Live Fully

Remembrance Day - What do we remember

We remember young men who give up their lives in wars because it was a job for them, a means to earn a decent living for themselves and their families.  Why do they get to sacrifice?  Did they have choice? They sign up to be a soldier like an adventure probably hoping that they will never go to war? Who goes willing to death? Not even the suicide bombers of the Muslim world do not have a choice.  But someone has to do the dirty job.  Have ever noticed? Most of the dying are children of people from the lower socio-economic backgrounds.  When Prince Harry wanted to go war he was prevented because he was a Prince and heir to the British throne.

When will be truly become humans and stop the barbarism of war, killing each other and in its wake leaving millions of people broken, disillusioned and traumatized for the rest of their lives.

   It is a new day and a time to end all wars.  There are other ways of solving international problems. There is no need for the big bad bullies but there is need for more peace-makers.  It is better to die for peace than die in the throes of war. 

On Remembrance Day I remember the children who will never know their fathers, mothers and fathers who have lost their children, husbands and family members in a war that is merely a band aid solution. Many more will die senseless deaths because we will never be able to subjugate the Muslim people through force - they are too intelligent and proud for that.  If there is going to be change, it has to come from the people in those countries - they have to stand up to their leaders like the Iranians are attempting to do.  There are no heroes in war just dead men who had the misfortune to be killed in battle, men whose lives were cut short because many did not haVe a choice.  What, are you going to cop out of your "duty"like a scaredy, cat? and live the rest of your life being called a loser and a coward? Many men prefer to die than show weakness or fear.

It is time for us to find another way, we have to work harder for peace

Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity.  Be worthy of the trust of they neighbour, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face.  Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge.  Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech.  Be unjust to no man and show all meekness to all men.  Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.  Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts.  Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive.  Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.  Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign if the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the humanheart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility.     (Baha'u`'allah

May you ponder on these words as we remember our losses through wars that cannot be won.

Language of Smiles

A Language of Smiles - Olivia Judson Blog - NYTimes.com

Discrimination is wrong and we have to stop it.

Below is an article that speaks about discrimination in the workplace based on national origin. Employers must be given a strong message that they cannot use their personal preferences when hiring people but must offer everyone regardless of race, colour, creed, disability, etc. the opportunity to be employed in any workplace in the United States.  It is always surprising that there will be employers who are still not aware of their responsibilities and the rights of employees or potential employees.

 

PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C – Mount Vernon Holdings, LLC, the company that owns and operates Best Western Hotel-Mt. Vernon in Alexandria, Va., violated federal law by refusing to hire applicants based on their non-Hispanic national origin, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed yesterday.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Mount Vernon Holdings took over operations of the Best Western Hotel-Mt. Vernon in April 2007.  At that time, Mayde Brooks, Linda Hartless and Edna Hayden were working in housekeeping positions at the hotel.  The suit alleges that these three employees and other housekeepers at the hotel were told that they had to apply with Mount Vernon Holdings if they wanted to keep their jobs after the transfer of ownership. 

The EEOC asserts that, although Hartless, Hayden and other non-Hispanic housekeepers applied to work for the successor company as housekeepers and were fully qualified for the positions, they were denied hire because of their non-Hispanic national origin.  The suit also asserts that Brooks was discharged and that Brooks and at least one other non-Hispanic housekeeper were deterred from applying due to the actions of one of the company’s managers.  Instead, EEOC says that Mount Vernon Holdings hired Hispanics for the positions formerly filled by these individuals. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discharge or fail to hire individuals based on their national origin.  The EEOC seeks back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages for Brooks, Hartless, Hayden and the other non-Hispanic applicants, as well as injunctive and other non-monetary relief.  The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Mt. Vernon Holdings, LLC, d/b/a Best Western-Mt. Vernon, Civil Action No. 1:09cv1099), after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.

 “Employers should be aware that they cannot terminate or refuse to hire employees based on their national origin, and this lawsuit sends a message that the EEOC will not allow employers to discriminate based on their personal preference for people of a particular national origin,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District Office, whose jurisdiction includes the state of Virginia.  “The EEOC is committed to ensuring that applicants have an equal opportunity in the workplace regardless of their ancestry or country of origin."

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.

Question of the day

If you were on death row, what would you eat for your last meal?

If I were on death row I would eat one of my favourite meals of all times. Fried Okra with shrimp and a heaping plate of white basmati rice with a couple of mariwiri pepper.  The okra must be cooked the right way to be enjoyed.  Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 small onion

Five cloves garlic

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 llb fresh okra (not frozen)

l llb medium sized shrimp (season with lemon,red wine vinegar, black pepper and a pinch of salt)

1/4 cup oil of any kind (at this stage of the game who cares about fat or calories)

1 cup basmati rice (cook rice in a rice cooker according to the instructions)

My personal ways of cooking rice is this: wash and soak rice overnight

When you are ready to cook

Place rice in a small pot with a lid,fill water up to the first mark on your pointing finger.  Let the rice cook to a boil for 2 minutes, reduce heat and let it steam until cooked (when the water dries up). After about 20 minutes lift the sides of the rice in the pot with a fork, take a tea towel cover the top of the pot and replace the cover. Make sure you put the sides of the towel neatly on the top of the cover for safety and for retention of heat as well. (Reduce heat to the lowest point at this time). If the rice appears too hard sprinkle a tablespoon of water on it and cover with towel) You'll get the perfect rice everytime.

Method of cooking Okra

Cut up onion and garlic - fairly fine

cut up okra by slitting it in four and then chop thinly

Place heavy frying pan on stove with oil - heat oil - then saute onion and garlic  when this is slightly brown stir in the shrimp, add salt and let that cook on medium heat for about 3 or four minutes, then add the okra, stir once or twice and then cover for about five minutes on little more than medium heat.

Lift cover, stir a few times add peppers - if it looks like it needs more oil add some more - reduce heat and let it cook slowly for about half hour.  When it is finished the oil will be seen around it. Yum Yum

This is what I call Caribbean soul food.

Question of the day

What's something you would splurge on this year to improve your future?
Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow.

I would splurge on equipment and dollars that would allow me to conduct a reputable work at-home work program that would allow me to work at my own pace without interference from anyone, including the people selling me the program.

I have tried many schemes to take control of my own destiny but none has produced the results that I had in mind and none met my complete needs. I have tried Mary Kay, Primerica, Sunrider  health products and others and I figure that it was not for me. I find once you join you are forced into meetings, conferences etc all of which cost money but yet you do not make money from the products.

I want my own business where no one has to push me, that I am so motivated about my business that my desire to work needs no encouragement and I am sailing at my own pace.

I think opening an e-bay account and buy and sell used items may just be the thing for me. I will use my camera to take excellent photographs of the items then post them on ebay and wait for customers.

I have a full time job that keeps me out of the house for an entire day so I do not need another job to take me outdoors. I need something that I could do inside that is fun and also helping people around the work to get stuff at an affordable price and this will satisfy the part of me that loves helping people.

Greatest Baseball Player

If you could see any historic baseball player play in person, who would it be?
Submitted by High Heels on the Field.

Definitely that would be Jackie Robinson, the Black American player who broke the colour barrier and went on to live his life as an American citizen.    Jackie Robinson became the first African-American of the 20th century to join Major League baseball in 1947. He endured mistreatment from fellow ball players, and baseball fans with quiet dignity and paved the way for the integration of America's favorite past time. He is an inspiration to blacks and whites because he was a man with values and he stood on those principles.  None could stop Jackie's success and like any American, baseball teams wanted to win and so they had little choice but to accept Jackie before another team did.

He used his popularity as a baseball player to fight for civil rights in America. He is quoted as saying "I am not concerned with your liking or disliking me.  All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."

Back in those days white America did not consider blacks to be human being   Robinson was proud to be black and he wanted to set a good example for his children. He wanted to show them that they had to stand up for what they believed in no matter what. Everywhere he went he took the message of equality and human rights for everyone.

   According to research, Robinson starting standing up for his rights even as a child. He fought with rocks against those who taunted him about his race or colour.  As an adolescent he went to jail for a traffic altercation involving a white motorist; and as a college star in four sports, he took no guff from race-baiting competitors. As an Army lieutenant, he so resisted efforts to make him move to the back of a southern bus that he eventually faced court-martial proceedings (where he was found innocent); and as a ball player, he railed against teams and individuals he believed to be racist. 

Jackie Robinson is the greatest Baseball player of this century in my books and I would love to see him swing that bat and score big.

Question of the day

If you could relive one day of your life just as it was, what day would it be and why?
Submitted by A Blessed Mess.

It was January 14, 1998 - that day would be the last day I spent with my mother in the Caribbean before leaving for Canada.  I never saw her again after that day. She died before I could get back there. But I had spent the entire day with my mom, we sat on the stairs and talked of all kinds of old time stories, and I joked around with her as I did when I was a little girl. I used to like to put my head in my mom's lap and she allowed me to rest my head in her lap that day. Then later that day, I video taped her coming into the yard.  She pretended she was tired of me taking so many pictures of her but I knew she loved it. One of those pictures is a priceless laugh from her. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had just finished drinking water coconuts and she had gone to stretch her legs.  My dad had died a couple weeks before that so I made sure she was never alone. I did not visit my friends on that visit I just wanted to be close to my mom and to get all of her. It is as if I knew I will never see her again.  She was not that old. She was 75 when she died of a heart attack.

I have that memory, that peaceful, loving memory between a mother and her daughter. I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me and how much I loved her and appreciated all she had done for us children I never told her to her face but I think she knew but I wrote her in a letter after I had returned to Canada and my sisters read it to her and said she was very happy with it.

Having a mother at any age is a privilege and those of you who are fortunate enough to have your mothers, do cherish them and tell them everyday how much you love themr and are grateful to have her around.

Of course some mothers bring up bitter memories of childhood, not mine. She was everything you could ask for in a mother and I loved her so much and miss her still

Today I lost a friend - what is the lesson in this? Life is now - therefore live it.

I watched a close friend and colleague journey from perfect health to her final exit from the physical world over the span of a little more than a year.

She was a resolute, steady individual who was very hard to convince about anything. She had a mind of her own and she lived her life in a that same resolute fashion. She brought her lunch to work each day with the various food groups.  She was not into junk food and she maintained her tiny frame constantly. I have never seen her being over weight.

In the early days of her illness, she asked everyone to pray for her. She wanted life to fulfill her well thought out plans.  She never smoked a day in her life, always had great concern about environmental stuff.  She had worked hard helping to empower immigrant and refugee women, she shared all she knew with them patiently helping them to complete dresses she taught them to design and to finish.  Sewing was her passion. She loved to dress beautifully in a classic fashion. Later in the hospital her mother told me that she loved watching old movies because the women in them dressed fashionably. She loved wearing fedoras and when you see her she was always put together.  

She was thinking of retirement and travelling. She had sisters in England and the USA as well as many friends. She was hoping to go to Florida for the winters having denied herself all the years to save money and to pay off her home.  Her home is paid off and will be enjoyed by family members. She was never married and she had no children.  She was going to paint pictures and write her love poems in the days ahead. Oh she was so looking forward to doing all that.  But it was not to be.

As soon as she retired it seems she became ill and never recovered.

The lesson I take away from my friend's passing is live for the moment not for tomorrow for tomorrow may never come.  It is so often that we deny ourselves the pleasures of today for an uncertain future. I am not saying not to save money for a rainy day but do so prudently while not missing out life as it is happening in front of you. Go dance, sing, paint your picture, go on that boat cruise and feel the energies of life in this moment because now is really all we have.

Foods that supports your immune system

Want to Improve your chances of sidestepping the HNI Flu?
Try some of this


15 Best Foods to Improve Your Immunity | | AlterNet

Cat and music lovers will enjoy this very much

For the enjoyment of cat lovers, check the link below. It's too funny for words!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeoT66v4EHg