Your Braces

*This post is a bit emotional

It's been a while. I'm busy with test, raya and everything. So don't expect me to write much for the following week. But today's entry is something that annoyed me so much.

At first I thought people wear it because of medical reason, but as time marches on, I think that braces is a trend. Why ? Because your teeth is perfect and yet you still go through a painful phase just to wear a braces and look beautiful. And I hate that.

Yes, I don't know the real reason why you put the braces on. And I'm sorry because of that. But it turned yourself from being extraordinary (cause you aren't like other people) into something normal (you are like other people). Just so you know, beauty is mortal.

My point here is not because of the braces, although I blame the braces because it changed you. It is the fact that you change from extraordinary to normal that annoys me so much. I don't know whether or not the changes will bring any good to you but it certainly make you less interesting. And I don't want that.

I do hope that you will not read this post as it shows how much I hate you right now. And I hope that in the future my hatred towards you has gone. Believe me, I don't want to hate anybody. Especially you.

A Thirst For Knowledge

You see, many of us, are studying for the sake of the exam. Yeah, don't lie to me. I'll know. But have you ever think about the knowledge that you possessed? Or about the knowledge that you don't? Have you ever wonder about the magnificent of the knowledge itself? And the answer is of course no, not, nope whatever that disagree with the question i posed earlier. I get it, you only study to get a good exam result, then get a good job, get married and die leaving a tons of fortune for your kids. Well, it's a typical thinking, and even I think like that sometimes. But most of the time I keep thinking, is that it? I mean, is that all? Our whole life, just to get a good job, married and die?

I spent a few years searching for the answer and I have yet reach the final conclusion. But you see, most of the time, my years of searching the answer led me to learn a few new things. And what if for example, we got a mission to complete? You know, like the one in the game that you have. Starcraft II, Crysis Warhead, Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Super Mario, Counter Strike and many other cool games got its own mission. So my question is, what if, you entered a mission of your own? I know for muslims, you will say that your mission is that you want to get to heaven. But did you really doing things that can complete your mission? Really ?

Come to think of it, i do have my own mission. The first one is to master all the basic knowledge that we have. Like i said, all and basic. That's why i learned so many stuff although it's not related with mine. Biology, chemistry, physics, geology, medicine and language are some of the basic stuff that I need to master. Nowadays, the education system only allows us to take one stuff at one time. If you go to engineering, you'll have to give up medicine. Why? Why do we need to do that? Why can't we just take engineering and medicine at the same time? Are you saying it's impossible? Well, I say no! It's possible. It's just you who does not give us the opportunity to take both at the same time. And for that my friend, is what i regret the most.

Yeah, call me a freak or whatever, but yes, I want to master all the basic things. I don't want to go see a doctor and here some alien terms that he'll throw out to me. And who knows? Maybe the doctor lied. Maybe he just want more money. It's the same as lawyers. He keep rambling all the laws that we have and if we don't know anything about laws, who knows if he just making that laws up for their own purposes? You go to Low Yat Plaza and want to buy something, a laptop for example. The chinese man keep telling you this is good, this is best and if you don't know a slightest thing about laptop, how will you know that it's good or not? Grow up people!

Learn! Go search for knowledge! Don't just sit there and accept everything. Not everything is true. And not everything showed to you is correct. By not having the knowledge, you are just like a monkey that only recognized banana as food, not as tool to get other food. Yeah, correct. A monkey!

p/s: I got a bit emotional cause people nowadays don't understand the knowledge. They simply learn the stuff because it's what've been offered to them and they think that it's enough for them to get a job and a career.

Seeing The Unseen

Hi/salam.

It's been a long time since I wrote something of my own. Right now I'm still in the middle of collecting data so that I can post an accurate perception, although, there is no correct perception. But anyway, I don't think this is gonna be a long post, so just relax and enjoy.

Now, some of us might know that to see the subsurface, which means what is under the ground or the water bed. We will use a method of acquiring data that we called seismic. This is a method of using the sound wave to penetrate deep enough to the earth crust to know what the geology is. If you don't understand anything about seismic, you can google it. There's a lot of pages that cover the basic meaning of seismic.

From that piece of data we had on seismic, we can interpret it so that we understand how does the subsurface world looks like. If we're lucky, maybe we can find some oil or water or maybe even precious fossils that worth millions of dollars. You see, the idea of seeing something hidden is to bombard some energy, get the feedback and you can interpret it. Let us see what happen if we applied this 3 basic things into interpreting human being.

The energy is bombarded through communication, we get the feedback just by watching their body language, tone of the voices, how he/she stressed some key points and many more. From these sort of things, you can use it to interpret the underlying problem but of course, once you interpreted it, you may have to ask the person whether or not it's true. Well, we might be wrong in our interpretation, so.. asking is the best way to know. But think before you ask.

You see, through this method, we can easily predict someone's habit, gesture and attitude. I tell you this because, most of the people hide their scar. They don't want it to resurface again. For me, I am doing this so that I can remove the scar. If it is removed, then there will be no problem of it resurface again. But how do you know what kind of scar does he/she have? By doing the 3 things I told you earlier. There has been many books that introduce us to how to read body languages and believe me, it is worth to learn this.

I think my point here is, if you want to see what's inside that person's head, you can do that by communicate and get the feedback from the person. I don't know about you, but for me, reading other's mind is basically science. Read more know more and learn more. Only by doing this you can achieve what others can't.

That's all from me. Thank you.

.....and Humor

With the right attitude and a touch of humor you can do what Mal Hancock did. Mal took the proverbial lemon of a paralyzing fall and turned that tragedy into real-life lemonade. Mal was in high school, facing a promising career in athletics, when a fall paralyzed him from the waist down. He endured some heartbreaking days trying to make the mental and physical adjustments.

There are no guarantee, as Mal Hancock learned, that life will be a bed of roses. On the contrary, you can count on facing some very strange events, but if you learn to face the unexpected with humor and optimism, you too can come out on top. While in the hospital, Mal began to draw the scenes around him. Rather that complain about the nurse waking him at 8 am for a sleeping pill, he drew a cartoon about it that made the point with a laugh. Soon all the nurses in the hospital were coming by to see what Mal had chosen to draw.

It wasn't long before he had sold one of those cartoons to a magazine. That single sale launched him into successful career as a cartoonist. Today Mal Hancock's name can be read on cartoons in the Saturday Evening Post and T.V Guide. Incidentally, his first book was called - you guessed it - Hospital Humor.

Mal learned a lesson which can be important to all of us. Even when you can't do anything about a situation (such as being paralyzed) , you can do a lot about your attitude toward the situation.

......and Criticism

Davy Crockett had a simple motto; "Make sure you are right, then go ahead." Every one of us, like every successful person you will ever meet, faces moments of criticism. No matter what your career involvement, the more successful you become, the more criticism you will receive. Only those who don't attempt anything remain forever above criticism.

Being criticized is not a problem if you develop a positive way of dealing with it. Winston Churchill had framed on the wall of his office the following words of Abe Lincoln: "I do the very best I can, I mean to keep going. If the end brings me out all right, then what is said against me won't matter. If I'm wrong, ten angels swearing I was right won't make a difference." Churchill received much criticism in his lifetime and Abe Lincoln was roundly criticized in his day, just as most of our public figures are today. It takes a person of great courage to forge ahead and do what he honestly believes to be right when critics are howling against him.

Remember that all water in the world won't sink your boat if it doesn't get inside. Rise above it. Make certain you are right, and then stand by your convinctions. If you do, I'll see you at the top!

*Don't be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against - not with - the wind*

**Happiness is not a station at which you arrive, but a manner of traveling.**

.......and Inferiority

There are moments in all our lives when we feel below par and have brief moments of doubts. As a matter of fact, the late Dr. Maxwell Maltz has written, "At least ninety-five percent of the people in the world feel inferior." The reason so may people feel inferior about their own lives, looks, skills, and abilities is because we spend too much time comparing ourselves with heroes and heroines from the make believe world of television.

Every teenage girl feels she must rate at least a "10" or she will not be acceptable to her classmates.

Every teenage boy feels that he must be a combination of Tom Selleck and Joe Theismann rolled into one.

Every father feels that he must be a super success in business before he is acceptable as a father.

Our problem is that we make the mistake of comparing ourselves with other people. You are you and you don't have to measure up to any other person. You are not inferior or superior to any human being. The creator has created each and every one of us with a touch of uniqueness and originality. You do not determine your success by comparing yourself to others, rather you determine your success by comparing your accomplishments to your capabilities. You are number one when you do the best you can with what you have every day.

*Why is it we judge ourselves by our ideals and others by their acts?*

Mengapa Palestin???

Tanah Rahmat Bagi kedua-dua pihak Islam dan Yahudi, tanah yang didiami oleh Palestin dan Israel sekarang merupakan tanah yang istimewa, yang telah ditentukan oleh Allah sejak ribuan tahun lampau. Bagi umat Islam, di tanah inilah terbinanya Masjidil Aqsa, iaitu masjid ketiga paling mulia di dunia ini, setelah Masjidil Haram dan Masjid Nabawi. Bagi penganut Yahudi pula, tanah tersebut merupakan 'Tanah Yang Dijanjikan Tuhan'kepada mereka. Di situlah nenek moyang mereka berasal (Bani Israel), dan di situlah kampung halaman mereka. Mereka percaya, di tanah itulah terletaknya Bukit Zion, dan situlah tertanamnya Temple of Solomon, iaitu kuil suci mereka. Atas kedua-dua sebab inilah, tanah tersebut menjadi rebutan antara Muslim dan Yahudi sejak dari dahulu, hinggalah membawa kepada pertumpahan darah sekarang. Bagaimana dengan Kristian pula? Kristian juga, menganggap tanah tersebut sebagai tanah suci. Di Temple of Nazareth, yang terletak di tanah tersebut, merupakan tempat kelahiran Nabi Isa. Di tanah itulah Nabi Isa menyampaikan ajarannya, dan di tanah itu jugalah Nabi Isa disalib (mengikut kepercayaan kristian). Sejarah Awal Sebenarnya sejarah bani Israel wujud sedari zaman Nabi Ibrahim lagi. Namun, kita susuri sedari kependudukan Bani Israel itu di Mesir, sepertimana yang diutuskan Nabi Musa a.s kepada mereka. Kita tahu melalui al-Quran, bahawa Firaun dan tenteranya mengejar Nabi Musa dan kaumnya sehingga ke Laut Merah, di mana ketika itu Nabi Musa menggunakan mukjizatnya membelah dan menyeberangi lautan tersebut. Setelah itulah Nabi Musa dan kaumnya Bani Israel mendiami tanah Palestin tersebut. Kita boleh baca sendiri dalam al-Quran, betapa kaum ini semakin lama semakin besar kepala, meminta yang pelbagai daripada Nabi Musa dan sebagainya. Kita juga boleh lihat kisah Talut dan Jalut yang berlaku setelah kewafatan Nabi Musa, sebagaimana yang diceritakan dalam al-Quran melalui surah al-Baqarah. Setelah Talut menawan kembali tanah Palestin daripada kekuasaan Jalut, tampuk pemerintahan Palestin disambung pula oleh Nabi Daud. Seterusnya disambung oleh Nabi Sulaiman, dengan bala tenteranya dan kegemilangan kerajaannya (termasuk haiwan, jin dan angin). Palestin dimiliki oleh Bani Israel, sehinggalah lebih kurang 60 tahun sebelum kelahiran Nabi Isa. Pada tempoh ini, kerajaan Rom menekan kependudukan Bani Israel di tanah Palestin tersebut, sehinggalah akhirnya tanah Palestin dijarah oleh tentera Rom dan kaum Bani Israel diusir keluar lalu tersebarlah kaum Bani Israel, atau dikenali sekarang sebagai Yahudi, ke serata dunia. Sejak itu, tanah Palestin menjadi milik kerajaan Rom. Sehinggalah setelah kelahiran Nabi Isa, seterusnya kewujudan agama Kristian. Lebih kurang pada tahun 300 Masihi, kerajaan Rom di bawah pemerintahan Raja Constantine yang menjadikan Constantinople sebagai pusat pemerintahan, mengalami Kristianisasi. Sejak dari tempoh tersebut, kerajaan Rom menguasai Palestin. Kedatangan Islam Palestin kekal di bawah milik kerajaan Rom sehinggalah kelahiran Nabi kita Muhammad s.a.w. Setelah Rasulullah berjaya menubuhkan empayar Islam, beliau wafat pada 632 Masihi. Empayar Islam semakin berkembang dan Palestin berjaya ditawan dari kerajaan Rom pada tahun 638 Masihi. Maka sedari itulah Palestin menjadi milik Islam, sebagai tanah suci yang ketiga selepas Makkah dan Madinah. Sepanjang tempoh tersebut, kerajaan Rom yang telah menjalani Kristianisasi mengalami pelbagai perubahan daripada sudut struktur pemerintahan. Bangsa-bangsa asal Eropah seperti Vikings, Magyar dan sebagainya dikristiankan, dan pemerintahan dikuasai oleh golongan gereja. Sejak dari 1000 Masihi, tentera Kristian telah melakukan pelbagai usaha menawan kembali Palestin. Pada tahun 1063, Pope Alexander II memberikan ‘fatwa' mengerahkan penganut Kristian untuk berjuang mendapatkan kembali Palestin, dan barangsiapa yang berjuang diberikan status kemuliaan dan pengampunan tertinggi. Itulah yang dikenali sebagai Perang Salib (Crusades). Akhirnya pada tahun 1099, tentera Salib berjaya menawan Palestin, dan menguasai tanah suci tersebut selama hampir 200 tahun. Menawan Semula Setelah Palestin ditawan, kerajaan Islam yang sedia ada konflik dalaman pada ketika itu, semakin hilang semangat. Keadaan berlanjutan sehinggalah lahirnya seorang pemimpin agung, yang dikenali sebagai Salahuddin Al Ayyubi. Salahuddin Al Ayyubi, menyatukan masyarakat Arab yang ketika itu berpecah belah akibat perbezaan mazhab dan aliran, seterusnya membawa tentera Islam menyerang kembali Palestin. Akhirnya, pada sekitar tahun 1187, ibu negara Palestin berjaya ditawan, dan pada tahun 1291 kubu terakhir tentera Salib di tanah suci tersebut berjaya dimusnahkan. Sejak itulah tanah suci Palestin kekal di bawah pemerintahan Islam dengan aman damai. Malahan, penduduk asal Palestin iaitu Yahudi/Bani Israel dibenarkan pulang ke kampung halaman mereka, walaupun masih ramai yang bermastautin di luar. Kerajaan Islam berkembang meluas, hinggalah masuk ke era pemerintahan Turki Uthmaniyyah. Zaman Turki Uthmaniyyah mengalami kejatuhan sejak dari abad ke-19 lagi. Proses modenisasi semakin berlaku, dan kebergantungan terhadap kuasa barat semakin wujud. Krisis-krisis dan konflik dalaman melemahkan lagi kekuasaan empayar Turki Uthmaniyyah. Khalifah pada masa tersebut hanyalah pada nama. Empayar Islam semakin lemah, di bawah kekuasaan barat seperti Britain dan Perancis. Perang Dunia Pertama Akhirnya, pada tahun 1914, tercetusnya Perang Dunia Pertama. Perang ini terdiri daripada dua kuasa besar; iaitu Pakatan Bertiga Britain-Perancis- Rusia menentang Pakatan Pusat iaitu Jerman dan Austria/Hungary. Setelah perang berterusan, negara-negara lain seperti Amerika Syarikat dan Itali menyertai Pakatan Bertiga, manakala Kerajaan Turki Uthmaniyah pula menyertai Pakatan Pusat. Berada di bawah Pakatan Pusat, kerajaan Turki Uthmaniyyah diserang hebat oleh Pakatan Bertiga Britain-Perancis- Russia. Kerajaan Islam Timur diserang dan ditawan oleh Britain. Kerajaan Islam Barat yang menjangkau hingga ke Algeria dan Sudan manakala negara-negara utara Afrika dikuasai oleh Perancis. Kerajaan Islam juga diserang dari utara oleh Rusia, menyaksikan Rusia menawan kawasan utara kerajaan Islam. Perlu diberi perhatian bahawa pada ketika ini, masih belum wujud negara bangsa dan kerajaan Islam disatukan di bawah satu pemerintahan khalifah, manakala setiap kawasan pula ditadbir oleh gabenor masing-masing. Perpecahan Negara Arab Pada ketika tempoh inilah, kerajaan Turki Uthmaniyyah mengalami konflik yang semakin hebat. Britain melalui perisiknya yang dikenali sebagaiLawrence of Arabia, menyuburkan semangat nasionalisme di negara-negara Arab. Pejuang kebangsaan/nasional isme Arab pula menyerang kerajaan Turki Uthmaniyyah. Pemerintah Arab ketika itu, Emir Faisal I, berpaling tadah dan memihak kepada Britain. Sejak itulah kerajaan Arab menjadi tali barut Britain. Pada tahun 1915, Britain mula menduduki kawasan Iraq. Akhirnya pada 1917, Britain menduduki semula kawasan Palestin. Tentera Britain, diketuai General Allenby, memasuki Palestin pada 9 Disember 1917 lalu memberi ucapan, "Hari ini, Perang Salib sudah berakhir". Pada 1917, Britain mengisytiharkan Deklarasi Balfour, iaitu perjanjian antara kerajaan Britain dengan ketua persatuan Yahudi Britain ketika itu, yang mana antaranya menjanjikan tanah Palestin kepada Yahudi. Penempatan Yahudi di Palestin meningkat, dari 50,000 penduduk sebelum itu kepada mencecah setengah juta penduduk, manakala penduduk Islam Palestin ketika itu hampir mencecah 1.4 juta. Wakil daripada Yahudi ketika Deklarasi tersebut merupakan seorang Yahudi bernama Chaim Weizzmann. Weizzman juga merupakan seorang saintis, malahan saintis pertama yang menghasilkan bahan kimia acetone, seterusnya acetone digunakan sebagai cordite, iaitu sejenis bahan letupan yang menyumbang besar kepada kejayaan Britain dalam perang tersebut. Weizzman mendesak Setiausaha Luar Britain ketika itu, Arthur Balfour, supaya diadakan Deklarasi tersebut. Dek terhutang budi ke atas sumbangan Weizzman, kerajaan Britain bersetuju. Pada mulanya, Britain menawarkan tanah di Uganda kepada Weizmann, namun Weizmann menolak dan mahukan Palestin. Dikatakan, Weizmann bertanya kepada Balfour: "Encik Balfour, katakanlah saya menawarkan Paris dan London kepada encik, yang mana satukah yang encik mahukan?" "Tetapi, kami sememangnya sudah memiliki London!" "Betul itu, tetapi ketika London masih lagi sebuah kawasan paya, kami telahpun memiliki tanah Palestin!" Akhirnya, British membenarkan kaum Yahudi berhijrah ke tanah Palestin. Pada tahun 1919, Emir Faisal I ketika itu pula menandatangani perjanjian antara beliau dengan Chaim Weizzmann, menyatakan sokongan sepenuhnya beliau dan kerajaan Arab kepada Deklarasi Balfour. Pada tahun 1919, berakhirnya Perang Dunia Pertama. Kerajaan Islam Turki Uthmaniyyah menerima tamparan hebat setelah kehilangan kawasan-kawasannya yang luas, termasuklah Palestin. British dan Perancis mula menjalankan kolonisasi di tanah-tanah jajahannya. Bertitik tolak daripada situ wujudlah negara bangsa, apabila sempadan-sempadan digariskan memisahkan sempadan agama. Kejatuhan Turki Uthmaniyyah Pada tahun 1918, tentera kolonial Britain menduduki pusat pemerintahan Turki Uthmaniyyah, iaitu Istanbul. Pada tahun 1922, setelah tamat Perang Dunia Pertama, sebuah Persidangan Lausanne diadakan, yang antaranya mempunyai beberapa tuntutan seperti sistem khalifah ditamatkan, khalifah mestilah dibuang negeri, harta khalifah dirampas, dan kerajaan turki baru akan ditubuhkan atas dasar sekular. Ya, persidangan tersebut menjanjikan kemerdekaan ke atas negara Turki. Seorang ahli Parlimen Turki pernah bertanya kepada Lord Curzon, ketua perunding pihak pakatan ketika itu, "Kenapa hanya Turki dimerdekakan, sedangkan negara-negara Arab yang lain masih di bawah pemerintahan kolonial?" Lord Curzon menjawab, "Hakikatnya Turki telah dimusnahkan dan tidak akan bangkit lagi, kerana kita telah menghancurkan kekuatannya - Khalifah dan Islam". Dalangnya utamanya, Mustafa Kamal Attartuk. Dia mengeluarkan ugutan ke atas kabinet Turki ketika itu, lalu merombak parlimen sedia ada yang tidak bersetuju dengan persidangan tersebut. Parlimen kedua yang ditubuhkan juga tidak bersetuju dengan persidangan tersebut. Akhirnya, Mustafa Kamal Attartuk mengadakan konspirasi politik lalu merampas tampuk pemerintahan. 3 Mac 1924, kerajaan khalifah secara rasminya ditamatkan. Pada pagi hari tersebut juga, khalifah terakhir, Khalifah Abdul Mejid II, diusir keluar dan dibuang negeri. Mustafa Kamal Attartuk mengambil mengambil takhta, dan proses pengsekularan bermula. Holocaust Keadaan berterusan, sehinggalah naiknya seorang pemerintah Jerman ketika itu, iaitu Adolf Hitler. Ketika tercetusnya perang dunia kedua oleh beberapa sebab, Hitler melaksanakan pelan pemusnahan kaum yang dikenali sebagai Action T4. Pelan ini merencanakan pembunuhan Euthanasiaberamai-ramai keatas golongan tertentu, majoritinya Yahudi. Setelah tamat Perang Dunia Kedua, dianggarkan hampir seramai 6 juta Yahudi di seluruh Eropah mati dibunuh. Setelah mengalami kerugian yang besar, Britain berundur dari Palestin dan tanah-tanah jajahannya yang lain pada 1948. Penglibatan Amerika Syarikat Amerika Syarikat, selaku kuasa besar dunia setelah Perang Dunia Kedua, memainkan peranan penting dalam penubuhan negara Israel. Pada asalnya, Israel tidaklah wujud sebagai sebuah negara yang hakiki. Setelah Holocaust yang dilakukan oleh Hitler tamat, jumlah penduduk Yahudi yang ada adalah sedikit, serta mereka hidup dalam kesusahan dan ketakutan. Pada ketika itulah, Persatuan Yahudi Amerika mengutuskan tuntutan kepada Presiden Amerika Syarikat ketika itu, Harry Truman. Pada November 1947, tuntutan tersebut dibawa ke persidangan Persatuan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu (PBB) lalu pemisahan Palestin dideklarasikan. Pada 16 May 1948, kerajaan sementara Israel ditubuhkan di Palestin, dengan sokongan dari PBB. Presiden Harry Truman menyokong sepenuhnya penubuhan Israel, maka wujudlah penempatan Israel di tanah Palestin sehingga kini. Presiden Israel yang pertama ialah Chaim Weizmann. Palestin Sekarang Sedari peristiwa Holocaust, ramai Yahudi berhijrah ke Amerika atas dasar terbuka negara tersebut terhadap mereka, serta ramai juga yang pulang ke tanah air di Israel. Yahudi di Amerika diterima dengan tangan terbuka, bantuan dan pekerjaan diberikan kepada mereka atas dasar belas kasihan akibat Holocaust tersebut. Dari situlah, Yahudi di Amerika berkembang dan memegang tampuk ekonomi dan pentadbiran Amerika. Amerika, selaku kuasa besar dunia setelah Perang Dunia Kedua, memberikan sokongan tanpa putus-putus kepada negara Israel, yang didirikan di atas tanah Palestin yang dirampas secara haram. Sehingga kini, Israel terus-terusan menyerang Palestin dalam usaha meluaskan sempadannya. Palestin pula berjihad, dalam usaha menawan kembali Masjidil Aqsa. Sejak kerajaan khalifah Islam tumbang, tiada sesiapa lagi yang mahu menyokong Palestin. Negara-negara Islam yang lain tunduk takut dan akur kepada Amerika. Sampai bila keadaan ini akan berakhir? Hanya dua; sama ada Palestin akan terus dihapuskan dan Masjidil Aqsa dimusnahkan dalam usaha mereka mencari Temple of Solomon, ataupun tertegaknya kembali kerajaan khalifah Islam yang menyokong perjuangan Palestin. Di manakah kita? Kita boleh berdiam diri tidak berbuat apa-apa, sekaligus menjadikan kesudahan yang pertama tadi sebagai realiti. Ataupun, kita boleh berusaha melakukan sedaya upaya menyokong perjuangan Palestin, yang membawa kepada kesudahan yang kedua **Dipetik dari emel yang diterima daripada an nasr ilal huda.