Proud to be born an Overseas Chinese

Proud to be born an Overseas Chinese

Proud to be born a Chinese. Each and every race has their own Pride and so long as they do not infringe into others' right, I don't see any problem of them taking their own PRIDE, wonder why the Malaysian politicians are so taboo about this?
Why do Chinese people work so hard to succeed in life? Here is the plain truth.
 #1. There are over 1 billion of us on this earth. We are like photostat copies of each other. You get rid of one, 5 magically appears (like ballot boxes). Yes, it is scary, especially for us. We acknowledge that we are replaceable, thus we are not particularly 'special'. If you think you are smart, there are a few thousand more people smarter than you. If you think you are strong, there are a few thousand people stronger than you.
 #2. We have been crawling all over this earth for far more centuries than most civilizations. Our DNA is designed for survival. We are like cockroaches. Put us anywhere on earth and we will make a colony and thrive.  We survive on anything around us and make the best of it. Some keep migrating but others will stay and multiply.

#3. NOBODY cares if we succeed as individuals or not. But our families take pride in knowing we have succeeded. Yes, some will fail. We take nothing for granted. We don't expect privileges to fall on our laps. No one owes us anything.
#4. We know we have nothing to lose if we try to succeed. Thus, we have no fear trying. That is why Chinese are addicted to gambling. We thrive on taking risks. All or nothing.

#5. From young we are taught to count every cent. What we take for granted like money management, I have found out recently, is not something other cultures practice at home with their children. It surprised me. But truth is not all societies or cultures teach their young this set of skills because it is rude to them. Yes, most of us can count because we are forced to and the logic of money is pounded into us from the beginning of time (when mama tells us how much she has spent on our milk and diapers)
 #6. We acknowledge life cycles. We accept that wealth in a family stays for three generations (urban myth?). Thus, every 4th generation will have to work from scratch. I.e. first generation earns the money from scratch, second generation spends the money on education, third generation gets spoiled and wastes all the inheritance. Then we are back to square one.  Some families hang on to their wealth a little longer than most.

#7. It is our culture to push our next generation to do better than the last. Be smarter. Be stronger. Be faster. Be more righteous. Be more pious.  Be more innovative. Be more creative. Be richer. Be everything that you can be in this lifetime. Be KIASU.
#8. Our society judges us by our achievements... and we have no choice but to do something worthwhile because Chinese New Year comes around every year and Chinese relatives have no qualms about asking you straight in your face - how much are you making? When was your last promotion? How big is your office? What car do you drive? Where do you stay? You have boyfriend? You have girlfriend? When are you getting married? When are you having children? When is the next child? When you getting a boy? Got maid yet? Does your company send you overseas? etc etc etc. It NEVER ENDS... so, we can't stop chasing the illusive train - we are damned to a materialistic society. If you are not Chinese, consider yourself lucky!
#9. We have been taught from young - if you have two hands, two feet, two eyes, and a mouth, what are you doing with it? People with no hands can do better than you (and the OKU artists do put us to shame)
 #10. Ironically, the Chinese also believe in giving back to save their wretched materialistic souls. Balance is needed. The more their children succeed in life, the more our parents will give back to society (not for profit) as gratitude for the good fortune bestowed on their children. Yes. That is true. And that is why our society progresses forward in all conditions.Nobody pities us. We accept that.
No one owes us anything. We know that.
There are too many of us for charity to reach all of us. We acknowledge that.
But that does not stop us from making a better life. This lifetime.
Opportunity is as we make of it.
So, pardon us if we feel obliged to make a better place for ourselves in this country we call home. It is in our DNA to progress forward for a more comfortable life.

But if history were to be our teacher, look around this globe.Every country has a Chinatown (seriously) but how many government/countries are 'taken' over by the Chinese people.
Don't be afraid of us overwhelming your majority, we are not looking to conquer. If we have moved away from China and Chinese governed countries, we are NOT looking for another country to administer. Our representatives are only there to look after our collective welfare. They are duty bound. We prefer to blend in and enjoy the fruits of our labor. We enjoy the company of like minded people of all races. After all, we are only passing through a small period in the history of time... so, use our skills and we can all progress forward together.

Chan-Lui Lee,  Ph.D.
Honorary Life Member & Past President, AFS
Melbourne, Australia

Negative Ions Created by Waterfalls Purify the Air,
Create High Energy and Enhance Your Mood.

The atmosphere we breathe normally is full of positive and negative ions. Air conditioning, lack of ventilation, and long dry spells remove negative ions, which usually serve to latch onto airborne dirt particles and wrestle them to the floor, rendering the air purer. Roughly one-third of the population seems to be particularly sensitive to negative-ion depletion. The proportion of negative ions is highest around moving water: storms, oceans, rivers and waterfalls. It’s no wonder that we feel so energized at the beach. The best ratios of negative to positive ions are associated with waterfalls and the time before, during and after storms. The worst are found in a windowless room and closed moving vehicles. Air purifiers typically work by emitting negative ions, which purify the air in a room by attaching to impurities and sinking them. Water fountains act the same way but are more appealing to the eye and can add to the décor in your room. Having an indoor water fountain can be also beneficial to people with allergies or asthma. An extra bonus of having a water fountain in a room is that it will help control the humidity in a room.

High concentration of negative ions are essential for high energy and positive moods (Thayer, 1995)(1). In fact, Marian Diamond, a professor of neuroanatomy at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that levels of negative ions are inversely related to levels of serotonin in the brain.

Source: The Owners Manual for the Brain, Everyday Applications From Mind-Brain Research

In another study, male and female subjects participated in two studies designed to investigate the impact of negative air ions on cognitive performance. In the first experiment, they worked on three different tasks (proofreading, memory span, word finding) In the presence of low, moderate, or high concentration of such ions. Results indicated that among men, performance on two of these tasks (proofreading and memory span) was enhanced by moderate but not by high concentrations of ions. In the second experiment, undertaken to extend the generality for these initial results, male and female subjects performed two additional tasks (letter copying, decision making) in the presence of low, moderate, or high concentrations of ions. Output on the letter copying task increased significantly as ion levels rose among both sexes. With respect to decision making, the tendency of male participants to select initially preferred alternative was significantly enhanced by moderate concentrations of negative ions. Together, the findings of these studies suggest that negative air ions can indeed exert appreciative effects on cognitive performance.

Source: Journal of Applied Psychology, Feb 1987 Title: Effects of negative ions on cognitive performance. Author: Robert A. Baron

SICK mind

It is an evolution of the quote, "If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" Albert Einstein was the one who said it. To have a clean desk is to imply that you are not doing much with it, that you have a desk not to use it but simply because you feel you need one.


"A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind."
Albert Einstein  
"The two most abundant things in the universe are hydrogren and stupidity."
Harlan Ellison  
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes."
Winston Churchill  
"First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak."
Epictetus  
"Wit is educated insolence."
Aristotle

"The vast majority of human beings dislike and even dread all notions with which they are not familiar. Hence it comes about that at their first appearance innovators have generally been persecuted, and always been derided as fools and madmen."
Aldous Huxley 

 

“Pain makes man think.
Thinking makes him wise,
And wisdom opens heaven’s doors to him.”
Proverb 

Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2013

Top 10 Most Popular Torrent Sites of 2013

Continuing a long-standing New Year’s tradition, today we present an up-to-date list of the world’s most-visited BitTorrent sites. At the start of 2013 The Pirate Bay continues to pull in the most visitors, followed by KickassTorrents and Torrentz. Household names BTJunkie and Demonoid have dropped off the list as both sites are no longer online.
Which torrent sites get the most visitors at the start of 2013?
Traditionally BitTorrent users are very loyal, which is reflected in the top 10 where most sites have had a consistent listing for more than half a decade. This year there are a few movers and shakers, as well as several newcomers.
The most notable absentees this year are BTJunkie and Demonoid. Both sites have been featured in the top 10 since 2006, but went offline in 2012. BTJunkie permanently quit early last year and Demonoid’s future is also uncertain after it disappeared during the summer.
The first newcomer in tenth place is H33t, which has been growing steadily in recent years. The second newcomer is TorrentReactor, one of the oldest torrent sites around that makes its comeback after not making the list last year.
Then there is also a group of notable sites that didn’t make the cut, but deserve a mention. YIFY-torrents.com for example, which launched late 2011 and has grown exponentially since. Also worth mentioning are the Pirate Bay proxies, including Pirateproxy.net, which in itself almost deserves a spot in the top 10.
Below is the full list of the 10 most-visited torrent sites at the start of the new year. Only public and English language sites are included. The list is based on various traffic reports and we display the Alexa and U.S. Compete rank for each. In addition, we include last year’s ranking for each of the 10 sites.
Did we miss anything? Feel free to join the discussion below.

1. The Pirate Bay

To many people The Pirate Bay is the equivalent to BitTorrent. The site was founded in 2003 and is still expanding, despite the various legal troubles and new blockades in the UK and the Netherlands. The Pirate Bay currently has well over a billion page views a month.

Alexa Rank: 74 / Compete Rank: 398 / Last year #1

2. KickassTorrents

KickassTorrents was founded in 2009 and has moved up in our top 10 year after year. Responding to increasing worries over domain seizures, the site moved from its kickasstorrents.com domain to kat.ph in 2012. This year the site continued to grow, despite being blocked by Italian Internet providers.

Alexa Rank: 116 / Compete Rank: 719 / Last year #3

3. Torrentz

Torrentz has been the leading BitTorrent meta-search engine for many years. Unlike the other sites featured in the list Torrentz does not host any torrent files, it merely redirects visitors to other places on the web. The site uses several domain names with the .eu being the most popular.

Alexa Rank: 166 / Compete Rank: 882 / Last year #2

4. IsoHunt

Two years ago isoHunt became the first search engine forced to implement a keyword filter provided by the MPAA. Despite this setback, isoHunt continues to be listed among the world’s top torrent sites. isoHunt is currently trying to get rid of the filter through the Appeals Court.

Alexa Rank: 213 / Compete Rank: 1,935 / Last year #4

5. ExtraTorrent

ExtraTorrent continues to gain more traffic and has moved up again in the top 10, now being the 5th most visited torrent site. This success didn’t go unnoticed to rightsholders groups such as the RIAA and MPAA who have called out ExtraTorrent as one of the top pirate sites recently.

Alexa Rank: 279 / Compete Rank: 1,973 / Last year #6

6. 1337x

1337x focuses more on the community aspect than some competitors. The site’s owners say they started 1337x to “fill an apparent void where it seemed there was a lack of quality conscience ad free torrent sites with public trackers.” The site moved up from spot 10 last year to 6th in 2013.

Alexa Rank: 1,031 / Compete Rank: 9,228 / Last year #10

7. EZTV

Unlike the other sites in the top 10, TV-torrent distribution group EZTV is a niche site specializing in TV content only. It was one of the newcomers last year despite being around for more than 7 years, and is relatively popular among Australians. Because of its focus on TV-content EZTV’s traffic varies in line with the TV-seasons.

Alexa Rank: 1,128 / Compete Rank: 16,622 / Last year #8

8. Bitsnoop

BitSnoop is one of the largest BitTorrent indexes, claiming to index a massive 19,091,736 torrent files at the time of writing. The site’s traffic continues to grow steadily, as do the DMCA notices that it receives.

Alexa Rank: 1,159 / Compete Rank: 5,648 / Last year #9

9. TorrentReactor

TorrentReactor is back in the top 10 after dropping off last year. A few months ago the site was blocked by a court order in Italy, but the site nonetheless continues to gain visitors.

Alexa Rank: 1,314 / Compete Rank: 4,530 / Last year #NA

10. H33t

H33T has been around for many years and has built a dedicated user base, mostly in Europe and Asia. Despite the wishes of the music industry, the site isn’t yet blocked by any court orders. The site made the news a few months ago when its owner took a stand against the avalanche of copyright takedown requests.

Alexa Rank: 1,403 / Compete Rank: 6,234 / Last year #NA

Disclaimer: Yes, we know that Alexa isn’t perfect and that Compete has plenty of flaws, but combined both do a pretty good job at comparing sites that operate in a similar niche.

 http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-popular-torrent-sites-of-2013-130106/

 

Cute Kids Can Sleep Anywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Bizzare Indian Rituals

10 Bizzare Indian Rituals

India is a place of many contrasts – as the cliche goes. It has a booming modern economy with a particular strength in IT, as well as ancient bustling markets which looked exactly the same five hundred years ago – minus the cellphones and DVDs. Some Indians, fiercely embracing exactly the same modernity that those in the West take for granted, resent that their country is still known for its sacred cows and its bizarre rituals. Stereotypes can be difficult to swallow. But they shouldn’t resent this list: it reflects only one small and fascinating shade of the enormous, incredible, multi-faceted country that is India. 10. Fire-Walking People from South India ‘celebrate’ the Theemithi festival by walking barefoot across a pit filled with burning hot firewood, or sometimes glowing charcoal. The fire walking is done in honour of the Hindu goddess Draupati Amman – so rather than hurrying across the pit, the devotees have to sdo it slowly, as though it’s a walk in the park. The ritual begins when the head priest traverses the pit with a pot on his head, filled with sacred water. He is then followed by other men, who seek to prove their piety by withstanding the pain. Participants suffer from burns on their feet – and sometimes worse injuries, on the all-too-common occasions when they fall into the burning pit.

09. Hooking The thookam festival sees the backs of devoted Hindus pierced by sharp hooks; the men are then lifted off the ground onto a scaffold using ropes. Sometimes, children are even tied to the hands of the participants. Originating from southern parts of India, the festival has now been banned by the Indian Government after continued pressure from human rights organizations.

08. Bull Fighting Unlike its Spanish counterpart, Indian bull-fighting, or Jallikattu, is done without the help of any rope or weapons. Thankfully, the bull’s life is also spared afterwards, bovines being famously sacred in India. Celebrated during Pongal (harvest thanksgiving), this is one of the most dangerous sports played in India. Youth, ardent for some desperate glory, usually strive either to tame the bull or at least to hang on to the bull for a reward – usually money. More than a hundred people have been killed in southern India over the past two decades. A case against Jallikattu is ongoing in the Supreme Court of India, which is considering an outright ban on the sport. The bulls are force-fed alcohol; their eyes are sprinkled with chili powder, and their testicles are pinched in an effort to infuriate them.

07. Self-flagellation Muharram is the first month in the Islamic Calendar, and this was the month which marks the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala, when Imam Hussein ibn Ali was killed, followed by 72 warriors who were killed over the next ten days. Shi’a Muslims in India, and also other countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, mourn this event by flogging their naked bodies with a bunch of chains known as ‘Matam’. Sometimes, these Matams also contain razor blades or knives.

06. Widow-burning Practiced extensively in the 17th century, Sati was a ritual whereby a widow – voluntarily or involuntarily – would lie down next to her dead husband before being burned alive along with the corpse. The widows who were caught trying to escape this fate, despite the intense social pressure to self-immolate, would be tied to the burning structure, or their limbs would be broken in order to prevent more attempts to flee. Sometimes, they would even be pushed back with bamboo sticks into the burning funeral pyre. Even though it was banned by the British colonial government in 1859, it was still practiced in some parts of India. It is still banned under the current Indian government, with harsh penalties for those few who still insist on forcing innocent women to their deaths.

05. Baby Tossing Every year in the month of December, more than a hundred babies are tossed from a temple roof into a crowd below. They plummet 200 feet, to where a group of men stand waiting with a cloth meant to catch them. The reason? Married couples – looking to be blessed with, perhaps ironically, more babies – take part in this event. It is also said to bring good health and luck to the family. The Indian government is looking to set a ban on the jaw-dropping ritual, which takes place in the southern state of Karnataka.

04. Food Rolling Enter certain temples in Karnataka, and you’ll be ordered to stop, drop and roll. Supplicants roll their bodies over scraps of food discarded by Brahmins – the highest, priestly caste in India. The act of rolling is practiced by all of the castes lower than Brahmin, and is said to cure skin disease. Made snana has been in practice for over 500 years, but it is now on the verge of being banned. Though restrictions in certain temples had been put up in recent years, these restricitions were lifted after protests from devout Hindus. Members of the Indian government have therefore decided to educate, rather than impose their will upon the people. Good luck to them.

03. Chicken-shredding Exorcisms In Hinduism, exorcisms are carried out by various means, according to the traditions of different regions. One of these methods involves the slaughter of a white chicken: the bloody parts are strewn around the house by the Pandit or priest, who is usually in charge of performing the exorcism. The possessed person in question is then addressed as a demon, or by the name of a dead relative who may have become a demon within them. These demons, or spirits, are said to be afraid of white chickens. In some cases, the demon is reported to have screamed ‘I go! I go!’ through the possessed body, before apparently leaving. Supposedly, this is followed by the immediate revival of the exorcised person, who appears to wake from something like a trance, with no memory of the events or of the chicken.

02. Tongue Piercing Not studs, but long and sharp needles are used to puncture the tongue. The needles – usually made from wood or steel – can be so long that the tongue is forced to stick out of the mouth permanently, unable to retract. The piercing is common a number of religious festivals. In some regions, young boys and sometimes girls take part in the ritual piercing. The ones who are going to pierce their tongues wear a garland around their necks for a day before the ceremony. The piercing ceremony is usually followed by dancing and merrymaking. These practices are also seen in countries other than India, in southern parts of Asia.

01. Female Infanticide This social evil exists not only in India, but also in many other parts of the world whose populations see male children as more desirable than female children. Preference for a male child can be so extreme that female infants might be killed, or set afloat in the river. Illegitimate girls, especially, were vulnerable to murder prompted by shame: only if a man agreed to marry the mother-to-be could the child often be saved – but this hardly ever happened. Infanticide was banned in the 19th century.

The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TQmz6Rbpnu0