Motorcycles cause cancer?

In an interesting twist of fate, a writer somewhere has found a link between cancer and the extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic field that motorcycles radiate upwards to the rider.

From Motorcycle Cancer:

I have met countless avid motorcycle riders diagnosed with similar forms of cancers and disorders. All of these riders had a type of extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation shooting up from their motorcycle seats. Every motorcycle that I have tested revealed ELF EMF radiation. Many readings are EXTREMELY HIGHER than what could be considered as acceptable exposure penetrating the rider. ELF EMF MAGNETIC FIELDS PENETRATE THROUGH ALL CONVENTIONAL MATERIALS INCLUDING METALS SUCH AS STEEL AND EVEN LEAD. Worldwide, various types of electromagnetic energies have been called "Invisible Death" and "The Silent Killer"! Major organizations now agree that ELF EMF magnetic fields are "potentially carcinogenic" which means possibly cancer forming.

While I don't like the excessive use of caps, he seems to make a point. And then I used my uber awesome Google skillz and discover that no one else in the world (of the internet) seems to agree. Or backup his theories. As a matter of fact, his statement that major organisations concur on the link between ELF EMF and cancer seems to be contested by actual major organisations, such as the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

And then a while later, he releases an "electromagnetic shielding motorcycle seat", which is also found on his website. Scam? Most likely. It's not too difficult to take advantage of a risk society which is so hellbent on buying any and every product that purports to do things like get rid of wrinkles, make pores disappear, suck out all the toxins from your body, prevent cancer, etc. Especially with people like my mum around.

And that's what happened.

Malaysian wins

That's right. All brand loyalties aside, Malaysia has a winner in its midst. He deserved the title and they took it away from him. But he got it back. It's touching. From NST: Motor sports: Jazeman gets his title back:

HE won it dominantly on the track, the title taken away from him controversially, but it was justice served when Jazeman Firhan Jaafar was reinstated yesterday as the 2007 Formula BMW Asia champion.

The CiMB Team Qi-Meritus, following the results of their appeal, have also been reinstated as the team champions in the series, giving them the title for the fifth year in a row.

Jazeman, 15, was robbed of his title after a disqualification based on a stewards report at the final round of the series in Zhuhai, China on Nov 4 last year, which alleged that his car had carried irregular gearbox selector springs.

Early yesterday, Meritus Racing's London-based lawyers had conveyed the news to team principle Peter Thompson which threw all allegations out the window.

"We'd fought all the way, provided all the evidence to show that we were innocent. The FASC (Federation of Automobile Sports of China) had not held a hearing for the appeal within the 30-day period as per regulations," said Thompson.

In that instance, the case was brought to the International Automobile Federation (FIA), who had viewed the evidence and since the FASC had not responded, it was deemed they agreed with Meritus Racing's appeal.

That's right. And now he's the youngest champion in the racing history of Formula BMW. Our man. Sniff.

We have a National Toilet Cleanliness Committee?

From The Star: Clean toilets will enhance country's image:

JOHOR BARU: The school is the best place to teach toilet cleanliness, National Toilet Cleanliness Committee (NTCC) chairman Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew said.

“Clean toilets are important to uplift the image of the country,” he said, acknowledging Johor Baru City Council’s (MBJB) efforts for organising a Clean Toilet Campaign that involved primary and secondary schools and food premises here.

Well, they're not doing a very good job.

And look, a ghost story. From NST: Bouts of hysteria after 'ghostly sightings':

DUNGUN: Some 200 students of Sekolah Menengah Sains Dungun probably felt they were in a real live ghost story. They are convinced they saw ghosts flying around the school on Sunday -- in the classrooms, the dormitories and the assembly hall.

School administrators and the state Education Department did not want to comment, but one of the parents, Mazlan Ariffin, said his daughter said she had seen ghosts flying around the classroom.

"My daughter kept telling me that she saw the figure of a woman wearing all white flying around her classroom before closing in on her. She said she felt a sudden chill just before the ghostly figure reached her, and she just screamed," he said.

A student named Wati said the incident began just after the weekly school assembly on Sunday morning, when a Form Two girl started screaming uncontrollably, seemingly in fear of something.

"Then other students started to scream and they had to be taken back to their rooms. I felt sick to my stomach and my head hurt so much that I probably passed out. I don't remember much of what happened after that," she said.

I love Malaysian newspapers. Not for real news, mind you. Look! More scandal! From NST: Actress in sex video clip?:

GEORGE TOWN: A video clip featuring a woman who resembles a popular local actress having sex with a man has been circulated widely on the Internet.

The man resembles a popular actor appearing in locally-produced dramas.

The clip which runs for 10 minutes and 20 seconds is believed to have been recorded
using a camera phone.

Seriously. It's like people don't learn.

From BBC: Australia apologizes to Aborigines:

The Australian government has announced it will issue its first formal apology to Aboriginal people when parliament resumes next month.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said the apology would be the first item of business when the new legislature convened on 13 February.

It is aimed at the "Stolen Generations" - Aboriginal children taken from their parents to be raised by white families.

It was the "first, necessary step to move forward from the past", she said.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced plans to apologise after his victory in last year's general elections.

The move is a highly symbolic one marking a definitive break from policies of previous administrations, correspondents say.

Finally, a prime minister that isn't close-minded and too proud to admit the mistakes of his predecessors.

It's amazing what a difference volume and preparation makes. From BBC: Rare snowfall blankets Jerusalem:

Jerusalem's iconic Dome of the Rock - normally a resplendent gold - was turned half white on Wednesday morning.

Snowfalls blanketed streets and buildings with an inch-thick of powder.

In a city more used to high temperatures than snow, the wintry weather seemed to be appreciated by those residents braving the cold.

"The snow brings people together," said Oded Goldberger, 19, wearing a hat and gloves. "It's something really special."

In some parts of Jerusalem, people were making snowmen while others were having snowball fights.

"Of course it's cold and wet," said Evyator Rubin, 13, making a snowball. "But because it snows so little here it's great when it does happen."

"I don't need to go to school today and I had a science exam."

All Jerusalem's schools, universities and courthouses were closed for the day. The public transport system is working on a scaled-back timetable.

The Jerusalem municipality made preparations for the snow which had been forecast for days. It had 100 snow-ploughs ready to clear the city's main streets.

A ritual among a small section of the city's ultra-orthodox Jewish community is to purify themselves by rubbing snow on their foreheads.

Whereas in China, from BBC: Misery of China's snowbound millions:

As China continues to endure the worst winter storms in five decades, some roads and airports are beginning to reopen.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has been visiting hundreds of thousands of stranded passengers.

He addressed crowds first at Changsha railway station in Hunan province, then at Guangzhou station in Guangdong.

He promised to get travellers, many of them migrant workers, home for the all-important spring festival holiday.

In Beijing, the Politburo met and ordered provincial officials to make fighting the effects of the terrible weather conditions their number one priority.

Over 300,000 paramilitary police, and almost 200,000 People's Liberation Army troops, have now been deployed in an effort to get the country moving again. But for some, the government is not doing enough.

One comment on the popular website tianya.cn said: "Emergency plan? It's a joke!"

The posting continued: "The snow alone can destroy China. The government won't take care of you even if you are freezing."

See.

When China turns you down

This was in 2001, but still. Apparently KFC's potato flour from USA was rejected by China because it wasn't up to China's standards. Man, when you're not up to China's standards, something's wrong.

From Food Navigator: KFC's US potato flour stays out of China:

03/08/2001 - According to Tricon, the restaurants chains group that owns Kentucky Fried Chicken, China has turned back shipments American potato flour supplied to Kentucky Fried Chicken because it failed to meet Chinese quality standards.

Tony Chen, spokesperson for Tricon told Reuters that the Chinese State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine labelled up to 40 tons of the US potato flour imported between February and May as "unqualified" and returned.

All the imports were from Basic American Food, located in Idaho, which supplies KFC with mashed potato powder worldwide, he said. The potato flour was found to contain levels of a bleaching powder higher than China allows in food, state media said.

I suppose I should be happy that I'm alive after all that KFC mashed potato that I've eaten.

On the dangerous topic of Islam and haram

So a few things popped up today, one of which was Malaysia banning 11 books on Islam, which are:

1. Secrets Of The Koran: Revealing Insights Into Islam’s Holy Book by Don Richardson
2. Qur’an and Women Rereading the Secrets Text From Woman’s Perspective by Amina Wadud
3. The Two Faces Of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism by Stephen Schwartz
4. Woman In Islam by Margaret Speaker Yuan
5. Islam Unveiled: Disturbing Questions About The World’s Fastest Growing Faith by Robert Spencer
6. What Makes Me A Muslim by Catherine M. Petrini
7. The Importance Of Muhammad by Marilyn Tower Oliver
8. Faiths Islam Worship, Festival and Ceremonies From Around The World by Trevor Barnes
9. Amalan Kemurahan Rezeki by Lifa Karimah
10. Rahsia Jalan Yang Lurus
11. Islam & Pluralisme by Al-Mustaqeem Mahmood Radhi

(From The Star: 11 books on Islam banned)

The titles look innocent enough, but I suppose we'll never know now. Although all this announcement makes me want to do is read it.

And then there's the haram-ization of botox. From The Star: Botox is haram, says Selangor Mufti:

Selangor Mufti Datuk Seri Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahad said the National Fatwa Council had decided to list the beauty treatment as haram as it had more adverse effects than good.

He said those providing Botox treatments should also stop offering such services.

I always thought that would've been an obvious one. I mean, injecting poison into yourself? Duh.

On a more positive note, Blogger has just been made available in three more languages: Arabic, Persian and Hebrew. Awesome. And by just, I mean two weeks ago. Because I don't pay attention to this stuff.

Oh, one of those things.

Got this in the family email from my dad. I thought it was exceptionally funny for one of these things:

Number 10: Life is sexually transmitted.
Number 9: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
Number 8: Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.
Number 7: Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
Number 6: Some people are like a Slinky .. not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
Number 5: Health nuts are going to feel stupid some day, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
Number 4: All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
Number 3: Why does a slight tax increase cost you RM200.00 and a substantial tax cut saves you RM0.30?

Number 2: In the '60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

AND THE NUMBER 1 THOUGHT FOR 2007:

We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America, but we haven't got a clue as to where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.

And the BONUS thought for today: 'Life is like a jar of jalapeños.. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow'.

I like number 8.

Monochrome Party Update

This is a follow-up post on my monochrome-themed birthday party in November, where I asked attendees to donate money instead of buying me presents. I know the follow-up is a bit late, but whatever.

All in all, over RM800 was collected [applause], with RM600 going to World Vision for the sponsorship of a child for a year.

So I got the letter from the child a few weeks ago. Her name is Fatima (like my grandmother. This bodes well) and she's from Lebanon. Sponsors are discouraged from sending gifts to Lebanon, because they have to pay a certain amount to collect them.

The remaining amount, which I haven't gotten around to doing anything with yet, will be donated to Peace Malaysia. Or Force of Nature Aid Foundation. I haven't decided yet, but will decide by the end of February.

That is all.

What is this world coming to?

From BBC: Sea lions massacred in Galapagos:

Ecuadorean officials are investigating the slaughter of 53 sea lions from the Galapagos Islands nature reserve, which were found with their heads caved in.

The dead animals included 13 pups, 25 youngsters, nine males and six females.

Galapagos National Park official Victor Carrion told AFP news agency that each was killed by "a strong blow from someone", though the motive is unknown.

They had not been injured in any other way, he said, discounting the notion they had been killed for their parts.

The animals were found in a state of decomposition on Pinta island, part of the archipelago which lies about 1,000km (600 miles) off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean.

In 2001 poachers killed 35 male sea lions in the archipelago, removing their genitals and teeth.

Hayden Panettiere would so cry at this news.

Miracles DO happen!

From BBC: Deaf boy's cotton wool bud 'cure':

A boy who has been partially deaf for nine years was suddenly cured - when a cotton wool bud popped out of his ear.

Jerome Bartens was diagnosed as deaf in his right ear when he was just two and has struggled at school ever since.

But Jerome, now 11, was suddenly able to hear clearly again as he played with friends in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire.

He said he heard a popping sound, then found the tip of a cotton wool bud in his ear. His family believe Jerome must have put the bud in his ear as a toddler and the centimetre-long cotton tip came off the plastic stem.

Jerome's father Carsten, 45, said: "It was just incredible - his hearing returned to normal in an instant.

"He was cured as suddenly as he became deaf. I had always suspected Jerome had stuck something in his ear when he was little and that was causing the problem.

"But the doctors and hearing specialists said it was wax and he would probably grow out of it.

"I am amazed they didn't spot something as obvious as a cotton wool bud."

Jerome has kept the waxy bud as a souvenir of his nine years of silence on his right. His family believe that as he grew the bud has been forced out - and finally came out nine years later.

If there ever were a reason to sue, this is it.

Marijuana vending machines in US

From BBC: Marijuana vending machines in US:

Vending machines distributing the drug marijuana are to begin operating in the US state of California.

The machines can only be used by people who have been prescribed the drug for health reasons.

Patients will have to provide a prescription, and be fingerprinted and photographed before being allowed to use the facilities.

Once the users have been photographed, fingerprinted and have shown their prescription, they will be issued with a card which can be used in the machines, he told KWTX News 10 in the US.

"They'll be greeted by a security guard right there. They'll slide the card in and they'll fingerprint in to verify that it's them," he was quoted by KWTX News 10 as saying.

I predict mass migration to California.

Smartest isn't always best

From The Star: Maths prodigy's dad faces jail term for groping teens:

PETALING JAYA: The father of a maths prodigy Sufiah Farooq, who entered Oxford University at 13, is facing a minimum six-month jail term for sexually assaulting two underage girls.

Pakistan-born Farooq Yusof, 50, groped one of the two 15-year-olds while giving her tuition classes at her home, according to Britain’s Daily Mail. He is currently behind bars awaiting sentencing.

According to the daily, Farooq was arrested after touching the girl on the chest and attempting to kiss her while her parents were watching television in a room nearby.

Sufiah, whose mother is Malaysian-born chemist Halimahton, made history by becoming the youngest student to study Mathematics in Oxford in 1997.

She ran away from the university and her family after three years of studies claiming that she could not stand the pressure from her father to succeed and that it was a “living hell.”

Sufiah asked for foster care until she reached 18. She returned to Oxford in 2002 but did not complete her course.

She was married in 2004 at the age of 20 to a fellow Oxford trainee lawyer. They divorced 13 months later.

See? Just because she's really smart doesn't mean she's not screwed up.

Welcome to my world