What do people talk about at lunch? Depends on the ambiance and company, and oh!,what is served for lunch I guess. What comes in, has to come out, sooner or later. So far we've been blessed with fairly good dishes..except...well,sometimes there are occasional diarrhoea episodes...it's Malaysia, can't totally avoid it.
Welcome to our world.......
Hang around and find out what goes on in our minds . They call us eccentrics . Truth be told, we're just plain psycos...Should you find our humor dry, it's because we're all above 40 and menopausing. Hazidi, however, being a man and all, is Men-No-Pausing
YOU ROCK OUR WORLD.. ...INDEED YOU WERE A THRILLER...
Do you know that when you are lost, you will subconsciously move to make a whole round circle and end up where you started? Well, can't say it's an exception with our "Science and English back to Bahasa Malaysia". The verdict is out. Unlike the truth that is conveniently "out there", this verdict unfortunately is here and is here to stay. Read it in Bernama and inStar online Honestly, I'm contemplating whether to remove my whole uterus so that I will not give birth to a next generation that have to subject themselves to the failure of our education system.....
Here's a video on the announcement:
And here was the public response;
And THIS was MY RESPONSE :
(well, it was what I had in mind, until I realized that I am a woman..)
I cannot decide as to which was more traumatizing, the having to read the whole text above in order to try to comprehend the verdict to sticking to BM, or the reading between the lines or the verdict itself. Turned out, the failure of PPSMI is the failure of the teachers themselves to teach the subjects in English. Of course you cannot blame these teachers for they too were the product of our education system. How can you expect the blind to lead the blind, when you had the power to remove their cataract but chose not to. It makes you wonder though, weren't the people responsible for the birth of PPSMI suppose to look into this matter regarding the standard of English amongst teachers and settle that BEFORE embarking into PPSMI? What is the word I'm looking for here, ah yes.....foresight?
You can read what Mahathir's thoughts on this in the Star Online and in chedet. (But wait, wasn't he the one responsible for the emphasis of Bahasa Malaysia suatu ketika dahulu?) . In June 14 2009, Dr Chandra Muzaffar wrote an article in JUST, take a read in HERE
Here's the thing. This is the era of Science and Technology. The economy runs on technology for god's sakes. It's good that English Literature will be re-introduced because any knowledge, is an asset to a person, but isn't this goes to show that our government do not know where the priorities lie? We need world class Mathematicians (umm...even part time prostitutes cum mathematicians are welcomed in this dire need for expertise) and Scientists, more than we do Shakespears in this challenging millenium. Unless we are able to come up with our own technology, like Japan for example, and publish it into the proud Bahasa Malaysia (although those who understand English may not even need a translator, as, after all, most terminologi...I mean, terminologies were derived from "English word that had been tattooed an 'i' on their butts"), perhaps then, we can afford to be arrogant with Bahasa Malaysia. In the meantime, this arrogance is costing us in terms of the rat race towards technology excellence.
We did not send a poet to the moon, we sent a man of science there and don't even let me touch the topic of what it cost to get a spaceflight participant...oops...I mean an astraunaut to the moon. And let's not indulge on who benefited from that "Man on the moon" program. Point is, we sent the first Malaysian to the moon, a doctor, a man of science, not Pyan Habib or A. Samad Said, although there was a controversy of whether he should be called an astronaut, or cosmonaut or even a man for that matter. His manhood was questioned as evidenced by the circulating SMS that goes something like this; "Russians call him Cosmonaut, Americans call him Astronaut, Malaysians call him Gay-or-not". Okay, weren't you delighted that I digressed this time around?
Yes, the government sent a man to the moon, never mind the fact that he had to perform mysterious scientific experiment at the expense of the taxpayers ( I say mysterious because I cannot comprehend why "Sheikh Muszaphar performed experiments on board the International Space Station relating to the characteristics and growth of liver cancer and leukemia cells, the crystallisation of various proteins and microbes in space" - is it because we are sending our cancer patient to live on the moon? ) to allegedly inspire Malaysians of the next generation. So why is it that they are not consistent with keeping a high standard of Science and Mathematics to support this instigated inspiration?
And what does he meant by this statement ;
Untuk mendedahkan murid dengan istilah-istilah sains dan teknologi dalam bahasa Inggeris, elemen sains dan teknologi akan diserapkan dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran bahasa Inggeris.
What the fish does this mean? Let me translate this;
"In order to expose the students to Science and Technology terminologies, scientific elements will be incorperated into the English Language."
WTF?!! How can you incoperate scientific terminology into english if the article is a non scientific in nature? What, they're going to teach our children how to slip in some scientific terminology on "When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurlyburly's done. When the battle lost and won" (Macbeth Act 1, Scene I ). If you're going to put science into English, then why bother going to all that trouble when all you could have done is maintain Science in the english language?
I studied in UKM and if it is not for my parents' insistence and encouragement to read especially English books, then I would have become one of the students who cried in front of a reference book because they had to take extra time to read the dictionary in order to understand the content of the text in front of them. The same type of guys back in high school who love to tease people who speak English, calling them unpatriotic and what not. Guess who is having the last laugh braaaadddeeerrr.....
Indeed, this is a sad day for Malaysians. The people who do not put the trust in the system they help build ( or rather, destroyed), as evidenced by them sending their children to private schools ( I wonder on who's money), are the same people who insisted that we loose out on technology by setting a language barrier right across.
It's simple. What the government need to do is to invest in the education system. Make teaching an attractive if not lucrative profession. Send the existing Maths and Science teachers to courses (after all, that is what government sector is famous for...nothing gets done literarily because half the department had gone off for kursus) to enable them to teach in the English language. Only then, the PPSMI can succeed. You cannot run a program and brand it a failure when the failure came from your part, err....the part where you fail to manage.
The problem with governance, one tend to make a decision mainly to enable him to stay in power. When will they realize that one should not do what one need to do, rather, realize the right thing to do, and just do it. I know...it's wishful thinking....The matter has a simple solution, unfortunately, politics got the better of it...as always... (oh and err...my nagging ends here...the rabbit whole below was due to technical error and the lack of time to correct it..it's okay to exhale now..) ...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....
I have problems digesting Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Mainly because I think that a reverse Darwin would explain much more. A human is what he is conditioned to become, by his environment/situation he lives in. Judging by the appalling ongoing drama going on in Malaysian politics, not to mention the hoo haa in our parliament, it is only logical to think that human are indeed, going AI on this one, the reverse way, and I don't mean AI as in American Idol or Artificial Intelligence...(hint..hint...).
(N.B.Just a tip on medical before I proceed, since a thought occurred to me upon mentioning AI. Should your sons experience the insertion of anti-pyretics anal suppositories or even a thermometer shoved in through his asshole, and they somehow seem to not cry in fact enjoy it, unless you are okay with them being gay, I suggest you should start worrying then. I'm quite sure there are many other politicians who quietly enjoy their temperature taken from the rear end, it was AI who was unfortunately caught, oh wait! It was their sperms on that darn mattress that almost get caught but didn't due to some technicalities.... so I suppose until I have another reference to use, I suppose for now, AI will just have to do)
Now, back on track, why do I say humans, well, some, are fast evolving into apes? Well, read this and tell me the people responsible for this outrageous deed can be categorize as belonging to the homo sapien.
If this piece of news does not stir immense anger within you, most likely you too are experiencing the AI version of Darwin's Theory, and I beg you to go seek treatment before you hithirsutism.
Oh, and here's a true story. I had saved these links on Microsoft Words and ironically, could not find it this morning. The fifth time I looked, I saw the letters WTF, and it dawned to me, that that was how I felt at the moment I saved it. Really, I'm a scatter brain. Here, have a ball feasting your eyes upon these people who claim they care.
Taman Sinar Harapan is a place to care for the Mentally Special (Orang Kurang Upaya Akal), here are the objectives:
Oh well, we all know Malaysians are good at coming up with idea in order to create income from the loop holes. Don't you ever wonder where all the "DERMA" go to? Implementation is our number one problem. Oh, that and maintenance...I'm sure most of us can agree to agree on that this.
Here's theDasar OKU And here's the Expert Opinion regarding this matter... If that is not enough, I give you the Carta Organisasi of JKM. Very impressive indeed, got carta and all...reminded me of Kementerian Kesihatan days - "Everything looks alright until you dwell in them"
And here's the Selangor branch...getting hotter...
And if you have nothing better to do, feel free to bug them with questions, in HERE and HERE
Apparently, the e-mail received complaining about this incident came from "overseas". I don't think it was "Penang, or Sabah/Sarawak, Langkawi" kind of overseas, but I can't help but to wonder whether this, like most of the things that gets highlighted in Malaysia, is the work of some political chess play. I say that because, guess who stands at the top most of this JKM "Food Chain" ? Walla....I give you Shahrizat's Department...never saw her taking photos with any one of these naked OKU mental...hmm....not photogenic I presume...
Last but definitely not the least, here is my prediction of the Kementerian's (all that should be held accountable) response to crisis, besides the famous, or rather infamous utilization of what we call "The Point System" (it's wnen you get to point A and you will be pointed to point B, and so forth), this video is the standard response to crisis by any Kementerian; take a listen...........
I know that there are many controversies surrounding MJ while he was alive, and is still surrounding him in death. Apart from being a remarkable philanthropist, here is how I would love to remember MJ most...
One of my many passions, especially during my college years is sports. I tried my hands on most of the events and when I finally got bored with track events, I had a long term love affair with tennis. I remember getting up during the wee hour of the weekend mornings to play, till the noon sun looked down upon us, probably irritated that we were not intimidated by it's might, apart from going down again in the evening. Boys who were in queue used to get irritated because, by underestimating my passion for tennis, they tried to intimidate me, by purposely warming up just by the court hinting for me to quit, thinking I would be tired by the time they completed their warm up and stretches. I was not intimidated by the sun, (in our society, the darker a girl gets, the less the Mas Kahwin will become...so I was told) , so what made them think that I would get intimidated by them...
It took them a couple of occasions to understand, that I was there to stay. (and bloody hell not for any of them...). I remained the only girl on the tennis court for the next 2 years, which was frustrating for the boys in our "circle". They use to ask me, "when are you bringing some girls down here with you? Everyday it's just your face we are seeing, it's kind of boring" to which my standard reply was, "you guys are looking for love in all the wrong places. Try the pedicure manicure shops". ( what am I? A pimp?)
Most other girls thought I was nuts, they were probably right, mainly because I was stupid enough to burn my skin and risk not looking fair and pretty, apparently.( to which I have no regrets - what a waste of life, having beauty to dictate it). I could not care less. Besides, my boy friend back then was an Indian guy, (totally not into sports - I guess it's true that opposite attracts..only obviously not that long, because he became my ex), so he can't really complain can he? (In fact, if I were to recall, he was more unhappy about having to share me with tennis rather than the metamorphosis of my skin tone, from fairly fair, to, well, like a prawn just before it gets burnt on the BBQ fire). I'm sure he saw past my dark skin as I did his...(oh, but the tendency of being attracted to men with darker colored skin as a result of teenage reading of "Mills and Boons" (destructive pieces of literature) as an idea of the perfect man - tall, dark and handsome may not count as "tolerating color" can it? These books gives you the idea that men who are not tan are not manly. Hmm...maybe they are on to something there..People like George Clooney digs this, that is why most of his free time is spent sun bathing)
Perhaps it was because I was the only gal on the court, or maybe because I believe that grunting was only appropriate during sex, I don't know, but one thing I have never done, not even in any tournament, was to grunt to enhance performance. (and I'm no longer talking about sex now). Apparently, there are some professional tennis players out there who think passion on tennis court warrants the same kind of expression as passion for making babies.
What the hell am I rambling about, you ask me? Wait..I'm feeling intense and feel the need to perform at best here..ooohhhh...haaaaakkk aaaahhhhhh....uuhhhhhh...iiiihhhhhhhh, yessss...there you go, now I feel less tense...Where were we? Ah yes, well, it seems that there is a big hoo haa going on regarding "grunting" on court raised by International Tennis Association . Personally, I blame it on Moaning Monica (as in Selles, not Lewinsky....hmm....there's something about that name "Monica" that implies corpulation ....) Listen to her in this video if you don't believe me...(caution all the videos are PG 18)
If that was not forepl...I mean foul play, I don't know what else is....The distraction coming out of her mouth may cause a back hand to turned into a lob. Perhaps that was why she got stabbed, some time back, probably by some sadist inflicting pain when he was just about to have an orgasm from all that erotic play....who knows......here, take a peep if you have the patience...or the passion...
And then, Maria Sharapova took it to the next level, next pitch more precisely, by basically grunting in a pitch fit for the frequency even the animals can attain orgasm if they are into bestiality. For me though, the sounds she made jerked me back to the day of my internship at the Obstetric Labor room. Sounded more like she was going to give birth to a durian...if you're into self expression, in it's extreme manner, go ahead and listen to this woman play;
I mean, I can still understand Mc Enroe, at the age of 48,voicing out his opinion to the referee. After all, well, he did come from a free country that encourages free speech. Take a listen;
If we want to watch porn, this is the age of the AI, (err...as in Artificial Intelligence, we're not talking politics here so AI is not Anwar...although I must say it does tally though..) we will log in and watch porn. It's when we turn on to watch tennis, it's tennis that we would like to watch, minus the discomfort of an unintentional erection for some...I think these grunters should attend psychiatric treatment, just as McEnroe should attend Anger Management courses.
I've saved the best for last. If you've missed all the videos, perhaps this last one would be the one you should watch. It's Venus Williams vs Maria Sharapova, in a match of what I term as Sports Porn titled "Gran...I mean Grunt Masters" ....enjoy.....The tennis was just bonus...
Thank You all, for the kind words. Actually, whist attempting to cook with a preexisting injured middle finger, I accidentally cut my pointer finger with my favourite chef's knife (after sharpening it by the way) !! I know...shit happens. But sometimes, when shit happens, it makes one value what one loves most and is passionate about, yet take for granted. In my case, both cooking and writing!!. It's frustrating not to be able to do both....That's when I suspect, it was my sanity Karma was after..fingers were just the pawns...heh..heh...
It's frustrating to have all this ideas grumbling in my brains like bad leftover curry from Devi's Corner, grumbling in one's tummy, yet I can't type it down...(oh yes...suddenly we all forget how to write things down since the invention of notebook. Problem with writing, sometimes my idea comes in quantum bulks and when i write fast, the next time i refer back to my notes, I find that i can't read my own handwriting!!! I use to get my nurse to do that for me...It's lame, I know..)
Anyway, fingers are getting so much better and healing well..I shall resume writing sometime soon. I shall be back..with a vengeance!! Thank You again, mainly for having the patience to read my rubbish!!
I know I've posted this video before, but I just love this song, and what better way of saying thank you than to express it through melody and lyrics..Again, thank you..mmmmmmuuuuuuuaaaah!!.
I was just telling my daughter yesterday evening, during our evening walk, that I much prefer Michael Jackson's version of "Beat It" rather than the latest from the Fall Out Boys. I proceeded to brag that Michael Jackson is a living legend already. And today, he's dead. At 50, it's a shocking news. More shocking than our kids discovering that Michael Jackson was actually African American....
I grew up singing and dancing (hey, I can still do the Moon Walk...) to Michael Jackson's song. In fact, my first debut in school talent time, I sang "Ben" (a Chip Monk version of it come to think of it today)- don't ask...
It's shocking to learn about the death of one of the most talented artist ever to grace the music industry. 50 is comparatively a young age to die. Then again, when death calls, there's no stopping. At least tax, as sure as death, we still get to procrastinate or even evade.....never know how much someone means to you until they are gone. Filthy habit really, when we should actually appreciate each other when we are alive. "Dead men don't talk"..or something like that, I recall a friend quoting from the Quran...so if we want to express something to each other, might as well we do it when everyone is alive....
MJ is one of the few artists that I would drop everything just to see him perform. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.
Here's to Michael Jackson, I love you when you're black, and then white..or when you were confused somewhere in between...and with your cute Afro hair. May your soul rest in peace...finally...
For those who want to know MJ, this is the song, according to Jackson, that defines him.....
And here's one that showed his journey through time....enjoy...
It's God's way in telling me to take a break from blogging.....and also a form of karma, a message telling me to stop abusing the middle finger....err....on the road...
My personal view would be to "Need a man because you love him, and not to love a man because you need him". To all the ladies and gentlemen out there..."Have faith and your wishes will flower".....
Of course this is a Mat Salleh view..but I guess all men and women are basically the same when it comes to relationships. So here, have a blast reading this!!! Love Expert Reveals
I have seen many cases of broken marriages , or just about on the way there, ending up on my patient's chair finishing my tissue supply. Unsurprisingly, majority are women. I reckon men have the same emotional problem, but different manifestation (like coming in with "failure to launch" problem hoping to get viagra, presumably to use for purpose of patching up the marriage). That, and basically men and women respond differently to a midlife crisis or a failed marriage or just crisis.
Whilst women are easily diagnosed,more often coming in with symptoms like headache (that sounded more like a heartache),or a racing heartbeat,(that is so like when you think you bumped into George Clooney except it felt like perimenopausal palpitations), or when they come in with eyes that looked like they have not bags, rather a runaway luggage beneath the lower eyelids, bound for Zimbabwe), men are a little tough to diagnose,for basic reasons that most men are emotional retards,(so no in touch with the feminine side...whatever that crap is..) they cannot grasp their own feelings, let alone comprehend the feelings of their partner. Midlife crisis to a man can manifest in a form of positivity like indulging into spirituality and religion, to coming in with a ridiculous (because it was on them) looking cowboy boots and leather jacket popping in for a jift to restock viagra whilst a hot babe with boobs bigger than Alley Cat's hair awaits on the Harley Davidson outside the clinic)
The bigger difference between how a man and a woman handle crisis would be admitting that there is a crisis. Whilst women would sit at home and cry buckets over not even a Petronas ad, most men would respond to a marital problem, by creating new ones. (Alas! It was a man who came up with the "buy one get another free" concept.) This one, I cannot for the life of me understand. Then again, I'm a woman and I only have one head and need not compete with another for the total body blood supply.
I remember having a little discussion with my girl friend who said, "men cannot differentiate between glass and diamond". I begged to differ saying,"It's not that men do not know how to differentiate between glass and diamond, it's just that with glass, the possibility of it breaking is much higher, and that would give them a big fat excuse to replace it. Diamond on the other hand, lasts forever. Can you imagine how boring that would be to most men?"
Well, whatever it is, I've listened to more heartbreaks to make me run back to Acute & Emergency department. At least there, bones are the ones that get broken the most, and broken bones are fixable....much simpler than a broken heart.
Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you,
PahNur's top 10 "Wrong reasons to get hitched, in a Putrajaya-precinct order" :(based on clinical experience and opinion not fact checked)
1.. Getting married for the heck of it. Well, everyone else is doing it and you just want to fit into society.
2.Getting married because it is in the plan. This is especially true with women. Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Ticks the biological clock! I had a friend who broke up with her boyfriend because he did not propose on schedule...her schedule. Pssst... true love does not fall according to plans, didn't anyone ever tell you that? Besides, you can't choose who you love...Men on the other hand, is about timing. I can't help but recall Miranda's line in "Sex and the City" ;
"Men are like cabs, when their available their light goes on. They awake one day and decide their ready to settle down, have babies, whatever, and they turn their light on. Next woman they pickup, boom, that' the one they'll marry. It's not fate, it's dumb luck."
3. Getting married thinking you can change each other after that. Oscar Wilde once said;
"Men marry because they are tired, women because they are curious; both are disappointed." He should have been born in California in the Californication age where gay marriage is legal..I personally think gay marriages will last longer. Both men were tired...
4. Married mother's choice. During Captain Cavemen age, perhaps they may last, but in this FaceBook age...puuuh-leeeezzzzzz...Next thing you know the wife will be sleeping with the kids and hubby will be busy "working" on the net.
5. Marry as a business contract. The marriage of two family of financial giants emerging into one. If there is anything a marriage is, it's a contract of love, full stop.
6. Marrying, thinking if anything goes wrong, there's always polygamy to resort to. I'm tired of talking about polygamy.
7. Marrying thinking it's the end of a journey...stop trying to impress and relax...start taking your spouse for granted...that's when the beginning of and end begins..My parents have been married for the last...well, as far as I can remember. I remember them sneaking out on a date on regular basis every once a week, leaving us with trustworthy baby sitters. They are 70ish now,and they do not need to sneak out anymore, they still go on dates, and are still caught holding hands whilst crossing the road. Once, I caught them doing it....okay...it's too gross, subject change!! I mean it's sweet that at that age, they are still ..you know...doing it..but it's gross to imagine your own parents making another sibling..yukh!!
8. Marrying for the right reasons to the wrong person.( So, I'm going on a tangent...I'm struggling to complete this list, give me a break!!) If one is looking for a soul mate, start looking into the soul, and stop staring at the boobs. As for women, well, most women are just happy to even get married. (False sense of security)
9. Marrying to legalize sex. Hello! Ever heard of test driving a car before purchasing it?!! Another form is what I believe people call polygamy; a hypocritical method of legalizing sex.
10. You tell me.....
I leave you with a lovely song about love. If you can truly decipher the lyrics, just maybe, you and your significant other may just make it all the way.....(I highly recommend listening to full song and lyrics)
If ever there was a competition of speeches, this one would score an A++ (if I am the one to grade them of course). It's humble, it's well researched, it's full of humility and humanity and it's non biased. But above all, it's inspiring. It has been a long time (since bloody Bush actually) since we've heard comforting words from a leader from a powerful nation, that comes in this speech package. It's brilliant if you were to ask me. It's exactly what the world needed to hear to get us by this depressing and glum era of morality and humanity, not to mention economy. If this is feeding us with rhetoric, then indeed this it fine dining. Except for the "Hijab" part, which he pronounced it as "Hajib", luckily bears no offensive meaning in the Arab language, (otherwise he would have gotten the WMD uncovered from the feet of a certain journalist) he delivered the speech without the indication that he has had help from any notes etc, convincing people that it came from his heart, not from his ...well,whatever it is they call that gadget that aid delivering speeches.
Whether this speech will materialize in the future to come, remains to be seen. Even if it ends up a fairy tale, at least we got to enjoy the speech, rather than having to listen to a rotten one, with the same outcome. So far, Obama had been onto whatever he had said he has set out to do. "Words, must mean something", I remember him saying when he announced that America will work towards leading a world without nuclear weapons, in response to North Korea's obstinate launch of it's first nuclear missile. No threats of sanction at that time, as predicted. Unlike Iran, a nation rich in oil and natural gas ( I heard they eat a lot of spices that's why), North Korea, the last time I checked is not a member of OPEC, nor does it produce any oil without the membership. It would be so unbecoming since even we have at least a Jaya Jusco membership card to flash. Lucky in a way because you can die from genocidal war or build nuclear weapons, so long as you don't have oil, no one really gives a fish...in a way, that is good and safe for the country.
Whilst some may say "He should not have sounded too authoritative as though he's giving the nation a lecture" , which by the way is exactly what all politician around the world actually needed (wait, most of them needed two tight slaps each, except for Bloody Bush and co. - they all deserve 5 each), at least he did not hide behind the curtain of hypocrisy and pretended that there is no huge elephant peeing Tapai water in the room. Instead, he uncovered the big elephant, or rather elephants, and inspired people to put behind differences and concentrate to nurture our similarities towards removing the darn elephants, ergo achieving common basic human goals of prosperity, with dignity, morality and humanity. (Fuck the pain the oligarchies a.k.a. "the silent government" via multi-bureaucracies powered by the CIA especially, had cost throughout the history of American leadership in maintaining world order under the white supremacy governance because hey, I'm Black remember? Just like you, I come from generations of the oppressed, said Obama)
Frankly, Obama is smart enough to decipher that ties between US and the Arab world, especially the members of OPEC is vital in order to prevent these countries to get together and do oil trading in Euro. That will REALLY further screw up the USD, which by the way is given more value than it actually deserves. But that is of course yet another story. Well, until US can become independent from oil whilst awaiting for technology in energy production to soar.
For a man who restrained his people, including himself to travel via private jets in order to prevent detachment from the public ergo the inability to decipher their daily problems,amongst other things, I believe this man has a genuine and sincere leadership quality in him. Err....just in case you think I'm talking about Bloody Bush, I'm not. No one is talking about that moron anymore. Even Jay Leno had left the "Tonight show with Jay Leno". Sorry.....you don't speak Greek either? Here try this link ; "Tonight Show with Jay Leno", because since Obama took office, and Bush Jr went back to to Texas, COMEDY HAD DIED. Then again, whether he can overcome obstacles from "people with certain interests" in order to execute his vision, remains to be witnessed.
My only suspicion and worry is that he would be assassinated JFK style ( you know, the part where no one knows who did it hitherto, and we are left with conspiracy theories) and the world will go back to being uninspired. His policy towards less dependency on oil itself may instigate worry amongst influential people like the Seven Sisters for instance and no good news normally comes out of that by far. The closure of Guantanamo Bay is another issue that may upset certain inferential people. But let's all enjoy his speeches before contemplating such evil plot to occur. Come to think of it, sometimes, a speech or a work of someone will shoot up to fame even more so if he ended up dying tragically...Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, Ghandi , Heath Ledger and many more. I think people like Adflin Shauki, and Yasmin Ahmad needs to get assassinated in order to regain a higher level of recognition that they deserve than what the public is giving them today. God forbid!! It's just a thought.....a dumb one...
For those who are the visual type, here's the video and for those who like to scrutinize the text and attempt reading in between the lines, I've provided the full text after the video. I will highlight some things that I want to comment later, to maintain reading without prejudice.
I will highlight the text that I feel interesting and leave a footnote (in bold blue) adjacent to it, should anyone care to listen to my 2cents worth of opinion. (Click onto the link below to venture into the rabbit hole full of Obama's text, and my contribution to raping the text to enable us to read in between the lines)
THE TEXT OF SPEECH
I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum. (This is why the speech is not delivered in Malaysia because some Muslims will find this offensive thinking the word "assalamualaikum" is exclusively for Muslims only, when all it means is "Peace be upon you". He was applauded in Cairo for this. It goes to show he respects the culture of Muslim. Well, he could have said "Yo peeps" and still get away with it, but he didn't right?)
We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world - tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims.(smart. He acknowledges that Muslim/Islam is not a synonym to terrorism) The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians (failed to acknowledge that these extremists and terrorists were sponsored and trained by the CIA. Remember that war in Afganistan where Americans used Osama bin Ladin, CIA trained, to shoo away the Russians? Oh wait, Hillary did that already, click HERE To view speech) has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.
So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. (you mean the state funded fundamentalism and terrorism?)This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.
I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. (only war can be made to do that) No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point.(Bush Sr and Jr can answer a lot) But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. (And here comes the interesting part...)As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do - to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.(aaaah...poetry to my ears..) Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. (it's ok. We understand that it's political suicide to admit your father was a Muslim. Irony is, your leadership is more Muslim than some of the actual Muslim leader..hhhuhhh) As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.
(The boot licking starts. Arabs just love to be praised..then again, which nation does not?) As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam - at places like Al-Azhar University - that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.
I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims." And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Koran that one of our Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson - kept in his personal library.
So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.
(Aha! Now catch em boys by the balls...) But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known.(and yet, with all that great progress, Osama bin Ladin is still unable to be captured and now is sitting in the caves in Afganistan, organizing terrorist attacks via the greatest internet and phone accesses that is definitely is not Streamyx). We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words - within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one."(I am so going to plagiarise this in the future)
Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. (Big deal..In Malaysia, not much has been made of the fact that a Circassian-Malay with the name Hussein Onn was elected PM. His son even goes around waving the Keris to prove a point, dunno what, and still, not much has been made of that fact, unless you're wearing all black of course)But my personal story is not so unique. (well, duuuuhhhh....). The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, (ouch! you got us there) but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average. (eleh...here we have NEP for Muslims, no need to work at all pun tak pe, still can enjoy free income..we make sure the poor, mistakenly synonym for Malays only, look successful by suppressing others who are non Muslim..but actually in reality, NEP is screwing the Malays in an indirect way...but long story lah...you continue je dulu)
Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.
So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations - to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.
Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people.(obviously you've not heard of "Malaysia Boleh!!".)These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.
For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. (Damn Wall Street and useless bail outs!!). When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings.
This is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes subjugating one another to serve their own interests. (ah yes, the food chain with the Superpowers at the top) Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. (are you talking about us? ). So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. (This guy knows about the May 13th threat! Isn't he amazing?!!). Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.
That does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite: we must face these tensions squarely. And so in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.
The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.
In Ankara, I made clear that America is not - and never will be - at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security. (how about acknowledging and putting an end to state sponsored terrorism and CIA funded fundamentalism?)Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.
The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaeda and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice, we went because of necessity. ( necessity to clean up the mess CIA made upon funding Taliban? ). I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. (but your best pal Israelis killed more than that and they get away with it right? Why is American lives viewed more valuable than the lives of these Palestinians?) The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale.(but..but...you guys trained them to become what they are today..they can't help getting bored after Russia left Afganistan..) They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. (are we talking about the silent government running America now?). These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.
Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can.( I know it is not your fault nor the fault of the American people, rather, a certain powerful bunch of greedy people, running your country by proxy, but can you blame the extremists for wanting to do so?) But that is not yet the case.
That's why we're partnering with a coalition of forty-six countries. (should have kept it at nineteen. It's luckier). And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths - more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few.(unfortunately, there's nothing enduring about the sects that one billion people had managed to create)Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace. (if only some of these Muslims comply to the real teaching of Islam..we have yet to be at peace with amongst ourselves...sigh...)
We also know that military power alone is not going to solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who have been displaced. And that is why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend upon. (here's a tip Mr President sir, I think you'd better keep an eye on those rascals handling the big money. It won't surprise me one bit if that money fail to reach the people in need. I believe it's called corruption sir...but in Malaysia it's only called "money politics" , no..no..it's not corruption this "money politics" according to our incumbent government)
Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein,(and it took more deaths to install democracy in Iraq than the death caused by Saddam Hussein for America to conclude that this is better for the Iraqi people) I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.( and what a painful reminder it was - in a form of surplus in Iraqi reserve worth a couple of billion dollars, whilst America was forking out money to support this war...isn't it ironic...don't you think?). Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: "I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be."(Obviously Bush Sr and Junior had dozed off during history lessons)
Today, America has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq forge a better future - and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. (and yet it was postulated that Iraq would be better off without Saddam Hussain...err...they are without leader now....ever heard of a contigency plan?) I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or resources. (ah well, there's no more resources left to claim anyway after people like Cheney got their hands on the ...what was it called again? Oil? Oh that was just the bonus..getting Saddam out of a job was the real deal...hooray! Saddam is dead..err....what now?). Iraq's sovereignty is its own. That is why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. (and that is why I love you...muamuah...). That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all our troops from Iraq by 2012. We will help Iraq train its Security Forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner, and never as a patron.
And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.
So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable.(it shows by the way Israel run the world by proxy) It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied. (well, I have to agree with this. Click here ,here ,and here and oh what the heck, here...to understand, or not, how it all begin...)
Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed (psssssttt..Mr President, there are rumors that said the numbers are marked up...I think you'd better check it) - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.
On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.
That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities.
Palestinians must abandon violence.(and Israelis should stop instigating it) Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. (yeah..we saw Kunta Kinte tortured in "Roots"). But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. (In Tanah Melayu, Malays lied to the British, read what Zahid Ibrahim said HERE ,or from my lead,WALSKI. Hey, but thats what almost all politicians do best right? Lie?) It's a story with a simple truth:that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.(hhhhhhaa) Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas (Hamas...sounds familiar..isn't it that group funded by Mossad as 'counterbalance to the PLO'? Or was it funded by CIA as implicated by Webster Griffin Tarpley in his book "9/11 ; Synthetic Terror made in USA". Smells like fish yet?) does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.(Oh he is so going to get assassinated) Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.
Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.
America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. (Previously we installed peace unto a country by instigating war to outsted the nasty leader but let us let bygones be Bush-gone)We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. (The US is running it by proxy, of course it will never go away. Only the bloody Germans recognize that the Jews made them go to WW1, but got buggered before they could make that Hitler engage into WW2 for them). Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.
Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them)(there it is...to show that he understands Islam - smart) joined in prayer.
The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.
This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is indeed a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically-elected Iranian government.(wow..it takes strength to avow this fuck up!!). Since the Islamic Revolution, (CIA funded of course but syyyyyy..it works all the time....). Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known. Rather than remain trapped in the past, I have made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build.
It will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, (and who's bloody fault is that?) but we will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. (it took so long to realise that economic sanctions don't work, damn that China!! Why can't they play along! So it's time for diplomacy, hope this one works) But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path. (and it is safer in the hands of America, the Israelis and the other white supremacists , but hey, I'm black..)
I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. ( well duuuuuhhhhh). No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. (you are so asking for it Mr President. You do realise no one knows who did JFK don't you?). And any nation - including Iran - should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.
The fourth issue that I will address is democracy. (NOW THIS ISSUE IS ACTUALLY DEDICATED TO MALAYSIAN POLITICIANS ACTUALLY)
I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.
That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.
There is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments - provided they govern with respect for all their people.
This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. (hmmm....siapa makan the chili, dia lah yang akan merasakan pedasnya sampai ke anus semasa cili dikeluarkan melalui najis..melainkan mereka mereka yang mengenakan suntikan botox untuk rawatan annal fissure....) No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent,(or money politics, which incidentally is not seen as corruption in Malaysia Boleh Belaka land...it's ALL in the definition people...) not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.(you said it Mister!! Now, say it slower to those imbeciles running Malaysia, who did not get it the first time. Parlez lentement, merci beaucoup monsier president)
The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom. (HO HO HO!!!! THIS ONE'S FOR JAKIM, JAIS dan penyeri penyeri syurga yang sewaktu dengannya)
Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.
Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of another's. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld - whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.
Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat. (can anyone imagine Bush saying this?)
Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. (you go guyyyyy!!). We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.
Indeed, faith should bring us together. That is why we are forging service projects in America that bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into Interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action - whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.
The sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights. (women? oh you mean those non blow up sex toys, handy to run the household and sit at home and fast, to save money, and just say yes to men? Those creatures should't even be allowed to drive!!!)
I know there is debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.
Now let me be clear: issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. (In Pakistan, the woman president was EQUALLY corrupted too..). Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.
Our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons, and our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity - men and women - to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal, (well, we women chose not to pee straight..coz that gadget to enable to pee straight is mostly the roots of most things that are evil.....tricky, that gadget..) and I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice. That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim-majority country to support expanded literacy for girls, and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams. (what about wet dreams? Will that be sponsored too?)
Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity.
I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information, but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence. Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities, but also huge disruptions and changing communities. In all nations - including my own - this change can bring fear. Fear that because of modernity we will lose of control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly our identities - those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith.
But I also know that human progress cannot be denied. (yeah, the part where we are all progressing counter-Darwinism way...evolving into apes rather than the other way round). There need not be contradiction between development and tradition. Countries like Japan and South Korea grew their economies while maintaining distinct cultures. (those famous Japanese fetishes...are those culture, or price of development? Just wondering...). The same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim-majority countries from Kuala Lumpur(ah yes..we've made progress in crime lab whereby we need to transport the whole matress in order to testify the semen in court) to Dubai. In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education.
This is important because no development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground, nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work. Many Gulf States have enjoyed great wealth as a consequence of oil, and some are beginning to focus it on broader development. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century, and in too many Muslim communities there remains underinvestment in these areas. I am emphasizing such investments within my country. And while America in the past has focused on oil and gas in this part of the world, we now seek a broader engagement. (and the Seven Sisters cringes..."You are so dead Mr President..We've got waaaays of getting whatth we wanttthhhh").
On education, we will expand exchange programs, and increase scholarships, like the one that brought my father to America, while encouraging more Americans to study in Muslim communities. (yes, study how Tapai is actually not alcohol..and how to breastfeed your working colleagues into Muhrims....very complex chemistry and psychology that one...) And we will match promising Muslim students with internships in America; invest in on-line learning for teachers and children around the world; and create a new online network, so a teenager in Kansas can communicate instantly with a teenager in Cairo. (aren't they already communicating on Skype, My Space and Facebook?)
On economic development, we will create a new corps of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim-majority countries. And I will host a Summit on Entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim-majority countries, and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create jobs. We will open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and appoint new Science Envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, and grow new crops. And today I am announcing a new global effort with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health.
All these things must be done in partnership. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments; community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.
The issues that I have described will not be easy to address. But we have a responsibility to join together on behalf of the world we seek - a world where extremists no longer threaten our people, and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own, and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes; a world where governments serve their citizens, and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek. But we can only achieve it together.
I know there are many - Muslim and non-Muslim - who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division, and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort - that we are fated to disagree, and civilizations are doomed to clash. Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith, in every country - you, more than anyone, have the ability to remake this world.
All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort - a sustained effort - to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.
It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is also one rule that lies at the heart of every religion - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples - a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown; that isn't Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the heart of billions. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today.
We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written.
The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."
The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."
The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.
She looked at me in what seemed to have been the longest lingering stare. Those eyes, gentle and sad. I watched as the color of life insidiously left her skin. Lying down on the hospital bed looking very frail. She muttered something softly. "Is my son here yet", and as though she was struggling to muster the energy to finish her sentence, resumed,"doctor?"
A question I dreaded answering. I pretended to be very busy checking her vitals and avoided eye contact for a moment. "It's a peak traffic hour auntie. I'm sure he'll be here as soon as he can. You just sit back and relax. Don't worry. I'm here. How's the pain? It should be better. I've just upped you morphine. You should feel better soon".
Eye lids half shut, she muttered,"You are so kind doctor. Thank you". I had a lot of work to do that day, but I had decided to just spend some extra time with Mrs Lim. She was such a polite and sweet soul. Most of the time, when faced with such circumstances, I find myself unable to decide what mode of sentiments should I be in. Should I be angry? With who? God? Destiny? Why do good people die? Why can't cancer hit all those dreadful souls, there are many of them out there, those corrupted people. Why don't give them cancer? Why these good souls? More often, I was just angry with cancer for being blind.
She moved as I adjusted her pillows, for she looked uncomfortable with her head tilted to one side for a long time. Eyes suddenly rolled about their sockets, as though she resented the fact that she had wasted a few minutes dozing off, she asked me again,"Is my son here yet?". She must have thought she had fallen into slumber for quite some time now.
"You just get that rest Auntie Lim. I promise to wake you up the moment your son comes. I won't go anywhere, I'm just going to sit here" and continued in my mind screaming,"where the fuck are your useless sons anyway?!!"
I've made a couple of calls only to have the voice machine spoke to me. I left a message, "Mr Lim, please come to the hospital as soon as possible. Your mother is dying." . Mrs Lim was more than just a patient to me. She was Mrs Lim, a person I had come to know fairly well in the course of the treatment of her cancer. I know that she was a former teacher turned home maker after she got married to a wealthy man. They were blessed with two sons. I know that she embraced Buddhism yet kept her mind open about other religions.
We used to chat about how simple religion is and that humans make them complicated with their own agenda, or came up with the theory that Sidharta Ghautama Buddha may have been one of the Muslim's many prophets, whilst examining her, whilst I secured her intravenous branula, or check her for bed sores. She was skin and bones and the last thing I want is to have whatever little flesh she had, be eaten by bed sores.
The little time that I was permitted to spend on one patient, I made full use of it on Mrs Lim. Her wisdom attracted me like a magnet. I would wake up early every morning to get to work so that I would create some extra time to sit and chat with her. She used to tell me, in that aristocratic way of speaking, "No matter how successful you are in your career, make a point to spend quality time with your children. I use to be very busy attending functions with my husband when I was young. I regret having missed the time when my boys grew up. Their nanny is their mother. "
Diagnosed with final stage lung cancer, there was nothing much we can do except take one symptom at a time and try to make her as comfortable as possible. I noticed sometimes that her sons would come at odd hours to visit, hardly at the same time. He would sit by her, politely nodding at whatever it is that she muttered under her breath. She was weak and was getting weaker by the day. Watching her die a slow death, I felt helpless, not being able to reverse that. There were times when I dreaded attending to cancer patients. Not because I don't care, it was just that it could become emotionally taxing for me. The part where I know after all the bondings, my cancer patient will inevitably die, and I will live to pick up the pieces. The only way I could help was to ensure they die as gracefully as possible. The only way I could secure my sanity, was to learn how to not get affected, which was one of the toughest thing to do.
"Doctor,", Mrs Lim's voice sounded distance,yet strong enough to jerk me back to the present moment. She was now struggling to finish her sentence. "my son".
"He just called me 5minutes ago. He's on his way. There's a massive traffic jam in Jalan Ipoh. Some lorry overturned. He'll get here as soon as he can." I had to lie and I hate lying. At that moment, I had brilliant and creative ideas on how to strangle her sons.
Then I knew. I just knew. That it was time. I felt no drift of air caressing my skin or making the hair at the back of my neck stand. Nor were there any white light embracing the woman lying down in the bed, looking extremely jaded. All I could see was life leaving Mrs Lim. She had signed the document rejecting any active intervention to be performed on her. It was her wish, and we had to honor it. So I sat there, beside her, holding her right hand that was slowly becoming less warmer. I felt totally helpless and at the mercy of destiny. I had to say something to make her feel good. "Jimmy told me to tell you, that he loves you very much. And Eric said that you're the best mom anyone could have. I spoke to them earlier" I was not sure whether she had heard what I was babbling, but I saw a little smile that crept up the corner of her mouth as she surrendered herself to death.
"Doctor, ......you're so kind......thank you......" and with that last words, she exhaled her last breath, leaving me staring ahead into an abyss of frustrations. I felt touched but no tears came by me. I did not feel sad that she had gone, for I have a good hunch that she had gone to a better place. Somewhere she will never feel the pain again. And just like that, Mrs Lim was gone, leaving me with words that would haunt me for the rest of my life. That is why I feel the need to return to the hospital in the future. There are important things that I have to settle at the present moment, so I will resume working in the private sector for a while. When they're all settled, I hope to go back. There are many more Mrs Lims who needs me there.
And for just that simple word, "Thank you"......
No, thank you Mrs Lim for reminding me why I took that oath.....
There's humor everywhere, if you care to indulge in your environment. Take time to smell the coffee before sipping it!! Life is boring when you don't have a sense of humor to get you by. I wonder how those people resolved to have botox knowing that they will never be able to smile or laugh looking like a normal human being again. Here, look at the pictures below and give your sense of humor a chance to shine through (just in case you have had no time to grab the local papers and read them that is).
Here are some photos that I find amusing. I'm glad that despite my crazy job, I still have the ability to experience humor in many forms. Being Malaysian, we are blessed with understanding humor in multiracial form. Below: Don't worry, I checked. No rats were harmed in the making of this evening dress. Here's something that made me wonder, the same way I wonder about Islamic Cars, and PUSRAWI (Pusat Rawatan Islam)....What does it mean really? Only Muslims can use it? Or have Islam been so well preached that even the book had decided by itself to convert into Islam. "6 Sha'aban 1430 Hijrah. Temujanji dengan Mr Uthner dari German - Continental Tyres. Jangan lupa untuk periksa bila 6 Sha'aban jatuh atas calender omputeh" Notice how "teh tarik kurang manis" despite the lack of sugar content, is still charged as though there is sugar in it? It's either these flers are smart at making money, or just suck at marketing. If one can still read what the sign says, he can still go for another round of that oily roti canai and the tosey and the teh tarik (yummmmmmmyyyyy) before the onset of retinopathy (that's complication of the eyes due to diabetes...sigh...it's so not funny when one has to explain her own jokes) Below : I saw this sign on the side table of a hotel we stayed in Kuantan.....err.....I thought there are many other things we do in bed apart from smoking that endangers our lives, including the consequences of getting caught by JAKIM and die of embarrassment when our faces appear in front page of "Harian Metro" (for these type of story to appear in front page, I truly believe that the paper should rename itself to "Hairan Metro" because we hairan why people still hairan that fornication is perennial...duuuh...). Actually smoking in hotel beds are hazardous for hotel management. Smoking is just hazardous to the the smoker and the passive smokers, full stop. I would have redone the sign as below:
"Smoking anywhere endangers your life...not to mention others' , you selfish prick"
or perhaps a sign that says;
"Smoking endangers your life, unless you do the Clinton and do not inhale. Smoking endangers the lives of your loved ones, unless you do not exhale"
Above:
Apart from wondering why the precinct in Putrajaya is not in sync, take a look at the sign board below. Isn't 8 somewhere between 7 - 9 ? How difficult is it to count from 1 to 10, can someone tell me that? Even my nieces and nephews can count backwards from 10 - 1. Must have been some crony company that had produced this signage. In Malaysia, it is alright to pass through secondary school thinking Ilmu Hisab has got something to do with the knowledge you get from Hugh Hefner's encyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology, but as long as you belong to a crony, you can get away with "buta angka"and still make it in the entrepreneur world, landing good government contracts, as evidenced by the sign here.
Below: This vehicle should be put into the ISA immediately!!! It's seditious, no doubt about that!!! How can they say the Bumi's are pests!!! Outrageous !!! One of my patient's name. I wonder what name he should name his son? Can someone tell me why is it I thought about "One Malaysia",(the propaganda version of it),the moment my eyes caught sight of this taxi? It's always about "the strings attached" isn't it? No, it's not optical illusion, nor a new breed of cicaks. This cicak is red in color. No, it's not having the Michael Jackson syndrome; singing "Black and White" to promote racial equality, then turn around and bleached himself white as though he's got some problems being black. This cicak took a dip overnight in the glass full of Ribena. It would be a mystery though, should the tip of his nose was red too. And I love this sign I saw posted at the side mirror of a Satria. No need to elaborate. It's so self explanatory... Nothing like putting your butt onto the toilet bowl and doing some reading while waiting for your last meal to come out of the system. My favourite quote: "Public toilets in Malaysia is not as much a perennial problem, as it is, peri-anal"I posted this simply because the guy in that pic very much resembled my uncle, four years my senior. We are very close since childhood. He told me he's doing his own business. When I saw this in Redang Island, I knew I should have asked him exactly what business is he into. I'm beginning to wonder , is he telling me everything? Hmm.... Last but not least, don't be shy to act nuts anytime you feel like it. Keep that inner child alive !!! (even though the butt keeps reminding you, otherwise)
I was having a good time getting a foot massage from George Clooney (well, it use to be Brad Pitt but I'm no home breaker) when I was rudely awoken by a loud bang that did not sound like the usual Friday night bangs coming from a couple living in the 24 hours mamak restaurant workers' room across the clinic, where my on-duty room is situated, back to back. I rushed out of my room just in time to catch glimpse of a car speeding away with it's tires screeching , like in the scene from "Starsky and Hutch", only more like "Husky and Starch" really.
Apparently, my nurse's car was hit by a car driven by juveniles. It was two sodding thirty A bloody M for God's sakes!! Why can't they just be normal boys and hang out at the clubs doing some break dancing, or crumping or shuffling or whatever it is normal boys with raging testosterone do on Friday nights!! One of the boys swung by earlier to purchase an asthma inhaler (well at least we now know that "exertion" is one of his asthma trigger factor) , before he was later seen with a long stick about to join a brawl.
According to my nurse, whom upon witnessing a couple more boys armed with parangs and baseball bats ran to hide in the clinic, these boys are the usual kids loitering around the area till wee hours of the morning without any purpose. It seems that most of them were former tuition mates, who had failed their SPM , some twice, fallen into two opposing gangs, and were having some kind of disagreement. ( I'm sure it's over a female, unless proven otherwise..these kind of boys don't usually use their brains, in anticipation of selling them later thinking under utilization of brains may lead to better second hand value, and normally resort to utilizing "the other head" instead, you know, the one that when used will give others an actual headache?). They come from a very wealthy background. A hooligan is a hooligan, wealthy or otherwise. In fact, I can relate more to hooligans coming from poor background, because they have lesser opportunities in life. What excuse can a wealthy hooligan come up with? Boredom?
I am still wondering whether it was the consequence of Hishamuddin's action of waving the Keris (owing him the nickname "Krishamuddin", not as glamorous as Brangelina or TomKat but, well, it's all in the spirit of Malaysia Boleh Belaka) that got even the pemuda non UMNO into this violent mode, or whether they got this idea that it is hype to wave onto people's faces objects of primitive weapons like parangs, from the Indonesian workers, or perhaps Hishamuddin got the idea from the Indonesian workers, I have absolutely no idea currently. Either way, someone should tap their shoulders to inform them that there are less messier ways, like sending a pig infected with H1N1 to do the job for instance.
I post these picture of car damage for your perusal :
Looking at the extent of damage done by these adolescents, I am more angrier with the parents who seemed to be oblivious regarding the whereabouts and the activities of their kids. What are these boys doing every night, loitering without any purpose in life, till morning? Don't these parents comprehend that "An idle mind is a devil's workshop"? ( you can imagine what a couple of idle minds can become then - devil's factory?) .
Are the parents too busy making money on the excuse of giving their family a better life, that they have failed to comply to the basic requirement of parenting, which partly is to monitor their children's activities? What kind of life that can be made better, solely materially and what is the point of having a good materialistic life when your children grow up to become bohsias, gangsters, mat rempits etc, basically "sampah masyarakat", just passing their time off creating social troubles along the way, whilst waiting for their parents to decease in order to inherit some fortune their parents work hard to accumulate on the excuse of giving the kids a better life? If you can imagine what these hoodlums can do, now try to imagine them with money.....(did I just described the birth of our politicians in that last sentence? Oops...can this statement be considered as seditious? If you don't find me writing after this, then you will know the extent of the definition of "seditious" in Malaysia).
Here's a simple rule. Couples who think that parenting is like rearing goats or pets, should not be allowed to breed. If you cannot spend quality time with your children to instill goodness in them and be responsible to the consequences of your own sperm and ovum, you best not breed and just work yourselves to the bones and spend all that money in enjoying yourselves making babies without producing them, in places like Disneyland, not Toyo style, as Toyo worked even when he was on holiday apparently (researching Disney characters IS work okay. It's not easy to study these characters and bring them back to the Malaysian Parliament for the members to mimic).
I'm sure by now even our pets can recognize this picture, only some may view them only in black and white. To me, this is another example of parent's negligence and the "tidak apa" attitude followed by "nak buat macam mana, dah takdir" remark to pacify their own guilt of being irresponsible. If it is up to me, I'd prosecute parents who are proven beyond any reasonable doubt, to be negligent to a child's well being. It is not safe for even a man in broad daylight now, what makes us think it is okay to allow a child to be out there under a supervision of another child. Whenever I see this poster at the supermarket with the words , "Di manakah Nurin Jazlin?" , I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs, "This question, Godammit, should have been asked BEFORE she went missing!!!"
Take home message : If you are planning to breed a child like the Aedes mosquito, do society a favour and don't breed. The world can do without the dengue thank you. We have more things like the Swine Flu to worry about (err..I'm talking about the actual swine..GE is not yet around the corner folks...)
My recent reading of "Major Themes of the Quran" had enlightened me, amongst others, regarding the matter of hell and heaven, in a sense of their nature of existence. (Oh, and it's an excellent book to read by the way.) Of course I have given much thought about how to avoid ending up in hell, in the same manner of the medical motto "Primum non nocere" or "First, do no harm" except in this context, it's "First do no sin". Even if I don't, I'm sure there are many Men In Kepiah, who absolutely do not look at all like either Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones, (it's the black suit honey) who would preach hell in order to instigate fear ergo obedience towards Islamic teachings. If you listen to some of them too long, you may end up wondering, who on earth, apart from the prophets will actually not go to hell? What a waste of heaven land. Alas! That is but another story. But you know, there's more to Islam than not committing sins.
I grew up in what seem to a child as a hostile Islamic environment (not at home though), whereby everyone is motivated not so much to loving God, rather to concentrate on not going to hell. Apparently, our whole existence as a human being evolves around not ending up there. Of course, it is a brilliant idea, not to get into hell I mean, but there are other approach towards becoming a good Muslim apart from being motivated by fear, like, I dunno...love perhaps? (and I don't mean the kind of love that attracts the four Men In Kepiah to the privacy of your home either)
"The great mistake that men had made in the approach to the concept of God is that he has often regarded God as the God, not of love, but of terror" -Abul Kalam Azad-
In fact,at one point,I remember thinking that going to hell wasn't such a bad an idea after all, since most of the interesting and charismatic people like the Brad Pitt and George Clooney is prophesied to end up there anyway, provided their body guards do not end up there with the same job, then you won't be able to mingle with the stars even when you're in hell. Now that would be an utter waste of time spent in hell.
Well, apparently according to "them", ("them" as in the same bunch who spend more time at every possible quiet corners of the surface of the earth, stalking couples who seek a little quiet time, no matter how innocent it appears to be, leaving no one in the JAKIM or JAIS offices to settle actual problems like hunting down irresponsible divorced husbands to seek for financial responsibility to the consequences of their sperms, for one thing) even if you put millions of dollars into charity, but if you are not a Muslim, you will still end up in hell, because the Muslim God is not "their" God. That is how pack it is hell is going to be, with all these charitable celebrities amongst others. Perhaps in their minds,they are doing God a favor by taking away His job to judge, thinking the extra idle time may give God some rest and time to try out the PS2 games. But again, I have digressed.
"To GOD belongs everything in the heavens and the earth. Whether you declare your innermost thoughts, or keep them hidden, GOD holds you responsible for them. He forgives whomever He wills, and punishes whomever He wills. GOD is Omnipotent."(2:284)
I know now, what I did not know then, that learning to love God yields better results to becoming a good Muslim. Because if you love someone, you will do more out of love, rather than out of fear. Fear only makes you not do anything. (more about heaven and hell, and a little stand up comedy video to cheer you up when you enter the rabbit hole) Back to heaven and hell, interesting enough,I stumbled upon these surahs;
"They shall reply, All praise to God Who has kept His promise with us and has given us the earth as inheritance; we will make our abode in it's Garden wherever we will - what an excellent reward for those who do good!" (39:74)
and;
"The day when the earth shall be transmuted into something else and the heavens as well" (14:48)
"God will then create the next creation" (29:20)
"We have appointed for you the death and non may excel Us in that We shall transmute(nubaddilu)you models (amthalakum) and re-create you in (forms) you do not know. You already know the present (form of) your creation, so why do you not take a lesson (from this)" [56:60-62]
Clearly this indicates that the earth, after destruction will somehow be transformed into heaven. Or perhaps I'm wrong, but, something struck me, and I recall the latest theory of big bang, According to Paul J Steinhardt and Neil Turok, authors of the book I read not quite recently, titled "Endless Universe"and were also the scientists involved in the WMAP project at it's infancy stage. It said,
"Scientists now believe, that the big bang is not the beginning of space and time, but rather an event that is , in principle , fully describable using physical laws. Nor does the big bang happen only once. Instead, the universe undergoes cycles of evolution. In each cycle, a a big bang creates hot matter and radiation which expand and cool to form the galaxies and stars observed today. Then the expansion of the universe speeds up, causing the matter to become so spread out that space approaches a nearly perfect vacuum. Finally after a trillion years or so, a new big bang occurs and the cycle begins anew. The events that created the large- scale structure of the universe today occurred a full cycle ago, before the last big bang."
There you go. If we refer back to the Quran verses, it makes sense. The earth, just like any other entity in this universe, with the only exception, and that is God, has it's expiry date, just like Gardenia Bread, except it is annoying to have the annoying ones expire longer than they should, considering the negative impact they impose on the benign others, but hey, who are we to say. If energy is transferable from one form to another, or PKR can turn into frogs and join the rest of the UMNO frogs,( and vice versa), or even matter,like carbon (with the exception of graphite) may turn into diamond after undergoing prolonged earthly processes through time, and there is a possibility of diamond, turning into graphite in certain condition that includes deprivation of oxygen, so I guess there is no reason for us to doubt that earth may turn into this beautiful garden for the good people to inherit. So folks, don't keep your diamonds in the bank too long. Bring it out so it can breath, before it completely turn into graphite, and the bank may fire their security forces for the wrong reasons !! Some joker may ask, "Why bother with recycling and saving the world from an impending destruction?". Good question and it deserve a good answer, which is "It would be nice wait in comfort while awaiting for dooms day to happen".
As for hell, well, in the Quran,Hell is described as physical as well as psychological torture, the latter having more impact to these sinners. ( I say "these" because just like you, going to hell is not part of my daily agenda, and I suspect, that even if we try, there may not be enough space for people like me since it will be full of politicians from the beginning of politics). It kind of destroyed this image of hell that I have, after watching the "Matrix". I visualize, that rather than wasting all that fire in an open burning, might as well arrange the hell residence somewhat like those arranged in the film, with wires strap to their brains, simulating the sense of burning. It's when Morpheus said, "If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.", that made me have this idea. I mean, think about it.
I remember when I was a student, I watched this on a currently absolutely obsolete gadget called the VCR/Play Back, a stand up comedy by Rowan Atkinson better known as Mr Bean. Yes, he does stand up comedy too, and minus the expletives yet it still is funny. It is titled simply, "Welcome to Hell". Finally, it reached You Tube. I leave you with this video and hope you will enjoy a little humor in hell hole..for those of you who have watched this many times, what's another time, right? Enjoy....
One of the favourite question my patients like to ask me, is "How on earth do you stay slim?". My favourite answer is the standard, "Sorry, genetics. The only valuable thing my great grandfathers had passed down" (apart from the genes that enhances hair to grow everywhere, which would have proven to be useful, in the Ice Age, and not at the present day - my forefathers were Yemenis and the best choice in life they have ever made was to migrate from Hadhramaut to Tanah Melayu). Having said that, you have to have the discipline and the knowledge of how to make that God gifted genes to good use, and not be the first to tamper with those good genes by leading a sedentary lifestyle. You don't want to be remembered as the first person in your lineage to distort those good healthy genes right?
I love singing and dancing, even though I was told by the people who had seen me perform, to best keep my day job, just in case. Nevertheless, the show must go on, and to avoid distorting others' genes for good eyesight and hearing, I restrained my performances in the bathroom and within the four walls of my house.
Below is a video, of a deleted scene from the film "Step Up 2". The only reason I could think why it is deleted, would probably be because there is not a single half naked women prancing around in this one. Frankly, had my parents not insisted I pass all my exams all the way through, I would have picked show biz as my profession. It's way cooler than sitting on the ass dispensing Panadol. But since I can't perform like these guys in the video, I'll continue to practice out of humanly sight.
Just wanted people to remember, it's never to late to dance. It's one of the best way to exercise. I've had older patients coming in with severe backache, from an overnight of non stop dangdut. Except for the choice of dangdut, I fully understand the euphoria behind the cause of the backache. I sing and dance all the time, even at work (my staff had gotten used to me, having thought I was a looney upon our first acquaintance), when the clients are not looking of course. Like I always say, fidgeting is one of the best ways to loose calories. So when you're tired at work and nobody's looking, loosen up and dance!! Stay healthy and enjoy the fruit of all that hard work, and not spend all that hard earn money on hospital bills instead. Enjoy the video.... . (A little footnote: Err.....for those above 40, or those who think exercise has all this time been an expletive,kindly consult your physician before attempting any part of this choreograph. It's safer to stick to dangdut )
The reason why I did not write anything about May 13th on May the 13th this year, is because I am attempting to generate a new trend on how we regard May 13th; as something that we Malaysians need to put behind us. Well, that, and because I was consumed with trying to complete my read on this interesting book "9/11, Synthetic Terror made in USA" by Webster Griffin Tarpley, something I will mention later on in this article, or verbiage, well depends. I want to start the trend in Malaysia, whereby we forget May 13th as the date of terror per se, yet remember in our hearts, what constructive lessons we learn from it, regardless of what date showed on the calendar.
I know it isn't easy especially for those who's loved ones had suffered directly as a result of May 13th atrocities, but we need to instead of dwell in the past, going down the memory avenue, year after year, rekindle the hatred and the sadness of our forefathers,( even though during the incident in year 1969, for most of us now, our struggle at that particular frame of time may appear to be becoming the victims of the discomfort of not having Pampers invented yet, and had to put up with the uncomfortable good ol' plain napkins, that gave us nappy rash especially when our moms were consumed with trying to get information on the event, hence forgetting to change them nappies.) try to move forward into the future, armed with the constructive lessons we learned from May 13th, and the spirit of forgiving and working towards not allowing history to repeat itself and not in a manner of being threatened by it, whenever some politicians felt it convenient for them to do so. Let's not dwell in the dark blotch of history, instead, lets start creating a good one. Vendetta has to stop somewhere, and it begins with the goodwill spirit of forgiving. Without forgiveness, we can never achieve the unity we, the sincere Malaysians, work hard for, through time.
I know the actual motive behind May the 13th in a manner of the movie "I know What You Did Last Summer" . I remember how shocked and disgusted I felt when learning the truth, contrary to the stories fed to me since I was a child. Then again, as Napoleon Bonaparte would say, "History is a set of lies, agreed upon". By now, you cannot blame me for being adamant about my motto "All politicians are arshlochs unless proven otherwise". It makes me nauseated to learn the truth behind the whole camouflage of racial riot that claimed innocent lives. It is the disregard for human lives, the insistence that a small number of death is necessary in order to achieve a bigger goal in politics, is what makes a politician, a human weapon of mass destruction. The truth, just like a zit, will somehow find it's way to emerge from beneath the concealer. (more should you choose to enter the rabbit hole) Just let me touch a bit on the book I am about to finish reading. Apart from giving me a brain concussion from the quantum pouches of the cruel truth about how untrue that men have evolved from apes, rather men are re-evolving into these species instead, released insidiously, which made me decide to just stick to reading Chick Lits in the future, it made me confirm my suspicion that, well, "All Politicians are Arshlochs unless proven otherwise" in a more international scope. This book presented how the West manage to stay in power, long after they left the countries they occupied. It showed to us, that the people who are running the world, for self interest, is the silent government, the oligarchies who again and again through time, uses "religious fundamentalism" to instigate "terrorism" and later using "terrorism", which they nurture and funded, to destabilize a certain targeted country, for whatever twisted ulterior motives that ticks them. By far, the motivation is of course more money. Read this, and it may help you understand how politics work, even Malaysia is no exception, just because it is impossible to publish such books. You can actually download this book HERE, or get a copy at the MPH bookstore.
It's the same scenario with what had happened in Malaya in 1969. Politicians with bad choices, or should I say bad politicians with bad choices. Evil really. One cannot embark into something new and expect longevity, if it is based on fragile fundamentals. You cannot take away lives, disguising it with some other issue, thinking that you are leaving behind a generation that will not recover the truth and forgive you for the bad deed that you have done, or worst, embark in a journey of vengeance.
We will always have ashloch type of politicians running our country, because politics along with it's synonym of power abuse, money, Mongolian models..oops...I mean women, or more women, or for some - men, whatever, will always attract evil characters. It is up to us to deny them this pleasure, by sticking together as rakyat Malaysia.
My grandparents use to help people disregarding their races and religion, made more obvious during the Japanese occupation. They in turn, use to accept help from their fellow non Malays. How come our forefathers, who hardly obtained education, could grasp this simple concept of muhibbah, and yet, the later generation who hardly experienced or even remember what May 13th is, more educated, are still struggling to overcome the synthetic terror stunt imposed by certain politicians , and not fall for the same trick over and over again? Do we need another foreign occupation to make us realize that we are one? Let's not make it easy for these corrupted politicians by becoming their pawn in this wicked chess game.
All religion, at gist, discourages racism, and needless to say, encourages unity amongst all beings on earth. Name me one religion that tolerates racism and do not promote unity. Perhaps in the matter of racial equality and religious unity, Ayah Pin and The Sky Kingdom (hey, this makes a great name for a rock band) and his religious belief and practices may have practiced unity better than the rest of the religion. For those interested, click HERE to view the family portrait of Ayah Pin. Even Rastafara for that matter, beneath their dreadlock, or deadlock to some that hardly shampoo their hair, a religion of monotheistic, Abrahamic religion, deciphers the breaking of boundaries the power of music possesses in generating unity.
The Quran stated:
"O mankind, we created you from a single (pair) of male and female and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know one another (not that ye may despise each other). Verily, the most honoured of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you"[49:13].
And the Bible says;
"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth'. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis1:26-27
From an ancient Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna said:
"One who is without ill will for any creature, is friendly and compassionate, impartial, free from malice, does not hate, has love, in harmony everywhere,…is dear to me."
"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye"
I have not met an atheist or free thinker who would disagree on unity either. In fact, some portrayed virtue of accepting others the way they are, respecting those differences even better than those who proclaimed to be "religious". What use is religion, or the possession of the book of God, if they do not enlighten us and distinct us from the pagans of which the reason religion was said to be introduced to mankind in the first place?
Let us begin with a new chapter today. Let's begin by remembering May the 13th , not as a black mark in our history, rather, as a turning point for us to understand that the enemy is not amongst us the rakyat, rather, the enemy, our enemy, is the people who try to disunite us for the purpose of self gain. People who sell their integrity and their own nation, is the enemy. Let us work hard to pick up where our forefathers had left before the greedy, power obsessed politicians intervened. They have lost sight of the original struggles of our forefathers when they envisioned how Malaysia would become, after the British occupation. Let us rekindle the muhibbah spirit our forefathers had no problems portraying.
Let us remember that a country without unity is a country without a strong base and without a strong base, it can never move forward. We are in this boat together. Should we choose to not row in the same direction, this boat will remain at sea, going round and round in circles until one fine day, the rowers learn to row the boat in synchrony, moving towards the shore. Do something stupid and the boat may sink and we will all drown in an abyss of a lot more than just water.
Let us have one goal and let that goal be unity. Let us leave our children, something they can be proud of, a country we all can call home. Let's stick together like glue. Don't give these corrupted politicians the satisfaction of resuming the British occupation of "dividing and ruling". This is our country. Let's do our part in promoting racial harmony and unity. We can start by browsing through our state of the art hand phone contact numbers. If they contain mostly the numbers of our own kind, then it's time we change that. Michael Jackson may be wrong in the choice of plastic surgeons,( and the prerogative of children as company) but he probably got it right when he sang, "I'm starting with the man in the mirror". (Now, that's one man who had gone overboard with the muhibbah spirit...even the kids cannot get beyond the fact that he is actually African American!!)
Although there are bumps...... and bums yet to be encountered in achieving a true ONE MALAYSIA, we still need to start somewhere. Let us start today, before it is too late. Let's start with remembering May 13th in a different light. (Rabbit hole ends here) ...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....
I reminisce the simple days of yesteryears. The time when 15cents use to be sufficient for school's "duit belanja" and quite decent meals too. My favourite dish was mee goreng kichap, and I love eating it with chopsticks, which had upset some "Nattekarens", quick to point out that I am a "Kafir" for eating with those chopsticks. Oh well, we were, what, Standard 5 then? (That's one thing about Malaysians - we don't recite age, but refer age as to in what level of school we're in). Even back then I had a smart mouth, and I told them, in Bahasa Melayu, (the only language they understood, having dismissed the English language as the "Bahasa Kaum Penjajah") ,in a somewhat condescending tone, that would have surmounted to a "duuuuuuuuuuh" in the current teenagers' vocabulary, "Do you know that Southern China is populated with more ancient Muslims than the whole of Malaysia, and they all eat with chopsticks? Besides, Nabi said to tuntut ilmu walaupun sampai ke negeri china. Perhaps you guys should practice the sunnah and learn how to eat with chopsticks". Well, needless to say, I was not very well accepted by my own people, even from back then, not that I've ever seek for any acceptance anyway. There is no point of being a part of a community with parochial and pedantic in thinking. They hold back progress.
I remember the first day of school. Don't we all. I remember looking at some kids crying and holding on to any piece of parents' garment they could possibly cling unto and I thought of what would have happened if they actually manage to rip the clothes off their parents exposing, especially mommies with their big.......food !! (well, they cry like they were still breastfeeding). My parents would have given me the standard punishment for being a whiny, yes, the effective threat of a two tight slaps (not that I've ever gotten any throughout my lifetime. Hitherto, I cannot imagine how two tight slaps would feel like, for the threat of getting one was effectively mind boggling, enough for a child to do anything just as to avoid the actual deed of being slapped itself!!).
Yes. My first day at school started off with my father, dropping me off in front of the school, on his way to work, and he was late that day. Oh and I remember not wearing a uniform on my first day of school. I don't quite remember the reason for this but I reckon that my dad have had no time to go shopping for it. I never did ask. They put me in some blue fancy party dress that made me look like awkwardly dressed flag pole. He told me to just walk into the school, and the teacher will get me sorted out.(try this stunt at present space and time and you may never see your child again). That was it. I was left right there on the side walk, in front of the huge gate with the bell ringing, feeling confused of what to do next. No bye bye kiss,(unlike every night after bed time story, we kiss our dad goodnight), no "good luck sayang", no "don't talk to strangers" (but then again, strangers were not dangerous to talk to those days. In fact they were quite helpful, unlike today, when we can't even trust non strangers not to cause us harm). Nope, nothing of the sort that morning.
I remember following my dad's instruction and as I entered the school, late, everyone was singing this song that made everyone "frozen", only their eyes were moving, following me like that of the Monalisa, minus the mysterious smile. Everyone stood still whilst this singing was going on. Everyone, but me. I walked slowly, confused, and all eyes were boring into my skinny body, sending telepathic but confused messages with their eyes, some wondering what the hell I was dressed in, but mostly, tried to tell me to stop moving....OR DIE...... later I found out no one was suppose to move when the National Anthem is sung, even if it is badly sung. Today, I'm good at interpreting people's thoughts through the window of their souls, yes, their eyes, thanks to the early training. The easiest giveaway is when they roll the eyeballs up, and you will know what comes next would be something similar to the current Perak fiasco. Well, that skill and the ability to not give a shit about what people think when I know I'm right. We're Ariens. We are always right. So you people can stare all you like, until your eyeballs drop out of their sockets, that ain't gonna make me sweat baby!!
Oh how I wished that I had my Abah or Ummi to act as armour against those piercing gazes,albeit I never resented them for leaving me out there in the cold (it was cooler back then at 7.30am, oh but it was only because global warming was not heard of and Mahathir had not resumed power yet to make the time earlier by half hour....we need a Lat moment for this). In fact, many deworming tablets, Red-port cards, mom's love in the form of naggings, zit breaking exams, a couple of failed relationships later, I found myself acquiring wisdom through time, way beyond the wisdom growing out of my gum, and all I feel for my parents now is gratitude. Gratitude for teaching me how to become independent from day 1, not whiny and clingy like some of those long overdue breastfed children. I learned first day in school that stares don't kill, no matter how sharp they appear to be. More importantly, I learned how to survive in any situation I'm thrown into. Gratitude for teaching me good values, that life is about balance of wealth; spirituality, health, intelligence/wisdom, money wealth, relationships. ( Although I still produce red-port card in the money wealth and "certain kind of relationship" part - but I'm not dead yet, still working on it..working on it...). Gratitude for giving me all the love, attention and care they could possibly give. And that's just to state a few.
(Click if you haven't got bored reading yet....) Which brings me to this word I just learned. A friend lend me a book titled "The opening chapter of the Quran"; it is the translation of Surah Al Fatihah. Quite a thick book for translation of 7 verses (and I thought I'm the only one who can turn a line into a couple of paragraphs!! How vain!!). The only thing about the book that's making me struggle a little bit, is taking care of it. I normally "terrorize" my own book!! I was taught to take care of borrowed stuff (well, actually, I was taught not to borrow things in the first place), and of course, return them back the way they were. ( Oh, there I go again digressing.)
Anyway, the word I have just learned is "Rububiyat", a word which holds very rich meaning and to my amazement, bears no synonym in the English language,so much so this word was retained as is, in the English translation of the Quran. ( One thing amongst others that I like about the English Language is that it has no gender discrimination. Don't tell me a he and a she words need to be separated, just like PAS planning to separate them in queues. Just feel like telling them, sperms don't fly) The term means "to develope a thing from stage to stage in accordance with its inherent aptitudes, needs and its different aspects for of existence, and also in a manner affording the requisite freedom to it to attain its full stature". My heart swelled at the thought of God's method of loving His subjects.
It doesn't take an emotional twit to figure out the magnitude of love, a human being is capable of. I can't say I'm speechless, because getting me to shut up takes extraordinary skill, but the word awed comes to mind.
Instantly,when looking for humanly examples, never nearly quite the same as the love of God, the love of our parents especially mothers' love, will come to mind when we think about this terminology. (Although, some fathers think fatherhood is synonym for sperm donor and continue to "dunno" throughout habouring the fruit of his labour) . That is why, we have no excuse whatsoever to be rude to our parents. They may have some short comings, no human being is spared from imperfection, but they still strive to become the best they can be when it comes to parenting. I am never intentionally rude to my parents, unless under my breath, or in thought. As teenager, there were times when I felt like strangling them to cartoon death (meaning they relive after you pull a Tom and Jerry stunt on them), but as I grew older, I realize, just like Tom and Jerry, the bond between a child and the parents is a bond unbreakable. "You've got to be sometimes 'cruel' to be kind" seem so true in parenting. P. Ramlee saw that when he produced his film "Anakku Sazali".
Not everyone is lucky to have a set of parents, or even if they do, the non dysfunctional ones (although all parents are dysfunctional in the eyes of a kid within the rebel without cause ages). What I'm trying to say is that, it is impossible to become the perfect parents, but I'm sure all parents meant well. To human is to err. There is no specific manual on parenting. Sometimes books are written by "experts" who they themselves struggle to fit conjugation into their blackberries, let alone have kids of their own to experience first hand parenting. Only utmost feeling of love be the guidance.
As for single parents, it is tough enough to become parents in two separate human forms we call mother and father, even more so for one form to execute the entire function of two. I think they should come up with a special day for Single Parents. Until then, I think single parents should celebrate both Father's, and Mother's Day, simply because they deserve to.
So,
"HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL MOTHERS AND FATHERS WHO ARE MOTHERS TOO!!!"
And children, give your parents a break. They're only trying do the best they can..... (Oh, don't worry, it's a technical screw up I haven't got time to fix; the rabbit hole ENDS HERE)...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....
Okay, okay....I will write about Swine Flu, which by the way is no longer called Swine Flu as WHO had announced, just like Prince did when he avowed that he was then "Artist formerly known as Prince", that the Influenza is now called H1N1 influenza. I get comments on sms and e-mail but never on my blog (it's as good as talking behind my blog, you know...) to write on this worrying epidermic. I blog to run away from work and you guys intercepted the sweet escapade..party poopers!!
The decision to switch name from a swearing flu to H1N1 influenza has got nothing to do with JAKIM, JAIS dan kawasan kawasan yang sewaktu dengannya, for a good change. Although it tickles me as a thought crossed my mind that WHO could have actually ban the Muslims in Malaysia from saying the "B" word, just to reciprocate them for banning the non Muslims in Malaysia to say the "A" word? What next on the alphabetical order? Ban the "C" word, to spite Americans for Capitalism? Oh but that is beyond JAKIM/JAIS's juris-DICK-tion right?
It's difficult for me to write about this disease, without it being outdated the next day, because, the progression of this disease is more rapid than Rapid KL. So I'm going to do the next best thing. I'll leave you with the lead to explore the rabbit hole yourself.
You can begin listening to this video here; CLICK HERE FOR INFO GIVEN TO GP ON H1N1, and DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT, oh, and also Swine Flu - A fast moving New Flu or if you want to know more, please, click on Swine Flu Alert The good news is that it can be treated with antivirals oseltamivir and zanamivir,which are available in Malaysia. Should you wish to know the details, click here. As for vaccination, it's still on it's way to be produced. Perhaps it'll be available to the world in two month's time, and in Malaysia, Wallahu'alam.
If you want to know the updates in Malaysia, well, you can click on the Kementerian Kesihatan Link, HERE. The "Frequently asked Questions" is quite useful. Now can I go back to my talk cock blogging? ;-D
It's been 3 weeks so far and I've attended to or at least heard of the news of victims either getting mugged, robbed, snatch theft and more worryingly, getting injured and mentally traumatized. Last three weeks I've attended to a case of a 24 years old male who got "pow-ed" at 10.30am on the bridge connecting Bank Negara and Sogo. (You know, the expensive and controversial overhead bridge that sometimes gets, yes, flooded when the drainage is clogged. Let us not even go there, err....the topic I meant). Mind you, it was 10.30AM , broad daylight, with people passing by, women, unwilling to help and he was mugged by 7 Indonesians, one pointed a knife at his neck. 10.30am, WTFffffffffish?!! What are we? New Yorkers?!!! Men getting robbed in broad daylight with passers by who walked on by? The looters managed to run off with merely RM100 because the victim told them to take whatever they want so as long as they did not hurt him. Of course they took the money, and of course they hurt him. He suffered mild cuts from the knife, luckily superficial wounds...
I carry maximum 20 ringgit in my pocket. I sometimes go around with 5 ringgit in my wallet. My worry however, is the criminal may run off with my purse, only to turn back to beat the living daylights out of me for pissing them off by having only little cash in my pocket!!! You're damned if you do and damned if you don't...just like a relationship I guess....and we are not going anywhere near there either...
The week after that, a lady economist from China put up at Lanai (new Bank Negara kind of convention center, with lodging facilities) and she came in with raccoon eyes, nothing to laugh about. Apparently she was allegedly mugged by 2 Indian men on motorcycle and because she put up with a struggle, they hit her head and she suffered counter coupe injuries, ergo the raccoon eyes..What's more, the criminals ran off with not Zimbabwe dollars or Rupees or Rupiah, but USD2000 ( a currency that worth more than it deserves to but of course that is another story). Now, I don't think China is all that safe in comparison to Malaysia too, and the victim and another lady friend with her were warned of the danger of walking in quiet spots, but somehow rather, it's either the instructions were given in a language they don't understand, like Bahasa Malaysia, or the translator spoke in Mandarin but screwed up the translation, whatever. Either or, this is one economist who have failed in the risk calculation part of the calculation. It's kind of an enormous embarrassment to Malaysia, to have our guests beaten to a raccoon's eyes..
(Click on to read more depressing realities of life that never fail to bite us in the ass) Over the previous weekend, over the labour day cum weekend short break, were 2 house break ins in my neighbourhood. One at about 5am and the other during, again, broad daylight. Although, I notice the similarities of break ins is that both occupants of the houses are flashers. I don't mean flashing their private parts kind of flasher, but fond of flashing their jeweleries. Well, some women just love to wear jeweleries, bangles all the way up until the elbows, so much so, when someone were to ask for directions, they'd probably have to use their upper lips to point towards the direction as it may be too heavy to lift their hands for such a gesture. Personally, I'm not into gold, not because of sour grapeness, but I was made aware of the danger of people's eyes looking at these ornaments, some with jealousy, some with intentions, which, bears unfavourable consequences. The best place for gold is in the bank. Maybe that is why, thank God, I'm spared from my house being broken into. No point luring crime into your house...let alone your life.
Don't get me wrong. Crime is crime, whatever excuse there is. But to solve the problem, we need to look at it's roots. If there are people out there stealing, robbing and hurting people just to get money to eat, then society is partly to be blamed. Letting people starve is a crime too. But whilst holding out our hands to offer help to the poor, we need to be caution and not tempt the desperate by flashing our wealth in front of their eyes. It's called "common sense".
That's two incidences of theft. Then yesterday, my nurse told me that her car, a proton, was stolen over the weekend. I cannot for the life of me comprehend why people would want to steal a dumb car like Proton. It's like dumb stealing the dumber... Don't get me wrong. It is not my intention to be condescending. I drive a Gen2, and as far as I'm concern, my buying a national car has got nothing to do with patriotism or similar bullshit. It's what we Malaysians are made to afford and as my idea of a car is that it transports me from point A to point B, safely, a Proton seem condusive and more importantly, affordable (although it's still a rip off). Although my Gen2 gets the "safely transporting" part done, I cannot say that it did not give me trouble along the way (except for the engine....so far), more off than on, it makes me have that little Smeagol debate in my mind whether to C4 the Proton Service Center (obviously they created such center because they made sure even new cars end up there), or to be contented with it..Proton-what-next, that's what I nickname my Gen2. As far as I'm concern even a three way will not increase the performance. Oh, but how did I digress?
So people, let's do some math here. I'm one person coming into encounter of crime victims almost every week, just imagine how many crimes were witnessed by many more and even more alarmingly, how many crimes are committed each minute in KL. Then use the power of exponential and calculate the crime rate in Malaysia. If you are not hyperventilating yet, you should. It's an alarming figure. Police? Phhh!!! The last time I called a police because I distinctly heard activities of thieves breaking into my neighbour's house, they came 45 minutes later, which is a shame because it will take me less than 20minutes to reach KL from where I am at that hour's traffic..How far is the police station from my house? Let me put it this way. If I were to have Swine flu right now, I hardly have to sneeze and the police would have contracted it from my breath. What excuse could these imbeciles give for not turning up on time. Locomotively challenged?
They have been conducting road blocks and "checking up" on mostly foreign construction workers. I've heard rumours that these culprits, and I'm not talking about the foreign workers, are extorting money from these foreign workers. I am not surprised if the rumours are true because my immediate neighbour complained that they stopped his car (he was in the wrong in the sense that he was transporting boxes of goods in a non commercial car.....and,unfortunately, he can pass off as a drug addict, with that ponny tailed hair that sometimes made me thought he was his wife from the back profile; but this is one case I vouch "Don't judge a book by it's cover" coz my neighbour is one smart being), only to demand "duit kopi" from him. My neighbour just created some story to avoid him getting out of his zen mode and shoved them 2 cakes which they, the police men happily took without remorse. As my neighbour carried on his way, another three police from somewhere else passed him by, met with the earlier police eating the two cakes and decided to chase after my neighbour to get more out of him!!! This time, my neighbour had decided that he was going to hang his zen and that was when he told these three policemen who chased after him for the cakes to bugger off and share the two cakes he'd given earlier, which they obediently did just that!!! My god...how degrading!!! And this is our police force mind you!!!!!
And there are some who actually wonder why our crime rate is faster than the turnover of a cancer cell....You tell me, when the government announces increase of Levi for foreign workers for instance, what does that translate to in daily practicality? Here's how it's going to go down. The employers will deduct whatever extra they pay to our government, from the foreign worker. What the government will do with the extra Levi charges is of course another story. One side these foreign workers are getting squeezed by the employers, and another from the auta-rities...Who in the right mind will say that this is fair for these workers!!! And we act surprise when they break into our houses to get money to survive the jungle out there. Wait! We ARE the jungle!! And we allow discriminations and extortions to happen to the poor foreign workers. This is so wrong!! How did we become this society?
As for local criminals, why are we bewildered as to how they come about? With the foreign worker influx, and the reluctance of employers to employ the locals, most likely because locals know their rights and it's hard to extort them,(and of course we locals tend to be bums) locals become jobless and why are we surprised that some turn to crime to survive? Another thing. We should not act appalled when we see Indians especially, turned into criminals. The auta-rities we call government spent more than quarter decade abusing the NEP, when it should have helped the poor regardless of their race, religion etc. This is the by product of that abuse. I am not saying that all poor people become criminals,as that is so not true since we have people running the country who are just happen to be lucky in the geographical sense of the interpretation of the word "criminal", who have the necessary contacts to avoid being sent to where they actually belong...in jail. That is why I am less sympathetic towards Bumiputeras becoming criminals, because with the NEP, the Badan Kebajikan, Baitul Mal etc, they absolutely have no excuse to steal anything, unless of course it's for Kleptomaniac purposes, which no degree of compassion should be offered. And if they don't benefit from NEP due to power abuse from auta-rities, they should actually rob their Wakil Rakyat instead on account of failing to do what they're there to do.
People who have nothing to loose, and desperate, tend to do anything to stay alive, resulting in increase of crime rate. It is the duty of the public to ensure such things like people stealing for food, not to happen. We cannot depend on the police force as we know it's not longer a myth what monstrous creatures some turn out to be. Here, read THIS if you don't believe me. If NST is reporting this, things MUST be really bad already...
So who end up paying for all this? Let me see. Apart from the poor, don't forget the middle class who gets squeezed by the government, by having to pay tax that not really reaches the poor and the poor-people-gone-bad, in turn robs the middle class because the middle class can't afford body guards as their money are used to sponsor government's entertainment such as Disneyland trips worth 1.7million and pay their bodyguards (who gets to tag along to play with Mickey and co) to guard them against whoever they've oppressed. Yes, the middle class gets screwed from top and from the bottom. If these middle class tax payers are former M.C.GayGay graduates, I'm sure they will be silently enjoying the bottom screw, whilst the rest of us, the mild mannered ones may just suffer in silence and later develop debilitating diseases , when finally, one fine day, if the system failed to kill us, the hospital bill may just as well finish the job...
Where does that leave us, mere mortals? Honestly, it's a frustrating subject to talk about. I think we all know the answers. What we desperately need is answers as to how we can do what we need to do without getting killed, ISA-ed, C4-ed in the process. Honestly, I'm no martyr material, but at this point, the anger within makes me completely decipher why some people blow themselves up for a cause they think is worth it....naaaah...on second thoughts, no one should die from a blow job. Told you I'm not a martyr material..... ...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....
Tired of nagging our discontent about Malaysia? Well, I'm not. My jaw feels like its going to drop off at some point of yakking away my disheartenments and I don't even have leprosy to begin with. Why we nag then? It's because deep down, we all share the same sentiments, we love this country, regardless, and we know we love each other as citizens of Malaysia. It would be great if we can say the same about the imbeciles...oops, people running it though. (sorry, I'm still under treatment for my verbal diarrhoea).
You may be Malay Malaysian, Chinese Malaysian, Indian Malaysian, Dan Lain Lain Malaysian, Wannabe Mat Salleh Malaysian, Wanna be Malaysian from Bangladesh Malaysian, but at heart, we know deep within, despite all the expletives we avow to express our anger at our local issues, in our hearts,deep down somewhere, we know we are ONE MALAYSIAN and we all love this country...we have come a long way, why give up now? The people of Malaya never had problems integrating with each other as evidenced by the mixed marriages, products of "Mamak" as we all know them and also the Babas....(no, I don't mean Baba as in double B.A. Honors, but the Baba and Nyonyas), or just simply rojak mixed, which I think is extremely cool. It's when the politics gets the better of us, that we tend to forget the aspiration of our forefathers in working towards a country to call our own, a country we can be proud of, and a place we call home. We may be of different religion, color, culture, but we all know how to swear the authorities in all different languages, now dare I say could that be a start towards unity? Besides, unity is what the gist of all religion teaches us, albeit I've never met an atheist or free thinker who would say otherwise either. Have you heard of any religion who teaches hatred towards others, regardless of our differences? Let's rekindle the same kind of spirit our forefathers had shown in the past.
Enough of my rantings, let me get to the point (well, finally). While most of us spend our time endlessly complaining about this and that,a good,exemplary Samaritan of Malaysia, Anas Zubedy, have taken the effort of unity to the next level. Instead of just bitching about things, he had come forward with an effort to unite Malaysians by putting a full page advertisement in The Star due May 06th (this Wednesday ; finally, a reason for me to buy local papers besides getting a few tickles before actually hitting the comic strips). Here, click I PROPOSE A SOCIAL CONTRACT THIS WESAKto find out more about the list of contract. I think it's a noble thing to do. And I love the logo. Do your part people...go on....spread the love..spread UNITY...let's make it contagious!!! Let's not look at the past mistakes unless with intent to learn from them. It's time we look forward to building one nation....ONE MALAYSIA, in all honesty......It's the best gift we could ever give our children - hope of a great nation....
"If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sins" -Charles Darwin-
During my Uni years,never mind how long ago, I spent some time in Pakistan through a program to complete a certain academic requirement. My first thought was, "Oh, joy" minus the exclamation sign. I cursed those who were lucky enough to go to other exotic places..
Three months, countless chapatis and Chai-s,(chai = tea ), two episodes of diarrhoea and new vocabulary of expletives in Urdhu later, I settled back home and when I was finally able to catch some time to reflect, I thought to myself, despite the challenges in daily routine in Karachi, the all too-frequent-for-comfort no electricity occurrences followed by no water supply , as their water pumps run on electricity, to name a few, (basically, you have oh so not zen moments in the darkness, sticky, hot, bothered and smelly wondering how did you get yourself into this dung, or did that dung smell came from you) that I've actually learned more about life, than even Google could offer. It was priceless, with or without the dung odour.
You must by now wonder, where am I going with this article, I do know that I'm to write about world hunger. However, it is my belief that to enable us to fight world hunger, we should ourselves decipher how being in a state of constant hunger really feels like, or at least understand, to a certain extent, why hunger is a tragedy allowed to subsist. Only then would we be able to open our eyes our minds, our hearts and decide, whether we are going to do something about it, or chose to be obtuse or oblivious about it. After all, to some, ignorance is bliss.
What I saw in Pakistan, was perennial absolute poverty and hunger first hand. I was there just ample in time to decipher what was it like to starve yet not to die, and just not too long to reach the point of becoming comfortable with the idea of hunger as a norm of life, which I guess was what happened to some of the people of Pakistan.
Like I said, I arrived. Initially, I was preoccupied with my own "sufferings" and adaptations, like for example trying to grasp the concept that in Pakistan, "No prrrrrrraaaablem" means, yes problem, oh, that is but another story. After some time, I began to notice the sufferings of others around me that seemed to have dampened my own which merely turn up to be Hepatitis A at the most. I see poverty that I do not see in my own country. In Malaysia, when we talk about "hunger", it is about wondering which menu to pick to satisfy that hunger. Absolute poverty does not exist in Malaysia. Except for the hunger for educational books on how to improve one's sex life, and of course some gadgets that comes free with them, Malaysians generally do not go constantly hungry.
In Malaysia, when we talk about poverty, we are actually referring to "relative poverty", poor in comparison to the more fortunate, or even the absolute rich and the absolutely filthy rich on other people's money. Except for very scanty cases of pure poverty which somehow find its way to the National broadcast, ironically approaching the time of general election, ergo, our poor people comprises of people who have less of everything compared to others, in the material sense of it.
There were incidences when "poor people" who stayed in squatters remained resiliently resistant against the relocation programs,the grumbles may be of the inconvenience due to the hassle of relocating their TV satellite dish. Food is ample, so blessed we are. When there are others in some part of the world die from food deprivation, we Malaysians seem to die from excessive and reckless food consumption. Still, we complain. Gratitude may sometimes abandon the minds of the unreminded.
I've seen homeless people making a home by the roadside, when the city's hustle and bustle finally resigned to the chillness of the night. In the daytime, when the body seemed unable to get itself off the street, there were incidences whereby cruel people would kick them off it. Those who were resilient towards all the kickings and expletives thrown at them, would just lie there, oblivious to their surroundings,in surrender, probably wondering why did God sent them onto earth only to have them starve on a daily basis. To them, they were the unlucky ones who survived the coldest of nights, as there were the few lucky ones who never did woke up from a night's winter.
I've seen single mothers doing whatever it takes to keep her children fed. Doing odd labour jobs in the day and by night, after putting the children to bed, leave the eldest child to take care of the rest, walk on the streets past midnight wearing black hijabs (burqah/purdah), face covered, to sell her body to make as much money as she can. If your customers are poor too, how much money can a prostitute make in a night?
I've seen the sufferings of men turned into serfs under the manipulation of landlords via the feudal system. They have to continue paying the debts of their forefathers to the landlords' forefathers, and the only way they could pay the debt inheritance is by offering hard labour. These landlords are probably the same hypocrites who would shout "jihad!!" when an "infidel" utter a word to imply "defamation of Islam", when they feel nothing enslaving their own fellow Muslims.
What a life, if you can call it living....That is why the Mujaheedins in Afganistan never come short of Mujahids ready to blow themselves up in the name of Jihad. Dying is a better option, and since committing suicide is regarded as one of the biggest sin in Islam, why not join the "jihad" and become weapon of mass destruction. At least you die not in hunger and shame, or so it seems.....
(More of Karachi, world hunger and poverty, and what we can do about it) Of course I am talking about Karachi, a huge impersonal city whereby survival of the fittest seem to be an axiomatic virtue. There are middle class society as well as the rich, but the poor constitute the majority, they should all come together to form a party and win by democratic process, which has never been the case sadly. It is but the minority landlords who manages to govern all, preoccupied with the power struggles, more than the welfare of the citizens. I have however, been to their villages and although there were poor people there, the village people seemed to be more larger at heart, empathic towards each other, looking out for each other the best way they can. I have witnessed the poor helping the poor, through eyes that were blurred with tears of sadness, deeply touched to the very core. I think although they are regarded by society as poor in the material aspect of life, they are blessed with the richness in humanity. But there are limitations to what one can do, when the problems weighed ginamously more than that chubby heroine character who drowned the " Titanic".
There were some kind souls in the city. Restaurateurs who opened the back portion of their shops to feed the endless queue of the poor. As for the people who were reluctant to extend a helping hand, what were their excuses? I've heard, "they are poor because they are lazy" , "even if we help, there are too many of them", or "the more you help, the more they will become lazy" numerous excuses, but they are what they are, sad excuses, merely a gateway to the escapism of public responsibilities. Of course there were rich people who tend to evade tax using the excuse that the government is corrupted, which isn't that far from the truth, sadly, who's prerogative were to spend that money evaded from tax, to help the poor instead, or so they claim.
And there were beggars all over the place. Alas! Do not be fooled by some of these beggars who uses human sentiments to scoop fast cash. Regardless, there were genuine beggars of course, and soon enough after the first day I set foot on that soil, I developed the impending skill to differentiate between those who were genuine, and those who had the potential to become Bollywood backup actors/actresses. We use to go up to the beggars for some loose change!! I've once gotten loose change for 500 rupees!!
You'd see some of the children who, at that age, were suppose to be at school and have fun growing up, instead were used as a tool for syndicates to beg for money, not even for themselves. In Malaysia, we only abuse our kids by killing their creativity with tremendously tight schedule of home tuition and endless extra-curricullar classes as though the parents were trying to pay back their childhood of deprivation through their children, leaving the kids exhausted doing the things their parents wished they could do when they were children, and well, no time to be kids. Well, THAT, and the freakingly heavy school bags, everyone may grow up to become the Hunchback of Notterdame !! (I seriously think these kiasu parents should be charged under some kind of law. Prosecute for the murder by third degree of a child's creativity and childhood)
Back to the child beggars, some have deformed limbs. I was told that these children had their limbs distorted by the members of syndicate since childbirth. Due to the deformity brought unto them by purpose, these children become beggars ,continuing their parents legacy. Albeit they were given shelter and food, judging by their poor physique, they must have been starving all their lives. Who would want to feed a fat beggar anyway. And just like the supermodels, having weight that can actually move the indicator on the weighing scale could mean occupational hazard. There was one time when it hit the headlines, that a rich man was found guilty of extorting men, and exploiting women and children to beg. They, the head of the syndicate, lived in huge mansions with fancy continental vehicles. It makes you wonder, if they ever have mirrors in their mansion. Frankly, I don't think any humans can look at themselves in the mirror knowing that their body parts are made out of others' misery.
Then there were the, mostly Patan boys who were scavengers. They were the cutest little beings aging from roughly 9 years old onwards,occasionally younger, but it was easy to spot them because they have a precocious puberty look about them, and always carrying a sack of gurney full of ,rubbish to us but income to them, over their small little shoulders. They have small bodies but you can see that their childhood had left their facial features, what was left was the occasional hint of naughtiness in that sparkling colorful eyes, and perhaps you'd be lucky to have them smile at you when you hand them food or money.
Like I said earlier, there are quite a number of wealthy people and upper as well as the middle class society. The rich can sometimes be sinfully rich. There were countless occasions when I was invited to posh parties during my stay in Pakistan. I attended only once, and that was the first invitation. I was swept away for some moments at the extent of wealth the wealthy people of Pakistan had to offer. That particular party was hosted for no apparent reason, just celebrating the coming back of the people who hold permanent residence status from various part of Europe to the winters of Karachi. The house was huge and I cannot help but wonder if someone were to die of that oily food, how long would it take for the maids to discover the body. There were free booze, yes, booze served free flow. Let me pause here to allow you to catch up with the bewilderment of boozing in an Islamic Republic. Would it make you feel less confused if I say, that if there were anything some Muslims are good at, it is at being a hypocrite, but that is another story.
That was the first and the last party I've ever attended, not because I was thrown out of it for being overdressed in those short skimpy skirts, in comparison to how those girls were dressed, or perhaps undress would be more accurate, but because the next day, in the aftermath of a great evening, I got out to throw my garbage and there, feasted upon my eyes was a Patan boy, engrossed in his scavenging activities. He looked up suddenly, face hopeful and for a brief moment, I was lost in those pleading emarald eyes, lost in an abyss of sadness. It broke my heart when I had to ask myself, "how could some people be so rich that the only challenge they faced in life as a youth was try not to choke from their own vomit after getting horribly drunk and high on Hashish (grass) from the party the night before, when there are others who considers eating a full meal in a year is a blessing?" . I wondered, why can't the rich get together to help the poor? Frankly, the rich have no business to party when they have got a responsibility at hand, that is to help the poor be able to get out of the rut and be able to fend for themselves.
"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that" -Norman Vincent Peale-
I am sure there are rich people helping out the poor, but obviously insufficient since the poverty in Pakistan is still a perennial phenomenon. In any country, I feel that everyone especially the government holds the responsibility to fight poverty. A corrupt government would be too engrossed in filling up their own pocket with money,or engage in power struggle, to be bothered about fulfilling their obligations as leaders, let alone help the poor, as that would force them to actually work. Why bother when you can get fast money via corruption. The rich become richer, the poorer stay poor.
"A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money" -W.C. Fields-
The state of being poor, not even when absolute, may encourage people to surrender to the temptation of corruption, crime and to certain extent, violence. A society who have nothing to loose, may become potentially dangerous, especially when they are frustrated with their lives.
And that was just Pakistan I'm talking about. There are more unfortunate countries suffering from a more grave hunger, Africa for instance. We cannot close one eye and let people die from hunger.No one should be allowed to go constantly hungry...except for fashion models and celebrities, whereby hunger in a form of fad diets is a prerogative if not a lifestyle, and of course if they chose to fast.Unfortunately, that was never the case. Here's a general idea about the statistics on poverty : (Click on maps to get a bigger picture) and below is the Global Hunger Index, regretfully receiving an alarmingly less attention than the Composite Index. Welthungerhilfe came out with a Global Hunger Index and to give you an idea, on how hungry most of the humans living on our very earth are. For a detailed report in PDF, click and follow the link Report: Global Hunger Index 2008
Have I not made you depressed enough? Well then, feast your eyes upon the 2005 release from WHO on child poverty; (why 2005? Because this is the latest report I could get my hands on) Multiple dimensions of child povertyy . But the good news is, there's Unicef; goal to eradicate poverty, to comfort us with the thought that something is being done about it.
"The States Parties to the present Covenant.....shall take, individually and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed; (a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources; (b) Taking into account the problems of both food importing and food exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need"
Studies on poverty and hunger are done by many parties; The World Bank studies done in collaboration with WHO, HERE to name some.
" It would be nice if the poor were to get even half of the money that is spent in studying them" -Bill Vaughan-
Well, no point spending all that big money studying the poor if you can't come up with a plan to solve the epidemic. And the answer is, yes we do. There are existing bodies via United Nations that provides programs to combat world hunger, here's to name a few;
3. Under UNICEF, there are goals and programs to eradicate hunger amongst children, click to view the details.
Let me just throw in good news for the Obama Mamas, something that has got nothing to do with the new first puppy, or anything out of the product of stalking his kids; "President Obama announced his intent to work with Congress to provide $448 million in immediate assistance to vulnerable populations, and to double support for agricultural development to over $1 billion." This statement had very much pleased UK based Save The Children, as you can see when you read Save children strongly supports Obama's initiative to combat world hunger . A bonus track to the good news is that there's a road map to end world hunger. I reckon this road map have lesser chances of dragging on till the next Ice Age, as it doesn't have any direct involvement of the Israeli and the Arabs.
The world have never ceased to notice world hunger, whether we decide to act on what we noticed however, is a different story altogether, albeit there are existing programs in execution and are indeed comprehensive. Still, the ultimate question remains - what can we, the people with no authorities, do to reduce if not vanquish world hunger? There is nothing new I feel I could suggest that had not already been suggested. However, we could use more suggestions on how to implement the earlier suggested suggestions. Basically now, what is needed is ACTION. And we do not need Super Heroes (with underwear worn over their pants and capes that could possibly be the cause of death when it gets stuck in some wind mill or something) for that. We all can unleash the Super Heroes that lies within us.
The sad part about world hunger is that, it is the direct cause of bad politics. The power struggle may instigate the lack of interest of these politicians to care for the poor as their time are preoccupied with plotting to topple, or recapture the reign, neglecting their basic duties as they go along with the politickings that seem to consume them (and we call Tuberculosis the Consumption). Whilst nothing much can be done to change the politics of a country plagued with power struggle, (oh unless of course your country is rich with oil, then you stand better chances of the Super Powers invading...ooops sorry, liberating your country to topple this vicious leader, who killed less than the Super Powers have in the process of trying to get rid of this particular leader,in order to inaugurate democracy) leaving common people to pay the price of the whole ordeal, the least the rest of the world could do is extending a helping hand. Here's a few ways how we can;
1.Create as much awareness as we can regarding world hunger and poverty, emphasising the need to address it together. This is an exclusive condition whereby the vessel that makes the most noise, is actually not empty. We've already done that by sharing our writings with others via blogging today. Spread the awareness like wildfire, for through the exponential growth of awareness , we can unleash more man power to volunteer and contribute in anyway they can, ergo the effort is in larger magnitude to make a significant difference.
2. Get our ass off the comfort zone andvolunteer to make a difference. It doesn't matter if we do the smallest thing, because any good done, may not be significant to us, but it makes a huge significant difference, to the people in need. If you don't have that much money to contribute, you can volunteer in tackling the education, skills and health aspect for instance. Education is important in hope that not only we offer them help to survive, but also equipt them with the skills to survival.
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach the a man to fish and you feed him for life perhaps they may change their own fate in the future" -Lao Tzu-
(Try telling that to some people in Malaysia. They'll tell you that it's their birth right to be fed throughout life!!! Next thing you know, you'll get some primitive looking weapon, called the Keris - hardly a weapon of mass destruction, shoved at your face insisting that the law does not require them to learn how to fish, but to be fed fish till the day they depart planet earth....this is one situation whereby "Veritas vos Liberabit" is a no no, instead "The truth may set your ass on fire" stands true. You've got to be a Malaysian to appreciate what I've just said)
There are many existing organizations, both locally and internationally, that can accommodate this.(and I'm not referring to setting someone's ass on fire). For instance, I've been doing "pro bono" via a Buddhist movement , albeit I'm a Muslim, to help with the Myanmar refugees. I deal with the health aspect, and if you happen to wonder why volunteer through a Buddhist movement and not organizations such as Mercy or UMNO ( though to be precise, UMNO would fall under "un-organization" actually), as anyone would aspect me, a Malay Muslim, to do? (although I much prefer to be addressed as just "Malaysian", but you need to be a Malaysian to decipher why the former) . Well, simply because I wanted to portray to my fellow multiracial "carbon bipedal descendant of apes" (as Douglas Adams would put it), that you need not discriminate when you offer help. We should not in our minds discriminate the poor by categorizing them, be it by race, religion, culture, etc. Poverty makes it's own race. Let humanity and not discriminative reasons be the motivator in offering sincere help.
3. Contribute monetary wise; 10 cents may not worth anything to a wealthy person, but it may worth a lot to someone who struggles to eat on a daily basis. Or maybe more than 10 cents, to be realistic as even the toilet cost 30cents in some parts of the country. For those who are lucky to have money for extra shoes to match that extra hand bags, perfume etc, well, when you look at the evaporated fragrance gushing out of the tiny nozzle as you press on it, think what that perfumed vapor is worth if it changes it's form into food...the last I checked the cost of a bottle of Channel may afford a poor man one month worth of groceries. Besides, why do we need to smell that good anyway, considering it's the natural human (and I don't mean foul) body odour that gets the human conjugal instinct to turn on anyway, why pay so much to smell like....well, fruits sometimes?
"However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts." -Henry David Thoreau-
I envy the rich who contributes millions to charity, for not only are they rich with material indulgence, but also rich with kindness and humanity.(I did not say anything about tax okay) However, it is a tragedy when the people in charge of handling these contributions, abuses that trust. Such characters are mind boggling really. It makes you wonder whether, are these people in fact, human. They need to be severely punished. Perhaps an international law should be passed to hold accountable and to prosecute the authorities that allow poverty to resume, treat the act as criminal act, after all, it is a crime to let someone die from starvation.
"We spoke out, committed civil disobedience, and went to jail because the peace hangs senselessly and precariously upon weapons costing billions to build and billions to improve - weapons which become more useless as we add to their destructive force. With this money, we could have fed the world's people. Half the children on earth go to bed hungry - millions more have retarding and stunting protein deficiencies. Instead of building the peace by attacking injustices like starvation, disease, illiteracy, political and economic servitude, we spend a trillion dollars on war since 1946, until hatred and conflict have become the international preoccupation" -Daniel Berrigan-
Food is basic human right. Anyone responsible in standing in the way to that right had committed the gravest of crime. And the people who chose not to do anything too are partners in crime. If empathy is a virtue unforgotten, it will find it's way through positive action. Ask ourselves this question; "How would I feel if I am consistently deprived of food". Close your eyes and imagine the stories I've narrated earlier, happening to you right now. Tell me how would you feel? Let's all turn ourselves into Super Heroes and help make the difference. Let us all be what we are sent to earth to be.....HUMANS.....Together, we can. (And Obama's campaign slogan rang at the back of my mind....."YES WE CAN!!!")
I was browsing through CNN when I saw this article, which made me chuckled instantly, really, more instant than the most instant noodle. Apparently there are Facebook junkies to add up to their brotherhood junkies like junk food junkies, hard core drug junkies (plainly known as "junkies"), Malaysian politics junkies, Blog junkies, Telenovela junkies, Reality TV show junkies to name a few. We are all junkies in some way or another. At least I'm no Junkie junkie. Be damned with other CNN headlines, there's always political trouble brewing everywhere, it's a never ending story, and with the Homo Sapiens, they're hardly good news. (if you don't want to run out of job, be a journalist, a doctor, a restauranteer and a coffin maker; unless of course you live in a community who cremates the dead) You are more important so you must find out if you are a Facebook junkie
Me? I'm a blog junkie for sure, no need to go into any psychological evaluation, I confess!! "Hello everyone....I'm Pah Nur.....and I'm a Bloggaholic, please don't save me.". And I can put my bottom ringgit (which isn't worth much these days anyway) that there are many out there who would greet me back, "Hello Pah Nur.....". It's so nice to know that you're not alone in the universe of bloggerhood.
Although I love popping in and out of Facebook off and on, it has not gone beyond the point of being dysfunctional. But when it comes to blogging..perhaps....especially when I start writing articles, I can get really self indulgent and anti social, but hey... most great artists are anyway..heh...heh..heh...(oh just bare with me....I mean, bear with me in a journey of narcissim, I don't plan to join the politics, so I'm a syiiiiok sendiri narcissist, no harm caused). I read somewhere Leonardo da Vinci use to lock himself up when he had a lead and was working on something. But my blog junkieness compliments quite well with my nature of work,( I kill time in between blogging by attending to my patients. How traggic can a cough and cold be you tell me. All I need to do is say "yes", "uhhuh", "really?" , "poor thing", "oh no", "ohhh.."....while thinking of what to write next) and since I'm a workaholic, well, I'm a functional junkie!!! Of course once in a while I tend to make a boo boo, but a minor and harmless one. For example, I'd put my stetoscope on someone's chest (of which I already know he was too well to give out medically thrilling sounds fromwithin his chest - he looked too well for that) and I'd think about a brilliant line to pen down, since the whole checking the lungs process can buy me up to 5 minutes of time to think, and I told him "open your mouth" instead of "inhale". (Sometimes, it's the other way round). But it's okay, because he can't be bitchy about it, as I've made sure he can't speak when I shoved that thermometer, which I know is no going to indicate he's having any fever, into his mouth. (I'm so on the way to becoming Dr House....just need to become phenominally and abnormally brilliant). But enough about me. How about listening in to this video to find out more about this new phenomena...noooo, not me, (I'm an old phenomena ) ; about Facebook junkie.
And read this; Five clues that you are addicted to Facebook. If you've just found out that you're a Facebook junkie, distress not, because here's what you need to do, medically speaking, "GET A LIFE!!!!" A real one out of internet............if you can't stand your own species, have it with the aliens, apparently, they exist. Read here and here if you don't believe me . I warn you though, any "intelligent form of life out there" who chose to come in contact with the human species, cannot be all that intelligent after all..you're better off a Facebook junkie.
I bumped into Jit Murad today. Yes I did. I was in La Bodega's to pick up tickets for his stand up comedy show, when I saw him upstairs, probably preparing for his show tomorrow. This is what I like about having unusual lunch time, I have higher probability of bumping into people who try not to bump into the crowd, that is, if you can call 11am lunch time. It's like what I told management who insisted I cut down my lunch hours by 15 minutes everyday to come in early to work, "It's not possible,there is no lunch available until after 12pm. There's no point giving someone a lunch break at breakfast time is there?". Of course they were not very amused by my cunning answer, but that is another story.
Question. Does everyone become the ultimate idiot when facing their idol, or is it just me? I waved when I saw him, and he actually came over. I remember vaguely having a conversation I thought to be decent at the time I was having it,if of course it can be defined as a conversation, since I'm probably the one having the verbal diarrhoea and next thing you know, I was heading out of La Bodega, going through the whole moment, wondering, what the hell was I muttering about? What the bloody hell had gotten into me?!!! And he's not even straight!!
What is it about celebreties that makes a person go duuuuuuuuhhhhh ? Well, not all celebreties, just the ones that matters really. It's like suffering from White Coat hypertension I guess. You can't help having your blood pressure shoot up the moment you see a doctor. It's one of those rare occasion when I was actually not analyzing nor working up a diagnosis as I was having conversation with someone (It's the job, blame it on my bloody profession), because I was too busy trying to not let my brains ooze out through my ears in the effort to keep my cool...a couple of degrees lower, and I'd probably turned into Vanilla Ice... How can I, IT'S JIT MURAD!!!
Oh don't worry. I'm not the stalker material. The only thing I ever stalk in my life is my daughter, just to make sure she brushes her teeth, make up her bed blah blah, you get the picture. I respect Jit's talents and more so his wittiness. He can't help it, he's just so funny, intelligently witty, his stand up comedy almost always gives me mental orgasm...if there is such a thing. It must be tough on him to keep up with the expectations of being funny all the time, people may think he's down with meningitis if he attempts to be at all serious. To me, he's one of the best stand up comedian, if not the best, and I'm sure to many others. And stand up comedy is something that is really tough to do. It's hard to just be funny, let alone be funny on stage. He does a brilliant job in other aspect of literary endeavors too, I remember being mesmerized by his story telling. It was a simple story, about his journey in life but presented in such eloquent manner that you just can't help but fall victim to all ears. And Jit, if you ever happen to read this, in all that blabbering, pardon my manners for I forgot to tell you, "my condolences for the passing of your father, may his soul rest in peace".
Remember this? Saudi Clerics say Mickey Mouse must die. Well,even though my response to that was the standard response of I'm sure most of us, which was WTF?! Well, turned out, the Cleric with the too tight a turban may be on to something after all. Have I gone cuckoo? Gee I don't know, why don't we ask Twitty Bird about that? They're all in Disneyland. Perhaps Walt Disney have some kind of a devil's plot that can turn a mere mortal into Satan, thus bypassing the controversial genetic engineering methods. It's true then, Mickey and the gang,are the "soldiers of Satan", hypnotizing humans at an early age, embedding good seeds for bad deeds. I have to take my hats off to Satan though, for being very....creative.
Here,Take a look at how it's being done.
(Click on to decipher the extent of Mickey's Hypnotism capabilities....)
And that was just one baby. Well, these kids grew up to become some of the prominent figures in history (I didn't say for the good now did I?). I mean,look at what's been happening lately. Mickey and friends had casted their Satanic Spells over politicians around the world. First it was Khir Toyo, our very own former Menteri Besar Selangor who is currently webbed in financial inquiry, here, read it yourself Khir Toyo, entourage went on RM1.7M holiday when MB.
This amount of money spent cannot be non other than the work of Satan and his advocates as wastage is not encouraged in Islam. How else could one explain rebel against the religion's teachings? There's more. There were money spent elsewhere too, the most interesting being the RM1200 spent in Indonesia on welcoming Toyo and his delegates to Indonesia. Teng, the person in charge of the inquiry, would probably have become an overnight hero for the simple question he posted to Toyo's representative during the inquiry,(Mickey was busy shooting a new cartoon sitcom hence forgot to give out directive to Toyo to attend the inquiry), which went something like this "So we welcome ourselves?" (Reported in yesterday's The Star).
So okay, perhaps this phenomenon may be explained as shortcomings on the Mickey Intelligence Unit (what do you expect from a mouse's brain) since he'd probably was plagued by the misconception that Toyo is actually one of Satan's accomplices ,the Toyol..(these bloody mice! They can't even spell "cheese" even if they can sniff em, they should all be sent to Sesame Street), hailing Toyols all over the world to come join them in an International Summit of Evil in Disneyland.
That was then, and perhaps one can brush that off simply as an "intelligence error"; you know the sort CIA came out with - Weapon of Mass Destruction famously abbreviated as the WMD as an excuse to cast an attack upon Iraq. Although, to save face, an Iraqi journalist showed Bush that he was not all that dumb after all, and that the WMD existed, and was finally "uncovered" from the journalist's feet when he threw his shoes at Bush, one for the world I dare say. The only mishap in that little incident was the fact that he missed. Bush must have known how infamous he is, and probably would have started off his day during his presidency, with practicing how to duck from Unidentified Flying Shoes...Unlike Pak Lah, who avowed that "wining the 2004 election" was his best ever achievement in life, managing to duck that shoe was probably Bush's best achievement in the entire 8years career occupying the White House.
And then there's the Illinois Governor, Ron Blagojevich. Check it out. This guy is in the midst of getting convicted with charges of 16 federal felony, and if found guilty, it could well put him away behind bars for the rest of his adult life.
(For those interested in finding out more about this, well, some call him mentally challenged, and that was just them being polite. The rest calls him a lunatic. Complete coverage of Blagojevich )
And amidst all this hoo haass, what is he doing right now? He is, as I'm typing this away, with the whole family having fun in Disneyland. Read below if you think I'm pulling a Maddoff on you.....
He is charged with 16 federal felony and instead of running to the lawyers' office to hire a few, he had instead decided to spend his time with Mickey and friends!!! Wasn't that the mother of all hypnotism!!! It is axiomatic that these astute creatures are the soldiers of Satan. Is Mickey the man or what? Err...I mean the rat..I wonder who else are the Satan's disciples. I guess the dead giveaway would be tracing list of names of who have paid pilgrimage to Disneyland on money from Unidentified Freaking Origin, or UFO.
What can we learn from all these ordeals my friends? I don't know about you but I'm not going to leave any kids in front of the TV with Mickey and gang in it. Second lesson would be, being cautious when naming your child. My daughter's friend's name is Fakhim..(this is by the way one example of how English may have extensive word coverage. This name would sound brilliant in Arabic though). I mean what were his parents thinking about huh? Last but never the least, never vote for a man with funny names because they may turn to be one of those Disney characters' evil disciples. Furthermore, you don't want suicide bombers to come after your kids when the clerics shun them for having any association with Disney Characters. This Disney characters are detrimental to our future generation. As it is, it's bad enough that we have to put up with such characters currently, in our very own parliament.... (the hypnotism ends here) ...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....
It seems that most of my articles regarding medical stuff incidentally ends up with not the magic three words "I lust/love/loathe you" but three lettered words, s.e.x. What can I say except, hey, sex sells...I mean, ask some of the powerhouse entertainment divas, like Madonna and Britney. If they were to look like a Burger King quarter pounder cheese burger, trust me, Madonna would still be singing about feeling like a virgin, even though her body language in that gondola suggested otherwise, and no one would bother if anyone can see whether Britney is ovulating just by looking underneath her short skirts without that underwear, which by the way is not mission impossible. Besides, who wants to read about "Identifying the pathogens in Acute Gastroentritis"
I mean,if you were to possess buttocks that can instantly change the underwear for the pregnant into a thong, obviously no paparazzi will be tailing you around (can't say the same about Japanese paparazzi though..I hear some of their readers have fetishes....). Basically, sex sells, and stars like Madonna and Britney knows how to "stay on top", by applying this sexual illusions.(sorry, can't help it if I'm puny...or puky to some).
Admit it, even you won't bother reading about them then. I mean, don't need to go far. In Malaysia,(with the exception of Mawi,of which I feel somebody should come up with marketing research for this piece of puzzle) if you are good looking, sexy and fun, you'd go far in our local entertainment biz. Having actual talent would be a bonus indeed.
I just remembered my point, there I go again, going on a tangent. I meant to talk about men's sexual health in connection to riding a bicycle. I'm quite sure it's every man's dream to ride on anything that ticks them, but like women, bicycles too have an agenda of their own.
To be the man is to have his vitality intact, it's the essence of a man apparently. I mean, look at some great names in history that flaunts their manhood - Alfred Hitchcock, Chula-long-corn, DICK Cheney, Shakespeare, MP from Batang Ai, Alexandre Dumas,wait, asses don't count, dumb or otherwise, sorry, my bad. I think you get the point of how important it is a man's sexual health is to him.
Unfortunately, cycling tends to limit men's whatchamacallit, mojo?. (yyeaaaaa baybeey). In fact, they should use the word "mojo" to substitute the "love life" in the title of the article I posted below, because to some, sex and love may have totally separate meaning, (just like, let me see...maybe the certain political party when they screw their own kind in general, by not realizing the consequences of their actions, or in-actions for that matter; nothing personal really, just screw them all for self gain by abusing the NEP, absolutely no feelings involved). Here, read these articles yourself. (No, not regarding umno porn, that one takes a book and a nothing to loose author). Serious riders, your bicycle may effect you love life And here's another; Bicycle Riding
I'm no big fan of "orang tua tua kata", but I suppose the saying "naik basikal lama lama nanti senak", actually did have some truth in it. I use to wonder what "senak" actually meant, well, now I know. It's a kind of an innuendo, you know, the kind used by, say, God when He told us "Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit", when we all no they ate more than just fruits that day... (Below lies the stuff men and women would like to know, but to shy to ask..)
Currently, as we are speaking, (well,perhaps after they've watched the World Cup 2010 qualifying rounds), scientists are designing the ultimate bicycle seat to enable people like Lance Armstrong ( I wonder if "arms" meant "weapons"?...just a thought...if so, then I would like to rest my case regarding men's name with relation to their manhood), to feel that that broken collar bone is the least of his problem.
Basically, it's to do with the bicycle seat design. Click HERE, to read about a research done by scientists, regarding the the hazards of cycling too long and what is the latest method of improving those seats. Click HERE for the abstract, if you're too lazy to read the whole works.
Turned out, Journal of Sexual Medicine, via research, concluded that the standard protruding nose extended seat design of most bikes in the world had adverse effects on the sexual desires of the one using it.( Honey, when you cut off the blood supply to an organ that needs lots of it to function, how can it not dysfunction, no need harlot mathematician to figure that one out . And I thought the natural vibrations from the bumpy ride is good for the sexual stress for us women.(Hey,I said 'stress' not 'health' pay attention please). I wonder if that was the reason for a police man on a bicycle to be grumpy, either from the genital pain or from the lack of sex as the consequence of the bicycle seats. These clinical trials will resume, until they find the ultimate answer to solve the problem. The good news is however. one thing almost for sure, sexual health departments never run short of volunteers for their clinical trials,paid or unpaid.
I use to cycle on road about 40kms down in Hulu Langat during the weekends. I was the only gal amongst a whole bunch of guys who, even when they know that I'm in the health line, odd enough, never complain about any incidence of "failure to launch" (and I'm not talking about their expensive bicycles). Then again we only cycle less than 100km per week, less than the 3 hours mark. We usually broke our journeys somewhere in between to lepak at the nasi lemak stall in Sg. Chongkak, on the pretext of Carbo loading. So I guess that gave "us" a breather.
A word of caution about Carbo loading though. You only need to carbo load if you're cycling more than 100kms at one go, and when you carbo load throughout the week, make sure you unload that carbohydrate otherwise you'll be Carbo Loaded!! And if you keep that up, the loaded carbohydrate will show on the tummy circumference, next thing you know, you may misdiagnose the inability to visualize an erection as impotent. By the way, be careful when you cycle the Hulu Langat circuit. It's a well known venue for dumping dead bodies. The weekends observes busier traffic, ergo it is safer.
Just in case it escaped your minds, we women too experience the same effect as men, when they have their pedundal arteries pressured by the bicycle seats, (albeit that was not the reason why I stopped cycling, in case someone out there gets funny ideas) but since we are not the gender expected to "rise to the occasion" during a performance, no one would know really, except the particular woman herself. Yes, some women too have problems with erectile dysfunction - how NOT to instigate it in our spouses, when we've had a long day, and I don't mean long in an anatomical sense of it, and the last thing we need is and active mind and an sexually active spouse. If only the scientists can come up with a remote control with a simple "Mommy and Daddy button" as that would really be convenient for the busy women to schedule sex. Speaking of "long" that's one thing I cannot comprehend. Men's race towards a longer penis. It's not like a woman's G spot lies all the way up in her umbilicus. Obviously the cream that claim capable of elongating a male's love cannon is not only pointless, but they bloody don't work too. Most likely you'd end up bearing the cost for the barrel repair instead....
Ah well, if all else fails, there's that wonder pill Viagra. They've even improved the pill's performance by the birth of Chialis. Chialis can make an erection lasts longer, another thing which I cannot decipher...the part where someone needs to get an erection for over a long time. Apart from being a porn artist, or a gigolo, a rapist perhaps, and of course old man who can still get excited without self hazard, what other category of men are there that have all that time for sex?
Women too have our pink pill, but not as establish as the blue brothers. But by the time women lost their interest in sex, they would have been in their pre-menopausal age, of which incidentally, would cause generalized dryness (which explain the dry humour), including the vagina, and they would most likely be prescribed the estrogen cream to combat the vaginal dryness. And this cream, just like the blue pill that was created for other intentions but showed "hard" evidence of assisting penile erection, makes women horny. It's a dream cream. No, not for women, but for their spouses!! I've had patients' husbands thanking me for prescribing that cream to their wives !!
Three cautions though; One, women should not use this cream during intercourse, because the estrogen may be absorbed by the male counter part via contact and men can develop breasts from the estrogen. Then this heterosexual couple may end up having the same confusion as gays probably may have, "who's was it? Was it yours or was it mine? It was too dark honey".....
Secondly, for single women approaching menopause, who gives a shit about a dry vagina anyway, it may as well obliterate like any other part of the underutilized organs,unless of course, you want to "take matters into your own hands", or unless of course, you don't care about the consequence of being stone to death (absence of "d" is with purpose) for fornicating, (ah well, better laid then never), use this cream with caution, as the cancer risk for a woman who have not bore any child is higher than that of a woman who did and this brings me to ; thirdly, and more importantly, long term utilization of the estrogen cream may cause cancer.
As for men, you need to be very extra careful when you consume the pills especially when you have been diagnosed with a heart condition, and the mere thought of excitement can potentially be something not to die for, rather something to die from, as these pills can actually plunge you into a cardiac attack and you may "die hard".
What is the take home message again? Two things men need to be careful when they ride em, women, especially those using the magic cream (with everyone else too), and of course, a bicycle with a nose. It's not worthwhile for men to get a heart disease, because, even Viagra can't help you then.... As for women who regard sex as something they enjoy less than the money coming from their husbands, don't tell your husbands about this article, just get them a conventional bicycle for their birthdays.... (rabbit hole, minus the magic cream, ends here) ...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....
It's Earth Hour, and before anyone shun me, this notebook is running on batteries. It's 3 more minutes to go before 9.30pm and soon the lights will be on one by one. I happen to be working tonight, (part time - jalan jalan cari makan) and is paid by the hour. The owner of the clinic, is doing the Smeagol. The Earth Hour poster was posted on the clinic glass door since about a week, but when it comes to money, I guess, people start doubting their loyalty to mother earth.
First she said, switch of all lights, then she said if the patients come by, switch on the light, then the next phone call came, she decided to let the light stay on. By this time, she had succeeded in getting onto my nerves. So I told her, that I'd have my one hour's pay be cut off provided she switch off all lights, and I will see the patients who would are not sick, just dumb enough to wait in the dark to get their , I dunno,pimples treated, when the lights get back on. Of course I'd respond to any emergency cases, err, actual emergency by world standard and not the posh kind of emergency where they wail because they broke their darn nails. To my surprise, or dismay rather, she quickly agreed!! Money always wins it seems. ...............................................................
Anyway, I went back to my house, just within the vicinity and observed the darkness, the moment I drove away from the commercial area. It seems that money is more important than say, making a statement in saving the earth. I wonder where they plan to spend all that money, when the world ends before the prophesied dooms day, in Mars?
As I drove home at precisely 8.32pm, I noticed our clinic was amongst the few shops with the lights cut off. I even told the girls to cut off the lights of the sign board, talk about being overzealous. Unfortunately, the mamak stall was packed with, oh my god, my own people, the proclaimed Khalifahs of the world. It looked like the Puteri UMNO gathering, (which was rather queer since I hardly see them out of the concubine really) with women clad in clothes that ensures they cover what their mama gave them plus the tudung. I dig them. I know why they are not bothered to show support and join the earth hour. I reckon they would have figured that the earth is on it's impending path towards doomsday as scheduled anyway, why bother saving it right? These people obviously did not learn the history of the dinosaur....the extinction part. Didn't those dinosaurs extincted long before dooms day?
Well, we can't pin point our fingers really, to people who do not support the Earth Hour. Most Malaysians don't even bother abiding to the law, what more if it's a mere request for a voluntary action....
Anyway, the scene away from the commercial area was mixed, most lights were out, probably because the occupants were out in that mamak stall, who knows, but it was a beautiful sight to see most of the houses were in darkness. Didn't see any suspicious looking character by the way. No thieves tonight, I wonder if they are having their candles off too.
First there was darkness.......... Then, there shall be light........ Perfect would have been if we were to exchange ghost stories, but my family is one of those bunch who do not believe in ghosts, so we decided to talk about the recent UMNO general assembly instead. Trust me, it's even spookier.......
It got really hilarious until I almost peed, which made me curse myself for forgetting to pee earlier, instead have to scramble my way around in the dark with a candle looking for the bathroom. By this time it was halfway through and we got bored. So we decided to have a competition, and see who looks spookier in the dark.....Maya Karin would have lost that role in Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam, should we submit this to Suhaimi Baba....(gee.....that explains the smart movies she makes....she's got to B.A qualification) Contestant #1 Contestant #2Contestant #3 pulled out last minute due to unforeseen circumstances, no, not the Wall Street screw up....some other thing... AND THE WINNER GOES TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMUAAAHHHHAAAHHHAAAHHAAAAAAAAA....WELLCOME TO EARTHHHHHHHH HOURRRRRRRRRRRRR.........
Here's something I'm learning to abuse. Currently I'm learning how to edit pictures, self taught, as you will obviously see once your eyes gets a feast upon the result. I know I'm suppose to download the software for it, but since I have a bloody long line of stuff to do until I get to it, I figured, what the heck, I'll just show you my progress.
It started off when I saw this pic; Then I thought, oh well, why not.................. I could have sworn I did a great job, until I saw this...... (Click below to see the masterpiece)
Obviously I have a looooooooong way to go........Have a grrrrrreat weekend everyone!! Enjoy the World Cup qualifying matches!!!
In this age and time, when mother nature is seeking vengeance via green house effect, rendering a Smart Tunnel not smart enough to remain open during the mere threat of a flash flood, reports in the newspapers regarding women being raped hardly raises many eyebrows anymore. Sure she was discovered hanged from a tree with only her briefs before being raped and murdered, but hey, that's part of life right?
Well, it is this kind of thinking (although I beg to differ,one can't possibly be thinking when they say such things),of treating a rape case as though it is a norm is what makes this crime subsist, and become one of the oldest crime committed. What's the oldest crime then, you asked me? I can't say prostitution, as in some parts of the world, prostitution seem to have been legalized, ergo you can't call an act of crime. Besides, at the rate of the economy slowdown, it may be worthwhile to look into imposing tax unto the sex workers to generate revenue and enhance the existing eco-no-money ( I'm quite sure they make more money than say, our local doctors working in the government sector, not to mention having more sex a day what a doctor gets in a year. No, it's a mis-presentation that mini series Gray's Anatomy, I hope no children pick doctor as their career of choice blinded by these illusions. The only version of Dr Mc Dreamies are the persistently droopy eyed, sleep deprived ,malnourished, underpaid overworked least interested in sex looking male doctors who sometimes may look like their drug addict patients themselves....).
And if someone were to disagree saying tax money from sex workers is "haram money", tell them that taxpayers get screwed all the time, and we pay through our asses whether the service be with or without a smile, stop using the infrastructures then. Besides, I think prostitutes, shoving aside the ethical and moral aspect of it, are unquestionably smarter than the random fornicators and adulterers. To put one at risk for STDs via sexual intercourse, and the risk of breaking up a marriage, one might as well make money out of it, rather than philandering for free.
Furthermore, in Islam, if proven to be fornicators, you get the cane anyway, whether you charge for that sex or otherwise. You'd probably need the extra cash to pay up for the ever rising cost of hospitalization after the caning. In some parts of the world (although it is hard to believe that they are part of the world), stoning fornicators to death is the punishment, which is a bit weird since Allah (I'm Muslim, I get to flaunt the "A" word, hah!!), although allow Qisas (eye for an eye),however, encourages forgiveness. Why would Allah who encourages humans to preserve life that He considers as sacred, by encouraging forgiveness towards a murderer by the family's victim, refuse to portray the same degree of forgiveness towards adulterers/fornicators? Does this mean, it is better to kill than to fornicate? The claim of stoning people to death therefore, doesn't make sense does it? Oops... sorry for I have digressed, that happens naturally the moment one turns 40.
Back on track, furthermore, since there are people who don't see money politics as a form of bribery, and there are people getting off money politics merely by a "stern warning", sending a message to the public that the act of screwing people for money is condoned, why be biased and prohibit prostitution? Might as well legalized this profession and then tax them to help generate the bullish economy. At least those whores we can tax.
I have been summoned to court a couple of times to testify as medical officer in a few rape cases, of which the victims were children below the age of 12years old, raped by adults they trusted. I psyched these rape victims (and their parents) who were under my medical care to comprehend that it was NOT THEIR FAULT that they were raped because most of the time they were made to believe it was, and I encouraged their parents to prosecute. I loathe attending court cases involving rape cases though. It's really ugly. And that's just describing how the court handled their proceedings.
By the time the court presided, I had already been transferred halfway across Semenanjung Malaysia to another hospital. The time taken from the day the rape was reported, to the time the case gets called to court was just about ample for any gravid mother of 10's vagina that had undergone spontaneous vaginal delivery, to become re-virginated. And I have not touched upon the time taken from the incident of rape to the time the victim had enough guts to come forward to report the crime.
One of the victim was first raped by her maternal uncle at the age of 9 years old and was repeatedly raped thereon until she realized that, at age 12, no other friends of hers had gotten the "conjugal visits" from a non imaginary friend. I know. It makes you want to shove a durian up the rapist's ass. Now that is an interesting form of punishment the legal department should consider to be inflicted upon rapists.
Then I get asked dumb questions like "Is it possible that the rapist rape the victim standing?". And mind you I have to answer the question in Bahasa Malaysia Baku describing how sex is possible performed standing, (yukh!!) when all the time, I wanted to scream out at their faces "haven't you tried screwing your wives standing?". But I guess it was pointless anyway, since that particular lawyer looked like his eyesight can't get past his belly to view his own erection, let alone imagine having sex standing.
And don't let me start on how many times the cases were canceled and the people in charge had forgotten to inform me beforehand. When I thought about how much money the taxpayers' could have saved from unnecessary transportation of witnesses to court only to find the case was postponed because the bloody police officer in charge or the court clerk had forgotten to inform regarding cancellation beforehand, it makes me want to tell them off.....oh wait, I did.... But that is another story..
Yes, to a medical officer, a rape case is emotionally taxing and frustrating, but it is nothing compared to what the rape victims had to go through. Can one imagine the magnitude of their suffering and what court proceeding delays may mean to them? I doubt it, unless you become a victim yourself. .
(Click below to find out more about rape victims and Nik Aziz...huh? Precisely why you should click below)
It is not my intention to beerudite, but as far as my experience in testifying in court as a medical examiner in a couple of rape cases takes me, it is through my observation that rape victims have to prove their innocence not just in the court room, who may prove to be more empathic towards them. The prosecution extends beyond the court room and towards a more scrutinizing society. It is no wonder that not many rape victims are willing to come forward to report the unfortunate incidences. The repercussions of what may seem as merely claiming justice is far more grave when society be the judge of the people's court, especially when the people lack awareness. Some never did came forth ergo they suffer in silence. The public is partly responsible for this.
It is when the influential people like Nik Aziz who make reckless statements claiming the reason why women were raped was the utilization of perfume and lipstick, that make society's mind deviate from the real task, which is to punish the rapist, not the raped. It is this kind of statements that make me wonder, if the old man is senile, or just plain obtuse.
I doubt that he has ever sat and actually spoken to any rape victims his entire life and that his perception of the whole matter is a manifestation ofparochial andpedanticline of thinking. Because if he did, he would notice that there are children of age prepuberty, that are also being raped, even as I'm writing this. No, lipsticks, no perfume, not even secondary sexual characteristics like breasts or hips, or even buttocks, and what have they done to deserve being raped? If he did, he would notice that it took those rape victims a lot of mental trauma to overcome society's dogma to avowthe fact they they were actually being raped. If he did, he would notice that when someone forces sex upon a woman, or a man ( but I doubt men would come forward to complain , although there were cases that did. If I'm a man though, I would zip it and consider being raped as another type of fetish and try to make the most of it...), she suffers a form of emotional, physical and mental abuse that would scar her for life. If he did, he would realize that by saying what he had said, publicly, he had helped the rapists feel justified of committing the crime. It's like saying, she deserves to be robbed because she did not lock the door. If society is not diseased with theft, (there are such places even though it is hard for Malaysians to imagine it at present moment), one can leave the door open without getting robbed.
I categorize individuals such as Nik Aziz, as "he who knows not but thinks he knows it all", he can change his name from Nik to Dick for all I care. Either that or he belong to the "he who knows not but is pressured to portray he knows it all". Either or, he definitely is a "know not". It infuriates me to think that a person who sermons religion could come up with insensitive and unfounded remarks. The act of rape itself is a crime, with or without lipsticks and perfume. If he cannot grasp this simple concept, it makes one wonders how he grasp the concept of Islam as a whole. It's giving me the goose bumps even as I am typing this.
Society must be able to appreciate the fact that, even if a woman lures a man to have sex with him,that sex should stop the moment the word "No" is uttered. It is not fair to say "she deserves to be raped", because, no one, deserves to have crime committed upon them. And that is what rape is, a crime, regardless of the events or excuses leading to it.
As though adding salt to injury, (which by the way is a ruptured vagina accompanied by cuts and bruising all over the body, and that is just the physical trauma seen by the naked eye) in some states, the auta-rities are planning to follow the Arabic Islamic practices, which is to make the rape victims come up with four witnesses in order for the rape claim be valid. In case it escaped any one's minds, someone ought to remind them, that it is almost impossible to come up with 4 reliable witnesses during a "tangkap basah" modus operandi, involving couples celebrating fornication and adultery. ( sometimes, it is quite unfair that the infant gets to enjoy their infancy yet adults gets punished for adultery) . Would it be possible for a woman terrified for he own life be able to come up with these four witnesses? Or do they think that the rapist would pounce on his victim in crowded places full of potential witnesses?
Furthermore, why stop at rape cases in coming up with these witnesses? Why not produce 4 witnesses to prove robbery, murder, sodomy(there goes CSI out of a job, no need to parade semen stained mattresses in and out of court), internet crimes, bribery (oh wait, it's probably implemented for bribery, judging by it's rampant practice especially amongst corrupted politicians - obviously it is difficult to have 4 witnesses to a bribery case, that explains it then), why stop at sexual crimes ?
Oh sure, at least we don't stone our rape victims to death because they have failed to produce the four witnesses, we are slightly smarter than those morons in the middle east, but I'm sure given half the chance under the "Hudud Law", (you know, the one that is still struggling to get past the draft because the mullas are trying hard to figure out how to implement something that even Allah haven't mentioned at all in the Quran), the eastern disciples may just decide to follow these morons, making one wonder, who's the Dumb and who's the Dumber.....
You can't kill someone just because you think he deserves to die. That is not up to any living being with a functioning gray matter to decide. Rape is not sex by provocation. Rape is about manipulation and power display upon victims during sex. Rapists do not rape rampantly, they choose their victims. They may prefer children than a perfumed adult. More than anything else, rape is a crime, and it should not happen even when "provoked".
Society have got to decipher this, and stop victimizing the victims, instead, punish the rapists severely. Have more empathy on the victims, not the victor. Should a society is unable to grasp this simple concept, contented to accept rape cases a norm ingredient in life, then the raping will never end. What is more distressing, is that it can happen to you or the people you love. Need this be the turning point to one's life in order for him to open up his eyes to realize that society is wrong in the way they treat rape victims?
To end something I intended to be a quick comment that somewhat ended up averbiage, it is vital to reiterate that society should not be nonchalant or tolerable towards any form of crime. Rape is a crime, and it is important for us to get this fact through our skulls. Otherwise, whilst we're still debating on was it the perfume or the lipstick that got women into this mess, the rapists out there are having a rape-fest. Should we fail to recognize our priorities, expect more than durians to fall off our durian tree in time to come. (the rabbit hole ends here, phew!!) ...Click here to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.....
My neighbours aren't amused with my practices in the bathroom.
When the world turn their back on you, you show your butt to them...
