Gaza attacks

Bismillah hir-Rahma nir-Raheem

(In the name of Allah, the most Kind and the most Merciful.)

"Oh Allah, we ask you for help and seek your forgiveness, and we believe in You and have trust in You, and we praise you in the best way and we thank You and we are not ungrateful to you, and we forsake and turn away from the one who disobeys you. "

"O Allah, we worship You only and pray to You and prostrate ourselves before You, and we run towards You and serve You, and we hope to receive your mercy, and we fear your punishment. Surely, the disbelievers will receive your punishement."

"Peace and mercy of Allah be upon the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)"

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(http://english.aljazeera.net/)

Gazan killed in Israeli air raid

A Palestinian man has been killed in an Israeli missile attack in the first death since the end of a six-month-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Ali Hijazi, 22, and two other men who were wounded were members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, witnesses said on Saturday.

The air raid targeted a group of fighters firing rockets towards Israel, an Israeli military official said.

The attack in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip came a day after the end of the ceasefire.

Sherine Tadros, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said: "The [Israeli] military told us that six projectiles have been launched from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel.

"This is coming as very sad news for the people here who once again find themselves in the position they were in before the ceasefire, in terms of this almost daily aggression by Israel and very uncertain times in terms of what will happen next.

"From the Israeli side they have said that ... as long as there is peace from the Palestinian side they will respond with peace. But if there is aggression by Palestinian factions, they will fight back with force."

In Gaza, a ceasefire agreed in June officially ended at daybreak on Friday, after Hamas said it would not renew it.

Hamas blamed Israelis for the failure of the ceasefire, saying that they had not lived up to their obligations under the deal by continuing a blockade of the Gaza Strip.



Gaza toll climbs amid fresh raids

A mosque was among the buildings destroyed in the latest series of air raids [Reuters]

Palestinian medics say that more than 280 people have been killed and more than 600 injured in continuing Israeli bombardment of the impoverished Gaza Strip.

A police station and a factory were among the targets reportedly hit on Sunday, after a mosque and the headquarters of al-Aqsa television had been struck overnight.

The Reuters news agency reported that at least one missile hit the offices of Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, but he was not in the building at the time.

The latest attacks came as Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, warned that the air raids could be followed by a major ground incursion into the Gaza Strip.

"We are ready for anything. If it's necessary to deploy ground forces to defend our citizens, we will do so," Barak's spokesman quoted him as saying on Sunday.

Israeli television has reported that hundreds of infantry and armoured forces were massing on the border of the territory and on Sunday it began to call up reservists to bolster its fighting strength

Tens of thousands gathered in Yemen to
protest against the Israeli attack [AFP]

Protesters across the Middle East have held a second day of demonstrations against Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip.In Yemen, tens of thousands of people gathered to show their support for the Gazans, while in the occupied West Bank protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers on Sunday.

During the Yemeni protest, held in the capital Sanaa, the crowds filled a sports stadium and the surrounding area chanting anti-Israeli slogans and criticising Arab leaders for failing to act."How long will the silence last? Arabs wake up!" read one banner held by demonstrators.

The demonstration was backed by the ruling party, opposition groups and other organisations.

Tsunami : 26.12.2004

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (source : wikipedia)

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is known by the scientific community as the Great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, and the following tsunami is known as the Asian Tsunami or the Boxing Day Tsunami.

(Animation of the tsunami caused by the earthquake showing how the tsunami radiated from the entire length of the 1,600 km (994 mi) rupture.)

The earthquake was caused by subduction and triggered a series of devastating tsunami along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing more than 225,000 people in eleven countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in history. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were hardest hit.



With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. This earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 cm (0.5 inches)and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.

The earthquake was initially reported as moment magnitude 9.0. In February 2005 scientists revised the estimate of the magnitude to 9.3. Although the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has accepted these new numbers, the United States Geological Survey has so far not changed its estimate of 9.1. The most recent studies in 2006 have obtained a magnitude of Mw 9.1 to 9.3. Dr. Hiroo Kanamori of the California Institute of Technology believes that Mw = 9.2 is a good representative value for the size of this great earthquake.

The hypocenter of the main earthquake was at 3°18′58″N 95°51′14″E / 3.316, 95.854, approximately 160 km (100 mi), in the Indian Ocean just north of Simeulue Island, off the western coast of northern Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km (19 mi) below mean sea level (initially reported as 10 km). The earthquake itself (apart from the tsunami) was felt as far away as Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and the Maldives.

-Banda Acheh (before)

-Banda Acheh (after)

Something good to ponder...

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.



Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.



When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.

It is, but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

So, don't let the cups drive you... enjoy the coffee instead.

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Lessons on Life.

The following pictures are of the same place but taken under different seasons...

Lessons on Life

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in

summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral:

Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season.

Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.

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[ Note : Thank you Ze for this :-) ]

One Day...

I have the tendency of saving things for "special occasions", always with 'just-in-case' excuse....


"I'll wear that new dress at least once", "use that new bedsheets", "take out that dinner sets" etc, etc, etc...


but, I still have "new" things somewhere in the house.


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A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper-wrapped package:

'This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package.'

He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box

'She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on, was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it.'

He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral parlour – his wife had just died.

He turned to me and said: 'Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion.'

I still think those words changed my life.Now I read more and clean less

I sit in the garden without worrying about anything

I spend more time with my family, and less at work

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.

I no longer keep anything.

I use crystal glasses every day.

I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it

I don't save my special perfume for special occasions; I use it whenever I want to.

The words 'someday...' and 'one day..' are fading away from my dictionary.

If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now.

I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning; this nobody can tell.

I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels.

I'd like to think she would go out for a Chinese, her favourite food.

It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come


Each day, each hour, each minute, is special. Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no-one.

'One day' is far away... or might never come...

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Myths and Legends

I like mysteries... u never know, there might be something somewhere deep down...he he he... ;-)

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Tasik Chini, Pahang.

Local legend tells a tale of a wandering group of Jakun tribesmen who cleared the land to grow food crops. During their labour, an old woman appeared who proclaimed that she was the rightful owner of the land and that her permission should have been sought before any trees were felled. The Jakun humbly apologised, whereupon the woman allowed the men to continue their work. Before departing, however, she planted her walking stick in the ground as a mark of her ownership, telling the men never to remove it.

The men continued with their work, but some time later they heard one of their dogs barking and snarling at a decaying log. One of the Jakun threw his stick at the log, but immediately a torrent of blood issued from the log causing the man to run back to his friends in fear. His friends thought he was possessed by demons and tried to keep away from him. However, the barking continued so the entire tribe returned to investigate the log. A spreading pool of blood had formed around the log.


In fear they hurled their own sticks at the sight, whereupon a dark cloud gathered in the sky. The thunder roared, the lightning flashed and a torrent of rain fell from the sky. The men grabbed their belongings and ran for cover, but in the chaos one of them pulled the old woman's stick from the ground - the very stick which they had been warned not to touch. Immediately a fountain of water poured from the hole made by the stick. The water flowed for many years, thereby creating the lake of Tasik Chini. The tribe realised then that the log was actually the dragon called Naga Seri Gumum.

Of course, no magical lake would be complete without stories of a resident monster or a long-lost, sunken city. So, Tasik Chini has both ! Much like the famous Loch Ness, a serpent-like monster is reputed to make the lake its home. More seriously, there are theories that an ancient Khmer city once existed in the vicinity which has prompted archaeological studies of the lake and its surrounds.

Loch Ness


Loch Ness (Scottish Gaelic: Loch Nis) is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands (57' 18' N 4'27 W/57.3 - 4.45) extending for approximately 37 km (23 miles) southwest of Inverness. Its surface is 15.8 metres (52 ft) above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the legendary Loch Ness Monster, also known as "Nessie".

The Loch Ness Monster is an alleged creature purportedly inhabiting Loch Ness in Scotland. Popular interest and belief in the animal has fluctuated since it was brought to the world's attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is largely anecdotal, with minimal and much disputed photographic material and sonar readings.

(The "Surgeon's photo" (1934), later revealed as a hoax)

The scientific community regards the Loch Ness Monster as a modern-day myth, and explains sightings as a mix of hoaxes and wishful thinking. Despite this, it remains one of the most famous examples of cryptozoology. The legendary monster has been affectionately referred to by the diminutive Nessie (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag) since the 1950s.

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Murder, she wrote.

Murder, She Wrote is a television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996. It was followed by four TV films, aired from 1997 to 2003.

The show revolved around the day to day life of a retired English teacher who after being widowed in her early fifties becomes a very successful mystery writer. Despite fame and fortune, Jessica remains a resident of Cabot Cove, a cozy coastal town in Maine, and maintains her links with all of her old friends, never letting her success go to her head. Exterior shots of Cabot Cove were filmed in Mendocino, California.

Her one eccentricity is an insatiable curiosity, especially whenever murder rears its ugly head - which it does with great regularity. The mystery term "Cabot Cove Syndrome" was eventually coined to describe the constant appearance of dead bodies in remote locations.


In most episodes, Jessica somehow becomes entangled in a murder investigation. The police are almost always willing to arrest the most likely suspect, but Jessica invariably feels that the so-called guilty party was innocent. Carefully and methodically piecing the clues together and asking astute questions, she always manages to trap the real murderer - who, given the series' "special guest star" policy, was often played by a famous film or TV personality.

(From Wikipedia)

Friendship

Reminder...

We were driving back to K.Trg for raya Aidil Adha when we caught the noon news about the landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa. Fearing for some, I contacted some friends..alhamdulillah none stayed near the area.

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2008/12/06

Massive landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa

BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, Sat:

Four people were killed and more than eight others are feared buried in a landslide early today in Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Klang, near here. The landslide, which is believed to have buried 14 bungalows in Taman Bukit Mewah and Taman Bukit Utama, occurred at about 4am.

Three of the four killed are women, according to Red Crescent personnel at the scene. About 15 injured people have been sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.



The landslide has cut off the access road to the residential area, trapping hundreds of people at Bukit Antarabangsa.

Eight of the bungalows affected are in Taman Bukit Utama and the other six in Taman Bukit Mewah, said a spokesman of the Fire and Rescue Unit at the scene.



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The day before :

The Star Online

Friday December 5, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 300 people were forced to evacuate two buildings when a landslide caused part of the retaining wall of a car park to collapse in Jalan Semantan here.

Heavy rain from 3pm yesterday had caused soil erosion at an adjacent hill, resulting in the landslide which rendered buildings on either side of the collapsed wall - CIMB Commerce Square and Amanah Raya - unsafe.

Six cars were buried in the landslide while five other vehicles were damaged.

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And on the 30th November 2008 :

Sisters buried alive in Ulu Yam landslide

HULU SELANGOR Nov 30 (Bernama) : Two sisters were buried alive after a landslide crashed on their bungalow at Lot 110, Jalan Belinda 1, Ulu Yam Perdana early Sunday.

Noratirah Roslan, 16, and Nurul Intan Sarina Roslan, 9, were sleeping in their room when the hillside at the back of their house collapsed, sending tonnes of rubble and soil crashing down on the single-storey house at about 5.30am.

The rescuers, comprising police, Smart, Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Department personnel retrieved Noratirah's body at 12.55pm.

Nurul Intan Sarina's body had not been taken out from the rubble yet.

The victims' parents Roslan Mohd Jalil, 49, and Azizan Madon, 42, and their three siblings Norlisa Azira, 8, Anis Afina, 6, and Norman Afiq, 3, who were sleeping in the living room were unhurt in the incident as they managed to get out of the house through the roof.

(Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke-atas ruh mereka berdua)

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Semoga segala musibah akan menjadi peringatan bahawa segala yang ada di dunia, termasuklah nyawa dan badan, hanyalah pinjaman dari yang Maha Esa....bila-bila masa boleh diambil semula...

"Ya Allah....jadikanlah kami di antara hamba-hamba-Mu yang tidak lupa dan lalai daripada mengingati-Mu....amiin"

All Things are Possible!

Another one from Ze...I love receiving this kind of emails :-)
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From: zaihan

December 15, 2008 10:25:36 PM

Subject: Fwd: FW: All Things are Possible!


When someone tells you that you can't do something ...

Look around...

Consider all options...




Then GO for it!




Use all the things God gave you

Be creative!

In the end, you will succeed and prove them wrong!



Always remember
Nothing is impossible, if your heart is willing

Have a blessed day!

P. Ramlee - Pendekar Bujang Lapok

“Maafkan kami” (Forgive Us) Scene

From the 1959 movie : Pendekar Bujang Lapok

Song by P. Ramlee Lyrics by S. Sudarmaji & P. Ramlee

(Lyrics Translation by mokui)
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Forgive us (2x) Forgive us

Dear lady, please don't sulk
Please forgive us, we old bachelors
If we've done wrong,
please tell us
We don't mind you hitting us
This is a poetic line)
Oh dear lady please forgive us .

Forgive us, Forgive us (2x)
Forgive us

If you don't want to forgive us
Then we'll live at (a mental hospital)
Dear lady have you no compassion ?
We want to die (from shame)
(This is a poetic line)
Oh dear lady please forgive us

Forgive us, Forgive us (2x)
Forgive us

Dear lady, don't be so angry
Even the prophet (Muhammad p.b.u.h)
forgave his followers
If your face is sour
We'll jump out the window
This is a poetic line)
Oh dear lady please forgive us

Forgive us, Forgive us (2x)
Forgive us

(EH, HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GONNA SAY THIS)

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Early wishes to 2009

I received early wishes to 2009 in my mail box today, the cats are so cute.... :-)

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However before that, Muslim world will be "welcoming" a new Hijrah year, 1st Muharram 1430 Hijrah will fall on 29th of December 2008.

My du'as/prayers/wishes for this new Hijrah year are that I'll be a better person, a good muslimah, be blessed by Allah SWT always... and the same prayers to my family and friends...ameen.

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(What is the Hijrah Calendar? By Huda, About.com)

Muslims do not traditionally "celebrate" the beginning of a new year, but we do acknowledge the passing of time, and take time to reflect on our own mortality.

Muslims measure the passage of time using the Islamic (Hijrah) calendar. This calendar has twelve lunar months, the beginnings and endings of which are determined by the sighting of the crescent moon. Years are counted since the Hijrah, which is when the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Madinah (approximately July 622 A.D.).

The Islamic calendar was first introduced by the close companion of the Prophet, 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab. During his leadership of the Muslim community, in approximately 638 A.D., he consulted with his advisors in order to come to a decision regarding the various dating systems used at that time.

It was agreed that the most appropriate reference point for the Islamic calendar was the Hijrah, since it was an important turning point for the Muslim community. After the emigration to Madinah (formerly known as Yathrib), the Muslims were able to organize and establish the first real Muslim "community," with social, political, and economic independence. Life in Madinah allowed the Muslim community to mature and strengthen, and the people developed an entire society based on Islamic principles.

The Islamic calendar is the official calendar in many Muslim countries, especially Saudi Arabia. Other Muslim countries use the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes and only turn to the Islamic calendar for religious purposes.


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Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 9:01:52 AM
Subject: Early wishes to 2009

2008 is going 2 finish

Now, we need to face 2009

There may be risks involved

We may need to face roadblocks

So stay alert

Share time with friends

Jump over obstacles

With care

And caution

Face challenges

Remember to laugh

Cooperate

Discover

Make new friends

Above all...be ready for adventure

Stick together

And you will be able to go far

Very far.....

Well, not quite that far....

Always take time to smell the flowers

Don't forget to relax and enjoy

And dont forget?? those ? ? who likes u very much


Just less than 1 month + to GO

Advance New Year-2009 wishes

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