sometimes one is glad that hell in the Hereafter is real and everlasting

Welcome to Hell: Gaza's unending misery
Last week, an Israeli attack outside a UN school killed nearly 40 people. Israel and Palestinian witnesses said militants carried out an attack from the area moments earlier. But it is Israeli fire, Israeli weapons and Israeli military that do the aiming – and Palestinian women and children being killed at a rate that is sickening world opinion, if not yet world leaders.
And behind the statistics, the pictures of broken bodies wrapped in winding sheets are the stories of real people. People such as Olvera Al-Jarou and her tiny son Yusuf. Mrs Al-Jarou, 36, originally from Ukraine and married to a Palestinian doctor, became the first foreigner to lose her life in Gaza. Her one-year-old son Yusuf, clinging to her in fright during a bombardment, also died when an Israeli shell hit their home. A daughter, Yasmine, was severely injured and is now in intensive care; another son, Abdulrahman, was also wounded but is expected to make a full recovery.
Mrs Al-Jarou could have left with about 300 other foreign nationals allowed to leave Gaza by the Israelis last week. But other family members were denied the same escape and she decided she could not abandon her husband and children, as well as the community that has become her home. "My wife said to me that her place was with us, here, in Gaza. She could never just leave us. So she stayed, and she died," said Dr Awny Al-Jarou, who received cuts to his head. "She died. My beautiful son died as well. My wife was cut in half and my son was in pieces. My heart is breaking but I have two other children and I now have to make sure that they live and grow up. I try not to think about my wife and son."
Death from the skies is not the only threat facing Gaza's children. Medical facilities are stretched almost to breaking point, and no one can vouch for this better than Dr Al-Jarou. He is at the Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, where about 70 patients are in intensive care, among them his daughter Yasmine. They cling to life through four generators working round the clock at a hospital which has been without power for the past seven days because Gaza's sole power plant has stopped working due to lack of fuel. "How terrible it would be," Dr Hassan Khalaf, the hospital's director, said, "if our patients survive attacks – and then die because of a lack of electricity."
And the threats to Gaza's families, these "collateral" inhabitants waiting to be damaged, now include, according to the World Bank, being drowned by sewage as the Israeli offensive threatens to cause the collapse of a giant lagoon of human waste. The bank says the earthen walls of the 75-acre lagoon – which contains 450 million gallons of sewage – are being weakened by the bombardment and the build-up of water pressure because pumps have run out of fuel. If they were to burst they could bring about a death toll far greater than that of the military action so far.

shocking!

Who/What inspired the creator of Barbie dolls

Why am I not surprised??

inspirations in your inbox

We don't really have a humungous e-mail list consisting of the entire world and their sister, but this is something really nice that I'd recommend to anyone out there looking for divine inspiration in their e-mail inbox: weekly-emails from Ustaadh Muhammad AlShareef that remind you of the words of Allaah and His Messenger.
A sample:
My number one goal in life is...

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الْآخِرَةِ نَزِدْ لَهُ فِي حَرْثِهِ وَمَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِن نَّصِيبٍ
"To any that desires the soil of the Hereafter, We will increase
in his soil, and to any that desires the soil of this world, We
grant somewhat thereof, but he has no share or lot in the
Hereafter.
Surah Ash-Shura 42:20
[Lessons from this Verse]
When you ask people what their number one goal in life is,
rarely do you hear the person immediately respond by saying:
"Pleasing Allah, Jannat Al-Firdows - the highest level of
Jannah, and being with Rasul Allah, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam,
in the hereafter."

But ... isn't that the correct answer? Let's make it a reality with how we live our lives!
PS: Invite 10 friends to benefit from these emails by telling themhow you yourself benefitted, and that they too can join by emailing: successinislam@getresponse.com.

what do you call a man-made disaster?

Humanitarian situation in Gaza worst since 1967 say aid groups
Agencies
London: The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is at its worst since the occupation began in 1967, according to British aid groups. The coalition of groups including Amnesty International, Save the Children and Christian Aid have all criticized Israel’s blockade on Gaza, branding it as illegal collective punishment.
They also called on the international community to resume dialogue with Hamas, as the "international policy of isolating Hamas has not reaped any benefits."
The report entitled Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion says that almost 75 per cent of people in the private sector have lost their jobs and 1.1 million Gazans are dependent on food aid. The groups have also called on Israel to ensure people in Gaza are able to get basic necessities such as clean water, food and electricity.
The report added: "The situation for 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is worse now than at any time since the beginning of the Israeli military occupation in 1967." Amnesty UK Director Kate Allen said: "The current situation is man-made and must be reversed."

Into the Mind of a Mum (2)

Why I won't let you fool around with your hair / face.

Cross posted on the Sisters-in-Faith blog .

common sense 101

Parents to the Rescue

The Guardian

...most people would feel helpless if confronted with a medical emergency and seven out of 10 adults would not know what to do if faced with the sight of a child lying face down in water.
"We polled 2,000 adults and their answers ranged from doing nothing and feeling helpless to not checking if the casualty was breathing before starting CPR [cardio-pulmonary resuscitation] - which could prove fatal," says Andrew New, senior training officer for St John Ambulance. "Given the number of first-aid emergencies that could be resolved relatively easily, it is worrying how few parents say they don't know what to do. Even doing something simple, such as having the confidence to give reassurance, can make a huge difference to the outcome."
"Without a doubt, parents don't know enough," says Clive James, a senior training officer and volunteer with St John Ambulance. "Just take the recovery position, for example. Putting somebody in the right position can save their life. Or choking. If you know exactly what to do, you can help."
There are all sorts of first-aid courses in the UK, ranging from a basic three hours to several days, but many people are reluctant to go on one. "Mostly it's because people think they won't need it, that it won't happen to them," says James, "or they're not sure what the course might involve. But 99.9% of first aid is common sense."
Joe Mulligan, head of first aid with the Red Cross, believes some parents are reluctant to learn because they don't want to confront the idea that they may need to use it on their own children. "We get a lot of people signing up for a course after the event. They've normally had a scare of some sort. What happens in the first five minutes after an accident is critical and can be not only life-saving, but in cases of burns and scalds, quick and appropriate treatment can have a huge effect on the cosmetic result."

Instant response: what you need to know
Burns

The first thing to do is cool the affected area. If possible, hold it under cold water for at least 10 minutes. Then cover with clean, non-fluffy material such as a cloth, plastic bag or clingfilm. If it's deep or larger than the palm of the casualty's hand, also seek urgent medical attention. Do not Use lotions, creams or adhesive dressings or break blisters.

Lumps, bumps and bruises

Apply a cold compress to bumped areas for no more than 10 minutes, to relieve the swelling. When people go into shock they go cold. Hold their hand to warm and reassure them. If you are worried they might be concussed, the rule is that if the child gets knocked out, even for a short time, or acts strangely, they should see a doctor.

Nosebleeds

These usually happen because a tiny blood vessel inside the nose has become damaged. Aim to control the blood loss. Sit the child down, tilt their head forwards and allow the blood to drain from the nose. Then get them to pinch their nose and dribble into a bowl. Discourage them from coughing, swallowing or swilling. After a few minutes, release the pressure on the nose. If still bleeding, keep pinching for another 10 minutes.

Strains and sprains

Strains are pulled muscles and sprains are stretched ligaments. Remember "Rice". R is for rest: get the child to sit down. I is for ice to reduce pain and bruising, but don't apply it directly on to the skin - wrap it in kitchen roll or a tea towel. Frozen peas are good because you can roll them around the injury. C is for compress: apply a bandage firmly to the injury. E is for elevation: keep the injured area as high as possible, to slow blood flow to the injury, so reducing swelling and long-term bruising.

Febrile convulsion

Make sure the child is not too hot and keep them in the recovery position (on their side, mouth facing downwards for easy draining, chin up to keep airways open). The convulsion may be caused by their temperature getting too high but it could be asthma or epilepsy. If in doubt, call an ambulance. Do not Wrap the child in too many layers if they have a high temperature.

the ''syed'' (chief) of all supplications

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِي لا إِلهَ إِلّا أَنْتَ
، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ ، وَأَنَا عَلى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ
، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِ مَا صَنَعْتُ ، أَبْوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ ، وَأَبُوءُ بَذَنْبِي
، فَاغْفِرْ لِي ، فَإِنَّهُ لا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَْ َ

Shaddaad bin Aws said: The Prophet صلىالله عليه وسلم said, “The best supplication for seeking forgiveness (Syed-ul-Istighfar) is to say: `Allaahumma Anta Rabbi, laa ilaaha illa Ant, khalaqtani wa ana `abduk, wa ana `ala `ahdika wa wa`dika mastata`t, a`oothu bika min sharri ma sana`t, aboo’u laka bi ni`matika `alayya, wa aboo’u bithanbi faghfir lee, fa innahu laa yaghfiru ath-thunoob illaa Ant. (O Allaah! You are my Rabb (Lord).

There is no true god except You.

You have created me, and I am Your slave, and I hold to Your Covenant as far as I can.

I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done.

I acknowledge the favours that You have bestowed upon me, and I confess my sins.

Pardon me, for none but You has the power to pardon).’

He who supplicates in these terms during the day with firm belief in it and dies on the same day (before the evening), he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah; and if anyone supplicates in these terms during the night with firm belief in it and dies before the morning, he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah.” [Al-Bukhari]

taken from Imaam Suhaib Webb's blog

btw, the ''learning stuff'' label reminds me..

look this up for really interesting tips on improving memory: MindTools

essential Friday reading/listening

Besides Soorah Al-Kahf of course, there's this incredibly insightful tafseer (exegesis) of the soorah by Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi that you should try to get your hands on (if you haven't read it already that is).

I read it aeons ago and I'm looking to get hold of a copy again for Rasha-Rida to read, in shaa Allaah.

In other Friday news, nothing compares to listening to the soorah by one of my favourite reciters.
I'm convinced that the fastest way to learn a soorah is by listening to it as often as possible.
Try it.

plastic baby bottles in hot water

Hot water 'increases baby bottle chemicals'
Alok Jha, science correspondent
The Guardian,
Hot liquids dramatically increase the amount of harmful chemicals released by plastic bottles, according to a study.
Scientists found that polycarbonate plastic bottles released a known environmental pollutant 55 times more quickly when filled with boiling water.
Polycarbonate is used to make everything from compact discs to milk bottles for babies. The plastic is made from bisphenol A, a chemical produced in large volumes across the world. But over time, the plastic leaches its raw ingredient back into the environment.
"There are a lot of concerns surrounding bisphenol A," said David Santillo, senior scientist at the Greenpeace research laboratory in Exeter. "It is a hormone disrupter able to mimic and interfere with hormone systems in animals."
In the experiment, Scott Belcher, of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, wanted to work out how bisphenol A leaked out of polycarbonates and whether the temperature of the liquid stored in the bottle affected the rate.
"Previous studies have shown that if you repeatedly scrub, dish-wash and boil polycarbonate baby bottles, they release bisphenol A. But we wanted to know if 'normal' use caused increased release from something that we all use, and to identify what was the most important factor that impacts release," he said.
Belcher took reusable water bottles and tested them for seven days with room temperature water and then boiling water, simulating normal usage during backpacking, mountaineering and other outdoor adventure activities.
He found that boiling water released bisphenol A from the bottles up to 55 times more quickly than the lower-temperature water.
The results, published in the latest edition of the journal Toxicology Letters, found that with room temperature water the rate of release from individual bottles ranged from 0.2 to 0.8 nanograms of bisphenol A an hour. After exposure to boiling water, rates increased to 8 to 32 nanograms an hour.
"A nanogram is a fairly small amount but, given that a lot of hormones work at levels far below that, even if it's not as potent as a natural hormone, you are in the range there which could be contributing to adverse effects," said Santillo.
He added that Belcher's research should renew calls to develop alternative materials for baby milk bottles.
"Newborn babies are at a very sensitive stage of their development and the last thing you want to be doing is dosing them with a very potent hormone disruptor," he said. "If there are ways of avoiding that, the time has come for the public to know about those."

must-see

Teachers working for months without pay, a chronic overcrowding in the classrooms, and students at risk each day from imprisonment and perhaps worse - welcome to the typical education experience in a Palestinian school.
Those who can, teach - often without pay.

Witness presents a series of three films taking a close look at the extraordinary difficulties and challenges that two ordinary Palestinian schools face.

While poverty is widespread throughout the West Bank and Gaza, Nablus is one of the worst-hit areas because of the decreasing range of employers and the limited number of opportunities.Hobbled by the Palestinians' diminishing purchasing power and by Israeli security closures that have isolated Nablus and its merchants from the rest of the West Bank, hundreds of employees have been fired this year alone.

According to the Mayor of Nablus, about 70 per cent of the city's residents live below the poverty line, but the Palestinian Authority and local government have virtually no funds to give the poor.
Astonishingly, despite these poverty levels, almost 90 per cent of children in Nablus go on to university.But the education system is cracking under the weight of the crisis. More than a million Palestinian students face daily risks ranging from Israeli roadblocks to imprisonment and even death.

Witness goes into the classrooms and corridors of two schools to gauge the situation.Mahmoud Awemleh and Najla Yousif, maths and science secondary school teachers, do their best to teach and inspire their pupils, while trying themselves to survive the challenges of life in Nablus. Osaid writes his end-of-year exams which he missed while in an Israeli prison. The schools' teachers anxiously await pay day, wondering if their salaries will come through this month or not. Meanwhile tragic pandemonium breaks out when Israeli soldiers launch a nearby raid to root out

militants.This series provides a rare glimpse into the daily lives of those trying to educate, and be educated, under occupation.

oooooooold news!

Honey can quieten a child's cough better than any medicine, say researchers

When it comes to helping a child fight off a cough, the centuries-old remedy of honey is still the best, researchers said yesterday.
The natural sweetener is a traditional soother and remains better than costly over-the-counter medicines, they said.
In a study, a dose before bedtime easily outperformed a cough suppressant widely used in commercial treatments.
Honey was better at cutting the severity, frequency and disturbance from night-time coughs of those suffering upper respiratory infection.
It also helped their sleep, suggesting that parents may be wasting their money on expensive alternatives sold in chemists and supermarkets.
The study compared honey to dextromethorphan (DM), the active ingredient in many cough mixtures.

***

subhaanallaah..

one dad's answer to "can I cook my sister" and other FAQs

Ever wondered the best way to answer the endless stream of questions that invariably come from children in the back of a car during long journeys?

Wendell Jamieson decided to tackle the problem by putting the most common queries to academic experts on a range of subjects, from mammalian evolution and medicine to ancient history and meteorology. Here are some of the most fascinating questions and answers from a new book he has compiled.

How far up in the sky can a child's balloon go before it pops?

I'm assuming this is a typical rubber balloon, which can have a diameter of up to three feet and is filled with helium. It will expand in proportion to the decrease in atmospheric pressure and, in theory, could reach about 28,000 feet before the rubber gets brittle from the lower temperature and then pops.

Why do people "fall" in love?

We don't really fall in love; we jump in love - we are at the mercy of our chemical make-up. Chemicals are released in our brain when we are drawn to someone. One of these, phenylethylamine, makes us feel very excited - everything seems wonderful. It's almost like flu: your face is flushed, your palms are sweaty, you breathe heavily, you even feel a slight tingle in the hands and feet.
Generally, people are attracted to opposites of themselves - the organised person to the disorganised; the bookworm to the social butterfly.
In the next stage of love, a hormone called oxytocin is released. This plays an important role throughout our lives: it is a "cuddle hormone" and acts as a kind of infatuation chemical. Childbirth and the noise of a baby crying also make it flow.

Why do all animals have tails, except for humans, chimpanzees and gorillas? It is not just humans, chimpanzees and gorillas that don't have tails. Other apes such as orang-utans, bonobos and gibbons do not have them either.
Basically, tails are designed to provide balance for animals, particularly those that might live in trees. A tail counterbalances the weight of the head at the front of the body.
As humans became more upright and some apes started to use arms for more than just walking, the need for a tail for balancing became smaller, so over time and through evolution, it faded out.
However, we do have the remains of a tail - the bottom three or four vertebrae of the human spine are fused together to form the tailbone (coccyx).
This still has a use, anchoring muscles such as the one of your bottom, and it still really hurts if you fall on it.

Why did ancient Egyptians build pyramids? Why not giant rectangles or some other shape? Egyptologists assume they represent primeval hills, the hills that on the day of creation rose out of the flood. This idea certainly comes from the natural state of Egypt in former times. the land was flooded by the Nile, and when the flood retreated, islands appeared which were considered to be symbols of the day of creation. So a pyramid could represent such a hill.
But one could ask: why was it not just a rounded hill, why did it have edges leading to a top? Another idea is that kings used pyramids to climb up to their heaven.
But these are all speculations. A final theory is that in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (the centre of the sun cult in Egypt) there was a monument called a benben stone.
It could be that this sacred stone had the shape of a pyramid, and that the people who built the pyramids were trying to recreate that, because the top piece of a pyramid is called a benben.

Why is the sky blue?

At first, people thought the sky was blue because there were water droplets in it, but if that were true you'd get a deeper blue when the air is more humid and that's not the case.
After a little more investigation, it was realised that the blue was due to the air molecules in the atmosphere.
The light from the sun is made up of many different colours, each of which is a different wavelength of light. The wavelength of red, for example, is longer than the wavelength of blue.
Longer wavelengths for the most part travel straight through air molecules, while shorter ones are more scattered by them.
So when the blue wavelengths hit the air molecules, they are scattered all over the sky - and that's what you see when you look up.
At sunset, when the sun is lower on the horizon, its light has to travel through many more air molecules than when it is right above us. All these molecules scatter the red wavelengths, too, and that's why the sun looks red at the end of the day.

In Antarctica, are people upside down?

Of course, when standing at the bottom of the Earth, you don't feel upside down. Your feet are on the ground and the sky is above you.
But an astronaut in Outer Space may look down at you and notice that your head is pointing in the opposite direction to someone standing at the North Pole. (Incidentally, from the same view, someone in London may look somewhat sideways.)
Thanks to gravity, we're all grounded on the Earth with our heads towards the clouds, and we're all right- side up relative to our location. Life is all about perspectives.

If you don't hit anything with it, how does a whip make that noise? That very satisfying "crack" is a miniature version of a sonic boom as the very tip of the whip - which is called the "cracker" (made out of a tuft of thread or string or nylon) - moves faster than the speed of sound and breaks the sound barrier.
The speed of sound in air is 760mph. Only whips with crackers make that sound. The whip was probably the first manmade object to actually break the sound barrier.

Why does red mean stop?

The 19th-century Scottish engineer Robert Stevenson, who was active in designing early lighthouses, looked for an alternative colour to white - most lighthouses had a white beacon - when he built a lighthouse near to one that already existed, because he was afraid ships wouldn't be able to tell which was which. Of the light sources and coloured glasses available at the time, he found that red was a particularly intense light, meaning it could be seen from the greatest distance.
So in maritime signalling, red became an alternative to white, and was later adopted by the Admiralty in 1852 to mark the port-side on steam vessels. Green was adopted for the starboard-side, and vessels seeing the green light on other ships had the right
When train tracks were developed, engineers adopted this system as meaning stop and go - and the same system continued with cars.

Why do we have eyebrows?

In his surprisingly weird book The Expressions Of The Emotions In Man And Animals, Charles Darwin maintained that human eyebrows are descended from the vestigial remnants of the scattering of long hairs one finds in the very same place on other mammals, including chimps and dogs.
But why were eyebrows preserved, while most of the rest of our hair was lost?
In accordance with Darwin's views on sex selection, he believed that those human hairs which remain are those which are attractive to the opposite sex.
However, another suggestion is that they're important for forming facial expressions that are more easily recognised by other individuals in one's social group.
They also serve the practical purpose of stopping sweat and rain running down your forehead into your eyes.

Why do clouds make shapes?

Meteorologists divide the infinite varieties of cloud formation into ten basic types. Not all of them make shapes - some are just too blurry and indistinct to have any clear edges to them. But the most distinct are the sharp-edged "cumulus" clouds, which are the fluffy cottonwool tufts you see on a sunny day. They often look like elephants. This is because they can develop vertical towers, borne on rising columns of air (thermals).
After about ten minutes, the cloud's droplets start to evaporate at the sides, leaving a central trunk that curls upwards as it is blown along in the wind and looks like the trunk of an elephant.
This might be why ancient Hindus and Buddhists believed elephants to be the spiritual cousins of clouds.

Why do you never see baby pigeons?

Because they can't fly. You'll never see them unless you look into a nest, which pigeons build hidden away from predators such as cats, dogs, hawks and people. The squabs (chicks) will be there three to four weeks before they can fly. You probably do see young birds, you just don't realise it because young birds are the same size as adult birds. If you see one out there chasing other pigeons around, it is probably a baby begging its parents to feed it.

Do unborn babies know they're in there?

Thankfully, no - if you knew you were in there, it would be kind of scary for nine months.
The foetus is growing, of course, but the frontal lobe of our brain - which gives us emotion and self-recognition - develops very slowly.
Even until adulthood, the frontal lobe isn't fully developed: that's partly why we sometimes see bad judgment in teenagers.
Foetuses do all sorts of exploring behaviour in the womb. They run their hands along the inside of the womb, they feel their own feet and their faces, and they put their hands in their mouths.
Studies have also shown that a newborn infant will recognise its mother's voice compared to a stranger's voice and will also recognise its native language versus a foreign one.

How many hairs do I have on my head?

The average adult has about 100,000 hairs or follicles - and children have the same amount. Redheads have fewer because their individual strands are thicker. It's extremely rare for children to lose their hair. Usually it will happen in their 20s, 30s or 40s, depending on their genetic code.

Why do your hands and feet go wrinkly in the bath, but not the rest of you?

The outer layer of your skin, the epidermis, produces an oily substance called sebum - you can see it when you touch a mirror or a window; it's the oil you leave there.
Sebum keeps water off your skin, but after a long period underwater, the sebum is washed off and the skin starts to absorb water.
When you are immersed for a long time, dead cells in the outermost layer of your skin (which protects the body from the environment) absorb the water. This causes this layer to expand and therefore have a greater surface area. Being attached to the tissue below, it wrinkles to compensate for the greater surface area.
This outer skin layer is thicker on the palms of your hands and on the soles of your feet than on the other parts of your body, so absorbs more water here, making the wrinkling more noticeable.

(Extracted from Father Knows Less by Wendell Jamieson, published by Putnam at £9.99. Copywright 2007, Wendell Jamieson.)

good stuff: the week of young people's blogs

interesting :

"For over eight years, the City Circle has been running a supplementary school that offers academic support to students between the ages of 8 and 18. The school is run by volunteers and serves around 110 students. CC Saturday School enjoys a great reputation and fantastic feedback.

Inspired by the movie Freedom Writers, we decided to give our students the chance to share their views on the CC blogs. The students were given the freedom to write about whatever they want and that the good pieces would be published unedited. To encourage the students, we promised prizes to the best six stories. Over this week, the CC blogs belongs to the young ones, the innocent, those with no political agendas. Some bits will make you laugh, other make you shed a tear, some are entertaining, others thoughtful. Above all, we cannot ignore them. They are the future.

To find out more about the school please visit the school's page.

Sid Djerfi is Head teacher of the City Circle Saturday School.''

Read the 'Pick of the Blogs' here

consolation in a cat

ever seen a bald cat?
no?

Then there's hope for mums who are in their post-partum 'shedding' phase...or so the good doctors say.

"The most common cause of hair loss in women is a shift in the growth cycle," says Rebecca Caserio, M.D., clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh. In other words, at any given time, some of your hair is growing and some of it is done growing. Most hairs have a life expectancy of three to six years, even if you get a haircut--or several--in the meantime. These hairs go into a resting stage for three months and fall out, and then new hairs are produced from the same roots.
NO BALD CATS
In other words, a certain amount of hair loss is normal. Think about it: Your cat probably sheds hundreds of hairs a day without going bald.
"We normally shed somewhere between 50 and 100 hairs every day," says Dr. Caserio. "But there are a whole host of life events--namely, hormone shifts from birth control pills, pregnancy and menopause--that affect growing conditions, so that we can sometimes lose hundreds of hairs a day." Rapid weight loss, severe dandruff, iron deficiency and a low protein intake can also speed up the normal rate of hair loss by forcing hairs into a rooting stage. A serious illness or a physical stress, such as childbirth, can trigger dramatic (but temporary) hair loss of up to 50 percent, but this only occurs in extreme circumstances, says Dr. Caserio."

The treatment?

"If your doctor has ruled out medical causes for accelerated hair loss, women doctors say that there's plenty you can do to hang on to what hair you have and encourage healthy regrowth. Their advice will be of special help to women who experience hair loss after childbirth.

Be gentle. Treat your hair like a baby's, says Dr. Bihova. Use baby shampoo and shampoo no more than once a day. Lather up only once when you do and rub your scalp gently. Then spritz your hair with a detangling conditioner.
Air-dry your hair. Avoid drying vigorously with a towel, says Dr. Bihova. Also, if you must use a blow-dryer, keep it on a low setting.
Style when dry. Grooming wet hair can cause it to stretch and break, says Dr. Bihova. So don't comb or brush your hair until it's dry.
Switch shampoos with the season. Change your brand of shampoo at the beginning of every new season--summer, winter, spring and fall, suggests Dr. Bihova. In her experience, it seems to prevent some shedding.
Don't tease. Even women who aren't losing their hair should avoid teasing or back-combing, says Yohini Appa, Ph.D., director of product efficacy at the Neutrogena Corporation in Los Angeles. "It is one of the worst things that you can do to your hair." Teasing breaks the hair and contributes to the appearance of hair loss.
Perm and color carefully. When perming and coloring your hair, follow product instructions carefully, says Elizabeth Whitmore, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Neither perms nor color causes hair to fall out, she adds. But both, when done incorrectly, do cause hair to break. And when the break is very close to the scalp, it can make you look as though hair has fallen out.
NUTRITIONAL HELP
So much for treating hair loss externally. To address possible internal causes, try these strategies.
Get adequate protein. Eat a couple of three- to four-ounce servings of fish, chicken or other lean sources of protein every day, even if you're dieting, says Dr. Whitmore. Protein is needed by every cell in your body, including the cells that make the hair. Without adequate protein, the cells in your body don't work efficiently and can't make new hair to replace old hair that's been shed.

Maintain iron levels. Since iron-deficiency anemia can also cause hair loss, make sure that you eat a well-balanced diet that includes a daily serving or two of iron-rich foods, says Dr. Whitmore. Good sources of iron include lean red meat, steamed clams, cream of wheat, dried fruit, soybeans, tofu and broccoli.
Take vitamin B6. "I have no idea why it works, but 100 milligrams a day of vitamin B6 seems to decrease hair-shedding in some people," says Dr. Caserio. Just don't take any more than that without consulting a doctor, she cautions. Larger amounts can be toxic, especially over a prolonged time."

from: The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Women

How to deal with Halloween

alhamdulillaah, we don't have to deal with Halloween at all, but there are Muslim parents and kids out there for whom it is a concern, so I thought we'd share this article (if you haven't seen it already) : Dealing with Halloween: 13 Tips for Parents.

feeding and fasting ?

I really liked this article because it doesn't come right out and say it's impossible to feed a baby and fast in Ramadhaan at the same time.

Religious Fasting and Breastfeeding
By Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC

Breastfeeding research tells us that short-term fasting (not eating) will not decrease milk supply, but that severe dehydration can decrease milk supply.
There have been a few studies on short-term fasting and breastfeeding (see the references below). Prentice et. al. studied women in West Africa who were fasting for Ramadan (no food or fluids between 5:00 am and 7:30 pm) and found that milk volume was not affected but milk composition did change to a certain extent. The researchers noted that the women appeared to superhydrate themselves overnight when fluids were allowed to lessen daytime dehydration.

Studies in the United States by Neville et. al., Neville & Oliva-Rasbach and Tigas et. al. likewise showed no significant decrease in milk supply after a short fast (the women in these studies did drink water during the fast). The breastfeeding woman's body appears to make several metabolic adaptations during short-term fasting to ensure that milk production is not affected.

Mothers may want to err on the safe side, and drink water even if they are not eating. There are two risks to not drinking all day: (1) mom gets dehydrated, and (2) if the dehydration is severe enough milk supply can decrease. Mom's dehydration is comparatively easy to deal with -- if she feels thirsty (or urine gets very yellow, or she feels dizzy or ill) she needs to drink. The decrease in milk supply related to dehydration may be a bigger issue for some fasting mothers - some mothers have a hard time getting supply back up (this is often seen in mothers who don't eat or drink due to illness). When a mother does not drink fluids for a day, baby generally nurses as usual the day of the fast, but often needs to nurse more often the next day or two.

Some mothers have found that drinking water on fast days is more of a need during the first six months when baby is exclusively breastfed (not taking any food or drink other than breastmilk); once baby is older and taking other foods, it may be feasible to neither eat nor drink during the fast.

Keep in mind that mothers who have sugar metabolism problems (diabetes or hypoglycemia) or other health problems, fasting could be risky (for mom). Consult both your doctor and your religious advisor if you feel that you might have health issues that preclude fasting.

Specific guidelines
Jewish law exempts from fasting anyone whose health might be even a little harmed by it - this would include pregnant and nursing women whose health (or the health of her baby or fetus) might suffer from fasting. There may be ways of eating and drinking small increments that are still compatible with fasting. However, a local competent Orthodox rabbinic authority should be consulted so that the method and amounts of eating and drinking will be done within the correct guidelines.

Muslim women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may be exempt from fasting if they feel that their health or the baby's health would be negatively affected by the fasting. The mother may be expected to compensate for the missed fasting at a later time or pay some expiation for not fasting. Consult a scholar or a book of fiqh to determine the appropriate guidelines

make your home reading central

our home is reading central alright (alhamdulillaah), albeit of a slightly different kind (inside j/k).

Here's a really cool "inside look at a home rich in words and language — a home that inspires both kids and adults to read. It's full of ideas that you can quickly and easily replicate in your own home."

cross post

from: Sisters-in-Faith

MCQs R Us: some questions about Sha'baan
1. Sha'baan شعبان is the ..................... month of the Islaamic year.
a. 7th
b.8th
c.9th

2. Sha'baan is so called because:
a. In this month the Arabs used to disperse (tasha’aba) in search of water, or it was said that they dispersed to carry out raids and forays.
b. Because it sha’aba (تشعبة = ramification, forking, branches out or emerges) i.e., it appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadhaan.
c. Both of the above
d. None of the above.

3. ‘Aa’ishah رضي الله عنهاsaid: “The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلَم used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلَم fasting for an entire month except in Ramadhaan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in ..................”(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 1833; Muslim, no. 1956).
a. Rajab
b. Shawwaal
c. Sha'baan
d. Thul Hijjah

4. Who said this about Sha'baan? ‘That is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadhaan, and it is a month in which deeds are lifted up to the Lord of the Worlds. I like for my deeds to be lifted up when I am fasting.’”
(Narrated by an-Nasaa’i, see Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, page 425).

5. ..................................used to make the most of this opportunity to make up any obligatory Ramadaan fasts that she had missed because of menstruation; during other months she was too busy with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلَم to fast.

6. Salamah ibn Suhayl used to say: “The month of Sha’baan is the month of ..............(of the Qur’aan).” Habeeb ibn Abi Thaabit used to say, when Sha’baan came, “This is the month of ............(of the Qur’aan).” When Sha’baan came, ‘Amr ibn Qays al-Malaa’i used to close his store and devote his time to reading the Qur’aan.
a. writers
b. reciters

[Adapted from: Islam Q-A]

The Real Toy Story

Ever wondered how happy are the people who make the cheap 'Made-in-China' toys that come with your children's "Happy Meals" and "Kiddie Meals" at fast food restaurants?

Here's your chance to find out:"Happy Meal" Toys Made by Sad Sweatshop Workers

I got thinking about this b/z of the recent ruckus regarding Mattel's recall of nearly two million Chinese-made toys over concerns they contain excessive levels of lead paint and loose parts.

An extract from 'The Real Toy Story' by Eric Clark (published by Black Swan at £8.99) reveals the real cost of cheap toys from China:

"The dominance of China in toy production is staggering.
There are about 8,000 factories employing some three million workers spread over six areas, of which the Pearl River Delta is by far the largest. Virtually all the familiar Western toy names - led by U.S. giants Mattel and Hasbro - are made here. These workers make 80 per cent of all America's toys.
In children's picture books, Santa's beaming elves may still be making the toys, but the reality is that for elves we should read migrants - millions of them who have travelled by bus from rural areas up to three days' journey away, part of the biggest movement of people in human history.
Since the migration began, more than 50 million have passed through the factories of Guangdong province, where the Pearl River Delta lies.
If it is almost impossible to comprehend the scale of the movement of people, it is even more difficult for a Westerner to imagine the daily life of one of these toy workers.
Conditions obviously vary, from the acceptable to the unimaginably awful, but it is possible, from a host of reports and interviews conducted well away from factory premises, to construct a composite of the life and working conditions of one of the workers.

Li Mei is worn out, so she looks older than her 18 years.
Her skin is bad from too little daylight and she has many healing and still-open cuts on her hands.
Her neck, chest and forearms are heavily mottled with the raised red patches of allergy caused by toxic chemicals, which she scratches as she speaks.
She coughs a lot, and has chronic aches and pains, frequent headaches and blurred vision.
All these ailments have appeared during the past two years. Li Mei is a migrant from the rural province of Western Sichuan. At first, she is thrilled to be one of the dagongmei - the working girls - and to leave the hamlet where there are no roads and only limited electricity. But she is frightened because the factories have a reputation as sweatshops. Many return with disfigurements and illnesses.

And there was the fate of Li Chunmei.
Lin Chunmei, 19, was a 'runner' in the Bainan Toy Factory, rushing stuffed animals from one worker to the next for each step in production.
Mattel recalled thousands of toys over choking fearsIt was said she ran 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for two solid months.
Lin Chunmei was paid the equivalent of 7 pence an hour.
She collapsed one night, bleeding from nose and mouth, and was found hours later. She died before the ambulance arrived. Her parents were told it was an 'unknown death' and received a small sum in compensation.

But the villagers said it was the new disease, death from overwork.
Li Mei is certain nothing like this will happen to her: she is strong, accustomed to physically demanding tasks such as drawing water and cutting wood.
Her parents have borrowed heavily to buy the various personal documents she needs.
In four or five years, she plans to go home, buy a house and get married. She thinks about this all the time.

The factory where she toils is one of three buildings in a compound with high fences and a sliding metal gate, where two guards check everyone going in and out.
Beside it stands a warehouse and dormitory block. Li Mei's dormitory is on the eighth floor, a small room about 12 by 23 feet.
There are 32 rooms like it on this floor.
It is lit by a single fluorescent bar - her wages have the electricity costs docked - and the floor is concrete.
Double and triple bunk beds made of metal take up every inch of wall space.
During peak periods, when the factory takes on extra staff, girls often sleep two to a single bed.
Under the window, a grubby sink has a single tap. A notice is stuck to the wall, rules which another girl reads to her.

There are many, so she can remember only a few: 'No step on grass, offenders will be fined 50 yuan (£3.30).' 'No male or female staff going to the other gender's dormitory. The offender will be fired.'

Li Mei waits in a long queue of girls for the bathroom that two dozen people use to shower and wash their clothes. She is still there at midnight, when everyone in the village has long been asleep, but the workers are only just off shift, too tired even to grumble as they wait in line. Sometimes, the girl beside her says, 'there is no water even to brush your teeth, and the toilet is horrible.' The water (which, like lavatory paper, Li Mei is charged for) is cold. By 2am she is finally in her lower bunk bed, separated from the hard surface by a straw mat even thinner than the one she uses at home. Next morning she has no breakfast, for it is a meal she has to buy and prepare herself.

At 7.30am, in factory uniform of blue blouse with a white collar over trousers with her ID card displayed (she would be fined two days' wages if it was lost), she follows her guide through passages lined with cardboard boxes.
The air in the spraying and colouring department is filled with paint dust and smells sourly of chemicals -acetone, ethylene, trichloride, benzene.
The windows are fitted with wire mesh, the exits locked to prevent pilfering.
Noisy ventilators add to the din of the machines so the team leader has to shout to be heard.
Li Mei is given a blue apron and shown how to paint the eyes of the dolls with four pens of different sizes: she has to paint one every 7.2 seconds - 4,000 a day.
By the end of the second day, Li Mei's cotton mask and gloves are thick with paint particles and difficult to use. She asks for new ones but is refused. During the first few days, she finds the heat combined with the smell of chemicals repulsive.
She feels sick, has stomach-aches and is dizzy. Once, when she faints, her section leader tells her to rest, rub on some herbal ointment then return to work. Li Mei sneezes constantly and her eyes stream.

The bosses move her to the moulding department. She feels a blast of heat - she is told later it rises to 104F - when the door is opened. She is told to watch the other workers and then begins to stamp out parts of plastic dolls with repetitive movements performed many times a minute, 3,000 times a day. Gloves are issued but no one can wear them - it is unbearably hot and they make it difficult to handle the tiny plastic parts: once the production line starts, her hands and eyes cannot stop for a minute.
Li Mei has to learn a lot of rules because she will be fined for any infringement.
Her section leader tells her there is to be no chatting, joking, laughing or quarrelling.
She must not disturb anyone's work, nap, or read a newspaper.
She must not fail to punch her work card, nor must she punch in for another worker.
She will lose two hours' wages for each minute she is late, and for half an hour she will lose a day's pay. For poor quality work, she may be dismissed or fined.
So she works carefully - and that means too slowly, so she is fined two days' pay.
Like most workers, Li Mei knows within a month that she is being unlawfully exploited.
She soon has wounds on her hands and elbows, and burn marks on her uniform.
When she is moved to a job trimming the plastic toys with small sharp knives, she often cuts herself, once so badly that her hand bleeds heavily - but the medical box is locked. So she binds the wound up in cloth. Worse things happen: workers in the die-casting and moulding departments lose fingers and even arms, while hole-making workers often have their hands punctured and crushed because they have no reinforced gloves.

With her tiny pay and all her debts, Li Mei cannot save. She cannot resign from the factory but must apply for 'voluntary automatic leave'. This means she would be severing the 'work contract' at her request. As punishment she must forfeit one-and-a-half months' wages. Without that, she does not have enough for the fare home. Li Mei says: "I'm tired to death and I don't earn much. "It makes everything meaningless." All she can do is go on. "When we are working at the factory, we belong to the factory."

The American toy industry dominates the whole of the globe. It is a $22 billion business. Every year it puts almost 3.6 billion toys into the home market alone, including 76 million dolls, 349 million plush toys, 125 million action figures, 279 million Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.

Yet the toy business is no longer fun and games. It's a harsh, corporate world, driven by social and demographic changes, concerns about stock prices and fierce battles between global brands. By law, the maximum any Chinese worker should be on the assembly line is 53 hours per week.
But the China Labour Bulletin, a Hong Kong-based journal supporting independent unions and workers' rights, says 80 hours is common.
"Mattel has no way to know the truth about what really goes on here," said one worker. "Every time there is an inspection, the bosses tell us what lies to say."
This was supported by others who said that managers promised them extra pay if they pretended that they worked only eight hours a day, six days a week.
One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that when government officers or foreign business executives visit the factories, the managers are tipped off beforehand and under-age workers are sent home.

In August 2006, the Chinese press carried the story of a female migrant worker who died from brain-stem bleeding after reportedly working non-stop for 21 hours in a toy factory in Zengzheng county in Guangzhou. But it is unrealistic to expect that Chinese manufacturers will voluntarily improve conditions for workers.

The crux of the problem is this: by demanding that their suppliers produce goods at ever cheaper prices and demanding deadlines, the toy industry is almost forcing them to act illegally, despite the codes of practice it struggles to impose on them.
For consumers, this presents a dilemma which was neatly summed up for me by a couple pushing a loaded trolley down the toy aisles of a large superstore last Christmas.
"They're probably made under awful conditions but what do you do?" they asked.
"Accept it, or leave the kids with nothing."