On the Eve of Earth Day, a View of the Week (II) : To Cherish :-)

Earth Day is on April 22.  It is a chance for us to cherish this treasure that is Mother Earth.  The challenges before Mother Earth have been discussed and deliberated--but today is a day to celebrate it and to as John Maxwell reminds us, to Cherish It:

  

View of the Week: On Our World

I can't agree ever more about what John Maxwell noted in his comments on Easter and what it represents: Such sentiment, though, is not easy to sustain at times as our World is ever so challenging. China recently reported that fully one fifth of China's Soil is polluted with industrial Waste. The IPCC reported on the calamity that is before us if we do not show the courage to change our ways. This is as Iraq's Daily killing fields continue and Syria continues to burn. Although rays of hope continues to exist with the negotiations with Iran on the Nuclear Program, it was undermined by the foolish action of the Iranian Government to name Hamid Aboutalebi as UN Ambassador despite his questionable past during the Hostage Crisis--in addition to his very troubling background in the Security Services and his apparent link to some of the on-going assassinations over the past 34 years. Some of Iran's Neo-Cons have been vibrant supporting Aboutalebi as the US Congress passed a law prohibiting a visa being issued to him. As I write this, one of the witnesses to one of the Terror Operations by the Islamic Republic--Mykonos-- reflects what happened in Berlin over 20 years ago that targeted leaders of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran and reflecting upon the terror network that the Islamic Republic had throughout Europe during the 1980's. As Iran continues its' current transformation, one fundamental challenges of Iran remains is its' profound economic difficulties despite over 600 Billion Dollars having been made on Oil. As for Egypt, though, it is clear that Sisi will be President. However, what I noted earlier in a "tweet" reflects the reality of Egypt:

Another tragic day in what is now Egypt that #Sisi ha: In Pictures: Residents mourn Aswan violence http://t.co/eSDhCnMhUk via @AjEnglish

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) April 19, 2014

There was also an election in Algeria. The current President was re-elected--even though he has been absent since his stroke and voted while on a wheel chair. Although I reviewed reports about some reasonable sense of freedom in Algeria as epitomized by the likes of Kamel Doud with his vibrant columns, Algeria has profound challenges to deal with as the Oil Windfall continues to dissipate with no vision for the day after. Beyond the Middle East and North Africa, there is India:

Fascinating..wishing #India all the best: -) India election coverage map http://t.co/C6XwLCUlmd

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) April 19, 2014

The major states have voted already and final results are going to be announced on May 16. What is quite comical is the battle of the Gandhis since Rahul Gandhi is heading the Congress ticket and his cousin is a major force in the opposition BJP. The reality of India, though, was underscored by Arundhati Roy and reflected earlier in a column here. [/LINK] Voting has continued and all indications reflects a massive loss by the Congress Party. Modi, though, has a lot to answer for:

A strong rebuttal to #Modi...maybe #India will still surprise: Being Muslim Under Narendra Modi http://t.co/MgxkD4sIy2

— Mike Pouraryan (@mikepouraryan) April 18, 2014

Despite all the challenges at hand, the need to be ever so hopeful and have a sense of faith is ever so critical as ever. This is why the thoughts below are ever so important on this Easter Sunday: The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake. - Basil C. Hume This is what the Lord asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8 Guide our feet into the way of peace. - Luke 1:79 One who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever. - Mohandas Gandhi Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe. - Voltaire Also released by http://www.outsiderviews.com--all rights reserved

Happy Easter Week-End!! :-)

Post by Mike Pouraryan.

On the Eve of Good Friday & Easter Week-End: Brief Thoughts

Post by Mike Pouraryan.

A Mid-Week "View of the Week": The Need to be every so hopeful :-)

The Daily Rounds within the "Social Grid" gives us a sense of hope that otherwise cannot ever be achieved unless underscores a need to "Think Beyond the Now".   We Ordinary faces need to constantly remind ourselves of it--easier said than done..but there is no other choice: 

  

Onward :-)

View of the Week: The Story of One Brave Soul & The Fight For Freedom

At the dawn of a new week, I wanted to begin by sharing these thoughts I released to my Facebook Page on the plight of this young, brave 32 Year Old Activist who just celebrated her 32nd Birthday behind bars--the letter translated by the folks @ http://www.tavanna.org is chilling:

Post by Mike Pouraryan.

On India: Notations As India Votes....

As India has begun to vote, one of the leading moral lights of our time has spoken on the true state of India today.    As Arundhati Roy spoke, I could not help but think about and remember about the continued World-Wide discrepancy that continues to exist.    She begins with Mukesh Ambani's 27-Story Skyscraper in Mumbai:

She was ever so right as she noted how the Indian Army has been deployed against the people ever since Independence as it now begins to gear up to go into the heart of India.   She has been one of the courageous few who has spoken for the less fortunate in India today.    It is also quite striking on the true nature of who is tipped to be the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Modi who presided over the horrific attacks on the Muslims.  Even today, there has not been an accounting of those horrific times.   As she spoke of the true nature of Modi, it sent shivers through my spine.

 What is also striking is the comparison with the United States was also quite striking especially as the US Supreme Court just came out with its' latest decision  essentially equating money as speech.   It is quite a telling thought:    

Democracy no longer means what it was meant to. It has been taken back into the workshop. Each of its institutions has been hollowed out, and it has been returned to us as a vehicle for the free market, of the corporations. For the corporations, by the corporations. 

Also released to http://www.outsiderviews.com 04/2014

As A New Week Dawns: A Thought 4 the Week

April 15 is tax day in the United States.  As many of us in the United States are scrambling to wind things, it is high time to remember how challenging times and disappointments are always part and parcel of life.    Whether it is Contracts being cancelled, calls not returned ,job applications being rejected or taxes owed--it is how one deals with the challenges that would in the end determine the "how".      This really hit home as I had the good fortune to recently visit the Getty Museum and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center on how lives have evolved ever so.    It shows how far we have come, what we should value and embrace and not continue to be discouraged at the temporary setbacks or roadblocks which will occur.

What  Jonathan Lockwood Huie yet again shared in his daily "thoughts" was ever so timely to underscore this.   It is a good lesson to be remembered and learnt by us all as we navigate through the daily minefields that is life--as long as we remember to do it with a smile and not allow the World to ever change our smile not withstanding the onslaught of challenges:

No one can find inner peace except by working,

not in a self-centered way, but for the whole human family.

- Peace Pilgrim

We can never obtain peace in the outer world

until we make peace with ourselves.

- Dalai Lama

God's voice is still and quiet and easily buried under an avalanche of clamor.

- Charles Stanley 

The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace.

A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being

that places harmony in one's life.

- Peace Pilgrim

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

- St. Francis of Assisi 

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View of the Week: On the Latest Scare On the Web// Hearbleed :-(

The internet is truly the "Wild Wild West".    This was proven as one of the most critical  events that has befallen us.    The Sydney Morning Herald's Ben Grubb noted this in his online April 10, 2014 column:

The Heartbleed flaw is a bug that was found in some of the latest versions of an open source cryptography library used by millions of websites globally, called OpenSSL. Many websites use OpenSSL when implementing that golden "lock" and "https" in the URL of a web browser. When people see these in a browser, they tend to feel a website is safe as they know their data is supposedly being encrypted between them and the website.
But the flaw that was discovered by Google security engineer Neel Mehta and by staff at a security firm called Codenomicon showed this was not always the case. They found a bug in the code of OpenSSL that allowed a malicious person to extract from a website's server 64 kilobytes of its internal memory at any one time.

  This is bad. Really, really bad. 

If this data was extracted enough times, the researchers found that an attacker would have been able to steal usernames, passwords and financial information – basically any piece of information being pushed through a server's memory. They also found that a server's private key – the key only it is supposed to have and what it uses to encrypt communications – was able to be extracted by a malicious person. With this key, an attacker can impersonate a website and sit in the middle of a victim's internet connection and a "secured" website to access encrypted data and decrypt it. 

The need to be ever so vigilant has never been clearer.   The latest I received was from the folks @ Bitcasa underscoring the depth of the problem:

[B]On April 7th, a Security Advisory was issued by the OpenSSL project notifying the public of a serious vulnerability in the encryption software used by a majority of websites on the Internet. At Bitcasa, we pride ourselves on security and take it very seriously.


We want you to know that your account and our service is completely safe. Nevertheless, to ensure your account is protected from this vulnerability, we have logged you out of all your devices, with the exception of the desktop app, and you will need to log back in.


In an effort to ensure there is no additional risk, we strongly encourage you to change your password and update your security questions.


If you have any questions or concerns, please email security@bitcasa.com.


Also, please reference our Security Update to understand how we’ve kept your account safe. For additional information regarding this vulnerability, please visit: http://heartbleed.com/


- The Bitcasa Team[/B]

The basic message is clear :  Be careful and Be ever so vigilant.

On the "Virtual Run" : Will We Listen?

It has been a worrisome few weeks around the World as we contend with the challenges in Ukraine and see what is at hand in Syria.    This is as the IPCC (UN Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change) issued its' latest report.    Although I almost fell out of my chair in laughter at the notion that we as humans have become the "new polar bear", it is not far from reality becuase the continued changes in our climate is absolutely scary.    Iran has just reported that 57 Dams have only 40% water capacity which may result in the Capital, Tehran, being faced with Water Rationing.

I could not help but wonder whether we would ever listen to this admonition:

 Treat the earth well.

It was not given to you by your parents,

it was loaned to you by your children.

We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,

we borrow it from our Children.

- Native American traditional