Celtic Saves Face

Celtic triumphed in their final Old Firm game of the season when they emerged with a 2-1 victory over Rangers in a fiercely-contested match yesterday. Lee Naylor's deflected free-kick (8) contributed Celtic’s first goal, after which Kenny Miller leveled for Rangers (43), followed by Marc-Antoine Fortune's header for Celtic's second goal (45). This is a small consolation to a poor season!

The Sun (May 06, 2010, p 7) reported that the High Court here has dismissed a harbeas corpus application filed by the actor that sought his release from detention. Judge Mohd Sofian Abd Razak said on Wednesday that Benjy's re-arrest on March 25 under Section 3 of the Dangerous Drugs Act (Special Preventive Measures) was valid.

The court was also informed by Senior Federal Counsel Najib Zakaria that Benjy was sent to a rehabilitation centre in Muar, Johor on Wednesday morning under the (indecently hasty) directive of Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop.

And so, it would seem that Benjy is both a drug addict and a drug dealer after all! But is this the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Sometimes, I really wonder. This latest report is a follow-up on my own blog posting on Benjy on April 03.

Faster than a Speeding Bullet

Yesterday, I met Hakim Hamzah, Area P1 Governor and he had kindly invited me to the UEM Toastmasters meeting this evening. It is actually a joint meeting of two UEM Toastmasters Clubs, i.e. UEM Group and UEM Academy. Fancy meeting both Stephen and Rohijas there! Anyway, the members here are very “new” to Toastmastering and they need lots of guidance and support. Although they have a mentoring system in place – perhaps they should consider external mentors to help out, given their “inexperience”. But then again, this is only my personal opinion.

On May 03, in the Star, there was a photo of Najib holding a couple of cards – one card in particular came from 10-year-old Angela Kong from SJK Tung Hua, with the request “My Beloved Mr Prime Minister, we dream to have a university in Sibu”.

Whatever we may say about Malaysians – at least we know they are fast learners. From Hulu Selangor, to Sibu – the message “Christmas will be early this year!” travels faster than a speeding bullet! And it’s true! I read in the New Straits Times Online today about Najib having already announced that Kolej Laila Taib (formerly United College Sarawak) here would be elevated to university status by 2012 (Webpage http://nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/8wsk/Article/index_html). Wow! I am impressed! Najib deserves an A for positively and quickly responding. If like this, BN will surely win the Sibu by-election, hahaha!

Up Yours, Ahmadinejad

I was at the PJ Hilton Toastmasters meeting this evening and I was certainly glad to be there to lend support to this club. I have always enjoyed their club meetings simply because we have a very good mix of Toastmasters to add color to the meetings.

I received this photo in my Inbox yesterday with an accompanying caption “Woman of the Year Award, and a request to let this photo travel around the world 1,000,000 times! In any case, I am posting this photo in my blog and I am choosing to interpret this photo differently.

HE represents the self-important politician who doesn’t give a damn about anything except his own reactionary political agenda.

SHE represents the ordinary citizen who has the courage to stand up to this browbeater and show him the middle finger.

So politicians like him are a dime a dozen, but there are not many like her who dares to confront him in full view of everybody else.

And finally the news that Blackburn came from behind to defeat Arsenal 2-1. So the Gunners must now wait to secure third place in the English Premier League. Another disappointing game.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Ah Bengs

Do you remember Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? Well, these well-known 7 habits for successful people are nothing more than a free adaptation of very common Hokkien phrases!

You surprised, ah?

So, why pay thousands of dollars to attend talks by Ang Mohs, when your grandparents, parents, spouses and even the auntie who sweeps the floor can give you the same kind of advice FOC, every day?

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Habit No 1: Be Pro-Active

Kin Ka Kin Chiew (Fast leg, fast hand)

Habit No 2: Sharpen the Saw

Toh Bua Lai Lai (Make the knife sharp)

Habit No 3: Begin with the End In Mind

Ooh Tao Ooh Buay (Have head, have tail)

Habit No 4: First Things First

Chik Hung Chik Hung Lai – Ban Ban Lai (One thing at a time, slow and steady); or

Cho Tow Seng (Do first; talk later)

Habit No 5: Think Win-Win

Long Chong Ai Yarh (Must win everything)

This is definitely not thinking win-win.

This is a zero sum game.

Win everything!

Habit No 6: Seek To Understand Rather Than To Be Understood

Cho Lang Ai Eh Beng Pek (You must be understanding)

Habit No 7: Synergize

Tai Kay Ai Hup Chop (All must cooperate)
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The above is dedicated to my Hokkien-speaking students at HICT Klang!

Flash Mob in KLCC

A flash mob for press freedom materialized at the KLCC Park yesterday afternoon when more than 30 people gathered for 15 minutes to read several newspapers of their choice upside down. Their action caught the attention of Sunday shoppers and tourists at the city's prominent park. Photographers and cameramen from various media captured the actions of those reading the dailies sitting on the stairs leading to the park before Suria KLCC security personnel pounced on the protestors to request them to leave immediately. Flash mobs are a good idea to highlight issues of the day, especially in a controlled environment where a police permit is required even for peaceful gatherings.

Oh yes, Liverpool lost to Chelsea 0-2.

Dr. Puad Needs an English Lesson

Perkasa has often been equated with UMNO and although there are not a few UMNO members who will bristle at this attempt to link the two organizations, this connection is real. It’s not only Ibrahim Ali, but UMNO bigwigs (e.g. Mahathir, Muhyiddin) have been stoutly championing Perkasa. The latest to speak up for Perkasa is UMNO Supreme Council member Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi who had said that "Perkasa is not a racist (organization)...there is no such word as racist in the Malay culture, racist only exists in the West because we had never carried out any 'ethnic cleansing'.”

I was aghast and became tongue-tied for a full four minutes. Is it any wonder our standard of English is deteriorating fast – when even a Minister no less is defining racism in terms of ‘ethnic cleansing’? (Webpage http://www.mmail.com.my/content/35179-not-fair-label-perkasa-racist-puad, accessed May 02, 2010).

Racism can be defined (Dictionary.com at webpage http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/racism) as

1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

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On the other hand:

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Ethnic cleansing is “a euphemism for the ruthless removal or killing of an ethnic or religious group from areas that have been taken over by opposing forces” (The Phrase Finder at webpage http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/129100.html).

So Dr. Puad and others who needed a quick lesson on English – please take note.

And another thing, Dr. Puad had stressed that “When Perkasa defended the Malay supremacy, it is actually a question of pride of the race and progress of the race."

But I am honestly befuddled. Should Perkasa only talk about Malay supremacy? The last time I checked the Perkasa name – they refer themselves as a Pertubuhan Pribumi and not a Malays-only organization? Why this all-encompassing emphasis on Malays? What about the Orang Asli? Bidayuhs? Ibans? Melanaus? Muruts? Berawan? Kayans? Kelabits? Penans? Kadazandusuns? Lun Bawang? Bajaus? Rungus? Bisaya? And the many other indigenous groups in this country?

Q.E.D.

Thai Impasse

The Red Shirts continued to overwhelm Bangkok and have in fact, become even more emboldened. The Yellow Shirts are starting to make loud noises. The police favor a soft approach – which is, basically doing nothing. The Army puts on a show of might now and then but they prefer to huddle on the sidelines. And the Abhisit government is showing its weakness and demonstrating its inability to act firmly to restore law and order. This is Thailand today. It’s anybody’s guess what will happen tomorrow…

Image credit: http://links.org.au/taxonomy/term/329

Thailand’s mess is both worrying and confusing. In a democratic society, when there is a deep crisis, it is customary for the government to dissolve parliament and call elections in order for the people to decide. Indeed, the Red Shirts should have their elections. After all, Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government came to power by using two judiciary coups. But the Red Shirts cannot claim legitimacy because their patron saint, Thaksin Shinawatra is a criminal through and through. For those whose memories are short, Thaksin's rise to power opened up an era of corruption the magnitude of which has never been seen before – e.g. populist policies, conflict of interests in businesses, tax evasion, undisclosed share holdings, and money laundering. So how does Thailand move forward? Your guess is as good as mine! But for Thailand's sake, let common sense prevail!

Aliens

Stephen Hawking believes that, based on the sheer number of planets that scientists know must exist, we are not the only life-form in the universe. Most of us may not realize it but there are billions and billions of stars in our galaxy alone, with, it is feasible to expect, an even greater number of planets orbiting them. And it is not that far-fetched to expect some of the alien lifeforms to be intelligent, and capable of interstellar communication. So, when someone with Hawking's knowledge of the universe advises against contact, it's worth listening, isn't it?

In fact, just the other day, he was speaking about alien lifeforms. Hawking was advising that mankind should avoid contact with aliens because the consequences would be both devastating and ruinous. "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," warned the astrophysicist. Viewers of his Discovery Channel program, “Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking” were told “Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they can reach".

On the probability of alien life existing, he says: "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.

The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like."

Maybe so, Hawking – but to me, it is more interesting to imagine what aliens might really look like! Hollywood itself has come up with so many ideas of what aliens might look like – and some of my favorite ones are shown below:

Did you know that in February 2008, NASA beamed the Beatles song, Across the Universe, across the universe? Pointing the telescopes in its Deep Space Network towards the north star, Polaris, astronomers played out their short cosmic DJ set, hoping that it might be heard by intelligent aliens during its 430-year journey to the star. Personally, I would prefer the Chris de Burgh song, A Spacemen Came Travelling:

Influential Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga makes her debut on Time's annual 100 Most Influential People in the World list for 2010, which includes one hundred assorted leaders, thinkers, heroes and artists. Better still, she clinched the top spot in the list of 25 stars.

Lady Gaga's entry featured a tribute from veteran popstar Cyndi Lauper, who described the former's lyrics as 'incredibly literary' and 'sophisticated'. Lauper wrote: "When I see someone like Gaga, I sit back in admiration... She isn't a pop act, she is a performance artist. She herself is the art."

She certainly deserves the accolade!

I was visiting http://magickriver.blogspot.com/ and came across these pictures, some of which I am reproducing here – simply because they are stunning and surreal! Enjoy...