THE VANISHING MUD-HOMES OF SAUDI ARABIA

Today, I took some pictures of the vanishing mud brick homes of Saudi Arabia. When I first arrived in this town, I could virtually count the number of houses made of cement blocks with my fingers. More than 30 years later, I could count the numbers of houses made of mud bricks that still stands with my fingers. 90% of houses then were mud bricks. I lived in one because there was no other choice with baby scorpions crawling under my bed. With Saudi Arabia’s increasing affluence; 95% of today’s homes are palatial mansions. 

QUOTES OF COMPASSION…best ever!

It is a man's sympathy with all creatures that truly makes him a man. Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man himself will not find peace." -  Albert Schweitzer

"I can do no other than be reverent before everything that is called life. I can do no other than to have compassion for all that is called life. That is the beginning and the foundation of all ethics." -  Albert Schweitzer

 "By compassion we mean the deep feeling that comes when we recognize our soul's reflection in another person, when that other person's pain or joy becomes our own. Cindy Spring , Charles Garfield "Wisdom Circles "

"Compassion is an emotion of which we ought never to be ashamed. Graceful, particularly in youth, is the tear of sympathy, and the heart that melts at the tale of woe. We should not permit ease and indulgence to contract our affections, and wrap us up in a selfish enjoyment; but we should accustom ourselves to think of the distresses of human, life, of the solitary cottage; the dying parent, and the weeping orphan. Nor ought we ever to sport with pain and distress in any of our amusements, or treat even the meanest insect with wanton cruelty."Hugh Blair

IRAN: USA’s Military Action Will Spark Disaster

Iran: U.S. military action in Syria would spark 'disaster'

By Ben Brumfield and Joe Sterling, CNN

August 28, 2013 -- Updated 1634 GMT (0034 HKT)

"Starting this fire will be like a spark in a large store of gunpowder, with unclear and unspecified outcomes and consequences," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Iranian Cabinet members in Tehran on Wednesday.

"The West handles the Islamic world the way a monkey handles a grenade," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Twitter.

"The U.S. threats and possible intervention in Syria is a disaster for the region and if such an act is done, certainly, the Americans will sustain damage like when they interfered in Iraq and Afghanistan."

President Hassan Rouhani, also speaking to the Cabinet, said people in the Middle East and the world won't accept "a new war" and deplored threats to use force.

"Any adventurism in the region will pose irreparable dangers to the stability of the region and the world and will merely lead to the spread of extremism and terrorism in the region," Rouhani said.

He called on the U.N. inspectors to carry out unbiased investigations to identify the culprits behind the chemical weapons use in Syria, and said, "Each and every measure should be taken with respect to the sensitive situation of the region, rapid ending of the internal crisis, and prevention of extremism in the region and in the framework of the international rules and regulations."

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif likened a possible attack to a return to "the Middle Ages."

Zarif condemned any possible military intervention in Syria on Wednesday, warning of "graver conditions" should strikes be carried out.

Full article:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/28/world/meast/syria-iran-warning/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

WORLD AT THE BRINK…again! (Israel war dogs to bomb Syria)

Whenever and if ever you are marked by USA; it will not stop until it gets you. This alleged chemical weapon use had been USA’s so called red line for Syria something Assad knew and would not be stupid enough to cross but hey…what if Israel did fire the shot or USA’s terrorist allies stole it from Assad’s weapons depot; you know those weapons sites that were bombed by Israel inside Syria? I want Assad to go but not in the most evil of ways. It is Palestine, it is Iraq and it is Libya all over again. Syrians who can run should start running now because Iran will not allow Assad to fall. Iran would rather turn Damascus into a battle ground rather than wait for Israel war dogs to come marching into Tehran. 

Israel Turning Mosque into a Synagogue…

Israel to turn historic mosque into synagogue

The Israeli army has taken full control of a historic mosque in al-Quds (Jerusalem) to turn it into a synagogue, in what has been considered the latest measures by Tel Aviv to Judaize the Muslim city.

Muslims are banned from entering the mosque, which is located in the village of An-Nabi Samuel in the northwest of al-Quds.

The mosque was built in the 18th century and is an important holy site for Palestinians.

The Israel regime occupied half of the mosque and transformed it into a synagogue in 1994 when the Palestinian Authority lost control of the region. 

Full article:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/24/320299/israel-to-turn-mosque-into-synagogue/

TO KILL OR NOT TO KILL THE PIG...

It cannot be denied that the “Pork Barrel” does a lot of good to many poor Filipinos, and of course, a lot of profit to corrupt officials and to some enterprising, evil-minded private individuals who invented bogus NGOs and bogus foundations. You need not be a rocket scientist to see how this kind of racket works; a bogus NGO/Foundation funnels back to the congressman/senator the pork with obviously prearranged agreement on how to share the juicy fat…yuck!

If you can remove the profit that goes to the corrupt and the evil geniuses that invent NGOs and Foundations and retain the “lot of good that goes to the poor,” the pork barrel fund will have served its purpose. It is precisely what the government plans to do. A member of the house recommends to the government their pet projects that will benefit their constituents. The government agencies involved approve/disapprove and implement/deny these projects without a single cent passing through the office of the house member. Abad, in the following piece of news, defends why the President’s Pork should not be abolished. I recommend everyone to read it because I don’t think many of us really understand where the president’s pork goes. 

Abad defends retention of President’s pork | Inquirer News:

Abad defends retention of President’s pork

By Julliane Love De Jesus
INQUIRER.net

The budget chief backed the lump sum nature of the presidential pork, saying it is needed to allow the Palace to respond promptly to “emergency situations.”

Included in the presidential pork funds are:

·         Calamity fund for typhoon victims

·         Contingency fund for overseas Filipino workers affected by unrest abroad

·         Money for emergency response by the police and the military

·         Pension funds

·         Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of LGUs

·         Debt servicing

“It is not practical for the executive branch to go to Congress during an emergency situation to get the appropriate budget that’s why special funds are created in the budget,” he said.

Abad appealed to those “claiming to be experts on the budget” to stop putting the President in bad light by muddling the issue on the abolition of the pork barrel system.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/473631/abad-defends-retention-of-presidents-pork#ixzz2csyG4rHe 
Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT: don’t abolish the “PORK”

I have always suspected from the very beginning why the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is not being passed: it is like a criminal passing laws that will look into its criminal activities. With the burning issue of the “Pork Barrel” scum, I have at least proven to myself that my suspicion was correct.

Don’t abolish the “Pork Barrel” but pass the Freedom of Information Act. The media will have a field day in the future. They will be the vanguard of the people to make sure that every cent of taxpayers’ money, especially the IRA, goes rightly to where it is supposed to be spent. Still, there is a catch: do we have a media of unquestionable integrity? Do we have enough people in the media to police both the national and local government units? Some of the people in the media will fall to bribery, some to bullets, but there are dedicated people out there who are willing to take the risk. I say again, don’t abolish the Pork but pass the Freedom of Information Act. I think with the threat of abolishing the “Pork”, both houses will now pass the bill…it’s a win-win solution. 

Legarda, Sotto turn backs on PDAF, Chiz wants it abolished | The Manila Times Online:

Legarda, Sotto turn backs on PDAF, Chiz wants it abolished

August 22, 2013 10:56 pm

by JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA AND LLANESCA T. PANTI 
REPORTERS

TWO senators on Wednesday said they will no longer use their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) even as their colleague filed a bill that will do away with the PDAF for good.

Senators Vicente Sotto 3rd and Loren Legarda said they will not wait for Congress or the President to abolish the PDAF because they have decided not to touch their share of thepork barrel.

“Whether they abolish it or not, I will no longer avail of my PDAF starting next year and thereafter,” Sotto said.

Legarda too said she will forego her PDAF until her term ends in 2019.

Full article:

http://www.manilatimes.net/legarda-sotto-turn-backs-on-pdaf-chiz-wants-it-abolished/32322/

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