clothes maketh the woman

Muhammed Ali's advice to his daughters...
An incident transpired when Muhammad Ali’s daughters arrived at his home wearing clothes that were quite revealing.

Here is the story as told by one of his daughters:
“When we finally arrived, the chauffeur escorted my younger sister, Laila, and me up to my father’s suite. As usual, he was hiding behind the door waiting to scare us.
We exchanged many hugs and kisses as we could possibly give in one day.

My father took a good look at us. Then he sat me down on his lap and said something that I will never forget. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “Hana, everything that God made valuable in the world is covered and hard to get to. Where do you find diamonds? Deep down in the ground, covered and protected.
Where do you find pearls? Deep down at the bottom of the ocean, covered up and protected in a beautiful shell.

Where do you find gold? Way down in the mine, covered over with layers and layers of rock. You've got to work hard to get to them.”

He looked at me with serious eyes. “Your body is sacred. You’re far more precious than diamonds and pearls, and you should be covered too.” From the book: More Than A Hero: Muhammad Ali's Life Lessons Through His Daughter's Eyes.

reminds me of something i heard

censorship is like a bikini

what you reveal is interesting

but what you conceal is fascinating

NEDA

neda - The woman whose death has come to symbolize Iranian resistance to the government's official election



THERE HAS BEEN two weeks of protests against the official results of the presidential elections, which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for an end to street demonstrations

Ahmadinejad won the disputed election by a margin of two-to-one over Moussavi, his nearest rival, according to official results. Moussavi and Karroubi said the results were rigged and have called for the vote to be annulled.

Footage of Ms Soltan bleeding to death captured in amateur videos posted on the Internet and broadcast across the world triggered an outcry over Iranian authorities' clampdown on protests against the disputed presidential vote.

would you sign a prenuptial contract

thyanks adeline for this article

Feb 10, 2009
Prenuptial deals: Court clears the air
Such pacts won't be enforced automatically or rejected outright
By Selina Lum
CONTRACTS made before marriage regarding a couple's assets, maintenance and the custody and care of children will be considered by the courts in a divorce but not automatically upheld, Singapore's highest court said yesterday.
The Court of Appeal's landmark decision means that while a prenuptial agreement will not be enforced automatically, the courts will also not reject them outright.
Instead they will take into account the terms of such agreements in coming to a decision about matters stemming from a divorce.
The court's ruling brings to an end the uncertainty in legal circles over whether 'prenups' are enforceable in Singapore.
In Singapore, divorces are governed by the Women's Charter first, which seeks to protect the more vulnerable parties in a split.
The rules and principles to apply to such agreements were laid out in a 30-page written judgment by Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang, delivering the decision of the three-judge appeal court.
The court indicated that it is less inclined to give weight to agreements regarding maintenance of the wife and children as well as custody, care and control of children.
The bar is set lower for agreements about the division of matrimonial assets.
The judgment set out why the appeal court had, in January last year, agreed with a lower court that the matrimonial assets of a foreign couple who divorced here would not be divided.
But while the lower court had upheld the couple's prenuptial agreement, which said there would be no common assets in the marriage, the Court of Appeal took a different approach in arriving at the same result.
In this case, the prenuptial agreement was given the greatest weight, as the couple were foreigners and had made the agreement under the laws of a different country.
They had got married thinking their agreement was valid and binding.
'It would, in our view, neither be fair nor equitable for the wife to now ask the court to allow her to evade her responsibilities under the agreement,' said Justice Phang.
In fact, the decision was academic since the husband had stated that he had no assets. But Justice Phang said the case had raised an issue of public importance about whether prenups are enforceable in general.
In the court's decision, he set out three categories of agreements:
• Prenups relating to the maintenance of the wife and/or children.
In such agreements, the court will make sure that the terms are just and fair in providing adequate maintenance.
It will be vigilant to see that they are in the best interests of the child.
• Prenups relating to the custody, care and control of the children.
Such agreements are not enforceable unless they are shown to be in the best interests of the child.
• Prenups about the division of matrimonial assets.
In such cases, the court will look at all the circumstances, including the prenuptial agreement, and decide how much weight to give it in ordering a division of assets that is 'just and equitable'.
Ultimately, all prenuptial agreements should be subject to the close scrutiny of the court, said Justice Phang.
Lawyer Quek Mong Hua, who acted for the man in this case, told The Straits Times: 'Until this case, it was uncertain what was the judicial attitude towards such agreements.
'This decision has clarified that the court is prepared to give prenuptial agreements due consideration, depending on the circumstances and reasonableness of the terms.'
selinal@sph.com.sg

the coward of the county

this song tells us about a man who tried to avoid trouble
but when push came to shove - he did what he had to

The Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers
Evryone considered him the coward of the county.
He'd never stood one single time to prove the county wrong.
His mama named him tommy, the folks just called him yellow,
But something always told me they were reading tommy wrong.
He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison.
I looked after tommy cause he was my brothers son.
I still recall the final words my brother said to tommy:

Son, my life is over, but yours is just begun.
Promise me, son, not to do the things Ive done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It wont mean youre weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope youre old enough to understand:
Son, you dont have to fight to be a man.

Theres someone for evryone and tommys love was becky.
In her arms he didnt have to prove he was a man.
One day while he was workin the gatlin boys came callin.
They took turns at becky.... there was three of them!
Tommy opened up the door and saw his becky cryin.
The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand.
He reached above the fireplace and took down his daddys picture.
As his tears fell on his daddys face, he heard these words again:

Promise me, son, not to do the things Ive done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It wont mean youre weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope youre old enough to understand:
Son, you dont have to fight to be a man.

The gatlin boys just laughed at him when he walked into the barroom.
One of them got up and met him halfway cross the floor.
When tommy turned around they said, hey look! ol yellows leavin.
But you coulda heard a pin drop when tommy stopped and blocked the door.
Twenty years of crawlin was bottled up inside him.
He wasnt holdin nothin back; he let em have it all.
When tommy left the barroom not a gatlin boy was standin.
He said, this ones for becky, as he watched the last one fall.
And I heard him say,I promised you, dad, not to do the things you done.
I walk away from trouble when I can.Now please dont think Im weak,
I didnt turn the other cheek,
And papa, I sure hope you understand:
Sometimes you gotta fight when youre a man.

Evryone considered him the coward of the county.

my daughter's question

There is a question I want to ask you.
Who made up that horrible saying of "I don't friend you"
I hate when people say I don't friend you.When you say that you are hurting the person's feelings.Just imagine you only have one friend and that friend comes up to you and tells you "I don't friend you"?If I were you i will feel crushed.And if i were the MINISTRY OF EDUCATION(MOE)I will ban the words 'I don't friend you'

and this is my reply
yes i agree - it's such nonsense - making a nasty verb out of a nice noun like friend...but you know what - anyone who says that is playing a psychological game with you. The best way is to ignore that person, and not value that kind of off-and-on friendship.

this is what i wrote for my son who complained about racism

you were complaining about racist remarks directed at you again in school
well as i have told you
no one can insult you unless you allow them to
ignore them cos they will find it hard to survive in their racist little world anyway
and will probably see the whole world pass them by unless they change their mindsets
just do your work, have a few good friends and move on
this is such a minor problem
just think of any great person who was a minority in his/her country - halle berry, michael jordan, condy rice
do you think s/he would not have suffered from racism
they made it big nevertheless right?
Just be true to yourself and God - and never never stoop so low as to become like these racists - I did not bring you up that way
God bless

hurting words

question:
of all the people in the world....how could words such as these come from people you have known and loved all your life

i replied with a poem i wrote - hope you like it


words can hurt and sometimes kill
but the choice is yours, still
you call them words only when they are spoken
then they're only thoughts, so don't be broken
you have the choice to pick yourself up
and fill your own Cup
with love and joy and peace
Cos those words matter least

WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE TO PUT OTHERS DOWN?

My mother's theory was that they felt inferior and this is their defenceand coping strategy.....of course she didn't exactly put it in those words butyou get the idea. I once came home crying after another day of relentless teasingabout my height, or lack thereof.Her simple words of consolation - you are in the university and they are not...This is the only way they can feel superior to you....Such wisdom....has the calming effect of a pacifier
It really was not very difficult to deal with these people when I started feeling pity for them, instead of anger and exasperation.Then I started laughing with them, when they poked fun at me....and lifereally got a lot easier after that.My message to you kiddos, is to perhaps pray about it and then move on..... i became happier when i learned to laugh at myself becos short jokes can really be quite funny sometimes ...

but pl don tolerate teasing someone with a disability etc - that's pretty low

a letter from a mum

How do I deal with my child? He is rude and unmanageable. He is forgetful and disorganised. He is selfish and cruel. He has turned into a monster.

My Reply:If your son went missing, what would you do? Would you heave a sigh of relief and wish he were gone forever? Or would you do everything you could to find him and bring him back home again? Why would you want to do that when you know that you are just bringing a "monster" back home? When you are just bringing back more heartache?It is because...we love our children DESPITE what they are. In your question, you have used only negative terms to describe your child. Is there nothing good in that child that is worth highlighting? Focus on the good and he will feel there is a need to to live up to those positive terms. When you focus on the negative, he is only living up to your low expectations of him. You don't just have a child. You have a gift from God. cherish him the way a wonderful gift should be cherished.

an attitude of gratitude

ever wonder why i say thank you to you when you do well/write an essay well...it's because i am sincerely grateful for the effort
It is my belief that when we say thank you, we are opening up more avenues to receive more good things.
when i force you to say thank you after class - it is not to make me feel good and self-important - it is to allow you to show your appreciation so that things get better for you
now you have a choice - you could pooh pooh this rubbish as mumbo jumbo and be your usual thankless self ; or you could reflect on these GEMS OF WISDOM and maybe put it into practice

why we dont clear own dishes

Clear my dirty dishes? But it's the cleaners' job
Food court fails in its drive to get patrons to clear their trays and used crockery
By Elizabeth Wilmot
DINE AND DASH: After eating, most patrons just left their trays and used crockery behind.
AN EFFORT to get patrons at a food court to return their trays has had dismal results so far.
Launched two weeks ago, the Tray Return Movement at Suntec City's Fountain Food Terrace has left one of its organisers disappointed.
The drive was spearheaded by Chesterton International Property Consultants, a subsidiary of Suntec Investment, which owns the food court. It is supported by the Singapore Kindness Movement.
So far, though, little has changed.
Many customers still do not bother to return their trays, leaving cleaners with more work and inconveniencing other diners.

'It's not easy. There are a lot of problems because people's habits do not change overnight.'
When asked why they did not return their trays, customers offered a variety of reasons. Some said it was the cleaners' job, others put it down to force of habit.
'Honestly, I did not think of returning the tray,' said Ms Joana Lim, 25, a financial consultant. 'Maybe bigger signs might help.'
Chesterton's Mr Sim said he was not really surprised by such behaviour.
'Good habits have to be inculcated in people when they are young. As adults, the habit of not returning the trays has become a fixed mindset in them,' he said.