Nuclear Energy: Potential for disaster

Of the existing means for generating electricity the most sophisticated & dangerous may be Nuclear Energy. I will not profess to know the ins and outs, but will only state this, IT CAN BE DANGEROUS.

Wikipedia quote: "Some serious nuclear and radiation accidents have occurred. Nuclear power plant accidents include the Chernobyl disaster (1986), Fukushima I nuclear accidents (2011), and the Three Mile Island accident (1979)”

I am sure there have been many more incidents which may have been covered up or thought not too serious enough thus not announced to the public.

Let’s agree that there are many causes behind incidents at a nuclear plant, and most may not lead to leakage of radiation.

BUT..

Of the three major incidents, Fukushima I nuclear accident is happening at present. The catalyst was a 9.0 earthquake, the aftershocks & the subsequent tsunami raged onto areas of Japan. This natural disaster first caused the loss of direct then back up power to the water cooling systems in place at the plant which were used to cool down the reactor rods preventing overhead or a meltdown.

Things quickly went out of hand, and precautions were taken by evacuating people from a 30km radios.

Not to reflect on to the GCC

As an example, if Bahrain had a Nuclear Plant at one end of the kingdom, lets say the far ends of Muharraq (if not mistaken, the length of Bahrain is around 27k) then nowhere on the mainland would be safe as it would be within the current evacuation area of 30km radius.

So we’d all have to go & stay on Hawar island….

I write this only to highlight one point of view & perspective regarding the use of Nuclear power; there are many. Implementation, harnessing & distribution can be performed by any of the GCC states, the fact still remains that this means of power generation although fruitful has its consequences and must be meticulously studied before deciding to adapt it.

Let us also not forget the ‘waste’ byproduct and spent rods, their storage & disposal.

LINKS

Blog by Alec Baldwin: The big lie of Clean nuclear

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alec-baldwin/the-big-lie-of-clean-nucl_b_844161.html

How a reactor shuts down and what happens in a meltdown

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/12/world/asia/what-happens-in-a-nuclear-meltdown.html?scp=33&sq=interactive%20fukushima%20reactor&st=cse

Hazards of storing Spent Fuel

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/12/world/asia/the-explosion-at-the-japanese-reactor.html

The Plot thickens .. my perspective.. Bahrain's Peaceful Movement for change...

People should listen, and then judge for them selves. or ignore completely and walk away .. Freedom to choose .. is a god given right and must not be taken away ..

We can agree to disagree .. but at the end of the day .. u r my brother & i yours .. That point seems to be lost to some ..

My stance on all this is simple, implementation of THE original Constitutional Monarchy that was promised, NOT this Flawed constitution. A Constitution written by Bahrain citizens for Bahrain citizens. UNDER no situation is Government allowed to use Violence or deadly force against Bahrain citizens. Military is to Defend Bahrain & its Citizens not to attack Citizens. No detaining & torture.. No Political Naturalization, No Discrimination by government & no promotion of Discrimination by Gov as is the case now in military & certain ministries .. sadly also true on certain Private institutions.. Actual Freedom of Press & Speech... not the facade we have now..Public land is Public .. NOT Private... A parliament without actual powers is redundant..

I hate Sectarianism. NATIONAL UNITY only .. No Shia No Sunni .. Just/I'm Bahraini...

Feb14 is being depicted as a Shia against Sunni movement .. where in actual fact it is a Peaceful movement, a struggle by citizens for their rights... IT IS SAD, that after living together for decades & more, the plight of these demonstrators is still not apparent to some unwilling to look but chose to listed to propaganda..

Keep in mind that it is the Bahrain citizens/Demonstrators that occupy LuLu, not the Gov Opposition or Opposition political groups. The latter come there to talk to them through speeches .. That is why u see camps, food stalls & the more lively family atmosphere... the hospitality and friendliness ..

Also don't forget that people are angry with their government for using deadly force against their peaceful movement resulting in injuring many and the death of 7. Like it of not .. thats why u hear resentment slogans of government.. People still hurt .. for the innocent blood spilled ..

Mushaima, a long time opposition of the Government has just arrived in Bahrain. He was speaking at LuLu last night, mostly repeats of what many have already been saying, but he did emphasize that WE, meaning previous opposition movements, had trusted the Government when invited to dialog only to be tricked. He said that this time, the movement was by the people, their demands are what must be met, and the oppositions are united in the stance. Additionally he said this is not a Shia or Sunni movement..Its a National Unity movement ..

If he adds value to the peaceful movement for Freedom and change, then good, but if he is here to sell his own self interests, or promote HATE, i'd rather not be part of that, and hope the People of LuLu reject that ideology too..TIME WILL Tell ..

I'm still unsure what to think, i've heard Mushaima has an extreme view & no cap to demands.. Time will tell .. But if u ask me, the opposition by now should have an agree list of demands, also how & when best to approach Dialog.

Yesterday, an article in the GDN caught my eye, 'Tribute to Gandhi's non-violent struggle' in which retired engineer Mansoor Jamal linked the protest at the Pearl Roundabout to India's struggle for independence & Manhatman gandhi. Quotes from the article ..

"The more i see these people there (at Lulu), the more i am convinced that they are following on the Mahatama's path"

"We are not against His Majesty King Hamad but we do not like a lot of things happening under his rule. We want change and we hope we will achieve what we have set out to get"

Many ask why has dialog has not started, what are the Demonstrators/Opposition waiting for, since Government has already extended an open arm. . . My opinion is that the Concessions requested of Government have not been met yet .. not entirely .. Not all prisoners have been released and the biggest point of all, PM is still present.

Will this be an ice breaker, i don't know ..

But till then ... i'll continue to cover as much as possible .. as objectively as i possible can..

and as always those who want to accuse .. continue to do so .. and those that want to be rude may do so .. I choose not to .. In the end i want my family (My Country) together not Divided ..

Democratic reform: a great divide OR NATIONAL UNITY

First of all, I have faith in Crown Prince Shaikh Salman's ability to guide us through these times of change, to a better and real democratic Society. Under National Unity.

No Government has the right to USE lethal force against its citizens. Only Bahraini's will risk their lives to defend Country and each other, Bahraini's will never kill each other.

Regardless which side you stand on, the fence must be movable, not made of stone or resistant to change. To do this we must have a real Constitutional Monarchy. The monarchy exists but the constitution is flawed.

SOME ISSUES WITH OUR CURRENT CONSTITUTION:

No freedom of speech.

Ministers selected by Government not elected by citizens.

A Parliament that has no significant powers.

** there are so much more.

MOJANASEEN:

The government has, since 2000 brought in Arabic speaking nationals from other MENA states, providing them with Bahrain Passports, housing and government jobs.

The above are completely separate from legal, binding & rightful Bahrain passport holders.

It is good & dandy to send messages of love or greet one another and smile, but the fact remains that there is a great rift, a divide which has resurrected its ugly head, tearing at the fabric of our friendly society. Our family.

Bahrain, being a small island, has citizens who are intricately linked to one another, either being neighbors, close friends, work colleagues or binded through marriage.

Today, i see friends arguing, family members divided and scornful, colleagues eying one another then grouping together and chattering their true feelings and neighbors building invisible fences.

Why are there those that are afraid of change, why fear the worst when you should be expecting the best. That is what this democratic reform will bring, the same close knit family (Bahrainis) under a true constitution written by and for the people, WRITTEN by ALL PEOPLE.

I implore people to stop listening to the hogwash lies being spread, done so to scare people and ensure we are divided.

Who would benefit from this divide, certainly not Bahrain’s citizens?

Try looking at similarities not differences, you'll notice they far out weight the differences, make them your priority and concentrate on them when you meet your fellow Bahraini.

We can all agree to disagree, but we do not have to stop being courteous, well mannered, pleasant; or to stop talking & fight one another.

Let us instead understand the other point of view.

and to those on Twitter trying name calling & bully tactics, my time is better spent ignoring you and concentrating on the future of OUR COUNTRY, Bahrain.

Egypt: Revolution reform OR back to a revised NDP Regime..

My prayers go out to all the souls lost in Egypt and their surviving loved ones who have to go on without them ...

How i See it ......................

When i first heard of the events in Tunis, i was doubtful of the outcome... BUT THEY SUCCEEDED ....soon Egyptian caught sight of the possibilities, and the pent up anger erupted, so they took to the streets..

To me, Egypt was the Rubicon, the point of no return, the one domino that could fell them all .. there would be changes, definitely not full fledged Democracy, but changes none the less, throughout the Middle East & North African countries... there was HOPE ..

I'm pretty sure all the leaders were monitoring progress in Egypt, some immediately introduced minute changes by sacking and replacing senior government members, some distributed sums of money in the form of monthly aid, others agreed to continue subsidies of goods, all short term changes.. and all of them were still waiting the final outcome in Egypt..

While we were watching NEWS channels, reading newspapers & following blogs and Tweets from Egypt .. WE MISSED OUT ON THE BIGGER PICTURE.... which is .. WHO WAS ACTUALLY MANIPULATING WHOM there..

Protesters are still occupying Tahrir Square, and gatherings are still being held there, in reality i think they are exactly where the government wants them to be, corralled in an area very much manageable and under watchful eyes.

Businesses & Banks are slowly opening, life seems to be gradually going back to normal except for the protesters holding on to Tahrir Square.... unaware that as it currently stands, they may have won the battle ... But they have already lost the WAR ..(i hope to god i am wrong in this).

The interim government is now run by Vice President and former head of intelligence, General Omar Suleiman, a close ally of the US & Israel and the heir apparent to the Egyptian Presidency.. He will sit down with the opposition, he will promise political & economic reform, he may even introduce financial incentives.... all in the name of change.. whereas actually to cause a rift in the Pro change movement... divide and conquer.. or make sure their momentum is lost.. and with at least 7 months to go before the elections.. he will have placed himself as a front runner in the horse race....

WHY Would i say that... SIMPLE..

Hosni Mubarak may be staying on as an honorary role, his presence has ensured that the essence and structure of the ruling party remains after departing, even if changes are introduced...which i am guessing may not be significant enough.. and come election day...

it will be Business as Usual in Egypt but under New Management,

just as the US & Israel want it...

I so do hope & Pray i am Wrong .. This movement should & must not fade... all our futures depend upon its success ..

Prologue

By now everyone is aware of events in Egypt, it's on all the NEWS channels ..

Briefly:

regime change was triggered by Events in Tunis, but for Egyptians, 25th of Jan 2011 signified their stance against oppression.

Brave men, women and children gathered in Tahrir Square .. THEIR DEMAND.. .. resignation of President Hosni Mubarak..

With aspirations that regime change would lead to an end to 'Emergency law'... Positive and progressing changes to the constitution, Free and fair elections..Freedom of Speech, basic human rights..

in days that ensued, the number of injured exceeded a thousand. The official fatality count just below 20 (last i read).. BUT .. protesters, and witnesses contradict this and have stated that the dead may run in the hundreds..

i believe the names of all the fallen Heroes of the Egyptian 25Jan Revolution are being registered on a site...

The event is best described by 'SandMonkey', a prominent Egyptian blogger.. who was also a member of the Pro regime change movement

http://www.sandmonkey.org/2011/02/03/egypt-right-now/

The STANCE may have started off as a Leaderless revolution, going forward and to be taken serious, there must be a structure and an identifiable leadership .. to this effect 'Sandmonkey' shares his views and suggestions: http://www.sandmonkey.org/2011/02/06/the-way-forward/

Egypt, a significant ARAB nation & a KEY player in the MENA because of its close relationship with USA & Israel ...

Will their relationship Chang? I think not .. for an explanation read about the Closed door maneuvering by the Mubarak party and the foreign intervention as best described by Esam Al-Amin : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27411.htm ,in his article titled 'Mubarak's last Grasp'. (do not miss reading his summary titled "Likely scenarios: remember Marcos?"

The Military made its position very clear by announcing No intervention... WHY?

Well, no revolution is successful without the backing of the military, they tip the balance of power in favor of the Victor.... by being present but only as observers.. The pro Mubarak generals pulled a fast one over the protesters, pretending to be Neutral but actually continuing to support the regime not Mubarak himself.....

The defining moment for the Pro change movement was Friday the 4th of February 2011, know as the 'Day of his (Hosni Mubarak's) Departure' ..

I was expecting a Peaceful march on to the Palace, but they continued to stay in Tahrir Square...

resulting in .. NOTHING ... some NDP cosmetic reshuffling .. BUT STILL NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE... and this is where i believe the protesters lost momentum ..

Why? The government called their bluff and someone Blinked...

When Goliath is out of reach

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The actions of our MPs shows how desperate they are to retain their ‘cash cow’ seats, having not accomplishing anything significant during their tenure, as was intended by the founding father's when the lame excuse for a Parliament was first established (by the Government), having made sure it had limited or no authority, misguided loyalty within and giving the least suitable candidates access to the coveted seats, thus ensuring the absence of a unified front, progress and advancement....
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and they have not failed on that objective. MPs do not have the power to change life altering laws nor are they suggesting the introduction of applicable regulations, they have not put any effort into exterminating the mistrust between Government and its people, and are absolutely unable to stamp out the ongoing recruitment of foreign mercenaries for the Armed & Special Forces, police department and the Riot police.
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Since they are powerless and are unable to reach the higher branches where the more juicier leaves are, they have settled for the forrage at ground level .. Alcohol ... Pork ... Prostitution ....
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I can paint my face red & blue, then perform a rain dance, but that don't mean it will rain.
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This too, they will eventually find out, are powerless to do .. as their absence would devistate the tourism (wink, wink) influx from our neighbours and the resident foreign nationals.
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And so by having beaten their drums, the sheep following them will once again vote them back into their seats .. without having ever accomplish a thing.

The Lies we Weave, The Dreams we Leave

It's not difficult to see that many facets of life don't always go the way we intended them to, sometimes more than we'd care to accept.

One would probably insistently argue that it was what was intended to have happen, blatantly arguing that the result was spot on...."I knew that would happen", "It's what i wanted", "I don't want anything else", "I'm Happy", "It Doen't matter".... and “It was meant to be!”

Lies .. to justify one's dormant life, to put you at ease, safe guarded in a comfort zone. Forming a cocoon of deception, and being sheltered from triggers, avoiding acceptance or realization, that one may in fact not be satisfied that we are actually not doing our hearts desires but have settled for anything close to it or that which is in front of us.

Is it because, you did not try hard enough? Maybe it’s because of a lack of experience, or maybe immaturity or the absence of a clear guiding path.


Whatever the reason, we all live in the same world, so it's not difficult to decipher that the same issues affect us all, and each one reacts differently. One may stand up and fight, and still not achieve anything; another may lay down and accept fate, baring the consequences; yet others may overcome and exceed, even more than their expectations and dreams.

Run after your dreams, stretch for the thing that you want the most. Don't settle for second best, or what's at hand, we all may not achieve our hearts desires but we can certainly try. To attempt and fail, is always better that to never attempt at all.

To many out there, the things I’ve said may be the rankings of a crazy man; to others it may be the truth they do not want to confront, still others may interpret this as a lost man's attempt to reach out to something or someone...

U decide ... interpret it the way it best suits u

You may say that it's destiny, fate or luck that decides, i say BULL SHIT..

Life will only give us the opportunities, it will lead us to the cross roads, but it's up to us to recognize and grasp them, to choose whether we go left or right. Opportunities may pass us by, it isn't because it was meant to be, it’s because you either did not try hard enough or you just did not know better.

Decisions we make has a ripple effect on the course of our life, we may come across the same opportunity more than once, but to let it get out of your grasp for the simple reason of being shy, scared or not knowing better, …….

So don't wait for the phone to ring, for your other to approach you first; make your move, don’t sit and think too much.


Get up and Chase your dreams, don’t live with regrets....

The Return of Citizen X

Being out of the Blogging circle for a while now, i've missed out on a lot of events that have occurred locally and around the world.....

On a personal note, my high point this year was when my second son, Daniel was born in May'08; my low point was when my estranged father, whom i had not talked to for almost four months (since he cut all ties with me) passed away in June'08. I will miss him despite the roller coaster relationship that we had; after all, he was, is and will always be my father. May god rest his soul.

I completed by Secondment to Oman in July'8 and returned back to my post in Bahrain. (Herein lies another blog topic for the coming days)

First and foremost, I was saddened to hear that the Blog-Father had hung up his keyboard indefinitely.... You will be missed, but your personal decision to do so will always be respected.

Now, the the F***ing traffic (here) in Bahrain is getting worse.... Road rage is rampant, showing the middle finger is a prerequisite for getting a driver's licence and never a day goes bye without another fatal accident.

I'v heard that our DREAM of a Monorail (Overhead Train) system in Bahrain MAY become a reality, sooner than we think (I will not hold my breath but I'm keeping my fingers crossed).

The illegal occupation of Palestine, Afghanistan & Iraq continue ... The false wars are still raging on ... The financial world is in turmoil ... there is a huge distrust in the Banking systems around the world...and behemoths are collapsing ... while others are being gobble up by their governments as a preemptive measure before the domino effect topples them too ... thousands of people will loose their jobs...Millions of American's will lose their homes because of the sub-prime lending debacle.

The Gulf states are not safe either, although the GCC Central banks continue to profess peace and order, that is far from the truth. Yes, there is a lot of liquidity in our markets, but some Financial & Investment losses may be too great to be borne and may (WILL) eventually lead to the deck of card to fall, tumble down. It is still taboo to tell the truth in the gulf....

The American public will shortly be running to the poles to elect yet another president that will further contribute to their down fall, running their country into financial ruins and alienating them even further from the rest of the world. Democrat or Republican, a crook is still a crook, no matter what side they are on.

Finally, as for what i intend to blog about; i will to continue write, be it a short foot note or a long essay type blog; whether it be about the mysteries of the universe, the divine and undiscovered secrets that should be known by all, or simple things in life; No matter how crappy my writing or pointless it may be.....

Oh Mama, Obama!!

The American presidency has always been for SALE, this coming term is no exception..

I first heard of Baraka Obama around two years back, on a CBS program about describing him as down to earth, a people's person who had not forgotten his roots even after winning a Seat in the Senate. He was paraded as a man who still visited his constituency, walking the streets of his old neighborhood, as though he never left the community.

I admired that, i thought, may be, just maybe this one could actually make a difference.

A few months ago, he was in the limelight again, this time he had just announced his intentions to run for the Demotcratic nominee and eventual candidacy for President of the United States. His speech pattern seemed to have changed, the way he carried himself too was different. It was almost as thought he was now WHITE. I'm not being racist here, but the fact is he was just talking differently, not in the same manner as before, he had lost his originality and uniqueness. Now, he actually sounded like one of the other political candidates who only cared about winning and appeasing the voters. I was hoping i was wrong.

A few days back, the other shoe fell.

(He has all but won the Democratic nomination, leading Senator Hillary Clinton to concede. )

It was Wednesday the 4th of June 2008, in Washington while addressing the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

HE SHOWED HIS TRUE COLORS AS A BIAST AMERICAN SELLING HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL. HE WAS, BUT IS NO LONGER THE SAVIER; he, like many other American Political hopefuls has bowed down to the biggest lobby in America, AIPAC; the biggest supporters of Israel AND ITS CONTINUING WAR CRIMES.

His speech said it all; he supports the right of Israel to have Juresalam as its Capital.

[I'm all for peace and prosperity, but only through a agreement that is (a) not biast, and (b) demands that Israel pay for all the war crimes, torture, misery, degredation and hardship (helplessness) that the Palestanian people have faced under the ON GOING & ILLEGAL OCCUPATION of their lands.]

People, i give you the next rightful PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA(NS without SOULS).

Lying your way to THAILAND!

This is rather funny; i've always believed that if you lie, for whatever reason, you'll soon find yourself telling another one just to cover your first, then another and another, leading to a chain that goes on and on until you get tired of lying & fess up.

Alas, there are also times where people are soooooo crooked that they will never confess, others may be even better, to the extent that sooner or later the lie becomes fact, even if they are caught red handed.

For example, a friend of mind told me of the following; he and his wife were at the airport on their way to Thailand, for a 10 day vacation when he saw an acquaintance. After saying their hellos', the acquaintance tells my friend that he is going to Australia to continue his studies. Well, fine and dandy, they say their good byes and depart.

When my friend arrives at the Bangkok airport he is surprised to see his acquaintance there as well. They smile at each other and my friend is told, by his acquaintance, that he was there on TRANSIT, before his plane departs to Australia.

Again, taking his word for it, my friend leaves the airport and spends the next 8 days sight seeing and traveling from place to place, when he and his wife get back to Bangkok, on the ninth day, he is surprised to see his acquaintance staying at the same hotel he is at.

They again say hello and then he asks 'How come he's (his acquaintance) still in Thailand', to which his acquaintance answers "THE PLANE GOT DELAYED AND I WAS PUT UP AT THE HOTEL UNTIL NOW BY THE AIRLINE COMPANY". What the hell do you say to someone like that?......

Alternatively, i have heard of even better (worse by nature) liars, note the following;
A man was fooling around with his maid when all of a sudden, his wife comes back early from her mother's house. Being in the bed room and having no way out, the maid picks up her clothes and runs into the toilet. The man is left sitting on the bed only wearing his underwear.

His wife walks into the room and demands to know where the maid is, he turns to her and squirts out the following in a drowsy tone, "SHE IS IN THE TOILET". The wife asks what she (the maid) is doing in the toilet, to which he replies, again in the drowsy tone, "HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW, PROBABLY CLEANING THE TOILET, ALL I KNOW IS THAT I WAS ASLEEP AND YOU WOKE ME UP". The dumb twit of a wife bought the excuse her husband had given her.............

But this one takes the cake; a women walks into her bed room, which is dimly lit, only to find her husband on top of the maid. She screams out " What the Hell are you doing?", to which he replies "OH MY GOD, I THOUGHT I WAS ON TOP ON YOU"!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know how the last one ended but you get the picture.................

Is a Dumb @ss quick Fix the solution?? I think not!!!

The current proposal to grant Bahraini Citizen (with incomes less than BD1,500) a monthly assistance (aid) of BD50 to cope with rising inflation & hike in the price of goods, is still being tossed around in the Parliament pending final approval. I think it is being limited to only one year.

By my simple calculations, only 66,666 Bahrain individuals will be eligable each month. What about the other 944,444 or so that are excluded?

Do the MPs believe this aid is going to resolve the crisis, curb it in any way, or dampen the effect on our pockets?
Prices will continue to rise, good will continue to get even more expensive, and the freaking cost of living will be more unbearable.
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Yet Dumb Ass proposals are being made by our ""highly educated"" MPs, who are convinced this quick fix is exactly what the doctor ordered.

There's a saying that goes something like this "Feed a man for a day & you will have to feed him tomorrow as well. But, teach a man to GROW his own food & you will have fed him for LIFE".

Why is this simple concept not easy for our MPs to understand.

The proposal will provide an additional source of income for some famalies, the benefits of which has already being nullified by rising rent prices & increasing cost of goods, which will then dry out by the end of 2008..!!!!

Rent continues to sky rocket, Food is becoming more expenseive, I SUSPECT THAT FUEL PRICES WILL INCREASE AS WELL..........WHY THE HELL NOT??..

There's more, land prices are phenominal, construction material has sky rocketed, the purchasing power of our currency has decreased drastically because of the PEGGING to the dollar....

I suspect alot of the price increases are due to GREEEEEEEEDD, not increasing supplier costs or transportation expenses....

All the MPS are recommending is a fix that is short term, i guess maybe up to the end of their Term in office......!!!!!!!

I don't profess to know the solution to all our problems, but maybe MPs should consider a Rent freeze, maybe a pre-approval by Government agencies before Suppliers of Consumer Goods, Services & Raw matterial increased prices (to ensure no price fixing and increases are justified). The immediate ban of the sale of Land to foreigners (inclusing other GCC nationals), allowing them to only purchase into the special residential schemes being offered. A matirx for Residental Flat specifications and the legal rent prices applicable basee on the location to be published by the government and adhered to by Land lords. Any one of the above suggestons, in my mind, would be better than offering the BD50 bribe to citizenzzzzzzzzzzz............

Why i think women are much more tougher than us guys!

The fact is, i have a high threshold for pain; i've been this way ever since i can remember, be it paper cuts, splinters, bites, twisted ankles, EVEN A RUSTY NAIL IN THE FOOT, yet one thing i have never been able to withstand is hair removal using only tweezers or wax (the latter i have never used but am only stating to prove a point). I squint and tremble, then cry like a little girl (not a good example i might add, but you get the picture).

Remember the scene in the movie ' What women want', where Mel Gibson, calls women MAD, crazy or something like that, for using products to tear off /peal away excess hair.

So, being quite a rather warm blooded individual, i tend to require a little cleaning up performed on my eye brows, else a Uni-Brow matteralises below my forehead (Note: Uni-Brow, NOT UNI-BRA).

And so my kind, loving, caring and ever forgiving wife generously volunteers to pluck the critters off of the face of her simple minded husband, before he (I) is overcome (you'd think i'd know better).
NOOOOOO, nothing of the sort, in fact i'm such a dope that i sit through the whole ordeal, taking it literally like a woman, only, well, JUST, so my wife does not take me for a sissy.

WHICH I AM NOT.

But it does hurt....sooooooooooooooooo much......I'd rather take a bullet in the @SS.....

Women, give birth, bare most of the burden of child rearing and for some reason or another, sheer off the excess hair on their body without even a sweat......

MY HATs off to you women...

Tough as nails yet soft as a baby's bottom

Is there a sign stuck to my back?

I swear, today i felt like someone had stuck a sigh on my back.

It started off 5 minutes in to my afternoon jog when a man turned towards me and started making gestures with his hands, as if to indicate that he was looking for someplace or thing, and then he began to shout at me in an un-comprehendible dialect, I shrugged my shoulders, waved with my hands to so he would know i didn't understand and continued jogging.

Further ahead, i was waved to a halt by a woman in a car, who asked for directions to a Garden that i had never heard of; i just explained that i too was a foreigner in OMAN and did not know the location.

Later in the evening, while i sat at a coffee shop and was having my grilled Hamour dinner, a young guy comes up to me and asks me where to get a packet of cigarettes.

For god sakes, is there something written on my forehead that i'm not aware of. I don't mind helping people but this is just absurd. Is there a camera around that i'm not aware of....?

CX movie review - RAMBO 4

I did not have a good selection of movies to choose from so i settled for RAMBO 4.

Walking into the movie theater, i was unsure of what to expect; I had grown up with the original movies and loved them all, even with his messed up accent & lame acting.

The hype going around is that Silvester Stalone is old; he can't act and would probably be holding a walking stick throughout the movie .

The Plot
From the start, i was immediately shocked by the scenes of murder, genocide, torture, mutilation, rape and plunder that befell the Burmese people.

A group of missionaries hire RAMBO to take them to the outskirts of Burma where the villagers requireing aid, are deprived from basic necessities of life, living in fear of the Burmese military leadership and are prevented from worshiping their prefered religion.

The initial drop off goes well, with a little hick up that RAMBO takes care of in seconds.

The real story starts when the missionaries are captured by the Burmese military and a group of mercenaries + John RAMBO come to their aid.

There is a lot of VIOLENCE.

What I really thought of it:
This movie is absolutely disturbing; but one good it does is bringing the plight of the Burmese people and what they had to live through for the world to see. THE DEPTS OF EVIL WITHIN HUMANITY IS ENDLESS.

The CX Rating
The plot was OK and the acting wasn't bad, but just for bringing up the subject of Genocide and depicting the atrocities i'll give it a 7.

So go and enjoy the movie, learn about the happenings around us, but just make sure you don't have a week stomach, even i had a hard time watching some of the scenes.

Final note, i salute Silver Stalone on a job well done in Directing the M ovie......

What is in the name SHAIKHA?

In general, the salutations SHAIKHA or SHAIKH are used to call upon a female or male with some degree of respect.

Others use it to point out that a person is rather daft.

Me, i use them to cover my shortfall; where for some reason or another i cannot remember names of people whom i have just met, or have known for some time.

This is no joke, i have gone for weeks directly dealing with people but never knowing or remembering their names. I know it's rude but hey, the brain cells must be rapidly deteriorating in the area of my brain used for recalling names.

Once, during my secondment in Qatar, my colleagues and i went out with an employee of the bank who was gracious enough to offer, WHICH WE GLADLY ACCEPTED. After arriving at the location, he excused himself to go to the little boys room. Foolishly i turned to my colleagues and asked them what the guy's name was, i was met with blank faces, then grins of despair; the bastards could not remember his name either. So for the remainder of the evening i continued to call him 'Yesh Shaikh'.

I fear this is also happening to me in Oman, i have not been invited out much and am keeping away from such invitations for fear of being exposed. Today i was asked by a lady, 'how come i call her and three others SHAIKHA', i lied through my teeth and told her that it was out of respect for all of them...if only she knew the truth.....

Now faces, are another matter; i never forget a face, the name that goes with the face is an utterly different matter.....

Sometimes I use a name association gimmick where u link the name of a person u've just met with someone u already know, but if the name is not common, then basically u should know that i'm F*ed, and have no choice but to fall back on my old reliable aids; the honorary salutation.

MY POINT being, if you ever meet me in person and i greet you with SHAIKH or SHAIKHA, then you should realize that i have already forgotten your name....don't take it personally......and i apologis in advance.

Another Year waisted....another year gained

Another year wasted, another year gained age wise, and nothing to show for it.


Well, not really, Yes i've gotten older, my joints now speak to me more frequently; athletic abilities i once took for granted are now cumbersome, BUT i'd like to think i've also gotten wiser, doe things i'd once throught impossible, met more interesting people and made even more friends; and lets not forget having seen the world, ok not the whole world, but there is still time for that...

I spent the last day of the year at work, so it should not surprise you that i continued to work at home well into the late hours of the night and into the new year thereby ensuring i began the new year the same way i ended the last....

At one point of time in life i was the youngster at work, now i'm one of the more experianced, but not the elderly so that is something good to look forward to.

Life, my friend has its ups and downs, and all we can do is wait it our and try our best to come out unscaved OR we can try and be one of the few who can take the bull by the horns and actually make a difference, who live how we want to and do what we love, LIFE IS GOOD. Think about it, there are things that happen in this world that we have no control over, so why bother yourself, rather, concentrate on the things that are within your control.

I believe i'm in a good place for now, life is hard but it's going in the direction that it should.....

And just for the record 17 seconds into the new year, my new years resolution was over... so now i assign little tasts for myself rather than Gigantic impossibilities.

Of the many small tasks, here are two that are within my grasp;
a) Drive all the way from Bahrain to Oman, in my 2002 Mitsubishi colt...(read about it in my blog soon)

b) Loose as much weigh as possible by my 34th birthday, which is on 23rd February.... (i will write about that on the B day.

Enjoy 2008, and as always i'm late but.............HAPPY NEW YEAR..