Can't talk to them until they...

Sometimes some of the greatest and most developed countries and peoples in the world speak words of bull****.

When a fight breaks up between two entities over money and the entity that claims the money says,

"We won't negotiate until you pay me the money!"

Depending on the circumstances of course - in most cases the whole quarrel is based on the money, so you cannot demand the money before negotiating. What you must do is sit down and discuss the problematic issue (which is the money!) and then come to a monetary conclusion or settle on a financial agreement.

I just found this synonymous to the fact that the current US administration and the British prime minister say that they won't talk to Hamas until Hamas recognizes the state of Israel.

The whole issue here is that Hamas does not recognize Israel because it sees it as the occupier of their land. The whole problem of peace in the middle east is based on this. The US is refusing to talk to Hamas until they "recognize the state of Israel". You cannot ask one party in any quarrel to first obey the opposing party and then be eligible to negotiate. Its absolute lunacy!

Thank goodness Obama sees this. He has criticized the current ruling administration and said many times: you cannot refuse to open dialogs with one of the fundamental parties in the middle east unrest. He believes that Bush junior's policies of silence has not brought anything but a downside in the reputation of the US and has made things worse and worse. He believes that settling any problem means sitting down and conversing with the opposition. I believe this to be the correct attitude...hope he wins...

Glory Glory Man United!!!

Again they prove themselves to be the best in the world...
My blood is in that club. Many of my friends know this. My grandfather played for Manchester United back in 1925. Recently I got hold of a letter inviting my grandfather to the centennial celebration of MANU club!!!


Anywayz...Manchester United came back again to be Premier league winners and Champions league champions!!!



Here's the Manchester United anthem:

Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
Glory, glory, Man United,
As the reds go marching on, on, on.

Just like the Busby Babes in Days gone by
We’ll keep the Red Flags flying high
You’ve got to see yourself from far and wide
You’ve got to hear the masses sing with pride

United! Man United!
We’re the boys in Red and we’re on our way to Wem-be-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-be-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly

In Seventy-Seven it was Docherty
Atkinson will make it Eighty-Three
And everyone will know just who we are
They’ll be singing ‘Que Sera Sera’

United! Man United!
We’re the boys in Red and we’re on our way to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly
Wem-be-ly! Wem-ber-ly!
We’re the famous Man United and we’re going to Wem-ber-ly

Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
Glory Glory Man United
As the Reds Go Marching On! On! On! (3x)

:D

Glory Glory Man United

Busy Bee

I must say being busy is a blessing. Very often I find myself tormented under the stress and pressure of deadlines and workload. Although mentally I am getting battered and battered by work and more work, I feel a sense of accomplishment far more valuable than lazing around in free time. After a long hard week of work, the wonderful weekend arrives and you are able to finally unlock the shackles of strain and bath in your own time...:D. Unfortunately when you have masters work too then you don't really have a weekend of free time...hehe. You get battered and battered in another dimension, especially if your doing your thesis!!!

I guess the most important thing is to balance your life out between work, studying, your own time, your family and friends, SPORTS and the mashaweer (chores) you just have to do. Its hard some times, but if you keep on complaining that there is no time then you wont end up accomplishing any of it.

So quit the complaining!!!!

There is one simple principle: "When you sit down to do something...do it!"

Who is to blame?

Very often I find myself in a puzzle. I was driving one day with a friend of mine and a public transport bus stopped in the middle of the road. He cut off one of the lanes of the two-lane corniche road. He did not give a signal, no hazard lights...nothing - just stopped to pick up passengers. My friend reached across and punched the horn down to express our anger and frustration. The bus driver simply stuck out his left arm out the window and gestured with an open palm to go ahead and use the free lane he hadn't blocked. Call him cold-blooded, call him ignorant, call him what you will. I signaled left and overtook the bus. He shouted out the window. I couldn't hear what he said and I decided not to bark back.

Afterwards I started thinking...

Who was to blame? The bus stopped in the middle of the road because he couldn't really stop any closer to the pavement because there were hordes of people standing on the road struggling to get a chance to ride. Are the people to blame for standing on the road? The pavement as far as I remember was too narrow and the bus stop was unable to accommodate all those people. It was basically survival of the fittest. The fastest would get to ride first and take the place of the slower less fortunate. Who designed the bus stop? Was he to blame? I dont think anybody actually designed the bus stop. Who designed the road with no off-road area for the bus to pick up passengers? Who designed the road with no hard-shoulder? Was he to blame? What about the inefficient public transport system? Did anybody design anything? Was it designed a long time ago and cannot be enhanced or adapted?

I believe it is the whole system that has failed and fallen apart. Scalability is among key design features for any system. Learning from previous mistakes is also a virtue. Learning from entities with more experience is another way of learning. Still new cities are being built with nothing being learned. 6th October is becoming more and more like down town and Madinat Nasr (places of extreme traffic jams and crowded streets). The streets are still narrow and are usually taken up by a row of parked cars and in many cases a second parallel row. Is there any foresight? When you build something - shouldnt you think of the consequences of building it? Shouldnt you think of trying to accomodate as many people as possible? Are there places to park? ...etc...etc

There are just so many situations where you see people pointing fingers and barking at each other. Its a constant factor in big cities in developing nations. People are always frustrated at others.

Another incident happened to me as I was riding with a friend. The friend was over-speeding on a highway. Again this was on a two-lane road. There was a slower car driving along in the fast lane. I can't really remember if the right lane was occupied or free. My friend slowed down suddenly meters away from the car in front and flashed the lights and beeped the horn several times until the car swerved aside to allow us passage. My friend cursed the other driver and went on going. I find myself in both situations. I find myself the speeder who gets frustrated at the slower car in the fast lane even though the other car is driving within the speed limits and I'm over speeding. I also find myself in the fast lane confident that I'm driving exactly as fast as the speed limit and I find pleasure in keeping to the fast lane as a car behind me barks and barks :D.

Who is wrong here? Is it the speed limit :)? Is is the speeder? Is it the slower car keeping to the speed limit in the fast lane? Is it the highway designer? Is it the lack of awareness and driving ethics?

Again - Who is to blame?

PS: One thing I do know is that speeding kills

War Everywhere!

What is it about Arabs and inner conflicts? As I write this entry there is fighting between the Sudanese government and rebels, Lebanese army and HezbAllah, Fatah and Hamas in Palestine, Iraqi government against militia and religious sect militias against each other.

Why is this happening in this region of the world? What is the link between this region and the enraging and devastating wars? Is it due to ignorance and lack of education? Is it due to one of the seven sins of humans -> Greed? Is it hatred? Maybe the insidious evil nature of mankind? Maybe corruption?

Well nothings black and white, it could be due to all the reasons above. Could be due to none. I don't know anymore. I just hope things get better...:(

Obama!

If I was an american, I would support Obama all the way. Naturally I would hate to see another Republican president after the disastrous Bush junior.
All the same, this US presidential election is very different. It has the oldest contender, the first female runner and the first African American candidate. For the first time I've found myself obsessed with the US campaign trail. I remember I was also into the Bush I vs. Clinton I and then Al Gore vs. Bush II. I remember the happiness when there were false claims that Al Gore had won over the controversy that took place in Florida state. I remember the sadness as Bush II won again and went on to another period of being the worst president in the history of the US.

Just this morning North Carolina was declared an Obama state by a large margin of 56 to 42 percent. In the Indy primary unfortunately Obama lost by a narrow 2 percent.

Obama's origin, character and of course his policies are what makes him different. He is the son of a Kenyan man and a white American. He is exceedingly charismatic - "Yes we can!" :). His speeches were turned into clips on youtube and music videos. I've never seen a presidential candidate speak like I saw Obama speak after the first incident with his former reverend. He speaks down to earth and charismatically feels like the basketball coach down the road...hehe.



He opposes war. He wants to open dialogs with foreign countries. He is active in the international arena. His health care policies is beneficial for the US people - "I believe that the millions of Americans who can't take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right...". He has foresight in the energy crisis with his energy & environment plans. His policies should increase investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education and R&D. He also wants to modernize and simplify taxation and implement trade policies that benefit the US and also increase the export of American goods.

I think he should be the next US president. He'll cleanup the rubbish of his predecessor. If you think otherwise, let me know...

Clusty

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