!


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The Sudanese Taliban

I'm very much ashamed....!!

These are the Sudanese Taliban..
This is when religion becomes a cheap tool..
This the theme known by the world; yet no one works to draw an end..
It was not only Afghanistan..
It is not only Sudan..
It is the whole humanity in seizure, confusion and distress..!!

(Try CNN I-Report version: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-527066)

 
No Much Difference... Kabul & Khartium..!

 

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Did He Achieve Anything..??


Julian Assange, spokesman for WikiLeaks, said over the weekend: “Geopolitics will be separated into pre- and post-cablegate phases.” A number of developments on Monday seemed to support his bold thesis, or at least give credence to the supposition that geopolitics will have to take note of the “post-cablegate” era. Nonetheless, STRATFOR disagrees.

Another batch of released cables on Monday included a note from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking U.S. diplomats abroad to gather a list of sites sensitive to American national security interests. The media caught on to this particular cable as potentially the most damaging of the entire batch thus far. In the cable, Clinton asked for an updated list of sites “which, if destroyed, disrupted or exploited, would likely have an immediate and deleterious effect on the United States.” The disclosure sparked immediate outrage with U.S. officials. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley commented that the release “amounts to giving a targeting list to groups like al Qaeda.”

Meanwhile, STRATFOR sources in the United States, as well as foreign intelligence agencies and diplomatic officials, continued on Monday to speak to STRATFOR about how the leaks had a negative effect on their ability to conduct diplomatic business. A senior foreign diplomat of a critical country to Washington’s interests working inside the United States talked about apprehensively waiting to see if that country — and the country’s diplomats themselves — are mentioned in the cables. The candor with U.S. diplomats — often done at the expense of home government and as an attempt to build credibility with U.S. counterparts — may very well cost them their job if conversations are revealed. A precedent has been set within that country’s foreign ministry, the diplomat acknowledged, of pulling back on speaking honestly about government deficiencies with U.S. officials. It may be a passing phase — after all, foreign diplomats speak to the United States because they have to, not because they want to or have an affinity for Washington, as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said — but it is a concerning development nonetheless.
 
U.S. intelligence and diplomatic officials have also expressed frustration, with particularly negative implications for operations in the Middle East. The U.S. intelligence community is also considering further compartmentalization of information to prohibit similar disclosures in the future.

Repercussions of the leaked U.S. diplomatic cables therefore are serious and global, not confined to American statecraft. Diplomacy and intelligence professions may very well consider classifying eras as pre- and post-WikiLeaks. We are not sure, and it is too early to tell so close to the actual leaks.

But STRATFOR takes issue with the thesis that the leaked cables will mark geopolitics itself. Geopolitics is a set of constraints imposed primarily by geography — with demographics and technology playing roles — that limit strategic options for nations. Belgium may want to be a world power — and it may have dabbled in the pursuit of such power in the jungles of the Congo — but its existence is defined by its geography as a buffer between France and Germany. Mongolia may once have dominated vast stretches of the Eurasian steppe, but technological advancements have long since minimized the utility of cavalry archers.

One could argue that WikiLeaks introduces a new set of constraints, of open information that will limit how governments pursue their national interests. But the episode does not actually affect one set of countries disproportionately over others. In fact, as much as the United States will now be hampered in intelligence sharing among its diplomats and intelligence officials with Washington, a much less technologically advanced country will be hampered in getting its point across in a frank manner. It is not clear if anyone wins or loses. Power structures established by geography, demographics and technology remain unaffected. One continues to be either constrained or enabled by their particular circumstances. In fact, those geopolitical circumstances will continue to determine the particulars of who speaks to whom and how — only the method may change.

Diplomacy and intelligence work are crafts of manipulating and alleviating the constraints of geopolitics. They are not constraints or enablers themselves. Diplomats and intelligence officials will adapt to the new set of constraints in their work — much as they adapted to the telegraph or the photocopy machine — and this will take time, resources and training. But ultimately geopolitics remains unaffected.

Perhaps we have misread the WikiLeak thesis. Perhaps behind the idea that leaked U.S. diplomatic cables would change geopolitics is not a simple argument of new constraints and enablers emerging, but rather the assumption that the revelation of supposed cynicism and insidious scheming of U.S. diplomats would by itself create a call for change within the American — and global — society. This has not happened. In fact, the U.S. public — as well as the global public — seem to be very much aware of what their diplomats are doing and how they are going about their business. They are, as Joseph Stalin once wrote, quite aware that “sincere diplomacy is no more possible than dry water or wooden iron.”

Friday, December 3, 2010

Sudanese Fruits..


The earlier generation had imported political concepts, tactics and applications; which had generally provoked the simple way of Sudanese life.. These when the segmentation were seeded..
My generation (Sudanese Baby-Boomers) had practiced the “Politics of Wealth” as great portion of our vision was aliened, paranoid and handicapped..
The following generations had worsen the phenomenon, with easy, effective and profitable communications.. Nothing said had interpreted the pain or dreams of true Sudanese..
Yes, we had created the problem, yet most of us speak about how big or complex it is, while very few speak about a way forward..  Certainly, We need to understand the roots to imagine the fruits..
But excessive understanding is an endless tricky job; leading to no fruits, no respect and no sense.. This is my own precaution on the modern trend of think-tanking or research business..
However, may all Sudanese NGOs grow fast and act big, as the Sudanese Commons cannot await any further.. !!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Friend



A repeated good-morals fiction had colored my grown up years..

That soldier who missed his soldier-friend in the battle field..
Asking his commander to go searching for him..
Despite the commander's precautions and decline, he went under the line of fires..
After few hours; he returned back seriously wounded, yet carrying his the body of his dead friend..
The commander noted to both precautions and disobey..

The brave soldier swept his tears: "He was alive when I had found him.. He smiled at me saying how certain he is that I shall be coming searching for him.. Then he smilingly died..!!"

A merit of a Friend is who will still coming to attend you, even if everyone else goes away..!!
The one who would never hold anything from you, even his own soul..!!

In today’s world, people have thousands of excuses not to be such a true sincere ultimate friends..
They mostly do not have time to bother for such ancient morals..!!
In today's world; Friendship, alike everything else has thresholds of no personal implications, no indefinite commitments, and certainly no deep attachments..!!
I guess it is a global culture issue, rather than a personal one..

Despite the false colors of urban living..
It is a petty for who does not have a True Friend..
A petty for generations growing losing such wonderful feelings..
Petty for a world is getting further dry-hearted..!!

In today’s world, how many friends of yours would be fairly called Friends..?
An embarrassing question...!

Few and me are delighted and thankful that we are Friends..!!

Lebanese..



Among few, I believe that Lebanon is a land of civilization, which made the Lebanese People the most civilized among the Arabs.. It is not a matter of fashions or trends, but the deep-rooted practice of life that appreciates morals and qualities of excellence.. It is historically proven, yet concurrently proven on our daily life.. Simply, a nation of few millions that is always represented or been perceived as tens of millions..!!

Almost no Lebanese had Sudan as a land of Diaspora, while few Sudanese had made Lebanon their home or in-laws’ home.. Yes, some things had always raised between ethnic, cultural and social lines of divide, yet none was religious.. In Sudan, we almost denounce Islamic Sects; therefore our interaction with the Lebanese was always advance to what religion we believe in.. or what Sect we commit too..

Lebanese Woman had always proved to be the extraordinary among all Middle Eastern women.. She manages to maintain her all interests with almost equal balance.. She is a marvelous daughter, an adorable wife and a devoted mother.. She is an ultra professional colleague, an ever loving sister and an unmatched party partner.. When religious, loving or relaxing; she is very committed, when fighting; she is just another buddy man..!!

Despite how active and smart thee Lebanese are, number of Lebanese women who are doing their own business is relatively small.. I guess, it is a nation is built by resilient women, while men are doing political and commercial business..!!

Despite the ones who misuse opportunities, or excessively use them; Lebanese are mostly stable characters, despite whatsoever they do, because they grow up free from constraints, paranoia’s or complexities.. This is why they easily score wherever landed.. This is why they have all potentials, yet fought by all neighbors..!!

A late Uncle of mine was adoring them, yet could not have a Lebanese wife.. Maybe a typical skin issue..!!
Another had raised a wonderful mixed family on a neutral grounds in Egypt..
I personally have wonderful ones to be my friends and colleagues..
Amazingly; hardly to have anemies from them..!!

It is nice to have a nice appreciation about a nation..
Hopefully stay safe, content and intact..!!