opama .. and The pyramids and sphinx

To have a goal is very important. It makes life a bit easier, because in a way, you know what you want and how to get it.
I have many goals, because my mind works very rapidly. I have what people may call "Backup Plans" just in case my first goal fails. I want to be a climatologist. This has to do with me studying the weather in different climates of the world. If this doesnt work out, I'd like to be a therapist. I am good at keeping things to myself, I love to help my friends and family whenever they need me, and I like to help people with problems that they are having about various situations. If plans A and B don't work, I think I may become a Motivational Speaker. I love to influence others with the knowledge that I have and further mine in the process. I have been told (Not that I like to toot my own horn) that I am a very influential person and that I inspire alot of people to not quit and become more than they are. If my A, B,and C plans fail, I'd Like to become a novelist. I love to read and I love to write, So that will work out well. It is important to have a goal and a few Backups incase it fails!

-M

The world has become a divided place. Whole countries have turned on each other, Ethnic people have traded on thier own kind, and the foundation of the human race has taken a drastic turn towards the worst. In an efficient way, We are all 1 people: -The Human Rcae-. So, why is it that we have to hurt each other to prive a point? Why is it that we have to rape our women, kill our children, and destroy our entire beings for nothing? Is it the need for power? Respect? Or, had the corruption of the world and -Human Race- become a noted past-time or a just a hooby that we've picked up? Most elders claim that our ("Our" being people of all races younger than 35-50 years of accumulated age and wisdom) current behavior is the reason for the corruption in today's world, But, I say to elders, Were YOU all so different? Most traits that the chldren of today's world possess come from thier line of family. If you and a friend entered a store, and you saw they were stealing, you question them. If they told you that everyone in thier family did it for as long as they could rememeber, what could you say??? Its a trait they were raised on. I say to you (Trusted readers of this posted entry of my blog)What do you believe is the true meaning of the world's corruption? Is it the actions of young adults, or the past actions of thier elders? Do they want power? Respect? What is the meaning of it all??

Depending on the circumstances, many people will tell you that they have a "Harsh Life". But what does this mean??? A "Harsh Life" can have many meanings. Someone could have just lost a job, a loved one, or their entire being because of the chaos they around. But, what is the true meaning of it? If you are robbed on the street, you would be considered to have a "Harsh Life" to some, But to others, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the other hand, Someone may have just lost a spouse, child, or very close friend. The would be considered to have a "Harsh Life" to some, But to others they may just be experiencing death and don't know how to grasp it. What Is YOUR Definition Of A"Harsh Life"???

So, I've decided to try and make a return to the blogosphere after a few years on hiatus.

Head on over to http://lifeandfreedom.wordpress.com to check it out!

Besty :)

More important than ever
When the number of people living on less than US$1 a day still numbers above 1 billion in 2009, something needs to be done about it. When the number living on less than US$2 a day almost reaches half the world’s population, there is a hidden pandemic which needs to be addressed, urgently. It’s a matter of life or death for millions every year.

And the worst part about those figures is that the world has the technology, money and ability to address the problem. Yet we still lag behind what the world has promised, time and time again.

The Global Financial Crisis has affected the worlds poorest the most. By the end of 2009, the President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, says that an additional 55 to 90 million people will be trapped in extreme poverty. He also warns that the number of chronically hungry will rise to over a 1 billion by the end of 2009. That’s 200 million more than just over a year ago. In a speech to global financial ministers, Zoellick warned that the world faces a ‘human catastrophe’ if the world fails to act – above all through raising development aid, as the world has promised time and time again.

The movement to end extreme poverty is more important than ever. If the global economic crisis goes unchecked, with developing countries ignored, the crisis will transform into a global human crisis.

The development of a social movement
But first, a little about the history of the current social movement to end poverty. In the lead up to 2000, a movement grew out of the UK calling for debt relief for what the World Bank calls the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), under the banner of Jubilee 2000. This campaign gathered the support of thousands, from the soccer mum to well-known celebrities. 2000 came and went, and while the campaign achieved some success, HIPC countries were still heavily indebted.

Also in 2000, the UN Millennium Summit, held in September, released the Millennium Declaration. This Declaration outlined where world leaders wanted the world to head, and what type of world they envisioned for the new millennium. The Declaration stated that “We will spare no effort to spare our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty, to which a billion of them are currently subjected.” Out of the Millennium Declaration came the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – 8 goals (broken down into 18 targets and 40 indicators) to be achieved by 2015 in ending extreme poverty and improving development around the world.

After the Millennium Summit and the introduction of the MDGs onto the world stage, civil society came together and launched what has become the largest social movement in history. In 2004, at the World Social Forum, the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP – www.whiteband.org) was launched, bringing together civil society organisations from around the world.

2005 saw the launch of this social movement onto the global arena. Make Poverty History, a part of GCAP, launched in the UK, Australia, Canada, and many other countries around the world. The ONE Campaign launched in the US, and Live8 was staged in every G8 country, as well as in South Africa. The Live8Live List gained 38 million signatures from G8 countries, and the Live8 concerts gained unprecedented media coverage for the issue of extreme poverty. The MPH/Live8 Long Walk to Justice rally, held paralleling the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, had over 250,000 people participating calling for three main goals: More and Better Aid, Fair Trade and Debt Relief for the world’s poorest.

While the events around July, 2005, could be seen as the peak of the social movement, it was in practice only the launch of a far reaching social movement. After these events, GCAP has established over 100 national-level campaigns (such as MPH in Australia or the ONE Campaign in the US), and the UN Millennium Campaign engaged almost 2% (116 million) of the world’s population in 2008 alone through its annual Stand Up event in October every year.

And since 2000, this movement has achieved a lot. The number of the world’s poor has decreased, and in some regions rapidly decreased. Child mortality has rapidly decreased in almost every region, and countries like Uganda have been able to roll out universal primary-level education due to drastic debt-relief.

What has been achieved
The gains that have been made have only been possible because massive numbers of people have been involved globally in the movement calling for the end of extreme poverty. The UK, due to efforts of campaigners, has pledged to raise their development assistance to 0.7% of GNI by 2015. In Australia, Kevin Rudd has pledged to raise development assistance to 0.5% of GNI by 2015 (still short of the 0.7% target agreed by all OECD donor nations over a period of 40 years, most recently at the Monterrey Conference in 2002). Scandinavian countries, already giving over 1% of GNI in development assistance, recently tried to decrease ODA levels, yet campaigners in those countries, and public backlash in general, stopped these countries from decreasing ODA levels.

The MDGs provide the social movement a globally-agreed framework on development for the new millennium. When the Millennium Declaration was signed, it was agreed to by all 189 members of the UN, a world first in itself.

Due to efforts in 2005, the G8 nations pledged a further US$50 billion in development assistance. While many of the promises made at Gleneagles are yet to be achieved, groups like Oxfam in the UK and the ONE Campaign in the US provide ongoing accountability and continual pressure on G8 nations to follow through on the promises made at the G8.

The social movement in Australia
In Australia, Make Poverty History is made up of over 60 aid and development NGO’s, union groups, churches through Micah Challenge, and others campaigning for more and better aid, fair trade and debt relief. Each individual organisation focuses on different issues surrounding the universe of international development, but each of these organisations are committed to seeing the end of extreme poverty. Organisations such as World Vision, Oxfam Australia and the Oaktree Foundation have been heavily involved in the MPH campaign and the social movement more generally. And each organisation, generally, has focused its attention on various aspects of the MPH campaigns – Oxfam on fairer trade through the Make Trade Fair campaign, Oaktree on issues of aid through the Zeroseven Roadtrip, the MPH Concert and campaigning that will continue to occur this year.

What has been achieved so far in Australia
Through the efforts of all MPH member NGO’s and groups, Australia has seen it raise its ODA levels from 0.3% of GNI in 2005, to 0.5% by 2015. In real terms, that is an AU$4 billion increase. Along with more aid, that aid is being better focused with the AusAID program, the MDGs, its targets and indicators are becoming more integrated into the development of AusAID programs and, increasingly, the evaluation of AusAID projects are based upon MDG indicators. The media has increasingly become aware of issues of extreme poverty and the MDGs, and opinion pieces addressing the issue of poverty are being written by both civil society and MPs on a regular basis in the nation’s major media outlets.
Campaigns run by various organisations have seen meaningful results. In 2007, the Oaktree Foundation, in partnership with Reach, organised the Zeroseven Roadtrip as a follow-up to the MPH Concert of 2006. This roadtrip culminated with Kevin Rudd, then Opposition Leader, committing to raising ODA levels to 0.5% of GNI by 2015. This would not have been possible without the thousands of people and hundreds of businesses engaged by 700 Oaktree MPH Ambassadors, nor would have it been possible without over 50,000 people who participated in the Face Up To Poverty photo petition organised by World Vision, some of whom were featured on the MPH Opera House projection that gained international media coverage through CNN and BBC.

The MPH Concert of 2006 organised by Oaktree and presented by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) along with many of the partner NGO’s in the MPH campaign, saw 14,000 young people at the concert itself, while 20 million worldwide saw the concert online or through Channel 10’s coverage of the event. The concert also generated widespread media coverage around Australia, with Bono, the Edge and Pearl Jam headlining the concert, along with a number of Australia artists performing. The concert was held parallel to the G20 Finance Ministers summit in Melbourne, and sent a massive message to the G20 finance ministers about the Australian public’s position on matters of extreme poverty.

What this all means
Both globally and at a national level, events from Live8 to the MPH Concert and Zeroseven within Australia aimed at generating and keeping momentum going, in an effort to put pressure on leaders to increase aid levels, and make a serious effort to end poverty. These events show our leaders that the public is serious about these issues, and wants to see change happen.

But, if these events are not followed through with meaningful action – members of the public writing to their MP’s or Senators, groups lobbying government, media attention and debate surrounding these issues, among other actions, then these events only go so far. Raising awareness in the public only goes so far – providing avenues of engagement, and meaningful actions that the public can take, provides the tipping point for political action to take place. Once politicians see that the public cares about an issue – whether that be through letters received from the public, or petitions signed – change starts to occur. And when it comes down to it, if votes are at stake, change will undoubtedly occur.

Why I’m involved in the campaign to end extreme poverty
I do not consider myself to be an expert on development - that is best left up to the local communities where developmental projects are being undertaken. However, I do believe that, living in one of the most privileged countries in the world, I have a responsibility to do what I can to end what I see as the greatest injustice of our generation.

And I in no means wish to diminish projects undertaken by aid and development organisations worldwide. Projects delivered by organisations like World Vision, Oxfam, Plan, and many others provide life-saving skills, medication, education and opportunities to millions around the world. The projects of the Oaktree Foundation have provided educational opportunities to thousands, and initiatives such as GOLD, supported and funded through the Schools4Schools program (www.schools4schools.org) or our current work in Timor-Leste in partnership with Plan Timor-Leste, are programs that I truly believe change people’s lives for the better. And indeed, organisations such as Oxfam and World Vision are world leaders and experts in areas of development and aid.

However, the mere fact that there are many hundreds of development organisations around the world does not excuse governments from promises that they have made, or from what I see as a moral obligation of governments around the world to address the issues surrounding extreme poverty. This is why movements like Make Poverty History are needed to keep governments to account on their promises, and make sure that they do indeed follow through.

A person’s age, the amount of money that they do or do not have, what degree they do or do not have, or their position in society has little bearing on the change that they can create. The movement to end extreme poverty has brought together the average person to the celebrity, and this is a powerful voice aimed at the leaders of our world today.

I’m involved with Oaktree, and more generally the movement to end poverty, because I believe that it is a matter a life and death for many of the world’s poor. Oaktree, for me personally, provides just one outlet to campaign for these issues, and focuses on issues that I believe are extremely important. The campaigning that Oaktree has undertaken in partnership with and the support of many other organisations, businesses and individuals around Australia has had a huge effect on the lives of many, and is desperately needed if a meaningful commitment to the MDGs and the 0.7% target is going to be reached in Australia.

Position of the movement in 2009
And this brings us back to the beginning. The movement to end extreme poverty, globally and at a national level, is more important than ever. The current global economic crisis has set achievement of the MDGs back. The World Bank’s governing body of 24 finance and economic ministers recently stated that “developing countries face especially serious consequences as the financial and economic crisis turns into a human and development calamity." They also stated that "Hard-earned progress towards the Millennium Development Goals is now in jeopardy."

It is the job of organisations like Oaktree, World Vision, Oxfam, and of civil society more broadly to make sure that the world’s developed nations indeed keep their promises on development aid and effectiveness, ODA levels, and a commitment to the MDGs. The MDGs may not be fully realised by 2015, but that does not mean that governments can relax their stance on the issue.

Mind-boggling numbers of people are living in abject poverty, suffering from chronic hunger, and dying because of access to extremely basic sanitation and hygiene needs. The global economic crisis threatens to turn into a crisis of “human calamity” if the economic crisis goes on unchecked, or if the needs of developing nations are ignored.

Behind every statistic is a story that has affected a child, a mother, a father, entire families, villages, nations and the world at large. The largest social movement in history, and the campaigns, projects, events and actions run by each organisation within the larger movement, must not wind down, but instead intensify pressure and campaigning, to ensure that the needs of the world’s poor are met.

The side session organized by SaciWATERs at the World Water Forum 5 called for generating visible demand for interdisciplinary studies on water in South Asia with a focus on creating a cadre of women water professionals to combat the ‘masculinity’ of current water sector

The side event titled Up-scaling IWRM Education in South Asia: Which boundaries to cross? was organized by SaciWATERs for the Crossing Boundaries Project in Feshane Lale Hall 5 at the World Water Forum 5, Istanbul, Turkey. The session evaluated the current status of water resources education, assess the demand for interdisciplinary water professionals and identify challenges, opportunities, and new initiatives in the realm of higher education for water resources in South Asia through the findings of the study titled “Strengthening IWRM Education in South Asia; Which Boundaries to Cross?”. Prof. S Janakarajan, President, SaciWATERs, welcomed the panel members and the session speakers and briefly described the purpose of the Crossing Boundaries Project, an endeavour of SaciWATERs with six partner institutions in four South Asian countries, to bring a paradigm shift in water resources management education in South Asia. Dr. Peter Mollinga, Convener, SaciWATERs, initiated the session by briefing the participants on the objectives of the study which was to review the progress of the Project’s initiative and to determine whether higher education system in South Asia was responding to the reforms generated by the Project.

Dr. Vishal Narain, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Governance, Management Development Institute (MDI), Delhi, further elaborated on the findings of the Study in North India by tracing the changing perceptions of IWRM among water professionals and emphasized the fact that though there is a demand for IWRM water professionals in the Government sector, a visible demand still needs to be created. Dr Nimal Gunawardena, Professor, Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Steering Committee Member, Cap-Net, Sri lanka, followed with a brief presentation on the status of the IWRM Education Programme in the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Ms. Nazmun Naher Mita, South Asia Water (SAWA) Fellow, Masters in IWRM, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh, shared her personal experience of being one of the first female students to take up the IWRM course in South Asia with the help of SAWA Fellowship provided by the Crossing Boundaries Project.

Following this, the three panelists, Dr. Shahbaz Khan, Chief, Sustainable Water Resources Development & Management Section, Division of Water Sciences, Natural Sciences Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France, Dr. Paul Taylor, Director, Cap-Net, Pretoria, South Africa, and Dr. Joke Muylwijk, Executive Director, Gender & Water Alliance, The Netherlands, provided their comments and insights on the study. Dr. Khan shared his vision of IWRM programme gaining a stronghold in the higher education sector. However he also expressed his disappointment in the Draft Istanbul Ministerial Statement of the World Water Forum 5, 2009 which he regretfully pointed out, focused on the technical aspect of water management ignoring the socio-cultural constraints of implementing a change. He emphasized the urgent need to press the interdisciplinary approach to water resources management. Dr. Paul Taylor, congratulated SaciWATERs and the partners of the Crossing Boundaries Project for the remarkable progress made in promoting IWRM Education in region and further emphasized the need for capacity building of higher level water professionals. Dr. Joke Muylwijk lauded the report but also pointed out the lack of comprehensive gender-segregated data. The participants of the session followed with various questions and comments on the issues of gender, capacity building of not only technocrats but also of social scientists and extending the programme to other countries of South Asia especially Pakistan.

The side session organized by SaciWATERs at the World Water Forum 5 called for generating visible demand for interdisciplinary studies on water in South Asia with a focus on creating a cadre of women water professionals to combat the ‘masculinity’ of current water sector

The side event titled Up-scaling IWRM Education in South Asia: Which boundaries to cross? was organized by SaciWATERs for the Crossing Boundaries Project in Feshane Lale Hall 5 at the World Water Forum 5, Istanbul, Turkey. The session evaluated the current status of water resources education, assess the demand for interdisciplinary water professionals and identify challenges, opportunities, and new initiatives in the realm of higher education for water resources in South Asia through the findings of the study titled “Strengthening IWRM Education in South Asia; Which Boundaries to Cross?”. Prof. S Janakarajan, President, SaciWATERs, welcomed the panel members and the session speakers and briefly described the purpose of the Crossing Boundaries Project, an endeavour of SaciWATERs with six partner institutions in four South Asian countries, to bring a paradigm shift in water resources management education in South Asia. Dr. Peter Mollinga, Convener, SaciWATERs, initiated the session by briefing the participants on the objectives of the study which was to review the progress of the Project’s initiative and to determine whether higher education system in South Asia was responding to the reforms generated by the Project.

Dr. Vishal Narain, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Governance, Management Development Institute (MDI), Delhi, further elaborated on the findings of the Study in North India by tracing the changing perceptions of IWRM among water professionals and emphasized the fact that though there is a demand for IWRM water professionals in the Government sector, a visible demand still needs to be created. Dr Nimal Gunawardena, Professor, Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Steering Committee Member, Cap-Net, Sri lanka, followed with a brief presentation on the status of the IWRM Education Programme in the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Ms. Nazmun Naher Mita, South Asia Water (SAWA) Fellow, Masters in IWRM, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh, shared her personal experience of being one of the first female students to take up the IWRM course in South Asia with the help of SAWA Fellowship provided by the Crossing Boundaries Project.

Following this, the three panelists, Dr. Shahbaz Khan, Chief, Sustainable Water Resources Development & Management Section, Division of Water Sciences, Natural Sciences Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France, Dr. Paul Taylor, Director, Cap-Net, Pretoria, South Africa, and Dr. Joke Muylwijk, Executive Director, Gender & Water Alliance, The Netherlands, provided their comments and insights on the study. Dr. Khan shared his vision of IWRM programme gaining a stronghold in the higher education sector. However he also expressed his disappointment in the Draft Istanbul Ministerial Statement of the World Water Forum 5, 2009 which he regretfully pointed out, focused on the technical aspect of water management ignoring the socio-cultural constraints of implementing a change. He emphasized the urgent need to press the interdisciplinary approach to water resources management. Dr. Paul Taylor, congratulated SaciWATERs and the partners of the Crossing Boundaries Project for the remarkable progress made in promoting IWRM Education in region and further emphasized the need for capacity building of higher level water professionals. Dr. Joke Muylwijk lauded the report but also pointed out the lack of comprehensive gender-segregated data. The participants of the session followed with various questions and comments on the issues of gender, capacity building of not only technocrats but also of social scientists and extending the programme to other countries of South Asia especially Pakistan.


http://saciwaters.wordpress.com/

By Bruce Sterling EmailMarch 03, 2008 | 6:45:45 AM
"Some of the references might require a bit of explaining if you weren't in Iraq about then (2005) or part of the transportation reconstruction sector. But you shoud get the gist."
http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2008/03/why-did-the-ira.html

Why Did the Iraqi Chicken Cross the Road?

Coalition Provisional Authority: The fact that the Iraqi chicken crossed the road affirmatively demonstrates that decision-making authority has been transferred to the chicken well in advance of the scheduled June 30th transition of power. From now on the chicken is responsible for its own decisions. 



Halliburton: We were asked to help the chicken cross the road. Given the inherent risk of road crossing and the rarity of chickens, this operation will only cost the US government $326,004. 



Muqtada al-Sadr: The chicken was a tool of the evil Coalition and will be killed. 



US Army Military Police: We were directed to prepare the chicken to cross the road. As part of these preparations, individual soldiers ran over the chicken repeatedly and then plucked the chicken. We deeply regret the occurrence of any chicken rights violations.

Lyndie Edwards: The chicken was lead across the road on a leash by me, after we made it and all the other chickens form a naked pyramid. I only did this because all the other soldiers wanted me to and I'm a moron. It's really not my fault. Besides, I'm pregnant.



Peshmerga: The chicken crossed the road, and will continue to cross the road, to show its independence and to transport the weapons it needs to defend itself. However, in future, to avoid problems, the chicken will be called a duck, and will wear a plastic bill. 



1st Cav: The chicken was not authorized to cross the road without displaying two forms of picture identification. Thus, the chicken was appropriately detained and searched in accordance with current SOP's. We apologize for any embarrassment to the chicken. As a result of this unfortunate incident, the command has instituted a gender sensitivity training program and all future chicken searches will be conducted by female soldiers. 



Al Jazeera: The chicken was forced to cross the road multiple times at gunpoint by a large group of occupation soldiers, according to eye-witnesses. The chicken was then fired upon intentionally, in yet another example of the abuse of innocent Iraqi chickens. 



Blackwater: We cannot confirm any involvement in the chicken-road-crossing incident. 



Translators: Chicken he cross street because bad she tangle regulation. Future chicken table against my request. 



U.S. Marine Corps: The chicken is dead.

CAOA Joint Venture (a reconstruction contractor): We would be willing to allow the chicken to cross the road, as long as we are allowed to evaluate the relevant transportation infrastructure and get 3 competent and graded bids. Given the overhead rate of 23% and forward depreciation…

Donald Rumsfeld: There are known chickens and unknown chickens. Did the chicken intend to cross the road? Heavens, yes! Was it her intention to cross it in the manner that she did cross it? Perhaps not. 



Scott McLellan: As I said before, what the president said earlier about the chicken incident is still operative. If I receive further information I will of course be glad to share it with you. 



John Ashcroft: The chicken was possessed by Satan and deserved everything that happened to him. National security prohibits me from saying more. 



Condoleezza Rice: No one could have possibly foreseen that chicken would try to cross that road to get to that side. 



John Kerry: While I cannot say that I do not fully support the president's actions in the chicken-road incident, it is certainly not my intention to state that, in conjunction with our long-time friends and allies, I would not have done it better. Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it!

Dick Cheney: The press is using the chicken incident to divert attention from the fact that Saddam had nuclear weapons and was going to use them on us. AAAAGH, my heart!!! Lay off or I'll shoot you in the face.



Colin Powell: These satellite photos conclusively show that there was, indeed, a road there. That the chicken had the intention of crossing this road is made clear from this recording made the night before in the chicken coop... Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

PRESIDENT BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.



HANS BLIX: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.



RALPH NADER: The chicken's habitat on the other side of the road had been polluted by unchecked industrial greed. The chicken did not reach the unspoiled habitat on the other side of the road because it was crushed by the wheels of a gas-guzzling SUV.



BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken? Does the chicken have any distinguishing characteristics?



PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.



ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain. Alone.

RUSH LIMBAUGH: I don't know why the chicken crossed the road, but I'll bet it was getting a government grant to cross the road, and I'll bet that somebody out there is already forming a support group to help chickens with crossing-the-road syndrome. Can you believe this?!? How much more of this can real Americans take? Chickens crossing the road paid for by their tax dollars. And when I say tax dollars, I'm talking about your money, money the government took from you to build a road for chickens to cross. Where is my OxyContin? I'll bet Michael J. Fox is swaying and exaggerating the entire thing just to get some sympathy.



GRANDPA: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.



OPRAH WINFREY & Sally Jesse Raphael: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.



JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together-in peace.



ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.



KARL MARX: It was an historic inevitability.



CAPTAIN KIRK: To boldly go where no chicken has ever gone before.



SIGMUND FREUD: The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken
crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity.



BILL GATES: I have just rolled out eChicken2003, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet explorer is an integral part of eChicken.



ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?



THE BIBLE: And God came down from heaven, and he said unto the chicken THOU SHALT CROSS THE ROAD. And the chicken didst cross the road, and there was much rejoicing.



SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Navy: The chicken upon crossing the road was painted and lashed to the curb.
 


Baghdad Bob (the Iraqi Information Minister under Saddam): The chicken never crossed the road! He is safe in Baghdad, miles from the marauding vehicles of the infidel! THERE IS NO ROAD!


USAF: "As you can see here in the target video, the bomb was locked onto the chicken...and there it goes...the chicken is still moving...still moving...and unfortunately passed out of the parameters of the guidance system so that the bomb completely missed it and hit the weasel instead. Gotta admit though, it's impressive footage..."

MOHAMMED ALDOURI (Iraqi ambassador) 
The chicken did not cross the road. This is a complete fabrication. We don't even have a chicken.

SADDAM HUSSEIN
This was an unprovoked act of rebellion and we were quite justified in dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on it.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.

RONALD REAGAN
What chicken?

FOX MULDER 
You saw it cross the road with your own eyes! How many more chickens have to cross before you believe it?

AL GORE 
I invented the chicken. I invented the road. Therefore, the chicken crossing the road represented the application of these two different functions of government in a new, reinvented way designed to bring greater services to the American people.

MARTHA STEWART 
No one called to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the farmer's market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

JERRY FALWELL 
Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's what they call it -- the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And, if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side."

DR. SEUSS 
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road; but why it crossed, I've not been told!

JACQUES CHIRAC 
We will veto any resolution regarding non-compliance of the chicken whether is has or has not crossed the road!

AEGIS PSD (a security contractor): The chicken attempted to cross the road we were using. And after the chicken ignored numerous warning shots, we shot the chicken's car up and set the video record of the incident to an Elvis tune. That's what is now on the internet…

NSA: Of course we monitored the Chicken's conversations on the XXXXXX with XXXX, XXXXX and XXXXXX, using our national technical assets XXXXXXX and XXXXXX in XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX despite the laws forbidding such spying without a warrant. President Bush said XXXXXXX and that's good enough for us! (redacted, for reasons of National Security)

Colonel Stevens (BAF commander): Denied, denied, denied. The chicken may not cross the road. Because I said so and that is that.

Diligence Middle East (another security contractor) You fooking C#nt! Get your feathered arse across the road or I'll choke the life out of you.

Controlled Risks (yet another security contractor) Chicken? Is this another way to refer to our esteemed Filipina housemaids?

Average Iraqi security guy. Chicken on the road? Let me get my flip flops…

FOX NEWS (Fair and Balanced): And Fox News' exclusive reporting has determined that the Islamofascist liberal terrorist chickens in Iraq have crossed the road. Loyal and patriotic Americans (Republicans All) have been "staying the course" to allow the president (God bless him) to announce MISSION ACCOMPLISHED at will. In other news, cut and run "pro death" antichristian Democrats have introduced a new death tax bill to steal money from hard working deceased Americans.

Average Afghan: They have chickens? Truly they have all the blessings of Allah…

We all know I'm a big fan of technologies and gadgets... so when I read last week in the New York Times that one of the more innovative genetic mapping companies (23andme) had reduced the price of its Genetic Mapping service (which many companies sell for up to $2-3,000) from $999 to only a few hundred dollars, I decided it was an amazing amount of information and education to be able to get access to for that amount, so I took the plunge and signed up.

A day later, FedEx delivered a Spit Kit to my house, which requires about 10 minutes of spitting into and mixing together with a solution, and your DNA sample is ready to send back! And off it went to Los Angeles, California to a laboratory today. Funny enough, the FedEx Pak they provide specifically says "do not send liquids" on it :)

So in 6-8 weeks, I'll know where my ancestors are from, whether I'm genetically lactose intolerant, whether or not I love broccoli because I can't taste the bitterness in it, and whether or not I'm a bit more likely than average to get certain diseases or be susceptible to certain conditions in my lifetime, along with dozens of other interesting facts. For less than the price of a university course in genetics, I can view and learn much of the world's most up-to-date knowledge on the relationships between genes and personal/medical conditions personalized to my specific genetic data. How cool is that?

You can make a case against "messing with your life" this way (I had an interesting discussion about this with someone just the other night), but I think that given the great power we have as humans to be intelligent and understand life in a way that no other species can, we then have a responsibility to use it to maximize the potential of our lives. Right? I guess it's also just a bit of an extra motivation knowing that you're slightly more at risk than average to do something about it! (from 1-2 times more or less likely than the generally population, in most cases)

I'll check back in with the results in a few months!

Pardon me, I've been trying to write for the past few minutes but I got caught up with sneezing...bless me

Now, during watching some movies or TV shows, do you ever wonder whose point of view do they show?

who sets the age group to which this show is suitable? Depending on what? And how far do they affect us?

Take any movie as an example, there's a writer, a producer, a director and a whole staff of actors. Which of them decides what to show?

The writer who spends a lot of time writing the script, usually attempting to sho his own point of view?

The producer who pays a whole lot of money to put that script into an action?

The director who's there at every single step to shape it fairly for the screen?

Or the actors actresses who execute these scripts?

I mean, who?? Maybe I do think too much, but some movies just makes u stop and think about this

Our country is not so big that we are lost in the many millions of people
Our country is not so small that our voice is not heard among the world powers
Our reach is far and wide in the world, our actions are local and grassroots based
As New Zealander's we have the capacity to impact the world.

I still can't believe it ...I just can't ... Abid, one of the few who really inspired me and became a very good friend. An amazing guy , a bundle of energy, spontaneous, fun, always making others around him smile ...
I can't believe that he was kidnapped and murdered in Parwan, Afghanistan.
http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/Abid-Akmal

Abid was a true Afghan, a true pathan who believed in a merciful God and who believed in his people and so he stayed back in his country and worked to bring peace and safety back to his beloved land.

My heart goes out to his family . I pray they get the strength to carry on.

I have Abid's number but I dont have the courage to call knowing that he won't be there on the other end to receive my call ... He has touched our lives in such beautiful ways...its hard to hold back tears now ...when I was in Delhi there was a part of me which was very sad ...and it was Abid who healed that part ...He gave me hope and taught me to look at life from a whole new point of view...I truly respect and love him for being such a good friend...

His zest for life was so infectious that he made everyone around him happy. No one can take his place !

I know we have to gain strength from his life and stand up against all who took him away from us... and let's promise each other never to stop fighting against those evil elements.

Let us all do our bit to bring peace and safety back to Afghanistan...

Love & peace

I headed off in the morning to the Australian Science and Math School, hosted at Flinders University. The school is only a few years old, and is built with an open concept -- no classrooms, but instead a number of large spaces with desks and chairs that reconfigured in many different ways to foster teamwork and collaboration. We had a large group - about 50 teachers and school leaders, and had a really interesting day -- when I showed the "Are you listening?" video, a whole bunch of students gathered upstairs in the area overlooking where I was speaking to watch - I think they were really curious that so many teachers were learning about their way of using technology!

After a fantastic dinner by the water with a group of curriculum developers, I headed to sleep -- because I had to catch a 6:40am flight to Canberra!

I made it to the nation's capital early in the morning, and it was freezing! 0 degrees but it warmed up as the sun rose... I had a few hours to fit the gym and have lunch before heading to Canberra University -- the group in Canberra decided to have an evening workshop (4-9pm) with dinner. Although everyone had a full day of work before showing up, we still had a lot of active participation, and after wrapping up at 9 and getting back to the hotel around 10, it was time for sleep for another 6:45am flight back to Sydney for the last workshop of the trip!

Arriving in Sydney in the morning, with my 32kg on-the-dot bag faithfully appearing on the carousel, I headed off to Parramatta right on time, and arrived 3 minutes before the workshop was to begin! We had the biggest crowd of any session -- around 60 people, and so a lot of the interactive sections took a lot longer than usual, but they had great ideas and a large group of schools approached me after and wants to deeply engage their entire district with TIGed, which is exciting! After wrapping up and chatting with a bunch of the attendees, I was off to one of my favourite hotels in the world -- the Westin Sydney, to relax, enjoy their great gym, and have dinner with Jenny, who had the whole series of workshops organized, to debrief on the experience (yum, Tasmanian lamb!). After that, I met up with Jarra and Nick, and headed to Micky's for dessert (Banana Pancakes and Ice Cream!) to catch up and for me to celebrate the completion of 10 sessions in 11 days in 5 cities!

I'm writing this now on the flight to Vancouver -- I managed to get right to sleep after lunch on the 10am flight, which will hopefully mean I can work through the North American day and head to sleep at a proper time tonight. Saturday, we head to Quebec City for the World Youth Congress to meet TIG members from all over the world. I've also agreed to head to Brisbane on the 19th to speak at the Queenland Government's e-learning summit, and after that, I'll be ready to just settle down at home and enjoy the rest of the summer in Toronto :)

جاء اليوم و ذهب الامس، بعد الليل الصبح غدا
على ورقى تبّاع الشمس، نامت قطورة الندى
و انتصفت شمس النهار، صار الجو جدّ حار
سخن القطر على الأزهار، تحول الماء للبخار

نادى بخار الماء، هيا هيا قطورة
طيري للسماء، للفيمة معنا مسرورة

وقفت قطورة لا تدري، بين الغيمة أين تجري
جاءته قطرات شتّى، هيا بنا نلعب نجري
قالت قطرة سمينة، كم أشتاق لأهلي
كنا في المدينة، نلهو بقِدرٍ يغلي
أما انا سمّوني كفاح، كنت على جبهة فلّاح
يحرث أرضه كل صباح، يعمل يعمل لا يرتاح

ودّعت الغيمة القطراتِ
عودو مرة أخرى، في دورة الحياةِ
و انزلن قطرة قطرة

صارت قطورة مطرا، سقطت على رأس الشجرة
نزلت قطورة حتى، وجدت قطراتٍ شتّى
و انسحبت عبر الصنبور، سقطت على أيدي طفلة
تلعب بالماءِ بسرور، تشرف و الكل بغفلة

قالت قطورة بعتب، للطفلة: الماء ذهب
لو كنتِ عرفتِ من أين، جئتك كان مكاني العين
هيّا بنا نكون أصدقاء، لا نسرف في صرف الماء

نادى بخار الماء، هيّا هيّا قطّورة، طيري للسماء للغيمة معنا مسرورة

*******

أغنية الأطفال كما يجب أن تكون، مش نوتي و بابا اوبح!! اغنية بسيطة بكل معانيها بتشرح دورة حياة الماء و بتبين للطفل قديش الماء مهم و ما نسرف فيه، بطريقة جذابة و حلوة

يلي شاف الفيديو كليب للاغنية رح يلاقي برضو انو حتى الفيديو كليب قام بتمثيله أطفال على شكل سكتشات جميلة جدا و معبرة

اللي بدي افهمه،، ليييييش ما عملو هيك اغنية لما كانو يدرسوني دورة حياة الماء و انا بالمدرسة؟؟ انا اعترض

:(