Our cover is blown!
My cousins and I being delinquent. The "cover" was my dad who was, I think, reliving his second childhood by proxy by insisting that he be there.
Its because of people like him that fireworks are now banned. He kept trying to get my cousins to hold the thunderclap in their hands and set it off. Quite interestingly, he never once suggested that I do it. He kept insisting that that's the way they did it in his day. Sure.
Then I really wasn't sure exactly how to react.
On the one hand, he's been unemployed since the early 1980s, probably since before I was born. His government is so scared of being called racist or xenophobic (or losing elections) that they're bending over backwards to make the minorities feel comfortable. In doing so, they're marginalising their own people and, although possibly not quite "letting" them remain unemployed, aren't doing things that will encourage their employment.
How would someone in this situation lash out? After over 20 years of unemployment, I'm quite sure that he would feel some animosity towards the "damned immigrants" who enter the country and take their jobs. From personal experience, there is also probably a correlation between the rising number of immigrant workers and crime. Muslims are acting to stake out their rights, while Englishfolk aren't allowed to voice out their arguments against it because it would be "intolerant" or "racist".
On the other hand, does the situation justify the claim that "the others" (read not Anglo-Saxon) are wrong for entering his country and taking his jobs? Is it really their fault? Most immigrants, also from personal experience, come from countries where they're so poor that they scavenge garbage dumps. They don't have access to clean water. People around them are hungry. The reason they migrate to find work is because staying put would be akin to killing themselves, or damning themselves to a life of misery.
As for those of other religions who demonstrate to establish their own rights in European countries; well some of them have been there for generations. They're not necessarily outsiders, but born within the country's borders itself, just as their kids will be. Do they have a right to stand up for their rights? I believe that people have a right to stand up for the most basic right: respect.
What about lee's situation? Is it really the immigrants' fault? Why is he blaming the other races and religions when its the governments' duty to protect its people? Probably because his government is marginalising him to benefit others. And consistently, at that. In this day and age, it just simply isn't accepted to do anything that can be misconstrued as racist or xenophobic because it might incite riots (or lose elections). But how is a government supposed to react to a situation where they're in the position to provide unemployment benefits to their own people and allow them to live relatively comfortable lives, and at the same time, provide a new life for others who otherwise would have been condemned to a life of misery and hunger?
Is the goverment guilty of ignoring those in lee's situation? Yes, probably.
Is lee's anger justified? Yes, but I think its misdirected. Just like many others who've faced this kind of difficult situation and been let down by the government. I'm not saying that this is true all the time. I freely admit that Muslims can be bastards sometimes, but that's also true for all other religions. While there are unfortunate causes for large scale immigration, this situation unfortunately also results in a sharp rise in crime, both petty and dangerous. In situations like this, anger is definitely justified.
How do I react? Do I point out to the Anglo-Saxons that they've (to my recollection) never been on the receiving end of racism, sexism or otherwise? That they don't know how it feels to be assumed to be stupid or unable to do something simply because of the color of your skin, or your gender, or your religion? I, myself, being on the wrong end of the spectrum for all three, know the feeling. That it's probably just as frustrating as being unemployed for two decades. Perhaps I should remind him that the Anglo-Saxons have been persecuting other races for centuries, and it's about time that they become the minority.
I should probably just remind myself that to form a better understanding, I need to keep an open mind and an eye on his blog.
KUALA LUMPUR: No one has come forward to give information on the video clip featuring a senior lawyer allegedly brokering the appointment of judges. Three weeks have passed since the Government set up an independent panel to verify the authenticity of the video clip.
Panel chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohd Noor said that until yesterday, the panel’s secretariat – the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department – had yet to report to him.
“I take it that nobody has come forward. If anybody had come forward, I’m sure the secretariat would have alerted me,” he told The Star.
The panel was set up on Sept 27 after the video clip was made public on Sept 19.
The 30-working day deadline given by the Government to investigate the video clip’s authenticity and submit a report ends on Nov 8.
Haidar said the Anti-Corruption Agency would be meeting the panel later this month for the ACA to give its report on the authenticity of the video clip.
This meeting, he said, was initially scheduled for yesterday but as the ACA was not ready, it was rescheduled to Oct 29 to give the agency’s experts more time to study the video.
The former Chief Judge of Malaya maintained that the role of the panel was only limited to determining the video clip’s authenticity.
He said currently, the panel could only hear the findings of the ACA because no other party had come forward with information.
“People have the impression that we just swallow whatever that is given to us.
“I can’t pre-empt what’s going to happen. Let’s see first whether we are happy or not (with the ACA’s findings).
“Let’s go step by step,” he said, adding that the panel would only be able to decide on its next course of action after the meeting with the ACA. He said the panel, which also includes former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mahadev Shanker and National Service Council chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, might seek a third party’s opinion.
In a statement, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang lamented that the panel had not made any progress after three weeks.
He called on the panel members to resign and for a royal commission of inquiry be set up instead.
So far, the ACA has recorded statements from several people, including a prominent lawyer, a business tycoon and Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah and Anwar’s personal assistant Sim Tze Tzin, who lodged a report with the ACA on the matter, are standing firm by their decision not to disclose the identity of the source of the video clip.
The video clip is 14 minutes and 16 seconds long but PKR edited it to 8 minutes and 26 seconds before releasing it, to protect the identity of the source.
The ACA issued a statement saying the video clip supplied to the agency was not the original copy. The agency urged anyone with an original copy to hand it over to facilitate investigations.
MERSING: It was a chaotic scene when news that a body was found reached the jetty here at about 11am yesterday.
Dozens of people, including tourists, packed the jetty waiting for the body to be sent back.
Family members of the three missing men – Wong Han Wen, Choong Yoong Kim and his brother-in-law Wong Song Leng – also rushed there anxiously to learn more from the officials.
Choong’s wife Wong Soo Ching was the first to burst into tears, followed by her missing brother’s wife Seng May Ying.
The two women could not say anything except to put their hands together in prayer. The two sisters of Han Wen – Yuh Jen and Yuh Ling – also joined in the prayers.
About an hour later, the families were told that the body would be sent to Tanjung Gemuk in Rompin, about 40km from here, as the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (APMM) boat could not dock due to low tide.
Upon hearing this, the victims’ families split into two groups. One rushed towards Rompin while another stayed back here.
Seng, who was at the jetty in Rompin, rushed down the walkway of the jetty but was stopped. A relative advised her not to look at the body. But when told the colour of the clothes on the body, she knew it was her husband.
Last Updated: Thursday, 18 October 2007, 08:12 GMT 09:12 UK
Museum drops race row scientist
The Science Museum has cancelled a talk by American DNA pioneer Dr James Watson after he claimed black people were less intelligent than white people.
Dr Watson, who won a Nobel Prize in 1962 for his part in discovering the structure of DNA, was due to speak at the venue on Friday.
But the museum has cancelled the event, saying his views went "beyond the point of acceptable debate".
Skills Minister David Lammy said Dr Watson's views "were deeply offensive". He added: "They will succeed only in providing oxygen for the BNP."
"It is a shame that a man with a record of scientific distinction should see his work overshadowed by his own irrational prejudices."
Dr Watson, currently director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in New York, has arrived in Britain to promote his latest book.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the 79-year-old said he was "inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa" because "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours - whereas all the testing says not really".
He went on to say he hoped everyone was equal but that "people who have to deal with black employees find this is not true".
A spokesman for the Science Museum said: "We know that eminent scientists can sometimes say things that cause controversy and the Science Museum does not shy away from debating controversial topics.
'Robust questioning'
"However, we feel Dr Watson has gone beyond the point of acceptable debate and we are, as a result, cancelling his talk."
The scientist has courted controversy in the past, saying that a woman should have the right to abort her unborn child if tests could determine it would be homosexual.
Dr Watson is also due to speak in Bristol at the annual Festival of Ideas which will be hosted by Eric Watson, the University's vice-chancellor.
A spokesman for the University said it respected "freedom of speech and the right of people to express their views".
But it expected "some robust questioning of Dr Watson on his ideas".
The Science Museum event will be hosted by leading neuroscientist Professor Richard Morris.
Ever heard of Freecycle?
Basically it's a community (read mailing list) where people give stuff away for free. Obviously, it's stuff that they don't want or need anymore. The idea is that one man's garbage is another man's treasure. Either way, this reduces wastage and is better for the environment. From the Freecycle homepage:
"The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,142 groups with 3,974,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free."
2007/10/16
Oops... man she had sex with not her husband
I know, right? Where do these people come from? Oh, that's right. Kemaman, apparently.KEMAMAN: She felt a warm body next to her. Thinking it was her husband, she did what came naturally.
Not until her husband entered the room and asked her about a man he had seen walking out of the room did she realise that she had had sex with another man.
The housewife, 40, then lodged a report at the Cukai police station at 5.30pm alleging she had been raped.
Police later arrested the couple's friend, a 29-year-old labourer, who had been staying with them over the past two months.
The woman said she went to bed in their Chuping home about 5am on Friday after making preparations for Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. Her husband had gone to work earlier.
About an hour later, she claimed, she felt a man next to her and she proceeded to make love to him. She claimed she did not see his face.
When her 34-year-old husband walked into the room a little later, she said she was surprised to see him in his work clothes.
The couple had allowed the suspect to stay with them because he was a colleague of the husband. Police are investigating the case under Section 376 of the Penal Code for rape. State deputy CID chief, Superintendent K. Manoharan said police were also looking into the claims made by the woman.
I just realised that it is now October 17th, and October 15th was Blog Action Day, during which I was supposed to make an environmentally inclined blog entry. Quite unfortch (but not really), I was on holiday on October 15th. As such, I will make the entry now.
This is in my Useful Links section right down there to the left. It's all about recycling in Malaysia. Since most of you are lazy and are too busy to check out the links anyway, I will provide you with a comprehensive summary.
The locations for Kuala Lumpur are as follows:
Christopher Paul Neil KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian enforcement agencies have been alerted to prevent Canadian paedophile Christopher Paul Neil, who was photographed sexually abusing young children in Vietnam and Cambodia, from crossing the border from Thailand.
Interpol spokesman Kristin Kvigne said Neil, 32, was seen entering Thailand last Thursday.
She said anyone who spots the suspect or has any information that could help investigators should contact the local police or Interpol.
He was seen entering Thailand last Thursday. On Oct 8, Interpol issued an alert worldwide after the agency successfully unscrambled an original photograph of the suspect, nicknamed Vico, that had been digitally manipulated to disguise his face.“Within three days of the appeal, working with its National Central Bureaus around the world, Interpol had established the suspect’s name, nationality, date of birth, passport number, and current and previous places of work,” Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said in a statement.
He said the information provided to Interpol came from five different sources in three continents. “Intense investigative support from authorities in South Korea and Thailand documented the suspect’s arrival in Bangkok International Airport last Thursday from Seoul.”
He said security cameras at the airport immigration captured the suspect’s arrival and his photograph had been made public.
Neil is believed to have fled Thailand after several Thai newspapers published his photograph that was posted on the Interpol website.
Interpol spokesman Michael Morran said the man taught in international schools where the sexual offences took place.
“We have not ruled out the possibility that he may have sexually abused other boys in South Korea and here.
“That is why we have asked our counterparts in South-east Asia including Malaysia to be on the look-out for the man and to bring him in for questioning,” he told reporters covering the Euro-Asian Police Cooperation symposium in Bangkok yesterday.
Ever wanted to ask a fledgling banker questions? I bet you have. Well here's a bunch of questions that I've frequently come across once I became a fledgling banker. Frequently Asked Questions, if you will.
1. What should I invest in?
I don't know you dumbass. I'm a fledgling banker. You really want to listen to me about what to do with your money?
2. Wah, you banker? Just like your dad! Mahaha.
My dad's not a banker jackass.
3. So is there a recession coming?
Refer to 1. Repeat dumbass.
4. Oh, so you want to be like Zeti? Mahaha.
Right. That's what I want to be like. Girl in banking = Zeti wannabe.
5. Oh banker! So you play with money everyday, lah? Mahaha.
No. I'm not in a commercial bank. I don't even see cash, you stupidhead.
6. Can you get me in touch with someone so I can sign up for a credit card / loan?
Refer to 5. Repeat dumbass.
7. Wah, your dad invested in [insert company name here]. Why ah? Must be good right?
I don't know. This kind of stuff is private & confidential. And he especially wouldn't tell someone working in a rival private equity firm. Idiot.
Last Updated: Thursday, 11 October 2007, 14:56 GMT 15:56 UK
Diners stunned by Chinatown raids
The biggest raid in London this year on illegal workers has led to more than 30 arrests in Chinatown.
The area was brought to a standstill as five restaurants were raided during the busy lunchtime period on Thursday.
Shocked passers-by stopped and stared as more than 100 arrest-trained immigration staff and police stormed the Soho premises.
The exact number of people detained will be confirmed by the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) later.
Strong pound
Chinese, Malaysian and Singaporean nationals were arrested and documents relating to illegal employment seized.
Two Malaysian nationals were already set to fly back to their home country following the operation.
Malcolm Leow, 23, an accountant who came to London from China two months ago, witnessed the raids.
He said: "I think if they're coming here illegally they're probably doing it because they need to make money to send back home.
"Britain is a good choice because the pound is strong."
Tony Smith, the BIA's regional director for the South East said about 60 raids on illegal workers were taking place in London each week.
"The BIA is very anxious to crack down on those who facilitate the entry of illegal workers for financial gain and then exploit them with poor wages and working conditions," he said.
"And we're targeting the employers, not just the workers.
Snakehead gangs
Earlier this year the Home Office announced an action plan to target rogue employers.
New unlimited fines for those who employ illegal workers will be placed before Parliament for approval later this month.
The raids were part of a wider strategy by the BIA to clamp down on illegal workers - some of whom pay thousands of pounds to be trafficked to Britain by gangs who then exploit them.
Chinese Triad and Snakehead gangs are known to be major players in this underworld labour trade.
The number of Chinese nationals entering the UK each year illegally has been estimated at 50,000 - but a Home Office spokesman said there was no official figure.
