CruzinThots

Thursday, 16 August 2007

CruzinThot 4 2day

He wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat.: -William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), "Much Ado about Nothing", Act 1 scene 1

With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

- Steven Weinberg

We do not own, nor are we owned by history - response

The above article was posted on Malaysia Today at the following link:-
15/08: We do not own, nor are we owned by history
Here is a response from a reader which I thought was good.

Dear Farish,
Although I agree with you "generally", I must say that there is some good to knowing one's heritage.
Whether we like it or not, "Man is a social Animal" - and as such, we have this inherent need for "identity". Lack of it may lead to confusion or poor assimilation to society.
Let us differentiate between pride, prejudice and chauvinism. While the latter two are dangerous, let us not look down on the former.
Knowing, and taking pride in one's heritage is good, as it gives one a sense of identity, especially in the "growing up years". It reminds us not to take things for granted, and it also reminds us of our potential in life. As such, it inspires us to perform in the face of challenges, trials and tribulation.
No doubt, one can do without it - but at the end of the day, we are all human, and some of us respond better to myths about heroes and past achievements/ civilizations. It has a morale boosting effect on the children, the "less enlightened" and more "intellectually challenged" due due the "awe effect".
Moreover, it provides one with ability to associate oneself and identify oneself with a certain group of people and enable one to create an intangible bond that makes it easier to build trust.
Last but not least, although many academicians deny it, "race" is a product of evolution thru centuries/ millennia, and each race has its own peculiar characteristics. The ability to recognize and preserve the positive, while relinquishing the negative is what has brought about the progress of humanity.
So, let us take pride in the positive values and achievements - even if it didn't "belong to us". Let us embrace all achievements of humanity so as to promote the spirit of brotherhood, while preserving "our" heritage.
Let us not get swept away with this global "wave of progress". After all, the future is not for us to see - we never know when "Babylon" or "Rome" would fall.

Saturday, 11 August 2007

Petronas Merdeka Ad

This is an extremely significant statement by petronas on the state of the Nation.

Friday, 10 August 2007

Globalisation

International Moment Of ZEN

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. –Albert Einstein

That is the saving grace of humor, if you fail no one is laughing at you

- A. Whitney Brown

Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.: -Mel Brooks (1926 - )

Here are some "Moslem" jokes:-

With his bushy black beard and skullcap, Azhar Usman strides on to the stage with a raucous "Assalam Aleikum."

"For those who don't know what that means, I'll explain it to you," he declares. "It means: 'I'm gonna kill you.'"

This is a piece from Tissa Hami:

One of her jokes deals with the fact that in mosques, women always pray in the back, behind the men. Americans see this as a sign of the oppression of Muslim women, Hami says, but really, "We just like the view." She pauses. "We're praying for a piece of that."

But the best of 'em were these:-
When you're in orbit, Which way is Mecca?

Malaysia's National Space Agency is trying to determine how its astronaut candidates will practice Islam in space. Three of its four astronaut candidates are Muslim, and two will be selected for a future Russian space flight.

Once in their orbiting spacecraft, they will circle the Earth once every 90 minutes. Traditionally, Muslims pray five times per day, at times connected to the position of the Sun in the sky. This will make prayer observance a challenge if they accept a "day" as being just 90 minutes long.

Foxnews - Arab Professor Wants More Muslims in Space , Excerpt:

Muslims who travel to space must tackle religious challenges such as performing prayers at zero gravity and ensuring their meals fulfill Islamic dietary conditions, said Saiyad Nizamuddin Ahmad, a United Arab Emirates-based university professor in Islamic studies.
"We are all very hopeful that the efforts by the Malaysian government will inspire other Muslim countries to inaugurate space initiatives," Ahmad said on the sidelines of a conference in Kuala Lumpur to discuss Islamic perspectives on space expeditions.

For the full article, click थिस

Now this is what I call a real Moslem Joke:

So Abdul comes up to me and I notice stitches on both his wrists. So I say to him, "Alright, man! Brother Abdul, I see you won your appeal!"