The Amazing Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal

Our great retired fourth prime minister, Dr. Mahathir is about to have his name heard internationally once more. Getting back in action from a minor heart attack last year, Dr. Mahathir will be launching the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal at a peace conference this 7 February 2007.

17 victims of war crimes (torture, rape and abuse) from countries like Iraq and Palestine whom never had their crimes tried by law nor acknowledged by their respective governments will be attending the peaces conference. Members of the conference will then decide if these crimes will be tried by the tribunal.

World public figures like George Bush could be tried for their war crimes and would be given time for their defence through their embassies. Of course, even if found guilty, there will not be any prosecution but would warrant international public acknowledgement of their guilt, depending on the success of this tribunal.

The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal would not be supported by any governments of the world, including government of its birth place, Malaysia. It is an independent non-government organisation.

Lastly, the formation of this tribunal reminds me of the popular "Justice League" cartoon. I truly hope this will truly stand for justice for people of the world.

More info on Star Online's "Mahathir to launch war crimes tribunal".

Author Dies at 89

Author Sidney Sheldon passed away at 89 due to complications from pneumonia on Tuesday. He was 89. I first got to know him from one of his bestseller, "Windmills of the Gods".

Details from Reuters here.

"Transformers" - Shape-shifting Dresses

Came across this really interesting article from LiveScience.com "Plunging Necklines: New Transformer Clothes" that I just have to share: Fashion designer Hussein Chalayan worked with an engineering firm 2D3D to create dresses that transform! Below is a YouTube video that will clear any doubts:

CAUTION: Nudity is present in this video. Please do not proceed if you find this offensive or against the law(s) of your country.



As mentioned in the article, the truth is lots of tiny motors working - pulling strings and mechanical switches that release metal plates. Quoting 2D3D director Rob Edkins, "There was a huge amount of stuff going on beneath the clothes."

Festive Price Hikes

Chinese New Year is less than a month away (this year, it falls on 18 February 2007) and I am definitely not alone waiting in anticipation for this really grand holiday season:

1. Time with family and relatives
2. HOLIDAY!
3. Photographic opportunity!

But it is during this time that prices for popular items like food and clothings rise up through the ceiling. This year, it seems the Malaysian government is imposing a fine with a flat fee of RM5,000 for traders that try to take advantage of the lunar new year by increasing prices of controlled items beyond the threshold price. Usually, the fine is between RM500 to RM7,500.

More on Star Online's report: "Traders warned not to sell controlled items above approved prices"

Low-Cost Unit Trusts, Insurance, etc? :O

Well, that was what I understood from Star Online's "Tune Money to cash in soon". Here's a summary:

Malaysian budget airline "tycoon" (tycoon and budget do mix!) Datuk Fernandes will begin to roll out financial products and services for the budget market through his company, Tune Money Sdn. Bhd. Budget market? Yup... the concept is to deliver the products and services via the internet, therefore eliminating agents.

Rumoured to be modelled against the US' Virgin Money's which I have no idea about. Anyone care to elaborate?

And let's wait and see for more updates! :)

Before and After, Digitally

Amazed at how the girls look so good in cosmetic advertisements? Why are the guys always macho? What happened to their fine facial hair? Where are the pores? No blemishes? Perfect faces with no moles? Eyes always symmetrical? Doesn't anyone perspire? Are the photographers that good? Can they do magic?

Hehehehehe... check it out here: RETOUCHE PHOTO RETOUCHING (Flash player required)


Copyright of photos belong to owner of the Retouche Photo Retouching website. Photos are for illustration purposes only.

"Generosity" Leads to Expired Noodles for Flood Victims

Recently, certain parts of Malaysia (particularly Southern and East) were plagued by floods. Conditions are easing, people are going home to access the damage, to clean up, to rebuild. Life goes on. Donations and aid start to roll in.

However, it is disheartening to learn from a Star Online article that someone or some people donated 300 boxes of expired instant noodles (since October 2006).

Malaysian Red Crescent Society director of operations Mohd Kamal Omar: “They are already victims of circumstances, there is no need to worsen the situation.”

Monday and it's After Work

Mondays... what can I say. Well, it's just past 6pm and that's officially the end of the work day but nope, can't go home just yet. Sigh... time for a stretch! And a yawn!

A Very Confusing Microsoft

Have you heard of the many versions of the new Microsoft Operating System called Vista? I know there is a Home Basic version, a Home Premium version, a Business version, and then I got lost. This comic from the net is quite representative of my confusion:

Flora Fest 2007

Woke up really early yesterday because:

1. I have not put up any photos in my Flickr site and my friends have started making noise
2. I have not taken photos for quite some time now...
3. Taking photos is very therapeutic
4. Flowers are nice
5. Damn, I can't think of more than 5 reasons... I should have just continued sleeping. :P

Anyway, below is a small collection of some of the tens of thousands of people present at the Flora Fest 2007 Parade at Putrajaya, Malaysia. There are security personnel, participants, visitors, etc. (larger image can be seen here):



And of course, this wouldn't be complete without the photo of the winning float... which reminds me of the frustration I faced:

1. People standing in front of me blocks my view (this is understandable when they arrived at the spot earlier, but so many would shove and push)
2. Security personnels standing right in front... grrr...
3. The people standing behind liked to push
4. The people already standing right in the front still found the need to raise their cameras above their heads (!!?!??!)
   

Well, I guess this proves the advantage of having an official pass. :(

The winning float from Pulau Pinang (with a few security personnel):

The Dictator speaks... again... and again...

Referring to this article titled "Bush says 'I'm the decision-maker' on Iraq", I'm just curious why would this chap keeps trying to control other parts of the world when his own country is all huge and needs much more attention? World domination? Pride? Unfinished business? Bluuurgh!

Well, he most likely did not notice, but Iraq is really not part of the United States... so what gives him the right to make any decisions at all? Tsk, tsk, tsk...

Updated Sunday, 28 January 2007:

Wow, I was shocked when I came across this news article from Reuters titled "Bush address draws 45.5 million US TV Viewers"! No wonder he still won the second term he is serving now. Or maybe the viewers tune in just to see if he hit his head some where and was changing his stand on internal policies... Oooooh... tens of thousands protest about the Iraq war. They want the US troops to come home: "Tens of thousands demand US get out of Iraq".

Very Charitable Search Engine

Wow, this is so important. Microsoft Live is going to donate (but how much?) to the nine million refugees out there every time we use their Live search to search for something! Don't wait... start searching! But wait... how much will be donated? Someone please let me know when you know about it. :)

Updated Monday, 29 January 2007:

Star Online has an article on this in their TechCentral.

Legal Action Brings Funds for Bloggers Facing Legal Action :)

Finally, after much consideration (and even more procrastination), I've got a blog. And my first blog will be about this article I read from Star Online:

KUALA LUMPUR: A legal fund will soon be set up to provide financial assistance for bloggers who face legal action, such as the defamation suits by the New Straits Times Press (M) Sdn Bhd (NSTP) against bloggers Jeff Ooi and Ahirudin Attan.

Speaking at a press conference held by the Centre of Independent Journalism (CIJ) here Tuesday, Ooi said the legal fund was an initiative made by fellow bloggers and would be taken care of by people with good reputations.

"The proceeds will not only be used to protect bloggers against suits but also to provide training workshops in the field of investigative journalism for bloggers, subject to the approval of the trustees."

According to Ahirudin, possible trustees for the fund include the former Prime Minister’s daughter Marina Mahathir and former NSTP group editor-in-chief A. Kadir Jasin.

Ooi added that the unprecedented move by NSTP to sue bloggers had created a climate of fear in the blogosphere but had also provided opportunities for positive ramifications.

On Thursday, the court is to hear an interparte application for an injunction on Ahirudin, while Ooi’s interparte application hearing will be on Jan 30.

Ooi, who also has an exparte injunction against him to remove allegedly defamatory postings on his Screenshots blog, described the case as the first time in Malaysian history that ownership of "opinion space" was being subjected to a court of law.

So... so... so... a legal action meant to stop certain blogging just encouraged more blogging. Yay!