Greetings to the Year of the Brown Cow/ Ox

The Significance of the Brown Cow

The year of the Ox is associated with domestic trouble that seems to have no solution. The grounded, rational, earth influence of the Ox may bring good fortune to troubled economic times but only with a sustained, well planned effort. The Ox influence brings an aversion to risky credit and quick answers that are not well conceived. The Ox year brings success only through discipline and through hard work. The steady ox is quick to anger when confronted by what seems to be irrational opposition, but the use of reason works well and avoids a charge by the angry bull. There is much danger of war and unrest if diplomacy does not prevail.

The last time the earth Ox was seen as the ruling influence was January 29, 1949 - February 15, 1950. The world suffered a recession in late 1948 and early 1949 (looks like history is repeating itself). The world economy recovered during the year of the ox due to rational decisions and careful planning. By 1951, the recession was over. Many will be searching for a quick solution to the current economic crisis, but the ox favors a well planned, consistent path that will take more time but lay a foundation for long lasting results. The strong earth influence of this year favors a strengthening of the housing market, but risk takers will not find this year favorable. Those who look for long term benefits, have a well thought out plan and are willing to work to see results will find great success.

Baby boomers who were born the last time the brown earth Ox ruled the zodiac celebrate their 60th birthday this year. Those who are influenced by the Ox will have experienced many years of good fortune if the planning, hard work and discipline of the sign were heeded. Those who failed to plan are given a new opportunity this year. If the lessons of the past are integrated, the future brings harmony and good fortune at home and in business.

Lishaznia's Note: So let's take heed of the cow's wisdom - plan well, be rational, be smart and lastly be patient. Barack Obama is well-known individual born in the year of the Cow. Let's see if he displays all the characteristics associated with those born in the year of the Cow.

Taken from : Chiff.Com

HOLD YOUR SALIVA!!

I don't know where this DISGUSTING habit originated and frankly I don't care but it has seriously got to STOP!!!

It is NOT FUNNY to be hit by saliva and god knows what else (eew!) while you're happily minding your own business as you wait for the bus or walking along the sidewalk.

IT IS UNHYGIENIC!!

IT IS DISGUSTING!!

IT IS GROSS!!

Did I mention that IT IS DISGUSTING?!!

IT IS A VIOLATION OF PERSONAL SPACE!!

Yes it is A VIOLATION! You do NOT want other people's disgusting, excess bodily fluids oozing on your jeans. And to make matters worse, once the gunk gets on you there's pretty much nothing else you can do but go home and put it in the wash. And the spitter walks off with nothing more than an apology. You know for a fact that he's just going to do it again. It is so infuriating!! It should be made a rule that ALL BODILY FLUIDS MUST REMAIN WITHIN THE PERSON WHEN IN PUBLIC PLACES.

As for spitters, seriously do you think it is cool to spit? Do you think it'll make you look macho? Do you actually think that a girl will get turned on by the fact that you spit everywhere?

THINK AGAIN!! We want men with more class. And salivary glands control.

I think the Malaysian government should learn from the Chinese Republic. Make spitting an offense!! Fine them!! And if they still don't comply, let them rot in jail!

And in come responsibility...

Ever been hotel-hopping?

Going from one hotel to another on behalf of your company. Checking out their rooms, their services. For a short while you have power. You're a king!

The Sales Exec bending over backwards trying to woo you, please. You can practically see the RM sign shining in their eyes.

They know. They know that if they get you, money will start rolling in. 5- digit figure at the very minimum. Commission wise, that's a whole lot.

So have I ever been hotel-hopping?

Nearly.

Responsibility called. And I had to answer.

Adulthood SUCKS.

"Lagu Untukmu" by Meet Uncle Hussain won JUARA LAGU 2008

*APPLAUSE* All hail MEET UNCLE HUSSAIN for winning both the POP ROCK Category and the coveted JUARA LAGU 2008. You guys ROCK!

Lagu Untukmu - Meet Uncle Hussain

Wayangkata VII

WAYANG KATA VII

An Evening Of Spoken Word featuring Polarbear

Wed 14 Jan, 8.30pm start

Presented by British Council and Troubaganger

Admission RM10

British Council and Troubaganger returns with Wayang Kata VII, this time featuring one of Britain's foremost spoken word artists Steven Camden aka Polarbear. Joining Polarbear are Rafique Rashid, Priya K, Sheena Baharuddin and Nell Omar. It's the seventh installation of Wayang Kata and the series will go on hiatus after this so make sure you don't miss it!

Based in Birmingham, Polarbear has performed spoken word/poetry at numerous festivals and venues including Glastonbury Festival, Lyric Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, and Ledbury Poetry Festival to name a few. He performed his first theatrical performance piece "If I cover my nose you can't see me" at the London Literature Festival last July and is working on his next piece (working title "Return"), commissioned by the Battersea Arts Centre as part of BURST festival in May 2009.

*Do come and support the local art scene. I'll be there as part of Sheena's groupie :P If you're there and by chance stumble into me don't forget to say hi! Check out Polarbear's performance in the video

To Boycott? Or not to Boycott? That is the question.

Will the boycotting of products work? Will it actually make a difference?

Honestly, I don't know.

But for all who have never experienced the sufferings of war, and the pain of losing a loved one, we are often guilty of one thing...

INACTION.

So why not take the initiative to help out. There's absolutely nothing to lose by NOT using the product from companies listed below.

THE LIST

1. The Chairman and CEO of STARBUCKS, Howard Schultz, is an active Zionist.
In 1998 he was honoured by the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah with "The Israel 50th Anniversary Friend of Zion Tribute Award" for his services to the Zionist state in "playing a key role in promoting close alliance between the United States and Israel". At a time when other businesses were desperately pulling out of Israel, Starbucks decided to help Israel's floundering economy and invest in Israel. It has been revealed that Starbucks still continues to support Israel by sponsoring fund raisers for Israel.
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2. THE LIMITED STORES, Express, Lerner New York, VICTORIA'S SECRET and BATH BODY WORKS: The Limited, Inc. was founded by Leslie H. Wexner in 1963 in Columbus, Ohio. 2,800 stores. Includes: THE LIMITED STORES, Express, Lerner New York, VICTORIAS SECRET and BATH & BODY WORKS, and employs over 115,000 people. Its founder, president and CEO Les Wexner is a Zionist. He is on the board of directors of Emet, the Pro-Israel Media "War Room" whose function is to ensure that all media in the US stays biased in favor of Israel. In 1984, Les Wexner who is one of the world's 200 wealthiest people created the Wexner Foundation. Its mission statement is "strengthening Jewish Leadership in North America and Israel." One of the programs the Foundation runs is the Wexner Israel Fellowship Program which annually brings up to ten Israeli officials to Harvard for a year long MPA program. Over 135 Israeli officials have participated thus far. The Wexner Foundation sponsors "Birthright Israel" - a program that pays for young American Jews to take free indoctrination trips to Israel. It is also a long-standing supporter of Hillel - the bastion of Zionism on campus.
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3. THE HOME DEPOT: Its founder and co-chairman of the Board is an active Zionist. He created the board of directors of Emet, the Pro-Israel Media "War Room" whose function is to ensure that all media in the US stays biased in favor of Israel.
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4. DISNEY: Walt Disney's Millennium exhibition at the Epcot Centre in Florida depicts Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Of the 8 million dollars it cost to set up the exhibition, Israel contributed 1.8 million and worked with Disney to develop its content.
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5. AOL/TIME WARNER: AOL ALLOCATES 30% OF ITS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO IN ISRAEL. (Can you believe it?!)
The buy up of Israeli company Mirabilis, creators of ICQ (internet chat program), for $287m in 1998 forms part of AOLs investment in Israel.
In 1998, Mr. Ted Leonsis, CEO of AOL studios (a business unit of AOL) received the Jubilee Award by the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is the highest tribute ever awarded by the "State of Israel" in recognition of those individuals and organizations that through their investments and trade relationships have done the most to strengthen the Israeli economy.
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6. COCA COLA: From 1966 onward Coca-Cola has been a staunch supporter of Israel. In 1997 the Government of Israel Economic Mission honored Coca-Cola at the Israel Trade Award Dinner for its continued support of Israel for the last 30 years and for refusing ro abide by the Arab League boycott of Israel. In contrast Pepsi abided by the Arab League boycott of Israel which ended in May 1991, after 1992 Pepsi is also trading in Israel. In 2001 the Coca-Cola World Headquarters hosted and was the main sponsor of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala. It has been revealed that Coca-Cola Israel sponsors training programs for its workers on subjects including the Israeli-Arab conflict. The course content is created by a company funded by the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government. In July 2002, it has been announced that Coca-Cola is to build a new plant at Kiryat Gat.
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7. ESTEE LAUDER: Estee Lauder's chairman, Ronald Lauder, also one time chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, is the current president of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) - Ronald Lauder is an ardent Zionist.
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8. SARAH LEE: (Includes Hanes, Playtex, Leggs, Champion). This is also not to be confused with the frozen snacks company. This is in regard to the clothing giant. Sara Lee owns 30% of Israels leading textile company Delta Galil. Sara Lee is the world's largest clothing manufacturer, this opens the worlds markets to Israel, with cloths originating in Israel and beng sold around the world under one of the many famous Sara Lee brands.
In 1998, Mr. Lucien Nessim of Sara Lee Personal Products received the Jubilee Award by the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is the highest tribute ever awarded by the "State of Israel" in recognition of those individuals and organizations, that through their investments and trade relationships, have done the most to strengthen the Israeli economy.
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9. FOX TELEVISION, FOX ENTERTAINMENT: The News Corporation Limited is one of the world's largest media companies with total assets as of September 30, 2005 of approximately; US $58 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$18 billion. News Corporation's diversified global operations include the production and distribution of motion pictures and television programming; television, satellite and cable broadcasting; the publication of newspapers, magazines and books; the production and distribution of promotional and advertising products and services; the development of digital broadcasting. News Corporation is the world's leading publisher of English-language newspapers with operations worldwide. The Company publishes more than 175 different newspapers, printing more than 40 million papers a week.
Murdoch's New Corp. invests heavily in Israel. Murdoch News Corporation was one of three US companies that wase lauded for their support of Israel at the America-Israel Friendship League Partners for Democracy Awards dinner (25th June 2001). Murdoch himself co-chaired the dinner. News Corp.'s digital te chnology company based in Jerusalem, called NDS, has grown from 20 to 600 employees in the past decade.
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10. NESTLE: The swiss company owns 50.1% of Israeli food maker Osem Investments. In Dec 2000, it announced it will invest millions of dollars to operate the new R&D centre in israel. In 1998, Mr. Peter Brabeck-Letmathe on behalf of Nestle, received the Jubilee Award by the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is the highest tribute ever awarded by the "State of Israel" in recognition of those individuals and organizations, that th rough their investments and trade relationships, have done the most to strengthen the Israeli economy.
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11. OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL: Company is based in Massachusettes, is known for their many world tours and relatively cheap group travel. The company donates money to over 50 countries in which it operates in to help fund schools, food aid, etc. and averages between $5,000 and $25,000 per country. However, Israel received a flat $1,000,000 from Overseas Adventure Travel, as it's president is a Zionist.
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12. IBM: IBM invests heavily in Israel. IBM senior vice-president and general counsel, Lawrence Ricciardi, who noted that his company employs 1,700 people in Israel, said in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, "This wedge of land and the huge ideals it represents are very important to IBM." IBM was one of three US companies that was lauded at the America-Israel Friendship League Partners for Democracy Awards dinner (25th June 2001) hosted by Sharon. In May 2002 the Israel-America Chamber of Commerce awarded IBM the Ambassador's Award" in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the development of the Israeli high-tech industry and to advancing trade between the U.S. and Israel. IBM established operations in 1949 and was the first large American company with a wholly owned subsidiary in Israel, introducing computers to the country.
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13. KIMBERLY-CLARK: (Huggies, Kotex, Kleenex) In 1998, Mr. Robert P. Van der Merwe, chairman of Kimberly-Clark Europe received the Jubilee Award by the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is the highest tribute ever awarded by the "State of Israel" in recognition of those individuals and organizations, that through their investments and trade relationships, have done the most to strengthen the Israeli economy. Kimberly Clark Corp owns 49.9% interest in Israeli company Hogla (6/96) through America-Israel PaperMills $49.9m.
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14. RIVER ISLAND clothing chain, ISROTEL and IBROTEL HOTELS in Spain and Portugal, BRITANNIA PACIFIC PROPERTIES. (This one probably relates least to any of us) - a diversified international investment company, with headquarters in London, England. They said to be one of the largest real estate owners i n the Sacramento Metropolitan area. It appears that the British based Lewis Trust Group is one of the companies developing hotels in the Aqaba Region. David Lewis, the Chairman of the company, is a prominent supporter of Israel. Mr Lewis's activities have included the raising of money for the Jewish National Fund. He is also a member of the Israel-Britain Business Council. This organization is dedicated to the development of the Zionist State, by channelling British capital to the occupied territories for the benefit of the Zionists and the exploitation of the Palestinians.
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15. NOKIA: Nokia have started to invest heavily in Israel. Nokia general manager Lars Wolf said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post (4 March 2001): "We are really focusing on Israel from all perspectives, because we have an internal project called 'Project Israel' which means we are looking at Israel from a networks perspective, from the perspective of Nokia Ventures Organization, and also from the perspective of Nokia Research Center." Nokia Venture Partners, a branch of Nokia Ventures Organization, launched a new $500 million fund in December 2000 and allowed that a "disproportionate" amount of it would go into Israeli companies. Nokia Research Center is on the lookout for Israeli start-ups with &nb sp;which it can cooperate.
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16. TIMBERLAND: (clothing, shoes, boots, jackets, etc.) Timberlands is a $1.1 billion footwear, apparel & accessories company. Its President and CEO Jeffrey Swartz is an active zionist.
In a recent "solidarity visit" to Israel, where he made it clear he was speaking as the CEO of Timberland, he suggested sending 100 IDF soldiers to the US for a week as ambassadors for Israel. (the worst kind of Zionist).
Although Timberland is a publicly traded company, his family holds approximately 47% of the stock and has approximately 81% of the voting power.
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17. DESERT EAGLE: Desert Eagles are the only firearms that Israel does not buy from the US or other countries. However, many of the parts of these firearms are imported from other countries and they are merely assembled in Israel. Regardless, Israel prides them as their own and it is strictly an Israeli company.
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18. CATERPILLAR: Caterpillar is a company based in Illinois that manufactures large construction equipment such as bulldozers, tractors, various demolition equipment and has a line of "tough guy" clothing apparel. Caterpillar happily supplies Israel with all of its current fleet of D9 and D10 bulldozers, some of the largest armoured bulldozers in the world.

This list was taken from The Schmooze, a site that encourages the Jewish community to support companies that are sympathetic to the Israeli cause. I believe we don't need any more proof than that now do we?

It won't be easy. And major sacrifices will be required but in the end it will be worth it. Be an agent of change. Every little effort will make a difference.

Sicko "Marriage Contract"

Found this on thesmokinggun.com, and it totally blew my mind. A contract like this actually exist?! What has the world come to?

Repulsive "Wifely Expectations" pact emerges in Iowa kidnap case

FEBRUARY 17--USA, as you know, is filled with the deranged. And then there's Travis Frey, a 33-year-old Iowa man who is facing charges that he tried to kidnap his own wife (not to mention a separate child pornography rap). Frey, prosecutors contend, apparently is a rather demanding guy. In fact, he actually drew up a bizarre four-page marriage document--a "Contract of Wifely Expectations"--that sought to establish guidelines for his spouse in terms of hygiene, clothing, and sexual activities. In return for fulfilling certain requirements, Frey (pictured right and below) offered "Good Behavior Days," or GBDs. Each GBD, Frey wrote, could be redeemed by his wife to "get out of doing the things" he requested daily. A copy of the proposed contract, which Frey's wife never signed and later provided to cops, can be found below. While we normally point out the highlights of most documents, there are so many in this demented, and very graphic, contract, we really can't do it justice. So set aside ten minutes--and prepare to be repulsed. (4 pages)

The "Sicko"

*If you're having difficulties reading the contract, click on the link to check out the original article.

Notice the Images that he uses on the font? How sick can this guy get? So ladies, beware! Get to know your man before you marry them. And no matter what you do, or how much you love your guy, read all documents before you sign them. Better yet get yourself a good lawyer and get the lawyer to go through it for you.

Tip: Pre-nups are always good

Where have all the good men gone?

In support of Nurul's recent devastating heartbreak, I shall dedicate a few of my blog posts for women empowerment. Oh and also to dissing men. Coz that's always fun to do.

This is something I found in MenareJerks.com. Just a little something to get all of you females giggling.

IDEAS FOR WOMEN TO LIVE BY

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

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

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

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

5. Go for younger men. You might as well, they never mature anyway.

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

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

8. Women don't make fools of men - most of them are the do-it-yourself type.

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

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

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

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

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

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

15. Sadly, all men are created equal.

GAZA: STOP THE BLOODSHED (IIUM Public Talk)

In an effort to create more awareness, my office, the International Institute for Muslim Unity (IIMU) has organised a public talk on the Gaza issue. The invited speaker will be Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, president of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST).

So anyone who is interested to attend this talk, the details are as follows:

Date:
Friday, 9th January 2009

Time:
3pm - 5pm
Venue:
Main Auditorium, IIUM

Just as an added incentive, refreshment (high-tea) will be provided to all. However seats are limited (200 participants).

For more information concerning the talk, just call me, Liana at 03 61965762.

GAZA: STOP THE BLOODSHED

This may not be the most proactive way to act upon this issue but every little effort counts. Just because we're living thousands of miles away from the war scene it doesn't mean that the war won't affect us in any way at all.

So I beseech to all readers. Sign this petition. It is a small step that we all can take to urge the political leaders to come to their senses and stop all the madness and bloodshed. Don't think that one lousy signature will not bring peace to the region, who's to say that it wont.

Just sign it. You have nothing to lose.

...

It's a Sunday.

I'm in the office.

I'm a ... *altogether now* L-O-S-E-R!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hope 2009 will be a great one for everyone!!