Wednesday, January 27, 2010

من أين أتى هؤلاء؟ - الطيب صالح



السماء ما تزال صافية فوق أرض السودان أم أنّهم حجبوها بالأكاذيب ؟
هل مطار الخرطوم ما يزال يمتلئ بالنّازحين ؟
يريدون الهرب الى أيّ مكان ، فذلك البلد الواسع لم يعد يتّسع لهم . كأنّي بهم ينتظرون منذ تركتهم في ذلك اليوم عام ثمانية وثمانين .
يُعلَن عن قيام الطائرات ولا تقوم . لا أحد يكلّمهم .
لا أحد يهمّه أمرهم .
هل ما زالوا يتحدّثون عن الرخاء والناس جوعى ؟ وعن الأمن والناس في ذُعر ؟ وعن صلاح الأحوال والبلد خراب ؟
الخرطوم الجميلة مثل طفلة يُنِيمونها عُنوةً ويغلقون عليها الباب ، تنام منذ العاشرة ، تنام باكية في ثيابها البالية ، لا حركة في الطرقات . لا أضواء من نوافذ البيوت . لا فرحٌ في القلوب . لا ضحك في الحناجر . لا ماء ، لا خُبز ، لاسُكّر ، لا بنزين ، لا دواء . الأمن مستتب كما يهدأ الموتى .
نهر النيل الصبور يسير سيره الحكيم ، ويعزف لحنه القديم " السادة " الجدد لايسمعون ولا يفهمون .
يظنّون أنّهم وجدوا مفاتيح المستقبل . يعرفون الحلول . موقنون من كل شيئ .
يزحمون شاشات التلفزيون ومكرفونات الإذاعة .
يقولون كلاماً ميِّتاً في بلدٍ حيٍّ في حقيقته ولكنّهم يريدون قتله حتى يستتب الأم
مِن أين جاء هؤلاء النّاس ؟ أما أرضعتهم الأمّهات والعمّات والخالات ؟
أما أصغوا للرياح تهبُّ من الشمال والجنوب
أما رأوا بروق الصعيد تشيل وتحط ؟
أما شافوا القمح ينمو في الحقول وسبائط التمر مثقلة فوق هامات النخيل؟
أما سمعوا مدائح حاج الماحي وود سعد ، وأغاني سرور وخليل فرح وحسن عطية والكابلي و المصطفى ؟
أما قرأوا شعر العباس والمجذوب ؟
أما سمعوا الأصوات القديمة وأحسُّوا الأشواق القديمة ، ألا يحبّون الوطن كما نحبّه ؟
إذاً لماذا يحبّونه وكأنّهم يكرهونه ويعملون على إعماره وكأنّهم مسخّرون لخرابه ؟
أجلس هنا بين قوم أحرار في بلد حرٍّ ، أحسّ البرد في عظامي واليوم ليس بارداً . أنتمي الى أمّة مقهورة ودولة تافهة . أنظر إليهم يكرِّمون رجالهم ونساءهم وهم أحياء ، ولو كان أمثال هؤلاء عندنا لقتلوهم أو سجنوهم أو شرّدوهم في الآفاق .
من الذي يبني لك المستقبل يا هداك الله وأنت تذبح الخيل وتُبقي العربات ، وتُميت الأرض وتُحيي الآفات ؟
هل حرائر النساء من " سودري " و " حمرة الوز " و " حمرة الشيخ " ما زلن يتسولنّ في شوارع الخرطوم ؟
هل ما زال أهل الجنوب ينزحون الى الشمال وأهل الشمال يهربون الى أي بلد يقبلهم ؟
هل أسعار الدولار ما تزال في صعود وأقدار الناس في هبوط ؟ أما زالوا يحلمون أن يُقيموا على جثّة السودان المسكين خلافة إسلامية سودانية يبايعها أهل مصر وبلاد الشام والمغرب واليمن والعراق وبلاد جزيرة العرب ؟

من أين جاء هؤلاء الناس ؟ بل - مَن هؤلاء الناس ؟


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

An Ethiopian Plane crashed off Beirut



Double standards is a global trend.. an immortal instinct for superiority and control.. All media are talking about the Lebanese victims; while nothing about the Ethiopian ones.. Is it because they all were house maids of $100/month; coming from poor unknown villages in some country called Ethiopia..? Does anyone feel ...what does it mean migrating to work for such earning..? Forget about claims of abuse and domestic violence.. It is a weird world..!!

Actually, I do blame the Ethiopian Government, or Statesmen, who are short to bring their country and people on front-pages.. This condemnation goes to most of African countries as well.. No one would care for you, if you don't prove eligibility on world politics.. It is not equality of Humanity, but of Powers and Networking.. Should we stop ... See morereading textbooks, and wake up to realities..!! Lebanon is an underdeveloped country as well, yet marked its territories on world scape.. I pet there are more wealthy people in Ethiopia than in Lebanon, yet urbanism is a mindset, not imitating, reacting nor pretending..!!

Should African people be proud as true and simple human being; without accessories or decorations..!!
Mercy to all who suffer in silence and go unknown unnoticed..

Monday, January 25, 2010

Triangle of Life



My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake. I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries... I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters. The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.
Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life".
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake... It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway... The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world is experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
"We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly"
In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my “triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover.
There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe , and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV

Thanks to Zainab for sharing...!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Nile Basin..


Nile Basin NB is no different from all other water basins worldwide, where the futuristic wars are predicted to be. The 21st century is the one for fight over resources and expanding markets. Maybe water and oil are the most publicly known, but the other rare metals, limited cultivatable land and cheap manpower are the hidden objectives in strategic policy making. I did always called for the need to draw the national security memorandums to define who are the enemies and what are the threats. Regretfully, not only in Sudan, but in many underdeveloped countries, such a call is a pit of luxury among the wealth-seekers who happened to control politics, investment and enterprising..!!

The motion of fair and just distribution of gains and cost of utilizing the Nile; as water, land and people, requires more exercises. Is it fair to be defined as per waters, land, people, GDP or potential optimum GDP? Sky is never the limit for economic growth, yet most politician claim so..!!

Every country has constraints that are more influential rather than any academic assumptions. I guess, and strongly believe it is a matter of mind set. This is the demise between Politicians and Statesmen.. Where a true government is or not.. Between Egyptians as historical bureaucracy and the others.. Pharaohs’ Nile expeditions, Mohammad Ali’s Salatin assignment, Nasser’s Congo activities, Sadat’s threats on Ethiopian dams, and Mubarak’s swing Sudan Policy.. All are just glimpse of the tip of the Egyptian ice berg.. As it correctly put: it is granted for them that Sudan is positively automatically included in their actions.. Egypto-Sudanese quest will last for long, till our Sudanese political establishment would make sense..!!

A blue chip strategy is in making, as part of universal order that stills apart from agreed definition.. If Egypt was deliberately ignored in CPA, Israel allowed to murder Dr Garang, China is overwhelmingly and uncontrollable in East Africa, Chaos in development pillars and socioeconomic programs, Exodus of brains and cheap adaptable labor, Vast incredible land that would never be lift for Sudanese to manage (as quoted by an NGO worker).. If these all are true, a new phase of colonization is on the drawing boards too.. Land concessions, Agro-industries, Transportation facilities, Communications infrastructure, and joyful CSR slogans would make lots of sense, yet surrounded by legal, social and economic mine fields.. This applies to Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda; then the whole quest of Eastern Nile Basin ENB will be set cold.. I think it is a smart concept, getting momentum support by political lobbies in favor of enterprising, leveling with Israeli interests, and defuse Darfur tension, as a mirror of the Sub-Saharan quest.. In NB only four countries are counted; while the rest are just numbers who cannot hold the gifted waters, nor use it all..!!

Friday, January 22, 2010

African Culture Development

Since dawn of the 3rd Millennia, many attempts had responded to the call for new approaches to rethink global participation, international integration and governmental efficiency. One UN initiative is an example of aligning programs to the simple practical measures rather than the sophisticated ones. Academic establishments had traded lots of resulted driven programs with economic oriented ones, which segregated intellectual capacities from the working population. Compromised development plans were nicely written and promoted; yet slowly delivering changes to impatient and suffering commons. This is what drove changing all political and governing foundations, bringing new bloods to innovate, reviving the dream of co-existence, and inspiring the new humanism protocol. Potting education, science and culture in one effective management model, integrating activities with both UN agencies and indispensible NGOs, and restructuring role of culture as ultimate development catalyst, is the breakthrough of a Comprehensive Culture Management CCM as strategy, framework and platform.

Since the master changes of early 1990th, interrupted formulas of “I & Them” had poisoned the social stability, voided the economic delivery, and distracted all epistemic endeavors. Serious corrections are hindered by growing materialistic taboos; confused by widespread political interests, and fed by insufficient responses to humane basic needs. Certainly, the underdeveloped nations, particularly in Africa, are the most vulnerable, almost unrecoverable suffering and dramatically disfigured. The dilemma is not only in the broader-unrest, but seriously in the future-seizure. The critical role of CCM across all segments and aggregates of governance, quality and delivery is widely ignored, or weakened by the unprecedented influence of business and enterprising.

The vision of African CCM is based on addressing the grassroots to assure the success rather than struggling to deliver. The dissatisfaction gap was and will always be between Commons and Public Servants, yet requires elements of Integrity, experience and visionaries to close. The focus is to bring CCM back to basics; where targets are authentically folkloric, schemes are publically celebrated, and results are basically fundamental. During the last 30 years, both governmental and intergovernmental endeavors were packed by ivory and eloquent statements; yet could not establish sanctuaries against extremism, violence and discrimination. Confronting the public pessimism; breaking the cycles of frustration, and restoring the common dreams are the imminent road mapping. CCM should be a catalyst for growth and urbanism, building strong, reliable and sustainable epistemic foundation for the Mankind. Such a vision is a product of states reports of practice, performance and end-user consensus.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

30 Earthquakes, 29 Lessons Learned



DAKAR, 21 January 2010 (IRIN) - As aid agencies launch Haiti earthquake relief efforts, the Overseas Development Institute, a UK think-tank, has showcased an NGO report outlining 28 lessons learned over 30 years of earthquake responses.

The report covers the 1976 Guatemala earthquake that killed 23,000 people and the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake that left 5,749 dead. Earthquakes are uniquely challenging, with high mortality rates, severe road and infrastructure destruction, debris delaying recovery efforts and the risk of aftershocks, stated the aid accountability watchdog ALNAP in a 2008 report.
"Every time there is a major evaluation, it states [that] emergency responses did not apply lessons from previous emergencies," ALNAP head of learning and development, Ben Ramalingam, told IRIN. "Decisions we make now in Haiti can influence the way operations go for quite some time."
He has high hopes. Comparing Haiti now with the immediate aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, he says: "Now there is much more focus on what can be done better; there is a lot of debate about coordination and quality - this is potentially unique."
The most important lesson aid agencies must apply is to address emergency relief and longer-term recovery efforts together, ALNAP says. "Recovery is the overriding challenge. Agency planning should not overstate the need for relief, and should quickly move into recovery activities."

Physical recovery is likely to take three to five years in Haiti.
"In Haiti recovery is also social, political and economic - not just physical - and there is a limit to what humanitarian assistance can do in this," Ramalingam said. "The entire international community needs to rise to this challenge."
Other immediate priorities for Haiti include identifying an institution - be it existing government bodies, the UN or the American administration - to lead the response, he pointed out.

And when planning their response all aid groups must not forget a simple lesson: "The majority of life-saving work in any disaster is done by populations themselves. the most important resource Haitians have is their own social capital. Agencies must give good information to communities so they can plan their own recovery from the start."
Some additional lessons from the ALNAP report:
• Give cash and buy locally wherever possible. Ramalingam warns this must be applied carefully in Haiti given security concerns.
• Do not overstate the risk of disease as this leads to misallocation of resources. Only three out of 600 geophysical disasters led to disease epidemics, according to research published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal LINK HERE IF POSS. The real risk posed by dead bodies after natural disasters is mental illness caused by shock and grief.
• Focusing on emergency shelter while neglecting permanent shelter is a mistake. The most sensible solution is "transitional shelter" that can be turned into permanent dwellings.
• Recovery operations are not neutral. They will reinforce or reduce existing inequalities and must be actively designed to do the latter.
• Listen to recipients and make sure the assistance is appropriate.
• Livelihoods are key to recovery; listen to affected populations about their priorities for livelihood recovery.
• Be prepared for land-ownership disputes.
• Try to build back better, for instance by improving building codes, but be realistic; disaster response is not a magic bullet.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Dubai




Sorry.. It is Bad, Wrong, Misinformed, Unprofessional..

Burj Dubai/Khalifa or Emaar was never bailed out..
As we all learned from its build-up, its fall down or troubles of Dubai, is a great story to learn from..
If any priggism or discrimination happened, it was created by another expatriate.. or an Expat-Emirati..!!
Many Emiratis had lost their own identity, and joined the global greedy selfish breed..
It was peaceful, when we landed.. we (the Expats) are the changing catalysts in their formula..
If we shall condemn anything.. we should start with ourselves.. as somehow helped that awful changes..
We taught them greed, luxury, money, partying and all evils..
Transforming their nomad life, which we would not bear, into metropolis, ignoring their right for time-growth..
Many of us were their advisors.. who twisted the numbers, shade the facts.. and hide when it blast..
No one can blame them, sons of 200 urbanism.. while being proud of own deep historical one..

Hello.. There is no logic to respect here..!!

Dubai Story.. is the story of all Residents..
We share the glory.. and the downfall too..



Despite the diminishing demise between royal and public moneys of UAE; Sheikh Khalifa did not bailout from his own pocket, but from UAE Central Bank.. UAE attempts to build a united country are highly respected, which other countries had many centuries ago, yet still struggling to build such deep consensus on unity.. Dubai is no longer independent, but part of political unit.. This is very healthy regardless the bitterness.. GDP of Dubai is a joke, as many resources and assets are federal.. This was part of the intellectual game..!!

For each UAE national executive, there are more than 20 expatriates working with, reporting to or managing.. None of the UAE guys claims 140-IQ, yet many are socially and culturally vulnerable.. Easy to monopoly after 2 words, 2 cups or 2 dances..!! Yes many are decision makers, but just a glorious front for the unknown decision builders..

Professional responsibility is the core quest; which should cross borders, cultures and beliefs.. Triggered by the fact that we share one earth and one inescapable future..

Corruption is the deadly contiguous sickness everywhere, in all countries.. Ruled by levels of bureaucracy and mass communications.. Greece had double its GDP as debt, as well as Italy, Argentina, and Russia.. Why different responses, critics and measures..? Why only Dubai in front pages..? Is it jealousy..??

Global Expatriation movement is critical for mankind.. Check skilled migration schemes and build the cross border and inevitable consensus.. This is the ultimate modern slavery, decorated with some glorious banners.. Work migrants in Dubai are no different from unemployed migrants in Spain, Malaysia or Scotland.. The only difference is the state capacity and means to cover and decorate..!!

Most of the recent critics are emotional, rather than subjective.. For the last 2 years many were torn by social machine that terrorized our own psychological stability. Many expatriates are victims of their own dreams.. Check rates of suicide, rape, murder, divorce, diabete and mental health.. People seek release some way, somehow, yet a price of global enterprising.. The same in everywhere, in diffreent forms and names..

Employment with UAE had enabled us materializing our own personal dreams.. With full honor, we had accepted selling our intelligence; as knowledge based professionals.. yet we are responsible for creditability of our endeavors.. while no accountability to fear.. it is a system failure.. Anyway, my bonds and attachments to Dubai or UAE is no different from yours or any other professional expat, who seeks sharing skills and achievements.. ignoring the home-sickness as much as possible..!!