Does Coca-Cola supports Israel?

Another rumour..

'This information is not true, but has been circulated by ill-informed or ill-intentioned third parties. The Coca-Cola Company is not political, and does not support individual countries, governments or political or religious causes.'

Coca-Cola - Contact Us - Middle East Rumors

Rumor Response: Starbucks Statement re: Support of Israel

See..! It's just a rumour.. And this article is quite recent as it is dated 5th Jan 2009.. 

Rumor Response: Starbucks Statement re: Support of Israel

Boycott Watch - Breaking a myth: McDonald's does not support terrorists

This article is dated 7th Oct 2004 but I guess it's still the same. It would be crazy for them to go back and support the Israel now since the rest of the world is watching them.

Boycott Watch - Breaking a myth: McDonald's does not support terrorists

To boycott or not to boycott.. That is the question..

War.. All these while I try not to think about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tried to avoid reading the papers about it and trying my best to avoid watching the news about it.

Until that faithful day, someone else was holding up the newspaper in front of me.. The image of a man carrying a dead baby girl in his arms, running away from a smoke-covered building was on the front page.. It felt like someone had punched me in the face. That girl! She must have been Alysha's age. I could have cried right there and then if I was not in a crowded MRT.

I can't get the image out of my head. The baby was covered in blood. The look on the man's face. It was so heartbreaking. Is she his daughter? What if that happens to me? How would I had reacted if I were to be in that position?

Ya Allah.. I don't think I will be able to take it.

And then it struck me. If it were to happen to me.. If I were to lose my family members in these atrocities.. To lose everything and everyone whom I love.. To have nothing else to live for.. I would be totally devastated and would never think twice about strapping a bomb to my body.. What else is there in store for me?

It's so simple to stand back and say, 'Peace, No War' with your fingers showing the peace sign and a silly grin on your face. But it's another thing when you are the one who is facing all these.

To others, they are terrorist..

To themselves, they are freedom fighters..

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Someone sent me an SMS to boycott US products (McDonald's & Starbucks).. But I work for a US company.. How? Resign? In this bad economy climate? Go on a strike? What if I get jailed? And then fired from my job? Am I a lesser Muslim for working in a US company? Taking my monthly paycheck from them?

And wait a minute.. Why the sms stresses on McDonald's & Starbucks only? Isn't this for all American companies? How about Coke? Pepsi? Maybelline? Johnson & Johnson? Microsoft? Nestle? Just to name a few.

And how do I go about with this boycott? Stop using and buying their products? But my PC is currently running on Windows which is by Microsoft. How can I function like this? How How How?

Is this boycott really helping? Or will I just be a drop of water in the ocean?

I read further and saw that in Malaysia, some 2000 Muslim restaurants will remove Coca-cola from their menus as a boycott.  Ok, hopefully the upper management in Coca-cola will wake up because of this boycott as they see their profits start plummeting down. And then what? Will this start a chain of event that will get the US to stop supporting Israel? Let me just tell you this --> Somebody is probably sneaking off to the 7-Eleven store in order to get their coke 'fix'.

Well.. Maybe we feel better if we are doing something for our brethren in Palestine by boycotting these companies. It helps to provide a nice warm glow to our hearts and we can safely say, 'At least I am doing something!'..

But alas.. The reality is that these boycotts never really work. And I not pulling your leg.. Go on.. Go and Google about this boycotting business and see if it is able to bring in any changes at all other than to hit these companies at their pocket.

Not only that, if this boycott seems to continue, then these companies bottomline are gonna get hit, then jobs are at risk. So, who gets the crap? It's ordinary people like me (who is working in a US company, let me remind you again..) who will probably get laid off.

So.. Spare a thought for our friends, relatives who are working in the companies that you are boycotting. Unless you are ready to spare a change for them in the future..

What if..

A few nights ago, I asked Azmi, 'What if I gave birth to Alsyha in a remote kampung last year? I could have died!'

Then I jokingly added, 'And become a pontianak.. ' Because I can't stand the look of his face when I asked him that. Hehe..

You see.. A friend of mine, Shamsaath, gave birth to a beautiful son last month.

When we (Suba was there too) came for a visit, she relate her labour stories to all of us. There was a part when the topic was about epidural (coz Sham was saying that she didn't take it.. Hurray for her!) and someone chipped in and said 'It's all mind over body..' As if we asked for his opinion. Bleah~

Note : All the pictures that was taken by hubby during this visit are all blurry, so no pictures are available...

I can't stop thinking about this. Again and again, the image of me lying there on the bed, thrashing and praying as the pain just kept on coming every minute.. Willing myself not to give in and take the dreaded epidural injection.

Then the midwife came and told me that the baby is in distress and that I have to go through emergency c-section if my cervix refuse to open. She advised me to take the epidural injection as the last resort.. 

So there you go.. If on 23rd October 2007, I were to 'mind over body' and refuse to take that injection, I would have a scar on my tummy right now. Even worst, if I were to give birth a 100 years ago, I could have died because of my non-cooperative cervix, the midwife have to cut open my tummy to save my baby and my hubby will have to re-marry. To think that the 'mind over body' comment comes from a man who have never given birth before is completely and utterly insensitive. You are lucky that you are not my hubby coz you'll never hear the end of it.. Lol~