Mind Soup

Below is an opinion piece that will be published in this week’s issue of Outlook, AUB’s official student newspaper. Believe me, I cannot believe I just said that either. Yet, there is a very compelling reason; I have to give credit where credit is due. Syrian President, Bashar al-Asad issued a decree early this April banning smoking inside cafes, restaurants and other public areas. This decree was implemented almost two weeks after, making Syria the first Arab country to implement such a ban in public areas. Moreover, in 1996, Syria banned tobacco advertising while in 2006, a law was passed to outlaw smoking on public transportation and some public areas. According to recent studies, an estimated 42 percent of males and 30 percent of females smoke in Lebanon, a country of around 4 million inhabitants. Most teenagers start the habit of smoking (cigarettes or ‘Nargileh’) due to peer pressure or family traditions. If our society wasn’t as accepting to smoking as it actua...

1.A visa is not a credit card. ... 2.You refer to your dad's friends as Um-moe .. 3.You have an endless supply of pistachios, dates, and pumpkin seeds... 4.Your parents say you're becoming Americanized anytime you get into trouble. 5.You curse at your teachers or strangers in Arabic. .... 6.You can spot an Arab a mile away and they have spotted you because they keep staring... 7.After a family meal, the women fight to death over who should wash the dishes while the men sit on their behinds and discuss politics, waiting for their tea. .. 8.Your parents want you to become a doctor or engineer. ... 9.You use your forehead and eyebrow(s) to point something out... 10.Your mother yells at the top of her lungs to call you to dinner even if you're in the next room.... 11. You have at least thirty cousins. ... 12.You arrive one or two hours late to a party and think it's normal 13.You are standing next to the largest suitcases at the Airport 14.You tal...

Check out this one-year meal plan here (pdf). FRIENDSWOOD, TX (KTRK) -- Do you know what you're cooking for dinner tonight? Planning ahead can be a great way to save time and money but one woman is taking it to a whole new level. It may be hard to believe, but a Friendswood mom not only knows what she is feeding her family every single night of the week, she has it all planned out for the entire year! She says having a plan has cut her grocery bill by more than half and she's sharing her strategy with us. Leslie Chisolm admits keeping up with a family of six that includes four boys is not easy. "It's kind of like a circus," she said. "There is something going on all the time." That's why dinner time has to be organized. "They know exactly what they are having," Leslie explained. "It's easier on me because I know what we are having. I don't stress out and say what am I going to cook tonight, what am I going to c...

When Lynn Middlebrooks Geter found that her 12-year-old son's report card wasn't to her liking, she didn't offer to help him with homework or ask teachers for extra instruction. No, she decided something more drastic was in order. The 38-year-old mom from Warm Springs, Georgia decided the best way for her boy to learn was to kill his pet hamster. With a hammer. The kid, naturally, was quit upset. What would happen with his next report card? Would he have to beat his sister to death to improve his commitment to math? So he told his teacher about it the next day. The teacher called social workers, who in turn called the Meriwether County sheriff's department. For her visionary parenting strategies, Geter is now in jail for animal cruelty, child cruelty and battery. UPDATE: Lynn Geter was either the greatest mom in Georgia, or a Mommy Dearest who put up a good show in public, but was a wicked witch inside the privacy of her own home. Those seem to be the radically dif...

This lion cub has clearly bitten off more than he can chew after annoying his dad once too often. The adult male finally lost patience with his attention-seeking son after the fun-loving cub spent hours tugging on his mane and chewing his fur. The young lion scrambled all over the adult male, trying to entice him to play as he lay sleepily on a car roof. Pride: The grumpy father lion bites his cub on the head after it was tugging and chewing on his mane Eventually he snapped, whipping his head around with teeth bared before sinking his fangs into the cub's head. But far from being subdued by his father's show of discipline, the cub looked up at him adoringly before running off to play. The incredible moment was captured on camera by amateur photographer Karl Drilling at San Diego Wild Animal Park. Mr Drilling, 46, from California, said: 'The lions were relaxing on top of the car, which they absolutely love to do. 'The cub had been annoying his dad for ages, ...

BOSTON (AP) — Police say a frustrated Boston woman called 911 to say she couldn’t get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep. Police spokesman Officer Joe Zanoli said Monday the mother called for help around 2:30 a.m. Saturday to say that the teenager also walked around the house and turned on all the lights. Two officers who responded to the house persuaded the child to obey his mother. Zanoli says the mother’s 911 call over video game obsession “was a little unusual, but by no means is it surprising — especially in today’s day and age when these kids play video games and computer games.” The Boston Herald first reported the 911 call, saying the boy was playing the popular “Grand Theft Auto” game.

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor.

The child eats 10,000 calories a day, she cannot walk or bear physical strain and her cardiovascular system is at risk. Seven-year-old Jessica Gaude differs greatly from her pals. With 222 kilograms, she is the fattest child in the world. She eats 10,000 calories each day in Coca-Colas, 15 hamburgers with fries and several kilograms of chocolate. What she eats in one day some children eat in half a year. Her breakfast consists of white bread, potato chips and two litres of coke. And she wants more. When she last visited the doctor four years ago she had 110 kilograms. Unfortunately, she can no longer run and instead of walking she drags herself on the floor. Under such bodily weight her bones have already become distorted. Mother Carolyn gives her daughter whatever the child wants. In the first week after she was born, when the baby cried because of stomach pains, the mother calmed her by feeding her with a bottle beca...

People are so stupid! LOL

I rummaged through my backpack, saffron lights gleaming brilliantly pale highlighted edges of steps a grumpy figure blocking my pathway I reached for my wallet and handed him two bills and a coin My bag clung on the cold metal stairs a loud echo tumbled along but no one seemed bothered. Rivers of words flowed clumsily through the dimness of the air, heavily clogged with jaded noise. I squinted at the eerie purple glow and dragged my bag across as it bumped and vibrated. Searching for a seat, seats that feel like carpets carpets that give severe rug-burn. There was only one seat left: squished between a family of five jam-packed on two seats and a young couple who were not so pleased to see me. I wanted to sit at the window. I wanted the wind to blow onto my hair. It was too late. I rummaged through my backpack for my treasured earphones. I knew this day will come I dreaded this always. I could not find my earphones This promised to be one hell of a ride. --- Bobo, Lelo, Titi the m...

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — At least it will be easy to remember their birthdays. An Arkansas couple welcomed a new baby girl into their lives Wednesday — giving her the birthdate of 9-9-09. Andy and Alison Miller's newest daughter Molly Reid will come home to sister Campbell, who was born on August 8, 2008, or 8-8-08. The Millers don't appear poised to go for a third child on 10-10-10. Alison Miller tells Rogers, Ark., television station KHOG that she and her husband are going to take a rest.

This pretty much summarizes why parents shouldn't be allowed on Facebook.

So I found this blog site called thehappyguy.com and this guy has really interesting and humurous articles that I think you should read. So every once in a while, I will be posting some of his articles here on Mind Soup. Now this article caught my eye, because, as some of you might know, I am the hugest fan of cheesecake. This article is not bad itself, hehe. So here goes: Parenting is tough enough, without having to follow a recipe. This pumpkin cheesecake recipe was written for parents like you. by David Leonhardt NOTE: This article is humorous, but the recipe is real...and real good!!! Whoever writes all those fancy cookbooks has never been a parent. To begin with, the pages are never spill-proof, almost guaranteeing that somewhere in the middle of mixing ingredients, Little Helper will spill something and cover up the remaining two ingredients listed. This means that parents must learn to improvise. Some would suggest that the very thrill of cooking is experimentation. So what’s ...