Tokyo to host 2020 Olympics!

September 8th 2013 is a big day for everyone, including me. Today the IOC will make the announcement that only one country will receive the privilege to host the 2020 Olympics games. I only woke up to watch the announcement at 5am because I needed the sleep as I was going to attend my friend's wedding in the morning. Can't look sleepy for someone's wedding.

                                    

The television showed Madrid and Istanbul at tie. During this time, at about 5:05am, I thought Japan was already eliminated but thank goodness a few minutes later, I was informed that Madrid was eliminated in the first round. This preliminary process actually shocked the Tokyo team too because they, like me thought Tokyo had already been eliminated. Good thing, we were wrong. At about 5:20am, the IOC President Jacques Rogge announced that Japan will host the 2020 Olympics Games. 

Still cannot believe my ears and eyes that Japan beat rival candidate cities Istanbul and Madrid to host the Olympics for the second time. In 1940, there was plans for Tokyo to host the games but was never took place because of World War Two. The first Tokyo Olympics was held in 1964. The ongoing radiation leaks at Fukushima prefecture nuclear power station was the biggest reason why Tokyo will not win the bid. However, with lady luck at out side, the IOC decided that Tokyo is the best candidate city because of Tokyo's compact setting and safe atmosphere.

Tokyo will hold 85% of the venues with the Olympic Village. During the early presentations, the Tokyo committee, presented a survey made by 75,000 travelers informing the IOC members that Japan's capital is the world's safest city. Tokyo also boasted having clean roads(which is very true) and beautiful skylines. Another very important point is that Japan's taxi drivers are also friendly and honest(which is very true too) One should compare a Japanese and Malaysian taxi-driver. The contrast is like heaven and hell. Japanese drivers are well-bred and Malaysian ones are just money-minded(another long story on why Malaysian drivers become what they are today) Anyway, just encountering good and helpful taxi-drivers are enough to make your day delightful. With this said visitors are given an assurance that they won't meet any unhelpful taxi-drivers during their visit to Tokyo or anywhere else in Japan.

Tokyo committee member also mentioned that another attractive transformation is Tokyo will use this Olympic host privilege as the frontier to revamp the city to a new sports and entertainment district. Competition will be staged in historic venues dating from the 1964 Games, modernized and refurbished to extend their legacy for at least another 50 years. Those polished and new facilities are actually what the city needed too.

"This is a chance for Japan to show the rest of the world that has suffered from natural disasters...how to reconstrust not just devastated areas like Tohoku area but also society as a whole through sports,"stress the Tokyo committee. I cannot agree more with the member's words. Hope seems to fill the city energizing everyone. Now, the problem is the tickets!!! I am going to make sure I get the tickets to watch the opening ceremony. I need to start saving now.(LOL)

Again, congratulations to Tokyo. The Tokyo team surely put their best effort and win the bid fairly. Click to watch the presentation video here.

Waste

I've been hearing a statistic lately regarding how much edible food is wasted in America.  If you had asked me before hearing the number how much edible food is wasted, I would have thought 20%.  The actual number is 40%!  So almost half of edible food in this country is thrown out when it is still safe to eat.

Here is a link to a very informative article - it is an interview for NPR (National Public Radio) with two experts on the subject.  It is http://www.npr.org/2012/09/21/161551772/the-ugly-truth-about-food-waste-in-america.  In the article they also talk about how this wasted food also means wasted water.  That made me think more about the issue.  I try to conserve water by turning off the water while I wash my face, shave my legs, etc. so that clean water is not wasted while I am not directly using it.  I try to make sure I finish my morning glass of water before heading out the door so I don't waste it.  When there are so many places in the world struggling for clean and sanitary sources of water, I try to not take clean water for granted.  So when food is wasted, the water used to grow the crops or feed the animals that make our food is used in vain.  I never really thought of water being wasted when I throw out food, so this will make me think twice.

When I heard this, I looked critically at my own habits to see how I stacked up against this statistic.  How much food do I waste?  How could I improve?  Below are some things I am thinking about.

1.  Cooking for two (or one) is difficult.

There are only 2 people in my household.  Yet the packaging sizes for ingredients are often fore more than 2 servings.  So often times the meal ends up being a meal for 4 or 5 people because in the stores we shop there are not smaller sizes of things.  Some leftovers get eaten and no food is wasted; other times I do not want that item after it has been in the fridge so it will be wasted.  Or, sometimes I won't eat leftovers because I am trying to lose weight, and this means having controlled, small lunches at work.  Leftovers would be counterproductive to weight loss.  So what can I do to minimize waste?

I could first off try not to be so picky and eat leftovers.  Or try to see if we cook dinners that often have leftovers on a Friday or Saturday night so that I can eat the leftovers over the weekend, where I'm not as stringent on my diet.  I could also see if there are smaller package sizes for foods or ingredients.  I think the hardest thing of all will be to convince my husband (who is the better cook of the family whereas I'm the better baker of desserts and sweets) that food will taste just as good using less meat than more meat.  :)  Another option is to look for recipes that make smaller dinners - so dinners for two and not the whole family.

2.  Sometimes I buy things I don't eat.

Sometimes I buy canned fruit or veggies with every intention of introducing them into a healthy diet, only to find I've forgotten about them or ended up never making the recipe I bought them for.  So they sit on the shelf and expire.  I've gotten much better at not doing this at the insistence of my husband, but I still think it would be a good habit to go through cupboards once a month or so and find things soon to expire and use them up somehow so they're not thrown out.

3.  I'm afraid of "expiration" dates.

According to the article, foods can be safe to eat even after their expiry date.  There are only a few things I'll consume once it's past the due date, and those are milk (if it is not sour once opened) and soft drinks.  Tea and spices are other things because I'm not sure that anything can spoil in them.  Otherwise, I am leery to eat things past the date because I am afraid of harmful bacteria inside the unopened can or jar.  My fears may be a little out of proportion, so I will need to try to overcome the fear and learn about how to tell if expired foods could be harmful once I open them.  Some things I will not consume after expired dates are processed meat, as I have read that these meats can carry Listeria bacteria and I feel that going past the date increases the chances of contracting it.

So those are three areas I can be working on.  In the meantime, I will hope that locally there will be ways to recycle unused food, such as composting or recycling food for methane energy.  Unfortunately, one of the negative things about living in a rural area is there are fewer programs in the area to encourage new ways of recycling (but thankfully I can at least recycle aluminum, paper and plastic).

Eyes Wide Shut, world watches Syria bleeds

I have been watching the international news on TV and sort of following what is happening in Syria. It comes as no surprise that like anyone I am saddened by what is happening in Syria. But I am also baffled and confused with all the happenings in Syria.

I know there is a civil war going on. But when did it started? The civil war did not start yesterday. It is very unfortunate that the civil war finally made it to the TV coverage until the Syrians were being tossed with chemicals. The next question is how come suddenly the world is interested and certain countries wanted to join forces with whatever parties in Syria to stop the on-going war. The third queston is can I say that religion plays a part in this civil war? Which devilish countries are delivering the weapons to the Syrians in exchange for huge sums of money?

I believe not all of us are sure of what is happening in Syria. Whatmore, unless you are an expert in the Middle East affairs, you probably won't know where is Syria located too. According to many articles I have read what is happening in Syria is really important, but it an also be confusing and difficult to follow even for the experts. Nevertheless, I am going to try my best to 'grasp' what is happening in Syria.

(Q1) What is Syria?

The official name for this country is Syrian Arab Republic. Syria is actually an English name for this country. The Arabic name for this country is Al-Sham. Syria is located in the Middle East, along the shore of Mediterranean Sea. Briefly, it is about the same size as Washington state. It borders Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, it is also home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Kurds, Armenians,Assyrians, Turks, Christians, Druze, Alawite, Shias and Arab Sunnis. The latter(Sunnis) make up the majority of the population. Civilizations in Syria goes back thousands of years, but the country as it exists today is very young. Like the African continent, Syria's borders were drawn by Europrean colonial powers in the 1920s.

(Q2) Why are the Syrians killing each other?

Courtesy of Global Voices

 

The killing started in April 2011 in Deraa. 15 schoolchildren were arrested and reportedly tortured for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. The protests for the children's release were peaceful. All the Syrians wanted are democrary and greater freedom for the people. Regrettably, the government responded angrily, and on March 18th, the army opened fire on protesters killing four people.Firstly, the government's security forces quietly killed the activists, then started kidnapping, raping, torturing activists's family members.

Inconsolable, the activists turned into armed civilians organized into rebel groups. I do not blame the peaceful activists turned armed civilians for using guns, after all who won't be angry, furious and mad at the government for killing their citizens, especially a lot of innocent children and then dumping the dead mutilated bodies to the sides of the roads. And all hell broke loose.This incident shocked and angered the people, like a chain reaction, the infuriation spread like wild fire to other parts of the country. Army deployed across the country, terrorizing people into submission. Then volunteers from other countries joined the rebels, either because they wanted freedom and democracy for Syria or, more likely, because they are jihadists who hate Syria's secular government.

 (Q3) Who governs Syria?

 

 

In order to know why civil war is occuring in Syria, it is essential to understand who governs Syria. I did a few hours of research and reading on the internet and going to try my best to sum up what I gained from. There are many key players in the government.

 

The dictatorship started during President Hafez al-Assad's regime. He is an Alawites and being the leader of the socialist Ba'ath party, seized power in 1963. He had 5 children with Anisa al-Assad. According to many articles, senior Assad is a ruthless and shrewd politician, always analyzing the situation and knowledgeable about international affairs, in contrast to the current President Bashar al-Assad(the third son). Senior Assad had built his his facade of power through his alliances with the seniors aides he trusted, whereas Bashar cut off ties with the seniors and strengthen his political ties among the inner circle of the family.

 

Bashar would not have been the President if Bassel al-Assad, the oldest brother did not get himself involved in a car accident and died in 1994. Bassel was sporty, charismatic and popular among the political group. Maybe because Bashar is a shy and soft-spoken, he has always looked up to Bassel.

 

Bashar was recalled from London, as Senior Assad did not have much time left to rule the regime. Senior Assad made sure that Bashar, a  ophthalmologist, underwent a crash course in military and political courses. With the help of professional imager makers, the bashful Bashar was transformed into a nice guy with an elegant wife and succeeded the presidency in July 2000, with the help of General Bahjat Suleiman, a trusted Senior Assad, right hand in the regime. Notwithstanding, he also inherited Bassel's friends and the Syrian Computer Society.

 

The Syrian Computer Society acts as Syria's domain registration authority and has been reported to be closely associated with the Syrian state. Here Bashar's monitors everything that is flying across the Syrian internet.

 

In 1996, Bashar spoke openly about Syria's bureaucratic corruption and recommended new clean key players to the government. Political prisoners were released and more freedom of speech is introduced to the society. All the fabricated actions was known as Damascus Spring( Damascus is the capital city of Syria)

 

In 2002, when the press asked him why nothing has changed in Syria, he did not respond.

 

Next are the very main important evil characters in the political structure.

1. Atif Najib, a maternal Assad cousin and head of Security Directorate who allowed the firing in April 2011.
2. Rami Makhlouf, another wealthy Assad cousin who owns the telecommunications, gas, oil, banking, airlines, retails and schools of Syria. Many articles pointed out that no foreign companies can do business in the country without his consent and partnership.
3. Maher al-Assad, the youngest son and more military minded that Bashar. When Bashar assumed power in 2000, he immediately installed Maher as chief of security.  
4. Lastly but not least, Assef Shawkat, brother in law of Bashar is apparently the real brain of the regime. He married Bushra al-Saad, the second child of the al-Saad family. His family relationship, coupled with his role as head of military intelligence, made him the second most powerful man in Syria and – until his assassination – probably the most widely feared.

Conclusion

I am glad I started digging information online to understand what is happening in Syria. Now with the information I have, I have a better clearer picture in my head on what is going on. The only part I did not cover is the Syria neighbouring enemies. Now another question is whether foreign countries should interfere with the civil war or not.

*Please forgive me if there are mistakes and misinformed writings; Please correct me*

 

From Farm to Fork: Our Toxic Food System

                                         Courtesy of ww.visualnews.com by Neil Spencer

Before I became a housewife, I seriously do not care much about nutrients and food. As long as it is affordable and feeds my stomach, the food is fine with me. Getting married and having to have to cook for my husband, I was forced to learn about how food influences our health. Since, I will be cooking, I realized I need to know the names of vegetables, meat and other food products. Blessed with a health-freak mother, and health-concern mother-in-law, I started learning about the importance of why knowing what we put inside our mouth is crucial. One things leads to another, and before I know it, my knowledge on vegetables and meat started to improve. With the information I have, during grocery shopping, I started to nose around those vegetables packages, questioning the truth behind the package.

Ministry of  Agriculture Japan is probably best known for their strict restrictions on corporate farming. Corporate farming is a large-scale agricultural operation that is overseen by a company. And when a company comes into the picture, it means business. And when it means business, it means profits.The cheapest and quickest way to gain agricultural profits are achieved by injecting growth hormones to the fruits, vegetables, and animals. I have looked on several websites and Japan TV news coverage and are convinced that Japan does not support corporate farming. However, not all countries are as strict as Japan when it comes to agricultural business, especially America. Here are some spine-chilling facts every Americans should know(Science News) in bullet points:

1.  80 percent of all US feedlot cattle are injected with hormones.( In 1993, the FDA approved recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), a synthetic cow hormone that spurs milk production)
2. A study of cows treated with melengestrol acetate (one of the artificial growth hormones approved for use in the US) revealed that residues of this hormone were traceable in soil up to 195 days after being administered to the animals.  
3. While the average dairy cow produced almost 5,300 pounds of milk a year in 1950,  today, the average is more than 20,000 pounds.

Fruits, vegetables and poultries are supposed to be our friends, not out enemies.The Food and Drug Administration should hold responsibilities for the American consumers health and concern, not treat agricultural business to their own advantages. The vicious cycle will only continue to kill consumers until the rBGH law is banned. After reading this post, hopefully, one will be more aware and wise in choosing what to put inside their mouth. Remember making an effort to question where and how the food is comes from will save your life.

 

Trying New Things

I guess I'm like any other person where I have my ups and downs.  I go through periods where I just live day in and day out only wanting to give bare minimum of effort in work, church, or whatever.  And then there are other times where I find something new that captivates my attention and gives me something to look forward to doing in my spare time.  Last year my "new thing" was sewing.  Almost 10 years ago my parents purchased for me an inexpensive but usable sewing machine and my mom taught me a few basics to sewing.  It does not come naturally for me.  I am not patient by nature, and I want to rush through my sewing projects so that I will have a new skirt for work or new gift to give someone.  That is when I make mistakes and have to tear out the machine stitches, rearrange the fabrics, and try again.  I have been able to make two small quilts last year (one for Phil and one for his older brother who makes crafts for me, too).  Right now I'm working on a tote bag that allows me to use up extra pieces of batting (the cotton material that is sewn in between the top and bottom layers of a quilt) so that I don't waste it.  The bag will be soft and can carry books, clothes or whatever.  I've made mistakes on that too but I hope to try to work on it a little today before heading over to my father-in-laws house for Labor Day weekend cookout.  Last few weeks I made a costume for a murder mystery costume party at our family reunion.  It turned out OK but several mistakes and frustrated comments made to my sewing machine (and me, the sewer!).  So all I can do is keep trying and learning from a few friends who either sew for a living or have sewn their whole life.

My newest "new" thing is belly dancing.  It is so funny for me to say it or type it out because where I live, most people do not belly dance.  To people here, belly dance can be perceived as an outdated and middle-eastern only art form that is only meant to be sensual.  We have belly dancing performance troupes in MI.  There used to be one about 45 minutes from where I live and they would perform locally at community events in my hometown.  I saw a second troupe fro about an hour south from where I live who performed this summer at a fundraising event I was at and at the end of the performance they allowed anybody who wanted to learn come and dance the last song while they gave instructions.  I went up and danced, as I'd learned a little bit from a belly dance instructional workout DVD I had tried a few times at home.  I didn't do too bad, and that encouraged me to pick up the DVD again and pay close attention to the art of dancing.

I am not a graceful person.  I am terrible at team sports which is why I'm picked almost last during wiffle ball games at my in-laws.  I'm not naturally a good dancer which is why I don't dance outside the privacy of my bedroom where I workout.  But in this case, I didn't care whether I was not good.  I wanted to find a fun new way to try to lose extra pounds that shouldn't be there and to appreciate an art form from a different culture.  Many of the moves on my DVD lean more toward Egyptian style moves, but I know there are Lebanese style dancing and African style dancing too.  YouTube has free instructional videos, I especially like the ones from Tiazza Rose who makes online videos to instruct you to dance for fitness or to dance to make your own dance routines for performing.  So even though I'm not all that great at it, it gives me something new to learn about.

I would like to try the art with washi paper.  I may try it and not be very good at it, but at least I would have tried it and may find I love the art of doing something new to me, even if I don't love what I create!

What new things are other people trying at the moment?