Asif Ali Zardari’s election to the coveted post of President of Pakistan was a foregone conclusion. He brings along with him a series of responsibilities in the domestic as well on the international front. As the civil society in Pakistan has acquired a bargaining power higher than what it had in history, one can conclude the tumultuous time for Pakistan is not yet over.

Pervez Musharraf was far-sighted to sense this, as he stepped down as President within 10 days after the political parties started preparations for his impeachment. Zardari, accussed by Nawaz Sharif led PML(N) on going back to his written agreement on reinstating the Supreme Court judges, is not the unanimous choice of all citizens of Pakistan. That his party enjoys majority in two houses of Pakistan parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, as well as in a few other Provincial Assemblies in Pakistan is the sole reason for his victory.

Whether he would go to an extent of dismissing the Judges already appointed by the parliament and reinstate the ousted Chief Justice, Mr. Choudhary, is something we all should wait and see. It’s also doubtful whether the accusations that he has so far amassed huge amount of wealth (almost $62 million) will ever be taken again for public debate, even by Courts or by parliament. But one thing is crucial: the issue of joining the war against terror with the US is going to decide his foreign policy (US launched a drone attack in North and South Waziristan yesterday for the fourth time in the last few months). On the domestic front, his ability to gel with the political parties and the civil society decides the future of his Presidentship.

What is notable in the selection of Sarah Palin to be the vice-Presidential candidate in US Elections 2008, is that she is a relatively lesser known politician. As presumptive Republican nominee John McCain puts it, Palin is the best person who can help him “fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second.”

Presently serving as Governor of Alaska, Palin entered into politics fighting corruption and drafting ethical standards for politicians in her home state. A true Republican in principle, she can be easily located in the issue-directory of US elections 2008. Palin is anti-abortion (also termed pro-life), anti-same sex marriage, gun-rights conservative, and is in favor of drilling for oil especially in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife.

Once a mayor of a suburban region with just 9,000 inhabitants, Sarah Palin is likely to be snubbed by the Democrats for her lack of experience in foreign policy. In any case, John McCain surprised the electorate when he chose Sarah Palin on Friday, ending the hopes of other high-runners in the Republican camp like Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota, and Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts.

Nothing interests me more than beaches, when the concerning matter comes to traveling. That day, every one of my friends was head over heels to approach a conclusion on where to go in the summer vacation. I was the savior to their confusion and convinced them to start for Rugen in Germany. I showed them a number of picturesque snaps of Rugen beaches on the travel sites over the Internet. They couldn’t help appreciating my decision.

We chose to reach the heavenly Rugen Island by ferry from the city of Stralsund. Baltic Sea welcomed us with a turquoise smile to the sand beaches of Rugen. The weather was really nice. The day temperature was around 16 degrees Celsius. It was a heavenly experience to enjoy the panoramic view of Rugen from the rooftop of our hotel. We stayed in the hotel – Steigenberger Resort Hotel Rugen.

But one unfortunate thing seemed to haunt us in the island. We saw there a number of resorts (you may also call them castles). After a bit of inquiry, we collected the bitter information that those were once built on Nazi fascist ruler Hitler’s orders. Legends say that this killer ruler was so becharmed by the beauty of this beach that he built resorts for his lackeys.

The Nazi holiday resort, Prora really haunted us for a day. The memory of concentration camps in which the Jews suffered inhumane death in 1940s captured our mind. But the pristine beaches did not let us be gloomy for more than a day. The beaches of Rugen showed the valor of beauty overtaking the brutality of Nazis. The fact that Hitler is dead and Rugen is alive proves the fact that beauty overhauls brutality.

National flag of any country represents a lot of things.  Brazil’s flag is very attractive and colorful. It has a green field with a yellow rhombus in the center. Within the rhombus, there is a blue ball or circle with 27 stars of different sizes. A white band runs through the circle. “Ordem e Progresso” – the motto is inscribed in the white band with capital letters. The flag is also known as “Auriverde” which means “of gold and green”.

The modern flag of Brazil was designed by Raimundo Teixiera Mendes and was adopted officially on 19th November, 1889. In the year 1992, some minor changes were made in this flag and during this time, the 27 stars were introduced in the flag. I was amazed to know that there were 20 flags previous to this modern flag.

I came to know from a website that the present flag of Brazil is greatly inspired by the flag of previous Brazilian Empire. Apart from this, there is a lot of symbolism in this flag. Green represents the forests of Brazil whereas the yellow rhombus is for the mineral wealth of the country. The blue circle and the stars on the other hand represent the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the day of their Republic Day.

The 27 stars of the Brazilian Flag also represent lots of things. You will find a single star above the band which represents the state of Para. There are a number of constellations which also represent a group of stars – Crux is for southeastern states, Scorpius for Northeastern Brazil, Triangulum Astrale for southern states. There are 4 single stars Procyon, Spica, Canopus and Sigma Octantis which respectively represent Amazonas, Pará, Goiás and the Brazilian Federal District.

A simple flag but so much to know isn’t it!