Great Balls of Fire

UK’s Daily Mail (March 09, 2012) had reported on the huge solar storms on the sun – and how NASA has been snapping away with its high-tech cameras, producing some incredible photographs. They capture the sun in all its violent glory, with its surface a maelstrom of activity.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is able to differentiate between different temperature levels on the sun, so it's able to take amazing kaleidoscopic pictures:

Rising Sun: This image combines three images with different, but very similar, temperatures

Swirling: The dark areas – called coronal holes – are places where very little radiation is emitted, yet are the main source of solar wind particles

Heat is on: This picture highlights the outer atmosphere of the Sun – called the corona – as well as hot flare plasma

This flare was categorized as an X5.4, making it the second largest flare -- after an X6.9 on August 09, 2011 -- since the sun's activity segued into a period of relatively low activity called solar minimum in early 2007

This extreme ultraviolet wavelength image provided by NASA provides another look at a solar flare, which could also force airlines to reroute

This colour-coded image combines observations made by NASA in several extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, highlighting a bright X-class flare toward the upper left on March 06

Light fantastic: Solar flares are often associated with solar magnetic storms known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs)

Minimal disruption: Apart from a brief radio blackout stretching from eastern Africa to eastern Australia, we were spared any major electrical problems from the solar flares

Good spot. The Sun in extreme ultraviolet light captures a dark coronal hole just about at the Sun's center

Action hotting up: Activity on the sun will peak next year

Bright idea: This picture shows what our eyes would see if we were able to dim the brightness of the sun, with sunspots clearly visible

The giant explosions from our star have been hosing Earth with radiation and shaking Earth's magnetic field, but scientists said they had no reports of any major problems with electrical systems. These storms don't pose a threat to people, just technology. E.g. In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, Canada causing 6 million people to lose power.

Nurul Izzah's Fundraiser

Yesterday, I was at Kuala Lumpur's Robson Heights – Thean Hou Temple to be precise – for MP Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar’s fundraiser. The theme was “Governance under Pakatan Rakyat”. 

The speaking line-up was impressive: PKR’s Nurul Izzah, DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, Bersih’s Ambiga Sreenevasan and PAS’s Mohamad Sabu. Anwar Ibrahim was also supposed to be there but he didn’t manage to catch his flight from Penang.

I managed to take photos with Zunar and also Nurul Izzah and her hubby.

As a Toastmaster, I marvel at all these orators for they were impassioned and eloquent in the rousing manner they delivered their striking and stirring speeches. All four speakers have different styles but even so, they grabbed the audience’s attention. 

In fact amongst the nine hundred plus crowd, there were at least six Toastmasters (counting me) present and I know they too, can testify to the excellent effusions we all heard last evening. 

For those who harbor the hope that Pakatan Rakyat can overthrow BN and take over Putrajaya, Lim told us point-blank that it must win at least a third of the federal seats in the east Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, as well as Johor.

So what are PR’s chances? I honestly don’t know. I believe we have a chance. It is a genuine chance because otherwise, Najib Razak would already have called for GE13.

The Devalued BN Brand

And another thing. Najib Razak in one of his aha moments, had proclaimed Barisan Nasional to be a successful and “sellable" brand that is accepted, trusted and needed by the rakyat (The Star, June 27, 2011, p 08). 

Now, just over eight months later, he confessed that BN had made mistakes. With just one statement, he has irrevocably devalued the BN brand – if it has not already been devalued , that is.

This goes to show that Najib doesn't even know what he's talking about!

On Monday, I attended my first Monash Toastmasters meeting ever and I was over the moon because the meeting started on time. Then, there were the speeches and evaluations that made me sit up. All in all, I was a happy General Evaluator. 

Credit must go to Lau Mun Yee for providing the leadership and I would gladly give this meeting a 7 out of a 10. 

Upon this meeting’s conclusion, I hastened to another club meeting that was already in session, i.e. Money & You Toastmasters. I arrived in time to listen to the evaluations. The euphoric excitement that normally infiltrates this club meeting was not to be found that evening – although the chummy mood was still evident. Still, I would give it a 4 out of a 10.

Najib Says Sorry

On Saturday, desperate Najib Razak showed his impetuous foolhardiness when he apologized to the Malaysian people on behalf of Barisan Nasional for mistakes that led voters to reject it at the last general election (Sunday Star, March 04, 2012, p 02). 

Wow, just like that! Say sorry and all will be forgiven. Never mind if you have cheated, swindled, duped and robbed. There is no need for remorse, make restitution or even go to jail for breaking the law. Malaysians will graciously accept your blanket apology and for that itsy-bitsy act of teensy-weensy honesty, they will be so grateful that they will still want to give you their vote when the election comes around. 

Najib, you really believe that Malaysians are so stupid meh?

It’s a vague apology that didn’t tell us anything. This atonement lacked substance. This plea lacked sincerity. And this expression of regret was opportunistic! Besides, to be honest – as a Malaysian, I would dearly love to see our corrupt politicians get thrown into jail – and this can only happen if BN is ousted from power.

Sorry, I just fibbed. Actually, I don’t want them to end up in the lock-up. I am really hoping that we can send them to the guillotine. Like the French did many aeons ago. Then I get to watch this public spectacle and when the executioner holds up their severed heads, I would bellow my approval and cheer loudly!

Image credit: http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/french/french.html

On Sunday, Muhyiddin Yassin quickly qualified Najib’s apology. He said “there is no need to list out our weaknesses; that is in the past”. I think he meant that he was unable to detail all the BN transgressions because it will take a month of Sundays! 

Or was it actually a declaration that all the corruption and plundering of the rakyat’s money by BN should be completely erased from our collective memories, just because he said so? He is mocking Malaysians – challenging us to wipe the BN slate clean because Najib had said sorry. Did Muhyiddin have his head in the clouds? Are we really that dumb?

So sorry lah, Najib – as far as I am concerned, it’s a day late and a dollar short. You will have to pay for your mistakes. In other words, you and your band of thieves must stand trial and then all of you are put away for a long, long time. Hopefully, in addition to incarceration, there is also whipping.

Najib, it is payback time! I am one voter who is determined to see you and the others (e.g. Muhyiddin, Mahathir, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) be held accountable for your every wrongdoing! I am one angry voter. But hey, I am compassionate and so, I solemnly promise that when you are languishing in jail, I will visit you at least once a year! You can count on me!

Stop Lynas

Prime Minister Najib Razak said the Government has instructed Lynas Corp to relocate its residue disposal site to a location far from its Gebeng plant and local communities. In the same breath, he also said that this did not mean the rare earth project and its residue were harmful (The Star, March 03, 2012, p 02). So tell me, Najib, what exactly did you mean?

Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai told the Sin Chew Daily this week that Lynas will have to send the waste back to Australia even though the Western Australian government has said it will not take back the residue from the ore mined from Mount Weld in the state. And the Atomic Energy Licensing Board director-general Raja Abdul Aziz had insisted that the radioactive waste will not be radioactive anymore once it has been treated.

Different responses from different people. This can only mean one thing – That the government itself is clueless on what to do with Lynas’ “radioactive waste”.

Even if there are Malaysians who are really foolish enough to believe in government propaganda that the Lynas plant has been scientifically proven to be safe, experience has told us time and again that danger lurks and risks can happen. Malaysia Boleh wad!

The Bukit Merah case is little known even elsewhere in Malaysia but it is a barometer of what can go wrong and did go wrong! The Asian Rare Earth (ARE) Company, owned by Mitsubishi Chemicals – began operations on July 11, 1982 at 7.2 km Jalan Lahat in Bukit Merah New Village – was shut down in 1992 after years of strong protests. Residents in Bukit Merah blamed the rare earth refinery for birth defects and leukemia cases in the community. Mitsubishi Chemicals is still cleaning up the place. In fact, the ongoing cleanup of this 30-year-old problem is estimated to cost a massive RM300 million at least.

For those of us still blissfully unaware of the true story of Bukit Merah – check out these photos and their accompanying narratives below:

Lai Kwan and her son, Cheah Kok Leong today.
Image credit: http://forum.ipoh.com.my/showthread.php?t=13234

Malaysians must learn from Bukit Merah. Just as the case of Lynas, ARE was also supposedly safe! It was then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad himself who maintained that Bukit Merah was safe! And now Najib is parroting the same thing for Lynas Gebeng. Please don’t allow this Government to play with fire! It is Malaysian lives that are at stake! The government has been bullshitting us all these years!

We simply cannot let the government do this the second time around! You and I may not be living in Bukit Merah or in Gebeng-Kuantan, but in the case of Bukit Merah, fellow Malaysians have suffered and in Gebeng-Kuantan, another group of Malaysians will suffer if we permit this government to be reckless. Let's stand in solidarity with them and do what is necessary to put a stop to this madness! Stop Lynas!

Honoring Nicol David

It is good to know that CIMB is giving due recognition to squash star Nicol David by renaming the CIMB KL Open Squash Championship to the CIMB Nicol David KL Open. The 2012 edition carries a total purse of $60,000 (RM180,000).

I was at the Joint Area B1 & B2 International Speech & Table Topics contests held at the CIMA office in Bandar Utama. I actually went to support Alice Ong who, together with Devi Menon, was representing Taman Indrahana Toastmasters Club. In the end, I was roped in to be a Ballot Counter. Anyway for Area B1, Isabell Zubinsha – representing Taylor’s University Toastmasters Club – was the champion for both contests, while for Area B2, Leong Soo Qi – representing CIMA Toastmasters Club – emerged the winner in the International Speech contest and Devi took top prize in the Table Topics contest. Six club members were there to cheer on our two contestants.

Before this, I had attended the Faith Toastmasters meeting in Bandar Sunway. I must commend the club for starting the meeting on time even though there were only eight of us there. By the time the meeting had concluded, there were a total of twelve people. I would score this meeting a 4 out of a 10 but I really wish it had more energy, more fervor, more life.

Aberdeen brought Celtic's run of 17 league wins to an end with a spirited 1-1 draw in this SPL match. Running on to a Kris Commons pass, Anthony Stokes rounded Dons keeper Jason Brown to squeeze home a shot in the 28th minute. But Andre Blackman diverted Gavin Rae's shot into his own net (44) to equalize the score.

And Liverpool succumbed to Arsenal, losing 1-2 in this EPL game. The Gunners contributed all three goals – a Van Persie double and Koscielny's own goal. Of course, I am upset!

NFC Probe Papers Returned Second Time

Yesterday, Taman Indrahana Toastmasters Club member, Kimberly Yeoh successfully graduated from the Foundation in Arts program at Sunway College. I was there to celebrate her pre-university completion but what made me pleased as Punch was that she is enrolling into the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Business Studies at Sunway University. She's smart because she made a smart choice!

The investigation papers pertaining to NFCorp have been returned to the police for the second time and the Attorney-General ordered for further investigations to be carried out. Last week the police had recommended that NFCorp directors be charged with criminal breach of trust and cheating over the RM250mil cattle venture issue. Are we to speculate that the police have not built a strong case against Shahrizat’s husband and children? Something is seriously amiss here.

Meanwhile, DAP’s Tony Pua on Friday asked NFCorp to explain the use of more than RM80 million as loans to the company directors.

The loans, which have no fixed term of repayment, were recorded as “other receivables and deposits” in the company's 2009 financial statement. This declaration, which had been obtained from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, states that the receivable amount was “due by companies which are associated with certain directors of the company”. But as Pua pointed out, NFCorp does not have any subsidiary companies.

The cow story gets incredibly twisted as the days go by.

Farmhouse Supermarket

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli fired another salvo at the Shahrizat family by disclosing that they are the owners of a soon-to-open Farmhouse Supermarket in Singapore. In Units #02-08 to #02-35 in Rochester Mall at Rochester Drive, to be precise. It looks like they are casting anchor in the island city-state. And so far, they have demonstrated that they can operate with impunity. For this privileged family at least, it is business as usual!

Farmhouse Supermarkets Pte Ltd are jointly owned by Shahrizat’s husband Mohd Salleh Ismail, second son Wan Shahinur Izran and youngest daughter Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah.

If you keep your eyes peeled, you will often come across this declaration: “Satu lagi projek Barisan Nasional” on banners and signboards. It’s not so much a revelation that BN is stooping low to gain cheap publicity as knowing that somebody somewhere is profiting from this venture at the taxpayers’ expense.

Last evening I went to KDU University-College to attend the D'Utama Toastmasters meeting. I observed, listened and pretty much enjoyed the speeches, especially the Ice-breaker speech by newbie Diana Khoo. Plus the fact that Lee Wei Seong was the Toastmaster-of-the-Evening and his role-participation served to enhance the meeting multiple-fold. This meeting earned a 6 out of a 10.

Chinese Pigs, German Pigs

If you read about the Himpunan Hijau 2.0 ruckus in Penang last Sunday, you will have learnt that UMNO Youth and Perkasa members incited trouble. 

Yesterday, The Sun (p 04) relayed Perkasa’s Mohd Rizuan Mohd Azudin’s story that its members were mere spectators until one journalist who accompanied the Chief Minister manhandled one of its members! 

And to make the story even more incredible, he claimed that the said journalist acted as an escort to Lim Guan Eng. What cock! Can you really believe his tall tale?

Meanwhile, Lim lodged a police report on Tuesday that alleged that foul language, cuss words and racial epithets such as “Cina Babi”, “Penang Cina Bodoh” and “Babi Sokong Lim Guan Eng Ketua Menteri” were hurled during his speech at the Sunday event. 

These Malays have become so crude and coarse that they shamed other Malays! They are really biadap (‘uncouth’ in English)! The Malay culture is sadly being corrupted from within.

L-R: Bernd & Dennis.

Image credit: http://www.meinekleinefarm.org/ueberdennisprojekt

Talking about pigs, now you can know which porker had to die to supply you with its meat! 

Organic farmer Bernd Schulz from Brandenburg, Germany has a website at meinekleinefarm.org where bidders vote for the pig they want to eat! 

All they have to do is to register their vote and the winning pig is sent to the slaughterhouse. Bidders then buy a share of the animal when it is turned into different types of sausages, complete with its picture on the packaging. 

Agriculture student Dennis Buchmann – who invented the voting process – added: "I wanted to get people back to a closer relationship with the animals they eat.” His words may sound pretty but what he really meant is that the pig doesn’t have to be an anonymous packet of sausages. 

It is sacrificed so you can eat well!