With pain rocking through my whole body today, I cast a bitter glance back at what I called, the ‘tragedy of Dafur‘ and decided to settle accounts with my fellow Africans on this matter.
President Omar el-Bashir has twisted history, invented a distortion in African lexicon and rammed it through our throats. Every mention of anything Sudanese these days sounds much more like ‘Sadness’, and every picture of the attrocious genocide of Dafur seems more like hearing or seeing the destruction wroth by ‘Sulphur’. Anytime I hear the word ‘Janjaweed‘ it connotes an imagery of ‘Ganja-weed’ i.e Marijuana, no wonder, the trails of this militia of shame that diplaced 2 million people, leveled an estimated 2,000 villages and killed over 180,000 so horrified the UN that it had to stridently call for their trial by the International Criminal Court.
The Sudanese leader has suceeded in his 16-year rule, in turning Sudan into one of the poorest countries in the poorest continent in the world: one of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Sudan is now a giant Ghetto dotted all-over with refugee camps hosting millions.
The death of John Garang last Monday, in an helicopter crash would not change the tempo of the silent revolution that would end dictatorship and bring lasting peace to the 40million people of Sudan.
It is however a discernible and irrepressible truth that the insurgency by black Africans of Dafur, in February 2003 against alleged discrimination and oppression by the Khartoum government was the trigger.
This was one battle too much for a regime whose bucket was already overflowing with multiple conflicts, particularly, the two decade fatricidal war against the Southern Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA)led by Garang.
That battle exposed the under-belly of the Sudanese dragon and stopped the full-fledged speed of the Sudanese government from being the continental capital for the ‘Axis of Terrorism’ in Africa.
That battle sent the regime scampering for a desperate balance by hastily coming to the negotiating table and conceeding partial autonomy and power sharing with the SPLA.
It is now certain that the janjaweed and all its vicious attrocities of rape, murder, etc. has failed to break the will of Dafur for freedom, autonomy, democracy, peace and deverlopment. The bell tolls for the 16-year rule of el-Bashir. What Dafur started, Dafur would complete: and that is to sweep oppression and dictatorship off the landscape of Sudan- our Sudan.
Aderemi Ojikutu (Aderaskeey) is a Motivational Author and Youth Mentor. He is a minister of the Word of God. A political economist and political leader. He is President of the TREASURE WRITERS CLUB in Nigeria(http://ryze.com/go/Aderaskeey). He is also the current President of the National Democratic Forum (N.D.F). He was National Mobilisation Officer of the National Association of Nigerian Students (N.A.N.S) for several years. A revolutionary of over two decades, he was also the political secretary of the defunct Nigerian Labour Party in 1989-1991.
Tags: Autonomy, Dafur, dictatorship, Garang, Insurrection, Janjaweed, landscape, Rape, Rebel, Refugee, SPLA, TerrorAutonomy, Dafur, dictatorship, Garang, Insurrection, Janjaweed, landscape, Rape, Rebel, Refugee, SPLA, TerrorShare This
Part three in a series
In our last article, we helped you layout your new landscape. In this article we’ll explore which plants to put where and what makes an effective landscape.
If you think of your landscape as a stage, you can easily imagine the basics of
layout. On a stage, you have a nice background or backdrop in the back. The
backdrop is usually large and fills your entire view. In front of the backdrop, you
have some smaller items that set the scene. These may be small pieces of furniture.
And then in the very front you have your actorsyour stars. They take the front and
center to get the most attention. So, looking from back to front, you have your
backdrop, your accent pieces, and finally your stars.
Laying out a good landscape uses the same principles: we start with a backdrop in
the very back, then we add some accents, then finally, our stars!
The Backdrop
The backdrop can be any number of things but the basic principle is that the
backdrop simply serves to show off the items in front of it, and can also be used to
hide things behind it. A good backdrop could be something as simple as a wall or
fence, or something as elaborate as a planting of evergreens. As long as the
evergreens have one common element (perhaps they have the same color or same
texture), they will serve as a good backdrop.
The Accents
Your accent pieces are plants that help to dress the set. These work well if planted
in groupings of at least three. For example, a clump of bushes off to the left of your
“set” and a clump or flowering plants on the right. Or perhaps some clumps of
grasses would serve as a good accent.
The Stars
Now for the stars! Taking center stage are your accents. And they don’t have to be
centered! As long as they are different from your backdrop and accents plants, they
will become your stars. For example, an evergreen backdrop with some grasses
used as an accent set up a nice monochromatic green image. Place some white
flowering plants in front and they become the stars of your landscape. Because of
their different color from the rest of your “set”, they will stand out.
You can create multiple “sets” in your landscape. Just break up your landscape into
smaller mini-scapes. As long as each area is separated by backdrops and accents,
you can easily achieve a beautiful look.
Dean Novosat is an avid gardener and landscaper. He has transformed many boring
yards into beautiful landscapes. He has several websites including
http://www.the-garden-doctor.com and http://www.dr-landscape.com.
Tags: gardening, gardens, landscapes, landscaping, plants, yardgardening, gardens, landscapes, landscaping, plants, yardShare This
Rapid urbanization and buildings turning into art forms has given a boost to architecture studies. Colleges and universities across the USA offer professional courses in architecture and related fields accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). This is an important requirement for being a licensed architect.
The best route in being a registered or licensed architect is a five-year Bachelor or Master of Architecture degree program. If hesitant or unsure of career choice, opt for a four-year bachelor’s degree and then move on to graduate school for a 2- or 3-year Masters Degree program in Architecture. To be a licensed or registered architect one needs an internship in an architectural firm working under the supervision of registered professionals, followed by a comprehensive examination.
Different states have their own jurisdiction procedures. Some boards require a pre-professional degree in architecture or a bachelor’s degree in any subject. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) follow their own criteria for admission to licensing examinations. Before applying to a college or school, check on the number of accredited programs being offered, or on related degree programs such as a program in historic preservation or architectural engineering with an accredited professional architecture degree program. The coursework is similar to accredited programs but problems arise at the time of license. Sometimes a single school offers several accredited professional degree programs, such as a five-year undergraduate degree for high school graduates and a three-and-a-half-year graduate degree for those who already have a degree in another field. One should check on the accreditation status of the school before applying as new architecture schools cannot have NAAB accreditation until the first professional class graduates.
If still undecided, the best choice is the Bachelor of Architecture programs, which allow flexibility of the yearly components of (2+3, 1+4, 3+2 or 4+1). This allows logical entry and exit points from various phases of a full five-year program. The student’s work is carefully reviewed before moving onto the next phase: another architecture program, institution or academic discipline such as landscape architecture, industrial design, graphic design, etc.
If interested in further specialization get a post-professional architecture degree in design theory, health care facilities, preservation, interior design, solar design, etc. One minor hitch is that these studies are not NAAB accredited. Study of architecture should not be cost deterrent. The majority of schools and colleges offer financial aid. Another way to save money on your architecture education is to take admission at a community or junior college, then move onto a more renowned college. Or you can opt for five-year program offering logical curriculum decision points. Picking up non-architectural disciplines such as behavioral sciences, engineering (structural and mechanical), economics, CAD or computer-aided design, history or communication is an added bonus whether interested in buildings or landscape designs.
Architecture provides detailed information on Architecture, Architecture Designs, Architecture Schools, Landscape Architecture and more. Architecture is affiliated with Residential Architects.
Tags: Architecture, Architecture Designs, Architecture Schools, Landscape ArchitectureArchitecture, Architecture Designs, Architecture Schools, Landscape ArchitectureShare This
Next Page »
