Looking for my say on the war? It's interesting what one's mind can accomplish when one sets one's mind.

All this talk about the clarify of purpose and the commitment to achieve. I'm way of track...



Anyway, my last mention of WAR prior to this.



My phone is ringing, I'm on my way.

I've got an announcement to make.



I miss DURIAN

Daylight saving ends yesterday. I'm still coping with the change especially sunset being at 18:19 instead of 19:19.

I'm trying to find a nice picture of a beca, trishaw or rickshaw on the web. Preferably in Penang.

Found a good description,

A trishaw ride is one of the best ways of seeing Penang. Besides the novelty of travelling in this open-fronted three-wheeled vehicle, trishaws allow visitors the opportunity of doing sights at a more leisurely pace-stopping at any point to snap pictures or buy souvenirs.

Guess what, I've been searching for more than an hour and still haven't found one that I like. The best so far....

sometimes in life, you might do things you are unaware of....

but that doesn't mean you are blameless....

especially when it involves other people...

...only an 'ok'.....

...luckily not a 'ko'.....

I got an 'ok' today....

Life Goes On!

I'm still trying not to talk about the war. It still occupies my mind most of the time. A lot of people are mistakenly pointing their fingers saying that I support Saddam. It's not true. I am just against the war as million others are and believe that a better option is the disarmament process sponsored by the UN. I'm also not convinced of the capabilities of Saddam to use the so-called weapon of mass destructions; he has been 'contained' for the last 10 years and Hans Blix would have ensured that given the time. In fact 10 days into the war, nothing has been accomplished in that respect except for the murder of between 316 to 424 innocent civillians. As for the motive of the US, I seriously find sincerity is lacking. Too much hypocrisy and doublespeak. They also took matters in their own hand despite the UN simply because they are 'strong'.



hhhmmm....I was "not" talking about the war. Only explaining how I feel..... is it? Anyway...



Whatever....

My son is smiling now - after a histerical cry which is part of his waking up rituals (sometimes). This is a person, to whom I am everything..... huh....

Bercakap tentang kajian, saya dapati kajian ini 'menarik'.

Wajarkah diadakan kempen 'satu suami = satu isteri'? Apa pendapat anda? Ya atau tidak?



Setuju 51.03%

Tidak Setuju 48.97%

Jumlah keseluruhan: 23912 undi.

Sekali lalu melihat komen-komen yang disertakan, hampir kesemuanya tidak bersetuju. Tetapi keputusan di atas mengatakan bahawa 51.03% bersetuju.



Pandangan saya;

samada....

mereka yang bersetuju tidak berminat untuk memberikan komen,

atau mereka yang bersetuju tidak ada apa-apa komen,

atau mereka yang bersetuju tidak ada fakta untuk menyokong persetujuan mereka



ataupun, sekiranya komen-komen tersebut diambil sebagai keputusan kajian interpretif,

maka keputusan di atas adalah tidak benar.

Talking about research, I found this interesting.

Wajarkah diadakan kempen 'satu suami = satu isteri'? Apa pendapat anda? Ya atau tidak?



Setuju 51.03%

Tidak Setuju 48.97%

Jumlah keseluruhan: 23912 undi.

Browsing through the comments there, nearly all are against. However the results above says that 51.03% agree.



My conclusion;

either those who agree are not interested to comment,

or those who agree has no comment,

or those who agree hasn't got a point to support their agreement



or if the interpretive comments are representative of the results,

then the result above is wrong.

I'm at school. Learning never ends and 'seeking knowledge is compulsory' anyway. I have to undertake a business research this year. Am still looking for a suitable topic and working out the details of the methodology. A number of topics is being considered though it's a bit hard to decide as there's a lot of factors involved.



Hopefully I can get through this.

I am should be working on my assignments. Good night.

hah....I'm tired... tired and sicked.



The images of war are everywhere and they are not pretty sights.



I'll try to stop talking about war for a while (if and that's a big IF, I can).



Today has been a beautiful day otherwise; my daughter sang a solo on stage at school... and I was there to witness it. Mind you, she is only 5 years old and I believe the experiece is great for her development. Being 'awarded' the title 'Mr Stage-Fright' at one stage of my life (though those who know me during the later stages of my life find this hard to believe), I'm very happy when she confidently took the microphone handed to her, uttered a polite, "Thank you" (with a smile) and then started singing.....



The roots of the plant is underground...underground....underground..... and so on.



and she has such a beautiful voice and a very good appreciation of rythms (I can't say she got these from me)



All those while, I felt so happy and proud and.... (it's kind of unbelieveable). hah....hah...hah... it's only a child on the stage singing a children song you might say.....



to me, it's my dearest daughter, the apple of my eyes, experiencing something very important to her (she was 'different' the whole of last night - nervous, I think) and I was there to both support and witness it. It makes my skipping the second half of my class today and rushing to her school worthwhile. After all, I've been missing a lot of my children's lives and this could be the one and only time.

Some people are not happy with my example of compulsive liar. It's not just me, the sister of the killed soldier claims it's a lie and she has more reliable info.

The family of one of the dead British soldiers paraded on Arab TV have angrily denied claims by Tony Blair that he was executed.

Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, was last seen on Sunday with staff sergeant Simon Cullingworth when they were caught up in enemy fire near Zubayr, 15 miles outside of Basra.



The Prime Minister's spokesman admitted last night that there was no conclusive proof how the pair had died, but insisted Mr Blair had been right to say that all evidence pointed to them being executed.



However, Sapper Allsopp's sister Nina said the claims were "lies." She said senior officers from her brother's barracks had told the family he was killed instantly in battle. The Iraqis also denied the two British soldiers had been executed.



"I accept that's not absolute evidence but it points in that direction. The Americans have said also that there is some evidence of their soldiers being killed in that fashion." ...and those evidence came from war criminals...

Family questions Blair's 'execution' claim

and the evidence to justify the war.....

CHEMICAL WEAPONS FACTORY: NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T



Claims

Monday, March 24, 1.33am

Reports surface that US forces find first cache of Saddam's chemical and biological weapons, seizing a suspected chemical factory in An Najaf. This would be a significant PR coup for Messrs Bush and Blair who justified their launch of war on the grounds that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.



Fox News and the Jerusalem Post, which had a reporter travelling with US troops, both quote unidentified Pentagon officials who said the facility was seized by US forces. About 30 Iraqi troops and their commanding general surrendered as American forces took the installation, apparently used to produce chemical weapons, according to the Jerusalem Post. It was not immediately clear what chemicals were being produced at the facility.



Officials caution it is too premature to conclude that forbidden weapons had been discovered but US central command says it is examining several sites of interest.



Claims

Monday, March 24, 2.42am

General Richard Myers, chairman of joint chiefs of staff, claims US commamdos found documents along with millions of rounds of ammunition on Saturday, saying the discovery "might save thousands of lives if we can find out exactly what they have".



We're not sure

Monday, March 24, 2.44pm

General Tommy Franks, head of the coalition forces, claims he "wasn't entirely sure" that it was a chemical factory after all. Fox News forced to back away from the story. Iraq denies it has chemical or biological weapons.

The evidence for 9/11?

GRENADE ATTACKER



Claim

Sunday, March 23, 12.10am

Ten US soldiers were wounded in an attack on Camp Pennsylvania, a military base in northern Kuwait, a US military spokesman said, without giving further details. Jim Lacey, a Time magazine correspondent who was at the camp, told CNN two grenades had been rolled into the command tent in what appeared to be a "terrorist attack". The report gives way to instant discussions of al-Qaida terrorist cells operating in Kuwait.



Details of attacker change

Sunday, March 23, 12.40am

Sky News says the suspect for the attack is a US soldier, later revealed as Asan Akbar, who was born Mark F Kools. But the information hasn't filtered through everywhere. The BBC's Radio 5 Live still discussing the terrorist attack on the 1.00am news on Radio 5 Live.

51st DIVISION



Claim

Friday night, March 21

Wires, TV and radio report official claims that coalition commanders have accepted the surrender of the 8,000-strong 51st Iraqi infantry division near the southern city of Basra on Friday.



Counter claim

Sunday March 23, 10.33pm

Reuters: "Iraqi officials denied US statements that the US commander of the Iraqi divison had surrendered, which US officials said on Friday."



Counter claim number 2

Monday, March 24, 3.22am

New York Times wire service: "US officials were quick to announce the surrender of the commander of the 51st Division. On Sunday they discovered that the 'commander' of the surrendered troops was actually a junior officer masquerading as a higher-up in an attempt to win better treatment."

Exasperation begins to show

Sunday, March 23, 5.50pm

Defence analyst Francis Tusa says on Sky News: "We have now been told three times that Nassiriya has been captured. How many more times are we going to hear this?"

3rd instalment.

BASRA, MARCH 25th WHEN AN HOUR IS ALONG TIME





Claim

Tuesday, March 25, 8.13am

Reuters: "British military spokesman confirmed on Tuesday British troops were probably going to go into Basra to battle irregular fighters resisting US-led invasion forces in Iraq's second city. "We are meeting resistance from irregulars, members of the Fedayeen, who are extremely loyal to Saddam Hussein's regime," group captain Al Lockwood told CNN television. "They are lightly armed, and very small in number, but they are terrorising the citizens of Basra and we will probably need to go in and meet any resistance."



Counter claim

Tuesday, March 25, 9.16am

Reuters: a British spokesman said on Tuesday British troops would not enter the southern city of Basra to battle irregular Iraqi fighters - contradicting an earlier statement. But the British did consider Basra a military target. "We're not going into Basra, it's simply considered a target," a British military spokesman at Central Command headquarters in Qatar told Reuters. "The reason it is a potential target is because it has an enormous political and military importance in the area."

2nd instalment.

BASRA UPRISING NUMBER 1



Claims

Tuesday, March 25, 5.30pm

Widespread media reports of a popular uprising against President Saddam Hussein in Iraq's second city of Basra, believed to have originated from military sources. Follows reports from GMTV pool reporter Richard Gaisford.



Challenge

Tuesday, March 25, 6.10pm

British military sources say they are unable to confirm reports of any popular uprising in Basra, but reiterate that they would do everything possible to encourage and support any Iraqis planning to overthrow forces loyal to Saddam."We don't know anything about a popular uprising," said one British military source in Central Command in Qatar.



'Hallucinations'

Tuesday, March 25, 7.44pm

Iraq's information minister denies the reports, calling them "hallucinations". "I want to affirm to you that Basra is continuing to hold steadfast," Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told the Arabic language al-Jazeera television network.



Confirmation

Wednesday, March 26, 2.27am

A British spokesman at US Central Command headquarters in Qatar says it appears there has been an uprising. "We don't have a clear indication of its scale or scope or where it will take us. But we will want to support it to exploit its potential. It looks like this uprising is based on the massive resentment of the population."



Challenge

Wednesday, March, 7.40am

An Al-Jazeera reporter, who is stationed behind coalition lines in Basra, says he has no evidence of an uprising. He says the city is crawling with Iraqi military and the streets are littered with shrapnel.



Claims again

Wednesday, March 26, 12.30pm

British prime minister Tony Blair says he believes there has been a limited uprising overnight. "In relation to what has happened in Basra overnight, truthfully reports are confused, but we believe there was some limited form of uprising," he told the House of Commons.

This is interesting. 1st instalment of claims and counter-claims and some confessions (and some lies of course, The Liar is almost always around)

SCUDS



Claim

Thursday, March 20, 10.15am

An Iraqi Scud missile fired at US troops on the Kuwaiti border was intercepted by Patriot missiles, the US military says. Reports of Scud attacks widespread.



Confession

Sunday, March 23, 4.30am

US general Stanley McChrystal says: "So far there have been no Scuds launched... We have found no caches of weapons of mass destruction to date."

"What I know is that war is the business Americans are best at. Every now and then, they meet and they decide which country they are going to hit next. They need to do it for their economy to stay good," said Yvonne Deeb, 50, a housewife in Beirut who was shopping for groceries.

An example of a compulsive liars and the so-called evidence?

Despite Mr Blair's unequivocal accusation that two British soldiers were executed by Iraqi forces, his official spokesman later said: "The bodies were some distance from the vehicles in which they were travelling. They had lost their helmets and flak jackets. We accept that this is not absolute evidence, but it does point in the direction that these people were shot."



During a joint press conference with George Bush at Camp David, Mr Blair called the supposed executions acts "of cruelty beyond all human comprehension".



A British military official at central command in Qatar was less adamant: "While the footage shown yesterday suggested that they might have been executed, the pictures are of a poor quality and don't provide us with the facts."



Mr Bush had supported Mr Blair. "They were murdered, unarmed soldiers executed. That's a war crime," he said. That's an unsubstantiated lie but the killing of the innocences in this illegal war is a fact and look at the criminals accusing others of crime.

And see how the lie is being used to justify further crimes.

Yesterday, members of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment expressed their anger at the reports that colleagues had been "executed". Private Danny Quirk, 22, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, said at a checkpoint close to the spot where the British soldiers went missing: "Now we know (Know - based on supposed act????) we are fighting a dirty war."

No 10 backtracks on claim that two British soldiers were executed

What's in store for the troops of war criminals. Have a look at this dated 24/03/03.

The U.S.-led force in Iraq risks as many as 3,000 casualties in the battle for Baghdad and Washington has underestimated the number of troops needed, a top former commander from the 1991 Gulf War said on Monday. Retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the 24th Infantry Division 12 years ago, said the U.S.-led force faced "a very dicey two to three day battle" as it pushes north toward the Iraqi capital.

Is McCaffrey right about the number of troops?

U.S. military officials say they are sending an additional 100,000 troops to the Persian Gulf to reinforce the coalition force operating in Iraq.



Meanwhile, the U.S. Army's senior ground commander in Iraq has hinted at why the U.S. is sending so many more troops to the Gulf. In an interview published in the Washington Post, Lieutenant General William S. Wallace said U.S. forces had not expected the sort of guerilla-style tactics that they have been faced with in Iraq.



And he admitted that it was beginning to look like the war would last much longer than some military planners had forecast.

How about the 3, 000 casualties?....heroes they might have been but for the illegaility....of the criminality.....

10 days in to the war. The so-called 'reasons' for the war, the so-called evidences that justify the war, is still missing. Is it missing or is it simply the case of non-existent?



The aggression towards the people of Iraq is illegal and those involved in it are criminals. I look forward to the day, these criminals are brought to justice.....

Most important, Blix noted that for the UN to finish its survey of sites, documents and relevant people, it "will not take years, nor weeks, but months." In the meantime, he emphasized, "we are not watching the breaking of toothpicks. Lethal weapons are being destroyed."



"After three months of intrusive inspections, we have, to date, found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq," the chief atomic weapons inspector told the UN Security Council on Friday.



After 218 inspections of 141 sites over three months by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei charged that the United States had used faked and erroneous evidence to support the claims that Iraq was importing enriched uranium and other material for the manufacture of nuclear weapons.



he maiming or killing of a single Iraqi civilian in an attack by the United States would constitute a war crime

War is still on and as of now at least 227 civillians have been directly killed by the US led illegal invasion. Of course, their names will not be shown to the whole world, their lives stories will not be shared with us, no vengence is justified for their killings and if any attempts to do so, then he/she will be labeled a 'terrorist'. What a skewed world-view is that? All because, they are not Americans....

What motivate people?



From Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to today's theory X,Y and Z, definite answer to this is still elusive.



Today, I saw someone who gains pleasure in denying people from enjoying their work. What a pathetic way to live one's life.



Whatever......

Do you have a way to avoid conflicts? Especially one that you see no hope of turning around?



Whatever..........

Childrens..............

TEACHER: Name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.

KID: Me!



TEACHER: Give me a sentence starting with "I".

KID: I is...

TEACHER: No, always say, "I am."

KID: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the alphabet."



TEACHER: Your composition on "My Dog" is

exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?

KID: No, teacher, it's the same dog!



KID: Dad, can you write in the dark?

DAD: I think so. What do you want me to write?

KID: Your name on this report card.

I keep talking about the war. I supposed that's what in my mind most of the time lately. I see criminals in these so-called 'heroes'.

When people think about bombing Iraq, they see a picture in their heads of Saddam Hussein in a military uniform, or maybe soldiers with big black mustaches carrying guns, or the mosaic of George Bush Senior on the lobby floor of the Al-Rashid Hotel with the word "criminal."



But guess what? More than half of Iraq's 24 million people are children under the age of 15. That's 12 million kids. Kids like me. Well, I'm almost 13, so some are a little older, and some a lot younger, some boys instead of girls, some with brown hair, not red. But kids who are pretty much like me just the same.



So take a look at me -- a good long look. Because I am what you should see in your head when you think about bombing Iraq. I am what you are going to destroy.



If I am lucky, I will be killed instantly, like the three hundred children murdered by your "smart" bombs in a Baghdad bomb shelter on February 16, 1991. The blast caused a fire so intense that it flash-burned outlines of those children and their mothers on the walls; you can still peel strips of blackened skin -- souvenirs of your victory -- from the stones.

-from a 13 years old-

It's easy for those sitting on their arm-chairs with their family and children around them, far from any possibility of stray missile, bombs or even snipers, to 'bravely' shout their justification for the war.

"They come from above, from the air, and will kill us and destroy us. I can explain to you that we fear this every day and every night." – Shelma (Five years old)



"I think every hour that something bad will happen to me" said Hadeel, aged 13.



Assem, five, and one of the youngest interviewed, said: "They have guns and bombs and the air will be cold and hot and we will burn very much."



But it is the fear expressed by the majority of the children that most shocked the team. In a breaking voice 13-year old Hind told them: "I feel fear every day that we might all die, but where shall I go if I am left alone?"

These interviews were in February. It is reality to these children and 12 millions of their friends now!!!! .... and sitting here far from the war, you are justifying it. Shame on you!

Shocked? I am.

Awed? I'm not.

"Courage is not the absence of fear;

Courage is doing the right thing in the presence of fear."

War is necessary for peace. Doublespeak at it's best.

Am I Shocked and Awed?

-SYNTAX ERROR-

ada pihak pertikai poligami

ada pihak pertahan poligami

ada pihak pertahan poligami tapi pertikai perlaksanaan poligami

poligami itu ketentuan tuhan, perlaksanaan poligami tu kerja manusia

ada pihak pertikai ketentuan tuhan

ada pihak pertahan ketentuan tuhan

ada pihak pertahan ketentuan tuhan tapi pertikai kerja manusia

a quote from a Turkish friend I met at school.

"They cry when I laugh, they laugh when I cry" Profound.

hah...hah... in case the link below doesn't work ; )

1972-2002 Vetoes from the USA



1972 Condemns Israel for killing hundreds of people in Syria and Lebanon in air raids.

1973 Affirms the rights of the Palestinians and calls on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.

1976 Condemns Israel for attacking Lebanese civilians.

1976 Condemns Israel for building settlements in the occupied territories.

1976 Calls for self determination for the Palestinians.

1976 Affirms the rights of the Palestinians.

1978 Urges the permanent members (USA, USSR, UK, France, China) to insure United Nations decisions on the maintenance of international peace and security.

1978 Criticises the living conditions of the Palestinians.

1978 Condemns the Israeli human rights record in occupied territories.

1978 Calls for developed countries to increase the quantity and quality of development assistance to underdeveloped countries.

1979 Calls for an end to all military and nuclear collaboration with the apartheid South Africa.

1979 Strengthens the arms embargo against South Africa.

1979 Offers assistance to all the oppressed people of South Africa and their liberation movement.

1979 Concerns negotiations on disarmament and cessation of the nuclear arms race.

1979 Calls for the return of all inhabitants expelled by Israel.

1979 Demands that Israel desist from human rights violations.

1979 Requests a report on the living conditions of Palestinians in occupied Arab countries.

1979 Offers assistance to the Palestinian people.

1979 Discusses sovereignty over national resources in occupied Arab territories.

1979 Calls for protection of developing counties' exports.

1979 Calls for alternative approaches within the United Nations system for improving the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

1979 Opposes support for intervention in the internal or external affairs of states.

1979 For a United Nations Conference on Women.

1979 To include Palestinian women in the United Nations Conference on Women.

1979 Safeguards rights of developing countries in multinational trade negotiations.

1980 Requests Israel to return displaced persons.

1980 Condemns Israeli policy regarding the living conditions of the Palestinian people.

1980 Condemns Israeli human rights practices in occupied territories. 3 resolutions.

1980 Affirms the right of self determination for the Palestinians.

1980 Offers assistance to the oppressed people of South Africa and their national liberation movement.

1980 Attempts to establish a New International Economic Order to promote the growth of underdeveloped countries and international economic co-operation.

1980 Endorses the Program of Action for Second Half of United Nations Decade for Women.

1980 Declaration of non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states.

1980 Emphasises that the development of nations and individuals is a human right.

1980 Calls for the cessation of all nuclear test explosions.

1980 Calls for the implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

1981 Promotes co-operative movements in developing countries.

1981 Affirms the right of every state to choose its economic and social system in accord with the will of its people, without outside interference in whatever form it takes.

1981 Condemns activities of foreign economic interests in colonial territories.

1981 Calls for the cessation of all test explosions of nuclear weapons.

1981 Calls for action in support of measures to prevent nuclear war, curb the arms race and promote disarmament.

1981 Urges negotiations on prohibition of chemical and biological weapons.

1981 Declares that education, work, health care, proper nourishment, national development, etc are human rights.

1981 Condemns South Africa for attacks on neighbouring states, condemns apartheid and attempts to strengthen sanctions. 7 resolutions.

1981 Condemns an attempted coup by South Africa on the Seychelles.

1981 Condemns Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, human rights policies, and the bombing of Iraq. 18 resolutions.

1982 Condemns the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. 6 resolutions (1982 to 1983).

1982 Condemns the shooting of 11 Muslims at a shrine in Jerusalem by an Israeli soldier.

1982 Calls on Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights occupied in 1967.

1982 Condemns apartheid and calls for the cessation of economic aid to South Africa. 4 resolutions.

1982 Calls for the setting up of a World Charter for the protection of the ecology.

1982 Sets up a United Nations conference on succession of states in respect to state property, archives and debts.

1982 Nuclear test bans and negotiations and nuclear free outer space. 3 resolutions.

1982 Supports a new world information and communications order.

1982 Prohibition of chemical and bacteriological weapons.

1982 Development of international law.

1982 Protects against products harmful to health and the environment .

1982 Declares that education, work, health care, proper nourishment, national development are human rights.

1982 Protects against products harmful to health and the environment.

1982 Development of the energy resources of developing countries.

1983 Resolutions about apartheid, nuclear arms, economics, and international law. 15 resolutions.

1984 Condemns support of South Africa in its Namibian and other policies.

1984 International action to eliminate apartheid.

1984 Condemns Israel for occupying and attacking southern Lebanon.

1984 Resolutions about apartheid, nuclear arms, economics, and international law. 18 resolutions.

1985 Condemns Israel for occupying and attacking southern Lebanon.

1985 Condemns Israel for using excessive force in the occupied territories.

1985 Resolutions about cooperation, human rights, trade and development. 3 resolutions.

1985 Measures to be taken against Nazi, Fascist and neo-Fascist activities .

1986 Calls on all governments (including the USA) to observe international law.

1986 Imposes economic and military sanctions against South Africa.

1986 Condemns Israel for its actions against Lebanese civilians.

1986 Calls on Israel to respect Muslim holy places.

1986 Condemns Israel for sky-jacking a Libyan airliner.

1986 Resolutions about cooperation, security, human rights, trade, media bias, the environment and development. 8 resolutions.

1987 Calls on Israel to abide by the Geneva Conventions in its treatment of the Palestinians.

1987 Calls on Israel to stop deporting Palestinians.

1987 Condemns Israel for its actions in Lebanon. 2 resolutions.

1987 Calls on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon.

1987 Cooperation between the United Nations and the League of Arab States.

1987 Calls for compliance in the International Court of Justice concerning military and paramilitary activities against Nicaragua and a call to end the trade embargo against Nicaragua. 2 resolutions.

1987 Measures to prevent international terrorism, study the underlying political and economic causes of terrorism, convene a conference to define terrorism and to differentiate it from the struggle of people from national liberation.

1987 Resolutions concerning journalism, international debt and trade. 3 resolutions.

1987 Opposition to the build up of weapons in space.

1987 Opposition to the development of new weapons of mass destruction.

1987 Opposition to nuclear testing. 2 resolutions.

1987 Proposal to set up South Atlantic "Zone of Peace".

1988 Condemns Israeli practices against Palestinians in the occupied territories. 5 resolutions (1988 and 1989).

1989 Condemns USA invasion of Panama.

1989 Condemns USA troops for ransacking the residence of the Nicaraguan ambassador in Panama.

1989 Condemns USA support for the Contra army in Nicaragua.

1989 Condemns illegal USA embargo of Nicaragua.

1989 Opposing the acquisition of territory by force.

1989 Calling for a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on earlier UN resolutions.

1990 To send three UN Security Council observers to the occupied territories.

1995 Affirms that land in East Jerusalem annexed by Israel is occupied territory.

1997 Calls on Israel to cease building settlements in East Jerusalem and other occupied territories. 2 resolutions.

1999 Calls on the USA to end its trade embargo on Cuba. 8 resolutions (1992 to 1999).

2001 To send unarmed monitors to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

2001 To set up the International Criminal Court.

2002 To renew the peace keeping mission in Bosnia.



Note: During the eighties, the UN was concerned with Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons. On 3/21/1986, the Security Council President, "speaking on behalf of the Security Council," stated that the Council members were "profoundly concerned by the unanimous conclusion of the specialists that chemical weapons on many occasions have been used by Iraqi forces against Iranian troops...[and] the members of the Council strongly condemn this continued use of chemical weapons in clear violation of the Geneva Protocol of 1925 which prohibits the use in war of chemical weapons" (S/17911 and Add. 1, 21 March 1986).



The United States voted AGAINST the issuance of this statement.





www.vicpeace.org

Free world? Terror promoter?

During the eighties, the UN was concerned with Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons.

On 3/21/1986, the Security Council President, "speaking on behalf of the Security Council," stated that the Council members were "profoundly concerned by the unanimous conclusion of the specialists that chemical weapons on many occasions have been used by Iraqi forces against Iranian troops...[and] the members of the Council strongly condemn this continued use of chemical weapons in clear violation of the Geneva Protocol of 1925 which prohibits the use in war of chemical weapons" (S/17911 and Add. 1, 21 March 1986).

The United States voted AGAINST the issuance of this statement.



Find our more about the so-called defender of Israel...oopppsss free world.

Has anyone noticed how American war machine never got shot by their enemies. Exactly as it was when I used to watch Combat on TV years back. However, these machines have this uncanny ability to malfunction during real engagement with the enemy. Of course, no enemies munition will be able to hit it, it's just basic malfunction - though people still got killed.

Thousands of bombs, each weighing up to 1000 kg or more. Destructive but they are okay. No element terror there (only to 'shock and awe'), after all there's no American life at stake. Pathetic!

It's interesting to see the way people react to war.



In Australia, where the government is actively involved in war, the 1st day of war marked the beginning of series of anti-war demonstrations.



In Malaysia, the so-called Islamic country, anti-war demostrations are BANNED.

Go figure. And this is from a government that claims the country is worthy of being a 1st world country. Human Right! Right of Expressions! ISA....

My kids TV time is being interrupted with 'Breaking News', of War.



Kids don't need those interruptions.



And nobody needs the War - except for the war-mongers.

an eye for an eye

makes the world blind

The reality is that Britain is being asked to embark on a war without agreement in any of the international bodies of which we are a leading partner - not NATO, not the European Union and, now, not the Security Council.



...neither the international community nor the British public is persuaded that there is an urgent and compelling reason for this military action in Iraq.



....US warning of a bombing campaign that will "shock and awe" makes it likely that casualties will be numbered at least in the thousands.



Ironically, it is only because Iraq's military forces are so weak that we can even contemplate its invasion. Some advocates of conflict claim that Saddam's forces are so weak, so demoralised and so badly equipped that the war will be over in a few days.



We cannot base our military strategy on the assumption that Saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre-emptive action on the claim that he is a threat. Iraq probably has no weapons of mass destruction



Why is it now so urgent that we should take military action to disarm a military capacity that has been there for 20 years, and which we helped to create?



Yet it is more than 30 years since resolution 242 called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.



We do not express the same impatience with the persistent refusal of Israel to comply.



I intend to join those tomorrow night who will vote against military action now. It is for that reason, and for that reason alone, and with a heavy heart, that I resign from the government.



Excerpts from Robin Cook's Resignation Speech.

Was watching the The Patriot last night.



The scene where Martin gave guns to his two young sons and got them to follow him to attack the redcoats really got me thinking about the abhorrance some people have towards children being used in arm-fighting/war. While I fully don't condone this but not everyone lives in our time/place and while it is easy for us in our insulated environment to criticise and blame others, their realities might necessitate whatever they are doing.

busy

again

everyone goes through some sort of educations.



recently i read about educations and something that really struck me was the attempt to differentiate education based on it's impact.



so ask yourself;



which education informs me?



which transforms me?



which is true education then.....

I'm not feeling good at all today. Been very busy the last few days and today end with a

i just learned about the Abilene Paradox. Interesting! We are used to groupthink and the like whilst Abilene Paradox is when a group's decision is contrary to the actual wish of every group member.



something to watch out for.

bought a bike... went cycling with the whole family.



great experience.

i still haven't decided whether i'll be in albert parlk tomorrow.



why? this is just me...



someone very close said that knowing me so well, i will not go.



will i end up going just to....



what will my motivation be?

First World Infrastructures, Third World Mentality.

The KLIA is the best example of the lack of "world-class management and working practices" for Malaysia to be competitive - or as Abdullah put it: "From poor execution and inept management to shoddy maintenance and appalling customer service, Malaysia is in danger of possessing the hardware but little software."



No First World country would mishandle the dengue epidemic the way it had been done in Malaysia - by a deliberate blackout of information and refusal to sound a national alert and even emergency. In fact, Malaysia is doing what even respectable Third World nations won't do - relegating itself to a sort of "Fourth World" status after more than 100 dengue deaths last year, at least 20 dengue deaths in the first two months of this year and more fatalities until the end of the epidemic in May or June.

-Ugly Malaysian and Third World Mentality-

A long way to go.



Interesting as well when people are urged to discard their third world mentality but at the same time their most prized asset, their mind, is highly feared and subjugated with techniques from the worst of the Third World such as the Indefensible Suppression Apparatus.



Quite possibly, people will find it easier to discard their Third World Mentality when they are treated as First World citizens.

This morning, while having coffee outdoor the usually quiet atmosphere had a repeating zinging sound to it. The strange sound, much like the sound of 'Wau Bulan' kept repeating itself, increasing in loudness and then dimming to barely audible but never totally inaudible.



Yup, it's the Australian Grand Prix. Today is the 1st Qualifying in Albert Park and being less than 10 km away with clear sky (not ugly skyscraper) between where we are and the circuit, the engines roar were amazing.



With all the changes in regulations to even the playing field, hopefully this season will be more exciting than 2002.



I am planning to watch the race on Sunday but whether it will be live in Albert Park or in my own private viewing area (living room at home) is yet to be decided.



My favourite, Schumacher (M) of course but in all the races I'll be cheering for Raikkonen and Schumacher (R).



Talking about fast, check out this newly set world record.

The sacrifice of global interests to domestic politics and to bureaucratic self-interest is nothing new, and it is certainly not a uniquely American problem. Still, we have not seen such systematic distortion of intelligence, such systematic manipulation of American opinion, since the war in Vietnam.



I am resigning because I have tried and failed to reconcile my conscience with my ability to represent the current U.S. Administration



Excerpts from U.S. Diplomat's Letter of Resignation.

Sending my daughter to school this morning.

Me: Did you borrow some books from the library yesterday? (Thursday is their library day)

Md: Yes, I got 2 books.

Me: What books are they?

Md: Angelina Ballerina

Me: and....

Md: 2 Angelina Ballerina books, because I like Angelina Ballerina...

Me: I see, why don't you borrow one Angelina Ballerina and a different book?

Md: But I like Angelina Ballerina...

Me: You won't know whether you like others unless you read them....by borrowing other books as well you'll find out whether you like other books too.

Md: I think (her 'think' means she had thought it over), I'll borrow Angelina Ballerina; when I'm finished with all Angelina Ballerina, I'll borrow other books.

Me: Hmmm...how many Angelina Ballerina books are in your school library?

Md: I don't know....a lot.

Did my 5 years old just outwit me with her own reasoning? I still love the way children think.

This is refreshing! APM is urging Malaysians to "discard the third world mentality."

Malaysians must learn to stand o­n their own feet, stop relying o­n the government as a "provider of contracts and concessions" and fight corruption.



Malaysians lacked "world-class management and working practices" to be competitive

Let's see what makes a country third world.

distorted and highly dependent economies devoted to producing primary products for the developed world and to provide markets for their finished goods; traditional, rural social structures; high population growth; and widespread poverty.



Nevertheless, the third world is sharply differentiated, for it includes countries on various levels of economic development.



And despite the poverty of the countryside and the urban shantytowns, the ruling elites of most third world countries are wealthy.

-Characteristics-

Are we?

All these from a retirement plan. I just present my perspective and sometimes it hurts.



...anak-anak dengan caranya murni...

What Israel learnt from the Nazi? The strategies Nazi used in Germany (1939-1945) against the Jews are now improvised by Israel in their ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. A couple of years ago, I read the book Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally (the movie was barred from being screened in Malaysia and I always prefer books to their silver-screen adaptations) and would encourage anyone who is interested in the issue to read it.

Irony of history, the Israeli Jews were destroying Jenin on the same date (April 19) on which Jews commemorate the Warsaw uprising....Warsaw and Jenin, Jews as victims, Jews as oppressors. The descendants of the heros of the Warsaw ghettos practicing the tactics and strategy of their grandfathers' murderers.



Consider Jenin and Warsaw. In both cases, the world, Western democratic countries stood by and watched the slaughter. Horrified but unwilling to act. But today, in Jenin, unlike during the Nazi slaughter of the Jews in Warsaw, no one can say they didn't know.

-James Petras-



Jenin refugee camp had a population of a little over 13,000. At present, the team was informed that only about 3,000 remained, with 10,000 or so unaccounted for, either in hiding, detained or perished and uncovered. The Israeli forces in a 1 square km area demolished completely over 80 homes on top of inhabitants, either living or deceased. The buildings were then compressed into fine dust and rubble, layering up to two stories above the ground.



One witness saw Israelis executing a camp inhabitant after forcing him to stand against a wall, blindfolded and handcuffed. Another eyewitness saw soldiers crushing the bodies of camp inhabitants with tanks after they had been cuffed and thrown to the ground. The bodies were pulverized by Merkava tanks running back and forth until being rendered completely unrecognizable. A wall was then crushed over them to further hide the evidence.



Ahmed Mahmoud Fayed told the story of his paralyzed brother who remained behind in his house as his parents fled. The parents pleaded to be allowed to remove Jamal Fayed, but the Israeli soldiers ignored them and demolished the home with him inside. Rescue workers have yet been unable to uncover Jamal’s body under the debris

The full report



The Israeli army is intent on such an ugly genocide, that even a few hundred of its own fighters are refusing to take part. The Israelis have coldly executed over 1000 Palestinians, most of whom were women and children, and then buried them in the ruins to make it look as if it was an accidental death.



That is why the Israeli military refuses to allow any journalist or international delegate such as from the Red Cross, to enter these camps and have made their request to the Supreme Israeli Court to bury these bodies in a secret place.



How could a people, who had earned their own dignity and self respect from the abominable treatment they suffered at the hands of the nazis, now turn this to shame by inflicting the very same sufferings on others?

Jenin Massacre

Is this a 'conflict' or is this holocaust in the making?

Portrait of a Terrorist?

In 1953, founded a secret death squad that committed several mass murders of civilians. In October 1953, the squad massacred 66 innocent civilians during. Under intense machine-gun fire, local residents were driven into their homes, which were then blown up around them, killing the occupants by burying them alive in piles of rubble. In Oct. 1953, the U.S. State Department issued a bulletin denouncing the massacre, demanding that those responsible be "brought to account.



In three separate incidents, led units murdering prisoners of war, as well as civilian workers who had been captured. All told, 273 unarmed prisoners were executed and dumped into mass graves



In 1970's deployed assassination program where members of the unit frequently disguised themselves as the 'enemies' the 'special operations' included terrorist attacks on own targets to justify 'retaliatory strikes' against pre-selected 'enemy' targets.



Terrorising people out of their homes and occupy their land.



1982 - broke the cease-fire agreement, and launched a "purification" campaign against the refugee camps and massacred unarmed women, children, and elderly.



2002 - another massacre at refugee camp with more than 1000 refugees killed.

Know this terrorist and his innocent victims.

1989 - Down the Berlin Wall

2002 - Up the Apartheid Wall



And we are supposed to be learning from past mistakes? Mistakes can also be winning strategies depending on viewpoints and values.

The latest we heard about the war is that it will resolve the middle-east conflict. To Muslims out there, it is also for the betterment of the Palestinians. Sounds familiar? Check out what was said mid of last year.

It is untenable for Israeli citizens to live in terror. It is untenable for Palestinians to live in squalor and occupation.




Yeah, the Palestinians are not living in terror

I can understand the deep anger and despair of the Palestinian people. For decades you've been treated as pawns in the Middle East conflict.

That was then. It was then that there was the plea "to choose peace, and hope, and life". However, more than 6 months down the road, we are still awaiting the road-maps to peace and now we again hear the same script being repeated. Though Bush seems to have learned from his observation.



Who is using the Palestinians as pawn now? But that doesn't make you right.

Biar mati anak, Jangan mati adat.



Masihkah relevan?

The International Movement for a Just World (JUST) seeking endorsements for a peace letter to be sent to the Security Council.



A lot of people are doing a lot of things and a lot of people are not doing a lot of things.

A lot of people thinking of doing a lot of things are a lot of people not doing a lot of things.



Do something.

What's your plan upon retirement? Why not struggle against terrorism?

Ms Gwynne, 65, retired in 1998 after 15 years as a manager for Barclays in Aberystwyth. Since then she has split her time between her two daughters, one in Germany the other, at university in California, who took her to a Palestinian solidarity meeting at which she was so outraged by accounts of children shot by the Israeli army that she decided to see for herself.



"I really, really understand the martyrs. I am very good friends with the family of the two who went on the mission to Tel Aviv. One saw the other explode, and then he walked away and blew himself up. They are such lovely families and very proud of their sons."





"It hasn't surprised me but it has shocked me to see a baby die because it's mother has been dumped next to the roadside in the cold because the Israelis won't let the ambulance through; to see a child in a hospital with its nose shot off; to hear an Israeli soldier threaten to kill us all. He said: 'I can kill you all in 10 seconds.' This is a crime of unimaginable proportions unless you live here."



"For the first week I wept, but after that I became so angry I couldn't shed any more tears."



"I'm ashamed I didn't come before but I was working. I was a single parent. I had children at university. Now I'm here as a witness."

The Guardian has the full story.

"Courage is not the absence of fear,

but courage is doing the right thing in the presence of fear"



-I saw this somewhere-

One of my lecturers prides himself with the fact that people are bound to hear about Ethics in his lecture.

Coming from the culture of "Duit Kopi" and "Makan Suap", I find his lectures catalysts for deep introspection.



BTW, is it really our culture? Or is culture merely an attempt to lull our conscience from confronting the truth of our behaviour?



Anyway, ethics is fast being accepted as one of the fundamentals of organisations both in academic and corporate worlds. The importance of ethics are specifically highlighted by some huge corporate debacles such as Enron and WorldCom.



Almost daily, individuals face issues demanding ethical considerations. Sometimes what we see and experience makes us wonder Why do good people do bad things? Some might ask, Can I make any difference? At the organisational level, it is interesting to look at Organisation's Ethical Congruence.

someone is told by his boss to do something that is wrong...

what should he do?

"Dewasa ini kita saling merayakan

Kejayaan yang akhirnya membinasakan"



("Lately we keep celebrating

Successes that ultimately destroy")



What is progress? Is it having the tallest, biggest, strongest of everything? Is is high GDP and having more money?

Are we progressing when we clear a forest to build a golf course?

Are we progressing when we have problems getting good care for our children?

Is it progress having the tallest building in the world?

Is it progress when all of us can afford huge automobiles?

What is progress?



What is Genuine Progress?

Some people are redefining progress and hopefully this efforts is on the right path towards progress.



While there, why not take the Ecological Footprint Quiz and find out how many earth do you need? You might be in for a surprise.

Heard of Sustainable Development?



"development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations

to meet their own needs"



-Bruntland Commission 1987-



Why bother?



Think about the message in Hijau

by Zainal



Bumi yang tiada rimba

Seumpama hamba

Dia dicemar manusia

Yang jahil ketawa



Bumi yang tiada udara

Bagai tiada nyawa

Pasti hilang suatu hari

Tanpa disedari



Bumi tanpa lautan

Akan kehausan

Pasti lambat laun hilang

Dunia ku yang malang



Dewasa ini kita saling merayakan

Kejayaan yang akhirnya membinasakan

Apalah guna kematangan fikiran

Bila di jiwa kita masih lagi muda dan mentah

Ku lihat hijau



Bumi ku yang kian pudar

Siapa yang melihat

Di kala kita tersadar

Mungkinkah terlewat



Korupsi, oppressi, obsessi diri

Polussi, depressi di bumi kini



Ooo.... anak anak tok leh meghaso mandi laok

Bersaing, main ghama-ghama

Ale lo ni tuo omo nyo bejuto

Kito usoho jauhke daghi mala petako



Ozone lo ni, koho nipih nak nak aghi

Keno make asak hok biso, we!

Pasa maknusio seghemo bendo bendo di dunio

Tok leh tehe sapa bilo bilo



( Lagu : Mukhlis Nor - Lirik : Mukhlis Nor )

What does this war mean? I asked myself. I searched for an answer... so far, I got this;



“One day in March the Air Force and Navy will launch between 300 and 400 cruise missiles at targets in Iraq…more than the number that were launched during the entire 40 days of the first Gulf War…so that you have this simultaneous effect, rather like the nuclear weapons at Hiroshima, not taking days or weeks but in minutes."

(CBS News, Jan. 27, 2003)



still searching.......

This reminds me of something that took place years ago...

While I've heard enough of "The Maths teacher explained everything to us in his tuition class yesterday afternoon", I think we sometimes forget the opposite often.



It was a form three class preparing for SRP (as it was called then) and the Maths teacher was very unhappy.

"Saya Cina tau! Kamu semua Melayu!"

"Saya sanggup tunggu sampai petang sebab nak buat kelas tambahan tapi tak sampai 5 orang yang datang."



While my Maths did improve, I learnt a lot more from her that day. I learnt that not all Chinese are bad. I learnt that not all Malays are good. I learnt that my Chinese teacher care about the more than 40 Malay students in my class. I learnt that racism has got no place in my life, EVER. I learnt that if you pay attention to the person, not his or her racial backgroud, you'll know the real person and you'll forget the differences. Thanks Ms Chua.



And I know that she's not paid extra for going the extra mile for us.....

Hari ini Maal Hijrah.



Aku tak perasan hari ni Maal Hijrah.

Kalendar kat rumah aku kata esok.

Tapi aku sepatutnya lebih peka lagi.

Tarikh ni bukan tarikh tahun baru, bukan pula tarikh ulangtahun kelahiran.

Tarikh ni tarikh keramat, tarikh yang sangat bererti bagi ribuan juta umat manusia.

Tarikh yang sangat bererti bagi aku.... tapi aku tak perasan?... sabar je laa....



Apa sebenarnya kepentingan tarikh ini pada aku?

Cuti Umum pun aku tak dapat.

Tarikh ini tarikh istimewa.

Tarikh ini tarikh bersejarah.

Tarikh ini tarikh bertuah.

Tarikh ini tarik pemisah.

Tarikh ini tarikh permulaan.

Tarikh ini tarikh perubahan.

Tarikh ini tarikh Baginda Rasul SAW menempuh era baru dalam dakwah,

era baru dalam perjuangan,

era baru dalam pengabdian.



Apa aku nak buat?

Aku dapat beberapa email mengandungi Doa Akhir dan Awal tahun.

Aku takde azam baru ke?

Aku memang tak pernah ada azam baru ni...

Aku rasa baik kalau dihayati perjuangan Baginda Rasul SAW.

Buku paling baik pernah aku baca tentang perjuangan Baginda.

Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar - manisan yang tertutup kemas?)

Ada lagi buku ini di rak perpustakaan rumahku, walau dah lama tak terselak.

Kalau ada yang bertanya, "Highly Recommended," pandanganku.



Aku ingat lagi, aku menitiskan airmata bila baca kisah Baginda Rasul SAW semasa Peperangan Uhud.

Lepas tu aku selalu fikir pasal perjuangan dan pengorbanan Baginda Rasul SAW

Lepas tu aku selalu ingatkan Allah SWT

Lepas tu aku selalu teringat taknak sesiakan hidup aku, aku taknak sesiakan pengorbanan Baginda SAW

Lepas tu aku ingat lagi

Lepas tu aku ingat juga

Lepas tu aku ingat-ingat lupa

Lepas tu aku kurang ingat

Lepas tu aku kembali ketawa bahagia ceria suka gembira

Lepas tu aku tak ingat dah...



Aku tak ingat dah, kecuali bila aku ditimpa bencana

Aku tak ingat dah, kecuali bila aku berhapadan dengan petaka

Aku tak ingat dah, kecuali bila aku mengharapkan sesuatu

Aku tak ingat dah, kecuali bila anak aku sakit

Aku tak ingat dah, kecuali bila aku terjaga tengah malam teringatkan adik aku

Aku tak ingat dah, kecuali bila aku kecemasan

Aku tak ingat dah.........



Aku nak ingat.

Insya-Allah, aku akan ingat....



01-01-1424

I was here yesterday.



I'm not really passionate about cars. For me, cars are machines (based on the crudest definition of a machine) that get me from point A to point B. Spending more than 2 hours at the show, I found that some of the innovations worth mentioning. The Smart is my favourite mainly because it is in production and the price does not limit its ownership to 0.0000000001% of the world's populations.



Checkout out the Shrinking Car as well. It will remain concept though with no plan for production.



The not so surprisingly favourites with the crowds are the Enzo Ferrari and Lamborghini Murcielago.



Mazda features the RX-8 with the rotary engine and the now famous suicide door.



To Malaysians out there, I saw a Mercedes C180 Kompressor priced at AU$61k (That's less than RM130k).....hmmmm.....

look around and within...



some people have something to say

some people have to say something...



learn to recognise which is which?

which one are you?

Siapa yang betul?



“Kita tidak melihat ada alasan bagi menaikkan harga barang dan perkhidmatan dengan pengumuman mengenai kenaikan ini."

-Menteri Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna-



“Secara purata, 25 peratus kos operasi syarikat-syarikat pengangkutan adalah berpunca daripada minyak dan sebarang kenaikan minyak pasti akan memberikan kesan yang nyata....Jika tidak ada jalan lain, kita akan memohon kepada kerajaan untuk menaikkan tambang.''

-Yang Dipertua Persatuan Pengusaha Bas Ekspres Melayu Semenanjung Malaysia-

What is Peace?

the world needs more of this...

....anak-anak dengan caranya murni,
berkelahi untuk nanti bermain kembali.....
-Usman Awang-

not war....

my 5 years old asked, "What is Peace?"
a stranger who happened to walk past us said to her, "Peace is what we have now...like this, here and now"

my 2 years old favourite chant "No War for Oil!. I doubt he understands it and wonder where he learned it.

How to convince the world that Black is White.



Wake up one day and decide to do so.

Erase the word ‘black’ from your communicating vocabulary

Start saying it, “This is white.”

Keep saying it, “This is white.”

Write an article saying it is white.

Write a paper (with references – mainly to the 1st article) that it is white.

Send the paper to a tabloid paper, it will get published.

Remember to keep saying it, “This is white.”

Convince a no-brainer friends of yours that it is white.

Tell NB not to worry or even think, just follow what you do and say.

Keep it going on for a while.

Train NB to say “This is white”, loudly.

In the face of criticism, NB will refer to you as the expert.

You get the title now. The expert on White (which is actually black).

Look for innocent people suffering colour-blindness and trick them into believing “This is white.”

Your have quite a mass now.

Write more articles and keep referring to previously written works (for some reason, people think that by having a reference to their opinion makes it the ultimate truth notwithstanding the status of the references or if it’s from their own long-forgotten works).

At all time never forget to keep saying, “This is white.”

Along the way you’ll get free publicity.

An interview or two might come your way (this is the best opportunity, wear ‘black’ and insist you are wearing white).

Keep saying it, “This is white.”

Stop any differing view by declaring, “those who says it’s black are actually misled and hopeless in need of help”.

Keep saying it, “This is white”...and you’ll get your way.

Until It itself speaks up and tell you, “No, sir, I am black.”

Of course 'It is wrong' as well.



Must be something I read this morning

Success

Success.
To a lot of students, academic excellence is the pinnacle of their student lives and scoring straight A's is on everyone' wishlist. I couldn't believe it when I heard about the first person to score 16 As (that's sixteen and if you are wondering, it's 15A1's and 1 A2) in the SPM examinations which results were announced last week. My first thought upon hearing this news is it cannot be healthy to attempt that and this person's life must revolve around her studies. Therefore, it is with greatest admiration for me to find out that Yap Sui Lin is more than simply a gifted bookworm genius. While I would not recommend anyone to follow her in her spectacular academic feats for fear of imposing an almost impossible target, I would urge students to follow her by doing more than just study their books.

For the uniniated, SPM is Malaysia's high school qualification equivalent to GCSE O Level in the UK. Majority of the candidates attempt 9 subjects and speaking from experience, achieving 9A1's is an unfulfilled dreams of more than 99.99% of the candidates (myself included! hmmm....SPM....a distant memory....).

I thought I've heard it all. But this latest one is really perplexing. More Muslims will die if Saddam is not stopped. I'm all for choosing the better options, the lesser of two evils, minimum damage, optimum choice, sensible option and whatever you want to call it. However, to justify dropping tonnes of concrete blocks on innocent people is just...Not Right. BTW, I did say concrete blocks and I meant it. Dropping concrete blocks on you hurts especially if it is dropped from tens of thousands of feets above (heroes fly high to avoid anti aircraft missiles) and it will hit civillians. So imagine you are walking down the street and 1.8 tonnes of solid concrete drops on you, 1 metre from you or even 10 metres from you. Not pleasant heh... Now, you are not supposed to be walking on the street when some flying-high heroes are playing their war-games on the sky above you. So imagine, you are taking shelter in your house and 1.8 tonnes of solid concrete drops on your house and then on you. Still not pleasant heh.... Now realise that it is not a block of concrete but a devastating bomb that upon hitting it's target will explode and blow everything to smithereens.... very unpleasant indeed.... anyway, I digressed.



Since Saddam has killed 1.7M (that's 1,700,000) people over 24 years in power, he's averaged just under 71,000 lives a year. Between 1979 and the Gulf War, which is nearly 12 years, Saddam was America's best friend. That's 71000 times 12 lives (850,000) lives and what was America doing then? (I'm not going into the fact that Saddam had been more potent in chalking up the numbers before the Gulf War thus the average figure above is highly underestimated). Today, there's this concern and care for lives by Uncle Sam and there's no other agenda. Yeah, right.



"Yes I do not want 10,000 Iraqis to die but given a choice of ten (thousand) now to a hundred (thousand) that we would save in the future, the war is a better choice" he [president of the Council of American Muslims For Understanding (CAMU)] reasoned. Tell us the same thing when you and your family are part of the 10,000; and I highly suspect your figures. BTW, the number of people killed in Iraq after the Gulf War is extremely high and that's the result of the sanction. I hope you have not included that number in the 1.7M.



Stop judging people for things they haven't committed lest you'll be judged the same way. Don't let the world loses its sanity.

Kurang Ajar - Usman Awang

Kurang Ajar

Sebuah perkataan yang paling ditakuti
Untuk bangsa kita yang pemalu.

Sekarang kata ini kuajarkan pada anakku;
Kau harus menjadi manusia kurang ajar
Untuk tidak mewarisi malu ayahmu.

Lihat petani-petani yang kurang ajar
Memiliki tanah dengan caranya
Sebelumnya mereka tak punya apa
Kerana ajaran malu dari bangsanya.

Suatu bangsa tidak menjadi besar
Tanpa memiliki sifat kurang ajar.

-Usman Awang-

- Ummi, have you got a big camera?
- A big camera?
- Yes, a big camera.
- A big camera????
- Yes, a big camera to take these big pictures?

[The conversation between my 5 years old and her mum]

It turned out that she had gone through our family album and got intrigued at the section where we put all the enlarged photographs (you know, the one you get free when you develop a roll of film).

I love the way children think.

Thinking of the spirits of giving, sharing and caring makes me wonder about myself and us Malaysians in general. Malaysians are generally very proud of our 'eastern values' that are supposedly positioning us at a higher level of morality and social awareness. However, faced with almost perpetual plights affecting a lot of people around the world and even at home, we tend to practice more the value of 'Jangan ambil tahu tepi kain orang'; that is Mind Our Own Business. Where any effort is made to assist, normally a lengthy list of selection filters will be applied with the main discriminators being 'whether the victims are like us?'. This is a mind-set that will take us nowhere except backwards in this world. We need to learn to emphatise with and support victims of any disasters (be it man-made, natural et cetera). I have a few 'theories' of the reasons for this but that's not what I'm putting forth now.



One particular organisation makes me proud to be a Malaysian and their actions speak for themselves. Still relatively young in the International Aid scene, Mercy Malaysia is one of my favourite aid organisations (I guess that translates to, if I'm worth it, they'll feature in my will). While I haven't got much to put in my will at the moment, I guess being a volunteer is the natural thing to do. Check out their Objectives and their latest two latest programmes;MERCY Prepares Emergency Response Teams for Iraq and MERCY Malaysia launches China Humanitarian Relief Fund.



To those considering being a volunteer, ponder upon the quote below and see whether it's worthwhile;

"To be a volunteer, you must be a person who is not biased. You must be a person who loves humanity. You must come out of the house to help. People must learn to learn. If you think that you are suffering, you will have to see how others suffer, then will you really know what suffering is." Captain (R) Lawrence Chew, a volunteer with Mercy.

Harga Petrol Naik Lagi

Menarik kalau difikirkan yang sesetengah benda, pergerakannya naik-turun macam lif. Sesetengah pula, ke bawah sahaja, seperti buah durian gugur. Yang satu lagi dan sejak akhir-akhir ini kerap sangat berlaku, memanjang naik sahaja. Harga Petrol Naik LAGI!!!!.

Ini berikutan kenaikan harga minyak di pasaran dunia,; betul juga. Tapi sejak kenaikan pertama beberapa tahun yang lalu, harga minyak di pasaran dunia sudah berganjak jauh samada turun mahupun naik. Tetapi bila harga minyak dunia turun, tidak pula kelihatan "Harga Petrol Turun". Bila harga naik sahaja, maka harga jualan runcit petrol pun naik sama. Bahang peperangan yang kuat dirasai sekarang sememangnya menjana spekulasi kenaikan harga petrol yang sebelum itu sudah mula naik dengan permasalahan perhubungan industri di Venezuela. Sememang sekiranya meletus peperangan di Timur Tengah, harga minyak di pasaran dunia akan terus melambung tinggi. Harga Petrol akan Naik lagi. Sekiranya tidak berlaku peperangan (walaupun ramai yang gatal tangan untuk berperang), tentunya harga minyak akan jatuh. Begitu juga, selepas tamatnya peperangan, tentu juga harga minyak di pasaran dunia akan jatuh. Persoalannya di sini, apakah harga runcit petrol akan turun pada ketika itu?

"Bila agaknya Harga Petrol akan TURUN!"

I'm still in front of my PC. Cleaning my mailboxes...anyone who uses one of these free emails which has the latest technology in anti-spamming devices (which to me seems to be the user selecting all the unwanted mails and then clicking the delete button), must understand what I'm talking about. But then, I'm not complaining, I've won a lottery, some unknown company has offered to find a partner for me, one particular company keeps saying I received a fax (which I can access from their website), how about Dating offer?, one particular company assumed that I am broke and need credit facilities et cetera...et cetera. Why am I not complaining? Well, I still get to use the email and that opens up a world of communications to me. Though my index finger is complaining...Right NOW!

Frankly, I don't really know what I'll be writing here....I guess this is where I can talk to myself (which I do a lot). The only difference now is I'm talking to myself in public, which I always try to avoid in the world out there. I might also write in Malay if I feel like it. Malay being my first language but I really miss using it especially in it's purest form. Bahasa Melayu ini indah. Malangnya, kelonggaran peraturan nahu dan tatabahasanya menyebabkan ianya mudah dicampuradukkan dengan istilah dari bahasa lain. Akibatnya, berkuranglah serinya, pudarlah keindahannya dan hilanglah kekuatannya. I've just put in writings for the first time my view of this language of mine. The Malay Language is beautiful. Unfortunately, the looseness of it's grammatical rules make it easy to be mixed (or polluted) with foreign terms. As a result, its vibrant is lessened, it's beauty is faded and its strength is lost.



Anyway, that's my view and I'm far away from being a linguist or a language-activist (as hopefully, will be proven). I'll be talking about things as I see, hear, feel and think of them.

yup...it works....

this is not good. i've just set up my blogspot, wrote the now probably outdated greetings and excitedly clicked the 'view web page' link...and what i got after internet explorer spent like 15 seconds trying to connect to qwar02.blogspot.com, is

The following Blog*Spot page was not found:

/servlet/BlogSpot=******

You may wish to visit the home page for this site.

hello world!