Just wanted to see how the image will look :)
Welcome to God's vacation spot!
Friday, June 15, 2007
Overweight folks are human too!!!(rant)
Obesity is fast becoming a major medical problem throughout the world. In the US alone, 60% of the population are significantly overweight and the number is set to grow. Our sedentary lifestyle, long work hours and resultant stress, home comforts, and fast food is wreaking havoc on our health and physiques, with long term medical problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, cancers and whatnot.
Naturally, we see an overweight individual and automatically assume they are lazy, disgusting slobs who have no control over their food habits and probably have lousy sex lives. This is plain wrong!!! I have seen several health and fitness forums where anti-fat folks have such hardened attitudes against their overweight counterparts, that it boggles the mind. They spit such violent vitriol, hatred, and treat overweight individuals with such utter disdain and contempt!
I am extremely disgusted by the lack of empathy and deliberate targetting and humuliation of overweight individuals. No one likes being excessively overweight or out of shape. Everyone wishes to be healthy and fit. But many people need help and support in order to achieve their goals, not condemnation!! Food addiction is the main culprit of obesity. Food addiction is no different than drug, cigarrette, or alcohol addiction and in the long term it can be just as deadly! You can't expect someone to just do an about face, give up their unhealthy food habbits and start being active overnight! Oh sure, some people have the will power and dedication to do it, but many don't and it's these people who need the most help! An individual needs a supportive and positive atmosphere to achieve their goals, not a derogatory or negative atmosphere. No one can be forced to change their habbits by threats, insults, or violence. The desire for change must come from that individual him/herself and through positive and helpful encouragement.
That being said, there are a few simple steps people can take to kickstart their path towards a healthier lifestyle.
-Try to get at least an hour's worth of exercise per day. Just one hour is enough to positively change your body.
-Ideally one should do both resistance training and cardio to get max results, but for those who are really pressed for time or want to start slow, a brisk walk is a great way to start the day.
-If you can, do your cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. You burn more fat that way.
-Diet is the most important factor in losing fat. Simply eliminating junk food, sugary snacks, and sodas/alcohol can yield amazing results in a very short time.
-Some folks find it hard to give up their favorite foods. In that case, you can substitute foods!
Instead of eating a burger, have a subway sandwich. Instead of fried foods, go for grilled or roasted foods. If you have a case of the munchies, chow down on fruits and veggies. Simple subsititutions can make life a lot easier and psychologically you feel good.
-For further fat loss, try not to eat anything 2-3 hours before bed time. If you do feel hungry have some water, green veggies, salad, fat free cottage cheese, fat free or skim milk or anything light.
-drink at least a gallon of water every day!
These simple steps can result in many positive benefits and help pave the way for more dedicated dieting and exercise routine. The key is to remain positive, and build up one's determination and willpower. This is about you and your health, nobody else's.
Naturally, we see an overweight individual and automatically assume they are lazy, disgusting slobs who have no control over their food habits and probably have lousy sex lives. This is plain wrong!!! I have seen several health and fitness forums where anti-fat folks have such hardened attitudes against their overweight counterparts, that it boggles the mind. They spit such violent vitriol, hatred, and treat overweight individuals with such utter disdain and contempt!
I am extremely disgusted by the lack of empathy and deliberate targetting and humuliation of overweight individuals. No one likes being excessively overweight or out of shape. Everyone wishes to be healthy and fit. But many people need help and support in order to achieve their goals, not condemnation!! Food addiction is the main culprit of obesity. Food addiction is no different than drug, cigarrette, or alcohol addiction and in the long term it can be just as deadly! You can't expect someone to just do an about face, give up their unhealthy food habbits and start being active overnight! Oh sure, some people have the will power and dedication to do it, but many don't and it's these people who need the most help! An individual needs a supportive and positive atmosphere to achieve their goals, not a derogatory or negative atmosphere. No one can be forced to change their habbits by threats, insults, or violence. The desire for change must come from that individual him/herself and through positive and helpful encouragement.
That being said, there are a few simple steps people can take to kickstart their path towards a healthier lifestyle.
-Try to get at least an hour's worth of exercise per day. Just one hour is enough to positively change your body.
-Ideally one should do both resistance training and cardio to get max results, but for those who are really pressed for time or want to start slow, a brisk walk is a great way to start the day.
-If you can, do your cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. You burn more fat that way.
-Diet is the most important factor in losing fat. Simply eliminating junk food, sugary snacks, and sodas/alcohol can yield amazing results in a very short time.
-Some folks find it hard to give up their favorite foods. In that case, you can substitute foods!
Instead of eating a burger, have a subway sandwich. Instead of fried foods, go for grilled or roasted foods. If you have a case of the munchies, chow down on fruits and veggies. Simple subsititutions can make life a lot easier and psychologically you feel good.
-For further fat loss, try not to eat anything 2-3 hours before bed time. If you do feel hungry have some water, green veggies, salad, fat free cottage cheese, fat free or skim milk or anything light.
-drink at least a gallon of water every day!
These simple steps can result in many positive benefits and help pave the way for more dedicated dieting and exercise routine. The key is to remain positive, and build up one's determination and willpower. This is about you and your health, nobody else's.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Hamas and Fatah continuing to fight...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6751079.stm
Seems like these guys will never get along. It's not surpising. After Yasser Arafat's charasmatic leadership, there is no Palestinian leader who comes close to bringing all Palestinians together. Also despite the larger Palestinian cause, it seems that politics and struggle for leadership takes precedence first. Right or wrong, that's how politics works.
This whole farce on forming a unity government must stop. Neither Fatah nor Hamas will agree to any power sharing because they are both ambitious, power hungry, and ideologically different. Fatah is more or less secular, nationalist, and follows a more political ideology which means that it will be more inclined to negotiate with Israel to solve the intractable Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Hamas, on the other hand, is a religious organization bordering on radicalism and unwilling to negotiate with Israel on any condition. We have two different philosophies colliding and its impossible to reconcile between them unless one group fundamentally changes its vision. Only one political party can reign and that group in my opinion will be Hamas.
Why? Because Hamas has the support of the Palestinian people. Hamas made a name for itself in the first Intifada(1987-91) by helping the Palestinians on the ground and providing social services which the leadership could not do. Hamas also got its support by supporting a violent struggle against the Israelis and refusing to compromise or negotiating with them. The PLO leadership, then dominated by Fatah, has failed to deliver on its promises of a Palestinian state and is marred by corruption, bureacratic bungling, and failure to provide Palestinians physical, economic, and infrastural security. Naturally the Palestinians are upset and angry and thus more apt to support Hamas who take that anger and frustration and throw it violently against the Israelis.
Unfortunately the international community will never accept Hamas(as they are labeled a terrorist organization) and will continue to press economic sanctions which only hurts and embitters the Palestinian people. Hamas then uses this as propaganda and aquires more support and sympathy from the Palestinians who see the sanctions as collective punishment against all Palestinian people and an attempt to break their will. There have been suggestions that the sanctions should be targetted only on Hamas and not on Fatah(since they are considered to be more reasonable and inclined to negotiate) but if that happens, Fatah will be charged with being stooges of the West and lose even more support from the population. But sanctions themselves hurt the Palestinians more who are facing water, electricity, food shortages and have little to no access to utilities or clean sanitation. For the sanctions to end, Hamas must be willing to recognize and negotiate with Israel which it swears it will never do. Thus there seems no way out of this deadlock.
In the end, it the common man who suffers the most in this political tug of war.
Seems like these guys will never get along. It's not surpising. After Yasser Arafat's charasmatic leadership, there is no Palestinian leader who comes close to bringing all Palestinians together. Also despite the larger Palestinian cause, it seems that politics and struggle for leadership takes precedence first. Right or wrong, that's how politics works.
This whole farce on forming a unity government must stop. Neither Fatah nor Hamas will agree to any power sharing because they are both ambitious, power hungry, and ideologically different. Fatah is more or less secular, nationalist, and follows a more political ideology which means that it will be more inclined to negotiate with Israel to solve the intractable Israeli-Palestinian dispute. Hamas, on the other hand, is a religious organization bordering on radicalism and unwilling to negotiate with Israel on any condition. We have two different philosophies colliding and its impossible to reconcile between them unless one group fundamentally changes its vision. Only one political party can reign and that group in my opinion will be Hamas.
Why? Because Hamas has the support of the Palestinian people. Hamas made a name for itself in the first Intifada(1987-91) by helping the Palestinians on the ground and providing social services which the leadership could not do. Hamas also got its support by supporting a violent struggle against the Israelis and refusing to compromise or negotiating with them. The PLO leadership, then dominated by Fatah, has failed to deliver on its promises of a Palestinian state and is marred by corruption, bureacratic bungling, and failure to provide Palestinians physical, economic, and infrastural security. Naturally the Palestinians are upset and angry and thus more apt to support Hamas who take that anger and frustration and throw it violently against the Israelis.
Unfortunately the international community will never accept Hamas(as they are labeled a terrorist organization) and will continue to press economic sanctions which only hurts and embitters the Palestinian people. Hamas then uses this as propaganda and aquires more support and sympathy from the Palestinians who see the sanctions as collective punishment against all Palestinian people and an attempt to break their will. There have been suggestions that the sanctions should be targetted only on Hamas and not on Fatah(since they are considered to be more reasonable and inclined to negotiate) but if that happens, Fatah will be charged with being stooges of the West and lose even more support from the population. But sanctions themselves hurt the Palestinians more who are facing water, electricity, food shortages and have little to no access to utilities or clean sanitation. For the sanctions to end, Hamas must be willing to recognize and negotiate with Israel which it swears it will never do. Thus there seems no way out of this deadlock.
In the end, it the common man who suffers the most in this political tug of war.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Blast hits the Al Askari Shrine in Iraq...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6747419.stm
Man...this is gonna be bad. Such an attack will only serve to exacerbate Sunni-Shia tensions in Iraq. Naurally people are gonna ask why the heck wasn't the shrine protected as it was already targetted last year. My guess is that an infiltrator managed to get into the shrine and plant the explosives. Also I don't think US troops were allowed to protect the shrine or place troops near the shrine as it would have affronted the Shias. Iraqi police/army units are still not independent or strong enough to take aggressive defensive roles and frankly many of their units have been penetrated by spies, insurgents, and sabatoeurs.
What does this mean? It means that security in Iraq is still a huge problem even after 4 years. The fact is that no matter how hard the Iraqi government tries to appeal for calm and promises a government that is representative of all the people in Iraq, the reality is different. Sunnis, who are a minority population and who were once the elite and holders of power cannot reconcile with the fact that they are now in 2nd place. Let's face it, when you are used to being on the top, you can't tolerate a lower position. Sunnis are also worried that most of the oil rich areas on Iraq are located in Shia dominated areas and thus they will be economically disadvantaged. Shias, who are the majority, have finally achieved political power and want to avenge their years of submission, huuliation, and torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein, and they are doing so by solidifying their power and making it felt. Kurds, on the other hand, are virtually autonomous and could care less about the central government in Baghdad. Basically Iraq is still missing that political, economic, and social inclusiveness that can help forge a stronger and united country.
This is a very sensitive and emotional conflict, a conflict with no front lines, and a conflict where people and institutions are deliberately targetted. Adding to the conflict is the US military presence. People often argue that US military presence exacerbates the conflict while some argue that that it actually prevents the conflict from spiraling out of control. We'll never know until the mission in Iraq ends, and then we can evaluate US performance. But for that to happen the US has to give a timetable for withdrawing its troops. Why? Because people in Iraq are tired of being occupied. There's no way to sugar coat an occupation. No one likes being occupied by a foreign power forever.
In any case, what we are seeing is a deliberate attempt to sabotage any chances of peace in Iraq. It can also be an attempt to force the US to engage against Iran who naturally will be very angry with the destruction of the holiest Shia shrine and force the latter to take more aggressive actions.
We shall have to see the political fallout from this terrible act...
Man...this is gonna be bad. Such an attack will only serve to exacerbate Sunni-Shia tensions in Iraq. Naurally people are gonna ask why the heck wasn't the shrine protected as it was already targetted last year. My guess is that an infiltrator managed to get into the shrine and plant the explosives. Also I don't think US troops were allowed to protect the shrine or place troops near the shrine as it would have affronted the Shias. Iraqi police/army units are still not independent or strong enough to take aggressive defensive roles and frankly many of their units have been penetrated by spies, insurgents, and sabatoeurs.
What does this mean? It means that security in Iraq is still a huge problem even after 4 years. The fact is that no matter how hard the Iraqi government tries to appeal for calm and promises a government that is representative of all the people in Iraq, the reality is different. Sunnis, who are a minority population and who were once the elite and holders of power cannot reconcile with the fact that they are now in 2nd place. Let's face it, when you are used to being on the top, you can't tolerate a lower position. Sunnis are also worried that most of the oil rich areas on Iraq are located in Shia dominated areas and thus they will be economically disadvantaged. Shias, who are the majority, have finally achieved political power and want to avenge their years of submission, huuliation, and torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein, and they are doing so by solidifying their power and making it felt. Kurds, on the other hand, are virtually autonomous and could care less about the central government in Baghdad. Basically Iraq is still missing that political, economic, and social inclusiveness that can help forge a stronger and united country.
This is a very sensitive and emotional conflict, a conflict with no front lines, and a conflict where people and institutions are deliberately targetted. Adding to the conflict is the US military presence. People often argue that US military presence exacerbates the conflict while some argue that that it actually prevents the conflict from spiraling out of control. We'll never know until the mission in Iraq ends, and then we can evaluate US performance. But for that to happen the US has to give a timetable for withdrawing its troops. Why? Because people in Iraq are tired of being occupied. There's no way to sugar coat an occupation. No one likes being occupied by a foreign power forever.
In any case, what we are seeing is a deliberate attempt to sabotage any chances of peace in Iraq. It can also be an attempt to force the US to engage against Iran who naturally will be very angry with the destruction of the holiest Shia shrine and force the latter to take more aggressive actions.
We shall have to see the political fallout from this terrible act...
Useful Post #1 (Bodybuilding.com)
For anyone interested in bodybuilding, powerlifting, sports ethusiasts, or just general health and fitness, please take a look at www.bodybuilding.com. This is an excellent website, loaded with articles on training and nutrition; offers a diverse array of nutritional supplements at great prices; and they price match too!!
They also have an awesome forum with very knowledgeable members who motivate and help you achieve your goals. I have been hooked on this site since 2004 when I started to hit the gym seriously. The website gave me all the info I needed to help train effectively and eat properly cause we all know that its diet and nutrition that can either make you or break you.
Oh by the way, I just found this awesome e-book by Derek "Beast" Charlebois courtesy of bodybuilding.com. It's called "The Lifestyle Cut Diet" and its an excellent e-book on diet and nutrition and how to cut properly when approaching a competition. I'm sure many of us won't go that far but the e-book is an excellent resource and easy to understand guide on the basics of dieting. Check it out!!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beast47.htm
Hope this helps folks :) Cheers!
p.s The cardinal rule of bodybuilding: "Lift, eat, rest, repeat"
They also have an awesome forum with very knowledgeable members who motivate and help you achieve your goals. I have been hooked on this site since 2004 when I started to hit the gym seriously. The website gave me all the info I needed to help train effectively and eat properly cause we all know that its diet and nutrition that can either make you or break you.
Oh by the way, I just found this awesome e-book by Derek "Beast" Charlebois courtesy of bodybuilding.com. It's called "The Lifestyle Cut Diet" and its an excellent e-book on diet and nutrition and how to cut properly when approaching a competition. I'm sure many of us won't go that far but the e-book is an excellent resource and easy to understand guide on the basics of dieting. Check it out!!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beast47.htm
Hope this helps folks :) Cheers!
p.s The cardinal rule of bodybuilding: "Lift, eat, rest, repeat"
Hi folks,
This is my first entry to my first blog. Heard about blogger a lot but always resisted joining cause I was too web shy. Thought I could share my thoughts a lot better in person. But then I realized nobody wanted to talk to me! :P So anyways, due to a lot of crap that's going on in the world as well as in my brain, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and bore anyone who reads this to death.
What is this blog about you might be wondering. Well at the moment its a whole lot of baloney hence the title. Just a whole bunch of rants, thoughts, and possibly helpful stuff. I guess its just a digital venting space...
Anyways, its just the beginning. Hopefully the blog ends up being better. So for the moment I bid you farewell and leave with this parting message:
"Let's all stay crazy and live the bitchin life!!!"
This is my first entry to my first blog. Heard about blogger a lot but always resisted joining cause I was too web shy. Thought I could share my thoughts a lot better in person. But then I realized nobody wanted to talk to me! :P So anyways, due to a lot of crap that's going on in the world as well as in my brain, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and bore anyone who reads this to death.
What is this blog about you might be wondering. Well at the moment its a whole lot of baloney hence the title. Just a whole bunch of rants, thoughts, and possibly helpful stuff. I guess its just a digital venting space...
Anyways, its just the beginning. Hopefully the blog ends up being better. So for the moment I bid you farewell and leave with this parting message:
"Let's all stay crazy and live the bitchin life!!!"
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