Balay Ni Tikay Goes Islam

DYAB Anchor Tisha Ylaya invited Voice of Islam Foundation Head Ustadz Najib Rasul to her weekly radio program 

"Myth" Ra Diay Tu?!?

Source: Johns Hopkins School Of Public Health
Posted: June 18, 1998

Women Not Neccessarily Better Drivers Than Men

Although men are three times more likely than women to be killed in car crashes, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health have found that, when the total numbers of crashes are considered, female drivers are involved in slightly more crashes than men. Overall, men were involved in 5.1 crashes per million miles driven compared to 5.7 crashes for women, despite the fact that on average they drove 74 percent more miles per year than did women.

The investigators, who published their results in the July issue of Epidemiology, found that although teenage boys started off badly, with about 20 percent more crashes per mile driven than teenage girls, males and females between ages 20 and 35 were equally at risk of being involved in a crash, and after age 35 female drivers were at greater risk of a crash than their male counterparts.

Lead author Guohua Li, MD, PhD, associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, said, "Although risk-taking behaviors may contribute to the excessive injury mortality among men and younger drivers, up to now age and sex discrepancies in death rates from motor vehicle crashes have not been well understood."

The researchers used 1990 crash statistics gathered by the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), the General Estimates System (GES), and the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) and applied an innovative method called "decomposition" to break down the data into new categories and weigh the relative contributions of three variables: crash fatality, incidence density (that is, number of crashes per million person-miles) and exposure prevalence (annual average miles driven per driver). Traditionally, the death rate ratio has been considered to be a function of just two factors: fatality rates and accident rates.

The investigators determined that about half of the 3.1-fold difference between the sexes' fatal crash involvement rates was due to the fact that males' crashes were more severe. Another 40 percent was due to the fact that men, who on average drove many more miles than women, thus had a greater opportunity of being in a crash; and 8 percent because of gender differences in "crash incidence density," the number of crashes per million person-miles.

Each year, highway crashes claim about 40,000 lives, cause three million injuries, and cost the nation $140 billion.

The study was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Co-authors: Gabor Kelen, MD, professor and director, Emergency Medicine, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and Susan P. Baker, PhD, professor of Health Policy and Management, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Mother's Day 2006!

How Mother's Day is Celebrated Around the World

Mother is said various ways around the world such as :-

France - Mere

Germany - Mutter

Hindi - Maji

Urdu - Umee

English - mummy, mum, mom, ma, mamma, mommy.

African Mother's Day

Some tribes like the Assam in Africa, don't call themselves families. They call themselves "maharis", or "motherhoods."

Chinese Mother's Day

Chinese family names are often formed beginning with a sign that means "mother". It's a way of honoring their moms long past.

Greek Mother's Day

The ancient Greeks celebrated Mother's Day in spring. They used to honor Rhea, "mother of the gods" with honey-cakes and fine drinks and flowers at dawn.

The Greek word "meter" and the Sanskrit word "mantra" mean both mother and measurement.

Japanese Mother's Day

Japan's Imperial family trace their descent from Omikami Amaterasu, the Mother of the World.

Indian Mother's Day

Hindu scripture credits the Great Mother, Kali Ma, with the invention of writing through alphabets, pictographs and beautiful sacred images.
Buddha honored mothers when he said, "As a mother, even at the risk of her own life, loves and protects her child, so let a man cultivate love without measure toward the whole world."

In India there is a ten-day festival known as Durga Puja which is held in early October. The festival honors Durga, the "Divine Mother". She is the most important of all Hindu goddesses.

American Indian Mother's Day

Native American Indian women have long been honored with the name, "Life of the Nation" for their gift of motherhood to the tribes.

Egyptian Mother's Day

Ancient Egyptians believed that "Bast" was the mother of all cats on Earth, and that cats were sacred animals.

English Mother's Day

In the 1600's, England celebrated a day known as Mothering Sunday, celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. Mothering Sunday honored the mothers of England.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the Mother Church - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration.

People began honoring their mothers as well as the church. During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers.

A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch. Sometimes furmety was served - wheat grains boiled in sweet milk, sugared and spiced.

In northern England and in Scotland, the preferred refreshments were carlings - pancakes made of steeped pease fried in butter, with pepper and salt.

In fact, in some locations this day was called Carling Sunday.

Another kind of mothering cake was the simnel cake, a very rich fruit cake. The Lenten fast dictated that the simnel cake had to keep until Easter. It was boiled in water, then baked, and was often finished with an almond icing. Sometimes the crust was of flour and water, colored with saffron.

French Mother's Day

Children in France spend days drawing a card and practising a poem as a surprise for their mothers. This springtime Sunday is refered to as Fete des Meres, and it provides children and adults throughout France with the opportunity to make their mother the centre of attention, and give her gifts and treats.

Mother's Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. It is treated more like a family birthday. Everyone in the family gathers for a special meal. This may be at home or in a restaurant. At the end of the meal the mother is presented with a cake.

Swedish Mother's Day

In Sweden Mother's Day is on the last Sunday in May and is a family holiday. The Swedish Red Cross sells small plastic flowers on the days leading up to Mother's Day. The money raised from the sale of the flowers is used to help needy mothers and their children.

Spanish Mother's Day

In Spain Mother's Day is celebrated on 8th December. It is closely linked to the church, especially to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Special cards are sent for Mother's Day and many of these are made by children. Shops sell chocolates, flowers and other Mother's Day presents, but many children make their own presents for their mothers.

Portuguese Mother's Day

In Portugal Mother's Day is celebrated on 8th December. It is closely linked to the church, especially to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Special cards are sent for Mother's Day and many of these are made by children. Shops sell chocolates, flowers and other Mother's Day presents, but many children make their own presents for their mothers.


European Mother's Day

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church"--the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church

Motherhood Trivia

Rosa Parks was the mother of bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama that launched the Civil Rights Movement.

Mother Shipton was a Prophetess in Britain 500 years ago. She could see the future, and predicted that another Queen Elizabeth would sit on the throne of England. (QE II)

Mother's Day is now celebrated in many countries around the world. Australia, Mexico, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, Russia, China, Thailand, all have special celebrations to honor Mothers, but not in the same way or on the same day as the United States.

In the Bible, Eve is credited with being the "Mother of All the Living."

Mother Goose is one of the most popular of all children's entertainers. Her books and stories have been loved for many generations.

Mother Earth is also known as "Terra Firma". That title is a Latin translation of some lines from one of the Greek poet, Homer's, greatest poems.

Famous Mothers Quotes

Michelangelo's Mother:"Mike, can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"

Mona Lisa's Mother:"After all that money your father and I spent on braces, Mona, that's the biggest smile you can give us?"

Columbus' Mother:"I don't care what you've discovered Christopher. You still could have written!"

Napoleon's Mother:"All right, Napoleon. If you aren't hiding your report card inside your jacket, than take your hand out of there and prove it!"

George Washington's Mother:"The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!"

Abraham Lincoln's Mother:"Again with the stovepipe hat, Abe? Can't you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?"

Humpty Dumpty's Mother:"Humpty, If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times not to sit on that wall. But would you listen to me? Noooo!"

Goldilock's Mother:"I've got a bill here for a busted chair from the Bear family. You know anything about this, Goldie?"

Albert Einstein's Mother:"But Albert, it's your senior picture, Can't you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something?..."

Babe Ruth's Mother:"Babe, how many times have I told you? Quit playing ball in the house! That's the third broken window this week!"

Batman's Mothers:"It's a nice car, Bruce, but do you realize how much the insurance is going to be?"

Superman's Mother:"Clark, your father and I have discussed it, and we've decided you can have your own telephone line. Now will you quit spending so much time in all those phone booths?"

Barney's Mother:"I realize strained plums are your favorite, Barney, but you're starting to look a little purple."

Mao Nang Wala Ko'y Credit Card Sukad Masukad!

Sure, debit cards work just like cash. But just like credit cards, they make it easy to lose track and overspend. That's why the key to your budget may be cash.

By Liz Pulliam Weston

In a world where people use plastic to buy lattes, Stacy Jo McDermott feels like a bit of an oddball. But after running up $35,000 in credit card debt, the San Francisco Bay-area resident decided her relationship with money had to change.McDermott tried different ways to monitor and control her spending as she paid down her debt. The method that she hit on several months ago seems to work best: using cash.Every two weeks, after her paycheck is direct-deposited into her bank account, McDermott slips $125 into a checkbook register to pay for food. "About 70% of that goes for groceries," she said, "and about 30% for eating out."

Another $60 goes into her wallet to pay for gas. A final $30 stash is tucked into a zippered pocket in the wallet for what she calls "treat money"-- little splurges like a movie or a magazine.McDermott, a saleswoman, still carries an American Express card for business travel and a debit card for emergencies, like the new battery her car recently needed. Her monthly bills are paid with checks. Otherwise, though, she pays with the green stuff."When I use cash, I stop and think," McDermott said. "Do I really need this?"It's still plasticPlastic surpassed cash years ago as consumers' payment method of choice. People now use debit, credit or prepaid cards in 56% of their in-store transactions, according to the American Bankers Association, with cash comprising 33% of the transactions and checks 11%. Indeed, plastic forms of payment have plenty of advantages for money management:

They're convenient. You can buy what you need when you need it, as long as you're not already over your credit limit or overdrawn at the bank.
They're easier to track. With debit and credit cards, you know exactly what you've spent where. You can check your transactions and balances online and track them with personal-finance software like Quicken or Money. Dollars in your wallet, by contrast, tend to disappear without a trace unless you're diligent about writing down your purchases or retaining receipts.
They offer some protection. Credit cards, and debit cards with MasterCard or Visa logos, promise "zero liability" for consumers if the cards are lost or stolen. Credit cards also serve as a middleman in transactions, so that if you have a dispute with a merchant, you don't have to pay the charge until your beef has been investigated.

They give you rewards. Many credit cards and even some debit cards offer reward points, frequent-flier miles, cash back or other fringe benefits. The more you use them, the more rewards you pile up.

The envelope systemDebit cards, in particular, have soared in popularity in recent years, with their use for in-store transactions climbing 45% between 1999 and 2005. Since debit-card transactions come directly out of your checking account, you don't have to worry about facing a big, unexpected bill and possible finance charges at the end of the month, as you could with a credit card.Still, it's possible to overspend with a debit card, just in a different way. You might buy too much at the grocery store, for example, and discover too late that you don't have enough left for rent. Couples may find themselves in constant conflict because they've essentially spent the same dollars twice.The desire to earmark money for different purposes without worrying about overspending is what led Carolyn Pittman of San Dimas, Calif., to set up her cash-based envelope system nearly two decades ago, when her now-grown sons were still in elementary school.

Pittman keeps seven envelopes on hand, labeled:

Home, for small home repairs.

Entertainment, which includes weekly dinners out with her husband, Richard.

Gas. The envelope is kept in her car.

Trips, for weekend getaways.

Barber, for haircuts.

Clothing.

Food.

You can't spend what you don't have

"If I have the cash put aside, it's harder to overspend," Pittman said. With plastic, "you're tempted to buy everything you see."The Pittmans know something about money management -- Caroline was an accountant before becoming a full-time mother, and Richard works for a credit-counseling organization, ByDesign, as vice president of fund development.Richard Pittman said the system works well for the couple and occasionally wins them price breaks."I had my car repaired (recently) and got a discount for paying cash," he said. "Small businesses are often willing to do that to avoid paying merchant fees" that banks charge for plastic.The couple has credit cards for travel, but Pittman said she's never felt a need for a debit or an ATM card. She gets her cash the old-fashioned way: from a bank teller.Recently, one of them tried to convince her she needed an ATM card. Pittman said the teller asked her what she would do if she ran out of money on a Sunday, when the bank's branches were closed."I said, I don't run out of money because I budget my money," Pittman recalled. "If you have an ATM card, you can keep pulling out money whenever you want."

'If you can eat it, drink it or wear it...'

Credit counselors, who traditionally put their debt-strapped customers on cash-based spending plans, are now likely to view cash and debit cards as pretty much synonymous, said Dianne Wilkman, president of Springboard credit counseling.But Wilkman still advises using bills rather than plastic for certain expenses when she's counseling young people and others who are trying to create a money-management system that works for them."We say, 'If you can eat it, drink it or wear it,' " Wilkman said, " 'it's always good to use cash.'"High-school science teacher Brendon Bookman of Merritt Island, Fla., uses cash for those purchases -- and just about everything else.

Bookman has been without a credit card for more than a year after getting frustrated with soaring interest rates and high fees."You start out with a rate that's 2.9%, you're late with one payment and the rate goes to 20%, 30%," Bookman fumed. "It's so easy to get buried."Like McDermott, Bookman keeps a debit card for emergencies. He doesn't travel much and so hasn't needed to use a credit card (although airlines and some hotels and rental car offices do accept debit cards, should the situation arise). He doesn't use checks, either, since he finds it too easy to get overdrawn. His bills are paid with postal money orders, which can be replaced if they're lost or stolen.The day may come, Bookman said, when he'll get another credit card. But he said he'll insist on a low limit and pay it off in full every month. In the meantime, he likes knowing exactly where he stands by using cash."It's not always convenient," Bookman said, "but it works."3 keys to the cash systemIf you think you'd like to try a cash-based system, consider the following:Expect some trial and error. Any budget can take a while to perfect, and you may well find yourself raiding one envelope (or bank account) when another runs dry. For more information on how to budget, check out MSN's Learn to Budget Decision Center and read "A simpler way to save: The 60% solution.”

Don't carry big wads of cash.

You're not protected against loss or theft as you are with plastic. When Carolyn Pittman starts feeling nervous about how much cash is accumulating in an envelope, she deposits it in the couples' savings account and puts an IOU in its place.Mind your credit scores. Even if, like Bookman, you feel like swearing off credit cards forever, consider the future. You might want to apply for a mortgage, auto loan or other credit someday, and it will help to have good scores. To do that, you generally need to keep at least one open credit account. (For more on how credit scores work, see MSN's Decision Center on the topic.)

Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money.