Earthquake

Time and again the history of the mankind has proved that nature is the strongest. Nothing, absolutely nothing that man can do can prevent the nature from following its will. Man cannot not even predict what the nature will do next. Will man ever see this? Will man ever accept his defeat? I hope and trust not. The survival of man depends on this.

Haiti is devastated today. Yesterday it was in the back yard of America. And the previous day it was in Indonesia. The nature has struck against humans again and again. But the beauty of humanity is it has melted its heart in kindness and extended its hands for the people who were so unlucky to face the natures fury.

America has risen to the occasion and helped and is helping its neighbors. That is the heart of America. America has always helped the needy and the downtrodden. This image of America the world has to see and admire. Though a few countries with blinds on see it differently, and fly the planes against it.

Stowaway

Distant lands always beckoned the hungry trying to find a better life. In the recent past, Arabian Gulf has been an attraction for the people from all over the world. Generally, lowest of low jobs are offered to the workers from the Indian subcontinent. The salaries are low and living conditions horrible for these workers.

Habib Hussain was one such brave heart, who ventured out to realize his dreams. He reached Saudi Arabia in pursuit of happiness, but now he says he was duped by unscrupulous agents who forced him to work without pay.

Saudi Arabia has one of the worst Human Rights records. Its history is replete with stories of extreme ill treatment of foreign workers. Maids committing suicide, trying to jump from higher floors to avoid ill treatment by their employers, on the other side there were cases of amputation by the employers for deficiency in quality of work.

But Habib, to escape from “bonded slavery” hid in the plane’s toilet, ticketless and flew to freedom.

Allah- the word

Allah-word the world accepts as a translation for word God, has brought miseries to Christians of Malaysia. In Malaysia, around nine churches were subjected to fire bombs damaging four of them extensively. The Muslims are angry that a court has allowed Christians to use word Allah to denote God.

In the middle-east where these both religions took roots, the word Allah infuses virtually every salutation, greeting and condolence, spoken upon departure and arrival, and at birth and death. Inshallah, God willing, everyone says about everything let it be a piece of work that has to be done, to a simple occurrence in day to day life. The same goes for In Allah rad, if God wills it or khair Allah, or Allah Fawk. Middle-east, as we know, is not well known for tolerance. In spite of underlying conflicts of religion, this sort of friction over a word has not taken place, yet.

To them a shared God, the God of Abraham, has a shared name, Allah.

Twitter

Twitter, a magic wand on the internet. It is a method to decimate what you are thinking or about the things you are involved with to your followers. It is just a ‘now’ technology. It is valid for the moment. If that magic moment is passed the value of that information ceases its importance. Twitter asks you to broadcast “What is happening?”. That is simply put ‘what is your micro action?’. Till a few days ago Twitter’s tag line was “What are you doing?.

The information that you broadcast on twitter may not be important to the other people. The Tweep is sending out a piece of information that he thinks important to others. Going by this logic it is apparent that Tweeping is for self gratification. It is simply an outlet for ego rides. Any other uses of Twitter are a by-products of this.

Notwithstanding what is said about Twitter, it is additive. It makes you think that you are ‘important’.

Snail Mail

Mother Teresa, the most kind hearted person the world known in recent past, has been honored by the US Postal department by releasing a postal stamp with her picture.  It is a heartwarming gesture. She is the most popular among the US Christians, particularly the Catholics.

In this era of email and social networks, the mailing stamp may not carry the same weight as it used to have a decade ago, but it is definitely something. The stamp will be released in March 2010. Those who will choose to fix this stamp on their envelopes will send a small message of peace with their other content.  The news says a portrait of Mother Teresa painted by artist Tomas Blackshear to be used.

The habit of hand written letters is dieing. It is more than routine today to write letters and post them through snail-mail. Younger generation prefers a fast paced life. It depends on internet for communication. It likes speed.

End of 2009

The year is coming to an end.  All those who matter are dissecting it, for what it was.  For some it has been a good year, so naturally they are sad that it is coming to an end.  For the others it is a joy that it is ending. Hoping that there is something new at the corner, that may change their life.

To think of it, there is no much difference, from one year to another.  The changes that we are expecting, depend on our belief in the movement of stars, moon and planets.  Only the peoples subconscious belief in astrology make them believe that new year will bring some new tidings.

The second belief which prompts people to expect change is the inner trust that anything new is a point of new beginning.  So, they hope that it will change their life for better.

Anyway, wishes for a happy new year eve, and blessings throughout the next year.

The Complete National Geographic on 160GB Hard Drive

A wonderful collection of National Geographic.

Who in the literate world did not appreciate National Geographic? In my childhood magazine was a treasure.

Explore 120 years of amazing discoveries, fascinating maps, and the world’s best photography with The Complete National Geographic.

This is a collectors item. Contains collection of every issue of National Geographic magazine, digitally reproduced in stunning high resolution, brings you the world and all that is in it.

Use the advanced interface to explore a topic, search for photographs, browse the globe, or wander on your own expedition. Lightweight and travel-friendly, the hard drive is just 3″ x 5″ and requires only a USB connection. Future updates can be easily accommodated. Includes approximately 100GB of hard disk space for personal use.

This will make as an wonderful gift idea for a deserving person.  If one thing I treasured most is my haphazard collection of National Geographic mags.  Never to my liking. Now it is all bundled together, searchable and a prized possession.

Faith

Faith influences the life of many people in all spheres of their life. A person in moral authority can influence the decisions and life of people that come under his influence.

Clergy, from any religion and from any denomination wield influence on their congregation.  The faithful always look upto them for direction and help. In such a situation the power balance is immeasurably staked in favor of clergy and it is easy for them to take advantage of these vulnerable.

One in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual advances by a religious leader, a survey released Wednesday says.

“and clearly the problem is more than simply a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers,” said Diana Garland, dean of Baylor’s School of Social Work, who co-authored the study.

The consequences are terrible on the victim. They may suffer lasting psychological and spiritual consequences from the relationship, including depression and a deep distrust of organized religion.

It may shake the very foundation of faith.

Gift from Life

The following verse, that I had collected since long caught my eye while cleaning my disk.  Thought I would share it here.

This has a curious attraction, life gives us something else along with what we want.  Poet has described it so subtly, smoothly, touchingly. I liked it very much.

Life is a two sided coin always

When I picked up one

Unnoticed the other side came

Part and parcel.

And oh! I said, but I did not ask for this

Life smiled at me and said,

But child you dearly wanted that.

So that is what life is. In retrospect, humans do not gain anything or they lose anything. Life is a double edged sword, it takes in one hand, but remember it compensates you as well.  So, do not lose hope, or get discouraged when the troubles strike you along with streaks of fortune.

Education

Obama has embraced education to increase national competitiveness. He, being brought up in difficult situations has understood the value of education in furthering ones ambitions.  His speech to high school students this Tuesday centred around- put in your full efforts in studies for your and national benefit.

In his speech, Obama noted how lucky he was to have a mother who valued education. Though he couldn’t afford the nicest schools when growing up abroad, Obama said his mother pushed him to put in additional efforts.

Obama also talked about staying in school in order to pursue higher paying and more rewarding careers.

But the life has changed.  Researchers studying how to improve graduation rates at public colleges and universities have come up with a surprising and counter-intuitive finding: Many students may fail to complete a bachelor’s degree not because the work is too hard — but because they’re not challenged enough.

USA Today reports (http://tr.im/ygO8) that many students do not graduate because they are not challenged enough!!!!.