"Got Goat?"

Let's say you are being charged of corruption but thanks to an amnesty deal, you are free to go about your business without any fear of prosecution. Suddenly that amnesty deal is nullified, made ineffective. What do you do? Well, sacrifice a goat of course!

Apparently, that is what President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan is doing (at least in the eyes of his critics). Sadaqah, an Islamic term for "voluntary charity" is any act of generosity which may be in a form of money or meat of a slaughtered animal given out to the poor to ward off evil or misfortune.

President Zardari is the husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. In 2007, an agreement for amnesty also known as the National Reconciliation Ordinance, was made between Benazir Bhutto and then-President Pervez Musharraf allowing Bhutto and Zardari, to return to Pakistan without facing prosecution over alleged corruption. Last December 2009, the Washington Post reported the decision of the Supreme Court nullifying the amnesty deal.

As far as slaughtering animals for good luck, I know that some people in the Philippines still do slaughter animals for good luck, as in slaughtering chicken and letting the blood drip on foundations of houses or buildings before they are built.

"What's Your Sign?"

Have you ever read the morning newspaper and browsed through the horoscope page? Are you a Libra? Your horoscope says you will find Mr. Right today! Unfortunately, you are not. Worst, you always seem to get a wrong forecast whenever you read your horoscopes. Well, you just might get your forecasts right this time. How is that? You might not be Libra after all. You could be an Ophiucan.

It appears that the zodiac signs we know today is based on the constellations observed by ancient astronomers back when there was still no high-powered telescopes. More importantly, there had been many solar activities (and solar activities debate for that matter) since this system was adopted. Today, modern technology can map out the exact location of these constellations.

Ophiuchus ("the Serpent Holder") is a constellation claimed by some modern astrologers to be the tenth sign (or the 13th sign for some people) of the real solar zodiac. It forms into a figure of a man holding a serpent. This man is believed to be Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Unfortunately, there are no forecasts yet for the sign Ophiucus out there but Betty Rhodes gives an overview of the attributes of an Ophiucan.

Check out your real Zodiac Sign below. Maybe you are a Libra after all. Look out for Mr. Right!

Capricornus - Jan 19 to Feb 15

Aquarius - Feb 16 to Mar 11

Pisces - Mar 12 to Apr 18

Aries - Apr 19 to May 13

Taurus - May 14 to June 19

Gemini - June 20 to July 20

Cancer - July 21 to Aug 9

Leo - Aug 10 to Sept 15

Virgo - Sept 16 to Oct 30

Libra - Oct 31 to Nov 22

Scorpius - Nov 23 to Nov 29

Ophiuchus - Nov 30 to Dec 17

Sagittarius Dec 18 to Jan 18

Sources: The Red Thread, Geocities

"Dear God"

I wonder how one finds time to pray in this age of seemingly growing fast-paced lifestyle. I am as guilty as some in this aspect. Sometimes I go to bed planning my activities for tomorrow and the next day, barely awake, I plan some more. But people find the time and even go all out. Just ask Alon Nir. Reuters found this Israeli university student who opened a Twitter site hoping that people around the world can somehow experience the Jewish tradition of placing notes with prayers in the crevices of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The Western Wall or Wailing Wall is a Jewish religious site that people believe provides a direct access to God because heaven's gate is near the Western Wall and therefore God can easily hear prayers from that spot.

Sources: Reuters, Wikipedia, and photo by szlea on Flicker