Helikopter membawa Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia, mendarat cemas di Mimpian Jadi Resort, Tuaran, Sabah

Sebuah Pesawat Nuri yang membawa Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin terpaksa melakukan pendaratan di luar jadual di sebuah pusat peranginan di Tuaran, Sabah, 2.30 petang tadi, akibat cuaca buruk.

Kejadian berlaku ketika pesawat membawa Tan Sri Muhyiddin dan 14 yang lain termasuk Timbalan Ketua Menteri Sabah merangkap setiausaha Badan Perhubungan UMNO Sabah, Datuk Yahya Hussein, dalam perjalanan balik dari Kudat, di utara Sabah ke Kota Kinabalu.


Gambar Fail - sebuah pesawat NURI TUDM

Terdahulu, Tan Sri Muhyiddin merasmikan mesyuarat perwakilan Kudat dan Kota Marudu di Kudat.

Beliau dijadual merasmikan pula mesyuarat perwakilan UMNO Bahagian Penampang di Dewan Masyarakat Tun Fuad Stephens kira kira jam 2.15 petang.

Namun ketika itu, keadaan cuaca di Kota Kinabalu dan Penampang, hujan serta berkabus dan menghadakan jarak pandangan.

Pesawat membawa Timbalan Perdana Menteri tidak dapat meneruskan perjalanan ke Kota Kinabalu dan terpaksa mendarat di Mimpian Jadi Resort, Tuaran.

Dari sana, rombongan menaiki kereta ke Kota Kinabalu selama kira kira 45 minit.

Ekoran kejadian itu, Timbalan Perdana Menteri terpaksa membatalkan acara di Penampang.

Beliau berlepas balik ke Ibu Negara dengan pesawat khas kira kira 4.25 petang tadi.

Mesyuarat UMNO Penampang diteruskan, dengan Timbalan Perdana Menteri diwakili Ketua Menteri Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Ketika ditemui pemberita di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu, kira kira jam 4 petang sejurus sebelum berlepas pulang ke Kuala Lumpur, Tan Sri Muhyiddin berkata ``Saya ok, tiada masalah dan tidak terkejut,''.

``Saya lega kita ada juruterbang yang bagus yang merasakan adalah tidak wajar untuk meneruskan penerbangan ke Kota Kinabalu kerana cuaca buruk.

``Jadi, kita mendarat di Tuaran. Tiada apa pelik berlaku. Dia (juruterbang) telah melakukan perkara yang betul,'' katanya.

Kebanyakan media melaporkan pesawat itu melakukan pendaratan kecemasan atau emergency landing.

Namun ada juga media melaporkannya sebagai pendaratan tidak dijadualkan atau unscheduled landing.

Pendaratan yang tidak dijadualkan sudah banyak kali dilaporkan sebelum ini, iaitu di mana pesawat terpaksa dilencongkan dan mendarat di lokasi atau lapangan terbang lain akibat faktor cuaca yang tidak memungkinkan pesawat mendarat di lokasi sasaran ketibaan.

Namun, pendaratan kecemasan menggambarkan sesuatu yang lebih serius, seperti pesawat mengalami masalah teknikal, kerosakan enjin atau sebagainya.

Pesawat boleh berpatah balik ke lokasi asal atau mendarat di lapangan terbang lain atau mendarat di tempat yang bukan sepatutnya ia mendarat.

Jadi istilah mana yang tepat?

Pendaratan kecemasan atau pendaratan tidak dijadualkan??

Karpal Singh, dari parti apa ya???

sumber : utusan malaysia online

KUALA LUMPUR 14 Ogos - Mungkin akibat gementar atau takut, seorang wartawan penyiaran daripada sebuah stesen televisyen tempatan memberitahu Mahkamah Tinggi di sini hari ini bahawa dia tidak pasti parti politik mana yang disertai oleh Karpal Singh.

Jawapan yang diberikan oleh saksi pendakwaan kedua, Eliani Mazlan, 26, dari RTM menyebabkan mereka yang berada di dalam dewan mahkamah ketawa dan ada yang menggelengkan kepala.

Karpal yang dibicarakan di bawah Akta Hasutan 1948 juga dilihat tersenyum lebar.

''Awak mengundi tak pada pilihan raya lepas?'' tanya peguam bela, Jagdeep Singh Deo yang mewakili bapanya.

''Undi,'' balas saksi.

''Awak mesti bukan dari Pulau Pinang,'' kata Jagdeep yang sekali lagi mengundang tawa dari galeri awam.

Eliani yang merupakan lulusan Sarjana Muda Komunikasi Masa (Penyiaran) dari Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Shah Alam hanya terdiam dan menundukkan kepalanya selepas itu.

Pada soalan berikutnya yang dibuat berdasarkan transkrip rakaman video sidang akhbar Karpal pada hari kejadian, saksi itu menyatakan, dia tidak pasti sama ada Pengerusi DAP itu seorang yang berprinsip atau sebaliknya.

Dia bagaimanapun bersetuju dengan soalan Jagdeep bahawa Karpal yang juga Ahli Parlimen Bukit Gelugor akan menyatakan prinsipnya walaupun apa yang dinyatakan menyakiti hati Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yang merupakan salah seorang pemimpin di dalam Pakatan Rakyat.

Eliani menyatakan demikian semasa pemeriksaan balas oleh Jagdeep pada perbicaraan kes terhadap Karpal yang didakwa menyebut kata-kata menghasut berkaitan Sultan Perak pada satu sidang akhbar di pejabatnya, Tetuan Karpal Singh & Co, di Jalan Pudu Lama di sini, antara pukul 12 tengah hari dan 12.30 tengah hari pada 6 Februari lepas.

Pada prosiding hari ini, Jagdeep sekali lagi ditegur oleh Pesuruhjaya Kehakiman, Azman Abdullah apabila sering meninggikan suara terhadap saksi sehingga Timbalan Pendakwa Raya, Datuk Kamaludin Md. Said terpaksa mencelah.

''Encik Jagdeep, sound (nada suara) jangan tinggi sangat. Jangan jerit pada saksi. Tak perlu, bagi dia jawab dahulu,'' kata Azman.

''Saya tak jerit Yang Arif. Belum jerit lagi,'' kata Jagdeep lalu disambut dengan gelak ketawa dari galeri awam.

Terdahulu, peguam tersebut seolah-oleh 'naik angin' apabila saksi berkenaan asyik menjawab soalan dengan jawapan 'tak ingat' dan 'tak pasti'.

Beliau bertambah berang apabila Eliani menjawab 'tidak perlu' apabila ditanya sama ada dia perlu merujuk kepada rakaman sidang akhbar bagi membantunya menjawab soalan menyebabkan Jagdeep menyatakan saksi perlu lebih serius dalam memberikan jawapannya.

Sementara itu, sewaktu pemeriksaan semula oleh Kamaludin, saksi menyatakan dia tidak membaca dokumen mengandungi nas undang-undang yang diberikan bersama-sama kenyataan akhbar kerana tidak memahaminya.

Dia turut menyatakan pengajiannya di UiTM tidak membabitkan subjek undang-undang.

Saksi turut menjelaskan sela (gap) yang terdapat dalam rakaman tersebut bukan disebabkan ia telah disunting sebaliknya merupakan 'cut waste' yang berlaku apabila jurukamera mengalihkan atau membetulkan kedudukan kamera.

Perbicaraan bersambung 18 Ogos ini.

Untuk rekod - Karpal Singh, 69 tahun adalah Pengerusi Kebangsaan, parti DAP, mengambil alih jawatan itu daripada Lim Kit Siang.

Karpal Singh juga adalah Ahli Parlimen Bukit Gelugor, Pulau Pinang.

Is Aerosmith too old to rock again???

Aerosmith has been in the music industry for so long that their singer - Steven Tyler is now 61 year old!!!

The question is can they continue rocking???


Aerosmith performing the Classic - I dont't want to miss a thing

Well, this is becauseit was announced that Aerosmith were canceling their current tour after frontman Steven Tyler's injury last week in Sturgis, South Dakota.

The 61-year-old singer fell offstage while performing "Love In A Elevator" during a concert, in the process breaking his shoulder and requiring 20 stitches in his head.

The current 'Smith tour had already suffered its share of setbacks--seven shows were postponed after Steven hurt his leg muscle; guitarist Brad Whitford missed the first few dates while recovering from head surgery; and cancer-survivor bassist Tom Hamilton left the tour permanently to undergo surgery of his own--and this latest incident seemed to be the last straw. .

Brad Whitford sent Steven well-wishes, saying in a statement: "Our thoughts and prayer go out to Steven for a speedy recovery and return to good health. All of us here in the Aerosmith organization and all of the people who contribute to making our shows possible are in a state of shock. We never anticipated this tour coming to such a swift and unfortunate ending."

Added lead guitarist Joe Perry: "Words can't express the sadness I feel for having to cancel this tour. We hope we can get the Aerosmith machine up and running again as soon as possible. I sure am going to miss playing with ZZ Top just as I'm sure the fans are going to miss seeing them playing with us as well."

The funniest scene in a Malay Movie

In this movie titled Nujum Pak Belalang,directed and starred by the late legendary, Seniman Agong Tan Sri P. Ramlee, 2 thieves characters played by S. Shamsuddin and Aziz Sattar, were counting gold coins, stolen from the Sultan Palace.

S Shamsuddin apparently can only count up to Three, after that he started counting madly!!!!!!

After almost 50 years, this particular scene still captivates Malaysian TV audience..

Philippines National Army vs Abu Sayyaf

After several high profile kidnappings, The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in the southern Philippines is back in the limelight.

This time The Abu Sayyaf is engaged in a close quarter ground battle with the Philippines National Army in Basilan.

Infact the battle was so close that it was almost hand to hand combat and reinforcement via air attack cannot be called in.

Todate, 53 died including 23 Philippines army personells and at least 30 Abu Sayyaf guerillas.










The rest of the news below by Reuters.

A battle pitting Philippine troops against Muslim guerrillas on a remote southern island killed at least 53 people, the military said on Thursday, but analysts said the clash is unlikely to have sidelined the rebels.

Soldiers killed at least 30 guerrillas during an assault on Wednesday on a base of Abu Sayyaf rebels in the interior of the southern island of Basilan, Brigadier-General Rustico Guerrero, marine commander, told reporters.

"Based on this one incident alone, it would be premature to make a conclusion on the neutralization of the Abu Sayyaf," Mars Buan, an analyst at the Pacific Strategies and Assessments risk consultancy, told Reuters.

"In the past, the Abu Sayyaf has suffered bigger number of casualties, but it has remained as one of the serious threats in the south."

Twenty-three soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded in eight hours of fighting, Guerrero said, describing it as one of the biggest battles since 2007, when 15 soldiers and 40 rebels were killed on Basilan.

"We launched a decisive law enforcement operation targeting the Abu Sayyaf's main training base on Basilan, but we were met by heavy resistance," he said.

The guerrillas fled into the island's heavily wooded interior, said Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, navy commander on Basilan. Security forces on Thursday resumed pursuit operations against remnants of the 150-man rebel group.

"It was close quarter combat, the two sides almost came into hand-to-hand battle," Pama told Reuters. He said the proximity meant the military could not call in air strikes.

"What's more important for us was we've disrupted their crude bomb factory and training base."

UNHOLY ALLIANCE

Analysts expected intensified operations against the Abu Sayyaf, but foresaw no decisive development in the conflict.

Buan said the Abu Sayyaf's loose structure meant an encounter on Basilan would not affect militants on nearly Jolo island.

Rex Robles, a retired navy commodore and a security analyst, said the rebels were both familiar with the territory and enjoyed the support of the local community.

"There are so many armed groups operating there, not just the Abu Sayyaf," Robles said. "I would not be surprised if some rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front come to the aid of the Abu Sayyaf. Some of them are related by blood and marriage."

The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest but most deadly of several Muslim groups fighting for independence in the south of the Roman Catholic state. It is estimated to have about 350 hard-core followers based mostly on Basilan and Jolo.

It has links with Jemaah Islamiah, a pan-Asian radical Muslim group blamed for attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombings and the bombings of two hotels in Jakarta last month.

Abu Sayyaf is blamed for the worst militant attack in the Philippines, the sinking of a ferry in Manila Bay in 2004 in which 100 people were killed.

It has also been in the spotlight for high-profile kidnappings, most recently of three Red Cross officials on Jolo who were later freed. Newspapers said large ransoms were paid, although officials have denied making any payments.

Beauty Queen's 34 inch bust, disputed!!!

All pics sourced from http://beautyinpageants.blogspot.com and http://missuniverse.com

Story sourced from The Star Online.

A WOMAN blogger has disputed the “assets” of newly-crowned Miss Singapore Universe Rachel Kum, saying that she could have given a fake measurement of her bust size, reported Sin Chew Daily.

Prominent blogger Yu-Kym, renowed for her straight-forward postings on sex-related issues, alleged that Kum could have bragged about her 34-inch bust after examining Kum’s pictures.

She also noticed that many of the beauty contestants did “reveal” the truth about their vital statistics, especially their breast measurements.

“Contestants who boast of having 34-inch busts were certainly no match to top international models like Rachel Nichols and Gisele Bundchen who have a similar figure,” she was quoted as saying.

She questioned how the measurements were taken and whether it was done in accordance with international standards.

Daryl Pang, spokesman for Derrol Stepenny Promotions, the organiser of the beauty pageant, refuted the claims, saying that none of the contestants had cheated on their vital statistics.

The newspaper quoted Pang as saying that Kum’s vital statistics were real.

H1N1 - 51 maut di Malaysia setakat 13 Ogos 2009

Sumber - Utusan Malaysia online

KUALA LUMPUR 13 Ogos – Tujuh lagi kematian akibat selesema babi atau influenza A (H1N1) dicatatkan hari ini di seluruh negara menjadikan jumlahnya 51 orang setakat ini.

Menteri Kesihatan, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai berkata, kesemua kes kematian itu didapati mempunyai risiko penyakit seperti tekanan darah tinggi, sakit jantung dan imuniti rendah.“

Kes kematian tersebut turut membabitkan bayi yang berumur empat bulan dan seorang warga emas yang berumur 92 tahun," katanya pada sidang akhbar selepas merasmikan Persidangan Saintifik Persatuan Kajian Kegemukan Malaysia (MASO) di sini hari ini.

Mohamad Asri Ibrahim, vokalis dan ketua kumpulan nasyid, Rabbani, meninggalkan kita

Selepas pemergian Pengarah Filem terkenal, Allahyarham Yasmin Ahmad yang meninggal dunia 25 Julai lalu, negara sekali lagi kehilangan seorang insan seni.

Mohamad Asri Ibrahim, vokalis dan ketua kumpulan nasyid, Rabbani, kembali ke rahmatullah 11 pagi tadi, Khamis, 13 Ogos 2009 akibat serangan sakit jantung.

Menurut laporan media, Allahyarham, 40 tahun, rebah sebelum memulakan persembahan pada pelancaran program Syahadah musim kelima di Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur.

Allahyarham kemudian dikejarkan ke Hospital Pantai selepas tidak sedarkan diri.

Rabbani dianggotai 9 anak muda, di tubuhkan pada 1 March 1997. Rabbani bermaksud "Yang Arif dan Yang Soleh" atau tafsiran secara umum "ingin mengajak diri, keluarga dan komuniti kepada kebaikan".

Kemunculan Rabbani adalah dengan konsep yang tersendiri. Bermula dengan berkonsepkan nasyid klasik melalaui irama-irama yang dipetik dari Timur Tengah, Afrika dan Mediteranean, kemudian diadun dan diolah mengikut citarasa yang sesuai dengan era semasa juga dipersembahkan bersesuaian dengan citarasa remaja.

Kini Rabbani muncul dengan konsep yang lebih global dalam bidang muzik tanpa mengurangkan kualiti mesej yang akan disampaikan dengan menampilkan world music didalam lagu-lagu terbarunya.

Ini adalah untuk menjadikan irama nasyid ini akan terus segar dan mekar dari semasa kesemasa dan terus diminati oleh semua golongan tanpa mengira bangsa dan negara.

Takziah kepada keluarga Allayharham Mohamad Asri.

Semoga roh allahyarham dicucuri rahmat.

Another case of Police Brutality in USA??

A child’s Virginia baptism party, ended up being a real shocker...!!!

Once again, the victims are non White - they looked Hispanic.

Responding to a noise complaint in Prince William County, police sought to quell the assembled crowd — who they said were making too much of a racket — by firing a Taser at the child’s grandfather and at the pregnant mother of the baptized child.

The officers said they placed a call to the homeowner, who they said was intoxicated and refused to reduce the volume.

The homeowner, 55, is a church family counselor and bible study teacher. His son, Edgar Rodriguez, claims he was Tasered three times after producing his ID for police. The elder Rodriguez was arrested for public intoxication in his own backyard.

The two say police used excessive force to quiet down “a backyard party.” A home video of the scene shows a relatively tame event.

The pregnant mother of the baptized child was also Tasered in the back after officers averred she was assaulting a police officer, and is now being held separate from her family by Customs and Immigration Enforcement.

This video is from Fox 55, broadcast August 1, 2009.

The richest person in the world is not Bill Gates, but rather an unknown Malaysian woman??

Move over Bill Gates, your throne as the richest person in the world has been taken over by a mysterious 48 year old Malaysian widow.

The unknown widow is said to inherit RM 160 Billion or USD 45.2 Billion!!!

The current exchange rate is 1 USD = 3.54 Malaysian Ringgit (RM).

The rest of the news is below :

Confirmation from a bank is awaited on whether a Malaysian woman had been left with RM160 billion that will make her even richer than Bill Gates.

The 48-year-old widow could possibly be worth that if what she claims is true.

The Malaysian Prime Minister Department, Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) is still waiting for a local bank to conclude its investigations.

Until then, everyone, including PCB Head Datuk T. Murugiah, would have to patiently wait and wonder if the claim by a widow, that her late husband had left her the jaw-dropping amount in a local bank, is fact or fiction.

Murugiah, who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said there were no new developments into the woman's claims.

"We are still waiting for the bank to get back to us with the full details," he said, adding he will most probably be calling for a meeting between the two parties, the bank and the widow, next Wednesday.

If it was true, the unidentified widow stands to become the richest Malaysian, surpassing the worth of even Tan Sri Robert Kuok (RM31.5 billion)who is currently the richest man in Malaysia.

He said the woman came to the bureau asking for assistance.

The widow managed to produce certain documents and cheques regarding transactions by her late husband.

Her 52-year-old husband was said to have died of a heart attack two years ago.

Costa Rican President, Oscar Arias, down with H1N1

Source AP (associated Press)


Nobel Peace laureate and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias said Tuesday, 12 August 2009, that he has swine flu, showing that not even a head of state is safe from the virus that has caused worldwide concern but relatively few deaths.

The 69-year-old president and Nobel Peace Prize winner said in a statement that he was quarantined at home and is being treated with the anti-flu medicine oseltamivir.

"The pandemic makes no distinctions," Arias said. "I am one more case in this country and I am being submitted to the recommendations that health authorities have established for the entire population."

Arias suffers from asthma and is at higher risk than most, but was in good enough health to continue working.

"Aside from the discomfort of the fever and sore throat, I feel in good shape and in full capacity to carry out my work by telecommuting," Arias said in the statement.

The president had flu symptoms since Sunday, but participated in public activities as late as Tuesday morning, when he appeared at a call center.

Arias has been serving on-and-off as a mediator in the political crisis in Honduras after that country's president was ousted June 28 in a coup.

Meteor shower in Malaysia

A video of the Perseid Meteors shower (time lapsed)

Source - The Star Online

Malaysians will be able to sight up to a total of 100 Perseid meteors per hour streaking across the northern sky in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Astronomy Atmospheric Science Unit lecturer Associate Professor Dr Chong Hon Yew said that according to the International Meteor Organisation (IMO, the meteor shower is expected to be best viewed from 1.30am to 4am on Thursday 13 August 2009.

“The shower could have started on July 24 and is expected to be observed until Aug 17, 2009.

“It is however predicted that during the peak viewing time (Thursday morning), the moon will be high in the sky, outshining the fainter meteors.

“There is a good chance for observers to spot the brighter meteors however,” he said on Wednesday.

Dr Chong also hoped the weather would be favourable for the Perseids to be seen.

Those who miss tomorrow’s meteor shower may still catch a “lesser version” after midnight Thursday, or early Friday morning.

Dr Chong said the Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle which are usually fast, bright and occasionally leave persistent trains.

“The point they come from lies in the constellation of Perseus,” he said.

The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for about 2,000 years, with the first known sighting coming from the Far East.

Every year in August, the Earth passes through rock and dust fragments left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle. As these small particles collide with the Earth’s atmosphere, they burn up, often creating a startling streak of light across the sky.

The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity between Aug 8 and Aug 14, peaking at about Aug 12.

Dr Chong said the meteor shower can be observed with the naked eye.

Where is the world most wanted terrorist - Noordin Mohd Top??

Apart from Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohamed Omar, one of the world most wanted terrorists is a Malaysian, known as Noordin Mohd Top who reside in Indonesia.

Born in Kluang Johor, Malaysia, he is thought to have been a key bomb maker and/or financier for Jemaah Islamiya (JI) and to have now left JI and set up a splinter group.

Noordin Top was reported by the United States Department of Justice's FBI to be "an explosives expert." The FBI also has reported him to be "an officer, recruiter, bombmaker, and trainer for the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group."

Noordin and Azahari Husin were thought to have masterminded the 2002 Bali bombing, the 2003 JW Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta, the 2004 Australian embassy bombing in Jakarta, the 2005 Bali bombings and the 2009 JW Marriott - Ritz-Carlton bombings, altogether killing hundreds of innocent lives.

Noordin, nicknamed the "Moneyman", was an indoctrinator who was good in recruiting militants into becoming suicide bombers and collecting funds for militant activities.

He is listed on the FBI's third major "wanted" list, the FBI Seeking Information - War on Terrorism list.

Noordin and other terrorists share this same crazy, untrue and deviationist doctrine of faith - that if you kill people and died in the process, you will die as martyr and will go to Heaven.

The truth is that, these stupid psychopaths will be sent straight to Hell, because killing innocent people on purpose, is a grave crime and sin, no matter what religion you practise.

But Indonesia confirms Noordin was not killed in a gun battle in Central Java, recently.


The shoot out at suspected Noordin Mohd Top house in Central Java, Indonesia

Noordin is Indonesia's most wanted Islamist militant and also one of the most wanted terrorists in the world.

But Noordin was not killed in a shootout last week as initial media reports suggested and remains at large, police said Wednesday.

Tests comparing the body's DNA with that of members of Noordin Muhammad Top's family came back negative, said Eddy Saparwoko, head of the national police victim identification unit.



The body was found to be that of a florist linked to Noordin who police said was a member of a terrorist cell that led last month's twin suicide hotel bombings in Jakarta.

Noordin, a Malaysian national, has been blamed for masterminding a series of deadly al-Qaida-funded attacks in Indonesia since 2003 and is a prime suspect in the July 17 hotel attacks that killed seven people.

Last month's strikes ended a four-year lull in terrorist attacks in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Bombings have killed more than 250 people in Indonesia since 2002, most of them on the resort island of Bali, where a 2002 attack killed 202 people.

"The DNA test didn't match with Noordin's family," Saparwoko said at a nationally televised press conference Wednesday.

Indonesian National Police chief spokesman Maj. Gen. Nanan Sukarna shows a portrait of Ibrohim, a terrorist suspect who was killed in a police raid on a militant hide out in Central Java, during a press conference at the main police hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday.

Local media had reported that Noordin, a self-proclaimed al-Qaida commander who has eluded capture in Indonesia and Malaysia since 2001, was slain in a gunbattle with security forces.

But Saparwoko said the man who died in the shootout at a farmhouse in central Java on Saturday was a florist, identified only as Ibrohim. He made floral arrangements at the J.W. Marriott Hotel and Ritz-Carlton hotels, where suicide bombers attacked last month during breakfast, killing themselves and wounding more than 50 others.

Chief national police spokesman Nanan Sukarna identified Ibrohim as "a planner and arranger of the bombings" and said that five other suspects in the blasts remain at large, including Noordin.

Ibrohim, the father of four children, began working in Jakarta's luxury hotels in 2002 after gaining "an important position in the Noordin M. Top's network," Nanan said. He began working in 2005 for Cynthia Florist, which operated two shops at the American hotel chains.

Police say Ibrohim met Noordin several times in the run-up to the July attacks and had advanced preparations to kill President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, including a would-be suicide bomber and a car rigged with hundreds of pounds (kilograms) of explosives.

In April, Ibrohim began scouting the targets and smuggled explosives in through a basement cargo dock a day before the strikes, Nanan said, showing newly released security camera footage.

The grainy images show a lone man driving a small pickup truck into the J.W. Marriott Hotel and unloading what police said were three containers of explosives, apparently after skirting all security checks.

The video also showed Ibrohim leading the suicide bombers, one of them an 18-year-old high school graduate, through the hotels on July 8, apparently in a rehearsal for the attacks plotted from two rented safe houses on the outskirts of Jakarta.

"We know him. He worked as a third-party florist," said Allan Orlob, head of security for the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels.

Ibrohim resigned the morning of the bombings, Orlob told The Associated Press on Wednesday, and left only a letter to his employer in which he asked that part of his last paycheck be used to reimburse several people who loaned him money.

Noordin, 41, is also accused of orchestrating a bombing of the J.W. Marriott Hotel in 2003 and a massive explosion outside the Australian Embassy in 2004, attacks in the capital that killed more than 20 people.

Heineken - the no.1 Beer in the world??

Satu satunya konsep one malaysia yang tidak boleh dipraktikkan dengan mudah

Konsep 1 Malaysia yang dilaungkan Perdana Menteri, YAB Dato Seri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, sememangnya amat baik untuk diterapkan di kalangan 26 juta penduduk pelbagai etnik di Malaysia.

Samada untuk masyarakat Melayu, Cina, India, Kadazan, Dusun, Murut, Iban, Melanau, Bidayuh, Lundayuh, Rungus, Sungai, Bajau dan Kelabit, konsep 1 Malaysia sememangnya mampu mencetuskan integrasi dan perpaduan nasional sebagai prasyarat penting kepada Malaysia untuk terus maju dan makmur.

Satu Malaysia boleh diterapkan di bagi acara kebudayaan, sukan, keramaian awam di setiap peringkat samada di peringkat mukim, daerah, rumah panjang dan sebagainya.

Namun hanya ada 1 konsep 1 Malaysia yang agak sukar dilaksanakan.

Sebenarnya boleh dilaksanakan tetapi sukar dilaksanakan.

Konsep apa agaknya?

Jawapannya konsep 1 Malaysia untuk menambah bilangan isteri.

Jika isteri pertama dari golongan Melayu, isteri kedua daripada masyarakat Cina, isteri ketiga Kadazan dan isteri keempat Bidayuh. Bolehkah dilaksanakan? Boleh, tapi sukar jika tidak mendapat perkenan isteri pertama.

Tidak dinafikan ada suami di Malaysia yang sudahpun mempraktikkan konsep 1 Malaysia dengan mempunyai lebih daripada seorang isteri yang terdiri daripada berbilang bangsa.

Ada yang bercita cita untuk mencapai visi itu tetapi sukar kerana isteri pertama tidak izinkan.

Hmmm.. macam macam.

Hidup 1 Malaysia.

what is so special about 10.10

Reader Humaira writes: “I have always wondered why clocks, watches, and timepieces always say (roughly) 10:10 before you set the correct time. If you go into a store selling any kind of time-telling device, that is the default factory setting. Why is that?!!”

First things first, let’s get the myths out of the way.

There are plenty of people out there who think that clocks in advertisements and in-store displays are set this way memorialize Abraham Lincoln/John F. Kennedy/Martin Luther King Jr. because that was the time at which they were shot or died.

In reality, Lincoln was shot at 10:15 p.m., and died the next morning at 7:22 a.m., JFK was shot at 12:30 p.m. CST and was pronounced dead 1 p.m. and MLK was shot 6:01 p.m. and pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.

Another theory has it that 10:10 was the time that an atomic bomb was dropped on either Nagasaki or Hiroshima, and the setting is in memory of the casualties. The Fat Man bomb was actually dropped on the former at 11:02 a.m. local time and the Little Boy on the latter at 8:15 a.m. local time.

The real reason for the setting? Aesthetics. The 10:10 position gives the clock or watch a number of benefits:

• The hands not overlapping, so they’re fully and clearly visible and their styling can be admired.

• The arrangement of the hands is symmetrical, which people generally find more pleasant than asymmetry, making the product more appealing to customers.

• The manufacturer’s logo, usually in the center of the face under the 12, is not only visible, but nicely framed by the hands.

• Additional elements on the face (like date windows and secondary dials), usually placed near the 3, 6, or 9, won’t be obscured.

According to the folks at Timex (who set their products at 10:09:36 exactly), the standard setting used to be 8:20, but this made the face look like it was frowning.

To make the products look “happier,” the setting was flipped into a smile (occasionally, you’ll still see the 8:20 setting on some clocks or watches where the manufacturer’s logo is at bottom of the face above the 6).

For me - 10.10 is a very good number, a good omen and easy to remember.

North Korea pardons US Journalists

News of the disappearance of Euna Lee and Laura Ling



Home sweet home - thanks to President Bill Clinton, no thanks to Al Gore

Former US President, Bill Clinton is back into the limelight, he is basking in glory after his successful mission of bringing back home 2 female US journalists, jailed by North Korea for allegedly straying into the reclusive territory.

Clinton even had lunch with President Kim Jong Ill before the 2 US Journalists were handed over to him.

It was a rare occassion when a recent President of the US, are allowed to enter North Korea.

I bet the mission would have failed if President George W. Bush were sent to North Korea, instead of Clinton, for Bush had once described North Korea as the Axis of Evil.

For now, Clinton's public profile is at the highest, not only the families of the 2 journalists thanking him, but also millions of Americans and also South Koreans.

When Euna and Laura was sentenced to 12 years jail with hard labour, it was devastating for their families and their employer - Current TV, founded by former US Vice President, Al Gore.

Well, Al Gore sent them to hell, but Clinton, the guardian angel, saved them.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling are now reunited with their families.

Perhaps Clinton need to do another rescue missions, this time in Iran where 3 US citizens were captured for allegedly straying into Iranian territory from Iraq.

Well Clinton has to do the talk with Mahmud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President.

Once again, former President George W. Bush, cannot be allowed to play any role in the rescue mission because he had also described Iran as the Axis of Evil when he was in office in the White House.

High profile peaceful 'rescue' missions by high ranking Americans to bring home their fellow Americans in hostile territory are not new.

In the early 1990's, Reverend Jesse Jackson managed to bring back home 5 US air force personells, captured and taken as Prisoner of War by the Serbian forces.

The 5 personells were on a bombing mission abroad a B52 bomber, during the campaign initiated by NATO to crush Serbian forces and free Kosovo.

They ejected to safety when their plane was shot down by surface to air missiles, and taken prisoner.

Some journalists were not that lucky.

They died while covering the frontline, caught in the line of fire.

One infamous incident is known as the Balibo Five incident in East Timor.

The Balibo Five refers to a group of journalists working for Australian television networks.

They were based in the town of Balibo in East Timor (then Portuguese Timor) but were killed on 16 October 1975 by Indonesian troops mounting incursions, prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor on 7 December that year.

The group was made up of two Australians, reporter Greg Shackleton, 27 and sound recordist Tony Stewart, 21; a New Zealander, cameraman Gary Cunningham, 27, for HSV-7 (Seven Network) in Melbourne; and two Britons, cameraman Brian Peters, 29 and reporter Malcolm Rennie, 28 working for TCN-9 (Nine Network) in Sydney.

BURBANK, California, USA. – Two American journalists freed by North Korea have returned home to the United States on a flight with former President Bill Clinton.

The jet carrying Euna Lee and Laura Ling landed at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport early Wednesday. The women spent more than four months detained in North Korea.

The reporters were granted a pardon by North Korea on Tuesday, following rare talks between Clinton and the reclusive leader Kim Jong Il. They had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally.

In exclusive APTN video showing their release, the women were shown dressed in short-sleeved shirts and jeans as they boarded the plane in North Korea.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton and two American journalists flew back to the United States on Wednesday for what was expected to be an emotional reunion with family and friends after the reporters spent the last four months detained in North Korea.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling were granted a pardon by North Korea following rare talks between Clinton and the reclusive leader Kim Jong Il. They had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally.

The women, dressed in short-sleeved shirts and jeans, appeared healthy as they climbed the steps to the plane and shook hands with Clinton before getting into the jet, exclusive APTN footage from Pyongyang showed. Clinton waved, put his hand over his heart and then saluted.

North Korean state TV showed Clinton's departure, and North Korean officials waving to the plane, but did not show images of the two journalists.

Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna said the flight was bound for Los Angeles, where the journalists will be reunited with their families.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hailed their release.

"I spoke to my husband on the airplane and everything went well," she told reporters in Nairobi, Kenya. "They are extremely excited to be reunited soon when they touch down in California. It was just a good day to be able to see this happen."

Ling's father, Doug, told reporters outside his home in Carmichael, Calif., that his daughter's release was one of the best days of his life. He said he would travel to the Burbank airport to meet his daughter's plane early Wednesday, and planned to bring American flags, yellow ribbons and banners to welcome her home.

"I'm going to go down there and see my little girl," he said.

Ling, a 32-year-old California native, is the younger sister of Lisa Ling, a correspondent for CNN as well as "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "National Geographic Explorer." Lee, 36, a South Korean-born U.S. citizen, is the mother of a 4-year-old.

Their expected arrival was a jubilant conclusion to a more than four-month ordeal for the women, who were arrested near the North Korean-Chinese border in March while on a reporting trip for Current TV, the media venture founded by former Vice President Al Gore.

Gore was expected to be at the Burbank airport to greet the women, who were sentenced in June for illegal entry and engaging in "hostile acts."

Hillary Clinton had urged North Korea last month to grant them amnesty, saying they were remorseful and their families anguished.

The release also amounted to a successful diplomatic foray for the former president, who traveled as an unofficial envoy, with approval and coordination from the administration. He was uniquely positioned for it as the only recent president who had considered visiting North Korea while in office, and one who had sent his secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.

But the backchannel genesis of the mission was not immediately clear, whether Obama called on him, North Korea asked for him or his wife suggested him.

His landmark visit to Pyongyang to free the Americans was a coup that came at a time of heightened tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.

Hillary Clinton also rejected an official report by the North Korean news agency that said Bill Clinton had delivered an apology about the incident to the country's ailing leader.

"That is not true," she said. "That did not occur."

A senior U.S. official said the reporters' families and Gore asked the former president to travel to Pyongyang to seek their release and that Clinton's mission did not include discussions about issues beyond that. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe events leading up to the Clinton trip and the women's release.

The meeting also appeared aimed at dispelling persistent questions about the health of the authoritarian North Korean leader, who was said to be suffering from chronic diabetes and heart disease before the reported stroke. The meeting was Kim's first with a prominent Western figure since the reported stroke.

Kim smiled broadly for a photo standing next to a towering Clinton. He was markedly thinner than a year ago, with his graying hair cropped short. The once-pudgy 67-year-old, who for decades had a noticeable pot belly, wore a khaki jumpsuit and appeared frail and diminutive in a group shot seated next to a robust Clinton.

Pardoning Ling and Lee and having Clinton serving as their emissary served both North Korea's need to continue maintaining that the two women had committed a crime and the Obama administration's desire not to expend diplomatic capital winning their freedom, said Daniel Sneider, associate director of research at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.

"Nobody wanted this to be a distraction from the more substantially difficult issues we have with North Korea," he said. "There was a desire by the administration to resolve this quietly and from the very beginning they didn't allow it to become a huge public issue."

Speaking out for the first time since their capture, Gore said in a joint statement with Current co-founder Joel Hyatt that everyone at the media outlet was overjoyed by the prospect of their safe return. "Our hearts go out to them and to their families for persevering through this horrible experience," it said.

The Lee and Ling families thanked Obama, the secretary of state and the State Department.

"We especially want to thank President Bill Clinton for taking on such an arduous mission and Vice President Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring Laura and Euna home," it said. "We are counting the seconds to hold Laura and Euna in our arms."

In North Korea, Clinton was accorded honors typically reserved for heads of state. Senior officials met his private unmarked plane as it arrived Tuesday morning.

Video from the APTN television news agency showed Clinton exchanging warm handshakes with officials and accepting a bouquet of flowers from a schoolgirl.

Kim later hosted a banquet for Clinton at the state guesthouse, Radio Pyongyang and the Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported. The VIPs and Kim posed for a group shot in front of the same garish mural depicting a stormy seaside landscape that Albright posed for during her historic visit to Pyongyang in 2000.

However, the decision to send Clinton was kept quiet, revealed only when he turned up Tuesday in Pyongyang accompanied by John Podesta, his one-time White House chief of staff, who also is an informal adviser to Obama.

Discussions about normalizing ties with North Korea went dead when George W. Bush took office in 2001 with a hard-line policy on Pyongyang. The Obama administration has expressed a willingness to hold bilateral talks — but only within the framework of the six-nation disarmament talks in place since 2003.

North Korea announced earlier this year it was abandoning the talks involving the two Koreas, Japan, Russia, China and the U.S. The regime also launched a long-range rocket, conducted a nuclear test, test-fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and restarted its atomic program in defiance of international criticism and the U.N. Security Council.

Vixen - one of the best all female rockers in the world

Vixen is an all American female hard rock Band, formed by Jan Kuehnemund in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA in 1980.

Lineup changes happened during the following years.

But the "classic lineup" will always be :

Janet Gardner (lead vocals, rhythm guitar),
Jan Kuehnemund (lead guitar),
Share Pedersen (bass),
Roxy Petrucci (drums).

Kuehnemund is also known as the female version of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Slash, Kirk Hammet and Richie Sambora.

Even tough we live 20,000 miles from USA, Vixen is still and always be rememberd by hard rocking Malaysians.

In Malaysia, the best all female hard rock band is Candy.

Here are some of Vixen's best songs!!!! Enjoy...









The video below features Malaysia's best known all female hard rock group - Candy.

The Lead Singer cum Rhythm Guitarist is Patricia Robert, from the East Malaysian state of Sarawak.

Anwar Ibrahim letter of demand to Utusan Malaysia

source : http://anwaribrahimblog.com

By Anwar Ibrahim

Letter of Demand to The Managing Director of Utusan Malaysia Berhad

Your Ref:
Our Ref:
Date: 3rd August 2009

The Managing Director
Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad
46M, Jalan Lima Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin
55200 Kuala Lumpur

Sir,

RE: Libelous Statement

We act for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who is the Former Deputy Prime Minister and is presently the Leader of the Opposition in the Malaysian Parliament.

We are instructed that on or about 3rd August 2009, you published or caused to be published the following words that were uttered by Y.A.B Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Muhyiddin Bin Mohd. Yassin that was published in the Utusan Malaysia newspaper under the caption:

“Anwar Pengkhianat, Putar belit fakta mengenai usaha martabatkan Melayu – Muhyiddin”

Oleh Sahbullah Darwi
Batu Pahat 2 Ogos – Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menyifatkan Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sebagai pengkhianat besar terhadap perjuangan orang melayu.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri turut menyifatkan Anwar sebagai pemimpin lidah bercabang kerana sanggup memutarbelitkan fakta mengenai usaha UMNO untuk memartabatkan orang Melayu.

“Dulu dia pernah menjadi Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Timbalan Presiden UMNO seperti saya sekarang, tetapi dia sekarang menggunakan cara yang memperdayakan untuk memusnahkan perjuangan kita,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika merasmikan Persidangan Perwakilan UMNO Bahagian Sri Gading di Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) di sini semalam.

Muhyiddin berkata, Anwar selaku Ketua Pembangkang kini menyebarkan dakyah untuk mencipta persepsi negatif terhadap usaha UMNO dalam mempertahankan hak keistimewaan Melayu dan institusi raja.

“Dia kata kepada semua orang bahawa UMNO zalim, tetapi beritahu saya sekarang dalam cara apa yang kita zalim? Kenapa dia tidak beritahu ini semasa dia jadi pemimpin kita?” soalnya.

Beliau mendedahkan taktik pembangkang mengulangi pembohongan sehingga rakyat mempercayai penipuan itu.

“Hingga sampai ke tahap ini, orang menganggap apa yang dilakukan oleh UMNO adalah salah dan apa sahaja yang dilakukan kita tidak baik untuk rakyat.

“Maka semua kebaikan yang dpernah kita lakukan membangunkan negara sejak 50 tahun lalu tidak lagi dihargai,” katanya.

Muhyiddin mengakui UMNO bukanlah parti yang tidak pernah melakukan kesilapan namun ia telah melakukan yang terbaik untuk menghapuskan rasuah, keangkuhan dan pengurusan yang tidak cekap.

“Tiada masalah untuk mengkritik kerana kita bukan maksum tetapi saya tidak boleh terima kalau pembangkang menghina dan tidak menghormati orang Melayu,” jelasnya.

Sehubungan itu, beliau menyeru ahli dan pemimpin UMNO mengubah persepsi negatif pembangkang terhadap parti dengan terus mendekati rakyat terutama di peringkat akar umbi.

Menurutnya, pendekatan itu jika dilakukan secara berterusan akan menyedarkan rakyat terhadap perjuangan ikhlas UMNO dalam membela nasib mereka terutama bangsa Melayu.

“Kita hanya mempunyai dua tahun untuk mengubah persepsi dan imej buruk itu,” katanya.

Menurutnya, UMNO juga bukan parti yang semata-mata mahukan undi rakyat pada setiap pilihan raya, tetapi untuk membela dan membangunkan mereka.

“Tetapi disebabkan dakyah serta pelbagai tuduhan pembangkang terhadap UMNO menyebabkan timbul persepsi buruk rakyat terhadap parti sejak kebelakangan ini,” katanya.

Ekoran itu, beliau berkata, tindakan segera perlu dilaksanakan mulai sekarang bagi mengembalikan semula keyakinan tersebut agar UMNO dapat terus berjuang untuk membela mereka. (hereinafter called “the Impugned Article”).

Inter alia, the Impugned Article contained the following defamatory words published and or quoted by you about our client:

i) Batu Pahat 2 Ogos – Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menyifatkan Penasihat Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim sebagai pengkhianat besar terhadap perjuangan orang melayu.

ii) Timbalan Perdana Menteri turut menyifatkan Anwar sebagai pemimpin lidah bercabang kerana sanggup memutarbelitkan fakta mengenai usaha UMNO untuk memartabatkan orang Melayu.

iii) “Dulu dia pernah menjadi Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan Timbalan Presiden UMNO seperti saya sekarang, tetapi dia sekarang menggunakan cara yang memperdayakan untuk memusnahkan perjuangan kita,” katanya.

iv) Muhyiddin berkata, Anwar selaku Ketua Pembangkang kini menyebarkan dakyah untuk mencipta persepsi negatif terhadap usaha UMNO dalam mempertahankan hak keistimewaan Melayu dan institusi raja.

v) Beliau mendedahkan taktik pembangkang mengulangi pembohongan sehingga rakyat mempercayai penipuan itu.

vi) “Tiada masalah untuk mengkritik kerana kita bukan maksum tetapi saya tidak boleh terima kalau pembangkang menghina dan tidak menghormati orang Melayu,” jelasnya.

vii) “Tetapi disebabkan dakyah serta pelbagai tuduhan pembangkang terhadap UMNO menyebabkan timbul persepsi buruk rakyat terhadap parti sejak kebelakangan ini,” katanya.

The Impugned Article and the Impugned Words were and are defamatory and or libelous of our Client and in their natural and ordinary meaning and or by implication mean, meant and were understood to, inter alia, mean that:

i) Our client is a dishonest person both in his private and official capacity;
ii) Our Client is a liar;
iii) Our Client is an untrustworthy person as well as an unfit politician;
iv) Our Client is a traitor to the Malays;
v) Our Client is unfit to hold public office;
vi) Our Client is unprincipled and corrupt;
vii) Our Client has committed a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment; and
viii) Our Client is unethical.

By innuendo, the Impugned Article and the Impugned Words were and are defamatory and or libelous of our Client and in their natural and ordinary meaning and or by implication mean, meant and were understood to, inter alia, mean that:

i) Our client is a dishonest person both in his private and official capacity;
ii) Our Client is a liar;
iii) Our Client is an untrustworthy person as well as an unfit politician;
iv) Our Client is a traitor to the Malays;
v) Our Client is unfit to hold public office;
vi) Our Client is unprincipled and corrupt;
vii) Our Client has committed a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment; and
viii) Our Client is unethical.

Inter alia, our client contends the following in that, the Impugned Article and the Impugned Words published by you in respect of our client:-

a) are bereft of truth, vexatious, specious, fallacious and wholly uncalled for;
b) are and were grossly negligent, reckless, deliberate, malicious and aimed to lower our client’s esteem in the eyes of the public, both locally and internationally , and expose our client to public hatred, scorn, odium, opprobrium, contempt and ridicule;
c) are wholly untrue, motivated by malice, mala fides, distortion of facts suggesting moral and legal impropriety on the part of our client and are principally done in your pursuit of seeking cheap publicity/ sensationalism for political and other purposes; and
d) are pre-mediated and calculated to tarnish, malign, defame and seriously injure the good name and character of our client.

We are further instructed that you have republished or caused it to be republished the abovementioned Impugned Article and Impugned Words and the libelous comments.

The Impugned Words uttered and published by you in respect of our client and the comments against our client by you, amounts to a very serious libel on our client and have caused our client considerable distress and embarrassment. These Impugned Words published by you in respect of our client and comments made against our client are false, malicious and your attack on our client is wholly unjustified.

We are therefore instructed to demand from you, which we hereby do:

1) An immediate and unequivocal public retraction of the Impugned Article and the Impugned Words and the removal and retraction of all the offending and defamatory comments, forthwith;
2) An apology in the terms to be approved by us as solicitors, to be published in newspapers or media of our client’s choice;
3) An undertaking by you not to repeat the above allegations and comments as per the Impugned Words or the likes of the same;

Our client has also has instructed us to demand damages of RM100 million (Ringgit Malaysia One Hundred Million) from you for the injury caused to our client’s reputation.

Our client has also requested us to demand payment of all legal costs that has been incurred with regard to this matter.

This letter is written in accordance with pre-action protocol prior to the institution of a libel action. We look forward to hearing from you without delay. If we do not receive a satisfactory reply within seven (7) days of the receipt of this letter, our instructions are to institute legal proceedings against you. In the meantime, our client reserves all our client’s rights in this matter.

Please acknowledge receipt accordingly.

Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
S.N. NAIR & PARTNERS

c.c client.

Trigalz - a budding cute sexy Sabahan talented aspiring singers!!

But surely, the Trigalz cannot beat this explosive female singer in the video below!!!

Ex British Prime Minister - Tony Blair in Sabah, Malaysia, Borneo

Combo pictures of Ex British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, leaving the Sacred Heart Church in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia - Sunday 2 August 2009


Another pic of Mr Blair leaving the Sacred Heart Church - the guy on Blair's right is Mr Christopher Chiu - a Road Transport Department, JPJ Kota Kinabalu officer

All pics courtesy of Jaswinder Kaur's blog - http://dreamyborneo.blogspot.com/


Video of Tony Blair leaving the Sacred Heart Church, Kota Kinabalu, filmed by a church goer via a mobile phone.


Highlights of Tony Blair

He was one of the world's most powerful person when he occupied no. 10, Downing Street as the British Prime Minister.

Tony Blair, now 56, was British Prime Minister for 10 years from May 2nd, 1997 to June 27th, 2007.

After he retired from office, Mr Blair is still a popular figure around the world.

On Sunday, 2 August 2009, Mr Blair and wife, Cherie, unexpectedly attended a sunday mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, in the island of Borneo.

He was apparently on a holiday in Sabah, which is known for its exotic tourists attractions, such as Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia also a world heritage site, Sipadan Island (top 5 diving destination in the world), the 100 million plus years old tropical rainforest in Danum Valley and many many more world class attractions.

He stayed at the Nexus Karambunai resort.

Well, when Mr Blair showed up at the local church, of course he will cause a stir...

It is not everyday that a former British Prime Minister will attend mass at your local church.

And it is not everyday that a former British PM, choose to go on holiday in your state.

Members of the local and national media in Kota Kinabalu, managed to "smell" his presence and quickly swarmed the Sacred Heart Church.

At first, the members of the press got a false alarm and went to another Catholic church nearby, the Stella Marris church.

Blair and Mrs Blair were accompanied by few bodyguards.

This is the full version of the story as appeared in a national newspaper in Malaysia.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair caused a stir at a local church here when he came for mass with his family as part of a private visit to Sabah. Many didn't realise that he was seated at a pew in the middle of the Sacred Heart Catholic church until prayers ended at about 10.20am yesterday, and Blair stood up to leave the hall.

Those who recognised him started shaking his hand, not bothered by body guards who followed Blair closely as he left the church for a multi-purpose van parked just metres away. Some started taking photos with their handphones and others managed to take pictures with him and wife Cherie Blair, as their children disappeared into a vehicle.

Dressed in a black collared t-shirt, white slacks and skin-coloured flip flops, Blair who served as Prime Minister for a decade until 2007, offered a smile to everyone and accomodated a request from a few parishioners who wanted to have their photos taken with him. The excitement lasted less than five minutes before he was whisked away into his waiting van, but church-goers who spoke or shook hands with him lingered on for a while.

Civil servant Christopher Chiu said Blair took his hand when he offered to shake it when they left the hall. "I was so surprised when I saw him because I didn't realise that he was in church. He was so nice to me. "He told me that he liked the cathedral and was glad that many people had come for mass. "He said he is here on a private visit with his family," Chiu, an officer with the Road Transport Department, said.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said he didn't know that the Blair family was sitting behind him. "I saw his wife (Cherie) and I thought that she looked familiar. It is only when I saw the excitement outside that I knew Blair was behind me, and who the lady I saw was. "I didn't manage to speak with him or shake his hand, but I am very happy that he joined us for Sunday service," Liew said.

It is learnt that Blair and his family arrived in Kota Kinabalu close to a week ago for a holiday. Blair is actively involved in charitable events through the Tony Blair Sports Foundation and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation. He is also known for his views on climate change and recently produced a report called "Technology for a Low Carbon Future."

Former Philippines President, Corazon "Cory" Aquino, died aged 76..

Mabuhay Ang Pilipinas

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Former President Corazon Aquino, who swept away a dictator with a "people power" revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years, died on Saturday, her son said. She was 76.

The uprising she led in 1986 ended the repressive 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos and inspired nonviolent protests across the globe, including those that ended Communist rule in eastern Europe.

But she struggled in office to meet high public expectations. Her land redistribution program fell short of ending economic domination by the landed elite, including her own family. Her leadership, especially in social and economic reform, was often indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term.

Still, the bespectacled, smiling woman in her trademark yellow dress remained beloved in the Philippines, where she was affectionately referred to as "Tita (Auntie) Cory."

"She was headstrong and single-minded in one goal, and that was to remove all vestiges of an entrenched dictatorship," Raul C. Pangalangan, former dean of the Law School at the University of the Philippines, said earlier this month. "We all owe her in a big way."

Her son, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, said his mother died at 3:18 a.m. Saturday (1918 GMT Friday).

Aquino was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer last year and confined to a Manila hospital for more than a month. Her son said the cancer had spread to other organs and she was too weak to continue her chemotherapy.

Supporters have been holding daily prayers for Aquino in churches in Manila and throughout the country for a month. Masses were scheduled for later Saturday, and yellow ribbons were tied on trees around her neighborhood in Quezon city.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is on an official visit to the United States, said in a statement that "the entire nation is mourning" Aquino's demise. Arroyo declared a period of national mourning and announced a state funeral would be held for the late president.

TV stations on Saturday were running footage of Aquino's years together with prayers while her former aides and supporters offered condolences.

"Today our country has lost a mother," said former President Joseph Estrada, calling Aquino "a woman of both strength and graciousness."

Even the exiled Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison, whom Aquino freed from jail in 1986, paid tribute from the Netherlands.

Aquino's unlikely rise began in 1983 when her husband, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was assassinated on the tarmac of Manila's international airport as he returned from exile in the United States to challenge Marcos, his longtime adversary.

The killing enraged many Filipinos and unleashed a broad-based opposition movement that thrust Aquino into the role of national leader.

"I don't know anything about the presidency," she declared in 1985, a year before she agreed to run against Marcos, uniting the fractious opposition, the business community, and later the armed forces to drive the dictator out.

Maria Corazon Cojuangco was born on Jan. 25, 1933, into a wealthy, politically powerful family in Paniqui, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Manila.

She attended private school in Manila and earned a degree in French from the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York. In 1954 she married Ninoy Aquino, the fiercely ambitious scion of another political family. He rose from provincial governor to senator and finally opposition leader.

Marcos, elected president in 1965, declared martial law in 1972 to avoid term limits.

He abolished the Congress and jailed Aquino's husband and thousands of opponents, journalists and activists without charges. Aquino became her husband's political stand-in, confidant, message carrier and spokeswoman.

A military tribunal sentenced her husband to death for alleged links to communist rebels but, under pressure from U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed him to leave in May 1980 for heart surgery in the U.S.

It was the start of a three-year exile.

With her husband at Harvard University holding court with fellow exiles, academics, journalists and visitors from Manila, Aquino was the quiet homemaker, raising their five children and serving tea. Away from the hurly-burly of Philippine politics, she described the period as the best of their marriage.

The halcyon days ended when her husband decided to return to regroup the opposition. While she and the children remained in Boston, he flew to Manila, where he was shot as he descended the stairs from the plane.

The government blamed a suspected communist rebel, but subsequent investigations pointed to a soldier who was escorting him from the plane on Aug. 21, 1983.

Aquino heard of the assassination in a phone call from a Japanese journalist. She recalled gathering the children and, as a deeply religious woman, praying for strength.

"During Ninoy's incarceration and before my presidency, I used to ask why it had always to be us to make the sacrifice," she said in a 2007 interview with The Philippine Star newspaper. "And then, when Ninoy died, I would say, 'Why does it have to be me now?' It seemed like we were always the sacrificial lamb."

She returned to the Philippines three days later. One week after that, she led the largest funeral procession Manila had seen.

Crowd estimates ranged as high as 2 million.

With public opposition mounting against Marcos, he stunned the nation in November 1985 by calling a snap election in a bid to shore up his mandate. The opposition, including then Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, urged Aquino to run.

After a fierce campaign, the vote was held on Feb. 7, 1986. The National Assembly declared Marcos the winner, but journalists, foreign observers and church leaders alleged massive fraud.

With the result in dispute, a group of military officers mutinied against Marcos on Feb. 22 and holed up with a small force in a military camp in Manila.

Over the following three days, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos responded to a call by the Roman Catholic Church to jam the broad highway in front of the camp to prevent an attack by Marcos forces.

On the third day, against the advice of her security detail, Aquino appeared at the rally alongside the mutineers, led by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, the military vice chief of staff and Marcos' cousin.

From a makeshift platform, she declared: "For the first time in the history of the world, a civilian population has been called to defend the military." The military chiefs pledged their loyalty to Aquino and charged that Marcos had won the election by fraud.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a longtime supporter of Marcos, called on him to resign. "Attempts to prolong the life of the present regime by violence are futile," the White House said. American officials offered to fly Marcos out of the Philippines.

On Feb. 25, Marcos and his family went to the U.S.-run Clark Air Base outside Manila and flew to Hawaii, where he died three years later.

The same day, Aquino was sworn in as the Philippines' first female leader.

Over time, the euphoria fizzled as the public became impatient and Aquino more defensive as she struggled to navigate treacherous political waters and build alliances to push her agenda.

"People used to compare me to the ideal president, but he doesn't exist and never existed. He has never lived," she said in the 2007 Philippine Star interview.

The right attacked her for making overtures to communist rebels and the left, for protecting the interests of wealthy landowners.

Aquino signed an agrarian reform bill that virtually exempted large plantations like her family's sugar plantation from being distributed to landless farmers.

When farmers protested outside the Malacanang Presidential Palace on Jan. 22, 1987, troops opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 100.

The bloodshed scuttled talks with communist rebels, who had galvanized opposition to Marcos but weren't satisfied with Aquino either.

As recently as 2004, at least seven workers were killed in clashes with police and soldiers at the family's plantation, Hacienda Luisita, over its refusal to distribute its land.

Aquino also attempted to negotiate with Muslim separatists in the southern Philippines, but made little progress.

Behind the public image of the frail, vulnerable widow, Aquino was an iron-willed woman who dismissed criticism as the carping of jealous rivals. She knew she had to act tough to earn respect in the Philippines' macho culture.

"When I am just with a few close friends, I tell them, 'OK, you don't like me? Look at the alternatives,' and that shuts them up," she told America's NBC television in a 1987 interview.

Her term was punctuated by repeated coup attempts - most staged by the same clique of officers who had risen up against Marcos and felt they had been denied their fair share of power. The most serious attempt came in December 1989 when only a flyover by U.S. jets prevented mutinous troops from toppling her.

Leery of damaging relations with the United States, Aquino tried in vain to block a historic Senate vote to force the U.S. out of its two major bases in the Philippines.

In the end, the U.S. Air Force pulled out of Clark Air Base in 1991 after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced its evacuation and left it heavily damaged. The last American vessel left Subic Bay Naval Base in November 1992.

After stepping down in 1992, Aquino remained active in social and political causes.

Until diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2008, she joined rallies calling for the resignation of President Arroyo over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption.

She kept her distance from another famous widow, flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos, who was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991.

Marcos has called Aquino a usurper and dictator, though she later led prayers for Aquino in July 2009 when the latter was hospitalized. The two never made peace.

Mabuhay Ang Pilipinas!!!

To all Maths freaks out there!!! Maths is boring...

Well, Maths is boring, what more additional mathematics or further Maths.

In Actual life, you don't have to memorise all these stupid formulas or equations...

Heyyy... just grab a simple calculator, a scientific calculator or a made in mars calculator and that thing will solve those mind boggling puzzles..

Below is a normal day during a Maths class in M.I.T, USA... boring isn't it??

all a child needs is love and affection

Source - The Star Online

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the one I have. I was brought up in an average family. Although I never had many luxuries in life, I had all the basic necessities for survival.

Most people would say I am lucky compared with many other people. I never demanded any material things from my parents. All I asked for was love, respect and some self-sacrifice for the betterment of the next generation.

Instead, I would come back to incessant insults of my stupidity, psychological abuse and discouragement in life. My mother left my father and my stepmother is the same as my father. As they say, “birds of a feather, flock together”.

Now, I am a successful engineer with my own happy family and all the material things I need and want. I cannot be bothered to go back and visit, even though they live less than 10 minutes’ drive away.

I know there are irresponsible people who abandon their loving parents and these people are despicable. More often than not, I have seen that most old folks who have been abandoned have another side to the story.

Irresponsible men who abandoned the family and gambled their salaries away, and parents who abused their children, either physically, emotionally or mentally.

Let this be a warning to all parents. Do not think that providing a roof, food, clothing, mobile phone and a Playstation is enough. Sometimes, all a child needs is some love and attention even though their physical life is lacking.
A child will always forget that he was once hungry but will never forget that he never had a sweet childhood and love from his parents.

Now, I swear to my child that no matter how tired I am, I will always help with his lessons, play with him, love him, encourage him to be the best that he can be in life, and help him to the extent that I can afford to.

I swear to be a good father to my son, the kind of father that I never had. I will never force him or remind him to take care of me when I am old and whithered.

My child owes me nothing. He did not ask to be born into this world as my child. The burden shall never be on my child.

To all parents out there, it is time you realise this. Your child is not your insurance policy. It is your responsibility.

If my child takes me in when I am old, I would be grateful. Maybe then, I would have done something right in this world before I leave.

The fastest Gay in the world?? not quite... it is still Usain Bolt

He is not gay, Mike Tyson is not gay either, but he is Tyson Gay.

STOCKHOLM (AP)—Tyson Gay overcame a poor start to edge fellow American Darvis Patton in the 100 meters at the DN Gala meet on Friday, clocking a wind-aided 9.79 seconds.

Patton was timed in 9.95 and former world record-holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica finished third in 9.98.

On a windy and cool evening with a temperature of 61 degrees, Gay passed Powell before the midway point and snapped the Jamaican’s streak of three straight wins at Olympic Stadium.

Gay’s time was well below Powell’s stadium record of 9.86 from 2006, but the American did not get a 1-carat diamond for breaking the meet mark because of the strong wind.

The current men's 100 metres world record belongs to Usain Bolt of Jamaica who timed 9.69 secs en route to winning the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games.

Had Bolt continued his run and not slowed down in the last 30 metres, the record could have been lowered to 9.55 secs!!!!

I used to run the 100 metres during school days on grass and my best hand timing was 12 seconds flat!!!

With the perfect training, perfect coach, perfect race course, perfect vitamin, perfect supplement, perfect food, perfect encouragement and a little bit of luck, i think i can run 10.03 seconds, breaking the national Malaysian record and winning the Asian Games Gold Medal easily!!!!



Here, Usain Bolt clocked 19.30 secs in the 200 metres men final in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games. The previous record was set by Michael Johnson, 19.32 secs - Michael Johnson is still the world record holder in the 400 metres, clocking 43.18 seconds!!!