California, USA – The double standard in the Chaldean community always was a point of contention.  Why is it okay for men to smoke, but not women?  Some argue the double standard was required by Chaldean men living in a Muslim dominated society where smoking was seen as a male’s passage to adulthood and encouraged.  

The society pressures seem to be a strong force as American society continues to grow in disgust with smokers.   Chaldean men living in western society show a significant decrease in smoking compared to their Middle Eastern counterparts.  However, the increase in Chaldean women smokers versus their counterparts is staggering, but understandable, given the freedoms and consumer coaching aimed at women who have come a long way to light-up.

Stories abound in the Chaldean community of fathers and mothers disgusted at the sight of young American teenage girls smoking at school.  Some of the stories go so fat as to say that the parents refused to allow their daughters to enroll in the school, opting instead to home school. 

So whatever happened to those teen girls who defiantly puffed away as gawking Chaldean parents drove by worried as to what their child was being exposed to.  A new study says those insecure girls have grown up to be fat and are now costing society in hefty healthcare costs.

Florida, USA – “The family is the nucleus of society.  When it is weakened or destroyed, we all pay,” says Jenny Jabril, a Chaldean nurse in Florida’s Orange County.  “We all pay when families break-down or fail.  We the people, deal with the dysfunction.  Our taxes go up to care for the abandoned or misguided children, our education system spins out of control, we pay more to prevent crimes, protect our families, or hospitalize these people.” 

Jabril is frustrated over the increased number of substance abuse.  In Florida law, citizens can be held against their will under the Marchman Act. Individuals whose substance abuse makes them a threat to themselves or others can be held at a mental-health facility for up to five days while physicians evaluate them.

Jerry Kassab, president and chief executive officer of Lakeside Alternatives, Orange County's receiving center, said his facility receives about 20 patients a day who are committed under the law.   There are three scenarios in which someone can be committed under the Marchman Act.

In Orange County, Kassab said, most patients are taken to Lakeside by law enforcement officers.  "The most common instance is when someone's out on the street who's acting up, or the police might be called by a store owner because someone's acting up or acting weird," Kassab said. "You also get instances when one family member calls the police because someone in their family is out of control."

You are My Sunshine, My only Sunshine'….Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling.

They found out that the new baby was going be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in mommy's tummy.   He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.

The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen.  In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three, every minute. But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor.

Would a C-section be required? Would the mother survive?  Would the baby live?  The entire family and medical staff were on pins and needles.  Finally, after a long and exhausting struggle, Michael's little sister was born. But she was in very serious condition.

Michigan, USA – The Church of Transfiguration in Southfield, formerly St. Michaels hosts the Southfield 40 Days for Life kick-off campaign.  The 40Days for life team invites the public to join the prayer effort as the prayer group gathers at 6:45 p.m. today, Tuesday, September 24th to help put an end to abortion. 

From September 24 - November 2, our community will be one of more than 170 cities in 45 states joining together for the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history -- the 40 Days for Life campaign.

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of:

40 days of prayer and fasting, 40 days of peaceful vigil, and 40 days of community outreach.  Chaldeans4Life help lead the effort in the Chaldean community.  Group leaders say the are praying that, with God's help, their groundbreaking effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in our city -- and throughout America.

Chaldeans interested in becoming part of the growing movement are encouraged to take a stand for life. 

Michigan, USA - Three levels of difficulty will challenge Chaldean visitors to the second annual Bowers Farm Corn Maze nestled in the fields of Bloomfield Township’s historic farm at 1219 E. Square Lake Road.

Beginning Saturday, Sept. 27 and continuing Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 1, the corn maze will offer beginning, intermediate and advanced routes covering ten acres.  All mazes have check points where visitors can consult a map.  Walking time varies from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, depending on pace. Guides will be present inside the maze to assist visitors.  

Chaldean families can also enjoy free wagon rides or horse drawn hayrides for $3, concessions including apple cider, doughnuts and hot dogs roasted over a bonfire, complimentary on-site parking, and pumpkin picking beginning Oct. 17.  Guests should wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather, and may bring flashlights for after dark.

Children in America face a huge problem!  Obesity is a serious health concern in America and is affecting Chaldean families more and more.  Chaldeans forgetting the roots of their culture on matters of wholesome and nutritious living are at risk of adopting the American food habits of eating processed sugary food.  Parents making poor choices combined with commercials peddling their sugary treats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner has created a health crisis in America.  Unfortunately, Many Chaldeans are caught in the net as well. 

Over 20 percent of American children are overweight -- almost five times the rate of 30 years ago. Twenty-five percent of all children who are overweight will grow up to be overweight as adults. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued this dire, but true, warning: Obesity is an epidemic, and if the current trend continues, one-third of all children born in 2010 will become diabetic later in life.

Healthcare costs are skyrocketing and a major factor to the rising cost is obesity.  The quality of life for the obese is also miserable.  Children as well as adults experience severe health and emotional problems like depression and anger. 

To protect your family from the threat of obesity, Chaldeans as well as Americans, will have to make smarter choices, become more responsible for their eating habits, and accept the fact that they must rely on themselves for the care of their health as well as their family.  Parents must do a better job in teaching their kids the right eating habits. 

Here are 10 rules to help families become healthier. 

California, USA  – The event is planned from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the southwest parking lot of the El Cajon Wal-Mart, 605 Fletcher Parkway.

The event is free and open to all county residents. E-waste includes old computers, TVs, stereo equipment, phones and other items that can't be thrown in the trash.  Household appliances and batteries will not be accepted.

Also on Saturday at the El Cajon Wal-Mart, San Diego Gas & Electric is partnering with Electronic Disposal Group for a light bulb exchange.

"Sometimes healthy competition for what we want turns into a problematic desire to have something merely because a rival already has it. This is not just based on what we want, but also on what we don’t want our perceived rival to have,” writes author, Susan, Barash in her book “Tripping the Prom Queen: The truth about Women and Rivalry.” 

Seventy percent of the five hundred women interviewed said they were familiar with the concept Barash writes about.  Barash is a professor of gender studies at Marymount Manhattan College in New York and became fascinated by women's relationship. Can sisters, mothers and best friends be jealous and supportive at the same time? In fact she found that rivalry and envy often pervades female relationships.

The women were interviewed on female competition.  The study revealed that many women are competitively mean.   In her book, Barash outlines why women compete with each other differently than men do with other men and why women often want to sabotage powerful female rivals.

A strong, supportive Chaldean relationship is built from a couple's words and actions. With work, children, and other responsibilities, sometimes it is easy to take your spouse for granted or forget to do the things that strengthen the marriage. Here are some ten little things every Chaldean couple can do that will have a big payoff for your marriage says Jennifer Kinaya, marriage counselor and researcher on the psychology of better relationships.