In Lebanon, men are legally allowed to have sex with animals, but the animals must be female. Having sexual relations with a male animal is punishable by death.
(Like THAT makes sense.)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
In Bahrain, a male doctor may legally examine a woman's genitals, but is prohibited from looking directly at them during the examination. He may only see their reflection in a mirror.
(Do they look different reversed?)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Muslims are banned from looking at the genitals of a corpse. This also applies to undertakers. The sex organs of the deceased must be covered with a brick or piece of wood at all times..
(A brick?)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
The penalty for masturbation in Indonesia is decapitation. .
(Much worse than 'going blind!')
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
There are men in Guam whose full-time job is to travel the countryside and deflower young virgins, who pay them for the privilege of having sex for the first time
Reason: under Guam law, it is expressly forbidden for virgins to marry.
(Let's just think for a minute; is there
any job anywhere else in the world that even comes close to this?)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her adulterous husband, but may only do so with her bare hands.
The husband's illicit lover, on the other hand, may be killed in any manner desired.
(Ah! Justice!)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Topless saleswomen are legal in Liverpool, England - but only in tropical fish stores.
(But of course!)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
In Cali, Colombia, a woman may only have sex with her husband, and the first time this happens, her mother must be in the room to witness the act.
(Makes one shudder at the thought.)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~
In Santa Cruz, Bolivia, it is illegal for a man to have sex with a woman and her daughter at the same time.
(I presume this was a big enough problem that they had to pass this law?)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
In Maryland, USA it is illegal to sell condoms from vending machines with one exception: Prophylactics may be dispensed from a vending machine only 'in places where alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises.'
(Is this a great country or what?
Well, not as great as Guam!)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Who volunteers for these tests?)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
(Did our government pay for this research??)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Butterflies taste with their feet.
(Ah, geez.)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
(I know some people like that.)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Starfish don't have brains.
(I know some people like that, too.)
*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
And, the best for last?
Turtles can breathe through their butts..
(And I thought I had bad breath in the morning!)
Proof That The World Is Nuts
Saving is Sin, Spending a Virtue
Written by an Indian Economist( a New School of thought)
Japanese save a lot. They do not spend much. Also Japan exports far more than it imports. Japan has an annual trade surplus of over $100 billion, yet Japanese economy is considered weak, even collapsing. Americans spend a lot, save little. Also, the US imports more than it exports. The United States has an annual trade deficit of over $400 billion, yet, the American economy is considered strong and trusted to get stronger.
But where from do Americans get money they spend? They borrow from Japan, China and even India . Virtually others save for the U.S. to spend. Global savings are mostly invested in the U.S.-- in dollars. India itself keeps its foreign currency assets of over $50 billion in US securities. China has sunk over $160 billion into US securities. Japan's stakes in US securities is in the trillions.
Result : The United States has taken over $5 trillion from the world. So, as the world saves for the U.S., the Americans spend freely. Today, to keep the US consumption going, that is for the US economy to work, other countries have to remit $180 billion every quarter, which is $2 billion a day, to the US -- otherwise the US economy would go for a six. And so will the global economy. The result will be no different if the U.S. consumers begin consuming less.
A Chinese economist asked a neat question. Who has invested more, the U.S. in China , or China in the U.S.? The United States has invested in China less than half of what China has invested in the United States. The same is the case with India . We have invested over $50 billion in the United States. But the U.S. has invested less than $20 billion in India. Why is world after US?
The secret lies in the American spending [habit], that they hardly save. In fact they use their credit cards to spend their future income. It is that the US spends -- that is what makes it so attractive to export to the U.S. Therefore, the US imports more than what it exports year after year. The result: The world is dependent on the Unted States' consumption for its growth. By its deepening culture of consumption, the U.S. has habituated the world to feed on U.S. consumption. But as the U.S. needs money to finance its consumption, the world provides the money. Its like a shopkeeper providing the money to a customer so that the customer keeps buying from the shop.. If the customer will not buy, the shop would not have business -- unless the shopkeeper funds the buyer. The U.S. is like the lucky customer. And the world is like the helpless
shopkeeper, albeit financier.
Who is America's biggest shopkeeper financier? Japan, of course. Yet it is Japan which is regarded as weak. Modern economists complain that Japanese do not spend, so they do not grow. To force the Japanese to spend, the Japanese government exerted itself, reduced the savings rates, even charged the savers for saving. Even then, the Japanese did not spend (habits do not change, even with taxes, do they?). Their traditional postal savings alone is over $1.2 trillions, about three times the Indian GDP. Thus, savings, far from being the strength of Japan , has become its pain.
Hence, what is the lesson? That is, a nation cannot grow unless the people spend, not save. Not just spend, but borrow and spend. Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati, the famous Indian-born economist in the US , told Manmohan
Singh that Indians save wastefully. Ask them to spend, on imported cars and, seriously, even on cosmetics! This will put India on a growth curve. Saving is a sin, and spending is a virtue. But before you follow this neo economics concept you have to find some fools to save so that you can borrow from them -- and then spend.
This is what US has successfully done in last few decades
Good advice from cop
If someone is in the car with a gun to your head
I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know.
Sweet Poison
In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around.
Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she was in so much pain.
By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her.
She was in so much pain, and so sick she just knew she was dying ..
She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of.
She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.
On March 19 I called her to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS. I recalled an article a friend of mine e-mailed to me and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda?
She told me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment.
I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda! I e-mailed her article my friend, a lawyer, had sent.
My sister called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could walk!
The muscle spasms went away.. She said she didn't feel 100% but, she sure felt a lot better.
She told me she was going to her doctor with this article and would call me when she got home.
Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind.
In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda...and literally dying a slow and miserable death.
When she got to Florida March 22, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspar tame poisoning! She is well on her way to a complete recovery. And she is walking!
No wheelchair! This article saved her life.
If it says 'SUGAR FREE' on the label; DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on 'ASPARTAME,' marketed as 'Nutra Sweet,'
'Equal,' and 'Spoonful.'
In the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing this to be rampant. I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject.
I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous:
When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire a nts.
The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.
Many people were being diagnosed in error.
Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is!
Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially withDiet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers.
The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition.
We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.
In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly.
This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia.
During a lecture, I said, 'If you are using ASPARTAME (Nutra Sweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc ) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting, pains, numbness in your legs, Cramps, Vertigo,
Dizziness, Headaches, Tinnitus, Joint pain,
Unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss you probably have ASPARTAME poisoning!'
People were jumping up during the lecture saying, 'I have some of these symptoms. Is it reversible?'
Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels! Many products are fortified with it!
This is a serious problem.
Dr. Espart (one of my speakers) remarked that so many people seem to be symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a hospice; a nurse stated that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts,had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence!
Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates. It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!
These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs. Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used primarily to preserve 'tissue specimens.'
Many products we use every day contain this chemical but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body!
Dr. H. J. Roberts stated in his lectures that once free of the 'diet products' and with no significant increase in exercise; his patients lost an average of 19 pounds over a trial period.
Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics.
We found that some physicians, who believed that they had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame.
The Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control.
Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance.
Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE.
Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various levels of brain damage, Seizures, Depression, Manic depression, Panic attacks, Uncontrollable anger and rage.
Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well.
Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in their behavior when these chemicals have been removed from their diet.
So called 'behavior modification prescription drugs' (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Truth be told, they were never NEEDED in the first place!
Most of these children were being 'poisoned' on a daily basis with the very foods that were 'better for them than sugar.'
It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands of pallets of Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi consumed by men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the we ll-known Gulf War Syndrome.
Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects, i.e. mental retardation, if taken at the time of conception and during early pregnancy.
Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners.
There are many different case histories to relat e of children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances talking about a plague of neurological diseases directly caused by the use of this deadly poison.'
Herein lies the problem:
There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame was included in 100 different products and strong objection was made concerning its use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, and still nothing has been done. The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets.
Sadly, M ONSANTO'S patent on Aspartame has EXPIRED! There are now over 5,000 products on the market that contain this deadly chemical and there will be thousands more introduced. Everybody wants a 'piece of the Aspartame pie.'
I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows how deadly it is.
And isn't it ironic that MONSANTO funds, among others, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians?
This has been recently exposed in the New York Times.
These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry and are required to endorse their products.
Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants.
The bill would also institute independent studies on the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioral symptoms. The bill was killed.
It is known that the powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for this, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. Well, you're informed now!
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!
Secret of Happy Married Life
Once Mathai asked Kuttappan, "You always seem to enjoy your married life.
What is the secret behind your happy married life?"
Kuttappan said, "You should share responsibilities with due love and respect to each other. Then absolutely there will be no problems."
"Can you explain?" asked Mathai.
Kuttappan said, "In my house, I take decisions on bigger issues where as my wife decides on smaller issues. We do not interfere in each other's decisions."
Still not convinced, Mathai asked Kuttappan "Give me some examples"
Kuttappan said, "Smaller issues like which car we should buy, how much amount to save, when to visit home town, which Sofa, air conditioner, refrigerator to buy, monthly expenses, whether to keep a maid or not, etc. are decided by my wife. I just agree to it"
Mathai asked, "Then what is your role?"
Kuttappan said, "My decisions are only for very big issues...."
Like whether America should attack Iraq , whether Britain should lift sanction over Zimbabwe , whether to widen African economy, whether Sachin Tendulkar should retire etc.
Do you know one thing, my wife NEVER objects to any of these and we live happily".
That is the secret of my happy married life.
New Aspirin
Something that we can do to help ourselves. Nice to know.
Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve under the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets.
About Heart Attacks
There are other symptoms of an heart attack besides the pain on the left arm.
One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots ofsweating, however these symptoms may also occur less frequently.
Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep, did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep.
If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.
Afterwards:
- phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by
- say "heart attack!"
- say that you have taken 2 aspirins..
- take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and...
~ do NOT lie down ~
A Cardiologist has stated that, if each person, after receiving this e-mail, sends it to 10 people, probably one life can be saved!
China overtakes Germany as biggest exporter
Country is on track to replace Japan as the world’s second-largest economy
BEIJING - China overtook Germany as the world's top exporter after December exports jumped 17.7 percent for their first increase in 14 months, data showed Sunday, in another sign of China's rise as a global economic force.
Exports for the last month of 2009 were $130.7 billion, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. That raised total 2009 exports to $1.2 trillion, ahead of the 816 billion euros ($1.17 trillion) for Germany forecast by its foreign trade organization, BGA.
China's new status is largely symbolic but reflects the ability of its resilient, low-cost manufacturers to keep selling abroad despite a slump in global consumer demand due to the financial crisis.
December's rebound was an "important turning point" for exporters, a customs agency economist, Huang Guohua, said on state television, CCTV.
"We can say that China's export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports," Huang said.
Recovery
Stronger foreign sales of Chinese goods could help to drive the country's recovery after demand plunged in 2008, forcing thousands of factories to close and throwing millions of laborers out of work.
Boosted by a 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus, China's economic expansion accelerated to 8.9 percent for the third quarter of 2009 and the government says full-year growth should be 8.3 percent.
Economists and Germany's national chamber of commerce said earlier the country was likely to lose its longtime crown as top exporter.
China is best known as a supplier of shoes, toys, furniture and other low-tech goods, while Germany exports machinery and other higher-value products. German commentators note that their country supplies the factory equipment used by top Chinese manufacturers.
China surpassed the United States as the biggest auto market in 2009 and is on track to replace Japan as the world's second-largest economy soon. China passed Germany as the third-largest economy in 2007.
China's trade surplus shrank by 34.2 percent in 2009 to $196.07 billion, the customs agency said. That reflected China's stronger demand for imported raw materials and consumer goods while the United States and other economies are struggling and demand is weak.
Unfair advantage?
The United States and other governments complain that part of China's export success is based on currency controls and improper subsidies that give its exporters an unfair advantage against foreign rivals.
Washington has imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese-made steel pipes and some other goods, while the European Union has imposed curbs on Chinese shoes.
The U.S. and other governments also complain that Beijing keeps its currency, the yuan, undervalued. Beijing broke the yuan's link to the dollar in 2005 and it rose gradually until late 2008, but has been frozen since then against the U.S. currency in what economists say is an effort by Beijing to keep its exporters competitive.
The dollar's weakness against the euro and some other currencies pulls down the yuan in markets that use them and makes Chinese goods even more attractive there, adding to China's trade surplus.
Even though China overtook Germany as top exporter, the customs agency said total 2009 Chinese trade fell 13.9 percent from 2008.
Commodities were among China's key imports, the agency said, with the country bringing in 630 million tons of iron ore last year, up 41.6 percent from the previous year, and 200 million tons of crude oil, an increase of 13.9 percent, as prices for both commodities fell.
Economists say China has been rushing to build up stockpiles at bargain prices since crude oil and other commodity prices plunged in 2008. That motive, more than a revival in actual industrial demand, has driven its recent import boom of oil, copper and other metals.
Realize the Value
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.
To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.
To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.
To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.
To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.
To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to
A premature baby....
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.
To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.
Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.
To realize the value of a friend or family member:
The origin of this letter is unknown,
But it brings good luck to everyone who passes it on.
Remember...
Hold on tight to the ones you love!
Power of Money
By Adam Khoo
( Singapore 's youngest millionaire at 26 yrs.)
Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand and Suzhou ( China ). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.
Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire. ' He still looked pretty confused.
This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self Made Millionaires' ). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss,Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.
The truth is that most self made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster.
Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky).
I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2 year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and D ram a without thinking twice.
When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur' s Orgn)a few years back (YEO) is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self made thought like me. Many of them with net worth well over $5m,travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota 's and Nissans,not Audis, Mercs, BMWs..
I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation.
Thank God my rich dad foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.
Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last.
Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life..
Instead, what makes me happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries.
What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired some one's life.
What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this blog is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.
I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life's work (be it teaching, building homes, designing,trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a life of meaninglessness.
Are you smarter than 2nd grade student?
A. Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar
The following questions were set in last year’s GCSE examination in England.
These are genuine answers from 16 year olds, not very bright, but entertaining, 16 year olds.
Q. Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink
A. Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists
A. The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire
A. The tides are a fight between the earth and the moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins the fight
A. If you are buying a house they will insist that you are well endowed
Q. In a democratic society, how important are elections
A. Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election
A. Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs
A. When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental
A. He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery
A. Premature death
A. When the farmer does it to the bull instead of the cow
A. Keep it in the cow
A. The body is consisted into 3 parts – the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels: A, E, I, O and U
A. A small lie
A. Most people prevent contraception by wearing a condominium
A. The caesarean section is a district in Rome
A. A Roman Emperor.
A. When you are sick at the airport.
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight
A. Something an Arab or Shreik wears on his head
Chinese Lion Dance Banned in Indonesia's Aceh
Banda Aceh. Religious officials in Aceh have sparked yet another controversy, this time banning the barongsai , or traditional Chinese lion dance, from a cultural performance as part of commemorations leading up to the fifth anniversary of the 2004 tsunami that devastated the province.
The move is seen as a slap in the face to hundreds of Acehnese Buddhists of ethnic Chinese descent who had wanted to include the dance in their official remembrance ceremony on Sunday.
Yuswar, a member of the Buddhist commemoration committee, said plans to have nine barongsai groups from North Sumatra perform around Banda Aceh as part of events to mark the Dec. 26 disaster had to be canceled.
“ Barongsai has no religious elements. It’s just a cultural show,” he said, though he added that Chinese-Indonesians believed the dance had the power to calm the restless spirits of their relatives who died in the disaster.
Yuswar said the committee had obtained permits from the city’s mayor and police chief, but was rejected three times by the Aceh Religious Affairs Office.
“They argued that conditions in Aceh did not allow [ barongsai performances] yet,” Yuswar said. “But we weren’t told what they meant by ‘conditions.’ ”
A Rahman TB, head of the Religious Affairs Office, claimed the permit was not granted because the dance had never been performed in the province before and the Acehnese needed an introduction first.
“If the people don’t like it, what then?” he said. “It is for the sake of interfaith relations, between people of that religion and others. We can’t let Aceh be ruined, or sow seeds of conflict.”
Barongsai in Indonesia dates back to the 17th century, but the late dictator Suharto banned it and other Chinese cultural expressions in the wake of the 1965 coup attempt, allegedly led by Indonesian communists.
Former President Abdurrahman Wahid lifted the ban in 2000, allowing the barongsai to be performed publicly for the first time in decades.
Nasaruddin Umar, director general for Islamic religious guidance at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, said officials in Aceh should never have banned the performance, which he viewed as cultural, and promised to question those responsible.
Aceh has been embarrassed by a series of negative headlines this year, including a bylaw that allows stoning as capital punishment for adultery, a local ordinance banning tight-fitting clothes for women in one district and claims by a local cleric that the province’s representative to the Miss Indonesia beauty pageant had brought shame upon it.
Weird Alabama Law
It is illegal to stab yourself to gain someone's pity.
It's against the law for a man to seduce "a chaste woman by means of temptation, deception, arts, flattery or a promise of marriage."
It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your automobile.
It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.
It is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.
Putting salt on a railroad track may be punishable by death.
It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your automobile.
Men may not spit in front of the opposite sex.
Boogers may not be flicked into the wind.
You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.
Masks may not be worn in public
It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.
It's illegal to play dominoes on Sunday.
Bear wrestling matches are prohibited.
You may not drive barefooted.
It is illegal to maim oneself to escape duty.
It is illegal to impersonate a person of the clergy.
Pool halls may not be operated between 11:30 PM and 6 AM.
Hunting is not allowed on Sunday.
It is unlawful to wear women's pumps with sharp, high heels.
You cannot chain your alligator to a fire hydrant.
Anniston: You may not wear blue jeans down Noble Street.
Jasper: It is illegal for a husband to beat his wife with a stick larger in diameter than his thumb.
Lee County: It is illegal to sell peanuts in Lee County after sundown on Wednesday.
Mobile: It is unlawful to howl at ladies inside the city limits. It is unlawful to wear women's pumps with sharp, high heels.
Montgomery: It is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of it spooking horses.
Weird Portland - Oregon Law
Canned corn is not to be used as bait for fishing.
Dishes must drip dry.
Ice cream may not be eaten on Sundays.
One may not bathe without wearing "suitable clothing," i.e., that which covers one's body from neck to knee.
Eugene: It is illegal to show movies or attend a car race on Sundays.
Eugene: It is legal to conduct a horse race or a symphony concert.
Hood River: Juggling is strictly prohibited without a license.
Klamath Falls: It's illegal to walk down a sidewalk and knock a snakes head off with your cane.
Portland: It's against the law for a wedding ceremony to be performed at a skating rink.
Portland: People may not whistle underwater.
Portland: You cannot wear roller skates in restrooms.
Marion: Ministers are forbidden from eating garlic or onions before delivering a sermon.
Myrtle Creek: One may not box with a kangaroo.
Salem: Women may not wrestle in Salem.
Springfield: It is illegal to own a reptile within the city limits, unless you are a school or city, as a pet.
Stanfield: Cloth towel dispensers are banned from restrooms.
Stanfield: No more than two people may share a single drink.
Inverted Body Scanner Image Shows Naked Body In Full Living Color
TV news reports have been deliberately misleading viewers by blurring out faces and genitals of people in images produced by the scanners. When it comes to the real thing, your sexual organs and those of your children will be on full display to officials sat alone in back rooms, and with a simple inversion trick, your daughter’s naked body in full living high definition color will be there to be enjoyed by screeners.
10 Good Things About Depression
Thankfully he asked that question on a fairly stable day, when I wasn't counting up the years until I could become a member of AARP and be closer to the finish line. Had he asked me during my two suicidal years, I think I would have shot back, "Go to hell, dude. Why not ask a 10 year old dying with Leukemia to give you a list of goodies that illness has bestowed?"
I immediately thought of Peter Kramer's eloquent 2005 article in the New York Times Magazine titled "There's Nothing Deep About Depression." Kramer explained that he penned his latest book "Against Depression" as a response to the same annoying question asked over and over again in bookstores and professional meetings: "What if Prozac had been available in van Gogh's time?"
Like tuberculosis 100 years ago, depression today carries with it an element of refinement, of sacredness. Kramer writes, "We idealize depression, associating it with perceptiveness, interpersonal sensitivity and other virtues. Like tuberculosis in its day, depression is a form of vulnerability that even contains a measure of erotic appeal." He goes on to say that "Depression is not a perspective. It is a disease...We should have no trouble admiring what we do admire - depth, complexity, aesthetic brilliance - and standing foursquare against depression.
However, having said all that, I do hereby appreciate the gifts that this ugly and manipulative beast has laid upon my table, and so--in David Letterman style I give you the top 10.
10. I write better.
Now I know that going public with a nervous breakdown and describing in detail one's psychiatric chart online and in the pages of a book is not a good career move for most people. So I suggest you think long and hard about pulling my stunt. But here's the thing, my mood disorder has been good for my writing because I don't care as much what other people think. If I did, do you think I'd let folks get a sneak peak into my neurotic brain? Most of that caring about other people's opinions was fortunately left inside the walls of the psych ward. I walked out of that place able to pen the real stuff, the good stuff, the material oozing from my very heart and soul. With the help of some great editors and friends like Holly, I might add.
9. I have fascinating conversations with strangers.
Here's how the majority of my first conversations/introductions go with people who I sit next to on the plane, train, or at my son's soccer games:
"So what do you do?"
"I write a mental health blog."
"Oh. That's interesting. How did you get into that?"
"I had a major nervous breakdown and wanted to kill myself for about two years. So one day I told God that if I ever woke up and wanted to be alive that I would dedicate the rest of my life to helping people who are trapped in the Black Hole. That morning came. And you, what do you do?"
A lot of folks ask me how I keep the discipline to work out five times a week and eat salads for lunch. Here's the thing: I don't do any of it for weight reasons or looking pretty. I know from a long history of trial and error, that if I skip out on exercising for over three days, that I start to fantasize about death again ... that I start adding up my years and brainstorm about how I can skip my 40s, 50s, and 60s, and just go straight to the coffin. If I exist on a Starbucks and chocolate diet for longer than 24 hours, I won't be able to stop crying. I don't dare touch alcohol because it's a depressive, and I have enough trouble staying out of darkness without its help, thank you very much. Pulling an all-nighter? Not an option. That would trigger a manic cycle, followed by a brutal crash into depression. I'm not disciplined. I'm just very delicate.
7. I care less about numbers.
Pre-breakdown, I used to fret and worry and stay up all night (and get manic, yes) over things like red royalty figures and book proposals going nowhere. Thank God I didn't have to deal with page view numbers back then, because they would have determined my mood for the day. Now I won't say that I am totally immune to the competitive bug that I get from time to time, when I start comparing my numbers to other authors'. But here's the difference: it doesn't affect my appetite or sleep anymore. I want to succeed and do well, yes. But every day in which I do not want to die is a victory, a smashing success. When you've on the fault line between death and life for years at a time, the little stuff doesn't matter as much.
6. I laugh more.
Before breakdown, I did have a sense of humor. But now? Everything is hysterical. The psych ward stories? Priceless. The image of my 8-year-old self on my knees praying five rosaries a day to try to make it into heaven ... wacky! I laugh at situations that get twisted around in the most bizarre way, leaving me feeling naked in front of a crowd. I laugh at myself. Just like G. K. Chesterton once wrote, "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly."
5. I am more outwardly focused.
Abraham Lincoln taught me this one. Poor thing did not have the benefit of medication. But my friend Joshua Wolf Shenk, author of "Lincoln's Melancholy," says the most important contributor to his climb out of the Black Hole was turning to a greater cause ... of transforming his melancholy into a vision for emancipation. I get that. I really do, because I feel like Beyond Blue and my outreach efforts on behalf of those cursed with brain chemistry inspire me with a mission worth getting out of bed for.
4. Depression helps your thinking.
This does not apply to those days where you can think of nothing other than ways to take your own life. But the less threatening ruminations and obsessions--"She hates me. I know she hates. She has every reason to hate me because I'm hateable"--can actually become fodder for some brain exercises that lead to analytical thinking. At least that's what Sharon Begley writes in her Newsweek article, "The Upside of Depression." A depressive's brain is, essentially, always on the treadmill. So all this thinking can actually lead to a Eureka! moment. In theory anyway.
3. I am less judgmental.
I think anyone who has been completely disabled by an illness learns a lesson or two in humility. I am less judgmental now when it comes to health philosophies. If a person says he or she is trying her hardest, who am I to say, "That's bull crap! Get off your butt and pull yourself up!" I take their word for it ... that they are fighting the beast as best they can ... because I know what it feels like to be on the other side, judged by my efforts and looked down upon because my health philosophies aren't compatible with others'.
2. I am more compassionate.
My mood disorder didn't just disrupt nerve cells in my brain, it also expanded my heart. Now I catch the woman tearing up in the back corner of a conference room. I can't help but tune into to my intuition, reading a heavy sadness in the room. So I go over to her and hug her or take her hand. I am no longer bashful of doing this, because I have been her, sitting there crying in a public room, so many times, and I would always appreciate any kind gesture to let me know I wasn't alone.
1. I am no longer afraid of death (or anything).
Here's the thing about being depressed. You are no longer afraid of death. Say a guy with a gun is about to walk into a restaurant where you are eating (true story). You are a tad alarmed, but not scared. Because you are already living your life as fully as you can. You are putting every ounce of effort into each second, so, quite frankly, if it's your time to go, you're cool with that. And on the bad days ... you're actually relieved!
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