Singapore...is smoking again?

Well, this year smoking is driving us nuts. No amount of education to the Indonesian can make them understand that burning the forest or the plantations is not the only solution to clearing lands for agriculture.

The PSI is soaring. It caused health problems to themselves and neighboring countries. We are in this party together. As air knows no space, it pervades every nooks and corners. No matter where you are you "smoke". For us who avoid outdoor but staying indoor is worst and no government or countries can do anything. We have to suffered it out until the "Rain Gods" decide to take pity on us and give Indonesia a wash down.

In actual fact this is a standing issue. It happens yearly like a ritual. Their Government cannot solved the problem neither can ours. All lips services are lips services only. The people who burnt are only staff, they are just doing their jobs. The companies who permit these clearings are not bother, all they need to is pay fine.

I am actually sadden by these burnings. The weather is hot and it catches fire easily. The "Fire Gods" once ignited is not easy to appease unless you do it immediately and it is a small fire. The fire raged on. Animals and insects, reptiles, birds and all these died in fire. There are also people living in these places and they may be in danger too.

I pray..that it rain heavily on these "hot spots" or we continue to suffer. I am already having a patched throat and a headache.

Ohm Mani Padme Hung

PRAY FOR NEPAL...Earthquake 2015

As we watch with shock, our compassion and feelings went out to those sufferings. The damages are unimaginable and many lost their lives. When everyone scramble to help Nepal, we can only sit back and pray. We pray for those who lost their lives, we pray for those who are alive, we pray for those hurt and suffering, we pray for those who are still buried in rambles. We pray for those whose love ones are missing and we pray that all our precious Gurus are safe. When there is nothing one can do, one can only pray. When news and pictures flashed across the TV, Facebook, Twitter and media which in home country or news of other countries, one watch with helplessness. Again and again I am reminded of Buddha's teaching...all compounded things are impermanence. Our life is so fragile.

 

There are many fund raisings going on and I pray that people are not unscrupulous to make it rich in this way. These funds are for life saving. Don't think that no one knows but Karma never misses. OHM AH HUNG BENZA GURU PADMA SIDDHI HUM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tribute to the MH17 victims...

I am speechless on ignorant people who took ignorant lives. All the fingers pointing is an act which will not bring back the lives of 298 people and the hope of the surviving families. It is human cruelty to another and one have to answer for one's action.

I pray for the perished victims to have a better rebirth....and my

DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO ALL THE SURVIVING FAMILIES!

Report missing....

Being a neighbor, I am concern over the missing Malaysian Airlines MH370 which have 200 over passengers  and staff on board.

It is unfortunate that to date nothing is found of the missing plane, no trace and evident of where it is or was. There is the black box, where is it? If it burst in midair, the huge fire would have caught the eyes of some people around. Malaysia said the plane may have turned back...the Captain would have called Control Tower for landing, did he? They said it could be mechanical fault, didn't they check the plane before letting it fly? So all is speculation.

Finding where the missing plane is the top of the list but it has diverted to missing passports and fake travelers. The Minister said all security protocol is in place and how did these two persons made it to the plane? I am amused when he mentioned that the two person is not Asian looking but looked like some footballer...great fan of football. Who is the one who said they look like Asian? It is their own people, so don't they check properly before saying anything? Whatever security issues can wait. It is not a hijack nor a sabotage.

We all puzzled why the experienced Captain did not SOS? Was he taken by surprised or he himself was not aware such distress was happening. The Vietnamese was more diligent, they at least call other airport in search of MH370 when it did not report on time.

Cannot blame the Malaysian Government. Even if you pressed them, they are so clueless. All the press interviews are neither here nor there. I listen to all the news, updates, reports from Malaysia and all these are just like not saying anything at all. I admire that Minster who update the press...there is no urgency in his voice and look, he is pretty cool! He is like saying...."hey! we all also don't know what happened. We don't want to assume but we have to give some news to the public so here I am."

As days passed, we know that the chances of survival is deemed. If the broken plane dropped into the sea, it would have been buried deeper now.

To me, I pray that they find something of the missing plane soon so that the bereaved families can move on.

Rapist...and the Raped

The Indian girl who was raped, brutally injured and eventually died shocked India. I was equally shocked to core.

This took part in a public transport and how safe can India be? The amount of hurt, anger, shame and most of all pain, who should account for all these? Every day there are girls being raped and only she hit the headlines. The whole of India is asking for justice.

The girl's family quietly cremated her. In moment of grief, the girl's family is willing to release her identity so that she can be a reminder to warn other women in India of their vulnerability. Does India have a solution to protect Women? What was than oblivious was out in the open.

I followed the saga on the news. How fair can the justification to a life be? There are public who want to take revenge and justice into their own hands.  There were people who saw the badly beaten up and naked bodies of the two victims and no one came up to them. The policemen whom were justifying whose responsibility was even more lame. People who are supposed to uphold justice and security are themselves a joke. People's compassion has gone down the drain.

A Guru believed that this poor girl should beg for mercy and should chant god's name. Did the Guru  think that the girl had willingly agreed to be raped without begging for mercy? I believed that her boy friend begged too, did the Rapists heeded his helplessness?

Now the Rapists are in Singapore. During the trial, the Rapists pleaded not guilty? They said that the dead girl should be the one to say "Sorry" to them? The Rapists are not remorseful for the harm they did. They know NO morale and obviously NOT human and they are also NOT beasts (beasts do not attack for sex).

Whatever happened to the dead girl, her boy friend and the Rapists are issues that sadden my heart. It affected the families involved, the lives of those who were involved, it affected the society and it affected a Nation.

Ohm Mani Padme Hum !

Woes of a Nation - Japan March 2011

As we watched in horror, pictures after pictures, reports after reports on the television filled our eyes and ears with shocked. This time it is Japan. Most of the people living near the sea probably have lost their lives. We saw big sea vessels coming inland carried by the 10m strong water. Yes, it swept everything in its way. How fast again can human react to act of nature?

I did not know what happened as I was in a library deep in my revision for the coming examination. It is a temporary cut off from the real world and woes behold, when I stepped out.

Many years, when I was a kid, Mum used to say that Japan will one day disappeared overnight. After watching reports that Japan is actually sitting along the ridge of live volcanoes undersea, we may have some ground to ponder upon. I was in Japan and had experienced the minor swaying which I was not expecting. However to the Japanese, it is part and parcel of their lives. No one can be more prepared when the earthquake triggered a tsunami.

I was speechless as I watch. Although we are from different country and far from Japan but we are one people...we are Global Citizen. With disasters happening around all our neighbors, words of comfort is no longer necessary. The pained is feeling the pain; the lost is lost forever; the missing is yet to be found and will it be found; the bits will have to be picked up; the road is tough and the tough got to push against the odd...

Life is so fragile..my Guru keeps reminding us. How long will we live? You said 60s, some said 70s and some said 80s. No one wants to die and especially in such unpredictable way when you have wishes and dreams unfulfilled. In actual fact, we live by every breath we take. Once the breath is not coming, we are goners.

I pray for all the people in Japan - may those who are alive live well and in safety, the unfortunate ones, may they rest in peace. Japan at crisis need to be united and strong. Kudos to all those who lend a hand to help Japan, be it its own people, tourists, countries around the world - physically or in prayers too be well and happy. Deepest Condolences to the Japanese people.

I am glad and grateful that my blogging friend Cindy is safely back home in Malaysia. My friend's brother and sister-in-law with their 2 boys were in Tokyo when it happened and they just touched down Singapore with the first flight out of Japan. To my friend Tazuko, whose parents and relatives are in Japan be safe and the son and family of Aunt Lian is safe too.

Japan is plagued with earthquake, tsunami and now the nuclear plants leaked...is going through a difficult time. May we joined together in prayers that these disasters will be over soon and Japanese picked up and be strong.

The World is changing. I feel that the World is cleaning up and slowly will see all these as we draw closer to 2012. 2012 may not see the end of the World but we will see the World in a different light.

My prayer : Ohm Mani Padme Hum

Ole...ole...ole.e.ee....SPAIN

The world long waited Football World Cup 2010 came to an end last night or should I say this morning - 12.7.10.

Many have been waiting, many speculated, many win monies and many more lost monies in betting. Football at national level is no more just a game but the winning is seen as National pride. Somehow I wonder why countries took it so serious that they need to band their teams from playing when they lost the game.

I am no football fan. I pay a little attention to this game during school days when my class boys who were divided into two groups - The Footballers and the Basketballers. I cannot understand why a bunch of boys running in the big field, chasing after a ball and everyone was so hysterical when someone kicked the ball into a net. Of course, the one who did was a star and girls went gaga over them. Then in school, this is not a gamble and we bet and in kind. It is gambling unknowingly because we have to buy treats for those who win.

When I started working and got a boy friend, I learnt a little more and took an interest. (It is so true that when you are near the black, you got stained as well.) I sat through games with him. He bet games with friends and won some, lost some but all for the fun of it. At times, he got so caught up and he became angry, moody and I cannot understand why he was so heated up because of a game. By the way, do you know who are the world top richest football clubs? According to FORBES, as per the chart, England had 7 clubs, followed by Germany and others…

My brother asked me last night before the game of whom do I thought would win. Actually I have not been following the game but kept an ear to the ground so that I know what was going on, after all it was a World Event. I normally picked the one that come to mind first…so when he asked…I said SPAIN! He said Spain never win the cup before. We were all geared up and excited…nothing serious just ‘makan’ betting between siblings and I WON!

Being Asian, we kudos all the Asian Teams that played in World Cup this year. The Koreans and Japanese were commendable in their techniques. We are waiting patiently to see when China will take the World Cup. Maybe a match played in China will command more spectators and will be more spectacular!

All the South American teams were out, even Brazil so no chance for all the beauties to run naked. As for SPAIN, congratulations! …but still I cannot imagine how Netherlands did not even get one ball. It is true, the ball is around and it was anybody games!

Cries of the dolphins...

Did you ever thought for once when you were at Ocean World, Aquarium World and all the aqua shows around the world that the cute dolphins acrobatic for your amusement barely escape the butchers knives?

When the people in the world are shouting for Green, protect the environment, protect the animals, protect Mother Gaia...there are equal or even more damages done than we ever care to admit.

These pictures sicken me and my heart ached painfully. When we killed for food, it is to keep us alive. We long know that eating vegetables are healthy and we won't die from it BUT meat tasted better, isn't it? Animals killed only when they are hungry, Human killed for all kind of absurd reasons. Look at this sea of blood. I am not going to hide it...the country is Denmark! This is Dolphins Killing Festival. The purpose, the Killers are young men and they have to kill dolphins to prove that they have come of age. What a way to come of age...to show that one is grown up, the first lesson is to learn how to kill. Start by killing animals...and later human. What is the Denmark Government doing? If this is a tradition, why can't they do it some other way?

Did you hear the dolphins cries? These are the intelligent Calderon Dolphins' fate...or you may say it is their Karma...that they had to die for some human proof of manhood. How ironical.

I bet you, the people who have fun now...will cry later. What goes around comes around and he who laugh last, laugh best! I have given up sashimi for sure. Ohm Mani Padme Hum!

First diaster of 2010

As we moved into 2010, I said earlier that I am afraid that Mother Nature will be expressing more of her anger. In recent years we saw Tsunami that hit Asia, Cyclone that hit Myanmar, Earthquake that hit Sizchuan and now Earthquake that hit Haiti.

Reports said that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti took an estimated 200,000 lives. Again an unexpected event shook the world. This earthquake took away so many precious lives and love ones from the surface of the earth, leaving so many homeless and heartbroken.

While countries stepped up to the calls for assistance with monies and assistance, there are those that work tirelessly to recover as many lives as they can. While the seconds and minutes tickle away, chances of recovering the people caught beneath all the rambles get lesser and lesser. I salute the people, organizations and medical people that work at the fastest and best speed to save as many lives as possible. I saw with heart warming joy when the rescue team pulled out a little child. I read with pain that because of the earthquake, the hospital is down with electricity. I sigh because people became frantic and irrational when rushing for food and water. There are more casualties. Looters took opportunities of the diaster and started looting when the military and police are busy saving lives. I cannot imagine people's hearts are so selfish that they took such ruthless way to get rich.

As I watched the news update, it brought tears to my eyes. People need help and so many places were affected and everything is in a mess, how to help all at once. No matter how desperate, help can only be available with limited hands.

We are so helpless against Mother Nature. When she wields her anger, wind howls, sea roars,earth cracked and people die. Only the recent years that all these are becoming more apparent. Has all these got something to do with all the harm we did to Mother Nature? Mother Nature is changing herself. The landscape is changing, weather changes, plants changed, animals extinct and some funny animals will appear (as it did after Tsunami because some new seas creatures and fishes surfaced), people are changing too. I read with much regret that some big power do not care much about the calls for Green.

Buddha taught impermanence. If the world need to change, it will. If the world need to clean up, she will. It is just something which is gradually happening. I am no psychic. Look around us. Sadden by the event, I can only direct my prayers to those unfortunate that they rest in peace. To those alive, may they have the strengthen to go on living, and now living with meaning and love.

I got an email from Blogger Unite however there are no collection of funds by any organization here in Singapore for Haiti. I wanted to donate to Doctors without Boarder but they do not accept direct donations from Singapore. I will have to assist in some other way.

Ohm Mani Padme Hum

A Child's Cry.....

I was watching this video on Youtube and I applaud the children of today. They are well articulated and forward coming. They are not afraid to speak their minds.

The Environmental issue is not something new. From the cry of a few people to what it is today, the World is not doing enough. Lay people will not know what is installed. The people who wanted fame, power and Country should know. They have all the facilities and access to make the environment better. The rich and famous wanted fur and leather. The businessmen think that making money is GOD. The politicians wanted to play with countries like toys. We are so greedy. We keep saying " We are doing all these for our family", or "We are doing all these for our next generations", or "We are doing all these for our Children".....in actual fact we are doing all these to put star dust on our face.... All that Glitters are not GOLD.

I, for one am guilty and ignorant. However I love nature and the environment. No one tells me not to tear apart a butterfly, no one tells me not to cut a tree, no one tells me that I cannot throw rubbish around my home. I just do it, it is instinctive. Actually we cannot blame the Politician and the various Authorities of the Countries. They are busy creating an affluent environment where everything is luxury, luxury and more luxury. If you do not wear fur or leather, not carry a bag that cost $5000, you are not there. Mind you and one is not enough. People buying houses and accumulated assets and $$$ oblivious to to fact that they cannot bring with them to their dead beds.

Raising funds for the less fortunate are such a pain. You have to do all kind of stunts to get a little donation and all these 'monkey acts' can even cost a life, or a reputation or maybe maimed the person for life. BUT, people will not hesitate to spend endless to beautify themselves, why give so much to donations? They go for plastic surgery, they botox and they patch up or cut off what is naturally theirs from birth.....for? Don't kid yourself.....you are a pile of bones and nothing else.

She is right, everything around us is fake. People are selfish. Too bad for the children, they will not get to see the beautiful animals we saw, enjoy the flowers that once bloomed and no longer exist, they will not be able to see mountain peaks with snow caps thanks to the polluted airs.

You will scream at me "hey! what's wrong being all that and having all that?". NO, nothing is wrong and pray that the generations left behind to salvage the mess will not suffer some kind of funny sickness that will eventually kills the entire World. Just look around with SARS and now H1N1, the earthquake, the tsunami, the typhoons and more...Mother Gaia is retaliating.

It is not too late to make an effort now, everyone and everywhere.....to be conscious and not wasteful. It is not just the job of a few, it is the entire World because we are the Global Citizens living on Mother Gaia. I admire Small Footprints and many others Green Bloggers. We can only do a small part but it is never too small with the effort of everyone. This is my appeal.

Sharing with you.."The Girl Who Silence the World"...and be inspired.

Happy 44th Birthday Singapore - 9.8.09

HAPPY 44th BIRTHDAY ...SINGAPORE!

9th August 2009...we celebrate Sinagpore 44th birthday! The slogan is "Come Together, Reaching Out . Reaching Up". This year emphasized raising awareness for less privileged Singaporeans and working with charity organizations to contribute directly to the whole Nation celebration of NDP 2009.

This tiny island south of the tip of West Malaysia is nothing significant compared to 'big' countries. You won't be able to see us on the map... As for resources, we have 'Human'. The credit of the success of this 'Tiny' owes it to MM Lee KY and all his old guards. I respect MM Lee and I have a few favorite ministers too...Dr Goh KS, Mr Rajaratnam (deceased) and Mr Richard Hu. I am not that old to know them but I read about them. Now it is PM Lee HL and his cabinet.

Years after years, we have this thingy we called NDP (National Day Parade). This is to boost our tiny island, give our citizen a sense of belonging and at the same time create some fun activities for the Nation. All from Air Force, Army, Police Force, various ministries and schools took part. The preparations and planning starts from beginning of the year or maybe even earlier. The highlights are the flypass by the Air Force F6 and the fireworks. Streets were closed for partying with DJs and 'hot' music. Broadcasting over the television is live.

I do not call myself patriotic but I love this little island I lived on. It gives me a place I call 'Home'. I am not bothered about all the scream and shout from some who sneered at the government - you can't please everybody. All the more this tiny island which is not homogeneous but a cosmopolitan city is even more precious. You will find races like the original Malays, the Chinese, the Indian, the mixed marriage Eurasian, the mixed marriage Peranakan, and we have lots of Westerners from all over Europe and USA working here too. This is a multi racial, multi tongues and multi religion island. We just have to look at countries around us to know that we are blessed.

Every year there is a Theme Song to commemorate this happy day! I attached here two Video clips - One is the Theme Song 2009 - 'What do you see'. Another is a song named 'Home' which is one of my favorite.




Happy Birthday Singaporean!!!!!

Cheers Singapore....

Cheating Scam...

I got an email from my Papa Sonny Majid. He reminded me that there is this thing going on. The scam is no longer just an email to everyone but has upgraded to SMS and calls confirming that you actually won a god-send lottery. The story itself is self explanatory. Just note that nothing in this world comes so easily. Do not wonder and do not respond to any such fairy tales in your email / SMS to avoid being con.

New Scam Tactic, be alert !

Any cheque banked in into your account need a few day to transact. Although the amount appeared in your account, but it is still pending for clearance. The person who issued the cheque can cancel the cheque any time!

A few days ago, one of my friends received a SMS with the message: You've strike 1st prize with a prize money of RMB 200,000 cash. The SMS came with a contact number. My friend ignored it since he had heard of too many bogus scams using similar tactics. After a short while his handphone rang, a...

Miss Fang asked: "Sir, have you received a sms telling you that you've strike 1st prize?"
My friend answered: "Yes, I have"
Miss Fang: "Please let us have your bank account number so that we can deposit the money into your account."

My friend thought, why not, let's see what you can do. My friend has a buddy who works in that bank. Hence, he gave her his account number. Ten minutes later, my friend's handphone started ringing again.

Miss Fang said: "Sir, we have deposited the prize money into your account, please check and verify."

My friend checked using his handphone and found that RMB 200,000 was really deposited into his account. He was euphoric, just like he is RMB 200,000 richer!

30 minutes later, Miss Fang called again. She was crying: "I'm sorry sir, I made a mistake, I forgot to deduct the tax before I deposited the prize money. 20% of RMB 200,000 equals to RMB 40,000. Now the company wants me to reimburse the money. Can you please return the RMB 40,000 tax? I beg you."

My friend thought for a while and felt pity for the lady. Thinking of the money in his bank account, he went to the bank. Suddenly he thought of his buddy working in that bank and decided to ask his buddy to double check and confirm for him first. Upon checking, his buddy found out that the money was deposited using a cheque of a different bank. Even though the cheque was deposited but the actual amount of money can't be transferred into his account on the same day. If the other party decided to cancel the cheque, then he'll not get this RMB 200,000. My friend was shocked. He almost lost RMB 40,000.

Before my friend left for home that day, the cheque was actually cancelled. If not for his buddy, if not for him being a professional or if he was scare of letting others know of striking the prize then this bogus scam would be successful.

This is a true story, please beware. Future scams could be even better planned.

Falling of the King of Pop

With news broadcasted all over the world on the death of Michael Jackson, I thank him for various reasons. He has given us good music, slick dance movements, his talent in song writings and many things he has done, known and unknown to the public. Because he is a Pop Icon, therefore every little moves he made is no longer a privacy. People censored him for his actions. They choose to believe he is bad. To some, they want to make the most out of it. People get close to him with ulterior motives. He is human, he is not a Saint. All these years of scandals probably took toll on his heart. I believe he is not well for a long time. 50 years is a pretty young age to die but to some, they do not have 50 years at all. It is not how long you live, it is how best you have lived.

Michael started with Jackson 5. That chubby little boy who belted "BEN" and hit it BIG. Subsequently he discovered his own unique music style, dance style and dress sense. His slick dance moves are something I love to watch. All the dancers with him are as good and as precise and matching every movement Michael made. His songs are wonderful. His attempt with Lionel on writing the lyrics and arranging for all the singers to belt out "We are the World" is commendable.

Why are we always finding faults about others, why can't we see the other way? Most of the time it is the media...media wrote juicy reports because the public wanted it and supported it. It leaks the privacy of people, it blemished their names, it caused pain and heartaches and many more. PUBLIC need NEWS but I no longer trust the truth by the media. They are out to make money, not there to give you the real picture. Anyway Michael is dead, the MEDIA can take a rest now. All those that scandalized Michael, they have one person less to create more verbal karma - thank Michael, he saves you from going to hell with that bad mouth.

Those that felt that he is a child abuser and a bad person, to me, I see an unhappy child who is trying to find his childhood. Those that sued him for child abuse, can now follow him to where he is ... to get money or justice. NO, I am all out for Child Abuse, but what evidences? I hugged my god-son, I bathed my little nephew...will that makes me a child abuser?

Above is just some on my feelings. Michael can finally take a rest from this FAKE world and all the accusations that comes with it.

My message to Michael - you can't avoid it because your persona is larger than life. There will be no one like you. May you Rest in Peace. People who loves you will genuinely mourn for you, and you can bless those that have wronged you.

I wanted to share a video here with you on Michael's contribution to the green movements. The World is sick, both nature and human. Here is Earth Song by Michael Jackson. This is my way of saying good-bye and thank you Michael.

Sizchuan Earthquake...

Ohm Mani Padme Hum...Ohm Mani Padme Hum...Ohm Mani Padme Hum. This is the six syllabus mantra of The Buddha of Compassion. Most know her as The Goddess of Mercy or in Chinese 'Guan Yin'. Before I go further I wanted to thank whoever that wrote the beautiful mantra and hope I did not infringe any copyright as the picture was sent to me.

Today I decided to do my post in white. This is a mark of mourning and respect to all those that died in the China earthquake and the Myanmar cyclone. The news reports and pictures of people losing their love ones are heartrending. Just by looking at the pictures in the newspaper brings tears to my eyes. Therefore, tonight I am not doing any long posting, but dedicate this prayers to all those that passed on. May they be at peace and may the pain of those who lost their love ones come to term with the situation and continue to live well.

Ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani pade hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme him, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum, ohm mani padme hum!

May all being be well and happy!