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Archive for the ‘Social Issues’ Category

Oh! the Souls of the Subcontinent


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Oh! the souls of the subcontinent,
Let for amity be our energies spent.

Aren’t we neighbours? Shall be forever,
Let being friends be our real endeavour.

How can the love our hearts not seal?
How can the vibes our minds not feel?

It’s not just the past, we both share
Also the culture and faith that we so care

How can my eyes and yours deny,
Shared treasures, that make us sigh!

Himalayas on our heads so stand,
Lofty mountains guarding our land.

The twists and turns in Indus river,
Who’s ancient stories make us shiver.

Enchanting Thar and its golden sands,
Weave beauty in each of its strands.

And then the grand Arabian Sea,
That enthrals both you and me.

How could we now live apart,
We’ve been one, from the start

Oh! those lines on our lands sketched,
Let they not, on our hearts be etched.

IlmanaFasih
Note: An FB friend Rashmi Talwar made ammendment in the last verses with magic words. How could I not accept her suggestion:

How could we now live apart,
We’ve been one, from the ‘very’ start

Oh! those lines on our lands sketched,
Let they not, on our hearts ‘forever’ be etched.


Mondo NaGaSaKi– Documentary Video on Hiroshima-Nagasaki Bombings Aftermath.



“Once presented, the facts will speak for themselves.” — Helen Caldicott, Nuclear Madness

The film examines of the uses of atomic bomb blast footage. It unearths footage long suppressed from the National Archives that shows Japanese victims of the blasts suffering weeks after the bombs had hit. It retells the experience of Japanese documentary Film-maker Akira Iwasaki.
Music by WWI. Mondo NaGaSaKi.
Producer: James Andrew Wagstaff.
Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States.

DEVASTATION CAUSED BY THE BOMBS
-According to the U.S. Department of Energy the immediate effects of the blast killed approximately 70,000 people in Hiroshima.
-Estimates of total deaths by the end of 1945 from burns, radiation and related disease, the effects of which were aggravated by lack of medical resources, range from 90,000 to 166,000.
-Some estimates state up to 200,000 had died by 1950, due to cancer and other long-term effects.
– Another study states that from 1950 to 2000, 46% of leukemia deaths and 11% of solid cancer deaths among bomb survivors were due to radiation from the bombs, the statistical excess being estimated to 94 leukemia and 848 solid cancers.
-At least eleven known prisoners of war died from the bombing.

“As far as his (Albert Einstein) own life was concerned, one thing seemed quite clear. ‘I made one great mistake in my life,’ he said to Linus Pauling, who spent an hour with him on the morning of November 11, 1954, ‘…when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made; but there was some justification – the danger that the Germans would make them.'”.
~Ronald Clark, Einstein: The Life and Times, pg. 620.

Learning to ‘Agree to Disagree’


Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.(~Gandhi)

I bet Gandhi said this with me in his mind.

I have yet to find a person with whom I have a total agreement on all issues. No one ever does. The probability of such a person existing may be theoretically possible (though extremely miniscule) but practically, it is IMPOSSIBLE.

I have a family with Hubs and two kids. And an extended family with sibs, parents and in-laws. And then a huge set of real and virtual friends. We all seem to be disagreeing with each other, more than agreeing, on most of the issues.

Many a times I stand alone in disagreement with almost everyone else on the other side.
So what?

Diametrically varying views lead to differences. Differences beget disagreements. Disagreements lead to debates. Debates stretch to hot discussions. Discussions at times lead to dissensions. Dissensions lead to verbal dogfights. Dogfights end up in a drain of energy. Drain of energy for sure.

Gosh! Despite all this, there is a great thrill in differing—agreeing on everything itsy bitsy, tiny miny would be so boring.

Calling other’s opinion ‘wrong’, ‘ignorance’ , ‘denial’, ‘silly’ could be part of humor but if hurled seriously as allegations is just bigotry at its best.

One learns more from the differences than from agreements.( Reference: Gandhi’s above quote!).

What is important is to give due respect and credibility to other’s opinions too. And the debate should be for putting one’s point across instead of the attempt to make others agree to one’s perspective. To be able to get other’s perspective without necessarily agreeing to it is an art one learns through studying ‘logic’.

When certain issues or topics hold a passionate place in one’s heart and mind, it gets even more difficult to maintain ‘sanity’ in discussion. Not being afraid of registering one’s opinion -no matter how ‘odd’ it appears -to the general public around, definitely breeds doubts of ‘cynicism’, ‘eccentricity’ in other’s minds.

But to accept other person’s insanity as normal is an art too.

I have seen this art beautifully put in practice by my exceptionally tolerant husband. The concept of giving a ‘space’ to the other person and to agree to disagree– are two lessons I learned from him. And in fact, keep forgetting and keep relearning them, even till date.

I have tremendous respect for him and for almost everyone else who still consider me ‘worthy’ of a place in their friends list, despite my insane discussions on disagreements.

So notorious are my disagreements that hubs often jokes about my ‘sanity’ if I agree to anything wholeheartedly.

Tell you a secret, even I don’t feel ‘myself ‘ if I get to agree with others viewpoint easily.

Disagreements rock!

Dreaming of a Better World


FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Some men see things the way they are and ask:
“Why?”
I dream things that never were, and ask:
“Why not?”

~ George Bernard Shaw


Based on The Code by Tony Burroughs, The Code boldly presents readers with a true, workable solution for the challenges facing our world today.

“I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.”
~Muhammad Ali

“You are the people who are shaping a better world. One of the secrets of inner peace is the practice of compassion.”
~Dalai Lama (1935 -)

“You can find Calcutta anywhere in the world. You only need two eyes to see. Everywhere in the world there are people that are not loved, people that are not wanted nor desired, people that no one will help, people that are pushed away or forgotten. And this is the greatest poverty.“
~Mother Teresa

BOTTOM LINE:
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his or her own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”

~Marie Curie

What a Wonderful World –(of Aurora Borealis


In Alaska, Canada, Norway, Finland or northern Russia, on a clear night, a greenish glow is often seen in the sky, known as the “Northern Lights.”

During magnetic storms, the glow may move southwards, and on occasion it can be seen in much of the US. It often appears as a glow on the horizon, like the glow preceding sunrise, and has therefore become known among scientists as “aurora borealis” (“aurora” for short), Latin for “northern dawn.

To an observer, an aurora is a fascinating spectacle, constantly moving and changing. It usually consists of many near-vertical greenish rays, forming long arcs and curtains, which stretch like ribbons across the sky, often from horizon to horizon.
The location of auroras on Earth is strongly controlled by the Earth’s magnetism.

The aurora is made up of blue, green, and red light. The highest part of the auroral curtain is red, the middle is greenish-white and the lower edge is pink. These color variances are due to the nature of the atmosphere at these different altitudes and the way oxygen emits light.

Ancient Myths:

Ancient Eskimos thought that the aurora was a narrow torch lit pathway for departed souls going to heaven.

Others thought spirits happily playing soccer with a walrus skull caused the aurora.

The elders of Barrow, Alaska recall wielding knives to fend off the aurora in case it tried to carry them away.

To the Iglulik Eskimo, arsharneq or arshät was a powerful spirit who assisted shamans.

The philosopher Seneca wrote of Romans during a rare, red aurora rushing off to save the port of Ostia thinking the town was ablaze.

Indeed, what a wonderful world !

This blog is to honor the Mother Earth in Earth Week( 16-23 April 2011)

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.


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Wish we could preserve the beautiful landscapes of our planet Earth the way we received them from God.

Words of Wisdom:

“And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.”
~ William Shakespeare

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”
~ Mohandas K. Gandhi

“There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.”
~ Mother Teresa (1910-1997)

“We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.”
~Albert Einstein

Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.
– Francis Bacon,philosopher (1561-1626)

To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.
~ William Blake Poet, painter (1757-1827)

Bottom Line:

If the creator had a purpose in equipping us with a neck, he surely meant us to stick it out.(~Arthur Koestler)
Yeah, stick it out against INJUSTICE & ABUSE OF OUR PLANET EARTH.

13 Reasons Why I am not Perturbed by the Ban on Veil in France


I know majority of my close friends and kins are of the opinion that banning of face veil in France is against the Human rights and needs to be protested. Again I stand as a miniscule minority who thinks differently.
Apparently I donot fear being labelled an eccentric or a cynic, and feel more at ease by expressing my genuine views–no matter how dissenting they may be.

Very valid that no one has right to tell women what should they wear and what they should not. Yes it amounts to usurping the ‘right to choose’ but I have certain reasons why I stand unconcerned on the issue.

1. First, it is a political issue. To give it a religious color and get emotional in my opinion unjustified. Headlines calling it–‘banning of a muslim veil’ – by endless news reports includintg the major international newspapers, is in my view ‘inaccurate’ reporting. The language used is ‘bans the veils anywhere in public’.

2. Second, facial veil is not a mandatory in Islam even according to scholars, so to get emotional about the issue as usurping of religious rights isn’t valid.

3. Yes in a way it is going to affect only the Muslims, because nowadays it is only the Muslim women who practice face covering on a regular basis. Is it not a food for thought for us liberals to shake our brains on our cultural primitivity?

4.It was voted by the French Parliament with an overwhelming majority through a democratic process, not by any one person’s whims and fancy. Even in the polls, 80% of French are against it. Majority prevails in a democracy.

5. It is not the first country to ban a face veil. “Tunisia since 1981, and Turkey since 1997, are two Muslim countries which have banned the hijab in public schools and universities or government buildings, whilst Syria banned face veils in universities from July 2010.” Why didnt we cry foul then?

6. French parliament has been there for ages and so has been the face veil. Why then the ban now? It is a case of ‘lost trust’ between the west and the Muslims ( if at all it is to be taken as a ban on muslim rights). In such a case, crying against the ban in isolation will aggravate the polarisation. It should be looked at more objectively than emotionally and must deal with the bridging of the wideing gap through restoration of trust. When the trust returns, prejudice against such practices and targetting them would die it’s own death.

7. I donot agree that any woman is eagerly willing to wear a niqaab if given the choice without being brainwashed on it’s favour. Hence to say that those who wear it willingly, have been made willing through constant brainwashing. In my view it is the same as a person who has been brainwashed/convinced on committing suicide should be allowed to do so. Why is that an offence then? Who does it harm if someone wants to die?

8. If woman should be allowed to choose covering her face, why would those who want to go nude, have female circumcision or tolerate domestic abuse without complain, not be allowed to do so as a fundamental right. Why are these considered offences?

9. In the number game, ban on face veil will help far more girls and women who are, by force, asked to cover in compliance to the family/cultural values, than those very few who will be forced to take it off.

10.Medically and psychologically, veil is harmful. Absolute covering prevents exposure to sun, hence Vit D deficiency and Osteoporosis is very common in women who wear veil. And such covering prevents light and hence causes depression in the women.

11. Veil is definitely a hinderance in communication. Facial and eye expression are a major component of communication. It affects those who are interacting with a veiled woman and causes inequality.The woman can see all the expressions of the person she is communicating to, but conceals her own expressions. It is an unfair and non-reciprocal exchange of communication.

12. We have common men women in Pakistan more worried about a ban on veil in France( where not even 5% will ever get a chance to go and live) and are oblivious to the packing up of HEC right under their nose–a case of wrong values.We need to divert our energies to that issue.

13. We have been complaing of western agenda against muslims, against Islam for the last two decades. Do we think the West are angels, they will not retalite to our constant dislike or suspicions towards them. It is a reaction to our own irrational actions.

Yes, ban of veil may be an infringement of one’s fundamental right, but I donot consider it such a big issue to waste my energy and divert from ‘real’ issues. We recently wasted a lot of energies, valuable time on the issue of Raymond Davis–but what was the end result?

Thank God I did not waste my time and mind on it, even then.

I think we must start doing the Cost-Effect Analysis of our worries on the innumerable issues concerning this world.

Men Are Like…


This is the net summary of the conversation I had with a great school friend living thousands of miles away. He began with the pun on women and then another lady friend joined the conference call and it ended up with pun on men as usual…..

Men are like…

… Blenders.
You need one, but you’re not quite sure why.

… Chocolate Bars.
Sweet, smooth, and they usually are a cause of your migraine.

… Coffee.
The best ones are rich, warm, and give you insomnia.

... Commercials.
You can’t believe a word they say.

… Computers.
Hard to figure out and never have enough memory.

… Coolers.
Load them with beer and you can take them anywhere.

… Copiers.
You need them for reproduction, but that’s about it.

… Curling Irons.
They’re always hot with rage and trying to straighten your expenditure while shopping.

… Government Bonds.
They take way too long to mature.

… Horoscopes.
They always tell you what to do and are usually wrong.

… Lava Lamps.
Good to look at, but not all that bright.

… Mascara.
They usually run at the first sign of emotion.

… Parking Spots.
The good ones are already taken and the ones that are left are either handicapped or extremely small.

… Popcorn.
They are hollow in the core with swollen ego all around.

… Weather.
Nothing can be done to change either one of them.

Great Advice to Pass on to Your Daughters and other Single women

1. Don’t imagine you can change a man – unless he’s in diapers.

2. What do you do if your boyfriend walks-out? You shut the door.

3. If they put a man on the moon – they should be able to put them all up there.

4. Never let your man’s mind wander – it’s too little to be out alone.

5. Go for men of any age. Age doesn’t matter- they never mature anyway.

6. Men are all the same – they just have different faces, so that you can tell them apart.

7. Definition of a bachelor; a man who has missed the opportunity to make some woman miserable.

8. Women don’t make fools of men – most of them are the do-it-yourself types.

9. Best way to get a man to do something, is to suggest they are too old for it.

10. Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.

11. If you want a committed man, look in a mental hospital.

12. The children of Israel wandered around the desert for 40 years. Even in biblical times, men wouldn’t ask for directions.

13. If he asks what sort of books you’re interested in, tell him checkbooks.

14. Remember a sense of humor does not mean that you tell him jokes, it means that you laugh at his.

15. Sadly, all men are created equal…

How do you keep your husband from reading your e-mail?
Rename the mail folder “Instruction Manuals.

How do men define a “50/50” relationship?
We cook-they eat; we clean-they dirty; we iron-they wrinkle.

What makes a man think about a candlelight dinner?
A power failure.

What’s the best way to kill a man?
Put a pretty blonde and a six-pack in front of him. Then tell him to pick only one.

Why do only 10% of men make it to heaven?
Because if they all went, it would be Hell.

Why is psychoanalysis a lot quicker for men than for women?
When it’s time to go back to his childhood, he’s already there.

And the best ones…..

Why do little boys whine?
Because they are practicing to be men.

Why is it so difficult to find men who are caring, sensitive, and good-looking?
They already have boyfriends.</ 😀 😀 😀


(P.S.This is not to offend anyone, please. This is just for light humour, not to be taken seriously. Some of my best friends are men–including my husband and son…).

Coutesy: http://www.jokesaboutmen.net/men-joke_six.html

Let’s Riot with Colors


 

I seriously think
we should develop
bombs from crayons
That blast into smilieys
as our next weapon-
of mass ‘construction’.

A color bomb,
a beauty bomb.
Launched from –
a happiness jet
or a unity drone,
as a peace missile.

And each time
a conflict erupts
we would drop one.
It would explode
high in the air
with a bang of hope
and send hundreds
or thousands,
even millions,
of  smileys.

Raining down on earth
with splashes of colorful
smiles, smiles, just smiles
rioting up in the air.

And we wouldn’t go cheap,
not little boxes of eight.
Boxes of sixty-four,
maybe hundreds
even million crayons
of colors, colors, just  colors
to smudge the smiley smiles
With silver and gold and copper,
magenta and peach and lime,
amber and umber and all the rest,
Colors of love, love, just  love.

Reaching down on earth
with colourful stunning smiles.
And people will cheer
laugh, giggle, go hysterical.
Get funny looks on  faces
the teary eyes shall twinkle.
With hopes embedded in dimples,
Peace sparkling from their teeth
And all that one will see
as far as eyes can reach
Is bliss, bliss, and just bliss.

Soft  in the background
there would  be an orchestra
playing a symphony
The musical notes
wrecking havoc
of peace and harmony
spilling magic in the air.

The beaming smilieys,
shall rock and roll
With hands in hand,
They’ll dance, dance, dance
in ecstasy insane.
All through the dark night
Until the dawn of ‘sanity’
awakens this asinine,
‘sleeping’ mankind.

( Inspired  by colors & smiles stolen from Holi, & from a quote by Robert Fulghum, with some words taken from it).

smiley1

 

Dissecting Empathy



Empathy:
1903, translation of Ger. Einfühlung (from ein “in” + Fühlung “feeling”), coined 1858 by Ger. philosopher Rudolf Lotze (1817-81)from Gk. empatheia “passion,” from en- “in” + pathos “feeling

Definitons
“ A complex form of psychological inference in which observation, memory, knowledge, and reasoning are combined to yield insights into the thoughts and feelings of others.”

Saying it simply:
The ability to put oneself into the mental shoes of another person to understand his/her emotions and feelings.~ Alvin Goldman.

What’s the difference?
Sympathy: Oh! I’m so sorry. I wish it never happened.
Emotional Contagion: Oh! Your pain makes me cry too.
Pity: Poor you. You really need to be helped.
EMPATHY: I know exactly how it feels to be in this situation.
Apathy: Who cares? Or just ignore quietly on what happened.

Development of Empathy:

-Feelings of empathy begin normally at the age of 2. Common for toddlers to comfort each other in distress—by hugging, smooching or even by words.
-By the ages of 7 and 12 appear to be naturally inclined to feel empathy for others in pain(.researchers at the University of Chicago who used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI),
-There are three stages of Empathetic Maturity (Olsen, 2001)
Stage 1: Primitive pattern as in toddlers. Not in Adults.
Stage 2: The rationale that empathetic behaviousr is valid for everyone.
Stage 3:Mutuality occurs prior to any judgement about the person’s behaviour.

Why is it that even when empathy is a natural instinct some of us fail to act with empathy?
The extent of empathy varies.
Cognitive empathy: Simply knowing how others feel and what they are going through.
Emotional Empathy:When you actually feel physically within you what others must be feeling as if it was contagious.
Compassionate empathy: The feeling that not only makes us feel their pain but spontaneously moves us to help if need be

Unfortunately most of us are limited to cognitive empathy which 
lacks
 motivational
strength
 and
 tends 
to
 be 
highly 
selective, which in practical terms amounts to apathy in general.

Is empathy exclusively a ‘human trait?

No! All primates, even rodents and dolphis have been studied to have empathy.

Why need empathy
Empathy is the key element in humans to embrace the The Golden Rule (One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself ).
Empathy is the foundation of all Human Rights and the Unity of all mankind..

How to help oneself become more empathetic?
Batson and colleagues investigated the affective consequences of different perspective-taking instructions when participants listened to a story about Katie Banks, a young college student struggling with her life after the death of her parents.This study demonstrated that different instructions had distinct effects on how participants perceived the target’s situation. Notably, participants imagining themselves to be in Katie’s place showed stronger signs of discomfort and personal distress than participants focusing on the target’s responses and feelings (imagine other), or as participants instructed to take on an objective, detached point of view.
Conclusion: Imagine yourself in the situation to feel more motivated and get proactive.

Quote:
The good enough mother, owing to her deep empathy with her infant, reflects in her face his feelings; this is why he sees himself in her face as if in a mirror and finds himself as he sees himself in her. The not good enough mother fails to reflect the infant’s feelings in her face because she is too preoccupied with her own concerns, such as her worries over whether she is doing right by her child, her anxiety that she might fail him.

by,

Bruno Bettelheim (20th century), Austrian-U.S. child psychologist. A Good Enough Parent, ch. 1 (1987).