masterwordsmith-unplugged

According to Malaysian laws for national elections, a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections. The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008 and many believe that a snap election is imminent .

As with all preceding general elections following independence, the 12th parliamentary election was won by BN, but yielded one of the worst results in the coalition's history. Opposition parties had what has been commonly referred to as a tsunami victory, winning 82 seats (out of 222 seats in parliament) or 36.9% of parliamentary seats, while BN only managing to secure the remaining 140 seats or 63.1%. It marked also the first time since the 1969 election that the coalition did not win a two-thirds supermajority in the Malaysian Parliament required to pass amendments to the Malaysian Constitution. In addition, 5 of 13 state legislatures were won by the opposition, compared with only one in the last election.

Currently, both the BN and the Opposition have started preparing for the next election and concerned citizens wonder who will win the 13th General Elections.

According to Sembang-Sembang Forum:

PM Najib’s approval rating has eased slightly between June and September this year, according to a survey conducted by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research. 65% of the people polled were satisfied with his performance as Prime Minister in June compared to 56% in September. However the number of people dissatisfied with his performance remained roughly the same with 23% in September against 22% in June.

The survey also found that 47% of the people polled think that the Pakatan Rakyat is not a viable alternative to the BN at the Federal level. However, 46% were satisfied with the 4 Pakatan Rakyat led State Governments.

With Najib seemingly on a roll with his public relations exercise and numerous feel-good statements lately, the Pakatan Rakyat loose coalition at its lowest ebb with its myriad of internal troubles, will the BN or Pakatan Rakyat win if Najib was to call for a snap elections tomorrow? Will there be another political tsunami at the Federal level? Or will the 2-Party system be just a fading dream?

In the wee hours of the morning,I was greatly surprised when I received an e-mail from my son. I reckon this was the second time he had sent me an e-mail so happily I clicked to read and it was a one-liner telling me about the story of a video and how he knew I would love such emotional stories. When I saw the title, I sort of guessed the outcome of this story as I am sure you would too.

So who's Eliot and why is he so famous?

Elliot was born with an undeveloped lung, a heart with a hole in it and DNA that placed faulty information into each and every cell of his body. However, through this innocent life, God showed Himself through this boy who never uttered a word. He showed us that life is precious and that we should always treasure what we have in our lives.

In the midst of heartbreaking tragedy, the Mooney family found the presence of God strengthening, comforting, and guiding them. Their story reminds us to seek God and endure our struggles rather than blame Him for our hardships. It is always very easy to become negative during trials and temptations but the truth is, it is during such trying times that we become stronger when we see ourselves and God more clearly.

For more about Eliot's family, please CLICK THIS LINK.

This is sad, yet heart warming. God bless this family!

The family is from Fayetteville, AK. Get your tissues ready.

The powerful story of Elliot's 99 days represented by 99 balloons. How can we ever explain the overwhelming feeling of love found and then lost? This is for all parents out there who have gone through such a painful experience of losing one's precious child. It is unimaginable yet they go on with such courage, such spirit! This video reminds us of how precious life is and how profound God's gift is to us~ our children.



I watched this video so many times. Each time, I wipe the tears from my eyes when I see how this child holds on fighting for dear life. No one can ever understand God's plans for our lives. Sometimes, we may think we have everything in our hands. When we watch this video, we see how a loving baby with loving hands can steal our hearts. True, he suffered but God took the pain in tears away. Angels carried him through those pretty pearly gates of heaven and all that the parents can do now is to remember the 99 days they shared with Eliot.

For those of us who are parents, let us treasure our children and our families. For those of us who have parents, let us not forget how they took care of us when we were babies and to be always thankful for what we have and who we have in our lives.

Life is precious - treasure it!!!! Have a lovely day!

_________________________________________________

The following information about Trysomy 18 is taken from Wikipedia:

Trisomy 18 (T18) (also known as Trisomy E or Edwards Syndrome) is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. It is named after John H. Edwards, who first described the syndrome in 1960. It is the second most common autosomal trisomy, after Down Syndrome, that carries to term.

Trisomy 18 is caused by the presence of three—as opposed to two—copies of chromosome 18 in a fetus or infant's cells. The incidence of the syndrome is estimated as one in 3,000 live births. The incidence increases as the mother's age increases. The syndrome has a very low rate of survival, resulting from heart abnormalities, kidney malformations, and other internal organ disorders.

Prognosis

The survival rate of Edwards Syndrome is very low. About 95% die in utero. Of liveborn infants, only 50% live to 2 months, and only 5–10% will survive their first year of life. Major causes of death include apnea and heart abnormalities. It is impossible to predict the exact prognosis of an Edwards Syndrome child during pregnancy or the neonatal period. The median life span is five to fifteen days. One percent of children born with this syndrome live to age ten, typically in cases of the less severe mosaic Edwards syndrome.

Features and characteristics

Infants born with Edwards syndrome may have some or all of the following characteristics: kidney malformations, structural heart defects at birth (i.e., ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus), intestines protruding outside the body (omphalocele), esophageal atresia, mental retardation, developmental delays, growth deficiency, feeding difficulties, breathing difficulties, and arthrogryposis (a muscle disorder that causes multiple joint contractures at birth).

Some physical malformations associated with Edwards syndrome include: a small head (microcephaly) accompanied by a prominent back portion of the head (occiput), low-set, malformed ears, abnormally small jaw (micrognathia), cleft lip/cleft palate, upturned nose, narrow eyelid folds (palpebral fissures), widely-spaced eyes (ocular hypertelorism), drooping of the upper eyelids (ptosis), a short breast bone, clenched hands, underdeveloped thumbs and or nails, absent radius, webbing of the second and third toes, clubfoot or Rocker bottom feet, and undescended testicles in males.

In utero, the most common characteristic is cardiac anomalies, followed by central nervous system anomalies such as head shape abnormalities. The most common intracranial anomaly is the presence of choroid plexus cysts, which is a pocket of fluid on the brain that is not problematic in itself but may be a marker for Trisomy 18. Sometimes excess amniotic fluid or polyhydramnios is exhibited.