When do children become vulnerable to the new world’s challenges

A word on my absence

Those who are familiar with my blogs have certainly noticed that I havent been writing for a long time. Apart from the fact that my career and personal life took over and left me very little time for my passion in writing, I wasn’t finding any stimulation to address any social or cultural subject for all this absence.

Children and the online suicidal and self-harming challenges

While this is not a new topic and not one I would usually consider to comment on, but the latest trend of the Momo challenge and the overreaction of social media to it provoked me rather than inspired me.

My two teenage boys have joined the electronic and online world at an early age. They had every device trending, watched, played had accounts and deactivated others… I certainly was monitoring those activities but I never stopped them. It’s because I have always believed that you can’t protect the children from a danger by preventing them from knowing about it. The fear from the monster in the closet is not gone until you come at night and open the closet and show them there is nothing there. The animation movies work on that same concept, they give knowledge about their most common fears and concerns to help waive them.

In short, and in the old world’s language; if you keep your children from getting cold, they are the most vulnerable to catch it… If you keep them from playing with dirt, they are the most vulnerable to germs…. If you keep them from fighting with other kids they are the most vulnerable for getting bullied.

Same with e-games and devices, if you keep them from knowing this trend, enjoying it and understanding this world, then you are not keeping them from their dangers but you are helping making them the most vulnerable kids to the online trends such as the momo challenge and other.

Children are curious discoverers and they want to discover their own world not yours, as a parent you should let them do that but monitor from a safe distance. My boys know about this e-world’s threats as much as I do and they did so by getting to know it and learning my guidelines of utilizing the means to enter it over and over. When I talk to them about the challenges and the fear they present they laugh and their laugh is just like the one you’d expect from a child who masters cycling and you warn him from the risk of falling from unbalance.

Help your children explore their world to immune them from its dangers.

The key to immunity is knowledge not ignorance

Religious Controversy over the personal life of Rima Fakih

Needless to introduce Rima Fakih, since she seems to have attracted the spotlights at many instances of her life so far.

Miss USA Rima Fakih practicing a wrestling move on the WWE show “Tough Enough”

In fact, Rima trained in USA as a female wrestler and was the first Muslim to win the Miss USA title in 2010. Again, two weeks after being crowned, photos of her pole dancing surfaced as she participated in a local strippers’ contest which almost took her title off.

Lately in April 2016, Rima converted to Christianity to marry music producer Wassim Salibi on the 15th May 2016, in a ceremony of true Lebanese style.

A special location to be wedded as Christians at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerki

Rima gloriously standing under the cross of white roses.

Whether you are a liker of her page or not, you must have stumbled across a couple of her wedding or honeymoon photos shared by one of the hundred thousands “Likers” and fans. While you are checking out the photo and smiling to the loving comments of users wishing the perfect couple a happy life suddenly….aw! a comment stands out uttering an outburst of hatred, profanities and inconsideration to the couple’s personal and private life.

I am sharing below some of those comments after I have intentionally masked the name of the people behind them, simply because for me they don’t represent the opinion of anyone but their sick selves. They are haters who have no consideration to people’s freedom and right to live the way they chose and to believe in whatever they want to believe in.

This first one is the worst I have personally read and although it had a good share of responses that served the user right, I don’t think she is worth the trouble of writing replies.

Another one goes up to analysing the source of funding the wedding.

Last in my collection is from the type of people that heavily exists in our life: no matter what you do they will always find something bad about it! This one is suspecting the couple broke up already and that’s why Rima is solo in the photo!

Surely Rima Fakih is aware of those comments and doesn’t bother to delete them. The irony is that for those haters to be able to post on her page they have to be likers!

Rima was criticized for calling herself Muslim while posing in a bikini, and for holding the title of Miss USA and now they are trying to intimidate her for settling down in a marriage with the man she chose, -and I must say-a man of a wealth that many of her female haters would probably die and deny their existence to marry!

It is a shame to see people invading someone’s life this way and for a best ending to this blog post I found this perfect quote.

The Two Trees in the Garden

The story below is a childhood tale. The origin and the writer behind it are both obscure to me. Today, the World Wide Web made it possible to dig in for any quote or saying no matter how old. Nevertheless, my search for it was not successful and I found it too meaningful to be buried in my memories so I decided to plant it somewhere in my blog! 

  
A man had only 2 trees in his garden; one was green and blooming and the other was dead. However he kept on watering the dead tree with hope that one day he might have his dead tree full of life again.

Then one morning, there was two dead trees in that garden.

When is the Right Time to Put up the Christmas Tree

November 22 and some people are already thrilled about the Christmas spirit, and have even put up the Christmas tree and the decoration in their houses.

There is no doubt that Christians around the world and people from other religions have special feelings about Christmas time and festivities, being wonderful times of joy and sharing.

It’s “the magic of Christmas”

However, a huge commercial side of the season goes behind the early presence of the theme in shopping malls and through streets decorations. Year after year, this seems to be brought earlier in time, and people can’t help following the trend and feeling the urge to live the spirit the soonest in their houses.

What does the church have to say about that?

This article by  Scott P. Richert, a Catholicism author and expert goes to say that the basic idea is that the Christmas tree and the decorations should be put up on the afternoon of Christmas Eve.

If we have the ability to live the joy of Christmas all year long would we stop ourselves from doing so? If peace comes into our life with what this wonderful decoration brings to our house wouldn’t we keep it forever?

We need to feel the spirit longer than just the evening and the day of Christmas. We don’t want the festivities to fade in meaning when the ornaments stay for too long in our houses, and become no different than that painting hung on the wall for years and that we barely notice.

Scott suggests in his article that “we can still maintain some sense of the Advent season by not lighting the lights until Christmas Eve, or by putting out our most precious decorations (and perhaps the star for the top of the tree) only on Christmas Eve….”

She Bares it All with a Message to Daesh

A French girl bares it all with the Eiffel Tower in the background (original post on Facebook), daring the filthy attacks of Dawesh that took place on November 13 in several locations in Paris

It is thought that the horrific attack on the Bataclan that evening, was targeted by Daesh (ISIS) for being a place of enjoyment and exaltation to the youth.

The copy of the picture below is slightly digitally pixelled while the original bares it all. 

  
The picture that is worth a thousand words came yesterday, November 16 defying Daesh in response to their terrifying attack with a message in the hand! 

No, Sydney’s Opera House didn’t light up in solidarity with Lebanon!

While social media is showing the entire worlds’ support following the sad Paris attack, many Lebanese feel disappointed that their own devastation is not perceived by the world with the same sympathy.

Killing innocent people must be faced by all nations with a “NO” regardless of where it took place. Solidarity should not keep the blind eye on those countries which names are forever associated with killing and terrorism such as Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.

Photo: The blue, white and red colours of France’s national flag are projected onto the sails of Sydney’s Opera House. (Reuters: Jason Reed )

When I saw the pictures of the Opera house lit with the Lebanese flag (below), I couldn’t but feel pity for those who “Photoshopped” the original supporting France, only for the mere purpose of having their fake post shared.

A photoshopped fake version of the Opera House’s photo lit in solidarity with France

It’s the sad ugly truth, but unfortunately it is the truth.

I wish the whole world would support Lebanon in actions and not just colors or lights. I wish the plots on the region would stop and people go back to live in harmony as they used to. But let’s not fake the ugly truth and believe the unreasonable ugly facts that we are forgotten in the past of wars, terrors and corrupted governments.

This article of the Australian ABC news net tells the story of Australia’s support to France.

We support you France, we support history of cooperation and we support the Lebanese families living there but we tell the world: “Look at us”!

Love is Suspicious

“Love is a feeling too suspicious, it continuously needs to be heard even if all other senses are telling about it.” -Notesonwings  

Honestly Speaking

“”Being honest is not in uttering words, it’s when those words meet ones’ actions.” -Notesonwings

  

Foreigners living the Lebanon experience

I have blogged once about how beautifully a foreigner sees, talks and writes about Lebanon, and i am sure it is something many have experienced. Sadly, today is witnessing despair within our people as many plots against and from its people and groups are being made.

Just when the spirits are down, once again more words from a foreigner in our country, but this time it’s coming from an ambassador who has experienced the real Lebanon and left it with a touching statement. I can’t but bow with respect to this person whose term as ambassador for his country to Lebanon is over, and yet asks us permission to be our ambassador, when we, the Lebanese people deny our nation and ethnicity every day.

Mr. Fletcher’s post makes my heart grow a little bigger, after it has been crushed over and over with bitter disappointments from our own politicians who fail us every minute and every day. In his note, Tom Fletcher quotes Gibran’s ‘you have your Lebanon, I have mine’ listing reasons and instances behind his belief in Lebanon and its people, something we miss to have ourselves.

Diplomats feel overwhelmed with what they get of influence and position worth when they are posted to Lebanon. I have lived and seen the difference in Australia, and can assure you that they wouldn’t dream to have this prestigious status on their own land and within their own people.

Law of the Jungle

It is totally unfair to use the term “law of the Jungle” in reference to the jungle and the animals. Even the savagest animals live in harmony and the wildest environments naturally balance justice.

A satiated lion will pass a dear without feeling any urge to prove its superiority, but those uncategorized creatures of human nature are hungry for every single opportunity to show how filthy and blood thirsty they are!

The video below is a big shame on what we call humans and the law of the jungle is rather a law of the civilized monsters.

The Jungle is a safe place!