To mark the 3rd year of his imprisonment, I am writing a series of poetry tweets from my profile on the social networking site Twitter. They will appear throughout the day and every now and then will be posted to this blog, each and every one of them. Please feel free to re-tweet all and every mini-poem as much as you like so as to make #Gilad a trending topic on Twitter today.

They are as follows: (to be updated throughout the day)

listen carefully to the silence brave #Gilad for wrapped inside r the voices of Israel crying out your name,waiting,longing, for your return

do not count the passing years brave #Gilad,nor let the foreign soil your heart devour.The hills of Zion sing to you, their son, their lion.

Let the sweet song of Jerusalem fill your sleeping hours with comfort brave #Gilad , let the pride of your nation’s glory bring you peace.

the arms of Israel do not rest cold brave #Gilad but instead ache for the day of your return. Hope’s pendulous ticking will not wane.

Brave #Gilad , let not your heart break in dull despair, for in your solitude & gloom there is the air & love of Jerusalem watching over you

Brave #Gilad , warrior of the just. Feel the hand of Israel pressed against your heart & know her caring voice recites your name.

Thy prison roof confines thee brave #Gilad but let not your soul be troubled. The whole of Israel waits for their courageous son’s return.

Love and light to #Gilad flow, from the four corners of the earth. Let not the name of #Gilad fade nor his bravery be forgotten.

a flower plucked from Israel’s soil, by the hands of terrorist fiends. Shout out, be heard, let #Gilad hear his name!

Remember the bleak & lonely nights before that have encompassed you with dread. For brave #Gilad they never end but roll one into another

Your bravery has matched & even surpassed the greatest names of history young #Gilad. The people of the world must never forget.

when darkness falls this very night,take a moment,with a candle &whisper out to the lost soldier in the wilds of tyranny,”you are not alone”

Each star that graces the night sky is a voice of hope&comfort to the lost Israeli soldier #Gilad. Part the mists,let them shine,let him see

Brave #Gilad , a better dawn will come to you, when freedom will sing more beautifully than any birdsong. Israel’s son, focus on that day.

Time marches on, the tears of #Gilad ’s family continue to fall. But the love & hope for a lost Israeli soldier will never waver nor cease

A beacon shines brightly from the darkness of Gaza. #Gilad , a living light of youth & dignity, caged by those blind to humanity & liberty.

let the dawn of a summer day remind you of Israel’s flower, lost & alone in the wilderness of terror. #Gilad

dry the tears that fall dear child & look to Gaza where sits a brave soldier, #Gilad ,alone, carrying Israel’s honour on his young shoulders

Hamas have neither bravery nor honour. How much they must despise he, who shows their heinousness, by his mere silent presence. #Gilad

Let your prayers for #Gilad fly like birds into the skies above his place of captivity. A brave soldier, a lion, caged but with strong heart

If only for a moment in your day,think of #Gilad, the young but brave Israeli soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip.Alone with the darkness

Remember a time when in the crowds you felt alone. It is nothing compared to the brave soldier #Gilad who in enemy territory dwells alone.

By the border sing his name, #Gilad Shalit, billowing waves of sound across the Gaza Strip until your voices reach his ears.

Under the moonlight’s glistening stare rests the prison cell where #Gilad sleeps.Tonight,remember this brave soldier as stars begin to shine

Forget not the soldier #Gilad who fought for freedom’s gain nor the need to fling the Hamas tyranny from the face of the Earth.

when next you see a ray of sunshine casting its light on a morning dew drop. Think of #Gilad , trapped in captivity, longing for his release

Unclench your souls and let their light wrap around the shoulders of the #Gilad family. Their son, an inspiration to us all across the world

A mother’s soft weeping fills the lonely hours of the night. The grief of not knowing, the agony of ‘what if’. Brave #Gilad a son of Israel

Morning slips into afternoon but still a brave soldier remains captive. #Gilad who fought in defense of freedom,4that which we all hold dear

How swift life is, how short the funnels of togetherness can be. 3 years is too long, set #Gilad free!

…

Human chorionic gonadotropin’s usual role is to keep intact the corpus luteum of the ovary and therefore maintain progesterone production. This is vital for pregnancy in humans. However, it’s also been used in conjunction with anabolic androgenic steroids in athletes and has been put on the list of banned substances in various sports. The most recent case was that of Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez who was suspended for 50 games by the US Baseball Authorities.

When sportsmen take certain steroids, the amount of testosterone their testicles produce can dramatically decrease and even shut down completely. This can lead to shrinkage of the testes and become what is scientifically referred to as testicular atrophy. As one can imagine, the reduction in a man’s love sacks can have terrible repercussions on his marriage and self-confidence.

One of the only ways to re-ignite the engines, so to speak, is to take doses of hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. This mimics the naturally occurring luteinizing hormone. However, if a man takes too much over a period of time or becomes addicted, then his testicles can increase in size. This can lead to increased emotional turmoil and anger levels, as well as difficulty walking, sitting and relaxing. If not treated, the addiction can result in testicular fulmination.

Suspected cases of addiction to this chemical have been reported worldwide, including in the halls of Hollywood. Jack Nicholson was seen in a high state of tension recently in Los Angeles and fans packed online messages boards worried by his bulging trousers. In London, another case was suspected at a football match between Chelsea and Barcelona where the Ivorian striker Didier Drogba was seen to be livid with match referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.

Doctors are said to be monitoring the situations of both men. The World Health Conference will be producing a detailed document on the situation in the coming weeks but have advised wives, girlfriends and mothers to keep an eye on any unusual behaviour or growths in their menfolk.

As Swine Flu fever hits the nightclubs of Afghanistan, the head keeper of the national zoo has had to move Khanzir into quarantine. In a nation where pork chops are illegal and pigs as rare as a woman’s bare face, there has been a lot of confusion and fear amongst the general population.

As Aziz Gul Saqib, the zoo’s director put it: “The only reason we moved him was because Afghan people don’t have a lot of knowledge about swine flu, and so when they see a pig they get worried and think they will get ill.”

An elderly gentleman who was visiting the zoo said: “These pigs all have the flu, you can see their noses running when you watch them on Al Geographic Channel. I don’t want my grandsons coming here with this dirty ill creature roaming around. We had a hard enough time getting our womenfolk quarantined. I say kill it, it is Allah’s will!”

Khanzir the lonely pig was given to Kabul Zoo by China in 2002. His zoo keepers are hoping his forced isolation will only be a temporary solution that will last no longer than a few days. The director hopes that they can soon find a female mate for the frisky pig but the H1N1 virus is likely to delay this action.

“It is a dangerous and difficult time to get a new pig for our pig”: said one of the keepers. “Ideally we’d like to get him four.”

Mr Savage, whose real name is Michael Alan Weiner, has become the 22nd person to be listed as persona non grata in the land of the Magna Carta. The boisterous radio show host has however come out fighting by labelling the British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith a “lunatic”.

“To link me up with skinheads who are killing people in Russia, to put me in league with Hamas murderers who kill people on buses is defamation,” he said.

This latest incident comes soon after the banning of Dutch politician Geert Wilders from entering the United Kingdom in February of this year. Like Wilders, Michael Savage has also been a strong critic of Islam and once described the Koran as “a book of hate”.

It’s thought the British government has come under pressure from numerous minority groups to ban certain individuals from exercising their right to free speech. One of these groups is the Buddhist Sisterhood, known for their violent protests and acts of nudity in public places. When they threw their sandals at Buckingham Palace, it’s thought the final straw had been placed. Now the Prime Minister Gordon Brown invites them to tea every Thursday.

Michael Savage joins a long list of banned foreigners including the ex-Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Stephen ‘Don’ Black, neo-Nazi Erich Gliebe, Hamas MP Yunis Al-Astal, Jewish extremist Mike Guzovsky and former US President George W. Bush.

“What does that say about the government of England? It says more about them than it says about me.” opined Mr Savage in an interview. The American talk show host is planning to sue the British government but lawyers have warned it would be difficult for Mr Weiner to do this.

So what is the history of the Negev city and who lives there?

Sderot was founded in 1951 and was then just a small town next to the Gevim-Dorot transit camp. Kurdish and Persian refugees made up most of the first batch of settlers who lived in tents and shacks for four years before more permanent buildings were constructed in 1954.

Over the next few years, many more immigrants would arrive, particularly from Morocco and Romania. With the increased population, Sderot was declared as a local council in 1958. During the 1990’s, the town’s size doubled with the arrival of thousands of people from the then Soviet Union. In 1996, Sderot was formally declared as a city.

The city lies just one kilometre from the Gaza Strip border which is the biggest reason why it has borne the brunt of continued Islamic aggression. Since the year 2000, which was the start of the Second Intifada, Sderot has been under constant rocket barrage. Between June 2007 and February 2008, a total of 771 rockets and 857 mortar bombs were hurled at the city and surrounding areas, which is an average of four each and every day.

This unimaginable stress has caused both physical and emotional damage, as well as a population drain. Around 20% of the city’s population, mainly the middle classes, have left. Close to 30% of people suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.

The construction of bomb shelters and the implementation of the “Red Color” alarm system, which warns of incoming missiles, has done much to save lives but it’s still an awful position for any civilian population to be in.

During the ceremony six torches were lit by survivors in recognition of the 6 million Jews who were killed in one of the worst genocides in human history. Two of these survivors were twin sisters who managed to live through the monstrous Auschwitz death camp and experiments by Dr. Joseph Mengele. Speeches were also made as well as low-key musical accompaniments.

However, the memorial was slightly overshadowed by the events in the city of Geneva in Switzerland earlier in the day. The United Nations anti-racism conference saw the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the keynote speaker, being the only head of state to attend. Whilst the conference aims to fight racism in all its forms, it is in fact merely a forum for anti-Semitism and attacks on Israel’s existence.

“The conference opening today in Geneva constitutes an acceptance of racism, rather than the fight against it, and its main speaker is Ahmadinejad, who calls for the annihilation of Israel and denies the Holocaust,” said Israeli President Shimon Peres.

New Prime Minister Binyamin Netnayahu followed by criticising the Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz who had met and shook hands with the Iranian tyrant.

“I turn to you, the Swiss president, and ask you: How can you meet someone who denies the Holocaust and wishes for a new holocaust to occur?”

A number of countries including the United States, Israel, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and New Zealand had refused to go to Geneva at all. During the speech, many more delegates walked out minutes after Ahmadinejad began a racist tirade against Zionism and the Jewish State’s very being.

Afterwards, the United States deputy ambassador to the UN, Alejandro Wolff, said the speech was “inaccurate”, as well as showing disregard towards the UN, and “does a grave injustice to the Iranian nation and the Iranian people”.

The French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had said before the conference started that if the meeting was to be a repetition of the intolerance and Jew hatred seen in Durban in 2001, then the French delegates would walk out. They were to do just that.

“The defence of human rights and the fight against all types of racism are too important for the United Nations not to unite against all forms of hate speech, against all perversion of this message. Faced with attitudes like that which the Iranian president has just adopted, no compromise is possible.” said Kouchner after Ahmadinejad’s speech.

At 10am tomorrow morning a siren will sound across Israel and for two minutes everything will come to a silent stand still as a mark of respect for those who died in the Holocaust.

The father of the modern political Zionist movement is considered to be Theodor Herzl, the Austro-Hungarian journalist who was born in the city of Pest in modern day Hungary. However, the actual term “Zionism” was coined in 1890 by the writer and Jewish thinker, Nathan Birnbaum.

The modern Zionist movement was mainly constructed by secular Jews largely as a response to anti-Semitism in Europe and also in the Muslim-Arab World. For many ordinary Jews, the return to Zion had a long and deeply rooted religious aspect. In Jewish literature, sayings, prayers and songs, the links to Jerusalem, Zion and the Land of Israel are everywhere. The Jewish festivals, calenders, traditions and religious laws all have as their basis, the seasons and conditions of the Holy Land. Every Passover, Jews pray towards Jerusalem.

The Land of Israel was and is the only place that a Jewish homeland can be built. Here too, was a place where Jews could gain a sense of self-determination, self-defence and rejuvenate their language and culture.

The first Zionist Congress was held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897, which also marked the birth of the World Zionist Organization. There the members officially called for the restoration of the Jewish national home in Palestine for the first time. As Theodoe Herzl, the organiser of the meeting would later write in his diary:

“If I were to sum up the Congress in a word – which I shall take care not to publish – it would be this: At Basle I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today I would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.”

There are a number of different strands of Zionism including Labor Zionism, Revisionist Zionism, Christian Zionism and Reform Zionism, but all hold vital the original Zionist values.

Jhumki sighed as her mother read out these details of a prospective husband from a matrimonial advertisement. Ever since she had finished her graduation or rather even before that, her entire extended family had only one thing on their mind. A groom for Jhumki!

It was only her parents to start with then bit by bit her grandparents joined in followed by her uncles and aunts, then came the neighbours and now it seemed the whole of India was actively looking for a prospective groom!!

In her mind she could see a vivid picture of the news channels, billboards and radio broadcasting that “Jhumki was eligible for marriage”

Her reverie was broken with her mum asking her what she thought of the aforementioned boy. She replied “uh-huh” and went off to the garden to have sometime to herself. Sitting in the garden she blamed the British for all her current problems. She wished she was born in an India of pre-British era. Thinking of this she dozed off in the garden chair.

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Birds silhouetted against a setting sun, and two lovers underneath the peepal tree!! On a closer look it is Jhumki!! She looks quite different dressed seductively in a saree.

Jhumki, ” My dear let’s get married soon. I can’t bear to spend much time away from you”

Boy,“I wish, but, my parents won’t accept you. My parents are up-righteous and wouldn’t accept a girl from out of our caste.”

Jhumki, “but but…we still can, of course not the prajapati vivah (marriage) but the gandharva vivah (a live-in relationship not requiring consent of parents and considered legally the same as marriage). we can do the gandharva vivah!”

A loud boom woke her up from her day-dreams. A cat had jumped on a flower pot upsetting it and shattering her dreams.

“Yeah! blame the Brits!! they had to come n conquer us, put restrictions on our dressing, our cultures and then go back to their nation. yeah you got your live-in relationships and you leave us stuck here with not even a love marriage but arranged marriages!! Sheesh!”

Then and there Jhumki made a promise to herself I will have a love marriage and to a guy I want to marry not a arranged marriage. “And Oh!! If I find a Brit, I shall give him a piece of my mind”

This is a guest post by Shailee.

Doctor Vince Pawson, one of the world’s foremost experts in cat physiology has described it as the most worrying of modern medical events and warns people to take the advice of their local veterinarian.

“Soon, it is going to be inevitable that this will make headline news across the nation and indeed the world. While most cats will survive the loss of their tail, as long as the resulting wound is cared for, it will nevertheless alter the general balance and behaviour of our feline companions drastically.”

Animal charities and veterinary associations countrywide and abroad are soon to begin delivering leaflets to registered cat owners informing them of the spreading condition and its symptoms. It’s not believed as yet that other animals, including humans, will be affected but tests are ongoing.

There is however some positive news. The condition, if caught early, can be reversed. Pet owners will be advised to undertake certain exercises with their cats regardless of whether the animal shows common symptoms.

Below are five of the twenty-three preventative measures that the Lancashire Veterinary Council will soon release in detailed brochures, including diagrams and charts.

1. Massage the region above where the tail meets the cat’s back. Make gentle circular movements for around ten minutes at least three times a day. This simple action will promote blood flow to the area.

2. Check to see if the cat has impacted anal sacs. These are pea-sized sac-like structures located under the skin around the anus. Although rare, these sacs are liable to burst when the anal sphincter muscles are contracted and the resulting acid coat itself around the cat’s tail. This will lead to skin legions and the accelerated onset of the new condition. If found, then seek advice with your local vet immediately.

3. The lactic acid in the milk we drink is both softening and exfoliating. Numerous admirers of milk baths including Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth I of England have attested to their healing benefits. It’s advisable to use the kitchen or bathroom sink when soaking your cat in ordinary cow’s milk. First dip the animal’s hind legs into the pre-heated milk before lowering the entire body and most importantly, the tail, under the surface. Do this once every day, however don’t let the cat drink the milk afterwards.

4. It’s important to keep the muscles around the bottom of the spine strong and nimble. Find a room in your house with lots of space and free of sharp edges like the corners of tables or bookshelves. For the first minute, kneel calmly with the cat and assure it with loving strokes and sounds. Then slowly stand, wrap your hands around the middle of the cat’s tail and start to swing the animal around the room. Aim to make at least three revolutions every four seconds before decreasing the speed as the exercise draws to a close. It’s advisable to wear a thick jacket and gloves for this action.

5. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock is a controversial psychiatric treatment. However, veterinarians have recently been looking into the possible short and long term effects the practice might have on the new condition. It is important to keep all children and family members with heart pacemakers installed in a different room if and when you decide to experiment on your cat. Further details of the equipment needed for this treatment is provided in Section B of the brochure however a 60W lamp has been found to work sufficiently.

The brochure, which will include these five points and eighteen more valuable and helpful tips for stopping your cat’s tail from falling off, is set to be published and made available to the public in March 2009.