Integration of utilities

I came across the following press release about the state of the Scandinavian power utility whilst hunting for info on Bakun and the current submarine cable model, NorNet– and the argument for efficiency and least cost generation is a compelling one. Just think if we do not have so much cheese with kiasu-ness and being territorial and playing politics, TNB should possibly own Singapore’s electricity utilities, while buying bulk supply in an optimal ratio from internal power plants and IPPs.

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Source: http://www.statnett.no/en/The-power-system/About-the-power-system/Exchange-of-power/

The Nordic region and Europe

(11/4/2008)

Trading with other countries is important for Norway for several reasons.

The exchange of power with other countries is important for a number of reasons. In general, an increase in trade between countries results in more effective utilisation of power resources. The competition between power generators is reinforced, resulting in the most efficient generating resources being used at any one time. Overall, this will help to reduce the costs for end users, and at the same time strengthen the ability to overcome many different challenges. The exchange of power between countries also helps to make the power system and power market larger. This makes the system more robust and better able to face a wide variety of challenges.

For Norway, it is particularly important to be able to deal with situations with declining precipitation, as 99% of Norwegian power generation is based on hydroelectric power. The countries around us primarily use thermal power generation, and trading with them helps to improve the security of supply in Norway.

Norwegian hydroelectric power generation has a flexibility which can be valuable to our neighbouring countries. When consumption fluctuates rapidly in other countries, thermal generation can be both expensive and polluting to regulate compared with our hydroelectric power.

For Statnett, it is therefore important to work to ensure that effective market solutions are developed for the exchange of power between countries, and that sufficient investments are made in power lines which connect the markets closer together.

Karpal the irrelevant

Where do I start? Last month, I put up a post on despicable human traits - rather unintentionally I had placed some of Kaprpal's actions with other unfriendly, unyielding characters of our times - and being the self-professed expert at all legal happenings in Malaysia, and possibly this world - (witness his"jangan main-main dengan saya" remark yesterday) he may yet sue all who dare to criticise his shallow understanding of this country called Malaysia that he lives in.

I wish I'm bothered to find his quotes, outburst, tirade, whatever you'd want to call it yesterday, but in truth, Karpal is so irrelevant that I can't be bothered. In fact I am, but maybe I'll just rely from memory instead of wasting bandwidth to search for news reports.

He said something about Anwar causing problems to Pakatan and therefore should resign, yeah - he has been helpful to Pakatan's formation? For the first time, DAP has captured a state and numerous other parliament and state seats in Malay dominant areas instead of Jelutong and Ipoh Timur and he dare to voice this sort of statement? I wish I could turn clock back 10 years and reverse my decision on the only occasion I had ever voted in and had given my vote to this bugger's political party? His problems with accepting the Malay-muslim polity's desire for an Islamic state is legendary, perhaps heroic to those who think he dared to voice their opposition to something they cant understand, but at the expense of alienating the dominant majority race who do not want somenone who doesn't understnd these sensitivities to partake in this discussion, is helpful to Pakatan Rakyat? Puh-leeze.

I have no doubt that if there is someone else capable of leading PR compared to Anwar- of cobbling together this loose coalition on a more solid platform of a sustained principled fight of integrity and justice then there Anwar should do one and leave. Otherwise, telling Anwar to vacate and then creating a vacuum - for what - so that someone who has an honorary post of DAP Chairman, proving DAP is a multi-racial party of lots of chinese, not many indians and even less malays could try his luck at being the leader, when he cant even speak the malay language properly? OK, perhaps I'm being too much in putting this as a motive since at no point does he say he's interested in the post and goes as far as saying any other good leader should replace Anwar, but he says he's a seasoned politician after being in politics since 1974 and all that, but he's insisting on an action that can only weaken the party can only mean Karpal is a historical, archaic piece of fossil dependent on safe seats for his survival. Oh yeah, just to prove that the DAP Chairman post is honorary, care to remember the name of his predecessor and any of his previous press statements?

All in all - Karpal, just pack up your political bags and close the door as you leave!

Perak fiasco..

There is no case for defiance and acting irrationally. The law is clear, having had the required defections and the support, BN should form the new Perak state govt, no matter how shoddy, how low and how dirty the whole thing is. Let’s be principled here, the week earlier, when Mr Bota jumped, not many blinked an eyelid. DSAI looked triumphant indeed. When the same thing happened, with the roles reversed, the response was very much different. No matter that there was suggestion of a buyout if BN was the beneficiary, and the poor downtrodden souls in Pakatan actually gains support from believers in their “struggle”. Bullshit.

DSAI, LKS, Karpal – stop this bloody nonsense. TG Nik Aziz, TG Hadi Awang, Ir Nizar – stand your ground, take a principled stand, and end this standoff against the Perak Sultan, who I believe acted in the best interests of everyone. Why should there be additional wastage of expenses to have another round of elections just to prove how polarized Perak, or for that matter, the whole country is?

DAP and PKR cant control their ADUNs when temptations of *insert your own hypotheses here* arise. Gutless, guileless and unprincipled. It’s OK if there was an issue they had disagreed with, like the giving away of freehold land like the land belongs wholly to the state and the current generation. What actions we take echo in the future generations too, don’t you know? That was an unresolved issue, and if that was the beacon that attracted people to leave their party, that’s fine by me. At least it teaches the 18 DAP guys that running this multiracial country with a Malay-Muslim majority won’t be that easy. But no. defections come about after some silly press conferences about medical leave and barely believable, I’m being polite here, excuses.

Politics stinks – but PAS comes out of this smelling like roses.

Chosen hope over fear

OBAMA-hypeology

 

“Chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord”, “Harnessing the sun and wind and soil”.. and for sure other Obama soundbites will enter the lexicon as the craftily designed inauguration speech gets analysed to death. How to say a lot of things, move people towards optimism and hope, yet not lay on too much for people to bite you in 3-4 years time as the realities of the world’s problems set in.

 

We all live in hope that tomorrow, next year, 5 year’s time will always be better. But the values that remain is of how we touch the hearts of others, and of that I have been a terrible failure to myself in my lifetime and moreso in my adult life. But the thought processes of leaders, particularly the great ones who could mobilise the masses to believe, and to bring forward the collective issues in their own voice, is a model for others to emulate.

 

We all can build our opinions, with hindsight, based on the mistakes of others, but those were judgments they had made within their circumstances. Of greater value is the ability to extend the same lines of reasoning to the future and choose our path, the best path for us and those we want to be with. That is a trait difficult to obtain and carries the risk of creating more bystanders instead of those partaking in the forging of the path to tread. Obama has chosen his way.. and our greatest hope is that he does not fall by the wayside too early. Pak Lah had a similar effect, though perhaps not in scale, when he took over from Tun, but 6 years on, he moves on with a whimper, generally with some sympathy at his inability to stamp his personality and character onto his political support, and in some cases reviled as the guy who brought shame to UMNO.

 

All this is well and good, but what can I use for my takeaway? A better adab when addressing people, including those of my kith and kin, and a greater sensitivity towards decision making when faced with life’s intersections.

 

Everton fallout

Firstly, good for Kaka to reject Mansour’s millions – money isn’t and cant buy everything. And it takes a devout Brazilian Christian raised in poverty to remind an Arabian billionaire that. Now if only he can donate the money towards reconstruction of Gaza and Palestine, I’m sure Gaza’s GDP is equivalent to that obscene amount for a footballer.

 

Secondly, MU has gone top, Chelsea is slowly turning things around and we’re still drawing games. Fans are getting anxious about the way things are going on and off the pitch, Chelsea, Villa and Arsenal are closing in, and not only are we falling off the top to MU (of all things), we’ll have to contend with the new, increased threats. I’ll support Rafa, though he has done many good things, not sure if his mind games are that good though although it was a valiant effort to take on all-comers – SAF, G&H, Parry et al. Now if only we can focus on regaining the early season and the first half form against Hull and Newcastle where we looked every bit as title contenders. In the meantime, I’ll have a lot of anxiety watching things unfold. I remember coming back from Hajj and seeing in the papers we had a chance to win the EPL in 2002 until that defeat to Spurs, and feeling a bit guilty that Liverpool playing many miles away is still a concern despite just coming hope from Mekah.

 

But, I do choose hope over fear.

 

self-reflection

There are occasions, like now, where I feel like I’m drifting, unsure of life’s priorities, unsure of where I’m heading. It includes a sense of guilt at expectations unmet, aspirations unachieved and hopes dashed. It includes the feeling of unresolved personal relationships, including of those close to me within my own family, of my mum, my wife and childred, my sisters, and my late father, those then closer, my in-laws, those through my own marriage or through my siblings, and others related to me. Those among my friends who I fail to endear myself to, whether they be in good health, or not as in Aman Firdaus’ case, and whether I have responded justly to those that I know, or those I have yet to know.

 

All this seems to point to me leaving behind an agenda, frequently dubbed in sort of secret code, “Sebuah Agenda Perjuangan”. It’s a simple concept, and it consists of several life creed that we live with and die for. Not having this means a life tortured by meaningless meanderings, of uncertainties. For a while, early in my twenties, I grasped the concept. Then I let it go when I could not find the balance between what is right and what is necessarily pragmatic. And thence starts the cycle that I need to break free from.

 

Living for something means I am able to overcome hardship in the form of mental fortitude when people start throwing dirt and shit at you for what you hold dear. It comes in the shape of rising above the stupid and the crass, the bitchy and the intolerant, and preaching the language of peace while maintaining the direction of truth and good. It is easy to speak in these terms, but without a built-in intrinsic moral compass to dissect what is right or wrong, we may forever end up going in cycles.

 

Interpersonal skills are indispensable. Being respectful, maintaining good relations, being courteous, curious and without a trace of an arrogant air, while being assertive should be an everyday habitual occurrence. Being respectful of others should not mean replacing respect for my own self. Stand my ground on things which I feel is right, stop asking for directions at every intersection, but start pointing out directions.

 

Why Israel's war is driven by fear

This was spotted on the guardian.co.uk site and I thought you should see it.

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Israel and Jews double speak. Who has control of the media controls issues and society's talking points of the day. Who undertands this better than the Jews?
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To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/11/gaza-israel-political-attitudes

Why Israel's war is driven by fear
Outrage at Israeli actions has mounted across the world as the Gaza conflict goes on. But as Israel expands its military action, support for the aggressive strategy is growing, while sympathy for Palestinians is receding. And, with an election looming, political attitudes are hardening
Chris McGreal at the Gaza border
Sunday January 11 2009
The Observer

Yeela Raanan says she would prefer not to know about the war in Gaza. She doesn't want to see the pictures of dead children cut down by Israeli shells or read of the allegations of war crimes by her country's army as it kills Palestinians by the hundreds.

But there is no escape. Raanan can hear the relentless Israeli bombardment by air, sea and land from her home, just three miles from the Gaza border. Hamas rockets keep hitting her community. And somewhere in the maelstrom of Gaza, her 20-year-old son is serving as an Israeli soldier.

"I'd rather not know. I can't do anything about it. We didn't see the pictures of the Palestinian kids who were killed. It's easier not to feel," she said. "I just turn on the news for five minutes a day and that's it, just to see if anybody says anything about my kid."

But when Raanan thinks about her son - whom she prefers not to name - she also thinks about Palestinian mothers and their sons in Gaza. And that's when she finds her herself out of sync with the neighbours. "I don't talk to the neighbours about it any more," she said. "Hamas is violent. Hamas is stupid. I don't like what they are. But I don't feel angry towards them. I understand why they were elected, I understand why they act as they do."

Attempting to understand has earned Raanan, a former operations officer in the Israeli air force, denunciations as a traitor and accusations of "selling her nation to the devil". Doesn't she love her son?, they ask.

The world has reeled in horror at revelations of Israeli atrocities as the Palestinian death toll has climbed toward 800. The International Red Cross was so outraged it broke its usual silence over an attack in which the Israeli army herded a Palestinian family into a building and then shelled it, killing 30 people and leaving the surviving children clinging to the bodies of their dead mothers. The army prevented rescuers from reaching the survivors for four days.

Israel's shelling of a UN school that had been turned into a refugee centre near Gaza city, killing 42 people who had fled the fighting, drew further accusations of indifference to civilian lives. And Israel has struggled to justify the eradication of entire families, including small children, in pursuit of Hamas officials.

But ordinary Israelis have been told little about this and when they are they generally brush it aside with assertions that it is sad but Hamas has brought it on the Palestinian people. Israel is the real victim, they say. The mainstream Israeli press has stuck firmly to the official line that it is a war of defence, a moral conflict forced on Israel by Hamas rocket fire.

The scale of Palestinian civilian casualties is played down. The dead are overwhelmingly described as terrorists. The accounts of entire Palestinian families being wiped out are buried beneath stories of the Israeli trauma at Hamas attacks.

"The news said the Israeli army had killed 100 'terrorists' and also a bomb fell and 40 lost their lives," said Raanan about the shelling of the UN school. "That was more or less the rhetoric that was used, so the focus was on the fact that we had managed to kill terrorists rather than we had also killed 40 other people. We weren't told who they were." There are alternative voices in the press, but they are mostly dismissed or shouted down. Israeli Arabs who protested against the war have been arrested for undermining national morale. Television anchormen berate critics of the onslaught on Gaza, questioning their patriotism.

The paradox of Israel is that most of its citizens tell the pollsters they agree with Raanan and the peace lobby that there should be a negotiated agreement of the establishment of a Palestinian state. But a significant number of Israelis now question whether this is possible. They view the continued conflict after Ariel Sharon pulled Jewish settlers and the military out of Gaza in 2005 as evidence that Arabs don't want peace; that giving up territory does not bring security.

Support for the vague notion of peace has been further buried under the rhetoric of the looming Israeli election, where the right in particular, led by a former prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is playing on fear of a nuclear Iran in league with Hamas. Netanyahu, who is likely to win the 10 February ballot, has no intention of dismantling settlements or relinquishing the control that Israel exercises over the lives of Palestinians on the West Bank. He dances around the issue of a Palestinian state and has made clear in the past that what he wants to see amounts to a canton or bantustan (homeland) surrounded by Israeli control.

And so the vast number of mainstream Israelis, while saying they support peace, once again find themselves in bed with the settlers and on the side of oppression. "I hate to say we told you so," said Yisrael Medad, a prominent Jewish settler from Shilo, deep inside the West Bank. "Now you hear all the time that it was a mistake to pull out of Gaza. You hear it on the television when it was never discussed before. More of the anchors are willing to ask that question. They would never ask that a year or two ago. They used to say ours was the extreme view. Now I would say that it's the mainstream, that no matter what we have done territorially speaking it's not going to satisfy them [the Palestinians]. They are always going to attack us."

The settlers might be an extreme minority, but their views as to why Israeli soldiers are fighting in Gaza are not exceptional. Raanan lives in Ein Habsor, a moshav or cooperative agricultural community of about 1,000 people. It suffers regular hits from Hamas rockets. "In the last few days we've had two a day. In the vicinity. A couple inside. Close enough that it could have been your house," she said. No one was hurt but a student at the nearby Sapir college, where Raanan teaches public policy and administration, was killed by a Hamas rocket in February. Roni Yechiah, a 47-year-old father of four, died after the missile hit the car park.

About a quarter of the families in Ein Habsor have left. "They didn't so much go because of the rockets. It was because of the war and being really scared. They closed the schools. Those with little kids have mostly gone," said Raanan. It's not an atmosphere in which to question whether Israeli troops should be in Gaza. Most of the residents of Ein Habsor see the assault as a straightforward and necessary response to Hamas rockets, uncomplicated by issues such as occupation or the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

But Raanan does question. She wants to see a government willing to negotiate seriously with the Palestinians, and she takes the view that just because Israel is strong enough to get one over on the Palestinians, that does not mean that it is in its interests to do so. Raanan also wants other Israelis to understand what the Palestinians are suffering. "My moshav is quite right-wing," she said. "They believe in using power and they don't particularly like Arabs. I don't talk to my neighbours much about these things.

"If you do open your heart to the fact that 40 completely innocent people in a United Nations school were killed you have a very hard time. It's difficult to open your heart to that place and also hold on to wanting the soldiers to succeed. It's a very hard split in personality. I think it's necessary but it's a difficult thing to do." Raanan says Israelis have dehumanised Palestinians to such an extent that they are no longer sensitive about who they kill. "It's so difficult for them to put themselves in the place of someone who lives in Gaza. I guess you have to be able to dehumanise to be able to accept this type of war," she said.

"Israelis think of Hamas as a terrorist group and therefore anything we do to Hamas is OK. But the question is, why do we think it's OK also to kill civilians while we're killing or destroying Hamas? We rationalise; they do it to their own people. That's the rhetoric in Israel. It makes it OK to do what we're doing. In Israel we're brought up to be afraid of Arabs. It's a short step to hating them. It's unusual for people not to have hostile feelings toward Arabs, and it's racist feelings because it's a whole group."

In Shilo, Medad finds himself in agreement with Raanan on one thing. He sees Israeli public opinion as increasingly indifferent to Palestinian suffering. But he says it is because of foreign criticism of Israel's actions. "With the harshness of the criticism, they're slowly but surely turning off more Israelis to elements of humanity, consideration, so eventually they say: who the hell cares?" he said. "We don't see the human face. In that situation we can do anything we want. There's a lack of identity of who the enemy is. He's not human any more."

You might not know there was a war on while visiting Jerusalem's restaurants, Tel Aviv's frantic bars or the Azrieli shopping centre. The mall is one of the largest in Israel. Next door is the Kirya military headquarters, which houses Israel's defence ministry and the country's top military officers. The two buildings are linked by a bridge.

Through the Gaza war, Israel has accused Hamas of endangering civilians by establishing military installations in populated areas. It has been a central justification by the army for the killing of Palestinian civilians. The shoppers at the Azrieli mall see no contradiction between that claim and Israel building its defence headquarters next door to a shopping centre. "They might have a point if they attacked it," said Yoni Ahren, a computer engineer sipping coffee. "But they don't. Instead they send suicide bombers to blow us up in the mall. The Palestinians set out to kill any Jew. The Israeli army sets out to kill Hamas and, yes, innocent Palestinians get killed. But that is not why the army is in Gaza."

A soldier with Ahren, who declined to be identified because he was in uniform, said the Palestinians brought it on themselves. "They voted for Hamas and then Hamas attacked Israel so it's their problem," he said. "I don't know if this [attack on Gaza] will solve anything. Probably not. We cannot get rid of Hamas. But the lesson we've learnt is that we can't trust the Palestinians. We knew that with Arafat. Now we know it again."

That is the upside of the conflict in Gaza for Medad. He believes it could help assure the future of the West Bank settlements by reminding Israelis that control over what Israelis call Judea and Samaria is what keeps Hamas rockets from falling on Tel Aviv. "Things are changing. It's Gaza that's changed things," he said.

Shilo sits alongside the main road from Ramallah to Nablus, a long way from the "security barrier" Israel has built through the West Bank and Jerusalem. Shilo's residents are religious and mostly assert Israel's claim to all of the territory west of the Jordan river. A Palestinian presence is tolerated at best.

When Ariel Sharon pulled Jewish settlers out of Gaza in 2005, he called it a painful sacrifice for peace. Another view was that he had run out of political options and the pull-out was a way to stave off international pressure to talk to the Palestinians. What the dismantling of the Gaza settlements did not do was end the expansion of colonies on the West Bank. Shilo has grown by about 25% since 2005. The "outposts" around it, which are illegal even under Israeli law, have been expanding so fast that the "Shilo block", with about 10,000 residents, is now as large as the main settlement that was dismantled in Gaza.

Most Israelis tell the pollsters they would sacrifice Shilo for peace. But influential voices are against it, among them the man tipped to be Netanyahu's defence minister. Moshe "Bogie" Yaalon, the former military commander in the West Bank, pressed the government for months to attack Gaza, and is against a withdrawal from the West Bank.

Medad is confident that Yaalon's views will prevail. "If you don't have control over a population, you suffer. You want to call it occupation... fine. But there has to be some sort of control, supervision," he said. Yaalon recently asked: "What is the big difference between Gaza and Judea and Samaria - Judea and Samaria we can go in at night, we know where they are, and pick them up. In Gaza we can't do that."

It is a view largely shared by Netanyahu, who has called for the assault on Gaza to be carried through until it forces Hamas from power. Most Israelis may not want to go as far as Netanyahu, but he remains ahead in the polls. Even on the left, attitudes have hardened. Support for Ehud Barak, the Labour party leader and defence minister, has risen sharply because of the assault on Gaza.

Jeff Halper, a veteran peace campaigner, says this is further evidence that Israeli public opinion is principally shaped by fear. "The Israeli public is being held hostage by its own leadership," he said. "This whole idea there's no partner for peace has been internalised by Israelis. Everything has been reduced in Israel to terrorism because Israel has eliminated the political context of occupation and claims it only wants peace and has made generous offers and the Arabs always reject them."

"Seventy per cent of Israeli Jews say they don't want the occupation. They would be happy with the two-state solution. But what they say to us is: 'You don't have to talk to me about peace, I want peace. The Arabs won't let us because the Arabs are just terrorists.' There is in Israel a deeply held assumption that Arabs are our permanent enemies."

Raanan hopes not. She is counting the days until the Gaza assault is over and her son is pulled out. But the personal trauma will not be over if and when that happens. Her second son is due to be called up in six months. The way things are, he could be following his brother into Gaza.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2009

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Despicable human traits: Israel, Singapore and Karpal

There are some human traits that are so abhorrent to others, arrogance, bullying and oneupsmanship. It’s a trait that Israel displays since time immemorial, and allied with their incessant lies and hypocrisy of shouting “help, I’m victimized” even when they wallop other deprived, impoverished and destitute people into humiliation physically, after finding that doing so mentally isn’t sufficient through their proxy administration in the refugee camp they call Palestinian land in Gaza and the West Bank, it is no wonder how much despise they are despised. And this hatred extends to those who show a willingness to back them, and that includes the ever-present neo-cons in all US administrations, inadvertently exposed in the Bush administration due to his clumsy leadership and persona.

 

Singapore has imported this trait, evident in their ‘kiasu’-ness, give no quarter, expect no quarter attitude to their closest neighbours. Was Dr M right when he employed a particularly aggressive foreign policy relationchip with Singapore? Only time will tell. Singapore does not care for history and cordial relations, they care about the present, and their continuing dominating (and overbearing) presence in the future. If it’s to the detriment of their neighbours, so be it. This lack of charm can be attributed to their single-mindedness to achieve comfort and standing toe-to-toe with the rest of the developed world, a good virtue on its own, but when it comes with a disregard for others, you might as well leave them alone in their quest, but the simmering discontent can easily spill over to anger.

 

Karpal Singh from DAP is yet another. LGE has perhaps distanced himself with the old guards in DAP, perhaps with a greater appreciation of the sensitivities of the diversity we have in Malaysia. But Karpal continues to talk from his excreta when dealing with Malays. Perhaps, it was lost in the media translation. Perhaps it was just political positioning for his constituencies. But, it has been too consistently done for him to be excused. If you fail to recognize that you are now leading a multi-racial Malaysia, with a very sensitive Malay race as its majority, but continuously try to ignore the leanings of many highly educated Malay professionals who form thought leadership within the Malay community who wants Islam to play a major role in dictating their lives, ie to have hudud implemented in some form, then you are not fit to become a leader.

 

Sorry, Karpal, you will have to go. If you don’t understand this, please, I urge you as you have urged others before this, resign and let others who have greater appreciation of the multiple polarities of their various constituencies lead. You are just too old and useless.