THE GREAT BETRAYAL

The Great Betrayal: We Trusted You But You …

Are We Heading For 

Abyss of No Return?

(By: M. Javed Naseem

يَاأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱعْبُدُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
“O mankind! Worship your Guardian-Lord, who

created you and those who came before you, that

you may have the chance to learn righteousness!”

(al-Quran 2:21)

Man claims to be the viceroy of God Almighty on this earth but unfortunately he does everything against the Will of God. He is supposed to spread righteousness and justice but, on the contrary, he spreads evil and tries to subjugate other human beings by deception and lies. And he still claims that he’s doing the ‘right thing’.

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلآخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

يُخَادِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلاَّ أَنْفُسَهُم وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ
“Of the people there are some who say: ‘We believe in

Allah and the Last Day’, but they do not (really) believe.
Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe;

but they only deceive themselves, and realize (it) not!”

(al-Quran 2:8-9)

This is the height of shamelessness that one does something evil to others and still says that he’s doing good. He fools people with lies and deception and thinks he’s too smart to be caught. This is hypocrisy and hypocrisy springs from dishonesty. And dishonesty leads to Hellfire. Allah knows these people well; and what they are doing.

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لاَ تُفْسِدُواْ فِى ٱلأَرْضِ قَالُوۤاْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ

أَلاۤ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَـٰكِن لاَّ يَشْعُرُونَ
“When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the

earth," they say: "Why, we only want to make peace!

Of a surety, they are the ones who make mischief,

but they realize (it) not.”

(al-Quran 2:11-12)

Those ‘smart’ people seem to be happy with the worldly profit they make from this evil trade. But, in fact, they don’t realize that it’s a bad bargain. They are following the Satanic path and they’ll join Satan, at the end, in Hell.

أُوْلَـٰئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرُواْ ٱلضَّلاَلَةَ بِٱلْهُدَىٰ

 فَمَا رَبِحَتْ تِّجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُواْ مُهْتَدِينَ 
“These are they who have bartered Guidance

for error. But their traffic is profitless, and they

have lost true direction.”

(al-Quran 2:16)

Spreading evil in the Earth and ruling/controlling the world by deception, lies and falsehood, is a big crime in the eyes of God. It is Allah Who gives some people authority over others so that they treat mankind with justice and compassion. But authority (or power) makes many people corrupt and they cannot treat others justly. The history of the world reminds us, again and again, that ‘evil begets evil’ and destruction becomes the fate of the evil-doers.

أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُواْ فِى ٱلأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ

عَاقِبَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ دَمَّرَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ أَمْثَالُهَا
“Do they not travel through the earth, and see

what was the End of those before them (who did evil)?

Allah brought utter destruction on them, and

similar (fates await) those who reject Allah.”

(al-Quran 47:10)

فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَن تُفْسِدُواْ فِى ٱلأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوۤاْ أَرْحَامَكُمْ

أَوْلَـٰئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَأَصَمَّهُمْ وَأَعْمَىٰ أَبْصَارَهُمْ

“Then, is it to be expected of you, if you were put

in authority, that you will do mischief in the land,

and break your ties of kith and kin? Such are
the men whom Allah has cursed for He has

made them deaf and blinded their sight.”

(al-Quran 47:22-23)

Fortunately, there are still some people on the face of this earth who cannot compromise with evil and dishonesty. When they see those in power and authority, abusing their power/authority, they tell their ignorant fellow human beings that they are being betrayed. The are called the “whistle-blowers”. They put their lives at stake for the safety and well-being of others. They are the real ‘Mujahideen’.

 (Bradley Manning)

The Betrayal: Who Is Fooling Who?

The forces of tyranny don’t want people to wake up and stand up for their rights or civil liberties. They always try plan after plan to curb and curtail these rights and liberties. They want to be ‘free’ as dictators while at the same time they don’t want to hear the word ‘free’ or ‘freedom’ from public or the people whom they rule and control. These forces of tyranny are tightening their grip to control and subjugate people who work for them as slaves. The victims (slaves) used to knock at the doors of justice to get their grievances addressed. But these doors, generally, don’t open for them any more. They are being closed and locked, one by one. People ask their representatives:

You promised to protect us from tyranny and evil/corrupt governance. But you did not! Why? We trusted you but you ……

You promised to stand up for our civil liberties, our rights and freedoms. But you did not! Why? We trusted you but you …..

You promised to uphold the principles laid down in our constitution and fight every tyrant/power-monger who violates the First Amendment. But you did not! Why? We trusted you but …..

You sold us out for a few dollars to make your own life comfortable and bring misery to others? What kind of human being are you? How do you sleep at night? What kind of ‘democracy’ do you believe in?

 (Julian Assange)

The forces of evil are busy in hiding the Truth and in spreading the Falsehood. They control the media. The journalists are rapidly converting into ‘propagandists’ or ‘publicists’. In return, they are getting rich. Dollar is strong enough to buy conscience of many ‘champions of justice and freedom’.

Those who talk about the constitution, that gives them these liberties and rights, are singled out and persecuted or removed from the way. The fascists want no road-blocks. There are the governments within governments who control everything. To cover their own crimes, the fascist forces accuse the whistle-blowers of ‘security’ crimes. They commit the crime of ‘betrayal of public trust’ and pin it on the law-abiding freedom lovers as ‘Betrayal of Security’ (B.S. = Bullshit) to persecute them. Unfortunately, most people are still sleeping and let the TV regulate their lives.

 (Edward Snowden)

John Pilger of AlterNet has written an article, “A New Fascism On The Rise”, which was carried by the RSN (Reader Supported News) on their website. Here are some excerpts for your information and review. Enjoy!

By courtesy of: www.readersupportednews.org

A New Fascism on the Rise

By John Pilger, AlterNet

24 June 2013

The power of truth-tellers like Edward Snowden is that they dispel a whole mythology carefully constructed by the corporate cinema, the corporate academy and the corporate media. 

In his book, Propaganda, published in 1928, Edward Bernays wrote: "The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country."

The American nephew of Sigmund Freud, Bernays invented the term "public relations" as a euphemism for state propaganda. He warned that an enduring threat to the invisible government was the truth-teller and an enlightened public.

In 1971, whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg leaked US government files known as The Pentagon Papers, revealing that the invasion of Vietnam was based on systematic lying. Four years later, Frank Church conducted sensational hearings in the US Senate: one of the last flickers of American democracy. These laid bare the full extent of the invisible government: the domestic spying and subversion and warmongering by intelligence and "security" agencies and the backing they received from big business and the media, both conservative and liberal.

Tyranny In America

Speaking about the National Security Agency (NSA), Senator Church said: "I know that the capacity that there is to make tyranny in America, and we must see to it that this agency and all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law ... so that we never cross over that abyss. That is the abyss from which there is no return."

On 11 June, following the revelations in the Guardian by NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Daniel Ellsberg wrote that the US had now "that abyss".

Snowden's revelation that Washington has used Google, Facebook, Apple and other giants of consumer technology to spy on almost everyone, is further evidence of modern form of fascism - that is the "abyss". Having nurtured old-fashioned fascists around the world - from Latin America to Africa and Indonesia - the genie has risen at home. Understanding this is as important as understanding the criminal abuse of technology.

Fred Branfman, who exposed the "secret" destruction of tiny Laos by the US Air Force in the 1960s and 70s, provides an answer to those who still wonder how a liberal African-American president, a professor of constitutional law, can command such lawlessness. "Under Mr. Obama," he wrote for AlterNet, "no president has done more to create the infrastructure for a possible future police state." Why? Because Obama, like George W Bush, understands that his role is not to indulge those who voted for him but to expand "the most powerful institution in the history of the world, one that has killed, wounded or made homeless well over 20 million human beings, mostly civilians, since 1962."

Google And The Truth

In the new American cyber-power, only the revolving doors have changed. The director of Google Ideas, Jared Cohen, was adviser to Condoleeza Rice, the former secretary of state in the Bush administration who lied that Saddam Hussein could attack the US with nuclear weapons. Cohen and Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt - they met in the ruins of Iraq - have co-authored a book, The New Digital Age, endorsed as visionary by the former CIA director Michael Hayden and the war criminals Henry Kissinger and Tony Blair. The authors make no mention of the Prism spying program, revealed by Edward Snowden, that provides the NSA access to all of us who use Google.

Control and dominance are the two words that make sense of this. These are exercised by political, economic and military designs, of which mass surveillance is an essential part, but also by insinuating propaganda in the public consciousness. This was Edward Bernays's point. His two most successful PR campaigns were convincing Americans they should go to war in 1917 and persuading women to smoke in public; cigarettes were "torches of freedom" that would hasten women's liberation.

It is in popular culture that the fraudulent "ideal" of America as morally superior, a "leader of the free world", has been most effective. Yet, even during Hollywood's most jingoistic periods there were exceptional films, like those of the exile Stanley Kubrick, and adventurous European films would have US distributors. These days, there is no Kubrick, no Strange-love, and the US market is almost closed to foreign films.

The War On Democracy

When I showed my own film, The War on Democracy, to a major, liberally-minded US distributor, I was handed a laundry list of changes required, to "ensure the movie is acceptable". His memorable sop to me was: "OK, maybe we could drop in Sean Penn as narrator. Would that satisfy you?" Lately, Katherine Bigelow's torture-apologizing Zero Dark Thirtyand Alex Gibney's We Steal Secrets, a cinematic hatchet job on Julian Assange, were made with generous backing by Universal Studios, whose parent company until recently was General Electric. GE manufactures weapons, components for fighter aircraft and advance surveillance technology. The company also has lucrative interests in "liberated" Iraq.

It Is Up To Us Now

The power of truth-tellers like Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden is that they dispel a whole mythology carefully constructed by the corporate cinema, the corporate academy and the corporate media. WikiLeaks is especially dangerous because it provides truth-tellers with a means to get the truth out. This was achieved by Collateral Damage, the cockpit video of an US Apache helicopter allegedly leaked by Bradley Manning. The impact of this one video marked Manning and Assange for state vengeance. Here were US airmen murdering journalists and maiming children in a Baghdad street, clearly enjoying it, and describing their atrocity as "nice". Yet, in one vital sense, they did not get away with it; we are witnesses now, and the rest is up to us.

***********

THE EARTH IS SINKING.

The Land Is Shrinking !

Is It ‘Global Warming’ Or

‘Global Denying’ Of Truth?

See What Allah Says In The Quran!

(By: M. Javed Naseem)

Ocean waters melting the undersides of Antarctic ice shelves are responsible for most of the continent's ice shelf mass loss, a new study by NASA and university researchers has found.

(Nasa Press Release dated 13^th June, 2013).

 (Snowfall in Lahore/Pakistan, 26th Feb, 2011)

A few years ago, scientists came up with the “global warming” theory and they said that sea-level was rising because of melting glaciers. As a result, many islands faced the danger of extinction. Later, they realized that there is also ‘global cooling’ which brings cold weather and snow to the parts of the world where it was never recorded before (e.g., snowfall in the UAE, in Lahore/Pakistan, or rains in the desert lands of UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.). Thousands of pages were written on these weather patterns and it became fashionable to talk about ‘global warming’.

 (Snowfall in Raas-al Khaimah, UAE)

Snowfalls in otherwise ‘warm’ plains was embarrassing for the promoters of ‘global warming’. Therefore, to save their face, the scientists changed the terminology from ‘global warming’ to ‘climate changes’, and that’s what they use these days. They will continue their ‘guess-work’ on the basis of ‘this’ or ‘that’. But if they bother to read the Holy Quran, they’ll find clues to most of the mysteries of the universe. With education and research they can figure out ‘How’ but will never learn ‘Why’. To get the answer to ‘Why’ they need to be connected to the Creator.

(Floods in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 2013) 

It is Allah Who created everything and it is He Who controls it. He educates human beings on many aspects of His creation and even tells us how to handle these things. He educated us in the Quran about human birth; different stages of fetus; functions of different body parts; erection of mountains; crust of the earth; different kinds of oceans that merge but don’t mix; dead earth becoming alive to produce; how days and nights occur and how they alternate; how sun, moon, earth and other planets follow their fixed paths; how rain is carried by the clouds and steered by the winds to certain areas; how everything is created with a purpose; etc., etc. There are plenty of clues and hints in the Holy Quran. We need to do some scientific research on those clues to achieve the astonishing discoveries. Unfortunately, the rich Muslim countries are not interested in those discoveries.

 (Floods in Abu Dhabi, UAE, 2013)

Planet Earth consists of generally three parts of water and one part of dry land. This portion of land will be further (gradually) reduced till the end of the universe. This is happening right now in front of our eyes but we ignore the Word of God and believe in the word of man. Man always comes up with something and then changes his opinion (theory) later on, to be changed further by the next generation. Man attributes this change to different factors (some of which did not exist before). But the truth of the matter is that it’s “knowledge” and all knowledge comes from God. When we have no knowledge, we come up with some theory that we change later on when we gain a little knowledge.  But when we have more knowledge, we change that theory/opinion again. And that process continues. You can give it any fancy name for your satisfaction. Knowledge forms the basis of everything.

Here is challenging task for mankind. Allah invites us to study what’s happening to land and how deep the impact these changes have. It is up to us to do the research.

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّا نَأْتِى ٱلأَرْضَ نَنقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَا

وَٱللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ لاَ مُعَقِّبَ لِحُكْمِهِ وَهُوَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ
“See they not that We gradually reduce the land

(in their control) from its outlying borders?

(When) Allah commands, there is none to put back

His Command; and He is swift in calling to account.”

(al-Quran 13:41)

Allah tells us that land is gradually reducing in size and water is taking over. Did it ring any alarm bells? Not for 1400 years! The scientists all over the world have been studying the phenomenon of ‘sinking islands’ for some years now and attributing it to Global Warming. They did not start studying it because it was mentioned in the Quran more than 1400 years ago. Had they taken heed from the Quran, they could have come up with better measures to cope with it.

بَلْ مَتَّعْنَا هَـٰؤُلاۤءِ وَآبَآءَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ طَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْعُمُرُ

أَفَلاَ يَرَوْنَ أَنَّا نَأْتِى ٱلأَرْضَ نَنقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَآ أَفَهُمُ ٱلْغَالِبُونَ
“Nay, We gave the good things of this life to these men and

their fathers until the period grew long for them. See they

not that We gradually reduce the land (in their control)

from its outlying borders? Is it then they who will win?”

(al-Quran 21:44)

(Sinking Maldives)

Scientific American adds:

Worried their country will end up under water as the globe warms and sea ices melt, the government of the Maldives announced that the Indian Ocean nation will go carbon neutral by 2020. No part of the chain of 1,200 low-lying islets rises more than six feet (1.8 meters) or so above sea level, leaving the 400,000 inhabitants there at grave risk of rising sea levels and storm surges, environmental journalist Andy Revkin writes t in a New York Timesblog.  

The Maldives government last year considered setting aside funds from its main biz – tourism – to purchase land from another country, such as India or Sri Lanka, to eventually relocate its populace. Recent reports give urgency to the plan, indicating that  sea levels are expected to rise some 3.3 feet (1 meter) by 2100, even faster than predicted in the already dire-sounding Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in 2007.

In an effort to prevent his archipelago nation from literally drowning, newly elected Maldives Prez Mohamed Nasheed said he will attempt to make the islands carbon-neutral by 2020 – the first country to do so, reports The Observer. How? By investing $1.1 billion over 10 years in alternative energies from rooftop solar arrays to wind turbines, to a biomass-burning power plant (in the tropical islands’ case, that means coconut husks), according to another New York Times blog. “Going green might cost a lot," Nasheed said in an op-ed published this weekend in The Observer, "but refusing to act now will cost us the Earth." 

(Courtesy: www.scientificamerican.com)

Green Buzz adds:

“We just do not do enough to protect our planet. The temperatures are rising, the sea levels rise as well, and now there are many places that could simply disappear. The list is very long, we chose just ten of them for this list:”

The Maldives:

These famous paradise-looking tropical islands are well known for its white-sand beaches and they have always been one of tourists’ favorite sites. Unfortunately, the Global Warming could end the enjoyment in the 600 miles-stretching islands. As 80% of the country is only 3.3 feet (one meter) above the sea level, the continuous rising of the ocean level turn the alarm on for the beautiful islands. With the current ocean-rising dynamics, Maldives could disappear before 2050.

Bangkok, Thailand:

Bangkok is also one of the world’s most popular exotic destinations, but also one of the places that could disappear due to global warming. The city is already sinking due to its too heavy urbanization on its too soft underground as well as the excessive pumping of groundwater. The location also makes the city exposed to floods, especially in the monsoon season. All these factors could send Bangkok underwater before the end of this century.

Mississippi River Delta, USA:

The great American river runs into the Gulf of Mexico in a breathtaking delta rivers, marches, and low-lying barrier islands. You guess, the rising of the sea level could destroy this landscape. However, that’s not the only way for Global Warming to damage this region, as it’s exposed to many sea storms and hurricanes. We all remember Katrina in New Orleans.

Komodo Island, Indonesia:

The home of the world’s most famous reptile could end under the water surface in few decades if the Global Warming continues to progress. The sea surrounding the island is growing and could cause extinction of the Komodo dragon, but the increased acidification could also cause big damage, as it makes the surface temperature higher, which may eventually kill the corals around the island and destroy the amazing diving sites.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia:

The delicate ecosystem of one of the world’s most beautiful sites is under threat since the temperatures has begun growing. There is a large variety of fish and other marine species which depend on the coral for survival. As the coral reef is nearing death, its flora and fauna is nearing the same destiny. It could all disappear because of the rising temperatures.

Tokyo, Japan:

Tokyo is one of the world’s largest metropolises, allegedly great to live in, but the climate change effects tell different story. It suffers from the phenomenon called “heat islands”, which means that factory emission and the artificial heat from cars cause local greenhouse effect. As the temperatures continue to rise, Tokyo will have bigger and bigger problems with the heat.

Venice, Italy:

For some people it might be hard to believe that a city which lies on water could suffer from global warming, but the recent measures say different. Actually, the city is slowly sinking anyway, about nine inches per 100 years, but the recent climate conditions could make things worse. A new barrier which could withstand a 100 feet deluge is under construction, but experts say that new measures should be done in order to be sure that it could be enough to save the city from disappearing.

River Thames, London:

The river Thames has been pride of London for centuries, but today it turns to be one of the greatest threats for the city. Since the early Middle Ages, the city has been expanding into the river, making its course narrower. A great barrier was built back in 19^th century in order to prevent floods, but the rising of sea level could prove this system inefficient and transform Thames into part of the sea.

Big Sur, California, USA:

The coastline between Los Angeles and San Francisco is certainly one of the most beautiful landscapes in North America. Unfortunately, there is possibility for the global warming to destroy the ecosystem and the landscape itself, as the raised temperatures lead to wildfires. However, the government of California has taken steps toward finding solutions about environmental issues in the last few years, which make us hope that Big Sur won’t be one of those places that could disappear due to the global warming.

Panama Canal, Panama:

The Panama Canal made a revolution in world’s trade when opened in 1914, offering great alternative for ships which had to move from Atlantic to Pacific and opposite. There is one interesting challenge with which ships are facing – there’s 85 feet of elevation between the oceans. The solution was found in vast amounts of increasingly scarce fresh water, but some shortages in last few years have forced several closures of the canal.

(Courtesy: http://greenbuzzz.net/environment/10-places-that-could-disappear-due-to-global-warming)

Business Insider adds :

According to the EPA, global sea level has risen by eight inches since 1870. This change is already affecting many low lying islands that have had to adapt. Some populations are moving to higher areas, or are trying to buy land from other countries to migrate its citizens, and some have even developed new ways of farming to protect their agriculture.

2007 estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change's most conservative estimates suggest that global sea level will reach increase 8 to 16 inches above 1990 levels by 2090. The National Academy of Sciences predictions from 2009 suggest that by 2100, sea level could increase by anywhere from 16 inches to 56 inches, depending how the Earth responds to changing climate.

Here is a list of islands facing extinction. See how they are coping with rising sea levels:

Kiribati:

The president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, is in talks with Fiji's military government to buy up to 5,000 acres of land in order to relocate the 102,697 people that live in his country.

President Tong tells The Telegraph that this is their last resort: "Our people will have to move as the tides have reached our homes and villages."

Kiribati is about halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is made up of 32 low-lying atolls and one raised island. Most of its population has already moved to one island, Tarawam, after the rest of their land disappeared beneath the ocean.

Villagers on Abaiang, one of the Kiribati Islands, had to relocate the entire village of Tebunginako because of rising seas and erosion.

Maldives:

The Maldives, consisting of over 1,100 islands to the west of India, is the world's lowest-lying nation. On average the islands are only 1.3 meters above sea level. The 325,000 (plus 100,000 expatriate workers who are not counted in the census) residents of the islands are threatened by rising sea levels.

A documentary called The Island President tells the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives as he confronts the rise of the sea level in his country. A rise of just three feet would submerge the Maldives and make them uninhabitable.

A rise of just three feet would submerge the Maldives and make them uninhabitable.

(President of Maldives)

Seychelles:

Seychelles consists of 115 granite and coral islands in the western Indian Ocean, with a population of 87,122.

Scuba diver Micheal Espron tells The National: "The water used to be farther out. Soon, the water will be right up into the hotel."

He also says that tourism will be affected when there are no beaches left around the islands. Locals remember that there used to be much more land for people, but now tourists are seen cramming into the small area of beaches that remain.

Torres Strait Islands:

The Torres Strait Islands are located between Australia and New Guinea and are made up of 274 islands with a population over 8,000.

The Independent talked to locals who have been living by the sea for generations. One named Maria Passi said "at night I can't sleep if the tide is high," because she is no longer comfortable living by the sea after her house was flooded one night.

Her husband Ron remembers the night. "There was water everywhere, and rubbish floating around, and coconuts under the bed." Maria added: "When I saw how it looked, I just sat down and cried."

Tegua:

The United Nations declared the approximately 100 residents of Tegua, part of the Torres Strait Islands located in the South Pacific, the first climate change refugees in 2005.

Much of the flooding was because the island sunk nearly five inches between 1997 and 2009, but the sea level also rose, causing about a quarter of the flooding.

Solomon Islands:

The Solomon Islands are east of Papua New Guinea, and have a population of 584,578. A team of French researchers have been monitoring the island of Vanikoro, part of the 992 islands that make up the island chain, because they think it is slowly sinking.

The team placed a survey marker a safe distance from the beach, and seven years later it was underwater. After what is know about Tegua the researchers found that along with rising sea levels, this particular island is also sinking.

Micronesia:

Micronesia is made up of 607 mountainous islands and low-lying coral atolls and is being eroded away by rising sea levels and has even made cemeteries disappear.

The islands are east of the Philippines and have a population of 102,624. One man was seen standing shin-deep in water, where a cemetery used to be. Micronesia's Ambassador to the UN told ABC News: "Even the dead are no longer safe in my country."

The ocean water is also killing off food crops. A small one meter rise would make the island uninhabitable.

Palau:

Palau consists of eight principal islands and more than 250 smaller ones, about 500 miles southeast of the Philippines. Their population of 20,000 is being threatened by rising sea levels.

William Brangham of PBS wrote: "Palau’s coasts are being eroded, its local farmlands tainted by seawater, and its valuable reefs threatened."

The president of Palau, Johnson Toribiong, describes the damage he is seeing as “a slow-moving tsunami.”

Carteret Islands:

The Carteret Islands are located in the south-west Pacific Ocean and is home to about 2,500 people. The Telegraph states that some people believe these islands will be uninhabitable by 2015, as high tides have inundated the islands, destroying crops, wells, and homes.

Bernard Tunim, a clan chief from the islands, tells The Telegraph: “In the last 10 to 20 years the change has been dramatic. We have experienced many king tides and when the wind blows, it comes right through the island, destroying our vegetables and fruit. The salt water destroyed bread fruit trees and poisoned the wells.”

Tuvalu:
Tuvalu consists of six true atolls and three reef islands that has a population of 11,636 that was estimated in 2005. The highest point in the country is less than five meters above sea level, but most of it is less than a meter above.

In 2003, Saufatu Sopoanga, Prime Minister of Tuvalu, told the United Nations General Assembly: "We live in constant fear of the adverse impacts of climate change. For a coral atoll nation, sea level rise and more severe weather events loom as a growing threat to our entire population. The threat is real and serious, and is of no difference to a slow and insidious form of terrorism against us."

Bangladesh:
Although not an island, Bangladesh, located in South Asia, experiences floods that cover about a quarter of the country every year. Climate change is making the floods worse and the 156 million people in the country are learning how to live with the effects.

Farmers have created agriculture that floats on rafts. These rafts are made of straw, rice stubble and a weed called water hyacinth.

(Courtesy: www.businessinsider.com/islands-threatened-by-climate-change)

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STILL WAITING

Still Waiting

(Some Mystic Poetry)

From the book: A Wake-up Call

(By: M. Javed Naseem)

(It happened before dawn on one Ramadan morning, in 2010.)

It’s four o’clock in the morning, and third day of Ramadan.

I’ve been thinking wildly, and want to put them down,

Some thoughts that make no sense, but have ‘em off and on.

If I don’t care to write now, they disappear by dawn.

From place to place I wandered, for something so divine,

But every place I went to see, it wasn’t what I sought.

I cruised through the oceans, was thirsty all the time.

Was hungry all those years though it wasn’t food I thought.

I know I’m missing something, no clue of what it was.

One day I asked a wise man, if he had vision of that.

He said I needed Dervish, so deep in love I was.

“What non-sense, you oldie! I’m too smart for that.”

“You know love hurts too much, it leaves your soul to bleed.

As love is like a ‘slaughter-house’, said Rumi who was hurt.

They killed the best therein, I wasn’t best breed.”

He said: “You are so restless, and know not what you need.”

“And that was sure a sign of love, the love for an unseen.

Then why you go from door to door, on roads you haven’t seen?

I’ll tell you where to knock at, and knocking have you been.”

So, oldie brought me down there and vanished in the green.

I asked him what to do there, if no one helps me out?

He said: “Don’t worry about it, they know who’s coming down.

Have patience and be steadfast, no matter what the doom!

Your best defense is always: “Ya Hayee-o Ya Qayyoum.”

So, that’s what I am looking for, and don’t even I know.

What happens, I am wondering, if ever in I go?

I got my guts together and gave a gentle knock.

I waited for an instance, then gave a second knock.

At that moment I pondered, what Prophet had declared.

If no answer on third knock, you better turn away.

I didn’t knock the third time, I got a little scared.

What if that door now opens not, how can I go away?

I’m waiting still at the same door, it opens not for me.

I wish to see that wise man who talked about doom?

And am so tired and dizzy now, don’t even have the key.

I start whispering to myself: “Ya Hayee-o Ya Qayyoum.”

I feel if rain was coming down, my cheeks are getting wet.

“Ya Hayee-o Ya Qayyoum, Ya Hayee-o Ya Qayyoum.”

It’s warm and salty in my mouth, the skies ‘re clear I bet.

“Ya Hayee-o Ya Qayyoum, Ya Hayee-o Ya Qayyoum.”

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