Thursday, November 08, 2007

GLOBALIZATION

At last I now understand globalization!!!

Finally, a definition of globalization

I can understand and to which

I can relate:


Question : What is the truest definition of Globalization?


Answer : Princess

Diana's death.


Question : How come?


Answer :


An English princess with


an Egyptian boyfriend


crashes in a French


tunnel, driving a


German car


with a Dutch engine,


driven by a Belgian


who was drunk


on Scottish whisky,


(check the bottle before you change the spelling),


followed closely by


Italian Paparazzi,


on Japanese motorcycles,


treated by an American doctor, using


Brazilian medicines.



This is sent to you by


a Canadian,


using Bill Gates' technology,


and you're probably reading this on your computer,


that uses Taiwanese


chips, and a


Korean monitor,


assembled by


Bangladeshi workers


in a Singapore plant,


transported by Indian


lorry-drivers,


hijacked by Indonesians,


unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,


and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....




That, my friends, is Globalization!

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Immigration in Denmark

I came across this interesting email, gives you reason to reflect.
Hennie

Salute the Danish Flag - it's a Symbol of Western Freedom
By Susan MacAllen
An interesting article on Islamic immigration and the problems created.
In 1978-9 I was living and studying in Denmark. But in 1978 - even in Copenhagen, one didn't see Muslim immigrants. The Danish population embraced visitors, celebrated the exotic, went out of its way to protect each of i ts citizens. It was proud of its new brand of socialist liberalism - one in development since the conservatives had lost power in 1929 - a system where no worker had to struggle to survive, where one ultimately could count upon the state as in, perhaps, no other western nation at the time. The rest of Europe saw the Scandinavians as free-thinking, progressive and infinitely generous in their welfare policies. Denmark boasted low crime rates, devotion to the environment, a superior educational system and a history of humanitarianism.
Denmark was also most generous in its immigration policies - it offered the best welcome in Europe to the new immigrant: generous welfare payments from first arrival plus additional perks in transportation, housing and education. It was determined to set a world example for inclusiveness and multiculturalism. How could it have predicted that one day in 2005 a series of political cartoons in a newspaper would spark violence that would leave dozens dead in the streets - all because its commitment to multiculturalism would come back to bite?
By the 1990's the growing urban Muslim population was obvious - and its unwillingness to integrate into Danish society was obvious. Years of immigrants had settled into Muslim-exclusive enclaves. As the Muslim leadership became more vocal about what they considered the decadence of Denmark's liberal way of life, the Danes - once so welcoming - began to feel slighted. Many Danes had begun to see Islam as incompatible with their long-standing values: belief in personal liberty and free speech, in equality for women, in tolerance for other ethnic groups, and a deep pride in Danish heritage and history.
The New York Post in 2002 ran an article by Daniel Pipes and Lars Hedegaard, in which they forecasted accurately that the growing immigrant problem in Denmark would explode. In the article they reported:
"Muslim immigrants constitute 5 percent of the population but consume upwards of 40 percent of the welfare spending."
"Muslims are only 4 percent of Denmark's 5.4 million people but make up a majority of the country's convicted rapists, an especially combustible issue given that practically all the female victims are non-Muslim. Similar, if lesser, disproportions are found in other crimes."
"Over time, as Muslim immigrants increase in numbers, they wish less to mix with the indigenous population. A recent survey finds that only 5 percent of young Muslim immigrants would readily marry a Dane."
"Forced marriages - promising a newborn daughter in Denmark to a male cousin in the home country, then compelling her to marry him, sometimes on pain of death - are one problem."
"Muslim leaders openly declare their goal of introducing Islamic law once Denmark's Muslim population grows large enough - a not-that-remote prospect. If present trends persist, one sociologist estimates, every third inhabitant of Denmark in 40 years will be Muslim."
It is easy to understand why a growing number of Danes would feel that Muslim immigrants show little respect for Danish values and laws. An example is the phenomenon common to other European countries and the U.S.: some Muslims in Denmark who opted to leave the Muslim faith have been murdered in the name of I slam, while others hide in fear for their lives.
Jews are also threatened and harassed openly by Muslim leaders in Denmark, a country where once Christian citizens worked to smuggle out nearly all of their 7,000 Jews by night to Sweden - before the Nazis could invade. I think of my Danish friend Elsa - who as a teenager had dreaded crossing the street to the bakery every morning under the eyes of occupying Nazi soldiers - and I wonder what she would say today.
In 2001, Denmark elected the most conservative government in some 70 years - one that had some decidedly non-generous ideas about liberal unfettered immigration. Today Denmark has the strictest immigration policies in Europe. ( Its effort to protect itself has been met with accusations of "racism" by liberal media across Europe - even as other governments struggle to right the social problems wrought by years of too-lax immigration.) If you wish to become Danish, you must attend three years of language classes. You must pass a test on Denmark's history, culture, and a Danish language test . You must live in Denmark for 7 years before applying for citizenship. You must demonstrate an intent to work, and have a job waiting. If you wish to bring a spouse into Denmark, you must both be over 24 years of age, and you won't find it so easy anymore to move your friends and family to Denmark with you. You will not be allowed to build a mosque in Copenhagen. Although your children have a choice of some 30 Arabic culture and language schools in Denmark, they will be strongly encouraged to assimilate to Danish society in ways that past immigrants weren't.
In 2006, the Danish minister for employment, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, spoke publicly of the burden of Muslim immigrants on the Danish welfare system, and it was horrifying: the government's welfare committee had calculated that if immigration from Third World countries were blocked, 75 percent of the cuts needed to sustain the huge welfare system in coming decades would be unnecessary. In other words, the welfare system as it existed was being exploited by immigrants to the point of eventually bankrupting the government. "We are simply forced to adopt a new policy on immigration. The calculations of the welfare committee are terrifying and show how unsuccessful the integration of immigrants has been up to now," he said.
A large thorn in the side of Denmark's imams is the Minister of Immigration and Integration, Rikke Hvilshoj. She makes no bones about the new policy toward immigration, "The number of foreigners coming to the country makes a difference," she says, "There is an inverse correlation between how many come here and how well we can receive the foreigners that come." And on Muslim immigrants needing to demonstrate a willingness to blend in, "In my view, Denmark should be a country with room for different cultures and religions. Some values, however, are more important than others. We refuse to question democracy, equal rights, and freedom of speech."
Hvilshoj has paid a price for her show of backbone. Perhaps to test her resolve, the leading radical imam in Denmark, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, demanded that the government pay blood money to the family of a Muslim who was murdered in a suburb of Copenhagen, stating that the family's thirst for revenge could be thwarted for money. When Hvilshoj dismissed his demand, he argued that in Muslim culture the payment of retribution money was common, to which Hvilshoj replied that what is done in a Muslim country is not necessarily what is done in Denmark. The Muslim reply came soon after: her house was torched while she, her husband and children slept. All managed to escape unharmed, but she and her family were moved to a secret location and she and other ministers were assigned bodyguards for the first time - in a country where such murderous violence was once so scarce.
Her government has slid to the right, and her borders have tightened. Many believe that what happens in the next decade will determine whether Denmark survives as a bastion of good living, humane thinking and social responsibility, or whether it becomes a nation at civil war with supporters of Sharia law. And meanwhile, Americans clamor for stricter immigration policies, and demand an end to state welfare programs that allow many immigrants to live on the public dole. As we in America look at the enclaves of Muslims amongst us, and see those who enter our shores too easily, dare live on our taxes, yet refuse to embrace our culture, respect our traditions, participate in our legal system, obey our laws, speak our language, appreciate our history . . we would do well to look to Denmark, and say a prayer for her future and for our own.

Friday, August 17, 2007

QUEENSLAND COUNCIL AMALGAMATIONS

Amazing comments from the Federal Government not the least the Prime Minister involving himself in the the State's decicion with the need for Council amalgamations, where was he when the other states did the same in a simular way? Mind you it was not election time then.
The frightening thing is the assumption that 'all Qeenslanders' lack the inteligence to understand his political ploy to attempt to take advantage of some 'very focal' Mayors, councillors and their followers' with opposition views, I'm sure it is a coincidence that the perceived beneficial effects are in National/Liberal country areas.
Several Members of parliament stated 'All Queenslanders where in uproar', clearly the most unfortunate statement ever made, I'm not in uproar and 'all the people I'm in contact with are neither'.
I do hope that any of the 'totally ineffective polls or whatever they are called', afterall the mergers are going ahead irrespectively, are conducted by polling all involved people in the new regional council area not the particular council who don't like the idea.
More-ever it would be a good idea to publicly declare who was funding the opposition to any relevant merger, developers and the like come to mind.
Expanding further on this idea why not adopt the Swiss practice to poll all people on any major project proposed by the Federal Government as well as the State. I'm sure I don't have to list all the major decisions you would like to vote on.
The Canberra ambiance must create a very remote understanding of any area away from them, then again I suppose the next elections, State or Federal will sort that problem out.
I understand that a politician's most urgent need is their preservation eg re-election or in the case of the various Mayors, Councillors and cosy jobs hangers on to not only keep their jobs but to ensure their future – that being rather tennuous for most of us. Mind you you can't blame them for trying.
Where I live here in the soon ex Beaudesert Shire we have seen the annexing of a large rural area including the Boonah Shire (with a debt of over $10 Mill) and losing a major rate base reducing the population by about a half, (will our rates go up?) but acceptance that life has to go on and we have to adapt with the changes around us seems to pervade around us.
Reflecting on other mergers – the impression is that in many a case a hard basket case has been added to a larger more effective region, hopefully the mix will produce a better result. As always working for possitive result will produce one, obstructing would of course either delay or negate any benefit.

Monday, July 30, 2007

MY HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE

I have worn eye glasses since my late teens to assist my long distance view.
With minor corrections over the years my eyesight has remained stable until late last year when I noticed differences which caused me to have my eyesight re-tested again by my optician in respect of my long distance view and the new experience needing reading glasses for minor correction. The optician confirmed that my cataracts had grown since the last test twelve months ago although not causing alarm for an immidiate operation.
Tests revealed any further correction to my glasses did not help as the problem was lack of light in my eyes as a result of the cateracts.
I followed the recommendation to have an examination by a specialist which in my case it had to be thought the public health system (Brisbane, Queensland).
Placed on the waiting list, seven month later I had my appointment, basic eye test by a nursing sister and later with the consultant.
This was an experience, the no doubt able and experienced consultant asked what was my age (75), did I still drive, (yes), what was my problem, kept reading his notes, interupted shortly after I started to speak, told me to put my chin there, looked in the one eye then next and explained you don't need an operation on your cateracts, told me hold your chin here again looking at each eye with his magnifying piece and explained here is a note come back in three months time for an examination to find out what is going on (his words).
I was processed and spat out like a sausage all in about seven minutes leaving me wondering what it was all about.

30th July 2007

Thursday, July 05, 2007

THE SILENT MAJORITY

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing" quoted from Edmund Burke a British Philosopher.
FOLLOWING IS A "MUST READ."
A man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War Two owned a number of large industries and estates. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.
"Very few people were true Nazis "he said," but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come.My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories."
We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.
Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history.
It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority" the "silent majority" is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia comprised Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.
China's huge population, it was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War 2 was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel and bayonet.
And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"?
History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awake one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.
As for us who watch it all unfold; we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Memory

At my age it's very important for me to continue to maximize my intelectual facilities hence a check up once in a while is a great help. Doing a Google I was shocked by the lack of understanding by scientists about this aspect.
Here is an article by the Washington Post and I'm pleased to find out out what they don't know rather than to bluff.

McClain is among the increasing number of Americans who are performing mental calisthenics, taking Italian classes, deciphering crossword puzzles and hunting for other ways to try to keep their minds from fading.
A large body of evidence indicates that people who are mentally active throughout their lives are significantly less likely to suffer senility, and a handful of studies have found that mental exercises can boost brain function. Elderly people who go through training to sharpen their wits, for example, score much better on thinking tests for years afterward. The minds of younger people who drill their memories seem to work more efficiently.
But it remains far from clear exactly which of the myriad use-it-or-lose-it methods promoted by researchers, self-help books and health groups protect the brain in the long term, and actually reduce the risk for dementia. So scientists, increasingly employing high-tech brain scans, have launched an incipient wave of research to determine what works and why.
"We're right at the cusp of understanding this," said Sherry Willis of Pennsylvania State University. "Because brain imaging work has become so much more technologically sophisticated, we're now at the point where we literally look inside people's brains to try to understand what's going on."
With the population aging, and the number of cases of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia rising rapidly, experts say preventing mental deterioration from occurring in the first place will be crucial to minimizing the mounting suffering and costs.
"It's really critical that we find ways to prevent, or at least delay the onset of, cognitive decline," said Neil Buckholtz of the National Institute on Aging. "Once the pathology is established in the brain, it's very difficult to treat. We need better ways to prevent the disease in the first place, which could make a huge difference for the future."
Several large studies are examining antioxidants such as selenium, vitamins C and E and folate, as well as the popular herbal remedy ginkgo biloba. Researchers also remain hopeful that anti-inflammatory painkillers such as Celebrex and the hormone estrogen may prove useful, despite safety concerns. Other researchers are exploring whether cholesterol drugs might protect the brain as well as the heart. It has become increasingly clear that the same strategies that cut the risk for heart attacks and strokes -- eating well, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, avoiding obesity and diabetes, and exercising regularly -- protect the brain, too.
"We don't have to wait until tomorrow when we have some kind of wonder drug," said Arthur Kramer of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who has found that sedentary elderly people who start exercising regularly are sharper and experience growth in crucial brain areas. "Many things that we can do today can engender cognitive vitality and successful aging, and one of them is exercise."
Among the most tantalizing evidence are studies that have given rise to the use-it-or-lose-it theory. Several large projects have found that people who are more educated, have more intellectually challenging jobs and engage in more mentally stimulating activities, such as attending lectures and plays, reading, playing chess and other hobbies, are much less likely to develop Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
Scientists suspect that a lifetime of thinking a lot may create a "cognitive reserve" -- a reservoir of brain power that people can draw upon even if they suffer damaging silent strokes or protein deposits that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer's.
"Some people might have brain networks that are more efficient and so have a greater capacity to compensate for disease," said Yaakov Stern of Columbia University, who is using brain scans to try to zero in on the circuits that matter most. "So when they are challenged by disease, those networks continue to operate longer."
But it is also possible that such people are born with brains that lead them to pursue intellectually stimulating lives, and are inherently less prone to dementia. Educated, successful people also tend to have more money and get better medical care.
"There's a lot of things that highly educated people do to take care of themselves," said Jerome Yesavage of Stanford University, who is evaluating the benefits of combining cognitive training exercises with a drug already used to slow the progression of Alzheimer's. "You have to be cautious. We don't want to create false hopes that you can prevent Alzheimer's."
In one of the first major attempts to test whether mental training works, a federally funded study involving more than 2,800 elderly people found that those who received 10 brain-training lessons scored much better on thinking tests, and the effect lasted for at least three years. The training taught strategies aimed at improving reasoning skills, the processing of new information, and memory, such as mnemonic devices for remembering names.
Many researchers suspect, however, that people may benefit most from engaging in a rich diversity of stimulating activities. New experiences may be far more important than repeating the same task over and over. Moreover, it may be key to combine mental stimulation with social interaction, which studies have found also appears highly beneficial. Experts say the task should be enjoyable, because stress and other negative emotions appear harmful.
So scientists have launched a series of pilot studies examining more real-life approaches. In Indiana, one team of researchers is testing whether elderly people who take quilting classes fare better, while another is following groups of elderly people as they participate in an adult version of the Odyssey of the Mind competition originally developed for schoolchildren. Outside Chicago, a husband-and-wife team of researchers is experimenting with acting classes. In Baltimore, Johns Hopkins aging experts are studying whether volunteering as tutors and librarians helps. All report promising, though preliminary, findings.
"It was pretty amazing," said Michelle Carlson of Hopkins, whose team found that elderly volunteers scored much better on problem-solving tests and that their frontal lobes seem to have been reinvigorated. "We observed changes that appeared to show that their brains were functioning more like younger adults'."
But none of the researchers said the findings are strong enough to merit specific recommendations.
"I think we'll get there, but we're not there yet," Carlson said.
Other researchers say that although the evidence may remain inconclusive, it is promising enough for people to start doing the things that look as though they may help.
"It's hard to prove a lot of these things, but I'm convinced there's enough evidence that there is a cause-and-effect relationship," said Gary Small of the University of California at Los Angeles, who developed the "memory prescription" that McClain uses.
The prescription combines a healthful diet with daily exercise, relaxation techniques and memory exercises, such as making a mental note of one piece of a family member's wardrobe each morning. Small tested the approach in a pilot study that included McClain. Not only did those on the prescription score better on memory tests, but brain scans lit up in ways that indicated key areas of their gray matter appeared to be working more efficiently, he said.
"One of the most striking findings was how it affected function in the area of the brain that creates everyday working memory," Small said. "We may not have conclusive proof. But the evidence is strong. And these are all healthy choices for other reasons."
Even if such strategies work, getting large numbers of people to fundamentally alter their daily lives remains daunting, many experts acknowledge.
"We all know how difficult it is for all of us to exercise regularly even though we know we should. Now we're telling people they need to be more mentally active, too: 'Turn off "Wheel of Fortune" ' or 'Do your own taxes.' That's going to be a difficult public health message," said Michael Marsiske of the University of Florida.
Marsiske and other experts note, however, that it has been done before.
"The major way we've reduced the death rate from heart disease is through lifestyle changes: eating better, exercising more, smoking less," said David A. Bennett of Rush University in Chicago. "It would require a lot of people to change the way they live, but there's no reason to think we can't have the same impact on Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia."

Monday, February 05, 2007

Climate Variation

Just a thought - Could this be a reason for our weather extremes?

Climate Science: Investigating Climatic and Environmental ProcessesBeyond 100,000 Years (+105 Years)In general, much more is known about the Earth's history in the past 500 million years than the prior four billion years. In examining past climate changes, including intervals of glaciation and changes in the atmospheric composition, scientists have considered how plate tectonics-- interactions caused by the movement of lithospheric plates- have impacted the climate system.
The lithosphere-- the rigid outer shell of the Earth-- is now broken into a dozen major tectonic plates that over the past hundreds of millions of years have migrated around the planet. Using paleomagnetic data, scientists have been able to reconstruct where the various plates and continents were located at different times in the past. The figure to the left shows estimates of sea level over the course of more than half a billion years of geologic history. The causes of such changes in sea level are complex and are not always directly correlated with changes in global temperature, but generally higher sea levels reflect warmer temperatures. For example, 100 million years ago, the Earth's temperature was 20° - 40° Celsius warmer (or 36 ° - 72 ° F) in the polar regions, although only a few degrees warmer around the equator. Evidence suggests that during warm Cretaceous periods, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide were high. (Barron, et. al., 1985.) Models indicate that carbon dioxide may have been four to six times the pre-industrial levels. (Otto-Bliesner, et. Al., 2001.)

Saturday, February 03, 2007

MEDITATION

I have been meaning to take a closer look at meditation for some time and I mean for some years and at last got around doing so.
Starting my search (research) I thought to share what references I found and comments along the way of this exercise.
I used Google and entered 'Meditation' and the website what interested me was '-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation-' to give an overview.
It did make me realize that I have developed and used various meditation techniques over the years, many a one has becoming automatic.
However the delving continues – next I tried Google again but this time used the 'Scholarly papers' search engine, what a focus on health related matters, I suppose that's where the money is.
If I had to come up with with an opinion at this stage it would be that 'meditation' has taken of as a fashion, one could call it a fad and most of the mystique around it is not warranted.
In it's basic form it's dealing with yourself, understanding yourself and thinking processes. With that it's up to you what you want to do. Calm yourself down, remove anxieties, veg out (remove yourself from consciousness), alleviate pain, improve your health, the list goes on.
You can teach yourself any of the goals you want or use any of the plethora suggestions or means promoted.
If you do that be aware that as a result of the popularity of the 'meditation subject' many who are promoting a religion, a sect, a belief, a 'health' or whatever product use this as a tool.