Jewish Israeli soldiers treat all civilians as terrorists

It is confirmed by a Malaysian that the Israeli soldiers shouted at
passengers of the aid ships that these aid workers were terrorists.
The aid ships were stopped in International waters after some of them
were killed by Israeli gun fires from their helicopters. the Israeli
commandos were disarmed and their guns thrown to the sea by the aid
workers and they hit soldiers with sticks in order to prevent them
from boarding the ships.

No wonder they blind fold all their captives. They treat all civilians
as terrorists. But armed soldiers kidnapping aid workers in
internatioinal waters are themselves not terrorists? Killing unarmed
aid workers also not terrorism? With this kind of mentality, it is not
surprising that the Jews were the real terrorists and had been killing
innocent civilians deliverate and premeditatedly. It is no chance that
Corie, a US citizen, were killed by these Jewish Israelis. She was
deliberately murdered by the terrorist government of Israel.

Malaysian Company sues Apple for Patent Infringement

It shows the imporatance of patenting ideas. Please note that Patents
are only ideas. You don't have to build it but this Malaysian company
actually builds terminals. Unforatunately it is quiet in Malaysian
newspapers.

http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/8/31/malaysian-company-sues-apple-over-geotargeted-adverts/

Malaysian Company Sues Apple Over Geotargeted Adverts

31 August, 2010, by ITProPortal Staff

Apple has been sued by a Malaysian firm called StreetSpace which
claims ownership of a patent related to location based advertising.

The lawsuit involves Apple's iAd mobile advertising service, which
uses GPS data to deliver location based advertisement on users'
device.

StreetSpace has also sued other wireless advertising services
providers including Apple owned Quattro Wireless, Google, AdMob,
Nokia, Navteq, Millenial Media and Jumptap.

The Malaysian firm is responsible for developing a remote Internet
terminal called Web Station where customers walk-up to this station
and access the Internet.

The system uses a technology which helps the company in delivering
targeted advertisements to the customers.

StreetSpace has based its lawsuit on a US patent titled 'Method and
System for Providing Personalized Online Services and Advertisements
in Public Spaces', which was awarded to it in 2005.

The issue might prove a major hindrance for Apple's iAd service,
which, according to StreetSpace, uses its patented technology to
deliver targeted advertisements based on user's location, profile and
usage history.

More proofs that Sabah continue to be neglected

What more do you want proof for?

Only 100 million for the whole Sabah when the total fund is supposed
to be billions???

That means less than 10% as always for SAbah that accounts for 23%
area and 14% population, and most of the poor are in Sabah, making up
more than 30% and yet receiving less than 10%.

Isn't the promise by Federal Leaders that they WILL NOT DEVELOP SABAH,
because it is not economical, so true again? Why are Sabahans so blind
to this????

This is the dilemma of Sabahans that don't bother to count properly,
and elect leaders similarly stupid as they are.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=74283

YB upset Sukau has been left out

Published on: Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Email to a friend Printer Friendly

Kota Kinabalu: Sukau may continue to be among the poorest State
constituencies in Sabah since it has not received a single rural
development project under the National Key Results Area (NKRA) funds.

Its Assemblyman Saddi Abdul Rahman was disappointed that the Ministry
of Rural and Regional Development did not consider channeling some
development projects to provide basic amenities in Sukau.

"Together with other elected representatives, I had listed more than
94 rural projects worth over RM100 million that are needed in Sukau
particularly basic amenities like roads, supply of water and
electricity, among others.

"I submitted my proposal for funding under NKRA to the Ministry before
the deadline on Sept 10 last year.

"Unfortunately, not even a single rural project under NKRA's billions
of Ringgit in funds has been approved and given to Sukau until now,"
he lamented here, on Tuesday.

He was responding to a statement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa
Aman's in Keningau, that the government will probe how government
allocations are spent for development projects in the State.

Musa said it was interesting that allocations for certain areas
sometimes did not match the sum stated during the briefings by heads
of local administrations.

"The government will take necessary action to identify where the
billions went to," Musa said at a briefing by five district officers -
Keningau, Tenom, Nabawan, Tambunan and Ranau- on development
strategies adopted for each district at Perkasa Hotel, in Keningau on
Monday.

Saddi said it is vital for such investigation to be carried out as the
government, especially elected representatives, are answerable to the
grassroots.

"What Musa has said is timely and such probe should be implemented as
the development funds to carry out projects are for the people to
enjoy basic amenities and facilities that could elevate their living
standard and bring comfort to their lives," he said.

Sukau residents from 42 villages have been waiting for rural
development projects from the government to provide better road
conditions as well as supply of water and electricity which some have
yet to enjoy.

"The villagers are questioning what has happened to the NKRA funds and
why not even one project is approved for Sukau. They are feeling
cynical about why the government has overlooked their interests and
needs.

"I am also feeling disappointed that the ministry has not responded to
several follow-up letters that I have submitted. In the letters, I
have asked whether Sukau will be getting any rural projects under NKRA
funds," he said.

MTUC finally understands the need for Minimum wage

I have been trying hard to get workers to demand for minimum wages.
This article shows that hopefully they understand what is at stake
here. They must have asked some economists to make factual research
and comparisons. At least there is hope for Malaysia but time is
running out.

http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=59215

Home » News » Local » 'Minimum wage: Hard to convince bosses'
'Minimum wage: Hard to convince bosses'

August 18, 2010, Wednesday

KUCHING: Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak said the
union's greatest task in its fight for minimum wage is convincing
employers that a minimum wage is in their economic interest in the
long run.
Andrew Lo

Andrew Lo

"So the first question is how to convince employers that a minimum
wage is in their economic interest in the long run and the second
question is to convince the government that it is in Malaysia's
economic interest to have a minimum wage," said MTUC Sarawak secretary
Andrew Lo.

Of late, there has been a growing debate on whether or not Malaysia
should introduce a minimum wage policy. The call for a minimum wage
has been on the ascendancy ever since MTUC first proposed a nationwide
minimum wage more than 12 years ago, when Tun Mahathir Mohamad was
Prime Minister.

Lo said, because of the undying objection by the business community
led by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), the government at
that time rejected the idea of a nationwide minimum wage asserting
that it would lead to an increase in the cost of doing business and
thus would hurt Malaysian competitiveness.

"The business community convinced the government to adopt a market
friendly policy and that wage levels must be determined by market
forces. Recently, the consensus has somewhat shifted and the idea of a
minimum wage is not as pariah as it once was.

"Even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has just stated that
business must embrace minimum wage as a business strategy and as an
opportunity to revitalise their businesses. Even employers' groups
such as the respected Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has
proposed a minimum wage model that is reasonable, workable and forward
looking," he added.

However, MEF has steadfastly declared that even if the world is to
come to an end, and we are born again, MEF will still strongly oppose
a minimum wage.

"Such strong objections from MEF are not at all surprising as MEF's
sole interest is the maximising of profits by its members. I will be
the first to accept that employers are in business to make money and
to generate profits. So whatever decision that employers make is built
on this premise.

"Minimum wage is not just a social tool to reduce poverty, it is a
fiscal tool to enhance economic growth and productivity improvements,
as the empirical evidence in countries that have minimum wage
structure has demonstrated," Lo said.

More than 90 per cent of countries worldwide have a minimum wage, he
pointed out.

"Our competitors in the 1980s namely Taiwan, South Korea and even Hong
Kong, the bastion of capitalism and free markets, have minimum wage
systems while in Singapore the head of the trade union movement is a
government minister and thus the country is able to formulate an
inclusive wage policy that has seen wage levels more than three times
higher than Malaysia and productivity growth that has outstripped us,"
he said.

These four countries that were on par with us in the 1980s, have
overtaken Malaysia, became high income nations and members of the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), while
the nation is stuck in the middle income trap, Lo claimed.

"Today we are competing with Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and
Philippines. All these countries also have minimum wage and if we
still stick to the archaic views expressed by MEF, we will be
overtaken by them soon," he said.

Essentially the debate on minimum wage hinges on workers wanting a
minimum wage as a means to increase wage levels to provide sufficient
purchasing power to enable a worker to have a basic standard of
living; employers reject it as an increased cost of doing business and
hurt competitiveness; the government's aim to develop the country into
a high-income nation and fully developed by 2020.

Wages should be determined by market forces, he stressed. The
empirical evidence has clearly pointed to the fact that wage levels in
Malaysia have been suppressed and lagged behind by all measures.

The World Bank has reported that wages in Malaysia has increased by
only 2.6 per cent per annum.

"That is below inflation. The proportion of wages as a portion of GDP
has also fallen," Lo claimed.

He said the recently concluded National Employment Returns (NER)
showed that 34 per cent of Malaysians earn less than RM700 which is
below the poverty line.

In Sabah and Sarawak, where the cost of living is much higher, the
figures are a dismal 63 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively. A
further 37 per cent nationwide earn between RM700 and RM1,500, he
added.

For a country to be a developed nation in ten years' time, it is
alarming that 72 per cent of its workers earn less than RM1,500.

These statistics are collaborated by Employees Provident Fund's
figures, he pointed out.

The starting salary of an associate professor in our universities
today is the same as it was in 1975.

MEF's own figures presented to the government stated that the starting
pay of a doctorate holder is just RM2,370 a month and this may be one
of the reasons why the standards of our universities are dropping, he
claimed.

A clerk (with diploma) in Malaysia earns RM1,131 while in Singapore he
is paid an equivalent of RM4,747.

About 15 years ago, the salary of a part-time worker at a fast food
restaurant was RM3.80 an hour but today in Sabah particularly, it is
just RM2.50 while the price of a burger has gone up from RM1.20 to
more than RM4 in the same period.

"What is disheartening is the government recently issued
recommendations for public servants to take part-time jobs to make
ends meet. So clearly market forces, as propagated by MEF, has not
worked," he pointed out.

There are two reasons for these, said Lo.

Market forces are controlled by business, and combined by the
government policy of stifling trade unions movement by segregating
trade unions, only three per cent of private sector workers are trade
union members and less than two per cent are covered by collective
agreements, he added.

MEF has a declared policy of challenging trade union membership and
recognition. While the number of trade unions has increased, most of
the unions are in-house unions with less than 100 members.

Malaysia is perhaps the only country in the world that makes it
extremely difficult for high-value and knowledgeable workers to work
here, but has welcome millions of low-wage and unskilled workers, he
said.

"This has undoubtedly suppressed wages as Malaysian workers have to
compete for low wages," he stressed.

In an attempt to placate demand for a national legislated minimum
wage, the government in the past decade tried to introduce a sectoral
minimum wage by way of the Wages Council Act 1957, an archaic
legislation.

The last sectoral minimum wage was implemented in 1972, and as evident
by the minimum wage for security guards, has not worked at all.

Open letter to Anwar Ibrahim and geng

Already sent via FACEBOOK. I wonder if he actually reads any of the
messages or his cohorts will allow him to read some of them.

Othman Ahmad: Banyak betul komen komen Datu Seri. Walaupun saya
sokong kesemuanya, lama kelamaan menjadi bosan juga. Apa kata bincang
untuk memperkuatkan parti pembangkang? Saya cadangkan 2 penjuru:
1) Buka akaun untuk penderma online atau offline seperti OBAMA.
Seperti siOBAMA, dia cuma mendapat derma beberapa ringgit dari seorang
s...ahaja tetapi ramai yang boleh menderma menjadikan OBAMA yang
paling kaya dalam kempen.
2) Buka permohonan secara online. Saya sudah cuba menjadi ahli
sebanyak 3 kali dengan membayar RM10 setiap kali tetapi sampai
sekarang tidak ada surat pengesahan.

Demikian juga dengan parti pembangkang yang lain. UMNO tidak. Ia
adalah parti yang paling organised. Contohnya UMNO sahaja yang memberi
sijil keahlian kepada Saya. Untuk memenangai apa-apa peperangan, bukan
setakat dengan semangat atau kebenarfan, tetapi memerlukan otak juga.

Israeli soldier feels nothing wrong in blindfolded prisoners

I don't see any reason why Palestinians need to be blind folded unless
it is to conceal their mistreatments of these prisoners. Worst
violations are still uncovered.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/world/middleeast/18briefs-EXSOLDIERSPE_BRF.html

World Briefing | Middle East
Israel: Ex-Soldier Speaks on Photos
By ROBERT MACKEY
Published: August 17, 2010

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A former Israeli soldier who posted photographs on Facebook of herself
posing next to blindfolded Palestinian prisoners told Israeli Army
radio on Tuesday that she did not "understand what's wrong" with the
photographs, which were taken while she was on active duty. The former
soldier, Eden Abergil, who is now a reservist, said that the "pictures
were taken in good will, there was no statement in them." An Israeli
military spokesman denounced Ms. Abergil's snapshots as "disgraceful."
Breaking the Silence, an Israeli human rights group, added one of her
images to a new Facebook album of similar photographs taken over the
past decade. The group wrote, "This picture is not the ugly behavior
of one person, but a norm throughout the army." Ghassan Khatib, a
spokesman for the Palestinian Authority, told the BBC that the images
illustrated "the day-to-day life of the Palestinian people under
occupation," and suggested "that occupation also corrupts the
Israelis."

The World Wide Web is dead

And with it the browser and Google. This is a valid and interesting
point.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/

The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet

* By Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff Email Author
* August 17, 2010 |
* 9:00 am |
* Wired September 2010
*

Sources: Cisco estimates based on CAIDA publications, Andrew Odlyzko

Sources: Cisco estimates based on CAIDA publications, Andrew Odlyzko

Skull
The Web Is Dead? A Debate
How the Web Wins
How Do Native Apps and Web Apps Compare?

Two decades after its birth, the World Wide Web is in decline, as
simpler, sleeker services — think apps — are less about the searching
and more about the getting. Chris Anderson explains how this new
paradigm reflects the inevitable course of capitalism. And Michael
Wolff explains why the new breed of media titan is forsaking the Web
for more promising (and profitable) pastures.

Who's to Blame:
Us
As much as we love the open, unfettered Web, we're abandoning it for
simpler, sleeker services that just work.
by Chris Anderson

You wake up and check your email on your bedside iPad — that's one
app. During breakfast you browse Facebook, Twitter, and The New York
Times — three more apps. On the way to the office, you listen to a
podcast on your smartphone. Another app. At work, you scroll through
RSS feeds in a reader and have Skype and IM conversations. More apps.
At the end of the day, you come home, make dinner while listening to
Pandora, play some games on Xbox Live, and watch a movie on Netflix's
streaming service.

You've spent the day on the Internet — but not on the Web. And you are
not alone.

This is not a trivial distinction. Over the past few years, one of the
most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the
wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for
transport but not the browser for display. It's driven primarily by
the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it's a world
Google can't crawl, one where HTML doesn't rule. And it's the world
that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they're
rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms
often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen
comes to them, they don't have to go to the screen). The fact that
it's easier for companies to make money on these platforms only
cements the trend. Producers and consumers agree: The Web is not the
culmination of the digital revolution.

A decade ago, the ascent of the Web browser as the center of the
computing world appeared inevitable. It seemed just a matter of time
before the Web replaced PC application software and reduced operating
systems to a "poorly debugged set of device drivers," as Netscape
cofounder Marc Andreessen famously said. First Java, then Flash, then
Ajax, then HTML5 — increasingly interactive online code — promised to
put all apps in the cloud and replace the desktop with the webtop.
Open, free, and out of control.

But there has always been an alternative path, one that saw the Web as
a worthy tool but not the whole toolkit. In 1997, Wired published a
now-infamous "Push!" cover story, which suggested that it was time to
"kiss your browser goodbye." The argument then was that "push"
technologies such as PointCast and Microsoft's Active Desktop would
create a "radical future of media beyond the Web."

"Sure, we'll always have Web pages. We still have postcards and
telegrams, don't we? But the center of interactive media —
increasingly, the center of gravity of all media — is moving to a post-
HTML environment," we promised nearly a decade and half ago. The
examples of the time were a bit silly — a "3-D furry-muckers VR space"
and "headlines sent to a pager" — but the point was altogether
prescient: a glimpse of the machine-to-machine future that would be
less about browsing and more about getting.

Who's to Blame:
Them
Chaos isn't a business model. A new breed of media moguls is bringing
order — and profits — to the digital world.
by Michael Wolff

An amusing development in the past year or so — if you regard post-
Soviet finance as amusing — is that Russian investor Yuri Milner has,
bit by bit, amassed one of the most valuable stakes on the Internet:
He's got 10 percent of Facebook. He's done this by undercutting
traditional American VCs — the Kleiners and the Sequoias who would, in
days past, insist on a special status in return for their early
investment. Milner not only offers better terms than VC firms, he sees
the world differently. The traditional VC has a portfolio of Web
sites, expecting a few of them to be successes — a good metaphor for
the Web itself, broad not deep, dependent on the connections between
sites rather than any one, autonomous property. In an entirely
different strategic model, the Russian is concentrating his bet on a
unique power bloc. Not only is Facebook more than just another Web
site, Milner says, but with 500 million users it's "the largest Web
site there has ever been, so large that it is not a Web site at all."

According to Compete, a Web analytics company, the top 10 Web sites
accounted for 31 percent of US pageviews in 2001, 40 percent in 2006,
and about 75 percent in 2010. "Big sucks the traffic out of small,"
Milner says. "In theory you can have a few very successful individuals
controlling hundreds of millions of people. You can become big fast,
and that favors the domination of strong people."

Milner sounds more like a traditional media mogul than a Web
entrepreneur. But that's exactly the point. If we're moving away from
the open Web, it's at least in part because of the rising dominance of
businesspeople more inclined to think in the all-or-nothing terms of
traditional media than in the come-one-come-all collectivist
utopianism of the Web. This is not just natural maturation but in many
ways the result of a competing idea — one that rejects the Web's
ethic, technology, and business models. The control the Web took from
the vertically integrated, top-down media world can, with a little
rethinking of the nature and the use of the Internet, be taken back.

This development — a familiar historical march, both feudal and
corporate, in which the less powerful are sapped of their reason for
being by the better resourced, organized, and efficient — is perhaps
the rudest shock possible to the leveled, porous, low-barrier-to-entry
ethos of the Internet Age. After all, this is a battle that seemed
fought and won — not just toppling newspapers and music labels but
also AOL and Prodigy and anyone who built a business on the idea that
a curated experience would beat out the flexibility and freedom of the
Web.

Illustration: Dirk Fowler

Israel loses nothing by upholding Justice

Please take note that earlier High court had made an extremely
erroneous judgment in allowing the possibility of a rock thrown in
killing the girl, when the facts of the case was that there were no
stone throwers in the streets that she was in.

Manu Jewish judges are still not fair enough when it comes to justice
for the Palestinians.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/court-holds-state-responsible-for-shooting-of-palestinian-girl-1.308443

A Jerusalem court on Monday held the state responsible for killing
killing a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in January 2007.

In a civil suit, the court ruled that border guards had either been
negligent or disobeyed orders in shooting Abir Aramin with a rubber
bullet, calling the incident 'totally unjustifiable'.
Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians protest in the West Bank

Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians protest in the West Bank
on May 9, 2010.
Photo by: AP

The judge ruled ordered the government to pay damages to the girl's
family, with the exact amount to be determined later.

Aramin was killed while walking home from school in the West Bank
village of Anata with her sister and two of her friends. They had just
left a shop where they had bought sweets when she was hit in the head
by a rubber bullet.

She was taken to Mukassed Hospital in Jerusalem, where she was
pronounced dead.

Police opened a criminal investigation but later decided against
indicting the border guards who opened fire.

Aramin's family and the human rights organization Yesh Din appealed
the decision in the High Court. But judges there ruled that since it
was possible the girl was killed by a rock thrown by rioters, there
was no basis for a criminal trial.

In Monday's civil ruling, Judge Orit Efal-Gabai dismissed the
possibility that Aramin had been struck by an errant stone,
determining gunfire as the cause of death.

"There is no debate over the conclusion that Abir was injured by a
rubber bullet shot by border guards, which in turn leads to the
conclusion that the shooting of Abir occurred out of negligence, or in
violation of the rules of engagement," Efal-Gabai said.

"We are not talking about injury by shots fired at a crowd of rioters
and rock-throwers, near which a little girl just happened to be
standing,"she said.

"Abir and her friends were walking down a street where there were no
rock-throwers, therefore there was no reason to shoot in their
direction. It is clear that Abir's death, caused by a rubber bullet
shot by border guards, was due to negligence by the defendant."

Aramin's father is one of the founders of Combatants for Peace, a
group of former Israel Defense Forces soldiers and Palestinian gunmen
that tour schools to foster coexistence.

Malaysian Politicians in Facebook

PM of Malaysia Najib Razak
http://www.facebook.com/alteracorp?v=wall#!/najibrazak?ref=ts

Leader of Opposition Anwar Ibrahim
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anwar-Ibrahim/16194831839?v=wall#!/pages/Anwar-Ibrahim/16194831839

It shows that our politicians are going with the modern trends.

I don't like Facebook prefering newsgroups but Facebook is much more
popular.

The secret of HP's success

HP is not founded by geniuses such as Bill Gates and Stephen Jobs and
yet it had been very successful and produced many state of the art
equipments. These articles explain why!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/13/AR2010081306651.html

Hewlett-Packard's board vs. Mark Hurd: The right decision?
SLIDESHOW
Previous Next

Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest PC maker, has been known for its
values, or "the HP Way."
Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest PC maker, has been known for its
values, or "the HP Way." (Andrew Harrer/bloomberg)

Mark Hurd was forced to step down after Hewlett-Packard's board found
that he had filed inaccurate expense reports to conceal a personal
relationship with a contractor.
Mark Hurd was forced to step down after Hewlett-Packard's board found
that he had filed inaccurate expense reports to conceal a personal
relationship with a contractor. (Associated Press)

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Leadership Summit 2010
Making of great leaders, find out what it takes from the CEOs.
www.singaporehcsummit.com
By On Leadership
Sunday, August 15, 2010

Slade Gorton is a former U.S. senator and Washington state attorney
general who also served on the 9/11 Commission.

The Hewlett-Packard directors were faced with a Hobson's choice. They
had one of the most talented and successful chief executives in the
country. They also had a chief executive who had misused company funds
on a questionable personal relationship and in flagrant violation of
an ethics code for which he was responsible. As much as they may have
wished to retain him, it is impossible to see how they could have done
so without severely undercutting his ability to lead and the
corporation's reputation.

Disruptive as his forced resignation may have been, it was the right
course of action and was taken promptly. But to have attempted to deny
him his contractual severance not only would have been vindictive but
would have prolonged the agony and almost certainly resulted in
protracted litigation.

Michael Maccoby is an anthropologist and psychoanalyst globally
recognized as an expert on leadership. He is the author of "The
Leaders We Need: And What Makes Us Follow."

Hewlett-Packard was founded by leaders who built strong bonds of trust
with their employees. The founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard,
articulated and practiced a clear philosophy they called "the HP Way."
Ethics were a given, and disrespect among employees was not tolerated.
To strengthen trust and loyalty, HP did not lay off employees during
business downturns but instead had everyone take time off and a
corresponding cut in salary. Trust and a strong value of excellence
supported a collaborative culture that became a model for Silicon
Valley.

The HP values have been undermined and frayed by some of the leaders
who followed Bill and Dave. Mark Hurd promised to revitalize the HP
Way. His actions -- hiding expenses to engage in a questionable
relationship-- undermine the trust essential for a company's
sustainable success.

Hurd was widely admired, especially by HP shareholders, for cutting
costs and increasing revenue through acquisitions. However, HP's
future depends on a leadership team that strengthens collaboration and
innovation, that can articulate and practice a version of the HP Way
for a global market.

Katherine Tyler Scott is managing partner of Ki ThoughtBridge, a
leadership consultancy, and the author, most recently, of
"Transforming Leadership: The Episcopal Church of the 21st Century."
She is a board member of the International Leadership Association.
ad_icon
Click here!

From my vantage point, the board has performed its governance role
admirably. Its action was particularly important because it expressed
the character of the company and showed it is living up to the
espoused values the leaders are legally and ethically bound to uphold.
In this tragedy, the chief executive permitted his self-interest to
override the greater interests of HP. The board made its decision
based not on his personal failings but on his betrayal of corporate
values.

The board's response sent a clear message that dishonesty and deceit
will not be accepted at HP. Its decision to allow Hurd to resign and
to keep his contracted severance package was humane. It acknowledged
his record of excellence in his professional performance while
conveying the unacceptability of misuse of funds.

When leaders violate an institution's policies and core values, they
destroy trust -- the glue that holds everything together. If Hurd had
stayed, questions about his truthfulness in other matters would have
been raised and doubts about the character of HP's leader would have
put the reputation of the company at risk. The one thing a board must
preserve is the good reputation of a company. A responsible board
would never squander the good name of the company. In the end, the HP
board chose the company's character over the CEO's competence.

Howard Gardner is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at
the Harvard Graduate School of Education and senior director of the
Harvard educational research group Project Zero.

In announcing his resignation as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard,
Mark Hurd said: "There were instances in which I did not live up to
the standards and principles of trust, respect, and integrity that I
have espoused at HP and which have guided me throughout my career." I
have no way of knowing who wrote and approved that statement, nor
whether the last phrase is true. But as an observer of how difficult
situations are discussed publicly, I can say that Mark Hurd's
statement is an impressive model.

There is no attempt to wriggle out of the accusations, nor to spread
blame ( for example, on the media). And, importantly, Hurd praises a
company that, even after the death of its founders and the unhappy
tenure of Carly Fiorina, still occupies a privileged niche among major
international corporations. In the past, when someone said that he or
she worked for HP, it meant something special. The speed and manner of
Hurd's resignation increases the likelihood that working for HP will
continue to mean something special. Redeeming that likelihood is the
challenge for the next leadership, thousands of supporting employees
and, especially, the board.

Malaysia Today Subscription

Today I attempted to subscribe to Malaysia Today. I respect RPK for
his braveness in fighting for justice in the real sense. And he needs
contributions so that he can continue fighting for just causes. If you
read this article, you shall notice that Malaysia Today has
contributors who attack all parties and even Anwar himself which is a
good sign, unlike Malaysia Kini that tends to be the view of the
opposition only.

Yesterday, Friday the 13th of August 2010, was Malaysia Today's
birthday. Malaysia Today was launched six years ago on the 13th of
August 2004, which happened to also be a Friday. As my 'birthday
article' I would like to rehash what I wrote back in 2004 soon after
Malaysia Today hit the scene. I have not made any changes or
amendments to what can be considered my 'mission and vision
statement'.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Malaysia Today: the Free Malaysia Campaign

On 2nd September 2004, the day Anwar Ibrahim was freed from jail, many
came up to ask me what I would now do with my time. Since Anwar was
now free, they reckoned, there would no longer be any need for a Free
Anwar Campaign.

True, Anwar is now free, and it took us six years of blood, sweat and
tears to achieve this, and true, now there is no longer any need for a
Free Anwar Campaign, but that was only the first stage of the fight
which started in 1998, I explained.

Now that Stage One is finished, we need to move into Stage Two. Anwar
is now free so we no longer need a Free Anwar Campaign. But Malaysia
is not yet free so we need to now launch a Free Malaysia Campaign. And
that would take longer than the six years it took to free Anwar. It
could easily take 60 years, or longer, a campaign that would go on
long after we are all dead and gone from this world.

Shouting 'Free Malaysia' slogans or to say we have launched a Free
Malaysia Campaign is fine but pointless if it is mere rhetoric. We
need to put theory into practice, put our money where our mouth is. A
free Malaysia would never be achieved until and unless we have the
fundamentals of a free Malaysia, the aqidah (foundation) of a free
society if you wish, and that would be the freedom to say and write
what you believe in without fear or favour -- in other words, a free
media.

And, with that in mind, I launched 'Malaysia Today: your source of
independent news' -- which I actually launched on Friday 13th of
August 2004, around two weeks before Anwar walked free. For all
intents and purposes, Malaysia Today is a Free Malaysia Campaign that
took off where the Free Anwar Campaign ended.

Malaysia Today, if you wish, is pushing the envelope. It is testing
how far Malaysia under its new Prime Minister can honour, respect and
tolerate free speech. Malaysia Today stands on the invisible boundary
of the Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act, two laws that were
created merely to stifle free speech and dissent.

I, as the Editor and owner of Malaysia Today, face the risk of
prosecution under the many laws available to the government to clamp
down on dissent, or even detention without trial in the event they
fail to find a suitable law to get you under. But I am prepared to
face that risk and suffer the consequences of my actions if what we
gain in return is more freedom of expression.

When I launched Malaysia Today I promised no censorship. No one, how
unreasonable or stupid his or her comments may be, will be barred from
sounding out in Malaysia Today. And there will be no editing, and to
ensure we achieve all this, we started a blog where readers can post
their comments directly, bypassing the editor or webmaster, and where
they will be free to say whatever they want, the way they want to.

I also invited some columnists to write fulltime for Malaysia Today --
maybe an article or two a week -- and I promised them they would be
free to write whatever they felt like and that I would not dictate
what they can and cannot do. They, in fact, blog their pieces direct.

Kirdatun Borhan is one of our more vocal columnists who attacks
anything that walks and talks. Lately, Anwar Ibrahim became the brunt
of her attacks. When she attacked Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, or the PM's son-in-
law, Khairy Jamaluddin, everyone applauded. But when her attacks
shifted to Anwar many became upset.

I knew this would happen but I just stood by and let it pass for many
reasons. First, of course, was as explained above -- the reason why I
gave birth to Malaysia Today. The second being I wanted the opposition
supporters and leaders to feel what the ruling party has endured these
last six years.

The main argument to oppose Kirdatun's attacks on Anwar is that she
can attack Anwar if she wants to but only if she reveals her real
identity and not hide behind her purdah (veil). Since 1998 we have had
more than 100 anonymous 'Reformasi' websites mushrooming (and closing
down after awhile) whose only purpose was to attack ex-PM Dr Mahathir
Mohamad, Umno and Barisan Nasional. None of these webmasters revealed
who they are. They all hid behind 'veils'.

Did we scream and shout that they can only attack Dr Mahathir if they
reveal themselves and not hide behind their computer screens? Why the
double standards?

We must be able to take the medicine we dish out. We attack Dr
Mahathir, Pak Lah, and anything related to the ruling party even if
they do the right thing, but we cannot accept anyone criticising us
and give all sorts of excuses such as because we don't know who they
are.

Who are the webmasters of the more than 100 Reformasi websites and the
hundreds of 'ghost' writers who contribute 'hot news' to these
websites? Why are they also not brave enough to reveal themselves? Is
it because they are scared of getting detained under the Internal
Security Act? Was it not Anwar who said if you are scared of the risks
then do not talk about the struggle?

It is time the opposition got a taste of its own medicine. It is time
the opposition feels what the ruling party has endured these last six
years. It is time the opposition realised it is not that perfect after
all, and in many instances may not really be that better than the
ruling party. It is time we made the opposition realise that compared
to the ruling party it acts like spoilt schoolchildren.

A free Malaysia will only be realised when there is freedom of
expression. Before we achieve freedom in other areas we must first
achieve freedom of speech. If not, then true freedom will never be
realised. And not only the ruling party but the opposition too must be
knocked on the head until they understand, respect and honour this.

Kirdatun wrote her final article last week. She has asked me, in no
uncertain terms, to close down her column this week. But I refuse to
do so. If she refuses to write anymore then I will just leave her
column blank. The blog will still be there for anyone who wishes to
comment and debate.

Incidentally, I met Anwar Ibrahim at a Hari Raya open house on
Saturday afternoon and he expressed his sadness at Kirdatun's column
being retired. He felt we can never have the moral right to accuse the
government of not respecting the right to free speech if we cannot
first tolerate minor criticisms and comments against us.

So, Kirdatun, the ball is at your feet. Let us separate the trees from
the forest. The issue is no longer about Anwar. Anwar, for all intents
and purposes, was just the symbol of the need for reforms. Now that
Anwar is free we need to move on to a bigger agenda, the freeing of
Malaysia. If, in the fight to free Malaysia, we need to step on
everyone's toes, then so be it.

Umno supporters hate Malaysia Today. The Democratic Action Party (DAP)
supporters hate Malaysia Today. The Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS)
supporters hate Malaysia Today. The Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)
supporters hate Malaysia Today. The Anwarists hate Malaysia Today. The
Islamists hate Malaysia Today. The Malay Supremacists hate Malaysia
Today. (I hope all the other websites hate Malaysia Today as well).

That shows we are doing the right thing. So let us not stop here.
There are still many segments of Malaysian society who are yet to hate
us so much work still needs to be done. Please stay with us until we
can get all 24 million Malaysians to hate us. Then you and I can
happily retire for we would have completed the task of shaking the
very foundation of free speech.

Set as favorite
Comments (56)Add Comment
...
written by Semuaok, August 15, 2010 12:44:40
It take UMNO 50+ years to grow into a monster and it take you 6 years
to tear them apart.

You go Pet

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...
written by mikewang, August 15, 2010 11:46:26
Happy Birthday Malaysia today.

Even with the said 60% truth in the news and gossips you gave us, it's
100% better than the deliberate lies of the main stream media.

May you continue to keep Malaysia informed.

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...
written by SoundMan, August 15, 2010 11:18:28
Heartiest Congratulations MalaysiaToday ! Great site and how it makes
the gomen trembles !

Great work Raja Petra Kamarudin & of course Marina your blessed better
half.. smilies/kiss.gif

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...
written by ibabonma, August 15, 2010 10:44:25
The last time Malaysians had their freedoms to express their
dissatisfaction with our government and Umno was during the various
public rallies held by the oppositions during Election Days. They were
held mostly in the open spaces or the public field without any
restriction. Police permits were mere formalities then.

However, just before the 1978 general election, such freedom was
withdrawn and public rallies were to be held only at close doors, in
the community halls depending on its availabilities, however only at
the pleasure of the police. Unlike earlier, where a section of the
national newspapers were reserved for the opposition, Umno/BN then
controlled the media and the oppositions were left mute.

Now we have IT and, most particularly, we have Malaysia Today that not
only allows us to undress those bastards and idiots in Umno but also
to make them listen to us and/or the rakyat. Sad indeed, since most of
the while we cannot talk to Umno/BN with much brains, we resorted to
rattling them with our curses and fcuking damnations but who's to be
blamed? The result is obvious, that enables us to chunk a huge opening
in its membership listing for the opposition's consumption. Behold! …
Anwar is going to Putra Jaya after the 13th general election while I
and many others are going to the airports to stop those Umno/BN goons
from leaving this country.

RPK, within this context you are a new born Malaysian wira/hero and
Happy Birthday Malaysia Today.

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...
written by Middle Path, August 15, 2010 09:12:16
Happy Birthday to all.
Malaysia Today is Peoples Blog so everyone is celebrating their
birthday.

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...
written by SadMalaysian101, August 15, 2010 04:36:03
Dear RPK

Thanks for your speedy response. Much appreciated. RM 20 a month
sounds reasonable to me as an investment for a better Malaysia.

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...
written by Prince of India, August 15, 2010 01:36:53
BRO. Take care THE TRUTH MUST PREVAIL ,PERJUANGAN KITA
DILANJUTKAN .YOUR WORD TO ME.

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...
written by pixieface, August 15, 2010 01:33:53
Happy bday, MT. God bless you and your dear family, RPK.. Ever since I
log onto MT, it has been my daily
ritual for some years now. MT is the eyes and ears for us in malaysia.

RPK, I WISH YOU LIVE A LONG AND PROSPEROUS LIFE, IN ORDER FOR MALAYSIA
TO BE RESTORED
TO ITS FORMER GLORY.
THANK YOU MT AND RPK, YOU ARE OUR HERO.

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...
written by panca, August 14, 2010 23:56:18
Happy Belated Birthday Malaysia-TODAY yesterday!!! Nothing stops the
truth and right to speak against distorted news in this open world,
making it the most important alternative media in a country where not
only the right to speak becomes illegal, even the right to assemble is
prohibited by the tyrannical law of her country.

Happy Malaysia-TODAY!b

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written by onnetline, August 14, 2010 23:56:05
All Malaysians should be proud to have Malaysia Today and more
especially you, RPK.
On my family's behalf, we thank you both greatly !
Happy belated Birthday ............. Malaysia Today !

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...
written by Motherchell, August 14, 2010 23:28:19
Yes Pete, 2nd stage it is!! --The Freedom you gave all in the MT space
and with the price your family pays everyday-- we are ignited with the
resolve to bring about the change that has long never been ventured
into .You secured respect and the right to freedom of expression. You
have inculcated fear into the Malaysian tyrants who masqueraded as
white pigeons with the truth of what they are really worth ! Thank you
and God Bless you both always Pete and Marina!

Social Welfare started in USA

This is a very interesting article on Social Welfare. Go to the link
below to read more comments on Social Welfare in USA.

Social Welfare may be socialism but it is certainly not communist. The
communists do not have social welfare and social welfare is not free.
You have to pay for it.

It is interesting to note that Malaysian NEM mentions the importance
of social safety net in order to encourage entrepreneurs to take more
risks. Taking risks is an important part of innovation. You must try
new things before you can innovate, and we can never tell if a new
thing will be successful or not, for certain. You just have to try
them out despite all the risks.

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/09/2945811/social-security-nears-75th-anniversary.html?pageNum=3&&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

sacbee.com

This story is taken from Sacbee / Living Here / Seniors

Social Security nears 75th anniversary
acreamer@sacbee.com
Published Monday, Aug. 09, 2010

Evelyn Sekula's widowed grandmother struggled to survive during the
Depression. Like millions of other elderly people, she had no pension
and no savings.

"She had no income at all except for what my father gave her," said
Sekula, 90, who lives at the Atria El Camino Gardens senior residence
in Carmichael. "She was always looking for a way to make money. My
father probably gave her $10 a month."

Today's older adults were children and teenagers when President
Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the face of aging on Aug. 14, 1935, when
he signed the Social Security Act into law.

They remember the difficult years when old age took place in a bleak,
Dickensian landscape of need dotted with poor houses for those whose
families couldn't support them. And they remember the difference that
Social Security made in ordinary people's lives.

They also remember their parents' fears that Social Security amounted
to socialism. Yet on the edge of the program's 75th anniversary, most
of them can't imagine retirement without the small cushion of funds
and dignity that Social Security provides.

As California Budget Project executive director Jean Ross says, Social
Security lifted the elderly out of poverty – and as the most important
source of income for most older Americans, it continues to do so.

But the recession has had a negative impact on Social Security,
according to a trustees' report released Thursday: Reduced payroll
taxes have resulted in Social Security's first projected annual
deficit since 1983. Despite that, both the trustees and the
Congressional Budget Office say that the program will remain solvent
until 2037.

The huge demographic bubble of baby boomer retirees will take a toll
on Social Security, as well. While there currently are 3.2 workers for
each recipient, that number will drop to 2.1 by 2034, according to the
Social Security Administration.

The 2010 trustees' report suggests that gradual increases in
employment numbers, along with a new health insurance tax later this
decade, will improve the program's financial picture.

Research consistently shows deep public support for Social Security,
not only among the elderly but also among younger generations.

But without significant change – either through privatization into
investment accounts, as some advocates say; or by raising the minimum
age for full benefits and lifting the payroll tax cap on income above
$106,800, as others suggest – the public remains plagued with concerns
about Social Security's long-term viability.

Earlier this summer, House Republican Leader John Boehner questioned
whether the federal government should be giving Social Security
benefits to the wealthy. "If you have substantial, non-Social Security
income while you're retired, why are we paying you?" he said in an
interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

The Ohio Republican also suggested raising the retirement age to 70.

"Our view is that Social Security is not perfect, but it's not
broken," said AARP California's Ernie Powell. "The folks who want to
do radical reform want to create doubts that Social Security will be
there.

"It's important to give people a sense of its future. It's not in
crisis, but there are reforms that we need to make to make sure its
solvency continues beyond the 2040s."

For more than 51 million Americans – including disabled workers and
children receiving survivor benefits – Social Security isn't a hot-
button political talking point. It's survival.

The average benefit isn't much: only $1,100 a month. According to
Social Security figures, half of elderly married couples receive 52
percent of their income from the program, as do almost 75 percent of
elderly single people.

Without Social Security, 40 percent of Californians aged 65 and older
would live in poverty.

"If it wasn't for Social Security, I'd be living under a bridge," said
Jeneva Hammonds, 84, who worked seasonally as a Blue Diamond
mechanic's helper.

Her $714 monthly Social Security check, along with her late husband's
small railroad pension, helps pay for the room she occupies at Atria
El Camino Gardens. Even so, she has to tap into her savings to pay for
her rent, phone bill and heart medications.

Retirement these days can be tough enough with Social Security.
Without it, would retirement even exist? For most people, probably
not.

"Social Security was the first government program instituting the
concept that we have a collective responsibility for each other," said
American River College gerontology department Chairman Barbara
Gillogly. "Before that, there was no real concept of retirement.

"Most people worked until they died or were too ill, and then they
were at the mercy of their family and friends."

In the desperate 1930s, the elderly often ended up begging on the
streets.

"A lot of older people in the Depression were starving to death," she
said. "People with no other means of survival could go to poor farms.
There were alms houses next to churches. It was demeaning."

For many decades, Sacramento County's poor farm and indigent cemetery
were on the sprawling grounds of the county hospital, the site of
today's UC Davis Medical Center on Stockton Boulevard.

The county home for aging indigent women was a large Victorian house
nestled on the same acreage, remembers Sacramento native and longtime
florist Al Balshor, 87, while the home for aging indigent men occupied
a rambling brick estate on Franklin Boulevard near Florin.

"Mostly, people took care of their own," he said.

For those who couldn't, going to the county poor house was, as Sekula
puts it, a sign of disgrace. Yet census records from the 1930s show
that poor houses across the country were filled with people in their
60s, 70s and 80s.

"You went to the poor house if you were absolutely destitute," Sekula
said. "Nobody wanted to go there."

Of the 6.5 million elderly Americans alive in 1935, only 350,000 had
any sort of pension. The new Social Security Administration
arbitrarily fixed retirement age at 65, based on European pension
models from the 1880s that were predicated on a low life expectancy.

The government also hoped Social Security payments would stimulate the
dismal late Depression economy by getting more money into circulation,
says Gillogly.

Olivia Sparrevohn, 83, remembers that Social Security made a
difference in her grandmother's life. Carrie King Cralle was 68 in
1935, a widow who worked as a secretary and cared for an invalid
daughter.

Monthly Social Security payments didn't begin until 1940. Before that,
recipients were paid a lump sum. Even so, by 1940, 1 million older
Americans had received money from the program.

"Suddenly, my granny got this check," said Sparrevohn, a retired
technical illustrator who lives in Elk Grove. "She was very frugal. I
know that check was small, but I know it made a difference in her
life.

"I can remember clearly that it was a big thing to her."

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Iran builds its own submarines

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/08/08/Iran-welcomes-four-new-subs/UPI-46781281280661/

TEHRAN, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Iran's top defense officials attended a
ceremony welcoming four new submarines fitted out with state of the
art technology, officials said.

Iranian state media outlets reported Sunday the locally made Ghadir
submarines have the ability to fire missiles and torpedoes
simultaneously, and are fitted with the latest sonar technology. The
submarines are able to operate in the shallow waters of the Persian
Gulf, the reports said.

Fars and IRNA state news agencies said Defense Minister General Ahmad
Vahidi and Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, the commander of Iran's Navy,
attended the ceremony along with senior military officials.

The reports said the submarines are an integral part of Iran's goal to
become self-sufficient by manufacturing and producing its own fighter
jets, armored vehicles and radar evading missiles as well as other
superior weapons, for its air, naval and ground forces.

Malaysia is a Failure: Forum concludes

P)lease note that Malaya is not Malaysia. Malaysia is an agreement
between Malaya and Borneon states. Without Borneo, there is no
Malaysia.

It is very clear that the objective of Malaysia had not been achieved.
The main reason is that, all along Malaysia had been interpreted as
just a renamed Malaya, contrary to all written documents and
agreements.

But then, what do you expect from a Janji Melayu.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/sabah-and-sarawak/8705-tunkus-malaysia-project-a-failure-forum-concludes

By Luke Rintod

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysia Project envisaged by the former premier
Tunku Abdul Rahman and Borneo leaders, Donald Stephens and Temenggong
Jugah 47 years ago is a failure, according to a wide spectrum of the
intelligentsia.

In a series of papers submitted at a one-day forum on the 'Formation
of Malaysia Revisited and The Way Forward', presenters concluded that
what had been conceived by the trio and what eventually transpired in
the intervening years was similar to a pendulum swing.

All the five papers presented and deliberated at Saturday's landmark
forum to discuss the birth of the Federation of Malaysia and the
effects on Sabah and Sarawak 40 years after noted how state rights had
taken a backseat to political convenience.

Kanul Gindol, secretary-general of CigMa, said the forum managed to
achieve an intellectual discussion of the pros and cons of the
formation of Malaysia.

"It was lively (discussion) and managed to attract people from all
walks of life including past and present public figures like Ayub
Aman, an elder brother of Sabah Chief Minister, Amirkahar Tun
Mustapha, PKR leaders like Christina Liew and Baru Bian, retired civil
servants, academicians, lawyers, teachers, politicians, students and
laymen," he said.

Kitingan, the younger brother of Sabah deputy Chief Minister Joseph
Pairin Kitingan, in his paper highlighted facts and 'secrets', notably
how the federal powers had subdued the state through many manoeuvres
since 1963, and how Sabah leaders were duped into believing in
whatever Peninsular Malaysian leaders pledged and promised them.

Using figures, he demonstrated how the Kadazandusuns, who were once
the majority and dominant in North Borneo/Sabah were being
disenfranchised.

He spoke about the emergence of a new group called Melayu in Sabah
which today stands at more than 300,000 but was only 18,000 in 1970's.

Split Sabah into five state

The Harvard graduate also cited how Malayan subsequent leaders managed
to tilt the equation of power to the peninsula ever since the
inception of the federation in 1963.

"In 1963, we had a 50-50 equation in Parliament representation vis-a-
vis the 11-states in Malaya and the group of Sabah, Sarawak and
Singapore.

"When Singapore left or was kicked-out of the federation in 1965,
their 15 seats should have been distributed to Sabah and Sarawak but
what happen was Malaya took seven seats and the remaining eight were
distributed to the Borneo states.

"Then in 1972/73, 73 new Parliament constituencies were created, and
all of them were in Malaya. From here on, Sabah and Sarawak lost its
power to block any passing of laws in Parliament, so peninsular
leaders can do whatever they want to the federation," he said.

Kitingan, a PKR vice president, in his paper proposed that Sabah be
split into five states and Sarawak into seven and that Parliament
representation in the Borneo states should be balanced with that in
the peninsular.

He noted that the Cobbold Commission Report had forewarned that: "If
the idea of Malaysia was a 'take over' of Sabah and Sarawak and the
submersion of the individualities of Sabah/Sarawak, Malaysia would not
be acceptable or successful."

Scepticism of sincerity

Veteran Malaysian leader and founding father of the Sarawak National
Party or SNAP, James Wong, whose paper was presented by lawyer and the
Sarawak PKR Head Baru Bian, said that selling the idea of Malaysia had
not been easy.

He revealed the prevailing scepticism of sincerity during the period
and these were typified by Temenggong Jugah when he said in Iban:
"Anang Malaysia sebaka tebu, manis di pohon, tawal diujung" which
literally means 'Malaysia should not be like the sugar cane, sweet at
the head and getting less and less sweet towards the end'.

It was a conjecture that proved true as Sabah and Sarawak now sit at
the bottom list of many progress indices in Malaysia, he said.

Wong pointed out that initially in the 1950s there was already an
effort to federate North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei but North Borneo
leaders then were reluctant because Sarawak had communist threats
unlike North Borneo.

In the soon to follow Cobbold Commission Report, the merger concept of
the Federation of Malaysia detailed that the central government would
be strong and provide security but local aspirations and needs would
also have to be recognised and safeguarded.

The report clearly states that: "It is a necessary condition that,
from the outset, Malaysia should be regarded by all concerned, as an
association of partners, combined in the common interest to create a
new nation but retaining their own individualities," Wong pointed out.

Karim Ghani, who was instrumental in bringing in Umno to Sabah, in his
paper reminded that Sabahans can no longer count on taking control of
their state without the aid of the hundreds of thousands of immigrants
who reside there.

Shouts of tipu

However the discussion became more heated when Ayub Aman, the elder
brother of Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman claimed that all Malaysians
were treated equally in response to John Brian of the Sarawak Dayak
National Union (SDNU) who complained of marginalisation in
opportunities.

The ageing former Culture, Youth and Sports Minister during Berjaya
party era was visibly shocked and appeared to be in a daze after his
remarks were met with boos and shouts of "tipu" and "no same treatment
to Kadazandusuns and Dayaks".

Ayub also blamed complaints of rampant corruption in Sabah politics as
the outcome of a corrupt rakyat.

SLA's S Venugopal also presented a paper detailing breaches in the
political equation and merger partnership.

The one-day forum was jointly organised by two KK-based NGOs - the
Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF) and CigMa or Common Interest Group
Malaysia.

The Politics of Science: Global Warming report

Science is so dependent on the government for data and funds. It is
not surprising that it must view the opinions of its political master.

This global warming data may appear to be reasonable, but it comes
after Obama became President. Earlier, under Bush, the study by
similar US departments conclude that Global Warming is not conclusive.

Now similar departments conclude otherwise.

I can bet that when a Republican becomes President, the report will be
reversed.

For me, global warming is a certainty despite insufficient data to
prove conclusively. My policy is simple. It is better to err on the
safer side than to err on the dangerous side.

It is just a waste of money trying to prove the inevitable. The money
and intellectual resources should better be spent on preventing Global
warming by going hydro, solar, wind and nuclear.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/100728-global-warming-noaa-climate-hottest-decade-science-environment/

Christine Dell'Amore

National Geographic News

Published July 28, 2010

"Global warming is undeniable," and it's happening fast, a new U.S.
government report says.

An in-depth analysis of ten climate indicators all point to a marked
warming over the past three decades, with the most recent decade being
the hottest on record, according to the latest of the U.S. National
Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration's annual "State of the Climate"
reports, which was released Wednesday. Reliable global climate record-
keeping began in the 1880s.

The report focused on climate changes measured in 2009 in the context
of newly available data on long-term developments.

(See "Heat Wave: 2010 to Be One of Hottest Years on Record.") For
instance, surface air temperatures recorded from more than 7,000
weather stations around the world over the past few decades confirm an
"unmistakable upward trend," the study says.

And for the first time, scientists put data from climate indicators—
such as ocean temperature and sea-ice cover—together in one place.
Their consistency "jumps off the page at you," report co-author Derek
Arndt said.

"This is like going to the doctor and getting your respiratory test
and circulatory test and your neurosystem test," said Arndt, head of
the Climate Monitoring Branch of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center.

"It's testing all the parts, and they're all in agreement that the
same thing's going on."

Global Warming Sparked Extreme Weather in 2009?

Three hundred scientists analyzed data on 37 climate indicators, but
homed in on 10 that the study says are especially revealing.

Those indicators include:

* humidity,
* sea-surface temperature,
* sea ice cover,
* snow cover,
* ocean heat content,
* glacier cover,
* air temperature in the lower atmosphere,
* sea level,
* temperature over land,
* and temperature over oceans.

As scientists would predict in a hotter world, some of the indicators—
such as ocean heat content and temperature over land—are increasing.
Others, such as sea ice cover and snow cover, are decreasing.

The influx of greenhouses gases into the atmosphere has also hit
oceans particularly hard, the NOAA report says. (See an interactive on
the greenhouse effect and global warming.)

New evidence suggests that more than 90 percent of that heat trapped
by greenhouses gases over the past 50 years has been absorbed into the
oceans.

Because water expands as it warms, the added ocean heat is
contributing to sea level rise as well as to the rapid melting of
Arctic summer sea ice. That melting in 2010 is on track to be worse
than 2007, when Arctic ice cover reached its lowest point on record.

Such climatic shifts are already ushering in extreme weather, which
plagued much of the globe in 2009, according to the report. (See a
world map of potential global warming impacts.) For instance,
Australia experienced its third hottest year on record.

On one February 2009 day—labeled "Black Saturday"—in Australia, 400
wildfires swept across the state of Victoria, killing 173 people and
destroying 3,500 buildings. (See pictures of the Australian fires.)

NOAA Climate Report Offers Real-World Data

The NOAA report—published in the Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society—is different from other climate publications,
because it's based on observed data, not computer models, making it
the "climate system's annual scorecard," the authors wrote. (Test your
global warming knowledge.)

"It's telling us what's going on in the real world, rather than the
imaginary world," said Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the
Boulder, Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Even so, the report "does not carry the authority of the IPCC
[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] by any means," Trenberth
noted.

That's partially because IPCC reports—the latest of which came out in
2007 with a similar claim that warming is "unequivocal"—are produced
on longer time scales, with more time for review.

And even with real-world data, "the theory with regard to global
warming is still incomplete"—especially since the atmosphere is so
complex, Trenberth cautioned.

This "can be seen at a glance," for example, "by looking out of the
window at the wondrous, great variety in clouds."