Simon Cowell again

Remember when Barack Obama said that everybody in Washington is like Simon Cowell ? Well, the following conversation is proof - and there's even a grade involved too !

Exchange during Senate Budget Committee hearing:

Sen. Kent Conrad: "You know, I used to like you. Let me just say: Oh, you are good."

Sen. Charles Grassley: "Well, your wife said the same thing."

Ouch !

Those were the days ...

There was a time when supper for me meant a trip to the mamak stall/shop or a night time eatery somewhere close by. There was a mood, a certain ambience that I felt, and liked, when heading out for a late night supper. Now ........

This is what I had for supper tonight :


I've got to admit that I enjoyed the snack but it doesn't mean that I don't miss the days of roti canai and teh tarik.

Reality Bites ...

I took this photo of the factory opposite my office today. As you can see, there doesn't seem to be much going on as there is only one car and one truck in the compound.

In fact, this factory belongs to Flextronics and they have another, bigger factory beside my office.They employ 1,378 people and parking used to be scarce around my area as there were just too many cars parked by the road side. But things have been quiet lately and parking is a breeze nowadays.

Flextronics will close both their factories here this month end.

Balkis, is thy name "Charity" ?

When I last wrote about Balkis (What exactly is "Charity" ?), I had mentioned that I wouldn't delve into the allegations that the dissolution of Balkis was illegal.

Now there is conclusive evidence that the dissolution was illegal as proven in this article here. In it, an officer of the Selangor Registrar of Society (ROS) admits that the EGM to dissolve Balkis was against the constitution of Balkis itself. So, if the EGM calling for dissolution was illegal, then the dissolution itself was illegal. And the transfer of RM9.9 million to Bakti ? Illegal.

But here the shocker : Balkis has just been dissolved on 11th February 2009 !

It seems that exemptions were extended by Putrajaya to facilitate the dissolution of Balkis.

Also, since the Pakatan Rakyat members were not aware of it, you can bet your bottom dollar that the majority of the legitimate voting members (i.e. wives of PR representatives) were also not told of the EGM for dissolution on 11.02.2009.

On top of that, the Balkis auditor has steadfastly maintained that he has not audited the FY2007 accounts and yet the ROS officer stated that the FY2007 accounts had been audited.

What it all adds up to is a big stink and a dissolution so porous you could drive an 18-wheel truck through the holes. And the RM9.9 million transferred to Bakti still remains there.

It's a Girl !

These days when we go around the house we'll find tucked away in corners and chairs some really cute fluffy toys 'sleeping'.

Sometimes it's Winnie the Pooh, sometimes it's Elmo or some unknown bear, but always they're wrapped up in a blanket, or nappy, or diaper.

Kinda cute, actually.

What exactly is "Charity" ?

I was reading this article here about Balkis (Selangor "BN" assemblymen and MPs wives charity organization) and how the organization has been allocating the donations that they had been receiving.

Here are some of the details. Bear in mind that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

* RM206,000 for souvenirs which included a few hundred stalks of artificial flowers and 2,700 hats

* RM65,300 for Songket material to be given as gifts to the Sultan of Selangor, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali (Since when did these guys qualify as charity recipients ?)

* RM25,000 for souvenir chocolates (What exactly did they put in those chocolates ?)

* RM1.2 million for technical visits to Tokyo Disneyland, Korea and Hong Kong (Does Mickey Mouse need our help ?)

Of course, Balkis has now been dissolved for over a year and their remaining funds (RM9.9 million) has been transferred to Bakti (the Federal equivalent of Bakti). I won’t delve into the allegations that the dissolution was illegal and that the Barisan National representatives’ wives had no business transferring the funds to Bakti. Suffice to say that if I had donated money to a particular charity it’s because I believe in it’s cause and I wouldn’t be happy if the money was subsequently transferred to another charitable body.

No, my thoughts as I was reading the article was how could Balkis, in good conscience, spend money meant for charity on those items ? When I read a World Vision newsletter and see that the cost of sponsoring a child for one year is RM600 – and I compare it to the sums spent above – yes, it pains me. And it makes me angry. And it makes me even more angry when I know that a big chunk of the donations came from state government-linked corporations i.e. OUR MONEY.

And to be frank, when a corporation or a businessman donates to Balkis they’ll usually chalk it off as “the cost of doing business”. What ?! Do you seriously believe they think of it as a donation for charity ?

You wanna know the sweet irony of this post ? World Vision actually has a programme to help out the natives in Sarawak. Balkis didn’t even have to allocate the money outside Malaysia to have actually done some CHARITY WORK.

America's most well known Englishman isn't David Beckham

Barack Obama on American Idol :

"In Washington it's a little bit like American Idol, except everybody is Simon Cowell."

Ha! Ha!

Hallelujah

For the past few nights as I turned off the lights and lay down in bed, the strains of "Hallelujah" have filled the air. It's Jeff Buckley's version of the Leonard Cohen song (here) and it's quite simply brilliant.

Oftentimes you hear of certain interpretations of songs being described as the definitive version - the version that nobody else can, or will ever, sing better. Think Paul McCartney and "Yesterday", Willie Nelson and "Always on my mind", Procol Harum and "Whiter shade of pale", Namewee and "Negaraku".

Jeff Buckley certainly sang the definitive version of "Hallelujah".

It's a pity that he's no longer around to create more beautiful music.



The song also happens to be a favourite choice when people want to create videos about war or similiar themes. A more graphic video can be found here.

U2's back!

Yes, the seminal rockers from Ireland who first gained world fame with the "The Joshua Tree" album are back with a new album, "No Line On The Horizon".

Like many who grew up in the 80's, The Joshua Tree was/is a must-have on the play list. Since then, U2 have grown into the no. 1 rock band in the world - and no, the Rolling Stones and Coldplay don't have that label. And the Beatles are no longer around.

Still, every album they're released since is compared to The Joshua Tree. It is still considered their defining work even though many of their subsequent albums have headed in other musical directions, especially when Brian Eno is the producer.

I remember that on the night of the 1995 general elections, after the DAP had again failed to wrest Penang from the BN, the Fly Guy dedicated on the radio to Lim Kit Siang the following U2 song :

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

I haven't heard everything on their new album, but I do think that "Moment of Surrender" is beautiful.

Searching for Idiot Driver of WPK 6393

The great thing about the Internet (or curse, if you prefer) is just how far and fast one can disseminate information. Take this photo that's been doing the e-mail rounds, for instance :

and the accompanying text :

Appreciate your help to pass this message on so that the driver of this car can be located. If you send to 10 persons (your friends and relatives). Very soon it will arrive at the inbox of the driver…or could he/she be someone you know? Hopefully, they will be less SOCIALLY INCONSIDERATE in the future.

And another gadget that's changing the social fabric ? Camera phones. To paraphrase Air Asia, "Now everyone can get proof".

Infernal Affairs

I watched Infernal Affairs (IA) last night. It's a show that I've held off seeing for some 6 years as I wanted to watch IA2 & IA3 back-to-back-to-back. Seeing 3 shows consecutively, or at least on 3 consecutive nights would have meant that I would have to block off a sizeable chunk of time to fit in the movies - something which I have not deigned to do so far.

Anyway, I watched Infernal Affairs last night and the show was ....... excellent. Even though it says in the credits that Andy Lau and Tony Leung are the stars of the show, the real star of the show was the story line i.e. plot. Quite simply, the plot carried the film. Even with the award-winning acting and directing, what really raised the film to excellence was the plot.

In fact this film was so good that it was remade by Martin Scorsese who called it 'The Departed'. 'The Departed' won 4 Oscars in 2007, including Movie of the Year !

What really bemuses me is that one of the Oscars was for 'Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay', won by William Monahan. The original writers of Infernal Affairs, Siu Fai Mak and Felix Chong are not given any credit at all ! I would have thought that, seeing as the original story was theirs anyway, they would have had a share of the accolades.

A Walk In The Park

Since today is a public holiday, I took Catriona down to the playground just before lunch. The weather was and still is perfect for a walk in the park as it's overcast and with a slight wind blowing - you won't get hot and there's no rain.

I took a few photos but I suspect that I've already taken too many of her at the playground since there's already a back catalogue. Still, I can't resist documenting her progress as she grows.

It helps that children are almost always photogenic.


This next sequence is apparently an extreme sport for toddlers - Head first sliding. Don't try this at home - it's a pro at work here.

wipeout

It all depends on which side of the longkang you're looking from ...

Take a look at this excerpt from Dr. Mahatir's blog in the Malaysia Today article here :

For 50 years no one seriously questioned the social contract. Even today the majority of Chinese and Indians and the indigenous Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak accept the social contract. But because Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi basically lost the 2008 election and now heads a weak Government the extremists and erstwhile detractors have questioned the social contract. The Bar Council has now become a political party believing that its expertise in law will exempt it from being questioned as to its credentials and its political objectives.

Then take a look at this excerpt here :

Malaysia Bar president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan has been named among the eight recipients of this year's "International Women of Courage Award."

The award was established by the US Department of State.

According to the Press Office of the US Embassy here, Ambiga would receive the award from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington on Monday in conjunction with International Women's Day.

It said Ambiga was selected "for championing the rule of law and for advancing human rights, the status of women and religious tolerance in Malaysia.

"Dato' Ambiga Sreenevasan has emerged as a strong voice for tolerance and justice, and has had a direct impact on judicial reform in Malaysia, contributing to strengthening of the role of women in civil society."

I don't know much about the political leanings of the Bar Council, but since the BN still manages to find lawyers to represent them, I'm guessing that there are still lawyers who believe the BN.

I just thought that it's interesting how different parties will view the same issue depending on where they are looking from.

Sit, Ridwan, Sit !

When I look at the Perak situation where Judicial Commissioner Ridwan Ibrahim has ruled that the State Assembly Speaker V.Sivakumar must use the State Legal Adviser Datuk Ahmad Kamal Shahid as his representative, I am saddened by how far the Malaysian judiciary has fallen from it's previous high standing. If ever there was an instance of conflict of interest, this ruling could be used as a case study.

It used to be that, in Malaysian courts, you were up against your opponent. Later on, if your opponent had the right connections, you were up against him and the judge. Now it seems that we're approaching a new level of judicial subservience - you'll be up against your opponent, the judge, and even your own lawyer ! How to win like that !

This brings to mind a photo that a classmate of mine posted on Facebook :

1st on the left, bottom row is the late Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader, one of the Supreme Court judges who was suspended in the 1988 judicial crisis. He had been invited to speak at the Penang Free School Speech Day that very same year by the headmaster, G. Krishna Iyer.

One of the reasons for the invitation was that PFS was the late Tan Sri Eusoffe Abdoolcader's alma mater, and since he was suspended, he was free to attend. And the other, I would like to believe, is that Krishna Iyer was showing his support for the suspended judge. And in doing so, showed what he thought of Mahatir's role in the judicial crisis.

Nowadays, it seems that all government schools are tacitly instructed not to invite Pakatan Rakyat MPs/assemblymen to their functions. I don't imagine that they'll be allowed to invite a Supreme Court judge suspended for ruling against UMNO !

Man United start off with a little one ...

So Manchester United won the Carling Cup with half the team more accurately described as squad players - which is the the philosophy they've practiced in every round of the Carling Cup i.e. as match practice for the squad and exposure for youngsters. Ho hum.

Don't get me wrong. Winning a cup final is still fun, but it's a reflection of the times and priorities when Sir Alex Ferguson decides that the next mid-week Premier League match is more important than the Carling Cup final. Still, the fact that he played Cristiano Ronaldo from the start indicated that he did want to win the final a little bit more than he had let on. Especially since Park Ji Sung was available and sitting on the bench.

But I think that the most significant comment made after the final was when SFA said of goalkeeper Ben Foster : "The future is his, the present belongs to Edwin Van der Sar". That's the clearest indication yet of his choice between the two reserve goalkeepers, with Tomasz Kuszczak being the other one. And since Van der Sar is going to be 39 years old this year, surely the future can't be that far away ? I wonder if this will signal the departure of Kuszczak 'in the future', or will he do a Cudicini and stay a backup at Man United for multiple years ?