Creative recruitment

I was quite amused when I went to the al Jazeera website and saw these ads:

They're in an animated .gif. Well, I think they're funny, so there.

Need for Speed Pt 2: Speed isn't the cause

Every festive season, road death tolls mount and the police go all out in operations to prevent speeding and keep the fatalities down. But is speeding really the cause of these deaths?

Malaysia is one of those countries where speed limits are "liberally" applied, but one has to ask: how do the authorities set these speed limits? Did they conduct studies to determine the best speed limit to set that would encourage safety and minimise accidents? The answer is an astounding no. Road authorities work on the assumption that

speed = accidents + deaths

So of course, it makes sense to them that

- speed = - accidents - deaths

Unfortunately for them, studies show that the link between speed and accidents aren't all that straightforward.

(Source: SENSE - Is speed killing us?)

As a matter of fact, when the US increased speed limits in December 1995, accident rates fell (Source: NHTSA-NCSA). Researchers in US have also found that:

• Increasing speed limits by 15m/h (24km/h) had little effect on speeds and reduced accident rates.
• In states that adopted a new 65m/h (104.6km/h) limit, as opposed to 55mph (88.5km/h), fatalities dropped by a whopping 29%, the total accident rate fell by 4%, and the injury accident rate fell by 5%.
• Lowering speed limits to below the 50th percentile of average speeds does not reduce accidents but increases driver violations of speed limits.

(Source: Star Bulletin).

What about all the statistics on accidents caused by speeding that keeps appearing in newspapers and the news? In most countries, accidents caused by speeding include:

• improper lane changes;
• following too closely;
• unsafe passing;
• inattention;
• reckless driving;
• high speed chase;
• erratic speeds;
• driving too fast for conditions not necessarily above the limit; and
• driving less than posted minimums.

(Source: Star Bulletin, Speed Check Services)

That being said, these arguments are not a licence to speed. Notice that the optimum speed mentioned for safety is about 105 km/h, after which accidents increase exponentially with every increase in speed. Malaysian speed limits sit at about 120km/h. The purpose of me writing this entry is to make people aware that slow driving isn't necessarily safer. As a matter of fact, driving slowly can increase the number of accidents that occur (Source: Federal Highway Administration). Speed isn't necessarily the cause of accidents - rather it's the way you drive that's the issue. The message in this entry is to please be careful when driving.

Deal with the Devil

A little bit further from home, but it's always closer than you think. How does someone make a deal with someone like this? From BBC: Zimbabwe rivals agree unity deal:

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe have reached a deal to share power.

After mediating four days of talks in Harare, South African President Thabo Mbeki said the agreement would be signed and made public on Monday.

Mr Tsvangirai has confirmed the deal, but Mr Mugabe has yet to comment.

CFA Update: The Curriculum is on time

I got this in my Inbox today:
And because I love tracking shipments, I had to look up the tracking number.
So apparently, I'm getting my curriculum today. Just in time for the weekend. Yay!

The Organic Lie

This was shocking to me. A study has shown that organic food does not contain more nutrients than non-organic food. From CNN: Study: Organic food not more nutritional:

However, one possible spanner in the works for the organic sector could be the results of a new study by the University of Copenhagen which revealed that organic foods contained no more nutrients than non-organic foods grown with the use of pesticides.

Researchers studied five different crops -- carrots, kale, mature peas, apples and potatoes -- which were cultivated both organically (without pesticides) and conventionally (with the use of pesticides) and found that there was no higher level of trace elements in the food grown organically.

Study leader Dr Susanne Bügel said: "No systematic differences between cultivation systems representing organic and conventional production methods were found across the five crops so the study does not support the belief that organically grown foodstuffs generally contain more major and trace elements than conventionally grown foodstuffs."

So if organic foods aren't necessarily more nutritional, are they better for the environment?

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, traditional agriculture accounts for around 11 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, and the nitrous oxide found in fertilizers contributes most to these emissions.

Even still, in 2006 the UK's Manchester Business School assessed the environmental impacts of food production and consumption and concluded that there isn't a clear cut answer to whether the environmental impact is greater on a trolley full of organic food compared to a trolley full of non-organic food.

Not so, was the response from the Soil Association.

It countered that: "Overall, organic farming is better for tackling climate change than industrial agricultural methods. As well as lower average energy use, organic farming also avoids the very large nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer manufacture."

"Additionally, organic farming builds up soil carbon, removing it from the atmosphere. Organic farming also supports more local food marketing, reducing food miles."

While the jury might still be out about whether organic farming is, on the whole, better for the environment, there is little doubt that it's a booming industry which is starting to catch on in other parts of the world.

Shocking!

Even so, while it may not be better for you, it'll be better for the environment. So if you can afford it, go ahead.

Money doesn't buy happiness

But look what it does buy you:

Pink Bugatti Veyron

Camouflage Rolls-Royce Phantom

World's most expensive home

Chrome Ferrari

Solid gold plated Porsche 911

Modified Rolls Royce Phantom

Burberry Maserati

(Source: Geekologie)

CFA Goodness!

Success! After several months, I've actually signed up and (successfully) signed up for the CFA. That's it. The books are on the way, and my exam is in June 2009. Here's hoping.

Ramadhan Madness

Every year, Muslims around the world go through a month of fasting in observance of their faith. We fast from sunrise to sunset everyday throughout the globe (except the North and South poles). No food or drinking, no ingestion of anything, including smoking, no losing your temper. There are many reasons for this observance, including promoting a healthier lifestyle, teaching patience and understanding, combating greed, and helping Muslims understand what it is to be poor.

As a result of this observance, we get physically tired, and we punish our bodies after sunset when we eat like there's no tomorrow. A common phrase heard after sunset is, "I'm soooooooo full."

A few tips for feeling better during Ramadhan:

1. You can't really go with the 'Don't go food shopping when you're hungry' rule during this period, but be sensible. When you're at your local pasar Ramadhan and shopping, don't buy more than 2 or 3 dishes for yourself. You're not likely to be able to finish it. Remember, during Ramadhan, your stomach shrinks, and you feel full much faster.
2. Be a bit more active at night. Take a walk, swim a bit, or go to the gym for some light exercise. This will work off your bloated feeling. It will also help keep you fit and lose weight.
3. Always drink water after sunset. This is very important in keeping your body hydrated.
4. If you have problems waking up for sahur, then eat sahur before you go to sleep.
5. Stay away from foods full of sodium during sahur, as this will stimulate your stomach enzymes and make you feel hungry when you wake up.
6. Eat plenty of fruits to help keep your body loaded with vitamins.
7. To help keep your energy up, take a nap during your lunch break. After all, you're not eating, right?

Happy fasting.

Polygamy Exploited

I thought the story of the Ethiopian polygamist was bad enough. 11 wives, 77 children, and going bankrupt was the story of the ultimate polygamist. Or so I thought.

And then there was the Malaysian polygamist - a father of 18 who married 3 on a salary of RM1,500 a month, and who managed to get his three wives to come to court and tell the judge that he can marry a fourth.

And now, there's the Nigerian Muslims preacher with 86 wives, 170 kids and plans to have more. From the Reuters: Preacher with 86 wives gets court reprieve:

LAGOS (Reuters) -A Nigerian court has granted temporary reprieve to an 84-year-old Muslim preacher with 86 wives after local leaders threatened to force him to leave the area unless he divorced all but four of them.

Mohammed Bello launched a legal challenge after local chiefs and Muslim leaders in Bida, a town in central Niger state where he lives with his wives and some 170 children, gave him until Sept 7 to comply with Islamic sharia law, which allows a man to have no more than four wives at a time.

Some newspapers said last week that Bello had agreed at a meeting with local officials to divorce all but four of the women and had asked for time to return them to their families.

But his spokesman denied the reports and said the preacher intended to marry more wives instead.

And then there's the 'man drought' that Australia's suffering from. From BBC: Australia suffering 'man drought':

An analysis of new census figures has shown that Australia is suffering from an unprecedented "man drought".

The statistics have revealed that there are almost 100,000 more females than males in Australia.

The problem is worse in the coastal cities, where women have moved seeking better jobs and lifestyles, while many men have gone overseas.

Thirty years ago Australia was with flush with men thanks to immigration policies that favoured males.

That position has been reversed because thousands of Australian men in their 20s and early 30s have gone overseas either to travel or to work.

It has caused a gender imbalance that is having far-reaching implications.

So the three men are maybe just worried about the gender imbalance in their own countries? What is the world coming to, anyway?

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia

You may notice a pretty new picture on the bar. It's a little bit late, but it's not my fault. I've been away, unplugged and uncontactable for 5 weeks. Now that I'm all caught up on current events, I'm proud to display the 'Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia' logo, created by Mob1900.

Yes, I complain; yes, I bitch; and yes, I run away every once in a while; but I've always loved my country. I'm not naive, and I don't believe that Malaysia is perfect or that it doesn't need to get better, but I'm the kind of Malaysian that loves it nonetheless.

I grew up being asked, all the time, "You Chinese or Malay, ah?" Being a mixed breed, I've always had a bit of difficulty answering that. My grandparents on my dad's side are Bugis and Javanese. My grandparents on my mum's side are Eurasian and Chinese. After a while, simply saying "Malay" became easy because I look more Malay. For a while, I tried experimenting with, "I'm Malaysian", but that just earned me confused looks.

For me, the Bangsa Malaysia logo means a little bit more, because it gives me an identity to relate to. For the country, the logo reminds us to pull together during a time when our leaders are falling apart. In the end, we're all just Bangsa Malaysia.

I'm not racist

I make jokes about the Chinese, Indians, Anglo-Saxons and basically just about everybody. But I make them with all the love in the world. I recently got some funny stares from British people when I made a crack about 'white people'. I guess I've always been privileged enough that my family is quite diverse - Chinese mother who obviously came with a Chinese side of the family, British aunt, cousin and granduncle, and later in life, a Chinese sister-in-law and French brother-in-law. I never took racism in Malaysia seriously, because I thought, well we just aren't racist.

Lately I've had to grow up a little bit, thanks to racially-based policies and recent remarks by Malay politicians. Tun M said that Malays are so scared of being labelled racist that they even wrote in Malay newspapers that the Malays are not racist. He says that the Malays have been insulted before without apology from other races (The Star: Dr M: Why must Malay leaders say sorry?). I'm not scared of being called a racist. I didn't make the infamous remark. What I'm scared of is that Malaysians and the rest of the world may mistake the sentiment for something that pervades all Malays. It's not.

The timeline:

• 25 August - Ahmad Ismail, chief of UMNO Bukit Bendera referred to Chinese Malaysians as pendatang (migrants), and was reported to have said:

  "Chinese were only immigrants (Orang Cina cuma tumpang di sini) and it was impossible for them to achieve equal rights among races".

• 27 August - MCA Youth demands an apology.
• 31 August - Pak Lah says he didn't mean it.
• 1 September - DAP assemblyman lodges police report against Ahmad Ismail.
• 2 September - Datuk Seri Najib apologises on behalf of UMNO.
• 4 September - Ahmad Ismail refuses to apologise.
• 6 September - Tun M questions the need for Malays to apologise.
• 6 September - BN leaders sell out Ahmad Ismail.
• 6 September - Journalists who reported the story stand by their original stories.

• 9 September - Ahmad Ismail gives another gem:

“I urge the Chinese not to become like the Jewish in America,where it is not enough that they control the economy, but they also want to dominate politics,” Ahmad told a news conference late Monday in northern Penang state.

"Consider this a warning from the Malays,” Ahmad said. “The patience of the Malays has a limit. Do not push us against the wall, for we will be forced to turn back and push the Chinese for our own survival.”

I get suspicious when things like this aren't reported. The first statement was only reported in Chinese newspapers, which goes to show the chokehold that the government has on the newspapers and just how right wing the English language newspapers are. Regardless of the exposure, the second statement was still only reported in newspapers other than The Star or NST. Matter of fact, a quick Google search tells me that it was picked up by international newspapers including the LA Times, Forbes, Turkish Daily News and ABC News. Congratulations, Malaysia. We've finally become famous.

So what actually happened? Ahmad Ismail says that his speech was taken out of context and he was talking about pre-Merdeka days (The Star: Defiant Ahmad demands apology). It's entirely possible, but not according to the statements by the journalists who were there (The Star: Journalists: We did not hear it wrongly). Then where did the second quote come from? And why did I have to Google it to find it?

Just to be clear, I don't agree with the sentiment. I don't believe the Chinese (or any of Malaysia's minorities) are migrants and should be marginalised. I don't believe that government or economic policies should be racially discriminating. They should discriminate by income. To answer Tun M, we should apologise because the remark is hurtful. It doesn't matter if we've been hurt and they didn't apologise. Apologies are a sign of respect, and respect needs to be earned.

China Killed Paris

The title is probably in bad taste, but I got to work this morning, fired up BBC News and the first thing I see is about the microwave baby killer getting a life sentence. I've heard of the case of the baby being killed in a microwave, but to be honest, I thought it was an urban myth. Like it was on a TV show and people thought it'd actually happened kind of thing. I thought, "surely nobody would be that inhumane". Apparently I was wrong. Regardless of whether China Arnold was guilty or innocent, someone just pulled humanity to new lows.

Source: BBC News: Life for microwave baby killer.

Now Everybody Can Blog

The ever-enigmatic and eloquent Dato' Tony Fernandes has joined the blogosphere. That's right. Check out his blog at http://www.tonyfernandesblog.com. It seems that he's only had it up for less than 2 weeks, and he's already been inundated with comments. Surprisingly, he hasn't been flamed by anyone yet. I bet this doesn't hold out.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what he has to say on his blog (though I doubt it will foray into the political sphere, or anything controversial for that matter), as he's a very relevant entrepreneur to the Malaysian business environment.