Malaysia – truly Asia but not fully Asia It was a very pleasant surprise when I was invited to speak at a conference in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. I have been to that neighbourhood so many times, but never to Malaysia. While I have blogged about the conference, this essay is about my impressions about the country. It is based on a very scientific and detailed analysis of reading the daily newspapers and observing the city and talking with some people.
So yes, these are very facile observations on the national infrastructure, the people, history, cuisine, politics, economics and will end trying to predict the future of this ...continue reading
more Leaving Iraq won’t be easy I will be the first American to state to the readers that I never did agree with President Bush’s ideas about the war in Iraq as far back as before, “Shock and Awe,” which I watched on TV: a war that began on ‘live’ TV.
&nb...
Slaughter of the Innocents Anzac Day in Australia helps a small nation come to grips with the appalling losses of WW1. More important than any other commemoration, religious or otherwise, Australians remember the lives their men laid down to help Great Britain.
Will David Hicks live Happily ever after? What obstacles stand in the way of David Hicks intergrating back into society? Will his release mean his troubles are over? How will he handle the predatory media?
When People Suck Yes, we know everyone at some time of their life usually pisses you off. People do shitty things, are two-faced, look out for themselves and hurt other people in the process, and we could go on and on and on.
Will the Real David Hicks Stand UP Who is the real David Hicks? Is he the militant terrorist as depicted by the US and Australian Governments or is he the naïve young man who in the course of seeking adventure got himself into trouble by innocently getting caught up in war?
My Take on Money "No one can survive on a diet of hope". This is one slogan that I see in the bus stops of Singapore.
Of course, there are some who reminisce about kampong days. Yes, the family is poor, but surviving in a small space, sharing scant fo...
The car and the penis Consumerism is killing us. Particularly with our attitude to fast cars and how young men have to show how virile they are by using powerful cars to advertise the size of their penis.
Drought is on the Land And it came to pass that the multitudes of Australia failed to understand how to save water in the driest inhabited continent in the world. Then the great God (John Howard) decreed that he would save the land. The mighty Murray Darling Basin will in future be controlled from Heaven, er, no, er Canberra
Ozzie Does It Again Have I mentioned this before? Ozzie Guillen is the man! Brandon McCarthy, the "future of the Sox" made comments about how he didn't feel the Sox Clubhouse welcomed him and Brian Anderson was his only friend. He felt the Sox management was too hard on him,...
Politics of Global Warming There is great doubt whether our political leaders will ever have the courage to address the difficult decisions to alleviate global warming. Scientists have proved their point. The Earth is heating at an alarming rate and unless we address the problem of greenhouse gases then our globe, as we know it will cease to exist.
Fly, Robin, Fly Another winter, another scare story about the flu . . . .
Anal Sex Has Become a Dominant Means of Gratification When sex is a priority, anything goes even our children. I have found that anal sex has become a dominant means of gratification for the animal sexual urge in humans today. Why?
The Anna Nicole Show I want to get this out of the way as quickly as possible because this damn ho don’t need any more publicity over her death.
Anna Nicole Smith, former playmate, so called actress, gold digger, reality TV show star and constant pain in the ass was found dead on Thursday in the Hard Rock Hotel in Florida.
Hated Without a Cause or Is There a Cause? Why are the Jews and their homeland, Israel hated in this unthinking, disproportionate manner? While what's happening to the Palestinians is a tragedy by every measure, that simply does not explain the viscreal reaction to the Jews.
Bad Government Decisions to Cost Australia Billions Decisions made by both Federal and State Governments in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s are coming back to haunt Australians in the new millennium by costing Australian lives, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and forcing this country to buy more fuel.
The Titanic Effect...And The Criminal Justice System It is both astonishing, not to mention deeply disturbing, how the serious - and potentially fatal - flaws in our current 'criminal justice' system bear a remarkable similarity to those of the ill-fated ship, the Titanic. What is equally alarming is that no one realizes just how similar until we or someone we know has a personal head-on collision with the "iceberg."
Australia's Secret Independence Australia gained Independence on the 11th December 1931 when the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster. It’s a sad fact that most Australians reading that statement will be gaining the knowledge for the first time. It’s like finding out your father was once in prison, it’s a secret and has to be covered up.
The Business of Christmas is 100% out of control. Stores around here started stocking Christmas decorations before Halloween.
Radio stations started playing non-stop Christmas music before Thanksgiving.
Families spent November mapping out their Thanksgiving evening… which is now filled with shopping rather than quality family time.
When did the business of Christmas become such a joke?
Five years on film Critics would point out glaring discrepencies in the script. The continuity editor would be sacked, never to work again in the industry. Never mind that the actors too seem to be a bit wooden. When they speak their dialogue, it simply doesn't ring true. Indeed, if the real life events played out on the world stage post nine-eleven were a motion picture, then the film would be a stinker, to be sure.
Breathe Life into Art Once the life experience is embodied in the art, the art will have life.
Nigeria Cannot Afford to Cry When They Sneeze! Nigerians have to recognize the germane element of goodwill in serving visitors water, kola or fura. This goodwill is founded on kindness and enabled by rectitude, customary traditions of Nigeria's various ethnic groups. The social expectations therein guide positive adaptations that rationalize the place of our traditions in the context of modern Nigeria. These adaptations should also be anchored in the paradigm of impressing upon visitors our positive social attitudes about life and existence. Altruistically, every human heritage, no matter the clime, intends just that. But the current contamination by whimsical values, prostituted by modern decadence, is inconsistent with our human values.
Government's keeping control. But without result Some Ukrainian international non-governmental organisations like “Alliance against AID”, “Life plus” declared these about the threat to stop medical treatment for people, living with AID/HIV until 2008. So these people will be dying during period since this year to 2008. It was happened because the World Bank has broken off financial credit on 60 millions dollars , offered for treatment of Ukrainian people, living with AID/HIV. The World Bank administration did it , having accused Ukrainian Ministry of Public Health in corruption buying of medicine for people , living with AID/HIV.
Barnes Storming: Wild horses can't break Britney; poets ask why Hear that? No, it's not the steady rumble of stampeding horses. It's Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg all rolling in their graves over Britney Spears' latest crime against humanity. Where's poetic justice when you need it?
Barnes Storming: You Gonna Finish that Sentence? A young writer crosses over to the "dark" side of plagiarism for the fame and fortune. Lucky for him the path has been clearly marked by the recent foot traffic of others just as desperate for attention.
Semi-Intelligent Design It used to be that there was a whole lot of education that went into becoming a scientist.
10 Reasons NOT to Trust Dubya! Hey, President Uber liar! Hey 43! Hey Dubya!
Even most tele-marketers are more believeable than you!
Come Clean Barry Bonds I help to offer a solution to Barry Bonds' life of dodging the press and hypodermic needles.
Baby Hitler Resides in Topeka, Kansas Has anybody seen this fool Fred Phelps? He is behind that group that is protesting at dead soldiers funerals claiming that "god killed them because the U.S. loves fags". What is your opinion
What about Homosexuality? This country amazes me how it decides what is an issue. Homosexuality has become such a hot item. It is as though we just discovered that same sexes are attracted to each other and it has to stop before it gets out of control. The Bible tells us, there is nothing new under the sun. Homosexuality is here to stay. What are we going to do?
Cigarette beings Have you ever really watched a cigarette lover inhale cigarette smoke? Have you noticed the instant satisfaction experienced? The cigarette is led to the lips with an opening of the mouth to literally suck the smoke out of the tobacco.
Rich Folks Games First of all in order for rich folks to have a game, there has to be some poor folks. Rich among rich can only stand each other so long because egos are always working towards more.
Prophets and Losses Okay now. Enough is enough. I am addressing all the Muslims out there. Well, maybe not ALL the Muslims, perhaps just the really naughty and incorrigible Muslims. Yeah. You know who you are. Those of you that have the belief that you can make a change for good through violence.
Outlook on Society Today In today’s world, society has already far surpassed the limits and boundaries of international borders. Like a wildfire sweeping up and surging past everything before it, the definition of society today encompasses not only the regional sphere, but also the global arena. In the world of today, where information of just about everything is within reach of the public domain, information overload is an almost usual occurrence. There is so much information available within anyone’s grasp with just a short trip into cyberspace. Unfortunately though, the current outlook on society in near-future is a rather bleak one, as opposed to the commonly held fallacy that humanity is currently at its Golden Age.
Coming Home for Christmas in a Body Bag Death of Ryan McGlothlin raises the question of getting out of Iraq. But his path to the military was a strange one. What do you think?
Looking back over the rising number of false allegations of sex crimes over the past decade, intentionally brought by those who enjoy inflicting pain of all varieties on others, one has to wonder, how did this happen? How did innocent people, who ...
Designing America :- #4: Some Problems In Constitutional Wording There once was a man who fell in love with and bought a two hundred year old house. It had some problems although it was attractive, historically important and certainly worth preserving. But, he wanted to be able to live in it, so he added new bathrooms, built an annex for a modern kitchen and some larger bedrooms.
U.S. Executions reach 1000 I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.-Thomas Grasso (Executed in Oklahoma)
Designing America: #3: What Changed From 1776 to 2006? What would have happened in the year 2000 if the framers of The Constitution had included a sunset clause that cancelled their version in that year, a year more than two centuries in their future? I suppose we would have had to call a second constitutional convention in 1999 to draft a new version.
Designing America, #2: The Constitutional Convention In eloquent language our Declaration Of Independence of 1776, outlined the goals and ambitions, the lofty ideals, of the nation’s founders. Many of these ideas were voiced earlier by English and French philosophers.
