Cap Phantom

The Afghan Taliban’s, engaged in fighting the combined NATO and US occupational army in Afghanistan and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)  raising insurgency within Pakistani territory are very heavily armed and equipped with the latest and most sophisticated weapons !

It is worth pondering as to who is funding them and by means of which route does their supply’s reach them? Is there some external force/s interest involved in this destabilization in Pakistan, in particular? It is pertinent that proper thorough investigation be conducted as to from whom the Taliban get money and funds to run their terror game and why?!!

It has become quite obvious from some recent development that the poppy trade income is negligible and cannot be sufficient to enable them to give such stiff resistance to practically two (US+NATO Forces combined=1 and Pakistan Army 1 =2) full fledged trained armies. !

This possibility has just recently been ruled out as the main funding factor by Mr. Richards Holbrooke, special envoy of President .Obama, for Afghanistan and Pakistan affairs at press briefing and other forums. However,I do recall that after having made this statement he changed it again and went back to the drug being the main source of Taliban during EU meeting latter on.

It would be fair to first comprehend the difference between the two Taliban’s operating on each side of the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders must be understood while reading the text contents down below!

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in particular is totally parallel to Afghani Taliban mostly carrying Pashtun people in their force. If their basic aim and cause is to be observed, Afghani Taliban have prime target to send the Americans and NATO packing out of Afghanistan and Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP ) has the goal of implementation of their own brand of Sharia inside Pakistan under the banner of Wahabism.

There are many views expressed by people from different walks of life on this issue when raised on public forums. Some claim that the funding is by Saudi citizens or Princes, sympathizers of Bin Laden, for the cause of promoting wahabism (one of the Muslim religious school of thought) .Others claim that it is the religious parties based in Pakistan who are helping them sustain while few feel that it is the neighboring country, India’s RAW, Israel, Mossad and American CIA,intelligensias combined conspiracy to destabilize Pakistan to make it look like a failed state whose nuclear arsenal are in danger of falling into the hands of the armed Muslim fundamentalists/militants, the Talibans.Some of the analysts claim that the arms supplied by the US to the Afghanistan have some how leaked to the Taliban’s and also another version is that the Taliban’s old foes in Afghanistan the Northern alliance have some how been helping them out by selling their arms and ammunation.The more mouths the greater the view points and speculations.

Let us examine and rule out the possibilities above on one by one basis.

Drug Money from the poppy crop: which according to some estimate is second largest trade in the world after oil and its earning are in billions. It is also claimed that about 9o+ percentage is from Afghanistan. Though these statistics could be correct yet it is a fact that during the Taliban’s rule 1996 till their being ousted by the US invasion in 2001 there is substantial evidence that the poppy cultivation declined during the Taliban rule by 97% i.e. from 3600 tonnes to 1.85 and rose to record 4700 tonnes after the US invasion and the continued rule till now of its backed puppet regime of MR.Karzai.These figure were corroborated by the UN team.http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO404A.html and http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-05-12-csm-afghan-drugs_x.htm .

Saudi citizen sympathizers of Bin laden and to promote Wahabism in Northern regions of Pakistan through TTP and in Afghanistan by Taliban’s of Afghanistan: If anybody was to believe that then the only wise comment would be that the US have made a mistake by invading Iraq and Afghanistan! Actually they should have targeted the Saudi Arabians.Lol.I really don’t think there is a case, it is openly trying to throw the suspicion unto Saudi Arabia. We all know that Saudi’s royalty and its subject would never get involved in supporting criminal activity which the militants at present are perpetrating against their loyal friend Pakistan and of course their ally’s the USA. It is apparent it is inferred only for the reason that Osama, is from Saudi Arabia apart from that linkage the contention are entirely based on suppositions. I find it is very hard to digest something which emanates from mere gossiping! What is the motivation and benefits these Saudi citizens can accrue by dishing out their wealth to some one like Osama or by having Pakistan destabilized? Regarding the Wahabism cause! The truth is never ever in Wahabism it is taught to blow mosques, tombs, girls’ schools and kill innocent people through suicide bombing. No, one can quote a single statement of a Wahabi Scholar based in Saudi Arabia who endorses Suicide killings in markets, public places, blowing tombs, mosques of rival groups etc.It,evidently appears to be deliberately involving Saudis in the havoc inside Pakistan and creating a sense of mistrust for the Pakistan and Saudi relations, who are since ages sincere to each other and to all the Muslims. As stated earlier above, TTP (Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan) has the goal of implementation of their own brand of Sharia inside Pakistan under their self styled banner of Wahabism.Which has been rejected by both the Muslims school of thought the Barelvi and the Deobandi.

The Religious Parties in Pakistan: A far out and not remotely possible! as they themselves are dependent on fudings for their own madrassahs functioning and survival, from the country mostly like U.A.E and M.E etc.So how could they ever afford such huge amounts  which the Taliban’s appear to be receiving on regular basis. Secondly all have jointly already condemned and rejected the actions carried out so far by the TTP and the brand of shariah they(TTP) claim for to be implemented in Pakistan.

The neighboring country, India’s RAW, Israel’s Mossad and American CIA,intelligensias combined conspiracy to destabilize Pakistan to make it look like a failed state whose nuclear arsenal are in danger of falling into the hands of the Muslim fundamentalists armed militants, the Talibans.:This is a general view prevalent within the Pakistani populace that we need to understand. It is believed that Uzbeks operating with TTP are loyal to Northern Alliance of Afghanistan, Afghan National Army and most importantly they are in alliance with Americans, Indians and Israelis. They are being continuously supported, armed, funded and trained by US Intelligence just to create havoc in the northern Areas of Pakistan.. This is evident since many of those foreign militants killed in the ongoing Pak-army operation Rah-e-Rast were Uzbeks. it is also a fact that they have been linked with the country’s that have been allegedly or presumably been named, so did Pakistan in those days.! But the Northern alliance it is a known fact has never been Pakistan friendly even during the cold war days .Secondly it was observed that since the activities of the TTP increased in Pakistan the focus of terrorist attack in Afghanistan on US and NATO forces had declined drastically. This could be a possible gain? It is also given to understand by the local defense analysts views expressed through the media that there are 17 regiments of the Indian Army alongside the border working under the Umbrella of the US and sheltering and arming the terrorists for activities into Pakistan. It is believed that the Taliban’s are mere puppets in the hands of vested foreign non-Muslim interests. That they have been propped up to create a destabilized image about Pakistan internationally, with the malafide intents that its government is to weak to rule. That it has turned vulnerable to the extent that its Nukes may fall in the hands of the Taliban extremist militants. Thus paving the way of these vested interests to have an excuse to walk in and take control of the Nukes themselves! Everyone, even a child in Pakistan speaks of this motive and who shall benefit and how from all this, if they succeed. The major factor contributing towards suspicions to the CIA are the drone (unmanned planes) missiles attacks within Pakistan’s territory causing death of innocent locals and destruction of their houses in the tribal belt is a counter-productive act being carried out by the CIA. It is a dampener for the US image within the hearts and minds of the local people of tribal areas as well as the whole of the Pakistani populace. The US made and Indian marking weapons seized during the recently launched Pakistan Army operation against the TTP in the FATA/PATA regions are all creating doubts about the US intentions towards Pakistan.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/world/asia/20ammo.html?_r=1

 
It is baffling from where and whom Baithullah Masood the supremeo of TTP gets 4 Arab PK Rupees to spend annually to maintain his force of 15000 militants?

Where are the intelligence agencies? Can they not locate the main headquarters of Taliban and AQ, and storm them to arrest all the senior leaders including Osama? Now the latest techniques can be use to locate the trouble makers easily.

But till now the Valliant armed forces and for once the Pakistani political forces have kept aside their differences and personal gains and shown exemplary display of discipline, faith and unity for the sake of the country’s solidarity and sovereignty and kept their motherland safe from these nefarious designs to succeed.  

The above are though speculations yet! are definitely thought provoking!  

P.s.

Recently, Mr.Richard Brookes,President .Obama’s,envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan has pointed out that it is the gulf country who are funding the Talibans !
http://www.fox43.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-eu-afghanistan-holbrooke,0,5007706.story

I certainly with all due respects for Mr.Brooke intelligence, dont agree with this contention of his that the Gulf states are supporting the Taliban cause.

Since,it is a fact that all are US allies and even if not an ally still none of them have the gall or guts to risk doing that against US+NATO,whose wrath they very well know they would not be able to  sustain nor good for their health.Lol . Besides, what could they possibily benefit or gain by doing so ?.

Although it is difficult to get a successful result in an online defamation issue, it can be done by carefully establishing who is making the comment, and where they are based.  Other important considerations are how damaging the comments are and whether threats might drive the defamer to make further comments. Litigation and threats of litigation are not always the best way forwards but they can be a useful tool. The Facebook case illustrates one such instance where litigation was used to stop defamation on a social networking site.

The Facebook case: A modern take on defamation

Many web users have a false belief that they can say anything they want on the internet and not be held responsible. The courts are finding otherwise. In the most recent English case, Applause Store Productions Ltd v Raphael [2008] EWHC 1781 (QB) (QBD), a man was held liable for comments made on Facebook. Although the limits of defamation law were hardly stretched in this case, it is interesting to see how the court responded.  

The case involved Mathew Firsht, the owner of Applause productions, a well known company which provides audiences for television shows. He did not have a Facebook account. In June 2007 a fake profile was placed up on Facebook in an account using Mr. Firsht’s name.  This featured extensive personal information about him including his sexual orientation, political views, religious beliefs and a picture – supposedly of Mr. Firsht – but which was actually a copy of the profile picture from his twin brother’s Facebook page. The profile also included a link to a Facebook Group called ‘Has Mathew Firsht lied to you?’ In this case there was no dispute about whether the material was defamatory but only over whom had put up the profile and the group.  

The defendant, a Mr. Raphael who had been a friend of Mr. Firsht and also knew him professionally, had his identity revealed after Firsht’s lawyers sent a takedown notice to Facebook and obtained a Norwich Pharmacal order against Facebook.  The order required Facebook to disclose not only the registration data but also details of the IP addresses and email addresses which created the profile.

The profile had in fact been created by someone at Mr. Raphael’s IP address. After the profile was created all relevant activity which occurred on the fake account continued to come from Mr. Raphael’s IP address. The same IP address was also used during this time to login into two other Facebook accounts: Mr. Raphael’s account and Mr. Raphael’s girlfriend’s account. The fake account had only been signed into from two different computers at the IP address which included Mr. Raphael’s computer and his girlfriend’s laptop which he admitted he often used. The facts about the IP address and login details were not refuted by Mr. Raphael.  

The case gets even stranger. Mr. Raphael’s defence was that he did not create the profile and that the evening the profile was created he and his girlfriend had met a group of strangers at a bar who then returned home with them and spent the night. He said that one of them must have created the profile from his computer. He did not give an explanation of how someone else had been logging into the account from his IP address on the subsequent times the account had been accessed which would have been after the fake profile creating stranger left his home.  He instead choose to defend himself by relying on alibi evidence that he had not been at home on the other occasions when the Facebook profile had been accessed so it had to have been someone else.

The judge did not believe his story at all (rightly so) and decided that Mr. Raphael had in fact been the one to put up the false profile as well as the defamatory group.  Although the profile was not visible for a considerable length of time, 16-17 days, the judge ruled that due to the popularity and nature of Facebook, which targeted the material towards people who knew Mr. Firsht, the materials were particularly damaging. The Judge also ruled that the allegations of dishonesty were serious enough to harm Mr. Firsht’s business so allocated the award with £15,000 to Mr. Firsht personally, £5,000 to his business and an extra £2,000 for breach of his privacy. In this case, Mr. Raphael learned to his chagrin that comments made online can be costly and that lawyers can often get around the anonymity problem with IP addresses identifying computers not users.

Liability of Internet Service Providers

The other point to bear in mind when discussing defamation on the internet is that in some jurisdictions, including England, Internet Service Providers can have liability for content on the sites they host. They can be liable even if they were merely passively hosting the site unless they take down the objectionable material when they receive notice of it. The famous case on this point in England is Godfrey v. Demon.  In that case, an unknown person purporting to be Godfrey put up a comment on Demon’s server. The statement was defamatory.  The real Mr. Godfrey asked to have it removed telling Demon that it was fraudulent.  When Demon failed to remove the post Godfrey sued for defamation and won. This case established the importance of  ISPs treating complaints seriously and investigating and taking down any content that can be considered defamatory.

Since this case, the E-commerce directive has come into effect which also has ramifications for when a host can be liable in defamation (or for other acts).  ISPs are in a difficult position. On the one hand if they remove any content posted by their customers they could be in breach of their customers’ contractual rights (unless their contracts expressly absolve them from liability in certain circumstances) On the other hand if they don’t remove the content they could become personally liable for it to third parties.

Under the E-commerce Directive  most ISPs will be viewed by the courts as a mere conduit and therefore not liable for the content, as long as they do not initiate the transmission, select the receiver of the transmission and do not select or modify the information in the transmission.  Nevertheless, ISPs will still have liability if they are notified of infringing material and then refuse to take it down, and there are those who believe their responsibilities should be broadened further.

The position in the USA

In the United States, ISPs are not liable for defamatory information but they are often joined as co-defendants in lawsuits with John Doe.?  There is a purely practical reason for doing this. ISPs are becoming increasingly wary of divulging information about their users since it could be an invasion of privacy.

By joining the ISPs as defendants, once the lawsuit is initiated lawyers can make discovery demands of the ISP to get all of the relevant data which could help them trace the unidentified user who posted the comment.  Once the user is identified the ISP is usually dropped from the lawsuit and the user remains the sole defendant.

These laws not only have ramifications for ISPs but for any company which has a forum or allows user generated content on their website. Many companies are not aware that they themselves can be found liable for defamation due to actions of employees or other third parties on these websites.  In-house lawyers are becoming increasingly aware of the laws on defamation and privacy in order to take adequate steps to protect their employers.

What to do

If you find that you are the subject of a defamatory comment online there are a number of things that can be done.  Clearly balance the seriousness of the comment with the costs associated with getting it taken down.  The last resort option would involve going to court to get disclosure orders. Unless the comments are particularly grievous or widespread other avenues should be explored first.

If you are dealing with a hate site that uses a domain name similar to your company name there may be the possibility of trying to retrieve the domain name through a UDRP or other dispute resolution policy. However, this can be risky since at the moment it has not been decided whether these types of sites constitute fair use under the rules.  The other problem with this method is that you may inflame the situation further.  Also your efforts could be wasted if the site simply reappears on another non-infringing domain name.

Another option is to address the comment in the press or on your own website. Recently, in Israel, an anonymous internet user began a hate campaign against Israel’s best known maker of dairy products.  Defamatory comments were posted on a variety of websites and also sent around through emails. The company responded to the situation by posting comments on the website and also sending out their own emails via employees which defended their business.  This approach has been successful as content is no longer being posted and the record has been set straight for anyone doing future web searches.

It should always be kept in mind that attacks are often short lived. Surprisingly the best option sometimes can be to deal with the situation by ignoring it, and possibly using SEO strategies to keep the site or the comment low down in the search results.  The comment or website will often disappear since it takes a lot of energy to keep the site sufficiently prominent.

My first boss was not a graduate of any business school. As a matter of fact he had to quit school when he was only 15. The Second World War was terrorizing Europe and he had to flee his homeland. He never apprenticed at a big corporation but, in his quiet and unassuming way, without even realizing it, he taught me more about how to sell, manage employees and run a small business, because he showed me how to be a good human being.

He did menial work trying to survive during the war and his first real job was farming on a kibbutz in Israel where his innate ability to delve into a task and be a quiet yet effective leader was noticed by the other members who elected him as field manager, quite an accomplishment for a young man in his early twenties who was never formally trained at anything.

After 10 years in Israel he brought his young family to Canada where he had to learn his 6th language – English. Eager to be master of his own destiny he mustered up his gumption and looked far into the future. He found a partner and they opened a modest ‘new and used furniture and appliance store’ on Queen Street in Toronto, long before it was the retail fashion district it is today and when it was still the clothing manufacturing hub of Canada along with Montreal. Low end furniture was also being manufactured in these two cities and they filled the needs of the wave of immigrants that flowed to Canada after the upheaval in Europe and were being exported to the USA as well.

My first boss was my Dad and I learned more from him than I could have ever learned in business school and, it was because of his encouragement, that I did go to university and eventually had my greatest professional success when I also ventured out on my own.

My Dad was one of thousands of talented European immigrants who were hurled out of their homes when Hitler invaded the smaller countries around Germany and attempted to apply his monstrous final solution in the warped thinking that this would rebuild his country’s past glory. These displaced people brought their skills to this country and were unafraid to risk starting new businesses. They helped revive and rebuild cities like Toronto and Montreal with their strong work ethic and hope for a better future in their adoptive country.

My father was a good boss because he had that rare ability to feel empathy for others and to remember what “he felt like” when things happened or were done to him and he therefore tried, at every turn, to be kind and not to hold himself higher or consider himself better than others. He also appreciated the life he was building in Canada and, grateful to have survived the horrors of the war, he lived those feelings every day and demonstrated them to us, his children.

He once told me that when things got rough for him and he felt down he would think back to the work he did in a labour camp in Russia during the war where his duties were to fill up a wheel barrow with dirt and dump it in another part of the yard – and then repeat the task again – all day long. He used to tell me that after that experience anything was a step up.

One day he decided that he needed a janitor/cleaner for his store. I had no work experience but he felt that I had the right qualifications anyway so he made me an offer. He had observed how well I had learned to polish furniture, make beds, wash dishes and mop floors under the tutelage of my mother. I was the oldest of three sisters and she needed my help, so I got trained first. So it happened that when my Dad asked me, at the age of 14, if I wanted to spend Saturday mornings at his store dusting the furniture, cleaning the appliances and washing the floors, I had both the practical skills and the experience. But it was the life lessons I would learn on the job watching my Dad that proved to be the most valuable skills I would take away from my first job.

The offer was 4 hours of work for $5 plus lunch. In 1964 that was a good offer. I even got a lift to work in his truck and that’s where the lessons began. (Two years later when I landed my first “real” part time job as a cashier in a supermarket I was paid $1 an hour. My Dad had been fair with me).

Before the days of welfare people who were looking for temporary or part time work would stand on street corners on the major streets of Toronto – like Spadina – and if someone needed a worker for the day or week they would stop and pick them up. It was my father’s habit to do this on the way to his store in the mornings when his business got busier so he could have an extra hand or two to help him lug around the heavy furniture and repair the appliances he bought second hand to fix and re-sell.

Soon it seemed that it was the same men time and again who were jumping in the back of his pickup truck and before long he didn’t have to slow down at street corners anymore – the “usuals” were waiting for him in front of the store. They had become his unofficial permanent crew. One had a drinking problem, one was a gambler and the other had a mental disorder that was never diagnosed or treated. They all lived in rooming houses on the margins of society and in their torn and dirty clothes – they looked lost and forlorn. But they were loyal to my Dad and soon I began to understand why. He never shouted at them. He paid them at the end of every work day and bought them coffee. He spoke kindly to them and asked them about their lives. He explained to me that just because someone was down on their luck – even if it was caused by their own actions – they deserved to be treated with the same dignity with which he treated his customers, his partner, his friends and his family. He said that it’s easy to be nice to people who are like you but much harder to be kind to those who society has not accommodated because ‘but for the grace of good fortune’ that could have been me.

It’s always amazed me that a man who had survived so much hatred hurled in his direction, plus the slaughter of his immediate family, still had the ability to be so generous to others. I came to learn that, despite everything, my father had always felt well loved growing up and that sustained him his whole life and gave him the ability to love others, never ashamed to wear his heart on his sleeve.

I remember sometimes when he used to take me home after my “Saturday shift,” and he would take one of the helpers with him to make a delivery to a customer afterwards. They never rode in the back of the truck – even in the summer – always in the cabin – next to me. And I was instructed to listen to them and to talk back nicely. Our conversations often didn’t make much sense but I was polite and didn’t think it strange or uncomfortable at all. These were my Dad’s workers and I respected that fact.

As I scrubbed the refrigerators and stoves, polished the furniture and thoroughly washed the long expanse of the floor with a bucket of water and a heavy mop, I had the privilege of watching my father deal with his customers and I learned how to be fair and honest.

The style of shopping in those days was to barter for goods, a European tradition. You only refrained from this in the fancy department stores downtown where everything had a price tag and you knew the price was the price. So shopkeepers and their clients played a little game with each other. The owner asked a higher price than they expected to get and let their client haggle with them until they reached the price they wanted to charge all along. It seemed that everyone was satisfied with this way of conducting business transactions. My Dad had a different sales approach, even though he never studied sales and marketing or got his MBA. He had a simple no nonsense style he devised by applying a simple criterion. ‘How would I like to be treated if I were the customer?’ He concluded that if you treated people fairly they would come to trust you and you would never have to haggle with them and they would still know they got a good deal. So he made it his policy to give his best price first – and last. It proved to be a powerfully effective strategy and the proof was that people would come to him time and again over many years and recommend him to their friends and relatives. He especially gained a good reputation among new immigrants who were told that they don’t have to worry about being overcharged by the proprietor of this store and no haggling was needed.

I think I realized even then how wise a person my father was and how much I loved and admired him for all those qualities. Perhaps because of his missed opportunity at higher learning he knew how important it was for me and my sisters to aspire for a university education even though it was not fashionable in those days to educate daughters after high school. He wanted us to become independent people. That’s how he saw us – as people – not girls.

More than my formal education, it was the things I learned getting to know him while I was growing up in his household and working for him in his store that have stayed with me more than all the things I learned in books or from bosses I have had since then. I recall regularly the gentle wisdom he imparted to me and I know that my success in life began the day he gave me my first job.

Today I and my two sisters are all self-employed. I guess the old adage “like father, like son,” also applies to daughters and it is remarkable that things worked out that way – but not surprising.

My first boss finally closed his store and retired when he was barely 60 years old and spent the next 25 years doing the Florida thing with my mother and helping us raise his six granddaughters. Three have already graduated university and are building strong careers. The other three are following right behind.

My first boss turns 85 years old on January 1, 2010. Happy Birthday Dad.

09 January 2009 12:47 am

 Mari-Ivon wrote: Dear Sergey Igorevich! I have read your new book. There is an explicit remark upon Georgia. What do you think, what is happening? First of all the crisis, then here in Europe they say that there won’t be any heat, or gas because of Russia and Ukraine. It looks like the beginning of the panic…I would like to know your opinion and analysis of more global processes which meanwhile are beginning to concern everyone.

 Well it was not simply a remark upon Georgia – it was a statement of fact. I hoped that the hint will be taken clearly and it will entail a line of reasoning about what would happen after the (Georgian) intrusion to (South) Ossetia and the answer of Russia. I mean not only relationships between Russia and Georgia, but the influence of this conflict to all processes of the world society. Well, apparently it should be explained.

 First of all, the unit “Beggar” may concern not only a man but an organization, even a country. In this case we have such example. Appropriately, the other countries come out as such “units”-persons too. It’s clear that if a Beggar appears, he infects some and activates the others, potential “Beggars”. So, that thing took place.

 Georgia appeared as an academic example of the Beggar – exactly according to a book (“Temperology: Manifesto of a Middle Class”, 2008, Moscow) and started up the process. When he was “obliged on peace” the game began. The figures were as follows: Georgia, Ukraine, and USA and, perhaps, Poland – they are the Beggars of different levels; Russia is an Honest or Career, or rather an intermediate variant; and society presented by EU.

 So, the smallest Beggar “gets socked in the eye” and cry, lies as he can playing with public opinion. He is supported by the open-hearted average men and they come down on his side. Thus, they appointed themselves the potential victim. So who will “eat” them? Georgia? Surely, no! They will be “eaten” by the biggest Beggar. Before it will happen, they should be “undermined”. Who will do that? So Ukraine comes on with the steal of gas. Draw attention at the following: Georgia attacked Ossetia during Olympic Games. Ukraine left Europe without heat at that very moment when it was mostly required, when abnormal or Siberian frost came to Europe. Then all of this occurred during financial crisis! What do you think? In what condition will Europe ride out this “gas” situation? Why! From the words of Ukraine it’s clear who is guilty? Russia! Too much civilized Europeans can not assume how it is possible to steal almost all gas. Such things may never happen! It means that it was not supplied! This thing is obvious for them. Ukraine will still ride down on this naivity. When everything becomes clear someone bigger or the biggest one will come on and do his duty!

 One should understand that the Beggars do not pursue any concrete object. They live by preying on the other people and thus create an inner chaos inside their victims. It means that the Beggars destroy their system.

 If people who make decision had this knowledge, they would act in different way; perhaps, just block any efforts of these Beggars. And there were no problems neither with Georgia, not Ukraine. But actions in usual manner of top-manager reinforce the Beggars because it means playing on their rules. So what is loss through ignorance of it? How many billions? What is the price of worry of millions ordinary people?

 If we touch upon the price of Temperology studies these are not the empty words. Not long time ago, the primitive structuring of organization made possible to keep directly 10 000 000 rubles (approximately $350 000). It has been made in 2 months in frame of not great company. If someone could understand the game of Beggars in politics, how many funds could not be thrown away for their nourishing! Billions? But I am talking not only about money.

 Several days ago I was watching on TV the negotiations of Sarkozy with the leaders of Israel on cease-fire in sector Gaza. Israelis are politicians, but Sarkozy is just a top-manager (let him not to be offended). The talk was of the fates of people, their property and lives – hundreds or even thousands lives of Israeli and Palestinian soldiers. As Sarkozy admitted three hours of negotiating didn’t lead to anything. It is clear why. There was a parody to the first course of the EFSI (the Effective Formation of the Social Individuality). He was “hauled over the coals” according to the first course on the level of placings and sitting down! And this knowledge could even slightly change situation in the Middle East.

 I think the problem is as follows. While I was watching the “kindergarten” that was made by Sarkozy in Israel, I understood one thing. Those people, on whom the fates of organizations, communities or states depend, do not need this knowledge. Because they do not concern themselves with the fate of what they represent, they are occupied about Number One. The result of this knowledge is needed by ordinary people who remain without gas, come under fire, feel cold etc through the incompetence of their leaders. So there is a gap. People for whom this knowledge is intended are occupied with their own business or their own self and simply do not see in Temperology the personal profit. For the other common people this knowledge is hardly understandable on the reason that they have a lot of current problems made by people “from above”. They do not care of it. So, I came to the conclusion that Temperology will go into high gear only when such a man-leader will come, who will be anxious not only about himself but sincerely worry about the fate of work that he is responsible of.

 So, it comes that today Temperology is intangible assets of great many-billions value but unfortunately it is not liquid assets.

 I hoped that the note in Manifesto (“Temperology: Manifesto of a Middle Class”, 2008, Moscow) will entail a similar line of reasoning.

 Sergey Kronin

INTRODUCTION

When general Yakubu Gowon established the NYSC by the decree 24 of May 1973, its primary aim was to promote the ideals of national unity and a sense of common destiny among Nigeria and eliminate mental suspicion and mistrust that has been engendered by the civil war, however it is high time the scheme had a face-lift, if not a new face in its entirety, with calls from different quotas on the president or who ever is in charge to to evaluate/audit the scheme, the president  has promised an overhauling of the scheme, in my own opinion I think the overhauling should be that which will involve the real  stakeholders in the business of NYSC, that will involve corp members, both serving and past, parents, educationist and community leaders, traditional rullers and employers of labour. In this meeting the NYSC’s objective should be examined critically and rephrased. Wordy of mention is the set and existing objectives which are

promote unity and national integration
raise the moral tone of the youths by exposing them to higher ideals of national building
promote even national economic development/mobility of labour into less developed areas
encourage employers to employ Nigerians irrespective of their background or ethnic group

having considered all this it will be of great benefit, if we examine how the scheme has performed/fared since its establishment.

NYSC IN RELATION TO NATIONAL SERVICE IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Nigeria – Service of one year in the National Youth Service Corps is compulsory for all university and polytechnic graduates below the age of 30, with exemptions for service in the armed forces, police and graduation with honors. 85,000 were enlisted in 1998/99. The program was founded in 1973 following the civil war to promote inter-ethnic group understanding by serving outside their home states and to contribute to the country’s development. 70% of corps members serve in schools; health clinics and other projects absorb the balance. One day each week all corps members are expected to participate in community service projects that are designed by the local communities where they serve.

Looking at the scheme in Nigeria, let’s consider what it looks like in other countries first are those in which it is mandatory for youth with certain qualities will participate, then those that require voluntary participation.

Programs in which certain categories of young people are required to participate:

Israel - A nearly universal military National service exists, and has been an important social welfare institution as well as defence force since the country was established (exemptions for ultra-orthodox Jews and for Israeli Arabs and religious women who serve in alternative service programs). Men serve for three years; women for two years. Government will establish a pilot for a non-military national service program for any Israeli who is exempted from military service for any reason (May2000) to address inequities in who serves in the IDF, e.g., Arab-Israelis are 20% of population. National service opportunities also exist through the Kibbutz movement and several Israeli Youth  movements, although participation in these programs does not replace military service. Current military force averages 500,000 out of total population of 6 m.

Mexico – All university students must participate in the University Servicie Social program in the last third of their academic programs to receive their degrees. This program was established by law in 1944 to apply the resources of universities to the National goal of eliminating poverty. All medically trained professionals must serve in disadvantaged communities for one year before they can be licensed. In 1996 conscripts were given the option of either serving in the army or in one of three national service programs involving adult literacy, social work and sports promotion. NGOs and

government youth organisations also organise youth service projects. youth defined as 12-24 years old, 28% of population of 98.1 m. Second national youth Development Conference Our Future Now – empowering young people through youth development Workshop Stream International Perspectives

Egypt – A national service program exists for young female secondary school graduates to serve as the military equivalent of military service for young men. In principle, women must fulfill their nationa service before they can be employed in the public sector. Women serve for six months, typically in a literacy center as part of the government’s literacy campaign. Non-governmental organisations such as Scouts and Guides and NGO-run programs in urban and rural areas involve youth in community service.

Programs in which participation is voluntary:

China – Chinese Young Volunteers Program sponsored and largely funded by Communist youth League; established in 1994; operated through a national network of provincial and local associations; 72.4 m participants in CYVP (460 m 14-35 year olds, 38% of total population); typical participant is a 19-25 year old student or worker who volunteers once a month for several hours during weekends and holidays (youth survey revealed that majority believe 80 hrs/year is right amount of time; survey also reveals that youth think the main beneficiaries should be handicapped people and lonely elders); CYVP is able to mobilise large numbers of participants for events such as Beijing Women’s conference, national games or rescue and disaster relief; highest motivation factors are helping others; lowest were to gain power and prestige and to respond to the call from government

USA - Government supports multiple youth service programs through the Corporation for national Service: service learning in schools and higher education institutions involving several million students; programs run by community-based organisations; and full and part-time service corps (AmeriCorps) for 50,000 people each year who are 17 or older. The annual Congressional appropriation has averaged $600m for the past 3 years. CNS also supports 500,000 senior citizens in service projects. Authority for running projects is largely devolved to states, and delivered through grants to public and non-profit organisations. Projects are focused on efforts to address education, environmental, public safety and a wide range of human service needs. In addition to programs supported by CNS, many non-profit organisations organise youth service programs.

UK - Government provides overall policy regarding the voluntary sector, including youth  service; funding for youth service programs is provided through several government departments (Homeb Office, DfEE, and DCMMS); DfEE has responsibility for two government-sponsored programs – Millenium Volunteers (MV)(1998) and European Voluntary Service. Voluntary sector agencies, which pre-date recent government initiative in youth service, deliver programs within the framework set out by government and in partnership with government. MV participants serve a minimum of 100hours. Size at full operation is projected to be 150,000 participants/year in England and smaller numbers in other home countries. DfEE has also introduced a new school curriculum, which will require citizenship education for all children over age 11 by 2001. Funds from the national Lottery support the Millenium Awards Scheme, which supports individual social entrepreneurs through a competitive process. Private sector support for youth service is significant.

Kenya – The national youth Service is a voluntary program for 2000 unemployed high school graduates each year, ages 18 – 22, who serve for 2-3 years on projects that address national development needs and contribute to the personal and professional development of the participants. (In the current year there were no new participants due to lack of funds.) Non-governmental youth service programs also exist such as Kenyan Scouts and several that target youth in vulnerable areas such as rural communities and urban slums.

South Africa – A white paper calling for the establishment of a voluntary national youth service(NYS) was developed by the national youth Commission in 1999 and sent to Cabinet for approval. If approved the NYS will develop programs to engage unemployed youth, university and technik on students, and youth involved with the criminal justice system. Five pilot projects will be launched in

Second national youth Development Conference Our Future Now – empowering young people through youth development Workshop Stream International Perspectives

2000 and provide the foundation for expansion to a national program. Government policy and funding incentives have created pressure for higher education institutions to respond to community development needs by engaging students and faculty with the work of NGOs and CBOs. In 1998 government required all medical school graduates to spend a compulsory year serving in disadvantaged communities. In 1995 the unemployment figure for young men and women was 23%, not including students. 16.2 m youth 14-35, 39% of total population

Costa Rica - The government requires all medically trained professionals to serve one year in the Servicio Social program serving disadvantaged populations in urban and rural areas. A newly implemented government policy requires community service programs in all high schools, although there is no requirement that the service must be related to the curriculum. The University of Costa Rica requires all students to perform community service work in relation to their academic studies. Several NGOs are developing community-based service programs with disadvantaged youth.

UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION SCHEME

Summary of the act for UBE

As contained in the official Reference of the Federal Republic of Nigeria  Gazette (2004), the act provides for compulsory universal basic education and stipulates penalties for parents who fail to comply with the provision. On the issue of relevance of the school curriculum to the society Ehindero (2000) Adesina (2000) have raised doubts as it has been observed that there is a growing rate of poverty which is an indicator of problems in the system. It was therefore suggested that it should be so structured that each individual will be equipped to perform some six life roles e.g. role as an individual, as a producer, citizen, national consumer and as a family member. As far as the provision of human and material resources are concerned, Adebimpe (2001) opined that for the UBEto succeed, adequate provision should be made to produce sufficient qualified teachers and make them relevant within the limit of their area of specialization. Salaries need to be paid as at when due because it serves as a motivation factor towards productivity.

INCORPORATING UBE INTO THE NYSC SCHEME

What is UBE

First it will be of great import to examine what UBE stands for, its objectives and general framework, the fundamental principle of UBE in Nigeria is that everybody must have access to equivalent education comprehensively and co-educationally. The concept of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) introduced in 1976. (6 years education) was to change into Basic education (9 years education) twenty three years later. Basic education is not completely new but its meaning has been broadened after the World

Declaration on Education for All (EFA),and the Framework for Action to meet Basic learning needs.  President Olusegun Obasanjo formally launched the UBE in Nigeria on 30th September, 1999. The programme is intended to be universal, free, and compulsory. Since the introduction of western education in 1842 (Eya, 2000), regions, states, and federal governments in Nigeria have shown a keen interest in education. The goal of all these programmes is providing functional, universal, and quality education for all Nigerians irrespective of age, sex, race, religion, occupation, or location.

UBE is broader than UPE, which focused only on providing educational opportunities to primary school age children. UBE stresses the inclusion of girls and women and a number of underserved groups: the poor, street and working children, rural and remote populations, nomads, migrant workers, indigenous peoples, minorities, refugees, and the disabled. The formal educational system is only one of six components included in basic education in the implementation guidelines of the Federal Government. Others relate to early childhood, literacy and life skills for adults, nomadic population, and non-formal education or apprenticeship training for youth outside the formal education system (Nigeria 2000).

Education has remained a social process in capacity building and maintenance of society for decades. It is a weapon for acquiring skills, relevant knowledge and habits for surviving in the changing world. Invariably, the major problem identified in the Nigerian UBE system lies in the automatic promotion, that is, 100% promotion and  transition for 9years. This indeed is a mockery of any form of evaluation done at this level and is bound to reflect on the standard of education in no distant future  Goals of UBE The objectives of the programme as specified in the implementation guideline by

government in 1999 are as follows:

Developing in the entire citizenry, a strong conscientiousness for education and a strong commitment to its vigorous promotion
Provision of free Universal Basic Education for every Nigerian child of school going age
Reducing drastically the incidence of drop out from the formal school system
Catering for young persons, their schooling as well as other out of school children or adolescent through appropriate form of complementary approaches to the provision of UBE

- Ensuring the acquisition of appropriate levels of literacy, numeracy, manipulative communicative and life skills as well as the ethical, moral and civic values needed for laying a solid foundation for the life long living.

Going by the research published by ADenola Adepoju  and Anne Fabiyi  the Problem is the universal access to education has been prime target for Nigeria in the last four decades and Nigeria is a signatory of World Declarations on  education for All. Igwe (2006) reported that the United Nations Organization (UNO), article 26 on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in part that everyone has the right to  education, and this shall be free in elementary and primary stages. So, both at the national and international levels, Nigeria is committed to the provision of basic education to all its citizens. Many attempts have been made in this direction but no appreciable positive results have been recorded. The problem of implementation continues to be a perennial problem to the fulfilment of a constitutional and social obligation to make access possible to all.   They also concluded in there research that   The cost of education has been reported to be on the increase yearly and in spite of increase in budgetary allocation for implementation of educational policies, the funds are still not adequate. In order to support government the new policy advocated for sharing the burden of funding with other stakeholders. The local community is expected to be mobilized to provide for needed infrastructure. In this research, principals/managers of schools assessed the community’s level of involvement to be very low. The lack of commitment and general apathy towards the course of a successful implementation of the UBE has been a problem. A survey research conducted by Ker and Okwori revealed that the participation of individuals, private and the three tiers of government was found to be the best option for funding and managing UBE schools.  Massive provision of teaching and learning facilities and improvement of existing ones will enhance programme implementation. The use of other facilities that enhance communication and productivity is also a mark of good performance. Falayajo, Makoju, Gladys, Okebukola, Onugha and Olubade (1997) had assessed the learning achievement of primary four pupils in Nigeria and discovered that this has not improved. Almost ten years after their research, this research also reveals that teachers, performance is rated as low, as their students achievements.  The principals observed that the use of computers is only limited to computer awareness and literacy to a large extent. Computer use for application was not emphasized. The use of computers should not be limited to teaching and learning but for school administration. Askar et al (2006) noted that computers in Turkish primary schools have become widely used in administrative work and that in fact, information technology has entered the life of teachers. Government policy on enforcing attendance at the UB programme has not been implemented as majority of parents are still involved in keeping their children and wards behind.  This research reveals that only a small group (17.8%) of respondents agreed that government was taking care of all their school needs whereas majority (82.2%) claim that their parents were largely involved in funding their school expenses. Adesina (2004) noted that private establishments, communities and individual parents must be called upon to fund UBE He cautioned that it was wrong and misleading propaganda that education can be obtained absolutely free as the actual experience on the field has shown that such propaganda is more of a political gimmick than a statement of good intention.  It was observed that the greater the stake in any venture, the greater the interest and commitment of the stake holders in that venture. An enabling law to compel parents to leave no child behind should be enforced. Other practical steps that could be taken to move UBE forward in Nigeria is to give national recognition to individual private organization and local communities who have contributed by way of commitment and financial backing to the ideals of the programme.

THE NEED FOR INTEGRATING NYSC INTO UBE

I think the primary purpose for setting up the NYSC scheme has been achieved long ago except we want to shy away from the truth, Nigerian now are united more than ever any crisis that is on now is not as a result of ethnic neither is it as a result of religious purpose, but its just a selfish nature of our politicians who are supposed to be the leaders, this is own to the fact that Nigerian youth even pick up employment, marry and even settle-down in there state of deployment during NYSC, even we now have NYSC club and an Alumni congregation has been instituted,

Even it was stated in (nigerianouline.com) that NYSC has it’s multiplier effect which are

The achievements of the scheme which are both tangible and intangible, are many, and they touch all known spheres of human endeavour. The scheme has over the years allowed for the regular and effective distribution of skilled manpower, the steady breaking of social and cultural barriers as well as the building of friendly bridges across the nation.

It has also promoted higher values of national unity and development, rekindled interest in neglected but vital areas of national development like agriculture, and promoted leadership qualities in our youths. In these and other ways, the scheme constantly pricks the conscience of the nation to the right course of development, thereby keeping the hope alive for a better Nigeria.

The regular invita tion of members of the Corps to participate in the conduct of such sensitive national assignments as Population Census, Elections, etc. and to provide material for the Technical Aid Corps (TAC), is not only an expression of faith in the ability of the scheme, but also an appreciation of its monumental achievements since its inception in 1973. The positive multiplier effects of these achievements on society are worthy of further examination, taking, for instance, the deployemnt of corps members.

From its humble beginning of about 2,000 corps members in 1973, it has rapidly grown to the staggering annual figure of 85,000 corps members in 1999. This phenomenal growth, apart from ensuring that the presence of the scheme is felt in all nooks and crannies of the Federation, also allows for the even distribution of manpower in the best interest of the country.

this shows the extent of its success but the problem of NYSC has to do with the implementation and management of the scheme, the following has been observed

under funding of the scheme by relevant bodies
welfare of corpers are not taking into consideration
corp’s member are just undergoing the scheme for selfish reasons (DISPATCH letter)
that there has been irregularities in the posting pattern of corp member especially PPA
corpers end up doing nothing because they are not been utilize in there field of studies.

The problem elisted above are a function of the refusal of the federal government to oblirge to the call of Nigerians to revitalize or evaluate the scheme for a greater height, first the aspect of funding the scheme is under unded this led to it having problem in the mobilization of 2007/2008 batch B corp members, although the federal Government under the leadership of president umaru yar’adua waded in and it was able to mobilize  graduates that are ready to serve that year. Because Nigerian universities and polytechnics turns out over 100,000 graduates ona yearly basis, and as we all know that the Scheme started with just about 2,000 graduates, this means that the scheme has grown fromits former state, it population expanded , its ideal broadened and the need for its objectives to be strengthen can not be over emphasized.

The aspect of welfare of corp member is of great concern too, but welfarism is a function of funding, for an institution not to be well funded I wonder how it will be able to carry-out the task of welfare of corp members, corp, member has frowned about the monthly allowance being paid them, because to you relocate a corp member from Mshin in Lagos to Meiduguri in Borno state theb you can imagine a graduate trying yo cope with 9,750 naira, “although it is still part of the training” the say, as for myself I was relocated from Bariga, in Lagos to Machina, in Yobe State. With no other benefits except that of the federal allowance, I think part of the overhauling that needs to be carried out should incorporated the upward review of corp’s members allowance.

As for the selfishness of corp member , just undergoing the Scheme in other for them to get their dispatch certificate for job purposes should be changed in other words, these NYSC scheme should be seen as giving back a little to what your country has done for you, because it seems as if it is just a ritual that all graduate must observe and so we all go/went for it, don’t forget this notion that “ do not think of what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”, because truly truly if we look at it people will say that in Nigeria you are on your own, there is little or no Government impact on the life of its citizen and as such what are you serving the nation for, this notion should be corrected government or no government, it is important to serve your nation and the government and the institution should embark on massive campaign against that notion because it is causing damage to the scheme because corp’s member do not put in there best because of this reason.

The most important of all is the aspect of irregularities inposting of corp members to there various state and most importantly there respective local government, some corp members are posted to the urban centres whole others are posted to the rural areas, of all the cardinal objectives of the NYSC which are as listed in (Nigeria.com)

Elimination of ignorance
Regular source of income
Leadership traing
National consciousness
Socio-economic development
Education
Health
Rural development

The  rural development is of great importance and it deserve to be giving great attention because they are the once that need the Corp members the most owing to the fact that the concept of rural urban migration is a function of the uneven distribution of Socal infrastructure, such as education, road , electricity etc. now the corp members are ready made tools that could be used to bridge the Gap because they bring modernization to these areas a vivid example is that community tends to provide good housing units for corp members, electricity and even telecommunication network , I now of Fika Camp in Yobe state, whereby Celtel, MTN, and Glo Mobile Network came to be as a result of the site of the orientation camp in that village, and also corpers establish restaurant, bring in different electronic gadget and other modern facilities to mention a few to that area. Consequently, majority of the rural people have been poor and starved of social
amenities and they will need to be trained if these facilities are to be provided to the community, example of Machina local government where very few of the indigene are computer literate and can even use the internet not until corpers are posted to those areas and they started using all these facilities and involve the community in a training program before they could be able to use the computers. This program was taken by myself in the area of community development services not just for the villagers but also for corp members, it was also gathered from (Nigeria.com) that while all these have the effect of enhancing socio-economic and political activities, the scheme’s venture into agriculture since 1984 deserves special notice. It should be recalled that by this time, agriculture had already become a very neglected area of our national life. Consequently, a food crisis was imminent and it was mainly to avert it that the scheme found it necessary to go into  farming, and it paid off. Soon after its agricultural venture, more attention began to be paid to this sub sector with all the seriousness it deserves.  

So if all corp members are posted to the interior parts of the country to serve then this development of the rural area that we all long for will be achieved.

On the aspect of the underutilization and/or non-utilization of corp members has been a lingering problem, in establishment corp members are not been utilized properly and are turned to those that can be used as clerical staffs, in the place where that services are needed they are overstressed and overworked with little pay, because they regard them are cheap labour, and they are not entrusted with real duties.

In other part corps members are assigned task that have nothing to do with there training and are regarded as redundant fellows because they have little or nothing to do in such department, this amounting to corpers not acquiring any experience during there service tear regarding it as a share waste of time and as such not contributing to national development.

Also of importance is the special preference giving to medical doctors in terms there accommodation , special allowances and so on, while others such as engineers, lawyers, accountant are treated as ordinary, this on its own brings to bear the fact that there is an uneven appreciation of corps members services in a community.

NYSC OBJECTIVES AS REGARDS UBE AND OTHERS SHOULD BE

Transformation of Education Strengthening Civil Society and Social Responsibility
Productivity and Development of Youth Participant Economic Development, Social Development and Poverty Elimination
Cultural and Political Integration

The mode of posting and utilization of corp members should be

all prospective corp member should be posted to the rural area,

 People will say what about areas like Lagos where everywhere has been urbanize, I tell them too that areas like Igbogbo, Imota, Ibeche, Obadore and others in Epe needs corp members to serve in the community. If all corp members know that there colleague is also in a rural area serving then he/she knows that we are in it together, and the need to be sober when you receive your posting letter will not arise, it will also reduce corruption in NYSC, because people with connection to people in high places do find there way to major city in Nigeria.

2. since the UBE is facing a lot of problem in terms of manpower and other infrastructure then all corpers should be made to teach in schools except doctors which will be posted to hospitals in the rural areas, I believe if doctors are posted to the rural areas they will also bring development in terms of medical facilities to that area by them demanding from the relevant authority, instead of posting them to local government secretariat where they will be doing nothing. Every Nigerian graduate should be able to teach in secondary school and when the need arises primary school.

By this the aim of NYSC in to forestall National unity, cultural accumulation, social development, political integration and basic education will be achieved. Because the rural area will be a great beneficiary of the Scheme. Prior to UBE, curricula were rigid and inflexible, focusing on formal education at the expense of technical, vocational and pre-vocational skills. Technical equipment was imported and distributed to secondary schools to facilitate training in technology, but few technicians were available to operate it. In some cases, communities were unable to provide an environment that was conducive to achieving proficiency in operating the machines. Specifically, the curriculum was faced with problems such as

:• inflexibility;

• non-availability of funds for the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) to review education on a regular basis;

• limited capacity-building for curriculum experts;

• inability to respond to the need of the immediate environment.

In this regard corp’s member can  fill-in  in this regards and handle those equipment better, because of there vast experience and exposure in these areas.

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