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“With the constant fear of H1N1 symptoms, the following measures can be practiced by one and all. This is an information which I just received from my father  who is a Consultant General Surgeon & Gastoenterologist, based in India and I do hope it could be beneficial to the students and their families alike.

Tamiflu does not kill but prevents H1N1 from further proliferation till the virus limits itself in about 1-2 weeks (its natural cycle). H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects the upper respiratory tract and proliferates (only) there. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/ throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it’s almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps - not fully highlighted in most official communications - can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless
you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc/bioflavonoids to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off  proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

All these are simple ways to prevent, within means of most households, and certainly much less painful than to wait in long queues outside public hospitals.

I do hope, this information could be passed on to one and all, for a healthy and H1N1 free environment.

With regards
Dr. Snigdha Misra”

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My personal preference in descending order…

Authored by David Batstone (a professor of ethics at the University of San Francisco), the book shared a few real life stories about survivors of slavery including:

• How girls at young age ended up in sex parlours and brothels in Cambodia and Thailand?
• How South Asians ended up being a bonded labourer for generations?
• How children at young age were abducted and trained to kill as a child soldier in Uganda?
• How Eastern European women were transported by the European sex syndicates from one country to another and end up in US, Middle East or Asia Pacific?
• How Peruvian children ended up in the sex market and controlled by pimps?
• How slavery take place in the modern-day America?

More info:

“Not For Sale is a campaign of students, entrepreneurs, artists, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, politicians, social workers, skilled professionals, and all justice seekers, united to fight the global slave trade,” find out more about this campaign at http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

You can also read more on global slavery updates from the Not for Sale website, i.e: Human Trafficking by US military subcontractor in Baghdad, UK Unveils Plan for Sex Trade Crackdown,FBI: Local child-prostitution roundup snares more than 100 in Bay Area, Project Censored: Not For Sale Featured in Top 25 Censored Stories of 2009,How China has created a new slave empire in Africa,Uganda: Churches, bars cited in human trafficking, and many more.

This campaign was initiated in 2007, Australia. In 2008, many countries including 35 official flagship cities and also 400 supporting cities have participated in this campaign.

As for Malaysia, I believe it would be the first to be held in big scale. As off today, many iconic landmarks such as KLTower, Angkasapuri, Sunway Pyramid, MidValley Megamall, etc., in Malaysia have pledged their commitments for the ‘Earth Hour’ campaign.

The benefits of this campaign is obvious - energy saving -> reduces CO2 released -> reduces global warming. The amount of energy saved just in 1 hour by switching the lights and non-used electricity off, is quite alarming. Here are some figures from various countries which have participated in this campaign before:

• “Toronto saved 900 megawatt-hours of electricity. 8.7% was saved if measured against a typical March.”
• “Ireland, as a whole, had a reduction in electricity use of about 1.5% for the evening.In the three-hour period between 18:30 and 21:30, there was a reduction of 50 megawatts, saving 150 megawatt-hours, or approximately 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide.”
• “In Dubai, where external lighting on several major city landmarks was turned off and street lighting in selected areas was dimmed by 50%, the Electricity and Water Authority reported savings of 100 megawatt-hours of electricity.”
• “The best result was from Christchurch, New Zealand. The city reported a drop of 13% in electricity demand.”
• “Melbourne, Australia saved 10.1% of electricity. Sydney, being the city that participated both 2007 and 2008 Earth Hour, cut 8.4% electricity consumption.”

So friends, what are you waiting for, let’s switch off our lights too.

For more info about Earth Hour:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour
http://www.earthhour.org/
http://thestar.com.my/

Unlike previous years, instead of getting angpows, I’m giving out angpows. Those who are interested, feel free to come and visit me.

Anyway, I’m think you will definately agree with me if I say Chinese New Years isn’t about angpow alone. I’m sure a lot of you (my friends) will be leaving KL for your hometown (balik kampung) to celebrate this auspicious event with your family.

But before you go back, remember to keep all your doors and windows lock, your auto-timer lights switched on, your neighbours or security guards informed (if you trust them…hehe) that you are leaving house for a couple of days. In addition to that, perhaps there’s no harm taking an extra step by informing your local authorities too. SMS them:

 SMSPOLISKL<space>BK<space>YOUR ADDRESS<space>HOLIDAY DATE send it to 32728

One more very important info:

POLIS KL HOTLINE:  03-2115 9999 (remember to save this no. into your mobiles)

Other states Police Headquarters HOTLINE: http://www.rakancop.net/HubungiKami/tabid/100/Default.aspx

Lastly, have a safe journey home and may you have a happy and prosperous chinese new year friends!

Yeah…while some people are bringing our offline (physical) products to the online (internet) marketplace, these group of creative people are integrating both processes, creating an ONLINE convenience for a OFFLINE consumption.

Have you ever imagine how troublesome and expensive it is to send a physical greeting card? Not only that you got to buy a card from some gift stores, you got to stuff it into an envelope, you got to get some stamps from the post office, and you got to drop it into a post box. At the end of the day, you might say, “Hey, forget about greeting cards. It is so troublesome…”

But guess what guys, now, everything is done by A CLICK AWAY…and most importantly, it’s F. O. C.

It doesn’t sound believable to you? Well…I’ve tested it on my own. After about a week, my darling’s card arrived…

Being one of the oldest and most common surgical procedures known, perhaps the term Male Circumcision (surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis) is not uncommon to us. Normally this procedure was undertaken due to cultural, religious and social reasons. But with the advancement of the medical studies, male circumcision is now strongly encouraged by WHO as scientific evidence have tied the benefits of this procedure to the reducing possibility of sexually transmitted disease including the most serious type of STD: HIV.

HOWEVER, do you know that while male circumcision is strongly encouraged, female circumcision on the other hand is strictly opposed?

Female Circumcision, is also known as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) (surgical removal of all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs). Similar to male circumcision, this practice is conducted in regards to traditional, cultural, and religious procedures.

Unfortunately, on the contrary to male circumcision, female circumcision practice that happens frequently in Africa, is extremely controversial due to 2 reasons: (a) issue of consent and (b) safety and consequences of the procedure.

(a) Issue of Consent - Most of the time, the procedure is normally carried out when child is between the ages of 4 to 8, in which it means that the child are still at innocent age to determine if they want the procedure or not. Decisions were being made merely by parents.

(b) Safety and consequences of the procedure - Due to the banned of this procedure, superstitions that persist have led to illegal/underground circumcision practices. Female circumcision performed by under the lack of medical training, anesthetics, sterilization and use of proper medical instruments have caused: death through shock from immense pain, excessive bleeding, infections, urinary and reproductive tract infections, menstrual flow blocked, scarring, infertility, infibulated women, increase risk of infant death during delivery, and many more side effects.

Horror of Female Circumcision

The issue of female circumcision is therefore still hot debate as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has stated that [the] practice violates the basic rights of women and girls, [...]” and “[...] female genital mutilation or cutting is not required by any religion.”

References:

http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/Prevention/MaleCircumcision/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_genital_cutting

“Life and Death in Shanghai” by Nien Chang, is one of the best autobiographies I’ve ever read.

Nien Chang who worked for Shell in Shanghai was accused of being a British spy during China’s Cultural Revolution. She was imprisoned in the 1st detention house at that time for 6.5 years. Her daughter was killed by the Red Guards when she refuse to denounce her mother. Even after she was released, she still suffered from continuous harassment and intimidation from the people around her.

Not only that the author has fantastic English, her ability to re-exposed and describe every little detail of her tragic experience during the Cultural Revolution in China, has taught me a lot about the history of China. Her strong will for survival to prove her innocence is something we should learn from.

Life and Death in Shanghai - A MUST READ BOOK!!!

We’ve already uploaded those to our wedding page. You can check it out at: www.mywedding.com/sunnyandjessica. Feel free to leave us your wedding blessings at our guestbook. Enjoy…

Photo Montage

Behind the Scene - MTV (highly recomended…haha)