View From the Balcony - Writers Block

View From the Balcony

Writers Block

2005-12-22

Christmas Celebrations Around The World

Fran Klasinski
Thurs 8:58 PM 12/22/2005

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice, shortest day of the year.

Christmas celebrations should be cheery. A way to renew our past
year with feelings of giving and connecting with loved ones often
not seen during our busy year.

Along with the baking of cookies and yuletide cakes and puddings,
putting up decorations and preparing the feast for family, comes
the moment of silent reflection of who we are and how we live
in our very big world.

Our neighborhoods are International in flavor and the wonder of
learning something new is at our doorstep. What do you know
about your neighbors, your new friends from different countries
and how they celebrate, if they celebrate the Christmas season at
all?

In keeping with the spirit of the season, here are three other holiday
celebrants we would like to share; Kwanzaa, Chanukah, & Eid.

Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from 26 December thru 1 January, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.

Every year between the end of November and the end of December, Jewish people around the world celebrate the holiday of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, but the starting date on the western calendar varies from year to year. The holiday celebrates the events which took place over 2,300 years ago in the land of Judea, which is now Israel
This year (5766 / 2005-2006) Chanukah begins on December 25, 2005, and ends on January 2, 2006.

Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic:, often abbreviated as simply Eid, is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Fitr means "to break" and therefore symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period and of all evil habits.
Eid is a time to come together as a community and to renew friendship and family ties. This is a time for peace for all Muslims in the world to devote to prayers and mutual well-being.

Do you have more information on the way the different cultures in your neighborhood celebrate
the Chrismas season? If so, then please share your comments with our readers?

TAGS: Christmas Around The World | kwanzaa | Chanukah | Eid | Christmas Celebrations | yuletide |

Posted at 08:05:58 PM | Post Comment | Read Comments (0)

2005-12-21

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays

Wednesday , December 21, 2005
by Fran Klasinski

Christmas as celebrated in North America, will happen in less than
four days. Until it takes place, I will run a continual commentary
on what can soon be another sad passing of our unique existence
as Canadians..

Some of it will be funny, some of it sad and most of it a disgrace to
our willingness to let in the world to seek comfort from oppression.

Politically Correct

Does it go too far? You be the judge.

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be Canada if we continue to
make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that
came to live in Canada because it is the Country of Choice??????

While I received this in an email with no way to confrim the authenticity
of the author being a Canadian Newspaper columnist, I have been able
to research it as showing up in forums etc replacing Canadian with
American with reference to the attitudes of the writer and our individual
uniqueness. Regardless of the tone of the author some pretty sharp
analogies have been drawn that do put our rights in question to claim
our citizenship of two fine countries without fear of losing who we are.

Think about it!

All we have to say is, when will they do something about MY RIGHTS?

I celebrate Christmas...........but because it isn't celebrated by everyone.........we can no
longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season's Greetings.

It's not Christmas vacation, it's Winter Break. Isn't it amazing how this winter break ALWAYS
occurs over the Christmas holiday?

It's no longer a Christmas Tree - they call it a holiday tree!

We've gone so far the other way, bent over backwards to not offend anyone, that I am now being offended. But it seems that no one has a problem with that.

This says it all!

This is an editorial written in a Toronto newspaper. He did quite a job, didn't he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS, NOT Canadians MUST ADAPT.

I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some
individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have
experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Canadians.
However...... the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the
"politically correct! " crowd began complaining about the possibility that
our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is
seeking a better life by coming to Canada.

Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants.
However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our
country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.

This idea of Canada being a multicultural community has served only to
dilute our sovereignty and our national identity.
As Canadians.......
we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.
This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by
millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH/FRENCH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Russian, or any other language.
Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!
"We Stand On Guard For Thee" is our national motto. This is not some
Christian, right wing, political slogan.. We adopted this motto because
Christian men and women.......on Christian principles............. founded this nation.....
and this is clearly documented.

It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools.
If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as
your new home.........because God is part of our culture.

We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really
don't care how you did things where you came from.
This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. But once you are done complaining ...
whining ... and griping .... about our flag ... our pledge ... our national motto ... or our way of life ...
I highly encourage you to take advantage of one other Great Canadian Freedom ...

THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

AMEN
___________________________________

Where do you stand?

More people prefer "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays," according to a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll taken last weekend.

-- USA Today
----------------------------------------------------------------
TAGS: Christian | Christmas | politically Correct | Merry Christmas | Seasons Greetings| Christmas Tree

Posted at 07:29:13 PM | Post Comment | Read Comments (0)

2005-12-03

Computer Security - a Online Myth or a Need

Computer Security - an Online Myth or A Need

In checking your mail account, have you noticed the recent influx of
virus attacks? With subject headers like:

hi, ive a new mail address
Mail delivery failed
smtp mail failed
Paris Hilton & Nicole Richie
Account Information
Ihr passwort
Registration Confirmation
Your Password
You visit illegal websites
your IP was logged

There are more but these should help ring a bell. If you pay attention to
your computer security logs or it shows the infection cleaned, it should
show you this is the culprit - Win32.Sober.W!ZIP - a high risk Trojan.

If you own a web site, are trying to establish an online business, or
surf for the pleasure of your own personal needs, then you know how
many times your computer security system has cleansed the persistent
influx of some blackhat hacker trying to infest your computer with the
Sober.W Trojan.

Win32.Sober.W!ZIP is making the rounds via email warning you of
mail failure. For every one my computer security system catches and
cleans, for every one that I block for receiving in my email accounts, along
comes another one addressed to some fictional person attached to my
domain name.

You need to make sure you have a good anti-virus and firewall set up
on your computer. Do not rely on the Operating system program firewall
as sufficient protection, nor on the router firewall. They have distinctive
value related to the software use. In many cases, they can create conflict
with programs you normally run without error. The idea that these two
firewalls are sufficient protection is a myth you do not want to test. In
order to protect your online business, be sure to keep all security updated.

Phishers Pose as IRS Agents

While we are all busy becoming netsmart webmasters, we are all vunerable
to the tricks of much smarter blackhat hackers. Even our Governments
drop the ball.

"The Department of Labor says it is working to fix a programming glitch in
a government Web portal that makes it easier for phishers to trick people
into disclosing sensitive information.

"The GovBenefits.gov Web site is used by 16 federal agencies, including the
IRS, and is designed to help users determine their eligibility for
government-funded benefit and assistance programs. It is maintained by the
Department of Labor."

If you have reason to use the GovBenefits.gov domain, then no doubt you
have already received bogus redirected URLs to fraudulent Web sites. Do be
very careful in opening any mail that does not include the https:// URL.

Once you have opened an email such as this by accident or design, there are
a couple of things you need to do immediately. Do a 'clear all' - if using
FireFox - at the top under TOOLs, OPTIONS and PRIVACY, or if using IE,
then TOOLS, INTERNET OPTIONS, then clear cookies, temp files and History. Then close the browser right out.

I always do a reboot to make sure all this cleaning is gone from my pc
period. Then open the browser again, to enter the valid UID URL to
investigate any information the false mail was requesting. Once you
have confirmed this is NOT needed, then clear the browser again, following
the above steps and close it out.

Always be sure to properly log out of any account.

ALL browsers are designed to hold the history of your computer actions so
make very sure you clear the history as well in order that no sensitive
information can be linked to by this scum.

There is a better way. Simply do not open that email. Treat it as a fraud,
then do the above steps so you know your browser is clean and type in
YOUR secure link to the real site. NEVER access any protected site by
using the URL provided in these mailings.

OTHER RESOURCES:

http://www.how2-4newbies.com/
http://www.pcworld.com/

copyright © 2005 Fran Klasinski All rights Reserved

Posted at 03:27:49 PM | Post Comment | Read Comments (0)

No Newer Entries No Older Entries

Page content ©2005-2007 Fran Klasinski