ANECDOTES AND ANTIDOTES: September 2013

Monday, 23 September 2013

No Protection for Pakistans Christians.

suicide attack on  church leaves dozens dead.                                    

while the worlds eyes are on the siege in Kenya spare a thought for the 81 dead and 140 injured in a taliban suicide bombing in pakistan.  The attack happened as the congregation were leaving church at Peshawar at midday. Two Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up amid the 500 strong congregation. Witnesses said the interior of the 130-year-old building was turned into a bloodbath, with severed limbs scattered around and the walls pockmarked with ball bearings used as shrapnel by the bombers.                

      "There were blasts and there was hell for all of us," said Nazir John, who was at the church in the city's Kohati Gate district. "When I got my senses back, I found nothing but smoke, dust, blood and screaming people. I saw severed body parts and blood all around."            The number of casualties from the blasts was so high that the hospital ran short of caskets for the dead and beds for the wounded, said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a former information minister of surrounding Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who was on the scene.               Christians in Peshawar reacted with fury at the lack of security.   Protesters outside the church chanted slogans attacking the provincial government for not providing security to worshippers. Some clashed with police, ripping off their uniforms and burning them in front of television cameras. Christians also came out to protest in cities around the country.  Christians, who tend to be among the poorest sections of society, have suffered prejudice and sporadic bouts of mob violence and church burnings, usually triggered by accusations of anti-Islam blasphemy.                   Ahmad Marwat, who identified himself as the spokesman for the Jundullah wing of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. saying " all non-muslims are targets and will remain so as long as america continues with drone attacks in our country"                                                                                                                     
On Sunday three days of mourning were announced as politicians and religious leaders condemned the attack.
"Terrorists have no religion and targeting innocent people is against the teachings of Islam and all religions," said the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a statement. "Cruel acts of terrorism reflect the brutality and inhumane mindset of the terrorists."                    Lets hope and pray that christians every where remain safe where ever they may live. Amen.                            Regards A+A
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Friday, 20 September 2013

Japan turns off last nuclear reactor

      fears of surge in U.K. gas prices.                                                                                                             A survey by the business group the CBI found that around 95% of British business leaders are worried about the cost of energy.


English: WWER-1000 (also VVER-1000 as a direct...


    
Japan will switch off its last nuclear reactor on Monday, amid fears that a growing dependence on gas imports there could push up electricity bills in the UK.
Kansai Electric Power's only functioning reactor was scheduled to be disconnected from the power grid and then shut for planned maintenance, ending hopes that an industry that until three years ago provided 30% of the electricity to power the world's third largest economy would stage a quick recovery.
          
Continuing problems at the Fukushima plant, where radioactive water has continued to spill into the sea, and a reluctance by voters to back what looks like a badly managed industry, have led to more than 50 nuclear plants being closed, sending Japanese imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) back to levels last seen after the 2011 tsunami.
Energy analysts said that Japan's shutdown, combined with Germany's commitment to end nuclear power production by 2022, was pushing up gas prices on the international markets.
Rising demand for gas combined with the cost of subsidies for renewable energy, much of which is added to household and business bills, is expected to push up energy prices in the west.
According to the CBI, there is a growing unease among UK businesses that energy costs look likely to rise.
A survey and report published by the business lobby group the CBI found that around 95% of British business leaders are worried about the cost of energy and that more than three-quarters of them have little faith that matters will improve in the next five years.   So what did you expect? Energy prices to come down, would`nt that be a novelty.      Thanks for reading, A+A.                               ( AN EXCEPT FROM THE GUARDIAN )   http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian
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Friday, 13 September 2013

8 Year-Old Yemeni Child Bride Dies of Internal Injuries

      


At only 8 years-old, one child bride in Yemen sustained internal injuries so severe, she died.                                                                                                        

An 8 year-old Yemeni child bride, a mere girl, recently died on her wedding night from internal hemorrhaging. She was married to a man five times her age. As disgusting as the tradition of marrying off children to much older men is, it is common practice in Yemen. More than a quarter of the female population are married before the age of 15.
In 2010, a 12 year-old girl passed away after struggling for three days in labor, attempting to give birth to a baby. Countless other children have been subjected to similar atrocities.
Marrying young daughters to much older men is a common practice in Yemen.
 These atrocities against young girls have outraged groups all over the world who are working to stop this barbaric tradition.                                                                                                                                                            
Groups all over the world are working to snuff out this archaic and disgusting practice, but its proving difficult. The impoverished country is gripped by the practice of selling off children to be married; poor families find themselves unable to say no to “bride-prices” that can be hundreds of dollars for their daughters.
More people need to know this is happening.  Please share this on your web sites and share to every one you know so action can be taken so this barbaric practice ends.                                                                    What more can be said, So sad for these little girls,        Regards A+A
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Wednesday, 11 September 2013

N0 1 MARKETER OPENS IT DOORS ON INFORMATION.

acxiom CEOscott howe
    SEE WHAT ACXIOM KNOWS ABOUT YOU,                                                                                                                   What school did you go to?  Which college did you attend?  What music do you like? What size clothes do you buy?  Do you have any kids?  What colour do you decorate with?                                                                                      HAVE I GOT YOUR ATTENTION YET?         Acxiom have amassed a fortune in selling data , its income jumped 34.3 percent from$12.3million to $16.5 million in the last year, but what exactly have they been selling about you.                                                                        Acxiom partners with hundreds, perhaps thousands of websites and physical retail locations, and gathers information on the consumers who visit those stores. Acxiom then aggregates the data it collects across these sites and builds unique profiles of individual people, selling the profiles back to retailers.             To allay concerns about what data they where keeping on individuals Acxiom decided on sept 4thto open its website portal called AboutTheData that allows individuals to look at some of the records the company stores about them.  The portal allows you to look at and edit the information kept on you, all you need to enter is your first and last name,your address, y our birthday, the last four numbers of your social security number ( ssn ) your email address and a capcha,  The six catergories  include: Characteristic, Home, Vehicle, Economic, Shopping and Household Interests.   Have they got it right? well you can judge for youself .  Oh sorry , you need to know how to get there,  Acxiom's public portal is available at www.aboutthedata.com/portal.                                                          Happy hunting peeps.            thanks for reading this article.    Look forward to reading any of your comments and dont forget to use the " reaction " boxes. Regards A+A.
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Tuesday, 10 September 2013

RAPE IN ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION.

Map showing countries within the Asia-Pacific ...
Map showing countries within the Asia-Pacific region. The definition of the region is fairly ambiguous. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Survey shows extent of sexual violence in region where 70% of men report facing no legal consequences.                                                                                                                                                   A staggering quarter of men in the asia-pacific region admit to commiting rape at least once in their lifetimes with more than half of those repondents admitting the first time being in their teens,
The study covering six countries – Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka – found that 10% of men admitted to raping at least once a woman who was not their partner, a figure that rose to nearly 25% when rape of a partner was included.                                                                                                                      This next statistic realy rocked me to the core and i could hardly believe it. 75% yes 75% said they did it because they were sexually entitled to do it, more than half did for entertainment.                                                                                                               
The UN-led study on men and violence collected data from more than 10,000 men and 3,000 women aged 18-49 between 2010 and 2013 in order to understand why men commit violence against women and what can be done to prevent it.
The findings are significant because the Asia-Pacific region is home to over half of the world's population, making the amount and range of information collected "unprecedented and ground-breaking", said Dr Emma Fulu of Partners for Prevention, the joint-UN programme that co-ordinated the study.( the guardian )                                                   
The Director of a women’s shelter embraces a y...
The Director of a women’s shelter embraces a young survivor of sexual violence. (Photo credit: Amnesty International)
     
                                                                                                                                                       The men questiond where asked if they had ever had sex with a women who was so drunk or drugged that they had no idea if they had consented or not and the questions avoided terms like " rape " or " violence " presumedley to get  truthful responses to the questions asked. Participants were asked to answer the more sensitive questions on a hand-held device that recorded their responses anonymously. Nearly half of the respondents who said they had committed rape, perpetrated the crime on different women.
They were asked how many different women they had raped:
  • 55.4% said they have raped 1 woman
  • 28.3% said they have raped 2-3 women
  • 12% said they have raped 4-10 women
  • 4.2% said they have raped 10 or more women                                                        What is the answer to the problem?  Many think that more police prosecutions would help to deter perpetrators of rape or that more education in families to stop violence to children who go on to rape with violence but surely this can not be allowed to carry on ,                Any suggestions !    Please use the comments box and dont forget the "reactions" box.      Many thanks for reading this article.                                                 Regards A+A.                                                       
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Monday, 9 September 2013

Egyptian prime minister ousted by army

English: flag of the Army of Egypt and war fla...
English: flag of the Army of Egypt and war flag of Egypt. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Victory for military extremists in Egypt sees Aly Maher ousted and General Naguib installed as prime minister.                                                                  For all of you reading this it is from the archives of the guardian newspaper of this day in 1952,  Most of you would not have been around for this excerpt in Egypts troubled past but the similarities can not be ignored.. How much has been learned  that there will always be uncertaintys in this part of the world. PLEASE read the rest of this and then give me reasons why the Army should relinquish there hold on to power at this moment in time....... returning to archive. .                                                                                                                                                          
General Naguib, who yesterday assumed the post of Prime Minister and Minister of War, as well as that of Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian forces, has now rounded up more political leaders to join the fifty he had caused to be arrested yesterday. He also held his first Cabinet meeting in Cairo this morning.
What the General intends to do with his political prisoners is not yet clear. The bag is a very mixed one. While it might well be that the secretary-general of the Wafd party, Serag ed-Din, and other politicians with dubious records might be faced with a court of inquiry into the means by which they amassed their considerable fortunes, it seems hardly likely that men like Naguib Hilaly, the former Independent Prime Minister, Mortada Moraghy, or the four arrested Saadist leaders will be submitted to similar treatment.     Hilaly's crime may be no graver than that he was the last Prime Minister to serve ex-King Farouk and accepted the latter's brother-in-law as War Minister in his Cabinet. The Saadist leaders' offence may be the strong action that their party took against the Moslem Brotherhood after one of the brotherhood's members had assassinated Nokrashy Pasha, the Saadist Prime Minister, in 1948. If that is so it must be regarded as a measure of the influence exerted on General Naguib by the extremists among his supporters. He has included two extreme Nationalists in his new Cabinet.                                                                                                                         End of archive.                                                                                                                                          lets all .hope that there is no more bloodshed on the streets of Egypt.                                                                    Please feel free to comment on this article  Regards A+A
English: Portrait of Muhammad Naguib (1904-198...
English: Portrait of Muhammad Naguib (1904-1984), the first President of Egypt (1953-1954), in military uniform. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Friday, 6 September 2013

BRITISH TRANSGENDER SOLDIER CONVERTS TO ISLAM

             TRANSGENDER SOLDIER WEARS BURKA..                                                                                                                          
                                   Today we have former territorial male soldier, 28 year old Lucy Vallender, she had a sex change in 2010and then converted to islam last year. She met Murad who was already married online, Murad did`nt know she was once a man. They married on there first date in april and have met for sex twice since,
Now she prays five times a day and wears a full burkha and spends hours deep in study of the Qu'ran.
But despite her dedication she has been banned from her local mosque by elders who she claims said she would have to pray with the men.
The 5ft 10in ex-labourer says she always knew she was different but did not have her operation until three years ago.
Lucy, who now lives in Swindon, said: "I always felt different and felt like I was in the wrong body.
"I told my mum and she was shocked to say the least.
"It just was not the done thing so I just put it to the back of my head and try and forget about it."
Lucy signed up to the TA arm of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment in 2006 at the age of 21 to try and make himself more manly.
But it only made her more depressed.
"I tried to do macho things you know to stop how I was thinking, but it didn't work because I was trying to be someone I wasn't," she said.
"I felt differently to others - I was attracted to men, 
"They say I am the first transgender Muslim but I bet there are more - they are just frightened," she said.
She says she has been banned from the Broad Street mosque by thoughtless worshippers who were offended by her gender.
She said: "The way they treated me was disgusting.
"They asked me questions about my bra cup size, asked about my Adam's apple, about my period and asked to see my birth certificate.
"They said I had to pray with the men so I left and pray at home instead.
"I hope people will change their attitudes and other people like me will realise they are free to just be themselves."
A spokesman for Swindon Mosque said: "Everybody is welcome, as long as they behave according to Islam."                                                                                                                                                               The question for you is should lucy be banned from the mosque? is it appropriate for a man to become a woman in islam?                                                                                             I would like comments from all religions please and dont forget to fill in the " reaction" boxes,                                                                                                                                                                       Many thanks and regards, A+ A.
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Wednesday, 4 September 2013

BADGERS, IS CULLING THE ONLY WAY?

Badger
Badger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
                                  CAN WE VACCINATE?                                                                                                  As you may or not know 27th august started as the ist day of badger culling in 2 counties of the UK. Around 5,000 badgers are expected to be killed in Gloucestershire and Somerset over the next six weeks under two pilot schemes.The controversial badger cull has started as experts insist it is a vital move to stop the spread of bovine TB.cattle tuberculosis is a highly infectious respiratory infection that has very similar effects to human TB. The disease mainly affects lungs and kidneys, causing infected animals to lose weight and experience breathing problems. They become emaciated, weak, lethargic and eventually die. Before milk was pasteurised, cattle TB was common in humans - and often fatal. It is rarer now. Badgers pass the disease to one another then it is passed on to farm animals,  Cattle are the main hosts, but it does affect many other mammals, including badgers, deer, goats, pigs, llamas and alpacas, dogs and cats.
Those carrying out the cull have been set a target of reducing the local badger population by 70% which, previous culls suggest, could reduce cattle in TB by at least 16% over the long term.
The policy is in marked contrast to the one pursued by the Welsh government, which has just embarked on the second year of a badger vaccination programme in a disease hotspot in north Pembrokeshire. Vaccination has been proved in studies to have an impact on the spread of TB amongst badgers..
The vaccine is obviously looking to protect clean animals, but it also reduces the bacilli that is excreted by infected badgers. It doesn't cure them, but it reduces the possibility of any further infection.
No vaccine is 100% effective but we're talking in the region of a 75% level of protection.
When that size of the population is being protected then the chances of picking up the disease are very slim.
The life span of a badger is about five years.
So if you continue the vaccination project for five years, then the majority of animals that were there at the beginning will have died out and that vaccination programme is leading towards a clean and healthy badger population.,                                                                                                                                                         Are you a "culler" or a "vaccinator",         Let me know in your comments please, and dont forget the " reaction " boxes,       Regards A+A
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Tuesday, 3 September 2013

IS GREAT BRITAIN ADOPTING SHARIA LAWS

Islamic Society of Britain
Islamic Society of Britain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

                  IS BRITAIN GIVING IN TO SHARIA LAW                                                         The Islamic Shari'a Council was formed to solve the matrimonial problems of Muslims living in the United Kingdom in the light of Islamic family law. The council is made up of members from all of the major schools of Islamic legal thought (mad'hab) and is widely accepted as an authoritative body with regards to Islamic law .    The tentacles of political Islam are gradually slipping into our society. Most Westerners are oblivious to this reality, and the dangers it could bring to our way of life. "We can't celebrate Christmas in school, we can't sing Christmas Carols, This is a small part of our culture, which is being washed away gradually, and its very painful. We gave them a home, and now it's us who are having to adapt to their culture, or are we?      Shouldnt we be embracing the many cultures that now contribute to the growth of this country, Many clerics preach of  integration of islamic  communities into british ways of life and that there is  much to be learned from each other.   Regarding the education of Muslim and Christian youth, we have to bring up our young people to think and speak respectfully of other religions and their followers, and to avoid ridiculing or denigrating their convictions and practices.                                                                                Now peeps ,what do you think about this ,do you like or dis-like anything to do with this article, dont forget the "reaction" boxes,                     Regards A+A                                          
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