Mrs. Caldicot's Cabbage War (2002)

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Mrs. Caldicot's Cabbage War (2002)
Thelma Cadicot is thrown in a rest home by her son and daughter-in-law after her brutish husband dies. After years of feeling imprisoned and staying quiet, she decides to stand up for herself and take charge of her life. Directed by Ian Sharp, the film stars Pauline Collins.......Dec 17, 2011

All the Prophets were created from mercy: however our Prophet (peace & blessings be upon him) is mercy itself." - Abu Al Abbas Al Mursi

 

You need all your experiences to be the person you are #lifeexperiences

You need all your experiences to be the person you are #lifeexperiences

 

The Spiteful ex-wife

Why do courts insist we pay when we dads who love and miss our kids have no rights that allow us to say, “I’ll pay when I have access?” There’s been no contact for two years......
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/1082814--ellie-s-advice-don-t-confuse-your-requirement-to-pay-child-support-with-your-right-to-access

Why love one but eat the other?

This ad on the subway is getting to me, http://beveg.ca/
Its provocative and in your face every day. How can you not think about it?
— in Toronto.

People who are easily embarrassed may also be more trustworthy and faithful #fb

“Moderate levels of embarrassment are signs of virtue,” said Matthew Feinberg, lead author and doctoral student in psychology, in a press release. “Our data suggests embarrassment is a good thing, not something you should fight........http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/embarrass-easily-youre-likely-trustworthy-a-study-finds/article2185214/

Allah is Sufficient for us!

 Al Imran (Family of Imran)- Verse 173
Ĥasbunā Al-Lahu Wa Ni`ma Al-Wakīl

Allah is Sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!
God is sufficient for us; an excellent guardian is He.That is, He is the best guarantor of our provisions, and the best Lord

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The World

Our Prayers should be for blessings

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SWYM, MWYS. (Say what you mean, mean what you say.) , #fb

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Jack Layton - He was the voice for the people who didn't have a voice.

Jack Layton and Olivia Chow at the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) Day Rally and Celebration (2005), Toronto Ontario Canada

Jack Layton's last letter to Canadians - Politics - CBC News

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Parenting: Understanding and Managing Behaviors

Parenting: Understanding and Managing Behaviors

http://mentalhealth4muslims.com/2011/04/20/parenting-understanding-and-managing-behaviors/

May God fill your hearts with light ~ Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen (Ral.)

May God fill your hearts with light. May He make your hearts luminous. May He accept your fasts and bless you with His benevolent grace. May He fill your intentions with light and grace and make them complete. May He make your hearts the wealth of all three worlds the beginning, this world, and the hereafter (awwal, dunyä, and äkhirah).

May this wealth be filled with light. May He bless you with the wealth of wisdom. May He bless you with the wealth of His qualities. May He bless you with the wealth of His duties, His wiläyät. May He bestow on you the wealth of His compassionate grace. May His look of grace be upon you at every moment. May He fulfill all your wants, and may He protect you from all dangers. Now and in the hereafter may He be your protector and safeguard you. May Allah be pleased with you and shower His love on you at every moment.

 May He hold you in His embrace and protect you from any kind of danger or disaster. May He bless you with remembrance, so that at every moment your intention for Him may be strong and steadfast. Whatever the circumstances be, may He bestow His house on you. May He give you a beautiful house in His kingdom and elevate your position there. May you always be His entrusted treasure. Believe in Him without the slightest doubt and surrender to Him.

The Fast of Ramadan - The Inner Heart Blossoms

People for Good.ca , #fb

http://www.peopleforgood.ca/
Studies show that when you do something nice for someone, it gives you a natural high that can last for weeks, even months. So we asked five Canadians to do one good deed every day for 7 days, just to see how it made them feel. They documented their experiences on their webcams. ........

If your dream brings you joy, take it as a blessing from your Lord. Express gratitude and share it with others. However, if it incites fear, then..#fb

If your dream brings you joy, take it as a blessing from your Lord. Express gratitude and share it with others. However, if it incites fear, then remember it is but an assault from Satan. Seek refuge in Allah from its evil and do not mention it to anyone, for that shall annul any harm intended to you.-The Prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaiyhi Wasalam), as reported by Abu Sayeed al-Khodri

Autism Guide

http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

http://www.mukibaum.com/home.php

Canada's 'housing bubble' deemed close to bursting

Canada's 'housing bubble' deemed close to bursting

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Treat with dignity and respect

"Nobody and nobody wants to be treated like a child in an adult relationship, and it never works long term. If you are in a relationship that has an inbalance in it work on it. Try to find a way where you treat each other with dignity and respect. If you want long term, that's what its going to be, its give and take." ~ Dr. Phil

Five Powerful Things Kids Need to Hear from Their Father, #fb

Five Powerful Things Kids Need to Hear from Their Father
by Esther Jantzen, Ed.D.

Dads, this is a grandmother speaking. I have a bit of advice about raising children, if you’re open to hearing it. I know you had hard times growing up. Maybe your father was nice to you, maybe he wasn’t. Maybe you knew him well, maybe you didn’t. Your kids will have hard times, too–they’ll have disappointments, fear, hurt, shame, uncertainty, anger. We all do. But never, ever underestimate the importance of a father to kids.

I’ll give you five statements here that children need to hear from their father. Face-to-face is great, if possible, or on the phone, in a letter, or in some other way. These words help give kids emotional strength. You might not use exactly these phrases, and you wouldn’t use them all at once, but please make sure your child gets the message behind these powerful words.

1. “I’m proud…” you’re my son or daughter. You can say this out of the blue; it does not need to be connected to any achievement, although it could be. They’ll also get this message when you say, “I notice … how your drawings are changing … how you seem happier… or how you’re doing better at school.”


2. “That’s okay… How can you learn from that?” Use this when there’s been a mistake or problem. It teaches kids it’s normal, necessary, and perhaps even healthy to make mistakes. We all do. The important thing about a mistake is what you can learn from it. If you can learn from it, the guilt and hurt often go away.

3. “I’m sorry…” for ____. Fill in the blank. Maybe it would be… for yelling at you the other night… for missing your ball game… for not keeping my promise. When adults apologize, kids learn how to clean things up between people, and that’s something they need to know. And, of course, the best apology is changed behavior.

4. “Tell me more…” or “Yes, and what else?” These words let a kid know you’re listening, you’re interested and you’ll give them your attention and time. These words encourage them to develop and express ideas. Believe it or not, they can help kids gain skills that are useful in school. And, of course, be sure you listen when they talk.

5. “I love you forever.” Even if you’re mad as heck or live far apart from your kids, they need to know you’re behind them, you love them for no reason except that you’re connected as father and child forever. Your love is their birthright.
And one more thing. Dads, if for any reason you’ve never heard these things from your father, say them to yourself. That works, too.
With love, Grandma.


5 Things Kids Need to Hear from Their Father

Siddiqui: How Bollywood conquered the world

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How Bollywood conquered the world

Muslims in Toronto need to start taking care of the poor. #fb

For Muslim poor, a shameful admission
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/413881

Downsized from 2000 sq feet to 320 sq feet with no mortgage!!, #fb

http://bestplaces.nydailynews.com/voyeur/family-ditches-mortgage-320-square-foot-home

Two years ago, Gary and Debra Jordan were living in a spacious 2000-square-foot home. When Gary lost his job as a construction manager, they struggled to make their mortgage payments. Both took on odd jobs, working long hours and spending less time together just to stay afloat......
The Arkansas couple found a local builder on Craigslist who custom-built them a new shotgun-style home — for less than $20,000.


"It's not what you don't have, it's what you do have," she said. "We just wanted a simple life and this helped contribute to that peaceful feeling. Not always rushing to make payments on a gigantic home."

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One who understands others have knowledge. One who understands herself has wisdom, Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength. ~ Tao Te Ching ( The Great Way), Verse 33,#fb

One who understands others have knowledge. One who understands herself has wisdom, Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength. ~ Tao Te Ching ( The Great Way), Verse 33"

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The Hajj and the Apartheid Train: Where Is the Muslim Outrage?

The Hajj and the Apartheid Train: Where Is the Muslim Outrage?
Ziyad MotalaLaw professor, Howard University School of Law, Dec 20, 2010


A pivotal theme in current Islamic political discourse is a demand for justice, a key tenet of the Quran. A popular complaint in Islamic political argument is discrimination against Muslims in the west such as the ban of the veil in European countries, minarets in Switzerland or racial profiling in many western countries. Unfortunately, there is a conspicuous lack of looking inwards to practices within Muslim countries. Muslims from all over the world have just completed the annual pilgrimage, the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. The Hajj represents a critical pillar of Islam and is supposed to represent a universal gathering of Muslims, which transcends race, ethnicity, color or any other distinction. Muslims are supposed to meet in the sacred precincts surrounding the holy city of Mecca as equals wearing the same simple clothing meant to symbolize perfect brotherhood, where individuals or groups do not see themselves as separate entities and differences of lineage, tribe or race have no bearing.


The experiences of the Hajj are very different depending on which part of the world you originate from. If you hail from Saudi Arabia or the Gulf states, you will perform the hajj in relative luxury and privilege, which is denied to Muslims from the sub-continent, Africa or the rest of the world. Those from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states have a different Hajj based on luxurious accommodations, and preferential treatment in performing the rituals. The latest egregious practice is the high-speed rail service, which transports the pilgrims from Mecca to the sacred sites where the rituals of the Hajj are performed. The train is reserved only for Saudis and citizens from the Gulf countries. Citizens from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries can be transported to the holy sites within a few minutes. For others, they will have to take the bus or walk which could take many hours each day. I cannot think of any other place in the world today that practices such crass racism. Imagine a train in the United States that states no Arabs -- just people from the west -- can ride in. The real tragedy is the lack of outrage from Muslims.



The Hajj as a gathering of Muslims, based on equality, simplicity and brotherhood is a fiction. The Hajj is a gigantic money making endeavor. All visits to the holy place have to take place under the auspices of a Saudi institution or company, which is totally Saudi-owned. Every opportunity is geared towards profit maximization. The Saudi companies in turn enter into agreements with parties in the local country where the pilgrim resides. The Saudi company takes care of the negotiation with the local hotels and other parties to organize and pay for the accommodations and internal transportation and the like. Saudis have profited greatly from the pilgrims who have been exploited on a scale that is beyond imagination. A two week visit to Saudi Arabia during the Hajj period (if you are not sponsored) in modest accommodations costs more than a month-long world tour (not counting the fact that for five days during the two week period, the pilgrim is staying in a tent). Imagine the outrage if a Saudi was told that he could not do business in the United States (including booking a hotel) except though a United States entity?

Saudi Arabia represents one of the worse examples of a stratified society at the apex of which sits the descendants of its founder Ibn Saud constituted in the current royal family. And then appears a pecking order based on lineage or clan and others recognized as Saudi. Then come hundreds of thousands of individuals (including second and third generation Saudi born), followed by hundreds of thousands of foreign guest workers.

The sum total of rights and privileges enjoyed -- be it access to jobs, education, access to property, welfare benefits or the performance of the Hajj depends upon where one belongs in the pecking order. Those at the top enjoy considerable rights and power over those at the bottom. The most affected group is the foreign worker, particularly the foreign woman worker. These guest workers operate under a kafeel (master) to whom many are indebted for years, a situation that invites trafficking in people and a relationship akin to slavery. Over the past few days, we have been informed about several incidents of abuse of foreign guest workers from Indonesia in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Where is the outrage from Muslims and their scholars? Each year, thousands of female workers seek protection at foreign embassies from abuse and rape. International human rights groups and others have documented the rampant abuse, lack of fair trial standards, denial of freedom of movement, forced labor approaching conditions of slavery and beating of foreign workers. Also documented is the weak judicial system, which offers little protection to those at the bottom, rung of society. The judicial system gives more credence to the wealthy and locals in disputes involving foreigners.

Islamic law derived from the sayings of the prophet Mohammad articulates a vision of human dignity (in ways analogous to modern human rights) in stating "No Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; nor has a white man any superiority over a black man, or the black many any superiority over the white man. You are all the children of Adam, and Adam was created from Clay". Conspicuously absent are protests among Muslims about racism, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance prevalent in so many Muslim countries starting with the cradle of Islam, Saudi Arabia.

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"Do what's right and then stand up and defend it"..memo in the staff kitchen, #fb

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COOLIE WOMAN

http://gaiutra.blogspot.com/

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I Am (2011 film), about our addiction to materialism, #fb

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_(documentary)

People to watch in 2011: Farrah Khan

People to watch in 2011: Farrah Khan

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50 years in the medical field – Dr Cecil Harricharan is a ‘Special Person’

50 years in the medical field – Dr Cecil Harricharan is a ‘Special Person’
May 15, 2011 | By KNews | Filed Under News

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/05/15/50-years-in-the-medical-field-dr-cecil-harricharan-is-a-‘special-person’/

 

“I enjoy my life. I enjoy working with the people I come into contact with. I enjoy the farmlands. I can’t say there is a thing I can complain about.”
By Neil Marks
On weekdays, he runs his clinic in downtown Georgetown, but on weekends you can find 82-year-old Dr Cecil Harricharan commanding the attention of wild cattle aback of Mahaicony with a signature call that makes him the envy of neighbours.
You’d be excused if you couldn’t differentiate which is Dr Harricharan’s greatest love – the medical profession or being on the rice fields and cattle farms. He finds it hard set apart himself.

Dr Cecil Harricharan

His wife of 50 years, Chandra, surmises that it is his love for the backlands that has kept his life meaningful and rewarding – and she of course.
Becoming a doctor was certainly not what his parents envisioned for him. They had more in mind than him working the sprawling farmlands that he loved, but an uncle thought he could make more of his life…and did he!
To date, Dr Harricharan has chalked up 50 years in the medical field, and counting. When one considers the fact that he had easy access to “greener pastures,” being licensed to practice in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean, it’s easy to see how he fits unquestionably in the category of those who have dedicated their life to the service of their country, and doing so largely unnoticed.
A man who has served his country unswervingly, who dared to go where other doctors refused to, Mahaicony’s ‘Noble Son’ Dr Cecil Harricharan is indeed a ‘Special Person’.
Growing up
Dr Cecil Harricharan was born Cecil Edgar on March 6, 1929, at Little Abary, Mahaicony, in the home his mother, Joaquin Liliah, used to live before she married his father, the elder Harricharan.
His parents were living at Novar, Mahaicony, where the Harricharans reared cattle and planted rice, but as was the custom, his mother returned to her parents’ home to give birth.
Cecil was born the first of six children, and grew up on the thriving farmlands at Novar. He quite enjoyed the farms, milking cows and then dropping off container upon container at the train station in Mahaicony. The milk would then be taken to Georgetown for sale.
He also worked the rice fields at a time when bulls were used to plough the lands.
“It was hard work, but I had a good time,” he reflects.
As a young lad, he attended the Catherine Ville and Novar Presbyterian Primary Schools. After securing impressive scores at the School Leavers Examinations, his father’s brother, Cecil Bishoodyal, insisted that he move to Georgetown to further his education.
It was a move that you could say was a culture shock for the raw country boy, settling into the chaotic life of the city.
He would peddle his bicycle from his uncle’s place in Kitty to the Modern Educational Institute, run by the Lutheran Church, at the junction of Camp Street and North Road, where today stands a Lutheran Church.
It was a literal fight to stay in school, when school bullies tried to force the country boy into submission.
“You had to fight or you would be left with nothing,” he recounts.
Cecil passed the Junior and Senior Cambridge Exams with flying colours. And then came decision time. What would he do with the rest of his life?
Ideally, he had a place waiting for him on the farmlands at Mahaicony. But his uncle had other plans in mind.
The uncle suggested that he should study medicine abroad. It was not an easy decision for his parents to make, but they agreed.
At age 19, the young Harricharan set out for Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Canada, to pursue studies in medicine at the prestigious Dalhousie University.
Of course, moving to the North had its challenges, but he dedicated himself to his studies and in 1953, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. While studying, he thought about where he wanted to study medicine proper, and sent out applications for scholarships that were being offered.

With the family: From left Tanuja, Priya, wife Chandra, and Kalpana.

The government of India offered him a scholarship to pursue his doctorate at one of their universities, but his parents were hesitant about sending him all the way to India, even though they would not have to pay for his studies.
His parents decided that he should stay at Dalhousie. And this he did. In five years, including a one-year internship at hospitals in and around Halifax, he graduated with an M.D., C.M degree (Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery).
He was offered fellowship opportunities to study specialist medicine, but he decided to return home.
In the nine years that he studied to become a doctor in Canada, there was hardly any communication with his family back in Guyana. There was the occasional letter, but returning home for visits was out of the question. It was just too expensive.
You could imagine the awkward encounter at the airport when he returned home. He had difficulty recognising some family members, including a sister he had left as a baby, and of course, they had trouble recognising him too! But it was a moment filled with much joy for the Harricharan family.
The young man who should have been in the farmlands was now a doctor. Yes, a doctor!
Unlikely assignments
Soon after his return to Guyana, he started practicing when he was assigned by the Ministry of Health as a General Medical Officer at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
However, he was soon asked to travel to the North West District. It was an area that many doctors had refused to accept, choosing to resign instead of following through with the government’s request.
The North West was mainly covered by foreign doctors, but Dr Harricharan decided that he would go. He had no problems working “in the bush.” It could not have been a more ideal assignment, putting him back in touch with the life he lived as a boy.
The assignment would take him along the rivers of the North West District, travelling to Mabaruma, Moruca, Matthew’s Ridge, Morawhanna, Port Kaituma and Hosororo.
“I was the surgeon, the dentist, the midwife, and everything else that people expected doctors to be able to do.”
It was not unusual for him to arrive at some communities at night to greet large crowds awaiting his arrival. It would not be strange either for him to be called out at the middle of the night, trekking through the bush to help with a delivery. But it was satisfying work.
“In the night I would tie my hammock, and have a good sleep.”
The assignment gave him the “privilege” to work with world renowned Italian malariaologist Dr George Giglioli, who is credited with loosening Malaria’s grip on the inhabitants of the North West District and Guyana’s coastland.
That meant trapping a lot of mosquitos “and doing all sorts of things with them!”
What was supposed to be a two-week assignment turned out to be six months. The government eventually secured the services of a Polish doctor to work the District.
His next placement would be at the Georgetown Public Hospital, working along with various physicians and surgeons. He spent three years there and then he was assigned to the Essequibo Islands.
Dr Harricharan became the first resident local doctor on the island of Leguan. The residents perhaps thought it too good to be true, and so they decided to test him out.
There was a wedding taking place at the time of his arrival, and so local residents decided that they would see if he was really a doctor.
They turned up at the hospital with a man acting “stiff up.” The doctor promptly asked that he be put to lie down. As soon as Dr Harricharan flicked the “patient’s” eye he knew nothing was wrong with him and that he, the doctor, was in for a good trick. So he decided to play along – he ordered surgery! The word alone was enough medicine for the residents to fess up.

Our ‘Special Person’ and his wife on their wedding day.

During his stint at Leguan, Dr Harricharan was also assigned to the other islands in the Essequibo Coast, and this took him to Wakenaam, Hogg Island, Fort Island, and even to Bartica.
By the time his next assignment would come around, Dr Harricharan caught sight of the beautiful Chandra (sister of well known businessman Toolsie Persaud) at a family function. The two of them were married in August 1961.
In 1962, newly married, and after six months on the island of Leguan, Dr Harricharan was asked to take up an assignment as the District Medical Officer for West Demerara.
He was based at Leonora, and was really starting to enjoy the assignment, particularly because he was able to make some money on the side when he was off duty from the hospital. His pay as a government doctor was $380, and so the supplemental income was much needed, even though that pay was “good money” in those days.
But that excitement would be short lived. The Chief Medical Officer sent instructions for him to be transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital to serve as the resident surgeon there.
He protested the transfer, but he was told that he could either take up the post or resign. He was pacified when he was told that he could return to Leonora as soon as the surgeon, who was expected from India, arrived to serve at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
Upon the arrival of the surgeon, Dr Harricharan was told that he was not being sent back to Leonora, but would in fact be sent to serve the Mahaicony District, where he was born. The very thought paralysed him and he protested.
“I don’t think I could take up that assignment; I don’t think the people would accept me,” he recalls explaining.
Why was he hesitant? It was sort of the Biblical thought that a man is despised in his own hometown.
He decided to go anyhow, with the promise that if he didn’t like it, there was a post at Springlands on the Corentyne Coast, awaiting him.
It just took a few weeks at Mahaicony for him to start to enjoy working there.
But his arrival at Mahaicony would be at the height of one of the most tumultuous periods in the country’s political history that spawned race riots and bloody murders.
The year he arrived in Mahaicony – 1964 – saw the infamous Mahaicony tragedies which started when seven members of the Jaikaranan family in their village were shot dead.
That resulted in a sort of mini-partition, Dr Harricharan recalls, with the Indians and Africans at war, and leaving their villages if they were not part of the dominant ethnic group. The young Harricharan couple watched as several businesses, including one belonging to the family of assassinated Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh, were burnt to the ground.
His posting at the Cottage Hospital in Central Mahaicony meant him having to live in the hospital’s compound. But when British troops were called in to quell the disturbances, Dr Harricharan was asked to give up his home for use by the British soldiers.
He went to live three miles away at the Harricharan family house. He was escorted by the British troops whenever he was needed at the hospital.
At one time while he was in the Police vehicle being taken to the hospital, shots were being fired all around. He escaped unharmed.
Dr Harricharan stuck it out during that time and continued to serve at the Mahaicony Hospital for 17 years.
Thereafter, he retired, having served the government for 25 years. He then entered private practice and today still operates a clinic at Middle Street, Georgetown.
It is not strange for Dr Harricharan to be greeted by persons who say he had treated their parents or grandparents. He also still operates a clinic at the family home at Mahaicony. That serves a double purpose. He gets to go into the farmlands.
Every Sunday he would head out to the farms, with his signature hat and a call that commands the response and respect of head upon head of wild cattle.
Today, while he operates his clinics in Georgetown and Mahaicony, Dr Harricharan has the support of his wife of five decades. Their union produced four daughters, of whom one (Kamla) is now deceased. Their other daughters are married and live in Canada. They are justly proud of the accomplishments of their daughters. Tanuja is a family doctor, Kalpana is an optician and Priya is a French language teacher.
In 2008, the residents of Mahaicony honoured him as the community’s “Noble Son” and just recently, the Indian Commemoration Trust honoured him for his longstanding work in the medical field.
“I enjoy my life. I enjoy working with the people I come into contact with. I enjoy the farmlands. I can’t say there is a thing I can complain about.”

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Joubert syndrome - New Discovery

Joubert syndrome

TORONTO, May 12 /CNW/ - A new study involving Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found a gene connected with a type of intellectual disability called Joubert syndrome. ....

CAMH researcher discovers new gene that causes intellectual disability

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NY Orthodox Jewish paper apologizes for digitally deleting Hillary Clinton from photo

NY Orthodox Jewish paper apologizes for digitally deleting Hillary Clinton from photo

Di Tzeitung said it has a "long standing editorial policy" of not publishing women's images. It explained that its readers "believe that women should be appreciated for who they are and what they do, not for what they look like, and the Jewish laws of modesty are an expression of respect for women, not the opposite."...

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Claude Stanley Choules, Last combat veteran of World War I dies in Australia at age 110

Claude Stanley Choules, Last combat veteran of World War I dies in Australia at age 110

Thu May 5 2011

Despite the fame he achieved because of his military service, Choules grew to become a pacifist who was uncomfortable with anything that glorified war. He disagreed with the celebration of Anzac Day, Australia's most important war memorial holiday, and refused to march in parades held each year to commemorate the holiday.


“He didn't believe in war,” Edinger said.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/986067--last-combat-veteran-of-world-war-i-dies-in-australia-at-age-110

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Claude Stanley Choules  is against the glorification of war- Nov 11, 2009
Claude Stanley Choules (born 3 March 1901)- World War 1
Of the 8 million British soldiers who fought in World War I, only 108-year-old Royal Navy veteran Claude Choules, who lives in Perth, remains.
But Choules shunned Wednesday's Armistice Day commemorations there because he is against the glorification of war, his daughter said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/12/2740433.htm?section=world

The mind-numbing stupidity of the Royal Wedding

The mind-numbing stupidity of the Royal Wedding

But there's something deeper at play, and it's a bit frightening: a marrow-deep urge to put down the plow, wash the muck from under our fingernails and go worship our designated social superiors; to queue up on the streets or gather in our living rooms in the wee, small hours for a glimpse of a passing motorcade or a flash of a white gown or a white glove or a red uniform tunic, then breathlessly tell others, "I saw them! I saw the prince and duchess! I, a humble serf, saw them and was ennobled by their presence, by the grace of almighty God!"....Read More:-

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Community activist Charles Roach is upset that he can’t vote on Monday because he refuses to swear an oath to the Queen

Community activist Charles Roach is upset that he can’t vote on Monday because he refuses to swear an oath to the Queen.

TORONTO - Long-time community activist Charles Roach has investments, a successful law firm that employs 14 people and pays thousands of dollars in taxes, but he still can't vote Monday.

....http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/CanadaVotes/News/2011/04/27/18074726.html

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Sari and Samosa Syndrome ..Uzma Shakir

Sari and Samosa Syndrome

Two years ago, when I sat at a table at a social justice conference with a bunch of high school teachers this is exactly what I witnessed. In attempt to deal with their frustrations with racism in the classroom at their school and a desire to recognize the diversity in the school’s population they set out to plan a Sari-and-Samosa event. I’m sure it was very successful too. So-and-so was a dancer, so-and-so could bring food — it’s so delicious, you know! — but the event was planned to be entertainment not issue focused. .....
Read More

Uzma Shakir Quotes

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Canada’s Health Care: An Alternate Universe | Common Dreams

Canada’s Health Care: An Alternate Universe Common Dreams

But Canada’s medical outcomes are excellent; urgent needs get urgent care; and Canadians live two years longer on average than we do. Problems like medical bankruptcy are virtually unknown. The overwhelming majority of Canadians, when polled, say they’d prefer their system over ours any day.....

"I Am" , two movies Hollywood / Bollywood

Interesting two movies this month with the same name "I Am"

Bollywood: http://www.iamthefilms.com/i-am/project-overview.html

Hollywood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_(documentary)

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World's oldest man dies in Montana

World's oldest man dies in Montana

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - A 114-year-old retired railroad worker reputed to be the world's oldest living man died of natural causes on Thursday in the farming community of Great Falls, Montana.


Walter Breuning, who had lived in a local nursing home since 1980, was declared oldest man on July 18, 2009, by the Guinness Book of World Records...

He retired from the railroad at age 66. He attributed his longevity to restricting daily meals to breakfast and lunch and to downing an aspirin a day....

"Walter taught me that all things in moderation will help lead to a long life; that hard work and a modest living are enough for a happy life and most importantly that giving back to others is good for the soul," Schweitzer said.

...
Read More: - http://ca.news.yahoo.com/worlds-oldest-man-dies-montana-20110414-212003-060.html

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Human Beings created from #formaldehyde, #originoflife

Poisonous Chemical Linked to Origin of Life on Earth


The poisonous chemical formaldehyde may have helped create the organic compounds present in the universe that gave rise to life, new research suggests
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/poisonous-chemical-linked-origin-life-earth-20110405-022805-688.html

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#Canada - Best Places to Live 2011

http://www.moneysense.ca/2011/03/29/best-places-to-live-2011/

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Eight Years ago - The invasion of Iraq

Eight Years  ago my son Naasir was 12 yrs old and he started to memorize the Holy Quran two months after the invasion of Iraq started. He is now a Hafiz-ul-Quran and the invasion of Iraq is still happening. Iraq has been disentigrated and the civilian death toll is now 100,000. The world cares so much about the 4000 American soldiers but no one cares about the Iraqi civilian death toll . There is no end in sight for the end of this war. The trillions spent on the invasion of Iraq could have eliminated poverty for the entire world.

We protested at the Anti War Protest in Toronto in 2003 http://www.flickr.com/photos/bknb/185125498/ . I was very optimistic that with enough protests that this war would not have happened. I was so wrong with my optimism!!.

Naasir (2003)...Scarborough Bluffs

My son was born in 1990 one month after the first U S war with Iraq. His name means helper in Arabic. InshaAllah one day he will be able to help some of the suffering in this world.

Also read:

• To My Daughter, on the Fifth Anniversary of the US Invasion of Iraq by Stephen Dunes
• The Eighth Anniversary of the Iraq War , Published on Saturday, March 19, 2011 by CommonDreams.org The Eighth Anniversary of the Iraq War by David Krieger

2010 Least and Most Corrupt Countries in the World

2010 Least and Most Corrupt Countries in the World

Below is the list of countries sorted from most to least corrupt countries:



1 Somalia 1.1

2 Afghanistan 1.4

2 Myanmar 1.4

4 Iraq 1.5

5 Sudan 1.6

5 Turkmenistan 1.6

5 Uzbekistan 1.6

8 Chad 1.7

9 Burundi 1.8

10 Angola 1.9

10 Equatorial Guinea 1.9

12 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2.0

12 Guinea 2.0

12 Kyrgyzstan 2.0

12 Venezuela 2.0

16 Cambodia 2.1

16 Central African Republic 2.1

16 Comoros 2.1

16 Congo-Brazzaville 2.1

16 Guinea-Bissau 2.1

16 Kenya 2.1

16 Laos 2.1

16 Papua New Guinea 2.1

16 Russia 2.1

16 Tajikistan 2.1

26 Cameroon 2.2

26 Côte d'Ivoire 2.2

26 Haiti 2.2

26 Iran 2.2

26 Libya 2.2

26 Nepal 2.2

26 Paraguay 2.2

26 Yemen 2.2

34 Maldives 2.3

34 Mauritania 2.3

34 Pakistan 2.3

37 Azerbaijan 2.4

37 Bangladesh 2.4

37 Honduras 2.4

37 Nigeria 2.4

37 Philippines 2.4

37 Sierra Leone 2.4

37 Togo 2.4

37 Ukraine 2.4

37 Zimbabwe 2.4

46 Belarus 2.5

46 Ecuador 2.5

46 Lebanon 2.5

46 Nicaragua 2.5

46 Syria 2.5

46 Timor-Leste 2.5

46 Uganda 2.5

53 Armenia 2.6

53 Eritrea 2.6

53 Madagascar 2.6

53 Niger 2.6

57 Ethiopia 2.7

57 Guyana 2.7

57 Mali 2.7

57 Mongolia 2.7

57 Mozambique 2.7

57 Tanzania 2.7

57 Vietnam 2.7

64 Benin 2.8

64 Bolivia 2.8

64 Gabon 2.8

64 Indonesia 2.8

64 Kosovo 2.8

64 Solomon Islands 2.8

70 Algeria 2.9

70 Argentina 2.9

70 Kazakhstan 2.9


70 Moldova 2.9

70 Senegal 2.9

75 Dominican Republic 3.0

75 Sao Tome & Principe 3.0

75 Tonga 3.0

75 Zambia 3.0

79 Burkina Faso 3.1

79 Egypt 3.1

79 Mexico 3.1

82 Bosnia and Herzegovi 3.2

82 Djibouti 3.2

82 Gambia 3.2

82 Guatemala 3.2

82 Kiribati 3.2

82 Sri Lanka 3.2

82 Swaziland 3.2

89 Albania 3.3

89 India 3.3

89 Jamaica 3.3

89 Liberia 3.3

93 Malawi 3.4


93 Morocco 3.4

95 China 3.5

95 Colombia 3.5

95 Greece 3.5

95 Lesotho 3.5

95 Peru 3.5

95 Serbia 3.5

95 Thailand 3.5

102 Bulgaria 3.6

102 El Salvador 3.6

102 Panama 3.6

102 Trinidad and Tabago 3.6

102 Vanuatu 3.6

107 Brazil 3.7

107 Cuba 3.7

107 Montenegro 3.7

107 Romania 3.7

111 Georgia 3.8

112 Italy 3.9

113 Rwanda 4.0

114 Croatia 4.1

114 FYR Macedonia 4.1

114 Ghana 4.1

114 Samoa 4.1

118 Latvia 4.3


118 Slovakia 4.3

118 Tunisia 4.3

121 Malaysia 4.4

121 Namibia 4.4

121 Turkey 4.4

124 Kuwait 4.5

124 South Africa 4.5

126 Czech Republic 4.6

127 Hungary 4.7

127 Jordan 4.7

127 Saudi Arabia 4.7

130 Seychelles 4.8

131 Bahrain 4.9

132 Lithuania 5.0

132 Macau 5.0

134 Cape Verde 5.1

135 Dominica 5.2

136 Costa Rica 5.3

136 Oman 5.3

136 Poland 5.3

139 Korea (South) 5.4

139 Mauritius 5.4

141 Brunei 5.5

142 Malta 5.6


143 Bhutan 5.7

144 Botswana 5.8

144 Puerto Rico 5.8

144 Taiwan 5.8

147 Portugal 6.0

148 Israel 6.1

148 Spain 6.1

150 Cyprus 6.3

150 United Arab Emirates 6.3

152 Slovenia 6.4

153 Estonia 6.5

154 France 6.8

155 Uruguay 6.9

156 Belgium 7.1

156 United States 7.1

158 Chile 7.2

159 United Kingdom 7.6

160 Qatar 7.7

161 Barbados 7.8

161 Japan 7.8

163 Austria 7.9

163 Germany 7.9

165 Ireland 8.0

166 Hongm Kong 8.4


167 Iceland 8.5

167 Luxembourg 8.5

169 Norway 8.6

170 Australia 8.7

170 Switzerland 8.7

171 Netherlands 8.8

172 Canada 8.9

174 Finland 9.2

174 Sweden 9.2

176 Denmark 9.3

176 New Zealand 9.3

176 Singapore 9.3

Source: http://www.bazics.net/2010/10/2010-most-corrupt-countries-in-world.html#ixzz1IEmQW12J

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Change the World

Today I'm gonna try and change the world
Johnny Reid







TODAY I'M GONNA TRY AND CHANGE THE WORLD
GONNA TAKE IT ONE DAY AT A TIME
I'VE MADE MY RESOLUTION
I'VE OPENED UP MY EYES
TODAY I'M GONNA TRY AND CHANGE THE WORLD

I'M GONNA SAY HELLO TO MY NEIGHBOR
GREET HIM WITH A SMILE
SHAKE THE HAND OF A STRANGER
SIT AND TALK FOR A WHILE
TELL SOMEONE I LOVE THEM
FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
TODAY I'M GONNA TRY AND CHANGE THE WORLD

(REPEAT CHORUS)

GONNA MAKE SURE MY CHILDREN

KNOW THERES A RIGHT AND WRONG
I'LL NEVER TURN MY BACK
ON THOSE OF US WHO NEED SOMEONE
I'M GONNA TRY TO SEE MYSELF
THROUGH ANOTHERS EYES
TODAY IM GONNA TRY AND CHANGE THE WORLD

(REPEAT CHORUS)

TODAY I'M GONNA TRY AND CHANGE THE WORLD
TODAY I'M GONNA TRY AND CHANGE THE WORLD
NOT FOR ME, BUT FOR THOSE I'LL LEAVE BEHIND
I'VE MADE MY RESOLUTION
CHANGE IT ONE DAY AT TIME
TODAY I'M GONNA TRY AND CHANGE THE WORLD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7yAu1agsUk&feature=related

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Muslim man at Costco asking for Charity


March 28, 2011

He came up to me in Costco with a medical prescription. He said his prescription is for $28.00 and he only has $8.00 and something. He wanted $20.00. I was reluctant because I was thinking, how does he afford a Costco membership and he doesn't have $20.00 for his prescription. I gave him $10.00. Afterwards, I felt I should have gone with him to the Pharmacy counter and bought his medicine for him. InshaAllah I hope next time Allah will guide me to do the right thing.

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Gather the loose change and give to the needy people

March 16, 2011 - Muslim woman with Hijab at St. George Station with an empty coffee cup begging. I had 2 packets of these coins in my handbag. Into her coffee cup they went. She looked at me and smiled. Her smile was sad.

How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas

How can we live in harmony? First we need to know we are all madly in love with the same God. ~ Saint Thomas Aquinas

Why Canada needs a split from its messy divorce laws

Why Canada needs a split from its messy divorce laws

Erin Anderssen
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Mar. 25, 2011 6:16PM EDT

Love is grand, the saying goes, divorce is 100 grand.


True words for 49-year-old Lucas Kott, a self-employed construction worker who estimates that after all the lawyer's fees, affidavits and court appearances, he and his soon-to-be ex-wife will have spent nearly $125,000 arguing over custody of their two young children. His half has already put him $20,000 in debt, even before a five-day trialscheduled for the fall – money he knows would have been better spent on his kids. Now, he can't afford to move out of his two-bedroom Vancouver apartment......
.
.That cautionary lesson might have spared Tania Thompson long days in court and the $50,000 she paid in legal fees, most of it borrowed from her father. Now a single mom with two young children in Mississauga, she wishes that she and her ex-husband had been ordered into mediation before a judge was even an option. “The lawyers all of a sudden make it more of a tense situation.” And a courtroom, she says, is a cold place to reorganize your family for the future....Read More

West is West

Mystery of the missing Muslims in the movies

'West is West' is a witty and authentic film, says Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, but it's a lone star in an industry devoid of Muslim life- Friday, 25 March 2011
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/mystery-of-the-missing-muslims-in-the-movies-2252171.html

Japan's Chaos is a Wake-up Call

Japan's Chaos is a Wake-up Call
It's time for a nuclear energy time-out. by Alice Slater

Sometimes chaos comes along as a wake-up call to humanity. Japan's double-whammy earthquake-tsunami is overwhelmingly tragic. Being at the mercy of the total chaotic effect of the elements--able to be wiped out by a wave of water from the sea--is an insult to the arrogance of modern humanity that thinks it can insulate and protect itself with technological know-how from the calamities visited upon our earth by Mother Nature....Read More

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Remember Rachel Corrie, She was crushed to death in the Gaza Strip by an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bulldozer when she was kneeling in front of a local Palestinian's home, #rachelcorrie, #fb

Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003)

Dedication of The Prayer of the Oppressed (Translation and Introduction - Hamza Yusuf). 

 "To Rachel Corrie, a gentle lamb who resisted the oppressor without hatred or rancor in her heart and paid the ultimate price"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corrie

The sign that you have taqwa is that you do not see yourself as superior to anyone.- ~ Sheikh Nuh Keller, #fb

The sign that you have taqwa is that you do not see yourself as superior to anyone.- ~ Sheikh Nuh Keller

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Skyscrapers swaying like trees in the breeze , Japan’s Strict Building Codes Saved Lives, # earthquake, #Japan

"What was scariest was to look up at the skyscrapers all around. They were swaying like trees in the breeze. " ~WILLIAM M. TSUTSUI, a professor at Southern Methodist Univeristy, who was in Tokyo when the earthquake hit.

Japan’s Strict Building Codes Saved Lives

Quotes - Tuesdays with Morrie, non-fiction novel by American writer Mitch Albom about Morrie Schwartz

Quotes from Tuesdays with Morrie,  non-fiction novel by American writer Mitch Albom about Morrie Schwartz that made me think

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So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning..~Tuesdays with Morrie (Schwartz)", ~ Taking Attendance

Death is the great equalizer, the one big thing that can finally make strangers shed a tear for one another

We're so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough money, meeting the mortgage,

getting a new car, fixing the radiator when it  breaks- we're involved in trillions of little acts to keep going. So we don't get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and  saying. Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing?" ~ The Third Tuesday

"This is part of what a family is all about, not just love, but letting others know there's someone who is watching out for them.... Knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money, Not fame." ~ The Fifth Tuesday

“There is no experience like having children. That’s all. There is no substitute for it. You cannot do it with a friend, You cannot do it with a lover. If you want to have the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then you should have children.”
~ The Fifth Tuesday

"You know what the Buddists say? Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent" ~ The Sixth Tuesday


Vietnam, Antiwar, Drafting
Brandeis University - Students who did not maintain a certain grade point average could lose their deferments and be drafted. The professors decided not to give any grades. The administration said who didn't have a grade will fail . Morrie had a solution, he gave everyone "A" . Morrie had many of the radical students in his class, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Angela Davis. ~ The Professor

At Brandeis University, the students took over Ford Hall and draped a banner that read Malcolm X University. Morrie negotiated with the students to end the protest.~ The Professor

Small Talk
Baby boomer generation are great at small talk: "What do you do?" "Where do you live?" Do people really listen to people without trying to sell you something, pick them up, recuit them, or get some kind of status in return..~ The NinthTuesday

Marriage
Friends are great , but friends are not going to be here on a night when you are coughing and can't sleep and has to sit up all night with you, comfort you, try to be helpful.

- If you don't respect the other person , you're gonna have a lot of trouble
- If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble.
- If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble.
- And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike. The biggest one of those values is the importance of marriage.

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more quotes
http://blog.cliffano.com/2006/02/26/quotes-by-morrie-schwartz/

Understand that we can experience miracles if we're inquisitive...., #fb

How to Be Curious. Cultivate a habit of asking good questions. Understand that we can experience miracles if we're inquisitive. Realize that we know very little and there's discovery and adventure around every corner. Inquire into new ideas, people, situations, places. Open our minds to others' points of view. Unleash our inner child, who is naturally inquisitive. Suspend judging and evaluating, there's always time for that later


One of my favourite quotes. I don't know who said it..

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Teaching: The Most Noble Profession | Common Dreams

Teaching: The Most Noble Profession Common Dreams

AR Rahman with wife Saira Banu at the Oscar , #oscar #arrahman

http://www.fashioninquisitive.com/2011/02/2011-oscars-best-dressed.html

Author calls ageism ‘unremitting and global’

Author calls ageism ‘unremitting and global’ - Healthzone.ca

Little boy about nine years old #Surah Yasin

Little boy about nine years old reading the english translation of Surah Yasin. When Surah Yasin was put on the table, he put his game down and started to read the copy of Surah Yasin. He must have been reading it for about one hour. Later I asked him if he was reading the english, he said yes. I asked him did you understand. He gave me the hand gesture (meaning so so....). He is my cousin's son.

Tough on poverty, tough on crime

TheStar Tough on poverty, tough on crime
The most famous call for a Canadian GAI was issued 40 years ago by Senator David Croll. It was 1971 when his Senate committee on poverty issued its report.
“Poverty is the great social issue of our time,” Croll wrote. “The poor do not choose poverty. It is at once their affliction and our national shame. No nation can achieve true greatness if it lacks the courage and determination to undertake the surgery necessary to remove the cancer of poverty from its body politic........”

The Just Society

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/943183--time-to-re-evaluate-the-just-society
With revolutions happening all over the Middle East it is a fine time for Canadians, and especially Torontonians, to invest some time in thinking about the meaning of democracy. It isn’t just about voting, it is about maintaining a “just society” with room for all. As Hugh Segal eloquently stated in his opinion piece in on Sunday, crime is mostly a symptom of poverty. We have the tools to handle that.....

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Millions long for rights we squander, we have so much and care so little, #fb

• Why do we toss away the democratic rights Egyptians were willing to die for?Read More: TheStar Goar: Millions long for rights we squander

• Why, in a country with free and fair elections, do 40 per cent of us not bother to vote?
"It would be a shame to let this moment pass without asking why we, who have so much freedom, care so little."....

Anyone can be parents, it takes special people to be Moms and Dads, #fb

Anyone can be parents, it takes special people to be Moms and Dads

Children are our future, please protect them well, #fb

Heartbreaking, how did this happen in Ontario??
DiManno: Stoney Creek home was ‘house of horrors’ for abused kids  - Published On Thu Feb 10, 2011 

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Hidden Tribe Amazon

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/932496--revealed-hidden-tribe-in-the-amazon

Do not sit long with a sad friend...#Rumi

Do not sit long with a sad friend. When you go to a garden, do you look at the weeds? Spend more time with the roses and jasmines. (taken into context)...-Maulana Jelaluddin Rumi

#OBAMA Cafe, #Toronto

Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani , #Jilani

Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani  (May Allah be pleased with him) kept the company of the poor and the weak; he did not seek company of the famous and powerful. He was a child with the children , and treated them with the utmost tenderness and compassion. With those much older than he, he become as if older than they, and treated them with respect.

#Ostentation

Ostentation
The root source of ostentation (riya) is desire, wanting something from a source other than God. The cure for ostentation is actively and sincerely seeking out purification of the heart by removing four things:

1. love of praise;
2. fear of blame;
3. desire for worldly benefit from people; and
4. fear of harm from people.

This is accomplished by nurturing the certainty (yaqin) that only God can benefit or harm one. This is at the essence of the Islamic creed.
Helen Keller once said that there is no slave in this world that didn't have a king somewhere in his ancestry; and there is no king that didn't have a slave somewhere in his ancestry. This world has peaks and valleys. Nothing in creation is permanent. To spend time and energy seeking permanence in the fleeting things of the world - like praise - and then neglect what lasts forever with our Maker is the summit of human folly.
So recognizing that there is no harm or benefit except with God purifies the heart of vain pursuits and ostentation.
Compiled From: "Purification of The Heart" - Hamza Yusuf, pp. 57-59

"Please vacate this train immediately.", #TTC, #CustomerService #toronto

I was sitting on the train at Kennedy Station at approximately 8:45 am. After about 5 mins, the announcement was, "Please vacate this train immediately, you must vacate this train immediately". I waited another 5-7 mins for another train. I was sitting the next train, again the same announcement, ""Please vacate this train immediately, you must vacate this train immediately". Everyone left the train and got another train after about 5- 7 mins . The total delay time was approximately 15 mins...

To the TTC announcer:
Please be a little more polite and informative when announcing messages. It would help if you would say why the passengers have to leave the train. Please, do not treat the passengers like animals, pushing them from one train to the next.

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#Faith and #happiness go together

Marmur: Faith and happiness go together
...
"Over the last year and a half, researchers of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index ( www.well-beingindex.com) have interviewed over half a million Americans to find out what makes them happy. Their conclusion is that the happiest are religious people, defined as those for whom “religion is an important part of daily life and church/synagogue/mosque attendance occurs at least every week or almost every week.”....

Read article....

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10 commandments for a successful #relationship, #marriage

10 commandments for a successful relationship

Dr. Teesha Morgan offers the golden rules that every couple must know for a long-lasting (and happy)union

Since the dawn of time, people have been shelling out relationship and love advice to the masses. From the the Bible's epic 1st Corinthians 13 passage to Dr. Phil’s counselling hour and the millions of ‘relationship’ bloggers worldwide, we gravitate towards the knowledge of the past, and profess hopes that the present might give us but one tidbit more. But I wonder, how much has this advice really changed over the years? Can we simply re-parcel some wisdom from the ages with a modern spin?


Guided by the past, I offer up love secrets re-packaged to fit the time. Here are my Dr. Laura Berman-inspired (Dr. Berman is one of Oprah's stars), top ten relationship commandments:

1. Thou shalt drop the Hollywood love theme and acquire realistic love life expectations

Relationships may start out in a blissful state of awe-inspiring romance, however this is called a ‘state’ or a ‘stage’ for a reason. When two lives eventually meld as one, the result can be tedious, mundane and exhausting. It is therefore up to you to keep that spark alive because no fairy godmother is waiting to hand you glass slippers and a prince reared to perfection.

2. Thou shalt combine duties and chores to become a team

Science has shown us that women often take the brunt of household chores, even when they are trying to juggle a job as well. Ask your partner to help split chores more evenly; the lessened household workload has been shown to increase sexual desire in women and decrease stress on all accounts.

3. Thou shalt banish your acting prowess and quit pretending nothing is wrong

Pretending you’re fine when you’re not benefits no one. This simply chokes communication lines and creates resentment and anger. Become an adult, and express your feelings.

4. Thou shalt not strive for the title of gossip queen

Although tiaras are fun to wear, this crown should not be one you’re proud to prance around in. Gushing out all your relationship problems to your girlfriends may help you blow off some steam, but bashing your man behind closed doors does nothing to improve your relationship, or your image.

5. Thou shalt be yourself

Faking an interest in hockey or a love of video games will do nothing more than place you on a phony pedestal and lead you on a pathway of misguided love.

6. Thou shalt take control of one’s own sexual satisfaction

No man is a mind reader, so if you’re not communicating a solid and specific thumbs up or down on his performance, then you have only yourself to blame for not reaching the highs that true orgasmic intimacy can bring.

7. Thou shalt not take on another lover (unless your partner may do so also)

Enough said.

8 Thou shalt have a life outside of the 'we'

If we become too consumed with our partners and our relationship, we forget about ourselves and our goals to become a better individual – individual being the key word. Don’t become so involved in the 'we' that you lose a piece of yourself.

9. Thou shalt not obsess about obtaining bodily perfection

No one is perfect, even the airbrushed models we glamorize. The more we worry about our weight and stress about our imperfections, the more reserved we become sexually and the less beautiful we feel. Opening up your imperfect self to another is the first step to true intimacy and acceptance.


10. Thou shalt not try and ‘fix’ one’s partner, as they are not broken

The more we view our better halves as in need of mending, the more we project faults onto them and blame them for our unhappiness. Work from the inside out. Whether it's personal or relationship based, only you can start making changes for life-long happiness.

Dr. Teesha Morgan is a sex therapist based in Vancouver, BC.

Dr. Phil, Dr. Teesha Morgan, Laura Berman, love advice, love problems, marriage advice, marriage problems, relationship advice, relationship problems, sexual dissatisfaction, sexually satisfied
http://www.chatelaine.com/en/article/23553--10-commandments-for-a-successful-relationship?utm_source=_BNRy2cB8YCYfxi&utm_content=cheg32&utm_medium=email

7 tax credits people overlook #taxcredits

TheStar 7 tax credits people overlook

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No more giant stores, build Markets in Toronto

Toronto needs more markets like St Lawrence market. Lets consume less and buy qaulity organic things.
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/920794--loblaw-ready-to-tear-down-historic-warehouse

John Street , Toronto's Boulevard of the Future

John Street, the cultural corridor. The AGO, Prince of Wales Theatre, TIFF, Rogers Centre, Scotia Theatre, Chapters, Metro Hall and the CN Tower all close to John Street. Metro Hall thats me. I am there all day, then I leave late afternoon to commute back to the suburbs where it is so mundane but ever so safe.

Christopher Hume wrote about his boulevard dream for John Street. It is a beautiful dream and we need a boulevard so badly in Toronto. Lets hope the current Mayor, Rob Ford and any future mayors will  also dream of boulevards.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/920369--hume-how-can-we-make-a-cultural-corridor-even-better

The Girl on the Toronto Subway

The girl on the subway speaking loudly about her activist boyfriend. He doesn't want a job because a job will prevent him from doing social justice activites. The train was so delayed and I was getting frustrated. There was a signal failure between Coxwell and Kennedy. A train became disabled at Warden and it was freezing cold.

My frustration turned to smile after listening to the girl. It made me remember the quote, "Make lemonade when given lemons". The subway can be entertaining and an experience if you want it to be

Why Antidepressants don't work

Why Antidepressants don't work
http://nissaa1.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-antidepressants-dont-work-for.html

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How economic inequality eats away at society

TheStar Goar: How economic inequality eats away at society

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Caring for Your Introvert

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/2696

Introverts are not necessarily shy. Shy people are anxious or frightened or self-excoriating in social settings; introverts generally are not. Introverts are also not misanthropic, though some of us do go along with Sartre as far as to say "Hell is other people at breakfast." Rather, introverts are people who find other people tiring.


Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone. They often seem bored by themselves, in both senses of the expression. Leave an extrovert alone for two minutes and he will reach for his cell phone. In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially "on," we introverts need to turn off and recharge. My own formula is roughly two hours alone for every hour of socializing. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: "I'm okay, you're okay—in small doses."..........

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