Tuesday 18 November 2014

The Bulls and Crap of 1 MALAYSIA.




BR1M


1. Let me begin by admitting that I am not a trained economist or financier. Still I don’t think it is fair for anyone to say I do not understand BR1M and the good things about it. I have in the past made some decisions on economic and financial matters which seem to have given good results for the country.

2. I have been opposed to giving monetary handouts as a way to increase the income of people right from the beginning. If at all financial aid should be given to the very poor who are unable to work to earn an income. My primary objection is because handouts on such a scale look too much like bribery. And when this is given near elections or the manifesto promises this, the impression that it is about buying votes just cannot be dismissed. If incomes are to be increase it should be by way of creating opportunities for work or business.

3. But BR1M has more negative implications than that. It increases the tendency towards personal dependence on the Government even for one’s income, without any effort by oneself. It weakens the character of people and reduce their competitiveness in the market place.

4. We want high incomes. But high income should come from increases in productivity. High productivity results from better education and training. A manual labourer cannot be more productive than a mechanic or a craftsman. And they in turn cannot be as productive as an engineer. The ability to increase productivity comes from greater added value to the products.

5. It follows that when we promote industries with greater added value, than the incomes of employees would increase due to greater contribution of the employees. We should note that in countries with big Government revenues from the foreign exploitation of resources, and people are given a part of the revenue to sustain a good lifestyle, there is a lack of desire to work.
6. Giving money does not increase productivity. Without increasing productivity, competitiveness will not improve. And the economy will not really grow. These countries invariably depend on foreign workers, executives and entrepreneurs.

7. When Malaysia adopted a policy of encouraging labour intensive industries, it was because at that time the people were jobless and had no income. After that to increase their incomes we switched to hi-tech, knowledge-based industries and our people are educated and trained for these more sophisticated higher income industries.

8. We can increase their wages further by adopting new technologies and management systems. Our workers should now be involved in designing new products, producing prototypes, testing and mass-producing. Marketing and sales of these more sophisticated products will also increase incomes.

9. We want to be a developed nation by 2020. We think that this can be done by increasing average incomes to a certain level. This is misleading. A few people with very high incomes will distort the average income. Per capita income should not be a measure of our achievement of developed country status. The emphasis on high income alone is not enough. In fact by itself it will not make the country a developed country. It would be even more misleading when the income is due to handouts by the Government.

10. To be developed we have to be at par with these developed countries in terms of education, technological and industrial knowhow, research and development, industrialised to a high level, commensurate infrastructure and high earned incomes for all.

11. It is imperative therefore to spend money on education and training to a higher level, to build up engineering and industrial capacities, to be productive and competitive, to expend money on building first-class infrastructure and to be researchers, inventors and developers.

12. Since we want to be developed in our own mould, we can reject the moral values of some developed countries. We see them obviously decaying because of the emphasis on unlimited materialism and personal freedom. We must sustain the good values that we have and acquire good ethnics which will contribute to our productivity and our income. In other words we must earn our income through higher productivity and not through handouts by the Government. The Socialist and Communists have tried to improve their people’s incomes through giving them money and making free availability of support facilities to ensure they have a good life. But Socialism and Communism have failed. They have to resort to free enterprise and hard work.

13. Finally we must not forget that Government money is derived through taxes on the people. Taxes raise the cost of living. Still the people are willing to endure raised cost of living because they expect the Government to give them security, to govern the country well, to have policies which benefit the people generally.

14. But the people would not like to see the taxes they pay to be expended in ways that are beyond this. Certainly they would not want their hard-earned money to be expended on winning popularity for anyone or political parties or administrations.

*******************************************************

The above extracted from Dr Mahathir Mohammad's blog.
If Im not mistaken this is not the first time he wrote on this BR1M.
Or perhaps that might be another Najib-bashing write-ups on perhaps another of his (Najib) acronym- whatnots, supposedly would benefits the rakyat.

It's bullshits.
No one need to be financier or economist to sum up all the money this Najib had been and is spending, that it is all total waste. As I mentioned in my another post, he has a bunch of monkeys as advisors -- perhaps those youngsters were his son's friends...who might just got to that positions because of his son. And who have been advising him craps all his tenure as Prime Minister.

And if he ever thought that buying the people with all his bulls and crap acronyms 1 this and 1 that, Kedai1Malaysia or Toilet1 Malaysia -- he must have been an idiot having to believe so. 
He must be elected because his late daddy was once a prime minister too.

Don't blame people for generalising.
Look at some of the menteris. Either their daddy or daddy in law of grandfather you'd find one who were once in the cabinet.

The bulls and crap of 1 Malaysia.


       

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Poverty --the root of corruption.



Sultan Nazrin Shah, said that Putrajaya must tackle income inequality as it is the root of poverty and corruption. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, October 1, 2014.





















Stop being in denial, pay gap causes graft, Perak Sultan tells Putrajaya.


Now, not many sultan of all the sultans of Malaysia would openly criticised over any government-related issue.
Probably it has been their nature ever since those days when the Malay sultans were being told to just follow and accept whatever the mat sallehs lord gave and told them to do.
And perhaps they have all the perks that they feel there aren't any need for them to raise anything against the government.

However, Sultan Nazrin Shah of Perak proved that the Sultan do have a say somehow.
In his speech at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) 47th Anniversary event in Kuala Lumpur recently, he told the government to tackle income inequality among the rakyat as it is the root of poverty and corruption.

Putrajaya recently announcement that average household incomes have surpassed RM5,900, which in actual fact it is not. With rising expenditure and same 20 years ago average income take home; their claim are very much debatable.

The Sultan also said Putrajaya must stop being in denial about wealth inequality and realise that hardship and poverty are also fuelling corruption.
I must salute this Sultan.
If almost all of the cabinet ministers are mere butt-licker and puppy dogs, we need someone up above than them to shake their lazy self a little bit.

In a speech, he cited figures that showed the low earnings of a vast majority of households and noted that those struggling to make ends meet were exposed to petty corruption.

Malaysia is not at any bottom 10 of the world's corrupted nation list. It is however climbing higher and higher wanting to get to the top 10 of the world's most corrupted nation.
Corruption is present among high-ranking officials in public and private sectors due to greed, and the Sultan also said struggle of those in the lower-income groups who wanted to avoid corruption by taking up second jobs to sustain their families would eventually affect their productivity at their workplace.

"This is the reality. The number of them will increase if the effective formulas to address housing, transportation and medical assistance are not introduced. The country has to wake up and realise what is happening."

He cited the New Economic Model report which showed that 80% of households earned less than RM5,000 a month, and of this, 40% were earning less than RM2,000 a month.

The data also showed that 78.6% of Employees Provident Fund account holders were those earning less than RM3,000 a month.

While investment power among majority Bumiputera was manifested in the Amanah Saham Bumiputera, 75% of account holders only had an average of RM611 in savings.

He said Sultan the data was worrying given Putrajaya's efforts to be a high-income nation with a target of RM48,000 income per capita by 2020.

He said the situation was like a disease that needed serious treatment liking it to 'a temporary sore throat which can be cured by taking a Strepsil'. This is a serious social illness that needs intensive treatment from 'social doctors and surgeons' to structure a comprehensive and holistic social policy, he added.

Perhaps the country need more of this kind of Sultans just to keep order of the cabinet and its ministers. Including the prime minister of course.

The other one whom I reckon would have the gut to speak out is the Johore sultan and the Sultan of Selangor.

Maybe we should wait for them to touch on the agenda to rid the Malays (not so much bumiputera though) off their rights as stipulated in the Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia.

For those Malays (whom to me were mere sheeples of konon-new Malay breed whom are basically kacang lupa kulit) and those non-Malays, please read and understand the following carefully;

...grants the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) responsibility for “safeguard[ing] the special position of the ‘Malays’(and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities” ....
If you still don't get it, then try to learn and understand the history of the country and how those Malays fought to relieve this nation from the Lord Union Jack.

One thing I know, from my little experience in life -- you will only know when you lose it.

Thursday 11 September 2014

No off shoulders please teachers.

This is something that I as parents applaud.
The Supreme Education Council (SEC) has recently outlined 10-point code  "core values" expecting professional behaviour from teachers both inside and outside of school hours.

Besides emphasising on communicating effectively with students, working with parents -- their must also be modest in their day to day dress.

The council has previously outlined a similar set of expectations for students at the start of the term in their effort to improve poor attendance and discipline in local schools. Parents have been given questionnaires and I remember receiving them for the past two school years.


The ten core points are;

  • Establishing a good, professional relationship with all students without exception, and providing them with the necessary attention and care, both inside and outside the classroom;
  • Showing respect to parents and collaborating with parents and community organisations to raise students’ performance;
  • Respecting subordinates and implementing instructions of superiors, and behaving wisely and objectively in accordance with social customs and professional conduct;
  • Abiding by the laws and regulations of the state at all times, informing officials, superiors or competent authorities of any violations of the laws;
  • Communicating with members of the school community, students and the public effectively, wisely and respectfully
  • Respecting Islamic values, national customs and traditions and all other religious beliefs;
  • Dressing modestly, taking into account the customs and traditions of the workplace and beyond;
  • Avoiding any activities that lead to the emergence of a real or apparent conflict of interest;
  • Optimizing the use of public property and financial resources of the school, which should be used strictly for important and functional purposes only; and
  • Avoiding possessing or using unauthorized alcoholic beverages, drugs and tobacco and all drugs substances or becoming under their influence, whether at the work place or outside.


While some criticised key aspects of the new code that appear to dictate modest dress and limit drinking and smoking out of school hours there are some who say this is timely and glad the SEC is aware of some problems and is addressing them.

Since Qatar imports I'd say 90 percent of their teachers from abroad especially the UK in order to provide education to expats children in the country; cultural differences has somehow took its place in the society.

Where I lived for instance --  I have witnessed teachers smoking just outside the school gate during their break time -- something that I have never seen and Im pretty sure are not done even now in Malaysia.
Yes, they don't do it in the school compound, but it is just a step away and the gate is used by pupils in and out of school. 
And that is not all.
The drinking at family clubs while sunbathing, the party organise by the headmaster at his house on a weekly basis for the teenage girl to have fun with other teenagers.
Honestly -- this is not a good example for young minds at all.

I am not saying the Brits teachers are all such, there are those older ones whom you know you can trust teaching good values to your children but the younger ones, those in their late twenties single aiming for hot countries experience -- I had gone through a bad school year last semester with my daughter's teacher. Thank god she had hopped to another hot weathered country.

It is all about the basic role of being a good model that might have been slipped away from the later generations of teachers. That has led to pupils having less respect to teachers. Unlike 20 years ago.
Nontheless, those who realise something must be done do exist still. For example the teacher in the US whom created headline after sending one teenage girl home when she wore a dress to short for her prom night.
And the headteacher in UK who sent 250 schoolgirls home for wearing short skirts ; who also told his female staff off for wearing smaller tops that expose their naked shoulders -- these are the values that should be kept and abide by all teachers in order to maintain modesty among younger generations.




Saturday 26 July 2014

KIKI's BULLSHITS.

We want to help Malays, Selangor Perkasa says after fund for road bully.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — The newly-launched fund to pay the fine for Siti Fairrah Ashykin Kamaruddin, the disgraced woman filmed hammering an elderly ethnic Chinese man’s vehicle with a steering lock, is a gesture “to help Malays”, Selangor Perkasa said today.
The state chapter also said the woman, also known as Kiki needed that help because she is Malay, even if not a member of the rights group.
“No, she is not a Perkasa member. The issue here is that she is a Malay. We want to help the Malays,” the chapter’s chief Abu Bakar Yahya told The Malay Mail Online over the phone.
“We were actually uneasy over this decision. Others would have surely asked, why does Perkasa want to contribute? Is Perkasa crazy?” he added.
Abu Bakar suggested that the sentence against Kiki had been suspicious, noting that only a “crazy woman” would have acted like she did in a normal situation.

“We don’t know why she flipped out or acted in a rude manner. Was she provoked? Was she insane?” he asked.
He also said that Kiki was charged and sentenced despite her apology, and even when the elderly victim Sim Siak Heong refused to lodge a report against her.
“I don’t want to question the action taken by authorities… But I ask my fellow friends to realise, if the action was taken in response to the video, did the video depict the incident from the start until the end?” Abu Bakar added.
A social media storm erupted after the video documenting Kiki verbally abusing Sim and hitting his car with a steering lock was uploaded on video-sharing site YouTube. Her tirade included racist taunts.

Selangor Perkasa launched the fund “out of sympathy for her” earlier today, which it hoped will “help lighten the financial burden” of Kiki.
According to Selangor Perkasa secretary Mohd Idrus Ali Ahmad, the fund has collected close to RM400 today.
“Even if it’s just RM500, RM1,000, the amount doesn’t really matter. More importantly, this is a symbolic gesture,” he said.
When asked whether the group will back any Malay traffic offenders in the future, Abu Bakar said it will only consider “reasonable” cases.
Siti Fairrah, who broke down during mitigation, had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 427 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to two years or a fine or both, The Star reported.

She was said to have committed the offence at the parking lot of UTC, Jalan Sekilau in Kuantan on July 14 at about 1.10pm.--

******************************************************************

My word for this?
Bullshits!

Personally I have no problem with people of one race helping their own race.
To the Malays who supported this -- yeah, I understand your mission.
It's a natural thing to help someone in need.
The Cina and Indian people would do the same too but the only difference is they're not attention seeker as this PERKASA.
They'd do it quietly.
In most of their racist agendas.

But helping out a road bully, assisting this crazy Likilala woman with monetary assistance after she attempted an attacked on one Chinese elderly man with her car steering lock -- this is ABSURD.

And you know what will come out of this?
More lady road bully... mark my word on this.
Those young ladies perhaps all this while been hiding like a turtle behind their wheels, only dare to curse in the car will now have the courage to come out and hammer any man or woman that 'graced' their 'luxurious' car, or maybe didn't give them ways when they cut 'Q' or changes lane without signals.
Drivers nowadays especially those in college or the ones that just entering workforce, in my observation during holidays here, seems to  have adapted rude kiasu-like  driving attitude.
The road is and will be infected with more mentally sick drivers.



Thursday 17 July 2014

Latest crash of Malaysian Airlines MH17 with 295 onboard.

(CNN) -- A Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has crashed in eastern Ukraine, Russian news agency Interfax reported Thursday.
Map: Ukraine and Russia borderMalaysia Airlines confirmed that it lost contact with Flight 17 and that the plane's last known position was over Ukrainian airspace, the airline said on Twitter.

The aircraft was "shot down" over Ukraine by "terrorists" operating a Buk surface-to-air missile system, according to the Facebook page of Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. There were 280 passengers killed as well as 15 crew members, Gerashchenko's post reads.

"We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said, according to his website.

The jet is a Boeing 777, according to Interfax. The plane reportedly went down near the border between Russia and Ukraine.

"We are aware of reports on MH17. We're gathering more information," Boeing said on Twitter.
"I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We are launching an immediate investigation," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in another tweet.
News of the Malaysian plane comes in the same week that Ukrainian officials said a Russian fighter shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane while the aircraft was in in Ukrainian airspace.

The route the Malaysian plane was on, between Kuala Lumpur and the Netherlands, is a common one, CNN aviation safety consultant Mary Schiavo said Thursday. She said that the plane was flying over a troubled area and that close communication with air traffic controllers would be a key necessity.
In hostile or disputed areas, "any alteration from your course, and you can have a problem," she said.

Tensions have been high between Ukraine and Russia since street protests forced former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February. Russia subsequently annexed Ukraine's southeastern Crimea region, and a pro-Russian separatist rebellion has been raging in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions..

Ukrainian forces have been struggling to quell the separatist unrest. Ukraine's government has accused Russia of allowing weapons and military equipment, including tanks, to cross the border illegally into the hands of pro-Russian separatists.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that Russia now has 12,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, as well as some heavy weapons. The troop numbers had fallen to about 1,000 previously from a high of an estimated 40,000 forces earlier this year.

On Thursday, CNN reported that Ukrainian officials said a Russian fighter shot down a Ukrainian jet Wednesday as the jet flew in Ukrainian airspace.
Tensions are high over that incident, separate from the breaking news of the Malaysian flight Thursday.
Airline's troubles

On top of that, the report of a downed Malaysian flight marks the second time this year that Malaysia Airlines has faced an incident involving a plane.
On March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared. That plane had 239 people on board. Searchers have found no trace of 370 or its passengers, despite extensive search efforts.
Flight 370 probably flew into the southern Indian Ocean on autopilot with an unresponsive crew, Australian authorities said last month.

During the early phase of the search for Flight 370, aircraft and ships scoured vast stretches of the surface of the southern Indian Ocean but found no debris.
Pings initially thought to be from the missing plane's flight recorders led to a concentrated underwater search that turned up nothing.

A new underwater search, farther south, will be broadly in an area where planes and vessels had already looked for debris on the surface of the water. It is expected to begin in August.


Saturday 28 June 2014

Wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am!

The summer holiday's here finally and I can feel some weight lifted off my shoulders.
Two reason mainly.
One -- I will be spared the early rush preparing snack boxes for the kiddo and trying to be creative with what kind of snack to be packed daily in order for her to eat.

Second -- I was so looking forward for my kid to end this term because of her so 'overwhelming' class teacher. Oh yes...
She is so overwhelmingly not interested to teach, no dedication, lack of everything I would say. Oh, I can carry on with this...
I've had several experience with this particular teacher.
My kid was sent to another club because her normal one was cancelled, resulting in her coming home an hour later, sending me worrying calling the school whatnot. Besides the occasional news regarding academic activities and programmes informed late not at all, queries written in daily students dairy ignored and replied few days later by the key stage head teacher ... I can carry on.

Despite knowing I could take the matter further, especially when almost everything was in black and white, and despite expressed dissatisfaction in writing via the student's daily diary-- this mat salleh, even though they contradict themselves -- they're mat salleh -- they will definitely say they're right and they will definitely back each other up.
No matter what.

Maybe because of the authoritarian and colonialism, plus the distant and unwelcoming self are still thick in them towards the lesser (in their eyes) nationalities, the darker skins from other continents -- especially the Asians.
Can't blame them, really.
Most Asian are the kow-tow type and will trust the brunet and blue eyed better -- in any occasion.
Maybe they felt insecure especially when this Brits splurt their accent or deep 'kampung' way of talking.

It was just yesterday I was having a small chat with another expat wife here informing me that two of her kid were sent to Doha to attend an international school. Her youngest who is the same age as mine will probably follow the elder sibling footsteps.

Why?
Dedications, methods of teaching and learning and the commitment of the students per se.
After a while I can see the slacking side of this British run school.
No doubt they adopted a different angle of teaching compared to result oriented Asian schools or schools in my home country. I salute that. BUT it is applicable only for the lower stages of schooling life.
With bookless scholing, internet researching there are pro and cons of it.
But certain emphasis is just not there; very easy example is writing skills.
That, I guess maybe one of the reason why the Mat Salleh's handwriting is so bad and ugly.

My conclusions of all these would be due to their short stint.
Majority of them are young, adventure must be going to countries such as the Gulf (or now China and heard the latest Kazakhstan) which does not include producing high achievers in their classes -- After two or three years they will move on to another country.
That amount of teaching will not make a teacher engage in the real dedication of teaching.
Unlike those older ones who have a different approach and are more concern in student's achievements.

There is this phrase I like to use depicting unsavoury situations such as this  -- ‘Wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am’ -- And that is how I describe these (not all but most) teachers.

It's all about fun in the sun.
With 10 minutes drive to the beach and booze on the weekends or Wednesdays added on with clubs or all sort from diving, to yachting, to boating and golfing and you just name it -- Im pretty sure they're having a hell of a time here -- unlike the cloudy skies of where they come from.
And their occasional HashRun...oh so typical British.
Even the non Mat Salleh British seems to adopt this mentality too.
Must be so colonised them all...

Oh well.
Let's leave that aside.

I was actually quite surprise to learnt that parents have to fork out QR200 to QR 500 for an application form to other international schools in Doha.
It bewildered me.
Why so expensive?
Is it because they know they can reap off the parents pocket who have got limited choices...that to me is unbelievable.
Paying that much does not mean you're secured a seat even.
Earning QR20,000 a month and without special arrangement with companies -- educations will be a BIG burden here.




Thursday 26 June 2014

Sendiri tengok bulan...


Ramadan moon

Okay.
It's either the editor could not find the best title for this post, or it is actually a fact that they're calling the residents to look for Ramadan crescent after sunset Friday.

Qatar’s Muslims should look to the sky on Friday evening, June 27, to see if they can spot the new moon, which would signify the beginning of the month of Ramadan.

With the Ramadhan in just few days, sometimes news like this can be quite misleading.
Like as if they do not have a trusted board to look for the crescent indicating the start of the holy month.

The committee also called on whoever sees the crescent of the blessed month of Ramadan to report to the Ministry’s headquarters at the The Towers (al-Abraj) in Dafna and attest his testimony.

That made me laughed somehow.
It can also implies that their finding might be contradicting.
Don't you think so?

Que sera sera...

The real crash of Malaysian Airlines.

History is slowly showing.
The truth will prevail.
Im a true believer of the second line. Especially when we're made mum in situations of better to retreat then to die.

The national carrier, Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) is facing their at the brink (it has been almost all the years there anyway) and the only option to ensure survival is by making radical changes to its business structure -- that was what indicated by the sorrow-ridden chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, suggesting that the changes could be 'anything from spinning off certain divisions,filing for bankruptcy to privatisation'.

That must be the most crystal clear admission made by MAS top gun ever since. With more than 10 years in red,  Ahmad Jauhari indicated the cruciality of the situation saying 'it is not good enough to take the airline to the future'.
And I reckoned that must have been assisted by all the gloom surrounding the to-date still missing MH370.

There are also news that the airline's selling its maintenance, repair and overhaul division, MAS Engineering, as part of its plan to return to profitability -- which I think would not help much after years and years of net-profit loss.
Honestly, receiving continuous monetary help from the government has prove to be futile and will not help much either.
Why should the government want to carry the burden when the money helping a limp company can be channeled somewhere else?

People might be in the dark of what actually going on in the company, but simple conclusions can be summed up when it comes to this carrier's history. To say that they offered very cheap seats, nope.
To say they provide the best meals onboard?...Nope -- but maybe they've been overcharged by the contracts caterers, which probably too are related to those people with interest.
Are they losing to Air Asia -- maybe in certain sectors.

But all must be tailing back to 15 years ago.
As they say, history will show....


Wednesday 25 June 2014

Petronas and a non-virgin wife.




The caption which read "Petronas in discussion with Sarawak govt on royalty" somehow churned my thought on how this will help the 'publicly pitiful' ex-wife of the son of Sarawak's King Taib claim for RM400 million payout for her divorce settlement case.

Petronas, the government oil and gas owned company, will conduct a special briefing on the royalty with the state government soon and although the decision on the monetary increase has yet to be made but with federal government's allocation of RM3 billon for Sarawak --  I bet every eyes and mouth would be gawking by now.

The counsel for the sister of once famous jazz singer should know what to do and where to hit next.

In his defend to not pay amount she wanted, the son of Taib Mahmud said he discovered his estranged wife was not a virgin on their wedding night on January 9, 1992 -- Thank god they didn't go to the extend of stating the actual time and and what they wear that night. God Almighty!

On the political side of it, I reckon the federal government will definitely find it easier to gather more votes for Barisan Nasional for the next General Election.

Que sera sera....

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Let's encrypt...

This is interesting.
I do not know whether this is security-proof or not but news on the rapid increase of e-mail cloaked in encryption technology in social platform and emails such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook it seems shielding their users' online communications from government spies and other snoops.

Google and other companies are now automatically encrypting all e-mail.
However it doesn't mean they ensure confidentiality unless the technology is being used by both parties.

An analysis showed that  65 per cent of Google messages sent by its users were encrypted while delivered, meaning the recipient's e-mail provider also supports the technology.

That's up from 39 per cent in December. Incoming communiques to Gmail were less secure. Only 50 per cent of them were encrypted while in transit, up from 27 per cent in December.

Encryption reduces the chances that e-mail can be read by interlopers. The technology transforms the text into coding that looks like gibberish until it arrives at its destination.

Google and other internet services rely on a form of encryption known as Transport Layer Security, or TLS. Security experts say that encryption method isn't as secure as other options.

But encryption that is tougher to crack is also more complicated to use.

Gmail, with more than 425 million accounts worldwide, was one of the first free e-mail services to embrace TLS.

Yahoo, Facebook and AOL are also encrypting their e-mail services. Microsoft, whose stable of e-mail services includes the Outlook, MSN and Hotmail domains, has started encrypting many accounts as part of a transition that won't be completed until later this year.

Meanwhile, I think I'll start learning to encrypt -- my public yet 'personal' post on facebook first...if you know what I mean.

Sunday 22 June 2014

Lucky people.

Qataris at Souq Waqif

If my memory serves me well, I remember reading that Qatar is one of three countries in the Gulf, in fact in the world that pays high wages to skilled expats.

The intentions of sharing this is just to indicate the differences in income between the locals and expats. Unlike my home country Malaysia, where the expats gets higher pay than their local counterpart -- although the locals are doing similar job with better qualifications.

Probably Malaysia will never cease to adopt the "Kera di hutan disusukan, anak dirumah mati kelaparan"...direct translation will bring the meaning of a human child will die of starvation while the monkey in the jungle being fed milk by the human -- or the mother...or whoever.

See, with an average Qatari household earns QR72,700 ($19,918) a month, nearly three times the average expat household income of QR24,400 ($6,685) and when taking into account housing, free electricity and water, the Qatari income figure increases to QR88,200 ($24,164).

What happen is, when these locals gets their special increment, the last one happened just when the Arabs Spring started in Syria couple of years back, the items food and related provisions will automatically increases too.

The average Qatari household surveyed was made up of 8.7 people, more than twice the size of the average expat household of 4.3 people – a difference that may help explain the expenditure and earnings gaps between the two groups.

The studies also  shows that a Qatari household will spend on average QR49,600 ($13,589) a month, while the average expat household will spend QR18,000 ($4,932).

But among all the survey findings, I found one interesting fact -- the biggest single expense for the average Qatari household is transport and communications, which account for one-fifth of its monthly budget i.e.  QR9,560.
And, you would think that too because you won't fail to see any one of them, men or women, not talking or texting at any point of time.





Tuesday 17 June 2014

Twisted and Sick in the name of Jihad...


I like to share here the horrific mass execution of Iraqis in the hand of The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
The photos released by them show how horrid and cheap life can be when it comes to war obviously led by greed to gain power and economy.

Mass execution photos of Iraqi soldiers/civilians by jihadi savages. Photos show hundreds of Iraqis (majority Shias & Alawites) being transported in trucks and executed by ISIS. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were transported and met the same brutal fate. (It is thought/reported to be 1700)

A couple of days ago, ISIS declared that they had captured 4,500 Iraq soldiers in Tikrit.

These photos were released by ISIS — they are not doing this under cover of night or in hiding. They are proud of their slaughter in the cause of their -twisted and sick- Takfiri belief.

































ISIS butchers leave ‘roads lined with decapitated police and soldiers’

The full horror of the jihadists’ savage victories in Iraq emerged yesterday as witnesses told of streets lined with decapitated soldiers and policemen.

Blood-soaked bodies and blazing vehicles were left in the wake of the Al Qaeda-inspired ISIS fanatics as they pushed the frontline towards Baghdad.

They boasted about their triumphs in a propaganda video depicting appalling scenes including a businessman being dragged from his car and executed at the roadside with a pistol to the back of his head. The extent of the carnage came as:

Images from captured cities such as Mosul and Tikrit showed deserted streets, burnt out vehicles and discarded uniforms left by government troops fleeing the brutal fanatics;
ISIS leaders urged their bloodthirsty followers to continue their march and warned that battle would rage in Baghdad and in the holy city of Karbala;
Thousands of residents in the capital answered a call to arms to repel the invaders amid fears the government’s own troops were not up to the job.
Aid groups warned of a new refugee crisis after half a million terrified Iraqis left their homes to escape the jihadists..



ISIS butchers beheading Iraqi Soldier


ISIS photographs detail execution of Iraqi soldiers

By BILL ROGGIO   June 15, 2014

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham’s administrative division in Salahaddin proudly displayed photographs of the capture and execution of Iraqi soldiers after it took over a base in the province.The graphic photographs were released today on the Twitter account belonging to Wilayat Salahaddin, or Salahaddin Division. The ISIS has divided its “state” in Iraq and Syria into 16 administrative units, or wilayats.

The stream of photographs begins by showing ISIS fighters in dirt-caked pickup trucks with machine guns mounted in the beds traveling to Tasfirat prison in the city of Tikrit, and then launching an assault with dismounted troops. Tikrit fell to the ISISearlier this week.After capturing the base, the ISIS takes photographs of dozens of US-supplied armored Humvees, Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, and various military transport and supply vehicles that were left behind.

ISIS fighters are then photographed posing over the bloodied and mutilated corpses of the slain soldiers. The ISIS photos show the capture, transport, and execution of scores of Iraqi soldiers. Most of the soldiers are in civilian clothes, but some are seen wearing civilian clothes over their uniforms.

Iraqi soldiers had reportedly shed their uniforms and deserted en masse as the ISIS blitzkrieg advanced from Mosul to Tikrit and on to the outskirts of Samarra in the course of one week. At least four Iraqi Army divisions are said to have melted away during the ISIS onslaught.

In the photos, the Iraqi soldiers are rounded up at gunpoint and placed on flatbed trucks, some of which appear to have been captured from the base. Some of the ISIS fighters are seen holding US-made M-16 assault rifles, which had been issued to the Iraqi Army and police forces.

The ISIS fighters then order the frightened soldiers to lie face down in shallow ditches, with their hands behind their backs. ISIS fighters then open fire on the unarmed prisoners of war.

The ISIS is said to have executed thousands of Iraqi soldiers during its southward advance to Baghdad. Several Iraqi military bases are believed to have been overrun. Forward Operating Base Speicher, which once was a major US military hub in Salahaddin province, was reportedly seized by the ISIS during its southward push.

Over the past week, the ISIS took control of Ninewa and most of Salahaddin province, as well as parts of Diyala province. Most of Anbar province fell under ISIS control in January.


GR Editor’s Note:
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is a terrorist organization supported covertly by the Western military alliance.  The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) claims to have executed 1,700 Iraqi soldiers. Those who trained and financed the ISIS rebels have blood on their hands.




Online Banking Warning.











They will try every mean possible to get you in their scam net.
This is the latest try I must say.
Never receive anything like this before, however without clicking on the 'proceed' -- I decided to log in and everything seems okay.

So watch out and be aware.




Thursday 29 May 2014

Pirate of Lembah Pantai is all heart broken.




This is funny.
Nah, I don't really care what you might say.
You're free to judge anyway.

But one Kapal sink already.
And now the one and only flower among the torn is having some marital problems.
Perhaps she spend too much time pirating around Lembah Pantai on behalf of the loving daddy.


Nurul Izzah Seeks Custody Of Children
KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 (Bernama) -- The Syariah High Court here set June 17 for remention of the application by Lembah Pantai member of parliament, Nurul Izzah Anwar for custody of her children. 
She filed for divorce earlier in January from her husband Raja Ahmad Shahrir Iskandar Raja Salim, under Section 47 of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) Act 1984.
Counsel Azmi Mohd Rais who with Zulkifli Che Yong represented Raja Ahmad Shahrir when the case was brought for mention in chambers today, later told reporters that Syarie Justice Amran Mat Zain fixed the date to allow the respondent who was currently abroad to cite his stance before submitting his defence. 
Nurul Izzah, represented by counsel Nor Mawaddah Ramli was present in court Thursday.
She filed the custody application on April 30 and handed the relevant documents to the respondent through his lawyer on May 24. 
The eldest of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's children, Nurul Izzah and Raja Ahmad Shahrir have a daughter aged seven and a son aged four, from their marriage on May 9, 2003. 
-- BERNAMA

Missing flight MH370: Indian Ocean search zone 'discounted as the final resting place.


The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) searching for missing flight MH370 says it has completed its search in the Indian Ocean where pings were detected and has discounted the zone as the final resting place of the Malaysia Airlines plane.

In a statement JACC said Bluefin-21 had completed its last mission searching in the vicinity of the acoustic signals detected in April.

It says data from the missions has been analysed, leading the organisation to advise "that no signs of aircraft debris have been found" on the seafloor in the identified area.

Despite ruling out the current search area as the crash site, JACC remains confident they have established the course of the missing plane.

"We know that the aircraft entered the water in a long but narrow arc of the southern Indian Ocean," it said. "The focus of the ATSB's (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) work now is to narrow the search area of this arc."

An 850 square kilometre area of ocean floor has been searched since the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) joined the search effort.

The ATSB has advised JACC the search in the area surrounding the acoustic detections is now complete and the zone can "be discounted as the final resting place of MH370".

The US Navy pinger locator, dragged by the Australian ship Ocean Shield, was used by searchers to listen for underwater signals in the remote southern Indian Ocean in an area where satellite data suggested the plane went down.

The data put MH370's last location some 1,600 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia.

In April the pinger locator detected several signals consistent with those emitted by an aircraft black box. The battery in the flight recorder box has since died.

At the time, Prime Minister Tony Abbott expressed confidence that searchers knew where the plane wreckage was, to within a few kilometres.

JACC says it is continuing to examine the signals but is yet to determine what and where they are coming from. It says it is possible the origin of the acoustic detections may never be known.

Federal Transport Minister Warren Truss says the search will continue along the arc but that it will move into a "different phase".

"We are still very confident that the resting place of the aircraft is in the Southern Ocean and along the seventh ping line," he said in a statement to Parliament.

"We concentrated the search in that area because the pings, the information we received was the best information available at the time, and that's all you can do in circumstances like this, follow the very best leads."

Mr Truss says a Chinese ship has begun mapping the ocean floor in the search area ahead of the resumption of the underwater search in August.

"This is a painstaking effort in a very large ocean. The area to be searched under the ... next stage could be as big as 800km in length by 70km wide," he said.

The Minister says there will now be an "extensive" review of all the data associated with the plane's disappearance, which will also be peer reviewed.

Ocean Shield has now departed the search area and is expected to arrive in at the Fleet Base West on Saturday, JACC said.

Eight nations, including Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Britain and China, have been involved in the unprecedented hunt for the aircraft, which went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

US Navy earlier dismissed officer's search zone claims

The announcement comes hours after the US Navy's deputy director of ocean engineering told CNN there was broad agreement the signals came from some other man-made source unrelated to the plane, which disappeared on March 8 carrying 239 people, including six Australians.

"Our best theory at this point is that [the pings were] likely some sound produced by the ship... or within the electronics of the towed pinger locator," Mr Dean said.

"Your fear any time you put electronic equipment in the water is that if any water gets in and grounds or shorts something out, that you could start producing sound."

The US Navy issued a statement soon after calling Mr Dean's comments "speculative and premature".

"The US has been working cooperatively with our Malaysia, Australian and international partners for more than two months in an effort to locate MH370," a spokesman said.

"Mike Dean's comments today were speculative and premature, as we continue to work with our partners to more thoroughly understand the data acquired by the towed pinger locator.

"As such, we would defer to the Australians, as the lead in the search effort, to make additional information known at the appropriate time."

It comes as Malaysia's government and British satellite firm Inmarsat released data this week to help determine the path of MH370.

Families of the missing passengers are hoping that opening up the data to analysis by a wider range of experts could help verify the plane's last location.

Australian authorities said the data supported the theory that the plane crashed after running out of fuel.

ABC/Reuters*
May 29, 2014, 9:13 pm

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May they all rest in peace.
And may the families and loved ones accept the fate of those perished.
It will be of no result and endless searching for something that small compare to the width and depth of the ocean.


Monday 19 May 2014

An Indian and MH370 -- The Probable Act.


Movie-makers say they have recruited leading Hollywood technicians to bring their experience to mid-air flight sequences.I'd call this profiting out of others misery.



News from Cannes has it that movie-makers have announced they're going to make a thriller based movie on the disappearance of Malaysian flight MH370.
To be produced by an Indian company, the film will be entitled "The Vanishing Act: The Untold Story of the Missing Malaysian Plane."

It seems that the story will be based on an 'investigative report by a journalist which was rejected by the media so it is definitely controversial'... and will answer two questions -- 1.-- is what went wrong with MH370 and 2.-- where is MH370 on this earth.

Probably Australian government should halt their search activities and wait for the film to come out because the producers and the writer knows where MH 370 is actually at.

Promotion details indicated the film tells the story of five people who seek revenge for the death of their loved ones. They hijack a plane but things aren't as they appear. The FBI too makes an appearance and things get murkier...
Does it sound interesting?...
Im doubting it.
Probably it will be as lame as M Night Shyamalan's.
Unless they managed to commissioned some A-list director.

And I am not too sure if the movie's going to get good response from the Chinese because their nationals were the majority and they have been quite upset about it, especially with Malaysian government. Depicting their loved ones on the plane -- of course they're going to use the passengers real name because this film is based on actual event; and making this film now at this still sore and tender moment -- it could prove fatal.
Anyhow, we shall wait and see.

Betting on an international cast from film industries across the world including France, Russia, the UK and Korea, the spokesperson claimed this film will be "a movie beyond man-made boundaries".
Trailer of the movie including footage of Malaysian Airlines planes will be laced with scenes of love, jealousy and unrest in the cabin.
I surely hope there wont be any overdoing heavy petting or kissing in the plane because we Asian don't do that at our seat, or in the aeroplane toilet -- as we see happening in some Hollywood movies.

But again, there might be because you can hardly watch a Hollywood produced movie without lips-locking scene.


Boeing mum on missing plane MH370?






Just when I was asking myself on news about the missing flight MH370, this article came and I must admit it added up to my previously contemplated believe that something fishy happened to the missing jetliner.


The last I know was Australian government still continuing with the search.

Most probably because it was near their waters.

But no one knows better reason besides them.

However, imaging millions of dollars have been and still being channel in to the search...I wonder again, what and who are the beneficiaries here.

And, where the funds actually generated from.

Would it be shared? Or will it be reimbursed by Malaysian government, which I quite doubtful.

If not, then why the continuation of the search and exhaust the dollars into searching for something that might not be there at all.

Even if there is, the black box not giving anymore signals.

There aren't any debris found.

There's nothing at all.


This article by Dr Mahathir indeed indicates something preplanned took place. 

Now Im a believer.







1. What goes up must come down. Airplanes can go up and stay up for long periods of time. But even they must come down eventually. They can land safely or they may crash. But airplanes don’t just disappear. Certainly not these days with all the powerful communication systems, radio and satellite tracking and filmless cameras which operate almost indefinitely and possess huge storage capacities.



2. I wrote about the disabling of MH370’s communication system as well as the signals for GPS. The system must have been disabled or else the ground station could have called the plane. The GPS too must have been disabled or else the flight of MH370 would have been tracked by satellites which normally provide data on all commercial flights, inclusive of data on location, kind of aircraft, flight number, departure airport and destination. But the data seems unavailable. The plane just disappeared seemingly from all screens.



3. MH370 is a Boeing 777 aircraft. It was built and equipped by Boeing. All the communications and GPS equipment must have been installed by Boeing. If they failed or have been disabled Boeing must know how it can be done. Surely Boeing would ensure that they cannot be easily disabled as they are vital to the safety and operation of the plane.



4. A search on the Internet reveals that Boeing in 2006 received a US patent for a system that, once activated, removes all control from pilots to automatically return a commercial airliner to a pre-determined landing location.



5. The Flightglobal.com article by John Croft, datelined Washington DC (1st December, 2006) further mentioned “The ‘uninterruptible’ autopilot would be activated – either by pilot, by on board sensors, or even remotely by radio or satellite links by government agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency, if terrorists attempt to gain control of the flight deck”.



6. Clearly Boeing and certain agencies have the capacity to take over “uninterruptible control” of commercial airliners of which MH370 B777 is one.



7. Can it not be that the pilot of MH370 lost control of their aircraft after someone directly or remotely activated the equipment for seizure of control of the aircraft.



8. It is a waste of time and money to look for debris or oil slick or to listen for “pings” from the black box. This is most likely not an ordinary crash after fuel was exhausted. The plane is somewhere, maybe without MAS markings.



9. Boeing should explain about this so-called anti-terrorism auto-land system. I cannot imagine the pilots made a soft-landing in rough seas and then quietly drown with the aircraft.



10. Someone is hiding something. It is not fair that MAS and Malaysia should take the blame.



11. For some reason the media will not print anything that involves Boeing or the CIA. I hope my readers will read this.






Wednesday 7 May 2014

Arty Farty Crazy Money


Undoubtedly the power of money can buy them everything.
From unheard of country to one that won organising the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to building very intricate ultra modern design of National Library to commissioning those arty farty artist from the Mat Salleh countries in hope to emerged as a cultured nation.
And hoping it will represent the country.

However, money cannot buy everything.
It can't buy you culture.
It cannot buy civilised behaviour, and certainly cannot bring you where you think you might achieve with it.
And it certainly contradict with the Islamic values of this nation.

I for one hates the Damien Hirst.
To me he is not an artist.
He can received nod and the ooss's and ahhh's from those 'had- to- be- nice' mat salleh back home but having carcasses and violent display of so-called?...It's mere luck. Probably he has some rich and famous friends who helped him sell his 'art'...

His works in front of the one Children Hospital called Miraculous Journey – a group of 14 bronze foetus sculptures – are an absolute show of nothing.
I'd say, Asian are more open minded that the Arabs, thus I cannot comprehend how this conservative Gulf monarchy can put up such 'art'.

Same goes to an American artist Richard Serra 'abstract sculpture' in the middle of the desert outside of Doha.
The Stonehenge....hello.
If you cannot do something new, then don't be a copy cat.
No doubt he won his way in to the desert which are barren and thirsty for culture.

The head of Qatar Museums Authority, Sheikha Al-Mayassa, of course, related to the Emir, is well-known in the art world thanks to the investment of large sums of money acquiring masterpieces.
Last year, London’s Art Review magazine called her the most influential personality in the field of contemporary art, saying she spends about a billion dollars on artwork every year.

Should they consider Milo Moiré in Doha too....?!...No?


Tuesday 6 May 2014

Brunei -- money and religion...

This is a piece of news I deemed as ridiculously ignorant and a simple showcase of how pathetic Americans can be when it comes to condemning other people or nation.

As all may have known by now,  Brunei, the small oil rich country has started implementing Islamic Shariah law that calls for punishing adultery, abortions and same-sex relationships with flogging and stoning.

Now, this idiots American who think that they own the world, and everybody else is futile and irrelevant are responding rather childish towards the changes; namely those known faces of Hollywood when they started boycotting the Beverly Hills Hotel, a hotel owned by Brunei royalty.

Among others, the Motion Picture & Television Fund joined a growing list of organisations and individuals refusing to do business with hotels owned by the sultan or government of Brunei. They're protesting the country's new law.

And how ludicrous can you be.

It's other people's law, it's other peoples' country.
Why bothered?

It seems that they wont be holding their  annual Night Before the Oscar party at the hotel as it has for many years.

They claimed that they "cannot condone or tolerate these harsh and repressive laws and as a result support a business owned by the sultan of Brunei or a Brunei sovereign fund associated with the government of Brunei."..

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, however has praised his country's new laws as a "great achievement."

"The decision to implement the (Shariah penal code) is not for fun but is to obey Allah's command as written in the Quran," the sultan said last week.

Others joining the idiotic bandwagon include Richard Branson's Virgin Group, the Hollywood Reporter, the Feminist Majority Foundation and the funny looking man Jay Leno.

Calling the law as uncivilised, I guess these Americans and white deemed they're the most civilised people walking on this earth.

Duhhhh.....

Monday 5 May 2014

Sun

Due to Qatar’s extreme seasonal heat, people living here typically spend less time outdoors in the summer, and thus get less sun – putting them at risk for Vitamin D deficiency.

Those lacking Vitamin D can experience a host of health-related problems, including fatigue, hair loss and depression.

To tackle the problem, Dr. Elham Sherif, assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences at QU’s Department of Health Sciences, is leading a new awareness campaign on the subject.

Vitamin D can be gleaned from sources other than the sun, including foods such as oily fish. But Sherif said you would need to eat this around five times a week to get to the recommended level of 30-80 nanograms/ml.

Speaking to Doha News, she said that’s why sun is the best prescription:

“Qatar has a problem – we estimate the majority of people in the country are deficient – and many seriously deficient – in Vitamin D.

“We are advising people that they need to expose their legs and arms – without sunblock, which reflects 99 percent of UVB rays –  to the sun for between 5 and 15 minutes a day, three times a week. This is the best way to get your levels up to the amount your body needs.”

Maintaining the right level of Vitamin D in your body has numerous health benefits, including hardening the bones (preventing osteoporosis) and boosting the immune system.

Vitamin D also has been found to have anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant properties, while a deficiency has been linked to mental health issues such as schizophrenia and dementia.

Data on Qatar:
Recent studies state that the majority of people in Qatar may be lacking Vitamin D – which is in fact is not a vitamin at all, but a pro-hormone.
In a sample of female students at QU, Sherif found that only 2.8 percent had sufficient levels of Vitamin D (with 30 to 80ng/ml), while 51 percent were found to be severely deficient (with levels of less than 10ng/ml).

These results correlate with another study that took place in 2008, testing 340 healthcare workers at Hamad Medical Corporation for their levels of Vitamin D. Only five percent of the men tested and two percent of the women had desirable levels of Vitamin D.

Sherif said the results of these samples are reflective of Qatar’s wider society. She added that women – particularly covered women – and the elderly are more at risk for Vitamin D deficiency.

Qatar’s sometimes dusty weather also prevents the body from absorbing the nutrient, she said.

Tackling Vitamin D deficiency:
Those who are found to be deficient can be treated with supplements prescribed by their doctor – either by injection for people whose levels are seriously low, or tablets.

However, Sherif said the key to reach and maintain the right levels of Vitamin D is most easily done through sun exposure, which also stores for longer in the body than supplements.

She recently organised an awareness-raising seminar for QU students about the issue, and is planning to host a major conference on the subject next year.

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Hmmmm.....Unfortunately, I'm one of them.