Regional ambitions

There's a lot of talk about Turkey's recent (supposedly civilian) adventure in the Mediterranean especially since it had the blessing of the ruling junta.  What message were the Turks sending out to the whole world and the region, in particular?

Turkey is ideally placed between Europe & Asia.  One side of the Bosphorus wants to be close to Europe, the other side not.  Having tried all these years to appease the Europeans with reforms, nothing seems to work out in their favor due to the prominence of two groups (traditionalist versus modernists).  The former believes Turkey is swaying way off course with its liberalism while the latter wants even more liberalism.  For now, the former is the driver's seat with no intention of relinquishing its position.

However, there's a lot at stake here.  One of them being they are our strategic partner for security and other avenues of regional cooperation.  Considering these aspects, I seriously hope the Obama administration is reviewing the recent developments and have corrective measures planned in the short & long term.  From what I've heard from sources in DC, there's already a minor state of panic that we are on course of losing an ally that is strategically important for us in this region.

On the other hand, maybe the Turks with their moderate views would not be such a bad idea of a power broker in the region.

Having that said, a key element remains.  Will the traditionalist Arabs allow an outsider even though they share the same religion to flex its muscles in their backyard?

I hope for the sake of stability, we never have to pick a side.

Video

I like this guy's sense of humor and the way he conveys the message to accept ourselves as we come.  That apart, I think this video would be a great reminder once in a while when any one of us gets that worthless feeling.

Reminds me of an old college gutter slang; life is a bitch that came riding on a horse at the end of which we die.  

The only difference here with this guy is that by the time he dies, he would have made a big impression on people and changed lives in a way no one could dare imagine.

I don't think I make sense, could be an impending writer's block.

Overstepping the dotted line

Had a conversation with my Dad this evening.  The topic was the recent fiasco with the aid ships.  According to him, it appears that the Israeli leadership surely overdrew their blank check.  And he's pro-Israel, as pro, as no one can ever imagine or dream of.  So when he condemns, I sit back in awe and just listen.  Maybe there is some credibility in his opinion what with having interacted with both, liberal & ortho-conservative Jews in Israel as well back home in the States.

Based on his words, I don't think Israel will find a valid excuse to escape with a slap on its wrist, on this occasion.  Having said that, I still feel there's an Ace waiting to be flashed at the right moment.  Thank God, I'm not a participant in this game of high stakes.

Hardships & success

Calluses on the hands of a nine-year old gymnast during a training camp in the Hubei Olympic Sport Centre, Wuhan, China. The best young athletes will be selected to train with coaches from the national team

Photographer: China Photos/Getty Images 

 

By focusing on the detail of the gymnast's hands, the photographer has encapsulated the hardships endured by young athletes. The use of details can be an effective way of portraying a wider story

 

Eyewitness

Frogs hop across the Egnatia highway near the town of Langada, Greece. The frogs migrate from a nearby lake looking for food

Photographer: Nikolas Giakoumidis/AP

Ethnic music

A few years ago, my parents gifted me a CD of Buddhist chants after they returned from their visit to Dharamshala in India.  Not that they are Buddhist converts but they have an affinity for Buddhism and all that it preaches about being kind to all living beings irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.

Somehow in my deepest, darkest moments, I used to find solace in those chants.  I don't know if it had anything to do with spiritualism, something that I'm not good at unlike my parents but I used to feel good around this CD especially when I was down or simply exhausted from the fast paced life in DC.  Or maybe it was just the melody that did the trick for me.

Note to self: Ethnic is an interesting word.  Take off the 'n' and add an 's' and it matches my specialty.

Elves Chasm

Message

Western Tarsier

Blogger's Code of Conduct

At the back of my head, I knew there was a code of conduct written somewhere.  I just could not pinpoint the exact location where I had read a draft while 'clerking' in DC.  I also recall during an informal gathering, we had proposed to present a draft document to  -- Google, Wordpress, MySpace, Vimeo and many other third-party hosting platforms -- to make a greater effort in screening online content.  The precedent for this draft document was set by teenage suicides that were a direct result of online bullying and tormenting by faceless elements.  At this moment, I have no clue if this draft document ever took off.

Nevertheless, Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Radar has come up with an interesting set of regulations that I would like to highlight as follows:

1. Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.
2. Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.
3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.
4. Ignore the trolls.
5. Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.
6. If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.
7. Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.

With the ever increasing online threats in this day & age, I believe it is time to start lobbying on a greater level so that hosting platforms assign a regulating authority to screen online violations, abuse, etc.  The end result of the regulator's findings should be nothing short of shutting down and prosecuting the perpetrator.

An extensive write-up by Tim can be found here.

B&W Beach

Vintage wheels

MSM Road

What's this thing called unity?

This week, I experienced my first online version of electronic unity amongst bloggers (irrespective of caste, creed & religion) in this region. 

And it all had to do with one troll that went over the top.

The community's wrecking ball was not required to crumble this troll's fragile deck of cards, as he himself pulled one in his freakish moment of panic.

The moral of this whole episode.  Never mess with anyone most especially a committed group and if you do, be prepared for the consequences.   I need to pen this in my yearbook.

Note to self:  Look up Google's (Blogger) code of ethics and how it could be used to influence decency & discipline when it involves online communities.

Speaking my mind

During the past few days, the local blogsphere is debating freedom of speech and where one draws the line.  There have been references to the First Amendment and how we can speak our minds off without actually being shoved in a slammer, prosecuted, marked, etc.

More on this, analytically, soon.

First & Foremost

Having recently graduated from law school back home on the East Coast, having done my own share of 'clerking', I have now landed across the Atlantic on the other side of the world.  That's the advantage of being the only child of rich parents.  But, I am also of the opinion that sooner or later, all the material wealth will run out or drain away and the only thing I'll be left with, would be the intellectual wealth that I (would) have accumulated over the years.

With that in mind, I decided to take a chance by getting on a trans-Atlantic airplane to join my parents presumably to experience life and how it actually evolves beyond our shores.

What comes out of this experience could be anyone's guess.