Looking at the bigger pictures through my thick lenses. My ego wants the world to know that I exist.
Retired. Lives in in the Far East, in Malaysia to be precise. Vision & Mission in life left too far behind; but who can crystallise the future?; now take the seconds, minutes, hours and days as they come by.
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Will urban voters trigger the tipping point? |
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analysisMalcolm Gladwell in his widely read book 'The Tipping Point' brilliantly narrated how 'little' things can make a 'big' difference. "About two-thirds of the respondents (51% urban and 49% respondents) think the country needs a stronger opposition," it said. It also observed that "Chinese are more in favour of having a stronger opposition and their desire increases steadily". |
http://www.lulu.com/content/757943
Please visit the book at the above site. Its mine, I published it. Maybe you may like to purchase a copy for yourself or your children.
I have just published a book, to be found at,
http://www.lulu.com/browse/preview.php?fCID=754559
Anyone like to buy my book?
Liar? Just take a look.
http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2007/03/and-just-when-we-thought-we-were.html
New York Times
Published:
Once a Dream Fuel, Palm Oil May Be an Eco-Nightmare
Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters
Oil palms are delivered for pressing in
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
environmental groups in the
rapid adoption of “sustainable energy,” achieved in part by coaxing
electrical plants to use biofuel — in particular, palm oil from
A palm oil estate on the outskirts of
hit a record $9 billion last year because of strong European demand.
Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies became so
enthusiastic that they designed generators that ran exclusively on the
oil, which in theory would be cleaner than fossil fuels like coal
because it is derived from plants.
But last year, when scientists studied practices at palm plantations
in
like an environmental nightmare.
Rising demand for palm oil in
huge tracts of Southeast Asian rainforest and the overuse of chemical
fertilizer there.
Worse still, the scientists said, space for the expanding palm
plantations was often created by draining and burning peatland, which
sent huge amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
Considering these emissions,
third-leading producer of carbon emissions that scientists believe are
responsible for global warming, ranked after the
Wetlands International and
“It was shocking and totally smashed all the good reasons we initially
went into palm oil,” said Alex Kaat, a spokesman for Wetlands, a
conservation group.
The production of biofuels, long a cornerstone of the quest for
greener energy, may sometimes create more harmful emissions than
fossil fuels, scientific studies are finding.
As a result, politicians in many countries are rethinking the billions
of dollars in subsidies that have indiscriminately supported the
spread of all of these supposedly eco-friendly fuels for vehicles and
factories. The 2003 European Union Biofuels Directive, which demands
that all member states aim to have 5.75 percent of transportation run
by biofuel in 2010, is now under review.
“If you make biofuels properly, you will reduce greenhouse emissions,”
said Peder Jensen, of the European Environment Agency in
“But that depends very much on the types of plants and how they’re
grown and processed. You can end up with a 90 percent reduction
compared to fossil fuels — or a 20 percent increase.”
He added, “It’s important to take a life-cycle view,” and not to “just
see what the effects are here in
In the
soul-searching, and helped prompt the government to suspend palm oil
subsidies. The
the effort to distinguish which biofuels are truly environmentally
sound.
The government, environmental groups and some of the
“green energy” companies are trying to develop programs to trace the
origins of imported palm oil, to certify which operations produce the
oil in a responsible manner.
Krista van Velzen, a member of Parliament, said the
pay compensation to
“We can’t only think: does it pollute the
In the
corn in the
made to run on gasoline. In
sunflower oil, used to make diesel fuel.
In a small number of instances, plant oil is used in place of diesel
fuel, without further refinement. But as many European countries push
for more green energy, they are increasingly importing plant oils from
the tropics, since there is simply not enough plant matter for fuel
production at home.
On the surface, the environmental equation that supports biofuels is
simple: Since they are derived from plants, biofuels absorb carbon
while they are grown and release it when they are burned. In theory
that neutralizes their emissions.
But the industry was promoted long before there was adequate research,
said Reanne Creyghton, who runs Friends of the Earth’s campaign
against palm oil here.
Biofuelswatch, an environment group in
“biofuels should not automatically be classed as renewable energy.” It
supports a moratorium on subsidies until more research can determine
whether various biofuels in different regions are produced in a
nonpolluting manner.
Beyond that, the group suggests that all emissions arising from the
production of a biofuel be counted as emissions in the country where
the fuel is actually used, providing a clearer accounting of
environmental costs.
The demand for palm oil in
first for use in food and cosmetics, and more recently for fuel. This
versatile and cheap oil is used in about 10 percent of supermarket
products, from chocolate to toothpaste, accounting for 21 percent of
the global market for edible oils.
Palm oil produces the most energy of all vegetable oils for each unit
of volume when burned. In much of
for diesel fuel, though in the
encouraged its use for electricity.
Supported by hundreds of millions of euros in national subsidies, the
taking in 1.7 million tons last year, nearly double the previous year.
The increasing demand has created damage far away. Friends of the
Earth estimates that 87 percent of the deforestation in
1985 to 2000 was caused by new palm oil plantations. In
amount of land devoted to palm oil has increased 118 percent in the
last eight years.
In December, scientists from Wetlands International released their
calculations about the global emissions caused by palm farming on
peatland.
Peat is an organic sponge that stores huge amounts of carbon, helping
balance global emissions. Peatland is 90 percent water. But when it is
drained, the Wetlands International scientists say, the stored carbon
gases are released into the atmosphere.
To makes matters worse, once dried, peatland is often burned to clear
ground for plantations. The Dutch study estimated that the draining of
peatland in
the atmosphere and that fires contributed 1.5 billion tons annually.
The total is equivalent to 8 percent of all global emissions caused
annually by burning fossil fuels, the researchers said. “These
emissions generated by peat drainage in
before,” said Mr. Kaat. “It was a totally ignored problem.” For the
moment Wetlands is backing the certification system for palm oil
imports.
But some environmental groups say palm oil cannot be produced
sustainably at reasonable prices. They say palm oil is now cheap
because of poor environmental practices and labor abuses.
“Yes, there have been bad examples in the palm oil industry,” said
Arjen Brinkman, a company official at Biox, a young company that plans
to build three palm oil electrical plants in
palms grown on its own plantations in a manner that it says is
responsible.
“But it is now clear,” he said, “that to serve
biofuel and bioenergy, you will have to prove that you produce it
sustainably — that you are producing less, not more CO2.”
http://www.nytimes. com
http://www.nst. com.my/Current_ News/nst/ Sunday/National/
20070121094732/ Article/index_ html
Spotlight: The ugly side of Malaysian shoppers
Snot smeared on chairs, urine and faeces on the floor and dirty diapers on
top of shelves - these are the 'souvenirs' left behind by Malaysian shoppers
for retail staff to clear up every day. TAN CHOE CHOE, CHAI MEI LING and
MALINA JEYA PALAN reveal some shocking Malaysian shopping behaviour.
WORKING in the retail industry in
personality and an interest in sales.
You need a strong stomach and loads of patience too.
You need that as some of our shoppers treat retailers' premises as dumping
grounds or toilets, and the retail staff as their personal maids.
Some Malaysians just do not know what proper shopping etiquette is.
Walk into any hypermarket on a weekend and you can see misplaced items on
almost every aisle.
These are things that customers want to buy but change their mind about, so
they "conveniently" leave them on a nearby shelf.
"Some customers also open pre-packed items to try them out. Sometimes
spillage occurs and our staff have to clean up after them," said Yuswanis
Yusof, public relations and corporate communications manager of a
hypermarket chain.
Yuswanis said her company practised the "customers are always right" policy
and staff were trained to quickly replenish any damaged goods and ensure
that items put on the wrong shelves were reorganised immediately.
House detectives, she said, were employed to "discreetly" remind customers
who "forget" to pay after taking an item.
Even bookstores, the supposed meeting point of educated people, are not
spared.
You can find torn books to crumpled origami figurines and carpets stained
with urine and faeces. Rodney Toh, MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd area manager in 1
Utama, has seen them all.
While children are the ones who usually damage the items, the biggest
problem is parents who do not care, said Toh.
"I've seen a teenage boy cutting out a picture from a book and his parents
just looking on without saying anything," he said.
Some parents also have no qualms about joining their children to do certain
exercises in a workbook and then leave the store without paying for it.
"There are those who get very defensive when we point out that their
children have mistreated our books."
Toh cited one incident where, instead of apologising for her four-year-old
daughter who had ripped out the pages of a book, the mother faulted the
staff "for not teaching children how to properly handle books".
Besides being a "library" to customers who read its books for free, MPH had
also become "a nursery for some parents to dump their kids", said the
company's marketing manager, Renee Koh.
Children as young as four years old have been left behind for hours in MPH's
Kidszone by parents who go off shopping.
"In one of our stores some time back, a small girl cried for her parents for
hours until she vomited. When I saw her, she was all alone in a pool of
vomit. We had to clean her up and locate her parents - who were shopping
without a care in the world," said Toh.
A child also once defecated at the Kidszone and a member of the staff had to
clean up the place and replace the carpeting, he added.
Children could be forgiven for lack of supervision but when adults
mistreated books, it became unacceptable behaviour, said Koh.
"Malaysians think they can always go to the competitor if we do not give
them the service they demand.
"So they think nothing of it when they damage our goods, disregard our
warning or exhibit rude behaviour."
He said a customer once tore a discount voucher and threw it at the cashier
when he was told that he needed to make a purchase before he could get the
discount.
Personal hygiene is a priority in every store but some customers make it
very difficult for retailers to maintain that.
A store manager of a well-known clothing retailer in Mid Valley Megamall in
the "no-trying" policy.
"One even stained it with her vaginal discharge. She rolled up the piece and
passed it to our staff before quickly leaving the store," said the store
manager who only wanted to be known as Aini.
"The soiled bikini bottom had to be thrown away."
Visibly upset when she related the incident, Aini said some customers "are
inconsiderate and lack basic hygiene values".
In another incident, she saw a middle-aged woman pick her nose and smear the
snot onto a nearby stool while waiting for her daughter to come out of the
changing room.
"It was so disgusting! As soon as she left, my employee and I cleaned the
stool."
There were also occasions when customers with feet of different sizes
swapped slippers before making their purchase, "leaving us with ill-paired
stocks", she said.
Some women shoppers like to try on clothes a few sizes smaller, thus tearing
up the clothes.
"Of course, they don't pay for them," said Aini.
Some retailers have the policy that "goods sold are not returnable", but a
lingerie store's retail manager who wanted to be known as Rachel, said
customers still insisted on exchanging the items they had bought.
"We told them that it was against our company's policy but they still argued
with us and asked us to change them."
One of the last things one would expect to find when shopping in a toy store
is a soiled diaper wedged between some toy boxes.
Chong, 38, who works for a giant toy store in Bangsar, said she noticed a
couple with a baby entering the store and later discovered "a poo-filled
diaper" after they had left.
"Some parents also treat our shop as a playground and leave their children
here while they shop. When their children play with our toys and spoil them,
they just leave without paying," she added.
Some customers litter her shop, leaving behind things like ice-cream cones
and water bottles.
"The least they could do is ask us for a rubbish bin," she said.
Koh said customers were generally sincere and well-behaved.
"But there are some bad apples. Because of them, we have incurred losses up
to hundreds of thousands of ringgit a year on damaged goods."
Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar, 32, who worked in a toy store for about two years,
said: "For us staff on the ground, such appalling shopping behaviour can
really jack up our stress levels."
A fight it shall be.
http://kickdefella.wordpress.com/
Where those Bombs Are - ever wondered where all those nukes are stored?
A new review published in the November/December issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists shows that the
The article's authors - Hans M. Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists and Robert S. Norris of the Natural Resources Defense Council - identified the likely locations by piecing together information from years of monitoring declassified documents, officials statements, news reports, leaks, conversations with current and former officials, and commercial high-resolution satellite photos.
The highest concentration of nuclear warheads is at the Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific in
Approximately 1,700 warheads are deployed on Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines operating in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and about 400 warheads are at eight bases in six European countries – Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and Great Britain (for more information on U.S. warheads in Europe, go to http://www.nukestrat.com/us/afn/nato.htm). The
Consolidation of
The overview finds that more than two-thirds of all
The 10 U.S. sites that currently host nuclear weapons are: the Strategic Weapons Facility Pacific, Bangor, Washington; Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico; Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota; Pantex Plant, Texas; Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana; Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri; and the Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic, Kings Bay, Georgia. (See map.)
[]
Full-size map available here. Full article available from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists here.
Go on a Nuclear Google Trip
Based on the information in the Bulletin article, FAS and NRDC have created a virtual satellite image tour of the 18 nuclear weapons storage facilities in the
[]
Click here to open GoogleEarth nuclear facility overview
The
Background: Where the Bombs are, 2006 | Status of World Nuclear Forces
source:
http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2006/11/new_article_where_the_ombs_ar.php
.
Who are the real terrorists?
Subject:
In a blatant act of aggression,
Commenting on today’s air strikes, Dr Imran Waheed, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir
This is the latest
The bombing of sovereign countries, kidnapping and rendition of innocent persons, and torture at Abu Ghraib and
Full analysis: What is happening in
http://www.hizb.org.uk/hizb/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=806&Itemid=184
The
The horrendous situation of the Muslims of Somalia remained until the Union of Islamic Courts; a gathering of sincere Somali’s began to unite the country once again around Islam, shunning tribalism and colonialist interference. This situation perturbed the Americans and her agents in the Horn of Africa including
As for
In 2000
As well as supporting the puppet government of
However the corruption of the government and overt link to
This stability was seen by
When the strength of the Union of Islamic Courts became intolerable and it became clear that they would soon overrun the puppet government,
The war was supported by
1. Islam was a unifying factor in
2. Somalia has a strategic position on the Indian Ocean with the longest shoreline (reaching 2720km), longer than any African state. Its shores stretch from the eastern side of Somalia upon the Indian Ocean and from the northern side upon the Gulf of Aden, in front of the Bab al-Mandeb of the Red Sea. Thus its position controls the Horn of Africa in such a way that it makes Somalia a launching point, if not the controlling point, in Southern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
3. Somalia is rich in resources. The land of Somalia is, in some estimation, rich with untapped resources. According to studies it holds reserves of uranium, natural gas, petroleum and other natural resources. Towards the end of the 1980s, in the time of Siad Barre, the rights of exploration were given to American petroleum corporations who found rich reserves of petroleum, the presence of which was verified even before this by geologists from the World Bank. However the coup that removed Siad Barre brought a stop to the exploitation of these resources. America through its greed, wishes to control these resources so that its companies can once again exploit it.
The recent air strike in Southern Somalia has already been announced as a strike against Al-Qaeda camps, with this America will try to justify its shameless intervention in Somalia as part of the War on Terror. In reality what has taken place in Somalia is a result of shameless colonialism.
Postscript:
Know why bloggers blog?
Rano Iskandar
THE blogging scene has mushroomed over the past six months and I feel
it's the right time to share my thoughts on "Why do we blog?"
Despite the popularity of blogging, ironically my blogging theme has
been waning ever since it has transformed into an informative portal
with advertising jargons in place. Hence, sometimes I ask myself, why
am I taking this challenge of being a writer or columnist for
Blogspeak?
Frankly, I'm more opinionated in Blogspeak than in my own blog. How
ironic! My old readers even complained their feedbacks on the recent
transition. Some said that they "miss the old Rano" or "What happened
to the old Rano?"
The Blogsphere has become very accessible to Internet users. Gone are
the days of Frontpage or Dreamweaver, programs that were necessary
back then to run and maintain websites. Creators of myspace.com and
blogspot.com to name a few have enticed online users to join the
bandwagon of blogging. Blogspot, for instance, has improved
tremendously in terms of its user friendliness of creating a blog from
scratch. You needn't any Dummies book or tutorial to guide you.
Furthermore, you don't have to fork out a cent.
There are many other reasons why we blog. Now with the mass media
capturing the headlines and only our main source of news, the big
players may need to turn to the local bloggers for information. Why?
Firstly, there are no rules in the blogsphere. Of course, in our
monarchy state, it's not wise to touch on politics, religion and sex.
Otherwise, you might find yourself in the wrong hands of the law.
However, the blogsphere gives you some leverage for opinions. These
feedbacks can be constructive and initiate improvements. For instance,
a Singaporean blogger once complained of a burger at a particular
restaurant. Before long the restaurant manager made improvements
swiftly to deter any bad remarks of the restaurant.
The same thing could apply here in our country where we have our own
independent food blogs such as whatiate2day. blogspot. com or
f00d-for-thought. blogspot. com or whatyeemandid. blogspot. com. It's
only a matter of time before restaurant owners/managers open their
eyes and respond to criticism on their food or service.
Secondly, information is knowledge and blogging is one way of sharing
views and experiences. Bloggers or surfers spend a few hours in their
own spare time or even at work, mind you, to keep updated with other
people's lives or the happenings around
Internet addiction. Popular community website channels such as
Friendster and Multiply play second fiddle to the blogsphere.
Apart from the spreading of the awareness of blogging, entrepreneurs
and public servants find blogging useful.
Regular bloggers _ LSM, Maurina, Brunei Resources and Emma(GoodEgg) _
need no introduction as they are well exposed in the local blogging
community for the past six months or so. All have their respective
styles of writing and present their original ideas where readers do
appreciate and have their own followers.
But how about the newbies in the blogging scene? And what inspires
them to blog? I caught up with two bloggers who shared their insights.
Nicknamed Danurasana, she is a stranger to blogging world few months
ago. Now she ranks as one of the most well-known bloggers in Brunei Darussalam.
Her blog, danurasana.blogspot .com, aims at educating the
yoginis and also those who vaguely understand the uniqueness of yoga.
She feels it's her duty to educate her readers and reach others that
it isn't just about stretching but also gaining strength and mind
disciplining to name a few.
Another blogger Vixennova has also established herself among the
blogging community in a space of months. A hard-working woman married
to a caring hubby with an adorable son, she still can find time to
squeeze her random thoughts online (vixennova.blogspot .com) and her
reason being to share with family, friends and also her new-found
friends in the blogsphere. She also added "she ain't an introvert and
doesn't like being alone in the dark". In conclusion, blogging ain't
just a way of outpouring thoughts, anger, humour, information and
other things. It's also used to create new bonds with other bloggers
regardless of different interest and views. Vixennova pointed out how
"networking" is important and through blogging, it opens new doors and
creates harmony among others.
I hope the big players also notice our existence and not just from the
media. Perhaps it's about time I restore to old Rano in the blogging
scene.
http://www.bruneiti mes.com.bn/
abc
al tree
altantuya
another book
beauty
blogger
breakfast
bush
butterfly
chicken meal
chinese twig
dew
fight
fruits
gone
grills
house
hulk
juices
ketchup
kuih
liars
machine
malaymail
malaysia ge2008
masjid
meritocracy
merz
moon
my book
my house
old building
orang asli
palm oil
playground
prayers
pudding
shame
shisha
shoes
sons marriage
tall flowers
terrorists
toothpaste
tower
ugly shoppers
urinal
veil
viaduct
wmds
working ktn
working spot
workstation
2006
today
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December 2005
According to The Telegraph, the tipping point "is a magic moment when an idea, trend or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips and spread like wildfire: like a flu epidemic, popularity of a new product, a drop in crime rate". 
A year before the survey was done, several Umno delegates made disparaging and racist remarks against the non-Malay community at the party's annual congress along with its infamous keris-raising incident. 
Or consider what Badruddin Amiruddin (left), who has been picked to defend his Jerai parliament seat, said: "Let no one from the other races ever question the rights of Malays on this land. Don't question the religion because this is my right on this land. Don't poke at this nest, for if it were disturbed, these hornets will strike and destroy the country." 
Tricia Yeoh (right), director of Centre of Public Policy Studies, has put a rather tantalising question: "Will urban voters translate their political perceptions and sentiments into changing patterns at this general election?"