Flipping over to 2009

A brief look in to how the new year is welcomed in different cultures; spanning from wearing bright colour underwears in Brazil to jumping of chairs in Denmark... here is a link to some of the most interesting ways to enter a new year. If you were to start a new tradition of a way to enter the new year what would it be?
http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/worlds-strangest-new-year-traditions

All over the world the new year marks new beginnings, putting behind the misfortunes, conflicts and worries and starting fresh, but does flipping a page in the calendar, seeing the last digit increase by one on your time clock really makes that much difference? You might 'forget' certain worries and conflicts for a short times or make resolutions to improve on your relations and avoid other issues but in the end you still carry over the same baggage from the past year. There is no magic wall that you can climb over and leave your worries behind and enter into a more pleasant world. 2008 will go down in history for many reasons ranging from economic woes to 'change' in american politics, the optimists might like to believe that worst if over but the reality will be that 2009 will not be much different, people will still die of hunger and lack of medication and care, schools will still be burned and children deprived of education, powerful politicians will still refuse to step down, nuclear enrichment will proceeded and killing of innocents in the name of religion and for the sake of land will be prevalent....

Secrets from Syria

I saw this article on BBC and found it very entertainting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7786564.stm

"Indeed, if a husband fails to satisfy his wife sexually - or vice versa - it is considered grounds for divorce under Islamic law." ok in which part of the world is this law implemented? I have yet to come across such a case! If a wife fails to satisfy the husband he simply takes a second or a third wife, if the husband fails to satify the wife he still takes a second and third wife.

"In other cultural contexts, this might seem something like a den of smut and vice - but Mr Nasser, a devout Muslim, insists it's more a public service and religious duty."

""There's no shame in religion," he adds, as another tiny, shiny g-string shoots out of Mr Nasser's sewing machine."

If not anything, you gotta admire the way Muslims attach everything to God and religion, as long as you can make this link its a good deed you are doing. If you fail your exam its simply oh well Allah didnt wish it, next time I will pray harder before my exam. How about next time you try and study harder? Allah just doesnt give it to peopel who sit around with their hands on their laps. I can understand that faith gives you the extra push to try a little harder, if you feel like there is supernatural power who is looking over you and will help you positively in your path. But Allah is not going to help you when you sit on your lazy ass and wait for money to grow on trees.

Three Cups of tea, One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

Three cups of tea is a true inspiring account of an accidental humanitarian, Greg Mortenson, who makes his mission to bring education to the Pakistan’s forbidden terrain of the isolated northern areas. After his failed attempt to climb the killer mountain, K2, the second highest peak in the world, Mortenson spent a time in a village in the Karakoram Mountains. Moved by the extreme poverty, the hardships of the people and their innumerate hospitality and kindness Greg promised them to build a school for the children, especially the kinds.

The books walks the reader though Greg's initial attempts of raising enough capital for his first school. It makes the reader truly sympathize with him given his great hardships to save every penny he can to keep the promise he made to the villagers, sleeping on the back of his car, writing countless letters to celebrities asking them to part with a small bit of their fortune so a dream of education can be realized in another part of the world.

For me, the best part of the book is when Jahan, the first educated women in the Braldu valley, explains to Grey that before her education she used to be so embarrassed of her dirty clothes the dirt on her body to even be in contact with a foreigner like him. She goes on to outline her future ambitions of becoming the first doctor in her village and spread the gift of education to the other girls in her village.

I would strongly recommend this book. Its truly fascinating with an utterly inspiring message. Reading this books awakes a spark of social responsibility. It also gives another view point of the life in Pakistan the root of extremism and how it can be eliminated by education. In the current circumstances where every one only attaches negative connotations to Pakistan, this book gives a passage into the heart of the Pakistani people and shows that they are not all terrorists, hardliners and extremists. They are people of great endurance and hospitability, with moderate religious views and hopes and dreams which is the right of every human being. Its sometime disturbing to hear my (educated) western friends who claim to be open minded, labeling all Pakistanis as religious wakos who want to blow themselves up and kill as many 'infidels' 'non-believers' as they can.

I think Greg Mortenson should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. If you plan to buy the book online, please buy it thought the Amazon link at this website http://www.threecupsoftea.com/
This way 7% of the proceeds will go to the Central Asia Institute ( the charity founded and headed by Greg Mortenson)