The History of the Middle Finger

Well, now......here’s something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified. Isn't history more fun when you know something about it?

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew").

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."
IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY! And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing

A TALE OF A COW...need to read...

A TALE OF A COW.

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows
You give 1 cow for your neighbor.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows
The state take over both cows and give
you 2 cans of milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows
The state take over both cows and sell
the milk to you.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows
The state take over both cows and shot
you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows ,
The state take over both cows, shot
one, get the milk from the other and
throw it away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have 2 female cows
you sell one and buy one male cow, the
number of your cattle grows, and the
economy grows.

SURREALISM
You have 2 cows
The government asked you to take
harmonica course.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have 2 cows .
You sell one, and force the other one
to produce milk as much as 4 cows.
Then, you hire a consultant to analyze
why the cow died.

THE ANDERSEN MODEL
You have 2 cows .
You minced them both.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have 2 cows
You go in the street, gather the mass,
blockade the street, because you want
3 cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have 2 cows .
You redesigned them so they can
produce 20 times as much milk. The you
create a cartoon profile of smart
cow named "Cowkimon" and sell it to
the world.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have 2 cows
You redesigned them so they can live
for more than 100 years, eat only once
a month, and they can milk each others.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have 2 cows, but you don't know
where they are.
So you decide to go out for lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have 2 cows
You count them and dream what if you
have 5 cows . You count them again and
dream what if you have 42 cows . You
count them again and realized that you
only have 2 cows. You stop counting
and open a bottle of Vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them are
yours.
Then you charge administrative fee to
the owners for keeping there.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have 2 cows .
You have 300 pepole to milk those
cows. You state that there is no
unemployment, and the milk production
value is high. You arrest reporters
who report the truth.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have 2 cows
You worship them.

BRITISH CORPORATION
You have 2 cows
Both are mad cows.

IRAQ CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have many cows
You tell them you don't have them. No
one believes you, so they bomb and
invade your country. You still have no
cows, at least now you are part of
democracy.

NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have 2 cows
The left cow seems quite attractive.

AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have 2 cows .
The business seems good. You close the
office and find beer to celebrate it.

INDONESIAN CORPORATION (1)
You have 2 cows
Both are stolen. Then you sell them
both. Then you keep the money in hazy
non budgeter account. You use some to
fund your party campaign. But mostly
you keep for your family and
relatives.

INDONESIAN CORPORATION (2)

You have 2 stolen cows
Take a bank loan of 4 cows, then sell the 4 cows, and put the 2 cows under
your childrens name.
Tell the bank that you can not pay them, unless they finance you a milk
factory.
Take the money and go to Singapore ....

MALAYSIAN CORPORATION
You have 2 cows
Both are stolen from Indonesia.

That 's why I need YOU! (friend)

We need friends for many reasons,
all throughout the four seasons.


We need friends to comfort us when we are sad,
and to have fun with us when we are glad.

We need friends to give us good advice.
We need someone we can count on to treat us nice.


We need friends because we are social in nature
and having friends makes us feel secure.


We need friends to remember us once we have passed
sharing memories that will always last.


That 's why I need YOU!

FRIENDSHIP DOESNT NEED EVERYDAY CONVERSATION,
DOENST ALWAYS NEED TOGETHERNESS.

AS LONG AS THE RELATIONSHIP IS KEPT IN THE HEART,
TRUE FRIENDS NEVER GO APART.

"Gardening in Our Blood"

When autumn time arrived last year,
I said, "I've really had it, dear!
I've raked and hoed and picked and canned;
Just see that callus on my hand!
You know what I've been thinking, dear?
Let's let our garden go next year.
We'll buy all those things in the store –
They wouldn't cost us too much more.
When summer comes I'll sleep till ten,
Get up and clean the house, and then
I'll make a glass of lemonade
and go and sit beneath the shade.
When you come home at night from work,
I'll put the coffee on to perk,
Then we'll sit down and talk or read
And never think of garden seed."
Remember how you smiled and said,
"I think you've really used your head
To save us all this work next year.
I'm sick of gardening, too, my dear."
But then one day, the sky was blue,
The sun was warm, the tulips grew.
The April days grew long and free,
The ground lay waiting patiently.
The sleeping grass awoke to green,
And then in every magazine
Were ads for bulbs and plants and seeds –
In fact, for all your gardening needs.
One day you picked me up downtown.
With bundles I was loaded down.
No need to try and hide the facts
With "Burpee Seeds" stamped on the sacks.
Remember how your face got red
And how you turned away and said,
"When we've unloaded all that junk,
I have a few things in the trunk.
I'll need some help, for it is hot
And seed potatoes weigh a lot."
So now we stand here, hand in hand
And gaze at our productive land.
The berry beds are weeded clean,
The vegetables are tall and green.
We love our land in drought or mud,
For we have gardening in our blood.

50 SIGNS OF QAYAMAT

50 SIGNS OF QAYAMAT
Past
1. Splitting of the Moon.
2. Death of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
3. A form of death which will kill thousands of Muslims. (Understood to refer to the plague of Amwas during the caliphate of € ’±Umar ibn al-Khattab.)
4. A major fighting in Madinah (understood to refer to the battle of al-Harrah during the caliphate of Yazid, 63 AH).
5. The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem.
6. The Muslim conquest of Constantinople.
7. Two large groups of Muslims will fight in war.
8. A war between the Muslims and a reddish people with small eyes, wearing sandals made of hair (understood to refer tothe Mongol Tatar invasion of the Islamic lands.)
9. A peace agreement between the Muslims and non-Muslims from the yellow race (Chinese, Mongols, etc.)
10. Thirty impostors (dajjal) will appear, each thinking he is a prophet.
Present
11. Naked, destitute, barefoot shepherds will compete in building tall buildings.
12. The slave-woman will give birth to her master or mistress.
13. A trial (fitnah) which will enter every Arab household.
14. Knowledge will be taken away (by the death of people of knowledge), and ignorance will prevail.
15. Wine (intoxicants, alcohol) will be drunk in great quantities.
16. Illegal s3x will become widespread.
17. Earthquakes will increase.
18. Time will pass more quickly.
19. Tribulations (fitan) will prevail.
20. Bloodshed will increase.
21. A man will pass by the grave of another and wish he was in the latter€ ’²s place.
22. Trustworthiness will be lost, i.e. when authority is given to those who do not deserve it.
23. People will gather for prayer, but will be unable to find an imam to lead them.
Future
24. The number of men will decrease, whilst the number of women will increase, until for every man there are 50 women.
25. The Euphrates will reveal a treasure of gold, and many will die fighting over it, each one hoping to be the one who gains
the treasure.
26. The Romans (Europeans) will come to a place called A€ ’²maq or Wabiq, and an army of the best people will go forth from Madinah to face them.
27. The Muslim conquest of Rome.
28. The Mahdi (guided one) will appear, and be the Imam of the Muslims.
29. Jesus Christ will descend in Damascus, and pray behind the Mahdi.
30. Jesus will break the cross and kill the swine, i.e. destroy the false christianity.
31. The Antichrist (al-masih al-dajjal, the false christ) will appear, with all his tools of deception, and be an immense trial. He will be followed by 70,000 Jews from Isfahan (present-day Iran).
32. The appearance of Ya€ ’²juj and Ma€ ’²juj (Gog and Magog), and the associated tribulations.
33. The emergence of the Beast from the Earth, carrying the Staff of Moses and the Seal of Solomon, who will speak to the people, telling them they did not believe with certainty in the Divine Signs.
34. A major war between the Muslims (including Jews and Christians who truly believe in Jesus after his return) led by the Imam Mahdi, and the Jews plus other non-Muslims led by the Antichrist.
35. Jesus will kill the Antichrist at the gate of Ludd (Lod in present-day Israel, site of an airport and a major Israeli military base).
36. A time of great peace and serenity during and after the remaining lifetime of Jesus.
37. Wealth will come so abundant that it will become difficult to find someone to accept charity.
38. Arabia will become a land of gardens and rivers.
39. Society will then decay.
40. The buttocks of the women of the tribe of Daws will again sway in circumambulation (tawaf) around the idol Dhul-Khulsah.
41. A great fire in the Hijaz, seen by the inhabitants of Busra.
42. Three major armies will sink into the earth: one in the east, one in the west, one in Arabia.
43. An Abyssinian leader with thin shins will destroy the Ka€ ’²bah.
44. The huge cloud of smoke.
45. The sun will rise from the west (its place of setting).
46. A gentle wind which will take the souls of the believers.
47. There is no-one left on the earth saying, "Allah, Allah" or "There is no god except Allah."
48. Eventually the Day of Judgment is established upon the worst of the people, who copulate like donkeys in public.
49. The blowing in the Trumpet by the Angel Israfil, upon which everyone will faint except as Allah wills.
50. The second blowing in the Trumpet, upon which everyone will be resurrected.


(GOD BLESS U)
Brothers & sisters

The Man Who Loved Too Much

Every breeze that blows
brings your scent to me;

Every bird that sings
calls out your name to me;

Every dream that appears
brings your face to me;

Every glance at your face
has left its trace with me.

I am yours, I am yours,
whether near or far;

Your grief is mine, all mine,
wherever you are.

Tamil Nadu ICCR Tour December 2006

The ICCR tour started on 24th December 2006. But I (Habib) and Nazia, we took train on 21st December evening to reach Chennai on time. We went by GT express. It took us 36 hours. We reached one day before the tour, which is on Saturday, 23rd December.

From central Chennai railway station, we went directly to Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. For one day we had to stay in guest house. We also met some friends on that day like Charu, Lata, Showmen, Natasha, Arif, and Sanjay… most of them form Bangladesh.

Then, finally the day, which we were waiting for arrived.
Sunday morning the tour was supposed to start at 8:00 but all of our friends had not yet reached there. So, we waited for them. We stayed in Himalaya hotel in Chennai; first of all we took breakfast in Tamil Nadu restaurant. After breakfast, we all had rest.

In the afternoon, we went to take our lunch again in that restaurant. Food was good.
We had juice, veg and non-veg food, salad, sweet and dessert such as ice-cream and fruits. After lunch we started sight-seeing.

In Chennai, we visited a temple made in the memory of a great poet called Valluvar Kottam. We spent much time there, taking so many photos and all.
Then, we visited another temple. After this, we went to snake park, where there we saw many varieties of snakes, lizards and crocodiles. Finally we went to Chennai beach, but it was already evening and we couldn’t enjoy so much in the dark. After this, we went to the same restaurant for dinner. It was a very tiring day.

Next morning, on Monday 25th, we left Chennai for Mamallapuram. There, we had breakfast in Tamil Nadu restaurant near the beach. After breakfast, we went to the nearby conference room for our self-introduction. After that, we went to enjoy ourselves at the beach. We had so much fun there.
For example: HINADI fell in to the water, her clothes were in a mess. Our guide,
Mr. Annamalai had previously warned us not to touch the sea water. But, as most of us are always mischievous, we did not pay attention to him. We took so many funny pictures there, especially for Murimi (Ambassador).

On our way to Pondicherry, we stopped at two places. We visited lion’s caves and a place, where there are all types of big stones in different shapes. The most wonderful thing there was that, there was a huge stone standing fixed on a slope of a hill. It is there since so many years but it had not moved.

Finally on Christmas Day, we reached Pondicherry. We stayed in hotel Sai Ram and had our lunch and dinner in hotel Mass. On that day, we visited Ashram and temple. Afterwards, we spent lost of time on a rocky beach. The sea was very dangerous, with high tides. After dinner, we celebrated Nuridin’s birthday in hotel Mass. We didn’t celebrate Christmas. Most of the places also were closed due to Christmas.

Tuesday 26th, before leaving Pondicherry, we took breakfast in hotel Mass. We had to travel a long journey to reach Tanjavur. On our way to Tanjavur, we stopped at a place to visit a temple. In Tanjavur, we stayed in hotel Oriental Towers. Once again, we went to visit a big temple. Finally, everybody was bored in visiting so many temples.

On Wednesday 27th, we left for Rameshwaram.
There, we had to cross a bridge. Both sides there were sea. A railway line was being built in the sea there. It was really a wonderful and unbelievable thing. Everybody was amazed to see that. We had lunch in Tamil Nadu hotel near the beach. After that, we had much fun on the beach. Nazia, Murimi (Ambassador), Arif, Nuridin, Henadi, Yamuna, Irunika and me, we went for boating. Everybody enjoyed so much but Henadi was so much scared that she was yelling. In the sea, we reached a place, where one called get off the boat and stand there because there was a plot of sandy soil there. As usual, Nurdin got down there as he was always doing risky things. After that, we left for Madurai. We traveled a lot. That night, we spent in Tamil Nadu hotel, Madurai.

On Thursday 28th, we left Madurai for Kanniyakumari. It is at the ending point of India, in the south. It was a fantastic place, where the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal meet. The Indian Ocean is of blue color, Arabian Sea brown and the Bay of Bengal blue-green. The sea is very deep and rough. We went for boating to reach in the middle of the sea at a place called Vivekananda Memorial. There is even the 133 feet statue of the great poet Thiruvalluvar. We even saw the sun setting in the sea. On that day, we stayed in hotel Pioneer Paradise.

Friday 29th, back to Madurai. In the evening, we visited a big palace, where there was a light and sound show. It was really wonderful. Saturday morning, before leaving Madurai, we visited Meenakshi temple, which has thousand pillars. It is also among one of the wonders of the world. There was also elephant inside it. Then we left for Kodaikanal hill station, we stopped at a waterfall to take rest.

In kodaikanal, we stayed in hotel Tamil Nadu. We went on a hilly area for sightseeing. There was too much fog. It was cold there. We went to a view point to see two stones.
There were also gardens of flowers. We even went to suicide point. We saw so many monkeys there. Then, we went for Kodaikanal boating place. There were even horse-riding and bicycle riding.

On New Year Eve, we went to Coimbatore. We traveled a lot and finally reached Tamil Nadu hotel. We visited only a temple there. After dinner, there was a dance party in the hotel’s conference room, where we enjoyed and danced a lot. That’s how we celebrated New Year 2007.

The last day (sad day): 1st January 2007, was a very sad day, because we were leaving our tour friends. Most of them returned to there respective places form Combatore it self.
But, I, Nazia, Merwais, Charu, Lata, Hinadi, Seema and Koushik returned back to Chennai. We celebrated Eid-ul-Adha in bus it self. However we enjoyed a lot by singing.

Nazia and I stayed one more day in Chennai. Once again we went to Marina beach and enjoyed a lot.

If we did not have such wonderful friends, I am sure that we would not have enjoyed so much and the tour would have been very boring. It was really nice to have such cooperative and good foreigner friends.

Habibullah Habib & Nazia Begum.