NATO summit in Bucharest

Between 2nd April and 4th April Bucharest will be the host of a NATO summit. It is said to be the largest NATO reunion in the history. Hotels have been booked for the 3,000 delegates (some Romanian newspapers say it is about 6500 delegates), including U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as some 3,500 journalists.

On the summit's agenda are the alliance's tensions over its mission in Afghanistan and a potential deployment of additional troops there. Heads of NATO's 26 member states may also agree on further enlargement to include Croatia, Macedonia and Albania. Georgia and Ukraine may be invited to join the NATO Membership Action Plan.

Romania (NATO member since March 2004) received support to organize this event from the United States for its contribution to the Alliance's common effort in the War in Afghanistan and for stability in the Iraq War

The gathering will be held in Bucharest's landmark Parliament Palace, the gargantuan product of communist-era dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The Parliament Place serves as one of the main city tourist attraction. These days the "Little Paris" received a welcoming facelift: officials were planting flower beds, hanging new street signs and painting some downtown facades.

Beside the official view of the things that will take place here there is another one regarding Bucharest locals. For the capital's almost 2.5 million inhabitants, the summit is mess. Large scale security measurements have been imposed to ensure the security of Romania's important guests. That includes lots of of police officers and officials on the streets, traffic restrictions. Restrictions have concentrated traffic in Bucharest's outer areas and it takes forever to get to the city center. At the same time officials hope the summit will catch the eyes of foreign tourists and boost the city's popularity.

Zimbabwe Election Update

Sorry about the delay, have been updating on facebook and forgot about the blogs!

Well, we have had results for six House of Assembly seats (remember, we voted for president, house of assembly, senate, and council, on Saturday).. And the way things are going, looks like it will take another week to get everything. Thing is.... Anyone can go to a polling station and see the results on the wall outside... And people have already been collating figures. See zimelectionresults.com

The mood? Tense. Since about midday yesterday, when we had all been expecting that the initial results would be out, people have been getting restless. Last night, riot police were patrolling Harare, and residents were told to stay indoors. This morning, I have not been out yet, but people want to know who our new president is... And that's likely to be the last result announced. There will be unofficial celebrations though, I am sure...

Watch this space.

Voting!!

Woke up very early this morning, to go and exercise my democratic right… Got to the polling station at about 0640h, and there was a queue of about 100 people. All very eager to vote, and all thinking that things would only get hectic later. Which they didn’t- but I will get to that.

The actual process was fairly simple. Walked into the polling station, presented my national ID (a metal ID that’s very distinctive- it clangs in the most awful way when you drop it). Had my fingers checked for ink. Went to the desk where my name was crossed off the register. Moved on to where I dipped my finger into red ink (so much nicer than the invisible ink that shows up under UV light- that used to sting! Lol), and then on to where I got my four ballots: presidential, senate, parliamentary (MP), and council. At each point, although the people giving out the ballots were right next to each other, the same process: a greeting, a clear explanation of exactly how to vote and fold the ballot over, as well as how to show it to the electoral officer afterwards, before putting it into the box. Wonderful. And then I voted… And realised how confusing it might be for older voters (ok, sorry, being patronising). The parliamentary ballot had so many names on it.. And then of course there are two MDCs…

Anyway, that was it. left feeling elated. Went back to the polling station later, to find it empty (could picture the dust and tumbleweed).. Not sure, but it appears there was a very low turnout for these elections- which is just amazing to me. That doesn’t really matter, though. Anyone who didn’t vote has no right to complain about the situation anymore…

Now to wait for the results.

images: the City Hall, a polling station; and the ink on the left baby finger

Art Site Naoshima

I travelled Naoshima last weekend.
Naoshima is an island in which many facilities was developed for the art communication and revitalizing the areas.
Tadao Ando,Japanese famous building architect, plans the museum and landsscape.
I like to visit museum very much.
I have visited some of the world famous museum like Louvre Museum,and Prado museum.
Among them, I strongly recommend Naoshima for art lovers.
Actually,many foreigners visited there even the difficulty to get around.

Eve of elections

Its “election eve”; and Zimbabwe is abuzz. Text messages have been flying all week, and almost every conversation has turned to elections. I have just been listening to an election official explaining all the reasons that “rigging” is not possible, and I find that for the first time I am worried, rather than excited. It’s a little like the night before a major exam that you have taken before: what if I fail again?

Because a lot of people had that awful sinking feeling in 2002… In fact, I have met a few people who will not bother to vote this time. It was terrible; people queued for hours to make a difference, and then waited with pen and paper as the results for each constituency were announced…. And only towards the end was it clear that the opposition had lost. There was so much despondency afterwards… And no one wants a repeat of that.

But however the election goes, this is a historic election for Zimbabwe. As I was saying to a friend, this feels surprisingly like democracy. The campaigns have been pretty unrestricted, and it’s the first time we have had THREE strong candidates (well there is a fourth one, but… anyway). It’s also the first election since independence when people feel there is a real chance that change will happen. AND there has been no violence, this time, either. What there is, is hope.

I am thrilled just to be here when this is happening. I will be at the polling station at 5 am (the stations open at 7), to make sure I exercise my right to vote… And I will be biting my nails until we know the result.

Yup, this feels a LOT like democracy…

MAI 4Times a week to Singapore...

MAI announce as below:

Thank you for flying with MAI!

- Starting from 4 April, we have additional Friday flight to Singapore.

- 40kg free baggage allowance on Friday flights till end of April 2008.

Where as MAI is Myanmar Airways International Airline.

Cow Parade in Costa Rica

(Tico Times) - Four-year-old Josue Barrios finds shade underneath a cow sculpture in San Jose. Fiberglass cows such as this one have already taken to the streets before Thursday's official unveiling of Cow Parade, a public art event that has already grazed through cities from Tokyo to London to New York.

فاز روما بصعوبةعلى امبولي بهدفين لهدفين لهدف سجله اللاعب بانوتشي و تونيتو أما هدف امبولي سجله اللاعب سيبستيان جيوفينكو بعد طرداللاعب سيموني بيروتافي الدقيقة 57

Peeps

A popular treat at Easter is Peeps, marshmallow chick shapes covered with colored sugar.

Originally from Russia, Sam Born immigrated to the USA in 1910 and began making candy in his shop in New York. He labeled his candy ‘just born’ to indicate how fresh it was. He later moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and started the Just Born candy company. He eventually acquired the rights to Easter Peeps, a labor intensive marshmallow candy. His son devised a machine to mass produce the treat, making them widely available. The Just Born company now produces up to 4.2 million Marshmallow Peeps each day.
People don’t always enjoy them. But lots of people have fun with them, even NASA.
Peeps are exported to over 50 different countries, so you may have had a chance to try them.

Mother's Day

21st March...has always been a remarkable date encarved in our memories..as children...celebrating the most blessed creature on earth..our beloved mothers!

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With the blooming flowers of the Spring, and the nice cool breeze... carrying love.. 21st of March sends a bunch of flowers to Egyptian Mothers!

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The whole celebration was initiated by two late twin brothers journalists, Mustapha and Ali Ameen.. (God rest their souls in peace) who chose that day to be dedicated to the mothers..and all caregivers and who had an essential role in the family..and even teachers..to give them some of their due recognition...! Their suggestion embedded in their articles..was welcomed..and since then 21st of March is the Egyptian equivalent of the mother's day!

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Just as any other holiday...gifts' shops and flower shops..thrive on that day..and the trade is boosting! Articles in newspapers and magazines dedicate pages to unveil some stories of real heroines in our Egyptian society! Teachers in schools who are looked upon as ideals are crowned on that day too! Even a governmental celebration is held to award some ladies who contributed for the benefit of that community through a struggling story in their lives !

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As a little child.. I've been showered -like many of my generation and my predecessors and even the new ones- with songs especially for our lovely mums...that they've become part and parcel with the celebration itself!

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Now..I've got to go..and think what'll present to my mum this year..any suggestions?! :)

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anyway..to all mothers all over the world..and to all Ladies who's been such role models...I dedicate for them this song (She) !

Holidays' season!

This Thursday, the Islamic world is celebrating the day of birth of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH).

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As usual, especially when it comes to holidays and festivals..Egypt has its own celebratory flavour....besides all the solemnity of such a celebration !

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Egypt still holds that tradition for a certain dish, desert or kind of food related to a certain festival! Centuries ago... there was that kind of candy, especially made..for rejoicing on that day..which is not confined to Muslims only..but includes also the Egyptian Christians' fans of such lovely candy!

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Folk songs and religious hymns are all over the place! The Opera house holds concerts with renowned singers and their songs in praisal of the Prophet!

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The above picture is to show some of the Egyptian folk tradition ! it's a candy doll,made of sugar..or sometimes rather plastic..that has oriental feature..and in colourful garment..that people use to gift to little girls..and as for the little lads.. there is a knight riding a sugar-horse!

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All praise and prayers raised.. to Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)..and blessing to the Egyptians!

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p.s. it is always interesting to know that Egyptians..since the great pharaohs..had that deep religious sense..and celebrating their gods...and it's Egypt that both embraces both celebrations of Jesus Christ and Prophet Muhammed..within such a loving nation...raising the emblem of peace!

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Romania - What The Hell Happened

There's a nice show on travel channel. Last week I had the chance to watch one of its episodes. It surprised me a little bit and incited me to dig about this show..

So.. the show is not a conventional one because I watched 2 more episodes to see what is it all about. I like his approach but he had a lot of bad luck in Romania and he had a really bad plan to follow..

Now to get an image what we are talking about.. Here you can watch his show on YouTube:
1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCEUT1OqRYQ&feature=related
2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K86G3vs49fc&feature=related
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWbxlFOZMQc&feature=related
4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga3eDzkoF04&feature=related
5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2cL0C53cWM&feature=related
6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCEUT1OqRYQ&feature=related

Look on this over 1000 comments he got on his blog. This is something..
http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchannel.com/2008/02/romania-what-the-hell-happened.html

What do you think ? Is this the real Romania or he only had a really bad experience in Romania ? Have you ever been to Romania ? What was you experience ?

I'm very curious about your opinion because we, the Romanians, like to think that we are very welcoming and very kind but it seems to me that this is not reality every time.

P.S Hope the Romanian authorities will understand we need some real promotion here and we need to present Romania as it is not as we want it to be seen. The very "touristic" places in Romania are not that nice. I tell you there are lots of neat places in Romania that wait for you to discover.

P.P.S Hope you will have a better experience in Romania. I did for sure: www.iloveyouromania.blogspot.com

Big rental Video shop starts Blu-ray rental

Tsutaya,one of the biggest rental video shop,starts Blu-ray rental.
After the war of getting standard of next generation disc format, Sony beated Toshiba.
After the concession speech of the president of Toshiba, the price of HDD-DVD sharply went down.
Many other rental shop will follow up Tsutaya.

Kibbe in the USA

If you are in the USA and would like a good kibbe, or grape leaves, or tabouleh, check out Abe’s Bar-B-Q in the Mississippi Delta. The menu features bar-b-q meat, cooked over an open flame with their own special sauce.
But owner Pat Davis likes to make Lebanese food every Sunday.
"I make kibbe, cabbage rolls," he says. "When I get depressed, I make grape leaves. We've been in business since 1924. My father was from Zahale, Lebanon. Came to America in the early 1900s.”
The Mississippi delta area drew many Arabic and Italian immigrants, who became peddlars, then grocers and restaurant owners. And they add the threads of middle eastern dishes to the tapestry of 'American' food.

The full story, recipes, and photo source

Excitement… and confusion: Elections in Zimbabwe

It’s exactly two weeks to elections, and the excitement is reaching fever pitch. The political landscape seems to be shifting before our eyes, and the balance of power seems to be shifting in confusing ways. But that’s in my humble opinion. The President is of course the assumed strong candidate, and we are reminded every night when we watch the news on the local TV station (yes, we have just the one, and I had given up on watching it until now, when it makes compelling if irritating viewing). There is a whole lot of propaganda… And along with it, sudden changes in government policy towards its citizens (our government has noticed us!). Traditional chiefs have been given thousands of litres of fuel (petrol or diesel). Civil servants have been given a massive pay rise this week (which has ended the strike by teachers in the civil service- they have been away from work for the best part of the school term, which ends in a few days). A few days ago on the news, we saw pictures of huge trucks full of grain which the government has bought from South Africa and Zambia. There have been so many promises made by the government in the past few days, mostly to do with the economy, and how much work is being done to make things right. And so on. All the usual election campaign white noise that we hear all over the world when it’s the season… And I am angered, because where has the government been for the past three years, while people suffered? Where were they last year, when there was no food in the shops? Then, all we heard from them was a deafening silence…

Regardless… The campaigns have been interesting to watch. Only in the last few days have we seen adverts in the media for Simba Makoni, the ex-ZANU-PF man. He has been travelling around the country, speaking to rural voters seemingly at what we call growth points (small business areas in the rural areas, where you might find a shop or two, a bus stop, perhaps a bank, and for certain a “beer hall” or three). To be honest, I still don’t know what he stands for, except that he is anti-Mugabe. Like a good amateur journalist, I took a walk to his base in Bulawayo, to sort of snoop around, and also hoping to get a manifesto. (I am terrified of going to the MDC-Tsvangirai base because of who may be watching, waiting to put my name on some kind of black list!). I was struck by how little was going on. I asked for printed material, and was given fliers… While I was there, someone from the MDC-Mutambara faction came in to get posters to put up in his area of Bulawayo, and was told that they had run out of posters. It would seem that Simba Makoni’s campaign is very short on funds, a major disadvantage when you are up against the well-oiled ZANU-PF machine, and the almost-as-well-oiled Morgan Tsvangirai machine… All this has made me realise how important funding is, and has made me see the Hillary Clinton/ Barack Obama race in a new light.

Morgan Tsvangirai seems to be doing pretty well, too. Whenever he has a rally, he has a good-sized crowd chanting and cheering him on. I think he’s a very credible threat to the current president’s rule… But who knows. A friend (who is white, and a former farmer) has been walking around dressed in red for the past month (if you didn’t know, MDC’s colour), and is solidly behind him. The reason she gives? He has shed blood for the people of Zimbabwe, and anyone who has sacrificed as much as he has deserves to win. I do wish he would campaign more among the rural voters, with whom ZANU-PF has the greatest support, and who always swing the vote in ZANU-PF’s favour. In that respect, Simba Makoni is doing the right thing. Tsvangirai may be preaching to the converted.

In the meantime, prices in the supermarkets this week have hit a new high. Milk was ZD 23,000,000 a litre yesterday, and a standard loaf of bread (which, to be honest, is neither standard nor bread, lol) was ZD 11,000,000. The government probably doesn’t need that so close to elections… People who are not solidly behind ZANU-PF are a little confused as to who to vote for. Voting for Morgan Tsvangirai worries some, because he does not seem to be great president material, and some believe the MDC leadership might eventually turn out to be just like the current leadership. Voting for Simba Makoni may split the anti-Mugabe vote, allowing him to win. And then there was a rumour in the early days that perhaps Makoni was a Mugabe man… But I am not convinced he is. Especially after seeing how little money his campaign has.

Image: some of the adverts in the newspapers.

My Home City İSKENDERUN

I was born in Iskenderun. My father and mother still live there. I was there last week. It is close to Syrian border. As you see on picture Palm trees is the symbol of the city.

Rapa Nui / Easter Island

"Go to the island of my dreams and seek for a
beautiful beach upon which the king may dwell."
Legend Of Hotu-Matua

"...King Hotu-matua dwelt in the land of Marae-renga and he dreamed of an island with a beautiful beach that lay over the eastern horizon. He sent men on a canoe named Oraora-miro to locate a beach on his dream island. He followed in their wake in his great double canoe, ninety feet long and six feet deep. One hull bore the name Oteka and the other Oua. The king was accompanied by the master craftsman, Tu-koihu, in another canoe. After many days' sail, the two vessels sighted an island that Horu-matua knew to be the island of his dreams. As they approached the western end of the island, the two vessels separated, the king to survey the south coast and Tu-koihu the north. The king's ship sailed rapidly and paddles were plied to increase the speed. The king's ship rounded the eastern end of the island without having seen the beach for which he searched. On the north coast he saw the canoe of Tu-koihu paddling in to a beach that he recognized as the beach of his dream. It would never do for Tu-koihu to land before him, so he invoked his gods with the magic words, ‘Ka hakamau te konekone’ (Stay the paddling). The paddles of Tu-koihu's crew stayed motionless in the water, and the sea seethed as the king's paddlers raced for the shore. The double prow of the king's ship ran up on the sands of Anakena, and Hotu-matua stepped ashore onto a beautiful beach fit for a king to dwell upon. And thus Hotu-matua added his name to the roll of famous navigators by discovering the eastern outpost that forms the apex of the Polynesian triangle.

Easter Island is 1500 miles from Mangareva, 1100 miles from Pitcairn, and 2030 miles from South America. Its greatest length is thirteen miles and its area is sixty-seven square miles. It is a volcanic island with a dry, arid soil, no streams, and but slight rainfall. Of a number of extinct craters, Rano Aroi rises to a height of 1600 feet.

The island was first sighted by the Dutch navigator, Roggeveen, on Easter Sunday, 1722. At that time it was occupied by a people of Polynesian stock speaking a Polynesian language. Later European voyagers, including Gonzalez, and Cook, stopped at Easter Island and brought with them the diseases that decimated the populations of all Pacific Islands. In 1862, Peruvians carried off large numbers of the Easter Islanders into slavery. Of a remnant of 100 sent back after representation by the British and French Governments, 85 died of smallpox at sea and the 15 who were landed spread the disease throughout the island so that thousands died. A conservative estimate of the population before European contact is from 3000 to 4000. Fifteen years after the first depredations of the slavers, the population had dwindled to 111, of whom but 26 were females. The census taken in 1934 gave the total population at 456..."

Source: Vikings of the Sunrise, chapter 17. The Apex of The Triangle, Te Rangi Hiroa, Victoria University of Wellington

Spanish horse show in Costa Rica

Mauricio Masis from team Ganadera AG warms up with Lucas, the white stallion, before a riding competition Saturday at the Bonanza 2008 Spanish Horse Show in Costa Rica, in Santa Ana, a suburb southwest of San Jose, the Costa Rican Capital. (Photo by the Tico Times newspaper).

why aren't black Tanzanians running the economy?

THIS world is not fair at all, especially The African and Black World. Go every corner in their world you find that black natives are the ones who don’t benefit much from what our Creator has give them. This is contrary to the world govern by our fellow Whites.

In Japan, the Japanese run the economy, in Germany, the Germans hold and run the entire economy to own benefits. In America, the Americans, especially those with light skinned are the ones who chew freely the economy while the original natives- the Red Indians are segregated.

In India, the economy is for Indians and for the Indians themselves. They can give out some assistance to other countries, but there should be more Indians. Like they portraying in Tanzania.

All those nationals they are benefiting the diamonds, golds, oil, uranium, waters, lands and all sort of God-given natural resources.

In Africa, it’s very contrary to that. The economy, natural resources; golds, diamonds, lands, waters and the like are managed and benefiting light skinned comers.

Why aren't the Africans, Tanzanians to be precisely running the economy? This is the biggest challenge I faced the other day from an American friend who paid a visit to my office. He kept on asking questions. Why you people are so poor? Are you mean? Don’t you have committed leaderships?

He said, he would expect to see Tanzanians leading very nice life as they have all precious lands, weather, natural resources and the like.

Why are you so poor? I told him I don’t know just as President Jakaya Kikwete does. He don’t know either why are we so poor to the extent that people are not aware of their next meal when they get one.

In Tanzania, white people; includes Indians, Americans, Germans are made up about 4% of the population but controlled most of the economy. In Tanzania the populations nears 40 milion.

They control 25% of the land, 92% of the banking, all manufacturing, all tourism, 74 % of gold, diamond and Tanzanits reserves. Hivi sisi tumerogwa!

For leaving all those big percentage in hands of foreigners, no matter they have bought citizenships, black Tanzanias are going backwards, even though we occupy 90 % of the population."

We need economic consciousness and to mobilise one another's spirit. We need economic leadership for ownership and control and we must work at owning our own intellectual property. Tanzanians needed economic solidarity.

We need black economic solidarity so that we can support each other. Black people don't have solidarity like the white people do. Ni ubinafsi tu kwa kila mmoja. I wonder.