Lets all bloggers say no to the proposed amendments. Those who do not support the proposed amendments to civil service act, let us all say it. Please make a post using the statement below. Let us all bloggers unite.
I AM AGAINST THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO CIVIL SERVICE ACT.
Anti psychotic? Meet Dr. Peter Breggin.
Any significant curtailment in the prescription of psychiatric drugs will have to come as a result of actions taken outside the medical profession and outside the pharmaceutical industry. Ultimately, it’s up to individuals to decide that there are better ways of overcoming emotional problems than impairing their brain and mind with drugs.He also warns that When trying to withdraw from many psychiatric drugs, patients can develop serious and even life-threatening emotional and physical reactions. In short, it is dangerous not only to start taking psychiatric drugs but also can be hazardous to stop taking them. Therefore, withdrawal from psychiatric drugs should be done under clinical supervision.
Note: My very own limited personal experience with individual psychiatric patients tell me that while for some individuals psych drugs work , for others it makes the individual worse.
It looks like Female Muslim doctors in UK can no longer wear the veil when they are with the patients. Good move i say. Enough is Enough.
Female Muslim doctors must be prepared to remove their veil to treat patients effectively, under new guidelines issued yesterday.
Religious clothing must not present a barrier to building trust and communicating with patients, the General Medical Council said.
Doctors should be prepared to set aside personal and cultural preferences, advised the document, Personal Beliefs and Medical Practice.
The council also said doctors must be open about procedures they object to because of their beliefs, such as abortion.The Muslim Council of Great Britain supports the GMC guidance saying that female Muslim doctors have a responsibility to put patient care first.Women could wear the hijab, which covers the head but not the face.Dr Abdullah Shehu, the chairman of the Muslim Council’s medical committee, said: “While wearing a veil does not preclude someone from practising medicine, there is no harm in removing it where the ability to communicate or care for the patient is compromised. The Muslim community very much welcomes this guidance.”The guidance states: “Some patients, for example, may find that a face veil worn by their doctor presents an obstacle to effective communication and the development of trust.“You must be prepared to respond to a patient’s individual needs and take steps to anticipate and overcome any perceived barrier to communication.”Other issues covered by the guidance are that doctors cannot refuse to care for patients before or after having an abortion because they object to the procedure.They must also respect the views of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who refuse treatment if it involves having blood transfusions.
I am an atheist. I have never joined, or been part of, any religious group or organization. I was raised without religion, and without much understanding of what religion is. I have never had much of an identity religiously, and I stayed away from much thought or discussion on the matter. It is only recently that I have really explored the many options for religious beliefs and have decided that rather than saying, “No comment,” I now call myself an atheist.
I am also a parent. I have two children: a 13-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. They don’t belong to any religious group, either. I never had them baptized, christened, or blessed. Neither of them had a bris, bat mitzvah or first communion. But am I raising “atheist children”? Just because I do not identify our family as religious, are they atheists? I don’t think so. Rather, I am raising questioning children, and those are the best kind of children to send out into the world.
‘We are nothing’
I never describe our family as “an atheist family” (I prefer to say, “We are nothing,” as in not part of any religion), and I reject the notion that my kids are automatically what I am. I think that keeping them open to all the possibilities is more important than telling them what to believe in.
I know a lot of religious families who say they are a Christian, Jewish or Muslim family. And they are. They have traditions, rituals and celebrations that define what they are. They pass those things to the children, along with belief.
Most young children accept what their parents tell them as true, whether it is the existence of Santa Claus or Jesus Christ. It is important that children understand what their parents believe, but it is also important for children to know about all the options out there. This is tricky if a parent is a true believer of a religion and feels that her way is the only path. But how can children question openly when they are taught that there are absolute truths in belief?
Tough questions
In the past few years, my kids have really started to ask tough questions about the world and how our ideas fit into it. I have to admit that I don’t have all the answers.
We struggle together to understand what it all means. I teach them about all the major religions, and when I am not sure, I call friends who are part of the religions in question for better answers. We look at the art made to honor deities, we read stories written to explain belief systems, and we talk about similarities and differences among religions, both extinct and still in existence today. I try to keep all the possibilities open to them, and I answer all their questions honestly. I admit that I do not believe in the many gods that are out there, but I respect people who choose to follow them.
I may be raising my kids outside organized religion, but I am not raising them to be ignorant of religion any more than I am raising them to be atheists. I am not telling them that they have to follow my way of thinking, because as a parent, it’s my job to encourage them to think for themselves. I know that many religious parents do the same for their kids, and I know that good parenting has no religious affiliation. But how can a parent foster an open and questioning mind in a child who is also told to follow a god — without question?
I am not advocating that religious parents not include their children in the faith they have chosen. But I am urging parents to expose their children to the many other ways, including the way I have chosen: no religion at all. I do not demonize believers to my kids, and I hope that those who follow religion will not present my choice as evil and wrong.
When it comes to religion, it is hard to allow freedom of choice in our offspring because we want them to emulate us. It is unsettling to think that our own kids might believe in things we do not. It is awful to imagine that they would reject that part of who their parents are. But the fear subsides when I hear the wisdom of my daughter, who recently told me, “I don’t have to choose what religion I am right now, but I have the choice to choose.”
Free will
Part of being a good parent is allowing our children to become whatever and whoever they become. Watching my children explore the ideas that are out there and grapple with the many, often conflicting, religious views in the world is exciting. They bring new understanding to things — not only for themselves, but for me as well. If my daughter came to me and told me she was joining a church, I would ask her how she reached her decision. But that would be my approach with any of the big decisions in my children’s lives. Questioning puts us all on a path to greater understanding.
As my children navigate their teenage years, I know that the understanding will be harder to come by. The questions will get tougher. The answers won’t always be what I want to hear.
But I’ll keep asking, and I’ll encourage my kids to be open and questioning. They might not end up like me, but I’m at peace with the idea that they will end up as themselves.
Nica Lalli is a writer and educator in Brooklyn. Her memoir, Nothing: Something to Believe In, was published last March. She is working on her second book, which is about parenting and religion.
This post first appeared in USA today.
Forget what the mullahs are ranting. Enjoy this piece of music.
Oh yeah they can.
After all the hullabaloo on the former New York senator, Spitzer, sleeping with a prostitute from one of the most famous elite prostitute rings operated for the most wealthy, the news is emerging that the next person to lead the New Yorkers is a blind man.
Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is set to become the state’s 55th Governor — and the first African American to hold that position (and only the fourth African American governor in US history). Who is the man who may become Governor?
Get inspired. YES WE CAN.
This is an election year. So it seems like to be anyway.
Many candidates are giving us the impression that they are the saviors of us. The one who can bring us the prosperity and democracy and freedom which we all are craving for. One thing many of us are rather blindly neglecting are the policies they have put forward. Policies on housing, education, social security etc…
Among the most rather accomplished and privileged people who are contesting had not put forward a robust health policy which is very concerning for me. How are they going to achieve universal health care for all of us Maldivians?
The problems faced by IGMH is evident on the Maldives Medical Watch blog. To be very honest, i don’t think that there is much they could do to avoid such deaths from happening. There are certain things which they could do but what if there is no political will to do it?
As a voter it will be wise to ask this question among yourselves. Who among these candidates really understand my needs as a patient, a care giver or in many cases as a health provider such as IGMH? Who among these candidates really understands the pain a drug addict goes through? Who among these understands what the families of disabled children has to go through? How hard it is for them? Who among these had ever mentioned such and such so far?
So ask this question among yourselves. What can these people actually do to help me and my family when i and my family get sick? Is 300 dollars and a Flight ticket to India the solution? Really?
