Fast and furious!

We have heard of match fixing in sports like football, wrestling, cricket, tennis, to name a few. It surely would have come as a shock to us that match fixing had also occurred in F1 car racing and what a ‘match fixing’ it was!

Nelson Piquet Jr, the driver of the Renault team crashed his car at the 14^th lap of the September 28, 2008, Singapore Grand Prix, as was instructed by some Renault officials, so that it would inconvenient the other drivers and his compatriot, driver Fernando Alonso could win. And Alonso capitalized from it to ‘win’ the championship! This is what I call, in Saddam Hussein’s favorite oft-used phrase, ‘mother of all’ cheatings! Didn’t they have a soul? Was life so cheap to them? Luckily, the driver Nelson Piquet Jr. and none of the spectators were hurt in the crash.

On Monday, September 24, 2009 in Paris, the Renault Formula One team was sentenced to a suspension of two years by FIA (International Automobile Federation). To me the punishment do not seem to be very severe. I wish they had imposed a ‘mother of all’ punishments as suited such a crime, a crime of cheating an estimated 600 million viewers.

By the way, for aspiring car race drivers of the world, there is a crash course waiting at Renaults! Ha ha! Happy crashing!.........oops…happy racing!

Nations doing a dance

Indonesians have been unhappy with the Malaysians for the past few weeks.

It started off with several Balinese artists staging a protest at the Denpasar Cultural Park on Saturday, August 22, 2009. In later days, Indonesians had burned the Malaysian flag and had threatened to harm the Malaysian students studying in Indonesia.

Reason- they have been telling that Malaysia, in a TV advertisement program, had used one of their cultural dances to promote Malaysia to the tourism world. Malaysia denied it saying that it was a Discovery Channel program and it was the Discovery channel that had wrongly used the dance in the promotion program for Malaysia.

The dance in question was the ancient Balinese Pendet Dance of a Hindu community of Bali in the Indonesian state of Java. Indonesia and Malaysia are predominantly considered Muslim countries. Here they are, arguing over a Hindu dance. For once, what a beautiful world that we are living in!

S(n)ide Remarks

God saw the necessity to create women on earth.

Women saw the necessity of the creation of lipstick, lip-gloss, eyeliner, face toners, eye shadow quads, hand and body creams and even blushers.

Men saw the necessity to make millions from them.

What a vicious cycle!

******

In several countries race is indeed a problematic issue. Especially, when you do not know the horses!

******

In the army, ‘Will’ is a dangerous name to have for a soldier, especially when the commander notices that the opponents are too near and rushing on!

The heart wails!

Oh, so you have heartache…eh? Don’t worry. Do not take matters to the heart. Take heart on the fact that matters of the heart can be sorted out without anyone having a broken heart. You say your heart is heavy because your heartthrob and has heartlessly left you and fallen for someone else? And that, after all the financial and moral help you have given to him heartily?

Let me have a heart-to-heart talk with you. We have some heart-searching job to do here now. Well, this is not an immense heart-stopping issue and is not necessary for you to have heartburn. My heartfelt advice to you is to not to blame and condemn your sweetheart that he hasn’t got a heart, to have caused you that pain in the heart. Have a heart. Give him some time to discover your heart of gold. Go out! Mix with your other friends. Do not sulk. Have hearty meals. Joke around. Open up your heart!

What? You have tried all that and still have that heartbreak? Some one help me! I am going to have a heart attack!

Hillary Clinton - a woman of rationale

Hillary Rodham Clinton is one woman I admire because of various reasons. One of them, was her composure during her turbulent times, when the sex scandal between her husband, then President Bill Clinton, and intern Monica Lewinsky was high on the news, on pages and screens of the world’s media. A citizen, from our part of the world, that is Asia, would have thought that, she being an American, and Americans being fierce advocators of liberation and transparency of their citizens, would soon get annoyed, and irritated with Bill Clinton, not to mention the distrust for his waywardness, and would gradually split off with him. This, in fact, turned out to be an anticlimax. She stuck with him through thick and thin, until today. She had just shown a message to the world; that Americans are not as 'trigger' happy as we thought they would be, and they, too, have understanding and tolerance, as was required by the society of the eastern world.

Another thing that made me be attracted towards her is, her motherliness and simple man-on-the-street (or, woman-on-the-street, if you please!) approach and presentation, with her innocent talk and laughter. She is 62, but does not look her age. She looks more like in the age around 40s, with pleasing dimples on her cheeks when she smiled or laughed. (Well, Mrs. Clinton, I will have certainly brought a red blush of happiness on your pretty face with this remark. Have I not?)

I had followed her closely through the media, of her election speeches for the candidacy of Democrats, and they were terrific. However, when she lost to Barack Obama, finally, there was only a tiny speck of disappointment in me for her loss, for I had been also an ardent fan of Barack Obama!

My approval for Obama grew further, when he made Hillary the US Secretary of State, and that I acknowledged gleefully as very appropriate, and well deserved. Yes, it was a very correct choice, indeed. Holding the post of the Secretary of State is no easy task, with all the complexities of the world, and the responsibilities. But she seems to handling it all right and I have a feeling that she is enjoying it too!

Well, she, indeed, has a certain charisma to pull people to her side, as had happened with me. However, there is yet another woman out there, who is making heads turn, wherever she goes. Mine turns, too! She is no other than Michelle Obama! That is for another day!

Come next general election!

How many times must an Indian kneel down

Before you call him a Malaysian.

How many times must a Chinese kneel down

Before you call him a Malaysian

Yes, how many times must one kneel down

Before you call him a Malaysian

The answer my friend

Is blowing in the win

The answer is blowing in the win.

Yes, the opposition coalition should win in the next general election for the non-Malays to get the wish of them being called as Malaysians rather than immigrants. (my thanks to Bob Dylan for bringing out the poet in me!)

Happy days ahead for England soccer.

Today, the news that England has beaten Croatia 5 – 1, and qualified for the World Cup finals, in South Africa pleases me, greatly. I have been an ardent England fan always, and had felt disappointment, for their lackluster performance, given out in the previous years. The Italian coach Fabio Capello seems to have eliminated all that. Thank you, Mr Capello. And also my thanks and appreciation to the FA of England, to have, brilliantly, chosen him to bring England out of the doldrums.

I have a soft spot for England always. Perhaps, it had gradually developed, as a result of me being brought up through an English medium school, and my deep liking for English novels and magazines during my younger years. This has been further fortified by the fact that my elder brother has settled in England, and the feeling of connection between England and me.

However, do not misunderstand me for a minute. I am, and always will be, a permanent fan of my Malaysian Football team! Many a times, have I gone heartbroken, whenever Malaysia lost to other teams, and to much lesser known teams at that, like Vietnam, Laos, etc. Currently, the team seems to be performing better under new coach, Rajagopal, losing only narrowly to stronger and much favoured teams, like Saudi Arabia, Jordan. And who could forget how determinedly they played against Manchester United, but lost!

Well, let’s see how it goes in the Sea (South East Asia) Games. Malaysia becoming the soccer champion in the Sea Games will, indeed, please me significantly!

And England winning the world cop….Wow!

pic: Teams-England and Malaysia

The error of my ways

Oops! Today, I discovered a mistake that I had made, unknowingly, in this blog site. As you all know, I have been updating, daily, the top 12 nations affected by the H1N1 flu. I did not know what happened to my mind. It failed to discover that I had been typing out ‘10’ for the month of September and ‘9’ for August! 

I only realized the error when I checked the draw date for the Pan Malaysian, Big Sweep, 7 digit ticket. The draw date was written as 13-9-2009. And it was a new ticket! I grimaced! What a careless mistake to make in the internet! I had immediately set on correcting the errors, with my sincerest apologies. Well, time to have a man to man talk with my brain!

Talking about the lottery ticket, I am not actually a gambling man. However, I am also a believer of luck. That is why instead of wasting my hard-earned money on all sorts of lottery tickets I just indulge in one. My contention is that if one has no luck, even if one were to buy hundreds of the tickets, he would not strike it rich. On the other hand, one who has luck coming his way will have struck it, even if he had bought just one ticket. Nice contention….Eh? The ticket costs just RM3.00 and the draws merely comes once or twice a month.

Malaysia, calling itself an Islamist country, also allows the business of gaming in numbers, which is, practically, gambling. However, it has a law that disallows Muslims to indulge in these numbers games. The players, or more correctly the gamblers, are mostly the Chinese and Indians. In peninsular Malaysia, where I live, there are three gaming companies providing the gaming draws, thrice a week. The Companies concerned in the games of chance are Da ma cai, Magnum 4D and Toto. The games involve the correct prediction of 4 digits to come out in the draws.

One good thing about these games of numbers is that they become a talking point whenever one friend meets another.... And also to cover up one's mistake...you know what I mean...ha!..ha!

The Charismatic Kennedys - Just the time to remember..

The Kennedy brothers have left this world, leaving behind a legacy of their own. The first two brothers died under tragic circumstances. The eldest, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by one, Lee Harvey Oswald, during a motorcade on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. His younger brother, Senator and President hopeful, Robert F. Kennedy died on June 6, 1968, after being shot by Sirhan Sirhan a Christian-Palestinian American, following a victory speech of the California presidential primary at The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, in the early morning of June 5. The youngest, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, ‘The Lion of the Senate’, died on August 25, 2009 in Massachusetts, as a result of a malignant brain tumour. 


The American people, together with the people of the world, feel that, finally, an extraordinary era has ended on earth.

Though, they are gone, they have left behind quotes, maxims and sayings that have pulled in people’s attractions, influencing them either directly or indirectly. Among the famous ones (from Wikipedia.com) are:

John F. Kennedy

"And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country"

"We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

“No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space."


Robert F. Kennedy

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

"Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it."

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were and ask why not."

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black."

"The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country."

"Laws can embody standards; governments can enforce laws — but the final task is not a task for government. It is a task for each and every one of us. Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted — when we tolerate what we know to be wrong — when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy, or too frightened — when we fail to speak up and speak out — we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice."

"...We must recognize the full human equality of all our people-before God, before the law, and in the councils of government. We must do this, not because it is economically advantageous-although it is; not because the laws of God and man command it-although they do command it; not because people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do.

Edward M. Kennedy

"Our values are tarnished when we allow 12 million human beings to live in the dark shadows of abuse as undocumented immigrants."

"I believe we must not permit the dream of social progress to be shattered by those whose premises have failed."

“For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

"this November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans. So, with Barack Obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. The work begins anew. The hope rises again. And the dream lives on."

(pic:the Kennedy brothers-John, Robert and Edward)

Myanmar in trouble

We are aware of the problem in Myanmar in regards to the house arrest of pro democracy movement leader, Ang San Suu Kyi. Another one was the military junta’s mêlée with the ethnic Karen insurgents in the south, bordering Thailand, which they have claimed to have defeated last June.

Now, another news is hogging the lime light in the medias, especiall,y the Asian ones. It is the confrontations between the military and the Kokangs(Chinese-speaking ethnic rebels), at the border of China. The kokangs have fled into the wary eyed China to escape the attacks from the Myanmar army. Refugees are increasing in the thousands and China is becoming uneasy, what with Myanmar being one of its allies. This would not be the end of the troubles in Myanmar. There are other well-armed militant groups in the north fighting to keep their autonomy notably the Wa and Kachin.

When will the people of Myanmar have a trouble free nation? It all seems to be up to the Military junta. The United Nations are just united in keeping a low profile.