What gives them the right to play God?

Malaysian, Tan Sook Theng, mourning the loss of her close friend, Elaine Teoh on MH 17 which crashed in Ukraine from a missile attack said:


"People have all the basic necessities to live; life isn't really all that complicated, but people make it so. The only thing that's making this world sick is that people are feeding their ego. What makes them so superior than the rest to play God?"


Source:  Woman-recalls-friends-a-loving-couple-to-the-end-onboard-mh17-bernama


298 lives as well as the lives of their loved ones were changed forever when tragedy struck when MH17, a Boeing 777-200, was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, shot down by a surface-to-air missile in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.   A senseless act.  The murderers must not go unpunished.

I mourn for all the lives lost and for the lost of the future they could have had.

    

A New Test for Dementia: Walking

“Changes in walking may predate actually observable cognitive changes in people who are on their way to developing dementia,” said Molly Wagster, chief of the National Institute on Aging’s behavioral and systems neuroscience branch. Experts said the studies could lead to developing a relatively simple tool that doctors could use to forecast, if not diagnose, possible Alzheimer’s disease

For decades, people thought slower walking was just part of getting old, but research shows some changes in gait signify problems that go beyond normal aging.

Source: A New Test fro Dementia: Walking

Slight changes in the way a person walks, like slowing down or developing a variable stride, could be early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Source: What-does-your-walking-speed-say-about-your-alzheimers-risk

Child labour is thriving in these 6 countries

The following information was abstracted from: Child labour is thriving in 6 countries

There are six countries where child labor is particularly prevalent. These examples come from the 2014 Child Labour Index published by Maplecroft, a global risk consulting firm, and reflect two major trends responsible for governments failing to tackle the worst forms of child labor: insecurity created through poverty and war, and economies where child labor is a product of state-sponsored programs.

Eritrea
Children from grades nine through 11 are conscripted into the workforce and forced to work two months every summer building roads and buildings on behalf of the state. Moreover, the government recruits children under the age of 18 for mandatory military service that doubles as a work program. According to reports from the U.S. Department of Labor and Human Rights Watch, military conscripts are used as forced laborers at Bisha, the country's largest gold mine.

Somalia
With over two decades of civil war and endemic poverty, many Somali children are part of the country's informal workforce. All too often, that work is soldiering.

North Korea
While little data on child labor in North Korea is available to outsiders, defector testimonies describe extensive use of the practice. Forced labor has become a structural necessity for North Korea's closed economy, frequently forcing children into the workforce.

Myanmar
Since winning independence from the United Kingdom nearly seven decades ago, Myanmar has been wracked by a series of internal conflicts, which have in turn contributed to the use of child labor. But with Myanmar gradually transitioning toward democratic rule, the government has begun to make commitments toward combating child labor. However, progress has been slow. "Due to a combination of desperate poverty and a history of conflict, child labor is now a pillar of Myanmar's economy.

Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has become internationally infamous for state-sponsored forced labor in the cotton industry. The annual cotton harvest is integral to the Central Asian country's economy and is estimated to supply around 10 percent of the global supply of the fiber. Human Rights Watch estimates that every year the government forces more than a million of its 29 million citizens, both adults and children, to work in the cotton fields. The government shuts down schools and workplaces in order for its citizens to pick cotton.

Afghanistan
Despite nearly 13 years of American military occupation and untold billions in development assistance, child labor remains endemic in Afghanistan. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, children as young as six can be found working in brick-making, carpet-weaving, mining, and construction. As in the factories of the Industrial Revolution, children are often used for the most dangerous tasks and are at high risk of being killed or maimed in mines or construction sites.

12 million children work in Pakistan

Poverty has forced more than 12 million children to involve in child labour. According to Pakistan Bureau Statistics Labour Force Survey, almost 4.4 percent of children between the age group of 10 and 15 years are the part of country's active labour force.



Seven-year-old boy Salman Hussain cries while crouching on a pavement to scrub motorbikes, his job for nine hours a day, six days a week. "I want to study and become an engineer but we don't have any money"

Please read full story here: Child labour in Pakistan



So heartbreaking when I read that!  My neighbour's son, who is also seven, has his parents and domestic maid catering to all his whims and fancies,while Salman Hussain has to work 9 hours a day.  

A Story Part 10 (the Finale)

Continued from:

a-story-part-1.the Shock!

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness

a-story-part-3-the tall-and-white-apparition

a-story-part-4-the truth

a-story-part-5-i-now-release-you.html

a-story-part-6-the parting

a-story-part-7-the trauma

a-story-part-8-long-nightmare-began

a-story-part-9-intervention-from the religious authorities

She had decided that, to cut the long story short, this will be the final part of "A Story".

About 2 years after her nightmarish life, finally, one day at the same dining table where he had 2 years ago pronounced, "I now release you" and "I don't want the children, you can have the children", he told her that they should go to the religious Court to officially divorce.


While 2 years ago she had begged him to stay and he refused, now she could not wait one minute longer for him to disappear from her life.

On the appointed day she took leave from her office and went to the Court, all by herself, while he was surrounded by an army of his office personnel and some relatives.  When it was finally over, she went to the Mall opposite the Pan Pacific Hotel, then the largest mall in the city, strolled through the Mall and had a huge T- Bone steak. All she wanted to do was to be by herself. It was like a cleansing of her soul.  In the evening she went back home to start her life again, pledging silently to be happy and to do her best for the children and herself.  Finally she had back her sanity and peace of mind.

Add caption

The Story Teller says "Bye...!"

                                                                                          

He passed away less than 10 hours after his wedding

Published on Jun 18, 2014 (source: youtube)

Early this year, Rowden and Leizl decided to get married on July 8, 2014, Rowden's 30th birthday. Together with their adorable 2-year-old daughter, they already had a perfect family.

Then a twist of fate, Rowden got diagnosed with stage IV liver cancer in late May. His last request was to marry his one true love. After 12 hours of preparations, his dream was fulfilled. Unable to take him outside the hospital, we brought the church to him. It was like a heartbreaking fairy tale.

Rowden Go, at the age of 29-years-old, passed away on June 11, 2014. Less than 10 hours after he said his vows. He is survived by his wife Leizel May, daughter Zakiah Rowzel, mother Lorelei, and brothers Hasset & Hisham.

Like a thread loosened from the sky

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly
Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky. ~Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Silent Noon

A group of about 5-6 golden dragonflies were hovering around my plants at the back lane this morning.  It seems that dragonflies are extremely choosy and if you see dragonflies around, it is a sign that the ecosystem is in a good condition. One thing is sure, dragonflies are sensitive to pollution.  Probably I am doing something right in my back lane.

Petunias growing well in my back lane. 

TM the gadget guy

Just keeping this in my blog as one of the talents in the TM advert is my son.  He...he..

I cried a bucket

I cried a bucket when I viewed this video.

Let's hope he recovers fully. 

A story (Part 9 )- the intervention from the religious authority

Continued from:

a-story-part-1.the Shock!

a-story-part-2-the forgiveness

a-story-part-3-the tall-and-white-apparition

a-story-part-4-the truth

a-story-part-5-i-now-release-you.html

a-story-part-6-the parting

a-story-part-7-the trauma

a-story-part-8-long-nightmare-began

Due to her continued rejection of his advances, he decided to apply external pressure on her.  He sent a team of people from his office to see her, led by a female religious authority called the Ustazah.  The Ustazah gave her a very long sermon on marriage and that according to the religion, she should be always obedient to her husband. 

She could not take it anymore.  She decided to tell the Ustazah everything that had happened and let the Ustazah judge for herself.  The Usatazah was very patient and took more than an hour listening to her. 

After the Ustazah listened to her side of the story, the Ustazah was moved and was crying openly.  Finally, wiping off her tears, the Ustazah said to her, “Now, I understand.  He has no right to ask me to persuade you to reconcile with him.  In fact morally after he uttered “I release you”, you are already divorced and the divorce has to be formalized.  If he wants you back he has to marry you again.”  

However, even after the Ustazah’s visit he stayed on and refused to formalize their divorce.  She lived her life in the next 1 year and a half in some kind of a nightmare, a nightmare too painful for her to recollect. 

Let's wait and see how A story (Part 10) goes...when I get the inspiration again…

Mother's Day

Dinner with family

My new Tablet, a Mother's Day gift from my daughter

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home

I have traveled to many places, including UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Thailand, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, USA and Argentina.  Every time I came home I could hear the lyrics of the 19th century song "Home! Sweet Home!", playing softly in my ears:

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;

A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,

Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere.

Home! Home!

Sweet, sweet home!

There's no place like home

There's no place like home!