In class yesterday, our professor was using the example of the presence of mafias in certain countries to indicate a weak rule of law. So we covered the usual suspects - Italy, Russia, China and some Eastern European countries.
Then the professor asked, “Does the US have a mafia?”
Some people said yes, in the 1920s.
“What about now?”
An American classmate responded with aplomb, “They’re stepping down from office soon.”
Woot!
I knew McCain was a dashing Navy officer, heavily decorated for his service including his time as a Prisoner of War (POW). I learnt from this Arizona news website that:
He was married to his first wife Carol for 14 years, but they grew apart. He admitted to extramarital affairs. Finally he met his future second wife Cindy. To quote,
“… my marriage’s collapse was attributable to my own selfishness and immaturity more than it was to Vietnam, and I cannot escape blame by pointing a finger at the war. The blame was entirely mine.”
Obama hasn’t had marital issues, nor did he serve as an officer, but there are interesting similarities between the two men, which I’ll bring up up at some point below.
The young McCain moved to Arizona where his new wife and her rich father was based. At the time, McCain was quoted as being very ‘engaging’ and likeable. Now, Obama sounds like that…
The young McCain was very politically sensitive with being seen as an opportunistic new kid on the block. After being called a ‘carpetbagger’ numerous times, he flared up and answered,
“Listen, pal. I spent 22 years in the Navy. My grandfather was in the Navy. We in the military service tend to move a lot. We have to live in all parts of the country, all parts of the world. I wish I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending my entire life in a nice place like the first district of Arizona, but I was doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place I lived longest in my life was Hanoi.”
So both McCain and Obama were more well-travelled earlier in their lives than the usual US presidential candidates (and dare I say, the Alaskan vice-presidential candidate?). Specifically, they spent important parts of their lives in Southeast Asia.
In his first campaign in Arizona, McCain’s success was partly due to TV advertising. Obama’s now done that, but on a much larger scale. Stretching it a bit, back in 1982 there wasn’t the Internet, so McCain effectively used the most popular medium of the day to woo voters. Like what Obama’s doing now.
Also, McCain had money. The report says,
“…it was more greenbacks than soles that swept McCain into the House of Representatives… McCain’s first campaign benefited from his wife’s personal wealth, some of which had been tied up in a trust set up in 1971 by her parents…”
Similarly, Obama’s got a lot of money for the current campaign… not from his wife though. Nor from his aunt ;-)
Soon after winning his seat, McCain got attention from his party for standing up to President Reagan about the war in Lebanon. To quote,
“I do not foresee obtainable objectives in Lebanon,” McCain said. “I believe the longer we stay, the more difficult it will be to leave, and I am prepared to accept the consequences of our withdrawal.”
So, McCain is to Lebanon what Obama is to Iraq?
Thereafter, the young McCain was listed as a ‘Republican on the rise’. Similarly, after Obama’s National Democratic Convention 2004 speech, he was seen as a rising star. And as we expect tomorrow, the rest is history.
Who would’ve known these two men would meet, head to head, on the world’s biggest stage?
Good stuff! Even though McCain’s probably going to lose the election, he is able to carry off a lot of funny lines. Obama won’t get me roaring with laughter, but when McCain’s more his maverick self he can be likeable. This is a side of him that the electorate didn’t see enough of during this campaign. It is difficult being yourself when you risked alienating the Republican base. However you can’t appeal to the right and to the middle at the same time. The other side has the momentum.
The question is, will people who simply like him, vote for him? In difficult times such as these, the answer is possibly not as many as he’d like.
Obama/Biden 2008!
I love cool gadgets like these. Hang on to your seats, world. An exciting new President is coming in!
More action is happening on my INSEAD blog, and even more action is happening in the library (boo!) but I thought I should pen down some quick thoughts about current situations:
Tempting as it is to watch with an odd combination of amusement and dismay as our stock prices fall lower and lower, there is really no point in checking them every minute. Being MBA students there is a very strong temptation to sit in front of the Bloomberg terminal watching stock prices from your country of origin trickle further down every few seconds. I have been using my Bloomberg iPhone app more often than usual, taking a masochistic delight in seeing prices fall and telling myself I was smart to sell a lot of my shares before the real shit hit the fan.
But, as with really bad diarrhoea, you never know when it ends. If you live only for money, then you may feel your life is coming to an end. If your foundation is in deeper, more meaningful things, then you will not be as badly shaken. However, it is tragic while lots of people in America have lost their homes and an old lady has even shot herself after defaulting on mortgage payments.
I am getting all excited again for Obama as he’s become more specific with issues, and sounds more decisive. The second debate helped him stand out. All these years I was actually fine with McCain and thought he’d have made a better president than Bush, but the GOP had other ideas, and now it may be difficult for the Republicans on all fronts.
A couple days ago, our Organisational Behaviour professor let us watch Martin Luther King’s speech, I Have A Dream. I’ve read excerpts, but watching the original video really moved me. If Obama gets elected, King’s speech will have extra significance - even though Obama isn’t the son of slaves.
Embedded for your viewing pleasure:
I’m adding my INSEAD blog on my sidebar so it won’t be so quiet over here… take care, dear readers, and have a great weekend while I slog away!
To wrap up my French revision for the night, I went to Lemonde.fr to read a spot of news in the beautiful language.
Not surprisingly, the home page had a photo of Barack Obama and his newly-announced running mate Joe Biden. What was more interesting was that the headline said, “Biden, choix par défaut pour les blogueurs démocrates”.
That made me look a second time. Was this French newspaper reporting about what Democratic bloggers were saying? From what I could understand, Biden was the ‘least bad’ of all the choices, which was plausible since hardcore Democrats would probably know the candidates well enough. The article itself has a modified headline, saying Biden was the default choice.
Along the way the article referred to other American websites which were quite interesting and have now been added to my feedreader: The American Prospect and Talking Points Memo. I have also seen the video of Joe Biden tearing the President apart for screwing up the Iraq invasion and not supporting the troops enough.
Amusing phrases taken from another website, Simply Left Behind, and translated into French, lend a second layer that sounds delightful. Biden, it is said, “traîne beaucoup de casseroles” (drags along many pots and pans) and “parler sans réfléchir” (speaks without thinking). Taken too literally, it would be amusing to imagine the white-haired senator barking at many pans of baked food to exercise.
US elections excite me. American politics in general, too. Long-time readers will know that I too, like Obama, opposed the Iraq war from the start and even designed an anti-war protest wallpaper. (Hmm the high-res versions are missing; I’ll see if I can locate them.)
Other archived material which may be of slight interest to newer readers: Deep Throat, my first mention of a charismatic young Barack Obama at NDC 2004, my mostly correct predictions that Bush would go to war and screw up (alas, he got re-elected).
And I am still annoyed that Western media and politicans don’t know how refer to Osama properly. How can you try to anticipate his moves and hunt him down, when you don’t even understand something as basic as his name?
Whenever I had the time to read the entire Straits Times from cover to cover I would occasionally chance upon a typo somewhere. However, I had much higher expectations of international and British newspapers. I was thus surprised to find TWO typos in yesterday’s Financial Times. Can you spot them?
First, a political piece:
And one about the Olympics:
Click on them to view the answers (on the Flickr page, hover over the image and you will see the wrong word marked out)
I have relatives in the US who are staunchly Republican. That’s fine by me; I also believe in free trade and less aid, even if I’ve supported Democratic candidates for the past decade.
What I don’t appreciate is receiving messages on how Barack Obama is a Muslim. That is so old hat that it’s laughable if you’re still sending it out! More recently, there’s another email circulating that Obama’s being funded by lots of rich foreigners. Thank God for Urban Legend websites and this Snopes article in particular that cites the email in full and points out the inaccuracies and misquotes.
I’ve lost some steam supporting Obama’s campaign for various reasons as I think he is charmingly flip-flopping on some issues, but whether I support him or McCain or anyone else, I believe that facts about candidates must be checked for accuracy before being circulated.
It is fine to disagree with candidates on how America should reduce its dependency on oil, pull out of Iraq, deal with Iran and North Korea and other issues. It is not fair to continually circulate false information on any candidate just because you don’t support them. Especially if your recipients are not savvy enough to do their own Internet research and are thus likely to believe whatever you’re sending them :P
As I am two generations more junior and it is inherent in Asian culture to be respectful to one’s elders, I am deciding how to tactfully point out that it isn’t right to send out emails that are factually inaccurate. Perhaps I should respond politely with a link to the aforementioned article?
Finally, Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination. At the start, he wasn’t expected to win. Hillary Clinton was viewed as the presumptive nominee. She had the Clinton name recognition and a popular former president as husband. This campaign was hers to lose, and short of appealing at Denver, it appears that she needs to officially concede to her rival.
What memories many of us had of Obama at the beginning probably began with his Democratic National Convention speech in 2004, endorsing John Kerry. When Obama decided to run this time, some less educated people taunted his name as it sounded like ‘Osama’, which makes no sense considering the diverse cultures and names in this world. But that’s understandable. Diversity is something which Obama has been exposed to since childhood - more than many Americans.
Others alluded to his family’s Muslim heritage despite him being a Christian, and questioned his loyalty to the flag. An older relative of mine - a registered Republican and retiree - had forwarded me an email saying he was Muslim. And suddenly, everyone knew he was a Christian because of the divisive comments of his now former pastor, Rev Wright.
While watching the protracted battle between the two top Democrat candidates, a question that’s lingered in mind is: While it’s always good to be democratic, how much money ought to be spent in such a campaign? With a treasury bleeding from the Iraq War and an economy hit by rising gasoline prices and a mortgage finance crisis, it is unfortunate that top candidates need to raise and spend so much money to win some voters over. Would donors from Clinton’s base - not the rich but the working-class - feel that their money has been wasted? Perhaps that is partly why Clinton wanted to fight on.
Assuming we all have access to reliable news sources, we can make our own decisions, visit the nearest polling station and cast a vote. But things are not so simple, are they? There’s Fox News, broadsheets which openly declare support of one candidate, misleading polling/caucus instructions resulting in confused voters. So big money still has to be spent travelling from state to state, holding events, placing expensive TV ads and hiring hundreds of staffers.
In a general election, the stakes are simply too high. At the end of the day, who would remember a losing candidate who ran a good race with less money than the winner? Kudos to Mike Huckabee for running a decent campaign on a tight budget, but nobody’s really talking about him anymore.
So it’s more than the financing rules themselves which need to be changed, though at least some have realised the need for change. Admirably, John McCain himself has been a champion of campaign finance reform but I’d like to see how he handles his own situation as the Republican nominee who’s up against a fresh young candidate with a wide financial donor base.
While not an American citizen, I have followed many of the previous US election races with great interest and this one has excited me the most. And it has only just begun. McCain himself is not a run-of-the-mill Republican candidate. For the Republican nomination, I would have preferred McCain over George W Bush 8 years ago, but at that time it was not meant to be.
From a management point of view, the Wall Street Journal has detailed analysis on the faulty decisions that Hillary Clinton made - which eventually contributed to her losing a race that many thought was hers for the taking.
I’d also like to add a social media perspective - on the concept of openness. Some have noticed that the Clinton blog did not publish critical comments - only positive ones. See 2 comments below this CNN article.
WI voter, June 3rd, 2008 11:25 pm ET
Since Sen. Clinton won’t let me post the following comment on her website, I guess I’ll post it here….
Congratulations, Sen. Clinton, on this long and historic race. Thank you for your service and for what you have done to propel women forward.
You asked to hear from us: Please concede the race now that the elections are over and all states and territories have voted and Sen. Obama has reached the required amount of delegates, so that the party, and the country can move forward. We simply cannot afford not to have a Democrat in the White House next January. Please help to unite our country behind Sen. Obama and help us to begin to achieve the great things we both believe that America is capable of.
Gratefully,
WI Voter
and another comment:
Jack, June 3rd, 2008 11:25 pm ET
I logged onto hillaryclinton.com, as she asked in her speach, to give my opinion she should drop out. The only option is to send a message of support to her. What’s up with that?
Not that it matters to her anymore, but it does betray an old-school defensive style of campaigning, which no longer works in today’s dynamic and open world. That’s the sense I got from the Clinton campaign - lots of mixed signals as some staffers revealed facts which others then denied, firing of key staff when things went wrong, a husband on the loose and a pollster/PR advisor who served another Government whose interests conflicted with Clinton’s.
Perhaps this is a presumptive statement, but if that’s how the campaign was run - for a candidate everybody thought should have won - would things have been better managed in the White House?
[Update 8/6/08: To be fair, it appears that pro-Clinton comments were not published on the Obama blog/forum as well. Extract:
I am a supporter of senator Clinton and I have posted numerous pro-Clinton comments on this site. My account has been disabled each time I posted a pro-Clinton comment, and so I have been forced to write under varying screen names. If Obama cannot stand a pro-Clinton comment, how can he unite the Dems? We, the Hillcrats, should insist that Hillary be on the ticket. If Obama does not include Clinton we should vote against him. With help from scores of friends, I am putting together a large-scale effort aimed at forcing Obama to have Hillary on the ticket. Team Obama will disable my account soon, so I request you to email me at d.v.john@hotmail.com so we can network. ]
Look at Digg’s US Elections page, and it’s all about Barack Obama at the moment. It’s generally positive news about him, and if there is mention of Hillary Clinton, it’s negative.
The hottest article right now is one by the New York Post which states that Obama received more votes than initially reported. If you read on, it also adds that some votes were miscounted, at Clinton’s expense as well.
This is somewhat reminiscent of what happened to Al Gore in Florida. Hopefully, this time the outcome will be more just.
I can't wait for Super Tuesday. It will settle a lot of things - knock out the remaining minnows and strengthen the frontrunners. It will allow everyone to focus on the stronger candidates and we'll see the difference between Republicans and Democrats - not just infighting which can be quite off-putting.
I still support Barack Obama, perhaps because no politician has moved me quite as much as he has in his speeches, since his appearance for John Kerry. But his detractors point out that it isn't just about saying but about doing - though Hillary Clinton touched some nerves with her statement on Martin Luther King. I agree with the likening of Obama to JFK and was excited to hear of Ted and Caroline Kennedy's endorsements.
As much as I admired Bill Clinton's work as a president (minus Monica), I didn't like how he attacked Obama. Two against one is an unfair advantage and it put the spotlight on Bill, not Hillary who's supposed to be running the show as her own woman.
However, come Super Tuesday it is likely that Hillary Clinton will win where it counts. And we don't know if she'll take Barack as her No. 2, considering the bad blood between them both. Maybe, like true politicians, they'll kiss and make up because they need each others' votes to take the White House.
Now I've actually taken more interest in the Republican race which is looking very much like John McCain versus Mitt Romney. For the Republicans, I've always supported John McCain, even over George Bush junior. McCain speaks his mind and doesn't suck up to the party if it doesn't make sense to him.
If it's Hillary and another Democrat (not Obama) versus McCain, I might actually support the Republicans for once. Not that I'm American but it's just exciting to watch the biggest election in the world.
I am not an American citizen, but today I played my first role in helping to set the record straight on one of the leading candidates.
After listening to Barack Obama's speech in 2004 in support of John Kerry, I was hooked on this guy. He was different. He was young, brilliant and rousing. I read his book, Dreams From My Father, and was inspired by it. I was therefore delighted to hear that he had entered the race for the Democratic nomination this time.
I joined the Barack Obama Facebook group to support him. After hearing how he had won the Iowa Caucus on 3 Jan 2008, I logged in to read his latest message. However, someone had to add a nasty comment alleging he was an undercover Muslim extremist.
Some quick research showed that these allegations were untrue. See the facts laid out and the false rumours categorically proven wrong. Often, the truth is out there, waiting to be found. But some people choose to perpetuate false rumours.
I gave this reply:
To be fair, if I heard false rumours about other candidates, I'd also refute them. Everybody deserves the right to defend themselves against false allegations and be voted on their own merits. Right now it just seems that, being black and having studied in a Muslim country, Obama is seen as the 'Other' in a country that has been ruled by whites who have trouble pronouncing the names of foreign countries and leaders. Everywhere in the world there's always been prejudice - just that it now seems to be rearing its ugly head on websites and chain mails.
In my country, Singapore, some moderate Muslims attend Christian schools. In the junior college I attended, which was Methodist, the Muslim students were excused during worship sessions and there was nothing to be awkward about. As a student I never saw anyone trying to convert each other, or make digs at each other's religions. Everyone gets an equal chance to succeed. Our nation was proud of the top primary school student last year, who was a Muslim female. So after seeing the kind of ignorant comments Obama is getting, I appreciate the racial and religious harmony in my own country even more.
Perhaps in America, the majority of citizens are less exposed to people from minority religions including Islam. The few instances where they have witnessed an incident involving Islam, such as 9/11, have admittedly been painful for them. With human nature, there's a tendency to assume the worst of those who are different, and to stereotype them together even if there are liberals, moderates and extremists in most groups. That's how racism and xenophobia come about, and it is not something we should encourage. A couple decades ago, the dirty word in America was 'Communist' and the enemy state was the Soviet Union. Now it's 'Muslim' and various Middle East countries. Why does America need bogeymen all the time? Taking on Obama's approach, let's have dialogue, not war.
I heard an account of how a doctor based in America came to Singapore to find a job after 9/11. That's because his name had 'Osama' in it. It is most unfortunate, especially if you're not related to the terrorist, that you cannot work in a country that preaches freedom and democracy. So maybe it isn't so surprising that some people are playing up Obama's middle name, which goes with Saddam. It shows that some Americans are not ready to accept someone who has merits but is different from them.
In fact, I'm thinking the tables can be turned. It would actually be good to have a US President with some experience living abroad. The US President isn't just the head of his own country - he is viewed as the leader of the only superpower in the world (so far). Barack Obama may in fact have a better chance of reuniting America with the rest of the world, because of his international exposure. In today's increasingly globalised world, there is no point fighting with China or India. (On this point I disagree with the Democrats who tend to be protectionistic. Tough love is painful but it will help in the long run)
I've laid my thoughts out and still think Barack Obama is a candidate who can draw votes from both parties, unite the nation and restore ties with the rest of the world. God knows we need a stronger world leader especially in these turbulent times. Go, Obama!
I was greatly shocked to hear of Benazir Bhutto's death. Around the time she was assassinated, I was catching up with a few old friends. I heard the news on BBC Radio as I drove home, and like many others, was stunned for a moment, not able to believe the fact that she was dead.
She was one of those political figures who never seemed to disappear totally from the spotlight. Like all other politicians, she wasn't perfect but she provided competition to a dictator and brought hope for fairer elections. Democracy is weaker without her.
BBC Radio interviewed an old schoolmate of Bhutto's who said there were aspects of her that were not seen in public life, such as being a devoted mother, and having a witty sense of humour. I immediately wondered how her children were feeling at this point in time.
When I got home, I went straight to CNN.com which already set up a special page for her, and watched the video of the last moments as she finished her speech and moved off in a car. I caught another video of the aftermath, where people ran about in a state of chaos and the camera zoomed in to her car, which had stopped moving.
Catching up with other social media feeds, I saw how some people were closely tracking the news of her death. Steve Rubel noted how Bhutto was now number 1 on Google Trends. Wikipedia has been quickly updated to reflect that their entry on Bhutto is about a person who has recently died.
Time may allow the truth to unfold. Who killed her? Was it her closest political rival, or extremists who could not stand for the woman to take power again? Either way, murder is not a solution. It will open Pandora's box instead. It could lead to some uncomfortable questions.
For instance, what will the US Government do if it learns that the man they've supported in their 'war against terror' had something to do with the assassination? Then again, Pervez Musharraf has also had his fair share of assassination attempts. What might happen is if the public suspects Musharraf to be behind Bhutto's murder, his own life will be in danger when others attempt 'revenge attacks'. The Pakistani Government must do all it can to restore order and trust to minimise the chances of more violence occurring. Of course, this is much easier said than done.
Afternote:
Over a decade ago, I was also shocked and saddened by the death of another great politician, Yitzhak Rabin. I cried when I heard he was assassinated, because he was one of the few men who could have brokered for peace in the Middle East. Of course, to some he was seen as a sell-out, but there must always be give and take to have reconciliation. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
A poignant quote from Nawaz Sharif, another former PM and rival:
"My heart is bleeding and I'm as grieved as you are."
SingaporeSundry, one of the few other local blogs that have mentioned this international news so far, notes how the Pakistani blogosphere has already reacted to her death.
In the past few years I have avoided writing about highly controversial issues, but this time I do have something to say. My opinions are personal and do not reflect that of my employer.
We enter exciting times again, with the French presidential elections and the US Democratic and Republican nominations.
Unsurprisingly, the final two horse race in France is between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal. The last time I recall it was a more unusual contest between the incumbent Jacques Chiraq, and surprisingly, the right-wing extremist Jean Marie le Pen, who fortunately is not in the running anymore this time.
The problem with being a long-standing front-runner, is that more people are out to attack you and support your rival. This is the problem that Sarkozy faces. BBC radio reported today that Sarkozy does not seem to be wooing the centre, as he has maintained his conservative stance and still makes his (trademark?) divisive statements. Royale is still attempting to court the votes in the centre. Altogether, this uncertainty of outcome makes it an exciting race.
Regarding the recent US Democratic candidates' debate at South Carolina, the jury's out as to who's really won the debate. Naturally, on Barack Obama's website, a poll indicates he won it, with Hillary Clinton ranked second. Likewise, Clinton's camp says she won it, and looked the most 'presidential' to boot. But we shouldn't feel obliged to believe everything their own people say, as it would obviously be biased in their candidates' favour. In any case, these are just mini battles and not the whole war.
I am somehow less interested in the Republican nominees this time. I supported John McCain when he ran against George W Bush two terms ago. But after McCain's initial triumph at New Hampshire, it was a losing battle for the war veteran. Recent antics, his seeming lack of interest in wooing South Carolina voters at an earlier stage, and his increasing age may mean his chances are slimmer this time.
There are similarities between both the French and US Democratic nominee elections. In both cases, a woman is likely to be the strongest, or second strongest, candidate overall (I'm wondering what will happen when Condee Rice enters the fray). The New York Times notes that Obama has the potential to take away some of Clinton's long-standing black supporters. But surely, voters shouldn't support a candidate based primarily on race. Unless of course, race does make a difference in the candidates' ability to empathise with voters, and vice versa.
Next, the male candidate who is currently competing with this female candidate, can be viewed as an outsider in terms of ethnicity. Sarkozy is the son of a Hungarian immigrant and a native French woman. Obama was the son of a Kenyan father and a white American mother.
Both the French presidential election and the Democrat nominations will be exciting to watch, as the second-ranked candidates are closing in. Wikipedia has a most useful list of opinion polls, arranged chronologically, to show how Obama has been catching up. And if you went purely by geeks, Mashable reports that Obama is getting much more attention on Youtube and Digg.
More info over at:BTW, Barack Obama has finally started using Twitter. To date, his account stands at just one post: "At the California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego." He has some way to catch up with John Edwards.
Technorati tags: Nicolas+Sarkozy, Segolene+Royal, Hillary+Clinton, Barack+Obama, John+Edwards
I was discussing on Kristen's blog about how John Edwards added us as friends on Twitter. Of course it is quite unlikely that Mr Edwards himself is the one sitting by the computer, Twittering and blogging away, but it is a nice gesture nonetheless.
On further investigation, it turns out that Barack Obama also has a Twitter account, but hasn't updated it yet.
Hillary Clinton apparently has one, but she also hasn't written anything, PLUS the only 2 people on her friends list right now are Edwards and Obama! I don't suppose she would have added any Republican candidates. Then again, I don't get the impression that Republicans use as much social media as the Democrats do.
But this is a riot - check out this spoof of Bill Clinton on Twitter! Needless to say, it's the most interesting of all.
Technorati Tags: Twitter, Democrats, Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, John Edwards
1) We're looking for women who quit smoking because they wanted to have babies, then after they had babies they continued to stay smoke-free. We're thinking of interviewing and featuring them in a media campaign :)
2) We'd also like to interview youths who believe shisha is safe to smoke.
I am posting this on behalf of my organisation, the Health Promotion Board. Please pass the word on, or register your interest by posting a comment here or using my Contact form.
Exciting news broken by ZDNet - Barack Obama has readily embraced the potential of Web 2.0 and set up a social networking website where supporters can create their own blogs, keep track of campaign events and funding, and get in touch with each other. Go to my.barackobama.com.
Though I am not American, I signed up for an account out of a combination of curiosity, a long-standing interest in US politics and the fact that Obama's speech during the previous presidential campaign (in support of John Kerry) was the only one that brought tears to my eyes.
What is intriguing and will perhaps evoke a good mix of cynicism and grudging respect is the fundraiser tool which lets you set a goal of how much money you want to raise for Obama. Very clever. Let's see how this works out - if Obama's team is willing to release any figures later on. My only feedback for this is that if a supporter already has a well-established blog, there's no point creating a separate one just to raise funds for Obama. Instead, the website should let supporters copy and paste HTML widget code to be displayed on their own blogs.
Another tool on the website that lets supporters invite friends to join the cause, could be improved further. At the moment it requires supporters to manually fill in names and email addresses. The website should make things more convenient by allowing users to import email addresses from Yahoo!, Hotmail, Gmail as well as common text formats like CSV.
You also have to give it to Obama's team for getting onto the Web 2.0 bandwagon fast and furious. You can check him out on Facebook and Flickr, and watch his official videos on Youtube.
Of course there will be talk of whether Obama's net-savviness to date is similar to that of Howard Dean's, a previous Democrat front-runner who looked like a serious contender for the presidency, until he ran out of steam.
For now, you have to give it to Obama for leveraging on the power of Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2006.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Web2.0, presidentialelections
This fast-rising US Senator has a podcast on his Senate website. Worth checking out, just to see if he's Presidential quality.
I never forgot his moving speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, which is one of my all-time favourites. (Youtube link, text transcript)
Technorati Tags: Obama, video podcasts
I was happy to hear about the shift in the powerbase in the ol' US of A recently. Logged into Second Life just now and was informed that there was a virtual discussion group on the topic. Since they asked for publicity, here it is:
Self-description:
RootsCamps are 2006 post-election debriefs. The progressive community — everyone from the "netroots" to precinct captains to field organizers to national message consultants — is invited to come together to hash out what we learned in 2006 and how to apply those lessons going forward. Sign up or Learn more.
Technorati Tags: secondlife, rootscamp, politics, elections
By now you would've heard that Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death. Various countries have expressed their agreement, disagreement, ambivalence and reservations about the decision.
More here:
Authoritative blogs' posts on Saddam (Technorati)
Wikipedia entry on Saddam
Videos on Saddam (Youtube)
Just saw this on the home page of BBC News. Apparently, Human Rights Watch has accused Singapore of maid abuse.
The maids' quotes at the end of this article are quite disturbing, though I've personally never heard of any similar stories. All the maids I've seen (working for family, friends and colleagues) seem quite happy, and some have stayed with their employers for a long time.
I was quite surprised to hear of HRW's report, as cases of maid abuse do get reported in the local papers, with their employers usually punished by the law. You could say it's just the tip of the iceberg, but surely the right message does get sent out when each case is reported. I recall an article in the Straits Times where model employers were featured with their maids. It was touching to hear of how a family sent their maid for classes so she could improve her career prospects.
Also, it's difficult to legislate on things which happen in the confines of a home, even if protection is extended to this group of workers. It's different from an employee in a company who files a complaint against his employer for abuse or non-payment of wages. The employee doesn't have to live with his boss, nor depend on him for food, shelter and safety.
Based on your personal experience, what do you think about the treatment of maids in Singapore?
"Everything from Morph to Creature Comforts to Wallace and Gromit was there. It had all the film sets, the props, the models, everything. It really is a bit of tragedy." Read on...
Considering other recent world calamities (which I don't need to write about), this is rather minor, but I still felt a pang of sadness to hear that Aardman Animations, home of Wallace & Gromit, has burnt down. Strange about the timing - just when their latest movie made it to the box office number one. Jealousy, perhaps? Or blame it on the old Victorian structure.
I didn't realise the studio was near Temple Meads, which was where I'd take the train to and from Bristol occasionally. What a shame indeed.
When the planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings, George Bush wasted precious minutes sitting pretty at an elementary school (watch the video).
While New Orleans flooded, Bush again took his time to react, strumming his guitar, talking about medicare and celebrating John McCain's 69th birthday (see the contrast in pictures). When he finally addressed the floods, he claimed he didn't know about the potential dangers of flooding, despite warnings from FEMA and the odd blogger.
After looking at the great divide between HQ and Ground Zero, the soaring gas prices and the occupation of Iraq sapping resources, I ask this question: What took Americans so long to realise they voted the wrong guy into office?
To commemorate the birthday of our middle-aged country, this website's masthead will remain red for the next 4 days.
Have a happy holiday and enjoy the fireworks!
The London bombings are a tragedy. I was deeply saddened to hear of it, so soon after their Olympic triumph. London is one of my most-visited cities since I was a child. I was planning a trip at the end of this year, actually.
On the bright side, this will give them some insight as how to rebuild the transport system. Certainly, backup power and announcement systems, more robust security measures and civilian training for emergency situations would help.
What won't kill London will, make them stronger.
... an FBI agent I've never heard of before. Well, at least that answers one of US politics' greatest mysteries. As a student of American history that was something I and my classmates always wanted to find out, in our lifetimes.
Now all that's left is to find out who really killed JFK!
I had a feeling that they'd approve a Casino. But, two?
What are your views on this?
For a good laugh, visit TalkingCock.com now.
Hot in the news today is a finding that the majority of Singaporeans believe they speak Mandarin well. As suggested in the Straits Times, they probably gave themselves a generous self-assessment.
Here in Singapore, I haven't heard anyone speak 100% Mandarin without relying on other tongues to fill up gaps in their vocabulary. Quite often our version of Mandarin has evolved into a smattering of English and Chinese dialects. My Mandarin, I am first to admit, is pretty shite although I am speaking a bit more of it these days.
Similarly - perhaps due to our multicultural background - when we speak English, we throw in Mandarin, dialects, and Malay as filler words and substitutes. There are glaring errors even in formal correspondence. Most common mistakes I've noticed: Pluralising uncountable nouns by adding an 's'. Saying you'll 'revert' to someone - are you going to morph into him?
Increasingly I've noticed that genders are getting mixed up. That's probably because 'ta' in Mandarin could mean 'him' or 'her' in English. It gets confusing, especially when the speaker is referring to two possible people, one male and one female, and you're trying to figure out who it is without embarassing the speaker.
Admittedly, we're all human. Even newscasters make mistakes. But imagine what it would be like learning French and other languages which have genders for nouns!
A relative in the States (a staunch Democrat) sent this to me and I just had to share it with everyone:
Bush is my shepherd; I dwell in want.
He maketh logs to be cut down in national forests.
He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.
He restoreth my fears.
He leadeth me in the paths of international disgrace for his ego's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of pollution and war,
I will find no exit, for thou art in office.
Thy tax cuts for the rich and thy media control, they discomfort me.
Thou preparest an agenda of deception in the presence of thy religion.
Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.
My health insurance runneth out.
Surely, megalomania and false patriotism shall follow me all the days of thy term,
And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever.
[Update: Latest reports at CNN]
By the time I wake up in the little city-island of Singapore, America would have voted. If the polls are anything to go by, George Bush junior will win by a narrow margin. However the Democrats may gain a new Senator in the very charismatic Barack Obama (did you hear his speech at the DNC?), and hopefully others who will act as a moderating force in the decision-making process.
[Update: Obama wins but Democrats lose more seats in total.]
I visited one of my favourite Christian resource websites and was disappointed because it was obvious the writers were supportive of Bush, focusing on what else but abortion. I am alarmed that so many Christians have decided not to vote for John Kerry largely on this premise. It portrays us as one-track minded zealots who wish to impose our views on other people who do not share the same faith as us.
[Update: I like this slogan - "God is not a Republican... or a Democrat." Take back our faith!]
And look at the big picture. Surely the death of 5,000 innocent civilians in Iraq would also account for something? What about the growing numbers of seniors without health insurance? Some may die when they can't afford to pay their bills. What about lax gun laws, thanks to the NRA supporting Bush? What about the death penalties back in Texas when Bush was a governor?
The stance of this current administration has been to attack the symptoms and not the source. Take terrorism for instance. It has taken decades of American intervention in the Middle East, often viewed in favour of Jews at the expense of Muslims, to turn the latter group against America. Together with a generally lower level of education and standard of living, and the rise of fundamentalism, it has been a fertile ground for resentment.
A much slower but more stable approach would be to show that you respect these peoples, that you will not use force to win them over, that you will sincerely give them aid and improve their earning and learning capabilities. They will take their focus off extremism and focus on getting on with their lives.
It has not simply been a case of someone hating America's freedom. It has always been the case of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Many Americans however have been too removed from ground level to realise that many innocents have been killed because of US intervention in other countries. Of course, no matter how Christian the President claims to be, he would never turn the other cheek because he must be strong and decisive. (Kill 3000 of my people? I'll kill 2000 MORE of yours with my new pre-emptive doctrine. Oh, they're not really related to Osama but hey, we got another tyrant! I'm a war president! No, I'm a peace president! And my opponent, by the way, is a flip-flopper!)
Take abortion as another example. Why focus so much on whether or not to ban abortion, when we should also be examining what is causing this to happen in American society and in the rest of the developed world?
As a Christian I agree with conservatives that abortion is a form of murder. However the point where a cluster of cells, or a foetus, takes a life (or soul) of its own is hard to pinpoint. Maybe to make it easier for everyone, we should say it begins upon conception. Or, we can say it only happens after the baby is born. Or, as we Medical law students were taught, it happens somewhere in between, which puts us in a rather 'iffy' predicament. Going for an abortion one day later than originally planned, might constitute murder.
Also, as a cynical law graduate I would say that no law will be followed in any part of the world, entirely to the letter. Some laws, such as that of copyright, are much easier to break than others. But even if Bush gets re-elected and bans abortion in almost all cases, what's to stop a desperate teenage mother to attempt one herself, which may be worse? Even in an increasingly liberal society I'd say there is still a great amount of pressure on the women to 'carry the baby' in both metaphorical and literal senses.
Many of them become single mothers and some are stigmatised and cast out of their family. Even American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino was criticised for not being a good role model. What about the men who've got women pregnant, and left them to take care of the babies? It takes two hands to clap, but it seems only one gets slapped. It's like a double-whammy, almost always aimed at the woman.
As I was saying earlier, these current approaches deal only with the resulting symptoms of a much deeper problem. It's like, you have a cold and all the doctor wants to do is pinch your nose to stop you from sneezing, when the reality is that much of your body is immersed in icy water. If your economy is weak, more jobs have been lost than created, if health care is insufficient, if the gap between rich and poor is widening - these are all danger signs stemming from poor government, among other things.
In a way I pity the winner. America may be in for another recession soon. Iraq shows no signs of stabilising. US troops are staying on longer than planned. Osama meanwhile is laughing because he gets off scot-free, gets a good bang for his buck and the US government lands itself into deeper debt as they continue to wage their war on what they call 'terror'.
And so, with these thoughts I shall sleep tonight. At work tomorrow we shall find out who the new US President shall be.
Soon, America will vote and the fate of a good part of the world will lie in the hands of one man, once again. Only thing is, we're not entirely sure who it's going to be. And I certainly hope it won't depend on 537 votes again.
In local news, an Indian astrologer predicted that the 'stars' shine favourably on Kerry, although most of his counterparts seem to prefer Bush who is less likely to come down hard on outsourcing.
Japan's politicians prefer Bush because of existing good relations, although its peace-loving citizens prefer Kerry. Interesting quote: "If (Democratic challenger John) Kerry comes in, he may not feel he owes Koizumi anything." - That may not be such a bad thing, you know ;-)
We just received news that China has finally come forward to criticise the Bush administration for making decisions that have brought instability to the world - essentially its doctrine of pre-emption.
Stephen Hawking will be leading a protest in London where the names of 5,000 Iraqis killed in the US-led war will be read out. While I agree that the September 11 bombings were an atrocity committed against innocent civilians, you must admit that many more innocent civilians in another part of the world have died - and Osama remains free to this day.
Meanwhile, the Queen of England has asked Tony Blair to lobby against the US's environmental policies which are taking its toll on her gardens and other parts of the world.
And there is one more election that is almost as important that many of us tend to forget about - the Senate race. Will the Democrats oust a couple of seats from the GOP in their quest to regain control of the Senate?
Americans - this has to be one of the most exciting elections you've gone through in recent years. May the votes be counted as fairly as is humanly possible. May your decisions be truly reflected, and not determined by a group of judges, or by any other means which may not represent the real sentiments of the nation. May you show us once again what real democracy is like - sans lawsuits, recounts, name-calling, truth-bending.
On this momentous occasion, May God Bless America.
I decided to pop by Doonesbury.com for my fix of political cartoons, and came across this strip (14 Oct 2004) which mentioned an unimaginably long URL.
Being curious, I decided to type it out. I typed wrongly, because I got an error message. But it wasn't a normal error message as the newspaper seemed to know that many people would be looking for the Doonesbury link.
Anyway, I made it to the article by Rep. Doug Bereuter, who had some honest and well-thought out opinions on the Iraq war. To save you the trouble of typing out that amazingly long link, here you go.
I can't wait for the Vice Presidential debates to take place. While Cheney is obviously more experienced in foreign policy, I think Edwards will make up for that with Southern charm.
Face it: When you have to do urgent business, would you rather have two Johns, or a Dick in a Bush?
ps. Thanks, Donald Rumsfeld.
More to be added in time. Post mortem, ad nauseum :)
So the CNN/Gallup, CBS and ABC polls say Kerry won the first debate (watch interactive video extracts launched from this NY Times page). Good for him, he needs every point he can get.
I wonder what is in the mind of each voting American. From the individual reactions, the staunch partisans are staying where they are. A few undecided voters have made up their mind; others still stay undecided. I read that one voter was disappointed with both of them after the debate, because they still hadn't produced a strong plan to reduce health insurance. Duh! The first debate was about foreign affairs and homeland security. Wait your turn. It's not always about you!
Which makes me curious. Do typical voters think about the Presidential candidates' policies as a whole? Or do they actually vote for the man who has said he would pay more attention to a pet cause of theirs? Would they vote against someone with a policy they find unpopular, even if his policy is intended for the good of the nation/world in the long run? I doubt so.
Considering that the president of the United States is in reality the most powerful man in the world (sorry, Kofi, but they chose you and they have lots of money and firepower and they don't care what you say), would you give the candidate's potential in the international arena, as much weight as his ability to manage domestic affairs? Or would you say, screw the world - this is my America, and I want a president who does things MY way?
It is very hard to be objective when everything around us is subjective. We are influenced largely by what the media says. Sometimes what the media says depends on who owns or controls it. Sometimes the people who claim to tell the truth, have actually doctored evidence or misrepresented some facts themselves (so I heard about Michael Moore).
Sometimes we get red herrings, or focus too much on a candidate's weak point or gaffe. Quite often, that 'weak point' is conjured up by the other's party. And naturally, at any political rally, you can bet that attitudes are going to be one-sided, with both claiming victory.
Even if you ignored what partisan bodies have to say, and looked at the facts - what each candidate stands for - who is to guarantee that every promise will be kept? Read my lips! Even if the candidate keeps his word, his word may not be final in the Senate.
Whatever the case, whatever the verdict - may God bless America.
I'm glad that an international conference was held recently in Kenya which called for a ban on female genital mutilation.
It's been about five years since I last studied in law school, but the process is gruesome enough to linger in my mind. My views on some other topics have changed, but I am still strongly against the mutilation of female genitalia.
One form of this 'circumcision' (if that lends a tone of religious approval) involves cutting off the labia - the fleshy lips. And that's actually the least intrusive type. Because other forms of 'circumcision' involve snipping off the middle bit as well. I bet many of you are grossed out by now. The wound is then sewn up. Some circumcised females find it difficult to pee. If they want to have children, they obviously have to be unstitched.
Quite often, no painkillers are used during the mutilation.
Together with the lack of proper medical care in the regions which still practice female circumcision, you can imagine the sort of infections these women are subject to. Some have died. The practice, however, has lived on for centuries.
Hopefully not for much longer, you may think. However it is one thing to criminalise it, or at least take away any form of legitimacy given to it. It is quite another thing to change the cultural mindset. As long as women are made to feel more 'valued' when they are circumcised, and as long as their husbands and fathers condone it or impose it upon them, the practice will continue.
(More info from WHO, Amnesty International)
In the same fashion as Apple's Switch ads (to the uninitiated, a series of testimonials from ex-PC/Windows users who've left the Blue Screen of Death behind), someone's come up with a Switch ad for registered Republicans who want to vote for Kerry.
Wired has a comprehensive article about this radical political movement. A sample quote from a former Marine:
"We were given these ideas that there were weapons of mass destruction... It was just a lie. That wasn't a proper use of American troops. It wasn't a proper use of my life, or my friends' lives, or the Marines who I've seen die around me."
You can watch his video and other popular Switch ads here. On a similar note, there is also the Diplomats & Military Commanders for Change (DMCC).
Oklahoma judge resigns after getting caught masturbating and using penis pump during trials. I found this particularly funny:
The judge has denied the charges and did not refer to them in his letter of resignation.
"I have greatly enjoyed my public service and offer my gratitude for the public trust reposed in me during the terms I served," he said.
First, Beckham. Then, Owen. Now, Woodgate? What's Real up to, signing up big English names (who IMHO have already reached their peak). But I'm glad Vieira decided to stay where he is.
Visitors to my site on the 9th of August, 2004, +800GMT, should be able to see a Nationalistic version of this website.
Visit the official National Day Parade 2004 website.
This article was in our main newspaper today: Green cars are no longer sold in Singapore due to poor sales and lack of sufficient rebates (subject to special order for certain models).
After staying with my grand aunt and grand uncle when I was in California this May, I got to sit in a Toyota Prius 2004 which was nothing but impressive. It was a hybrid car, so you didn't have to charge the batteries, and it was pretty fuel-efficient. It was also amazingly quiet at red lights - you'd think the engine was turned off. Relying on the extra battery in the car, it would switch to fuel-burning mode only when you wanted to go fast.
It also had a clear computer screen where you could view your options and navigate your way using built-in street maps. You could even see a graphical illustration of which parts of the car were being used at the time.
Might I also add that the Prius was equipped with Bluetooth technology, so if you were listening to music on your stereo and your Bluetooth mobile phone were to ring, the music would pipe down and you could listen to the other person talking to you through your stereo speakers?
The Prius was also smart enough to emulate the signals from your garage gate controller. Moreoever, if you had the car key in your pocket, the car would detect your presence and if you placed your hand on the door handle, it would open. However, if you were to walk away and someone else were to try to open the door, it would be locked (this was fascinating though a little confusing at times!).
Briefly speaking: in our little 'technological hub' of a Garden City, there will be no more green cars in Singapore. Brilliant, isn't it?
I certainly hope this new blitz of publicity - better late than never - will convince the Government to rethink how it implements its policies. I for one was planning to switch to a Prius, but simply could not afford one. Considering how much I've earned (which isn't much), and given that one-fifth of my salary each month goes into a Central Provident fund, I calculate that I won't be able to afford a green car for several more years.
I'd think many Singaporeans my age would go for a cheaper, smaller, less fuel-efficient car. Many of us would be busy scrimping up enough money to get married and register for a Housing Development Board flat - who would cough up another S$40,000 or so to save the environment?
On the other end of the spectrum, I'd think that older, wealthier Singaporeans would still prefer flashing their Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs or Lexus(es) about town. For a bit more money, they get so much more power, a bit more leg space, and a status symbol to boot. Why not?
Either way, it doesn't make sense to most of us to buy a green car.
[Note: all links to the Straits Times will expire in seven days after publication]
Can you make a guess?
I have spent the past few months immersing myself in the following themes of the moment: loving brother-sister incest, the second world war, female teachers having sex with male pupils, staying with the man who makes you happy rather than promises hot sex, people "as old as the century", male narrators, armageddon and people who change their lives completely before ending up exactly where they started.
Essential reading? Obviously, um, uh, I mean, if you—I don't know if you're picking ten books or five books or whatever, but I happen to believe—a lot of people don't—you ought to read the Bible. People might pick up the Koran or the Torah or whatever, obviously, depending on your religion, but I think a religious foundation—I personally think—is important, whether it's Confucianism or Hinduism or whatever it is.
Bush should have died, not Reagan.
Read on for the answers.
Respect to the late Ronald Reagan, possibly the last truly charismatic US president of this modern age.
Looking at reports on Sonia Gandhi's victory, a few thoughts came to mind:
India is the world's largest democracy, with 675 million voters - twice the population of the USA. Yet it managed a 56% turnout.
Needless to say, democracy in India is a huge, messy process. Votes from four seats are being recounted, but so far there's nothing 'Floridan' in nature. Ahem.
Vote counting is made easier by the fact that there are one million electronic voting booths, used for the first time in Indian elections. Some other countries have expressed interest in them:
"We are working on a model for European countries and also for the US," Mr Simha [a major booth manufacturer] told the BBC News Online."
Double ahem!
According to reports, the Indian poor had the power to vote out the ruling party which they felt had done little for them. To me, that shows less 'Big Money' intervention and special interests lobbying, and more of giving real power to the people.
And isn't that what democracy is all about?
Good for you, India!
ps. How many women Prime Ministers have India had already, eh?
*fists the air*
Israeli 'traitor' released from jail. Based on the doctrine of pre-emption, which the Bush administration used to justify the invasion of Iraq, should the US now do likewise to Israel for the suspected possession of weapons of mass destruction?
Or will the doctrine of pre-emption be non-retroactive, since the secrets were leaked in 1986? :)
I call it a reverse-colonial trend. First, Indian curries became popular fare in the UK. Now it looks like some British parents are becoming more like Singaporeans - at least, in one aspect. In a bit to ensure their children get into the best primary schools, parents have resorted to moving house, using relatives' addresses, or telling on their neighbours for fibbing.
Estate agents are capitalising on this by promoting residential property within schools' catchment area. Deja vu? Remember all the condominium advertisements in the papers and on TV, emphasizing the proximity to some top-ranked schools? And the hoo-ha in the local papers about parents who were caught lying about their addresses - well, that happened years ago.
And now with Crony, I mean, Tony Blair's proposal to further increase university fees (with exceptions for low income households), it is argued that this may compel students who originally wanted to study, say, French medieval history, to switch to more a 'practical' subject such as Business to help them pay off their debts more easily. Well, we were already doing that, decades ago - if not to pay off debts (usually funded by parents or scholarships, anyway), then simply to make more money for ourselves. Sad isn't it.
Some interesting information on the clash of cultures in Iraq:
Cultural unfamiliarity can be bad for troop morale.
The use of sniffer-dogs on Muslim civilians, for instance, are a no-no. So is holding a woman under detention for refusing to be searched this way.
There may be three Iraqs, not one: tensions between the Sunnis (Baghdad), Kurds (Mosul) and Shi'ites (Basra) could hinder the establishment of any one authority over the entire country.
The Washington Post has a summary of who Iraq's Shiites are. As with the Kurds.
The Democratic Debate was showing on TV this morning as I was getting ready for work. I didn't catch much of it, but at least I managed to see Howard Dean (blog), Gen. Wesley Clark (blog) and the man who could've/should've been Vice-President, Joseph Lieberman. Other names I recognised were Rev. Al Sharpton, Richard Gephardt and John Kerry.
My favourite quote came from a candidate (not sure which one) Wesley Clark, who was answering a question from a US army officer recently returned from the war zone, who wanted to know what benefits they planned to give to the armed forces. The difference between Republicans and Democrats, this candidate said, was that Republicans like big weapons. Democrats like people.
Of course, I'd think the purpose of these debates is to present a unified Democrat stance on general principles, blame Bush and company for the usual woes - the economy, the war in Iraq and so forth. Yet at the same time each candidate had to differentiate himself or herself in a way that would make viewers want that person to be President.
A summary of the debate can be found here.
[Amendments and updates: It wasn't the first debate. My bad! Many news commentaries give different viewpoints, with various candidates being criticised or praised. Time to find out more. ]
Some news I've stumbled across today.
Sleeping more reduces risk of cancer, says the Stanford University Medical Centre. Siesta, anyone?
Governator update: It appears that Arnie's promises may not be that easy to achieve. Still, he's on a roll, and his new campaign website is up and running.
[We interrupt this transmission to bring you a code critique. What amazes me is the fact that no stylesheets were used. There are as many as 17 tables on the front page alone, unclosed break tags, and javascript is used for almost everything - including linking, and those cool nav bar rollover effects which could so easily have been achieved using CSS. The List-o-matic would have done the same thing in four easy steps, and less code. Oh, and - no ALT text for images. Tsk, tsk.]
I want my money back! Microsoft might pay US$10.5 million to consumers it overcharged, despite admitting 'no wrongdoing'. Hmm.
Al-Qaeda claim they were behind the massive blackouts that hit parts of the US and Canada, reports Dar Al Hayat's English language paper. An excerpt from the communiqué attributed to Al Qaeda reads:
"...we heard amazing statements made by the American and Canadian enemies which have nuclear physics universities and space agencies, that lightning hit and destroyed the two plants. And we are supposed to believe this nonsense. If the blackout occurred in one or two cities, their lie would have been credible. But the fact is that the blackout hit the entire East and part of Canada."
What do you do when there's a blackout? Whip out your mobile phone, and moblog!
The New York Power Authority has yet to update its website on this unprecedented power outage. Its last press release is dated August 14 concerning the anticipation of higher power usage due to the hot weather. Funnily enough, their motto is splashed across the screen: "Generating more than electricity". Yup, lots of publicity too.
Wired reports: Wireless Internet connections still up, but phone services temporarily disconnected. Back to pay phones and human-to-human interaction.
Check out Joinarnold.com. Full site coming out soon. Let the fight begin!
Update 14/8/03:
Warren Buffet has been hired as Schwarzenegger's senior financial adviser. While this may displease many Republicans, as the article suggests, I don't see how this is a bad thing for the campaign itself. Ideally, Californians should look beyond bipartisanship allegiances and choose the best person for the job.
As of yesterday, my job title has been reviewed from 'Design Technology Advisor' to 'Web Technology Advisor'. Which is more in line with what I'm doing now, what I'm going to teach, and what I'm going to learn more about, in the future.
Can't wait to see my new name cards!
Britney Spears says: I'm no virgin.
Mini digital cameras are proving to be the bane of bookshop owners and girls in locker rooms.
Please pray for the surgical team as they proceed to seperate the skulls of the twins.
I truly hope the worst is over. I think it is.
Update:
Oh no. Ladan has passed away, according to a Straits Times breaking news article. She was the more outgoing twin.
Update #2 @ 4.30pm
Both twins have died. I am so, so sorry it happened.
I suppose we will hear from the team as to what exactly happened, in the hours to come.
Laleh and Ladan, we will remember you fondly - for your fighting spirit and the 29 years you spent together, overcoming the many physical odds in your life. I'm really sorry it couldn't have been otherwise.
After reading the horrible, horrible Yahoo! forum comments on the Bijani twins (bless their souls), I wonder how some people can sleep at night.
Fix 'em, then shoot 'em as they walk out of the hospital, said one.
Now we'll have two terrorists instead of one, said another.
It's a great waste of US taxpayer money, said yet another member who obviously didn't even realise that no US funds were being used.
I could go on and on because for every meaningful message there are five others which are derogatory, abusive, racist and downright ignorant. I don't even KNOW the twins personally. But if you haven't noticed, they're human beings too. Get a life.
Might I ask my readers to pray for them. Above the doctors and hospitals' reputations, share prices and anything else. God's will be done.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can't be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers.
Got that? I'm not liable for anything posted in the above paragraph ;-)
I dreamt this morning that I bought a red Ferrari. I was driving around town with it, but couldn't go fast because of the speed limit. Silly isn't it. Let's see if this dream comes true now.
I just received a phone call from some agency telling me that they obtained my information via a supermarket lucky draw I entered ages ago, and that I've won 30 rolls of Konica film and a watch. But first I must attend a travel exhibition. No obligation to buy anything, they assured me many times. It's in town. Gurmit says they tried to sell the same thing to him before. Now I'm wondering if I should stand them up.
It's been a few months since the invasion (or liberation, depending on how you see it) of Iraq. While the war isn't officially over yet, have you ever wondered just how many people died in the September 11 attacks, which were no doubt a key influence (or excuse, depending on how you see it) for the most recent war?
These facts are taken off the US Department of State website:
| World Trade Center | 2,823 presumed confirmed dead (*includes airline passengers) |
| Pentagon | 125 (not including plane victims) |
| Flight 11* | 92 passengers, WTC |
| Flight 175* | 65 passengers, WTC |
| Flight 77 | 64 passengers, Pentagon |
| Flight 93 | 44 passengers, Pennsylvania |
That's a total of 3,056 people, if my calculations are correct.
Now, according to Iraq Body Count's database, over 6000 people have been killed so far in the subsequent war in Iraq.
Just think about it.
Doctors say men run the risk of injuring themselves when they take off a woman's bra.
A report in a medical journal says one patient suffered major ligament damage and a fracture to one of his fingers while completing the task.
The man ended up with his finger in a splint for three weeks after picking up the injury, which is often associated with rock climbing.
It also says surveys show 40% of men in their 30s and 40s have problems removing bras...
I usually wouldn't believe this kind of thing, but if it's on Ananova ... hmm.
Wimbledon snippets
Well done, Paradorn. I was at the gym when I saw you losing in the first set. I came home an hour later, had a leisurely dinner, checked my emails, turned on the telly ... and you and that Mutis fellow were still playing!
The Rusedski - Roddick match going on now is so frighteningly powerful, I almost dare not watch. I'd hate to be the ball boy.
Geek snippets
I have successfully proven the theory supported by several geeks (including my IT manager) that Dell laptops look unbelievably cheap in advertisements but when you add it all up, other respectable laptop brands may also give the same features (already included, not as options) for a lower price.
Apart from that little diversion, I've been terribly busy this week and I fear things will get even more hectic in the weeks to come.
In the space of an hour, I received 18 search engine referrals for people inquiring about the Bijani twins, an operation which my father is involved in (he does the relatively easy part of stitching them up after the main operation). The official Raffles Hospital webpage is here.
From what I know, the sisters appear to be pleasant ladies, and I sincerely hope for their sake that the operation will be a resounding success.
Petition against Bush and Blair getting nominated for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.
Marvel with me on how one of my web design heroes, Joshua Davis, ended up designing a web special for the same VW model as I: the Phaeton. He designed the US site while I designed the Asia-Pacific site. Naturally, his Flash actionscripting is much, much better than mine, so I stand ashamed :)
Check out this new search engine that The Register's been raving about. They claim it's going to be better than Google. Harumph, we'll see. Right now their server is overloaded, which is a big no-no. Ooh, I'm not helping am I.
Help me decide if someone else's weblog stylesheet looks uncannily like mine, or whether it is purely coincidence.
Due to a freak linking incident from Movable Type, my weblog is now valued at $26,412.12!!! This is possibly a once in a lifetime, all-time high.
What probably happened was, just after updating my blog, pinging MT and getting listed on their recently updated blogs list, Blogshares picked up the link. Let's say it's the equivalent of getting on Warren Buffet's 'buy' list.
Update: The Daily Weblog is also, for the first (and last?) time in its short lifespan, on the top 100 list.
Update 2: Okay, that was short-lived; I'm now somewhere in the top 500 (#115 at last count), which still isn't too bad. In the meantime, my share price has shot up in the last few days, from a meagre $1+ to over $70! Those poor souls who've bought my shares and are holding onto them ... I can't bear to imagine what will happen when Blogshares re-reviews my site's incoming links. Will I do a George Soros? *peals of evil laughter*
The New York Times, it appears, has been hit by a scandal of unprecedented proportions - one of its journalists faked his reports about the war in Iraq, among others, plagiarising an article published by another newspaper.
It's disturbing how the sources he claimed to have interviewed didn't bother complaining to the paper but merely shrugged it off as a fact of life. Read more from the Guardian, or the New York Times itself!
[ Update: Read letters from NYTimes readers in the Editorial section. ]
The American Sugar industry has launched a ferocious attack on the WHO, for reporting that sugar should only take up a maximum of 10 per cent in our diets. They say the figure should be closer to a maximum of 25 per cent (!).
They have threatened to influence funding cuts for the Geneva-based organisation, claiming that the report, written by a group of 30 independent experts based on 23 national reports, is 'unscientific'.
Read the full story in The Guardian or The Sydney Morning Herald, which voices an opinion from the Australian health ministry.
I've just located the WHO report in question, 'Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases' (PDF, 395 kb).
And to answer claims from a previous pro-sugar campaign (involving 40 ambassadors) citing that health reports would damage the economies of developing nations, read how US trade policy favours only a few farmers anyway, leaving many third world countries out in the cold (PDF, 81 kb).
[Comments for this post have been closed.]
The body of a 65 year old Muslim grandmother (who died of cancer) has been violated in a London hospital mortuary, covered with rashers of bacon. Read the full report in the Guardian.
I don't blame the old woman's family for being shaken and appalled. It is a horrifying act, most irresponsible and insensitive, and does absolutely nothing to address growing racial and religious tensions. In fact, it's more than downright childish; it's unimaginably warped.
(Not that I have any real authority over this, but) I condemn this act.
This makes me all the more glad that this sort of thing has never happened in Singapore. The race riots in the 1960s don't even come close to what's happened. Racial and religious harmony is something we often take for granted.
Let's sign this online petition in support of our brave medical staff.
My father pointed out to me last night that 'SARS' is simply the syndrome. So if we are referring to the illness then we should call it 'the SARS virus'. Just as AIDS isn't actually the virus, just the syndrome representing it. Something to bear in mind the next time we refer to it.
Do surgical masks help? As mentioned in the Straits Times recently, the N-95 is more effective than other masks, BUT the amount of particles it can filter also depends on which company manufactured it. Also, the coronavirus in question may be small enough to slip through anyway. Slate investigates.
I know it shouldn't be a laughing matter, but it is sometimes amusing to see how people react when faced with the possible proximity of the virus.
My uncle's colleague recently had to deal with a patient who told him he had just returned from China and had a cough. Following the rules the patient had to be quarantined at once. He was sent to an empty room, avoiding contact with anyone else, and an ambulance was called to take him to Tan Tock Seng hospital - which was where he should've gone in the first place!!
What didn't help was that other patients outside in the waiting room saw the ambulance, and one ran out of the clinic, screaming hysterically and refusing to return.
Nothing else has happened so far in the clinic, and I hope it'll stay that way. People of Singapore, please stay calm. There's no point causing a panic that may be uncalled for.
In fact (and this is my own unscientic opinion but I just checked with dad and he says I'm right) if you panic and run about, won't that lower your immunity level? My gym instructor told me that's one reason why people are avoiding the gym.
So, I repeat: stay calm! Don't cause a stampede. We'll get through this together :)
I feel very sorry for those who have been labelled as 'super infectors' by the Government and media. Not only are they ill, they run the risk of being treated as society's scapegoats in the wake of the SARS epidemic.
"Esther Mok infected the whole lot of us," health minister Lim Hng Kiang said at a recent press conference. Source: Yahoo News. Yet, authorities are reportedly afraid to release her, as it may spark a media frenzy. I wonder why.
Was it solely her fault for being highly contagious, for a reason our researchers have yet to uncover? While it may be a fact that some people have a higher propensity for transmitting the virus, we should focus instead on how to identify and immediately isolate these 'super infectors'. And move on from there.
Public education is most important now. It's time we thought of the wider community, and not ourselves. Our behaviour could save, or cost, lives.
For instance, I've heard a report of how another Singaporean with fever refused to go directly to Tan Tock Seng hospital. Instead, he/she went for a checkup at another hospital which was not equipped to handle the SARS virus. This patient's reason? He may not have SARS, so why should he put himself at risk of catching it there?
This person had the SARS virus, and also infected two or three other medical staff from the other hospital who were neither equipped nor protected against the virus.
There are repercussions every time a new medical institution is hit with the virus. That means that wards get closed, staff get sent home, and other patients who seek treatment for non-SARS related illnesses are put on long waiting lists or denied treatment outright.
I hope Singaporeans see the bigger picture, and realise that we now bear a heavy responsibility. On hindsight, I am thankful to the many more patients who did go to the right hospital, thereby protecting other people from catching the virus from them.
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that this sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings,
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
(Shelly)
[ Update: While the pro-war networks celebrate this liberation, Indymedia reveals a wider shot which shows how few people were actually there. I smell a rat. ]
[ Further update: People from the Right are, naturally, refuting the validity of the photograph. There are certainly more people shown in their photographs, but the street behind it is still fairly empty, as I recall it was when I saw it on BBC / CNN. So it's not a handful, but not exactly a mob either. You decide. ]
Jason Kottke hits the nail on the head - everybody is biased. If you truly support freedom of speech, let's all be open about it and don't deny other networks the right to operate. Read more.
To the medical teams working overtime in hospitals: I salute you.
To all the nurses now afflicted with SARS, including the 21 from the Singapore General Hospital who have just caught the virus: You are brave, you have performed your duties and I pray that you will survive this ordeal.
We should be proud to have you with us, fighting to save lives: While the rest of the public locks themselves up at home trying out peculiar home remedies, hoarding antibacterial products and jumping with fear every time a neighbour sneezes.
While landlords reportedly tell foreign nurses to move out of their flats, and taxi drivers refuse either to take them as passengers or drop them at the hospital.
Our nurses are shunned and stigmatised, simply for doing their jobs. Ha - other people get promotions or a raise.
On a related note, I saw a man at Specialist Centre today, wearing a face mask. I could see a gap between the mask and his face. Obviously he didn't wear it properly. I wondered what the point was.
Face masks are going for S$0.60 at a Guardian pharmacy. I felt like walking about wearing one, after drawing a smiley mouth on it.
Maybe I should.
{ WHO report on SARS | S'pore Health Ministry homepage }
During our lunch break today we made a visit to the newly-renovated NTUC along Tanjong Pagar Road. It was fairly crowded. I haven't seen so many people in Singapore for the last week or two!
While weaving in between the aisles, I noticed a little boy throwing a tantrum and pulling his dad's arm. I was near enough to hear what he was complaining about.
"No mask?! Dad-deee I wan' a mask!" He sounded quite unhappy and a little frightened.
The father was unmoved: "Here got no more mask. Dad-dee will get one from the office tomorrow okay?"
I moved away from them and eventually found myself at the toiletries section. There I noticed that almost all the bottles of Dettol wash were sold out.
After which, I noticed a chemist's deeper inside the supermarket. A sign was placed near the cash register: 'Sorry face mask out of stock'.
A colleague mused, "Hmm. Should I buy some Vitamin C?"
“It is clear that within the United States there is growing challenge to President Bush about the conduct of the war and also opposition to the war ... The first war plan has failed because of Iraqi resistance. Now they are trying to write another war plan.”
Pulitzer-prize winning news reporter Peter Arnett has just lost his job with NBC for appearing in an interview with Iraqi state TV. The reason is that his actions have 'affected his objectivity'.
The Guardian highlights how, in the thick of the battle, news reporters don't always get their facts right.
Here's a list of 15 stories the media has already bungled.
I hear that many more Singaporeans are in critical condition now, but can't reveal any more news at the moment. However here is an update on the only patient I know of. Lifted off the Faith Assembly website today:
'26 MARCH 2003
(6:42 am latest)
Do pray unceasingly all through TODAY for Pastor Simon Loh who developed complications in the night. The doc said his condition is very critical. His blood cannot clot and he has internal bleeding. He also had a heart attack. His family is at the hospital now. Outsiders are not advised to be there.'
[ Update 27/3/2003: Sadly, it was Pastor Loh who passed away, along with Joseph Mok, the father of the girl he visited in hospital to pray for. According to the website, Helen Mok is now in very critical condition. I truly hope Esther Mok will not blame herself for something that was out of her control. ]
In fact, let's pray for EVERYBODY in hospital right now, and for good health for all their loved ones who may have come in close contact with them. And for the brave medical staff who have been slaving for the past few weeks to save them all. [ And now, also for the families of the bereaved so that they may be able to cope with their loss. That the disease will be contained and a cure will be found... ]
Look at the bright side. Some good has come out of the SARS scare.
1. Better MRT manners. More people have chosen to stand instead of rushing to grab seats on the train. A doctor at Tan Tock Seng hospital told me that many kiasu Singaporeans are now afraid to sit near the nurses who take the MRT home. Which means that the pregnant ladies with children, the handicapped and the elderly will FINALLY have a place to sit.
2. School children get a real break. Unlike school holidays, where extra homework is dished out as planned by hordes of well-meaning but generally ambitious teachers, I don't think the kids will be as overloaded during this impromptu recess. If you hear any news to the contrary, however, do let me know. [ Update 29/3/2003: Kyle Koh informs me that ACS Independent has a comprehensive homework list for Secondary 1-4. Aww. ]
News links:
Straits Times report on the two official deaths (read it before it disappears into the commercial realm of Newslink)
WebMD has a fairly current page on the SARS situation
Channel News Asia has a section devoted to SARS
Read the first comment on this entry - the writer seems to think that the higher your academic qualifications, the more entitled you are to voice your opinion.
I might have thought he was one of the stodgier members of the Singaporean civil service, except that he calls terrorists freedom-haters. I don't think it's as straightforward as that. I think they want freedom themselves, and see the US as a source of oppression for their people.
And contrary to what many Americans think, the violence in the Middle East is not the product of sheer jealousy, as prosperous and democratic as America is. Instead, its roots are religious and cultural, and go way back - centuries, even a millennium or two - before the United States was founded.
An increasing number of journalists point out that the US is seen by many in the Middle East as a supporter of Israel, turning a blind eye to its territorial infringements in breach of UN resolutions. Yet, the breach of resolutions is one reason given by the US to justify the latest Iraqi 'liberation'. To pro-war advocates who still feel that UN resolutions should be respected - wouldn't this imply that other countries in breach of such resolutions should also be dealt with accordingly?
I am not anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim or against any particular race of people in this world. It is saddening however to see one race destroy another, be it the Nazis against Jews, the Hutus against the Tutsis (remember that one?) and the Israelis (military) versus the Palestinians (suicide bombers). Maybe it is human nature that when you yourself are maligned and abused, that when you become more powerful you return the favour to other people. Hate usually begets more hate, not love.
While in Saudi Arabia on a business trip, my mother and her entourage were entertained by some Saudi businessmen. They were polite, even urbane, and all were _educated_ overseas. However after several rounds of drink, they started to rant about America - and she was stunned to hear them recalling every single wrong that the US had inflicted on them and their brothers. It was a very deep-set resentment which I think many Americans - many of whom have not actually had the opportunity to live in another country and experience how America is perceived from another nation's point of view - should bear in mind the next time they simplify it down to a case of 'freedom-hating'.
Lastly, I am sorry to hear that both coalition, Iraqi troops and innocent civilians have been killed in the war so far. I am disappointed that some of you feel that the UN's authority can be disregarded. Ironically it is powerless when it is needed most. But note that America sets the example for others to follow - and Turkey is taking advantage of that.
[ Update: Read what Albert Einsten himself had to say in a speech supporting the United Nations back in 1947. Link from Kottke. ]
An argument for legitimacy: If you don't respect other nations' territorial rights or the sovereignty of the United Nations, then neither should other countries. Which is why Turkey has seized the opportunity to engage in 'self-defence' against a possible Kurdish intrusion, by entering Northern Iraq themselves.
Chaos begets chaos.
I find it funny that US troops are now reportedly 'indignant' that Iraq is firing back at them - especially after firing a missile intending to kill Saddam himself. I knew the war was going to be fairly one-sided, but this is ridiculous.
I find it funny that Blair's speech touched on September 11, but didn't even mention the name, Osama. If the US and UK claim the right to a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, shouldn't they step up the hunt for Osama all the more, since he has already attacked and killed thousands of innocent Americans?
And it's funny that most of Blair and Bush's rhetoric can also be applied to various regimes in other parts of the world - yet little is being done about them.
And their lip service to the UN is laughable. So they think they can launch an attack not sanctioned by the UN, but when it's over (and they've won, presumably), they will seek more Security Council resolutions to rebuild their country.
I also find it funny that my weblog is getting hits this month from the US Government, Israel and the US Military (ranked #13-15 in that order).
I find it disturbing, however, that so many respectable bloggers think that war is the only option. They write with glee at the impending destruction of Iraq; they mock the nations who don't support the coalition; they brag about the military might their country possesses and make anti-war protesters sound like imbeciles. Am I missing out on something here?
The world is becoming increasingly polarised. I find myself sliding over to the left. But for anyone to take on an extreme stance on either side would be pointless. How can we come to a solution when roughly equal numbers of people have completely opposing points of view?
I agree that Saddam is a tyrant who is capable of killing members of his own family and who will continue to oppress dissent in Iraq. I can understand how some democratic countries would wish to put an end to his dictatorship. However, I found the coalition tactics rather transparent. Why ask for weapons inspections, then refuse to wait a couple more months and launch the attack? Why ask for UN resolutions when they can be disregarded? Why even the visit to the Pope, when the Vatican continues to condemn this war?
News:
The Boston Globe looks back at Bush's election promises on foreign policy: to be humble to other nations, and to use US troops sparingly in areas of conflict. But to be fair, I don't think he expected September 11 either.
The Economist questions: Is the war legal? which is a detailed discussion of the UN resolutions at stake.
Just after posting my email virus warning, I was told the war has begun.
I'm disappointed. But what's been done can't be undone.
Ultimately, God alone will judge who was right.
Not the world's most powerful nation, not its allies or adversaries. Not the newspapers, cable networks or opinion polls. Not even the innocent people who may die in this conflict.
Now we can only wait and see.
Here are my thoughts on Tony Blair's speech, paragraph for paragraph. While my facts may be a little fuzzy I accept your comments, criticisms and any relevant information that would actually make my retorts sound more intelligible.
Sigh. I used to think Blair was cool.
My grand aunt, a doctor living in Los Angeles, has just informed me that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus has been diagnosed in her city!
I also received an SMS today, asking for prayers for a Pastor Simon Loh of the Faith Assembly of God who has contracted the deadly virus which has afflicted hundreds in South East Asia. I hope it isn't a hoax. Then again, for his sake I hope it is.
[ Update 20/3/2003: I wrote in to Faith Assembly of God and they confirm that Pastor Simon Loh IS ill. He has been sedated to prevent him from struggling to breathe. They ask for continued prayers. ]
For more information, read the Ministry of Health press releases, Straits Times commentary, and visit the World Health Organisation website.
Updates:
The Telegraph, The Times and the Guardian report news of the first British victim, a Manchesterian Mancunian [ thanks Kristen! ] who visited Hong Kong recently.
I've heard the phrase 'bin Laden' used so often on US news, that you'd almost think it is the correct way of addressing the one called Osama (use this name), son of Laden (don't use this name, duh).
That is, unless we're planning to address President Bush as 'the son of George'!
As someone who lives in a country with a growing Muslim population, and who has Muslim friends, I am perturbed at how little care has been taken to address 'outsiders' properly. This sort of ignorance certainly won't impress the rest of the world.
Even if Osama is the bad guy.
A recent CNET article reminds me that a fine balance has to be drawn between the protection of copyright and the development of technology.
Easier said than done, of course. While credit (royalties, attributions, and so forth) should be given to the originator, prohibiting others from adapting these works and possibly improving on them, is also too rigid a stance and would hinder innovation on a secondary level.
In fact, let's take this beyond the realm of copyright law. While we should encourage the research and development of cures for diseases, what about patent laws protecting drug companies which charge exorbitant prices for medicine desperately needed by third-world countries?
There is a partial workaround to this problem, albeit only for countries with patent laws that protect processes and not products. Another process can be developed to produce a similar drug, and at a much lower price.
To get an idea of the costs involved, here's an excerpt of a joint statement issued previously by the Third World Network and Oxfam:
'Prices of branded, patented products are often far higher than the prices of similar medicines produced by alternative or generic sources. For example, the Indian generic producer, Cipla, is able to offer its AIDS combination medicines for US$150-300 per year per patient, compared with the US$10,000-15,000 being sold by the MNCs.'
I was never a great economics student, but where poor, sizeable populations are concerned, it would make sense to sell cheaply to the masses. And imagine the wonders it could do for your conscience.
I'm interested to see how this tug-of-war between protection and dissemination develops. If anybody has information to add or even if you wish to correct me on something, I'd be glad to hear from you.
Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles! The Observer reports that Steven Spielberg is planning to produce a series of action films featuring the young reporter and his companions:
'According to Le Soir, Spielberg may cast convention aside and give Tintin a sex change. The magazine claims Gwyneth Paltrow and Jean-Claude Van Damme are being considered for the role of Tintin, Richard Gere for the role of Captain Haddock and Courtney Love as eccentric Italian diva Bianca Castafiore.'
Read more.
Tomorrow, apparently, is the day something major is going to happen to this world. Look here.
Strangely, I myself have asked for, but haven't received, any 'sign' that it will happen, so go figure. Neither has my church nor any of my friends.
I'll pray anyway.
And so we do. I can't wait for the new Tears for Fears album to launch!
Interestingly, my choice of universities had nothing to do with wanting to be near the duo, although it is notable that I studied in a city three minutes away from Bath via train.
And my recent application to USC has nothing to do with the fact that that Curt Smith is now living in LA.
In my visits to Bath, in fact, I had neither time nor opportunity to ascertain where exactly Snow Hill was. I did wonder if I would ever spot Roland in London or Bath. (Just as when I was in Stockholm as a child, I wondered if I would ever bump into Abba.)
And funnily enough, when I saw TFF's first live performance on TV as a kid, I thought Curt's name was 'Via Satellite', because that was what they displayed during his interview.
Ah, innocence.
On 25th February in the year 2000, a law student feverishly registered her first domain name while sitting in her room in her little student house, connected to an amazingly fast university network.
She had earned enough money viewing online ads to pay for the domain as well as a year of webhosting. She had completed her research and found a deal worth pursuing.
She tried to register a dot com, but alas somebody had registered the name she wanted just two months earlier. After berating herself for not making up her mind soon enough, she decided that a dot org wouldn't be too bad either.
And so vantan.org was born.
And I shall go to sleep now.
It's disturbing to receive emails from those dodgy Nigerians - especially when somebody's just been shot dead for it.
Calling all Singaporean motorists: Check your CashCard's expiry date via the NETS website by keying in the 16-digit number at the back of the card.
Your questions answered on the FAQ page.
Please spread the word to family and friends. Your cards might need to be replaced sooner than you think.
[ update: The New Paper had an article in Dec 2002 about this. ]
Should Mother Teresa remain on the fast track to sainthood? The man charged with playing the role of Devil's Advocate (i.e. the odious task of objecting to the appointment of sainthood), has a few things to say about her.
After work, I went with Kim to the last screening of Digital Compassion at the Substation garden, near Fat Frog's. The films in general were not baaad, but I particularly liked Galen's work for its depth as well as his effort in addressing the DC issue itself. Essentially, what is the relevance of technology, if people cannot feed themselves?
This was highlighted in East Timor, where a lucky few receive training in the digital arts. On the streets, children beg for food and people sleep in carts. Public telephones have no keypads to dial on. To quote the movie, technology there is something everybody wants, but nobody needs.
Conversely, in affluent New York, a videographer tells us how he sees technology as a means of communicating to the outside world what September 11 was like. In such a situation, a balance needs to be drawn between respect for the dead and freedom of information.
You can still catch the movies online at the Digital Compassion website.
Check out Digital Compassion, a film project by various outstanding members of the Singaporean arts community. Donations of cash and toys will be collected for the Singapore Children's Society during the event (which begins today).
Details:
The Substation, Garden
12 - 16 December 2002
Time: 7.30pm
You can also view the screening on the Digital Compassion website itself. My colleague Kim designed it, BTW ;-)
Until today, I didn't know that you can drop off your packages to any 7-11 in Singapore, and they will be picked up by UPS and delivered within two working days. Which is good because I really need to rush those documents to USC by the end of this week.
Now there's a Channel News Asia report on how someone's been sending out fake SMS's (no, it wasn't me!) about the bomb found in Holland Village. Now, nobody is admitting there was a bomb at all.
I guess the only solution is to be vigilant. Don't laugh about the hoax (if it really is one), because you never know when someone's crying wolf, or really telling the truth. Just because there are lots of hoaxes, doesn't mean that nothing will happen for real, eventually.
I'm sure if you were happily partying away at a club in Bali and somebody came and told you there was a suspicious-looking vehicle parked right outside, you'd probably have laughed off the warning too.
... so says my friend's friend's dad, who was at Holland Village when he saw the place swarming with police cars. More details to follow as I interrogate him and trawl the local news websites.
Also, my colleague's sister, who works with the police, has confirmed that a bomb has been found. The other colleague who sent us this warning days ago, should be completely vindicated as it has proven to be more than a 'red herring'. (Thank you, Alison.)
And yet we have shopkeepers in Holland Village complaining about how the loss of car park lots has caused their takings to decline. Oh, what a small price to pay in return for saving their shops ... and their lives.
Here's some backdated news on how security has been stepped up, as of this week.
The American Embassy in Singapore is closed today for Thanksgiving. I guess today would have been a good day to strike terror in the hearts of many, wouldn't it? :-(
Well, nothing's happened here in Singapore. No bomb attacks. Sorry for the hue and cry, but the news came from someone who works at the Singapore American School, so it sounded serious enough.
In fact I have more to worry than most of you. I stay very near the US, UK and Chinese embassies, and the Tanglin Police Station is no longer in Tanglin (although they've strangely retained the name, just like Parkway Thai's in Centrepoint and Killiney Kopi Tiam is everywhere else). However, BG Lee still lives a block away from me so I'm sure there'll be protection... for his family at least.
And I'm pleased to report that the traffic police have been patrolling the road right outside my house more frequently. I nearly roared in approval when a police car pulled up right behind another car which was parked illegally near the sidewalk. So hopefully there won't be any car bombs. I know my house is due for renovation, but not in this way...
Within a couple of hours I received two warnings via email so I'll share the news with everyone.
The first warning (allegedly from the US Embassy) is to stay away from Holland Village today and tomorrow, because something is going to happen REAL soon. Hmm. What about people who are living there?
The second warning is more generic: Don't leave your mobile phone switched on when it's raining. A Singaporean was killed when he was struck by lightning via his phone, which got burnt.
Over and out.
I really don't care who introduced Multimedia Messaging (MMS) to Singapore first: Starhub or M1.
Most customers haven't upgraded their handsets to the latest phones which can capture photographs and videos, so they won't need the service which beams em' up to another phone - which must be able to display the media as well.
What's far more important is, as the service increases in popularity, whether it is reliable and fast, whether the price is reasonable, and whether it comes as an attractive package just like SMS does.
But I predict SingTel's financial report (due soon) will bring the emphasis back to more serious industry news.
Another fashion house running into trouble? This time, Yves St Laurent is closing down. What will happen to their neat and understated Flash website?
Check out also their Haute Couture line - before everything closes (?).
She was "always the kid at the back of the class with the spiders in her pockets". And she feels that people in Britain regard her as a Teletubby. Taken from the Guardian.
It's interesting to see what kind of books get displayed at sales. Particularly the computer books. Going cheap were titles like 'Dreamweaver 3 for Dummies', 'Netscape Navigator 4', 'The Internet for Dummies' (1st ed - which I bought back in '95). You get the general drift.
However I spotted a hardcover book I first saw at Borders, priced £16.99 - only that it was going for $8 here. It's a BBC title, 'The Future Just Happened' (2001). My first purchase of the day. Hooray.
Planes in towers. Bombs in Bali. Sniper(s) in Washington. Gunman in Melbourne. Human bombs in Palestine. War pending against Iraq, and a nuclear weapon pileup. Not to mention the usual famines, natural disasters, global warming and diseases. Is this the Start of the Breakdown?
[Sorry, I couldn't resist using a couple of TFF song titles, they seemed so pessimistically appropriate right now.]
And now someone's claimed to possess the remains of James half-brother of Jesus. I'm in a state of want-to-believe-in-the-truth, but-what-exactly-is-the-truth?
In my Istanbul trip I visited a palace which had religious artifacts on display. I saw what they said was the arm of John the Baptist, encased in steel armour, with a slit in the metal, exposing the bones betwen his wrist and knuckles. Apparently, they dug his body up from Ephesus! In another room, I saw the supposed staff of Moses, a simple, weathered, curved rod, that was carbon-dated to his time - as well as the beard, tooth, sandals, letters of their prophet Muhammed!
In short, I'm getting miracle overload this year and I don't know what to believe. To me, they may serve as proof that something really did happen thousands of years ago. But I don't think these items should be worshipped, they are tools of the past.
Anyway if anyone has information or insight on all these happenings, please post a comment. No religious flame wars, please!
Another shocker. Read it at CNN, or at The Australian.
Muhammad was NOT a terrorist, for crying out loud. Read a US professor's rebuttal to Kalwell's religiously insensitive and inaccurate comments.
It is a tragedy that people are killed because of decisions their leaders have made - for or against a cause. All these people wanted to have, was a good time away from home.
Then again, that's the whole point, isn't it? There's no use attacking a fortress on watch, when you can shock the world with the horrific deaths of innocent civilians, someplace where you least expect it. It happened in New York, but now it's happened in a Muslim country, albeit on an island with a predominantly Hindu populace.
And when my family visits Bali, we usually stay at Hard Rock Hotel, which was just several blocks away from one of the explosions. One of my colleagues returned from her honeymoon there last week, thank heavens.
It's frightening when you don't know 'when' or 'where' the next blow is going to be dealt. But maybe we should look to the root of the problem, and work on the 'why'.
Feel free to post your well-wishes as a comment :-)
{ url } There was an earthquake in the British Midlands, measuring 4.8 on the Richter Scale. While the source originated in Dudley, the tremors were felt by my friend Demetra who's still studying in Bristol (gawd how I miss the place). No major damage, thank goodness.
I'm so tired of hearing Dubya blabber on about how the US must attack Iraq, yadda, yadda, yadda. Just because Daddy wasn't able to finish the job, doesn't mean that Junior has to.
But as for telling US allies that their 'credibility is at stake' as they contemplate joining forces, I agree - only an idiot would take more than ten seconds to realise that it would be foolishness to embark on yet another war in the Middle East.
If the US really wants to fight 'terror' (the most overused and misunderestimated word in the English language at the moment), I suggest it resumes its search for Osama bin Laden.
But I don't think terrorism can actually be 'fought'. It is a way of life for those who have little else to live for, and it perpetuates because the powers that be, often fail to understand why people resort to violence to liberate themselves from oppression.
Also, before the US points fingers at its all-time favourite bogeymen (Castro, Gaddafi, Saddam...), it should take a good look at itself and its own infringements on civil rights and other nations' sovereignty. Think slavery. Think Vietnam. Think Bay of Pigs. And hey, who thought it would be a great idea to fund the Taliban in the first place?
And even if Iraq's a suspected threat to world security, the Bush administration is already a threat to the global environment.
A parting quote:
"We can't let the world's worst leaders blackmail, threaten, hold freedom-loving nations hostage with the world's worst weapons," said Bush.
How frightfully true.
The threats of war by the US against its favourite bogeyman Saddam Hussein are completely unnecessary. Nobody should be treated as guilty until proven so; and uncooperation does not always indicate there is evidence of guilt. Iraq looks less sure of itself this time, but I doubt it will truly be 'liberated' by the US.
I predict the US will take military action against Iraq, but I expect their mission to be a failure. World opinion will slowly turn against the Americans, support at home will wane, and George W Bush will not make it through the next US election.
Maybe this whole fiasco is a blessing in disguise.
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