Month: February 2008

Does Israel Have A Right To Exist?

“Does Israel have a right to exist?” people ask. What does that mean? Do countries really have rights, or do people have rights? The Jewish people have a right to exist, the Israeli people have a right to exist, but what does “Israel” mean? Israel defines itself as the state of the Jewish people. It is not a state of its citizens. It is a state of many people who are not its citizens, like myself, and is not the state of many people who are its citizens, like the 20 percent of its population that is Palestinian. So if we ask a Palestinian person, “Do you recognize the right for there to be a country on your historic homeland that explicitly excludes you?” what kind of response should we expect?

— The end of Israel? by Hannah Mermelstein; EI, 19 December 2007.

[Via: Lawrence of Cyberia]

Kyocera To Supply 500 Solar Systems To Households In Tunisia

Kyocera Corporation just announced that it will supply and install its solar power generating systems in Tunisia under a yen-loan project by the Japanese government through Itochu Corporation.

Starting in April 2008, Kyocera will successively install its solar power generating systems in 500 households in villages that do not currently have electricity in the three Tunisian governorates of Kef, Siliana and Beja. These systems will charge storage batteries using power generated during daylight hours and make the power available for residential lighting and other needs at night. Anticipated benefits include new freedom to engage in nighttime studies and side jobs, improved quality of life, and enhanced growth and development for the villages.

[Source: Digital Producer]

I think this is great news, such projects are always more than welcome. Definitely wish more projects like this would pop up around the globe, it’d be a great service to mankind, bringing clean effective solutions to problems in rural areas.

[Via: Groovy Green]

The Kite Runner, The Movie

Last night, I got to watch ‘The Kite Runner‘, the movie adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s marvelous novel, directed by Marc Forster.

‘The Kite Runner’ follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir’s father’s servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted.

Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule.

This is one of the best movie adaptations of a book that I have ever seen, really well done, very nice directing, great acting, very good casting, beautiful soundtrack; everything is really well done.
The book is still even richer and better, of course, and there are bits I think should have been in the movie that aren’t, but overall, a very successful adaptation, and a great movie, truly worth watching.

I totally recommend reading the book and watching the movie; both great works of art, very touching and unforgettable.

You can check my review of the book here.

[More: Amazon, IMDB]

uTest – Software Testing Community – Get Paid To Find Bugs

uTestuTest, a global marketplace for software application testing, as they define themselves, is now open for business.

The startup takes a crowd-sourcing approach to testing software bugs coupled with a Pay Per Bug business model; Anyone can sign up to test software and make some cash along the way.

On the other hand uTest’s customers gain access to a large, diverse and global community of software testing individuals, who will help with their QA testing over uTest’s secure testing platform, which provides a hosted infrastructure to manage complete software QA cycles and projects.

Software application testers who are part of the uTest professional testers community will be able to test applications in a completely flexible work environment, earn significant additional income and improve technical expertise.
uTest estimates that its testers will be able to rake in anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per month, depending on tester-expertise and bug pricing.

I personally think this is a really cool idea and very interesting approach to QA testing, that could help a lot of companies who don’t have internal QA departments and want to tap into the expertise of the crowd for more extensive quality assurance.
It’s also really interesting for the people who will best testing because they’ll be earning money, accumulating experience and building up their public profiles.

[Via: TechCrunch

Volvo’s New Crash-Proof Car

Swedish car-maker Volvo has come up with a crash-proof family car which should go on sale in the autumn of this year.

The car’s secret is a laser-guidance system to spot vehicles in front that are too close or stopping suddenly. When it does, the car will automatically stop to avoid a crash.

The CitySafety system, as it is called, kicks in at speeds of up to 20mph and is designed for urban driving. Volvo say that the system has the potential to prevent half of all rear-end collisions, that make up 29 per cent of all reported car accidents..

The laser sensor is built into the windscreen and reacts to traffic in front of the car that is either stationary or moving in the same direction.

It scans up to six yards ahead and, sensing the difference in speed between it and a vehicle in front, it makes 50 calculations a second to determine the braking force needed to avoid crashing.

If the driver fails to slow down, the system brakes automatically and disables the accelerator.

The system will be a standard option in the XC60 car, that has a price tag starting from

The Great Debaters

The Great Debaters

A few days ago, I got to watch “The Great Debaters“, a movie directed by Denzel Washington, starring himself, Forest Whitaker, and a number of upcoming actors.

The movie is based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school’s first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

If you’re following me on twitter, you probably already know that I really liked the movie.

The directing and acting are very good, and the story is a really nice one that keeps you engaged throughout it all.
Denzel Washington proves he’s great both in front of and behind the camera, Forest Whitaker is perfect as usual, and all the other actors do very good jobs as well.

I personally think it’s really worth checking out. Overall I think I’d give it a score of:

StarStarStarStarNo Star

[More: IMDB]

Does Marriage Tame Genius?

An interesting study from New Zealand says it does…

Creative genius and crime express themselves early in men but both are turned off almost like a tap if a man gets married and has children, a study says.

Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, compiled a database of the biographies of 280 great scientists, noting their age at the time when they made their greatest work.

[…]

Within five years of making their nuptial vows, nearly a quarter of married scientists had made their last significant contribution to history’s hall of fame.

“Scientists rather quickly desist (from their careers) after their marriage, while unmarried scientists continue to make great scientific contributions later in their lives,” says Dr Kanazawa.

[Source: ABC News]

Well, I’m not really sure about that, I don’t think it tames genius or turns off the tap as the study says. I just think that in many cases being a researcher or a pioneer in something doesn’t really pay well enough, and with the person’s new obligations, they prefer to take on something more financially rewarding instead of something more professionally/scientifically rewarding.

In the end, I think it boils down to the person’s nature and personality, whether they’re the kind that takes risks and puts everything on the line for their purpose or whether they’re the kind that takes the safe way to financial stability.

Italian Firm Plans $22 Billion Tunisia Resort

Italian property firm Ernesto Preatoni Group will invest 15 billion euros ($22 billion) in a luxury resort of hotels and holiday homes in northwest Tunisia, it was reported yesterday.

The project includes a high-class tourism complex, hotels, leisure centers and ports in the northwest of Tunisia; Work will start before the end of this year and will last 12 years.

So another outside investment in the tourism sector in Tunisia. Tourism obviously is one of Tunisia’s biggest sources of income, and so investments in this area are always very good news; but I really wish we start seeing big investments like this in other areas as well, mainly service-based and production-based businesses; Tunisia has a well-educated workforce in several industries and the government has put in place many incentives for outside investors that should make it a really great destination for such kinds of investments.
Plus, I think it’s very important for Tunisia to diversify the areas of investment and income for the country, as well as build up and modernize different sectors to absorb the newer generations of Tunisian graduates and job-seekers.

[Source: Reuters]