May 11 2004

Bamboo Loss Endangers Rare Animals’ Existence

Bamboo, which is a giant, woody grass, is called the “wood of the poor” in India and the “friend of the people” in China because of its diverse use in everything from food and cooking to furniture, paper, musical instruments, boats and houses.
A joint report released on Tuesday by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) found that around 600 species are “endangered”, with less than 20,000 square kilometers of native habitat. And some 250 varieties have less than 2000 square kilometers of land (the size of London) left to live in. The report’s findings mean the many vulnerable species that rely almost entirely on bamboo for food and shelter, such as lemurs, giant pandas and mountain gorillas, face an even greater struggle for survival. On the other hand, millions of people rely on wild bamboo for food, furniture and construction material. Worldwide, more than 2.5 billion people trade in or use bamboo. The international market in bamboo products is worth more than US$2 billion per year, i.e. bamboo loss will harm humans as much as animals.
“But it is not too late to do something about this,” says ecologist Valerie Kapos, who helped draw up the report, “Now we need to look much more closely at the dynamics of what is going on. We need to look more closely at the processes that are threatening the species, determine which species are the most threatened and take conservation action in the areas where those species are concentrated”.
I hope all people would play a role in preserving nature, through research, work, and even daily life activities. And I really wish that those beautiful rare species wont be some history mentioned in “once upon a time” bed stories and fairytales.
More about the report, bamboo and rare species endangered are available in Reuters and Nature .

Category: Nature & Environment | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 11 2004

Miss Lebanon … Reality TV

The other day I saw this Miss Lebanon thing on TV, which I’ve discovered later on, is a reality TV showing contestants in their daily life activities.
The minute I realized this I couldn’t feel but sorry for people being offered such pointless and weak programs. And even worse is the fact that many people disagree with me, and believe that spending their time in front of TV just to watch a bunch of girls eating, gossiping, shopping or exercising, is one of the most joyful and exciting things they’d ever do.
Today I came across “The Ugly Side Of Reality TV” by Beirut- Beyrouth , where you can find funny pics and comments concerning this topic. Actually I couldn’t but express my appreciation for reading what she wrote, because it really expressed what I felt towards this nonsense. And since we still didn’t have our receiver last year, I didn’t know of this show earlier. It was only this year that I’ve discovered it. God I’ve missed some big time :PPP
I don’t understand how do people manage to find all that time to waste on watching some girls living! I mean what is so interesting? Ok, I might be curious to know more about the girls, but definitely not curious to watch them eating, or talking in the lift or waking up. The only advantage I see in this Miss Lebabon reality TV is that it stresses a saying I personally believe in : MAKEUP WORKS WONDERS 😛

Category: Arab Societies, Entertainment | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 11 2004

Where Is The World!

Once again, as usual, we hear of new terrible acts taking place in Palestine, killing hundreds of innocent Palestinians.
Every time, we hear of a new reason: Israelis want to defend themselves, they want revenge for someone killed by Palestinians, they want to build a wall, they want to help in war against terrorism…blah, blah, blah.
Latest irresponsible and brutal act is raiding Gaza . Now what for are they doing this, I don’t give a damn, because there is always a very good excuse they come up with. But what I care about as a human being is the constant suffering of Palestinians. When the two Hamas leaders were killed, Palestinians wanted to do something, they knew that no one would stand by their side, and they knew that Israel will get away with the assassinations so easily. Yet when they did some attacks, the whole world felt sorry for Israelis who are being killed. So it became their right to defend themselves and kill as much Palestinians as they please.
So the bitter fact is, when Palestinians are assassinated, killed, tortured, and when they are losing their homes, careers and future, any attack from their side to defend themselves and get back their rights is immediately condemned and interpreted as an act of terror, while Israelis can do whatever they wish –with or without excuses- and the whole world will “understand” their position, and will support them as they fight for their “rights”.
I really don’t know what to say, this is a crazy jungle we’re living in, no rules, no rights; the only language spoken is power: power of money, power of media, and power of weapons.
God be with you Palestine…

For more details about the Raids on Gaza in Arabic Click Here .

Category: Palestine | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 7 2004

Thank God It’s Friday

Finally this very long week has come to an end. I worked toooooooo much during this week that I feel I can’t make it to the end of the street. I am so so exhausted, and can’t wait to reach home.
The fact that I had my birthday yesterday didn’t rescue me from extra work 🙁 I had to stay an extra hour and a half working my head off till I could no longer tell the difference between colors 😛 Yes, it was one of those boring all day office work tied to my stupid chair facing the screen with my hands replying to emails, typing faxes, and creating charts 🙁 As I was FINALLY done my poor fingers couldn’t stand still, lol, it was as if I had an invisible keyboard in front of me, lol, that was pathetic.
I really thank God it’s Friday. Which reminded me of this restaurant in Beirut, TGI Friday 🙂 I was 20 years old back then, and was wondering what this big TGI stood for! And then I saw the Friday and knew it was Thank God It’s Friday. They served yummy meals 😛
Anyway, now that it’s Friday, I hope I will have enough sleep, relaxation and rest. But I know in advance that those words were not made for me. I mean, I really have no idea how do I always end up working all through the weekend. I simply love taking care of our home, I enjoy cleaning it, I enjoy having it smell sweet, specially white musk, my favorite 🙂 if not then strawberry, apple, papaya or vanilla would be fine. But loving to have my home clean doesn’t necessarily mean I wouldn’t wish for it to be shining without me paying effort for a change :PP and since that’s difficult to be realized, I can’t but spend my weekend with the non-stop activity button clicked on. But will I have decided to pamper myself a bit, which is something I enjoy as well. You must be wondering: what a contradiction, being restless yet enjoying pampering herself! That’s true, they might seem a bit of a paradox, but well, even when I pamper myself, it is really quick 😛
Anyway, I wish you all a happy weekend and hope we’ll be hearing some good happy news of the world. Everything seems to be getting only worse, war all around the world. Fighting, killing, abuse, humiliation, starving, pollution… what a crazy world! But we shouldn’t lose hope, and we should always pray to God that peace will come back to Earth. Who thought a day would come when human beings would think that peace would be some kind of a miracle, a wish to make.. God what have we done to the world!!

Category: Just Personal | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 7 2004

Tips For A Healthy Home

I have just come across a very helpful prescription for a healthy home. This article informs you of the dangers of certain activities as well as tools, and keeps you aware of how to protect your home, and how to keep it healthy. You can simply make a room-by-room tour Here for tips on a “home-healthy-home” 😉

Category: Cool Stuff | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 7 2004

Neue Folter- Fotos Aus Irak

Nur gestern habe ich “Taten und nicht Worte zählen” gelesen, wo Daniel Scheschkewitz die Reagierung Bush auf die aufgedeckten Misshandlungen durch US-Soldaten im irakischen Gefängnis Abu Ghraib kritisierte.

Und während Bush sich für die Misshandlung irakischer Gefangener durch US-Soldaten entschuldigt , und die arabische Welt zu besänftigen versucht (mit Exklusiv-Interviews in arabischen Fernsehsendern), wurden gleichzeitig weitere Bilder über angebliche Misshandlungen von irakischen Gefangenen veröffentlicht, was die Situation in der Arabischen Welt noch schlimmer macht.
“Die Fotos wird man in der arabischen Welt so schnell nicht vergessen. Sie werden sich ins Gedächtnis einer ganzen Generation einbrennen – so wie die Bilder mit Napalmbomben verbrannter Kinder damals in Vietnam”. Schrieb Scheschkewitz in seinem Kommentar, und damit hatte er Recht.

“Diese Leute haben gegen die Genfer Kriegsrechtskonvention verstoßen. Sie gehören vor ein Kriegsgericht.” Schrieb Scheschkewitz, und notirerte : “Ihre militärischen Vorgesetzten, die solche Praktiken stillschweigend toleriert haben, gehören aus der Armee entlassen und der politisch verantwortliche Minister, Donald Rumsfeld, müsste eigentlich seinen Hut nehmen”…

Category: Media, International, Posts in German | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 6 2004

Birthday Girl :)

Yes today I am 26 years old, quite a number huh! Actually I never felt that becoming older is something to be ashamed of, or to let me down. In fact the older I become the happier I am, as long as my heart and my mentality are healthy and vital enough to fill me with the energy to live, give, and think positively.
And now that I look at myself, I can say that I’m really proud of who I am. I’m not a perfect person, although I consider myself a perfectionist, but well, not all what I consider perfect, is really perfect from the point of view of others. But at least I do my best not to hurt anyone, and I try as hard as I can to fulfill my wishes without crossing the line.
Whether I am happy with my life or not, ok, this is a good question, and a difficult one indeed. On one hand, I am very happily married, I have a very great job (not that I’m in love with though :P) and I have a beautiful cozy small home, furnished with love, hard work, and sweet memories. I live in a beautiful country, got to know many kind people, made few new friends, and know how to manage to do everything on my own in this city.
On the other hand, nothing feels complete without my family. I don’t know, it’s just that I miss them so much, specially that I have a very special family. I need their presence, I need their faces, and I need anything from their sides, even if it was some fights 🙂 I feel like I’m split into two wonderful lives, my marriage life, and my family life, wouldn’t it be just perfect if they were combined together? it will certainly be heaven on earth…
I miss my old friends, those true friends who remember me all the time, and who want nothing in return but to share my news and experiences. They used to throw me surprise parties every now and then, my family was the partner in crime 😉 it was fun. And then when I got engaged my fiancé joined the club 🙂 Sweet sweet memories.

Knowledge & Professional Life
Every year, I learn more about life, I learn things that fascinate me, and others that hurt me, and some that disgust me. And I’m not embarrassed to say that I even learn things that are so well known to almost everybody but me. I don’t know how, but well, the important thing is I finally learned them. And I believe, learning never stops. Knowledge has to be added to every minute. No matter how small the thing I learned is, I appreciate knowing it. Every day added to life, gives more experience, good or bad, it doesn’t matter, because we all know, without tasting bitterness you will never appreciate sweetness.
And just like anyone, I have my disappointments in life, one of which is being away of my family, another one is my career life. I thank God that I am lucky enough to get great positions in my professional life both in Jordan and here in Tunisia. I was still a fresh graduate and I got to meet very important people, and had the chance to be a decision maker. And I kept on looking until I found my perfect job, being a person very interested in environment that is 🙂 But then, another decision had to be made, changing my life and putting me in the beginning of the road once again. I had to start all over again. And after hard work, I finally got my present position. Which by the way has nothing to do with my real interests nor my certificates, but looking at the bright side, someone of my age has never been hired for this position in this field of services. I have a nice boss, and my salary is good. As for my environmental concerns, I try to be active in other ways. Not that successful actually, but working on it 🙂

Birthday presents
Don’t I just love birthdays 😛 no just kidding, I do love presents, but it all depends on the one giving them. I don’t care how expensive, and I don’t care if someone dear does not afford giving me a present, a nice word, a card, an email or a call is enough. The thought is what counts.
My dear family never misses a birthday, this is my second one away from them, and God knows I wished so bad to be with them this year, but it didn’t work. And since many people we know seem to get too busy preparing for their visits to Tunisia that they forget to give a call asking if my family wished to send me something (although we always call when someone is leaving) so my family stopped counting on their help, and found out an alternative. Sending packages by airline trips. So instead of sending one or two things with people, they gather them till some occasion is close like “Eid” or birthdays, and ship them to us. So I already got my family gifts and a very very beautiful greeting card from mom 🙂 Thanks all 🙂
And of course my day started with my dear husband’s birthday wishes. He celebrated the day by having a pretty smile on the face and hearing music I love on the way to work 🙂 As for the rest of the gifts, I will be getting them after blowing the candles. There will be my husband of course and my in-laws 🙂

What else do I have to say? Nothing actually, one thing I wish would happen, and know it wont 😛 is to be thrown a surprise party from my family 🙂 And since that isn’t possible, at least this year 😛 then the best gift they could offer me above all the beautiful things I got is to hear they’re all happy, doing well, enjoying life, and most important of all, in good health.

I’m trying to keep myself happy, and I’m pretending not to be pissed off from the MANY emails I’m getting today asking me to do loads of work, and I’m trying to enjoy myself regardless of the annoying every two minute calls I get from clients. I have decided to let no one ruin my day 🙂 And to prove this, if you can just take a look at my screen you’ll find more than 20 emails marked both urgent and unread, you’ll find Windows messenger crowded with conversation windows, and my desk stuffed with folders, the fax has run out of paper, while I’m here blogging, eating chocolates, drinking coffee, with a very big smile on my face. So unlike me… that’s why I’m gonna stop right this minute and get back to work 😉

So happy birthday to me 🙂 And thank you God for keeping me alive…

Category: Just Personal | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 5 2004

When People Are Ready To Do Anything To Hurt

It always amazes me to know that there are some people out there who are actually willing to do whatever it takes to hurt someone who has given them trust, love, good treatment and loyalty.
I have been through some experiences in which I was put in weird situation, finding people causing me trouble, telling lies about me, destroying my hard work, in return of a great relationship from my side. The first time I went through this I was really shocked. Couldn’t believe people could become so cruel and stab me in the back for nothing bad I’ve done to them.
And lately, I’ve been living the same experience, but this time it’s not me in person, it’s somehow a situation in which I’m indirectly involved.
A bunch of people who were trusted, loved, and taken as family members, are sparing no effort and no trick to hurt a very dear person. They are lying, faking stuff, and even jeopardizing their reputation to convince others that this person is bad. And I can’t believe how cheap these people can get just to win sympathy. I can’t believe how cruel they can be to warn anyone of being on the side of this person. And I can’t believe how greedy they are to do anything to win some few Dollars.
Was it wrong that this person trusted them? No, it wasn’t, how would you predict that people, for which you open the doors of your house, welcome in your life and offer love, trust and respect, would turn to be some selfish destructive bastards! Oh, how many people have become professional actors, how hard it is to trust anyone these days. How shitty people can become for the sake of money, and how disgusting it is to know they believe they could buy manners and principles with the money they steal out of innocent loving people.
One fact is: they might succeed in annoying others, they might succeed in being a pain in the ass, they might succeed in buying the manners and principals of some weak losers, but they can never succeed in winning the respect and true love that they have once had. They will never succeed in leading happy lives, because happiness can never last when based on the destruction of others. And most important of all is the fact that even if they succeed in stealing people’s money, they will never succeed in stealing their happiness, why! Because as these people prove how shitty and terrible they are, the one getting hurt will never cry one tear on having them out of his/her life for good. In fact that person will be praying to God day and night for saving him/her from the company of these cheap garbage. This person will keep going, walking their way, living their life, with one little difference: strength. Yes, they wont be heartbroken as others might expect, they wont be victims of depression nor failure, they’re be stronger than before and will open a new white page, in a new bright day, to go for the many chances awaiting them, the many challenges waiting for them, and this bad experience will be nothing but a memory of a situation that has made them stronger and full of hope of a better future. And well, hard luck to all those people out there, who are wasting their time annoying others, and paying desperate effort in trapping them. As for you, who has been lied to, show those losers, what it’s like to be human, and how it feels to lose you…

Category: General | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 5 2004

West Is Heating Up!

Temperatures are warmer, ocean levels are rising, the snowpack is dwindling and melting earlier, flowers bloom earlier, mountain glaciers are disappearing and a six-year drought is killing trees by the millions.
“The West has become habitated because of the ability to store and have a reliable water supply,” said Martin Hoerling, a research meteorologist who studies climate for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Simply the tMany scientists blame greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and ozone for causing global warming because the pollutants tend to trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere. But some contend the warming is just natural climate variability and humans have nothing to do with it.
emperature effect is going to put a much greater strain on water availability.”
Warmer temperatures only help the beetles reproduce more quickly, leading to more lost trees. Some types of beetles that used to propagate two generations in a year now can produce three.Mike Wagner, a regents’ professor of forest entomology at Northern Arizona, predicted a beetle outbreak years ago in northern Arizona when he saw how abundant older trees were in overcrowded forests. When the drought began, the beetles were ready. By 2002, trees weakened by drought were unable to fend off the beetles, and they were soon overcome. Tens of millions of trees across the West have been killed at a rate never seen before.”Absolutely unprecedented,” said Wagner,. “We’ve never had these conditions before, never had that combination.”Scientists expect another devastating beetle outbreak this year.
And while most scientists agree humans are to blame for at least part of that warming trend, as Whitham, a regents’ professor of biology at Northern Arizona University , said: . “If we aren’t causing it, we’re certainly contributing to it. Humans can take a drought and make it even worse.” Frontiers of Freedom, a Washington, D.C. public policy group, doesn’t believe humans have anything to do with the gradual warming of the Earth. These things happen. That’s just the way nature has always been,” said George Landrith, president of Frontiers of Freedom. “Variability has always existed. There’s nothing new about that.”
Scientists say continued warming across the West will mean a smaller snowpack that could affect ecosystems that depend on stream flows and water temperature. Soils and vegetation will be drier, increasing fire risk and prolonging the fire season. Plants and trees will be able to grow at higher elevations, threatening ski resorts. Sea levels will continue to rise, putting beaches and cities at risk.
More Details

Category: Nature & Environment | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 5 2004

What U MUST Know About The IT Services Sector.. By MMM

If you’re already working in the IT services field, then Subzero Blue has spoken up for you, you will love it. And if you’re still studying to join the club of IT services employees, then you better read this to be prepared for how your future will be, lol, it’s beautiful, so true and so so funny.
Good luck to all of you in the IT sector, and may God be with you 😉
Enjoy!

Category: General | LEAVE A COMMENT