June 30, 2008
August 31, 2007
What Will You Leave Behind You When You Pass From This Earth?
Queen of Mean Leona Helmsley cut off two of her grandchildren and left a $12 million trust fund to her dog, Trouble, whose body — when he goes to the kennel in the sky — will lie beside her in a mausoleum.The late wife of billionaire hotelier Harry Helmsley also left millions for her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, when she checked out. Rosenthal was responsible for caring for Helmsley’s beloved white Maltese. The other two grandchildren were spared her final wrath and left $5 million each — providing they visit their father’s grave at least once a year.
The dirt-hating Helmsley ordered that the mausoleum be “washed or steam-cleaned at least once a year,” for which she left $3 million. Helmsley also remembered the “little people” in her life and threw her chauffeur a bone — $100,000. Probate lawyers say the will is a person’s last chance to seek revenge or reward the living — even if that means a beloved pet.
I’ve been thinking about my own walk on this earth lately. Some of my thoughts are brought about by my marital situation and the impact it has had on all our lives (mine, my husband, and his other wife and children). I would not want to pass from this earth to the relief of some, nor do I want to face God with shame for pain I brought into others’ lives.
I also think about this issue because of the nature of my career and life path. Lately I have counseled a few people close to me about the joys and fulfillment of teaching. No matter what happens in the course of my day in terms of my private life, my professional one enriches me with the satisfaction of knowing I can make a difference in someone’s life.
Too often we get wrapped up in our daily lives: the ups and downs; the desires and dissatisfactions; the past and our hopes for the future. As Ramadan approaches let’s make sure we don’t overlook the accountability we will all face one day. Think about what you want to leave behind you after you’r egone and start making it happen. There is no time like the present to ward off the regrets of the future.
July 28, 2007
More Airline Woes — not for me but for 117 BA Passengers
Arrogance or Ignorance?
Three Arab princesses were thrown off a packed British Airways flight after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn’t know. The dispute – in which the three princesses from the ultra-conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating – left the London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three hours.
Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane.The princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress, were returning from a day’s shopping in Milan. They arrived at the city’s Linate airport and boarded Heathrow-bound flight BA 563, which was due to take off at 4pm on Thursday. The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other staff. [PLEASE NOTE THIS IS INCORRECT; HE IS NOT THE EMIR, BUT A RELATIVE]
After passengers had fastened their seat-belts and the plane had taxied on to the runway, two male passengers in the entourage got up to protest about where the women were sitting. According to the customs of Qatar and other Gulf states, women are not allowed to mix with men who are not relatives. Cabin crew tried to rearrange the seats but passengers travelling together refused to give up their allotted places. The captain tried to mediate but after more than two and a half hours of wrangling he ordered the bulk of their royal party off the plane. It is understood that five of the eight – including the princesses and the men who left their seats to protest – were removed.
Police and diplomats from the Qatar consulate in Milan were also called in before the plane eventually took off. The rest of the Qatar party left Milan later on an Alitalia flight. A BA spokesman said: “The people were offloaded because they failed to comply with safety instructions when the aircraft was taxiing. Two passengers stood up and refused to sit down.”
A spokesman at the Qatar embassy in Rome said: “This was a private matter and we have nothing to say.”
There is NOTHING in Islam that prevents a woman from SITTING next to a strange man in an airplane — unless one is following the idea that women should stay at home (aka behind a curtain) — in which case they shouldn’t be flying in the first place, should they? 
This is what I call confusing culture with religion. If your culture dictates this very strict gender segregation, then you need to book early to get seats together, buy up all the tickets in Business or First Class or get your own plane. To expect paying passengers to accomodate you — especially by throwing a hissy fit — is NOT reasonable.
January 5, 2007
Warrantless Evesdropping
I always feel that somebody’s watchin’ me
And I have no privacy
I always feel that somebody’s watchin’ me
Is it just a dream?
Nope. It’s not just a dream. The Beatfreakz must have seen the Bush administration coming. My daughter has been having some problem with her phone and it requires having a technician come to the house. She was informed by the phone company that her phones are being monitored by the government according to the Patriot Act. Seems having a mother who is married to and Arab and living in the Gulf is all the “evidence” needed to listen in on innocent citizens. Don’t get me wrong, I am not angry, nor is she. We just wondered how much money they waste on people like us….
UPDATE:For those of you who don’t believe that my daughter was informed she was being monitored please read this and this.
December 24, 2006
What Are They Teaching At That University?
A Georgetown University student, whose dad bought him a $2.4 million off-campus house and who wants his eight best friends to live (and party) with him, ran up against a Washington, D.C., zoning law permitting no more than six unrelated people per house. In October, after researching the issue, the students filed papers declaring themselves a “church” (The Apostles of O’Neill, after owner Brian O’Neill) because churches are allowed to house up to 15 unrelated people. O’Neill’s dad supports the students, as judged from his testy response to a Washington Post inquiry: “Who says they aren’t a (real) religion?”
The neighbors and Zoning Board don’t realize it could be worse…. They could belong to the Double Headed Eagle Church:
But when all is said and dones, it seems you can’t fight City Hall.
