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December 19, 2008

IT'S A GIRL! Yes, Ty and I are going to be having a little girl, Bristol Larue! We are so excited! Over Thanksgiving break we went in for an ultrasound and were able to check her little body out and watch her for about a half hour. It was so precious. Bristol was very active, so it was fun to see her stretch, twist and turn, yawn, and even hiccup. She is darling!

On the 13th of December I graduated! The day was quite eventful. I woke up in the morning to a white out in Logan. This would have been no big deal, but you see... USU has some crazy tradition which I'm sure is a blast in the spring, but in December it was the dumbest thing that I have ever done. I guess that it will make for good memories. The graduates, in cap and gown, walk for the Fieldhouse to the Spectrum...about a 5-7 minute walk. There was quite a bit of snow outside, it was still snowing hard, and the wind was blowing. (So much for curling my hair!) Luckily I had two steady companions to keep me from slipping down the hill on the snow. Thanks Val and Josh! My whole family, Ty, and my in-laws were there cheering me on which made it fun! I had to focus though so as not to slip down the ramp while getting my diploma, i've become quite clumsy with my center of gravity changing. Some say that it is stupid to "walk," but I must say that it made for great memories. After the ceremony we all went to lunch, and for graduation my parents gave me a banjo!!!! YES! I was so excited! Best graduation ever! Thanks to all of my study buddies and friends for getting me through these 4 years of college! The support was greatly appreciated!

P.S. I have some great pics, but I'll get those out later!

November 28, 2008

TyRell and I gathered with his side of the family at Kent and Sheri's (Ty's aunt and uncle). There were about 30 of us there, but there wasn't too much noise or commotion when the food was served! The turkey and mashed potatoes were awesome, and of course the pies were delicious! Don't worry, even being pregnant and hungry all of the time, I'm not just thankful for food! Life wouldn't be life at all without my Ty, I am so thankful for him and all he does! He will make an awesome daddy and we are both so grateful to be blessed with being able to start our family. (Which reminds me that we will be finding out what "baby" is tomorrow thanks to Raychel, Ty's cousin, who does ultra sounds for work!) We hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving feast!

Thanksgiving Preparations

Ty and I spent Thanksgiving in Oakley this year, which meant a ton of pie baking. I've never really done too much pie baking, so it was good to get some experience under my belt! These are a couple of the many! I must say however that I can't really take any credit for these pies...I just put them in the oven. But I really did make some others!

These are some place settings that we made. They turned out so cute!

November 7, 2008

Nauvoo Reunion!

I am so excited because tomorrow I am going to a Nauvoo Reunion! In the Fall of 2005 we all met in Nauvoo, Il. to study Church History. I am so excited to see all of my beloved friends again! It has been a long time since I have seen many of them, and there are too many changes happening in every one's lives to keep track of. There are tons of guys and gals who have gone on missions, tons of marriages, and a few kids too! Time sure does fly!

September 27, 2008

# 8 Tag: Thanks Janalyn

1.The Gospel 2.My husband 3.My baby 4.My family 5.waterskiing 6.playing the violin
7.dancing 8.taking pictures!

1.I love you 2.Thanks honey, I really appreciate it 3.I don't feel so good 4.ah crap
5.dang 6.laugh...does laughing count? I love to laugh you too 8.good luck!

1.see the 7 wonders of the world 2.see my children grow up and marry and have kids
3.go to Carnegie Hall professional waterskiers compete Andy Mapple (pro skier) to beautiful destinations with my husband dive a sappy movie without crying

1.always prepare for the future 2.learn from others' mistakes, not just your own advice from those older than you, they are wise parents do know just about everything's ok to mess up and let live 7.pray 8.usually your first instinct is right

8 PLACES I WOULD LOVE TO GO OR SEE wonders of the world 2.Tahiti 3.Africa 4.Jerusalem 5.Egypt 6.Israel 7.New York City 8.Whales

1.a new outfit (with shoes and a purse) 2.a cure-all medicine! know what my baby is running shoes 5.a completed portfolio 6.Christmas! I can't wait! eye shadow 8.a set of scriptures with my married name on them!

1-8. YOU!

September 18, 2008

We Are Back!

Well, I'm sorry to say that with moving back to Logan, school starting and not having the internet at our apartment, I have gotten pretty lazy at posting! I'm sorry! So, here is what's up! Ty has a pretty rough schedule continuing with his accounting program, although none of his classes start until about two hours after I have left for school! He has been getting some fishing in which makes up for the hard classes. I am doing my student teaching at Millville Elementary in the Life Skills (SpEd) classroom, which has been a lot of fun. We bought new furniture! We LOVE it to death! The couches are perfect for my afternoon naps, and Ty can't seem to get away from the! Well, thats all for now, more later!

August 8, 2008

TyRell's Mission in Mexico! SURPRISE!

TyRell surprised me with a trip to Mexico to see his mission. I thought that we were going to a resort up in the mountains, but figured it out about 10 minutes before we crossed the border where we were going....there were no mountains around! It was ssssooooo hot there! But so much fun. I loved seeing parts of his mission and meeting a couple of the families. Here are some pics. More later!

This is the first family that we visited, the Zuno family. Graciella and I would sit and chat what we could, and Ty would talk to the whole family and translate for me. They are a great family. Brother Zuno is the 1st counselor in the bishopbric, and Graciella was just released as Relief Society President. They attend the temple once a month. They have four sons, three which Ty baptized also. Their youngest goes to the temple once a week to do baptisms. I couldn't always understand what they were talking about, but my eyes were wet the whole time because I could tell that they were talking about the gospel. The spirit was so strong!

This is a family that TyRell baptized on his mission. They live in Mexicali. It took Ty about 8 months to baptize Guadelupe, the mom, and Jorje the son. The daughter was not old enough, so she was baptized later. I love them!

A home near Ty's apartment in Tijuana. This home is actually larger than most there, but they pretty much look this way. Very humbling.

This is the view from our hotel in Rosarito. It was beautiful. The swimming pool sat right on the cliff side, and the restaraunt that we ate by canlde light at sat rigth on the ocean as well. It was beautiful!

TyRell and I at the "La Bufadora" on a penninsula in Mexico. La Bufadora means "Sea Blowhole." The water would shoot up between a crack in the cliffside and shoot the water in the air! It was beautiful!

Main Salmon River Fun!

It has been a while since I've gotten on here, and these next few posts will be a little out of order, but here is the new news! Every year my family goes on a week long river trip with our cousins, the Laws, and some family friends and my sisters in-laws the Hughes. It is great fun, and we all look forward to it so much! TyRell couldn't come because of some work committments, so I flew to Boise on my own and packed for the trip while my dad was in Canada. On Sunday the 27th of August we piled in the cars and drove seven hours to North Fork Idaho, and on the 28th put on the river for the next six days! We had so much fun! There were a few bumps in the much that there were two flat tires, a few mishaps in some of the rapids, but overall we were really blessed with our safety. There were six rafts, two katarafts, and nine rubber duckies. We took up a long portion of the river! The sandy beach campsights were beautiful and relaxing! Here are some pictures from along the way!

These are all of the rafts gathering after going through the rapid "Salmon Falls." It was awesome! I love the white water!

This is the whole family minus Ty.

This is Annie and I on our second to last day on the river....just before I threw her in the river!

July 24, 2008

Ode to Pioneers!

I have often been told to "Learn from the past, live in the present, and prepare for the future." After spending a semester in Nauvoo increasing my testimony of our pioneer heritage, and learning all that I could about the Prophet Joseph Smith and the early Saints, I take a quick moment to pause and thank those who paved the way for my family, and many others as members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. After being forced out of many cities, losing our prophet, and suffering much pain for the Church, the saints walked through Nauvoo toward the Mississippi River on the Trail of Tears, or what I call the Trail of Hope, toward Utah. Upon reaching Utah, Brigham Young exclaimed "This is the place." Since then, the Gospel has reached the ends of the Earth. I owe so much to the pioneers, and will be ever grateful for their example of courageous righteousness.

July 23, 2008

Water Ski Fever

Here is a picture of my dad and I from my trip to Boise. My family and I went up to our cabin in McCall. I hadn't been able to ski on my new ski that often, so I was dying to do so! My new ski is the HO Phantom 8. I absolutely love it. I literally skied until my arms fell off,and I had bruises on my schin from my bindings. Totally worth it though! We played on the water like crazy, and did some packing for the river trip too, (the real purpose of the trip). Great fun! Can't wait to get on the river in a week!

Roses Are Red!

The other night when Ty got home from work he had some roses for me! I love roses, and these were beautiful! He is so thoughtful! I was leaving to go on a trip to Boise though, so I took a picture of them so that I could enjoy them longer!

July 14, 2008

Cookie Anyone?

Every week the guys out here have the chance to hit their "dinner goal" by reaching their weekly goal of installations. This week the guys made it, so we went to dinner on the company! Yay! We went to this restaraunt called "The Elephant Bar" where the food is okay, but the dessert is awesome! Ty and I ordered this giant ice cream cookie! It was so good!

July 13, 2008

Boogie Boarding

SO, after showing TyRell the blog, he asked where all of the cool pictures were of him boogie boarding, so here is one! This is at Huntington Beach, surfing capital of California! Ty does really well on the big waves, where as I get smashed by the waves becaused I usually can't touch! But it is tons of fun! Some of the trips have been pretty chilly, so we take the blankies, have some fun, and then try to get warm!

July 12, 2008

Beach Fun

To keep from spending too much money, we have been visiting the beaches in California regularly. Our favorite is Huntington beach, where the waves are big, the beach is nice, and the sun is bright! Our institute teacher here in Ca. lent us a large sun shade, so it was nice to have something to claim our spot and keep the sun off of our faces!

We have been living in Riverside, California for the summer. Ty moved here in the beginning of May to begin selling security systems and managing the office here. Steph moved at the beginning of Jume after finishing work helping out in a High School Special Education classroom. We love visiting for the summer, and have been doing some fun activities while we have been out here. A couple of weeks ago we went to Disney Land and California Adventure! It was a ton of fun! It was a full day in the sun, but we ran into too many fun characters, and rode all of the fun rides!

TyRell and Stephanie Stevens!
Married December 28, 2006 in the Boise, Id Temple. The day was cold, but beautiful! Following the ceremony and PARTY!, we enjoyed an awesome honeymoon in Whistler, Canada tearing it up on the ski hill ( more like gigantic ski mountains)! We love married life!

June 4, 2008

We are here!

Hello bloggers. Yes, we are a little bit behind everyone, but this will be great fun!


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November 16, 2009

I seriously can't believe that Bristol is 8 months old today. And what an eventful day it was! Not only is she older and wiser, but she has a double ear infection. Poor little thing. She must have extremely high pain tolerance because she has been fooling me for a while, and her Doc was in awe at how happy she was! She is such a funny little thing. Still not crawling, but she does wave, and she can scoot backwards on her tummy. Of course she can roll all over the place too. And her favorite time of day is snack time! She loves it!

Recent Happenings

We went on yet another hike somewhere up Logan Canyon, and we ran into this moose! Honestly, I was scared because of the recent story of a moose trying to attack Ty's Dad, but this one hardly noticed we were there. Pretty cool!

A new found "containment" chair. This is the best while mom does her makeup!

Bristol is still not crawling, but she still manages to roll around and find fun things to get into. I caught her pulling out DVDs. This apaprtment is going to be terrible to baby proof. She is so darling though!

Bristol LOVES to stare down my cousin Nick Kennedy. It is so funny! She just stares at him, and he could be doing anything, but she won't look away!

November 15, 2009

Talent Show and PIE!

What a way to start off the Thanksgiving Holidays. Our Stake had a Talent Show followed by some yummy pie for dessert last night. So much fun! I played a couple of fiddle tunes, a little rusty, but pretty good! Anyway, lots of fun!

November 4, 2009

Fall Hiking

The fall weather has been pretty decent, and we got this KILLER deal on an REI framed hiking backpack for babykins, so we have been taking some nice trips. It has been perfect!

Yes...Ty + Steph = Bristol!

A completely tuckered baby bear! Hiking is such hard work! She is just the sweetest thing I have ever seen!

All Hallows Eve...What a Bash!

My Grandparents hosted a Halloween party fully put together by Ashley. It was so much fun. The only requirement...we all had to dress up. It was great! We had a pumpkin carving contest, costume contest, and treat contest.

Ty and I dressed up in clothes from the early 1900's, Bristol was a pretty pink bunny, Chrissy was M.C. Hammer, Ashley-Amelia Eirheart, Mom-witch, Dad dressed as he always does when we get picked up for our first date, Kate-white trash pregnant mom, Grant-BABY...sick!, Hailey-pirate, and Annie was the entre. What a bunch!

The party was great. Good food, good company, and a great haunted house in the garage...about that. Well, Ashley (If you know Ash, you are already laughing) had a fog machine that she was testing out in our house in the kitchen. Bad idea...the smoke alarm went off. I was napping, the guys were at Cabelas, and my mom just started running around the house in a panic. The phone line was siezed because of the security system, so ADT called my mom's cell phone. She told them not to send the firetruck that we were all ok. Next thing, we hear the sirens coming from the fire station about two city blocks from our house. My mom started crying. So, I ran outside to meet and greet those hefty fire boys ;) adn told them that my mom was too embarrassed and out of her mind to come outside. They all started laughing but had to come in and check everything out anyway. My mom was so embarassed, but they were really nice and got on their way. I guess we will see how nice the bill is?! So, the house was still smoky, so I sent Ash to her room because my mom could hardly talk to any of us. So, we all kinda disappeared in the basement until we heard mom call down "I'm ok now. You can all come back up." What a day, what a day. Nothing is boring when Ashley is around!

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Nitish’s Vote- Bank Politics

In December 2012, Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar visited Pakistan. The fact that the main perpetrator of 26/11 attacks, Hafiz Saeed, is being treated as a ‘national hero’ did not deter Nitish Kumar and various other delegations from India to Pakistan. Those political leaders keen to visit Pakistan have all but abandoned any pretense of even a modicum of empathy for the victims of Mumbai attacks. Are the jihadi terrorists therefore only based in Pakistan?

I am at loss to fathom the reasons for Nitish Kumar to undertake a tour to a country with which Bihar shares no borders. Did he go to Pakistan to learn lessons of ‘secularism’? Did he visit Pakistan to elicit Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or was the purpose to get ‘special package’ (Vishesh Rajya Darza) from the federal authorities, based in Islamabad? The plausible reason could be ‘special package of vote-bank’. If going to Pakistan were to enhance vote banks then the idea of Indian nation state is over.

In an interview to a TV channel, the Chief Minister implied that following LK Advani’s commentary on Jinnah during his visit to latter’s mausoleum in Karachi, the latter’s secular credentials could not be doubted. At this juncture, it will be worthwhile to briefly recount why Jinnah wanted Pakistan. On March 23, 1940, Jinnah, in his address to the Lahore Session of the All India Muslim League, said: “We are a nation of a hundred million, and what is more, we are a nation with our distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and tradition, aptitude and emotions; in short we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of international law, we are a nation.”

Now look at the abysmal level of religious discourse that Jinnah entertained. Mrs KL Rallia Ram, an Indian Christian, founder of Indian Social Congress, who supported the cause of Pakistan, wrote to Jinnah on September 22, 1946, from Lahore: “I wish you can also win over Sikhs. But the difficulty is that the Hindus are trying their level best to keep the Sikhs to themselves to fight their battles with Muslims. Hindus are morally and physically a coward race and so they want Sikhs to act as their militia. Do you know that 4000 Hindus left Murree two days before when somebody gave out that Muslims would create trouble.”

In the same interview, the Chief Minister boasted about Imran Khan’s laudatory comments about Bihar’s developmental model. It is yet another matter that Imran Khan is yet to prove his mettle in governance. His politics has been absolutely communal and undemocratic even by Pakistan’s standards. Both he and Nawaz Sharif partnered with the most rabid fundamentalist parties /organisations during the recent general elections. The relatively secular parties like the Pakistan’s People’s Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP), particularly the latter, were so intimidated that most of their supporters chose life over votes. The leader of the ANP said that while other parties were counting votes, we were counting dead bodies. Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formed government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Province with the support of radical outfit Jamat-e-Islami.

With this kind of untimely, uncalled and illogical romance with Pakistan, is it surprising that the northern parts of Bihar are emerging as the stronghold of the ISI-backed terrorists outfits? The culprit of the most obnoxious and provocative act of kicking the ‘Jai Jawan Memorial’ in Mumbai was finally traced to the same region.

The apathy of politicians is not only confined to the victims of jihadi terrorism. The Bihar Chief Minister continued with his political yaatra even as a passenger train was attacked by the Maoists. To top it all, he chose to give ‘political interviews’ to a series of television channels on a day when thousands were reported dead and several thousands were oscillating between life and death in Uttarakhand. A substantial number, including one of the former cabinet colleagues of the Chief Minister, were from Bihar. At least 30 per cent were still battling death. If this is politics and political acumen, shame on our parliamentary democracy!

What was Osama bin Laden to the Americans, Hafiz Saeed is to India. Only a few days ago, the Punjab government in Pakistan, headed by Shahbaz Sharif (Nawaz Sharif’s brother) announced a grant-in-aid of Rs.61 million in the current fiscal to Hafiz Saeed’s Markaz-e-Taiba, ostensibly for setting up a knowledge park. The said organisation was rechristened after the UN Security Council designated Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a front organisation of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in the wake of Mumbai attacks. The funding to the LeT, which is an armed organ of the ISI, is no more covert but open.

The common Indian is befuddled about the flirtation of the Indian establishment with Hafiz Saeed. The Home Minister alludes to him as ‘Hafiz Sahab’, a delegation of Hurriat leaders are given visa to confabulate with him, and brazenly in Pakistan Hafiz Saeed is allowed to share dais with Yaseen Malik, another separatist leader! No questions are asked about this from Malik.

Was America wrong in targeting Osama bin Laden and are we right in indulging with the perpetrators of 26/11? This is for the Prime Minister to answer because he knows both the American establishment and the Indian establishment equally well.

Why are some of our politicians so afraid of Hafiz Saeed? Does he blackmail them? Was he used for staging 26/11 in a bid to balance jihadi terror with so-called ‘Hindu terror’? Ajmal Kasab’s love for life probably spoilt the script!

Why the desperate emphasis on Ishrat Jahan, an established LeT operative? At whose behest? The desperation could not have been more indicative than that in the CBI summoning a special director of IB for questioning. The job of intelligence officials is to disseminate intelligence to designated consumers and it is done after a thorough internal appraisal and vetting process. This development is unprecedented in independent India and, hereafter, the apolitical character of intelligence organisations will be in question.

In yet another case of the Malegaon blast in 2006, the investigation of the Maharastra ATS and the CBI has been nearly overturned by the NIA. As a consequence, all the nine accused are clamouring for release from prison on the grounds that NIA has already labeled the incident as the handiwork of so-called ‘Hindu terrorists’. Will NIA now prosecute the CBI and the Maharashtra ATS?

B Raman, inarguably India’s best intelligence analyst, had decried the creation of the non-existent phenomenon called ‘Hindu terror’. In an article, where he disabused this fabrication, he was visited by some most unsavory comments. Some of the respondents went on to the extent of labeling him as a BJP ideologue looking for sinecures in case the party came to power. A completely distraught Raman blogged that he was in terminal stages of cancer and the only sinecure was the ‘inevitable’. Raman departed for the heavenly abode on June 16, 2013.

CBI versus IB, NIA versus CBI and ATS—the country’s intelligence apparatus is being wrecked not by external forces, but by inimical forces from within.

The ISI has been funding politicians earlier. In the intelligence circles the identity of these politicians is very well known. Has the ISI found new recruits?

By RSN Singh

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WhatsApp to launch a new feature soon

WhatsApp to launch a new feature soon

WhatsApp seems to be on quite a roll when it comes to launching new features and services. In the last six months, the popular messaging app has been actively upgrading features. The latest addition is a new feature for group chat users, called the Group Descriptions. As the name suggests, this feature enables users to add a up to 500 characters’ description for the members of any group.

As per reports, the feature of adding a description for a group is not restricted to just the admins but can be added by any member in the group. However, this may be changed in the future. Also, this description is visible only to fellow group members who have this option of adding the description, others don’t see it. Once the description is added, the group chat gets a notification as well that ‘Person’s name has changed the group description. Tap to view.’ If you remove the description, that gets recorded on the group chat too.

The new Blu Vivo X with four cameras

Today, budget Android phone maker Blu announced its latest flagship handset, the Blu Vivo X. The device’s standout feature is that it has not two or even three, but four cameras. The Blu Vivo X continues the trend of lower-end phones featuring four cameras, with a dual front-facing one for taking selfies and a more powerful dual rear-facing system for standard mobile photography. Blu explains the logic in the press release: “When it comes to cameras, two is better than one, and four is better than two.”

The phone has a six-inch screen with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 1440 x 720 resolution. The front of the phone is made of curved Gorilla Glass, with a 20-megapixel camera and a 8-megapixel camera to help create a bokeh, or blurred background, effect. The Blu Vivo X’s rear-facing cameras are 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel.

The phone is powered by MediaTek’s Helio 2.6 GHz octa-core CPU, which is supposed to provide “high end flagship performance,” and a non-removable 4,010mAh battery that’s capable of fast charging in under two hours.

Lenovo India rules the roost in tablet business

With 30.8 per cent market share in the Android tablet business, consumer electronics major Lenovo India has sustained the top spot for the third consecutive quarter that ended on December 31, 2017. Citing the latest report from the market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Lenovo India said on Wednesday that it pipped its competitors Samsung and iBall who had 19.9 per cent and 17.7 per cent market share (Android) respectively, in the third quarter of the financial year 2017-18.

“The growth is a testament of the support from customers and the booming market potential. Our aim is to maintain a steady growth and retain the top position in the coming year as well,” said Rahul Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO, Lenovo India. The market share for Lenovo India in the tablets category (Android) in the second quarter that ended on September 30 was 28.4 per cent and in the first quarter that ended on June 30, was 24.2 per cent.

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Wednesday, 13 April 2011

A Credible Opposition

I think that most of my readers will be familiar with Jersey politics. If you aren't, it has a dominant clique with real power and some backbenchers, who get a modest salary for achieving more or less nothing, however hard they work. This inability of the backbenchers to achieve useful input is a fairly new problem, arising from the “reform” of introducing ministerial government. Previously, almost everybody sat in on the committees that formerly controlled departments.

This removal of any effective check or influence on ministerial power is a matter of concern to those who follow local politics, other than supporters of incumbent ministers, of course. Soon there will be a campaign launching, to call for the creation of a credible opposition.

I wonder, though, what the promoters of this campaign foresee as the fruit of the project. I presume that the first step is to find more high-calibre candidates with left-wing or centre-left views. However, that particular talent pool may well prove rather shallow. It would not surprise me if the best are not either already backbench States members, or well-known activists, whom everyone expects to stand in due course. Then there is the matter of forming a coherent opposition, unlike the current situation, where the same third of the House usually vote against the ministerial line, but are united more by their rejection of the other side than any shared vision.

All over the world, coherence is the product of parties. I think, therefore that the way forward will have to be yet another attempt to found a party, building on the ruins of past failures such as the fast-fading JDA and the long gone and forgotten Rainbow Alliance. But, it is hard to sell to good candidates the discipline of party politics, when they know they are facing an electorate with a proven track records for liking colourful mavericks.

Suppose we do get Jersey's Next Party established though. Unless the JNP have enough members and allies in office, that they need only persuade a handful of ministerial acolytes to change sides on a particular vote, they can still do no more than talk. And even the talking is being reined in, as there has been a reaction to the habit one particularly intellectual backbencher has, of speaking over the bony heads of the less clever but more powerful members for literally hours on end.

The only time an opposition can be strong, is when it is a government-in-waiting. If all it does is to get on with the job of opposing, it is reduced to protest and gesture. Those may garner support, as they articulate public dissatisfaction, but they do not in themselves give any very reassuring answer to the question “So, can you do any better, then?”. Thus, a credible opposition must focus its effort not on opposition itself, but on developing alternative policies that will inherently be in opposition to the ministerial ones. And, the trick that Labour and Conservative in Westminster, and Democrat and Republican in Washington so often miss, is to give principled and ungrudging support to the incumbent government when they do what their opposition wanted to do, too. Nothing, apart from bribery and corruption, makes politicians look sleazier than objecting to a good thing for selfish tactical reasons: The public want good government, not petty point-scoring.

While having a Plan B for being the opposition is prudent, it should not be the prime objective of the JNP anyway. Those alternative policies must be blueprints for government, not just pie-in-the-sky dreams to blame the establishment for not adopting. If the JNP is going to develop sound and attractive policies, and field enough electable candidates to carry some weight in the next House, then it becomes at least possible, although not odds-on, that it could end up being or dominating the government. Then we could look forward to a very credible opposition with the likes of Messrs Ozouf, Gorst and Routier. I quite like the idea of that kind of talent packing the opposition benches, and would be happy to see them as a government-in-waiting that waits a very long time indeed.

Good Article

The economist and thinker, Richard Murphy has a very interesting piece that would appeal to the kind of people who read this blog at here


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Monday, July 31, 2006

Checking Out KL Hilton

Mrs Pitt, Zahara and mom had checked into KL Hilton for a night to have a short getaway. I had posted about the dim sum lunch we had the day after and said that I would blog about the stay. We checked in at about 3pm and when we reached the corridors, we knew it would be quite an enjoyable stay.

When we went into the room, we were greeted by modern furnishings complete with a 42" Plasma TV. The room was inviting and the bed was really comfortable, one that you can just lay onto and probably won't want to get up unless hunger or nature calls! Ha ha ha...And even if nature calls, the two sliding glass doors are near enough for you to roll off the bed and straight into the bathroom section.
Heck, I could even stay in the bathroom for the night; it even had a its own small LCD TV on a rectangle mirror that you could swivel. Located next to the shower area and separated by the glass panel, you could even watch through the glass when one is showering though the sound might be drown out with the fantastic rain shower feature (mmm...It does feel like you are bathing under the rain, with privacy of course!). Or if one would prefer, one can soak in the comfortable long bath.

The view from the 25th floor was nice but marred by the haze. The skyline was barely visible. Luckily, we just intended to stay indoors to enjoy the room.

We then headed off for dinner around 7pm after lounging around in the room. We headed off to Chynna as mom needed rice, Zahara needed noodles (Mrs Pitt just needed to fill her stomach). As for me, I just needed food! LOL... Here are more shots of Chynna.
After a scrumptious dinner, we headed back to the room and laze around further. We chatted till mom was tired. They then started cleaning up to retire for the night. I looked out the window again, by this time, the haze was gone and I could see the lit up buildings.
So it was decided that when I come over to pick them up the next day, we would do dim sum lunch first. It was then time for me to go off after spending an enjoyable day there. Mrs Pitt wants to come back again! I'll be traveling for the next few days and probably won't have time to blog till Thursday night. So till then, remember, Live Life!

I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it. ~ Charles Schulz

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Dim Sum - Chynna, KL Hilton

Mrs Pitt spent the night with Zahara in KL Hilton, mom was there too. Will blog about the stay later but today's post will be on the dim sum lunch we had in Chynna, KL Hilton. We have had dinner there before and have been wanting to do dim sum there for some time but never got round to it till now. Now that we have, Mrs Pitt wants to make sure she goes to Chynna for dim sum again before she goes back to USA. The dim sum, ambiance and service were good - I'll just let the pictures do the talking! I know some of you will tell me that my blog is making you all hungry! Ha ha ha...

I eat merely to put food out of my mind. ~ N.F. Simpson

Friday, July 28, 2006

Engrish "Refreshing" Patch

While cleaning up my place in preparation for Mrs Pitt and Zahara, I found something that I had bought about 3 years back . I bought this particular "Essential Oil Refreshing Patch" not because I wanted to use it but more for it comical value. Anyway, finding it again a few days ago, it still gave me some comic relief due to it's atrocious Engrish, of course.

It's pass its expiry date and I can now throw it away, having blogged and posted pictures of it. It's suppose to clear my head after using it (and more, as stated on the back of it). However, after reading through it, I think it will give some of us a headache rather than making us feel better!
Every survival kit should include a sense of humor. ~ Author Unknown

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Winter Sonata Cafe - More Korean Food

A while back, I was having late dinner at Friendster's Cafe in Damansara Perdana when I suddenly realised there was this new Korean cafe across the road. Winter Sonata Cafe, was still opened at around 11 plus. Being curious, I walked across at about 11.55pm and was told by the staff that they were closing (they close at midnight) and told me to come back another day. I had then asked to have a look at their menu and the Korean owner, Jenny Lee, was very friendly and took time to explain the items on the menu to me. There were set lunches available from RM15 and the pics looked nice. I then left, promising her that I will return.

Crazily enough, I went there the next day with K.Princess and was warmly welcomed by Jenny who remembered me. I ordered my usual Bulgogi set and K.Princess had her Kimchi Chigae set. Her Kimchi Chigae set was okay, so that means till now, only the one at Amcorp Mall is the best. My Bulgogi set was not bad and I wouldn't mind returning again. Being termed as a cafe, the cutlery was more westernised but nevertheless Jenny told me that she had bought them from Korea. The place had a nice ambiance and is cosy. The cafe is decorated with Korean celebrities memorabilia - cups, little posters and even pictures from the latest Korean hit movie, King and The Clown. Jenny told me that her sister works as a stylist for the Korean stars back home in Korea! How exciting!
There is a TV screen screening Korean dramas and I guess the setup of this cafe follows the theme of such since afterall, it's named Winter Sonata, after the tearjerker love story hit. There were also candles (only lit at night) all around and I told myself that I will do dinner there one night as I would think the ambiance would be even nicer then. As we left, Jenny told us to drop by again at night for maybe a karaoke song or two! I might not know how to sing Korean songs for now but I will definitely take up Jenny on her invitation and hear her sing!

I would like to have Bulgogi - "Bulgogi juseyo".
One of the first few Korean sentences I learnt. - wmw

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Mrs Pitt and Zahara are visiting, so have been out quite often. Hope to be able to blog at least every other day. Meanwhile just a short one today. I have told my friends about this each time I'm at this supermarket. This particular sign never fails to make me smile no matter how many times I see it since I frequent this supermarket frequently. Since I have a blog now, I can post this up and be reminded of it more often.
I had seen quite a number of men lurking around this aisle. LOL... Had thought about it and decided not to notify the management since I first noticed it a few years back. If they change the sign, I won't be able to smile at it again and that would be sad. Some things ARE better left the way it is! Meanwhile the other Tit-Bits that I came across is a website for women with breast cancer. Now this one is no laughing matter.

If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.
~ Andy Rooney

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Dinner Do

Last weekend, I was invited for a cosy dinner gathering at a friend's place. As usual I took my camera along. Both company and food was good. We had lovely fresh tiger prawns, beef rendang, nasi impit (with delicious peanut gravy) and laksa Johor.
We had coffee after that and realised that we should have gotten a cake to make it the almost perfect meal. However, we were very full at the end of the meal and stopped ourselves from driving out to look for one! After dinner, some of us sat down to watch a movie on my friend's new 32" Samsung LCD TV. It's such a beauty, one that I have always admired. Prices have come down quite a fair bit but I shall continue to dream of owning one. I'll wait and wait and wait....ha ha...Delayed gratification is best! Oh, I received a joke via sms a few days ago. It's funny and oh so true! I just have to post it here. Have a great week ahead!

Personality of a female follows the size of her bra.
30 = Innocent
32 = Calm
34 = Defensive
36 = Sexy
38 = Hot

40 = aggressive
42 = Beyond Control

Friday, July 21, 2006

New Found Interest

I've been taking more photos of late since I started blogging. I realised that I've developed a new found interest in taking pics and now seek to improve my photography skills. Right now, my faithful camera is a simple one, a Samsung 4 Mega Pixel with no optical zoom, basically a beginner's camera. For it's price of USD97, it's good value. I had only started playing around with the different modes of the camera in my pursuit of finding out more about digital photography and came up with surprising shots from a simple camera like this. I'm not a photographer, I just take photographs!

The night mode is one such feature that I'm just beginning to take note of. However, one needs a steady hand to be able to take a shot in this mode. I took this shot just past midnight. It's the view from my friend's 17th Floor condo and the cluster of tiny lights are outlets/shops in Desa Sri Hartamas.
On the right side of the balcony, there's this new condo. I'm surprised the lighting was so enhanced! There's a lot to learn about photography and I'm at baby level! Ha Ha .... These two shots are a bit blur as I've mentioned about the need for steady hands in night mode but I guess they are decent photos. I was at Borders and I actually found myself checking out photography magazines and trying to pick up some tips. Just found out about Gaussian Blur, a technique used in digital photo editing. Yes, I'm indeed fascinated with the endless possibilities of digital photography. I came across this site a while back before I started blogging and absolutely love the photos taken by Arnaud Frich, check out his Paris shots here! The comments are in French, seems English update will be available soon. So now, I have another new found interest (not another one!). Too many things to do, too little time. Add photography to my list of French revision, learning Korean, Japanese and Mandarin (Oh! Am to take up guitar lessons too! Gasp!), not to mention my other fascination with Daniel Henney and Yutaka. There's 183 Club and DBSK too! But for now, priority is to finish cleaning up my place before Mrs Pitt and Zahara shows up next Monday! Yay! I can't wait!

Photography has made me realised that there are two different worlds; one seen through my eyes and the other through my camera - wmw

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

The Little Things ( In Life

Oh, forgot about this till I was going through my photos. I was told by Alicia that I could find green tea ice cream at The Curve. I was happy to hear that and made a trip there. You can find the stall at a tea shop (forgot the name) but it's just outside Watson which is located on the Ground Floor. Once you see Watson, you can't miss it cos you have this giant cardboard standee of a green tea ice cream cone! Well, it's not the best I've tested but pretty good, good enough when one has not much choice! It's not the milky type and you can see bits of green tea leaves or something that looks like bits of green tea leaves, hee hee. So there's a slight bitter taste, which I do like. It's RM2.50 per cone! Well, it's the best and cheap green tea ice cream around, till I find a better one somewhere.

Just the other day, I dropped by the 100 Yen shop in SS2 and chanced upon the Japanese snacks section. I grabbed a packet of "Shrimp Chips" off the shelves. It turn out to be very yummy but Euro said it was tasteless! Ha ha. It's as thin as a Pringle Chip and really did have a prawny taste and I didn't find it tasteless at all! Went back the other day and it's sold out, so I guess others must find it yummy too. Actually, I have forgotten about 100 Yen shops located in the Klang Valley till I went to Japan and came across the 100 Yen shops there. Of course the 100 Yen shops here are not selling their products at the prevailing exchange rate. It's RM4.90 for the general "100 Yen" products while there are some cheaper and some more expensive.
Then there is my favourite kuih (local cakes), I can only find it in the SS2 Pasar Malam (night market) every Monday or at Yulek or was that Taman Cheras Pasar Malam. The uncle who sells it is an eccentric fellow. He doesn't talk much but will sometimes banter with you when you least expect him to! He doesn't touch any of the money, asking his customers to throw the money into a square box and even get the change, if any, themselves. He also always throw in one or 2 free pieces for me! He He...These kuih are made of rice flour with grated coconut cooked in brown sugar or gula melaka as filling. They are steamed and the pieces of pandan stuck to the back of each piece makes the kuih more fragrant! Cheap and nice, only RM1 for 3 pieces. He is the only one I know that sells this type of kuih, I told him that I've been eating it since I was young, buying from him when he sold from a proper stall downtown. Now, I can only catch him at the night market and he doesn't turn up every week. I had been looking for him for the last few weeks and he was missing. Turned out that he was on vacation in China! I only found out what these kuih are called when some girls asked him. He answered "You know Cheng Yu Ling's (the Hong Kong actress) English name? Dodo? This is called Dodo!".

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things.... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. ~ Leo Buscaglia

Monday, July 17, 2006

Happy Planet Index

Having posted an entry on Kuala Lumpur being 3rd in the LEAST courteous city, I was surprised that we are number 44 out our 178 countries in terms of being a country of happy people. can happy people be discourteous at the same time? Anyway, Vanuatu takes the top spot for being the happiest place on the planet. The common thing among the top spots are that they are less developed countries. Vietnam ranked the highest from the Asia Region, taking spot no. 12. To give you an idea of what I mean, USA is ranked 150/178! As the MSN article says, the Happy Planet Index (HPI) is a measure of quality of life against environmental impact. Check out the HPI website to find out more.
Screen capture from
Click here to find out whether your country is filled with happy or unhappy people!

Find out more here on how to do your part to make this planet a happier place for ALL. You can even calculate your personal HPI where you will get quite an extensive explanation in the different aspects of your life. My results turned out quite well, me being very happy but it indirectly suggests that I should go on a diet! LOL ... But then I'll be miserable and no longer happy!. Just goes to show one can't have it all.

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it. ~ William Feather

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Dong Bang Shin Ki Malaysia Concert

Guess where I was on Friday night? Yup, I ended up at the Dong Bang Shin Ki's (TVfXQ) concert in Bukit Jalil. Yup, that's me behind the poster. Only decided to get the tickets on Thursday and collected them on that Friday noon itself. Since I was still unable to drive in the evening, KPrincess drove to Putra Indoor Stadium. We were there early and went round checking out the stalls outside the stadium area. We came across a promotion stall by the Tourism Board of Korea that were giving out Korea Travel Guides, Tourist Maps and other info. How apt we thought, as we took some copies for ourselves since we were going off to Korea sometime in September on our company incentive trip.

I also manage to get my hands on a DBSK's big glossy poster. The poster actually looks very nice. They were giving out this poster for every DBSK's cd purchase. Just 10 minutes before the scheduled opening time of 8pm, we walked in and found the stadium only half filled. The big stage hyped up our anticipation of a great concert ahead. I actually took this shot in 3 separate pics and edited it to this panoramic shot.
Well, as we waited pass 8pm, the seats started to fill up. The concert started at about 8.35pm and it was about 90% percent filled. The place erupted with screams as the lights were dimmed, signaling the start of the concert. 5 boxes were slowly lowered onto the stage with dazzling display of lights and special graphic videos shown on the big 3 piece screen in the centre. Folks were also able to see a close up view from the 2 giant screens each on the top left and right of the stage. Both KPrincess and I were caught up in the euphoria with all the screaming fans around us and we watched in awe. When the boxes were lifted back up, all 5 members were on the stage.
We found the sound system a letdown. The music was too loud and it drowned out the vocals of the band. It was a good concert, dazzling lights, big video screens, special effects but marred by bad sound system. It was also good to see them dancing (they can danced!) and singing down the aisle. They even stood in the U-shaped area and were lifted up into the air, standing on a small circle stage each (couldn't take a photo as I ran out of batteries!) . They even added romance in the air as they sang and had wind blowing upwards towards their hands that were carrying red confetti. The red confetti danced in the air and was visibly seen in the stream of the spotlights on each of the members. Micky was the only one who spoke English when they took some time off from singing to speak to the audience. When DBSK took a break, Super Junior, consisting of 13 members came on and entertained us for about half hour! I have never come across that many members in a band. The 13 of them made full use of the big stage and they came out again in the finale of the concert.
Image fr :
We left the stadium when the concert ended at about 11pm. I felt that not enough promo was done for this concert. It was a BIG scale concert but only had small scale promo. I left, having a better appreciation for Korean music though I don't understand the language as I enjoy the melody. I enjoyed DBSK's ballads more than the fast numbers , especially the acapella "Always There". I also now have an added appreciation for the 5 members of Dong Bang Shin Ki, especially Max (left) and Hero (right, because he's mysterious!).

Image fr :
Asian men are starting to appeal to me, albeit they are younger ones. Age doesn't matter! - wmw

Thursday, July 13, 2006

183 Club & Daniel Henney

Anyway, KPrincess has introduced me to Taiwanese series now of which I was never really fond of in the beginning. However, The Prince Who Turns Into Frog turned out to be quite a funny and nice show. After that ended, I'm now watching The Magicians Of Love on 8TV but PTIF was a better show. Both of this series star members of The 183 Club (183 cm being the average height of the five members). Unlike F4 (I could never stand them!), these members from 183 Club can act. So, I find it quite surprising that I'm become a fan of the show and the band! Heck, I am even brushing up on my understanding of Mandarin (of course, the Bahasa Malaysia subtitles help!) thanks to this show. KPrincess has also given me copies of the soundtrack, and now I find myself singing along to the Mandarin tunes, not really knowing what's coming out from me, sounds like I'm speaking in tongues! Hahaha....My fave members are Sam (seated left), Ehlo (above Sam) and Ming Dao (next to Ehlo).
Oh, it's been awhile since I last posted something on my Daniel. Having finished the "My Lovely Kim Sam Soon" series on TV, I now have in my possession the vcds of the whole series where I can watch, rewind, play, freeze every single frame of Daniel's appearance on screen. Hee Hee... Thanks to SBK! Mrs Pitt will probably make me show her Daniel's scenes too! Only his ... who cares about the story, she'll say! She's probably very busy now, packing. Here's a shot of Daniel for some stress relief! You can now have a second Daniel Henney wallpaper! (image from
Television is simply automated day-dreaming. ~ Lee Lovinger

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

A Sign From Dad

Well, this is NOT going to be another food entry. Actually, this is just a story about a signage I saw. I was driving around Damansara Perdana, checking out the eateries in that area and I came across this.
No, seriously, it's not that I'm gonna write about the seafood from this place. It's just that this restaurant carries my Dad's name. Coming across this days after his 8th year, I took it as a sign (literally??? Ha Ha Ha) that this is his way of telling me that he's well and is here in our midst. Of course, he can have his share of seafood anytime he wants too! Trust Dad to tell me that in a restaurant signage. Some things never change, Dad's love for food is one of them! LOL .... I do intend to come back to Restoran Cheng Yen and try out the food one day soon. Mrs Pitt, maybe we go there when you're here, eh?

"Sometimes we miss out on what God is trying to tell us as we overlook the simpler things in life, expecting it to be more complex than it seems"
- wmw

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

PLU Cafe, Cheras

During my previous trip to Taman Cheras (before my retinal detachment episode), my friend brought me around for food. We are always looking for food, good tasting food especially. She told me that she had gone to this cafe with her mom for several lunches and found the food to be quite tasty. She had then brought other people there and suggested bringing me there for a snack, telling me that the mango pudding was exceptionally delicious. The cafe's name was PLU Cafe (located at Cheras Business Centre, nearby Taman Cheras) and it was while we were there, my friend decided to finally enquire what PLU meant and was told in Cantonese that it meant homosexuals - People Like Us. There was an awkward silence for a while, not that we were horrified to be in such a place but more of the fact that my friend was just recalling the times when she had brought her mother there, time and time again as they enjoyed the food. I think her mom would not step into the place if she knew. LOL... On keying in the word "PLU" in wikipedia, it made no association with such a thing. Anyway, that night, I was introduced to Kenny, the manager and he was really a cheerful happy guy. So, this is just another short food entry but one that is from a unique place with unique menus.

Ordering snacks was easy as Mango Pudding was the obvious choice since it was highly recommended and we also ordered the honey BBQ chicken wings. What was a slightly harder task was ordering a drink from the menu, and especially from their special promotion drink list. There were 6 promotion drinks to choose from their "Movie Marathon" list. Apparently these drinks were inspired from "PLU" movies and the one that was instantly recognisable to me was drink No. 2 "Brokeback Mountain". I don't think I have to tell you about that movie. I asked Kenny to recommend me a drink and he said that I should try No. 1 "Happy Together" as it was a mixture of sour plum and honey. I was told by Kenny that "Happy Together" had starred Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung.

Anyway, the food and drinks came and the drink was indeed quite good.
Having had dinner earlier, the honey and sour plum drink was a good recommendation I must say. The mango pudding was excellent and the honey BBQ chicken wings was also delicious and we had another round of it after finishing the first plate in record time. I was assured by my friend that their noodles were good too. Guess I'll have to try that another time. Good food and friendly happy staff, what's to complain eh? ;o)
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~ Ernest Gaines

Sunday, July 09, 2006

A friend sent this to me and on trailing it, I found "The Japanese Are Crazy" (TJAC) website. I've posted a video of this prank they played on people. At a ski resort, they set up this massage center complete with a coin operated massage chair. Check out what happened (especially the 2nd part of the prank! Got me laughing my head off!). Tip: After you click on the big play button, the video will start to load. Click the pause button, let the video load till the end (you will see the bar moving as it loads). Then click play, you will then be able to watch the video without flow interruptions.

Thank goodness I never fell victim to such pranks when I was in Japan. Now that I know what can happen there, I will brace myself for such things and that may mean taking showers fully clothed! LOL ...Anyway, check out the load of videos from TJAC website. Lots of interesting stuff. Saw one from the "Do Not Laugh" series. In this show, contestants are subjected to hilarious situations and must refrain from laughing. If they do, their behind gets belted (really hard). Looks painful to me! Crazy alright! There's also this amazing Japanese (though he's mixed) magician, Cyril Takayama. He does these really great feats of illusion and street magic, some sort of David Blaine. He seems better, maybe because he's mixed with Asian blood hence more exotic! There's also this purportedly straight guy, "Razor Ramon" who's now a famed celebrity for playing a gay guy who is really extremely gay in your face type. You will cringe with fear and yet laugh at his antics at the same time. Ha ha ha....I have not gone through the whole archive myself. Please take note, I'm not responsible for anything that will be hazardous to your health or things that one might find offensive. Please view at your own discretion.

If we don't go crazy once in a while, we'll all go crazy. ~ (M.*A*S*H) Hawkeye, "Bulletin Board," original airdate 14 January 1975, written by Larry Gelbart, directed by Alan Alda

Friday, July 07, 2006

Globalisation - Hawker Food

Went for my 2nd checkup yesterday. My right eye is doing okay though there is a slight inflammation as I had run out of eyedrops 3 days ago. Anyway, felt more relieved that the operation was successful (if not, would have to operate again!). Was sent home with some new type of eyedrops and told to come back for another checkup in 3 weeks' time. Since I'm still unable to drive at night, TD offered to give me a ride to our weekly evening meeting. I had a quick dinner with him at Sec 17, Say Huat Coffeeshop. Went there for our favourite Robert's Fried Kway Teow. While eating and chatting, we realised that there were two other stalls there that were similar in the sense that they had an English name. TD jokingly said that this was the globalisation of the hawker food industry!
I have not really thought about the fact that some stalls did have English names. But then, there were three of them in a single place, something I've not come across before. Armed with only my camera phone, I took pics of them. So, how local is our local hawker food if they start "globalising" themselves like this? Even the hawkers are influenced by the Western culture. Haha...Whatever happened to good old Ah Beng's Prawn Mee or Ah Lian's Fish Ball Noodles (hee hee...Ah Lian Yue Tan Tong, the Chinese educated would know why I'm laughing). However, I know there aren't much changes as Robert's Fried Kway Teow tasted good and yes, very local still! ;o)

Come to think of it, I've come across some local food places (though not necessarily coffeeshops stalls but small scale restaurants or previously small but gone big scale) that have their own websites too. With all the IT on the web, this isn't surprising but I think we might not be aware of it. There is this small town restaurant in Kemaman, Restoran Tong Juan where I enjoyed their specialty, stuffed crab. Their website address is...what else, but of course They even have a company profile - here's part of it - "
We formed since 1971 and specified in making stuffed crab and other chinese cuisine. Under the guidance of our fonder, Mr Chew Nam Ting, Restaurant Tong Juan has become an one top chinese restaurant in Kemaman town." Eh, specified or not and with due respect to the fonder, please take my word that the food is a whole lot better than their grammar. Here are few more to check out - Nasi Ayam Hainan Chee Meng (Chee Meng Hainanese Chicken Rice), Nasi Lemak House, Ah Koong Fish Ball Noodle, and Nasi Kandar Pelita. I'm sure there's more out there, anyone of you care to add to the list of such websites?

The message for business people contemplating their place in cyberspace is simple and direct: get linked or get lost.
~Vic Sussman and Kenan Pollack

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

In Loving Memory ...

Now that I have a blog, I would like to dedicate today's post to my Dad, in loving memory ...

who was called home to be with the Lord on 5 July 1998
"Whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life"

Dearly missed and fondly remembered by wife, children,
daughter & son-in-law
and grandchildren.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Korean Food!

Of late, I've developed a love for Korean food. Since my first proper Bulgogi meal with Korean Princess, I've always look forward to Korean fare, namely Bulgogi (sliced marinated beef) and Kimchi Chigae (kimchi soup).

Apart from the great Bulgogi fare in Desa Sri Hartamas, K.Princess has introduced me to two other restaurants. For a cheaper deal, you should try the one located in Amcorp Mall. I can't remember the name but it's the only one located on the 3rd floor. The Kimchi Chigae here is a whole lot nicer than the more expensive one in Desa Sri Hartamas. There are many set meals starting from RM10 and above. Cheap and no frills meal but yet good.
Taken with camera phone (dim lighting too, so not that clear) but the Kimchi Chigae is really good!
Another Korean restaurant which I found quite good is located in Section 14, the block next to the one opposite TGIF. It's call Dae Jong Gum (following the famous Korean serial "The Jewel Palace"), on the 1st floor. You can't miss the big signage. However it only serves BBQ for dinner, so normally I do lunches here as they have special sets. Here, I settle for the cheaper version of Bulgogi (which also comes with the normal appetizers), RM18 as compared to Desa Sri Hartamas's RM28!.
K.Princess tried the Kimchi Chigae soup but found it was still not as good as the one in Amcorp Mall. For lunch, DJG even gave us a complimentary Korean pancake (they even gave out a Kimchi pancake before, nice and spicy). Korean tea and a sweet barley drink is on the house too. A full and satisfactory lunch as compared to, let's say, pasta lunch which will cost about RM16. Give me Korean anytime then. But of course, I can't afford to eat food like this all the time (too much good food and not enough money! ha ha ha) It has taken over Japanese food on my list now especially when raw stuff was never my cup of tea anyway. Unlike Mrs Pitt's feast! Anyway, according to my blood type, I should be eating more beef! What's your blood type? Check out your blood type diet here. Ok, I'm off to learn some Korean now.

Do vegetarians eat animal crackers? ~ Author Unknown

Sunday, July 02, 2006

A Day At The Villa

Thanks to an invitation by a friend to join her and her mom, I got to take a one day mini vacation (more like "eye recuperation") in Bandar Sunway. Ha Ha....Actually, it was at The Villa located in Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel.

It was a nice break from the daily routine of being in the busy city, and to be here, tucked away in the secluded area though still in the city. It is said that these exclusive 17 villas are spanned within an 800 acre lush tropical garden. I arrived at about 5pm and it was quite hot in The Villa as the sun was out and shining fiercely. There was a small "infinity" pool (an oxymoron huh?) for one to just dip into, not to do laps in. Nearby, there were some rattan chairs and a table where guest could lounge around. I took some shots with my mobile phone as I left my camera back in the house when I rushed out to make sure I beat the 5pm jam along the LDP (Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong).
The four post king size bed
My bed - comfortable sofa bed on the left. I loved the Nakamichi Sound System on the wall (right) though remote control wasn't working!
At about 5.30, my friend got a call, reminding her about cocktail hour and we then made our way to the Pavilion. Here, there were complimentary cocktails/mocktails/beer (free flow) and light canapes/snacks served till 7.30pm. The Pavilion is also the reception for The Villa apart from being the dining place for Villa guests. For about RM1,000 a night, I felt The Villa still had some improvements to be made. The service factor was okay, the staff being pleasant but in terms of maintenance and upkeep of the villa, it was not up to par.

I had a bad headache, been having it for about a week. I think it's due to my spectacles which is still at the old power level and my right eye is having problems adjusting. I slept early (11plus, that's early for me!) Anyway, it was a good rest for me. The next morning, breakfast was delivered to my friend and her mom. Quite a big spread - fruit juices, a basket of mini muffins/croissant/doughnuts, yogurt, sliced apples/pear, eggs with sausages and ham, fruit platter and coffee. We ate breakfast near the pool area, enjoying the quiet surrounding.
I even continued a few more rounds "fishing" with Auntie which we started the night before. She's a pro when it comes to playing card games! Ha ha..Came 12 noon, we checked out and I went back to my 852 sq. ft pad and had another long rest. It felt as good as being in The Villa minus the service because it was my home. LOL ...

It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home.
~ Author Unknown


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Monday, January 24, 2011

International Conference on White Solidarity with Black Power wins allies and resources for the African national liberation struggle

On January 9-11, members and supporters of the African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC) traveled from 18 different cities to the Uhuru House in St. Petersburg, FL for the International Conference on White Solidarity with Black Power, the annual conference of the APSC.

The APSC was founded in 1976 by the African People's Socialist Party to organize for reparations to Africa and African people in the form of material solidarity from the North American (white) community.

Comrades from San Diego and Oakland, CA; Athens and Columbus, OH; Minneapolis, MN; Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; Providence, RI; Philadelphia, PA; Boston, MA; and Miami, Palm Harbor, Brandon, and Sarasota, FL engaged in three days of rigorous discussion and political education meant to deepen white people's understanding of our key role in the revolutionary struggle for African liberation.

The conference served as APSC’s annual national Plenary, which is mandated by the documents coming out of the African People’s Socialist Party USA (APSP USA) Fifth Congress held last July in Washington, DC. The Party emerged from that historic event as the most acknowledged leading force of the African Liberation Movement. And the Fifth Congress resolved that APSC must be built to meet the demands of the African Revolution in this period of the Final Offensive Against Imperialism.
APSC Chairwoman Penny Hess spoke about the crisis of imperialism and the role of white people

“The African Revolution is evolution, because it will bring humanity to a higher level,” said APSC Chairwoman Penny Hess in her opening remarks. Hess characterized US imperialism as a dying force, incapable of being reformed, because it owes its existence to slavery and genocide.
Historically, white left forces have resorted to opportunism and charity politics when faced with the revolutionary struggles of African people, but APSC avoids opportunism by working directly under the leadership of the African People's Socialist Party.

Chairwoman Hess explained the significance of this principled relationship: “When left to our own devices, we [North Americans] will always come up in our own interest. Organizing in material solidarity under the leadership of the APSP overturns the economic basis of our opportunism.”

Chairman Omali Yeshitela led a three-hour workshop on "A World Without Borders," in which he explained the controversial issue of "nation-building" by colonized peoples as a necessary pre-requisite for successful anti-imperialist struggle.

Chairman Omali brilliantly showed how the European or white nation was forged at the expense of the African nation and that it will be the emergence of the movement to unite and liberate Africa and African people everywhere that will bring about the destruction of the European nation.
ASI Chairman Omali Yeshitela spoke on the concepts of the nation and the state, and the prospect of a world without borders

As the Chairman stated, “The European nation was born as a bourgeois nation, a capitalist nation, through exploitation and the expropriation of value from everybody else.

Therefore, the fundamental task of the African revolutionary is the liberation and consolidation of the African nation, which will not be born as a bourgeois nation, but will be born in contention with the imperialist bourgeois nation and born as a workers' or proletarian nation."

Reading aloud from the Political Report to the Fifth Congress, the Chairman explained the concept of a world without borders: “African people have to resist the imperialist bourgeoisie as a people. Our assumption of consolidated nationhood will function to destroy the bourgeois nation. Thus, the rise of revolutionary worker nation-states destroy the material basis for the existence of nations and borders that function to distinguish and separate one people from another.”

The Chairman noted the national unity of African people everywhere in music, style, culture, dress and ability to understand each other regardless of the language imposed on them.
He said, “The truth of the matter is there is a sense of sameness among black people all around the world. Even people who call themselves different things. Africans in Haiti were upset when they saw Katrina. Africans I knew from Ethiopia who were meeting in Berlin were upset by when they saw Katrina. And Africans all around the world were upset about Haiti, pissed off about Haiti, hate what the Red Cross is doing in Haiti, hate what Clinton is doing in Haiti, really upset about Haiti. There is a sense of sameness among black people in the world - that is just a fact.”
InPDUM International President Diop Olugbala presented the history of the African People's Socialist Party

Diop Olugbala, President of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM), spoke on the history of the African People's Socialist Party from its origins in the Black Revolution of the 1960s.
A presentation called “Uhuru Solidarity on the Move” looked back on the past year of activity in the Uhuru Solidarity Movement and the expansion of its national leadership body.

Ironiff Ifoma, Director of Economic Development and Finance for the APSP-USA, gave a presentation called “Creating an African Internationalist Economy,” on the current period of tremendous growth for her department and the need to “build contending power to bring the masses into the embrace of the Party” by recreating the culture of self-reliance in the African community.
APSP Director of Economic Development and Finance, Ironiff Ifoma spoke on building economic self-reliance in the African community

Chairwoman Hess presented on the history of ideological development within APSC as its leadership struggled against opportunism and subjectivism before temporarily disbanding in 1981.

When APSC reformed, with Hess as its chairperson, the political line of African Internationalism had been consolidated around the question of reparations from the white community as a revolutionary and principled stance.

“Reparations is our revolutionary work,” said Hess.
An event held on the evening of January 10 called “Prisons, the Drug War and African Resistance” included Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess, Diop Olugbala and Mwamba Yeshitela, a leader in the campaign for African youth resistance.
Using a slideshow presentation, Chairwoman Hess juxtaposed images to illustrate the parallel conditions of military occupation in Afghanistan and police occupation in oppressed African communities in North America.

President Diop Olugbala discussed his recent work in Philadelphia where he and other InPDUM forces have been leading a campaign to organize African youth into the Junta of Militant Organizations (JOMO), the African youth resistance wing of InPDUM.
Mwamba Yeshitela of the African Youth Resistance Campaign spoke during the forum on "Prisons, the Drug War and African Resistance"
Mwamba Yeshitela gave a compelling, informative account of his real-life experiences as a young African facing colonial conditions of poverty and police containment on the south side of St. Petersburg.

On the third day of the conference, APSC elected the new National Central Committee (NCC). NCC members include:
  • Penny Hess, National Chairperson
  • Alison Hoehne, National Secretary General
  • Kitty Reilly, National Director of Reparations and Economic Development
  • Lisa Watson, National Director of Agitation and Propaganda
  • Maureen Wagener, National Director of Uhuru Foods
  • Stephanie Midler, National Director of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement and Southeast Regional Representative
  • Joel Hamburger, National Representative of Uhuru Furniture
  • Wendy Snyder, West Regional Representative
  • Harris Daniels, Northeast Regional Representative
Newly elected National Central Committee of the African People's Solidarity Committee
APSC also adopted its Supplement to the Constitution of the African People's Socialist Party USA.

The conference gained several new members, raised resources for the work of the APSP and passed many resolutions, including resolutions to build a movement to stop the US war against the African community and defend the right of African people resist, to build the Uhuru Solidarity Movement nationally among North Americans and to transform Uhuru Foods into an even stronger institution of reparations and material solidarity to the African Liberation Movement.

For more information on APSC and how to join, visit the APSC website at


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Tag Archives: PNG

Media Release – The United Nations and the Government Sign the United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2018-2022

Port Moresby, 6th April 2017

The United Nations in Papua New Guinea and the Government of Papua New Guinea signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2018-2022, on 6th April 2017, which guides the work of the United Nations System in the country.

It outlines the partnership between the United Nations and the Government in support of the 2030 Agenda, and is grounded in national development priorities including the Vision 2050, the Strategy for Responsible Sustainable Development, the Development Strategic Plan 2010-2030, the Medium-Term Development Plan and sectoral strategies.

United Nations Congratulates National Government and the ABG for establishing the Bougainville Referendum Commission

Photo: The historic signing ceremony for the establishment of the new Bougainville Referendum Commission, at the Prime Minister’s Office, Manasupe House Waigani, Port Moresby.

Port Moresby, 24 January 2017 – The historic signing ceremony for the establishment of the new Bougainville Referendum Commission (BRC) was held on 24th of January 2017 at the Prime Minister’s Office, Manasupe House Waigani, Port Moresby.

Under the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA) signed between the Government of PNG and Leaders of Bougainville in 2001, the peace partners agreed to have a referendum on the political future of Bougainville by 2020. This signing paves the way for the independent institution to plan, prepare and execute the electoral event. At the ceremony, the milestone documents signed were the Agreement and the Administration Arrangement for the establishment of the BRC.

Vital role of Parliamentarians in the Pacific to implement SDGs

Parliamentarians from the Pacific countries, including Papua New Guinea are meeting in Fiji to discuss Sustainable Development Goals and human rights issues. Over three days, members of parliament, human rights experts and development leaders will discuss Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how parliaments can contribute to their implementation. The meeting focuses on SDGs that are of particular relevance to the region, such as those related to climate change and its effects, gender equality and social equity. Participants will also look at international human rights norms and mechanisms to help ensure that the implementation of the SDGs is fully respectful of human rights. Continue reading

Reuters to Uplift Journalists in Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby, Wednesday 26th Augustt 2016

The United Nations and the Media Council of Papua New Guinea are delighted to announce that a special media training course is taking place in Port Moresby beginning on the 29th August. This training is being conducted by the world’s top journalist organization, Thomson Reuters. The week-long training will accommodate 15 highly-committed and motivated journalists in the country, from a range of media outlets. This first-ever initiative in Papua New Guinea aims to further develop skills and capacities of local journalists. Through hands-on sessions, participants will focus on pressing development issues in the country, such as children rights, reproductive health, gender equality, environment, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The training shall equip participants with fact finding and analytical skills for reporting to international standards.

Two trainers from Reuters will deliver a tailor-made course which best matches the level of local reporting and thematic issues. The lead trainer has 35 years of experience as a reporter, editor and broadcaster in Canada, the UK, France and Australia for among others, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio France International, and The Sydney Morning Herald. He has conducted training courses in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, South Africa, East Timor, Thailand and Sweden.

“It is absolutely a thrilling opportunity for local journalists to be trained by specialists. I am confident this training will be a life-changing session for the selected journalists and I encourage all of them to make the most of it. The UN always considers media reporters as an essential catalyst for development. They have the power to inform, influence and motivate people across the country. That is why we have organised this training,” says Roy Trivedy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Papua New Guinea.

UN Hails Upcoming Development Forum in Jiwaka

Port Moresby, August 10, 2016 – UN is pleased to join development partners and Government representatives in Jiwaka Province for a Development Forum next week.

The 2-day forum, organized by Jiwaka Provincial Government, is an opportunity to share challenges faced by the province in its development and discuss opportunities for improvements.

Jiwaka Province, one of the new provinces in Papua New Guinea faces challenges in providing for the development needs of its people, including access to health services, education, and infrastructure. Despite these challenges the province, its people and Government have shown strong leadership in driving community-led projects to accelerate its development.

Port Moresby market vendors set up bank accounts for more secure lives and livelihoods

Hundreds of vendors at two of Port Moresby’s biggest fresh produce markets have set up bank savings accounts for the first time, thanks to UN Women flagship Safe Cities Programme, which promotes the safe use and enjoyment of public spaces by women through empowering them economically and other means. Continue reading

PNG to develop information systems for disasters

Small-scale natural disasters such as flash floods and landslides have the potential to cumulatively impact communities harder over the course of years – yet they receive far less attention as compared to major disasters. To improve the situation, there is a need to put in place a good information system for disasters, says a United Nations (UN) Disaster Information expert. Continue reading

Falling through the Net? Gender and social protection in the Pacific

This paper examines the gender dimensions and implications of social protection in relation to rapid transformations in the globalizing economies in the Pacific region. The paper analyzes the dynamics of gender and social protection in three countries of the region – Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu – and explores how best to approach social protection so as to promote gender equality rather than risk reinscribing prevailing gender inequalities. Continue reading


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Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Łódź, on the road from Cracow to Warsaw, is hardly a tourist destination. But I've wanted to read it since I read I.J. Singers family saga, The Brothers Ashkenazi. And I can testify: a visit to Łódź is a fascinating insight into what Poland must have looked like under the communists and even further back under the tsars.

Apparently at best, Łódź was no more than a big, hard-working industrial city.--”the Manchester of Poland,” I heard someone say. I assume they were talking about 19th-Century Manchester, England, but it also reminded me of Manchester, New Hampshire, where I went to high school 60 years ago. Łódź, is (and apparently then was) bigger, but they are both defined by the old textile mills—massive, gaunt red-brick buildings with lots of windows, side by side with blocks of charmless worker housing. Both in Łódź and in Manchester this stuff evidently stood vacant for a long time, but in both cases it has now been aat least partly revived with restaurants, computer stores and who knows what else. Łódź also has something my high school town does not—ungainly and portentous faux baroque monuments to the industrialist's power.

Łódź today appears to be a functioning city, but by any superficial measure, it looks a lot worse off than either Warsaw or Cracow. Warsaw is charmless but appears to be busy enough and somewhat on the make. Cracow –even after the floods—appears to thrive. But in Łódź, you see bad teeth, crummy haircuts, cheap clothes. I hear tell that some Poles are moving back home from the west. Under the right circumstances I can see how that would make sense. For their sakes, I hope it won't be here.

Update: I am reliably informed that the correct pronunciation is "wudge," as in "there once was a lady from wudge..."

1 comment:

New York Crank said...

Never mind the observations. How do you do the accent marks in Łódź? (I did mine by copying yours, but that's cheating.) I can't even come up with accents egu, grave and a circumflex in my letters to France.

The New York Crank