Don't Get Raped

This satirical video was inspired by advice posted on some US college websites that tell women how to avoid being raped. It speaks to the absurdity of placing responsibility and blame on the victim.

Yesterday, I was at Lorong Utara B in Petaling Jaya to participate in the club-level International Speech & Table Topics contests organized by Taman Indrahana Toastmasters Club. There was decent competition with five contestants in each category. 

Again, I delivered an impromptu speech and I brought together elements of previous speeches and with pinches of originality, put together a speech that I called “Dream Chaser”. I used Flash and Usain Bolt as my reference points and soon the words excitedly rushed out to form a winning speech.

Yup, I won – and this means that I have achieved three victories in three clubs, i.e. MIMKL, AFC and Taman Indrahana, having emerged champion in the International Speech contests for the 2013-14 term.

I also won the Table Topics contest and I am likely to represent Taman Indrahana at the Area-level next.

I was at Block D, Platinum Sentral (in KL Sentral) for the SPAD Toastmasters meeting on Wednesday afternoon. I secured a speech slot – thank you, Vice President Education, Priya Thillainathan – and this was my CC speech #2 titled “Looking for a Rainbow”. This is Round 1 of Project 15 and my dedicated evaluator was Lucky. 

I also evaluated a SPAD member who did CC speech #4. Better still, I was voted Best Speaker and Best Evaluator. Certainly, this has been a good meeting and I am more than happy to give it a score of an 8 over 10. Still I cannot help but notice that when Priya is present, the meeting becomes well-organized and well-orchestrated.

The Duck is the Victim

Red paint was splashed on the walls as well as the Malaysiakini signboard at the four-storey building in Bangsar Utama, Kuala Lumpur this morning. According to Malaysiakini graphic editor Azlan Zamhari who was first to arrive at the office at 6:15 AM, the paint was still a little wet.

And a package was left beside the main door and taped onto it was a photo of Seputeh MP Teresa Kok. There were other photos stuck on the wall of the office. These were wrapped in plastic bags into which rice grains had been placed.

And inside the cardboard box, there was a duck. Initially it was thought to be dead, as there was no movement. The box could not be opened all the way pending police investigations. However, when the cover was partially lifted about noon, it was found that the duck was alive, but barely moving.

Another innocent victim – this time, a duck!

"What did we ducks ever do to you?"

These thugs are not giving up anytime soon and the police don’t seem to be taking action. If it was Utusan Malaysia that is the target, you can bet that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi himself will almost immediately summon fully-armed men in balaclavas to storm homes and offices in a matter of minutes to collar the culprits.

I was the General Evaluator last evening at the Crystal Toastmasters meeting. An evening of good speeches and evaluations. I certainly enjoyed the meeting. I shall give this meeting a score of an 8.5 over 10.  I don't have to say too much because everything was superb!

The Ukrainian Barbie

Image credit: http://www.thezooom.com/2013/04/12446/

There is another Barbie – and she is Valeria Valeryevna Lukyanova (Ukrainian: Валерія Валеріївна Лук'янова), a Ukranian model. She has been dubbed the “Real-Life Barbie” for her physical resemblance to the Barbie doll and she is said to have a massive YouTube following. A Wikipedia entry put her as being 29 years-old. 

To enhance the Barbie effect, Valeria Lukyanova uses makeup and contact lenses over her naturally green eyes. She admitted to having had breast implants, but that the rest of her body is completely natural and slender due to daily gym workouts and a special diet. 

In an interview with Anna Nemtsova and featured in the news and opinion website, The Daily Beast on August 05, 2013, Valeria Lukyanova shared not just her Barbie persona but also her out-of-body experiences and even claiming to be able to travel outside of her body to other planets and universes! For the last four plus years, she has been teaching meditation and astral projection. 

Valeria Lukyanova may be a Barbie lookalike but she is also one bizarre woman! 

North Korea said that it "categorically rejects" the high-profile United Nations report that accused the Kim Jong-un regime of widespread crimes against humanity. [Kindly read my blogpost http://helpvictor.blogspot.com/2014/02/north-korean-human-rights-abuses.html]. 

The Korea Central News Agency, Pyongyang's official state mouthpiece, quoted a spokesperson for the country's Foreign Ministry, who said Friday that the UN's allegations of widespread human rights abuses were "sheer lies and fabrications deliberately cooked up by hostile forces." 

Of course, we had expected the response, right? The next question is, where does the UN go from here?

Bullying from Westminster and Elsewhere

On the very same day the Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, wrote a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron complaining of "bullying" from Westminster, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (left) made an imperious claim that it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for an independent Scotland to join the European Union. He said it would have to apply for membership from scratch, and would struggle to win the approval of all 28 member states. 

I think it is a preposterous comment to come from the pompous officeholder. The whole history of the European Union has been about expansion, about growth, about involving new members, about bringing more countries into the fold of the European Union. I don’t think any member state had suggested it would seek to block an independent Scotland from becoming an EU member. Barroso should keep his own opinion to himself, period. 

Barroso's comments on February 16, 2014 came on the heels of UK Chancellor George Osborne’s statement that ruled out an independent Scotland sharing the pound with the rest of the UK under a currency union – the Scottish Government's preferred option. 

And then there was an "astonishing" claim by a Tory source that a 'Yes' vote would not automatically mean Scotland becomes independent. 

These are bullying tactics aimed to swing the vote against Scottish independence. And I expect it to get worse as the September 18, 2014 referendum date draws closer. 

It was a nerve-racking thriller but thank God, Liverpool prevailed and managed to beat Swansea 4-3 on Sunday to tighten their grip on fourth place in the EPL. 

The Swans had barely got going when Daniel Sturridge fired their hosts in front in the second minute, and Jordan Henderson followed it up with a second in the twentieth minute. 

But just as Liverpool threatened to go into overdrive, a sweet Jonjo Shelvey strike (23) and a Wilfried Bony header off Martin Skrtel (27) levelled the scores. 

Sturridge headed in his second from Luis Suarez's cross in the thirty-sixth minute but Bony again pulled Swansea level from the penalty spot (47). 

Liverpool sealed victory when Henderson found the net in the seventy-fourth minute with his second attempt after Swansea goalie Michel Vorm saved his initial shot.

It Doesn't Get Better

Check out this video that is targeted at today’s popular kids – it tells us that the future does not always promise better days! In other words, it doesn’t get better!

The video above has a very appropriate title. And it rings true for Cardiff City too.

Even as I was glued to the Celtic-Hearts game on Saturday, I had another eye on the Cardiff-Hull match, given the Vincent Tan connection. 

Cardiff City boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (on the right in photo) is getting hot under the collar. Cardiff now need five wins from their last 11 matches to survive. His EPL record is sad – he had won one, drawn one and lost 5 matches todate. 

The Norwegian replaced Malky MacKay in January and even with his so-called Manchester United touch, Cardiff is not able to put the brakes on their rapid descent into the abyss of infamy. He knows he has a tough fight on his hands to maintain Cardiff's EPL status and it is sorely testing his fledgling managerial career. 

"It is because it's a different challenge," insists Solskjaer. He is not admitting that he is out of his depth as the Cardiff manager. 

Sure, he had gained a wee bit of fame as a MU player – he scored the second of two injury-time goals to help the Red Devils come from behind to win the UEFA Champions League Final in 1999 – but even if he considered himself a good player, it does not mean he can be a good manager. 

Image credit: http://abelphee.deviantart.com/art/Dying-Demon-WIP-2-182920565

In fact, Solskjaer had targeted the February 22nd game against Hull as a potential win for his struggling side. But they were soundly thrashed 4-0. He himself admitted that his Cardiff players weren’t good enough in front of both goals, defending and attacking! 

Shouldn’t he stop his BS? I puke whenever Brendan Rodgers talks! And now this guy’s no different! 

Berjaya’s Tan must have had a lousy birthday yesterday – he turned 62 – his Welsh ‘pretend dragons’ presented him with an unforgettable birthday gift: their worst home defeat in 14 years! 

"I'm never going to quit," vowed Solskjaer. "I'm going to be in front of these lads and guide them and lead them”. Duh! What else did you expect him to say? Of course he won’t quit! No manager worth his salt will quit - he just gets the sack! 

I cannot wait to see how long the Malaysian billionaire’s patience will last before he turns on Solskjaer. He had crucified MacKay and I predict he will do the same to the hapless Solskjaer! Just wait and see.

Barbie Doll

A thirty-eight-year old American, Blondie Bennett is dedicating her life to do a complete make-over and turn herself into Barbie! The Californian was a former model who changed her name to Blondie a year and a half ago – and she has embarked on doing what is essential to become a Mattel plastic collectible. 

 

She has already spent £25,000 on five breast enlargements to reach a size 32JJ. She has regular spray tans, Botox and lip fillers to give her a more artificial appearance. She went for chin liposuction to contour her face so she looked more like Barbie. And to make the change into the toy complete, she is having hypnotherapy to become 'dumb' like the doll she idolizes. 

Blondie is self-employed – she supports herself by earning money from online ‘sugar daddies’ in exchange for sexy pictures of her dressed as Barbie. She is obviously adept at self-promotion. 

She explains: “People can criticize me but this is who I am: I want my transformation to be head to toe, inside and out”. 

For sure, Blondie knows what she wants. Many others would consider it a narcissistic obsession. I prefer to look at it differently. I salute her ambition and respect her commitment. 

Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to 24 points with a 2-0 victory against Hearts. Leigh Griffiths netted his first goal since arriving from Wolves in January with a superb strike in the fifty-eighth minute. Then, Teemu Pukki converted Amido Balde's square pass to secure the win in the ninetieth minute.

The Break Up

This is a humdinger of a funny video that stars a couple who are heading for a break up – with the help of 154 movie titles!

I was at the Joint Area G2 & G4 International Speech & Table Topics contests in Petaling Jaya today. 

There were seven of us participating in the International Speech contest but really, in Area G2, it was a straight fight between me (representing AFC Toastmasters Club) and Speecom’s Sasie Gala. 

It was still the 'same' cockroach speech but I gave it a different title "The Survivor". And I won. 

(The cockroach strikes again!)

 

March 29 is the day of reckoning because I will be involved in an eight way tussle for Division G qualification in order for me to compete next at the District-level contest in Kuala Terengganu – provided I can nail the contest on that day.

Baram Blockade Takes A More Permanent Form

Image credit: https://www.facebook.com/radiofreesarawak/posts/631664783582282?stream_ref=10

On February 02, I blogged about the Baram blockade (Please check out this link at http://helpvictor.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-baram-dam-blockade.html). One of the two blockades I mentioned was KM15 and it is now a kampong (village). The blockaders have felled trees and build permanent structures, complete with a meeting hall, a kitchen, a basic toilet and a bathroom. 

 

I read that RM4,000 was spent on zinc and other building materials; a couple of hundreds on fuel for trucks on constant surveillance against Sarawak Energy Board (SEB) from re-entering Baram; some amount on food subsidies for full time blockaders and volunteer builders.

 

They are also planning a budget to upgrade Long Lama Camp which is the first sentry point to stop SEB intruders.

 

Obviously, funds are needed. Please spread the word and donate if you can. We can help the Baram folks stop the dam!

 

You may send money to this account:

Name: Save Rivers Sdn. Bhd.

Bank: MAYBANK Account number: 5611 8110 2247

Swift Code for overseas donations: MBBEMYKL Branch code: 61181

 

The Directors of Save Rivers Sdn Bhd are Peter Kallang (Email peterkallang@gmail.com), Mark Bujang and Thomas Jalong. FYI, as at January 31, 2014, a total of RM13,668 has been collected.