Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. The men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, THEY'RE amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.
posted by admin on:
10/15/03
What others are saying about Shirin Ebadi...
The awarding of the prize to a Muslim woman is "a global
recognition that Islam supports human rights," said Mohamed
Fayek, secretary general of the Cairo-based Arab Organization
for Human Rights.
"It is very, very encouraging that the prize be given to a
woman who is Iranian, and who is working for an extremely
important cause," said Asmaa Bakri, an Egyptian filmmaker and
documentary film producer involved in women's rights
movements.
In Jordan, independent Islamist deputy Adab Saoud said giving
the prize to a Muslim woman "means that Islam is the religion
of peace" and a cause for "pride" that comes at a time when
"Muslims striving for their rights are accused of being
so-called terrorists".
Bangladesh, the world's third largest Muslim country, reacted
cautiously, with an aide to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia saying
any congratulations would be offered privately.
"We have to take into account how other Muslim countries,
including Iran, react to the award," he said, declining to be
named.
Malaysian Minister for Women and Family Development Shahrizat
Abdul Jalil said: "We are very proud of her achievement. It is
long overdue that a woman and a Muslim at that is given this
honour."
In one of her first comments after being named laureate, Ebadi
called for the quick release of "many people who fight for
liberty and democracy" now imprisoned in Iran, in a remark
seen as unlikely to ease the wrath she has already earned from
the Islamic republic's religious hardliners.
Pope John Paul II, 83, and former Czech president Vaclav
Havel, 67, both in frail health, had been tipped the first and
second favourites to win the prize.
Havel, a key player in both the 1968 Prague Spring and the
1989 Velvet Revolution that overthrew the Czechoslovakian
communist regime, quickly offered warm praise for Ebadi.
"From what he knows of her, he believes she certainly merits
it and he warmly congratulates her," his secretary Jakub
Hladik said.
Similarly the Rome-based Roman Catholic Sant' Egidio
community, a lay group whose work for peace and human rights
also made it a top contender for the Peace Prize, conceded it
was a "surprise, but a great opportunity for democracy and
human rights, and for women's rights in the Muslim world."
A telephone poll of Italians found 77 percent thought the
ailing pontiff should have won the prize because of his
opposition to the war in Iraq.
In Rome a Vatican source said Pope John Paul II would himself
send a message of congratulations to Ebadi.
But the pope's countryman, former Polish president and Nobel
peace laureate Lech Walesa, was not so acquiescent, calling
the choice a "big mistake" in a surprisingly frank attack.
"For me it is a big mistake, a bad mistake, an unfortunate
mistake," a visibly annoyed Walesa told television in the
heavily Catholic Poland.
"I have nothing against this woman, but if there is someone
alive in the world who deserves this distinction it is
certainly the Holy Father", he said from Gdansk, saying he
would seek to investigate the Nobel committee's choice.
Elsewhere, praise poured in for both the laureate and the
Nobel committee in choosing Ebadi.
French President Jacques Chirac, on visit in Tangiers,
Morocco, hailed an "exceptional choice", while German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder saluted her "commitment to
tolerant coexistence and understanding between cultures".
European Union foreign affairs envoy Javier Solana said now
"Ms. Ebadi is an inspiration for her region more than ever and
for the rest of the world," while Prime Minister Kjell Magne
Bondevik of Norway, where the prize was announced, said the
choice offered "support for dialogue and better relations
between the Western and Islamic worlds."
The United States, which has labeled Iran one of the countries
of the "axis of evil," said it hoped the honor bestowed on
Ebadi would translate into greater freedoms for the Iranian
people.
"We fully support the aspirations of the Iranian people to
live in freedom and hope the call for democracy will be heard
and transform Iran into a force for stability in the region,"
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.
Amnesty International meanwhile said the choice of Ebadi was
particularly timely now, to "bring renewed hope for those
engaged in the daily fight to uphold human rights."
The UN High Commission on Human Rights hailed the award as an
inspiration and encouragement to rights campaigners worldwide
Balqis Makki, a lawyer in Saudi Arabia where women are barred from driving, said she was encouraged by Ebadi's award: "I think it's positive that she has fought for human rights which are legitimate and Islamic but unfortunately are not given to us because of misinterpretation or by misapplication."
Elsewhere, others saw Ebadi's prize as helping women's rights campaigners but were also wary of outside meddling.
"It is an encouragement, but I just hope it will not mean you are fighting Muslim tradition because in the same way you have to have the right to become a more secular woman, you have to have the right to become a more religious-type of Muslim woman too," Egyptian columnist Randa Ashmawi told Reuters.
Ashmawi, who does not wear the Islamic veil, said such freedom included not stigmatising women who choose to cover their heads, a Muslim tradition practiced by many but which has stoked controversy about where it can be worn in Europe.
Many Egyptian women say they are fighting for equality, an issue Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak raised last month with a call for children of Egyptian mothers and foreign fathers to have the right to Egyptian nationality. Egyptian fathers already pass on nationality. Similar laws exist in other Arab states.
Women's rights is moving up the regional agenda elsewhere. Morocco's king has unveiled reforms to give women greater rights in marriage and divorce, while in Kuwait a draft law proposes giving women the right to run and vote in municipal elections.
Kuwaiti liberal commentator Ahmed Rubaie wrote that the Nobel committee sent a "clear message" when it said it hoped the prize would inspire those struggling for human rights in Iran and the Muslim world.
Tunisian rights activist Nejib Hosni said of Ebadi's prize: "It is of great comfort to all Muslims, women and men alike ... at a time when Islam is linked to terrorism by some circles in the West."
(Additional reporting from Souhail Karam in Morocco, Lamine Chikhi in Algeria, Haitham Haddadin in Kuwait and Ghaida Ghantous and Heba Kandil in Dubai)
Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.
How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.
Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.
Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.
Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?
Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.
If Walmart is lowering prices every day, how come nothing is free yet?
You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.
We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box.
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Have an awesome day, and know that someone who thinks you're great has thought about you today.
posted by mlochoa81 on:
06/24/03
Giving When it Counts
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a
little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her
only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her
5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the
little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him
hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes,
I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning
to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at
the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right
away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought
he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save
her.
remember...
"Work like you don't need the money,
love like you've never been hurt and
dance like you do when nobody's watching."
mlochoa81 replied:
FYI
this is from an e-mail a friend sent me, i have lost the original nurses name.
posted by admin on:
12/05/02
The 7 wonders of the world
Selected by: Ali Sh
A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present Seven Wonders of the World. Though there was some disagreement,
the following got the most votes:
1. Egypt's great pyramids
2. The Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. The Great Wall of China
While counting up the votes, the teacher noted that one quiet student hadn't turned in his paper yet, so she asked the child if he was having trouble with his list.
The reply came, "Yes, a little. I can't quite make up my mind because there are so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have and maybe we can help."
The child hesitated, then read, "I think the Seven Wonders of the World are:
1. To touch
2. To taste
3. To see
4. To hear
He hesitated a little, then added:
5. To feel
6. To laugh
7. And, to love
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Those things we overlook as simple and ordinary are truly wondrous--a gentle reminder as
we approach the holiday season that the most precious things in life cannot be built or bought and reside within us.
