To give or not to give?

My family had our Sunday routine of going to church and spend the day for God. Unlike the previous Sundays where we used to go to the basilica, we went to another church. Unlike the basilica, the church was not that full packed. And so the mass went on. Before the last prayer, some announcements were made including the need for a second collection for a certain improvement of the church. My wife was hesitant because she rather give donation if the intention was for charity. She had this conclusion because before we went inside the church, she saw many beggars and street children.

After the mass, again, we had our little debate. Should we or should we not give?

Her argument was, the church, government and people should give more to those unfortunate and not spend almost all on infrastructures.

Mine was, I think the government, church and people do their best already, its just that some "unfortunates" chose to be "unfortunate".

Im very hesitant to give to mendicants because of a bad experience. I gave a beggar my last coin coz its all i have in my pocket. Maybe she was not satisfied of the amount, she threw the coin in my face. It was whole-heartedly given eventhough the amount was not that big so I was very upset. From that day on, I decided to never give to mendicants instead, only to charity institutions. I also learned that some unfortunates who were relocated and given shelter and basic needs went out of the shelters to return back to the streets and went back to begging.

What seems to be the problem? Well, I think its just a matter of choice. We chose to work hard and earn, and they chose to sleep in the streets and beg. In the end, stopping mendicancy is a very long process. It does not only involve knowing the source of the problem and the solution, it also needs understanding of what comes in between the "SOURCE" and "SOLUTION".

Vague? Im talking of the inbetween letters.. UR and U. What you are is your choice.

World's oldest joke traced back to 1900 BC

The world's oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 BC and suggests that toilet humor was as popular with the ancients as it is today.

It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."

It heads the world's oldest top 10 joke list published by the University of Wolverhampton on Thursday.
A 1600 BC gag about a pharaoh, said to be King Snofru, comes second -- "How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish."

The oldest British joke dates back to the 10th Century and reveals the bawdy face of the Anglo-Saxons -- "What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before? Answer: A key."

"Jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles," said the report's writer Dr Paul McDonald, senior lecturer at the university.

"What they all share however, is a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion. Modern puns, Essex girl jokes and toilet humor can all be traced back to the very earliest jokes identified in this research."

The study was commissioned by television channel Dave. The top 10 oldest jokes can be viewed at www.dave-tv.co.uk.