The Malaysian not there yet

I don't think there are very many, if any, Malaysians who actually believe that there is true racial integration in the country.

The survey mentioned in the following article confirms what most Malaysians know for a fact - there is no such thing as The Malaysian.

I am surprised, though, of all the ethnic groups surveyed, the Indians came out the most integrated. 75% saw themselves as Malaysians first and only 22% of them think that they should help their own race first before others. I am very impressed by this finding of the Indian community considering the fact that the vast majority of the Indian population in Malaysia has such a small share of the economic pie.

I am sure many of us have our theories/reasons as to why Malaysians, in general, cannot identify themselves as Malaysians first before their religion or race.

The main reason that comes to mind is the race preferential policies (or put negatively, government endorsed racial discriminatory policies) of the government. It cannot be denied that there are quotas given, or lack thereof, to each ethnic group when it comes to government jobs, scholarships, government contracts, low cost housing, university admisssions and the list goes on. You and I know who the full beneficiaries are.

It is virtually impossible to remove race preferential policies once they are in place. You would think that in a country like America, such a policy would not exist but you would be so wrong! Affirmative action, put in place to help the minority groups in America, has become a political football. The term "minority" is misleading in the context of affirmative action in America. Asians, eventhough a minority group, does not get to enjoy the benefits of affirmative action. Anyway, long story for another time.

Just how does a government detemine when the playing field is level? The NEP's objective was to have at least 30% bumiputra participation in the economy, and 35 years on, just how much has been achieved? At this rate the NEP, by whatever name, will never become obsolete. The government can remove whatever hurdle to help a particular race achieve economic success, but government intervention can backfire leading to economic inefficiencies, increase in national debt, increase in poverty levels of other racial groups etc.

What is the point of this whole diatribe, one might ask? That as long as there is inequality between the races, inequality that is endorsed and advanced by the government, a true Malaysian identity is not going to happen anytime soon.

~~~~~~~~

The Star Online > By DHARMENDER SINGH

Friday July 21, 2006

PETALING JAYA: A national survey has found that racial integration is still not yet a reality.

The survey, conducted by the Merdeka Centre for Opinion Research, found that the majority of respondents still identified themselves according to their race and religion.

When asked what they considered themselves to be first, 61% of the Malays surveyed gave their religion as the answer, while 28% said Malaysian. Interestingly, only 5% gave ethnicity as the answer.

As for the Chinese, 47% gave their ethnicity as the answer while 44% answered Malaysian. Only 5% gave their religion as the answer.

Of the Indians surveyed, 75% saw themselves as Malaysians, 14% by their ethnicity and 5% by their religion.

The survey, entitled National Youth Opinion Poll on Civic Engagement, involved 1,505 Malaysians aged between 18 and 32.

Of those surveyed, 52% were Malays, 20% Chinese, 8% Indians, 8% natives of Sabah and Sarawak and 2% others. There were 748 male and 757 female respondents.

The answers were obtained via telephone interviews over a one-month period.

When presented the statement "One's responsibility should first begin by helping members of one's ethnic group before helping others in society", 63% of the Malay respondents agreed, as did 44% of the Chinese and 22% of the Indian respondents.

However, on questions related to the future of Malaysian society, the survey found that the majority felt that Malaysians of various ethnic backgrounds were "coming closer together" rather than moving apart.

When asked specifically what their expectations of Malaysian society were, 43% said they desired a society where the various races and cultures were treated equally, 27% wanted a more democratic society, 18% wanted a society where Islam played a bigger role and 6% said they wanted a Malay-dominant society.

On the issue of morality, 62% said they wanted the Government to regulate it.

In terms of ethnic breakdown, 73% of Malays and 67% of Indians wanted morality. As for the Chinese, the majority surveyed favoured morality being self-regulated or by the family.

The survey also found that Malaysian youth were also not as uncaring as assumed to be.

When asked whether they were concerned about the problems in their immediate community, 71% said they were.

This, however, did not necessarily translate to action because 59% of the respondents had never taken part in any community service or any volunteer activity.

Announcing the results of the survey yesterday, Merdeka Centre programmes director Ibrahim Suffian said the organisation conducted the survey to understand the perception of young Malaysians of society and how they related to issues and concerns affecting the country.

P.S. Malaysian newspapers do not make their articles available online after a number of days, therefore I have chosen to quote whole cloth articles I use in my entries.

Third World Impression

I found this picture on The Star's Citizen's Blog posted by a blogger called aleslpy. He thinks that the motorcyclist is being irresponsible. That may be so, but the thing that comes to my mind is that this picture is a reminder that Malaysia is a third world country, despite the claim to being a developing country.

I lived in Vietnam for 2 years in the mid 90s, and several people on a motorcyle was a common sight. In fact, it was one of the more amusing sights when I first arrived in the country. The motorcycle is used to transport all kinds of things, and the Vietnamese are ingenious enough to rig their motorcycles in such a way that they can be used to transport the most unlikely things .. a slaughtered pig, stacks of baskets, a refrigerator etc.

In the last several years the sight of more than 2 persons on a motorcycle is becoming common in Malaysia. My conclusion is that either more people can afford motorcycles and therefore choose to take their family on the motorcycle rather than take the bus, or there are more poor people living in the major towns who can only afford to own a motorcycle.

It bothers me a lot when I see young children riding pillon on motorcycles, and especially the sight of a mother with a baby riding pillon. I know to them the motorcycle is most convenient but it is not necessarily the safest mode of transportation especially on busy roads.

In America, motorcycles with small engines are not even allowed on the highways. As it is, there is an increase in road fatalities involving motorcycles. Riding big bikes is getting to be a popular sport among people, both young and old.

I think Malaysia needs to do more to improve public transportation so that people do not need to resort to transporting their whole family on a motorcycle. And also, the prices of cars need to be lowered a lot more from their present inflated prices so that more people can afford cars. Cars are no longer a luxury, they are a necessity. The prices of used cars in Malaysia are simply ridiculous! The prices should at least be within reach of the lower income group, and I am not even talking about junky cars.

In the World But Not of the World

A few weeks ago, I received a letter of solicitation from People for the American Way (PFAW), a liberal interest group. If you visit their website, they proclaim loudly that they are for defending democracy.

What they actually are, is clear to me. They are anti-Christian, especially what they call the Religious Right. They say they are for "respect for individual liberty, celebration of diversity, religious freedom, love of country and reverence for the democratic institutions" but their actions belie their words. What they are for, one might find in a socialist party manifesto.

Christian personalities like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson are considered intolerant and religious extremists. People for the American Way feel threatened by the Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, Traditional Values Coalition, and the American Center for Law and Justice.

Why do PFAW feel threatened by such groups? Because they know that the majority of the population believe in the values espoused by such groups, and as such PFAW can only demonize those groups in order to advance their liberal beliefs and values. PFAW decry intolerance and bigotry, yet by their very actions against people of faith and people who hold traditional moral values, they are the very thing they charged others with.

As a Christian I am not at all surprised that groups like PFAW hate what Christians stand for. The words of John 15 have never been so true.

John 15:18-19 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

What the world holds dear are opposite to what the Christian is focused on. The Christian has an eternal perspective, and looks beyond what the trends are in the world today. Christians are called to be "in the world but not of the world" .

And as such, should Christians be exempted from participating in public discourse especially about the direction the nation is heading? I think not. Christians are to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13) and we can only do that if we influence society and not the other way round. We can do that by standing up to Biblical truths, and emphasizing Christian morality. If we fail to do this then we are as good as surrendering ourselves to the church of secular humanism which is prevalent in our society today.

Another Talent Show

After American Idol ended, there was nothing left worth watching on TV, that is, not until America's Got Talent! This is one strange show, and just how do you choose between the different talents with kids, adults and animals competing together!? Comedy acts, acrobatics, dancing, singing, magic show etc?!

But I did find two young people very impressive. The talented 11-year-old Bianca Ryan with her powerful voice, and the younger of the Miller Brothers and his harmonica.

Also, the Quick Change Artists were fantastic. I wonder what else they can do to top that!

Watch these videos and judge for yourself!

Liberal Christianity

The following article reminds me why I do not go to an Episcopalian (Anglican) church here in the US. I was raised Anglican but the majority of the Anglican churches in the US are practising liberal theology.

I live in an area that is under the see of the Diocese of Sacramento, and this diocese is well known for its liberal and pro-gay agenda .. a no no for me.

I am, however, heartened to hear that the more bible-based Anglican churches in the US, like the one in Plano, Texas are thriving and growing in membership.

Christians are called to be in the world but not of the world. A church that does not adhere to biblical orthordoxy, and can't even acknowledge the Trinity or the Divinity of Jesus Chrisit is no church at all.

~~~~~~~~

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-allen9jul09,0,2668973.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins

Out-of-the-mainstream beliefs about gay marriage and supposedly sexist doctrines are gutting old-line faiths.

By Charlotte Allen
CHARLOTTE ALLEN is Catholicism editor for Beliefnet and the author of "The Human Christ: The Search for the Historical Jesus."

July 9, 2006

The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.

Embraced by the leadership of all the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as large segments of American Catholicism, liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church.

Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, all the mainline churches and movements within churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are demographically declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating.

It is not entirely coincidental that at about the same time that Episcopalians, at their general convention in Columbus, Ohio, were thumbing their noses at a directive from the worldwide Anglican Communion that they "repent" of confirming the openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire three years ago, the Presbyterian Church USA, at its general assembly in Birmingham, Ala., was turning itself into the laughingstock of the blogosphere by tacitly approving alternative designations for the supposedly sexist Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Among the suggested names were "Mother, Child and Womb" and "Rock, Redeemer and Friend." Moved by the spirit of the Presbyterian revisionists, Beliefnet blogger Rod Dreher held a "Name That Trinity" contest. Entries included "Rock, Scissors and Paper" and "Larry, Curly and Moe."

Following the Episcopalian lead, the Presbyterians also voted to give local congregations the freedom to ordain openly cohabiting gay and lesbian ministers and endorsed the legalization of medical marijuana. (The latter may be a good idea, but it is hard to see how it falls under the theological purview of a Christian denomination.)

The Presbyterian Church USA is famous for its 1993 conference, cosponsored with the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and other mainline churches, in which participants "reimagined" God as "Our Maker Sophia" and held a feminist-inspired "milk and honey" ritual designed to replace traditional bread-and-wine Communion.

As if to one-up the Presbyterians in jettisoning age-old elements of Christian belief, the Episcopalians at Columbus overwhelmingly refused even to consider a resolution affirming that Jesus Christ is Lord. When a Christian church cannot bring itself to endorse a bedrock Christian theological statement repeatedly found in the New Testament, it is not a serious Christian church. It's a Church of What's Happening Now, conferring a feel-good imprimatur on whatever the liberal elements of secular society deem permissible or politically correct.

You want to have gay sex? Be a female bishop? Change God's name to Sophia? Go ahead. The just-elected Episcopal presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, is a one-woman combination of all these things, having voted for Robinson, blessed same-sex couples in her Nevada diocese, prayed to a female Jesus at the Columbus convention and invited former Newark, N.J., bishop John Shelby Spong, famous for denying Christ's divinity, to address her priests.

When a church doesn't take itself seriously, neither do its members. It is hard to believe that as recently as 1960, members of mainline churches — Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and the like — accounted for 40% of all American Protestants. Today, it's more like 12% (17 million out of 135 million). Some of the precipitous decline is due to lower birthrates among the generally blue-state mainliners, but it also is clear that millions of mainline adherents (and especially their children) have simply walked out of the pews never to return. According to the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, in 1965, there were 3.4 million Episcopalians; now, there are 2.3 million. The number of Presbyterians fell from 4.3 million in 1965 to 2.5 million today. Compare that with 16 million members reported by the Southern Baptists.

When your religion says "whatever" on doctrinal matters, regards Jesus as just another wise teacher, refuses on principle to evangelize and lets you do pretty much what you want, it's a short step to deciding that one of the things you don't want to do is get up on Sunday morning and go to church.

It doesn't help matters that the mainline churches were pioneers in ordaining women to the clergy, to the point that 25% of all Episcopal priests these days are female, as are 29% of all Presbyterian pastors, according to the two churches. A causal connection between a critical mass of female clergy and a mass exodus from the churches, especially among men, would be difficult to establish, but is it entirely a coincidence? Sociologist Rodney Stark ("The Rise of Christianity") and historian Philip Jenkins ("The Next Christendom") contend that the more demands, ethical and doctrinal, that a faith places upon its adherents, the deeper the adherents' commitment to that faith. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, which preach biblical morality, have no trouble saying that Jesus is Lord, and they generally eschew women's ordination. The churches are growing robustly, both in the United States and around the world.

Despite the fact that median Sunday attendance at Episcopal churches is 80 worshipers, the Episcopal Church, as a whole, is financially equipped to carry on for some time, thanks to its inventory of vintage real estate and huge endowments left over from the days (no more!) when it was the Republican Party at prayer. Furthermore, it has offset some of its demographic losses by attracting disaffected liberal Catholics and gays and lesbians. The less endowed Presbyterian Church USA is in deeper trouble. Just before its general assembly in Birmingham, it announced that it would eliminate 75 jobs to meet a $9.15-million budget cut at its headquarters, the third such round of job cuts in four years.

The Episcopalians have smells, bells, needlework cushions and colorfully garbed, Catholic-looking bishops as draws, but who, under the present circumstances, wants to become a Presbyterian?

Still, it must be galling to Episcopal liberals that many of the parishes and dioceses (including that of San Joaquin, Calif.) that want to pull out of the Episcopal Church USA are growing instead of shrinking, have live people in the pews who pay for the upkeep of their churches and don't have to rely on dead rich people. The 21-year-old Christ Church Episcopal in Plano, Texas, for example, is one of the largest Episcopal churches in the country. Its 2,200 worshipers on any given Sunday are about equal to the number of active Episcopalians in Jefferts Schori's entire Nevada diocese.

It's no surprise that Christ Church, like the other dissident parishes, preaches a very conservative theology. Its break from the national church came after Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Anglican Communion, proposed a two-tier membership in which the Episcopal Church USA and other churches that decline to adhere to traditional biblical standards would have "associate" status in the communion. The dissidents hope to retain full communication with Canterbury by establishing oversight by non-U.S. Anglican bishops.

As for the rest of the Episcopalians, the phrase "deck chairs on the Titanic" comes to mind. A number of liberal Episcopal websites are devoted these days to dissing Peter Akinola, outspoken primate of the Anglican diocese of Nigeria, who, like the vast majority of the world's 77 million Anglicans reported by the Anglican Communion, believes that "homosexual practice" is "incompatible with Scripture" (those words are from the communion's 1998 resolution at the Lambeth conference of bishops). Akinola might have the numbers on his side, but he is now the Voldemort — no, make that the Karl Rove — of the U.S. Episcopal world. Other liberals fume over a feeble last-minute resolution in Columbus calling for "restraint" in consecrating bishops whose lifestyle might offend "the wider church" — a resolution immediately ignored when a second openly cohabitating gay man was nominated for bishop of Newark.

So this is the liberal Christianity that was supposed to be the Christianity of the future: disarray, schism, rapidly falling numbers of adherents, a collapse of Christology and national meetings that rival those of the Modern Language Assn. for their potential for cheap laughs. And they keep telling the Catholic Church that it had better get with the liberal program — ordain women, bless gay unions and so forth — or die. Sure.

Copyright 2006 Los Angeles Times |

9/11 Conspiracies

In the US we call those folks who believe in all kinds of conspiracies especially those about the government as the "black helicopter crowd".

I am sure most of you have heard of theories with regards to the events of 9/11 ... the Jews were behind the plane crashes on the twin towers, the Bush administration blew up the Pentagon themselves, CNN did not report the whole truth about the 9/11 events etc etc. :-)

There are many sites on the internet with their theories about what "really" happened on 9/11 and there are also sites that debunk the theories. Here's one site that has the most loony theories put together on one page. :-)

The most controversial of the events of 9/11 is on what actually happened to the Pentagon. I found the following video clip via Little Green Footballs. Anyone with some shred of common sense can readily see for himself/herself that the computer simulation presents the most likely sequence of events that happened at the Pentagon that day.

But then again not everyone is going to readily believe this video clip as attested by the comments found on You Tube where the video is posted. There are believers of these conspiracies in places as far flung as Malaysia. So what else is new, eh?

Talk Radio

I have mentioned it several times on my blog that I enjoy listening to conservative talk radio. I had to listen to less of talk radio for a while because I was under some kind of stress and listening to talk radio did not help my stress level at all! :-)

Anyway, I am back to listening to talk radio full time and one of my favorite talk show hosts, is Mark Levin.

When I first heard Mark Levin on Sean Hannity's show, I thought he was an elderly man. He has the kind of voice that elderly people have, and he is only 48 years old!

I enjoy listening to Mark Levin because he is a very smart guy and very, very sharp. His irreverence is also one of the things that I find very attractive. He calls Hillary Clinton "Her Thighness", the New Times, "New York Slime" and other politicians all kinds of names.

I don't see Malaysia having this kind of talk shows, which is a pity. I am sure there are Malaysians who will say that this kind of talk radio is not good for a multi-racial, multi-religious country, but hey, that is what free speech is all about. Especially the freedom to speak about our government, good or bad.

Here's a sample of the first segment of today's second hour of the Mark Levin show.

The Mark Levin Show - Mark Levin

Happy July 4th

Here's a video clip accompanied by Ray Charles' rendition of America the Beautiful to help celebrate today, America's Independence Day.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness.

America! America!
God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes prov'd
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life.

America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears.

America! America!
God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.

Lyrics by Kathy Lee Bates
Music: Originally sung to 'Auld Lang Syne, & any other popular or folk tune that fit the lyrics. Commonly song now with music "Materna," composed by Samuel A. Ward in 1882, 10 years before lyrics/poem were written.

The Size of the USA's economy

I read with interest The Sun's article, which appeard on Malaysia Today, where Tun Mahathir called the USA a "bankrupt country" because of its double trade and budget deficit . That resulted in a lively discussion among the readers of Malaysia Today.

The size of the US's economy is hard to comprehend because it is in the trillion of dollars. I came across this interesting tidbit of information on National Review's July 3rd, 2006 edition. Look at the chart and maybe we can begin to understand a little what the size of the USA's economy is.

~ ~ ~

The American Colossus, in Perspective

One of the problems with economics is that the numbers involved are just too big. A trillion here, a billion there, who can keep track of it all? U.S. nominal GDP was about $13 trillion in the first quarter of this year. Corporate profits were about $1.6 trillion. The mind freezes just trying to think about such numbers.

Because of that, news reports tend to focus on the changes. Real GDP grew 5.3 percent in the first quarter. That’s the kind of number that one can easily digest. But the levels contain enormously important meaning. If one wants to put the U.S. place in history and geopolitics in perspective, then one must start by understanding the significance of our economic scale. If the global economic competition were a basketball game, then the U.S. would be Shaquille O’Neal, and all of the other players would be dwarves.

The accompanying chart illustrates the point. The United States is a giant. Its GDP is roughly comparable to that of Japan, Germany, the U.K., and France combined. But the really striking thing is that the U.S. is so prosperous and productive that many of its cities have larger economies than whole countries.

In 2005, for instance, the New York metropolitan area alone out-produced all but eight countries. Russia, on an economic roll because of its massive oil wealth, has a much smaller economy than New York.

Los Angeles topped both Belgium and the Netherlands. The annual production of our nation’s capital was almost identical to that of Poland. The Iranians are certainly causing political problems for the West. Their nuclear development has tied our diplomats in knots. Their threats move oil prices. In terms of purchasing power, however, they are Lilliputians. Even with all of their oil wealth, the Iranians have about the same size economy as Detroit. And Iran is relatively wealthy in its part of the world. Pakistan has about the same economic heft as Cleveland. If you could convince someone to give you the economy of Milwaukee in exchange for that of Kuwait, you would come out ahead (and have a beer to toast your good fortune).

Given these numbers, it’s odd that Americans would be, as sentiment indicators imply they are, so down in the dumps. Economic growth has been good, but the economic levels are stunning.



And why are they so good? Compounding is, as Einstein mused, the most powerful force in the universe. The U.S. is so wealthy because we saw the benefits of free markets long before most others. The result has been two centuries of almost uninterrupted growth. Inching ever upward while others stagnated, we are the earth’s colossus.

— KEVIN A. HASSETT

Yahoo Answers

When I first started participating in forums, I was really into it, but now ... heheh, the enthusiasm is waning off. It has been a while since I looked into Comeherelah, RumahDayak, and MyBuddies.

Have you checked out Yahoo Answers? I think there are some really interesting topics out there but at the same time there are some weird people there asking their provocative questions.

I got into Yahoo Answers when I asked about posting something in French in Blogger. The French language accents did not come out right once my post was published. I got one reply, and the guy happened to be a French language teacher at a school in Illinois. He posted something in French in his blog and told me that it came out alright. Later I discovered the problem I had was related to the template I was using. That was how Pemerindang Ati ended up with a new template! :-)

Anyway, back to Yahoo Answers. I looked at the topics under Religion and Spirituality, and you can just imagine the sort of questions and answers you get under this section. Discussing religion always provokes all kinds of reactions. The non-religious bashing the religious, the Christians bashing the Muslims, the athiests bashing the Christians etc ... definitely not for the easily offended!

I don't know about the others on Yahoo Answers, but this thing can be quite addicting! Somehow or other, you just feel like you have to answer some of the questions that are posed! I have answered questions relating to NBA players, World Cup, and miscellaneous questions on religion. Haha.

Another thing, there is the points system that Yahoo has for participants, and the highlighting of particular participants in the Yahoo Answers Team blog. I guess that is some sort of an incentive for the participants. Not that the points collected mean anything but for some who are competitive, who knows what it does to the ego! But to those who really know the answers to the questions that are brought up, it is just wonderful to know that there are people out there sharing their experiences.

I don't know, I just feel that Yahoo Answers has a lot more going for them than some of the forums .. no offence to forummers! Heheh.

TuneBase™ FM for iPod

I was at Costco last weekend with Doug and the kids The primary objective was to look at the swing set available there and compare the product with the ones available at Toy'S'rus.

While there I saw the TuneBase™ FM for iPod. Wow, that would be neat to have, and imagine being able to listen to your iPod via your car radio. I don't like to have the ear buds speakers in my ears while I am with other people .. it is so anti-social! :-)

Anyway, I tested the TuneBase FM on my car radio and it sounded fine .. a little staticky but the problem was resolved when I turned on the mono feature ... for listening to stuff that is not music, setting the sound to mono is preferable.

As for the swing set, we didn't get the one at Costco because the alternative at Toy'S'rus was $300 cheaper. We picked up the one at Toy'S'rus that evening. The swing set is still the box .. we still need to get the area where we want to put it ready. Right now the weeds in the backyard are dry and there are stickers there. More work needs to be done!

The stuff on my iPod

I'm really enjoying my iPod especially with my Beginner French lessons. :-) Comment ça va? Heheh, how are you?

When I am doing the dishes, and there is nothing worth listening to on Talk Radio, I listen to my French lessons. I can't seem to get beyond Lesson Five though. :-( Not only do I have to remember how the words are pronounced, I have to remember how the words are spelled as well. The French language is not an easy language to learn. The singular and plural forms of verbs or nouns sound the same and as such one of the first things a beginner needs to learn is to learn to listen in context.

The beauty of a lesson on podcast is that it can be replayed over and over again without having to rewind anything as one would with a cassette! Cassettes are becoming obsolete. My car does not even have a cassette player, only a CD player and of course a radio.

I appreciate folks who put out things on the internet for free like the folks on The French Ecole. I'm sure it is quite time consuming to draw up the lessons and produce the podcasts, and yet they are doing it for free. All they ask is that those who use their podcasts vote for their podcast on Podcast Alley. I haven't done that, but I will because I am benefitting so much from their work.

I also listen to Christian programs on my iPod. I especially like teachings by Dr Erwin Lutzer of The Moody Church in Chicago. He is a very dynamic teacher. I also enjoy Focus on the Family a ministry of Dr James Dobson. So many practical insights on marriage, parenting, and culture can be learnt on this program.

I have subscribed to more than one audio Bible podcasts. I have decided on the one that I find most pleasant to listen to, and later I will unsubscribed the others.

There are so many interesting stuff on podcasts ... and so little time. :-)

The Da Vinci Code Delusion

The Da Vinci Delusion documentary is designed to answer questions introduced by the “Da Vinci Code” book. This 48 minute documentary focuses on the fundamental flaws found in Dan Brown's book with respect to the following: - Jesus as a historical figure - Are the canonical gospels accurate historical documents - What about the “Gnostic Gospels” - What about historical claims made by The Da Vinci Code?

Now, discover the truth! Unlock the secrets behind the DaVinci Code that others want left in the dark. Come face-to-face with the cultural implications of Dan Brown's best selling novel and decide for yourself. Who is Jesus? Is the Christian Bible reliable as an accurate historical account? The DaVinci Delusion is a thoughtful, hard-hitting documentary that is guaranteed to help you answer all the questions that you've been left wondering about.

Climate Change Scare

Time Magazine had an issue called Be Worried. Be Very Worried. Al Gore has a movie, An Inconvenient Truth. Former President Bill Clinton even claims that the Republican Party's environmental policies are going to lead to more hurricanes.

We read and hear so much of the hysteria over global warming/climate change. What we hardly ever hear is that when it comes to earth's climate there is not much that man can do to alter it. Man may affect it a little but change? Earth has gone through cold and hot cycles throughout its life without man having to lift a finger.

The following column on CanadaFreePress, expresses the sentiments of a lot of people who don't buy into the climate change hysteria.

*********

"The Inconvenient Truth" is indeed inconvenient to alarmists
By Tom Harris
Monday, June 12, 2006

"Scientists have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it," Al Gore sensibly asserts in his film "An Inconvenient Truth", showing at Cumberland 4 Cinemas in Toronto since Jun 2. With that outlook in mind, what do world climate experts actually think about the science of his movie?

Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University, in Australia gives what, for many Canadians, is a surprising assessment: "Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

But surely Carter is merely part of what most people regard as a tiny cadre of "climate change skeptics" who disagree with the "vast majority of scientists" Gore cites?

No; Carter is one of hundreds of highly qualified non-governmental, non-industry, non-lobby group climate experts who contest the hypothesis that human emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing significant global climate change. "Climate experts" is the operative term here. Why? Because what Gore's "majority of scientists" think is immaterial when only a very small fraction of them actually work in the climate field.

Even among that fraction, many focus their studies on the impacts of climate change; biologists, for example, who study everything from insects to polar bears to poison ivy. "While many are highly skilled researchers, they generally do not have special knowledge about the causes of global climate change," explains former University of Winnipeg climatology professor Dr. Tim Ball. "They usually can tell us only about the effects of changes in the local environment where they conduct their studies."

This is highly valuable knowledge, but doesn't make them climate change cause experts, only climate impact experts.

So we have a smaller fraction.

But it becomes smaller still. Among experts who actually examine the causes of change on a global scale, many concentrate their research on designing and enhancing computer models of hypothetical futures. "These models have been consistently wrong in all their scenarios," asserts Ball. "Since modelers concede computer outputs are not "predictions" but are in fact merely scenarios, they are negligent in letting policy-makers and the public think they are actually making forecasts."

We should listen most to scientists who use real data to try to understand what nature is actually telling us about the causes and extent of global climate change. In this relatively small community, there is no consensus, despite what Gore and others would suggest.

Here is a small sample of the side of the debate we almost never hear:

Appearing before the Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development last year, Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson testified, "There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth's temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years." Patterson asked the committee, "On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century's modest warming?"

Patterson concluded his testimony by explaining what his research and "hundreds of other studies" reveal: on all time scales, there is very good correlation between Earth's temperature and natural celestial phenomena such changes in the brightness of the Sun.

Dr. Boris Winterhalter, former marine researcher at the Geological Survey of Finland and professor in marine geology, University of Helsinki, takes apart Gore's dramatic display of Antarctic glaciers collapsing into the sea. "The breaking glacier wall is a normally occurring phenomenon which is due to the normal advance of a glacier," says Winterhalter. "In Antarctica the temperature is low enough to prohibit melting of the ice front, so if the ice is grounded, it has to break off in beautiful ice cascades. If the water is deep enough icebergs will form."

Dr. Wibjörn Karlén, emeritus professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden, admits, "Some small areas in the Antarctic Peninsula have broken up recently, just like it has done back in time. The temperature in this part of Antarctica has increased recently, probably because of a small change in the position of the low pressure systems."

But Karlén clarifies that the 'mass balance' of Antarctica is positive - more snow is accumulating than melting off. As a result, Ball explains, there is an increase in the 'calving' of icebergs as the ice dome of Antarctica is growing and flowing to the oceans. When Greenland and Antarctica are assessed together, "their mass balance is considered to possibly increase the sea level by 0.03 mm/year - not much of an effect," Karlén concludes.

The Antarctica has survived warm and cold events over millions of years. A meltdown is simply not a realistic scenario in the foreseeable future.

Gore tells us in the film, "Starting in 1970, there was a precipitous drop-off in the amount and extent and thickness of the Arctic ice cap." This is misleading, according to Ball: "The survey that Gore cites was a single transect across one part of the Arctic basin in the month of October during the 1960s when we were in the middle of the cooling period. The 1990 runs were done in the warmer month of September, using a wholly different technology."

Karlén explains that a paper published in 2003 by University of Alaska professor Igor Polyakov shows that, the region of the Arctic where rising temperature is supposedly endangering polar bears showed fluctuations since 1940 but no overall temperature rise. "For several published records it is a decrease for the last 50 years," says Karlén

Dr. Dick Morgan, former advisor to the World Meteorological Organization and climatology researcher at University of Exeter, U.K. gives the details, "There has been some decrease in ice thickness in the Canadian Arctic over the past 30 years but no melt down. The Canadian Ice Service records show that from 1971-1981 there was average, to above average, ice thickness. From 1981-1982 there was a sharp decrease of 15% but there was a quick recovery to average, to slightly above average, values from 1983-1995. A sharp drop of 30% occurred again 1996-1998 and since then there has been a steady increase to reach near normal conditions since 2001."

Concerning Gore's beliefs about worldwide warming, Morgan points out that, in addition to the cooling in the NW Atlantic, massive areas of cooling are found in the North and South Pacific Ocean; the whole of the Amazon Valley; the north coast of South America and the Caribbean; the eastern Mediterranean, Black Sea, Caucasus and Red Sea; New Zealand and even the Ganges Valley in India. Morgan explains, "Had the IPCC used the standard parameter for climate change (the 30 year average) and used an equal area projection, instead of the Mercator (which doubled the area of warming in Alaska, Siberia and the Antarctic Ocean) warming and cooling would have been almost in balance."

Gore's point that 200 cities and towns in the American West set all time high temperature records is also misleading according to Dr. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. "It is not unusual for some locations, out of the thousands of cities and towns in the U.S., to set all-time records," he says. "The actual data shows that overall, recent temperatures in the U.S. were not unusual."

Carter does not pull his punches about Gore's activism, "The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science."

In April sixty of the world's leading experts in the field asked Prime Minister Harper to order a thorough public review of the science of climate change, something that has never happened in Canada. Considering what's at stake - either the end of civilization, if you believe Gore, or a waste of billions of dollars, if you believe his opponents - it seems like a reasonable request.

Tom Harris is mechanical engineer and Ottawa Director of High Park Group, a public affairs and public policy company. He can be reached at letters@canadafreepress.com

iPod

I just got myself a new toy, a 30 gb iPod with video playback. :-) I have been thinking about getting myself an mp3 player for quite a while now, and Doug even told me he already had in mind what he would get for me.

After doing some research and reading reviews on the various mp3 players out there I settled for the iPod with video playback, instead of the one Doug had intended to get for me.

I use my iPod mainly for listening to sermons, and other christian related podcasts to which I have subscribed. And some of them are video podcasts, so the iPod with video playback was the best choice for me.

My favorite christian site for mp3 downloads is Oneplace. There are other sites too but the ones I am interested in are found on this site.

I am also looking at audio books, and still looking for the cheapest audio bible. :-) There are some sites that offer free audio bible, but in the King James Version? No, thank you! Heheh.

There's only one thing though, when it comes to the iPod. It doesn't seem to last very long, from all accounts. I'd hate to think that my iPod will only be good for a few years (if it lasts that long!), and then, I'd have to find a replacement. :-( That would be a bummer.

A Piece of Home

A few days ago, I was talking to my mother on the phone. She talked about the places they (my parents and two brothers' families) had visited while they were in Saratok over the Gawai holidays. One of the places was Lubok Antu, and while there my brothers bought themselves a parabolic dish each.

That got me to thinking. How wonderful it would be if I was able to have such a parabolic dish and that dish would be able to intercept tv programs from Malaysia. Well of course Malaysia and the US are on different hemispheres, and unless it is a subscription based tv package watching Malaysian tv would be quite impossible.

It suddenly struck me. I have not been to visit RTM's website in something close to two years now. I had totally forgotten about RTM's website and how there were tv and radio livestreams available on the internet. The last time I looked at the site I was not able to access the tv and radio livestream. It had something to do with RTM using Real Player, and it was always congested.

So yesterday I decided to check out RTM's website again, re-registered with them (I forgot what my username was from my previous registration), and lo and behold, I was watching RTM1! RTM livestreams now use Windows Media Player, and with a high speed connection, the live-streams are not too bad .. not great but good enough.

That really made my day! I got to watch the 1 pm news on RTM1, and also heard the news on Nasional FM. I should have checked back RTM's website a long time ago, but anyway, I am happy that now I can follow the news in Malaysia via tv and radio.

The availability of WaiFM over the internet has been a source of great joy to me, and home is so much closer when one is able to listen to Iban radio .. listening to the jako pesan and all the things that come with it ... like the chirping sounds of chicks in the background! Heheh, that really tickled me when I heard that sound over the radio.

And oh, after re-discovering RTM's live streams on the internet I started looking around for other tv stations that might have live streams. Wow, there are lots out there! Through this site, I found Cyberjaya.TV, which claims to be Malaysia's first web tv ... don't know about this one, doesn't look very up to date.

Cheers to tv and radio live streams! :-)

Gospel Armor Podcast

I've been looking around for some good christian podcasts and came across this one, Gospel Armor Podcast. I have yet to listen to the teachings but since the topics covered included a study on Revelations, I thought I'd subscribe to this site. I have always enjoyed any study on the book of Revelations.

There are several christian podcasts available through sites like Oneplace.com, and Christian Podcasts and Digital Podcasts. Of course you'll have sieve through what is available out there and subscribe to those that you think will be of benefit to you.

Now that I have an iPod, my time can be further maximized as I work in front of my quilting machine or as I lie and relax on my sofa. :-)

What a wonderful invention a portable mp3 player is!

God's Wings

Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 63:7

I have been watching my two geese and their 3-week old goslings. I never knew that geese were monogamous and that both the male and female were involved in the care of their offsprings.

When the eggs were hatched the goslings stayed under the protective wings of their mother, and it wasn't till the next day that the goslings were allowed to take their first steps into the world. The parents honked every time in encouragement when they got left behind among the tall weeds.

I watched how protective the parents were when I or any member of my family was any where near them. They hissed and flapped their wings. The father goose is the most aggressive. Every time I turned my back on them, he would come after me with his neck lowered as if ready to bite me.

It reminds me of the verses in the bible that talk about finding refuge under the shadow of God's wings. God is pictured as a hen, drawing and giving shelter to any who would go to Him. ( Psalm 17:8; Psalm 61:4; Psalm 63:7; Matthew 23:37)

It is always a comfort to think that God is always there, a shelter in times of distress, and we are promised His love and protection.

Our world can be topsy turvy, beyond our human ability to deal with, but God is near, calling and drawing us under the shadow of His protective wings.

Firearms

"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity." ("General Introduction to Psychoanalysis," S. Freud)

All national service (NS) trainees will be trained to use the M16 assault rifle starting with the next training session from June 25 to Sept 16.
Read more.

Despite positive feedback from participants and parents when the pilot projects on the firearms module at six NS camps ran last year, some people have voiced their concerns over the compulsory firearms training. Here is one response and here's another as found on The Star's Citizen's Blog.

I am not surprised by the near hysterical responses of some on the issue considering the draconian laws that Malaysia has over illegal weapons. For the most part, firearms ownership in Malaysia is almost non-existent. Even those who participate in shooting sports have difficulty keeping their firearms.

My father owns a shotgun and I have never fired that shotgun. I used to be afraid of guns too, because guns were associated with death, violence and criminals. But since I met and married my dear hubby, I have learnt to accept guns as a part of our life, and have learnt to cherish the citizen's 2nd Amendment Rights.

According to one of the bloggers I referenced above, guns are not for peace loving people. We have guns in our house, does it mean we are not peace-loving? I do not think that it is a valid argument to say that guns are not for peace-loving people. I am peace-loving, but that does not mean that anyone intent on harming me and my family is going to get away with it. Peace-loving does not mean pacifism. I can understand the convictions of a pacifist, but in the hands of a peaceful, law abiding person, guns are not going to be a threat to anyone.

Guns on their own do not kill people. But guns in the hands of criminals, and crazy people, now those we have to watch out for. And just because there are people who misuse and abuse their gun ownership rights, is it right to prevent others from owning their guns?

There are states in the US, like Florida, that allow its citizens to carry a concealed weapon. There are things that one must do first before one is given the permit to carry a concealed weapon, of course. A criminal would think twice before assaulting another person because that person could very well be armed!

We only hear and read about gun crimes but hardly ever do we hear and read about guns being used in self-protection. In the US -

Research by award-winning criminologist Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz reveals that guns are used for self-defense as often as 2.5 million times a year -- three to five times more often than they are misused by criminals.
Read more.

Who do you think is going to protect your family once law and order breaks down? Can we rely on our law enforcement officers to protect us? Of course not. I'd rather be armed and able to defend myself and my family.

A beretta, one of many hand guns in our collection.

My first camping at Mojave Desert with gun-loving folks.

Summer's Here

Skimpy shorts, bermuda shorts, bicycle shorts, capris. Skinny thighs, fat thighs, ugly thighs, beautiful thighs. I guess summer's here!

I love to wear shorts during the summer. When I was much younger, I was too self-conscious to wear shorts in public, because I had very skinny legs.

But here in the US, who cares if your legs are skinny, lumpy, fat, full of cellulite, or have varicose veins! Nobody is going to stop you from wearing your shorts!

And precisely because of that, it can be quite painful to see some overweight persons, with lumpy and orange peel skin, wear their shorts. They have thighs so fat that their shorts ride up between their thighs. Boy, what an ugly sight!!

Does your grandmother wear shorts? Some elderly women wear shorts here. Some are more classy looking than others - they wear their panty hose with their shorts thereby sparing us the sight of their wrinkled legs and varicose veins.

I told myself I am not going to wait till I am too fat or too old to stop wearing my shorts! Aiyah, I got mirror at home lah. And one other thing, I will not wear any low rise shorts and expose my tummy! Forget it! It is not as flat and as firm as it used to be! Heheh.

Here's to shorts on hot summer days!