Life, Dreams and Reality -- Sohel's Blog

In the afternoon BBC was broadcasting Saudi King Abdullah with Queen Elizabeth II, exchanging their speeches in languages of Arabic and English in a royal banquets, where the glitters of riches from shiny palace decor had matchings of both monarchs' seemingly spotless groomed hair. After their pleasantry filled speeches, camera showed the king and the queen, briefly, in conversations with the help of their interpreters. One may wonder, what were they talking about? When the cameras are off, public views are restricted, what goes through the lips and tongues of royalties? Did they exchange notes on their respective nations' human rights' abuses? Saudi Arabia is a nation, where human rights violation and discriminations reported to be pervasive. In the name of protecting the religion, self appointed for being keeper of the "keys" of "holy" places, Saudi Arabia's records in keeping women subjugated by denying the very basic rights of movement, placing s...

What is the name of the disease that evaporates conscience from human mind? Where is that rumbling hyena, with its blood soaked teeth, scavenging the flesh from carrions, mingling in a disciplined pack of brethren, in ecstatic delight from the pure joy of ripping last bits of life out of a weaker prey? Law of jungle, animal's basest instincts are in shrouded display from pioneer scientists , in measured words of reductionism, propelling the age old prejudiced notions of inferiority of fellow human beings from distant places, or perhaps having not so lighter color of skin. Who are we to judge the make up of next generations of our world? What determines the criteria for the selection of "superior genes"? Would the "extreme social application of genetics" be ever be "fair" and non-predatory like the howling hyenas? Would there be expendables, undesirables be classified and sorted out for the sole dictates of power elites? Scientists with enormous impa...

Joseph Stiglitz won Nobel Prize in economics a few years back. The following link has his lectures delivered in Chennai in India earlier this year, in mp3 file format, courtesy of The Hindu newspaper from India. Link: Stiglitz lecture

Steering hurricane from one city to another city, or to a neighboring nation is getting more promising in computer simulations, even a small scale weather system will be employed for further experiment. The moral and ethical questions remain though: "If a hurricane were coming towards Miami with the potential to cause damage and kill people, and we diverted it, another town or village hit by it would sue us. They'll say the hurricane is no longer an act of God, but that we caused it." Here is a brief description of how hurricane forms: Hurricanes form when air warmed over the ocean rises to meet the cool upper atmosphere. The heat turns to kinetic energy, producing a spiral of wind and rain. The greater the temperature differences between top and bottom, and the narrower the eye of the hurricane, the faster it blows. One solution for steering hurricane would use aircraft to drop "soot into the near-freezing cloud at the top of a hurricane, causing it to warm up and s...

Who to believe? According to a spokesman UK's Department of Business and Enterprise "Over the next few years global oil production and refining capacity is expected to increase faster than demand. The world's oil resources are sufficient to sustain economic growth for the foreseeable future." In contrast to above "all good" scenario, "The German-based Energy Watch Group will release its study in London today saying that global oil production peaked in 2006 - much earlier than most experts had expected. The report, which predicts that production will now fall by 7% a year, comes after oil prices set new records almost every day last week, on Friday hitting more than $90 (£44) a barrel." What is the outcomes if oil supply indeed cannot catch up with the grown energy demands? "Anticipated supply shortages could lead easily to disturbing scenes of mass unrest as witnessed in Burma this month. For government, industry and the wider public, just mud...

An interesting article from The Economist and an interview with Vijay Vaitheeswaran argue that "Innovation is becoming both more accessible and more global. This is good news because its democratisation releases the untapped ingenuity of people everywhere and that could help solve some of the world's weightiest problems." When we think about "Innovators", automatically we perceive them as long white lab coat wearing scientist in a spotless laboratory, most likely funded by either government or rich companies. However, according to Vijay Vaitheeswaran "Now the centrally planned approach is giving way to the more democratic, even joyously anarchic, new model of innovation. Clever ideas have always been everywhere, of course, but companies were often too closed to pick them up. The move to an open approach to innovation is far more promising." Though more "democratized" innovations mean more fierce competition around the world, " it is n...

All the collective sanctions by U.N., United States, European Union may not put enough pressure on Burmese military junta who are still flexing their muscles and brandishing guns and bayonets on unarmed Burmese civilians and monks who have dared to protest against their autocrats. Without Chinese and Indian full hearted support behind the international communities' combined efforts, no diplomatic efforts have the possibility of success. Both China and India are Burma's major trading partners, thus surely these both nations have enormous leverage on Burmese junta and elites. Here is an excerpt from The Hindu's today's editorial : "There can be little question that as a leading democracy India must join the international community in its efforts to pressure the Yangon regime to move urgently towards democracy and national reconciliation. While practising good neighbourliness, and taking care to ensure that its actions do not constitute an unwarranted interference in ...

Why is China so afraid of Dalai Lama? This frail looking old man whose charming smile and humorous observations on nature, spirituality and peace have inspired millions many, still causes kind of a frenzied chaotic reaction from China whenever this old man comes to the forefront of world news. Dalai Lama's receiving of Congressional Medal of Honor from U.S. Government has sparked similar knee jerk comments filled with fumes from Chinese one party communist leaders. Why is China so afraid of Dailai Lama? Here are a few points that may enlighten this subject on Tibet, the repressed land that China had forcefully occupied many years ago: "Why is the mighty People's Republic of China so petrified of this 72-year-old Buddhist monk? True, the Dalai Lama is no ordinary scholar and teacher; he is the living symbol of the Buddhist faith. It seems that Beijing's cadres fear his moral authority and do not want the international community to examine their record in Tibet, because...

For many, Globalization provides huge opportunities, creating staggering wealth in places where it was unimaginable in the past. " Yet exclusion, grinding poverty, and environmental damage create dangers. The ones that suffer most are those who have the least to start with – indigenous peoples, women in developing countries, the rural poor, Africans, and their children.” These words were uttered by the current World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick. A few excerpts: In discussing how the World Bank Group can support developing countries, Zoellick pointed out: "It is the purpose of the World Bank Group to assist countries to help themselves by catalyzing the capital and policies through a mix of ideas and experience, development of private market opportunities, and support for good governance and anti-corruption -- spurred by our financial resources.” “It is the purpose of the Bank Group to advance ideas about international projects and agreements on trade, finance, health, ...

Even in "most developed" nations, lower voter turn out plays a significant role in not so representative democracy. Especially, the working class, who is tied with work during the voting hours miss out in abundance, as does other segments of societies. Switzerland "will use quantum technology to encrypt election results as they are sent to the capital on Oct. 21", which is "A new "unbreakable" encryption method will be keep votes safe for citizens in the Swiss canton (state) of Geneva in the country's upcoming national elections." Perhaps, in the next few years, citizens will be able to vote at the comfort of their homes, and even during the busy work days. If this new "unbreakable" cryptography technology holds true for voting machines and can be adapted by other nations, then, democracy will get a boost, since it will help "democratic nation" be represented by everyone, even by the marginalized ones. Link: Swiss Votes t...

Critics raises question: what Nobel Peace prize has commonality with Global Warming? The answer from Nobel committee was profound : "climate change, if unchecked, could unleash massive migrations, violent competitions for resources and, ultimately, threaten the “security of mankind.”" Al Gore's sharing the Nobel Peace prize with United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change can be seen by the "skeptics" as the slap on Mr. Bush's face, but, the clear and present danger from global warming, its far reaching disastrous impacts for the entire globe is above and beyond the mere slap on petty science deniers. Mr. Bush's last seven years have seen the "questioning the science of global warming and undermining efforts to do anything substantive about it. His recent efforts to demonstrate leadership -- from finally recognizing global warming as real to hosting a climate summit with the major emitters of greenhouse gases -- are undermined by...

A few welcoming facts and alarming trends from Washington Post: Foreign-born researchers are common in the U.S. academic and scientific communities. In fact, more than a third of American Nobel laureates in the sciences over the last 15 years were born outside the U.S. These scientists are conducting research with extraordinary promise for improving lives, as well as great potential to produce commercialized therapies and technologies that drive U.S. innovation and economic growth. The U.S. should welcome these highly skilled researchers and innovators. Unfortunately, recent trends in immigration policy are making it more difficult for foreign-born scientists and engineers to put their skills to work in this country -- and that could have profoundly negative implications for the U.S. economy. Link: Immigrants and Laureates

Viswanathan Anand has become the undisputed World Champions in chess. He had won it once before seven years ago, and his successes in chess for the past two decades is stunning. Unlike other ego shouting champions and challengers of the past, Anand takes pride in his gentle manner and humility. "What makes Anand such a lovable champion is his gracious demeanour. In triumph, he is quick to remember those who offered him a helping hand on the way. Even in adversity, Anand maintains grace and dignity. He has dealt with fans and critics with equal attention. Though at the top of the chess world, Anand remains grounded. Indeed, after a long time, chess has a worthy “undisputed champion” of the world. Link to article: http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20071019508813200.htm

This rings bell for many, including the humble me. Very few people these days can boast holding the same job for their entire life. The Economist's chart on the right shows the average job tenure country by country basis.

The prize is a particularly striking accomplishment for Capecchi (pronounced kuh-PEK'-ee). A native of Italy, he was separated from his mother, a poet, at age 3 when the Gestapo took her to the Dachau concentration camp as a political prisoner in 1941. He spent a year with a peasant family, until the money she'd left for his care ran out. At age 4, "I started wandering the streets," he recalled Monday. For about four years, he lived on the streets or in orphanages, and he ended up in a hospital with malnutrition. Dachau was liberated in 1945 and his mother survived. "Then she set out to find me," searching through hospital records. "I was in a hospital and when they keep you in a hospital, they didn't want you to run around. They took your clothes away. She came and bought me an outfit." She showed up on Capecchi's 9th birthday. Soon thereafter, "we were on a boat to America ... I literally expected roads to be paved with gold. W...

I don't hear his name in poetic world. But not too long ago, in 1984 he was awarded Nobel prize in literature for his "work which, 'endowed with freshness, sensuality and rich inventiveness, provides a liberating image of the indomitable spirit and versatility of man.'' From Wikipedia: "Seifert was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1984 . Due to bad health, he was not present at the award's ceremony, and so his daughter received the Nobel Prize in his name (Some sources say, that the government didn't let him go accept the Prize). Even though it was a matter of great importance, there was only a brief remark on the award in the state-controlled media. He died in 1986 and was buried at the municipal cemetery in Kralupy nad Vltavou . His burial was marked by a high presence of secret police, who tried to suppress any hint of dissent on the part of mourners." From Nobelprize.org site here are a few links on Jarslav Seifert: Biography http://...

A promising discovery it seems. If it holds true on further verification by the scientific communities, it can very well open new scope in the fight against all pervasive cancer. A few excerpt from this article given below: "Inside the cell nucleus, all our genetic information is located on twisted, double stranded molecules of DNA which are packaged into chromosomes. At the end of these chromosomes are telomeres, zones of repeated chains of DNA that are often compared to the plastic tips on shoelaces because they prevent chromosomes from fraying, and thus genetic information from getting scrambled when cells divide. The telomere is like a cellular clock, because every time a cell divides, the telomere shortens. After a cell has grown and divided a few dozen times, the telomeres turn on an alarm system that prevents further division. If this clock doesn't function right, cells either end up with damaged chromosomes or they become "immortal" and continue dividing endl...

Bjorn Lomborg has many dissenters. After his publication of Skeptical Environmentalist, a few of his fellow Danish scientists accused him for "scientific dishonesty". Here is an excerpt from the ruling on that case cited by the Danish Committees on Scientific Dishonesty: "Objectively speaking, the publication of the work under consideration is deemed to fall within the concept of scientific dishonesty. ...In view of the subjective requirements made in terms of intent or gross negligence, however, Bjørn Lomborg's publication cannot fall within the bounds of this characterization. Conversely, the publication is deemed clearly contrary to the standards of good scientific practice." Lomborg's controversial book's main thesis was that "many of the most-publicized claims and predictions of environmentalists are exaggerated." For which "outrageous" claims, he got rebuked by his fellow scientists, branding him unethical for his "deliber...

Originally, inventors of modern Internet didn't design it for watching TV, using VOIPs, downloading and uploading tons of video and audio files, streaming video conferencing, etc. Here is a quote from one of the inventors, Larry Roberts who "oversaw" the creation of the foundation of Internet ARPAnet back in 1969: " We can no longer rely on last-generation technology, which has essentially remained unchanged for 40 years, to power Internet performance. " More and more high demand of bandwidth have already started to create crunch on existing network infrastructure. " To tackle the problem, a slew of start-ups are producing gear and software to accelerate Internet traffic or to increase the network's capacity. " Read more from the following Wall Street Journal link: Its Creators Call Internet Outdated, Offer Remedies http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119128309597345795.html