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My Hope for Copenhagen.
Bitched on: Thursday, December 17, 2009
Time: 12/17/2009 03:37:00 AM
I hope that we will live in a world with less convenience.Time: 12/17/2009 03:37:00 AM
A world where a can of Coca Cola costs not just a dollar but a thousand dollars.
Why a thousand dollars?
Simply because that would be the actual cost of a can of Coca Cola.
Not convinced?
Firstly, about half of the cost would go to the extraction of that volume of aluminium you find in an aluminium can from some African country or Indonesia.
That could possibly pay for trees which were felled per square metres to extract that volume of ore; for the loss of habitat of some species and/or the land of the natives per square metre; and for the endangering or extinction of some plant or animal species (costs depending on the size or 'usefulness' of the species).
Another 50 dollars could also possibly cover the medical fees of the worker who had to extract the ore from sulphur gas-filled volcanic environment. Surely, that money would also have to cover the worker's pay sufficiently so that he won't be 'exploited', right?
Oh, don't forget, we also have to pay for the ingredients for the Coca Cola itself. We have to plant cocoa plants and sugar cane (for the sugar.. duh...). So we need to clear more land and harm more habitats. We also have to extract Kola nuts from the fragile South American rainforests. Add a few hundred dollars to pay for all that.
We need to be paying for the transportation of the ore/ingredients (we need to clear more forests for roads) to the factories (more land cleared, more workers who shouldn't be exploited).
About another couple of hundred dollars should be spent on the actual energy and pollution costs from the burning of fuel during extraction to transportation and finally to the whole process of production that can of Coca Cola (that is very energy intensive, FYI).
Spare a few fifties to pay for water wasted and/or polluted during the whole production. Don't forget the energy consumed when that can of Coke leaves the factory and into your hands.
Did I miss anything? Maybe I did, but I hope you can get the picture.
If this is really going to happen, I hope that there would be recycling bins that would pay you back about a thousand dollars for recycling. Only then would we understand the value of recycling, no?
Fortunately that hasn't happened yet. A can of Coke doesn't and will never cost a thousand dollars.
But all the other things I mentioned earlier have happened and are happening now to bring that can of Coca Cola into your very hands.
So take the value of money out of the equation and look at everything else that matters: life.
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HOPEnhagen!
Bitched on: Friday, December 11, 2009
Time: 12/11/2009 06:08:00 PM
Sign the petition. News from Hopenhagen:Time: 12/11/2009 06:08:00 PM
The UN Climate Change Conference is underway in Copenhagen. At the opening sessions on December 7th, the Danish Prime Minister announced that "for the next two weeks, Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen." This message of optimism and hope has been reported by media around the world as global citizens look to the talks to yield a positive outcome for our planet.
As we now enter critical days in the conference, here are some good ways to stay up to date on what is happening on the ground.
With editorial partner TakePart, the Hopenhagen Blog is covering news and events at the conference from various points of view. Our guest blog entries just this week have included Al Gore and Bill McKibben.
Starting today, we are launching a series within our blog from David Kroodsma, our Hopenhagen Ambassador. David was chosen for this job by the Hopenhagen community, and we could not be more proud to be sending him to Copenhagen to represent us and report back.
The Hopenhagen Facebook group and Twitter feeds are very active with posts from our team on the ground and discussions amongst fans.
And if you're in Copenhagen this week, visit HopenhagenLIVE for a list of events, including Earth Hour Hopenhagen on December 16th. Come to the Messages of Hope Pavilion in City Hall Square to share your video message of hope.
Check back often to the Hopenhagen Blog for the latest updates, and if you haven't already, join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Let's turn Copenhagen into Hopenhagen!
As we now enter critical days in the conference, here are some good ways to stay up to date on what is happening on the ground.
With editorial partner TakePart, the Hopenhagen Blog is covering news and events at the conference from various points of view. Our guest blog entries just this week have included Al Gore and Bill McKibben.
Starting today, we are launching a series within our blog from David Kroodsma, our Hopenhagen Ambassador. David was chosen for this job by the Hopenhagen community, and we could not be more proud to be sending him to Copenhagen to represent us and report back.
The Hopenhagen Facebook group and Twitter feeds are very active with posts from our team on the ground and discussions amongst fans.
And if you're in Copenhagen this week, visit HopenhagenLIVE for a list of events, including Earth Hour Hopenhagen on December 16th. Come to the Messages of Hope Pavilion in City Hall Square to share your video message of hope.
Check back often to the Hopenhagen Blog for the latest updates, and if you haven't already, join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Let's turn Copenhagen into Hopenhagen!
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Mission accomplished (well, for now)
Bitched on: Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Time: 12/01/2009 12:58:00 AM
I have a confession to make. I am a travel addict.Time: 12/01/2009 12:58:00 AM
I caught the travel bug only a few years ago, so I admit I was a late bloomer. I used to be contented with staying in Singapore but now, I can't help myself but to leave Singapore as often as I can once my school semesters end.
Don't ask me why. But its that indescribable feeling of being in unfamiliar places meeting strange but wonderful people along the way that thrills me. Its the feeling of independence and freedom to travel around that is both so liberating and exhilarating. And yes, that awe you get when you see something new or something that you have seen in books or TV that makes me hook to travelling even more than anything else.
My beautiful niece has this colouring / sticker book. It has pictures ranging from fruits to animals. There are even drawings of buildings and monuments around the world. And they are my inspirations - drawings of the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Sydney Opera House, the Pyramids of Giza and finally the Eiffel Tower. Amateurishly drawn and printed in black ink, waiting to be coloured (or defaced by my niece, lol).
These six monuments have always been on my own personal list of the greatest things to see and places to be at. Ever since I was little, I had thought that these six things were really really cool. That is how I got into studying Architecture in the first place. And now I finally have the chance to see beautiful masterpieces of architecture - past and present, and experience the space, culture and history of the place.
I am 2/3 done, thanks to the last couple of years, Alhamdullillah.
I can't help but to feel extremely grateful and fortunate.
Because I think for me, I don't have the luxury of some people to indulge in travelling on a whim with fat wads of cash.
Thank you God for giving me all the opportunities to see what I grew up wanting to see.
And I am even more thankful to you God, for revealing before my own eyes some of your awe-inspiring and sometimes surprising wonders of nature that are scattered across the world (just not so much in Singapore, lol).
Lastly a big thank you to all those who have made all these possible.
I have been humbled and glad to see that my dreams are slowly but surely being realised.
But God willing, I want to complete my list.
Insyallah.
2009, you have been great.
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Countdown to China.
Bitched on: Saturday, October 31, 2009
Time: 10/31/2009 09:41:00 PM
Time: 10/31/2009 09:41:00 PM
Less than 2 weeks to Ching Chong land.
Will be blogging here when the time comes.
But do enjoy my last blog to India and Dubai here.
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The bias. The occupation. The missing report.
Bitched on: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Time: 10/27/2009 02:07:00 PM
You cannot call it self defense if its an occupation.Time: 10/27/2009 02:07:00 PM
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Why fast?
Bitched on: Sunday, September 20, 2009
Time: 9/20/2009 12:18:00 AM
A friend of mine asked me a question and I was stumped.Time: 9/20/2009 12:18:00 AM
He had taken a module on world religions and for his essay, he researched and wrote on Islam.
So the question he asked that had me perplexed momentarily was, "Why do you Muslims fast?"
Well, the obvious reason was that it is one of the five pillars of Islam along with performing the daily prayers, performing the pilgrimage a.k.a. the hajj, paying the zakah (contributing to charities) and lastly the Shahada or the profession of faith. Fasting is not just abstaining from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset, it also means abstaining from smoking and having sexual intercourse. All that and also to avoid cussing and thinking lustful and/or evil thoughts. That said, we are encourage to 'up' our prayers and devote ourselves to God by doing good deeds like reading the Quran etc...
After that I explained to him my personal reasons for fasting.
1. To experience (maybe just briefly) the hunger faced by many of those who are less fortunate than me.
2. To symphatize with those who do not get to eat and drink as bountifully as me.
3. To cleanse myself a.k.a. detoxification.
4. To feel good, to feel closer to God (when I say 'good', I mean 'less guilty').
5. To control my desires (not only to eat and drink, but also to cuss).
6. And lastly after a month of fasting, it sure makes celebrating the end of it very much worthwhile.
So to all my Muslim friends, Eid Mubarak Greetings.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin.
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The Little things.
Bitched on: Friday, September 11, 2009
Time: 9/11/2009 01:28:00 AM
Time: 9/11/2009 01:28:00 AM
People who survived 9/11
The head of a company survived
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.
Another fellow was alive because it was
his turn to bring donuts.
One woman was late because her
alarm clock didn't go off in time.
One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
because of an auto accident.
One of them
missed his bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
time to change.
One's
car wouldn't start.
One went back to
answer the telephone.
One had a
child that dawdled
and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.
One couldn't
get a taxi.
The one that struck me was the man
who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
took the various means to get to work but before he got there,
he developed a blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today.
Now when I am
stuck in traffic,
miss an elevator,
turn back to answer a ringing telephone,
all the little things that annoy me,
I think to myself,
this is exactly where
God wants me to be
at this very moment.
Next time your morning seems to be
going wrong,
the children are slow getting dressed,
you can't seem to find the car keys,
you hit every traffic light,
don't get mad or frustrated;
God is at work watching over you.
May God continue to bless you
with all those annoying little things
and may you remember their possible purpose.
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.
Another fellow was alive because it was
his turn to bring donuts.
One woman was late because her
alarm clock didn't go off in time.
One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
because of an auto accident.
One of them
missed his bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
time to change.
One's
car wouldn't start.
One went back to
answer the telephone.
One had a
child that dawdled
and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.
One couldn't
get a taxi.
The one that struck me was the man
who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
took the various means to get to work but before he got there,
he developed a blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today.
Now when I am
stuck in traffic,
miss an elevator,
turn back to answer a ringing telephone,
all the little things that annoy me,
I think to myself,
this is exactly where
God wants me to be
at this very moment.
Next time your morning seems to be
going wrong,
the children are slow getting dressed,
you can't seem to find the car keys,
you hit every traffic light,
don't get mad or frustrated;
God is at work watching over you.
May God continue to bless you
with all those annoying little things
and may you remember their possible purpose.
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