Lonely Seniors in Nursing Homes:Where is the love? April 15, 2009

Does our responsibility to parents and grandparents end after we send them off to a nursing home or some senior living community? When the housing and care is paid for, do we still need to visit, send letters, cards or make phone calls? After we pass up on the burden of care, to whom do we pass on the responsibility of love? The loneliness and abandonment appears to be more painful than the physical pain some of them endure. Shirley, one of the seniors whom I have particularly become close to at the Nursing home I volunteer at, beams with joy whenever she sees me. She waited for a visit from me during Easter but I did not show. I was under the impression that she will be spending this special day with any of her five kids and 23 grandchildren. But she spent Easter like any other day in the nursing home; no calls or visit, just by herself with an old tv. I felt really bad for not showing up, but then again, could not understand why her own family could not give her a simple call.

Most of the seniors at the nursing home hardly receive any visits and look on jealously when others do. It is hard to think these parents neglected their responsibilities to their children and are merely getting a payback. I wonder if the nuclear family has become so rigid that, grandparents are not considered immediate family anymore. What I’ve learned being around elderly people is, when one reaches the advanced stages of aging, more than material things, they value friendship, companionship or any caring relationship that makes them feel wanted and valued human beings; not some used good. There is a reason why we punish criminals by socially isolating them from society. Some seniors who suffer similar fate are hard working people who gave their all to raise their families and deserve the common courtesy of being loved and appreciated!

Lonely Seniors in Nursing Homes:Where is the love?

Does our responsibility to parents and grandparents end after we send them off to a nursing home or some senior living community? When the housing and care is paid for, do we still need to visit, send letters, cards or make phone calls? After we pass up on the burden of care, to whom do we pass on the responsibility of love? The loneliness and abandonment appears to be more painful than the physical pain some of them endure. Shirley, one of the seniors whom I have particularly become close to at the Nursing home I volunteer at, beams with joy whenever she sees me. She waited for a visit from me during Easter but I did not show. I was under the impression that she will be spending this special day with any of her five kids and 23 grandchildren. But she spent Easter like any other day in the nursing home; no calls or visit, just by herself with an old tv. I felt really bad for not showing up, but then again, could not understand why her own family could not give her a simple call.

Most of the seniors at the nursing home hardly receive any visits and look on jealously when others do. It is hard to think these parents neglected their responsibilities to their children and are merely getting a payback. I wonder if the nuclear family has become so rigid that, grandparents are not considered immediate family anymore. What I’ve learned being around elderly people is, when one reaches the advanced stages of aging, more than material things, they value friendship, companionship or any caring relationship that makes them feel wanted and valued human beings; not some used good. There is a reason why we punish criminals by socially isolating them from society. Some seniors who suffer similar fate are hard working people who gave their all to raise their families and deserve the common courtesy of being loved and appreciated!

Somali Pirates: Their Fight Against Western Nuclear Waste Dump and Overfishing in their Seas!! April 13, 2009

As the old saying goes, there is always “two sides to every story.” Unfortunately, the media coverage of the capture and rescue of the US captain has been grossly one sided. The issue of piracy in Somalia has largely been blamed and oversimplified as one of the woes of a failed state. While I don’t disagree with the former, I think if the issue of piracy is now at the forefront of international debate, then all sides of this saga should be examined, including the pirates’ own side of the story.

While western countries decry Somalia as a fallen state, the truth is they have not missed a golden opportunity to exploit the situation in this poor country. Somalia’s seas have become the dumping ground for nuclear waste, while they also loot Somalia’s seas of their greatest resource: seafood.

A 2005 report released by the UN following the Tsunami, revealed that nuclear and hazardous wastes dumped on Somalia’s shores were infecting Somalis in the coastal areas. The report revealed the existence of uranium radioactive waste, leads, heavy metals like cadmium and mercury, industrial wastes, hospital wastes, chemical wastes, you name it. Nick Nuttal, a spokesman for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) remarked to voanews.com that “It’s not rocket science to know why they’re doing it because of the instability there.” He remarked that “on average, it cost European companies $2.50 per ton to dump the wastes on Somalia’s beaches rather than $250 a ton to dispose of the wastes in Europe. He also said the Asian tsunami dislodged and smashed open the drums, barrels, and other containers, spreading the contaminants as far away as 10 or more kilometers inland. Health problems currently faced by Somalians from the wastes include problems ranging from “acute respiratory infections to dry, heavy coughing, mouth bleedings, and abdominal hemorrhages, what they described as unusual skin chemical reactions.

According to voanews.com Somali officials said the country was vulnerable to illegal dumping, as Africa’s longest coastline is not patrolled and the country has no coast guards, or health officials and facilities to test whatever is inside the containers.

The truth is Somali pirates emerged out of growing frustration with the exploitation of their coastal waters. Local fishermen lost their livelihoods in a country which already sufferers from mass starvation. Reports indicate that, the so called “pirates” are ordinary fishermen who have decided to police Somali seas in attempts to keep the exploiters away. In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was “to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters… We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas.” It is not enough for Obama to pledge to fight piracy at sea, but to also address the exploitation by foreign countries in Somalia.

As Johann Hari nicely put it “Did we expect starving Somalians to stand passively on their beaches, paddling in our nuclear waste, and watch us snatch their fish to eat in restaurants in London and Paris and Rome? We didn’t act on those crimes – but when some of the fishermen responded by disrupting the transit-corridor for 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, we begin to shriek about “evil.” If we really want to deal with piracy, we need to stop its root cause – our crimes – before we send in the gun-boats to root out Somalia’s criminals.”

PLEASE COMMENT! I WANT TO ALSO KNOW YOUR OPINION!!

Somali Pirates: Their Fight Against Western Nuclear Waste Dump and Overfishing in their Seas!!

As the old saying goes, there is always "two sides to every story." Unfortunately, the media coverage of the capture and rescue of the US captain has been grossly one sided. The issue of piracy in Somalia has largely been blamed and oversimplified as one of the woes of a failed state. While I don't disagree with the former, I think if the issue of piracy is now at the forefront of international debate, then all sides of this saga should be examined, including the pirates' own side of the story.

While western countries decry Somalia as a fallen state, the truth is they have not missed a golden opportunity to exploit the situation in this poor country. Somalia's seas have become the dumping ground for nuclear waste, while they also loot Somalia’s seas of their greatest resource: seafood.

A 2005 report released by the UN following the Tsunami, revealed that nuclear and hazardous wastes dumped on Somalia’s shores were infecting Somalis in the coastal areas. The report revealed the existence of uranium radioactive waste, leads, heavy metals like cadmium and mercury, industrial wastes, hospital wastes, chemical wastes, you name it. Nick Nuttal, a spokesman for the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) remarked to voanews.com that “It's not rocket science to know why they're doing it because of the instability there." He remarked that “on average, it cost European companies $2.50 per ton to dump the wastes on Somalia's beaches rather than $250 a ton to dispose of the wastes in Europe. He also said the Asian tsunami dislodged and smashed open the drums, barrels, and other containers, spreading the contaminants as far away as 10 or more kilometers inland. Health problems currently faced by Somalians from the wastes include problems ranging from “acute respiratory infections to dry, heavy coughing, mouth bleedings, and abdominal hemorrhages, what they described as unusual skin chemical reactions.

According to voanews.com Somali officials said the country was vulnerable to illegal dumping, as Africa's longest coastline is not patrolled and the country has no coast guards, or health officials and facilities to test whatever is inside the containers.

The truth is Somali pirates emerged out of growing frustration with the exploitation of their coastal waters. Local fishermen lost their livelihoods in a country which already sufferers from mass starvation. Reports indicate that, the so called “pirates” are ordinary fishermen who have decided to police Somali seas in attempts to keep the exploiters away. In a surreal telephone interview, one of the pirate leaders, Sugule Ali, said their motive was "to stop illegal fishing and dumping in our waters… We don't consider ourselves sea bandits. We consider sea bandits [to be] those who illegally fish and dump in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas." It is not enough for Obama to pledge to fight piracy at sea, but to also address the exploitation by foreign countries in Somalia.

As Johann Hari nicely put it "Did we expect starving Somalians to stand passively on their beaches, paddling in our nuclear waste, and watch us snatch their fish to eat in restaurants in London and Paris and Rome? We didn't act on those crimes – but when some of the fishermen responded by disrupting the transit-corridor for 20 percent of the world's oil supply, we begin to shriek about "evil." If we really want to deal with piracy, we need to stop its root cause – our crimes – before we send in the gun-boats to root out Somalia's criminals."

PLEASE COMMENT! I WANT TO ALSO KNOW YOUR OPINION!!

Duped into an Interview: How my Persistence Failed Me! April 1, 2009

I woke up Sunday morning to a phone call from a lady informing me they were interested in interviewing me for a receptionist weekend position. She gave me a rundown of where the interview was and what the duties entailed.  We settled for Tuesday at 1pm.Little did I know this was going to be the beginning of a ridiculously unproductive Tuesday.

Anyways, like I do every interview day, I got up very early on Tuesday morning and got ready and suited up. My GPS was not working so I copied the directions, kissed my grand mom buy and was out the door. It was quite a beautiful day as drove down the highway with my directions in hand. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until I realized I was going East and not West as the directions dictated. I made a quick exit and got on161 West as was supposed to but then my bad sense of direction took over and before I knew it, I was speeding past dirt roads and lonely highways. But not to bother, I had left the house 1hr early because I always try to prepare for such situations or make room error lol!

Not trusting my own instincts enough, I decided to do the most common thing one in my position would; I stopped at a gas station to get directions. The old man’s words “Get on 270 N, drive until you see the exit into to 161 West!” Easy right, oh well if only it turned out that way. Damn you GPS for not working; now I have to actually think!!  Knowing that my 1hr room for error was soon to be out, I called the office to let them know I was going to be late.  The next time I called them, I was one hour late for the appointment already.  To my surprise they were still interested in seeing me so I continued my quest to the location stopping wherever I could to get directions, mixing them and finding new routes to get lost even more. I left home at 12 but it was 2pm and I was still trying to get to my interview. I was frustrated, hungry and my gas was running out. I called a cousin to help me with directions, but he instead complained about his minutes not being enough for him to give me standby directions. Frustrated even more, I missed more exits. It was 3pm now, and I was still lost and even more bent on getting to the interview. I thought it was extremely gracious of my interviewer to want to see me still, so I persisted with patience.

Finally with the help of my mom, the last person I thought to call because I did not want a lecture on how to read directions before getting the help I needed. Luckily she did both at the same time and I got to my interview at about 4:15. Wheewwwwwwww, finally there! My interviewer walked out to greet me and remarked I was in good spirits despite all. He walked me into a room with about 14 people talking on phones and a couple of empty chairs arranged in a semi-circle facing a projector screen.

My worst nightmare was in front of me. I said loudly to myself “Hellll nooooooo, I did not get lost for about 4hrs to end up at a TELE-MARKETTING INTERVIEW!!  I tried to compose myself an act seemingly pleased to be there despite the burning disdain. This did not look like a receptionist interview and I felt like I had been taken advantage of.  Andrew started out by explaining what that their company was,a fitness company and so on and forth. When I quickly realized he was giving me a power point presentation from his laptop I even grew quite irritated. I interjected after listening for about 16mins of his passive reading. I asked if the company had a website which he quickly brushed aside, choosing to tell me about Trump and the other billionaires who had invested in their company. He told me I could be making a couple of thousands within weeks, so I asked him how. When he mentioned bonuses and commission I knew how bad I really wanted to walk out. But still, I tried to be graceful.  The fact that I was deceived into the interview in the first place made me less receptive of anything being said. Feeling like I was wasting my time and his time, I opted to leave saying I had to get home before it was dark and I got lost again. But no, he just had to keep talking. Salesmen can be irritatingly persistent.

After a while of exchanging meaningless pleasantries, I asked for directions one last time for the day (lol) and left. The road home looked more familiar; I cranked up the volume to 89.5 and there was Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic” playing.  Alone in the car without a care of embarrassment  I sang out loud the chorus as I sped home, this time without missing an exit!!

Oufffffffff what a day!!!!!!!!