Wednesday, June 06, 2007

allium sativum

… a.k.a. garlic.

Ah, few can compare to its sweet smell and taste. It’s a must-have ingredient in Italian and Chinese cooking, little wonder why.

I, for one, am a huge fan. My belief is that one can never have enough garlic in one’s food!

Okay, okay, so your breath and sweat might be slightly pungent after consuming a considerable amount of it, but trust you me, the medicinal plusses seriously outweigh this little calamity.

It is claimed that garlic can prevent a miscellany of life-threatening diseases, such as heart problems, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol (though its wonder might not work so well on people already with high levels of cholesterol).

Regular use of raw garlic supposedly also helps regulate blood sugar levels, improves the immune system, and have properties that will fight against the common cold and coughs.
Best of all, some studies have shown that garlic may also protect against cancer!

But, you know what? I digress. The point of this entry was actually to educate the world on a common misconception:

A “clove” of garlic does not mean the whole garlic bulb (proper term: “head”)—it refers to just one piece of garlic. Remember that the next time you cook...

left: a clove of garlic, right: a head of garlic


Oh, btw, if you’d like to enjoy the medicinal properties of garlic but can’t stand the smell, there's always the “odourless” pill options!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

yet another incest case

A MOTHER not only allowed her four daughters to be raped by their father and three brothers but also used a bomoh to cast a spell to get them to willingly become prostitutes, reported Harian Metro.

The tabloid said the four teenagers were forced to prostitute themselves to relatives and foreigners in Johor Baru.

They were also beaten, abused, and had spells cast on them if they refused to submit to their father and brothers.

One of the victims, known only as Wani, 19, said she started being raped seven years ago after completing her primary education in Ulu Tiram, Johor.

The teenage victim claimed that the mother had threatened to poison them if they resisted.

She said she was “cured” of her mother's spell after she visited a bomoh.

“Although I am now married and live elsewhere, I still get threats from my family,” she said, adding that in the middle of last year, her father and brothers broke into her house and photographed her while she was bathing.

They threatened to put the pictures on the Internet if she did not return home.

She said she had lodged eight police reports to protect herself.

-- thestar.com.my


Astaghfirullah! What is the world coming to? And the saddest and most eerie part is that more and more of like stories involve Muslims…

- 16-year-old boy rapes a goat in Kelantan

- father and grandfather raping their 3-year-old daughter/granddaughter

- educated and certified preacher raping his own daughters, resulting in three pregnancies and forcing the poor daughters to abort because “I don’t want you to give birth to my son-slash-grandson”

To say that things are getting rather sad is a disgusting understatement. You know, though I myself am not the most pious of Muslims and do not necessarily support hudud laws fully, I nevertheless reckon Islamic punishments for such hideous crimes should seriously be taken into consideration.

In this case, stone the wrongdoers to death... and make it be seen by the masses as an unforgettable reminder of one's doom should he choose to tread this damned path, I say.

During the time of the Prophet (saw) punishment was inflicted on the rapist on the solitary evidence of the woman who was raped by him. Wa'il ibn Hujr reports of an incident when a woman was raped. Later, when some people came by, she identified and accused the man of raping her. They seized him and brought him to Allah's messenger, who said to the woman, "Go away, for Allah has forgiven you," but of the man who had raped her, he said, "Stone him to death." (Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud)

Incest & Child Abuse

The Quran clearly outlines those with whom marriage is not permitted, we can extrapolate from it that any sexual relation with these would be unacceptable.

Surah an Nisa 4:23:

Prohibited for you (in marriage) are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, the sisters of your fathers, the sisters of your mothers, the daughters of your brother, the daughters of your sister, your nursing mothers, the girls who nursed from the same woman as you, the mothers of your wives, the daughters of your wives with whom you have consummated the marriage - if the marriage has not been consummated, you may marry the daughter. Also prohibited for you are the women who were married to your genetic sons. Also, you shall not be married to two sisters at the same time - but do not break up existing marriages. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.

This includes your foster parents, siblings and children.

Al Hasan reports: ‘If somebody commits illegal intercourse with his sister, his punishment is the same as for any other person who commits such a crime’. (Bukhari Vol. 8 pp 526)

Thus, these same laws mentioned above in cases of rape would be equally applicable, and incest can be prosecuted as a crime within the bounds of Islamic law.

According to Islam, all aspects of life, ie: the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, are sacred and must be respected. No gender or relationship has been given the power or right to hurt or harm the other. Domestic violence, rape and incest are all violent and criminal abuses that are outside the bounds of what is permitted in Islam and there is absolutely no justification for it whatsoever.

-- lifted from: “Rape & Incest: Islamic Perspective”

http://www.crescentlife.com/articles/islamic%20psych/rape_and_incest_islamic_perspective.htm

Monday, June 04, 2007

it's back to bahasa malaysia

Bahasa Malaysia will again be the official term to be used to refer to the national language. The Cabinet felt that reverting to the term Bahasa Malaysia would help inculcate a sense of belonging for all citizens irrespective of race, said Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin.

Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the move “is to show that the language does not belong to just one race.”

“This is for national unity,” he said.

-- thestar.com.my

Gee, you think?

You know, if we—from a nation that's turning fifty—are still ding-donging about the name of our national language, then how do we expect respect and credibility from the outside world?

While we're on the topic, why are we continually bastardising our beautiful language with ridiculous words such as "ras" (i.e. the translation of "race;" isn't it just disgusting?) when we already have the word "bangsa?"

And why, also, are we not speaking what I'd like to call "proper BM" by way of baku pronunciations? I don't know about you, but running around babbling in bahasa pasar is not my idea of an impressive national identity.