June 29, 2007
Posted on June 29, 2007 01:11 PM under:
Books
Last weekend I finished reading "Les Cendres De Carthage" (The Ashes Of Carthage) by Tunisian writer Abdelaziz Belkhodja. This is the second book I've read by him, the first being "Le Retour De L'Eléphant" (The Return Of The Elephant) that I read a few years ago. This work of fiction revolves around an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Carthage, close to the capital of Tunisia, where the great ancient library of Carthage is discovered, then taking an unexpected twist into a thriller putting politicians and intelligence services from Tunisia and the United States face to face. It's...
Continue reading this entry...
June 28, 2007
I just came across an article on ComputerWorld that lists the top 10 dead or dying computer skills; the list goes as follows: 1. Cobol 2. Nonrelational DBMS 3. Non-IP networks 4. cc:Mail 5. ColdFusion 6. C programming 7. PowerBuilder 8. Certified NetWare Engineers 9. PC network administrators 10. OS/2 Wow, that list brings back a lot of memories of things I used to use or that I had on my list of things to check out, learn or use. It's amazing how much changes in so little time when it comes to the IT/Computer industry; but still we wouldn't...
Continue reading this entry...
June 25, 2007
The colonial tactic of conquer and divide is being put to use on the Palestinians yet once again; initially in the Gaza Strip between Fatah and Hamas and now between the West Bank and Gaza. [...] Part of a conquer and divide strategy is timing. Why did Israel wait until this moment to consider Mahmoud Abbas a “partner committed to peace” when his positions have hardly changed since his election over two years ago? Why is Israel only now considering freeing Marwan al-Barghouthi, a convicted Fatah activist? Why only now release the frozen government taxes ($570 million) that the Palestinians...
Continue reading this entry...
After farms, it's now the turn of firms... President Robert Mugabe's government has published a bill to move majority control of "public companies and any other business" to black Zimbabweans. The goal is to ensure at least a 51% shareholding by indigenous black people in the majority of businesses. Zimbabwe's official inflation is 4,500% but independent economists and retailers say it is really above 11,000% and picking up speed. With inflation levels that high and the country suffering from shortages of food, fuel and foreign currency; this really isn't the time to make things even worse by applying the same...
Continue reading this entry...
A couple of weeks ago while flipping around news channels, I came across an interview on Al-Jazeera with 3 Middle-Eastern American stand-up comedians from a group called "The Axis Of Evil". They showed some clips from their comedy tour performances and I was hooked; I ordered the DVD from Amazon the day after. The Axis Of Evil is made up of: Ahmed Ahmed (Egyptian), Maz Jobrani (Iranian) and Aron Kader (Palestinian), with special guests depending on the show; on the DVD the special guest is Dean Obeidallah (Palestinian). Other occasional special guests are: Sam Tripoli and Maysoon Zayid. I got...
Continue reading this entry...
June 22, 2007
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. Friedrich Nietzsche...
Continue reading this entry...
The United States will increase its military assistance to Israel and sign a new agreement securing American aid to the country for the next decade, President George W. Bush announced Tuesday following his meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. (...) Israel asked for a gradual increase in the aid over a 10-year period at the tune of $50 million per year. At the end of the 10 years, Israel will receive $2.9 billion annually in military assistance from the U.S. Olmert told the president that an announcement on the increase in aid would be an expression of American support for...
Continue reading this entry...
June 21, 2007
My respect for Canada has just gone up another notch... A raft of subsidies and other incentives is making Ontario a hot spot for solar panel manufacturers and others in alternative energy. This week, the province's government announced a $610 million fund to develop a green technology industry and attract carmakers and solar panel makers. Municipalities will also be able to dip into a separate $206 million fund for retrofitting buildings. Additionally, the province has unfurled programs that eliminate sales tax on Energy Star-rated lightbulbs and appliances for a year, offer homeowners up to about $4,689 to install energy-efficient appliances,...
Continue reading this entry...
June 19, 2007
Military spending worldwide has risen by 37% over the past 10 years, reaching 1.204 Trillion dollars in 2006, according to the annual report published by SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) on June 11th. The United States, with a spending of 528.7 Billion dollars in 2006, accounts for 46% of the total military spending worldwife, way ahead of all the other countries. Right behind the US are the UK and France that both account for 4 to 5 % of the worldwide miltary spending in 2006. The top 15 countries in the list alone account for 83% of the global...
Continue reading this entry...
June 18, 2007
I just came across this quiz by way of Roba, by way of Tololy, which rates you on the Seven Deadly Sins; here's how I did: Greed:Medium Gluttony:Medium Wrath:Medium Sloth:High Envy:Medium Lust:Very Low Pride:Medium Interesting... I do confirm the "Sloth" part, I'm one of the laziest people alive; working on it though. Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz...
Continue reading this entry...
June 15, 2007
Imagine a future in which wireless power transfer is feasible: cell phones, household robots, mp3 players, laptop computers, and other portable electronics capable of charging themselves without ever being plugged in, freeing us from that final, ubiquitous power wire. Some of these devices might not even need their bulky batteries to operate. Well that future could be just around the corner; A team at MIT led by Prof. Marin Soljacic has experimentally demonstrated an important step toward accomplishing this vision of the future, they were able to light a 60W light-bulb from a power source more than 2 meters away,...
Continue reading this entry...
June 14, 2007
Moving towards greener computing... In an initiative to improve computer power use - equivalent to shutting down twenty 500 megawatt coal-fired power plants - Google and Intel have set up the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The forty starting members, including AMD, Dell, HP, IBM and Sun, hope to better manage power-delivery and power management of computers to achieve this by 2010. Suppliers, businesses and individuals are being asked to join and help save $5.5 billion in energy costs. Servers and PCs waste lots of power from the moment it enters their power cables. Google's SVP for operations, Urs Holzle, said:...
Continue reading this entry...
I posted a couple of years ago about my 10 favourite dishes, from different origins, but to be honest, no matter how many countries I've been to and how many cuisines I've tried, I still think that Tunisian cuisine is the best when taken in its entirety. This is why I thought I'd share with you the list of my top 10 favourite Tunisian dishes. 1. Mloukhia: I personally worship Tunisian Mloukhia, and so do most other Tunisians. It's the greatest dish created by mankind with a magical taste and smell that enchant your senses. 2. Couscous: Our Tunisian national...
Continue reading this entry...
June 12, 2007
Stress is the trash of modern life - we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life. Danzae Pace...
Continue reading this entry...
Inspired by an off-topic question posted in one of the comments, I felt like posting what a perfect summer vacation day in Tunisia would be like for me: - Wake up whenever I feel like it - Have ftayer (pancakes) for breakfast - Hit one of the beaches in the North of Tunisia for half a day (Best Places To Swim In Tunisia) - Go back home for lunch, preferably Macaroni or Couscous - Rest, watch a movie, take a nap... - Go out for some ice cream and a walk on La Marsa's Boulevard - Have a delicious Bambaloni...
Continue reading this entry...
June 11, 2007
I think one of the biggest problems of the Arab world today is the "Do whatever you want as long as I don't catch you doing it" mentality and attitude that's being applied to a wide variety of things we just don't want to handle. This problem exists at all levels of our Arab societies, and it's simply a way of avoiding to face the issues and problems that exist and taking the necessary steps to address or solve them. An example I've seen so many times at the family level: The tough father forbids his son to smoke; but...
Continue reading this entry...
June 08, 2007
Another great post on zenhabits, this time about the 10 sins of negative thinking. The following are 10 thoughts that should trigger an alarm that you're entering into a negative thinking area: 1. I will be happy once I have _____ (or once I earn $X). 2. I wish I were as ____ as (a celebrity, friend, co-worker). 3. Seeing others becoming successful makes me jealous and resentful. 4. I am a miserable failure — I can’t seem to do anything right. 5. I’m going to beat so-and-so no matter what — I’m better than him. And there’s no way...
Continue reading this entry...
June 07, 2007
It takes 20 years of hard work to become an overnight success. Diana Rankin, Writer and public speaker So, so, so, so, sooooo true! Nothing and no one is an overnight success. It just doesn't work that way....
Continue reading this entry...
June 04, 2007
Posted on June 4, 2007 03:38 PM under:
Cinema
So let's give this guessing game another turn... The following are a number of quotes from a famous and cool movie that has achieved cult film status. See if you can guess the movie from the quotes; should be quite easy for any movie fan. - I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. - Every day above ground is a good day. - In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women. - All I have in...
Continue reading this entry...
June 01, 2007
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead, US anthropologist...
Continue reading this entry...
The first study to rank countries around the world according to their peacefulness and the drivers that create and sustain their peace was released on May 30th. The Global Peace Index studied 121 countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe and its publication comes one week before the leaders of the world's richest countries gather for the G8 summit in Germany to discuss issues of global concern. According to this Global Peace Index, Norway is the most peaceful nation and Iraq is the least, just after Israel and Sudan. The survey places Israel at the bottom end of the scale at #119....
Continue reading this entry...
Riyo Mori, a 20-year-old dancer from a village near Mount Fuji in Japan, who hopes to someday open an international dance school, was crowned Miss Universe 2007 last night. Mori, the 56th winner of the title, was given her $250,000 diamond-and-pearl crown by last year's winner, Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico, watched by a live audience of 10,000 and some 600 million television viewers worldwide. Mori, the second Japanese woman to win the Miss Universe title will spend her year-long reign traveling the world to speak out on humanitarian issues like poverty and disease. Under pageant rules, women crowned Miss...
Continue reading this entry...
