Bush / Badawi Coincidence

January 29 2002: About 4 1/2 months after the 9/11 incident, President George W. Bush delivered his State of the Union address that mentions the word 'evil' for the first time.

Quote:

During these last few months, I've been humbled and privileged to see the true character of this country in a time of testing. Our enemies believed America was weak and materialistic, that we would splinter in fear and selfishness. They were as wrong as they are evil. (Applause.)

Never before in the last 20 years since Bush Sr and Clinton had the previous prime ministers nor presidents mentioned the word 'evil' in their state of union addresses directly until Bush uttered it the first time during that address.

Flash forward 6 years later and Abdullah Badawi also mirrors Bush in uttering the word 'evil' in the face. On that day when he bashed 'Kickdefella' on media print, it was quoted:

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has described the action of a blogger in calling on his blogsite followers to fly the national flag upside down as a sign of protest, as evil.

Two days after I told some prominent bloggers about 'Kickdefella' in trouble, most of the prominent bloggers hit back at Abdullah for such thinking and mentality. Even Mr. Mahathir, although I do not fully believe in him, provided some points about this scenario that I must concur and agree with that. Quoting in translation:

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's reaction is predictable. The suggestion of this campaign is interpreted as 'no manners'. As usual threats were made to the police to take action against that blogger. Other bloggers are bashed and were considered as not useful and causing problem to the people.

The suggestion of flying the national flag upside down is considered as insulting our own selves as Malaysian people. Has it come across Abdullah's heart to ask and know why the wierd suggestion is made. As with BN's defeat in March this year, Abdullah denied that there's something wrong with BN and the government under his leadership which caused BN supporters from all races giving votes to the opposition. Instead, he interpreted the massive drop of votes to BN candidates were caused by sabotage and certain parties do not want to give 2/3 majority win to BN. Why they did that was never questioned by him, only anger and threatening to act against them.

There were many ways made to make leaders aware of people disatisfaction, but his constant denial makes the message intended misinterpreted and giving the wrong meaning. In the people's dismay, it makes it hard for them to celebrate with joy and the spirit of celebrating Merdeka.

Anwar previously said that letting the petrol prices floating according to world prices by Abdullah is an IMF prescription, as well as letting the ringgit floating against the major basket of currencies. One question though: previously in 1997/8, Anwar attempted this prescription but the question was never answered: what was Anwar's idea in mind. Did he actually saw from far that things will recover very fast that he was prepared to have Malaysia taking the stimulus package from IMF? I would really want to listen to that answer from Anwar himself.

Anyhow, from above, do you notice of one of the few coincidences / American connection to Malaysia. Many UMNO / BN people blindly accused Anwar as an agent of Americans, but it is actually shown that Abdullah / BN / Musa Hassan is in connection with America / Israel (no part of the latter's connection with a Israelite-company in designing communications tools for police)...so it seems that many people are misleaded and the real facts are upside down, or is it?

Oh, Dollah...You are My Master and My Savior!..?

Everyone at office was shocked to hear that the price of fuel will be reduced by 15 sen to RM 2.55 from tomorrow onwards. It was much earlier than the expected announcement on the 31st. And it's the only time in 5 years that we hear such news.

First of all, I don't really think that the 15sen reduction will do much. Too much damage has already been done by the drastic decision that Dollah Badawi made in June. Dropping 15 sen means that people saved only about $6-10 per week on petrol that's all. There is indeed nothing to cheer about. Unless, if they are talking about drastic reduction to say $2.10, as Big Dog mentioned the other day, then it will be something that everyone can cheer about. This measure simply will not do much good and economy could go from bad to worst since the ringgit is predicted to go back to the 2006 levels, at 3.5X something instead of 3.10

Second thing I kept asking of is the timing. The timing is coincided with the upcoming Permatang Pauh by-elections and I too agree with Anil's (saw him sometime back in K.L) statement that it is a politically motivated thing. Why do that now instead of 31st? When they increased the price, oil was at just $125 per barrel. So there's nothing much to cheer off...The RON 92 has a larger price drop to $2.40. However, RON 92 petrol is lower in grade and the government is indirectly telling motor users to use RON 92 for their cars, but the kind of petrol is not very good for cars.

Frankly, this is one of the last minute measures, to entice the rakyat so that they can say that Dollah and the government are their saviours and their master. Just as what MCA and MIC did pre-March 8. The master-servant relationship; and that is why the component parties got whacked badly because of the connection. The ones that BN are banking on are the rural Malay folk, which blindly votes for them because much of their help were provided by the government.

I think everyone is made to say (from this decision) that Dollah Badawi is their savior / master. When I read the Testament graphic novels (that my friend Simon had), I was clearly reminded of the parrallels between the novel and the real country situation.

Looking at that, Pakatan can actually leverage on this situation by possibly reducing it further to $1.85, which is much lower than the 2006-2008 levels, although slightly.

Speaking of Pematang, I think some of the bloggers left for there. If...if Pete repeats the feat as he did in Bagan / Prai, then the outcome could also go to Anwar's favor. Allow me to reiteriate that the nation's economy still remains in trouble and if Abdullah Badawi does not leave by October, then the nation's economy will plunder into abyss! (yes a reminder from Matthias Chang as well!)

Teaching Abdullah Badawi

[Source]

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has described the action of a blogger in calling on his blogsite followers to fly the national flag upside down as a sign of protest, as evil.

He said flying the Jalur Gemilang upside down could not be regarded as an act of mischief alone but a despicable one, what more with Malaysia about to celebrate its 51st independence anniversary.

“This is uncouth behaviour, showing no respect at all for the national flag. What is there to be angry with the Malaysian flag?” he said after officiating at the Third Scouts International Peace Jamboree, here today.

“If there are Malaysians who want to take up the idea that came from the pro-opposition blogger, they are insulting this important national symbol (flag),” he said.

Abdullah said the blogger came up with the idea to fly the national flag upside down hoping that others would follow suit, without thinking of the implications.
“It’s all in the blog...only he can do a good job. He’s simply creating trouble by coming up with dubious stories,” he said.

It was reported in cyberspace that Kelantanese blogger Sheih (Kickdefella) had on Aug 3 launched a campaign to fly the Jalur Gemilang upside down as a symbol of the people’s frustrations and as a signal of a nation in distress.

He also wrote in his blog that “it is internationally accepted that raising the flag upside down is a mark of a state in distress. It is never a mark of disrespect.” Some bloggers and commentators quickly declared their support for the idea but many, including from the opposition, were against it as they felt the national flag deserved the utmost respect.

A blog visitor wrote that in India, flying the national flag upside down as an international symbol of distress was unacceptable, and in fact an insult to the nation. Abdullah, meanwhile, hoped the police would act on the matter.

**********************

First of all, Dollah, 'evil' is a very big word to be used. In fact it is the wrong word used. The more appropriate word is not 'evil' but it can be like 'inappropriate' or a statement like 'please don't do that'. To say evil simply implies that a blogger like Sheih does atrocities without conscience like being in the role as a killer of Nurin (incidentally, it's the first anniversary of her death).

Dollah, you might want to watch the Tommy Lee Jones movie called "In The Valley of Elah" to give a better understanding of why a flag is upside down. In the case of Malaysia, it is to say that Malaysia is riddled with problems everywhere that could cripple the progress of a nation. And the fault lies with you. You just didn't see it happening and there is still no repairs at all. For instance, following the election disaster, you finger the blame on others but not on yourself.

I kept wondering of freshies (fresh graduates) who have a hard time of finding jobs and perhaps some of them get very low starting pays than what they are supposedly entitled to. A freshie should start earning at least $3000 instead of $1600 from the beginning. Look at how Singapore do financially. Don' you dare say 'why you compare Malaysia to Singapore'... I kept wondering of how people are struggling to meet ends when there is no salary increase to meet this financial problems. I felt a pity when other foreign professionals look down on our locals, at work ethics, education literacy and etc. Malaysia has yet to reach the acceptable civilized level of society as intended by visionaries.

So therefore Dollah, my advice is simple: the flag is purposely done to convey this message; to tell that Malaysia has gone to the wrong direction. Malaysia should be moving forward but it is moving backwards. And most of the mistakes were made by you. Therefore, it will be your duty to correct your mistakes everywhere. No more sleeping on the job.

Going after the wrong people who is criticizing for the good of the nation is a waste of resources and the police should be hunting the evil people - Nurin's killers (one year past and nothing!?) , criminals and scum of the society instead of messengers and patriots!

Sometimes, it is sensible to listen to a fool's advice for the fool might never show up tomorrow?

Do you remember a song from The Eagles, New York Minute that says that thing above?

Sometimes, even the old take lessons from the young really and it works...

Saiful Swearing: Salah But 'Halal' In Islam Hadhari

Swearing on the Quran actually doesn't exist, but if Saiful do that, then it is UMNO orchestrated, since the man beside Saiful is an UMNO member himself.

I might not know anything of the Quran at all but I remembered a part from Raja Petra's post that said: when Prophet's fourth wife was accused of adultery, the prophet summoned the followers and asked that four eyewitnesses show up to proof that the wife committed adultery. None showed up and because of these false accusations, the accusers were given 40 lashes as punishment.

Yesterday night, I saw the news at NTV7 and I watched the responses of the UMNO supporters. Most of them said that Anwar should swear by the Quran. But from that, as Mr. Mahathir said "Melayu mudah lupa", they should remember well of the Quran. Those who were born in the 40s to the 60s should have the knowledge of the Quran...though you are not expected to remember everything from the start of the book to the finish.

If Anwar knows Sun Tzu or other stories of Ashoka, then he should know the Quran well. And he knows it. He recalls passages during his lectures occasionally. Looking back at the video, UMNO supporters, naturally as a Malay but forgotten lessons from the Quran?

True, there was no such thing as swearing by the Quran. If it happens, then I must presume that this thing exists in Islam Hadhari. True, it confuses many people and that's why some states refuse to accept I.H especially in Selangor.The Bible forbids of anyone tampering what was written and such thing above is one example, but not directly of going against what is written in the Bible / Quran. Is Islam Hadhari going in that direction?

My Experience in the World Cyber Games

I always hear the name 'World Cyber Games' almost once every year, but in those years I never had the chance to come over to see the real national level event until that Sunday.

I heard from an associate of mine Erwin that he wished to see the proceedings at the event, maybe it could be Counterstrike or Warcraft. But when I went there at around 2 p.m, he was nowhere on sight, maybe he could came earlier and left.

Walking around the exhibition hall, I wished that it will be nice if I can compete against people from different states. But a friend told me that it's not typically walking into there, flashing your credentials and saying that 'I want to compete.' Well, you need to start from one district, then to state level and then finally at national level.


Would you look at that hall..., but it could have been bigger though. If that is placed at a more public place, it will make the roof a building go sky high!

I bet in the last three days, the competition gets better and better and in the end, there was a winner in each of the games competed - maybe some was decided since yesterday.


Right on the stage is the finals of Warcraft and the dance game shortly after that. So I stayed on until there was a lucky winner who won the fastest lap in the F1 game. The guy walked home with a brand new computer desktop with awesome components in it. I estimated that the price for those components could be around $4000 alone without monitor and input devices.

At the Samsung booth, I went to see some new gadgets around and saw people playing Counterstrike. Someone from Samsung approached me from behind and said:

S. Man: Want to try playing C.S?
Me: I don't know. I haven't played for more than two years!
S. Man: But you do know C.S, right?
Me: Yeah...since when it was in Beta.
S. Man: Won't you mind if I 'refresh your mind'?
Me: Sure...

The Samsung staff showed me through playing that, and I got to play for maybe 30 minutes or so. And as I played C.S mind started to wander towards the what if scenario whereby I get to be in that big hall slugging out with team-members and fighting against the other team. Boy I wish if I had the chance, but...

crash....unfortunately I have not touched a single computer game or two since middle of 2006. Most games from that time onwards require a more powerful machine but unfortunately I do not have the necessary requirements to meet that.

At that time, I really wanted to have one but sad to say that my parents absolutely refused to help me out or even subsidised me on buying a more powerful custom-built machine. They told me that almost most of the things are on my own account from then on...

Yeah, right. But in that process, it cost me much what I really wanted to enjoy. If the situation is different, I might not be what I am now, but there could be something that I might not see before like practicing in games and then barging the way into World Cyber Games national level.


But obviously, to build your own custom machine will cost you about $4K to 5K and I am still counting my money to see whether I have enough to get one of my own.

As of now...not good enough. I need something to reduce the pay amount, for Christ sake!


Sigh...if only if I can get something that helps to cut down my expenditure. I just wish I could go into World Cyber Games someday, but not at when I am 30 or 40. At that time, it will be too late for me..

:( well, back to my pipe smoke.

Help Me Mr. Pete, You're My Only Hope!

A wonderful companion poster by a blog buddy of mine:

Original posting here entitled Dear Pete..!

They Can Be MP But With One Difference

I had a thirty minute talk with Cap. Sardon (Flyer168) over the phone. I actually saw a posting on Anwar Ibrahim's blog which mention of a ceramah at Kampung Tun Sardon tomorrow night. In my mind, I remembered that Raja Petra came to few places like in Kampung Tun Uda in Klang or Jalan Raja Uda in Bagan / Seberang Perai (since his grandfather was Raja Tun Sir Uda) and similarly Cap. should be given the chance to talk. Raja Petra once told the people at Kampung Uda: "If you do not vote for opposition, then this village should change its name already." ( if I remembered correctly - that's how people voted for Charles Santiago in the elections).

I asked Loke whether if he is interested to give a talk to the people there but politely, he declined for he had something on tomorrow. He was very confident, very certain that the people in that village will reject BN for they had not get any development under the Abdullah regime. He was certain to leave things to people like Guan Eng or Anwar to do the talking. Seems like they can speak on their behalf. I remembered he told me of his son Adam interviewing Guan Eng for his documentary - straight away it gives the hunch that he could be there tomorrow to tell what Cap wants to say to the village there.

Anyhow...back to the point. The first question Cap. Sardon asked was of whether I had followed Haris or Benny to the coverage of the Permatang Pauh nomination day. Told him no, but I felt that he might want to tell the people there of the difference between Anwar and Ariff. Everyone knows Ariff is related to his brother, being declared bankrupt. My friend's friend was related to Amin, I was surprised when I met him in Mid Valley to do some shopping.

One post from Haris actually prompted me to write this as well and would like to ask people to think carefully before picking either Ariff or Anwar. Anyone can be an MP - with a sweet mouth to do the talking but there is one difference that seperates the definition of actual representation to the public. I think a real MP plays part of shaping the outlook and outcome of the entire nation, not just a small piece of land. Shaping the nation requires visionary reps who have a good foresight and are prepared to argue.

Actually, it's okay for an MP to argue against the coalition. It actually makes things better because one party gets to understand the feelings of the other one and vice-versa. Sadly it's not seen in Barisan Nasional because of the toe-the-line thing. A candidate can say "I can become a betterment for the people here" but unfortunately, there will be a point where he/she cannot go further because of the party stance. If they go over the line, then they face the whip that is Najib. So that's why they are forced to become the yes-men. It is evident during the motion on Price Increases end of June. All BN voted for, but you can notice that some quietly disagreed but could not do so because to do so insults Dollah Badawi that doesn't know economics!

The major difference between a BN MP and a PR MP is obviously the scope of serving. If they are limited to serving the people within the consituent, then they are no more than being Longkang MPs - only for their own camp, but not for the good of nation. Many knew and that's why UMNO partners got whacked badly in the general elections. Take Guan Eng for example, being an assemblymen, (CM, automatically) he had won the Penangnites over because of his style of leadership. On the federal level, he was critical on some issues that caught attention of many. Now that's how actual MPs do, not those longkang MPs.

Of course, people started loving Guan Eng for his CAT style of leadership. The ones that makes noise in Penang is obviously the 'mamaks' in UMNO like Abdul Aziz (lost in Kulim) and etc.. So there's a hint, as according to Malaysiakini that Anwar can win with great majority apart from negliegence of course.

Ezam - prominently mentioning of Anwar's secrets of etc.. has forgotten his own thing. I remembered that he swore in the past that he will never rejoin UMNO or so. But he has broken his vow. I think the lure of money was too good over the conscience and promise he made.

I would want tell you people out there under the Permatang Pauh thing there: it's not voting because you just blindly a loyalist to party or something. It's about looking at the next 3-5 years. Anwar has shown his visions of how he intends to set things correct (education, economy, social structures) that was spoiled because of the failed social experiment. What did Ariff tell you of ideas or contributions in the next 5 years? Not much or just so-so. Ariff is just a potential longkang MP.

There is a lesson to be learnt and that is from those who blindly voted for Barisan in the south-eastern states. The consequence that was suffered from the folly was the fuel price increase. Abdullah Badawi had a bad foresight of increasing. I told my friends, there will be a global economic problem if fuel prices go beyond $135 per barrel. Look..after it hits $147, it dropped drastically to $114 right now. I was told that they might not revise the price at all after September 1...I wish I could be proven wrong in this.

Coincidental Startup by UMNO?

I read one piece from today's Star entitled: Varsity Action Against Selangor MB that states this excerpt:

SHAH ALAM: Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) will take legal action against Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim for refusing to apologise for proposing the varsity admit non-bumiputra students.

Vice-chancellor Datuk Seri Prof Ibrahim Abu Shah said Khalid should apologise for making the statement as it was not only false but unethical and degrading to the university.

“We are not hard-headed on this issue but the statement is 100% wrong. We can accept criticism if what was said were true,” he told a media conference.

Khalid had proposed that UiTM admit 10% non-bumiputra students and claimed that its students were unfriendly, of poor quality and non-competitive.

The statement angered UiTM students nationwide who held demonstrations to protest the proposal.

Khalid refused to apologise to UiTM, claiming he was not questioning the special rights of bumiputras nor the establishment of UiTM.

A few days ago, I stumbled upon an article somewhere (couldn't remember where) that mentions the profile of the vice chancellor which says that the guy is a member of UMNO. Which I firmly believe that the being in UMNO merits his position here. I must admit that I concur with Haris' statement on this UITM debacle.

Ibrahim it appears, was UMNO Member (1968 - present) Youth Leader, UMNO Kg. Pulai (1981- 1983) Committee Member, UMNO Youths Jasin, Melaka (1982 - 1983) Chairman (Founder) UMNO Club, Carbondale USA (1983) President, UMNO USA Club (1985 - 1987), Exco of Alumni UMNO Club (oversea) (1995 – present) (Note this Umno Alumni fellows were one of the agitators at the Bar Council Forum).

When most of the papers prominently refers this man to the UITM debacle, my first gut feeling was that the guy is definitely UMNO-made and must have gone through believing crap that is Biro Tatanegara. Yes, UMNO-made is more precise and after remembering last week's sham at Bar Council office where another UMNO-proxy man, Jais Karim started the whole mess, I realized that UMNO usually makes the most noise and useless lamenting.

I also revisited the Malaysiakini video on the Bar Council protest focusing on Salehuddin Ayub. Again, notice the stark contrast of approach of speaking by both Malay men but different parties. In Salehuddin's case, he speaks and explains to the crowd in a very proper decent manner unlike Jais that rudely starts - "I am UMNO Malaysia..." The statements seem to point toward UMNO present claim of "offering themselves as defender to the Malays". As Raja Petra said in Klang before the general elections, defending the Malays against who?

Whatever the case is, Ibrahim seems to infer that "Non-Malays" are the enemies of the Malays. A friend has summed up that the social experiment of creating Malays that are able to stand on their own feet (see Mahathir's Malay Dilemma) had failed miserably.

I am not sure how chancellors are selected for public universities, whoever selects them usually puts political affilation over capabilities, which is indeed totally wrong. As for this case, this Ibrahim guy deserves a bullet in the head. PKR did the initial right thing of correcting what is wrong but they need to mean business by doing what they said - something that is not shown significantly in Selangor right now.

Independent Candidates for Permatang Pauh

The latest news around for today's nomination day for the Permatang Pauh by-election shows that 2 independent candidates have filed their nomination papers. in addition to Anwar and Ariff Shah. Nominations have already been closed.

Excerpt from Malaysiakini:

At 9.03am, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Arif Shah submitted his nomination papers. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim submitted his papers shortly after, at 9.15am.

An independent, Mansor Othman, who was a former PKR leader in Penang, submitted his nomination at 9.30am, followed by Hanafi Hamat of Angkatan Keadilan Islam Malaysia (Akim) at 9.45am.

Some of us had a hunch from the beginning that there will be an independent candidate contesting in this by-election. (see my posting called Ominous Rumors On Permatang Pauh ) Since this happens, this could explain two theories:

1. Barisan Nasional had approached these two gentlemen and prepared to finance them with the sole objective of reducing Anwar's majority. Since they had a the infinite amount of resources, they are willing to lose the deposit if these two men poll less than 1500 votes individually. Either one of them is related to the UMNO-splinter cell in PAS but I doubt so.

2. There could be a certain percentage of people who thinks that Anwar has held the seat long enough in 1982 and decided for a fresh change rather than holding it longer. Given Mansor is based in Penang, he could poll more than Hanafi. But the question is of the radius of Mansor's sphere of influence.

The next 10 days will see various speeches in the public and let's wait to see what other non-candidates who will speak at the speeches say.

Watchdogs In Permatang Pauh

I remembered some bloggers telling me (notably by Haris) and some others at the Wharf last week that they would be in Penang throughout this weekend to play the role of a watchdog to make sure that both sides are level on the playing field of the upcoming by elections

I bet that Barisan Nasional, led by Najib is trying to do every trick they can to make sure they win. Winning in illegal manner like giving people $100 for attending their sermons, getting their best candidate Ariff Shah to compete, being the best of the lot, having the EC (in their pocket) to try their first in DQ Anwar on nomination, having a polling day on Tuesday and etc..

Din Merican, whom I saw last week at the Wharf, wrote in his posting that Raja Petra is going with a band of bloggers, first at the Island:

Raja Petra will be here this evening and he is expected to lead a team of bloggers who will assemble in Penang Island tonight. On August 16, the doyen of the blogging community and his friends will be in Permatang Pauh to support Anwar Ibrahim in a strong procession to the nomination center. With that, the 10 campaign period will start.

I bet in the first call that Anwar wins. Ariff Shah, despite able to speak to the Chinese has a connection with Najib since Pete called him a brother of the swindler. The swindler is Amin. Amin, whose company PSC is given $24 billion in Naval contracts by Defense Ministry (yes, it's Najib)...upfront but PSC never paid them back. $24 billion of tax payer money goes down the drain - sins of a brother, don't you think? That's one of the biggest frauds in Malaysian history.

And when word hits out, there's going to be further trouble. There's been sabotage and squabbling in the Permatang Pauh UMNO division over who should challenge Anwar.

The government-mainstream media has been directed by the 4th floor boys to screw things up for Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat. That's why this SMS has been circulating out and please do your part to tell your Penang friends this too:

Media massa arus p’dana akn m’perdayakan rkyt & m’cari helah utk gagalkan Dtk Seri Anwar Ibrm di P/Pauh dgn berita palsu - m’jatuhkan nama Dtk Seri & menanam rasa syak wasangka. Jom boikot! Jgn beli s/kabar & jgn p’caya berita radio/TV. Sebar kpd kwn2 di P/Png & P/Pauh.

Translation: Mainstream media will fool the people and will find tricks to sabotage Anwar Ibrahim in Permatang Pauh with false news - to ensure Anwar's downfall and planting the seeds of suspicision. Let's boycott! Don't buy newspapers and believe the news on radio / TV. Spread this to friends in Penang and Permatang Pauh.

The bottom line is this: there will be watchdogs around Penang to see that everyone plays fair. And that's where bloggers come in - they are making sure that the real story, not the ones in paper are out.

P.S: I could have come up there but alas, it was not possible. I had people visiting me in K.L in the weekend and I have just started celebrating having successfully attracted Vietnamese customers for my company. Cheerio...

Knowing Between Photochemical and Digital Prints for Dummies

After watching The Dark Knight yesterday, there is something that is interesting that I would like to share to cinema viewers, particularly those who don't even know of technical aspects.

Some knowledge first:

Basically after filming, (during post-production) the technicians at the color labs (e.g Technicolor / Deluxe) will do a process that whereby the look on the camera negative will be reversed into colors that will appear on a conventional television view. The technician will press the controls to determine how much RGB (Red, Green and Blue) will be in the interpositive.

An interpositive is then subjected to various things like adding more silver into it (for richer blacks), or a skip bleach process (saturation reduction, higher contrast). This is mostly done to make sure that the original negative is damaged. Printing directly from the original negative can be dangerous at the long run as it can result in tears and scratches if misused.

Finally, once the results of the interpositive are satisfactory, it is printed onto a release print - called the internegative.

This process is called the conventional color timing.

The other process starts after developing a satisfying initial look at the camera negative, the negative is scanned into a the computer using a scanner. The colorist uses a tool, color grading tool (e.g Lustre) to manipulate the colors, contrasts, shadows, highlights and etc in a high-end workstation. Each manipulation is done on a shot to shot basis. The preview look is projected onto a projector for review and once every participant is satisfied with the look, the film files are recorded out onto the digital internegative.

The digital internegatives will be distributed to countries to enable them to make release prints for their respective theatres. There, they can change things such as putting in subtitles in e-format and etc...

This is called the digital grading timing.

How Do I Know Which Is Conventional and Which is Digital?

The answer is very simple particularly when you go to watch a movie in a cinema. The hint is already there: look at the subtitles.

If you look closely at the detail of the lettering and you notice that it is very jiggy looking, then the film uses the conventional color timing. The Dark Knight uses conventional color timing, hence you will notice of the lettering. However, the disadvantage of using this method is that chances of release prints getting scratched unintentionally are higher and the showtimes for this can last up to a month or so before scratches are evident.

If the detail of the subtitle lettering is in a very fine form, and or if you can notice how the eyes are in some low light situation (example), then the film has gone through a digital color timing, like Iron Man or Prince Caspian.

Ominous Rumors On Permatang Pauh

Ominous rumors have circulating around privately to some parties, not known to many on who would be contesting against Anwar Ibrahim. Everyone is waiting with baited breath who would be the opponent coming this Saturday as it would be nomination day there.

So far, in the Barisan camp, there were constant arguments floating around on who would take on Anwar. The ex-National mosque Imam wanted to have a third crack at that seat but some others wanted a crack. But the two notable rumors circulating around, but not extensively were:

1. BN could have finally made up their minds to put Ezam Noor against his ex, Anwar. Perhaps they felt that he would be the best shot against Anwar. But interestingly, it is not Abdullah that says that Ezam will contest. No. It is instead Kalimullah Hassan (the real hidden hand of the F.F.B) in an article at the NST entitled "All Eyes on Ezam" that is telling us indirectly suggesting to us that Ezam would the opponent at Permatang Pauh.

Quote:

Ezam has vowed to do all he can to deny Anwar victory and return to active politics. He even offered himself as the Umno candidate although he pledged to support anyone picked by the party.

The by-election is by far the best platform for Ezam to convince Umno members unhappy with, and suspicious of his return to Umno, that he is sincere in fighting for the cause. His re-entry into the party has been met with distrust and even hostility. Some senior party leaders openly showed they were less than thrilled by his presence, fearing him as a Trojan horse for Anwar's comeback into the party.

Ezam, who has been travelling the country helping Umno reconnect with the Malay grassroots, has called Anwar a traitor to the Malays because of the latter's alleged willingness to do away with the New Economic Policy and compromise on Bumiputera privileges in exchange for non-Malay support. He charged that Anwar was willing to risk the country's political and economic stability to pursue his political ambitions.

Notice the style of writing above. It also implies indirectly that Ezam has to back up his claims. And since it's written in NST, Kalimullah is telling Ezam directly to shape up or ship out..well that would be a warning for Ezam really.

2. In an attempt to reduce the gap of majority - since everyone assumes that Anwar will win the by-election -, UMNO could finance an independent candidate with the sole majority to reduce the majority of votes there. Interestingly, the independent candidate might not be just a simple samaritan or an average Joe guy, but instead, there is a high probability that the independent candidate could be connected with the UMNO-splinter cell (read: Mustafa Ali's camp) in PAS.

These could be the two things that are circulating around, currently in murmurs, but we have to wait until Saturday to find out whether it comes true or not.

Alternatively, if nothing happens around the week, we might possibly see Anwar winning uncontested and then BN waits until he goes to Parliament to start whacking him from all sides. Again, it is only a possiblity.

Niamah You Flip-Flop Again, Ah? PORAH!!!!!

This bloody joker by the name of Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi is repeating the ping-pong (read: flip-flop) game again and again. Same script..same bloody cliche (e.g What are you doing?) and same flip-flop.

I knew this joker couldn't be trusted. On Wednesday he said more inter-faith dialogues are needed but later today he suddenly changed tune and said don't hold forums on race / religion.

What is he actually, ah? Two-Face Abdullah? Cannot decide, must ask F.F.B or S.I.L?

Let's recap...look at excerpt of what he said on Wednesday:

[Source]

More interfaith dialogues should be held to ensure continuous harmony among Malaysians of different religions, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday.

The prime minister said he would ask Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal to continue having such dialogues.

"I will tell Shafie to do what is good and have such meetings as regularly as he can. At some of these meetings, I plan to sit in, too," he said at the silver jubilee dinner of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

Abdullah assured those pre-sent that what he said was not merely a ploy to pacify and please non-Muslims.

"I understand your concerns and try to do whatever I can to find solutions to issues involving non-Muslims. We are brothers and sisters who must work together and continue practising tolerance and patience as a way forward for this nation."

Abdullah said non-Muslims, however, must understand and respect that matters relating to the aqidah (faith) of Islam could neither be "touched" nor "changed". But he assured non-Muslims that they would be treated fairly and justly as required by the Quran and Allah.

"When we are friends, between Muslims and the non-Muslims, it is easy to work things out."

Abdullah said he had been entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the affairs of all Malaysians.

"For me, justice for all is the most important thing. It is the command of Allah to be trustworthy in executing my duties. The people have trusted me and expect me to deliver.

"I am here to assure you that all are protected and can enjoy living in Malaysia as Malaysians."

And now...look at what he said today:

[Source]

"I hope such an incident won't be repeated. Last Saturday's forum is proof that issues relating to religion and race are sensitive in the country.

"Thus, it's important for us to control and restrain ourselves from discussing such matters, which can lead to the situation which occurred last Saturday.

"It's better not to hold such forums in the future," he told reporters Monday after chairing the first Economic Council meeting at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here.

He said there should not be any more discussion on matters of religion or race that had already been enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

But you can't fool me, Dollah. The whole forum was a sham. You did it. You planned all from March 9. It was setup to divert the attention away from you and you are playing the race card again. Yes, there are many who will remember what you did that day and someday you will not be forgiven.

Yes, he never means what he says from opening his mouth. There's his hidden hand trying to frame Anwar up and other people to keep himself in power....

Raden Galoh Says Hello To All

I just got back from the KL General Hospital 10 minutes ago - coming from office in the afternoon - to visit Dalilah (Raden Galoh) who is going to undergo operation tomorrow for her liver cancer treatment. I was informed of this by Elviza's posting in regards to the matter. Since I met Dalilah through Mob and Rikey during a dinner for Daphne's, I might as well drop by for a visit.

According to her, following the operation, she would be undergoing three sessions of chemotheraphy to treat her cancer - doctors estimate she could be in either stage 4 /5 (critical) stage. The chances for this thing , in my estimation is at around 30-40 percent. If it is successful, she could see her level of inflamation in her body reduced to an acceptable level and doing another few rounds of chemo sessions with the doctor.

With me at the ward was also Kak Maria and another two of her friends as well. At first they do not know who I was, when Dalilah related me to Howsy and Mob, then they remembered.

Before I left, Dalilah (she asked me to pass the message) would like to say hello to all of you blogger friends out there. And let's hope for the better things coming soon.

If you would like to visit her, go to Operation Ward 14, Room 13 but come at the proper time to give her a good rest.

On The Ground: The Forum Protest

Ah...too tired yesterday, but since there has been swarms of articles in regarding to yesterday's aborted forum on Muslim conversion, you might want to read the on the scene story yesterday to give the accurate picture. Take note that not all of what you read in the media can be accurate.

1. I came to the place at 7.30 a.m as I was advised by someone the night before to come before 8 a.m. At the time of arrival, there were 5 police cars, including one van, 15 police personnel and a few more handful of SB people in plain clothes.

2. At 7.50 a.m, a small jeep with 6 FRU men arrived and the vehicle parked at UOB bank, then more police personnel and 3 more police cars arrived there.

3. Yes, I was with a few other bloggers, and we had breakfast nearby. The mob started at around 8.30 a.m when more people from Muslim groups arrived at the exterior of the Bar council building. Notable statements on the banners include :"Don't play with fire" or "Don't challenge Islam."


4. Originally, the forum was slated to end at 1 p.m. From inside the building, while the forum is progressing, the numbers of the mob and the FRU swelled. At the beginning, the number of pressmen and police personnel outnumbered them, but towards the end, the mob outnumbered the police and the pressmen.

5. 9.30 a.m: Ambiga received an SMS by Abdullah Badawi himself: stop the forum by 10 a.m. She announced that the forum will have to be stopped early.

6. At that time, the first part was switched to the second part with discussions with selected panelists on the two famous Muslim conversion disputes.


6. Just 10 minutes before 10 a.m, a small mob led by Kulim MP Zulkifli Noordin and GPMS vice-president Jais Karim came when they were about to finish. The outside speech from the Malaysiakini video shows that they are to enter the building at 9.45 a.m.

Quoting and pic above from The Malaysian Insider:

Despite the heavy police escort, heated words were exchanged between some of the protesters and some members of the Bar Council. The word "monkey" was heard bandied about several times by both sides.

Calls for calm by the forum moderator, Zarizana Abdul Aziz, a lawyer from the Penang-based non-government organisation Women's Centre for Change, were ignored, as were calls from the floor for the protesters, hogging the central aisle, to sit down and not block the view of the forum panellists.

Jais Karim took the mike by force and said, "I am UMNO Malaysia. Close this forum down right now! We want to give advice; next time, don't have things like this that challenge the people of Islam."

Then Professor Mehrun Siraj attempted to counter the man with a very strong eloquent remarks: "You represent Umno; I represent the Muslims! I'm ashamed by your behaviour! Islam does not condone this behaviour! Do not make use of Islam!" This could provoke a scuffle that GPMS tried to do but fortunately someone from BAR council intervened.

You can look at the mob with FRUs

7. We left through the backdoor but the exit was blocked by some mob members. We had to wait until a policeman moved out first and controlled the mob before we could move.

Observations, Rants etc..

1. Forming the largest of the mob is GPMS, the UMNO proxy entity led by the Mamak, KJ's sleeping bedfellow Reezal Merican. These jokers are the ones that tend to be more on the violent end compared to PAS. Note the scuffle inside the auditorium was started by GPMS. Only extermist-level of the mob will have the guts to say like 'Babi', 'pengkhianat' and 'balik China'.

2. Notice the video by Malaysiakini entitled Rival Groups United in Protest. Note of the stark contrast of approach and speeches between PAS and UMNO. But then, PAS should not become the next UMNO if UMNO goes out otherwise everything goes back to square one.

3. The decision to abide to abort at 10 a.m shows that the BAR council is buckling under the pressure of government. Do you notice of another flip-flop here? Abdullah Badawi on Wednesday said that more inter-faith dialogues should be allowed to get both sides understand the whole picture. But then he's just opening the mouth and saying it without really meaning it.

4. What the protesters out there just only thinks that the forum is about Islam bashing. That's only one part of the picture and that's what many perceived. Based on the forum, the real picture is describing:

a) Family problems that arised when someone converts to Islam without knowledge of others.
b) The conflicting two sets of laws (syariah and civil) that makes people confused and the lines blur of which court has the jurisidaction to allow divorce cases and etc..
c) The kind of approach that the Religious Department goes like confiscating bodies and putting them in Muslim burial instead of the funeral methods based on their own faiths.

5. Many perceived that non-Muslims only attended the forum. Wrong. When I was watching the proceedings, there are a handful of normal Muslim citizens there as well. They were there because they are prepared to listen to the other side of the story, problems and effects from religion conversion. This is something that some reps should come and listen to their story, not just stay outside and bash people as if being misled by some who desired them to be misled. Nik Aziz has said in a press statement that there should be evaluation of logics of Muslim and Non-Muslim, a very high-level maturity required discussion between individuals or both parties. Should this be a good follow up?

6. The ones who initiated this is UMNO. PAS and other NGOs followed suit because (since UMNO has power over mainstream media) UMNO-controlled media will make remarks or chastise that other parties are not defending the rights of Malays and Islam. You can notice of how the mob behaved - split between moderate and extremist. You can know who is the moderate and who is the extremist. Check back my previous post here. UMNO has certainly repeated its cliches.

7. The problems happened because fear factor: judges are afraid to do what is right fearing of political remanding and persecution. Likewise it also happens to the police. If they start arresting UMNO people, they will face heavier persecution.

Updated version:

Kickdefella has just mentioned that the forum above is actually deliberately organized with the help of Abdullah Badawi - the ulterior motive is to deflect his attention off from his dismal showing. The move has been planned since the general elections. In his perspective, the forum will:

1. Distract his critics attention away from him.
2. Force both UMNO and PAS away from the attention of him and on the religion platform.
3. PAS and PKR becomes stuck in the middle.
4. See also point #6 of my rants.

Little Men Against The Orwellian Government

In Brazil, a little man known as Sam Lowry unknowingly in his pursuit of the woman that he saw in his dreams, one Jill Layton, breaks many rules that it seems that challenges the might of the an Orwellian English government and somehow won psychologically and spiritually over the big machine.

And so does Anwar Ibrahim and and this blogger called Penarik Beca.

I'll start with Anwar. Anwar has a strong alibi, he has proof including a SD by the Puswari doctor and etc to say that the government is deliberately setting him up. Yes, they are setting him up because the moment he walks into Parliament, it's likely to be a premature game over for Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak. And now the semen evidence that they are banking on is not likely going to work. And then there's a taped confession by Saiful's associate that is going to be revealed later that shows that Saiful lied all along.

You could picture how the prosecutors in the AG chambers react in this morning's court session. Their reaction implies that they are being pressured politically by either the F.F.B or Abdullah Badawi himself or the inner circle that he belongs to. Abdullah indeed is lying to the public to say that he's not involved. He is involved. He is ordering them to keep charging Anwar, and to put him away at jail.

At least Komala, the judge isn't stupid. She asked DSP Jude Pereira whether Anwar had co-operated fully. He nodded, so she gave a personal bond minus surety. Isn't that better? At least someone had co-operated and not run away as many police top brass would believe in Anwar.

I can be like Roy Batty in Blade Runner - a tragic figure who wants to preserve his memories and wants to move on. I am kind of similar to him, scared of what will happen when things change. I wanted to go along with the change, but not without people helping me through - otherwise I could be lost in the middle. At least, I admit that I'm not like UMNO people who refuses to change for the better good.

I remembered reading a page from David Eick's book called Tales of the Time Loop which says that if you say things that is you feel is right and not against what government wants, in other words different opinions, you are considered as an extremist. So that's what happened to Penarik Beca today - arrested for Sedition Act. When the real thing comes out, the wrong will use that to gag the truth and people who look for truth. To put fear in people - the kind of people who could stand up against the corrupt machinery, the Orwellian government.

After some time keeping tabs of the updates of Penarik Beca, I thought of maybe the name Little Taffer carries the same purpose as this two men...little men against Big Brother who calls them low-life..maybe that's what my blogs means for now!

Image by Kickdefella

Follow The Rabbit That is Shafee

I remembered seeing Shafee Abdullah once at the KL High Court back in January once. He was clutching an envelope that contains photos of VK Lingam and Eusoff Chin's 1994 trip in New Zealand.

****

As anticipated, Anwar will be charged tomorrow over sodomy charges that never really exist. I will leave to the reports like Malaysiakini or The Star to say it out. And many right now do believe that the charges are trumped up and Anwar is framed by Abdullah Badawi who is out to get rid of him.

If you remember back from the beginning, Abdullah said that Musa Hassan and Gani Patail will have no involvement in the investigation case. This means that the intention of setting up the crime at Anwar cannot be done in Bukit Aman or Attorney General's office. Instead, the plan for the perfect crime by the police is perpetrated at Shafee Abdullah's office in Bukit Tunku. Doing in Bukit Aman or AG's office is simply not safe because other staff in the building could overhear possible plans which is against the ethics of profession.

So, for those who wish to find out the truth, you need to follow the rabbit's trail.

Another thing that must be done is the race against time. If the people want to proof that the trial is a sham, and the whole thing is a setup for Anwar, they must do so before the DNA act is passed at the end of the month. It's the timing that will piss them off. Simple: if the DNA act is passed, Anwar will have no choice but to give his DNA sample for the Chemist Department to incriminate. The police and UMNO are banking on the semen evidence as the ultimate piece of proof. With that semen, they can manipulate it so they can say that it's Anwar who sodomized Saiful.

On following the rabbit's trail, go to Shafee's office...period. Why there? Shafee was noted to have experience in dealing with sodomy crimes hence being a sodomy specialist.

Further reading:

Anwar Ibrahim's Press Statement
Shafee Abdullah: Sodomy Extraordinaire
Anwar To Be Charged Tomorrow

Pak Lah: Like Napoleon, Like Hitler

Pic by Kickdefella

Both Napoleon and Hitler had reached their peaks before they fall all because of one reason: greed - going too far, biting more than what they can chew. In the case of both men, they tried to invade Moscow, but the invasion ended in disaster because of the freezing winter. The freezing weather makes them difficult to go on, morale sapped, supplies and reinforcements cut off.

And that is the prelude of what will happen before their fall. Napoleon's fall was in the Battle of Waterloo while Hitler's fall was the Russian attack on Reichstag, the crumbling end of the Third Reich.

So does Abdullah Badawi. He will soon join these two men as arrogant men who tried to go too far and ended up punished. In this case, he has tried going too far by taking out Anwar first, then dragging Najib to the mess. That was part of his Operation Grandslam. But then his, 'Grandslam' has hit the brakes and on the ground harder than he thought. But it can still be salvaged.

Yesterday, some people in Pakatan Rakyat and others were nervously waiting for the outcome of the to-be-released medical report by the KL General Hospital. The doctors were under immense pressure by the government and police to amend the report so that they can say that Anwar is guilty of sodomizing Saiful. But thankfully, they did not buckle to their pressure. So that's why this Ampang MP Zuraida Kamarudin sent 10 bouquets of roses to the HKL administrators - to thank them for not amending the report.

So what does that mean? This means that it is possible to say that the charges against Anwar were trumped up, and now becomes useless. And we should be seeing Dollah Badawi pushing for the charge again although the latest plan becomes totally useless.

To eliminate Anwar and the Pakatan Rakyat, Abdullah Badawi has a temporary inner circle comprising of notable men - Musa Hassan, Sidek Hassan, Wan Farid Salleh, some notable UMNO ministers and etc..They were given the autonomy to utilize whatever resources to accomplish the three main objectives. Of course low level subordinates who were disgusted by their antics of their superiors could be leaking those stuff out to the public - I'm not sure whether I've hit on this point or not. But that means that they have been misusing the people's money.

On the by-election, there has been some notable elements of saboteurs and vote rigging planning. Each voter could be paid $1000 to vote for BN. And Syed Hamid has misused the resources of police - actually meant to fight crime not to go hunt opposition. And there's the thing of Hindraf possibly sabotaged..whatever. Expect them to fight dirty, all because of accomplishing Bedol Napoleon's objective of recapturing Permatang Pauh for Barisan Najis.

Anyhow, Permatang Pauh, some said, can be seen as Abdullah's Waterloo or attempting to invade Russia. Some feel that it's his final battle. And now he has to fight two fronts..one outside against Anwar, another against the ACA report by his own UMNO members while finding a way to double-cross Najib. Najib will not survive really.

If there is one thing we can learn from Hitler and Napoleon, it is this: never fight on two fronts at the same time and going too far than more you can chew can be a disaster. Look at what how the best men in Napoleon and Hitler were ridden away due to the place called Russia.

I'll Turn The Flag Upside Down!

Yes, a few bloggers that I knew have started something called, showing the Malaysian flag upside down. It may be crazy, but putting that upside down means that to show that the country is in distress. Yes, the country is in distress and that's to show people that we need your help to fix this country.

Well, I might consider putting that upside down at the car, but for a start, I will put that flag on my blog's side panel. Of course, some idiots like in UMNO would see that as an insult to the country, but they could be stupid to yet to understand what Malaysia is indeed facing right now.

I also thought for a moment when back in November 2007, Noraini Ahmad was saying that something was unacceptable and slanderous and the guy must be charged. That is how UMNO would think. - desecration. Again, it is not desecration, but distress. Well, after all, our friend Namewee was right after all - Malaysia is in disaster right now.

Just to refresh your memory of the song content, I'm putting one up for you to check back....

And if some idiots who think there's nothing really wrong...I'll say like ARNOLD - 'Fuck you asshole!'

Strike Two, Two Tries To Go

Abdullah Badawi's very own Operation Grandslam has been derailed, hit a setback when PAS has announced that it rejected a proposal of forming a coalition with UMNO. Nik Aziz played a very smart counter-move informing UMNO that if they wish to form a coalition with them, they must implement hudud laws, something that UMNO is not happy with. Add further insult to that is when Ir. Nizar, the MB for Perak has said that they will not go to BN and instead invited BN assemblymen who wish to help the people to join Pakatan Rakyat.

Of course argument can be good as it helps other parties to know what the problems faced by others, instead of being a yes men.

And two days, ago, a UMNO division in PJ has filed a complaint to the disciplinary board with proof that Abdullah and Najib had misused their power. Democracy gagging yes, they told people that no need to vote for the top two posts. This also adds further conviction to the Johari Ismail report last year. And now, it is said that Tengku Razaleigh can get 60 nominations to contest against Abdullah Badawi. And also there are 66 proposals to reject Abdullah..

But then, Abdullah Badawi still has two more tries to go, 63 percent of success and possibly intends to achieve it one stroke. So (based on this piece by Pete Kamaruddin), Abdullah Badawi has in mind to charge Anwar, but the cabinet Ministers disagreed with the idea. But the motive is to drag Najib and Dotty Rosmah into the mess, put Anwar in the prison for another 6 years and later declare him not guilty - wasting his time there. Even if Anwar is thrown and charged, he still will win the by-election against Ezam or Pirdaus. But in the end, he can at least salvage his operation Grandslam by eliminating Najib, being the enemy of our enemy.

Anwar should win being at his own turf but he will need all the help from key witnesses who is able to show proof beyond doubt that he's not guilty in the sodomy case and instead, Abdullah Badawi and Najib is behind the whole mess. The smoking gun would be SAC Rodwan who was directly involved in the fabrication of the evidence admitting the whole thing is a setup.

Update: AgendaDaily has confirmed that Anwar will be charged over sodomy sometime next week.

My Review on Izzi Broadband

It was shopping galore for me and my colleagues at PC Fair yesterday. We bought a lot of stuff and a colleague of mine told me that it's still not enough....

I decided to switch from my present Maxis Broadband to the new Izzi IBurst thing, since I was told that it performed well than other ISPs - which includes location altitude, different signal transmissions (it uses radio wave than the present satellite link), better radius of coverage and etc.

After calculating, I thought it was roughly the same price as the Maxis one. I was still bound by the 18-month contract period until next month and the prices there are now lower than last year. Oh..well, I decided to take it with the interest free installment.

Open the box and it's just that piece and a CD...that's it.

After going through everything..I was ready to start up. Except that I got a little stuck because I was looking at the wrong place for the security number!
Comments:


Of course it's better than the current Maxis line I'm using right now. The speed I measured at night time - 260:55 is usually what I get in the morning in Maxis. And another disadvantage would be the P2p control you'd see in Maxis.


Placing your thing is very important in order to get a constant connection. I got disconnected a few times simply because I realized that I placed it at the wrong direction. You can try moving the piece around the table to see where's the best place to put. In the end, I've put it at the top left of my table.

Another test I did was gauging the loading times for a video in Youtube. For a six minute video, it takes about 3 minutes to load completely in daytime, while at night it could take about 5 minutes, since there's high usage at night by others. In fact in Maxis, at night time, it takes 10 minutes or more to load a video clip like that.

The summary? If you are staying in high-level buildings beyond level 5, then you might want to go for this, if you don't have or don't like Streamyx. Prior to that, I would suggest checking for a the nearest node point before deciding on which broadband you want to subscribe. For example, if you are staying very far from the node point, then you might want to get this. My nearest node point is somewhere near KFC in Jalan Genting Klang so, the radius can be roughly two-three kilometers from my house, which I can get it well. The high selling points here would be the radius, coverage and it's flexible money back clause.

It's worth to pay $98 per month really for a good and better connection than other BBs.

A.N: I am planning to test it at my brother's apartment near Cyberjaya and if it performs brilliantly there, I might get another for him.

A So-so Approach to Fuel Price Reduction

Coming September 1, the oil prices in Malaysia would be adjusted according to the current world oil prices - more precisely, the price of gasoline, not on crude oil prices. However, the diesel price will remain the same. For instance, if the price in September remains at $129 per barrel, the cost per liter in Malaysia would be at $2.64 per liter, meaning, saving roughly $2-5 each time you pour petrol.

1. But however, this strategy is to say okay but not effectively enough. The more proper approach is to review prices on diesel first because part of the food costs derives from transportation unless you are staying in Cameron Highlands - then you can get vegetables there at a very low cost. Hence more priority should be taken to look at diesel first before petrol.

2. Letting the oil price float according to the world price is a IMF prescription as mentioned by Anwar. Tun Mahathir would definitely will not let the ringgit weaken further if we simply let the market forces decide. It will happen badly in the next two months or so. Take Indonesia for example, the country's economy turned from bad to worse after taking the IMF package. Malaysia should start implementing a exchange rate tool to control inflation like Singapore does right now. That is why, Singapore is able to cushion much in preparation of the coming economic tsunami later on.

3. If the Permatang Pauh by-election is decided to be held after September 1st, there could be a risk where postal votes would come in to make sure Anwar doesn't win the election. That is because those who ferry in postal votes are likely to be happy to do so since the transportation cost would be reduced, depending on how much it would be reduced at the end of August.

Turun Turun Minyak!

In the last two weeks, the price of oil dropped tremendously from the peak height of $147 per barrel. As of this time, the current price for September would be $124 per barrel.

A few hours ago Dollah Badawi said that Government ould look into lowering petrol prices by September. It can be said easily but can he do it seriously? To augment the lowering of petrol prices, they should strengthened the ringgit against the dollar. It should be around 3.05 at this time. This would reduce the import costs and help to improve purchasing power among the people.

Don't be like Zimbabwe, Dollah!

Anwar's Safe Bet

After weeks of speculation of where Anwar would be contested, it was announced today that his wife Wan Azizah would step aside to let him contest at his home town of Permatang Pauh. Usually a man sacrifices for a woman that he loves but it is otherwise and Dr. Mahathir of course shared the same sentiment today as well.

Kulim was originally the best choice but according to him, the waiting time for the petition over the Kulim seat would be taking too long as the decision would only be announced on the 19th. It would be a safe bet as there could be an arrest in the next 48 hours or so.

If a by-election goes fair and clean, I bet Anwar would win the seat easily.

I am pretty excited to see who would be his opponent. I have a hunch as Khalid Ibrahim said that Ezam should challenge Anwar.

It would be a nice climax to a soap drama right now. Boy, the whole nation political scenario is like a reality-level soap drama!

Today is All Of A.R.N.O.L.D

It's not celebrating Neville. It's not celebrating Ginny's pygmy puff..

Today is on celebrating A.R.N.O.L.D...no need to explain further.

And Governator has just racked up another kill to get people to in shape like him:

California bans trans-fats in restaurants from 2010 onwards.

See this piece here.

Abdullah Badawi's Very Own Operation Grandslam!

If Operation Grandslam is Auric Goldfinger's ultimate plan for world domination, then notice that Abdullah Badawi has a grand plan in his hands with the ultimate objective: to stay in power, eliminating the competition! Yes...if you have been observing some of the events recently and if you are curious kind of person, piecing together it will give his very own grand plan!

But then, don't say that it's the bloggers that brought down the plan to ruin, but people who know, who love the country so much that they do not want zealots and despots running things around!

The bottom line of this so called Grand Slam is to still remain in power and then in future give the post of PM to Khairy. And in the process, he controls UMNO, eliminate his enemies including Najib, Musa, Gani and Anwar..etc and putting back in full effect of what is rejected called Racial politics. Now let's get straight to the point. Last week, at a secret meeting held at Jalan Bellamy in Kuala Lumpur was held and participating in this meeting among them was the Rembau division...of course you can smell Khairy is also helping to come out with this Grand Slam plan.

Like a four-act story, from what I pieced if I am correct in chronological order, the plan consists of four phases that kicks off by coincidence and from there it goes towards meeting his objective, disregarding of how the nation will suffer in the coming economic tsunami.

Phase 1: Taking Anwar Ibrahim off the Equation

This matter was premeditated between Saiful and Najib. As the leaked medical records implies that Saiful was never sodomized at all and just made a non-existent report to the police indicating that Anwar sodomized him. Of course the effect of the scandal would derail him from going for the crossovers. This would psychologically make the people in BN and PR doubt over his credibility to lead the government given with a man that has the knack of commiting sodomy in the past and present.

BN knew that people still do not know much of the truth until Anwar comes and exposes the wrongdoings of the present governments. Many knew through him that there are some in the government were forced to support policies against their personal opinion or risked facing the whip. They hoped to cover their dirt and sins by taking him out. Since Anwar is now in a bitter fight with Najib, accusing Najib over shady deals, Altantuya murder and the man behind the sodomy case, it will likely divert the people's attention over from BN.

Anwar has successfully put in DAP, PKR and PAS into a coaltion that still remains new yet sucessfully capturing 82 seats in the general elections. It was his incredible revelations and orations in series of speeches nationwide that influeced the outcome of the election.

The Malaysian Insider reported what exactly BN had in mind in August - charge Anwar over a non-existent report. As planned, the police will based the medical report that was taken from the KL General Hospital, and will proceed to charge Anwar over sodomy.

The bottom line is that the sodomy scandal, although non-existent, Abdullah wants to weaken Pakatan Rakyat by casting the PR associates in doubt with the scandal on Anwar. But, at this phase, they would not put Anwar at the end..it will be at after Phase 3.

The KLH medical report doesn't exist at all!!!!

Phase 2: To Weaken Pakatan Rakyat via PAS

Sometime last week, Abdullah Badawi dropped a bombshell that UMNO had met PAS on occasions to form a joint-government in states. Khir Toyo lamented and blamed Anwar for the obstacle behind the talks. There were some in PAS who were part of the rounds of talks there - those who opened the backdoor. Some admit now that they had second thoughts of jumping over to UMNO. There were a few noted including some who met Najib in his London trip. Those who were opening the backdoor were the ones who were reaching the twilight of their time in PAS, particularly like Mustafa Ali, Hasan Ali.

Some have observed of remarks by Tajol Rosli over forming the pact or heard of Ezam in Perak to woo PAS members to join over UMNO and form another state government. The grassroots level people are not likely to buy into that idea. What is true is that UMNO does that because they are getting desperate for the support among the new generation of Malays seems to wane among them.

The purpose of doing so is that to make others cast their doubts over their decisions on being part of Pakatan Rakyat. When ominous rumors of some PAS members decide to leave and join BN, the effect would attract others to join them, thus weakening - then the implication. When PAS joins UMNO, there would be another snap election by September and after the snap elections, PAS would realize that they were expendable, used for UMNO's greed, for the sake of the so called defending the Malays.

The media is also helping in making the lie -

Phase 3: Aufwiedersehen Najib!

Najib had a lifeline in the 2004 elections. And the whole idea of a transition plan is to make sure that no one, not even Najib challenges Abdullah. But the whole thing is a hoax indeed. Abdullah secretly wants Najib out and the implication of Najib with the Altantuya / sodomy thing is likely going to throw him off the window and politcally assassinate him.

All things on Altantuya and the sodomy thing is all related to him. He wishes to use PAS to gain trust on Anwar and when that happens, ACA will go after Musa and Gani and then Abdullah sacks Najib. By that time, Anwar will be vulnerable and Abdullah can come in and checkmate him with the sodomy charge. After these two things that's where PAS will become expendable and maybe PAS people will regret of going with UMNO.

Phase 4: Beat the Competition In Elections

When Najib is taken off the board, the only competitors remaining would be Tengku Razaleigh and Muhiyiddin Yassin. Of course, Abdullah would want to beat the competion and of course, he would pay people's money to them to get them vote him and no one else. Those under his patronage - contractors, cronies etc..would help his cause of buying votes because if Abdullah would lose - that will be the end of them, economically. Yeah...dirty tactics that is. The real person that is intending to be handing the PM post over is not Ali Rustam, not Mike Tyson but Khairy.

After that - well, he can start back the ancient thing that is wrong called racial politics.

He'll definitely flip-flop over the transition plan thing!

Here's One Secret...

There was something which I was tight-lipped about and never mentioned to anyone at all. I heard that there's a cool phone in town, I thought maybe I'd share one to get it...!

Sometime in August 2002, I spent my two weeks semester break back home in Ipoh. One afternoon, I decided to go out to buy some groceries and fetch my brother who finished late at school. At that time, I was too excited to have the chance to drive my own car. It was a hand's me down Toyota LE 1.3 Corolla, which looks brand new despite a very old age. I only got my driving license in April, so every time I want to go out, it's kind of exciting.

I started the car and reversed it. I thought there was no car behind, but I was awaken by a small bump sound. Little I had forgotten that I reversed and hit the right-back of my neighbor's car, a white Proton Saga. The new neighbor moved into our neighborhood for about two months or so.

Shit..while I was reversing my car, my late granny saw me hit the car. I knew I'm gonna get grilled. But the neighbor didn't show up at their front door.

After I picked my brother and buying the groceries, I came back, and while inspecting how big the dent could be in the car, granny impatiently asked me a lot of questions and was scolding me for being careless. Shit...I made a stupid mistake and dented a very pristine but old junk! She told me that she was keeping an eye on the neighbor in case he appears out the door anytime looking at her while I was out.

But she was covering for me. No one, not including the other neighbors had witnessed my mistake. It was one of those secrets that we kept until today even after she was gone already. The neighbor opposite today still never knew who did it, I felt a bit guilty a few months after that thing happened.

Sometimes, hushing up is something that could save a person's ass and dignity...

Anwar's eeny meany miny mo

According to Malaysiakini, Anwar Ibrahim has already started campaigning unofficially but right now, he's looking to contest on the Kulim seat.

But a week ago, it was eeny meany miny mo for him. It was something that makes people guessing. He was juggling on contesting either in Kulim, Permatang Pauh or Bandar Tun Razak.

The power base in Permatang Pauh is quite strong for PKR and if Azizah simply relinquishes the seat, you can bet that BN will do all it can to take the seat away from PKR - spending millions and millions. That seat is counted as indispensable thing.

It is also a waste to throw Bandar Tun Razak away. Khalid Ibrahim was quite fortunate to win that seat by 2000 + votes. But the concern here is that Anwar might not be familiar with the people there and even Tan Chai Ho lost the seat, support for him is still popular since he has been helping a lot of people there. To relinquish and then contesting there is a risky case since Anwar's effort ends with nothing if he simply loses there.

Let's remember that the MPs crossing over wants him to win a Parliamentary seat first.

So that's why Kulim is the safe bet. Just take a look at the above screenshot of Google Maps. Geographically speaking, Bukit Mertajam is between Permatang Pauh and Kulim. And the distance is about 20-30 kms from Permatang. Kulim is noted to be an industrial park area where Intel has setup a base there. It is also part of the so called NCER that Dollah Badawi has put into. Since he has spoken to investors on economy and investment, Anwar might indicate them to set up shop at Kulim.

Let's say if the Election Court declares the Kulim seat null, chances are the BN candidate would of course be the same one Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir, Kadir's brother. It would be a double whammy for him: non Malay voters are very angry over his remarks 8 years ago saying that he wanted 'to burn the Chinese down' there. See my fellow Ipoh man James' posting on Aziz here. The Chinese assembly hall does not want him there.

Even if The Riding MP wins the case, he would gladly give way for him to take over. Support for PKR in Kulim is at high for non-Malays, which is likely to form the 33% percent of the votes.

Are You Looking Closely At This Liwat Thing?

Are you looking closely? - Alfred Borden, The Prestige

After some time, people are totally convinced, including the world that Anwar can never do that sodomy thing at Saiful. The reasoning is simply because of his age - and the injuries that he suffered at the hands of the gangster called Rahim Noor. No way he can force this thing on Saiful.

There was something that prompted me to look closer at the picture between the lawyer and the man believed to be an 'uncle' of Saiful. But from far, I thought it was a woman or a transversitite, given of his appearance. And I also had second thoughts of that person as a homosexual.

It was shocking to find that Saiful was indeed sodomized but...the twist (in the latest revelation) is that the person who did it - was the man in the picture! This was part of the act to show people convincingly that Saiful was indeed really in pain of sodomy. As said, people wanted to be awed and to be fooled, but the first act of magic called The Turn was not shown there. Only the final act - the Prestige was shown instead.

The proof? When the doctors first examine Saiful's ass, the real truth is that the semen specimen inside there is not Anwar but the so called 'transverstite' relative of Saiful. How did Saiful meet Najib? The answer was there...Rosmah and her trade partner.

Now that you're looking closer than ever, does sound of attempt of political assassination of Anwar?