Category: General

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
New York Times
January 8 2011

If there’s a human face on Rising China, it belongs not to some Politburo chief, not to an Internet tycoon, but to a quiet, mild-mannered teenage girl named Hou Yifan.

Ms. Hou (whose name is pronounced Ho Ee-fahn) is an astonishing phenomenon: at 16, she is the new women’s world chess champion, the youngest person, male or female, ever to win a world championship. And she reflects the way China — by investing heavily in education and human capital, particularly in young women — is increasingly having an outsize impact on every aspect of the world.

Napoleon is famously said to have declared, “When China wakes, it will shake the world.” That is becoming true even in spheres that China historically has had little connection with, like chess, basketball, rare earth minerals, cyber warfare, space exploration and nuclear research. Continue reading “China Rises, and Checkmates”

Daily Mail
7.1.2011

Thousands of dead turtle doves rained down on roofs and cars in an Italian town in the latest in a growing spate of mass animal deaths across the globe.

Residents in Faenza described the birds falling to the ground like ‘little Christmas balls’ with strange blue stains on their beaks.

Initial tests on up to 8,000 of the doves indicated that the blue stain could have been caused by poisoning or hypoxia.

A witness told www.examiner.com: ‘We have no idea why this happened all of a sudden.

‘The doves just started falling one-by-one then in groups of 10s and 20s.’

Hypoxia, a lack of oxygen, is known to cause confusion and illness in animals. It is also a common precursor to altitude sickness.

Experts said results from tests on the doves will not be available for at least a week.

They said that cold weather could have caused the birds’ deaths as the flock was swept into a high-altitude wind storm before falling to the earth. Continue reading “Mystery of mass animal death epidemic deepens”

Wishing Happy Deepavali to all Malaysian Indians.

Despite obstacles and setbacks, the battle of good against evil and light against darkness must be unremitting and unceasing.

Take courage for the night is darkest before dawn

Meeting to discuss racist remarks by another HM
The Star
Saturday August 21, 2010

SUNGAI PETANI: The Kedah Education Department is organising a meeting between parents and authorities of a school here following complaints that the principal had scolded non-Malay students for eating outside the school canteen.

Its director Shahidan Abd Rahman said he had spoken to the school principal involved after learning about the incident on Thursday.

“We will call a meeting soon on the matter, involving him, the parent-teacher association and parents of the students concerned,” he said here yesterday.

In the incident, the principal had allegedly scolded 10 Form Three students for eating outside the school canteen at about 7am before classes began.

The students were eating outside because the lights in the canteen were not switched on.

The principal had purportedly told them off for “not respecting” their Muslim friends and that they “should return to their country of origin if they did not show such respect”. Continue reading “Another ‘racist’ school head in Kedah”

by Dr. Lim Teck Ghee
Centre for Policy Initiatives
27 June 2010

Life as a gamble

The cabinet decision not to issue a sports betting licence to Ascot Sports Sdn Bhd is the right one but it was made for the wrong reasons. According to prime minister Najib Razak, the reason for not legalizing sports betting was “the impact it will have from the perspective of religion and politics.”

To get a proper perspective of the issue, it is necessary to get off the religious and political high horse and acknowledge that we are a nation that loves the occasional flutter. And also let us admit that there’s nothing wrong with gambling so long as it is not taken to extreme lengths and becomes a pathological, compulsive or destructive habit.

In a sense, all of life and the various decisions that we make are gambles. Although it may be too much to say that we all have gambling in our genes, scientists have been debating on the extent to which gambling is a manifestation of human behavior for a long time – at least during the last 200 years or so. Continue reading “Gambling: It’s in Malaysia’s genes”

BY HOWL PILLAI | CPI

I find myself in a strangely odd position – an Indian speaking up for the Chinese. It has recently been asked of them: “What more do the Chinese want?”

If it were merely rhetorical, I will defend the right to ask questions of such a nature in the name of free speech and healthy discourse. Unfortunately it is not a question. It is a blatant threat. The politicians behind the threat have clearly identified themselves. They have also now shown their hand. They are shamelessly indulging in the gutter politics of communalism.

A demonstration 10,000-strong had been planned for May 13 in Terengganu. We should reject this threat for the same reason we reject a bribe. Racial politics and corruption are slowly and surely destroying the very fabric of nationhood. A country that was put together carefully with effort, toil and sacrifice deserves better.
Continue reading “What more do we want from the Chinese?”

Spotted in a toilet of a London office:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW.

In a London Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES:
PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT

Outside a London second-hand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING – BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC.
WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR

Seen during a London conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN’T KNOW IT,
THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR

Notice in a field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE,
BUT THE BULL CHARGES Continue reading “English can be fun”

GERMAN MEDIA FRENZY OVER POSSIBLE VW-PROTON ALLIANCE
Wednesday, October 10, 2007; Posted: 02:06 AM

FRANKFURT (Germany), Oct 10, 2007 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) — Germany’s print and broadcast media, not to mention the specialised trade media, have been churning out reports over the past few days about an impending deal between Wolfsburg-based giant carmaker Volkswagen (VW) and Malaysia’s national car company Proton (KLSE:5304).

Germany’s leading dailies such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Welt and the Handelsblatt have been speculating that VW may finally be on its way to forming an alliance with Proton, by either acquiring a 20 per cent stake in Proton or forming a joint venture company which would include Proton assets.

Later, VW might increase its stake in Proton to 50 per cent. An indication to this effect was given by VW head Martin Winterkorn himself in a recent interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, when he said that VW would “move in that direction”.

VW’s acquisition of Proton will strengthen the German carmaker’s position in Southeast Asia.

But VW, according to Winterkorn, would like to see the risks minimised and is also interested in Proton’s extensive network of dealers and agents.

But he also emphasised in the interview that VW was “nowhere even near a due diligence”. He would first see what concessions Malaysia had to offer.

However, German industry pundits said that VW could afford the luxury of waiting longer while the Malaysian side could not.

Indeed, VW will insist that the Malaysian government provides a “soft landing” cushion to compensate it against any losses at Proton for, at least, three years. Continue reading “Proton-Volkswagen deal – “a buyer’s market””

(For a laugh. Thanks Huang for forwarding the following email:)

Who says our English is teruk.? Just see below –

Ours is simple, short, concise, straight-to-point, effective etc:

WHEN GIVING A CUSTOMER BAD NEWS

Britons: I’m sorry, Sir, but we don’t seem to have the sweater you want in your size, but if you give me a moment, I can call the other outlets for you.
Malaysians: No Stock.

RETURNING A CALL

Britons: Hello, this is John Smith. Did anyone page for me a few moments ago?
Malaysians: Hello, who page?

ASKING SOMEONE TO MAKE WAY

Britons: Excuse me, I’d like to get by. Would you please make way?
Malaysians: S-kew me

WHEN SOMEONE OFFERS TO PAY

Britons: Hey, put your wallet away, this drink is on me.
Malaysians:No-need, lah.

WHEN ASKING FOR PERMISSION

Britons: Excuse me, but do you think it would be possible for me to enter through this door?
Malaysians: (pointing the door) can ar? Continue reading “British English vs Malaysian English”

May be we need light relief, and here goes:

An Indian boy on his first day at school in the US

It was the first day of school and a new student named Chandrashekhar Subrahmanyam entered the fourth grade.

The teacher said, “Let’s begin by reviewing some American History.

Who said, “Give me Liberty , or give me Death”?

She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Chandrashekhar, who had his hand up: “Patrick Henry, 1775” he said.

“Very good!” Who said, “Government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the Earth?”

Again, no response except from Chandrashekhar.” Abraham Lincoln, 1863″ said Chandrashekhar.

The teacher snapped at the class, “Class, you should be ashamed.

Chandrashekhar, who is new to our country, knows more about its history than you do!”

She heard a loud whisper: “F**k the Indians,”

“Who said that?” she demanded.

Chandrashekhar put his hand up. “General Custer, 1862.”

At that point, a student in the back said, “I’m gonna puke.” Continue reading “An Indian boy on his first day at school in the US”

OOLONG TEA……

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of Oolong tea…You will never look at a cup of Oolong the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed Oolong tea. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the Oolong out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.” Continue reading “Oolong Tea”