Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Pink Sisterhood..


When the Change is not regulated.. Yes, it is close to anarchy.. Yet, the Public holds the guages for justification, appropriation and effectiveness..

India always shocks the world, epistemically and literaly..!!

The Gulabi Gang is an extraordinary women’s movement formed in 2006 by Sampat Pal Devi in the Banda District of Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. This region is one of the poorest districts in the country and is marked by a deeply patriarchal culture, rigid caste divisions, female illiteracy, domestic violence, child labour, child marraiges and dowry demands. The women’s group is popularly known as...Gulabi or ‘Pink’ Gang because the members wear bright pink saris and wield bamboo sticks. Sampat says, “We are not a gang in the usual sense of the term, we are a gang for justice.”
The Gulabi Gang was initially intended to punish oppressive husbands, fathers and brothers, and combat domestic violence and desertion. The members of the gang would accost male offenders and prevail upon them to see reason. The more serious offenders were publicly shamed when they refused to listen or relent. Sometimes the women resorted to their lathis, if the men resorted to use of force.

Today, the Gulabi Gang has tens of thousands of women members, several male supporters and many successful interventions to their credit. Whether it is ensuring proper public distibution of food-grains to people below the poverty line, or disbursement of pension to elderly widows who have no birth certificate to prove their age, or preventing abuse of women and children, the Pink sisterhood is in the forefront, bringing about system changes by adopting the simplest of methods - direct action and confrontation.

Although the group’s interventions are mostly on behalf of women, they are increasingly called upon by men to challenge not only male authority over women, but all human rights abuses inflicted on the weak.See more

Saturday, August 25, 2012

US & Muslim Brotherhood



An Atempt to answer the big Question..
Why US Administration supports Muslim Brotherhood, despite the undoubtable history of violence and strategic programs for Islamization of the world..!!
Yes, the program is Anti-Obama; but it stills presenting a legitmate case for debate, understanding and get ready for appropriate actions..

Amazingly enough, how Democrates, Republicans, Media and  Lobbies are sharing the unprecedented crime and guilt..!!



Abyie.. Again..!


The historical issue of Abyie is either Political or Epistemic..

For centuries, Misseriya and Dinka Ngok are clashing during the dry season, with no lasting hard feelings..
Yes, it is always triggered by Misseriya; who travel south in dry season to water their herds..
Both are herdsmen, who value their cattle and would die for them..

The jam among the herds are inevitable, yet they have no marks or labels..
Misseriya’s journey is about 100 km within Ngok territories..
There are no alternative, but to jam and clash..

This was the historical repeated story, with lots of consequences..

Oil reserves has nothing to do with this annual clashes..
Oil is almost 100 km away from the hot spots..
But explorations are spreading all over the county..

Politicians from both sides are using the history to ignite the future..
There is no one interested developing a lasting solution..
There is no one with a vision to realize that it is a simple conflict requires simple solution..

The Misseriya are interested in the Water, not in the Land..!

Dig a “Water Canal” (150 km), and “Mark the Cattle”..
Add to it some flavors of “Community Centers” and "Farming" projects..
The Canal will be the “Partition” border..
Only "US$ 200 mln" will do..!!

Yes, there will be environmental impact, but manageable..

Is it that hard to imagine or hard to finance..?

It is an epistemic issue..

The Conflict

The Solution

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Reengineering The Sudan


Apology for writing in English, yet recommend it for a broader engagement.. Without cross border/cultures exchange of ideas, your ideology is subject to serious quest on efficiency, integrity, and sustainability..

However, there is a need to re-engineer the mainstream, structuring simple form of organization (similar to MB); encouraging delivery rather than debate (NGO approach) and been open to all (reduce talks to deeds).. Call it Sudan Club.. or Nile League.. or whatsoever.. Just engage everyone in a greater pot of self development, evolution and upgrading.. Then, the big change will happen..

Enough wasting our youth in useless battles and chevalier attempts.. Work in different manner.. Bring change to society.. People will follow who works, not who speaks.. or shout.. People will adore who teach them how to be stronger, not how to protest.. People are simply people, not soldiers in chess game..!!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Religion & Babies..



“I’m going to talk about religion. But it’s a broad and very delicate subject, so I have to limit myself. Therefore I will limit myself to only talk about the links between religion and sexuality…I will talk on what I remember as the most wonderful – it’s the moment when the young couple whispers, ‘tonight, we are going to make a baby,’” said Hans Rosling, the eclectic Swedish doctor and statistician known for his Gapminder tool, in a TedxSummit presentation in April.

In the past, Rosling has presented on topics ranging from human rights to washing machines. This time, in Doha, Qatar, he tackled the number of babies a woman will have in her lifetime, also known as total fertility rate (TFR). He tracks this figure, by country, along with average income and basic religion type, from 1960 to 2011.The results are intriguing.

Remarkable Progress
First, Rosling points out that humanity as a whole has experienced a rapid drop in the fertility rate over the past 50 years. “By 2010, we are actually 80 percent of humans who live in countries with about two children per woman,” he notes.
Even countries whose fertility rates seem to have stagnated more recently have experienced this “tremendous improvement.” Rosling highlights Ghana and Senegal, which have reduced their fertility rates from over seven in 1960 to between four and five today.

Rosling also notes that fertility has fallen “across the world,” even in lower income countries. For example, although Vietnam has less than five percent of the GDP of the United States, their TFR is comparable.
But high fertility remains in some poorer countries, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5.7, according to Gapminder) and Afghanistan (6.6). And although these countries have relatively high mortality rates, they are still projected to double their populations in 30 years. “In the world today, it’s the countries that have the highest mortality rate that have the fastest population growth because the death of a child is compensated by one more child,” says Rosling.

Religion and Fertility
Rosling also classified each country by the basic type of religion held by the majority of its inhabitants – Christianity, Islam, or “eastern religions,” which include Hinduism and Buddhism. “In 1960, you had to be a rich Christian to have few babies,” Rosling says. “The exception was Japan,” which had a fertility rate of two children per woman in 1960.Over time, however, fertility rates fell across the board. Now, “there’s no major difference” in the fertility rate of Islamic and Christian countries; countries of each religion experience high and low fertility rates. (Countries with “eastern religions” all currently have fairly low fertility rates; the highest, Nepal, has a TFR of 2.7.)

Rosling posits that the real barriers to reducing fertility are four-fold: “children should survive, children shouldn’t be needed for work, women should get education and join the labor force, and family planning should be accessible.”

“All the religions of the world are fully capable to maintain their values and adapt to this new world,” he says.

Intuitively, however, this isn’t exactly the full story. Rosling’s three very broad categories for religion obscure a great many differences between different sects and factions, and in some countries, religion is tied directly to those barriers he mentions.

In the Philippines, for example, the Catholic Church has been a major part of opposition to more and better access to contraceptives. Other countries, like Yemen, Afghanistan, and Liberia, face deep divides over women’s role in society, with very early marriage making it difficult for women to get an education and enter the labor force. Thus while there are countries of all religions which accept the use of modern contraceptives, for others, religion remains a very real obstacle to reducing fertility rates.

“Peak Child”
Nonetheless, Rosling is right when he says, “we have reached peak child” – at least if the UN Population Division’s medium variant projections are to be believed (there are also high and low variants). The number of babies being born around the world will likely never be higher than it is now. Yet world population is expected to continue to grow throughout the rest of the century. The UN medium variant projection for 2100 is 10 billion people. Rosling explains that total world population will increase despite the number of children in the world remaining fairly constant this century because younger generations are larger than older generations.

“You can see it’s like there are three [billion] missing here,” he says, referring to an illustration of global population created by stacking boxes. “They’re not missing because they’ve died – they were never born. Because before 1980 there were much fewer people born than there were during the last 30 years.” As the smaller, older generations age, they will be replaced by younger, larger generations, a trend known as population momentum. “This is the great fill-up, it’s inevitable.”

Although a large portion of future population growth is thus inevitable, the pace of fertility decline in those areas where it is still high is not. This creates the uncertainty in projections like those made by the United Nations. It’s also an impetus for countries and the international community to continue to break down Rosling’s four barriers.

“We will be just 10 billion in this world if the poorest people get out of poverty, their children survive, they get access to family planning – that is needed,” he stresses. “This is indeed important because everyone understands that there is some sort of limit on how many people we can be on this planet.”

Sources: Gapminder, TED, UN World Population Division.
Video Credit: Hans Rosling: Religions and Babies, courtesy of TED. Image: Gapminder World.
http://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2012/08/hans-rosling-religion-babies-poverty/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNewSecurityBeat+%28New+Security+Beat%29

Europe & Islam..


‘Gender issues: Europe’s main challenge to internalizing Islam’
Barçın Yinanç
barcin.yinanc@hurriyet.com.tr
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

As European culture becomes more secularized, the biggest point of contention about Islam in Europe is striking a balance between the sacred and the profane, Professor Hakan Yılmaz says. Gender issues are where this contention makes itself felt the most, constituting a challenge for Europe in its efforts to internalize Islam.
Europe is confused on how to cope with Islam, according to Professor Hakan Yılmaz, an editor of the recently published book “Perceptions of Islam in Europe: culture, identity and the Muslim other,” which compiles several articles by prominent experts. The aim of the book is to reveal the real points of contention about Islam in Europe and gender issues constitutes one of the most important contention points, Yılmaz told the Hürriyet Daily News in a recent interview.

What is the common message of the articles complied in the book?
Our main motivation with this book was to scrutinize the perception of Islam that has been shaped following [the] Sept. 11, 2011, [attacks in America]. After the end of the Cold War, Islam and Muslims started to become the new ‘other’ in Europe and this trend became ossified after Sept. 11, 2011. We wanted to question the perception of Islam as ‘the other’ and find out what Islam in Europe is really about while also showing where the real contention points are.

One other motivation we had was the several books that had been published after Sept. 11; books on Islamophobia or the so-called Eurabia books. The real points of contention about Islam in Europe are not the ones pointed out by those Eurabia books. In order to find the answer to the question of ‘How can we live together?’ you have to pinpoint the right points of contention and in the book we have several articles on different cases. One article, for example, talks about Muslims in Poland. Another one talks about how Holland is trying to “Hollandize” Islam.

Is this trend of Europeanizing Islam a general trend throughout the continent?
Europe has understood it cannot get rid of Islam. Islam is within Europe and it is in its neighborhood. The current problem is about the modalities of integrating Islam. Through which modality should Islam become part of Europe? In some cases, there is a will for total assimilation, in certain cases there is an effort to nationalize and localize Islam.

Is Europe trying to cope with it by attempting to Europeanize Islam?
One way is to create a national local Islam. But this is not the only way. In the period between the Cold War’s end and Sept. 11 there was an acceptance of Islam in Europe. It was the golden age of globalization and liberalism and there was more room for Islam. But this perspective changed with Sept. 11 and there came a perspective that saw Islam as a danger, a threat to the European way of life. Of course the perspective present and valid before Sept. 11 did not disappear. That’s why you can find both inclusive and exclusive approaches in Europe and that’s why I believe Europe is confused about Islam. Europe is on a pendulum. You have on the one hand the inclusive approach of the liberal, global trend of the pre-Sept. 11 era. On the other hand is the exclusivist trend of the post-Sept. 11 era that says we need to draw the borders of Europe, and Islam should stay beyond those borders while the Muslims that stay inside these borders should adapt totally to us; an assimilation approach.

But in the meantime you said earlier they have accepted that Islam is part of Europe.
Europe understood that they could not exclude the millions of Muslims living in the continent, but the pendulum moves back and forth on what to do with them. Gerard Delanty, one of the authors of the book, argues that the European capacity for dialogue is not inherently ‘European.’ Europe did not always have an ‘inclusive’ culture. Each time Europe faced a challenge in integrating a new culture and religion within its boundaries, it has increased its degree of freedoms to incorporate these challenges and this is how Europe became ‘Europeanized.’ Delanty calls it a process of cosmopolitanization, which, for instance, involves the process of making Protestantism, secularism and Judaism a part of Europe.

The argument is that each time Europe opted for the inclusive approach, which is what made Europe what it is today. Is that right?
Correct. If Europe would today say: ‘I am tired and exhausted. I will no longer go further in cosmopolitanization,’ then we would be talking about the end of Europe as a concept. The continuation of liberalizing European culture will only be possible to the extent that it will internalize Muslims. This is the challenge today, and it is not limited only to those Muslims living in Europe. This challenge includes Turkey’s membership to the European Union as well as the issue of how to deal with the countries in the Mediterranean.

What are the problems that stem from Islam that make the challenge harder?
The biggest contention point is the issue of striking a balance between the sacred and the profane. In European culture it seems that what is profane is more prominent. In the case of Islam, however what is sacred for the average Muslim has a greater place compared to the understanding of an average European.

Europeans have probably become more secularized.
Looking from the perspective of Muslims, the real challenge with Europe is not about Europe’s welfare state or its level of freedoms. Gender issues are, for instance, an area where the issue of what is sacred and what is not is most reflected.

In a 2009 survey we found that culture predominantly affects Europeans’ perception of Turks. In order to understand what Europe perceives as [Turkish] culture we provided 24 cultural characteristics, such as individualist, rational, strong family values, sexually liberated, respectful of others’ rights and asked which of them were considered European, Turkish or both. The European respondents overwhelmingly, with 70 percent, saw sexually liberated as a European characteristic while only 2 percent thought that was a Turkish characteristic. Ninety percent of the Turkish respondents thought sexually liberated was a European characteristic and said this was not a trait of Turkish culture.

If this is one of the contention points, what is the solution then?
There is a trend in some part of Europe that argues for multiple legal systems, where some problems among Muslims can be solved according to their own law. One of the contributors to the book, Deniz Kandiyoti, says that should not be the solution. She argues that the universal approach to women’s rights and citizenship rights should be maintained, and it should not be left to the domain of religion or sects. There should be an accommodation effort of only what is left after maintaining the universal gains.

What do you think about Europe’s stance on political Islam especially in the context of the Arab Spring?
Europe is the one place best equipped to help the political transformations in its environment. It has soft power. Yet the cultural phobias about Islam in some European governments have weakened Europe’s strategic talents. Europe could not show enough of a reflex in the face of the Arab Spring. This cultural deafness can be a strategic cost to Europe, but the marginalization of Europe as a democratic reference will equally be a loss for [Turkey] and Islamic countries that are trying to become democratic as the alternative does not provide an easier road.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/gender-issues-europes-main-challenge-to-internalizing-islam.aspx?pageID=238&nID=28022&NewsCatID=338

Friday, August 17, 2012

Sex, Lies and Julian Assange


When Julian Assange arrived in Sweden in August 2010 he was greeted like a conquering hero. But within weeks there was a warrant out for his arrest and he was being investigated for rape and sexual molestation. Today he is taking sanctuary in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, arguing he won't receive justice if he's taken to Sweden and that US authorities are building a case for his extradition.

Next, Four Corners reporter Andrew Fowler examines in detail what happened in those crucial weeks while Julian Assange was in Sweden. What was the nature of his relationship with the two women who claim he assaulted them? And what did they tell police that led the authorities to seek his arrest?


"I will not tell any media how I am going to represent the women in court." Lawyer for Anna Ardin and Sofia Wilén
Both Assange and his supporters believe the attempt by authorities to force his return to Sweden is simply the first step in a plan to see him extradited to the United States.
"Sweden has frankly always been the United States' lapdog and it's not a matter we're particularly proud of." Assange supporter
"The US has nothing to do with the issue here, it's simply a matter between the UK and Sweden." Jeffrey L. Bleich, US Ambassador to Australia

Reporter Andrew Fowler goes to Sweden for a revealing look at the allegations of sexual crimes hanging over Julian Assange's head
Four Corners looks at claims the United States is working hard to unearth evidence that would lead to a charge of "conspiracy to commit espionage" being made against Assange - which in turn would be used in his extradition from Sweden. The program also documents the harassment experienced by Assange's supporters across the globe - including his Australian lawyer - and the FBI's attempts to convince some to give evidence against him.

"Sex, Lies and Julian Assange", reported by Andrew Fowler and presented by Kerry O'Brien, goes to air on Monday 23rd July at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 24th July at 11.35pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 at 8.00pm Saturday, ABC iview and at 4 Corners.

http://1426.blogspot.com/2012/08/sex-lies-and-julian-assange.html

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Cost of Technology


How such amazing technology will be affordable for mainstream?
or it will be limited for the elite and the tec-savvy..?

Yes, 40 years ago it was Main-frame, then PCs then Laptops, then Tablets..
40 years ago, it was serious investment by governments and corporates..
Now, it is available at$2-3 per hours at Internet Cafe.. or $300-600 per machine..
However, the marvelous $100 Laptop was great innovative idea, despite the 4 billion people are living with less than $3 per day..

There is a moral discussion on Cost of Technology, and who are the Buyers..
Despite how sincere and enthusiastic are our ICT-Friends, money talks.. and works too..
Unless the mainstream are connected, it is an elite cast..
Biscuits; not Bread..!!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Taha on Sudan's MB..


 The people of Sudan will have to experience the rule of Muslim Brotherhood, which will eventually expose how their slogans are fake and unreal..
They will forcibly dominate economy and politics..
They will force the people for the times of bitterness..
They will ignite chaos and frauds, which will end up among themselves..
Only then they will be permanently uprooted..
Mahmoud Mohamed Taha

Sudan had experienced the Muslims Brotherhood since late 1979th..
Since then, we try to get rid of them, with no success..
No other Arab or Muslim knew or shared this epidemic; while they blindly march the same path..
Regretfully; It is a dark future for all..

Pity..!!

LGBT Tsunami..


There is a great engineered tsunami in the building to promote LGBT across the world..
It is further smart and efficient than any previous social phenomenon..
The use of emotional politics and mass communication tools is more effective than conflicting with Authorities..

This campaign is growing by promoting the LGBT colors as aesthetic and entertaining grounds for peace, love and youth..
Attached with slogans extracted from famous authors on related issues..
Then the public mindset is made ready..
Many innocent "straight" persons are fooled within..

The current increasing support for LGBT rights in the USA spearheads the actions.. US Administration, led by a family oriented man, are under great scrutiny and public pressure to support LGBT rights, despite the growing domestic violence as naive response to religious and cultural parameters..
I'm not sure how the future would look like..!!











Friday, August 10, 2012

Anti-Corruption..

And they are questioning the spreading of corruption..!!
It is simple, yet we tend to complicate things..
This is itself is a corruption..!!
 
Regional Project Anti-Corruption Specialist
In 2012, anti-corruption stands as a top reform priority in the Arab states region, especially in countries that are undergoing transformations. It is voiced by ordinary people demonstrating in the streets, and acknowledged by policymakers and opinion leaders across the region.
 
Building on the previous work of the Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR) and the momentum of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), UNDP has been engaged in providing technical support national stakeholders in Arab countries to help them in creating a space for frank and productive interaction on anti-corruption issues. These activities have contributed to the abolishment of the corruption taboo and the emergence of an active and well-trained regional community of policymakers and practitioners.
 
Members of this regional community established the region’s leading anti-corruption cooperation mechanism known as the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network (ACINET), and are currently leading various reform efforts in their respective countries.
 
To further support anti-corruption efforts, UNDP in 2010 launched the Anti-Corruption and Integrity in the Arab Countries (ACIAC) Project. So far, project signatory countries include Djibouti, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian National Authority, and Yemen. ACIAC was further enhanced by a Strategic Outlook for Implementation that was developed in response to the ongoing developments in the Arab region. ACIAC is the first and so far the only specialized multi-country framework for anti-corruption technical assistance in the region. It is conceived as a regional instrument that will strengthen cooperation and promote collective action against corruption in Arab countries in 2011-2014, while adding value to other related bilateral and multilateral efforts.
 
ACIAC aims to generate a coherent body of specialized knowledge and transfer critical skills to policymakers, civil society leaders, key business representatives, and governmental and non-governmental practitioners in Arab countries, focusing on project signatory countries, to contribute to the achievement of four main objectives
(i) improve the ability of governmental and non-governmental practitioners to design and use anti-corruption assessments;
(ii) support the implementation of UNCAC provisions in accordance with each country’s needs and priorities;
(iii) enable the development of responses to corruption risks in sectors that deliver basic public services; and
(iv) foster dialogue with stakeholders in crisis-affected countries on ways to confront the particularities of anti-corruption challenges in their respective situations.
 
Results achieved under these four inter-connected objectives will strengthen the Arab countries’ ability to design, implement, and monitor anti-corruption measures that draw on international standards and comparative experiences while taking the national and local contexts into consideration.
 
The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.
UNOPS is committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.



So, what are my views..?


To start with the definition:
“Corruption is an activity which is performed, deliberately hidden from others, precisely aiming to obtain direct or indirect personal gains”

Corruption is carried on by only one or more of these three thresholds:
  • Use of the awarded authority to direct executives or affiliates in order to perform in a particular manner.
  • Use of personal connections in order to gain a particular favorite status in processing.
  • Use of forged and/or fraud information, with insider collaboration, in order to change the course of formal processing.

So, it is all about controls to measure and audit compliances:
  • Policies, Frameworks and Guidelines for general processing
  • Process Breakers; which aims to staff-shared actions or auto-killer actions
  • Precautionary statements of clearance and interest

Therefore; it is more about comprehensive “Design of Processing” rather than setting structures and complexity of doing business..

Now, it is easy to tell how incompetent most of anti-corruption executives, as incapable to correctly design the indented processing..!!


Typical Roles of Units and Staff
 

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Seeds of Anarchy

The following impressions record the evolution of chaos and misunderstanding among Muslims, without a particular chronicle order..
These are the seeds of concurrent anarchy, which I believe been created to last..
If I would feel sorry for anything, it will be for both current young and forthcoming generations of Muslims, who will not taste the times of true Islam and Muslims which we had enjoyed..

Egypt's Hysterical Islam violates Sharia'h

Early Halal swimming in Gaza

A Somali won Muslimah Beauty Contest

Sudanese forced to abandon traditional customes

Hailrious Saudi Driving ban on Women

Indonesian Kids are forced to unexpanable Hijab

GCC Teenagers in Europe vacations

 
A Blind Egyptian Imam

A Hijabi Egyptian Youngwoman

Religious intolerance in Egypt - Churches Restrictions

The Hareem, the Famous Turkish Abuse of Islam

Sport Costume, a Quest over Convenience vs. Necessity

Slavery Denial.. A Fractured Epistemia

Modernity & Libraty: Boy-Grilfriends on top of Cairo Tower

The Spreading and Growing Fall of Ethics
----
----
----
Just a few..!!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Paradox of illiteracy and evolution..

I had never laughed or found it funny..
Paradox of illiteracy and evolution..
He is a poor street tea-vendor in Nairobi,
who used to walk almost naked with bear feet,
who dreamed to look as urban as seen on TV,
purchased 2nd hand cloth,
and spent time to wash and iron,
then worn and walked proudly to serve his customers..
Certainly; his attire and outfit had changed in few days..
Certainly; his son will be a literate, an urban and a venture capitalist..!!

Sinai 2012; A kick Start

Stratfor Tactical Analyst Ben West examines the recent attack on an Egyptian military unit on the Israeli border and the importance of security in the Sinai Peninsula.

Tel Aviv - Juba


SINCE WHEN ISRAHELL LIKES BLACK AFRICANS?
"Israel" has signed a pact to cooperate on water infrastructure and technology development with South Sudan, the first economic cooperation agreement between Tel Aviv and Juba.
“We see this as a privilege to be the first to sign an agreement with the new state,” Energy Minister Landau addressed the South Sudanese official in a statement. “We will continue to do everything possible in order to assist you. You are among friends,” he added.

Achilles’ Heel of Egypt
For centuries, there were no competition or power struggle on the Nile Riverheads.. The geopolitics of Nile Basin were always about maintaining the flow towards the Mediterranean.. Various exercises and scenarios were always ready for corrective actions, including the armed force.. Political regimes across the Nile were mostly aware of the mechanism and its associated engagements.. The Ottomans of Egypt had elevated the issue into more urban and legal levels, whereas treaties and protocols were simulated or imposed among the 11 countries sharing the water rights.. Both diplomatic efforts and covert operations were the effective theme during Nasser’s era; with mixed patriotic, regional and continent-level slogans.. However, the most powerful African country in 1960th had had the legitimate rights to serve its rapidly increasing population; with their shear demand on basic needs, centered by water..

Nasser had triggered the Israelis attention to seek all potential and unexpected ways to contain both the Egyptian regional ambitions, and the Egyptian strategic hostility with Israel.. The Nile is the Achilles’ Heel of Egypt.. Israel tried hard during the last 40 years to penetrate Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya to develop stable allies that would affect the Egyptian water security and welfare.. Egyptians had known the attempts, and had confronted with proactive and reactive plans to maintain their strong indispensible ties with the Nile countries.. This had created the legacy of Egyptian African Policy during 1960-1980, which was remarkable yet unspeakable cross-border programs of corporation and development..

Despite his military up-bringing; Mubarak had turned his back to Africa, strengthening the Egyptian Israeli ties.. On the contrary, Israel had never let to go their strategic goals on the Nile, while the Peace Treaty with Egypt had enabled them to establish more effective policy, actions and relationships.. On the Dawn of 21st century, Israel had strong and comprehensive relations with most of the Nile Countries; which had been served with the Israeli notable technological spearheading..

Since the 1980, Israeli support to the Separatists of Southern Sudan was well reported.. Once the Partition was announced; Israeli flags had been raised along the South Sudan symbols.. Despite the disappointment South Sudanese officials had when sought swift Israeli development support; Israelis continued designing various models to synchronize their strategic orientation with the naivety of this New State..Professionally, the Israeli models are not what is needed for South Sudan, which critically require structural platforms rather than technological boosts.. This Water Management Agreement is 1st between the two states, and will not be the last.. Yes, there are no clear details about scope, deliverables, duration, but it is well known to be a launch for the formal umbrella for all potential Israeli activities, advices and plots as well..

State of South Sudan has the legitimate right to seek any support to develop their unbelievable state of anarchy, despair and devastation into a decent level of a State-Run-Country.. Yet; their obvious pitfall will be gaming with strong parties in unmerciful politics and games of power.. Structures, resources and ranks of South Sudan are far short from the necessary readiness and prequalification for such games, yet their neighboring and friend countries are hesitant to provide any true support.. Regretfully, they once again, prove how Africans are mostly incompetent to mind their own business..!!


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Seven Minutes of Terror


Here's an interesting engineering challenge. Fly an unmanned spacecraft carrying a 2,000 pound rover 300 million miles to Mars. Smash into the planet's extremely thin atmosphere at 13,000 mph, which will light up the craft's heat shield like the sun, reaching temperatures of 1,600 degrees. The atmosphere will slow your craft down to about 1,000 mph, but you will need to figure out a way to eventually slow to zero, jettison the heat shield and simultaneously guide the ship to a safe landing in the constrained space of the Gale crater.

A supersonic parachute will slow you down to 200 mph, but you're still coming in too hot for a landing. It's time to exercise your pyrotechnic devices, blasting rockets to divert the craft away from the parachute. These rockets can't get too close to the ground because they might create a massive dust cloud and damage the rover's equipment. So a sky crane will have to gently lower the rover to the surface (A so-called 'rover on a rope': is it genius or crazy or a lot of both?).

This sequence is dramatized in a thrilling video below, which NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab has dubbed the "seven minutes of terror," as it will take seven minutes for the craft to travel from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of the planet. It will take 14 minutes to transmit the signal back to Earth, meaning you will have to wait in agonizing uncertainty for seven minutes, not knowing whether your $2.5 billion mission is a success or failure.

You give up? No one would blame you.

Adam Steltzner did not give up. In fact, the NASA engineer has spent the last nine years of his life leading a team to solve this problem. Given the margin for error -- which is zero -- it is a good thing that Steltzner is a cool cat, which is how NPR described him in a recent profile. We are rooting for his efforts to come to fruition early Monday, when the Mars rover is scheduled to complete its nine-month journey. On the other hand, if anything goes wrong in the sequence described above, Steltzner's mission will fail. Like those odds?


What's the Big Idea?
The highly complex field of spacecraft engineering, not surprisingly, is clouded with the kind of jargon The Associated Press describes as "a sort of Martian alphabet soup."

Steltzner's team is responsible for EDL, or Entry, Decent and Landing, the crucial phase of the Curiosity mission outlined in the video above. Steltzner's team had to custom design a landing system for a rover that is five times heavier than previous ones sent to Mars. They also had to contend with the challenge of the Red Planet's extremely thin atmosphere. A new parachute and rocket system had to be custom designed as well. And yet, the team's signature innovation is the way it all works together.

Therefore, if successful, this mission will be the triumph of both teamwork and leadership. The teamwork involved nearly a decade of tinkering the system's design. The leadership has come from the steady hand of Steltzner, who traded a career in rock n' roll for physics. His former career as a bassist appears to be suiting him well at NASA. In the face of adversity, Steltzner advises his team to keep themselves "like, chill, and focused and not freaking."

Two out of every three missions to Mars end in failure. Hero or goat, we commend Steltzner for driving his team to attempt the seemingly impossible, and will be inviting him to appear on Big Think.

As X Prize Founder and space pioneer Peter Diamandis tells us below, every radical breakthrough began as "a crazy idea." The commercial space industry is a perfect example. People didn't want to invest in the idea because they didn't believe it was possible. From a leadership standpoint, Diamandis tells us, you need to make people believe it is possible.

What's the Significance?
The significance of the Curiosity rover mission is twofold. If NASA's team is able to successfully complete this engineering challenge, the landing will be a feat unto itself. Furthermore, if Curiosity isn't consumed in a fireball, the machine will go on to conduct a geological survey of the planet for one Martian year (or 687 Earth days). Its first discovery might be imminent. Curiosity is touching down on the Gale Crater because scientists believe the sediment there will contain evidence that there was once a habitable environment on Mars.

Recommended:
You can give yourself a front row seat in a video game that resulted from a partnership between NASA and Microsoft called The Mars Rover Landing. The game is available as a free download at Xbox Live. NASA's engineers describe the gaming experience as very similar to what the actual landing will be like.

Image courtesy of NASA
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/mars-rover-landings-seven-minutes-of-terror

Colorful Luminas..

The Artist is unknown to me..!

Reading this wonderful painting, recalls Islamic interpretation; hopefully meaningful:
“Epistemia is a collection of colorful Luminas; whereas colors refer to the various nouns and cores of knowledge.. Luminas had been revealed down on Mankind’ heart; which had inherited the theistic belief..
Rolling through his head-centered senses had created both intellectual concepts and measures.. The later had created the physical universe, to serve the infinitive truth..
Only his sights can demise between true and false colors.. Between Luminas and Darkness.. Between the ultimate being and none..”

Saturday, August 4, 2012

New Olympic Politics


This is the Sociopolitics in implementation:
Generation (Y) denounces the political borders (parameters).. It is a humane (individual) achievement rather than an old-fashioned patriotic one..!!
Rules changed..
  Mohd Fudzail Mohd Nor wrote: It’s taken six days for the Olympics to come alive for Singapore. Instead of uniting a nation as sports often does, Feng Tianwei’s bronze medal win has done the exact opposite.
Singapore’s first individual medal in 52 years has divided the nation and re-ignited the vicious, ugly debate surrounding imported foreign talent. In fact, it’s brought it into ever-sharper focus.

The most replied comment to her win on Yahoo! is “No matter how successful in whatever Games Singapore has won is useless. I am sorry to say this. It is not won by a true Singaporeans. No ill feelings to the participants. It is just that you are not a true Singaporean.”
Among the over 200 comments on Yahoo! Singapore’s Facebook wall that poured in immediately after her win on Wednesday, Elle Toh writes, “Honestly, I cannot bring myself to feel proud for a foreigner to win a medal for us, although they carry our Singapore flag. But I thank Feng Tianwei nonetheless for putting our name on the chart.“

The questions, whether out loud or in thoughts, being asked now in coffeeshops and homes across Singapore now is:
1) Will Feng stay in Singapore for good?
2) Did she come here for the money?
And people’s concerns are justified; there have been painful, bitter lessons in recent Singapore sports history.
Footballer Egmar Goncalves, table-tennis' Zhang Xueling, shot putter Dong Enxin and badminton’s Xiao Luxi are just some who were given the red Singapore passport only to ditch it when they made their riches and conveniently no longer had the need for one.