mink

Peace is within reach. We just haven't conceptualized it, methinks. Carpe diem, and see you next year!

Much work remains to be done if we are going to critically assess the state of education today. This was also cross-posted on Vijana FM .

I was archiving some photos I had picked up around the Internet over the years, and began wondering - why was it that I wasn't saving the source of the images? Then I thought about texts, and how many pieces of text we come across everyday, and how many of these pieces we actually care to activity seek for its author and not the words on the page. Perhaps reading does give off vibes in ways we don't recognize. Then I came back to the images and realized that if there lies a story in the picture, that story creates a certain intangible vibe that may not have anything to do with who or what created/captured it, or why.

"Show a man too many camel's bones, or show them to him too often, and he will not be able to recognise a camel when he comes across a real one." - Idries Shah

(Courtesy Boston.com ) A man dressed as Santa Claus holds a flare as he wakeboards on a small lake in Hamburg, Germany on December 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Christian Charisius) I've known about the Boston.com "Big Picture" section for a while, but I thought this image was a nice juxtaposition of celebration, nature, and light all at the same time. Hannukah matata ;)

Why don't we see good news in the headlines anymore? Is photojournalism dying? Why is there a problem of transparency with the biggest of the big governments in the world today? Who ever decided to settle in the global north way back when? Why do we learn if we don't foresee an implementation of learned material? Who judges crimes made in the middle of the ocean, and can they really project their power further than their territory? There will be more as this year comes to a close...

"... we are experiencing delays. Thank you for your consideration". I have heard this automated message across at least 3 businesses based in London when trying to contact them by phone. Does this mean that the weather is making us inefficient? If yes, at what point between perfect efficiency and perfect inefficiency do we decide that perhaps humans can (are supposed to?) live elsewhere? Carpe diem, ak

Recent WikiLeaks reports containing American diplomatic cable messages have added to the continuing discourse of transparency in global governance. WikiLeaks is branded as a not-for-profit media organization that disseminates information to the public from a host of anonymous sources. It was originally founded in December 2006 by ambiguous "dissidents, journalists, mathematicians and start-up company technologists, from the US, Taiwan, Europe, Australia and South Africa". Since then, WikiLeaks has released a series of critical reports containing evidence and claiming to provide the real diplomatic picture of the world. Recent releases concern corruption of former Kenyan leaders , toxic dumping in Africa, an Afghan war diary , Iraq war logs , and more recently, cables of American government officials primarily on the Middle East. Consequently, WikiLeaks has met with a fury of political pressure, especially from the Obama administration. Recent threats to WikiLeaks ...

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) recently published a report titled The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequality and Urban Land Markets . The report breaks down the following for each African region (Northern, Western, Eastern, Central, and Southern): Social geography of urbanization; Economic geography of cities; Geography of urban markets; Geography of climate change; and Emerging issues. A report such as this one can be used as a reference tool for the creation of socially-conscious business. As major African cities like Lagos, Cairo, and Kinshasa experience acute growth in urban population, how will essential services like shelter, food, education and health be delivered efficiently? Download the PDF (right-click to save as) : English version French version Related links: About UN-HABITAT The State of African Cities 2010: Report page BBC news piece allAfrica.com news piece Posted on Vijana FM on November 24, 2010

DAR ES SALAAM — Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete was re-elected with 61 percent of the vote, electoral officials said Friday, in a poll marked by low turnout and opposition charges of fraud. The 60-year-old incumbent's closest rival, Wilbrod Slaa, was credited with 26 percent of the vote but snubbed the much-delayed announcement of the results after alleging the ballot was rigged. Read more from the source (AFP) .

Let the record show that today I accidently knocked over and spilt four drinks: A cup of tea (onto myself and the couch I was sitting on); A container of milk (onto the kitchen floor); A can of Pepsi after lunch (onto the street); and A can of Coke (onto my bedroom carpet). Yes, I feel shameful. But considering that they all fell the same way, I am tempted to feel that something else is going on. *UPDATE about 2 hours later* 5. A mug of tea (all over my desk, class readings, and receipts of recent purchases). This can't be serious.

(Reuters) Tanzania’s presidential candidates made a last-ditch push for votes on Friday before an election on Sunday that is expected to attract record numbers of young voters in east Africa’s second largest economy. By Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM | Fri Oct 29, 2010 More than two-thirds of Tanzania’s population of 40.7 million are aged between 10 and 35 years, according to government estimates, and analysts say a high turnout by young voters could help the main opposition candidate. “More than ever before, youths are motivated to vote,” said Dar es Salaam-based rights activist Ananilea Nkya. “They want to see changes in the way their country is being run.” With nearly 20 million people eligible to vote, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the main opposition Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) have shifted their focus to first-time voters and the tech-savvy middle class. Political parties and supporters are using text messages, video clips on YouTu...

I was at the SOAS library today and I had to wait quite a long time to ask a question about renewing my library card. While I was waiting, I thought a bit about how many cards we as students have to carry in London, and how this load could be eased. To begin with, you have an ID card issued by your academic institution. Some institutions sync their library records with this ID card, while others do not. Mine does not. So I have a student ID card and a library borrower card from my institution. We also apply for discounts on transport through the Student Oyster Card. That gets us to use the buses and trains at cheaper monthly rates than retail price. And then there's the thousands of discount and loyalty cards that make London a little cheaper to eat, shop, and communicate in. So there's cards for that. For example, everytime I want something at Sainsubury, I need to think about carrying my Nectar card. So here's a logically simple but perhaps logistically not-so-simple step...

To see source feeds: The RSS project .

Posted at Vijana FM on October 26, 2010 In the last two years, there has been a lot of talk about the SEACOM project , which links the coasts of East and South Africa. The project involved the immersion of undersea fibre optic cables that increase speeds and decrease costs for Internet Service Providers and users. We have discussed the SEACOM project on two occasions; when we mentioned the Nation Media Group's golden jubilee , and when we asked Mbwana Alliy five questions . There has therefore been a lot of excitement about the prospect of starting new goods and services based on the Internet that are especially for certain markets in Africa. Due the growth in the use of mobile phones, this excitement is further channeled into how mobile applications can be built, used, and developed over the Internet. If you are getting ideas about how to run a product or service on the Internet in Africa, it is probably wise to check out Internet World Stats (IWS) . The IWS website provides comp...

I just realized today that trying to start a new way of thinking in our world inherently assumes that the world is a collaborative place to work. Why would someone want to introduce a new way of thinking, either through an invention, theory, or service? Probably because they don't find the resources to solve a problem when it happens and where it happens. But also because they assume that there will be a need for their invention, theory, or service to interact with other existing ideas. So starting something new and not collaborating seems more difficult than getting in with strong working relations with others in the field. Collaboration is therefore not only recommended for sustainable development, but necessary. There is value in being rejected by the world, then. Because you learn what existing collaborations do not take into consideration. Yes, this does involve copious amounts of tweaking to someone else's preferences, but it yields something in the end that is of value n...

Tried the same thing as my last post, just a different day (today). In case you're wondering what my source for the words is, it is this RSS project that I've just shelved for about a year now. At the moment it is quite simple a self-refreshing page displaying 8 feeds. What would be nice is if a new wordle could be generated on the same page for everytime the feeds were refreshed (every 5 minutes). Hebu tujaribu.

I've put that ol' RSS project in a filing dustpile for a while now, but I'm just dusting it off now. Here's today's wordle... I would like to figure out how to do this real-time, so that we can have a look at trends in words as they are uttered (on the news).

Source: Blastr

Dear friends: Please let's stop refering to Tanzania as Tasmania. Here is why. Tanzania is located on the coast of East Africa, below Kenya. It is not origin of the the cartoon character from your childhood. Tasmania is an island which is part of Australia. The animal known to exist only on Tasmania is the Tasmanian Devil. Once again, you will see this is not the cartoon character you remember from your childhood. Let's summarize: Tanzania is not Tasmania.

What makes one human act for another? What makes them think they can do it for a long period of time? More importantly, where do those values go as time passes; are they cultured and developed into ways of being, or are they ignored for other values?

The impediments incident to this work, are generally two, viz. natural impotency and defect of necessary expence, or occupations and labours. Yet we say, natural impotency is manifold; viz. partly from the organs of the artist, and partly from his soul. From the organ of the artificer, it is also manifold; for either the organ is weak, or wholly corrupted. And it is manifold from the impotencies of the soul; either because the soul is perverted in the organ (having nothing of rectitude, or reason in it self) as the soul of the mad infatuate man; or because it is fantastical, unduly suseptive of the contrary of forms, and suddenly extensive from the one thing knowable, to is opposit, and from one will to its opposit likewise. I interpret the above extract from the works of Jabir, the eighth century Muslim Alchemist, to mean that spiritual pursuits require mental and physical commitment. What I am confused about however is whether or not mental and physical commitments are indefinately b...

Why is it that we have so many websites today that are about making easy money online (which always comes down to maintaining a blog to get as many clicks on website ads as possible)? What happened to actually sweating for some cash?

I was recently reading on Financial Times and BBC that the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has been studying governance in Africa for a few years now. The studies aim to give a prize in governance every year to those African countries making remarkable progress towards stable democracies, though for the past two years the Foundation has not found any country in Africa to qualify. Current rankings from the Foundation put Mauritius, the Seychelles and Botswana in the top ten, and Somalia, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the bottom ten. I'm just thinking aloud: Why haven't we as Africans developed scales of improvement that are relative to our peoples' cultures, resources, and ambitions? Though moves to incessantly grade each other - from our schooling days, to the work place, to retirement pensions - are meant to philosophically help us improve eachother, I feel that we are getting carried away with assessing eachother. I fear that when it comes down to governance in A...

A distinguished scholar and thinker in Islamic Studies, Dr. Mohammed Arkoun, passed away recently, on September 14, 2010. He was 82 years old. Professor Arkoun was, amongst a large list of job descriptions , a visiting lecturer at the Institute of Ismaili Studies. I happen to be in the first class at the IIS graduate program that will not have a class with Professor Arkoun. I never had the chance to meet this man. But this man, I came to find, had an astonishingly huge impact on his students, colleagues, and fellow thinkers. At today's memorial service at the IIS, as I heard various faculty members and former students paint a picture of his life, I was humbled at their praise for the unquestionable spirit of Professor Arkoun's exploration of Islam. He seems to have been a man that wanted to explore thought, the ways of thinking, and the ways of advancing thought in Islam. He also seems to have been a man who enjoyed theories, and pushing the boundaries of contemporary theories,...

I love it when an old-school track gets remixed (into house). Here's Avicii & Sebastien Drums with My Feelings For You .

I'm playing with the new blogger layouts, which are slowly convincing me that I need to update my personal web presence across the shack. Sorry for disturbing the peace.

It's funny how many times over the last 6 years I have had to feel like this. Once again I will be leaving Dar early tomorrow morning before the sun is up. As always, I have a sense of nervous delight at the opportunity that exists to work on sustainable and socially beneficial enterprise here; nervous because I hate to leave it, and delight because I have a renewed sense of direction. A lot of work to be done in coming months. After meeting the likes of Sarah Markes of DarSketches, Rakesh Rajani of Twaweza, Joe Rugaramabu of TBC and Altaaf Hasham of AKF, it's difficult to stand by and watch everything exciting happen in Dar without getting involved. I've also been able to touch base with organizations like Zanzibits, Ushahidi and TanSAO, and I'm thrilled at the prospects of future collaborative work between all of them. I'm looking forward to London and to the rest of my grad program, as I am to finding ways to fuse it with Tanzanian development. I'm going to m...

Time had an essay from Tony Blair on Clinton, Bush, and the American Character . It is a condensed adaptation of his recently published book, A Journey: My Political Life . One paragraph on values stood out for me: "That nobility isn't about being nicer, better or more successful than anyone else. It is a feeling about the country. It is a devotion to the American ideal that at a certain point transcends class, race, religion or upbringing. That ideal is about values: freedom, the rule of law, democracy. It is also about the way you achieve: on merit, by your own efforts and hard work. But it is most of all that in striving for and protecting that ideal, you as an individual take second place to the interests of the nation as a whole. It is what makes the country determined to overcome its challenges. It is what makes its soldiers give their lives in sacrifice. It is what brings every variety of American, from the lowest to the highest, to their feet when "The Star-Span...

"The only true law is that which leads to freedom," Jonathan said. "There is no other." - Jonathan Livingstone Seagull , by Richard Bach

So I've been thinking of some ideas that could become spin-offs from Vijana FM . Two such ideas that have consistently been on my mind: 1. A database for unpublished academic working papers, similar to JSTOR , but free to use and contribute to, and targetted towards East African scholars. 2. An open-source curriculum for entrepreneurship education, customized for primary, secondary and tertiary levels, and further developed by respective interest groups. Just had to throw that out there. Still contemplating, but getting the feeling I'm running out of time. Drop me a line if you're willing to help [once again, his pleas on his blog echo against the depths of virtual alleyways created over 4 somewhat quiet years]; I might be doing work on this very very soon. Carpe diem, ak PS: Wallpaper above from Wallpaper Stock .

This has probably been true for about 40 years now, but there is a lot going on in Tanzania, both in the public policy realm and in the private markets. For at least the last 4 years I have been poising myself to return and start something new, something fresh, that I could someday call a project of my own. But it seems every time I am "about" to begin something, it requires a process that leads up to another kind of beginning. It feels like I'm on a football pitch, and no matter how fast I run towards the opposing team's goal, it seems to get further. Perhaps the journey isn't about a start and a finish. I need to learn to appreciate that the process is a start and a finish, an ignition and the flame, a push and a pull in and of itself. It is all one, and we are right in the thick of it. So what better time than now, right?

The sun is hidden sometimes, yet it enlightens the world. Even when it is in full view, it is so bright that it's blinding. Sound like knowledge? PS: This was a blissful evening in Cairo just over 2 weeks ago.

“You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.” (Image from 3.dp , quote from Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach)

We like blowing whistles and pointing fingers in Tanzania, especially at the government. Even here on Vijana FM, we have had heated discussions about who is to blame for what. We have also discussed the importance, however, of getting off the bench and into the thick of things, so that at the very least, we can feel what it is we complain about. One way in which we as young citizens can get off the bench and onto the playing field is by thinking of Public-Private Partnerships. What are Public-Private Partnerships? A Public-Private Partnership, also known as PPP or P3 or P 3 , is a contract between a government and a private-sector entity or group of entities to deliver a good or service through a long-term project. The collaboration between the public and private sectors may result in three possible scenarios: The government may make the initial capital investment to get the project, good, or service started, while the cost of running the project, good, or service is bar...

Is forging a common economic platform encouraging productivity at the cost of employability? The five East African Community (EAC) countries - Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania – ushered in a common market as of July 1 st , 2010, a project that has been expanded from the existing customs union. A common market is built in hopes of creating free movement of goods, services, capital, and people within the constituent states as one region. As seen with other economic integrations such as the European Union, a common market is the precursor to a common currency, which in turn is a significant prerequisite to a common political platform. The good news is that the EAC stands to become more competitive on the international stage. Its combined Gross Domestic Product is about $75 billion, which is just under a quarter of South Africa’s GDP, and trade with neighbors like Sudan, Congo, and Ethiopia will be easier with a consolidated market. While local businesses have already had an...

Citadel @ Msyaf Sunset over Salamiyeh View from the Citadel @ Msyaf Evening @ Tartous Flagpole in the Citadel @ Msyaf A pine tree in Damascus

I wake up late a lot of mornings, And those mornings are intense. I have to shower like the water is fire, And brush like the toothpaste is poison, I have to eat like I’m eating rat heads, And I burn my tongue drinking tea (that is lacking sugar). I have to go to work with a half-done shirt, My zipper is still open, and my socks don’t match, I go to work contemplating last night’s events, And talk to my colleagues mechanically. I have to report some findings that I somehow did, Efficiently too so I actually get paid, I head back home and promise tomorrow will be different, And yet, the next day starts late. We wake up to life late some lifetimes, And those lifetimes are intense. We receive knowledge like its flame that will burn out, And we prepare words like we’re about to attack, We consume knowledge for material needs, And get burned when it is used against us. We leave our personal lives undone, In pursuit of seemingly bigger, seemingly more important benefits, We make important ev...

And this is where I'm at :) More pictures coming soon Insha'Allah.

You’ve lost me, dear brother, You’ve lost what I stood and lived for, The glory of our protection, The green of our grass and plants, The grace of our canals, The giving nature of our people. I can’t blame you, but you are lost, Without reason or history, You were born out of a needy greed, A thirst for power that my people perhaps fuelled, You’re lost in a world of commerce and mistrust, In a world of this nuclear greatness. What can I say except remember, Remember me and my people, remember us, Remember you. Remember where power comes from, And for what reasons, Remember those around you and where they came from, Remember the seeds that grew, Into plants, grass, animals, and birds, Remember our skies are still your skies, Our mosque’s souls are your mosque’s souls, Remember why you breathe, Remember your history and yes, Remember your future. Will you really call me your historical brother, When I am right here inside you, Remembering and talking to you? Remember.

Now here's a public meeting space that could be conducive to raising trust?

We go about our ways, And we clash. And when we clash, We make an impression, An impression becomes expectation, An expectation, An allegory. We continue to go about our ways, Safe, satisfied with the status quo. And when we are satisfied, We follow in the same direction. We like unchanging paths, Lukewarm and timid winds. But winds change, And so do paths. And when our paths change, We contemplate and forget. We need to remember. Happiness sometimes lies in struggle.

I've been thinking a little bit about trust , and now I contemplate interaction. In my opinion, it takes many interactions to build trust. How do we quantify trust? Is it based on the exchange of physical things, such as contributing time and resources in exchange for money? Or is it based on the exchange of non-physical things, such as the regularity of saying hello to the same person on the same side of the street every morning? I feel that it is a combination of things. I believe that trust is based on the consistency of interaction with society, whether by one individual or those they represent. I also believe that there is a correlation between how regular these interactions are and the depth of what is being entrusted. In other words, if that which is being entrusted between two parties is great, the interactions will be of proportional consistency. For example, in terms of a physical exchange: If I am an employed research assistant handling highly sensitive data belonging to...

The view from my room - yes, we use that football pitch, and I just came back from a morning round of ball. Below are views from our flat's living/dining room and kitchen. What a fantastic day in London! I never thought we would get a clear, warm day of sun, sun and more sun.

Last night, amongst many things, my friend Inayat and I discussed trust. It made me think of an article I read in 2007 about the world's intangible wealth . Trust - definition aside - seems to be an important indicator of intangible wealth, value that is not accounted for in our conventional methods of economic transactions and accounting. Trust within both the public and the private sectors, across any hierarchy in any form of institution. Essentially, if there is lack of trust within the hierarchies, civil society suffers as a whole. If there is a solid level of trust, civil society gains. Now, some organizations, indeed nation states, may find ways of enforcing trust, for example, through market-based contracts with liability clauses, or through the arm of the law. Other organizations, such as in those developing countries that experience severe corruption, would need to rely on a high levels of unaccounted-for trust to get work done. Of course, organizational behaviour is also ...

Just found out from a few friends that an interview me and Mumo had with James Walsh in New York last year was published in an article on this page at the GlobalPost.

"We produce what we don’t consume and we consume what we don’t produce." The World Economic Forum for Africa concluded on Friday May 7 in Dar-es-Salaam. We put up a post about the beginning of the forum , but this post is to draw some conclusions and invite opinions as to the direction of Africa's economy as a whole. The title of this post is a line from Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete's speech, which was extracted from his quote on this press release . It describes the disproportionate ways in which African economies are integrated into the world financial markets. That is, the trend has so far been for African countries to produce and export goods and services while return are of lesser value. President Kikwete emphasized that it is time to "move Africa from the periphery to the centre of the global economy." South African President Jacob Zuma also seemed optimistic that Africa is going to experience positive economic change, especially due to this summ...

This has been happening for a while now, but I seem to be getting comments in Chinese more than in languages I understand. Update, 3 hours later: They must be spambots.

Posted via Vijana FM on April 30, 2010 TED is coming to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania this May 22nd, 2010. Please information below quoted from the TEDxDar website : About the TEDx Dar Concept In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDx Dar "Pamoja Tunaweza! ", where x=independently organized TED event. At our TEDxDar event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized. TEDxDar's Mission: The TEDx Conference is intended to begin a process of public engagement and exchange of ideas in relation to innovat...