maldives - personal musings

Brazilian Legend Socrates- Football's Cool Maestro dies

2011-12-05T06:33:00.000-08:00

Socrates, one of the true masters of the beautiful game died Sunday, aged 57.

Socrates, captained the 1982 Brazilian national team that included Zico,Falcao and Eder and have often been lauded as "the best team never to win a World Cup."

Paying a tribute to the King of Cool, Henry Winter writes in The Telegraph: Brazil’s captain struck twice in Spain, the first coming against the USSR in Seville. It was a classic, Socrates sidestepping two opponents sliding in despairingly, knowing the venom lurking in that famous right foot. The pain duly came, Socrates rifling a shot past Rinat Dasaev, the highly respected Soviet keeper.

The majesty of many of Socrates’ goals lay in their technical brilliance, the stellar significance of the occasion and often the quality of the goalkeeper condemned to fetch the ball out of the net.

After Dasaev, Socrates also caught out Dino Zoff. It came in one of the most epic contests in World Cup history, a match with Italy played out in the heat of Barcelona. Countless millions tuning in around the world watched transfixed as Socrates strolled through the middle, playing a firm pass to Zico before striding on. Zico stroked a superb return pass for Socrates, who glided into the box before beating Zoff. Sublime.

The ball entered the goal at the near post, a surprising mistake from a keeper of Zoff’s class yet Socrates had advanced radiating such confidence, almost toying with Zoff’s mind with his eyes, that a goal was inevitable. Paolo Rossi’s hat-trick saved Italy, leaving Brazil heading home early, grasping only plaudits.

“To win is not the most important thing,” reflected Socrates. “Football is an art and should be showing creativity. If Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas had known when they were doing their work the level of recognition they were going to have, they would not have done them the same. You have to enjoy doing the art and not think, 'will I win?’ ”.

Socrates leaves behind a cherished principle that football should be about artistry. His goals stand as a vivid reminder of that cultured credo.

Socrates has not won the World Cup, but his performances on the world stage make him an all-time great of the game, and he will be remembered as a true gifted footballing icon of the 1980s.

Europe can learn from Islamic finance, says Luxembourg's Finance Minister

2011-10-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Entering its 6th year, the IFN 2011 Issuers & Investors Asia Forum,(previously known as the Malaysian Islamic Finance Forum) has emerged as the industry’s leading and largest annual event.

Europe can learn and gain from Islamic finance, given that financial institutions under it, have remained stable against the backdrop of the eurozone debt crisis.

Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Luc Frieden, in a keynote address at the IFN 2011 Issuers & Investors Asia Forum noted that despite the credit crunch that has impacted Europe's banks, Islamic financial institutions had weathered the global crisis and emerged to be the most well managed.

"Therefore, we can learn a lot from Islamic finance and from Asia, as we have much in common.

"The key elements in Islamic finance that we need in the world today, particularly in Europe, are stability, financial partnership, provision of excessive risk and speculation as well as ethical principles," he added.

He said in Islamic finance, the financial relationship between the lender and borrower, had assured the "partnership mentality", which was found to lead to certain stability.

Explaining the need to avoid excessive risk taking place, Frieden said this is among the key goals of Europe and is an important feature found in Islamic finance.

"The provision against speculation and gambling which is prohibited in Islamic finance, is what we can concentrate on," he added.

He also said the element of ethical principles should not be limited to the Islamic finance industry alone. Frieden gave an assurance that Europe would find a solution to the debt-crisis that had led to volatility in the global economy.

"There's no one easy solution and one meeting can't solve the crisis. We have embarked on a step-by-step process to solve the problems.

"We will find a solution to the Greek issue. The Euro will be a currency you can count on in the future and see growth," he said.

He said Asia and Europe must join forces for the development and prosperity of the global economy.

"Therefore, Asian investors should look at Europe for trade and investment purposes, going forward," he added. Link the star

Another "Black Swan" Approaching

2011-10-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

According to a forecast from the Economic Cycle Research Institute(ECRI) as reported on CNN Money the US economy is heading for another double dip recession. "It's either just begun, or it's right in front of us," said Lakshman Achuthan, the managing director of ECRI. "But at this point that's a detail. The critical news is there's no turning back. We are going to have a new recession."

This new crisis comes just three years after the global financial and economic crisis. As opposed to the 2008 crisis that started in the US with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, this time Europe is at the centre of the crisis- the Euro Zone in particular has rocked the financial markets because their sovereign debt crisis.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the best-selling book “The Black Swan,” said he’s more concerned about prospects for the U.S. than Europe because the country lacks awareness of its fiscal woes.

“The difference between Europe and the U.S. is the consciousness of the problem,” Taleb, a New York University professor, said at a news conference in Tokyo organized by Bank of America Corp. “There’s no consciousness in the U.S.” about the fiscal deficit, he said.

Global financial-market turmoil intensified this quarter as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis deepened and the U.S. economy showed signs of slowing. Standard & Poor’s cut the U.S.’s credit rating for the first time in August, criticizing lawmakers for failing to cut spending or raise revenue enough to reduce record budget shortfalls.

Demonstrations have been taking place in Greece, Spain and Portugal against austerity measures and joblessness since early this year. Now the Wall Street of the US has also been hit by the waves of protest- the protesting issues include the 2008 bank bailouts, and high unemployment. Wall Street protesters carried posters which read “Protesters have rights defend 'Occupy Wall Street'” and chanted slogans including, "Stand up. Fight back," "We got sold out. Banks got bailed out" and "We are the 99 percent."

The term “Black Swan,” popularized by Mr. Taleb refers to a statement of impossibility, or to an event so unlikely that it defies comprehension.

In the past decade, there are quite a few examples of financial “Black Swan” events. Among them are the housing bubble and sub-prime mortgage crisis that derailed the banking system, the demise of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the BP oil spill and the Dow Jones flash crash, which had the Dow reeling with a 1000 point move on May 6, 2010.

Since events of these magnitudes are all previously unheard of in history, their repercussions ripple for years to come.

Now we need to heed to the warning that another Black Swan is unfolding.

As Nassim Nicholas Taleb,the author of The Black Swan wrote:

“We have never lived before under the threat of a global collapse. The financial ecology is swelling into gigantic, incestuous, bureaucratic banks — when one fails, they all fall. We have moved from a diversified ecology of small banks, with varied lending policies, to a more homogeneous framework of firms that all resemble one another. True, we now have fewer failures, but when they occur . . . I shiver at the thought.”

America's laissez-fare ideology of capitalism practised during the subprime crisis and the European state welfare model that has gone so wrong in Greece are under pressure to redefine and create a new social compact. Capitalism is the system that has created the extraordinary wealth and enabled the modern development of the western civilisation. But the free market has also created the biggest wealth gap between the rich and poor. If states have to intervene to bail out banks deemed too-big-to-fail and save countries from bankruptcy as in the case of Greece, then a new balance between the state and market is needed.

Q&A: Greek debt crisis. link
Late -2000s financial crisis. wikepedia

Cartoon Network aims to create growth in Arabic

2011-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

In Oct 2010, the American children's channel Cartoon Network launched a Cartoon Network Arabic channel- a free-to-air children's channel hoping to reach 35 million homes in the Middle East and North Africa. The free alternative to the subscription based Cartoon-Network is operated by the Turner Broadcasting offices in Dubai.

The world's first Cartoon Network Academy(CNA) in Abu Dhabi has now rolled out its inaugral batch of 12 graduates. The Academy is central to the development of local talent needed for the animation industry. The animation and gaming industry still in its nascent stage is one of the fastest growing industry in the region.

Turner’s ambition to expand the network in the Middle East and invest in local talent is necessary in order to grow the business. The diversity of the spoken Arabic dilects across the region poses challenges and creates opportunities for the animation industry.

According to a statement from Turner, Cartoon Network is available in 22 languages, across 27 separate feeds, in 166 countries and in 248 million homes worldwide.

This is not the first time that an American children' s TV show has been traslated to Arabic. Thirty years ago a local version of Sesame Street was braodcasted.

Einstein's Law of Physics May Change

2011-09-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is the cornerstone of physics since Albert Einstein dreamed up his theory of relativity.

Einstein's Law of Relativity is one of the few scientific equations most people know -- and it's a pillar of modern physics and fundamental to the way that the universe works.

The equation states that nothing is faster than the speed of light, but one of the world's foremost laboratories says they've found subatomic particles called neutrinos that travel even faster. If their findings are proven true, it may alter our understanding of the universe.

In Einstein's famous equation, E=mc2, the constant "c" is the speed of light, which is the same everywhere in the universe: c = 186 thousand miles per second, and there is nothing faster. The constant been accepted for more than a century.

Scientists were baffled by the research findings.

As the international team which conducted the experiments puzzled over what is potentially one of the biggest upsets in history, less rigorous minds turned their attention to the possibility of time travel and visiting distant planets.

Even Professor Alvaro De Rujula, a theoretical physicist at CERN, was not immune to the excitement.

He acknowledged that if the readings proved correct, and were not the result of some human error, it created unlimited possibilities.

The average person, said Professor De Rujula, "could, in principle, travel to the past and kill their mother before they were born".

Yesterday, the scientists whose findings have force a rethink on the make-up of the universe, officially informed colleagues and asked them for help in uncovering any flaws. Link

India's Last Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Patudi Passes Away

2011-09-23T12:37:00.000-07:00

He was the Nawab of Pataudi, an inspirational cricket captain, especially considering that he overcame the loss of an eye to forge a successful career- an illustrious life came to an end Thursday marking end of an era for Indian cricket.

He was born into royalty, educated in England, transformed the Indian cricket and became it's youngest caption at the age of 21. He was India's first cricket superstar.

He is survived by his wife Sharmila Tagore, his actor son Saif Ali Khan and his two daughters Soha and Saba Ali Khan. His entire family was at his bedside when the end came at 5.55pm this evening. "He passed away around 5.55pm. His condition had deteriorated since yesterday. He was suffering from interstitial lung disease (interstitial pneumonitis) which worsens rapidly inspite of the best treatment available," Dr S. P. Byotra, Department of medicine in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where Pataudi was admitted, said. (Link)

"He was unable to maintain his oxygen level in spite of maximal treatment. He continued to remain in the ICU for nearly a month. He had this disease, which had been static since the last three months and worsened very acutely over the last four weeks,” the doctor said.

Tributes to Patudi on ESPN cricinfo

CIMA's Islamic Finance Certificate

2011-09-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

Bait al-Mashura, a specialised company in providing Islamic finance consultations, has been authorised by Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) to hold exams and grant certificates in Islamic finance. Bait al-Mashura managing director and CEO Dr Osama Q al-Derae’i said certificates of CIMA are based on self-paced study and distance learning principle.
More of this article on Gulf Times.

The 'CIMA Certificate in Islamic Finance' was officially launched in December 2007 in the UK and Bahrain, followed by Malaysia and Singapore in 2008.

Islamic finance is a trillion dollar industry and has become part of the global financial system. Educating financial professionals on Islamic finance has become a business priority for many countries, given that the Islamic finance industry is growing at an estimated 15-20 per cent annually.

The Nation Mourns Death of Hiriyaa Principal and four students

2011-09-10T00:47:00.000-07:00

It is shocking and deeply sad to learn of the tragic deaths of Hiriyaa School principal Ali Nazim and students Aishath Saeed of Meenaz Gaaf Alif atoll Dhehvadhoo, Mariyam Naaz of Suvaasaage Haa Alif atoll Hoarafushi (Galolhu Oivaali), Aishath Shaaniha of Handhuvary Villa Raa Rasmaadhoo and Mariyam Shaiha of Maafannu Moisha.

It is reported that Principal Ali Nazim lost his own life while trying to save drowning students who had gone on a fisheries science field trip to Kaafu atoll Huraa.

May Allah grant His blessing on the departed souls. May Allah grant families of the deceased the strength to bear such loss.

This incident is a stark reminder of the perils of the sea.

Islamic Banking in Nigeria Fraught with Problems

2011-09-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Nigeria has become a battleground for Islamic finance, further dividing Africa's most populated country. Nigeria is one of the world's largest oil producers. The country has a history of bitter civil wars fought on ethnic and religious lines.

Nigeria, the seventh most populous country in the world has some 70 million Muslims. In order to capitalize on the growing popularity of one of the world's fastest-growing financial sectors, the Central Bank of Nigeria has introduced Islamic banking into the country.

CNN's Christian Purefoy discussed the sector's potential with Hajara Adeola, managing director of Lotus Capital, one of the groups helping to pave the way for Islamic finance in Nigeria.

Adeola says there is a growing appetite for this form of banking.

"It is working in Nigeria and there is a lot of interest in doing Islamic banking, in West Africa in particular," she says.

Spread across the Middle East and other parts of the world, a slew of Islamic financial institutions have been offering interest-free services that advocates say can provide a more sustainable alternative to conventional banking practices.

The industry, which exists in more than 50 countries, is estimated to be worth around $1 trillion and has the potential to eventually be worth $5 trillion, according to ratings agency Moody's. The full article.

Amazon's Start Up Challenge goes Global

2011-09-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

Amazon Web Services (AWS), an amazon.com company, is aiming to become a billion-dollar-a-year business. It is a startup revolution . As Amazon CTO Werner Vogels said, with AWS all you need is an idea, a credit card and a dream. Amazon holds an annual contest, the AWS Start-Up Challenge, to realise this philosophy.

The AWS Start-up Challenge launched in 2007 is back, sweeping across the planet. Fifteen regional prizes (five each from the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe/Middle East/Africa) and one global grand prize to be awarded to start-ups with the most innovative businesses built in the AWS cloud. The global grand prize winner will be awarded with $50,000 in cash and $50,000 in AWS credits

Amazon is focused not just on the silicon valley but it wants to reach the global hotbeds to find 'the next big thing.'

When Politics Gets In The Way of Reform

2011-08-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to fight the “the wrong-headed ideas, bureaucratic nonsense and destructive culture” that led to riots across England earlier this month. David Cameron said a sense of personal responsibility had been eroded over many years by a welfare system that reduces incentive to work and “the twisting and misrepresentation of human rights.”

“The former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair responded saying the “muddled-head analysis” of the riots risks producing the wrong policy prescriptions. He dismissed the argument that Britain is in the grip of a “moral decline,” saying that problems lie with individuals and communities rather than society as a whole.

Critics of the Cameron Conservative coalition government argue that they want to introduce policies to reverse the welfare system.

Geoffrey Wheatcroft, a British journalist and author wrote:

"For the left, and for liberal papers like Guardian, the culprit was the Tory-led government and its “cuts,” the program of rigorous reduction in public spending in response to unprecedented public debt. But it’s hard to see what effect these cuts can really have made in the little more than 15 months since the coalition government took office under David Cameron.

A more telling (if not quite logical) response is the good old tu quoque: look who’s talking. How can the poor be condemned for looting household goods while bankers and financiers have been looting from the public on a far vaster scale than any teenage gangsta could dream of? This is a variant of Brecht’s “What is the crime of robbing a bank compared with the crime of owning one?” and it must be admitted that in the age of AIG, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Madoff, most of us have our Brechtian moments. And all of us here bridle when anyone is upbraided for greed and dishonesty by our Members of Parliament, who turn out to have been pilfering the taxpayer for years with their fraudulent expenses. "

The state has to punish those who break the law- whether they are looters on the street or greedy officials who robbed public finance or made money out of decisions which have had a profoundly damaging impact on innocent people.

The IPPR, the Institute for Public Policy Research, - the UK’s leading progressive thinktank gives an analysis of the ideological differences and outlines the case of the present coalition government's assault to cut the universal benefits and services.

Bill Clinton goes Vegan

2011-08-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Bill Clinton's love for hamburgers, steaks, and french fries has become legendary.

Former President Clinton now considers himself a vegan. He's dropped more than 20 pounds, and he says he's healthier than ever. His dramatic dietary transformation took almost two decades and came about only after he underwent two separate heart procedures and with some advice from a trusted doctor.

Clinton then decided to make profound changes in the way he eats.

"I essentially concluded that I had played Russian roulette," Clinton said, "because even though I had changed my diet some and cut down on the caloric total of my ingestion and cut back on much of the cholesterol in the food I was eating, I still -- without any scientific basis to support what I did -- was taking in a lot of extra cholesterol without knowing if my body would produce enough of the enzyme to support it, and clearly it didn't or I wouldn't have had that blockage. So that's when I made a decision to really change."

The former president now says he consumes no meat, no dairy, no eggs, almost no oil.

"I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now," Clinton told CNN's Dr.Gupta.

The former president's goal is to avoid any food that could damage his blood vessels. His dietary guides are Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., who directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal program at The Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. Both doctors have concluded that a plant-based diet can prevent and, in some cases, actually reverse heart disease.

The full report from CNN

Indian High Court Judge Impeached for Corruption

2011-08-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

Fighting corruption in India has been a monumental task.

BBC correspondent Soutik Bishwas explores the question. "Is India serious about fighting corruption? Going by some striking data put together by the country's respected, independent watchdog PRS Legislative Research, it doesn't appear so.

India's government officials charged with corruption can be prosecuted only after an approval by the federal or state government. However, by simply sitting on requests from prosecuting agencies, governments can easily slow down prosecutions or make sure that the offenders are never prosecuted."

The revolution in communication – with the 24×7 news channels and instant information sharing on the Internet has liberated content from the control of media houses and governments. The power of civil movements led by activists like Anna Hazare whose hunger strike is turning out to be a hunger fest. In the world's largest democracy, action against political and bureaucratic corruption is painfully slow.

India's upper house of parliament- the Rajya Sabha impeached a High Court justice on corruption charges on Thursday, against a backdrop of mass anti-graft protests across the country.

As reported in India Times, In a first, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday impeached Calcutta high court judge Justice Soumitra Sen on charges of corruption. Justice Sen could go down in history as the first judge to be removed if Lok Sabha gives its consent next week to the motion for his impeachment.

This is first time a sitting judge was found guilty by parliament's upper house of 'misappropriating' large sums of public funds in an abuse of his position as a justice of the Kolkata High Court.

Do Beggars Reflect the Plight of the Poor?

2011-08-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

The picture on Haveeru yesterday shows a line of people, who assemble in Male' for the month of Ramadan hoping to increase their begging income. This is a very sensitive issue. Most of them are elderly persons. Regardless of whether one agrees with their behaviour or not, they deserve sympathy. That is the goodness in human decency. Most of them may have raised families and contributed to society. In their sunset years, this is a very sad state for them.

While their individual difficulties are not known, nothing suggests that they do it do to sustain a serious drug habit- a deadly addiction widespread in our country. Also it appears that the social welfare monthly payment of rf 2000 for seniors above 65 may not be adequate to sustain a decent living.

Their families, the community and the government will have to step up to help these people in a more effective manner. Government can develop various skills programmes, just like the 'second chance programme' recently introduced, to help these people take up meaningful work that can pay them adequate compensation. That increases their self esteem and gives a sense of pride in belonging to a community. Stronger family bonds will need to be maintained to avoid people having to resort to begging as a means for survival or as a profession to earn money.

An Economic Storm Ahead

2011-08-14T21:24:00.000-07:00

That's the warning given by World Bank chief Robert Zoellick about the global economy on Saturday in Australia.

Zoellick said the eurozone's sovereign debt issues were more troubling than the "medium and long-term" problems which saw the United States downgraded by Standard and Poor's last week, sending global markets into panic.

"We are in the early moments of a new and different storm, it's not the same as 2008," said Zoellick, referring to the global financial crisis.

More of this article here.

Gangs and Looters to Blame

2011-08-12T02:25:00.000-07:00

Britain has begun to pick up the pieces of the violent anarchy that took hold of their cities. Terrified communities experienced unprecedented scenes of mob violence, with homes and businesses going up in flames. Senseless looting and theft carried out mostly by young people with no specific demands defies logic and every social value. An 11-year-old girl is among the 1,500 arrested in four days of rioting and violence in Britain, police said Thursday.

Britain is an advanced nation and has a strong tradition of welfare culture. Prime Minister David Cameroon cut short his vacation and recalled parliament from recess. Looking for the root cause of the mayhem, the prime minister told the parliament: "There are pockets of our society that are not just broken but, frankly, sick. For me, the root cause of this mindless selfishness is the same thing that I have spoken about for years. It is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society, people allowed to feel that the world owes something, that their rights outweigh their responsibilities, and that their actions do not have consequences."

As reported in VOA News, Geography Professor Chris Hamnett, of King’s College, lives in North London, not far from some of the worst rioting. He said:

"Essentially, what we've seen is rioting for fun and profit. This is not people expressing their anger against an oppressive state," said Hamnett. This is people thinking it would be nice to get a slice of the action.”

In other words, the looters set fire to buildings just to see how it looked like. It seems these youth live in a different world from law abiding citizens. They have no regard for other people's property. It is repulsive to see criminals robbing from and injured person while lying on the road needing help.

The breakdown of the traditional family unit has made it difficult for many single parents to provide the love and discipline children need growing up. These children grow up believing they can do whatever they wish to do without any consequence. This is the result of physical and emotional chaos at dysfunctional homes. On top of the chaos from broken homes, when governments are unwilling or when they fail to take stern action against drug traffickers, drug abusers and criminals gangs who thrive on such chaos- the result is in the words of prime minister David Cameroon, pockets of not just broken but sick society.

A social segment of this first world economy has gone morally bankrupt.

Burning with Rage in Britain

2011-08-10T04:22:00.000-07:00

A peaceful protest that was staged in Tottenham Saturday by supporters of Mark Duggan, who was shot and killed last week, has now blown into a violent rampage of looting and burning across several cities.

Across the Atlantic in 1992, a similar situation of violence broke out in Los Angeles, in the case of the excessive force used by police on the African American Rodney King.

In each incident, violence that shocked these cities broke out just from the starting point of a single incident. Social media- facebook, twitter and instant communication of the Internet helped flame the passions and gather people.

The use of social media helped to gather and rally people in Egypt, ushered in the Arab Spring and brought down Husni Mubarak's dictatorship of 30 years.

In a commentary about the rioting in Britain, the Christian Science Monitor writes:

'Whether it is rooted in the ills of urban poverty (20 percent or more unemployment among youths 16-24) or represents simple criminal lawlessness is just one of the soul-searching debates now under way. Like many nations Britain has undertaken austerity measures that will cut welfare payments and thousands of government jobs in coming years. Job prospects for most urban youths are bleak.

Two girls who took part in the rioting Monday night boasted to a BBC journalist that they were showing police and “the rich” that “we can do what we want.”

As is often the case with urban riots, the poor neighborhoods themselves are taking the worst hit. “Tottenham [where Mr. Duggan died] didn’t have much, now [it’s] got a lot less,” said a British journalist who lives in that mixed-race neighborhood.

The rioting also provides yet another referendum on social media. Hooded and masked vandals are using social networks – Twitter and Facebook but especially Blackberry messages, which can’t be traced by police – to coordinate looting of a street. They then are tipped off by message if police are about to arrive and they vanish.

But honest Britons have been using social media for good, too. The Twitter hashtag #PrayForLondon asks people to “Please Pray for the protection of lives and properties in London, and Peace in the UK.” And #riotcleanup has become a rallying point for those who want to help. It has motivated people to take to the streets with trash bags and brooms to tidy up the mess the looters leave behind. '

Sri Lanka's first Islamic bank: Amana Bank

2011-08-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Amãna Bank, Sri Lanka’s first licensed commercial bank to operate fully under the principles of Islamic banking, opened for business last week.

Amãna Bank will be offering a range of financial products and services including Current Accounts, Savings Accounts, Children’s Savings Account, Term Investment Accounts, Home Financing, SME Banking, Corporate Banking, Trade Services and Treasury Services.
Link: Sunday Times

Mubarak's trial: A Victory for Democracy

2011-08-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

A CNN Global public square report on this stunning humiliation for the the former president who was Egypt's military dictator for nearly 30 years.

The sight of Egypt's one-time most powerful man brought on a hospital bed into defendants' cage, made of iron bars and metal mesh was quite a spectacle. With him in the cage were his nine co-defendants, including his two sons — one-time heir apparent Gamal and wealthy businessman Alaa — his former interior minister Habib el-Adly, and six top former police officials.

There is no doubt that these proceedings will be closely watched by the Arab world where there is no tradition of democracy.

The Two Party-System is Making America Ungovernable

2011-02-27T05:45:00.000-08:00

The American model of democracy shows alarming levels of polarisation between the two main political parties.

All government is a compromise, in that it is adopted or created for the purpose of harmonizing the interests of the individual with the interests of the group. The types of government are numerous, varying with the character of the group, and with the particular conditions under which it exists. But we know of no government which is perfect: all have shortcomings, some very serious, others less so. There is nothing to be gained, therefore, by debating whether or not American government is imperfect.

Is this any way to run a democracy

America prides itself on being the oldest continuous democracy in the world. But criticisms of the America system are widespread. Our system is tailored to narrow interests and wealthy elites. Our two parties lock out alternative voices. Our voting procedures discourage participation and lead to unrepresentative outcomes. Is this really the best way to run a democracy?

What is so good about democracy? Ken thinks democracy is the most moral form of government. Is the democracy in the United States working well? Our representatives and senators make most decisions without popular input. John claims California has much more interaction between the people and the government. Is this a good thing? Ken introduces Josh Ober, professor at Princeton. What are the best arguments for democracy? Ober thinks that democracy requires an assumption of equality to get started. John asks what is wrong with a government ruled by a group of experts? Ober counters saying that the experts are not guaranteed to be beneficent. One of the benefits of democracy is that people will try to work out their differences. What about issues on which people cannot agree, such as abortion?

Do we have too much democracy in the US? What is allowable as to restrictions on individual freedoms and right in a democracy? If the entire population has one common religion, governing becomes easier. Isn't that good? Would a parliamentary democracy be better than the current form of democracy in the US? Ober doubts that a parliamentary system would solve the problems of American democracy. What role is there between education and democracy? Ober warns against using education as a ticket to voting. What is the relationship between media communication and democracy? Ober thinks that one-way communication will damage democracy. Many institutions that were put in place to aid the fledgling American democracy have now gotten large and unwieldy. Are these institutions to blame for the problems here?

How can we improve our democracy? Ober says that we should push the decision-making mechanism as close to local government as we can. Ken thinks that we need a national level government to assure equality across the country. Does the electoral college diminish the democratic process? Is our two-party system limiting to democracy? Ober worries that small parties tend to be extremist. In ancient Greece, political parties were not viewed as favorable. Do we need them today?

The two party-system is up for debate in America.

Last week's Intelligence Squared debate

Fixing the Greed of Capitalism

2011-01-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

Unfettered greed arising out of the free market capitalistic system is at its worst as we have seen in recent times. Bernie Madoff, a former chairman of the US NASDAQ stock market operated the biggest PONZI scheme, the biggest investment scandal in history. He has swindled thousands of investors of US$ 65 billion. On June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum allowed under the US law.

The 2008 United States financial crisis led to global financial meltdown which evoked fears of another Great Depression like in the 1930s. In this most recent financial crisis that started in the the US, Investment banks and commercial banks lent trillions of dollars for housing purchases to borrowers ill-equipped to repay when the housing prices crashed. There was no 'invisible hand' espoused by Adam Smith to maintain a fair and just order in the market. The driving force of the present free market model - at least in the US is Milton Friedman's theory that business corporations are only to make profit and greed is part of the equation.

With the emerging economies of China, India and Brazil fast catching up with the developed world, there is growing pressure for a new economic world order. Can the Western liberal free market capitalism co-exist with the economic styles of the emerging economies?

Below is an interesting discussion in Davos 2011, on the future of the Business Enterprise. Now we are going back to the roots of business that Adam Smith would have envisaged. Once again business leaders have raised the issue- social responsibility of business corporations is critical to rein in the corporate greed. Business needs to create more than just one value-i.e.,profit for the shareholders.

The new mantra for developing countries that need the assistance of the world financial institutions like the IMF seems to be: public/private sector partnership.

Hate Speech does have Tragic Consequences

2011-01-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

All too often, we hear about gun violence in the United States of America.

The American nation is shocked in horror yet again. Today, a lone gunman opened fire in front of a supermarket called Safeway in the Arizona city of Tuscon. The gunman killed six people (including a nine-year-old girl) and wounded a United States Congresswoman.

It is not clear why the gunman went on this terrifying rampage.

But whatever his reasons, the local sheriff - who is coordinating the investigation with the FBI - believes it is time for America to do some soul-searching.

Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, speaking about Arizona: (Link)

"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. And, unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry.

"It's not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included. And that's the sad thing of what's going on in America. Pretty soon, we're not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people who are willing to subject themselves to serve in public office."

He later added:

DUPNIK: Let me just say one thing, because people tend to poo-poo this business about all the vitriol that we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. That may be free speech. But it's not without consequences."

Freedom of speech is a sacred right guaranteed by the First amendment of the US constitution.

For countries that follow this model of the freedom of speech, should hate speech be criminalised in order to deter such horrible crimes?

Cycle of failure breeds youth violence

2010-12-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

What causes youth to turn to violence? Is it due due to the neglect of parents? Is it due to the system of education? Is it due to peer pressure? Is it due to the failure of society to stop violence from breeding more violence?

Glenn Lim who is a youth specialist consultant and adjunct lecturer preparing for his Doctorate in Criminology, as well as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador (Asean) and Singapore Youth Award 2005 winner explores the subject of gang violence in Singapore in an article on Today Online.

Gandhi's Seven Deadly Sins

2010-07-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

Mahatma Gandhi said that seven things will destroy a society. (Link)

1)Wealth without work
2)Pleasure without conscience
3)Knowledge without character
4)Commerce (business) without morality (ethics)
5)Science without humanity
6)Religion without sacrifice
7)Politics without principle

All of these conditions are evident in the social and political fabric of our society today.

Now we have freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. We have the separation of powers and we have independent institutions, still in the early stages of the democratic process. With the new found freedoms our society is on the brink of anarchy.

What is the price to pay for a free society?

Parents can no longer raise their children with sound values. Illegal drugs and violence have become rampant in our society. Personal morality is in a state of flux, with social pressures causing individuals to define "good" and "bad" as they deem fit. This is having a profound negative effect on our culture regarding the individual character development of our younger generation.

Now we want security and freedom from fear. We want a civil society to live in. We need the enforcement of law and order. We want our elected officials and politicians to be honourable in their words and conduct.

That would be a good starting point to restore honour into our community.

Saudi clerics battle over fatwas

2010-07-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Saudi's ultra-conservatives hold on to old views as Islamic progressives push for modern fatwas.

"Clerics have opened up a pitched battle in Saudi Arabia over who can issue fatwas, or religious edicts, as hardline and progressive religious scholars, judges and clerics have taken the fight public.

Much of the fight in the past week has focused on a fatwa endorsing music issued by Adel al-Kalbani, a Riyadh cleric famed as the first black imam at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam's holiest city.

Kalbani, popular for his soulful baritone delivery of Koranic readings, said he found nothing in Islamic scripture that makes music "haram", or forbidden.

But, aside from some folk music, public music performance is banned in Saudi Arabia, and some ultra-conservatives say it is forbidden even in the home.

"There is no clear text or ruling in Islam that singing and music are haram," Kalbani said.

Also in recent weeks, a much more senior cleric, Sheikh Abdul Mohsen al-Obeikan, raised hackles with two of his opinions.

First, he endorsed the idea that a grown man could be considered like a son of a woman if she breast-feeds him.

The issue is seen by some as a way of getting around the Saudi religious ban on mixing by unrelated men and women.

It brought ridicule and condemnation from women activists and Saudi critics around the world.

But Obeikan, a top advisor in the court of King Abdullah, who is believed to be supportive of less severe rules in his kingdom, also angered ultra-conservatives when he said the compulsory midday and mid-afternoon prayer sessions could be combined to help worshippers skirt the intense heat of summer.

While the choice is allowed for individuals in certain circumstances, conservatives say such a broad ruling for everyone is wrong.

The comments by Obeikan and Kalbani brought rebukes from top-level clerics in a debate that has erupted into freewheeling public discussions in the media and on the Internet. " More of this article on Middle East Online

Shape up shoes to feel like walking on sand

2010-05-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

Back to basics: Going on Naked Foot

2010-05-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

What a better way to celebrate the barefoot walking and running of our ancestors than by going barefoot?

Is this barefooting another fitness craze?

Harvard Professor Daniel Lieberman has done the research. He suggests that the bare human foot is better able to withstand the impact of running than fancy cushioned sneakers can. He has already converted to barefoot running. Listen to him on the video.

Another study which appeared in the journal Nature, describes the mechanics of running barefoot, or with minimal footwear, and how it can actually help prevent injury.

Many people think modern running shoes are necessary in order to run safely and comfortably, but they were invented only in the 1970s. Before then, running shoes were just simple running flats that had little cushioning, no arch support, and no built-up heel. Humans were running for millions of years, apparently safely, in thin sandals, or in no shoes at all. The research indicates that they may have been able to do so by forefoot or midfoot striking.

There was a time when barefoot walking was considered to be immodest and was frowned upon by people. Not any longer. In the ultra modern age we live in, this situation has changed. Although barefoot walking is still more commonly seen in the poorer countries, the barefoot craze has hit the developed countries too. Today, there is a complete society, called 'Society of Barefoot', dedicated to the cause of walking barefoot.

In Singapore, Habitat for Humanity in partnership with Barclays has organised a 5 km Barefoot Charity Walk, "Bare Your Sole 2010 on 5 June 2010" to build lives, homes and fight poverty.

Barefoot walking has come full circle. What goes around comes around and the human beings seem to be turning to its roots.

Link Home Barefoot Walking

Warming up before and stretching after walking

2010-04-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

A Gripping Love Saga

2010-04-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

There is a feeding frenzy in the celebrity-hungry media of India and Pakistan over the Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik who is set to marry Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza next week.

Shoaib Malik is facing an investigation in his fiancee's home country over allegations he harassed a woman who has claimed to be his wife, police said Monday.

Malik is currently in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad for his wedding to Mirza. Police commissioner A.K. Khan told CNN that officials have launched a probe into a complaint filed on behalf of Ayesha Siddiqui, who is Indian.

Siddiqui has accused Malik of "harassment, cheating and criminal intimidation," Khan said. Immigration authorities will be alerted to the investigation, as Malik is a foreigner, he said. Officials have taken a statement from the former Pakistan captain, police said.

Siddiqui claims Malik married her by telephone eight years ago and is seeking a divorce. Malik maintains he was deceived and the marriage is invalid, saying the agreement was based on a series of photos sent to him -- photos he claims were not of Siddiqui.

Malik and Mirza, in a joint news conference Monday in Hyderabad, said their April 15 wedding will be held as scheduled. Malik vowed to cooperate fully with Indian investigators and said he would stay in India until the probe is complete. (Link)

Freedom of Speech and Hate Speech

2010-04-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

Maldives has embraced freedom of speech as espoused by the democracies of the western Europe and the United States of America. For the citizens of these countries, this type of democracy- the liberal democratic model requires effective guarantees of freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, petition and of equality before the law.

The First Amendment of the United States constitution prohibits the government from regulating the content of speech, subject to a few recognized exceptions such as defamation and incitement to riot. Even in cases where speech encourages illegal violence, instances of incitement qualify as criminal only if the threat of violence is imminent. In Canada, Europe and other countries, hate speech is, outside the law, any communication which disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race or sexual orientation. In law, hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group.

In Maldives, those who pushed for the multi-party system for political governance did so because of the popular revulsion against the previous all-encompassing domination by the same government that remained in power for 30 years.

Now we have political parties and we do have freedom of speech. Political parties and their politicians are the catalytic agents that make democracies workable.

The two main political parties in Maldives, the ruling MDP and the opposition DRP and their allies disagree about nearly every issue, just for the sake of disagreement. The parliament is in gridlock and no beneficial work gets done. It polarizes the public who are supporters of these political parties. As we saw recently, the country was on the verge of erupting into violence consequent to the fist fighting inside the parliament. Cynics claim that every speech, every vote, every single thing these politicians do is for the sake of political posturing to help them get elected the next term, or help their party motives.

Journalists of the free media have an important responsibility to educate the public about various issues from all sides, using logic, reason and analysis to determine the different points of view. The public can then make informed decisions about the policies of the different political parties. The opposition political party should compete by offering better ideas and solutions rather than just becoming the party of saying 'no' to everything that the government does.

Maldives needs to find a way stop the the hate speech mostly driven by politics between the political parties. One way to do this is by the enforcement of legislation against hate speech. Our members of the parliament in the interest of the public good need to legislate to determine the acceptable boundaries of free speech. Also what kinds of speech should be considered out of bounds subject to prosecution.

Read this article "When free speech means hate speech" to understand how bad this situation is in the United States of America. There are hate-mongers both on the left and the right of the political divide in America who make a living by spewing hatred in the name of free speech.

A Great Lesson in Grit and a Record for Endurance

2010-03-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Nanyang Technological University(NTU) Singapore went the extra mile to raise funds for their students. NTU's 218 km ultramarathon was run round Singapore Sunday to celebrate its 55th anniversary. The total distance equal to 5 marathons is Singapore’s longest run and it raised $218,000 for the school’s bursary fund.

Physics teacher Yong Yuen Cheng, 38, was the fastest finisher in a time of 31 hours, 28 minutes and 51 seconds. Five out of the nine core runners finished the awesome distance within the cut off time of 36 hours.

This is a classic case of no-pain, no-gain moment. It's the mind over matter. It's the remarkable ability of the human spirit to transcend the limitations set by the mind- pain and suffering in this case. Toenail problems, blistered feet, a hurt knee, strained left quadriceps and diarrhoea were just some of the challenges that Yong Yuen Cheng overcame to complete the 218km gruelling feat without any sleep.

Despite the risk of injury, what drives relentless runners to do these ultra-distances and challenge their physical limits?

One of the nine core runners representing the NTU alma mater is MediaCorp Chinese news editor 56-year-old Lim Nghee Huat. Lim is no stranger to the marathon scene and has conquered miles in Brazil and Jordan. During the the three month period of training for this event, Lim said, "As daunting as it may seem to some, Mr Lim has these words of encouragement to those who are keen to take up the challenge.

He said: "I think from time to time, we should redefine the boundaries of our limits. If we don't try, we won't know what our limits are."

A fitting reply to the above question also comes from Yong Yuen Cheng when he said, "I do endurance races to let people know that no matter how ordinary you are, you can do something extraordinary."

While the NTU can immortalise the unwavering determination and perseverance of the core runners and the support group who helped runners endure the arduous ultramarathon, this feat also holds loads of positives and inspiration for everyone else, especially for those wishing to excel in their chosen path of life, be it sports, education or any other field.

"Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up." American ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazez.

British couple kiss goodbye to freedom in Dubai

2010-03-14T01:12:00.000-08:00

This was a kiss worth prison time. A Dubai Misdemeanours Court has sentenced the Brits to one month in jail followed by deportation for kissing and touching at a restaurant in Jumeirah Beach Residence- the luxury waterfront homes complex that offers retail outlets, restaurants, sports and health clubs.

Marketing executive Ayman Najafi,24 claimed that all he did was peck the cheek of the British tourist Charlotte Lewis,25. The judge handed out the sentence after hearing the written evidence of a local woman who called the cops alleging she saw them kissing on the lips.

The couple will appear in the appeal court today to contest the verdict.(Link)

Optimism for Islamic Insurance-Takaful

2010-03-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

The 5th Asian Takaful Conference is underway in Singapore from 9-10 Mar 2010. The Conference Theme: "Reality Check on Growth and Promise of Takaful as a Dynamic Force"

Industry executives are optimistic about the growth prospects of Islamic insurance or takaful which offers a mutual, co-operative type of insurance.

Total takaful contributions only account for just one percent of the global insurance market.

But this is expected to increase significantly, thanks to growing interest among Muslims and non-Muslims alike in shariah-compliant investment and insurance products. (Link)

Democracy is not enough

2010-03-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

Looking at the problems we face in Maldives today, it now seems that getting to the democracy is the easy part. This is only the beginning of the democratization process, i.e., the separation of powers and the building of independent institutions that reinforce democratic values. We now have the separate powers, but each power has more than sufficient to still cause tyranny to the people who gave them the power.

Reducing the civil servants pay while the commissioners of the independent commissions decided to increase their wages and while the elected members of the parliament refused to even consider to take a pay cut stands out as a glaring injustice forced out on the ordinary civil servants.

Recently the Ministry of Economic Development pushed to permit sale of alcohol in inhabited islands against strong opposition from the Islamic Ministry and several civil society organisations and many members of the public who petitioned the government against such permit because of the widespread problems of drug abuse, violence and killings that even the president has acknowledged. Granted that we are on a learning curve of the multi-party pluralistic system of governance, what we saw in this case is still an appalling level of incoherent behaviour between two ministries of the same government. Under pressure from the mass public protest, the government had to heed the battle cry against the sale of alcohol in inhabited islands and was forced to change policy.

Today, civil servants are back on the street protesting to restore their pay cut, hoping that the government would take cue from them and heed their call as well.

To be a democratic country, a country has to choose its leaders through fair and competitive elections, ensure basic civil liberties, and respect the rule of law.

After a free and fair election of the country's first multi-party presidential contest, we have had a peaceful transition in 2008. Rewind 30 years back, in 1978 we also had a peaceful transition in the nation's top job. We have since learnt that everything good in a democracy does not come just by changing the political guard in a peaceful transition. Disingenuous politicians, their ignorance and careful evasion of issues have left behind for future generations a host of intractable challenges. On top of the social list, an illegal drug epidemic affecting more than 30,000 youth most of whom are addicted to drugs. The present government needs to do more to provide care and rehabilitation to the addicts. In order to tackle the illegal drug business, stricter deterrent sentences have to given to those who are trafficking and selling illegal drugs. Unfortunately, the judiciary that is not functioning as it should is making this woeful legacy even worse by not meting out stricter deterrent sentences against hardcore drug trafficking criminals.

History has shown us that the democratization takes time because it requires the development of new institutions and widespread trust in them by the citizens. In the United States and Britain, it took well over a century before all the institutions and democratic practices were firmly in place. In Maldives in order for the nascent democracy to take roots, our government has to initiate the process of inculcating democratic ideals of trust, tolerance, and cooperation starting with young children from homes and schools. The challenge to build a culture of peace depends on the ability of a community to settle disagreements and resolve conflicts without waging violence.

We have a long way to go, but we are on our journey of the democratization process.

Pushing the Religious Envelope

2010-02-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

A day after the Ministry of Economic Development lifted the ban on sale of alcohol in the inhabited islands, the President's Office has weighed in under public pressure. President's Office says it will not be implemented until it is published in the government gazette. Critics see this as a cynical move fearing a public uproar as they say that the Economic Development Ministry's position is the government's stand on this highly sensitive and polarising issue.

This is the government's way of pushing the envelope to test the limits of public acceptance of a 100 per cent Muslim society. Until now alcohol is freely available in all the tourist resorts. It is a perverse logic for the Economic Ministry to say that lifting the ban to allow sale of alcohol in authorised hotels of inhabited islands will bring an end to the black market created by the permits given to foreigners to buy and consume alcohol in their homes. We already have an epidemic of substance abuse and drug addiction affecting more than one-third of our youth. With such weak laws and even weaker implementation and enforcement of them, lifting the ban will only lead to another complicated phenomenon- alcoholism, another devastating social problem.

A struggle to find the truth

2010-02-23T14:52:00.000-08:00

Like many other societies that needed to achieve closure on a past of oppression while simultaneously working toward national reconciliation and nation building, Maldives too has to face this difficult challenge. Both President Nasheed and Vice President Waheed have publicly spoken about this difficult task faced by the government. There are many Maldivians who feel that past injustices and human right violations should be dealt with properly, in order to avoid a repeat of such cruel behaviour. As the Spanish philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." But just how does a nation take the very painful and challenging road to the truth?

When South Africa emerged from more than four decades of apartheid, they turned to the concept of a truth commission. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is one of the best examples of restorative justice. Established in 1995, the TRC was charged with investigating gross human rights abuses that occurred between 1960 and 1994 so as to create as complete an accounting as possible of the atrocities of that period. Perpetrators were offered amnesty in exchange for full disclosure about their past crimes. This was part of a political compromise between the African National Congress and the outgoing apartheid government led by the National Party that was deemed necessary for a peaceful transition to democracy. This form of restorative justice emphasized reconciliation between perpetrators and victims built ideally on a perpetrator’s repentance and a victim’s forgiveness. Ultimately, it was hoped, the South African nation as a whole would likewise become reconciled.

This concept of a truth commission despite criticisms from some human rights and victims groups has worked for South Africa that went through tremendous upheaval, and needed to heal old wounds and bring closure.

East Timor also known as Timor-Leste, the first new nation of the 21st century is going through a painful struggle to bring national reconcilliation after the country suffered some of the worst atrocities of modern times during the Indonesian occupation. Timor-Leste’s president José Ramos-Horta, who survived an assassination attempt in February 2008, fears that prosecuting those responsible for atrocities could create serious instability in the fledgling state, as well as damage relations with its main trading partner Indonesia.

In a lecture at the MIT's Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship, Ramos-Horta who won 1996 Nobel Peace Prize said:

“I’m happy to endure criticism from the ultrapatriots of international justice who want to make East Timor a guinea pig of international justice. I will not be part of that. ... Let’s put all the past behind us -- look after the victims, the wounded, in their minds, bodies and souls, build a country that is deserving of so much sacrifice. Chasing the ghosts of the past leads us nowhere.”

During President Ramos-Horta's recent visit to Maldives, the Maldivian leaders would have learnt about the reconciliation process of Timor-Leste. Such a process acknowledges past mistakes including regret and forgiveness as a product of a path inherent in the process of achieving justice. It is also a process which should break the cycle of accusation, denial and counter-accusation. This process needs to be seen only for conflict resolution and truth should be the final outcome. It seeks justice and not retribution. It should not be used as a political tool to gain political advantage by political parties.

Tiger Woods Played By Different Rules

2010-02-20T00:40:00.000-08:00

In the USA, the celebrity-obsessed culture is constantly fed by the mass news media which permeates to far reaching corners of the globe setting trends for the rest of the world to follow this repulsive obsession. The Tiger Woods apology posted on his website has proven yet again that the rich and powerful do have an advantage over the rest of the population- infidelity in relationships included among others.

"I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply," Woods admitted talking about his numerous sexual indiscretions and reckless behaviour. “I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn’t have to go far to find them. I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules.”

Tiger Woods has made history on and off the golf course since he joined the PGA Tour in 1996. First up was a record $40 million contract from Nike. The following year he won the Masters by a record 12 strokes, becoming the youngest winner ever and first black player to take the title. His career has been packed full of accomplishments, including major titles (14), annual money titles (9) and Player of the Year awards (9). Woods is also the first athlete to earn $1 billion.

Tiger Woods is now a billion dollar brand. In his carefully scripted self-loathing apology, it is not surprising that Woods also apologized to his business partners.

Behavior expert and physician Drew Pinsky who has co-authored the book "The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America" has given a very interesting take on the cultural influence of celebrity narcissism; a culture whose young emulate the behavior of celebrity models.

In answer to a question in an interview, "What do you mean by the "mirror effect," and why do you say it's a problem?"- Drew says:

"I've been working with celebrities many, many years. I've treated many for chemical dependency and the like. They have profound childhood trauma. It's not something to do with their job or the life they lead. They just happen to be people driven to seek celebrity as a way to make themselves feel better. Then the question becomes, why are we preoccupied with this population? This points toward the mirror. We, too, have been increasingly narcissistic. I speculate that that's what drives us toward this phenomenon of elevating people to almost god-like status. It's not so much that it's the glamour we like focusing on — rather it's the dysfunction. We're taking someone who needs to be a god and making them a god. Then we spend all our energy tearing them down."

Celebrity narcissism, the term narcissism meaning that a person is totally absorbed in self sets a bad example for kids who view these celebrities as role models.

Cricket Star Adam Gilchrist who was nominated as the Australian of the Year has hit out at the obsession with instant celebrities who are famous only for being on YouTube.

Gilchrist urged the nation to embrace role models of substance.

The chairman of the Australia Day Council said only people who showed sustained effort over many years to make Australia a better place should be put on a pedestal.

Gilchrist told a gala dinner at Parliament House, marking the 50th anniversary of the Australian of the Year award, that celebrity worship was a worry.

"As our obsession with celebrity continues to grow, renown seems to come these days, for some at least, on the back of a few minutes of outrageous behaviour or a funny clip on YouTube," he said.

In the very tightly controlled stage set where Tiger Woods addressed his scandal for the first time, he has also demonstrated how skilled he is at dodging and ducking personal questions. Even though he said that he does not get to play by different rules, by his refusal to take any questions from reporters he has contradicted himself and confirmed that indeed he plays by different rules.

Ignorance is not always a Bliss

2010-02-13T13:15:00.000-08:00

Following article is from the Jakarta Times, marking the World Cancer Day on 4 February 2010.

"The public needs to realize that cancer is often preventable and treatable, including through changes in lifestyle, activists say.

“Many people still believe that when you have cancer you will die, and that’s it,” Melissa Luwia from the Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI) said during a rally to mark World Cancer Day, in Jakarta, on Thursday.

The general public also wasn’t fully benefiting from early detection and early treatment of cancer, she said.

“Some types of cancer, such as cervical cancer, if detected early, can be treated effectively,” Melissa said.

She added that many people were unaware that healthy habits, such as giving up smoking, avoiding overexposure to direct sunlight, maintaining a balanced diet and regular physical examinations, could help prevent cancer.

“People should realize that they have, and must make, choices. They can choose to eat food without preservatives, for example,” she said.

According to the International Union Against Cancer, each year more than 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer and 7.6 million die as a result of the disease.

However, 40 percent of cancers are preventable, YKI said. During the rally, YKI members and university students distributed leaflets promoting healthier lifestyles.

They also displayed a banner denouncing smoking, attracting passers-by in the busy area.

“Today we are trying to increase public awareness of the dangers of smoking, because it is one of the known causes of lung cancer,” Melissa said.

Indonesia’s Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) estimates that last year there were around 60 million smokers in Indonesia, and that 427,000 citizens died from smoking-related diseases."

The title of this article refers to an old English proverb- where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise. The phrase is used to mean what you do not know cannot hurt you. It is a quotation from the English poet Thomas Gray born December 26 1716 and died 30 June 1771 taken from the poem:

Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College

"To each his sufferings: all are men,
Condemn'd alike to groan—
The tender for another's pain,
Th' unfeeling for his own.
Yet, ah! why should they know their fate,
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies?
Thought would destroy their Paradise.
No more;—where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise."

Liberty without Wisdom and without Virtue!

2010-02-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue?

It is the greatest of all possible evils;
for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.

-- Edmund Burke
(1729-1797) Irish-born British statesman, parliamentary orator, and political thinker
Source: Reflections on the Revolution in France

Link: Liberty Quotes

Yeh honsla- A Classical Melody from film Dor

2010-02-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

Has the Global Warming been Exeggarated?

2010-01-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

The UN’s top climate change body, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made a stunning admission. It has issued an unprecedented apology over its flawed prediction that Himalayan glaciers were likely to disappear by 2035. It has now emerged that the prediction in its landmark 2007 report was “poorly substantiated” and resulted from a lapse in standards. “In drafting the paragraph in question the clear and well-established standards of evidence, required by the IPCC procedures, were not applied properly,” the panel said. “The chair, vice-chair and co-chairs of the IPCC regret the poor application of IPCC procedures in this instance.”

So, in the global warming debate- is the debate not over after all?

When Top Egos Clash..

2010-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

First it was the reduction of the bloated bureaucracy that created the bad blood between the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Ministry of Finance. The CSC then felt short changed when they realised that only the civil servants had agreed to reduce their salaries while the other independent commissions and the members of the parliament had refused to do so. Now the gigantic egos of the two powerful bodies,- the CSC and the Ministry of Finance has met with a headlong collision over the restoration of the civil servants pay cut. Given this worsening situation in relations, the spirit of negotiation and compromise has come to a dead end.

Without consulting the Ministry of Finance, the CSC has announced that the Finance Ministry’s agreement to reduce civil servants’ salary for three months is now over, and that all civil servants must receive their full salary starting from January. The CSC has directed the permanent secretaries to send the salary sheets to the Finance Ministry with the restored wage levels, warning that employees who do not comply with this directive will be held liable for their failure. The Finance Ministry hit back by threatening legal action against government payroll officers who failed to fill out a reduced salary sheet, charging that the "special circumstances" which made it necessary to reduce the civil servants salaries are still not over. Both agencies have failed to carry out the review of the three month-period of this special circumstance. It appears the CSC has jumped the gun and restored the salary. Not only have both government agencies forgotten to keep their egos in check, they also have threatened to take action against the payroll officers. The payroll officers are in a no win situation, whether they prepare the wage sheets with increased salaries as demanded by the CSC or if they prepare the wage sheets with the reduced salaries as demanded by the Finance Ministry.

No one expects the rival political parties who cordially despise each other's policies, character and integrity to soft-pedal on this type of controversy. The political knives are out to increase the heat, embarrass and cause the maximum damage to the government. With the vested interests of the opposition parties vying for political power, what we see is bitter partisanship and political wrangling. Instead of building our democracy based on the values of freedom, equality and justice, our society has become more polarised than ever before . The hopes of seeing the dawn of a new liberal age are fast fading away. Antagonistic politics can quickly lead to volatile social problems. Unless cooler and responsible heads can prevail, there is a danger that the building blocks of our nascent democracy could spin out of control.

At Stake is Not Only Justice

2010-01-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

The real political drama that brought the change of government in Maldives after President Nasheed won the first multi-party presidential contest over a year back, has begun to unfold last week with the launch of the 'Torture Victims Association', a Non Governmental Organisation(NGO).

The new President, himself a torture victim has not been able to get the independent Human Rights Commission of Maldives(HRCM) to look into the grievances of the alleged custodial torture victims and human rights violations that took place before 2002. The newly formed NGO seeks to build up pressure, calling for justice and accountability. The HRCM is concerned on the divisive impact of such an investigation on the national unity of our society, especially if it is done on political party lines.

The idea of a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), with powers to conduct investigations has been suggested. A TRC would need the cooperation and participation of all political parties, if we are to move beyond the acrimonious manner in which we have dealt with our past presidents- Our first president Mohamed Amin Didi is credited for introducing modern education and our second president Ibrahim Nasir took the country forward in tourism and development. Mohamed Amin was lynched by the mob in Male' and battered to death in 1954. After Ibrahim Nasir handed over power in a peaceful transition to the third president in 1978, he was hounded off the streets of Male' and forced into exile. In both incidents, some of the older generation politicians fed into the anger and frustrations of disgruntled citizens who resorted to street violence and mob justice. Now it is the opportunity for a new generation of leaders to rise up to the occasion and view things in a more civilized manner. How should justice be meted out to the outgoing regime for the serious allegations levelled at them? There has to be an independent process including the judicial system for those who are seeking redress for torture and violations of their human rights.

Why has our society become so intolerant when seeking justice? What is at stake is not only justice, but also our ability as a nation to up hold the rule of law- given our chequered reputation for politically motivated violence.

Here is what is stated on the Thomas Paine Blog -On Politics vs. Leadership worth some reflection.

"A little matter will move a party, but it must be something great that moves a nation."
-Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

Political polarization is not the path to true leadership. When politics refuses to go beyond party at all costs, it remains small, unable to lead. Greatness and leadership is usually found outside the boundaries and comfort of party.

One bucket of water for Tendulkar's bath!

2010-01-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

Here's how Sachin Tendulkar, India's cricket star is promoting to conserve water. The master blaster is involved in a civic campaign that emphasises on the need to conserve water in Mumbai. The six lakes from which Mumbai gets its supply of water is unable to sustain the city's need of more than 20 million people- a perennial water shortage problem amplified last year by the less-than-average monsoon rains.

The main civic body responsible for the city's water supply, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has to cut its water supplies and Mumbai residents are struggling to cope with water shortages. As water woes continue, the Municipal Authority wants to spread the message to Mumbai residents- use every drop of water without any wastage. Here is Tendulkar's message.

"By his own admission, using just a bucketful of water - to waste a minimum quantity of the precious liquid.

He made the admission while shooting for a half-minute social awareness message for Mumbaikars to save precious water. Mumbai suffered a monsoon deficit last year, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has shot the clip to spread awareness among the Mumbai residents.

Sachin advised the people they must take only that quantity of water in a glass they require to drink and not waste it.

Elaborating, Sachin also said that his family has given up the luxury of shower for taking bath. Instead, each family member used just a bucketful of water for the daily bath, an official of the BMC said.

In the ad, Sachin will stress the need to conserve water to save the city, which is already plagued by nearly 30 percent water cuts - and faces the threat of more cuts in future.
Speaking in Hindi and Marathi, Sachin will convey an identical message "Paani ki raksha, Mumbai ki suraksha" in the ad shot by Eureka Films for BMC.

The commercial, directed by Meghnath Kulkarni, is expected to hit cinemas and television screens in the next 10 days. Sachin is the BMC's brand ambassador for water conservation." Link

Takaful or Islamic Insurance pays off

2010-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

As reported in Business Times Malaysia Wednesday, HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the Islamic insurance arm of HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd, saw its regular premium collections double in the last six months, after shifting to traditional insurance products from single premium investment-linked plans. Chief executive officer Zainuddin Ishak said the move had allowed the takaful operator to collect RM30 million in regular premiums in a six-month period compared with RM15 million in the preceding six months.

This news comes on the heels of the recent announcement about the imminent relocation of Mukhtar Hussain, the global head of HSBC Amanah, the Islamic banking division of the HSBC Group, to Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, raising the question whether the Malaysian capital is set to become the headquarters for HSBC’s Islamic finance business? Hussain has hitherto been located in Dubai, the traditional global headquarters of HSBC Amanah.

Hussain will be the CEO of HSBC Malaysia Berhad in addition to being the global head of HSBC Amanah Bank and the chairman of HSBC Amanah Malaysia.

This is a recognition by the HSBC Group that the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre (MIFC) is one of the major hubs for Islamic finance and that Malaysia is an important promoter of islamic finance.

The principles of takaful, or Islamic insurance are:

1)Policyholders cooperate among themselves for their common good.
2)Every policyholder pays his subscription to help those that need assistance.
3)Losses are divided and liabilities spread according to the community pooling system.
4)Uncertainty is eliminated in respect of subscription and compensation.
5)It does not derive advantage at the cost of others.

Pork barrel politics in Maldives?

2009-12-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

As we see happening in several representative democracies of the world, Maldives too has embraced the concept of pork barrel politics at the expense of broader public good. The term "pork barrel" - which originated in United States refers to "appropriations secured by Congressmen for local projects." Typically, "pork" involves funding for government programs whose economic or service benefits are concentrated in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers. (Wikipedia)

The Rf11.9 billion mid-term budget for 2010 has been passed by the parliament, the legislative body, after including Rf800 million which was added following a parliamentary committee review. This is in addition to the Rf4 billion deficit in the budget proposed to parliament by the government. The Minister of Finance has informed the parliament that he will not be responsible to secure funds for the additional expenditure included by the parliament.

A responsible government budget is necessary to maintain economic stability of the country. If the government spends more than it gets and continues to print money to make up for shortfalls, it will eventually lead to inflation and set off a serious decline of the rufiyaa.

With the separation of powers, the Legislature or the Parliament makes the laws, and supervises the activities of the other two arms- the Executive and the Judiciary-with a view to changing the laws when appropriate.

Now that the parliament has forced the hand of the of government compromising the separation of powers and adding to increasing political chaos, how does the parliament wish to hold the government accountable for the Rf800 million included by them? Parliament wants the government to spend this money- public money on among other things to restore civil servants pay and subsidise private media.

If the opposition in the parliament is doing this to derail government efforts to secure financing from international institutions, it creates a more dangerous tendency. It may lead the way for members of the parliament to practice the US style pork-barrel politics, to carry out their pet projects using government funds in return for their constituents loyalty.

Although we now have the framework for a representative democracy-i.e., elected individuals representing the people, our society is more sharply divided on political party lines. The political parties engage in a bitter adversarial struggle to regain power or to remain in power. Rather than a simple dynamics - involving only voters, candidates, and issues - we get a dynamics based on competing factions. Political parties compete for funding, support and for voter loyalty; grassroots movements, special-interest groups, and wealthy elite factions compete amongst one another to influence public opinion and government policy, etc. People have no control over what their "representatives" do. Wealthy elites, with their ability to fund campaigns - and in various ways to influence candidates, the economy, the press, and government officials - end up having a distinct advantage in the competition among factions.

Climate Talks stalled due to lack of Trust

2009-12-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

China, India and other developing nations blocked U.N. climate talks on Monday, bringing negotiations to a halt with their demand that rich countries discuss much deeper cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions.

Representatives from developing countries — a bloc of 135 nations — said they refused to participate in any working groups at the 192-nation summit until the issue was resolved.

The move was a setback for the Copenhagen talks, which were already faltering over long-running disputes between rich and poor nations over emissions cuts and financing for developing countries to deal with climate change.

More on this article of AP.

A group of US Republican lawmakers have banded together and they are going to arrive Copenhagen to try to block President Barack Obama's efforts to push for mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases.

Blatter's 'moral compensation' to the Irish

2009-12-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Thursday that he wants to offer a special award for Ireland- a 'moral compensation' after Ireland lost a World Cup spot to France when a handball from the French captain Thierry Henry led to a decisive goal.

On the day Blatter announced that World Cup teams will receive at least $9 million for taking part in the competition, he insisted that a monetary reward would not be appropriate to pay the Irish.

The Irish never asked for a financial compensation or even a moral compensation. They wanted a place in the world cup contest. To talk about a moral compensation in the world cup dominated by powerful forces of sponsorship and big money just like any other big business that is bereft of morality is really a farce.

Earlier in the week Blatter urged players and coaches to "observe fair play", calling on them to understand that doing the right thing on the pitch has "social and cultural value" and commanding them to "be an example to the rest of the world".

This call for honour came just days after he revealed that Thierry Henry wasn’t to blame for his cheating which cost Ireland a place at the World Cup finals.

Blatter also revealed that he telephoned the France captain to offer him support “because he tried to get in touch with me.”

Blatter added: "He was honest by admitting that he did use his hand, but it wasn't his responsibility to tell the referee. In the specific case of the Henry handball, the referee should have taken the time to reflect rather than immediately awarding the goal."

Thierry Henery admitted to the hand ball only after the match was over. If Thierry Henry was so honest, he should have told the referee who did not see the hand ball before the match was over. Then the goal would not have stood and Ireland had the chance to go to the world cup.

It is difficult to understand Blatter's intellectual reasoning. What kind of a message does this controversy send considering the fairplay and honesty that Blatter talked about?

Dubai as finance hub faces first test

2009-11-29T14:42:00.000-08:00

Dubai's ambitions to become an international financial centre are in doubt after the shock announcement that its main state-owned firm wants to suspend debt payments, analysts said on Sunday.

"What happens next and, more pertinently, how critical decisions are disclosed will cement its continuing credibility and its place as a financial centre," said Cubillas Ding, senior analyst at Celent research and consultancy group.

"Dubai's untested financial legal system is now facing its first real test in relation to how it deals with the international community. No one wants to play in a playground where the rules are unclear," he said.

Dubai International Financial Centre, a 110-acre (44.5 hectare) free trade zone which opened in 2004, prides itself on its website as "the world's fastest growing international financial centre."

More on this AFP article.

Islamic Finance Vs. Conventional Finance

2009-11-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

Better citizens--not politicians--can solve our nation's problems. Thomas Friedman

2009-11-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

Tom Friedman Explains Causes Of America's 'Sub-Optimal Solutions' (VIDEO) in The Huffington Post, it reads : New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman is worried that America is producing "sub-optimal solutions" to big problems like global warming, an education system in decline and a weak economy.

The author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on Friday night to discuss President Obama's recent trip to Asia, and more specifically China. Friedman lamented the failure of US governance and the "forces of paralysis" that surround President Obama. He is worried that China's streamlined, one-party system will be in a better place to implement solutions to large global problems more quickly than the US.

Holding us back, Friedman argues, is a political system too closely connected with money and well-funded interests. Gerrymandering on the part of politicians makes it so that our leaders practically pick us, not the other way around. Friedman also thinks cable news television distorts the truth and that the internet (at its worst) can be a terrible thing for our nation's politics. He also says American businesses have gone AWOL, and hover over America, participating only when it suits their industry's needs.

Friedman says that better citizens--not politicians--can solve our nation's problems.

A Victory by Cheating in the Beautiful Game

2009-11-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

One of Europe's leading football players, French superstar Thierry Henry who has a good reputation for fair play- up to the "Hand of God II" incident - has confessed he cheated to rob Irish of a World Cup place. The France striker used his hand twice to control the ball before crossing for William Gallas to head home in extra-time during their World Cup play-off on Thursday.

This incident is reminiscent of Diego Maradona's infamous Hand of God goal when Maradona scored the winning goal to defeat England in a 1986 World Cup quarterfinal match.

Thierry Henry has tarnished his reputation for good. Argentina's Diego Maradona an icon of football in the 70s and 80s, despite his talent is considered one of the sports most controversial figures for various reasons including his use of drugs. Thierry Henry is one of the finest strikers of today's game twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, was named the Profeesional Football Association Players' Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times.

Thierry Henry has missed an opportunity to set a higher standard by admitting to the referee that he had handled the ball. The goal would not have stood and he would have earned the admiration of the entire sporting world. But he didn’t do it. He knew that he had done wrong, but he put his team's interest ahead of doing what was right. Now he has shattered his squeaky-clean image as an ambassador for football.

From what we see on the football pitch- players diving for penalties, dangerous fouls to hand balls- and off the pitch from the violence that show the ugly side of the game, it is clear generally that the beautiful game no longer exists. World Cup Football has become the world's biggest sports spectacle driven by the money and power of big business, sponsorships and merchandising. The pressure to win at all costs has killed the beautiful game.

Even Brazil known to play the beautiful game have abandoned their open and flowing style of the game to adopt the more physical style of the game played in Europe.

Tele Santana, one of Brazil's greatest coaches who led Brazil at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and guided Sao Paulo to two successive wins in the Libertadores Cup in the early 1990s is reported to have said: "I'd rather lose the game than tell my team to foul, kick the opponents or win with an illegitimate goal. "

Santana was widely respected for his sense of fair play and his refusal to use rough-arm tactics.

The qualities that the late Santana espoused seems to have been confined to history.

UN Chief Warns of Increasing Global Hunger

2009-11-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened the three-day UN World Food Security summit in Rome Monday, warning the international community that the world cannot achieve food security without first tackling global warming.

Mr. Ban said the human cost of the food crisis has been enormous. Millions of families have been pushed into poverty and hunger. In the past year, food insecurity has affected about 30 countries.

The U.N. secretary general said there can be no food security without climate security.

"The food crisis is a wake-up call for tomorrow. By 2050 our planet may be the home of 9.1 billion people, over two billion more than today," he said. "At a time when the global population is growing, our global climate is changing. By 2050 we will need to grow 70 percent more food, yet weather is becoming more extreme and unpredictable," he said.

Mr. Ban said a comprehensive agreement is needed at a climate change summit next month in Copenhagen. Such an accord, he said, must provide a firm foundation for a legally binding treaty on climate change.

FAO Director General Jacques Diouf gave a clear picture of the numbers involved.

"One billion hungry people, that is one of every group of six persons in the world, 105 million more than in 2008, five children dying every 30 seconds. Beyond numbers this means suffering for each of these human beings," he said (Link)

As the world's top leaders including the US President Barack Obama have not turned up for this summit, there are fears that the new commitments to deal with the food crisis may not materialise. The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the only leader of a G8 country attending the summit. Italy of course is hosting the summit.

Nov 13 - World Kindness Day

2009-11-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

According to the World Kindness Movement, "The purpose of World Kindness Day is to look beyond ourselves, beyond the boundaries of our country, beyond our culture, our race, our religion; and realise we are citizens of the world. As world citizens we have a commonality, and must realise that if progress is to be made in human relations and endeavours, if we are to achieve the goal of peaceful coexistence, we must focus on what we have in common. "

Countries that celebrate the World Kindness Day this year include Canada, Japan, Australia, India, Scotland, Nigeria ,United Arab Emirates and Singapore. The Singapore Kindness Movement celebrating the World Kindness Day for the first time is distributing 45,000 yellow daisies meant to motivate the public to show appreciation for acts of kindness.

People like to feel recognised and appreciated. Saying 'thank you' has become a competitive advantage in business these days in the fast-paced world we live in. Those who practise personal gratitude in life- to parents, friends and others will find it easier to do so in the business world- from the sales person to the executives who close deals worth millions of dollars.

A thank you note expressing gratitude creates a strong incentive for the recpient to stay connected.

It has also become good business for business owners and managers to thank their employees for a job well done.

This, Too, Will Pass

2009-11-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

In chapter 8 of 'A New Earth', Eckhart Tolle writes a thought provoking story about the discovery of inner space.

"According to an ancient Sufi story, there lived a king in some Middle Eastern land who was continuously torn between happiness and despondency. The slightest thing would cause him great upset or provoke an intense reaction, and his happiness would quickly turn into disappointment and despair. A time came when the king finally got tired of himself and of life, and he began to seek a way out. He sent for a wise man who lived in his kingdom and who was reputed to be enlightened. When the wise man came, the king said to him, ‘I want to be like you. Can you give me something that will bring balance, serenity, and wisdom into my life? I will pay any price you ask.’

The wise man said, ‘I may be able to help you. But the price is so great that your entire kingdom would not be sufficient payment for it. Therefore it will be a gift to you if you will honour it.’ The king gave his assurances, and the wise man left.

Be at peace

A few weeks later, he returned and handed the king an ornate box carved in jade. The king opened the box and found a simple gold ring inside. Some letters were inscribed on the ring. The inscription read: This, too, will pass. ‘What is the meaning of this?’ asked the king. The wise man said, ‘Wear this ring always. Whatever happens, before you call it good or bad, touch this ring and read the inscription. That way, you will always be at peace.’

This, too, will pass. What is it about these simple words that makes them so powerful? Looking at it superficially, it would seem while those words may provide some comfort in a bad situation, they would also diminish the enjoyment of the good things in life. ‘Don’t be too happy, because it won’t last.’ This seems to be what they are saying when applied in a situation that is perceived as good.

The full import of these words becomes clear when we consider them in the context of two other stories. The story of a Zen master whose response is always ‘Is that so?’ shows the good that comes through inner nonresistance to events, that is to say, being at one with what happens. The story of a man whose comment is invariably a laconic ‘Maybe’ illustrates the wisdom of nonjudgment, and the story of the ring points to the fact of impermanence which, when recognized, leads to nonattachment. Nonresistance, nonjudgment, and nonattachment are the three aspects of true freedom and enlightened living."

Link

The Perils of Climate and Capitalism

2009-10-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

We have come a long way from the subsistence fishing of our forebears and many of the values and social norms that served us well have changed. We are facing different challenges now- environmental threats due to global warming and sea level rise, an illegal drug epidemic, appalling living conditions in the capital Male', a highly polarised political atmosphere, religious extremism and intolerance are some of the major problems.

Our forefathers should be lauded for the manner they endured the rigors of harvesting the sea to thrive on a livelihood dependent on fishing. Fishing was the principal industry which was the mainstay of our national economy until the development of the tourism industry which started in the early 1970s. Thrift was the way of life for our forefathers. For them, living by the values of thrift meant that they earned more than what they spent. Our society's needs at that time were the basic necessities relevant to living a simple life.

Just like other capitalistic countries of the world that embraced consumerism through the process of industrialisation, eventually Maldives made consumerism as an integral part of its economy. The Maldives economy depends heavily on foreign imports and the major portion of the country’s revenue is derived from: import duties, tourism tax, dividends from state-owned enterprises and land lease rent. All of these revenue sources are influenced the development of tourism. Tourism is the main driver of our economy today.

As is the case with other capitalist consumer based economies of the world, Maldives too has become a consumer obsessed society following an unsustainable economic model. The more our society consumes, the better for our economy. Globalization has also made it possible for goods and services previously out of reach in developing countries to be much more readily available. Items that at one point in time were considered luxuries—from cars, air conditioning, televisions to cell phones,—are now viewed by many people as necessities. Some of them have have become fashion accessories and status symbols. Scientists have now warned the global community that our environment faces catastrophic consequences due to our excessive consumption leading to global warming and sea level rise. Our planet is in peril and radical changes in our industrial development and in our social behaviour of consumption habits are necessary to create sustainable economic growth.

The Maldivian government has declared its intention to make the country carbon-neutral within a decade. British climate change experts Chris Goodall and Mark Lynas are working to develop a package of measures that aims to eliminate the use of fossil fuel in Maldives by 2020.

The plan includes a new renewable electricity generation and transmission infrastructure with 155 large wind turbines, half a square kilometre of rooftop solar panels, and a biomass plant burning coconut husks. Battery banks would provide back-up storage for when neither wind nor solar energy is available.

The cost for the package of low-carbon measures is estimated to be about $110m a year for 10 years. The scheme should pay for itself quite quickly, because the Maldives will no longer need to import oil products for electricity generation, transport and other functions. If the oil price were to rise to $100 per barrel, the payback period would be as short as 11 years. At current prices, it would take roughly twice as long to break even. (Link)

Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas produced when fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) are burnt. Presently almost all aspects of our lifestyles from transport, power generators to household appliances rely on oil and that creates the the greenhouse gases detrimental to our environment.

In the past people lived within their means, accumulating individual savings, planning for education and a better future. Now it has become a feature of the capitalist economies to make consumer credit available to to buy houses, to start small and medium businesses or to take student loans. Maldives is following this path of economic development. The ability to borrow money can help to improve the livelihood of people by providing them access to financial resources which they do not possess. But as economists like to point out that consumer credit is a double-edged blade: It can lead to greater opportunity and freedom, but, if promoted deceptively and used recklessly, it can lead to disaster, as has so painfully been revealed by the American subprime loan crisis. The unprecedented loan defaults of the subprime home mortgages, which caused the collapse of the US housing market at the epicentre of the recent financial crisis triggered the current global recession. Click here for a multimedia guide that illustrates cause, and implications of the current financial crisis.

While financial advisers in advanced economies still emphasize the timeless principles of thrift, planning, and living within one's means, they also say the use of productive credit, or credit used to enhance one's financial future, as wholly acceptable. In their view, productive credit included debt incurred in purchasing a home or even such goods as sewing machines, or furniture. In contrast, the use of consumptive credit, or credit which satisfied an immediate need or wish that had little to no future value, is unacceptable.

This is turning out to be only a feel-good theory. By the time American students leave college, many of them often come out with twenty or thirty thousand dollars in debt even before they start a career.

The capitalist world's consumer conformism mentality creates artificial needs promoted by a multi-million dollar advertising media who work for powerful corporations only interested in making more profits. Every individual is made to become a perpetual consumer who is hungry for more.

While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) often quotes the principle of privatising state owned companies as a standard prescription to developing countries who need their assistance, developed countries have now shown us that the state has to intervene to save the private companies, many of them too-big-to-fail. Recent financial crisis in US and Britain has revealed that a number of their top banks and corporations cannot stay afloat due to the shortage of 'liquid cash' and the only way to save these too big-to-fail corporations is to nationalise them. These corporations and banks demand that the state should bail them out. The state is being forced to bail these enterprises out on condition that they shall sell the bulk of their shares to the state. This means that these capitalist states are being forced to move in the direction of central planning and management of the economy of the socialist model.

This course of action is just the opposite of what the IMF prescribes to the developing countries.

Amartya Sen who has won the Nobel Prize for Economics has written some thoughts on the limitations of the market based capitalism in an essay in the New York Review of Books.

He wrote: "Historically, capitalism did not emerge until new systems of law and economic practice protected property rights and made an economy based on ownership workable. Commercial exchange could not effectively take place until business morality made contractual behavior sustainable and inexpensive—not requiring constant suing of defaulting contractors, for example. Investment in productive businesses could not flourish until the higher rewards from corruption had been moderated. Profit-oriented capitalism has always drawn on support from other institutional values.

The moral and legal obligations and responsibilities associated with transactions have in recent years become much harder to trace, thanks to the rapid development of secondary markets involving derivatives and other financial instruments. A subprime lender who misleads a borrower into taking unwise risks can now pass off the financial assets to third parties—who are remote from the original transaction. Accountability has been badly undermined, and the need for supervision and regulation has become much stronger.

And yet the supervisory role of government in the United States in particular has been, over the same period, sharply curtailed, fed by an increasing belief in the self-regulatory nature of the market economy. Precisely as the need for state surveillance grew, the needed supervision shrank. There was, as a result, a disaster waiting to happen, which did eventually happen last year, and this has certainly contributed a great deal to the financial crisis that is plaguing the world today. The insufficient regulation of financial activities has implications not only for illegitimate practices, but also for a tendency toward over speculation that, as Adam Smith argued, tends to grip many human beings in their breathless search for profits."

While capitalism has swept aside other economic systems like the feudalism, socialism and communism and has enormous potential for positive change, it has not solved problems of inequality and poverty. Infact, while capitalism continues to provide opportunities for creating more wealth, the gap between the rich and the poor is also widening.

Social entrepreneurship is an emerging business trend, where the creative vision of the entrepreneur is applied to today’s most serious problems: feeding the poor, housing the homeless, healing the sick, and protecting the planet. This is the world of social business.

Creating a World Without Poverty tells the stories of some of the earliest examples of social businesses, including Mohammad Yunus’s own Grameen Bank. It reveals the next phase in a hopeful economic and social revolution that is already under way—and is the worldwide effort to eliminate poverty by unleashing the productive energy of every human being.

Among the several challenges we face in Maldives; playing our part to avoid further destruction to the environment has now become the imminent priority on the world stage.

The furore over disclosing uderage pregnancy tests

2009-10-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) is investigating into reports of underage concubines in Maldives. Using confidential information obtained from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), the HRCM has revealed that 85 girls under 18 years of age took pregnancy tests at the IGMH between January and September this year.

How these pregnancy tests are linked to the alleged concubines has not been made clear by the HRCM.

Now the IGMH is hitting back in order to show that they have not violated the strict medical code of ethics- i.e.,the releasing of patient confidential information without the consent of the patient.

IGMH has said that in matters of national importance the hospital would provide information to the relevant authorities, as it has done by informing HRCM of the underage pregnancy tests.

The IGMH has, however, not clarified about what was the specific national importance to these underage pregnancy tests.

Clouding any real issues that may be behind the underage pregnancy tests, the HRCM and the IGMH have engaged in a squabble of who is right and wrong, the sort of chaotic process that is typically used by our esteemed organisations in order to resolve complex social and health problems considered to be of national interest.

Link.

Maldives holds underwater cabinet meeting

2009-10-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

The government of the Maldives has held its first underwater cabinet meeting to attract international attention to the dangers of global warming.

President Mohamed Nasheed, dressed in full scuba gear (above photo by AFP), conducted the 30-minute meeting at a depth of 20 feet off the coast just north of the capital Male.

Most of the island nation, a tourist paradise featuring coral reefs and white sand beaches, lies less just over three feet above sea level and scientists have warned it could be uninhabitable in less than 100 years. (Link Telegraph)

This marks an important step in the quest for survival against a predicted sea level rise due the effect of global warming.

Bloggers To Give Full Disclosure

2009-10-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

As a marketing and business tool, blogging has finally come of age. Blogs have also matured as a communications tool within business companies, from C.E.O. on down.

On Monday, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which is the independent agency of the United States government that promotes "consumer protection" and prevents "anti-competitive" business practices, said it would revise rules about endorsements and testimonials in advertising. The new regulations are aimed at the rapidly shifting new-media world and how advertisers are using bloggers and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to pitch their wares. The FTC said that beginning Dec. 1, bloggers who review products must disclose any connection with advertisers, including, in most cases, the receipt of free products and whether or not they were paid by advertisers, as occurs frequently. (Link)

For bloggers who review products, this means that the days of an unimpeded flow of giveaways may be over. More broadly, the move suggests that the US government is intent on bringing to bear on the Internet the same sorts of regulations that have governed other forms of media, like television or print.

Many of the new products and services are provided by the rapidly growing sector of the information technology and communications technology. Those who use the new electronics technologies especially computers and video technology have seen the most profound changes.

As blogs have gained in popularity, demand is also growing for employees who can write them or have the technical expertise to support them.

Is it time to pass legislation for children to look after aged parents?

2009-10-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Until recently, elderly people in Maldives enjoyed considerable status, respect, care, and support from their families and the community. But due to migration, changes in values and life styles, and the breakdown of the traditional family system, it is now reported that more elderly people are turning to the state for assistance and care.

Maldives is a 100 per cent Muslim country. In Islam children are obliged to take care and be kind to their parents.

What would be the reasons why some children forsake their parents?

Is it because of a financial burden, lack of filial piety or a complete disregard of children's responsibility to parents?

Our government has the responsibility to find non-legal ways to help people who need assistance to take care of their aged parents. Since we are seeing a growing neglect of the elderly, is it also time to enact legislation mandating care for the elderly with punitive measures for those who fail to do so?

Korean drama's country romance- The Vineyard Man

2009-10-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Obama praises Gandhi's nonviolent social action

2009-10-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

As the world celebrates International Day of non-violence, US President Barack Obama on Thursday said America has its "roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi."

"His teachings and ideals, shared with Martin Luther King Jr. on his 1959 pilgrimage to India, transformed American society through our civil rights movement," Obama said on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Americans owe enormous gratitude to Gandhi, he said.

"The America of today has its roots in the India of Mahatma Gandhi and the nonviolent social action movement for Indian independence which he led," Obama said in a statement.

On behalf of the American people, Obama said he wants to express appreciation for the life and lessons of Mahatma Gandhi on the anniversary of his birth. "This is an important moment to reflect on his message of non-violence, which continues to inspire people and political movements across the globe," he said.

"We join the people of India in celebrating this great soul who lived a life dedicated to the cause of advancing justice, showing tolerance to all, and creating change through non-violent resistance," Obama said.

As the world remembers the Mahatma on his birthday, Obama said: "We must renew our commitment to live his ideals and to celebrate the dignity of all human beings.

Last month Obama had said that if given a chance he would love to have dinner with Mahatma Gandhi.

Obama expressed his desire in response to a question from a student Lilly during his discussion with 9th graders at Wakefield High School in Arlington Virginia where he, accompanied with the Education Secretary, gave a national speech welcoming students back to school.

Link: The Times of India

Video Ads hit Print Media

2009-09-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

The American magazine 'Entertainment Weekly' has brought the first video advert in the print media. Much like the singing greeting cards, when you turn the page the advert gets loaded and played on a small screen. The internet has been delivering video-embedded-in-text technology for some time. Now Pesi Cola and CBS are taking it to a new level in the print media.

An assault on the free market- The Shock Doctrine

2009-09-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Shock Doctrine

Build Trust and Increase Tolerance

2009-09-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

This year Maldives has marked the International Day of Democracy, a day observed on the 15th of September each year. The UN member countries are expected to commemorate the International Day of Democracy to increase awareness, to respect and promote the values of democracy and human rights.

In his message on the occasion of the International Day of Democracy, Coeur-Bizot, the United Nations resident coordinator said, “Public confidence and trust in the new government and the democratic institutions need to be strengthened through reinforcing strong mechanisms for transparency and accountability.” He also called to strengthen the civil society as well as the free media- an important institution in a free society that has the task to scrutinise and debate public policy reflecting the views of the people. He went on to point out that both the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Beliefs and on the Freedom of Expression and Opinion have noted the absence of the freedom of religion in the Maldives.

In a statement from the government marking the day, vice president Mohamed Waheed said, “First of all, it is very important that political philosophies of parties become clear,” he said. “Today what we are seeing from most parties is that they are formed around their leaders.” He also said different philosophies of political parties should be known to the public for it to be debated and built upon.

The declared ideology that all political parties hold in Maldives is that Maldives must remain an Islamic state and that all Maldivians must be Muslims as required by the constitution. Maldives is on the path of building a democracy with the separation of powers and independent institutions. Presently political parties do not engage the citizens in any meaningful dialogue regarding any political philosophy or the various issues facing the country. There is no bipartisan agreement among the lawmakers while crafting policies to tackle the nation's problems.

Although we are following the US model of the presidential system of governance, we do not follow the civil decorum that we see in the US Congress. On few occasions in our parliament chamber, members' heckling and unruly behaviour became so bad, the speaker had to call off the session. Our parliament needs to determine what is their acceptable decorum and make it a more productive institution.

We are a nascent democracy trying to find our foothold in a fast changing global world.

As Thomas Jefferson, a founding father and third United States president said, "Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories."

Therefore, the people of Maldives have to be empowered and kept informed, enabling them to keep a watchful eye on their government while trusting the elected leaders to do their job and deliver the results. An unbiased free media has an important role to play to achieve this objective.

A lot depends on the elected officials to create a more equitable system to distribute wealth even within the context of the capitalistic free market economy. Lot of work also needs to be done to move beyond the political apathy which is so widely prevalent in our society, build trust within the community and with the leaders and become a more tolerant society.

Salih Yucel's interview on Islam

2009-09-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

Salih Yucel, lecturer at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University in Australia has spoken to Minivan News. His talks deal with the theory and practice of Islamic law, the Sharia law on some important social matters.

Link to part 1

Link to part 2

Why Our Health Matters by Dr. Andrew Weil

2009-09-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Dr. Andrew Weil, the world's leading proponent of "Integrative Medicine" describes it as a healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.

In the clip below Dr Weil talks about his latest book "Why Our Health Matters."

We need to re-integrate ex-addicts into society

2009-09-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

A halfway house of sort organised by some former addicts has been working for recovering drug addicts to help them on their path towards a drug-free life style. The community-based NGO program 'Journey' started in 2005 is being supported by UNICEF, their main funder.(Link)

'Journey' can play a useful role to complement the work of the government's Detox Centres (one opened in Vilimale' recently and others to follow in the islands) which will provide proper treatment and rehabilitation for drug addicts. As the relapse rate for hardcore addicts is high, it requires a multifaceted approach to re-integrate the recovered addicts back into society and allow them to become productive citizens. The addicts who recover should not be stigmatised. They should be encouraged to take up meaningful work so that they can keep away from drug abuse, violence and crimes.

The government should introduce programs and incentives to provide former drug addicts life skills and training to enable them find employment. The government should also introduce policies to offer them employment in the public sector and convince the private sector to employ them as long long they live a drug-free life.

Heroin addiction has become an epidemic in Maldives affecting some 40 per cent of our youth. This is a very serious social problem for our future generation and our country. Rigorous action needs to be taken to control drug trafficking and tough enforcement action has to be taken against those who do to sell drugs and addict our young people.

To stop the plague of drugs, our government and civil society will have to rise up and meet this vicious challenge. Awareness programs should be run in schools, homes and work places.

In treating the addicts, medical and health professionals need to monitor individual cases to make sure that they don't get over the addiction to one drug by getting addicted to another in the process as has happened in some other countries. We need to keep in mind that anyone in our society can become a victim to this epidemic of drugs and a concerted effort has to be made to bring an end to this unfortunate tragedy. Our people should be able to live a life free of drugs and crime due to drugs.

Our parliament is efficient only to take recess.

2009-09-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

The 1st session of the new parliament has ended, with lawmakers taking one month recess after three months of work from June to August, without passing a single bill out of the 51 bills put forward to the majlis. Link Haveeru.

As agents of the people, members of our parliament have an important obligation to hold the executive branch of the government accountable. If our democracy is to succeed with the separation of powers and improve the lives of our people, then our parliament has to respond to the challenges facing our nation. Parliament has the task to scrutinise, amend and facilitate the government's legislative agenda. None of this is being done by our parliament which is turning out to be a self-serving elite that is only interested in protecting powerful forces within the political parties. It appears that the peoples' representatives have forgotten to work for their constituents who elected them to protect the citizens' interests. Instead lawmakers have become very efficient to abide by their internal procedures and take leave, first from January to February, then the month of May and now September.

This is outrageous considering that the lawmakers gave themselves a 500 per cent increase in pay last year.

Protesting workers a distress to investments

2009-08-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

According to Human Rights Commission, work stoppages caused by protesting workers has become a concern for foreign investors in Maldives.

The Maldivian worker now has the right to protest, in the form of work stoppages and strikes if negotiations with managements fail to bring an acceptable outcome through concessions and compromise. Both employers and employees are guided by contractual rights.

As Maldivian employers are learning, workers strikes cause lot of damage and financial losses. When a dispute arises, workers tend to show solidarity with other workers. Employers need to show some goodwill towards workers and demonstrate that they can be trusted to take care of the workers.

Maldivian government, the biggest employer in Maldives and private sector bosses will have to learn that any process of negotiated settlement with workers involves giving and taking on both sides. Political leaders, business leaders and labour leaders will have to recognize the damage and losses caused by industrial unrest. In a culture of negotiating, workers will have to learn how to seek consensus while pursuing their demands. No agreement is possible without compromise from both sides. Managing conflict and allowing for peaceful resolution of disputes is vital if companies and the country is to grow and prosper where both the employer and employees can benefit.

Painful reforms

2009-08-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

After 30 years of a dictator's political madness, now it is time for the nation to bite the bullet.

President Nasheed has embarked on an ambitious reform programme. Decentralisation of political power centred in the capital of Male' to the provinces has begun. The president wants to trim the bloated civil service from 32,000 to 18,000 and in his words 'all state institutions had to cut costs and "swallow bitter medicine" to survive the economic slump.'

The executive, the legislative and the judiciary are now separate branches of power. Indepenedent institutions such as the Human Rights Commission and the Anti Corruption Commission will help to strengthen the new constitutional democracy.

As we begin a new journey after decades of tyranny, we realise that the process of these changes will be difficult and painful but we are finally on the path of genuine democratic reform, freedom and liberty.

The job of the independent judicial branch is to interpret the law and render judgement after hearing the merits of the arguments brought before the court. There is increasing public frustration that the rule of law is not seen to be upheld in these courts. There are allegations that the judges have not broken the old bond of loyalty to the previous government.

We are hoping that the current government will not go back to the pork barrel politics that was routinely practiced in the past. That means whether it is public projects or privatisation of state enterprises or passing of new laws, the government should undertake them on their own merits and benefit to society without just seeking political party objectives.

Legislation against antisocial behaviour

2009-07-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Maldives Attorney General Husnu Sood is introducing a bill to the parliament intended to penalise and prevent antisocial behaviour.

When such a bill is passed and enacted into law, it will give the necessary powers to the police and the courts to deal with antisocial behaviour targeted in the bill. Such an Act would become an important tool to combat increasing gang-related violence, theft and disorderly conduct that disrupts public peace and harmony.

The Nasheed government and his Attorney General should be lauded for taking this initiative to prevent antisocial behaviour for the first time in our history.

It is also worth noting that much of the serious crimes, violence and theft also has a direct link to drug trafficking and addiction to it mainly among the youth in Maldives. For thirty years, the previous government took a lax attitude against drug traffickers and failed to provide proper rehabilitation and treatment to addicts. The Nasheed government has to demonstrate that it has the political will to lock up the traffickers and petty peddlers to serve out their full sentence. In the past such convicted criminals managed to come back to the streets without serving out their full sentence either because the jails were full or for other reasons.

Even if our government can deal with the serious crimes of the gangster groups and the drug barons, that would be good a beginning towards a society that maintains social harmony. It was only recently that President Nasheed participated in an event organised by the Municipality in collaboration with the Maldives Defence Force to clean up the litter dumped by public littering in all the wards of Male'. Clearly, we still have a long way to go to become a civil society which has determined its acceptable social norms and standards. Parents and teachers of schools will have to play a vital role to instill such civic norms in our young children so that our society can become a better and safer place for everyone eventually.

Our country is at the crossroad to install democratic reforms from a prolonged totalitarian form of political governance. The benefits of such reform can only be realised if members of our society can coexist peaceably. This is a change even the rich and powerful will happily welcome.

Stars honour Mandela on 91st birthday

2009-07-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hordes of stars including Hollywood heavyweight actors Forest Whitaker, Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Freemon, Susan Sarandon and Matt Damon gathered at the Radio City Music Hall concert in New York late on Saturday to pay tribute to legendary anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela on his 91st birthday.

Among the mega celebrities who sang at the concert was the former model and French president's wife Carla Bruni, who is performing for the first time after marrying President Sarkozy in January 2008.

All proceeds from the major charity concert will go to Mandela's 46664 campaign, 46664 being Mandela's prison number during the 27 years he spent in the African jail.

This year's birthday marks the inaugural Mandela Day, initiated by his charitable Mandela foundation in honour of the much-loved icon.

Mr. Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served only one term did not attend the celebration in New York due to his frail health. The Nobel Peace Laureate celebrated his 91st birthday at home in Johannesburg with a visit from President Jacob Zuma and the whole executive of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress.

Mr. Mandela has become a powerful global brand that symbolises forgiveness, inclusiveness and reconciliation. He still campaigns extensively for children and AIDS awareness and is seen as one of the world's most respected elder statesmen, despite having officially retired from public duty in 2004.

Listen to this New York Post where some stars have given their views about the popular leader.

Bringing focus on the dangers of unbridled capitalism

2009-07-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Pope Benedict XVI has brought focus on the "grave deviations and failures" of capitalism exposed by the financial crisis and issued a strong call this week for a "true world political authority" to oversee a return to ethics in the global economy. The Pope's call came just before the Summit in Italy of the G8 heads of Government, attended by 39 heads of government and international institutions. The Pope's concerns to find new "forms of Redistribution of Wealth" is likely to fuel debate on the failure of rich nations, notably Italy and France, to honour past aid commitments to poor nations.

The Pontiff's call was also to find a sustainable business development model in the broadest sense, and doing business with a social responsibility. It is capitalism in a globalised world where the market forces are regulated by a strong oversight authority. Enterprises are needed to seek a new way of understanding business that would respect the dignity of workers and foster the "common good by prioritising ethics and social responsibility over dividend returns" said the Pope.

The prevailing economic paradigm in most of the countries of the world including Maldives is capitalism.

Eight months after President Nasheed took office, our government is still pre-occupied with the old issues including investigating the corrupt practices of the Gayoom government that remained in power for thirty years. For the legislative agenda of the Nasheed government to become effective, the government needs to pass several bills to fulfil their election pledges, including the decentralisation of power to the provinces. These bills that are necessary to bring structural, social and economic reforms are getting hindered by the opposition party holding the majority in the parliament . They have placed their own party politics over the national interest and the future direction of the country.

Moving away from the crony capitalism of the previous government, the Nasheed government is embarking on initiatives to privatise state-controlled industries and empower the private sector to do business. But such private sector empowerment allowing for a more business-friendly environment and the government pulling out of doing business is not a panacea to root out corruption or solve all of our problems.

If we are to learn anything from the 2008/9 financial meltdown of the United States, the bastion of free market capitalism, we now know that unless adequate oversight regulations are enforced timely the same financial market that makes people rich can also ruin livelihoods with millions of people losing their jobs, bankrupt companies and even countries. The financial collapse that began in the Wall Street due to greed, reckless risk-taking, and dangerous speculation of investors, traders and bankers, quickly spread all across the globe bringing the worst recession since The Great Depression of the 1930s. The US federal oversight authorities failed to act for far too long until the economic roof fell on their head.

The Nasheed government needs to maintain strong oversight institutions in Maldives entrusted with the authority and responsibility to monitor our stock market with proper disclosure and good governance. Such oversight authorities should hold financial market players like the banks and financial brokers accountable, thus reducing the room for market manipulation. A well educated citizen who understands the financial markets is the best tool to avoid huge losses and financial havoc.

Maldives can only achieve the ideals of a strong democracy by building a strong economy that values innovation and provides opportunity to its citizens.

The present government needs to lay down a firm foundation of the institutional framework for good governance and create a system that provides a more equitable distribution of wealth. Unless the citizens reap the benefits from such reform process, it is likely that our country could slip back into crony capitalism and the "business as usual" system with another change of government. If that happens we will be back to the old system that promoted widespread corruption and allowed open borders for illegal drug traffickers who made tons of money while addicting and killing our youth.

Grim forecast with El Nino set to return

2009-07-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

The dreaded news of warming patterns of the El Nino weather conditions comes in the midst of the worst global recession since the Great Depression of the 1920s. The last severe El Nino was in 1998, when the Asian financial crisis was at its peak.

Reports say the 1998 El Nino killed over 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and Asia.

According to a report from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology on Wednesday, an El Nino weather pattern this year appears almost certain, raising the prospect of drought in Australia and a weaker monsoon in India.

As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall so far has been well below normal and the onset of monsoon in large rain-dependent agricultural states of central India has been delayed, forcing water levels to fall sharply and hampering irrigation in many parts. The monsoon rains are the lifeblood for farmers in India. Its faltering sugar crop is a prime reason why sugar prices are at their highest levels in three years.

El Nino is driven by an abnormal warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The severe drought caused by the deadly cycle of El Nino across the Asia-Pacific region will destroy crops and increase the price of commodities like wheat. Australia is one of the world's biggest wheat producers and has barely recovered from the worst drought in 100 years which hit a few years ago.

The mainstay of Maldivian economy is tourism. The beauty of tranquil Maldives includes the lagoons of crystal clear water surrounding the islands with coral reefs and brightly colored schools of fish. The El Nino of 1998 wreaked havoc on the hard corals of Maldives due to the extensive bleaching. However, these reefs have subsequently recovered showing their resilience to bring back the spectacular colours of marine growth and the bright-coloured fish.

For the global economy still in recession, the El Nino of 2009 could not have come at a worse time.

IMF projects weak ecocomic recovery

2009-07-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

Releasing an update of its April World Economic Outlook on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund has projected a slightly improved economic forecast for the global economy, thanks to the macroeconomic and financial policies said the IMF.

According to the IMF's latest forecast, the world's economic growth during the 2009–2010 period is now projected to be 0.5 percentage points higher than that projected in the April 2009 World Economic Outlook, reaching 2.5 percent in 2010. Although the global economy is beginning to pull out of the worst recession of the post war period, the IMF also warns that the recovery will be uneven and sluggish.

Link to the IMF article.

A Historical Lesson on how Nasir Stopped Corruption

2009-07-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

An article on Haveeru Online details how former president Ibrahim Nasir(2 September 1926 to 22 November 2008) put an end to the corrupt influences of the vora traders, first intitiated by the republic's first president Mohamed Amin Didi(20 July 1910 to 19 January 1954).

What an irony it is that for a country with a 100 per cent Muslim population, within the 30 years of the Egypt's Azhar scholars regime led by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, our government has become mired in massive corruption and faces difficult social problems such as increasing crimes, poor healthcare and education and cramped living conditions. Drug addiction, a health problem is rampant and affects nearly every family in Maldives. Such addiction which is a direct result of the Gayoom government's failure to stop drug trafficking, is deemed only as a crime by the same government who failed to provide proper treatment and rehabilitation for the addicts. They promoted Maldives as the idyllic paradise with "a sunny side of life" to woo wealthy foreign tourists who make the rich even richer, thus creating an ever increasing income gap between the rich and poor while the country continues to make further economic progress.

Maldives has followed the megalomaniacal path of leaders like Iraq's Saddam Hussein whose mad quest for self glorification has brought disastrous consequences for his country and its people.

End of the Era of Pop's Great Icons- Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

Stage is set for political confrontation

2009-05-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

Provincial results of the 77 parliamentary seats contested in this year's elections show the following results.

MDP 26, DRP 28, IND 13, PA 7, DQP 2, REP 1, TOTAL 77.

No single party has secured the majority in the new parliament i.e,39 seats. It appears DRP and PA coalition with 35 seats together with independents who could be lobbied to their side could form the majority voting bloc.

This is a huge setback for the MDP and it will make it very difficult to pass their legislative agenda. In order to fulfil the pledges in their election manifesto, MDP needs to pass 65 bills on transport, taxation, public utilities, housing, health insurance, privatisation, and reforming the drug laws, penal code and criminal justice system. We will have to wait and see the horse trading that will take place inside the parliament to pass any of these bills.

MDP who were confident of securing 50 seats must be wondering what went wrong.

Speculation is rife that MDP government's refusal to hold the leaders of the previous DRP government accountable for the numerous cases of wrong doings including the financial irregularities cited by the independent Auditor General has led the electorate to turn against the MDP as show by the election results. Whatever is the merit of this argument, parliament will be in gridlock over several legislative bills of the MDP because the opposition is out to prove that the current government has failed and is unable fulfil its promises.

President Nasheed has to now move beyond the hard-nosed campaign rhetoric and prove himself to be a national leader capable of lifting this country out of the rut that it has endured for the last 30 years.

Waging deceptive politics and misleading the public

2009-05-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

One profession in Maldives has so far escaped the high standards and accountability that the present reform process has brought about. The politicians. Higher standards are expected in most other professions including civil servants and everyone from public company directors to doctors. Politicians have always acted with impunity in Maldives. The MDP while in opposition to the Gayoom government cited numerous cases of fraud, torture and alleged killings by the state. None of these cases have been taken up by the MDP government with a view to put the past behind us by going through the kind of restorative justice-a truth and reconciliation commission that they promised during the presidential campaign, where the perpetrators of crimes face their victims seeking a cathartic reconciliation.

We now have a multi-party political system and the separation of powers- the executive, the legislature and an independent judiciary. The bureaucracy of the government now comes under the independent Civil Service Commission. Other independent agencies prominently playing their roles are the Human Rights Commission and Auditor General.

The two major political parties that dominate the national politics are the Maldives Democratic Party, the MDP whose leader Mohamed Nasheed won the first multi-party presidential contest deposing the Divehi Rayyitunge Party, the DRP's zaeem Maumoon Abdul Gayoom whose remained in power for 30 years. Now the DRP is the main opposition party. Clearly the electorate has voted for change in leadership and a change in the direction of the country.

In the run up to the first multi-party contested parliamentary election to be held on 9th May 09, the two main political parties- MDP and DRP are engaged in endless bickering of the gripes of what's wrong with each party. The country has many pressing problems to deal with which includes a faltering economy and the growing illegal substance abuse and drug addiction among the youth of the country. The political parties have not engaged to find common ground and positive outcomes of these difficult problems that are faced by our small communities. Instead, political debates on the campaign trail from both the DRP and MDP have become opportunities for telling outrageous lies and ridiculing the opponents. In a free society that has freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution, we cannot force politicians to tell the truth or face litigation for that is not practical.

It is up to the politicians to decide standards of honesty and ethics that will enable voters to elect capable politicians who will rise up above partisan politics to do what is good for the people and the country. Even with such high standards politicians can engage in vibrant political debate without resorting to the name calling and the gutter politics that has now become a source of amusement to the public.

Vitamin B9 treats allergy, asthma

2009-05-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Folic acid, or vitamin B9, essential for the health of red blood cells and known to reduce the risk of spinal birth defects, may also suppress allergic reactions and lessen the severity of allergy and asthma symptoms.

Johns Hopkins scientists, who conducted the first ever study examining the link between blood levels of folate, the naturally occurring form of folic acid and allergies, said results add to mounting evidence that folate can help regulate inflammation.

Recent studies, including research from Hopkins, have found a link between folate levels and inflammation-mediated diseases, including heart disease.

Cautioning that its far too soon to recommend folic acid supplements to prevent or treat people with asthma and allergies, researchers emphasise that more research needs to be done to confirm their results, and to establish safe doses and risks.

Reviewing the medical records of more than 8,000 people aged between two and 85 years, investigators tracked the effect of folate levels on respiratory and allergic symptoms and on levels of IgE antibodies, immune system markers that rise in response to an allergen.

People with higher blood levels of folate had fewer IgE antibodies, fewer reported allergies, less wheezing and a lower likelihood of asthma, researchers report.

"Our findings are a clear indication that folic acid may indeed help regulate immune response to allergens, and may reduce allergy and asthma symptoms," said lead investigator Elizabeth Matsui.

"But we still need to figure out the exact mechanism behind it, and to do so we need studies that follow people receiving treatment with folic acid, before we even consider supplementation with folic acid to treat or prevent allergies and asthma."

The current recommendation for daily dietary intake of folic acid is 400 micrograms for healthy men and non-pregnant women. Many cereals and grain products are already fortified with folate. Folate is also found naturally in green, leafy vegetables, beans and nuts, said a Hopkins release.

The study appeared online in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

Source: The Times of India

The blame game of a Failing State

2009-03-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

Following the murder of a youth recently, the acting home minister and police commissioner gave a press conference explaining the reasons for the uncontrolled street violence and escalating crimes. It was revealed that a contributing factor for the epidemic of violence was the release of more than 500 prisoners by the previous government. If they were dangerous criminals sentenced to be locked up, then why did the previous government release them free? Should those responsible in the previous government not be summoned to answer why they created this uncontrollable risk to the safety of society?

At what point in time will the current government have to take ownership of these problems that they inherited from the previous government? At some point, the present government has to stop passing the buck and deal with these problems. If the previous government has committed serious crimes, then the Nasheed government has to rise up to the task to expose them and bring those responsible to justice. Due process of the law has to be given to the alleged offenders.

In the prosecutor general's annual report, the state's prosecutor informs that he does not have the required staff and office space to do his his job. Most of the cases that the police have sent for prosecution remain unattended.

Presently this government is going through the decentralisation of public services in Male' to provinces and privatisation of public companies. Decentralisation and privatisation will bring greater benefit to society. It will ease some pressures on the capital Male' which is so over crowded that it is about to burst at the seams. This situation did not come about only because of the centralised method of control. The main reason is that we allowed an incompetent and uncaring government to go on for too long.

If officials holding responsibility in the provinces also are incompetent and uncaring, then we could up in a worse situation than where we are now. To reap the benefits of the decentralisation, responsible officials in the provinces need to be trained and motivated to serve for the good of the public. If we cannot do that, we certainly are on our way to become a failed state if we are not one already. Some of the former colonised countries like those in Africa prove the case that with bad and corrupt local leaders, the people have to suffer one tragedy after another. They may have escaped the injustices of their colonial masters but not the injustices of their own leaders.

How ironical is it that the country that has a "sunny side" as a peaceful paradise for rich foreign tourists is unable provide peace to its own citizens by locking up convicted criminals. Rubbing salt to the raw wound, the DRP government that caused these problems by releasing convicted prisoners is now protesting to protect the police- this time playing the politics of the opposition. The MDP government has so far refused to make the call on those who committed atrocities and still continue to wreak havoc on society.

Unfortunately for Maldivians, it is the government that has been the major cause of our biggest problems- from gangsters and violence to trafficking illegal drugs which has addicted a third of our youth.

Political Parties Promoting Hatred

2009-03-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

The multi party political system came into being in Maldives as a means to find a way to remove a president who was serving his 6th consecutive term of 5 years. Historically it has been very hard for Maldivian leaders to relinquish power.

Politics in Maldives has not been driven by any ideology or political philosophy of thinking (such as liberalism or conservatism in the US- the model that we are following), or even on the basis of Islam. All political parties have used Islam for political convenience. All parties insist that Maldives must remain a 100 per cent Muslim nation, with no real desire to deliver social justice that is strongly emphasised in Islam.

For more than 30 years we had no coherent policy on economic development, building infrastructure and housing, providing health care and quality education, or even maintaining social and religious harmony. It was political expediency at best. Just like the dictatorships in the middle east, our government vigorously pursued the extravagant trappings of power while neglecting the poor.

Now our nation is preparing to elect the members of parliament under the new presidential system. It took an MDP coalition to bring down the DRP government. Before the month was up for the MDP led government, Gasim Ibrahim, the wealthy businessman and philanthropist broke ranks with MDP. Although Maldivians have begun to see how fickle-minded these politicians are, they have not fully realised the horse trading that political parties indulge to buy over elected members to increase their chances to govern the nation.

Regardless of which party they represent, most Maldivians do not trust their elected officials because of the past experience. Politicians who needed their vote would appear on their doorstep once in 5 years. The promises they make are routinely broken and the electorate has turned cynical.

Few political parties except the MDP and DRP have developed into national party systems capable of organising candidates for elections or mobilise support to sway public support for party policies.

When the DRP was in power, they challenged their opponents not against the merit of how they wanted to improve what was wrong but by unleashing vicious personal attacks. It appeared as though no one had any reputation to protect. Now the DRP is in opposition. Its main role has to be to question the government and hold them accountable to the public. DRP should be able to offer better alternatives to the MDP led government's decentralisation- the main policy of this government. Where there is wide public support for a government's policy, it is in the public interest for the opposition to support such policy. The MDP and DRP and other political parties will have to learn how work together for the public good.

Even in this adversarial system, the public wants these politicians to work for their good. The personal attacks and vitriol need not be part of that process.

"Zero Tolerance" against illegal drugs

2009-03-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

During the campaign for the presidential election, candidate Nasheed now president has said that some of the people will not be in all of their senses all the time. His view is that some of the people will take some kind of drug seeking the high once a day or once a week. He believes that 'zero tolerance' of drugs does not work and it is better to control the hard drugs and determine which soft drugs can be allowed under the law. The conservative party of the United Kingdom, who advises Nasheed takes a lenient view of soft drug offences in the UK.

For thirty years we were governed by the Gayoom government and some of their most powerful people had no conscience. These people were sociopaths driven also by their narcissistic feelings- the deadly combination of traits that was found on people who committed history's most horrendous crimes against humanity. The Gayoom government did not allow fire arms into the country because such arms could have been used to bring down their government. This same government kept their eyes closed to the illegal drug trade. By not allocating the manpower and resources to stop the illegal drug trade, they allowed their henchman and officials to make tons of money while addicting our youth. The Nasheed government should not play this hypocritical game.

If president Nasheed feels that some soft drugs are OK, he should get the Islamic ministry to determine what soft drugs are allowed in Islam, even on medical grounds. The public should be informed very clearly on what is allowed, how it is allowed and what is not allowed.

If all intoxicants are prohibited in Islam, then president Nasheed needs to get his act together and exercise the political will to stop the illegal drug trade. The price of inaction is too great for our country and our future generations.

To forgive and to forget, but about the accountability?

2009-02-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

When President Ibrahim Nasir resigned in 1978 for health reasons, he had modernized the isolated islands of Maldives and opened the country to the rest of the world. He started the tourism industry. He is the hero of our independence. Despite the fact that this was a smooth transfer of power, everything that could go wrong went wrong.

Nasir was demonised, caricatures were drawn and the national hero was disgraced and humiliated in a festival of parades shouting abuse on loud speakers. Nasir's ministers like Abdul Hannan Haleem and Moomina Haleem were abused when ever they stepped out of their home. Even their children were not spared the indignity of this barbaric behaviour. This was the biginning of the 30 years of the Gayoom presidency that included Azhar scholars in top positions of our government.

President Nasheed says that in order for us to progress and move forward, we must forgive and forget. These are noble objectives that we can agree to. But what about the case for accountability?

By the time the Gayoom presidency ended, one-third of our youth were addicted to illegal drugs.

Of of all the social problems that our country has, the abuse of illegal drugs by our youth is the most severe problem.

Drug addiction is an illness. The addiction affects the brain. Although initial drug use might be voluntary, once addiction develops, the brain changes interfere with an individual’s ability to make voluntary decisions, leading to compulsive drug craving, seeking and use.

The impact of addiction can be far reaching. Among the deadly diseases, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and lung disease can all be affected by drug abuse. Some of these effects occur when drugs are used at high doses or after prolonged use, however, some may occur after just one use. Heroin, one of the most highly addictive and destructive drugs in the world is the most frequently abused drug in the Maldives, and there are increasing reports of injection drug use.

Maldivian government has criminalised this addiction and the drug addicts are locked up without giving them the necessary treatment. This addiction needs to be addressed as a health issue. Urgent action is needed to provide rehabilitation to the addicts. The Maldivian government has failed to prosecute those who violate the drug laws of the country. According to a report in Haveeru yesterday, a court in Male' ordered to release six individuals who were involved in trafficking drugs because the State has not prosecuted them while they were locked up for six months. This kind of lax attitude will never stop the import of drugs into our country.

This painful addiction would never have reached this stage, if our government had the wherewithal to take serious action to stop the trafficking. It is time for the Maldivian Government to wake up to the reality and help to save our youth.

Islamic Finance: a safer bet?

2009-02-16T14:52:00.000-08:00

The global economic crisis has handed the proponents of Islamic finance a “golden opportunity” to show that it is a better alternative to Western-style capitalism. That, at least, was what Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told participants at an Islamic economic conference in Kuala Lumpur last month.

Islamic finance, argued Datuk Seri Najib, could become a model for change because it prohibits many of the risky activities that triggered the current crisis. He may have a point.(link)

Maldivian government has been in talks with the biggest Islamic Bank in Bahrain to set up an islamic bank in Maldives.

What happened to this project?

If this project goes through, Maldivians can obtain finance to build their homes without the fear of being thrown out of their homes when the unpaid compounded interest runs higher than the principal loan taken. We need the Nasheed government and sharia scholars specialized in islamic banking to make islamic banking a reality in Maldives.

Capitalism is taking a battering in the West because of the greed of top level executives who have caused some of the biggest banks in America and Britain to go into insolvency, forcing the governments to step in and bail them out.

At a time when many of the industrialised countries are going through the worst recession since the Great Depression, it is worth looking at new perspectives for financing development of small countries like Maldives. Layoffs and unemployment are devastating for small communities like us with limited opportunity for alternative employment.

Changing Lifestyle

2009-02-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

Maldives vice president Mohamed Waheed Hassan Maniku has said the new working hours, 8am to 4pm introduced recently will bring a lifestyle change.

This is not the first time our government has changed the working hours. President Ibrahim Nasir changed it, president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom changed it and now president Mohamed Nasheed has changed the working hours. When Nasir left the presidency, we had a disciplined workforce who made it possible to fly the Maldivian flag on Maldivian ships that plied all around the world. When Gayoom was ousted from power after 30 years in office in the first multi-party elections, we have become a highly self-centred society with a third of our youth addicted to illegal drugs. Now it is Nasheed's turn to change our lifestyle and let history judge his stewardship.

The VP has urged bosses of government offices to keep a fridge and micro oven inside the office. Assume this is to prepare a hot snack or meal. Male' is less than 1 square mile and no one has any difficulty reaching home at any point in Male'. We need to bring more change than this to change our lifestyle. Though we have 40 per cent of our population living below the 1 US dollar poverty line, our country is rich. Palatial buildings and luxury yachts are available for our politicians. Changing the mindset of politicians is the first step of the change that is required.

President Nasheed who has suffered numerous imprisonment and torture himself for speaking and writing against the government has to now show how a government serves the people in the interest of the public. The Gayoom government never understood this concept. To them political power was the opportunity to spend the state's resources to live a lavish lifestyle and increase the personal wealth for themselves. As a result they neglected the poor and corruption has become a hallmark of our society.

Therefore, a change of lifestyle is definitely needed. The president and ministers must be held accountable for the power entrusted to them. We also need to find a way to rein in our members of the parliament. Nowadays parliamentary proceedings are turning out to be quite a spectacle for public amusement. When MPs are paid MRF 63,000 a month, it is not enough for members to yell at each other to settle old scores. It is not enough for Mohamed Shihab to abuse his position as the speaker. These highly paid MPs should devote their time to legislate and improve the lives of the people. Parliamentary privilege doesn't mean they should be allowed to abuse their authority.

President Nasheed and Vice President Waheed. Now it is your turn to change our lifestyle and set the mark of your presidency.

What Went Wrong?

2009-02-04T18:18:00.000-08:00

Here is what president Mohamed Nasheed said to a journalist from the UK. (link)

"Every evil you think a society could have has found a home here in the Maldives,” Nasheed says. “We have inherited beautiful buildings from the previous regime, but almost empty coffers. There is an acute shortage of housing, sanitation, water, health, education, transport and basic infrastructures for a decent life.”

In addition, 30% of the country’s youth (and 75% of the population is below 35 years old) are now heroin addicts.

What has gone so horribly wrong to bring our country to this situation?

After 30 years of high GDP growth that has made the rich very happy, how did 40 per cent of our population manage to stay below the poverty line of less than 1 USD a day? How did this laid back society living in relative peace find explosive growth of illegal drugs?

Is this the same country that former foreign minister Abdulla Shahid is talking about, praising its development and human rights at every opportunity?

If it is a bad government that has brought our population to such a national nightmare that should never be repeated, president Nasheed owes it to our nation to explain to us who is responsible for such behaviour and how it can be avoided for our future generations.

Keep the Focus on the Real Issues

2009-02-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

The Maldivian politicians have always used a scare tactic making the citizens believe that the infidels will come and convert them to kafirs. DRP used this tactic when they were in government. In opposition they now say that they are the only people who can preserve Islam. DRP says that the country is on the wrong track and they need 60 seats in the new parliament to save the country. What is wrong with the track that we are on now? We have heard this type of rhetoric before. These narcissists could not find it in Islam to run a just government for our small nation 300,000 Muslims. It was the threat from the European Union and the western concept of a Human Rights Commission that gave our rights to us.

How then can DRP provide justice, better health and education, maintain equitable distribution of wealth and stop the illegal drugs if they are following the same old failed policies that got them thrown out of power after thirty years?

As the biggest opposition party, DRP has to cut out the political nonsense to deceive the people. Where they have made mistakes, they must accept responsibility for the specific issues publicly. Where they disagree with the MDP coalition, they should offer alternative policies so that the public can make informed decisions when choosing MPs.

Debate about the real issues. Stop the fear mongering about religion. The rich have become richer while the poor remained poor. Political parties should offer their policies on how to reduce poverty, stop illegal drugs and treat addicts, provide better opportunities and create diverse employment without only depending on tourism. Just talking about them doesn't solve the problem. Concrete action has to be taken. Our people are cynical because politicians are self-centred and have failed the people time and time again.

Even the parliament, the peoples representatives have failed to look after the peoples' interest. Mohamed Shihab, the current speaker thinks that he can operate above the law.

What is important is for the government and the opposition parties to address the country's problems. Opposition parties should criticise the government's policies on its method of decentralisation to its policy on employment. Anybody who is anybody of MDP is getting employed these days. While some criticisms may be unfounded, the government must still welcome the ability of the people to offer such criticisms. That is the spirit of the freedom of the press guaranteed in the constitution. Journalists need to ask probing questions on the politics and policy of the government. The public has to be informed and educated about how the public officials function. This task may not be easy since we are on a learning curve and the decentralisation process is picking up pace across atolls and islands. If the Nasheed government is committed to transparency, then we are on the right track.

Responsibilty and Accountability

2009-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

America's first African-American president Barack Obama has used these words as a running theme during his long campaign to reach the white house. Maldives is following the American model of the presidential system. In the American system the president appoints the best persons for the various jobs. In the decentralising process, the Maldivian president is appointing councillors to islands and atolls based on affiliation to his party. As a result MDP loyalists and activists are given these jobs rather than choosing the best people for public service. President Nasheed's advisor Hassan Saeed who runs his own political party has voiced his concern on this problem.

We have taken the first step in the democratic process- choosing our leader from multiple contestants. We now need to come together to help the president succeed to make our lives better. After vigorous debate on policy and politics, the nation needs to come together to develop the potential of every individual citizen. This is how democracy is supposed to work. Our politicians should set aside petty differences and work to empower the poor and disadvantaged with skills and resources that will help to reduce the gap between the rich and poor.

President Naseed has a responsibility to do what is right for the nation rather than to only appease his base within the MDP. Appeasing the base has been the norm of governance during the last thirty years. Our government who were in cahoot with the rich neglected the poor and helped the rich to become richer. The Nasheed government must change this immediately.

Economists and politicians are warning us that we are now in the midst of a global recession like the one that began in 1929. The world is in crisis. Our tourism will get affected. Our politicians need to take timely action to avoid any nasty shock to our economy.

Politicians who seek public service and who get elected or appointed must be held to a high standard of responsibility. When politicians fail in their responsibility, they must be held to account. We have already heard that some democratic leaders want to prosecute president George W Bush and vice president Dick Cheney for taking the country to war in Iraq by providing false information to the Senate about the weapons of mass destruction. We need to hold our public officials accountable for the responsibility we entrust to them. Our parliament must remain the watchdog to make laws that will protect the interest of the people. That is more important than the recess they want to take. Going by how Mohamed Shihab is acting as the parliament's speaker now and as head of finance committee previously, it is clear that he is working only in the interest of the rich and powerful. It is such a shame the Judicial branch, the Supreme Court has to force the legislative branch, the parliament to do its job- a job for which every member draws Mrf 60,000 monthly- a hefty sum by Maldivian standards.

Job Centres with Moral Obligations

2009-01-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

According to a Minister of the Nasheed government, opening up job centres in Maldives will help young people to find jobs. The minister alluded to the fact that providing useful information to job seekers is a moral obligation of the state. It is heartening to know that one ministry is thinking about its moral obligation.

It is the duty of the government to look after its citizens. So it is more than a moral obligation not only to match jobs but to create them as well. For 30 years our government believed that their job was only to preach. They were not interested in creating jobs or maintaining them. During this same period our per capita GDP grew from US$ 300 to 3000. It is a remarkable achievement- a testament to the industrious nature of the private sector. Amazingly, during this same period the rich became richer and the poor became poorer. Thanks to our government who spent the money that could have been used on development of public services to the likes of the US 7 million yacht, seeking world class luxury normally seen in the oil-rich sheikdoms.

According to a recently released Human Rights Commission report around 12,000 families in Male’ do not have their own housing and are forced to share accommodation with other families or make do with temporary living arrangements. Housing has become so scarce that a quarter of all families in Male’ share just one room and almost 70 per cent live in accommodation that fails to meet ‘adequate housing’ criteria on the basis of overcrowding. These conditions are so appalling that these apartments are considered as slums going by the UN definition.

Presently there is an ongoing row between the Home Ministry and Civil Service Commission(CSC). The CSC claims that it had been asked to dismiss over a thousand civil servants from its employment by the home ministry; an allegation, which the ministry has denied. CSC says that they have also been asked to be make redundant a total of 381 civil servants over the age of 55. Under the Civil Service Act, the commission has the authority to retire civil servants over this age. The Home Ministry refutes this statement saying the CSC asked for such a list. The public does not know who to believe. It appears this government thinks people are a disposable asset because they do not have the strength of the unions to back them. Regardless of the type of restructuring that is taking place in the decentralisation process, those who have loyally served must be given priority to remain employed or be given the necessary training and help to look for other work. In this effort, no politician of the Nasheed government should feel it is only their moral obligation to serve public good. It is their duty and job for which they are paid to work in the interest of the public.

Rising Religious Tension

2009-01-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

Every now and then religious tension rises in Maldives. The most recent problem came up due to a directive issued by President Nasheed's Ministry of Islamic Affairs. It said that dancing is not allowed in this year's new year parties. The Ministry advised that it is unislamic for males and females to dance together. Several party organisers lost money as those who enjoyed such music and dancing were kept in check by the police.

In the previous government, the mathee majlis headed by Sheik Mohamed Rasheed Ibrahim failed to maintain religious harmony. Groups of people with extreme views refused to pray in congregation with the more moderate people. Ultimately such radical thinking caused a group of young people to blow up a home made bomb in order to inflict harm on foreign tourists.

The divide between the liberal voices and the more hard line conservatives is growing wider. This is a worrisome trend.

President Nasheed is taking laudable action to bring the benefits of a decentralised economy. He also needs to show strong leadership to bring religious harmony. He should demand that politicians refrain from inciting religious and racial hatred.

michael buble's home in lakeshore singapore

2009-01-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

Cut down the recess

2009-01-02T00:00:00.000-08:00

Our Parliament or the House of Peoples Representatives has gone into the two month year end recess. This despite the fact President Nasheed was urging the House to finish the legislative business to hold parliamentary elections in February.

The parliament sits in three sessions. First session from March to April. Parliament is in recess for the month of May. The second session is from June to August with September as the month of recess. The third session is from October to December with 2 months recess January and February.

Last year MPs decided to give themselves a pay increase of 500%. They raised their pay from Rf7,000 (US $549) per month to Rf42,500 (US $3,333), with living allowances up from Rf5,000 (US $392) to Rf20,000 (US $1,568). That is a total of RF 62,500 per month.

It is outrageous that MPs are paid such hefty salaries when the average Maldivian has to survive on Mrf 2500 per month.

It looks like our parliament goes into recess at the drop of a hat. Most of the parliamentary work is done in parliamentary committees. MPs spend time not attending meetings and debating meaningless issues. It is unbelievable that such fat salaries should be paid from the peoples money to such an unproductive institution.

For 30 years, we had a government that believed the rich elites were more important than the ordinary hard-working people from the islands. As a result of their lopsided policies the rich became richer while the poor became poorer. While in opposition the MDP and independent voices in the parliament did some impressive work. But much more needs to be done. We need to hold President Nasheed to his promises. He has campaigned to reverse the injustice and bring equitable distribution of wealth. It is therefore not acceptable when president Nasheed fails to instruct his own members in the parliament to complete the legislative work without taking the recess. President Nasheed must know that the ordinary citizens have suffered for too long and he must get down to govern seriously if wants to put the system right. No organ of the state can afford to be lax.

Momentous 2008

2008-12-31T12:08:00.000-08:00

The people voted in the first multi-party contest and brought an MDP alliance to power. The era of voting for one candidate is over. We now face the challenges of a young democracy.

We need to have an educated citizenry that is aware of its rights and understands the new political process. The rule of law through the independent judiciary has to be the bedrock of our economic development. Our government has to go beyond its dependency on rent-seeking of the tourist resorts. It has to redistribute wealth by allocating financial resources to create diverse economic development in the disadvantaged islands. Political openness and decentralisation which the MDP alliance has embarked on is a step in the right direction. Thus, the present government is moving away from giving favours like granting state loans to special interests who support politicians and keep them in power. The media has to play a vigorous role to educate the citizens who in turn must engage in the political process.

The emergence of independent democratic institutions can help to advance the concept of personal freedom and individual choice.

An ingenious idea has been floated by the vice president Mohamed Waheed hassan Maniku. Global warming and sea level rise could inundate the Maldive Islands in 100 years. As a long term strategy, the VP suggested to create a sovereign wealth fund, modelled on those established in oil-rich Middle Eastern states. Presumably the purpose of the Maldives sovereign wealth fund will be to buy land in another country to house stateless Maldivians. (Source)

Happy New Year

2008-12-27T18:46:00.000-08:00

Defining Moments 2008

2008-12-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Maldivians have endured the hypocrisy and double standards of elected leaders for thirty years. The lingering legacy of the outgoing fascist regime's 'divide and rule' concept is deeply entrenched in today's society. The present coalition government's politicians are struggling to work in unity for the common cause of governing the nation. They only know how to work in their self interest. These politicians have no real desire for public service. They are there to seek power and profit.

Given that democracy is a system of rule by laws and not by individuals, we have just begun the task of governing according to democratic principles. As a first step we have removed the one-man rule system that prevailed in Maldives up to now. For the first time in our history multiple parties contested and we have chosen our government through a free and fair election.

This is a turning point in our history. Now it is time for elected leaders to be held accountable for their policies and conduct in office.

Since power flows from the people to the elected leaders in a democracy, the active participation of citizens is necessary in politics. Whereas in the past we were coping in blissful ignorance, now we, the citizens through our representatives in parliament should observe and criticise on how the government is run. The civil society also has to engage in the political process as a check on the affairs of the government. The civil society would include groups of different interests like workers, businessman, fishermen, doctors, teachers, professionals and students.

If we go by the behaviour of our politicians in the past, we know that our nascent democracy is fraught with difficulties. This year marks the end of the painstakingly slow process of revising our constitution. What was praised as a world class document and completed in 17 years had to be revised dramatically after a few years. Another three years and millions of rupees later, we now have a revised constitution. It is time to practice what is in the constitution. The government has to be trustworthy and the people have to be free and independent. One of the important pillars of a democracy is the free press. Journalists need to scrutinize public policy and inform the public and the public needs to engage in the political process. Elections need to be held at regular intervals and the public need to exercise their vote.

We appear to be on the right path now. It took thirty years to destroy our values and plunder our wealth through mismanagement and corruption. Although democracy has finally arrived, a lot of hard work needs to be done.

Happiness is contagious!

2008-12-19T15:04:00.000-08:00

In a study that looked at the happiness of nearly 5,000 individuals over a period of 20 years, researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego, found that one person’s happiness triggers a chain reaction that benefits not only their friends, but their friends’ friends, and their friends’ friends’ friends. The effect lasts for up to one year.

The flip side, interestingly, is not the case: Sadness does not spread through social networks as robustly as happiness. Happiness appears to love company more so than misery.

Read more about this research on Harvard.

Nobel Laureate of Economics Paul Krugman on income inequality

2008-12-14T15:05:00.000-08:00

Mute response to deter street killings

2008-12-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

Tackling gang violence is not a “police problem” and there are limits to investigating gang-related crime, according to the assistant commissioner of police.

So the police have constraints and the Government is looking for excuses to pass the blame.

The Gayoom government made sure that it addicted our youth to illegal drugs by taking a lax attitude to drug trafficking during the last thirty years. Many Maldivians accuse some leading officials of the Gayoom government of conniving with the drug traffickers to benefit financially. This is the reason why the Gayoom Government did not have the political will to stop the menace of the illegal drug trade. The explosion of street violence has a direct link to the widespread abuse and addiction to the illegal drugs.

President Nasheed's MDP campaigned to clean up this mess.

But the way to do that is not to pass the buck from one to another.

The feuding street gangs are settling the final score by killing each other.

The suspects in the last two street murder cases of Ali Ishar and Shifau Ismail were released a month before presidential elections on court order. No one has been charged in court for these murders yet.

To provide safety for the people, the police will have to crack down hard on such violent street gangs and the legal system will have to impose appropriate deterrent sentences without delay. Justice delayed is justice lost.

Nasheed's government will be failing to provide safety to the citizens if it does not take tough action immediately to stop this deadly violence.

link:Minivannews