Blame Our Culture.

Here is an interesting story about sex, or rather lack of it and not doing IT when you are supposed to. We Asians, not just Malays, but in particular Malays, and all of us Malaysians and Asians in particular have an attitude problem towards showing off physical intimacy in public as well in private. Now there is nothing wrong with that. Our religion Islam forbid us from touching someone else wife or daughter.
See our main media like Malaysiakini, Berita Harian etc, there is nothing about sex, except that the negative part of it. e.g religious officers caught a couple khalwat.

But if she is your wife, I dont think its wrong to hold hand or hug in public.

The problem just doesnt end here.
Because our culture has a big NO NO with anything that goes between MAN and WOMAN, sex education is not discussed in households, and not in school. So we have these kids reaching puberty not knowing anything about sex, and what make babies..

"Ah, the stork brought you here." is the common answer.

In Malay community, sometimes, marriage is arranged between families of the bride and groom. It is assumed that the the mother of the bride would have talk to her daughter about IT before her wedding night. And for the groom, older relatives, uncles etc would brief the groom about IT before the wedding night.

What if all else fail?
The man knows nothing about IT, wasnt taught about it in school, never watched porn, and the relatives never explained it properly? And the same goes for the bride?

What if the bride and groom might think that rubbing their 'anu' against each other and reaching orgasm/ejaculation is equal to sex?
Yeah it is sex, of some sort, but not intercourse.

After a few months and no baby in the making, the relatives start asking the groom;
"Ko masuk kan kat tempat lain kot, tak betul masuk kot."

"Mari pakcik terangkan apa yang ko perlu buat. "

After a year or two.

"Mungkin salah sorang antara kamu ada masalah kot. Elok pegi check doktor"
This may be 'low sperm count' on the male behalf or 'barren woman' whereby the woman doesnt produce eggs, due to severe malnutrition when she is young, or simply she doesnt produce eggs.

Egg? What egg? You mean woman produce eggs like chicken?
Small wonder that the population of Japan, Singapore are projected to decrease. They study hard, work hard to get better future, get rich..yet they forget to reproduce.

Singaporeans blur on sex

Other News & Views
Compiled by BEH YUEN HUI, GLADYS TAY AND A. RAMAN

MANY Singaporeans have been seeking help from doctors on how to have sexual intercourse, Sin Chew Daily reported yesterday.

Singapore Thomson Medical Centre (TMC) founder Dr Cheng Wei Chen said the hospital received several people every month, mostly university graduates, seeking their guidance on how to “do it”.

Its urology senior consultant Dr Lin Fa Cai said he once treated a woman who was married for 10 years and supposedly had sex more than 1,000 times, but was still a virgin.

Dr Lin said the husband, who had a doctorate degree, and his wife, who complained of being unable to conceive, sought help at the hospital.

“The couple told me they had sex about three times a week but when I examined the wife, her hymen was still intact.

“He had a doctorate degree but zero knowledge on sex,” he said.

Another doctor, who declined to be named, said a couple in their 30s sought help from Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Medical Centre for failing to conceive after seven years of marriage.

He said he found no problem with the couple but later discovered that the husband withdrew just before ejaculating.

Chinese school students receive recognition at the Australia Mathematics Competition 2007

Nanyang Siang Pau reported that several Chinese school students had received recognition for their achievement in mathematics at the Australia Mathematics Competition 2007.

Among them was Year Six pupil Chua Zhi Ming of SJK (C) Sin Min B, Sungai Petani, who received a BH Neumann Certificate for perfect scores.

He was the only recipient in the Upper Primary School category.

In the Secondary School category, Lam Yet Sin of SM Sam Tet, Ipoh, and Pang Zhang Xian of Sabah Chinese High School, received a medal each in the junior division of the Western Pacific (Westpac) Awards.

A total of 500,000 students from 39 countries took part in the competition.

The purpose of the competition is to highlight the importance of mathematics as a subject, to uncover talent in mathematics, and to provide resources for classroom and general discussion.

Which Hospital Do These Surgeries?

This report is all over TV and main media news in New Zealand. Its even on Campbell Live. Its just amazing that this story doesnt get the mention at all in Malaysia's mainstream media like Malaysiakini or Berita Harian.
Not good for the country's image?
Woman dies after cosmetic surgery
A Wellington woman is dead after travelling to Malaysia for cosmetic
surgery.

The Sunday Star Times today reported the 42-year-old woman travelled
to Kuala Lumpur in June for a lapband operation through Australian
company Gorgeous Getaways, which sells cosmetic surgery tours.

The surgery involves silicone band being placed around the upper
stomach to make patients feel fuller and therefore eat less.

The woman apparently had the surgery, then went to a resort on
Kuantan island to recuperate. She collapsed and died at the resort.

The woman died of hypoglaecemia, according to a pathology report,
the newspaper said.

Her family wanted a New Zealand coroner to look into the case but
had been constrained by a lack of documentation.

Gorgeous Getaways director Louise Cogan said the company was not
responsible for the woman's sad and unfortunate death; the surgeon
used had excellent qualifications and the resort the woman went to
was not organised by the company.

The company had since stopped offering lapband surgery but still
offered others such as liposuction.

Kak Long yang di rindui - a letter from father to daughter

I think this is a good one. mungkin karangan, but its good.
I copy and pasted from Malaysia-today.
I would like to share this with readers of my blog and Malaysiakini readers, a story of the difficulty of people who lives in major cities.
I dont see any other major newspaper online or in print that readers can easily share their views, except Malaysiakini.

A letter from a father to his daughter
(Posted in Harakahdaily sometime ago)
Kak Long yang dirindui,
Apa khabar anak ayah di sana? Semoga sihat dan bahagia selalu. Di sini, ayah bersama ibu dan adik-adik sihat sahaja.
Cuma semalam, adik usu mengadu sakit perut - berak-berak. Agaknya, perut adik dah tak tahan - bersebu sebab sejak beberapa hari adik asyik makan maggi aje. Itu yang semalam, dan hari ni, ibu masakkan bubur. Kesian tengok adik-adik kat rumah.
Masak bubur sepot beras dapatlah, ayah dan adik-adik makan kenyang sikit dengan kicap cap kipas yang Kak Long suka tu. Itulah, yang mampu ayah sediakan untuk hidangan malam ini dan malam tadi.
Ayah tak tahu esok macamana. Mungkin ibu akan masak beras buat bubur lagi. Boleh kot, ayah ambikkan duit tabung adik usu untuk beli telur sebiji dua. Kalau goreng telur hancur dengan bubur, lainlah sikit menu daripada semalam. Harap-harap adik-adik tak akan merungut makan bubur lagi.
Kak Long,
Ayah bukan berniat nak merisaukan Kak Long yang sedang berada di asrama kini. Cuma ayah nak bagitau, kita sekarang dah tak sesenang dulu. Kalau dulu, sebulan sekali boleh kita keluar untuk selebrate apa-apa event dengan makan di luar. Tapi kini, nak makan lauk ikan atau ayam sebulan sekali pun belum pasti lagi.
Keadaan ekonomi keluarga kita sudah tak seperti dahulu. Hidup kita makin terhimpit along. Ayah tak tahu, sampai bila lagi kita mampu terus hidup di bandar KL ini. Dengan gaji ayah setelah tolak bersih duit EPF dan hutang syarikat, yang tinggal hanya sekitar RM1,800 sahaja sebulan.
Bayangkanlah Kak Long, setiap bulan kereta yang kita gunakan perlu dibayar sebanyak RM550.00, sewa rumah - RM500.00, bil-bil telefon,air dan elektrik - RM250.00, bayaran duit yuran Kak Long, adik-adik dan persekolahan - RM200.00, duit minyak kereta dan tol untuk ayah berulang kerja - RM300.00, semua ini dah mencecah genap RM1,800 (sebulan gaji ayah).
Ini tak ditambah lagi dengan duit untuk sakit pening, balik kampung, belanja dapur dan pasar, simpanan dan keperluan harian lain. Kadang untuk belanja dapur, ayah terpaksa ambik duit bayar kereta (kita dah tiga bulan duit kereta tertunggak). Pihak bank dah mula hantar surat kata nak tarik kereta. Ada sekali ayah gunakan duit yuran sekolah adik-adik untuk beli sayur dan sedikit ikan, akibatnya dua bulan yuran sekolah adik-adik tertunggak. Bil telefon pula, baru sebulan ayah tak bayar, pihak telekom dah hantar surat amaran nak potong. Memang agak susah hidup kita ini Kak Long.
Semalam, adik sakit perut ayah hanya dapat gosokkan minyak masak kat dapur pada perut adik. Selepas adik merengek sejam lebih, tertidur dia. Nak ke klinik, ayah dah tak tahu nak cari duit kat mana.Duit-duit simpanan ayah dan ibu (termasuk duit di Tabung Haji) dah diguna masa daftarkan Kak Long masuk asrama dahulu.
Minggu lepas, ayah balik kampung dengan ibu. Jumpa dengan Pak Usu, Pak Uda dan Pak Lang, cuba bawa berbincang nak minta tolong. Tapi hampa. Kata mereka, tinggal kat KL takkan susah. Itulah agaknya, mentaliti orang kampung, dan tak belajar agaknya. Susah nak terima hahikat bahawa bukan semua di bandar ini senang dan mewah seadanya. Agaknya, orang kampung susah dapat berita. Atau orang kampung hanya dapat berita yang indah sahaja kat peti televisyen dan radio.
Padahal, dalam dunia masa kini semuanya tidak seperti dahulu lagi. Dahulu kalau Kak Long ingat, duit RM50 boleh isi tangki minyak kereta agak penuh, sekarang hanya separuh aje. Duit tol dah tak sama kak long. Harga ayam setahun dua dulu dah tak sama dengan hari ini. Baru ni, harga barang-barang dapur dah naik. Makin susah. Adik Usu yang boleh makan roti canai setiap minggu dulu dah jarang dan susah nak makan (dulu RM0.50 - kini RM0.80).
Itulah, dilema ayah dan ibu kini Kak Long. Jika keadaan masih tak berubah, mungkin ayah lepas ni akan berpindah balik kampung. Rumah atuk, masih kosong. Cuma sayanglah, adik ngah yang akan periksa UPSR tahun ni akan terjejaslah pelajaran dia sebab kena pindah sekolah. Adik usu yang mula nak kenal belajar Bahasa Inggeris, akan kelam kabutlah sebab guru kesayangan Bahasa Inggeris dia bertukar rupa. Makin susahlah adik Usu nak kuasai Inggeris. Dahlah, subjek Matematik dan Sains dalam periksa pertengahan tahun tempohari dia hanya dapat 'C'. Lepas ni tak tahulah pula apa nak berlaku.
Oh ya, Kak Long mungkin tertanya-tanya apa dah jadi dengan projek jual nasi lemak dan kerepek kat pejabat ayah dulu? Ayah dan ibu dah sepakat untuk menghentikan jualan-jualan tersebut.
Pertama; setiap malam ayah dan ibu bersengkang mata sehingga jam 1 pagi untuk siapkan bahan-bahan untuk berjual nasi lemak dan esoknya terpaksa pula bangun jam 4 pagi - akibatnya Kak Long, ibu sering sakit-sakit, kesihatan ibu terjejas.
Kedua; bukan ayah nak mengata, tapi realitinya dalam dunia berniaga begitulah. Kadang-kadang ada yang membeli dengan berhutang. Dan bila berhutang tak ada pula yang membayar.Ada pula yang ambil begitu aje tanpa bagitahu, akibatnya modal hilang, dan ayah serta ibu terpaksa keluarkan modal baru setiap kali nak berjual. BUkan ayah nak menuduh semua, tetapi akibat setitik nila habis rosak susu sebelanga.
Ketiga; kenaikan harga barang mentah dah tak dapat nak ayah dan ibu untuk menampungnya. Maklumlah, bukan berniaga secara besar, hanya kecil-kecilan. Itu yang agak susah.
Maka, disebabkan itulah ayah dan ibu ambil keputusan untuk hentikan jualan kecil-kecilan itu.
Kak Long,
Ayah harap Kak Long rajin-rajinlah belajar. Berusahalah menjadi anak yang cemerlang bukan sahaja dalam pelajaran tetapi juga dalam agama. Berusahalah, jangan sia-siakan peluang yang Kak Long dapat untuk belajar di sekolah asrama tu.
Ayah harap Kak Long akan berjaya. Berjaya mencapai cita-cita untuk menjadi seorang doktor. Cuma dalam mengejar cita-cita Kak Long, ayah berharap Kak Long beringatlah. Kita kini bukan orang senang. Hidup dah tak macam dulu. Kalau Kak Long boleh berjimat, berjimatlah sehabis baik.
Ayah tahu, yuran asrama Kak Long tertunggak dua bulan. Bersabarlah. Bagitau pada cikgu, ayah akan jelaskan. Cuma bukan dalam masa terdekat ini. Insya-Allah, ayah akan cuba sedaya upaya untuk jelaskannya sebelum berakhirnya sesi persekolahan tahun ini.
Cuma selepas ini, ayah tak pasti berapa kerap lagi ayah akan mampu menulis. Bukan apa, kadang memikir, duit pos (setem Rm0.40) boleh ayah gunakan belikan dua biji telur untuk adik-adik makan tengahari bila mereka balik sekolah.
Jadi, janganlah Kak Long bersedih ok. Tabahkan hati. Ayah tahu, anak ayah seorang yang tabah, cekal dan sentiasa berusaha yang terbaik.
Dan akhir sekali, maafkan ayah kerana membebani Kak Long dengan segala kisah yang berlaku ini. Bukan apa, sebagai anak ayah yang sulung ayah rasa Kak Long berhak tahu dan wajar memahami apa yang sedang berlaku dalam keluarga ini.
Sekian, ibu dan adik-adik menyampaikan salam rindu pada Kak Long.
Wassalam.
15 Jun 2007 - 11.45 malam.

Tak Pedas Ke Kena Cili?

picture of Australian model Sophie Monk on a bed of chillies. Ouch HOT.

Hey you hot blooded male.. dont look.

I am putting this picture to discuss one interesting aspect of this picture.
Is real that she is on a bed of chillies? If its real, its inevetable that a few would be crushed by her weight. oh come on, she is not that lightweight that chillies wouldnt get crushed.
Wouldnt it be hot? I mean pedas on skin, naked skin at that. I myself could hardly eat fresh chillies on its own, especially chili padi. Just cant handle the pedas. If it is applied on naked skin, especially the bottom.. ouch that would be hot.

I think this picture is a product of illusion. First make a big juicy picture of chillies, a bed of chillies on high quality photo paper, so that it look real. Then all the model has to do is lie on the paper.

What do you think?

I can not imagine photo of this genre be published in Malaysia paper, online or not, Malaysiakini , Berita Harian or Utusan Malaysia.

Alahai Ayam Jantan, Kokok Berderai Ekor Bergelumang Tahi

Where did I read that?
Probably from Hikayat Mat Jenin. No I dont remember where did I read that.

Some time ago, during the Ramadan when the monks of Burma were slaughtered and incarcerated I read a lot about Asean ministers statement on Burma. Every one of them are dissapointing, and spineless.
One particular Asean Minister, George Yeo of Singapore made a lame attempt at showing "toughness".

Alas, Singapore in Asean is like Israel in Middle East. Singapore is the arms supplier to the Myanmar Army junta, supplying rifles, guns, etc.

Thus my tile to this article;
'Alahai ayam jantan, kokok berderai derai, ekor bergelumang tahi.'

For all the Singaporean Minister's bulls, they have their money in it, supporting the Myanmar junta and investing in Myanmar. So its no surprise that Singapore, Who is currently the chair for Asean wouldnt want to change the status quo.

All these years, since the 1988 crackdown where thousands were killed, we Asean kept calling for restraint. Which means that the junta can continue on with impunity.
Yes Asean has a history of doing nothing when their neighbour in dire need. Not just Burma, if you remember Cambodia in the 70's when Pol Pot slaughtered millions of their people...

Asean never learnt, and never have the guts to help their neighbour in need.

Do we Malaysian free from guilt? Or less guilty?
Ask your Petronas chairman, how much money do we invest in oil and/or gas asset in Burma?

Read this letter in Malaysiakini;
Md Ziyaullah Khan




from www.irrawaddy.org

Talking Nonsense on Burma [Commentary]
By Kyaw Zwa Moe October 21, 2007



Email Article Print Article


Several ministers and diplomats of Asean countries warned recently a sudden regime change in Burma could lead to an Iraq-type anarchy with rival factions battling each other for power.

Are such people that ignorant of Burma, which belongs to the 10-member Asean grouping?

“We should not think of a so-called regime change,” said Asean Secretary-General ong Keng Yong of Singapore, which could lead to another Iraq. "Such change implies a dramatic power vacuum,” he said. Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said the same.

First of all, ong Keng Yong and others must know that no one has called for a regime change in the military-ruled country.

No one says there isn't a need for the military regime’s involvement in politics and in the day-to-day running of the country. The Burmese people, including the political opposition groups, all understand the military has to play a key role in a transitional period to democracy.

Even the main opposition National League for Democracy party led by detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, though it was the big winner of the 1990 elections, has called for an unconditional dialogue which includes the military, opposition groups and ethnic parties. Other opposition and ethnic groups inside and outside the country have said the same thing.

The monk-led demonstrations last month demanded three things: national reconciliation, the release of all political prisoners and an improvement in the living standards of the people. Monks haven’t called for a regime change, either.

Following the junta’s brutal crackdown against the peaceful demonstrations, some countries in the West have increased their sanctions on the regime, in hope that it may force the junta to start face-to-face talks. Everyone is pushing the stubborn generals to enter a dialogue process.

What about the ethnic groups? There are about two dozen ethnic insurgent groups, with probably 17 ceasefire groups. Are they a unified opposition? Far from it. Are they a hotbed for anarchy? Far from it. They have as much to fear from anarchy as everyone else.

Actually, most ethnic insurgencies are products of the military rule, though a few rebel groups such as Communist Party of Burma and the Karen National Union began their struggles soon after Burma gained independence in 1948. The 45-year military rule since 1962 fuels the ethnic insurgency movement.

In fact, those ethnic armed groups—both ceasefire and non-ceasefire—have called for a form of democracy that would provide autonomy for their respective states. The hope is that, if granted autonomy, the anger supporting the country’s decades-long insurgencies would die out.

The junta either can’t stop the insurgency movements or it has deliberately kept the flame of opposition alive to create the impression that the military is essential to “protect” the country from the threat of various ethnic groups.

Asean countries may believe that only the junta can control the insurgency movements. Actually, that’s not the case. The ethnic groupings and their dissatisfaction with the current regime is essentially a political issue.

Even if the junta did collapse, there are many capable people including Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders who can assume leadership roles in the government. However, at the moment almost all potential leaders are in prison or in exile. And of course, there are also ethnic leaders who are ready and capable to join the leadership as soon as the right conditions exist.

Any "power vacuum" would be filled by new, talented people who are now denied the opportunity to serve their country. And, need it be said, with such open-minded people in government a "power vacuum" would be an opportunity to replenish the soul of the nation with freedom loving people.

In fact, anarchy is the best description of Burma's present state, a military-ruled system of anarchy.

Here are a few examples: the regime uses hired thugs to create riots amid peaceful demonstrations. The thugs are called “dutiful citizens.” They were organized to murder Suu Kyi in 2003, but she narrowly escaped. During the 1988 uprising, the then government deliberately created a condition of “anarchy” by freeing thousands of angry criminal prisoners from the jails across the country. The stooges were paid to poison several water wells in Rangoon’s townships among other things. The military deliberately created conditions for them to loot factories and warehouses. Then, the coup-staging generals called it “anarchy.” Yes it was—state-sponsored anarchy.

For decades, military rule has proved itself incapable to govern the country. Burma was once one of the most promising and wealthiest countries in the region, before the military took power in 1962. Burma is now a prison, and its people are among the poorest in the world.

It’s time for many Asean officials to do some serious soul searching by asking if they want to be a friend of the Burmese people or a friend of the generals.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said, “We must prevent anarchy in Burma.” If Asean officials really want to help solve Burma's crisis, they must stop talking nonsense such as "power vacuum" and "anarchy."

For the Burmese people, it is midnight on a moonless night—it can't get any darker.

Peak Oil

Yesterday, or the the before that, oil price reached USD$90 per barrel, equivalent to RM300+.
The impact to the world economy would be significant. Inflation would be higher in the Western world for a start, already some Western nation already planning to diversify their energy requirement away from oil. More towards environmentally friendly sources.
Here in New Zealand, wind farms are being planned at 2 places, Waikato and Otago, just going through EIA rigmarole.
Petrol prices at the pump has reached NZD$1.63 per litre for 91 Octane. No doubt that the current round of price rises is stoked by Turkey's war with the Kurds and the nonstop conflict in Iraq. But China's hunger for oil doesnt help.

I dont believe that replacing fossil oil with renewable biofuel is the smartest thing to do. To a certain extent it would be okay, as long as it doesnt affect prices significantly.
Turning corn, wheat, rice and palm oil into biofuel would affect the world price of these food commodities, thus starving the poor.

It would be better if we do less travelling and use environmentally friendly transportation modes, like buses, bicycles or just walk for short distances.
Internet and good telecommunications could help reduce the need for travel if realise its potential.

Over 2 years ago I wrote in Malaysiakini letter that Malaysian Govt should not continue subsidizing petrol as they do. They should let petrol price on par with the world market, thus saving the money that otherwise spent on subsidy. That money could be better spent elsewhere, like education, infrastructure projects etc.

Is $90 Oil Good for Greentech?

Oil-price highs have spurred interest in alternative-energy technologies. But could these new spikes be bad for business?
Oil breached $90 per barrel Friday, setting another world record in a week full of top oil prices.

The spike -- driven by concerns about possible supply disruptions as tensions rise between Turkey and Iraq -- could turn out to be another milestone for greentech.


Greentech entrepreneurs certainly benefited when oil prices breached $55 per barrel in 2005 (see Oil Prices Grease Cleantech, Oil Spike's Tech Impact) and when they hit another record of $73 per barrel last year (see Record Oil Prices Help Hybrids).

Companies and investors say high oil prices have played a significant role in raising interest in green technologies, even though many of these technologies -- solar, for instance -- have replaced conventional electricity, not oil. (Very little electricity is made from oil nowadays, with oil mostly being used to make fuel.)

Why China Can Withstand $90 a Barrel Oil - And Higher

The rest of the world is wincing as crude oil prices surge past $90 a barrel, yet China - the world's second-largest oil consumer - appears set to continue sucking up oil at ever higher prices.
What's it got that the rest haven't?


Experts say the country's not entirely immune but that a timely combination of extremely robust finances, strong political incentive to uphold costly fuel subsidies, and less exposure to world oil price fluctuations than many realize is what's keeping Chinese oil demand seemingly insatiable.

Chinese consumers, though less energy-efficient than their Western counterparts, are shielded from the impact of surging oil prices which would otherwise curb their thirst by hefty government subsidies.

Maori Self Determi Nation

'The Face of Tuhoe Nation - Tame Iti'

When the story broke a couple of days ago, the first thing that came to my mind was 'Not another Muslim group?'
No its not, especially on Eid ul Fitr Day.

Yesterday I started to have doubts over the facts and evidence. Surely, a bunch of old granddads running around doing army style training. Is that such a big threat to national security?
A few other groups are doing that, Furneau Lodge some years back, Outbound and the like. If these old geezers are such a threat, the big question is;

" How capable is NZ's security arrangement? How strong is NZ Army, Navy and Airforce? Or shall I pose a question; do we have a sizeable armed force?"

If a bunch of granddads doing military style training is a security threat, the NZ had better take a look at its security arrangement. There might come a day when a few granddads with molotov cocktails and hunting rifles could take over the country.

As I joked with a Maori friend today, "I like the idea of an independent Maori nation. For a start, they can grow pot/marijuana in the backyard...just like the Taliban days in Afghanistan"

IRA-style war plan revealed
The Dominion Post | Wednesday, 17 October 2007

Email a Friend | Printable View | Have Your Say


IAIN McGREGOR/Waikato Times
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Supporters of Tame Iti outside the Rotorua District Court before his appearance on eight firearms related charges. Photo 1 of 3



NZPA
SUSPECT: Jamie Lockett, one of several arrested in the terrorism suppression case, leaves Auckland District Court after receiving bail regarding firearms charges. Photo 2 of 3



DAVID WHITE/Sunday Star Times
FACING CHARGES: Tame Iti, who was among the people facing arms charges after police raids, is seen at a Waitangi Day ceremony at Waitangi's lower marae in 2005. Photo 3 of 3


Tame Iti was preparing to declare an IRA-style war on New Zealand in a bid to establish his long-standing dream of an independent Tuhoe nation, according to police documents.
View video


A source close to The Dominion Post said the documents disclosed by police to legal parties for the accused showed police had been monitoring Iti's movements for 18 months, videoing and photographing his Urewera commando training camps and intercepting text messages sent by Iti to his co-conspirators.

Iti christened the group "Rama", the Maori word for enlightenment, and is alleged to have stated three months ago that he had stopped all his other activities in order to "make war on New Zealand".

The source described the movement as "comical" and "amateurish", with the group purchasing military uniforms from an Auckland army surplus store.

Numbering about 20, the participants were predominantly based in Auckland. Many were in their late teens, the youngest a 15-year-old girl.

During the training camps members were required to wear balaclavas in order to hide their identities from each other, and many of their methods were based on a "green book IRA manual".

It is understood several of the group are former New Zealand Army soldiers, some of whom fought in the Vietnam War.

Iti is alleged to have purchased shotgun ammunition from an Auckland gun shop and tried to obtain grenade launchers.

It is not clear from the documents whether he succeeded.

But a document does suggest the arms dealer was willing to obtain grenade launchers.

No mention of targets is made in the documents, but it is believed the only explosives to which the group had access were Molotov cocktails.

The group was allegedly trained in ambushes and "IRA-style attacks", with a "key camp" being held in the Ureweras last November.

Much of the police evidence is based on text messages sent between group members.

The police documents show the group had been under continuous electronic and visual surveillance.

No mention is made in the documents of which government intelligence units were involved.

Nine of the people arrested and charged after Monday's raids remain in custody following court appearances yesterday.

Jamie Beattie Lockett, 46, unemployed, of Takanini, appeared in Auckland District Court yesterday morning, and was initially granted bail.

The Crown appealed against this decision and Lockett's bail was revoked by a High Court judge later in the evening.

The Crown said police had intercepted text messages sent by Lockett, saying he was intending to launch a war on New Zealand.

"I'm training up to be a vicious, dangerous commando," one message said; another text stated "white men are going to die in this country".

Lockett, who said he was a friend of Iti, did not apply for name suppression.

He said he was not involved in any illegal activity: "I have never, ever, transported a gun or ammunition in any vehicle in New Zealand. I'm anti-ammunition and guns." He dismissed police evidence against him as "lies, weak and uninvestigated".

Four other men and a woman also appeared in Auckland District Court on firearms charges, including possession of a military-style semi-automatic weapon, an automatic rifle, Molotov cocktails and a rifle.

All five, aged between 18 and 58, successfully sought name suppression and have been remanded in custody till their next court appearance on Friday.

Iti is to appear in Rotorua District Court this morning to find out whether his application for bail has been successful.

Iti and a woman, who was granted name suppression, appeared in court yesterday charged with firearms offences.

The woman has been remanded in custody till October 29.

A man, 53, was remanded in custody in Palmerston North after appearing in court on two charges of unlawful possession of a firearm.


Arsenal fits kidnap possibility
By HANK SCHOUTEN - The Dominion Post | Wednesday, 17 October 2007

The napalm bombs, Molotov cocktails and assorted guns that allegedly sparked this week's police anti-terrorism raids could have been used to kidnap somebody or blow up government offices, says defence analyst Jim Rolfe.


If that were the case, he said there were parallels with some of the militia groups formed in the United States or with Timothy McVeigh, the 1995 Oklahoma City bomber, who built a fertiliser bomb that killed 168 people.

"When we think international terrorism, we think of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, but from what's been reported, (the latest raids appear to have) involved people with strong political views who were getting the capability to put their views into violent action," Dr Rolfe said.

"If the reports are accurate, they could have used the weapons or explosive to kidnap a politician or a judge or blow up buildings or government offices."

It was hard to draw too many conclusions as much of the evidence was still to come out.

But he was worried that the Government might have overreacted as the US, Britain and Australia had when anti-terrorism laws were used to crack down on non-terrorist criminal activity.

"There's something going on, but the question is whether they were self-deluding wannabes ... or are these the kind of people who would use violence to achieve political ends?"

He said there had been talk for years of Maori activists taking to the hills, but there was a big difference between talk and action.

"We really have to wait and see what the police evidence is to know whether the border has been crossed."

The collection of small firearms was not all that remarkable, given New Zealand's high gun-ownership rate, he said, but Molotov cocktails and napalm bombs were something quite different.

But it could not be assumed they were to blow something up.

They could be used for an attention-grabbing explosion.

Old Pictures

A friend, Zamri whom I seen face to face more than 10 years enquired about old photos recently. Photos from the days when we were room mates back in the Wellington days. Its still in good condition, thanks to temperate climate over here, even though the photos had lived several years in Malaysia's hot and humid. Some of my old photos turned brown in Malaysia. Even the album disintegrated in the heat.

I have the intention of saving the photos in digital form in the next week or so, if I have time.

Those pictures above are from 1983 and 1984 respectively. I arrived in Wellington back in January 1983 with a large group of Malaysian students.

see the brownish photo. That was from Zamri. I dont have that one.

We were housed in a Victoria Uni Hall for a week for orientation, being told and acclimatised to the Kiwi way of life. Even learned to eat using knife and fork. Knife on the right hand and fork on the left hand.

"Ish makan pakai tangan kiri.."

Then we were sent off to high school all over New Zealand, from Keri Keri in the north to Invercargill in the south. I didnt go that far from Wellington, just north a bit to a satellite city called Porirua. The kind of planning in the sixties where they build a township outside the main city to house the poorer section (ish, politically incorrect words, lower socio economic better) of the society. Just like Petaling Jaya and Cheras was to KL.
The school was called Mana College. So I attend Form 6 and Form 7 there, doing my A level. My 6 Form year was rather uneventful, I wasnt that confident in my English, luckily I was boarding with this English lady whose house was not far from the sea. Yeah she did came from England in the fifties. So everything was pretty much English style. I still remember her name was Ann Thompson, the house was in Paremata. These days Paremata is a chic neighbourhood, with Whitby around the corner is becoming millionaires' row, because of its closeness to the sea.

Form 7 year was much better, more Malaysian student coming to the school and I was more confident in my English. Being close to Wellington, a hop scotch away by train, we used to go to Wellington very often, almost every week. We often go to the Islamic Centre in Newtown for Friday prayer in my school holidays and during weekends in Ramadan. There were a few Malaysian students in Wellington back then, so we sometimes visit them.

Selamat Hari Raya Eid ul Fitr

Eid Mubarak

I wish EVERYONE Eid Mubarak and Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.

I havent been back to my parent's place and celebrate Hari Raya with them for years. When we lived in Telok Panglima Garang back in the nineties, I used to be back at the village for Hari Raya. I liked the festiveness of Hari Raya celebration in Malaysia. People counting Hari Raya as if it goes on for one month. Hari Raya pertama, kedua etc.

Let me tell you about Ramadan and Eid ul Fitr in New Zealand.

No doubt the centre of Muslim community would be the masjid. So almost all activities is centred at the masjid. During Ramadan the masjid usually serve iftar for people who want to break fast at the masjid.
Food is normally rice pulao (that rice with juicy meat/chicken/lamb) or couscous (again, served with chicken/meat/lamb). So if you can, dont miss iftar at the masjid.

This year I didnt go to masjid for iftar, not even once. My BOSS said; " I cook for you and you want to go to masjid looking for food?"

So I go to terawih instead.

Eid ul Fitr day is normally decided by sighting the new moon. It has always been decided by sighting the moon, either, Ramadan, Syawal or Dzulhijjah. A few of us would go to high places, hill, or a western beach to look for the new moon. A couple of years ago, I went along with a friend to join others looking for new moon at a hill above Christchurch, Port Hills, and learnt what to look for and what time etc.

Normally if there is any report of sightings, it would be known by after Isha prayer. All moonsighting team have to report to Hilal Committee of New Zealand if anyone see the new moon.

On the day of Eid itself, most of us would go to the masjid, join takbir and perform/offer Eid prayer. You would see people in their best clothes, most often their national costume, so the masjid would be like a mini united nations. This is the Muslims, even though we are diverse in our cultural origin, where we came from, we are all the same people, our believe in Allah is the one that unite us. In the Day of Judgement, we will rise like this, and no one is above another.

Because the masjid is too small to accomodate everyone, Eid prayer is usually performed at the Hagley Park opposite the masjid. Just imagine a sea of people each one of different colour, black, white, brown, all wearing different costume, from baju melayu, shalwar khamis, robe and keffiyeh...etc.

Then after Eid prayer..everyone wishing each other Eid Mubarak. Eat and drink food on pot luck basis, and then go home.

That is all Eid celebration here. Nothing more.
NO we dont go to open houses of our friends, well not if not invited. No 'baraan' to every houses in the village until one week after Hari Raya.

Vertical Farming

Here is an interesting article; the key here is being environmentally conscious, and factoring the prices and costs exacted on the environment.

Could vertical farming be the future?
Farm able to feed 50,000 people could 'fit comfortably within a city block'



Farming of the future?
Though vertical farm prototypes likely would rise just two or three stories, some researchers imagine industrial-looking, transparent and square buildings rising up to 30 stories.



By Bryn Nelson
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 7:41 a.m. ET Oct. 8, 2007
Rice on the seventh floor. Wheat on the twelfth. And enough food within an 18-story tower to feed a small city of 50,000.

Vertical farms, where staple crops could be grown in environmentally friendly skyscrapers, exist today only in futuristic designs and on optimistic Web sites. Despite concerns over sky-high costs, however, an environmental health expert in New York is convinced the world has the know-how to make the concept a reality — and the imperative to do so quickly.

With a raft of studies suggesting farmers will be hard-pressed to feed the extra 3 billion people swelling the world’s ranks by the year 2050, Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier believes a new model of agriculture is vital to avoid an impending catastrophe.



“The reason why we need vertical farming is that horizontal farming is failing,” he said. If current practices don’t change by mid-century, he points outs, an area bigger than Brazil would need to become farmland just to keep pace with the demand.

Working the soil has always been an uncertain venture, and Despommier argues that the price of crop failure is growing ever steeper as the global population mushrooms. “The world,” he said, “is running out of resources faster than what it can replace.”

Critics like Bruce Bugbee, a professor of crop physiology at Utah State University in Logan, see improvements in how future farmlands are managed as more practical and cost-effective. To Despommier, though, the world already has the need and the technology to dramatically improve yields and reliability by adjusting its point of view: from out to up.

The Columbia researcher said his interest in vertical farming is an extension of his long-standing work on disease transmission among humans. Among the laundry list of benefits he cites, Despommier believes vertical farming could help break the transmission cycle of diseases in traditional agricultural settings. But it’s the potential to help solve impending food shortages that really excites him.

A recent exercise conducted by students in his medical ecology class found that a self-sustaining vertical farm able to feed 50,000 people could “fit comfortably within a city block,” rising perhaps 18 stories. With adequate funding, a smaller prototype could be up and running in seven to 10 years, he predicts. Eventually, full-scale versions could be a new feature of city skylines, climbing as high as 30 stories and filled with automated feeders, monitoring devices and harvesting equipment. And, of course, they would feature crops such as wheat, rice, sugar beets and leafy greens grown in mineral nutrient solutions or without any solid substrates at all.

These hydroponic and aeroponic growing techniques, respectively, have benefited from NASA’s strong interest because any long-term venture to the moon or beyond would require the use of self-contained and resource-limited growth chambers. Despommier concedes that current practices must be improved and systems put in place to quickly identify and quarantine plants stricken with pests or disease. “No pun intended, but the bugs need to be worked out of this thing,” he said.




He insists, though, that money is the last major obstacle. To his critics, that hurdle has tripped up past entrepreneurs and may yet be insurmountable. “I can’t be very optimistic about this study,” said Utah State’s Bugbee. “None of this is very new. But it doesn’t mean the whole concept is without merit. It just means the claims are greatly exaggerated.”

Bugbee’s chief objection is the exorbitant power requirement for such a vertical structure. Plants on the lower floors would require artificial light year-round or expensive mechanical systems to get more light to them. And during a typical winter in northern U.S. cities, he said, average sunlight is only 5 percent to 10 percent of peak summer levels due to sapped intensity and shorter days.

“November, December, January and February are really dark,” Bugbee said. “Plants aren’t limited by the temperature, they’re limited by the light.” High-pressure sodium lights may be a reasonable stand-in for sunlight to maintain plant growth, he said, but the electric bill is enormous. “Boy have a lot of people gone bankrupt trying hydroponic greenhouses for that reason.”

Nevertheless, greenhouses such as Arizona’s 265-acre Eurofresh Farms are thriving with their hydroponic tomatoes and seedless cucumbers. Gene Giacomelli, Director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Program at the University of Arizona in Tucson, said questions of safety, quality and sustainability are pushing agriculture in a host of other directions, including Despommier’s vertical farming idea. “He’s one extreme – a very good one,” Giacomelli said.

Several years ago, Giacomelli and collaborators in Arizona explored another extreme when they won a contract to design and build a growth chamber within a new building at Antarctica’s Amundsen-Scott Research Station. The chamber can be tweaked remotely by scientists back in Arizona but is now largely managed by volunteers at the station.

Besides supplying some much-needed color and light for the research station’s residents during Antarctica’s bleak and bitterly cold winter months, the indoor chamber has yielded a range of crunchy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, hot and sweet peppers and even cantaloupe. Next year, a student will try to grow watermelon in what is arguably the worlds’ most inhospitable place for a garden. Remarkably, the plot has produced about two-thirds of what top greenhouses in North America can deliver.

“I like to say that we can grow any plant anywhere and any time, but for a price,” Giacomelli said. The catch in Antarctica is that electricity for the lights and pumps has inflated the cost to about $50 per pound of fresh vegetables . “Now, the local person at the supermarket would say you’re crazy for spending that much money on vegetables,” he said. “But you give that number to NASA and they’d say, ‘Wow, that’s a good number.’”

Transportation costs
Back on Earth, Despommier said urban farms could defray some of their own expense by significantly cutting transportation costs. And as the local food movement gains in popularity with environmentally conscious consumers, he said, what could be more local than vertical farming? Despite a lack of major technological advances, the effort also stands to benefit from small but steady improvements in hydroponics and automated systems to control temperature, humidity and nutrient delivery, according to Giacomelli.

To curb the excessive reliance on electricity, Giacomelli’s own group is planning to experiment with fiber-optic tubes called solar pipes that can capture sunlight from the Antarctic growth chamber’s roof. Meanwhile, Utah State University researchers have developed a clear piece of curved polyethylene that can retain heat in the ground and extend the growing season by up to four months for summer squash and tomatoes.

As for keeping up with global food demand by growing crops such as rice and wheat, “we’re going to have to get better at farming marginal lands,” Bugbee said, “but it’s still going to be done outside because the sunlight is so cheap — well, free — and the sunlight levels are so high in the summer.”

He agrees that some farming will move toward more controlled environments, especially for high-value crops like fresh herbs that otherwise would be difficult to supply year-round. “Chefs will pay a lot for fresh basil,” Bugbee said, “but we’re not going to feed the world with that.”

© 2007 MSNBC Interactive

January 83 a long long time ago.

My apologies, the past month has been hectic. Its Ramadan, so I have to include terawih prayer as much as possible into my schedule. That in addition to my usual routine...of work and sleep and what have you.
Normally my day started around 2pm in the afternoon. Thats when I wake up, except on Fridays when my wife would wake me up around noon for me to get ready for Friday prayer. First thing would be the internet, I would check my listings on Trademe, what is sold, email payment instructions and get their address for postings. Then ordering the cdroms from my supplier and packaging the stuff that I have sold in the garage.
Next chore would be the post office, before it closes at 5.30pm. I would normally fit in shopping for food and a brief visit to the secondhand computer parts shop, Computer Broker and Molten Media, picking up bargains if I can find any.
I would also leave the computer on in the garage for burning Linux operating systems if I have any order on those. Then shower, and get ready for Iftar and go to masjid for terawih after that.
See I dont have much time to do anything else. Terawih takes about 1.5 hours at the masjid. The Imam here do 8 rakaat, but the verses are long, as in my previous posting, but I like it.
By 10pm, whether the terawih is finished or not, I have to go to work.

Psst, I am writing this at work..
Yeah I work nights, from 1030pm or 1045pm till 6.45am, 7 days a week. Two places, 5 nights at one place and 2 nights at another. Occassionally I take annual leave from one of my jobs. In New Zealand, annual leave is 4 weeks every year, about 8% of gross wages pro rata.

That picture above?

Zamri email me saying he posted this old pic from the days we were in Wellington back when we first arrive in New Zealand. It was January 1983. Maybe around 20th. That was in front of Old Parliament Building, facing Princess Street.
Heck I dont know which one was me... was I there?