Girls in my circle

This came through in my inbox, and I thought, "how true!" as I approach my 30th year of being me.

When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend. And then I started to become a woman.

I found out that if you allow your heart to open up, God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man.
Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities.
Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say, 'Let's cry together,'
Another , 'Let's fight together,'
Another , 'Let's walk away together.'

One friend will meet your spiritual need,
Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies,
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier,
Another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life,
On whatever the occasion,
On whatever the day,
Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back,
Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself ..
Those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman, But for many, it's wrapped up in several..

One from 7th grade,
One from high school,
Several from the college years,
a couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother,
On some days your neighbour,
On others, your sisters,
And on some days, your daughters.

So whether they've been your friend for 20 minutes or 20 years, AND ONLY IF YOU'D LIKE TO, Pass this on to the women that God has placed in your life to make a difference.

*Thanks for being in my circle.*

Boycott Beijing Olympics

I am extremely disappointed with China's conduct of the Olympics.

First, it appears that they had faked the fireworks sequence. Now, I did work late that night and consequently missed the opening act, but my friends had ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the fireworks' footprints. When news hit the stands that it was all cinematic magic by the renowned Zhang Yimou, I just shrug it off and said, "Oh, that's China for you."

Now, it appears that China has pulled another fast one on the world.

That lone little girl singing her heart out, or is she?, wasn't the girl whose voice that resonated in homes around the world. The voice belonged to a Yang Peiyi, who was deemed not 'cute' enough. The 'cute' one was Lin Mioke who, unfortunately, does not possess the voice to go along with that face.

You may read more about the Olympic Balladeer on NY Times.

I am appalled and affronted at the Chinese government's decision regarding the Games. It goes against every rule of the Olympics' spirit, which is Heritage, Human Scale, Participation and Celebration. I'm sure that the two girls are too young to know right from wrong but this does not excuse the people responsible.

As such, I am boycotting the Olympics. I will not watch or read anything to do with the Beijing Olympics, nor will I subscribe to the services available for this Games.

Vanity, Vanity

"Ladies of Fashion starve their happiness to feed their vanity, and their love to feed their pride." -Charles Caleb Colton, 1825

The past weekend has been a Vanity Weekend for me, sparked off by a chance encounter with a beautician on Thursday past.

Galpal Thera and I decided to ditch our weekly kickboxing sparring last Thursday in favour of some pampering. She was hankering for a good reflexology session, while I was up for anything but being beaten up on the mat (where I usually end up during kickboxing sessions). So, Thera booked a 2-hour reflexology session and for me, a 2-hour facial treatment.

Let me tell you, it was 2 hours of sheer torture for me.

My face was steamed, poked, prodded, massaged brutally and oiled during that 2-hour, RM99 session. I can't believe that I had paid to stay still while some unknown stranger valiantly carried on chatting nonsense about everything and anything under the sun, and thereby giving me a big headache in the process.

These are some of the points that she had advised me on:

1. Do not go for swims. It broadens the shoulder. Not good for women.
2. Do not do qigongs. It fattens a woman.
3. Do get a botox injection. "You've wrinkles at the side of your eyes now"

I must admit, the last comment shocked me a bit. This woman had actually advised me to get botox!

Anyway, some of her stupid chatter did strike a chord with me. So, over the weekend, I made an appointment to get a hair cut and colouring, and also went on a shopping spree to get hair products and facial creams and lotions.

Now, my dresser is filled with tiny, tiny overpriced jars of creams and lotions. They are so expensive! After salving it on my face, it feels as if my face does not belong to me anymore. That's so weird.

So, that's my Vanity Weekend. I don't think I'll repeat the experience anytime soon. It causes too much stress emotionally and on the pocket.

Hmph, botox!

All About Love

"I want to be in love. I want to wake up next to someone and see them smile, do the whole Sunday breakfast thing, go out and get the paper, stay in bed together all day."
- From the movie Must Love Dogs (2005)

I want that too.

Bernama: Islam Hadhari, The Way Forward

I came across this article today on Bernama > Features page. My thoughts in bold towards the end.

Islam Hadhari, The Way Forward
February 26, 2008 17:35 PM
By Nurul Halawati Azhari

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (Bernama) -- "I believe the approach that covers the moral, social, political, economic and inter-personal domains based on Islam Hadhari can initiate development for the Muslims".

Those were the words of Professor Dr Sa'id Harib of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when tabling a working paper themed Mode of Communications between Al-Azhar and its graduates at the World Al-Azhar University Alumni Conference 2008 held here recently.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi opened the four-day conference or multaqa themed "Islam Hadhari: Current Heritage and Challenge", at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here. More than 1,000 local and foreign participants attended the event.

Commenting on Dr Harib's call for Muslim nations to emulate Malaysia's Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam) approach for development, president of the Islamic Da'wah Foundation of Malaysia (Yadim) Datuk Mohd Nakhaie Ahmad expressed confidence in Malaysia's capability to be the model for modern Islamic nations, in line with the seven resolutions adopted on the final day of the conference.

Mohd Nakhaie hoped leaders of Muslim nations would take a serious look at the resolutions and adopt them as policies for their respective countries. "We will do our best to be a model for them," he said.In some Arab nations, the views and opinions of the ulamas (religious scholars) are completely disregarded due to the presence of a barrier. Hence, the ulamas there tend to ink their thoughts as reference for the people."

He added that ever since her independence, Malaysia's progress and development was largely based on discussions and collaborations between her leaders and intellectuals, before policies are formulated. "For example, the establishment of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Yadim and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (The Institute of Language and Literature of Malaysia) were based on such discussions and collaborations," he said.

EDUCATION THE CORE OF CIVILISATION

Nakhaie also called on ulama and Islamic scholars to be united in research and development (R&D) efforts, to bridge the education gap between Muslim nations and the West.

He said R&D is the impetus for progress and advancement in the field of knowledge. If R&D is not accorded its rightful recognition and priority, then the level of education in Muslim countries would come to a standstill. "We need to regain the glory in Islamic civilisation through the advancement in knowledge. This was successful earlier on because it was based on the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet."

It differed from western knowledge which is purely based on rationale and logic. Islam does not reject development in science and technology provided it is beneficial and does not go against the Quran and sunnah (religious traditions)," he elaborated.

The conference also calls for non-Arab Muslim countries to expand the usage of Arabic since it is the language of the Quran and hence is crucial towards understanding Islamic laws.

"Alhamdulillah (thanks be to God), based on the Hadhari approach, Malaysia have implemented the J-Qaf programme, which focuses on religious knowledge right from the primary school level", he said. Initiated by Abdullah in 2003, the programme is geared at producing primary school pupils who are proficient in the Arabic language, reading the Quran and writing Arabic scripts, in addition to mastering the underlying principles behind fardhu ain(religious edicts)."

In the long run, this programme -- at which other Islamic countries have expressed interest in -- would produce scholars who are equally enlightened in both secular and religious knowledge", said Mohd Nakhaie.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN LEADERS AND INTELLECTUALS

Another issue discussed at the conference is that of political power and national stability. These currently represent the greatest challenge for the present civilisation.

According to another UAE professor, Lubaba Al-Tahir, political power gained from collaboration between leaders and intellectuals, is instrumental to civilisation-building. [Comment: "Political power"? What happened to separation of "church and state" as outlined in the constitution? Oh, wait. Is that only in the US of A? Maybe their founding fathers have got the right idea after all?]

"It can only be implemented if we possess a strong political will," he commented when tabling his working paper on Civilisation Challenges. [Comment: As a non-Muslim, I view the words "strong political will" as a threat to my rights as a citizen of this country.]

Mohd Nakhaie opined that the call was timely if leaders of Islamic nations were keen to institute changes in their respective countries. He added that decisions bereft of wisdom would create chaos in a country.

"Wisdom lies with the ulamas and scholars. Hence Muslim rulers should take the views of these ulamas and intellectuals into consideration," he said. He also call for the studies made by intellectuals be scrutinised, to arrive at decisions that would benefit all. [Comment: I'm sorry but "wisdom (doesn't necessarily) lies with ulamas and scholars". Do we not learn from other people's history? Take a gander at middle-ages Catholic Church when the clergy especially the pope was regarded as all-wise and invited to interfere in the affairs of the State. If nothing else, we should learn from them that POWER CORRUPTS irregardless that you may be the holiest of all clergy bent on good intentions.]

IMPLEMENTING OF RESOLUTIONS

The resolutions tabled by Al-Azhar University Deputy Chairman, Dr Muhammad Abdul Fadzil, seems enough easy to implement.

However, the Al-Azhar alumni are mindful of the fact that as intellectuals, they lack the authority to implement the resolutions. Hence, that duty rest equally on the shoulders of both the ulamas and leaders.

Members of the 40,000-strong Al-Azhar International League are confident that the resolutions could be implemented in their respective countries. According to the resolutions, the most crucial element for the rise of the Muslims is to understand the concept of hadhari in Islam.

The resolutions also call for finding solutions to problems faced by Muslim minorities throughout the world and strategies to churn out more ulamas and Muslim scholars.

As the secretariat for the conference, Yadim hope the resolutions would be accorded proper attention by all those present."We hope they would not remain only on paper but would become guidelines on how to regain glory in Islamic civilisations in Muslim nations globally."

With her success as a modern Islamic nation, as pointed out by both ulamas and intellectuals at the conference, Malaysia is willing to help the other Muslim nations implement the Islamic Hadhari approach", Mohd Nakhaie concluded.-- BERNAMA [Comment: While there are salient points in exercising the approach of Islam Hadhari, I'm not sure that every citizen in this country is agreeable (as commitment was implied above) to the end-agenda of having supposedly "all-wise" Muslim clergy /clerics interfere with a nation's building and progress.]

Parliament Dissolved Today For 12th General Election

Three postings in one day! This is a record :-)

I can't help posting this article, fresh off the press, as this is my first year as a Malaysian citizen exercising her RIGHT 2 VOTE! :-D

Posted: February 13, 2008 13:06 PM

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today announced the dissolution of Parliament to pave the way for the 12th general election.

The announcement was made at a media conference at his office here and telecast live on RTM1 at noon.

The prime minister also advised all the state governments, except Sarawak, to dissolve their state assemblies to enable the state elections to be held simultaneously.

He said he had an audience with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin this morning and had received his consent to dissolve the 11th Parliament.

The dissolution of this Parliament was made 15 months before the expiry of its five-year term on May 16, 2009. The Election Commission (EC) is expected to meet soon to fix the dates for nominations and polling.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, who was present when the announcement was made, expressed the hope that the general election would run smoothly.

He said the Barisan Nasional (BN) hoped to retain the two-thirds majority that it received in the 11th general election in 2004.

He said the BN machinery was ready for the general election.

"The list of candidates has been fixed," he said, adding that the BN would field new faces as well as the old guard and would announce the names in a day or two.-- Bernama / MORE LATER

Child Porn Pilot Convicted

I wept a bit when I read this article this morning on Adelaide Now:

Child Porn Pilot Convicted
ANDREW DOWDELL, COURT REPORTERFebruary 08, 2008 03:01pm

A MALAYSIAN Airlines co-pilot has been convicted and fined for bringing child pornography into the country on his personal computer.

Ahmad Said appeared handcuffed in Adelaide Magistrates Court today on a charge of importing a prohibited item.

Customs officers arrested the 25-year old at Adelaide International Airport yesterday, after finding three video files containing child pornography.

The videos were titled ``Reped (sic) Virgin'', ``10-Year Old'' and ``High School Students.''
``This material is repugnant and abhorrent - any decent minded person would be so affected by it,'' Magistrate Simon Smart said.

Mr Smart said the rape scene featured a crying girl aged under 18 being forced to have sex with an older male.

``These are not victimless crimes - for every video that depicts such a scene there is a victim,'' he said.

Said's computer was searched after he flew into Adelaide as co-pilot on a Malaysian Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur.

His lawyer Stephen Barratt said Said had been e-mailed the video files and had not shown anyone else.

``He was simply reckless, this was not material brought in to be disseminated,'' Mr Barratt said.
Mr Smart rejected the defence assertion that Said had ``no interest'' in the pornography, saying there would be no market for such images without people like him.

Mr Barratt said the conviction could ruin Said's career as a pilot at Malaysian Airlines after rising rapidly through the ranks in the past few years.

``The result of this conviction ... could alter the whole of his life and his family,'' Mr Barratt said.

Mr Barratt said Said's arrest and detention in custody for almost 24 hours was ``fairly harsh.''

``He has suffered from being kept overnight in custody and now sits before the court manacled, which he describes to me as one of the lowest points of his life,'' Mr Barratt said.

Magistrate Smart fined Said $5,000 and ordered that his laptop be forfeited to the Crown.

My Thoughts On This Article:

Point One:
Said’s computer was searched after he flew into Adelaide as co-pilot and had not shown it to anyone else. “He was simply reckless, this was not material brought in to be disseminated,” Mr. Barratt said.

Personally, I do not believe that Said's "reckless". I think he's cocky, arrogant, firm in his belief that he will not be caught as he's a jet-setting, high-flying pilot.

Also, with all due respect to Mr. Barratt, I think he's a complete idiot. It doesn't matter that the "material was not brought in to be disseminated", but the point being that this Said fellow is actually watching porn.

I wonder what Mr. B would think if it had been his daughter / niece / mom / aunt / girlfriend who was the "star" of these porn show when they were kids. How could he sleep at night, knowing he had defended a person as vile as Said?

Point Two:

Mr Barratt said the conviction could ruin Said's career as a pilot at Malaysian Airlines after rising rapidly through the ranks in the past few years.

``The result of this conviction ... could alter the whole of his life and his family,'' Mr Barratt said.

After this, Said shouldn’t even have a life; much less a career or a family. It doesn’t matter if he’s the smartest, most prodigious kid in the whole wide world or that he’s destined to find a cure for AIDS and Ebola combined, this Said has proven himself lesser than the scum of men walking on this planet Earth for voyeuristically watching a kid being raped and victimized. Death would be too kind for him.

Point Three:

Mr Barratt said Said's arrest and detention in custody for almost 24 hours was ``fairly harsh.''

``He has suffered from being kept overnight in custody and now sits before the court manacled, which he describes to me as one of the lowest points of his life,'' Mr Barratt said.

Said was being kept overnight in AUSTRALIAN custody for 24 hours and he thinks that’s “fairly harsh” and “the lowest point of his life”? Tell it to the kids he’s been watching (and probably replaying!) who were being forced to perform unnatural acts before understanding that these were unnatural acts.

Last Point:

Magistrate Smart fined Said $5,000 and ordered that his laptop be forfeited to the Crown.

$5,000 and a laptop forfeited in lieu of kids being permanently damaged? Certainly not enough. Death would be too kind, life imprisonment would be luxury to him and a burden to society. I say, maybe the Chinese’s Qing dynasty has one of the solutions – death by a thousand cuts.

Lonely Planet Lists Malaysia Among Top Destinations This Year

Bernama Business February 11, 2008 19:49 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 (Bernama) -- Lonely Planet, a widely read travel guidebook, has picked Malaysia as one of the world's top destinations for this year, with many of the hottest tourist attractions within the East Coast.

These tourist magnets included East Coast's wildlife parks encompassing Taman Negara, Lake Kenyir, elephant sanctuaries in Kuala Gandah as well as the Ma' Daerah Turtle Sanctuary Centre in Kemaman, Terengganu, said a statement issued by the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) Secretariat here today.

Referring to the Lonely Planet's website, it said Malaysia was described as one of the most pleasant, hassle-free countries to visit in South East Asia.

Malaysia is buoyant and wealthy and has moved towards a pluralist culture based on a vibrant and interesting fusion of Malay, Chinese, Indian and indigenous cultures and customs.

Aside from the gleaming glass towers of the 21st century, Malaysia boasts some of the most superb beaches, mountains and national parks in Asia.

"The jungle at Taman Negara is so dense that you could pass within metres of an animal and never know it," it said. "The jungle here is claimed to be the oldest in the world: none of the Ice Ages had any effect here, and Taman Negara has eluded volcanic activity and other geological upheavals," it said.

Malaysia joins six other countries as best choice for a holiday. The six countries include Armenia, Bhutan, Eritrea in East Africa, Montenegro in Serbia, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea.

Lonely Planet has published over 650 titles in 118 countries with annual sales of more than six million guidebooks.-- BERNAMA

The Gift of Happiness

I was watching Memoirs of a Geisha on Astro over the weekend, when one line from the movie struck me as profound. It was what The Chairman (played by Ken Watanabe) said to Nitta Sayuri / Chiyo (played by Zhang ZiYi):

We must not expect happiness, Sayuri. It is not something we deserve. When life goes well, it is a sudden gift; it cannot last forever...

I felt the comment about happiness to be profound. It just resonates with me.

p/s: Incidentally, I also find Ken Watanabe to be utterly sexy. What's with "matured" men who become distinguished as time passes?