The Line

That is where the line is. You have crossed it. From The Star: Activist held under ISA over demolition of squatter colony:

JOHOR BARU: A woman has been arrested for allegedly disseminating false information concerning the demolition of a squatter colony in Kampung Baru Plentong Tengah.

The 28-year-old, who is a member of human rights group Suaram, was picked up at 10pm last night under Section 28 of the Internal Security Act.

www.FreeRice.com

I donated 1,940 grains of rice today (and counting). What have you done?

http://www.freerice.com

Blog Action Day: Poverty

Today is Blog Action Day, a day dedicated by bloggers worldwide to discuss an issue pertinent to the global environment. The issue du jour is poverty, a very real threat to civilised society, because how can we call ourselves civilised when every 1 minute, 11 children die of hunger.

I won't suggest a solution to world hunger, or a solution to the downsides of capitalism. I can't lead you in an intellectual discussion on the problems with the world governments. I won't try and get you to give up your life to help others. In today's economic environment, I think it's more important for you to make sure your own livelihood is in check.

What I can do is suggest small, doable ways through which Malaysians can help the extreme and hardcore poor:

1. Free Rice is a website that donates rice for every click of your mouse. It's not a gimmick. I've checked it out. It's for real.


2. World Vision. For RM50 per month, less than an Astro subscription, you can help provide a child with much needed meals and help him/her get through school by sponsoring a child. You never know. Your child could become a doctor or a teacher.


3. Hati is a website that lists non-profitable organisations in Malaysia. Help these organisations by sponsoring school books. Some organisations help their boarders make a living by collecting items such as old newspapers or electronics and making them into new products to be sold. Message me for more information on this.

These ways of helping are simple and don't take very much time out of your day or very much money out of your pocket. They're not mutually exclusive, and doing all 3 would be a fantastic effort on your part. Think about how much you can do in a few minutes.

Dear World

Dear Malaysian politicians,

Re: Malaysian politics

We would appreciate it if you stopped bickering amongst yourselves and got on with it. Also, we would appreciate it if you stopped putting citizens away for speaking their mind. If there weren't an element of truth in the words, you wouldn't be scared.

Sincerely,

A Malaysian citizen.

Dear Malays,

Re: Racial issues

Just because one race is standing up for their rights, it doesn't mean that they're taking away yours. It means that they want what's best for their people - to give their kids the best opportunities possible. Providing financial assistance based on race is not only unfair, it creates a maze of bureaucracy that prevents the truly needy to benefit from the financial aid programme.

Sincerely,

A Bumiputra.

Dear American politicians,

Re: Candidates for Presidency

Please stop electing your VPs based on looks and gossip-column attraction. It's very distracting.

Sincerely,

A citizen of the world.

Dear Malaysians,

Re: American politics

Please stop spending so much time analysing the American political arena. Our own politicians need to be whipped in shape first, and it doesn't matter which American is elected because you'll still get the chance to whine, bitch and complain about them.

Sincerely,

A Watcher.

Spermicide!

The word 'spermicide' always makes me think of a cartoon-like sperm saying, "I can't take it anymore. I just can't!" before ramming itself into a uterus wall. As sad as it sounds, dying sperms make some women happy, and apparently Deborah Anderson (not the musician) has found a cheap way to not only kill sperms, but also prevent AIDS - using Coca-Cola. From Reuters: Spermicide Coke, stale chips research wins Ig Nobels:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A researcher who figured out that Coke explodes sperm and scientists who discovered that people will happily eat stale chips if they crunch loudly enough won alternative "Ig Nobel" prizes Thursday.

Other winners included physicists who found out that anything that can tangle, will tangle and a team of biologists who ascertained that dog fleas jump farther than cat fleas.

Deborah Anderson of Boston University Medical Center and colleagues were awarded the chemistry prize for a 1985 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that found Coca-Cola kills sperm.

She said she was serious in testing the soft drink because women were using it in a douche as a contraceptive and, later, to try to protect themselves from the AIDS virus.

"It definitely wouldn't work as a contraceptive because sperm swims so fast," Anderson said. But Coke made with sugar quickly kills sperm, she said, probably because sperm soak it up. "The sperm just kind of explode," she said in a telephone interview.

It kills the AIDS virus too, she said.

Really? Usually I'm inclined to believe people who work in universities who win awards, but a quick Google search has made me think twice. Snopes has concluded through its own research that Coke as a spermicide is ineffective. From Snopes: Coca-Cola Spermicide:

However, other researchers were unable to verify these results in later experiments. Subsequent trials performed by medical researchers in Taiwan (using several vari[e]ties of both Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola) led them to the opposite conclusion, that "cola has little if any spermicidal effect"[.]

So what's the deal? Isn't it a little irresponsible to say Coke works as a spermicide and prevents AIDS when it's inconclusive? I can see the headlines for the next 10 years: "Teen pregnancy caused by ineffective spermicide; Coca-Cola sued."

Apparently these Taiwanese researchers were trying to recreate an experiment conducted by Harvard researchers. Maybe Coke as a spermicide only works in America?