Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hillary Clinton conceding speech
Hillary Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama yesterday. A truly fine conceding speech. If she has won anything, this graceful speech was her true victory. An exemplary model in descipline, good sport and clear intelligent choice of words.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Earthquake risk from Dams
Reports on potential collapse of 69 dams in China following the recent Earthquake. An interesting BBC article published 2002
African dams may need more careful planning
By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent, in Nairobi
Bill McGuire, director of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre in London, UK, says rising seismic and volcanic damage is a worldwide problem.
"There's no question that if you dig a big enough reservoir, you're going to get earthquakes. "The Three Gorges Dam in China is going to be a big problem," he told BBC News Online.
"There's also the worry that if you build a dam in mountainous terrain that you will get landslides as it fills."
A huge landslide behind the Vaiont dam in northern Italy in 1963 took the lives of over 2,500 people when a wave of water and debris spilled over the dam and swept away a small town, he explained. Professor Hartnady says the African continental crust is stressed to the "fracture criticality" limit.
Build dams if you must, but engineer them much more sensitively than we do now
Chris Hartnady He told BBC News Online: "Partly this is because of the African superswell, a mass of warm volcanic rock which is rising under much of south-eastern Africa, producing a buoyancy effect which is helping to pull the crust apart. "And partly it's the forces at play in the boundary zone between the Nubian and Somalian tectonic plates. Mining triggers earthquakes in South Africa's high veldt."
Real and present danger
In late October 1995, the reservoir behind the Katse dam in Lesotho began to fill. Days later people started feeling earth tremors, and one measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale was recorded on 3 January 1996.
"I am positive that was cause and effect. In 1964, a dam was built at Koyna in India's Western Ghats. There was a big earthquake in the region in 1967 - cause and effect again.
"So build dams if you must, but engineer them much more sensitively than we do now."
Professor Hartnady believes geohazards, including earthquakes, volcanic activity and shifting soils, are an underestimated problem.
He says: "I wonder whether for Africa they may be a more real and present danger than climate change. We badly need more research, on the sort of scale of the effort going into climate change.
"Geohazards are a problem in developed countries too, in places like California and Japan. The US Geological Survey has a wealth of expertise. But some of their knowledge just isn't applicable in places like Africa with much slower rates of motion. "In the San Andreas Fault in California, the rate is something like 30-50 mm a year, compared with 5-10 mm in the Rift Valley in East Africa. But while 5 mm a year may not be sexy, it could be serious."
Signal in the noise
Compared with the centuries-old records and monitoring from developed countries, Africa's detailed seismological monitoring goes back only about 40 years, Professor Hartnady says.
But he is confident that science means it will soon be possible to predict the risks much more accurately. "We need to leapfrog to a new kind of technology, and it does exist," he says. "There's everything space geodesy can offer, including the global positioning system, very long baseline interferometry, and satellite laser-ranging. These will measure current rates of plate motion.
"I can't tell people now when the risks will become acute. There could be a catastrophe tomorrow, or we could get through this century without one.
"Come back in five to 10 years, though, when we can start to distinguish the signal from the noise, and I'll give you the numbers. The sooner we begin sophisticated monitoring, the sooner we'll have the answers."
African dams may need more careful planning
By Alex Kirby BBC News Online environment correspondent, in Nairobi
Large dams in mountainous regions could threaten people living near them by stressing the Earth's crust to danger levels, a scientist says.
The researcher says there have been recorded cases in several countries of dam construction causing earthquakes. Large-scale mining, he believes, can sometimes produce the same result.
He says parts of Africa are especially vulnerable because of the tectonic forces that are shaping the continent.
The scientist, Chris Hartnady, is a former associate professor in the department of geological sciences at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He was attending a conference here, the Africa Mountains High Summit, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).
Pulled apart
Professor Hartnady says in his presentation: "Large areas of the African continent are in an unstable, tectonically active state, and especially in the mountain regions substantial danger is posed to growing populations.
"The economic cost of seismic and volcanic disasters is likely to escalate dramatically during this century.
If you dig a big enough reservoir, you're going to get earthquakes
Bill McGuireBenfield Greig Hazard Research Centre "Mountain areas appear very attractive places in which to site reservoirs or hydro-electric schemes. However, in east and southern Africa, these high-lying areas are usually associated with tectonically active belts near faults and rifts in the Earth's crust."
Bill McGuire, director of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre in London, UK, says rising seismic and volcanic damage is a worldwide problem.
"There's no question that if you dig a big enough reservoir, you're going to get earthquakes. "The Three Gorges Dam in China is going to be a big problem," he told BBC News Online.
"There's also the worry that if you build a dam in mountainous terrain that you will get landslides as it fills."
A huge landslide behind the Vaiont dam in northern Italy in 1963 took the lives of over 2,500 people when a wave of water and debris spilled over the dam and swept away a small town, he explained. Professor Hartnady says the African continental crust is stressed to the "fracture criticality" limit.
Build dams if you must, but engineer them much more sensitively than we do now
Chris Hartnady He told BBC News Online: "Partly this is because of the African superswell, a mass of warm volcanic rock which is rising under much of south-eastern Africa, producing a buoyancy effect which is helping to pull the crust apart. "And partly it's the forces at play in the boundary zone between the Nubian and Somalian tectonic plates. Mining triggers earthquakes in South Africa's high veldt."
Real and present danger
In late October 1995, the reservoir behind the Katse dam in Lesotho began to fill. Days later people started feeling earth tremors, and one measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale was recorded on 3 January 1996.
"I am positive that was cause and effect. In 1964, a dam was built at Koyna in India's Western Ghats. There was a big earthquake in the region in 1967 - cause and effect again.
"So build dams if you must, but engineer them much more sensitively than we do now."
Professor Hartnady believes geohazards, including earthquakes, volcanic activity and shifting soils, are an underestimated problem.
He says: "I wonder whether for Africa they may be a more real and present danger than climate change. We badly need more research, on the sort of scale of the effort going into climate change.
"Geohazards are a problem in developed countries too, in places like California and Japan. The US Geological Survey has a wealth of expertise. But some of their knowledge just isn't applicable in places like Africa with much slower rates of motion. "In the San Andreas Fault in California, the rate is something like 30-50 mm a year, compared with 5-10 mm in the Rift Valley in East Africa. But while 5 mm a year may not be sexy, it could be serious."
Signal in the noise
Compared with the centuries-old records and monitoring from developed countries, Africa's detailed seismological monitoring goes back only about 40 years, Professor Hartnady says.
But he is confident that science means it will soon be possible to predict the risks much more accurately. "We need to leapfrog to a new kind of technology, and it does exist," he says. "There's everything space geodesy can offer, including the global positioning system, very long baseline interferometry, and satellite laser-ranging. These will measure current rates of plate motion.
"I can't tell people now when the risks will become acute. There could be a catastrophe tomorrow, or we could get through this century without one.
"Come back in five to 10 years, though, when we can start to distinguish the signal from the noise, and I'll give you the numbers. The sooner we begin sophisticated monitoring, the sooner we'll have the answers."
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Nelson Mandela's memo to Thomas Friedman on Palestine
Mandela's First Memo to Thomas Friedman
March 28, 2001
To: Thomas L. Friedman (columnist New York Times)
From: Nelson Mandela (former President South Africa)
Dear Thomas,
I know that you and I long for peace in the Middle East, but before you continue to talk about necessary conditions from an Israeli perspective, you need to know what's on my mind. Where to begin? How about 1964.
Let me quote my own words during my trial They are true today as they were then: 'I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.'
Today the world, black and white, recognise that Apartheid has no future. In South Africa it has been ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security. That mass campaign of defiance and other actions could only culminate in the establishment of Democracy.
Perhaps it is strange for you to observe the situation in Palestine or more specifically, the structure of political and cultural relationships between Palestinians and Israelis, as an Apartheid system. This is because you incorrectly think that the problem of Palestine began in 1967. This was demonstrated in your recent column 'Bush's First Memo' in the New York Times on March 27, 2001.
You seem to be surprised to hear that there are still problems of 1948 to be solved, the most important component of which is the right to return of Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not just an issue of military occupation and Israel is not a country that was established 'normally' and happened to occupy another country in 1967. Palestinians are not struggling for a 'state' but for freedom, liberation and equality, just like we were struggling for freedom in South Africa.
In the last few years, and especially during the reign of the Labour Party, Israel showed that it was not even willing to return what it occupied in 1967; that Settlements remain, Jerusalem would be under exclusive Israeli sovereignty, and Palestinians would not have an independent state, but would be under Israeli economic domination with Israeli control of borders, land, air, water and sea.
Israel was not thinking of a 'state' but of 'separation'. The value of separation is measured in terms of the ability of Israel to keep the Jewish state Jewish, and not to have a Palestinian minority that could have the opportunity to become a majority at some time in the future. If this takes place, it would force Israel to either become a secular democratic or bi-national state, or to turn into a state of Apartheid not only de facto, but also de jure.
Thomas, if you follow the polls in Israel for the last 30 or 40 years, you clearly find a vulgar racism that includes a third of the population who openly declare themselves to be racist. This racism is of the nature of 'I hate Arabs' and 'I wish Arabs would be dead'.
If you also follow the judicial system in Israel you will see there is discrimination against Palestinians, and if you further consider the 1967 Occupied Territories you will find there are already two judicial systems in operation that represent two different approaches to human life: one for Palestinian life and the other for Jewish life.
Additionally there are two different approaches to property and to land. Palestinian property is not recognised as private property because it can be confiscated.
As to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, there is an additional factor. The so-called 'Palestinian autonomous areas' are Bantustans. These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli Apartheid system.
The Palestinian state cannot be the by-product of the Jewish state, just in order to keep the Jewish purity of Israel.
Israel's racial discrimination is daily life of most Palestinians. Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do. Palestinian Arabs have no place in a 'Jewish' state.
Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has perpetuated a system of gross racial discrimination and inequality. It has systematically incarcerated and tortured thousands of Palestinians, contrary to the rules of international law. It has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population, in particular children.
The responses made by South Africa to human rights abuses emanating from the removal policies and Apartheid policies respectively, shed light on what Israeli society munecessarily go through before one can speak of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and an end to its Apartheid policies.
Thomas, I'm not abandoning Mideast diplomacy. But I'm not going to indulge you the way your supporters do. If you want peace and democracy, I will support you. If you want formal Apartheid, we will not support you. If you want to support racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing, we will oppose you.
When you figure out what you're about, give me a call.
March 28, 2001
To: Thomas L. Friedman (columnist New York Times)
From: Nelson Mandela (former President South Africa)
Dear Thomas,
I know that you and I long for peace in the Middle East, but before you continue to talk about necessary conditions from an Israeli perspective, you need to know what's on my mind. Where to begin? How about 1964.
Let me quote my own words during my trial They are true today as they were then: 'I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.'
Today the world, black and white, recognise that Apartheid has no future. In South Africa it has been ended by our own decisive mass action in order to build peace and security. That mass campaign of defiance and other actions could only culminate in the establishment of Democracy.
Perhaps it is strange for you to observe the situation in Palestine or more specifically, the structure of political and cultural relationships between Palestinians and Israelis, as an Apartheid system. This is because you incorrectly think that the problem of Palestine began in 1967. This was demonstrated in your recent column 'Bush's First Memo' in the New York Times on March 27, 2001.
You seem to be surprised to hear that there are still problems of 1948 to be solved, the most important component of which is the right to return of Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not just an issue of military occupation and Israel is not a country that was established 'normally' and happened to occupy another country in 1967. Palestinians are not struggling for a 'state' but for freedom, liberation and equality, just like we were struggling for freedom in South Africa.
In the last few years, and especially during the reign of the Labour Party, Israel showed that it was not even willing to return what it occupied in 1967; that Settlements remain, Jerusalem would be under exclusive Israeli sovereignty, and Palestinians would not have an independent state, but would be under Israeli economic domination with Israeli control of borders, land, air, water and sea.
Israel was not thinking of a 'state' but of 'separation'. The value of separation is measured in terms of the ability of Israel to keep the Jewish state Jewish, and not to have a Palestinian minority that could have the opportunity to become a majority at some time in the future. If this takes place, it would force Israel to either become a secular democratic or bi-national state, or to turn into a state of Apartheid not only de facto, but also de jure.
Thomas, if you follow the polls in Israel for the last 30 or 40 years, you clearly find a vulgar racism that includes a third of the population who openly declare themselves to be racist. This racism is of the nature of 'I hate Arabs' and 'I wish Arabs would be dead'.
If you also follow the judicial system in Israel you will see there is discrimination against Palestinians, and if you further consider the 1967 Occupied Territories you will find there are already two judicial systems in operation that represent two different approaches to human life: one for Palestinian life and the other for Jewish life.
Additionally there are two different approaches to property and to land. Palestinian property is not recognised as private property because it can be confiscated.
As to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, there is an additional factor. The so-called 'Palestinian autonomous areas' are Bantustans. These are restricted entities within the power structure of the Israeli Apartheid system.
The Palestinian state cannot be the by-product of the Jewish state, just in order to keep the Jewish purity of Israel.
Israel's racial discrimination is daily life of most Palestinians. Since Israel is a Jewish state, Israeli Jews are able to accrue special rights which non-Jews cannot do. Palestinian Arabs have no place in a 'Jewish' state.
Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Israel has deprived millions of Palestinians of their liberty and property. It has perpetuated a system of gross racial discrimination and inequality. It has systematically incarcerated and tortured thousands of Palestinians, contrary to the rules of international law. It has, in particular, waged a war against a civilian population, in particular children.
The responses made by South Africa to human rights abuses emanating from the removal policies and Apartheid policies respectively, shed light on what Israeli society munecessarily go through before one can speak of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East and an end to its Apartheid policies.
Thomas, I'm not abandoning Mideast diplomacy. But I'm not going to indulge you the way your supporters do. If you want peace and democracy, I will support you. If you want formal Apartheid, we will not support you. If you want to support racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing, we will oppose you.
When you figure out what you're about, give me a call.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
فلسطين 1948-2008
سنرجع يوما إلى حينا
ونغرق في دافئات المنى
سنرجع مهما يطول الزمان
وتنأى المسافات ما بيننا
سنرجــع يومـــا
شعر: هارون هاشم رشيد
سنرجع يوماً الى حينا...........و نغرق في دافئات المنى
سنرجع مهما يمر الزمان....... و تنأى المسافات ما بيننا
فيا قلب مهلآ و لا ترتم...........على درب عودتنا موهنا
يعز علينا غداً أن تعود..........رفوف الطيور و نحن هنا
هنالك عند التلال تلال...........تنام و تصحو على عهدنا
و ناس هم الحب أيامهم...........هدوء انتظار شجي الغنا
ربوع مدى العين صفصافها......على كل ماء وهى فانحنى
تعب الظهيرات في ظلها........عبير الهدوء و صفو الهنا
سنرجع خبرني العندليب...........غداة التقينا على منحنى
بأن البلابل لما تزل.................هناك تعيش بأشعارنا
و مازال بين تلال الحنين .........و ناس الحنين مكان لنا
سنرجع مهما يمر الزمان....... و تنأى المسافات ما بيننا
فيا قلب مهلآ و لا ترتم...........على درب عودتنا موهنا
يعز علينا غداً أن تعود..........رفوف الطيور و نحن هنا
هنالك عند التلال تلال...........تنام و تصحو على عهدنا
و ناس هم الحب أيامهم...........هدوء انتظار شجي الغنا
ربوع مدى العين صفصافها......على كل ماء وهى فانحنى
تعب الظهيرات في ظلها........عبير الهدوء و صفو الهنا
سنرجع خبرني العندليب...........غداة التقينا على منحنى
بأن البلابل لما تزل.................هناك تعيش بأشعارنا
و مازال بين تلال الحنين .........و ناس الحنين مكان لنا
فيا قلب كم شردتنا رياح............. تعال سنرجع هيا بنا
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe (1948)
Every year Palestinians commemorate the Nakba ("the catastrophe"): the expulsion and dispossession of hundreds of thousands Palestinians from their homes and land in 1948. In 1948 more than 60 percent of the total Palestinian population was expelled. More than 530 Palestinian villages were depopulated and completely destroyed.
To date, Israel has prevented the return of approximately six million Palestinian refugees, who have either been expelled or displaced. Approximately 250,000 internally displaced Palestinian second-class citizens of Israel are prevented from returning to their homes and villages.
To date, Israel has prevented the return of approximately six million Palestinian refugees, who have either been expelled or displaced. Approximately 250,000 internally displaced Palestinian second-class citizens of Israel are prevented from returning to their homes and villages.
Friday, March 28, 2008
560 roadblocks in the West Bank
There are, today, around 560 roadblocks established by the Israeli Occupation forces in the tiny area of the West Bank, which is an incredible number. No roadblocks have been removed; each and every one of them stands in witness to the fact that Israel's promises are not fulfilled and that their declarations and statements on peace are hollow and meaningless.
The $7 billion that were promised at the recent Paris conference to jump-start the Palestinian economy are useless, for without a minimal freedom of movement, there is no way that the economy of the Palestinians can be put on its feet.
The West Bank has an area of 120 km x 50 km.
The $7 billion that were promised at the recent Paris conference to jump-start the Palestinian economy are useless, for without a minimal freedom of movement, there is no way that the economy of the Palestinians can be put on its feet.
The West Bank has an area of 120 km x 50 km.
Friday, March 14, 2008
The American elections
A recent PEW poll shows that 10% of Democrats who support Obama would defect and vote for McCain should Hillary become the candidate. But, a whopping 25% of Democrats who support Hillary would defect and vote for McCain should Obama become the candidate.
Although the poll suggests that the Clinton/Obama have a lead of 5-8% over McCain, I have a feeling that McCain wins the Presidancy. Another 4 years of American war-mentality to come.
Although the poll suggests that the Clinton/Obama have a lead of 5-8% over McCain, I have a feeling that McCain wins the Presidancy. Another 4 years of American war-mentality to come.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff creates artworks that call on the world to condemn Israeli holocaust of Gaza
Carlos Latuff's statement:
I'd like to beg all viewers to spread this image anywhere, as a way to expose Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. Use it on t-shirts, posters, banners. Reproduce it in zines, papers, magazines, and make it visible everywhere. Here is the high-resolution version for printing purposes.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Zhaoming Wu - A great Chinese artist
Zhaoming Wu was born in China and grew up in Guangzhou City. He received his BFA from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art China and his MFA from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.Since 1983, he has been exhibitng his work in Asia, Europe, the United States and other countries around the world. He has won numerous awards, including the Merit Award at the 6th National Art Exhibition in Beijing, China, the Gustafson Fund Award, the National Oil and Acrylic Painter's Society (US) Award, 1st place in the 9th Biennial National Figure Painting and Drawing Exhibition in Mendocino Art Center, California, Grand Prize Winner in International Artist Magazine (Aug/Sept 2005), the Daler-Rowney Award from the Oil Painters of America 2000, and the Art Distributors Awards of Excellence from the Oil Painters of America 2005.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
From the Guardian - Gaza
'If you bottle up 1.5 million people in a territory 25 miles long and six miles wide, and turn off the lights, as Israel has done in Gaza, the bottle will burst. This is what happened yesterday when tens of thousands of Gazans poured into Egypt to buy food, fuel and supplies after militants destroyed two-thirds of the wall separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt. It was the biggest jail break in history.'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2245703,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2245703,00.html
Monday, January 21, 2008
Blakout in besieged Gaza City
The Gaza Strip’s only power plant has shut down as Israel’s blockade has dried up fuel supplies. Tonight Gazans are living in darkness as the second of the plant's two working turbines was switched off on the third day of a crippling Israeli blockade of the territory. At least 800,000 people are now in darkness.
Sunday’s shutdown has prompted fears of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.This catastrophe is affecting hospitals, medical clinics, water wells, sewage treatment plants, water facilities, factories, homes— all aspects of life. Palestinians said the worst affected could be the health sector, with hospitals failing to provide services in the absence of electricity.
Food supplies have dwindled, thanks to Israel’s blockade. And now there is no bread. Bakeries stopped operating because they did not have power or flour. Gazans are protesting in the streets—asking for bread.
Israel’s targeting of a Palestinian government office on Jan. 18, which caused serious casualties at a nearby wedding party was a “war crime” and those responsible should be punished, a United Nations official said yesterday. John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, slammed the killing of Palestinians in other attacks and the closing of border crossings.
“The killing of some 40 Palestinians in Gaza in the past week, the targeting of a government office near a wedding party venue with what must have been foreseen loss of life and injury to many civilians, and the closure of all crossings into Gaza raise very serious questions about Israel’s respect for international law and its commitment to the peace process,” Dugard said in a statement.
“Those responsible for such cowardly action are guilty of serious war crimes and should be prosecuted and punished for their crimes,” Dugard said.
Sunday’s shutdown has prompted fears of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.This catastrophe is affecting hospitals, medical clinics, water wells, sewage treatment plants, water facilities, factories, homes— all aspects of life. Palestinians said the worst affected could be the health sector, with hospitals failing to provide services in the absence of electricity.
Food supplies have dwindled, thanks to Israel’s blockade. And now there is no bread. Bakeries stopped operating because they did not have power or flour. Gazans are protesting in the streets—asking for bread.
Israel’s targeting of a Palestinian government office on Jan. 18, which caused serious casualties at a nearby wedding party was a “war crime” and those responsible should be punished, a United Nations official said yesterday. John Dugard, UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied territories, slammed the killing of Palestinians in other attacks and the closing of border crossings.
“The killing of some 40 Palestinians in Gaza in the past week, the targeting of a government office near a wedding party venue with what must have been foreseen loss of life and injury to many civilians, and the closure of all crossings into Gaza raise very serious questions about Israel’s respect for international law and its commitment to the peace process,” Dugard said in a statement.
“Those responsible for such cowardly action are guilty of serious war crimes and should be prosecuted and punished for their crimes,” Dugard said.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Israel seals Gaza, continues attacks on trapped Palestinian popultion
Three days after killing at least 30 Palestinians in helicopter and tank attacks on the Gaza Strip—and just one week after President George W. Bush met in Israel with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other top officials—Israel on Friday, Jan. 18 ordered all border crossings into Gaza temporarily closed as it continued its deadly attacks on more than 1.5 million Palestinians already denied food, clean water, electricity and medical supplies. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced that the transfer of medicines and humanitarian aid into Gaza now will be allowed “only in exceptional circumstances.”
Friday, January 18, 2008
James Neil Hollingsworth art
Is this a real Cherry Can? Are these real Cherries? Wrong. This is Oil on Canvas.Karen Hollingsworth art
Fantastic. Feel the wind and note the tenderness of the cloth. Observe the light shades. God damn, this is Oil on Canvas.
Bush visit to the Middle East
Seldom has an American President's visit left the region so underwhelmed, confirmin
g Bush's huge unpopularity on the street and his sagging credibility among Arab leaders he counts as allies. Part of the problem was the Administration's increasingly mixed message, amplified by the intense media coverage of his trip. For example, in Dubai he gave what the White House billed as a landmark speech calling for "democratic freedom in the Middle East." But during his last stop in Sharm el-Sheikh Wednesday, he lauded President Hosni Mubarak as an experienced, valued strategic partner for regional peace and security and made no mention of Cairo's ongoing crackdown on opponents and critics - and the continuing imprisonment of Mubarak's main opponent in the 2005 presidential election.
He made repeated calls for Iran to abandon its Nuclear program while said nothing about Israel which already has 200 Nuclear heads and is far more a threat to peace than Iran.
While he called for Israelis and Palestinians to progress on peace, he supported Israel's ongoing attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza. Within the last 3 days of Israeli attacks, 33 palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.
Mr. Bush, if you want Peace, talk about Justice.
If you want Democracy, talk about fair Elections.
If you want Freedom , talk about the rule of Law.
If you only want supporting Israel, Go back Home
g Bush's huge unpopularity on the street and his sagging credibility among Arab leaders he counts as allies. Part of the problem was the Administration's increasingly mixed message, amplified by the intense media coverage of his trip. For example, in Dubai he gave what the White House billed as a landmark speech calling for "democratic freedom in the Middle East." But during his last stop in Sharm el-Sheikh Wednesday, he lauded President Hosni Mubarak as an experienced, valued strategic partner for regional peace and security and made no mention of Cairo's ongoing crackdown on opponents and critics - and the continuing imprisonment of Mubarak's main opponent in the 2005 presidential election.He made repeated calls for Iran to abandon its Nuclear program while said nothing about Israel which already has 200 Nuclear heads and is far more a threat to peace than Iran.
While he called for Israelis and Palestinians to progress on peace, he supported Israel's ongoing attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza. Within the last 3 days of Israeli attacks, 33 palestinians were killed by Israeli fire.
Mr. Bush, if you want Peace, talk about Justice.
If you want Democracy, talk about fair Elections.
If you want Freedom , talk about the rule of Law.
If you only want supporting Israel, Go back Home
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
أجمل الكلام
إذا لم تعلم أين تذهب، فكل الطرق تفي بالغرض
لا تطعن في ذوق زوجتك، فقد اختارتك أولا
من يطارد عصفورين يفقدهما جميعاً
المرأة هي نصف المجتمع وهي التي تلد و تربي النصف الآخر
كلما ارتفع الإنسان ، تكاثفت حوله الغيوم والمحن
لا تطعن في ذوق زوجتك، فقد اختارتك أولا
من يطارد عصفورين يفقدهما جميعاً
المرأة هي نصف المجتمع وهي التي تلد و تربي النصف الآخر
كلما ارتفع الإنسان ، تكاثفت حوله الغيوم والمحن
The Human Mind
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid! Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Tallulah Bankhead quote
If I could return to youth, I would commit all those errors again, but a bit earlier.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Goldman Sachs says the US is in a recession
This is one of the serious news articles that I read today. It is Goldman Sachs judgement. It might not be correct but such an institution is professioal and the statement will have a number of implications. Goldman Sachs says the US is in a recession
Henry Paulson's old company, Goldman Sachs is yet another high profile, highly successful business that sees a US recession.
"Over the past few months, we have become increasingly concerned that the US housing and credit market downturn would trigger not just a growth slowdown and substantial Fed easing -- our long-standing view -- but also an outright recession," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients Wednesday. "The latest data suggest that recession has now arrived, or will very shortly."The recent rise in unemployment is particularly worrisome, Goldman indicated.
Henry Paulson's old company, Goldman Sachs is yet another high profile, highly successful business that sees a US recession.
"Over the past few months, we have become increasingly concerned that the US housing and credit market downturn would trigger not just a growth slowdown and substantial Fed easing -- our long-standing view -- but also an outright recession," Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients Wednesday. "The latest data suggest that recession has now arrived, or will very shortly."The recent rise in unemployment is particularly worrisome, Goldman indicated.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The big surprise - The Iowa results
What’s it all about?
The Iowa caucus is an electoral event that effectively marks the beginning of the long path to the Presidency. Caucuses are meetings that take place simultaneously across the state where voters will decide which candidate to throw their support behind. The Democrats and the Republicans both hold their corresponding caucuses on the same day.
What were the results?
Democrats
Barack Obama - 37.6% John Edwards - 29.7% Hillary Clinton - 29.5% Bill Richardson - 2.1%
Republicans
Mike Huckabee - 34.3% Mitt Romney - 25.3% Fred Thomson - 13.4% John McCain - 13.1% Ron Paul - 10.0% Rudy Giuliani - 3.5%
What does it mean?
In theory winning the Iowa caucus doesn’t mean a great deal, but victory in the opening bout of the battle for the Presidency can give a candidate’s campaign a timely boost and much-needed momentum at the start of a very long road. Failure can cause a candidate to modify their election campaign as they bid to turn the tables on the early frontrunners.
So why all the fuss?
Historically, the Iowa caucus has been a good indicator of public opinion about Presidential candidates. Many US Presidents were victorious in their respective Iowa caucuses, including George W Bush, Bill Clinton and George H W Bush, but success in Iowa doesn’t guarantee a term in the White House – in 1992 Democrat Tom Harkin trounced Bill Clinton in the Iowa caucus, but it was Clinton who had the success on a national level.
Why is the surprise?
The Iowa caucus is an electoral event that effectively marks the beginning of the long path to the Presidency. Caucuses are meetings that take place simultaneously across the state where voters will decide which candidate to throw their support behind. The Democrats and the Republicans both hold their corresponding caucuses on the same day.
What were the results?
Democrats
Barack Obama - 37.6% John Edwards - 29.7% Hillary Clinton - 29.5% Bill Richardson - 2.1%
Republicans
Mike Huckabee - 34.3% Mitt Romney - 25.3% Fred Thomson - 13.4% John McCain - 13.1% Ron Paul - 10.0% Rudy Giuliani - 3.5%
What does it mean?
In theory winning the Iowa caucus doesn’t mean a great deal, but victory in the opening bout of the battle for the Presidency can give a candidate’s campaign a timely boost and much-needed momentum at the start of a very long road. Failure can cause a candidate to modify their election campaign as they bid to turn the tables on the early frontrunners.
So why all the fuss?
Historically, the Iowa caucus has been a good indicator of public opinion about Presidential candidates. Many US Presidents were victorious in their respective Iowa caucuses, including George W Bush, Bill Clinton and George H W Bush, but success in Iowa doesn’t guarantee a term in the White House – in 1992 Democrat Tom Harkin trounced Bill Clinton in the Iowa caucus, but it was Clinton who had the success on a national level.
Why is the surprise?
Obama receives 37% of Democrats votes in a state which is 90% Whites.
Huckabee receives 35% and is an Evengelical Conservative.
On the Democratic side, change won. Real change - neither Obama nor Edwards are considered establishment figures. No doubt this was a huge win for Obama -- and correspondingly, a devastating loss for Hillary Clinton. There is no other way to spin it. Her campaign was built on inevitability -- and she simply wasn't in Iowa. Obama and Edwards had to run against the Clinton machine -- and it was (is) a machine. Bill and Hillary and all their friends, very powerful friends, put everything into this campaign. And tonight they lost.
On the Republican side, turmoil reigns. There is no way the GOP (Grand Old Party) powers that be will ever let Mike Huckabee be the nominee. All the so-called Republican frontrunners tanked. How about Rudy coming in sixth? Romney got nuked. Thompson is a joke and McCain looks hapless.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Secret of a Happy Life
A walker noticed an old lady sitting on her front step, so he walked up to her and said, "I couldn't help noticing how happy you look! What is your secret for such a long, happy life?"
"I smoke ten cigars a day," she said. "Before I go to bed, I smoke a nice big joint. Apart from that, I drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels every week, and eat only junk food. On week-ends, I pop pills and do no exercise at all."
"That is absolutely amazing at your age!", says the walker. "How old are you?"
"Twenty-four," she replied.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
2008
This is a nice picture I received from a friend on this New Year start. 2007 was a good year on a personal level. However, I am optimistic that 2008 will be a better year than 2007 at least on the World politics level.
Friday, December 28, 2007
A Picture with a Soul
I have ran across a number of exceptional pictures. Each deserve to be called: A Picture with a Soul. Here are two examples.
Sergei Bongart (1918-1985) - The Art of contrast
Sergei Bongart is one of the very talented and famous artists. A Russian/American painter 1918-1985.
Communicating on his successful technique, he wrote:
You have to put the right spot of color in the right place! And, the best exercise for training the eye was to exaggerate or overstate the color and then work from there, always comparing the relationships of one color to another, one value to another;how light or dark, how warm or how cool.
Sergei emphasized: More contrast. More contrast. To create, you must think: cool, warm, related co-lor, reflected co-lor, dark, light, thick, thin, dissimilar spaces, opposite contrasting movements—like in music, fast, slow, soft, loud; but all must relate to create symphony both on canvas or in music hall. Every painting needs active and quiet areas and feeling of poetry and drama. If painting gray day, make it gray. Use gray and silver. If painting sunny day, use oranges, red, yellows, greens—make it happy. Every element of painting must tie together, must have unity, must express mood.
Before you begin, ask yourself what should be seen first within your painting, and what you want to say about it. Areas of greatest contrast will attract the most attention. This is your first reading. A strong composition usually facilitates three good readings.
Understand the basis of composing a picture in color. No color should be viewed in isolation, but rather in constant relation to what is around it. A color is what it appears to be only because of its relationship to the surrounding colors. Nothing exists in isolation. Each previous color choice must be re-evaluated as a new color is placed along side of it. If you change one color, you have in effect changed them all.
When we paint, we really aren't copying the colors of nature, we are painting the color relationships. We don't have the color palette that nature has, so we must give the illusion of truth through the relationships of the colors we choose.
As in chess, try to think several moves ahead, painting the color relationships that are deemed integral to the picture. Always make the next most important move. Don't paint in nose highlights, for instance, before you have established the background colors.
It is vital at the start of a painting to cover the white of the canvas with chosen silhouettes of color. Do this as soon as possible. A white canvas masks the truth of the color relationships. Toning the canvas can help eliminate the glare of white, but does nothing to establish the true harmonies between each color.
Work around the canvas two or three times or more before moving to any detail. It is entirely possible, and often advisable, to spend 90% of your time merely adjusting the big, simple shapes before ever moving to the rendering. Once this is satisfactory, the chosen style or technique can be completed with confidence, up to and including ultra-tight realism.