Hi ,
Another hallmark of the occupation of Iraq by the United States. Today , the country will be forced to vote for a government that will most probably be less desired by the occupiers than they hoped. With the every increasing 'noises' among the conservatives , pro-wars and even church goers in US on the realism of the war and cost , George Bush is hard pressed to make sure that they do not loose in the counting of votes. In fact , would there be a chance that "votes manipulation' will happen? Lets pray that the adminstration would not go lower than that what it is already now.
A more meaningful leadership lineup has been stated. We thank those who have contributed in the past year , and this year's list looked increasingly solid. May God continue to watch over the work of reaching out to the people in the workplace.
Here are the leadership list for iBridge in the year 2005.
iBridge caters for young graduates in the ages of 21-35.
We take pride at serving all of you and ensuring that together, we can all grow in Him and through Him.
If you want to suggest or volunteer in any area, you can contact any of the people below.
Internet Team - In charge of iB yahoo group, website and all other matters related to internet Dave Chong - Hedonese@yahoo.com Tel: 019-3356095
Irene Kiew - iqwacky@time.net.my Tel:019-2217875 www.ireneq.com
Headstart - In charge of all headstart groups, leaders, members & manual and training Liew Cow Yuan - cowyuan.liew@dhl.com Tel: 012-2072085
Development - To recruit members to iB through universities, FES, OCF, network and partner with other organisations and individuals. Nixson Rudd - rudd88@hotmail.com Tel: 016-2625100
Face-2-Face - To organize face to face meetings for iBridge which may include annual camp, outing, seminars etc Ang Ee Wei - eewei.ang@gmail.com Tel: 012-2342692
26-35 Ministry - havent given a proper name yet for this ministry. Basically, this team will study, suggest and implement programs / needs for those in the ages of 26-35. Dr Yap Yoke Yeow - http://thetent.typepad.com Tel: 012-3056912 , Elaine Yap
Treasurer - One of the main agenda for 2005 will be to raise fund for FES
Carmen Chin - star_gazers2003@yahoo.com Tel: 012-3721282
Coordinator
James Daniel - vjd@tm.net.my Tel:012-6706717
Advisors
Dr Living Lee Chai Peng - leecp@um.edu.my
Alvin Ung and Huey Fern - currently studying in Regent College, Canada.
Christmas in January?
Answer
First , the questions here is why not celebrate Christmas , rite?
The first 2 paragraphs are basically the nature of the birth of Christ that is proclaimed . A Christ that is not only proclaimed by Prophet Isiah , Micah , David etc. through the time . In fact , John did write that Christ is the "word , - (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.) " before beginning of time . It is a birth predestined through ages from Genesis onwards , so the references created by Julienne is correct.
Now , the issue of celebration may be the reason that the writter tot that Christmas is not worth celebrating . I would like to categorically agree that if "Christmas" as it is today are not celebrated , it will still be ok . And the reason is not because of its 'pagan' roots , not the commercialization of the Christmas celebrations ( drinking , eating and being merry ) , but the fact that the 'message' and reality ( a relationship with God ) is enough for people who have Christ in their heart. Every day is Christmas?
But consider this. The reasons that was put forth looks more at their own benefit only . Sorry that this may sound strong , but the scripture did ask us to proclaim the word to the 'ends of the earth" , and not only to " cover the lamp " from shinning. I think Christ understand the nature of human to guard and enjoy themselves all the best things in life . And there is second to none than salvation , by grace through faith in Christ. So , though the argument of personal enjoyment of a relationship is enough , the other side of the coin is that it is also a duty to proclaim the message. And the 'world of peace and justice' will not happen until every tribe and nations have been proclaimed with the good news . ( And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24.14 )
So , as much as the argument that this " personal relationship " is the reason for not celebrating Christmas is a weak one , it is also a weak argument that everybody must celebrate . But 'celebration' is understanding , remembering and proclaiming the birth of Christ to the rest of the population. It does not have to be a 'commercial affair celebration" , it may be just a rememberence , exultation , worship . etc. It can be also just a family affair to uphold each other and enjoy a good catching up . The fact is , many may be turned off by the 'accepted' commercial Christmas duties ( eat, drink and be merry .. for tomorrow you will die? . Oh , this includes shopping ) that Christmas smells like another opportunity to have fun . There is no direct scriptural message for either arguments , so we are blessed with 'wisdom from above" to make the best of the situation .
Even with the Pagan root , I will still remember Christmas . As with us being sinnners and reclaimed into 'light , so a pagan celebration was reclaimed into something good. Christmas is as much for myself to remember the birth of Christ and all the details that God has preplanned to make this happen . It is also a time to share , educate and proclaim Him to so many people who dun normally attend church / not in contact with. To me , the 'benefit' outweights the cost.
Question
Seven centuries before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah prophesied about him: “There has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us; and the princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder.” (Isaiah 9:6) Why did Isaiah indicate that Jesus’ birth and subsequent role would be so significant? Because Jesus would become a mighty ruler. He would be called Prince of Peace, and there would be no end to peace or to his princely rule. Furthermore, Jesus’ rulership would be sustained “by means of justice and by means of righteousness.” – Isaiah 9:7.
The angel Gabriel echoed Isaiah’s proclamation when he announced Jesus’ coming birth to Mary. “This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,” he predicted. “And Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” (Luke 1:32, 33) Clearly, the main significance of Jesus’ birth lay in the work that Christ would accomplish as the appointed King of God’s Kingdom. Christ’s rule can benefit all, including you and your loved ones. In fact, the angels indicated that his birth would bring “peace on earth to those with whom [God] is pleased.” – Luke 2:14, Today’s English Version.
Who does not long to live in a world of peace and justice? But to enjoy the peace that Christ’s rule will bring, we need to please God and have a good relationship with him. Jesus said that the first step to such a relationship is to learn about God and Christ. “This mean everlasting life,” Jesus said, “their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” – John 17:3.
Once we know Jesus well, we need no longer wonder how he would like us to remember him. Would it be by eating, drinking, and exchanging presents on the same date as an ancient pagan festival? That seems unlikely. The night before he died, Jesus told his disciples what he preferred. “He that has my commandments and observes them, that one is he who loves me. In turn he that loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him.” – John 14:21.
Let’s study the Holy Scriptures extensively so that we can understand what the commands of God and Jesus are, and also gain insight into those vital commands so that we can remember Jesus as he should be remembered.
First , the questions here is why not celebrate Christmas , rite?
The first 2 paragraphs are basically the nature of the birth of Christ that is proclaimed . A Christ that is not only proclaimed by Prophet Isiah , Micah , David etc. through the time . In fact , John did write that Christ is the "word , - (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.) " before beginning of time . It is a birth predestined through ages from Genesis onwards , so the references created by Julienne is correct.
Now , the issue of celebration may be the reason that the writter tot that Christmas is not worth celebrating . I would like to categorically agree that if "Christmas" as it is today are not celebrated , it will still be ok . And the reason is not because of its 'pagan' roots , not the commercialization of the Christmas celebrations ( drinking , eating and being merry ) , but the fact that the 'message' and reality ( a relationship with God ) is enough for people who have Christ in their heart. Every day is Christmas?
But consider this. The reasons that was put forth looks more at their own benefit only . Sorry that this may sound strong , but the scripture did ask us to proclaim the word to the 'ends of the earth" , and not only to " cover the lamp " from shinning. I think Christ understand the nature of human to guard and enjoy themselves all the best things in life . And there is second to none than salvation , by grace through faith in Christ. So , though the argument of personal enjoyment of a relationship is enough , the other side of the coin is that it is also a duty to proclaim the message. And the 'world of peace and justice' will not happen until every tribe and nations have been proclaimed with the good news . ( And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24.14 )
So , as much as the argument that this " personal relationship " is the reason for not celebrating Christmas is a weak one , it is also a weak argument that everybody must celebrate . But 'celebration' is understanding , remembering and proclaiming the birth of Christ to the rest of the population. It does not have to be a 'commercial affair celebration" , it may be just a rememberence , exultation , worship . etc. It can be also just a family affair to uphold each other and enjoy a good catching up . The fact is , many may be turned off by the 'accepted' commercial Christmas duties ( eat, drink and be merry .. for tomorrow you will die? . Oh , this includes shopping ) that Christmas smells like another opportunity to have fun . There is no direct scriptural message for either arguments , so we are blessed with 'wisdom from above" to make the best of the situation .
Even with the Pagan root , I will still remember Christmas . As with us being sinnners and reclaimed into 'light , so a pagan celebration was reclaimed into something good. Christmas is as much for myself to remember the birth of Christ and all the details that God has preplanned to make this happen . It is also a time to share , educate and proclaim Him to so many people who dun normally attend church / not in contact with. To me , the 'benefit' outweights the cost.
Question
Seven centuries before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah prophesied about him: “There has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to us; and the princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder.” (Isaiah 9:6) Why did Isaiah indicate that Jesus’ birth and subsequent role would be so significant? Because Jesus would become a mighty ruler. He would be called Prince of Peace, and there would be no end to peace or to his princely rule. Furthermore, Jesus’ rulership would be sustained “by means of justice and by means of righteousness.” – Isaiah 9:7.
The angel Gabriel echoed Isaiah’s proclamation when he announced Jesus’ coming birth to Mary. “This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,” he predicted. “And Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” (Luke 1:32, 33) Clearly, the main significance of Jesus’ birth lay in the work that Christ would accomplish as the appointed King of God’s Kingdom. Christ’s rule can benefit all, including you and your loved ones. In fact, the angels indicated that his birth would bring “peace on earth to those with whom [God] is pleased.” – Luke 2:14, Today’s English Version.
Who does not long to live in a world of peace and justice? But to enjoy the peace that Christ’s rule will bring, we need to please God and have a good relationship with him. Jesus said that the first step to such a relationship is to learn about God and Christ. “This mean everlasting life,” Jesus said, “their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” – John 17:3.
Once we know Jesus well, we need no longer wonder how he would like us to remember him. Would it be by eating, drinking, and exchanging presents on the same date as an ancient pagan festival? That seems unlikely. The night before he died, Jesus told his disciples what he preferred. “He that has my commandments and observes them, that one is he who loves me. In turn he that loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him.” – John 14:21.
Let’s study the Holy Scriptures extensively so that we can understand what the commands of God and Jesus are, and also gain insight into those vital commands so that we can remember Jesus as he should be remembered.
What a weekend!!!!
Back in work this morning .Phew . it was long weekend. I managed to finish my assignment on Saturday early morning. 30 plus pages of 'rotten analysis' . It is like using a method that supposed to build a car to review a fully built car. It was very 'troubling' as my logical mind failed to comprehend the significance of the process. At the end , it was down to the basic question of grades. So , that submission is only to get some mark. But i did 'beautify' it by putting more colours etc. I hope my lecturer like colour and photos. haha .
So , Sat was another day of long lectures . 8 am - 1 pm ... was my first class. I actually woke up at 8 only with a big headache. Scrambbled out of my bed to take bath and do my necessary daily bathroom tasks. haha . Then revved up the car to the varsity . Managed to arrive there are 8.25 but guess what , we had a morning breakfast break!!! The lecturer did not have her breakfast , so decided to give us one as well . How thoughful of her as i did not have mine as well!!! hehe . Ok , so things were looking well. Had another replacement class from 2 pm-5 pm . Did a presentation for another assignment . Chabut before the last group finishes their presentation on "metacognitive" ( what?) to attend a wedding at FGA KL .
It was THE marriage of my ex-cell group leader / co - leader in my varsity days . His name is also Joseph , but he is an indian . Of course , 'coincidently' the third Joseph ( Vijaraj ) played piano on that night. His wife is called Eunice , a chinese Hakka lady from Sitiawan . And i was there when their romance blossomed. hehe . It was fabulous to see so many of my seniors and juniours attending their wedding . Nowadays , wedding is a time to catch up with each other . I was telling another guy ( Hock Lok - the most eligible Christian bachelor in Klang Valley ) that at the end of all these weddings .. i would have memorized the wedding vow. In fact , he said that he is halfway there. Wonder if that is a sign?!
But the 'news' of the day is when 3 pair of my juniours decided to tell me that they are getting married this year. It was stressful bombardment of "when is yours?" and " you are not young already loh": . aisks .. they are sounding like parents already. haha
Allan and Pei Gee - 8 October 05
Peter and Phan - November 05
Kian Hee and Magdelene- November 05
Oh ya , Adeline is 7 months pregnant now . Hey , i did not notice that in the last wedding that we met .
Church on Sunday was a great relieved. Got around fetching my cousins and 2 friends early so that we can do an Indian breakfast together. Then after service , we had a "Slave Auction" process to generate fund ( not fun ) for the youth work . Slaves are auctioned to the highest bidder that will then be used to do work , in exchange for the money . Thank God that everything went on very well in spite of the confusion during the planning stage. But God makes things happen . The money will then be chanelled to our social work ( this year would be to the Orang Asli work in Shah Alam ) and maybe to fund some poor students for camps. We actually raised over RM1600 for these .. it was just incredible .
Then we had good lunch at a preanakan Penang food place. Went to check out a house that i will help to house-sit for the next 2 months and then send the kids back to their college. After that - time to read newspaper on my bed .. and zzZzZZZzzzZ. esp cool since it rained.
So , Sat was another day of long lectures . 8 am - 1 pm ... was my first class. I actually woke up at 8 only with a big headache. Scrambbled out of my bed to take bath and do my necessary daily bathroom tasks. haha . Then revved up the car to the varsity . Managed to arrive there are 8.25 but guess what , we had a morning breakfast break!!! The lecturer did not have her breakfast , so decided to give us one as well . How thoughful of her as i did not have mine as well!!! hehe . Ok , so things were looking well. Had another replacement class from 2 pm-5 pm . Did a presentation for another assignment . Chabut before the last group finishes their presentation on "metacognitive" ( what?) to attend a wedding at FGA KL .
It was THE marriage of my ex-cell group leader / co - leader in my varsity days . His name is also Joseph , but he is an indian . Of course , 'coincidently' the third Joseph ( Vijaraj ) played piano on that night. His wife is called Eunice , a chinese Hakka lady from Sitiawan . And i was there when their romance blossomed. hehe . It was fabulous to see so many of my seniors and juniours attending their wedding . Nowadays , wedding is a time to catch up with each other . I was telling another guy ( Hock Lok - the most eligible Christian bachelor in Klang Valley ) that at the end of all these weddings .. i would have memorized the wedding vow. In fact , he said that he is halfway there. Wonder if that is a sign?!
But the 'news' of the day is when 3 pair of my juniours decided to tell me that they are getting married this year. It was stressful bombardment of "when is yours?" and " you are not young already loh": . aisks .. they are sounding like parents already. haha
Allan and Pei Gee - 8 October 05
Peter and Phan - November 05
Kian Hee and Magdelene- November 05
Oh ya , Adeline is 7 months pregnant now . Hey , i did not notice that in the last wedding that we met .
Church on Sunday was a great relieved. Got around fetching my cousins and 2 friends early so that we can do an Indian breakfast together. Then after service , we had a "Slave Auction" process to generate fund ( not fun ) for the youth work . Slaves are auctioned to the highest bidder that will then be used to do work , in exchange for the money . Thank God that everything went on very well in spite of the confusion during the planning stage. But God makes things happen . The money will then be chanelled to our social work ( this year would be to the Orang Asli work in Shah Alam ) and maybe to fund some poor students for camps. We actually raised over RM1600 for these .. it was just incredible .
Then we had good lunch at a preanakan Penang food place. Went to check out a house that i will help to house-sit for the next 2 months and then send the kids back to their college. After that - time to read newspaper on my bed .. and zzZzZZZzzzZ. esp cool since it rained.
Journal 4: The assistance
We are now about 4 weeks into submission date. And Dr Maznah gave us a briefing on the assistance that she has set the vendor to do. The arrangement is as follows :
To use the board , gota get back to Wong at least one week before the designated time.
Find Chew Wai Ling - 0163337733
Smart Board
Sri Kembangan
23-6 Fkoor SP2/1 ,
Section 2
Serdang Perdana.
And Mr Wong , the vendor has finally come back from the "London". They had a time presenting some of the new developments in this area. And apparently he is going to China next , thus Ms Chew comes into the picture.
But at least he promised to give the latest software for all groups.
Whoppps. class is starting...
To use the board , gota get back to Wong at least one week before the designated time.
Find Chew Wai Ling - 0163337733
Smart Board
Sri Kembangan
23-6 Fkoor SP2/1 ,
Section 2
Serdang Perdana.
And Mr Wong , the vendor has finally come back from the "London". They had a time presenting some of the new developments in this area. And apparently he is going to China next , thus Ms Chew comes into the picture.
But at least he promised to give the latest software for all groups.
Whoppps. class is starting...
Journal 3: Gotto Pay?
So , i am supposed to be the technologist is this assignment . We are going to create a training module using the Smartboard. Thus , the creative and incoherent technologist goes then to this simple website ( www.smarttech.com/ - " The world leader in Interactive Boards") to get this software . 2 softwares are required .
The first one is a simple software that controls the whole board that is called " Smart Board Software " , what else? ! . Pretty nifty software where it has different functions to enable someone to use the board. It is like the brain the helps one to be able to work out the motions in the board.
The second one is called "Smart Solutions" . This software is an application tool , for the user to use and build interfaces or presentation materials that is then used. It is like the software development suite for this piece of hardware. I think there at 2 softwares there - Smart Ideas , and Smart Note ( like Ms Word )
So , I would think it is pretty simple to download and install , since I am using the broadband. It took about 6 minutes to download both software simultaneously . Installation is a breeze , but there lies the catch. After it is loaded up , a pop up message cames out to note that we got to pay to use this software. Great!!! So , i tried to do any 'smart' kid would do , try to bypass the software . Nope . Then try to scour the net for perhaps a free copy? Nope as well.
So , gave up and decided to try the official channel by reporting this new finding to Dr Maznah through her bulletin board. There is supposedly a 30 evaluation copy that we can use and i think that would be a better choice.
Too bad that this has to happen when i was feeling creative. Anyway , would not be able to report much to the gang in the meeting . Hemm ... is someone bringing a cake?
The first one is a simple software that controls the whole board that is called " Smart Board Software " , what else? ! . Pretty nifty software where it has different functions to enable someone to use the board. It is like the brain the helps one to be able to work out the motions in the board.
The second one is called "Smart Solutions" . This software is an application tool , for the user to use and build interfaces or presentation materials that is then used. It is like the software development suite for this piece of hardware. I think there at 2 softwares there - Smart Ideas , and Smart Note ( like Ms Word )
So , I would think it is pretty simple to download and install , since I am using the broadband. It took about 6 minutes to download both software simultaneously . Installation is a breeze , but there lies the catch. After it is loaded up , a pop up message cames out to note that we got to pay to use this software. Great!!! So , i tried to do any 'smart' kid would do , try to bypass the software . Nope . Then try to scour the net for perhaps a free copy? Nope as well.
So , gave up and decided to try the official channel by reporting this new finding to Dr Maznah through her bulletin board. There is supposedly a 30 evaluation copy that we can use and i think that would be a better choice.
Too bad that this has to happen when i was feeling creative. Anyway , would not be able to report much to the gang in the meeting . Hemm ... is someone bringing a cake?
Between Craig and Rice
How i fret it when another of the so called Newcastle superstar begin to show their ego better their skills. So , do regret that one of the better players are going elsewhere . But Craig should have known better in keeping his temper in check.
Today is also the day when Condy "Bootlicker" Rice is appointed as the Secretary of State with the highest amount of "Nays" casted against a nominee. With all her upbringing and potentials , she could have been remembered better . An ivy league graduate , an accomplished pianist of her own right , she represents the highest African American female in the US government . Yet , she does not seem to have a will of her own , nor the ability to go beyond . A Bush puppet , who is in his own right a Cheney stoogie . I would like to respect her ... really ....
Have a long weekend ahead. I am rushing my assignment due on Saturday . Sigh ... maybe a little sleep will go a long way .
Today is also the day when Condy "Bootlicker" Rice is appointed as the Secretary of State with the highest amount of "Nays" casted against a nominee. With all her upbringing and potentials , she could have been remembered better . An ivy league graduate , an accomplished pianist of her own right , she represents the highest African American female in the US government . Yet , she does not seem to have a will of her own , nor the ability to go beyond . A Bush puppet , who is in his own right a Cheney stoogie . I would like to respect her ... really ....
Have a long weekend ahead. I am rushing my assignment due on Saturday . Sigh ... maybe a little sleep will go a long way .
Journal 2 : Meeting Dr Maznah
22nd jan 05
Hey !!! Our project got the approval . Yes!!! It was a fun time seating through the hour discussion as most of our work were done priorly . So , all the documents come in handy in expressing our thought and strategy in doing this project . Not much time left , so the approval came with an added vigour and ease. Thank God that it went on smoothly . Had some fine tuning to be done and some requests being made to Dr Maznah to facilitate the sharing of the Smartboard to user .
Hey !!! Our project got the approval . Yes!!! It was a fun time seating through the hour discussion as most of our work were done priorly . So , all the documents come in handy in expressing our thought and strategy in doing this project . Not much time left , so the approval came with an added vigour and ease. Thank God that it went on smoothly . Had some fine tuning to be done and some requests being made to Dr Maznah to facilitate the sharing of the Smartboard to user .
Journal 1 : Smartboard
19 Jan 2005
So , i am supposed to do an assignment to work out some new programmes for the smartboard. The smartboard is a new hardware that interestingly is able to interact with the PC , thus giving a lot more options in terms on interactivity , methods of teaching as well as response.
Thus , the task of the team ( Clement , Afaf -she is from Sudan , Harnimn , Tam and myself ) is to use this hardware in a created learning module for corporate clients. And along the way , we are entasked to keep a journel. I have decided to e-journal some of my thoughts into this column , at least i will be glad that i can't loose this jottings . i think.
We had our first meeting today . Went out pretty well as we were pretty prepared . Especially so since our first meeting with Dr Raja Maznah is on Saturday . Got our topic , which is " 7 Cs of effective written communication "" . Even got a 20 minute lecture by Clement on this . Obviously , he will be our SME ( subject matter expert ) . My task? as usual would be the IT side.
So , i am supposed to do an assignment to work out some new programmes for the smartboard. The smartboard is a new hardware that interestingly is able to interact with the PC , thus giving a lot more options in terms on interactivity , methods of teaching as well as response.
Thus , the task of the team ( Clement , Afaf -she is from Sudan , Harnimn , Tam and myself ) is to use this hardware in a created learning module for corporate clients. And along the way , we are entasked to keep a journel. I have decided to e-journal some of my thoughts into this column , at least i will be glad that i can't loose this jottings . i think.
We had our first meeting today . Went out pretty well as we were pretty prepared . Especially so since our first meeting with Dr Raja Maznah is on Saturday . Got our topic , which is " 7 Cs of effective written communication "" . Even got a 20 minute lecture by Clement on this . Obviously , he will be our SME ( subject matter expert ) . My task? as usual would be the IT side.
How the U.S. Became the World's Dispensable Nation
by Michael Lind
In a second inaugural address tinged with evangelical zeal, George W. Bush declared: "Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world." The peoples of the world, however, do not seem to be listening. A new world order is indeed emerging - but its architecture is being drafted in Asia and Europe, at meetings to which Americans have not been invited.
Consider Asean Plus Three (APT), which unites the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations with China, Japan and South Korea. This group has the potential to be the world's largest trade bloc, dwarfing the European Union and North American Free Trade Association. The deepening ties of the APT member states represent a major diplomatic defeat for the US, which hoped to use the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum to limit the growth of Asian economic regionalism at American expense. In the same way, recent moves by South American countries to bolster an economic community represent a clear rejection of US aims to dominate a western-hemisphere free trade zone.
Consider, as well, the EU's rapid progress toward military independence. American protests failed to prevent the EU establishing its own military planning agency, independent of the Nato alliance (and thus of Washington). Europe is building up its own rapid reaction force. And despite US resistance, the EU is developing Galileo, its own satellite network, which will break the monopoly of the US global positioning satellite system.
The participation of China in Europe's Galileo project has alarmed the US military. But China shares an interest with other aspiring space powers in preventing American control of space for military and commercial uses. Even while collaborating with Europe on Galileo, China is partnering Brazil to launch satellites. And in an unprecedented move, China recently agreed to host Russian forces for joint Russo-Chinese military exercises.
The US is being sidelined even in the area that Mr Bush identified in last week's address as America's mission: the promotion of democracy and human rights. The EU has devoted far more resources to consolidating democracy in post-communist Europe than has the US. By contrast, under Mr Bush, the US hypocritically uses the promotion of democracy as the rationale for campaigns against states it opposes for strategic reasons. Washington denounces tyranny in Iran but tolerates it in Pakistan. In Iraq, the goal of democratisation was invoked only after the invasion, which was justified earlier by claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was collaborating with al-Qaeda.
Nor is American democracy a shining example to mankind. The present one-party rule in the US has been produced in part by the artificial redrawing of political districts to favour Republicans, reinforcing the domination of money in American politics. America's judges -- many of whom will be appointed by Mr Bush -- increasingly behave as partisan political activists in black robes. America's antiquated winner-take-all electoral system has been abandoned by most other democracies for more inclusive versions of proportional representation.
In other areas of global moral and institutional reform, the US today is a follower rather than a leader. Human rights? Europe has banned the death penalty and torture, while the US is a leading practitioner of execution. Under Mr Bush, the US has constructed an international military gulag in which the torture of suspects has frequently occurred. The international rule of law? For generations, promoting international law in collaboration with other nations was a US goal. But the neoconservatives who dominate Washington today mock the very idea of international law. The next US attorney general will be the White House counsel who scorned the Geneva Conventions as obsolete.
A decade ago, American triumphalists mocked those who argued that the world was becoming multipolar, rather than unipolar. Where was the evidence of balancing against the US, they asked. Today the evidence of foreign co-operation to reduce American primacy is everywhere -- from the increasing importance of regional trade blocs that exclude the US to international space projects and military exercises in which the US is conspicuous by its absence.
It is true that the US remains the only country capable of projecting military power throughout the world. But unipolarity in the military sphere, narrowly defined, is not preventing the rapid development of multipolarity in the geopolitical and economic arenas -- far from it. And the other great powers are content to let the US waste blood and treasure on its doomed attempt to recreate the post-first world war British imperium in the Middle East.
That the rest of the world is building institutions and alliances that shut out the US should come as no surprise. The view that American leaders can be trusted to use a monopoly of military and economic power for the good of humanity has never been widely shared outside of the US. The trend toward multipolarity has probably been accelerated by the truculent unilateralism of the Bush administration, whose motto seems to be that of the Hollywood mogul: "Include me out."
In recent memory, nothing could be done without the US. Today, however, practically all new international institution-building of any long-term importance in global diplomacy and trade occurs without American participation.
In 1998 Madeleine Albright, then US secretary of state, said of the U.S.: "We are the indispensable nation." By backfiring, the unilateralism of Mr Bush has proven her wrong. The US, it turns out, is a dispensable nation.
Europe, China, Russia, Latin America and other regions and nations are quietly taking measures whose effect if not sole purpose will be to cut America down to size.
Ironically, the US, having won the cold war, is adopting the strategy that led the Soviet Union to lose it: hoping that raw military power will be sufficient to intimidate other great powers alienated by its belligerence. To compound the irony, these other great powers are drafting the blueprints for new international institutions and alliances. That is what the US did during and after the second world war.
But that was a different America, led by wise and constructive statesmen like Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who wrote of being "present at the creation." The bullying approach of the Bush administration has ensured that the US will not be invited to take part in designing the international architecture of Europe and Asia in the 21st century. This time, the US is absent at the creation.
In a second inaugural address tinged with evangelical zeal, George W. Bush declared: "Today, America speaks anew to the peoples of the world." The peoples of the world, however, do not seem to be listening. A new world order is indeed emerging - but its architecture is being drafted in Asia and Europe, at meetings to which Americans have not been invited.
Consider Asean Plus Three (APT), which unites the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations with China, Japan and South Korea. This group has the potential to be the world's largest trade bloc, dwarfing the European Union and North American Free Trade Association. The deepening ties of the APT member states represent a major diplomatic defeat for the US, which hoped to use the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum to limit the growth of Asian economic regionalism at American expense. In the same way, recent moves by South American countries to bolster an economic community represent a clear rejection of US aims to dominate a western-hemisphere free trade zone.
Consider, as well, the EU's rapid progress toward military independence. American protests failed to prevent the EU establishing its own military planning agency, independent of the Nato alliance (and thus of Washington). Europe is building up its own rapid reaction force. And despite US resistance, the EU is developing Galileo, its own satellite network, which will break the monopoly of the US global positioning satellite system.
The participation of China in Europe's Galileo project has alarmed the US military. But China shares an interest with other aspiring space powers in preventing American control of space for military and commercial uses. Even while collaborating with Europe on Galileo, China is partnering Brazil to launch satellites. And in an unprecedented move, China recently agreed to host Russian forces for joint Russo-Chinese military exercises.
The US is being sidelined even in the area that Mr Bush identified in last week's address as America's mission: the promotion of democracy and human rights. The EU has devoted far more resources to consolidating democracy in post-communist Europe than has the US. By contrast, under Mr Bush, the US hypocritically uses the promotion of democracy as the rationale for campaigns against states it opposes for strategic reasons. Washington denounces tyranny in Iran but tolerates it in Pakistan. In Iraq, the goal of democratisation was invoked only after the invasion, which was justified earlier by claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was collaborating with al-Qaeda.
Nor is American democracy a shining example to mankind. The present one-party rule in the US has been produced in part by the artificial redrawing of political districts to favour Republicans, reinforcing the domination of money in American politics. America's judges -- many of whom will be appointed by Mr Bush -- increasingly behave as partisan political activists in black robes. America's antiquated winner-take-all electoral system has been abandoned by most other democracies for more inclusive versions of proportional representation.
In other areas of global moral and institutional reform, the US today is a follower rather than a leader. Human rights? Europe has banned the death penalty and torture, while the US is a leading practitioner of execution. Under Mr Bush, the US has constructed an international military gulag in which the torture of suspects has frequently occurred. The international rule of law? For generations, promoting international law in collaboration with other nations was a US goal. But the neoconservatives who dominate Washington today mock the very idea of international law. The next US attorney general will be the White House counsel who scorned the Geneva Conventions as obsolete.
A decade ago, American triumphalists mocked those who argued that the world was becoming multipolar, rather than unipolar. Where was the evidence of balancing against the US, they asked. Today the evidence of foreign co-operation to reduce American primacy is everywhere -- from the increasing importance of regional trade blocs that exclude the US to international space projects and military exercises in which the US is conspicuous by its absence.
It is true that the US remains the only country capable of projecting military power throughout the world. But unipolarity in the military sphere, narrowly defined, is not preventing the rapid development of multipolarity in the geopolitical and economic arenas -- far from it. And the other great powers are content to let the US waste blood and treasure on its doomed attempt to recreate the post-first world war British imperium in the Middle East.
That the rest of the world is building institutions and alliances that shut out the US should come as no surprise. The view that American leaders can be trusted to use a monopoly of military and economic power for the good of humanity has never been widely shared outside of the US. The trend toward multipolarity has probably been accelerated by the truculent unilateralism of the Bush administration, whose motto seems to be that of the Hollywood mogul: "Include me out."
In recent memory, nothing could be done without the US. Today, however, practically all new international institution-building of any long-term importance in global diplomacy and trade occurs without American participation.
In 1998 Madeleine Albright, then US secretary of state, said of the U.S.: "We are the indispensable nation." By backfiring, the unilateralism of Mr Bush has proven her wrong. The US, it turns out, is a dispensable nation.
Europe, China, Russia, Latin America and other regions and nations are quietly taking measures whose effect if not sole purpose will be to cut America down to size.
Ironically, the US, having won the cold war, is adopting the strategy that led the Soviet Union to lose it: hoping that raw military power will be sufficient to intimidate other great powers alienated by its belligerence. To compound the irony, these other great powers are drafting the blueprints for new international institutions and alliances. That is what the US did during and after the second world war.
But that was a different America, led by wise and constructive statesmen like Dean Acheson, the secretary of state who wrote of being "present at the creation." The bullying approach of the Bush administration has ensured that the US will not be invited to take part in designing the international architecture of Europe and Asia in the 21st century. This time, the US is absent at the creation.
99 Flowers Surprise Conspiracy
Tried something different today .... giving flowers . Lotsa flowers
Bought myself 100 red roses .
The trouble is hiding it and maintainig a straight face , then transporting it unsuspectingly to another collaborater at her workplace. Well , it turned out better than expected.
Amazingly , the girls + 1 guy was faboulous in creative works. Thanks to Su-Yin ,Alisha and Jade for magnificent ideas and coming in early to work on the roses. And to Vivid , Su , Sally and Nick for taking so much effort in making the presentation to be alived.
Got some pics to show ... gota wait till i am able to upload pics... wait wait wait.
Bought myself 100 red roses .
The trouble is hiding it and maintainig a straight face , then transporting it unsuspectingly to another collaborater at her workplace. Well , it turned out better than expected.
Amazingly , the girls + 1 guy was faboulous in creative works. Thanks to Su-Yin ,Alisha and Jade for magnificent ideas and coming in early to work on the roses. And to Vivid , Su , Sally and Nick for taking so much effort in making the presentation to be alived.
Got some pics to show ... gota wait till i am able to upload pics... wait wait wait.
Cooking for 2
Been some time since I cooked a full fledged dinner .
So , decided to do one for my other half who coincidently eats more than i do .. all the time. haha. Happy birthday!
Went back later than planned from work . Then rushed to SS2 Swensens to get the ever dilicious orange sorbet.
Next . Find out pots and pans. Rummaged through my landlady's stuff and got out quite a collection of stuff . Used the pans and chinese wok as the oven does not seemed to be able to handle my clumsiness.
So , Menu of the day ! 17 - 01-05
Starter - Corb of Taiwanese sweet corn with butter
Main - White sauce pasta with fresh mushroom , scallop and squid
- Sauteed chinese salty vegetable and mushroom
- Steamed Pomfret , Teoh Chew Style
- Corn Flakes Kissing Prawn Salad with Lime Juice.
Dessert - Durian ( D24 - Yum )
- Ying Yang Peach and banana with Orange sorbet and chocolate.
Was not able to finish on 7.00 pm as planned . Managed to ask her to stay in the van for an extra 20 minutes while putting on the decorations and beutifying myself ... and taking a bath .
We had a pleasent dinner accentuated by a nice floating pink candle flower and of course , good music. Rummaged through my pastyears good ol' collection to find a compilation of chinese songs ( my only one ) to put the 'mood' forth .
We had so much that we can't sit any more and just lied down on the floor .. in silence . Only after some time were we able to say some word ... and even more time later to take on the desserts.
That was a fun evening. Cleaned up the house and hoped that everthing else is in order. Bad news of course is that my landlady somehow mysteriously decided to come back from Singapore that night and spotted her 'stuff' being dried. aiskkks.
So , decided to do one for my other half who coincidently eats more than i do .. all the time. haha. Happy birthday!
Went back later than planned from work . Then rushed to SS2 Swensens to get the ever dilicious orange sorbet.
Next . Find out pots and pans. Rummaged through my landlady's stuff and got out quite a collection of stuff . Used the pans and chinese wok as the oven does not seemed to be able to handle my clumsiness.
So , Menu of the day ! 17 - 01-05
Starter - Corb of Taiwanese sweet corn with butter
Main - White sauce pasta with fresh mushroom , scallop and squid
- Sauteed chinese salty vegetable and mushroom
- Steamed Pomfret , Teoh Chew Style
- Corn Flakes Kissing Prawn Salad with Lime Juice.
Dessert - Durian ( D24 - Yum )
- Ying Yang Peach and banana with Orange sorbet and chocolate.
Was not able to finish on 7.00 pm as planned . Managed to ask her to stay in the van for an extra 20 minutes while putting on the decorations and beutifying myself ... and taking a bath .
We had a pleasent dinner accentuated by a nice floating pink candle flower and of course , good music. Rummaged through my pastyears good ol' collection to find a compilation of chinese songs ( my only one ) to put the 'mood' forth .
We had so much that we can't sit any more and just lied down on the floor .. in silence . Only after some time were we able to say some word ... and even more time later to take on the desserts.
That was a fun evening. Cleaned up the house and hoped that everthing else is in order. Bad news of course is that my landlady somehow mysteriously decided to come back from Singapore that night and spotted her 'stuff' being dried. aiskkks.
Ode to the Mok
My Rainbow
Extremely happy,
That I am going out with Mok Shi.
Yep, she is my girl!
With looks, that makes me twirl.
She lives just a throw away approx a mile,
But it's her ‘idiosyncrasies” that makes me smile!
With me .. the poor Pay Li , she borrows me her money,
It's a desire, I will fill her life with honey
( and return back her money )
Though sometimes we have our own tiff,
And, in my life there is,
A Rainbow ,
That I , the Rambo,
will always cherish.
Till we know how to feed each other
A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man "come, I will show you hell". They entered a room where a group of famished people sat around a huge pot of cooking stew. Everyone in the room was starving and desperate. Each person held a spoon that reached the pot but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arms that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible. "Come now, I will show you heaven" the Lord said.
They entered another room identical to the first, the big pot of stew, the group of people and the same long-handled spoons. But here everyone was happy and well nourished. "I don't understand" said the man. "Why is everyone happy here and miserable in the other room? Everything is the same."
"Here," said the Lord "they have learned to feed each other". BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER IN BROTHERLY LOVE. HONOR ONE ANOTHER ABOVE YOURSELVES-Rom 12:10
They entered another room identical to the first, the big pot of stew, the group of people and the same long-handled spoons. But here everyone was happy and well nourished. "I don't understand" said the man. "Why is everyone happy here and miserable in the other room? Everything is the same."
"Here," said the Lord "they have learned to feed each other". BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER IN BROTHERLY LOVE. HONOR ONE ANOTHER ABOVE YOURSELVES-Rom 12:10
Emotional Fare-well ?
Yesterday was another youth's farewell 'party'. The whole gang went down to Kuala Lumpur International Airport to say bye to Sarah Chan . The 'party' is a somewhat oxymoron cause many people cried. It is always a joy to see a group of friends who went through life together. Of course , yesterday was pretty hard on some of them because it is the beginning of separation . And no matter how hard each try to keep in touch , nothing is second to distance and time.
It was tough seeing another friend go off , with Jia-Sheen and Charlene .. or Lu Xu and Hengky. My prayer that she will be 'herself' , safe and healthy .. and grow in the knowledge and experience of Christ . ..
btw , Moses did not cry . ; )
It was tough seeing another friend go off , with Jia-Sheen and Charlene .. or Lu Xu and Hengky. My prayer that she will be 'herself' , safe and healthy .. and grow in the knowledge and experience of Christ . ..
btw , Moses did not cry . ; )
Talk a lot , or do a lot more? [07 January 2005]
I personally don't think we will know exactly the reason that God have for the tsunami , and I never bothered at this time. Received an email that blames Christians' christmas 'parties and indecency" from a Malay writer .. And another one that blames the 'idol worshippers' which increases God's judgement due to their 'growing sins" , presumely from a Christian writer. Decided to give up on speculation works and counter work.
I think sometimes we are just to intellectual and 'spiritual' that we forgot the practical aspect of things . The reality is that lotsa people ( 'idol worshippers ' , 'sinners' , Muslims , Buddhists , atheists and whatever categories they are termed ) are dead or hurt and need help. And "what would be your response" may be a more meaningful question to ask.Yesterday , a christian noted that churches seemed to be very inactive in comparison to temples ( buddhist or hindu ) . Without doubt that there are much work collecting money and doing other works ( in all fairness ) , but we seemed to lack urgency as perhaps if it happened to Phillipines. ( orang sendiri ) .
While church response can be argued as not the supposed nor single gauge , Christians can and need to respond in ways that are worthy of our namesake. For faith wihout action is dead.Lord , thank you for ever present command in this situation . For you have created us all , and all the creations acknowledges it. We pray for those who are shattered and broken , that they will find comfort and strength. We pray for those who have lost their belongings , that they can begin living again. We pray for those who are responding with their heart , that they will find abundant grace in their work and deeper love and trust in You and others in this time of stuggle. Forgive us if our priorities are wrong and touch our heart that it will not seemed cold but will enable us to act with our love. Dalam Name Yesus Kristus . Amin.
I personally don't think we will know exactly the reason that God have for the tsunami , and I never bothered at this time. Received an email that blames Christians' christmas 'parties and indecency" from a Malay writer .. And another one that blames the 'idol worshippers' which increases God's judgement due to their 'growing sins" , presumely from a Christian writer. Decided to give up on speculation works and counter work.
I think sometimes we are just to intellectual and 'spiritual' that we forgot the practical aspect of things . The reality is that lotsa people ( 'idol worshippers ' , 'sinners' , Muslims , Buddhists , atheists and whatever categories they are termed ) are dead or hurt and need help. And "what would be your response" may be a more meaningful question to ask.Yesterday , a christian noted that churches seemed to be very inactive in comparison to temples ( buddhist or hindu ) . Without doubt that there are much work collecting money and doing other works ( in all fairness ) , but we seemed to lack urgency as perhaps if it happened to Phillipines. ( orang sendiri ) .
While church response can be argued as not the supposed nor single gauge , Christians can and need to respond in ways that are worthy of our namesake. For faith wihout action is dead.Lord , thank you for ever present command in this situation . For you have created us all , and all the creations acknowledges it. We pray for those who are shattered and broken , that they will find comfort and strength. We pray for those who have lost their belongings , that they can begin living again. We pray for those who are responding with their heart , that they will find abundant grace in their work and deeper love and trust in You and others in this time of stuggle. Forgive us if our priorities are wrong and touch our heart that it will not seemed cold but will enable us to act with our love. Dalam Name Yesus Kristus . Amin.
My FRIENDster [07 January 2005]
99 friends on the net , 99 friends , dum dum dee dee dum dee .... 99 friends on the net !( sing it to the tune of drunken sailor song - X bottle of beer on the wall )
haha . Being 27 and able to generate 99 'friends' in friendster is a hallmark. I think Friendster is much better than all those business related portals. All prim and proper ... yet one distint element that is missing .... close relationship. Friendster is able to capture these elements properly through a function called testimony . You can know a lot about a person just by reading what other says about him/her. Howz that?!
99 friends on the net , 99 friends , dum dum dee dee dum dee .... 99 friends on the net !( sing it to the tune of drunken sailor song - X bottle of beer on the wall )
haha . Being 27 and able to generate 99 'friends' in friendster is a hallmark. I think Friendster is much better than all those business related portals. All prim and proper ... yet one distint element that is missing .... close relationship. Friendster is able to capture these elements properly through a function called testimony . You can know a lot about a person just by reading what other says about him/her. Howz that?!
Tsunami Pack em up [06 January 2005]
Honestly , I expected the job to be more strenous and long .. but it was not . In fact , the whole bulk of the work were done by a group of 50 volunteers before us and groups of ladies. When the night group came , we were finished within 2.5 hours. So , were back to PJ before 9.30 . That was extremely fast. News travelled fast , and almost all the volunteers during my time there were somehow connected to each other. There were about 20-30 of us . It was good to work among friends.
But a lot of experience in getting the things sorted out. You could not image how terrible some of these donations are and probably from different milleniums. It is 'interesting' to see what one finds in the bags. And my mind was just playing a game of trying to imagine what/who the donors are. There are clothes that are very "chinese" , where they send their cheongsam and evening gown ( for wedding dinners) . I think one pack belongs to an Indian couple full of Sarees. And there are a lot of Ah Pek slacks. We were also debating whether the Indonesians would want to wear worn out undergarments. One can even find a "Guess kid" overall and a Hard Rock sweater in there. But I think the majority of donors are Chinese , by the look of the clothes. Note for donor- wash the clothes first.
But one observation is the Mercy staff ... I think they are paid to work . They just sat there and the volunteers do the work . I guess they are tired of all these. Some were even playing around diving into the clothes. And those in charge just went missing . Soon , the volunteers took over the task of organising and explaining to new volunteers. But the sheer physical and mental demands is evident , even working in a warehouse to sort out the packages. And they were there since last Friday . I think my worst impression came when we were going back , a seemingly "VIP" person came with his entourage. He just seemed 'cocky" and even angry initially when he saw that we left. But his look turned to surprise as I think one of his entourage told him that the work is done. Maybe he is just a local Datuk or something that comes to lend his 'support".
Honestly , I expected the job to be more strenous and long .. but it was not . In fact , the whole bulk of the work were done by a group of 50 volunteers before us and groups of ladies. When the night group came , we were finished within 2.5 hours. So , were back to PJ before 9.30 . That was extremely fast. News travelled fast , and almost all the volunteers during my time there were somehow connected to each other. There were about 20-30 of us . It was good to work among friends.
But a lot of experience in getting the things sorted out. You could not image how terrible some of these donations are and probably from different milleniums. It is 'interesting' to see what one finds in the bags. And my mind was just playing a game of trying to imagine what/who the donors are. There are clothes that are very "chinese" , where they send their cheongsam and evening gown ( for wedding dinners) . I think one pack belongs to an Indian couple full of Sarees. And there are a lot of Ah Pek slacks. We were also debating whether the Indonesians would want to wear worn out undergarments. One can even find a "Guess kid" overall and a Hard Rock sweater in there. But I think the majority of donors are Chinese , by the look of the clothes. Note for donor- wash the clothes first.
But one observation is the Mercy staff ... I think they are paid to work . They just sat there and the volunteers do the work . I guess they are tired of all these. Some were even playing around diving into the clothes. And those in charge just went missing . Soon , the volunteers took over the task of organising and explaining to new volunteers. But the sheer physical and mental demands is evident , even working in a warehouse to sort out the packages. And they were there since last Friday . I think my worst impression came when we were going back , a seemingly "VIP" person came with his entourage. He just seemed 'cocky" and even angry initially when he saw that we left. But his look turned to surprise as I think one of his entourage told him that the work is done. Maybe he is just a local Datuk or something that comes to lend his 'support".
Mercy Malaysia - sort and pack volunteers [05 January 2005]
Yup, Mercy is desperately in need of help. Was there last night and only about 10 people helping out there. They need at least 60 to help sort out the donated items, mainly clothes. The warehouse is full till the doors and they need help to clear the older stuff to make way for new items to come in today, and we have not began sorting out the food items yet. We have a deadline to meet - this satuday where the better clothes will be on sale and money used to buy medicine, food, water and other stuff. WD will be sending a bus load of operators from the hostels this Friday (let's hope they volunteer). I'm hoping it's not too late. But I would encourage all of you to bring your friends there to help at lunch time and after work everyday this week until Friday.
They are open from 9am till 11pm (but usually much later). I bought a box of mask in my car as advised by Julianna. If any of you need, pls get it from me. Surprisingly almost all the volunteers there are chinese ladies.
The address :
11A Persiaran Selangor
Jln 15/7 Section 15
Shah Alam.
How to get there:
1) Take Federal Highway and head towards Klang (Go PAST Batu Tiga toll, and PAST Puchong exit)
2) Take the Persiaran Selangor exit. If you see Persiaran Kayangan exit, you have overshot.
3) Go straight and take 12 o'clock at the roundabout
4) About 200m down the road, you will see Nationwide Express on your left.
5) You need to enter thru the back of the building, so go past the warehouse and take the first left turn, and left again.
6) Look out of the Mercy banner outside the building. There is a small parking lot inside the compound. Otherwise there's plenty of space along the road to park.
7) Normal process - produce some ID and swap it with a visitors pass.
There is no limit or restriction on how long you should help out there. You may come and go as you wish.
Yup, Mercy is desperately in need of help. Was there last night and only about 10 people helping out there. They need at least 60 to help sort out the donated items, mainly clothes. The warehouse is full till the doors and they need help to clear the older stuff to make way for new items to come in today, and we have not began sorting out the food items yet. We have a deadline to meet - this satuday where the better clothes will be on sale and money used to buy medicine, food, water and other stuff. WD will be sending a bus load of operators from the hostels this Friday (let's hope they volunteer). I'm hoping it's not too late. But I would encourage all of you to bring your friends there to help at lunch time and after work everyday this week until Friday.
They are open from 9am till 11pm (but usually much later). I bought a box of mask in my car as advised by Julianna. If any of you need, pls get it from me. Surprisingly almost all the volunteers there are chinese ladies.
The address :
11A Persiaran Selangor
Jln 15/7 Section 15
Shah Alam.
How to get there:
1) Take Federal Highway and head towards Klang (Go PAST Batu Tiga toll, and PAST Puchong exit)
2) Take the Persiaran Selangor exit. If you see Persiaran Kayangan exit, you have overshot.
3) Go straight and take 12 o'clock at the roundabout
4) About 200m down the road, you will see Nationwide Express on your left.
5) You need to enter thru the back of the building, so go past the warehouse and take the first left turn, and left again.
6) Look out of the Mercy banner outside the building. There is a small parking lot inside the compound. Otherwise there's plenty of space along the road to park.
7) Normal process - produce some ID and swap it with a visitors pass.
There is no limit or restriction on how long you should help out there. You may come and go as you wish.
Flabbergasted [04 january 2005]
Subject: 26 Dis : Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah
Pada 26 Disember 1932 gempabumi berlaku di China membunuh 70,000 nyawa.
Pada 26 Disember 1939 gempabumi 7.9 Richter berlaku di Wilyah Erzincan, Turki membunuh 41,000 nyawa.
Pada 26 Disember 2003 gempabumi 6.5 Richter berlaku di Wilayah Bam, Iran membunuh 45,000 nyawa.
Pada 26 Disember 2004 gempabumi berlaku di Sumatera membunuh 35,000 nyawa dan jumlahnya terus meningkat..
Jangan kita lupakan ribut Greg di Keningau, Sabah juga berlaku pada awal pagi 26 Disember 1996 yang meragut beratus nyawa. Adakah semuanya ini 'coincidental'? Bukankah pada malam sebelumnya iaitu 25 Disember di banyak tempat di dunia ini, ramai manusia yang lupa daratan, mabuk dan berpoya-poya? Pada pagi 26 Disember 2004, di persisiran pantai timur selatan India diberitakan ada temasya memuja laut ketika tsunami melanda..
Kita tidak mampu mencari jawapan atas apa yang berlaku tetapi sekadar menginsafinya sebagai peringatan.
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No offence , but pretty insulted by this e-mail's insinuation , both academically and spiritual sense. But as I was preparing an answer , I got another email that 'says it all" , from a newspaper in Britain. The challenge is how we respond ( to pray and care and give) than to find a convenient scapegoat with such writtings. And as a Christian , how I respond to the Achehnese ( Muslims ) , Sri Langkans and Thai ( buddhist ) irregardless of their belief but love for their lives. I think that is the appropriate response.
Btw , The great San Francisco Fire and Earthquake happened on 23rd April , which is also my birthday. See the connection? Do read the article below for an unbiased view of what it could be.
TSUNAMI (26.12.2004)
Earthquakes led 18th-century thinkers to ask questions we shy away from
Martin Kettle
Tuesday December 28, 2004
The Guardian
The modern era flatters itself that human beings can now know and shape almost everything about the world. But an event like the Indonesian earthquake exposes much of this for the hubris that it is. Perhaps we have talked so much about our civilisation's potential to destroy the planet that we have forgotten that the planet also has an untamed ability to destroy civilisation too. Whatever else it has achieved, the Indian Ocean tsunami has at least reminded mankind of its enduring vulnerability in the face of nature. The scale of suffering that it has wreaked - 20,000 deaths and counting - shows that we share such dangers with our ancestors more fully than most of us realised.An entirely understandable reaction to such an event is to set one's face against any large questions that it may raise. But this week provides an unsought opportunity to consider the largest of all human implications of any major earthquake: its challenge to religion. A few days after the 9/11 attacks on New York, I had dinner with the Guardian's late columnist Hugo Young. We were still so close to the event itself that only one topic of conversation was possible. At one stage I asked Hugo how his Catholicism allowed him to explain such a terrible act.I'm afraid that's an easy one, he replied.We are all fallen beings, Hugo declared, and our life in this world is a vale of tears. So some human beings will always kill one another. The attack on New York should therefore be seen not as an act of God, but as an act of fallen humanity. Then he paused, and added: "But I admit I have much more difficulty with earthquakes."
Earthquakes and the belief in the judgment of God are, indeed, very hard to reconcile. However, no religion that offers an explanation of the world can avoid making some kind of an attempt to fit the two together. And an immense earthquake like the one that took place off Sumatra on Sunday inevitably poses that challenge afresh in dramatic terms.
There is, after all, only one big question to ask about an event of such destructive power as the one that has taken place this week: why did it happen?
As with previous earthquakes, any explanation of this latest one poses us a sharp intellectual choice. Either there is an entirely natural explanation for it, or there is some other kind. Even the natural one is by no means easy to imagine, but it is at least wholly coherent.The tsunami took place, say the seismologists, because a massive tectonic rupture on the sea bed generated tremors through the ocean. These unimaginable forces sent their energy coursing across thousands of miles of water, resulting in death and destruction in a vast arc from Somalia to Indonesia.
But what do world views that do not allow scientists undisputed authority have to say about such phenomena? Where do the creationists stand, for example? Such world views are more widespread, even now, than a secularised society such as ours sometimes prefers to think. For most of human history people have tried to explain earthquakes as acts of divine intervention and displeasure. Even as the churches collapsed around them in 1755, Lisbon's priests insisted on salvaging crucifixes and religious icons with which to ward off the catastrophe that would kill more than 50,000 of their fellow citizens. Others, though, began to draw different conclusions. Voltaire asked what kind of God could permit such a thing to occur. Did Lisbon really have so many more vices than London or Paris, he asked, that it should be punished in such a appalling and indiscriminate manner? immanuel Kant was so amazed by what happened to Lisbon that he wrote three separate treatises on the problem of earthquakes.
Our own society seems to be more squeamish about such things. The need for mutual respect between peoples and traditions of which the Queen spoke in her Christmas broadcast seems to require that we must all respect religions in equal measure, too. The government, indeed, is legislating to prevent expressions of religious hatred in ways that could put a cordon around the critical discussion of religion itself.Yet it is hard to think of any event in modern times that requires a more serious explanation from the forces of religion than this week's earthquake.Voltaire's 18th-century question to Christians - why Lisbon? - ought to generate a whole series of 21st-century equivalents for all the religions of the world. Certainly the giant waves generated by the quake made no attempt to differentiate between the religions of those whom it made its victims.Hindus were swept away in India, Muslims were carried off in Indonesia,Buddhists in Thailand. Visiting Christians and Jews received no special treatment either. This poses no problem for the scientific belief system. Here, it says, was a mindless natural event, which destroyed Muslim andHindu alike.A non-scientific belief system, especially one that is based on any kind of notion of a divine order, has some explaining to do, however. What Godsanctions an earthquake? What God protects against it? Why does the quake strike these places and these peoples and not others? What kind of order is it that decrees that a person who went to sleep by the edge of the ocean on Christmas night should wake up the next morning engulfed by the waves,struggling for life? From at least the time of Aristotle, intelligent people have struggled to make some sense of earthquakes. Earthquakes do not merely kill and destroy. They challenge human beings to explain the world order in which such apparently indiscriminate acts can occur. Europe in the 18th century had the intellectual curiosity and independence to ask and answer such questions.But can we say the same of 21st-century Europe? Or are we too cowed now to even ask if the God can exist that can do such things?
Subject: 26 Dis : Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah
Pada 26 Disember 1932 gempabumi berlaku di China membunuh 70,000 nyawa.
Pada 26 Disember 1939 gempabumi 7.9 Richter berlaku di Wilyah Erzincan, Turki membunuh 41,000 nyawa.
Pada 26 Disember 2003 gempabumi 6.5 Richter berlaku di Wilayah Bam, Iran membunuh 45,000 nyawa.
Pada 26 Disember 2004 gempabumi berlaku di Sumatera membunuh 35,000 nyawa dan jumlahnya terus meningkat..
Jangan kita lupakan ribut Greg di Keningau, Sabah juga berlaku pada awal pagi 26 Disember 1996 yang meragut beratus nyawa. Adakah semuanya ini 'coincidental'? Bukankah pada malam sebelumnya iaitu 25 Disember di banyak tempat di dunia ini, ramai manusia yang lupa daratan, mabuk dan berpoya-poya? Pada pagi 26 Disember 2004, di persisiran pantai timur selatan India diberitakan ada temasya memuja laut ketika tsunami melanda..
Kita tidak mampu mencari jawapan atas apa yang berlaku tetapi sekadar menginsafinya sebagai peringatan.
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No offence , but pretty insulted by this e-mail's insinuation , both academically and spiritual sense. But as I was preparing an answer , I got another email that 'says it all" , from a newspaper in Britain. The challenge is how we respond ( to pray and care and give) than to find a convenient scapegoat with such writtings. And as a Christian , how I respond to the Achehnese ( Muslims ) , Sri Langkans and Thai ( buddhist ) irregardless of their belief but love for their lives. I think that is the appropriate response.
Btw , The great San Francisco Fire and Earthquake happened on 23rd April , which is also my birthday. See the connection? Do read the article below for an unbiased view of what it could be.
TSUNAMI (26.12.2004)
Earthquakes led 18th-century thinkers to ask questions we shy away from
Martin Kettle
Tuesday December 28, 2004
The Guardian
The modern era flatters itself that human beings can now know and shape almost everything about the world. But an event like the Indonesian earthquake exposes much of this for the hubris that it is. Perhaps we have talked so much about our civilisation's potential to destroy the planet that we have forgotten that the planet also has an untamed ability to destroy civilisation too. Whatever else it has achieved, the Indian Ocean tsunami has at least reminded mankind of its enduring vulnerability in the face of nature. The scale of suffering that it has wreaked - 20,000 deaths and counting - shows that we share such dangers with our ancestors more fully than most of us realised.An entirely understandable reaction to such an event is to set one's face against any large questions that it may raise. But this week provides an unsought opportunity to consider the largest of all human implications of any major earthquake: its challenge to religion. A few days after the 9/11 attacks on New York, I had dinner with the Guardian's late columnist Hugo Young. We were still so close to the event itself that only one topic of conversation was possible. At one stage I asked Hugo how his Catholicism allowed him to explain such a terrible act.I'm afraid that's an easy one, he replied.We are all fallen beings, Hugo declared, and our life in this world is a vale of tears. So some human beings will always kill one another. The attack on New York should therefore be seen not as an act of God, but as an act of fallen humanity. Then he paused, and added: "But I admit I have much more difficulty with earthquakes."
Earthquakes and the belief in the judgment of God are, indeed, very hard to reconcile. However, no religion that offers an explanation of the world can avoid making some kind of an attempt to fit the two together. And an immense earthquake like the one that took place off Sumatra on Sunday inevitably poses that challenge afresh in dramatic terms.
There is, after all, only one big question to ask about an event of such destructive power as the one that has taken place this week: why did it happen?
As with previous earthquakes, any explanation of this latest one poses us a sharp intellectual choice. Either there is an entirely natural explanation for it, or there is some other kind. Even the natural one is by no means easy to imagine, but it is at least wholly coherent.The tsunami took place, say the seismologists, because a massive tectonic rupture on the sea bed generated tremors through the ocean. These unimaginable forces sent their energy coursing across thousands of miles of water, resulting in death and destruction in a vast arc from Somalia to Indonesia.
But what do world views that do not allow scientists undisputed authority have to say about such phenomena? Where do the creationists stand, for example? Such world views are more widespread, even now, than a secularised society such as ours sometimes prefers to think. For most of human history people have tried to explain earthquakes as acts of divine intervention and displeasure. Even as the churches collapsed around them in 1755, Lisbon's priests insisted on salvaging crucifixes and religious icons with which to ward off the catastrophe that would kill more than 50,000 of their fellow citizens. Others, though, began to draw different conclusions. Voltaire asked what kind of God could permit such a thing to occur. Did Lisbon really have so many more vices than London or Paris, he asked, that it should be punished in such a appalling and indiscriminate manner? immanuel Kant was so amazed by what happened to Lisbon that he wrote three separate treatises on the problem of earthquakes.
Our own society seems to be more squeamish about such things. The need for mutual respect between peoples and traditions of which the Queen spoke in her Christmas broadcast seems to require that we must all respect religions in equal measure, too. The government, indeed, is legislating to prevent expressions of religious hatred in ways that could put a cordon around the critical discussion of religion itself.Yet it is hard to think of any event in modern times that requires a more serious explanation from the forces of religion than this week's earthquake.Voltaire's 18th-century question to Christians - why Lisbon? - ought to generate a whole series of 21st-century equivalents for all the religions of the world. Certainly the giant waves generated by the quake made no attempt to differentiate between the religions of those whom it made its victims.Hindus were swept away in India, Muslims were carried off in Indonesia,Buddhists in Thailand. Visiting Christians and Jews received no special treatment either. This poses no problem for the scientific belief system. Here, it says, was a mindless natural event, which destroyed Muslim andHindu alike.A non-scientific belief system, especially one that is based on any kind of notion of a divine order, has some explaining to do, however. What Godsanctions an earthquake? What God protects against it? Why does the quake strike these places and these peoples and not others? What kind of order is it that decrees that a person who went to sleep by the edge of the ocean on Christmas night should wake up the next morning engulfed by the waves,struggling for life? From at least the time of Aristotle, intelligent people have struggled to make some sense of earthquakes. Earthquakes do not merely kill and destroy. They challenge human beings to explain the world order in which such apparently indiscriminate acts can occur. Europe in the 18th century had the intellectual curiosity and independence to ask and answer such questions.But can we say the same of 21st-century Europe? Or are we too cowed now to even ask if the God can exist that can do such things?
Malaysia's Christmas Celebration - Ban on using the word "Christ " [20 December 2004]
Dear Friends .
Wow , I must have missed quite a number of mails flying about . And I am sure by now you would have heard the news that there is no official ban on this , only done by " overzealous lower ranking officials" .
I remember talking to a brother 2 weeks ago who commented in frustration on why his church leaders always seemed 'graceful' , you know.. Always forgiving , agreable , suffer through difficulties without complaining etc. I think this is somehow a 'dilemma' facing some Christians today . Whether we should stand up and make out statements loud and clear , or to 'turn the other cheek". Should we like Mr Bush who invaded and kill in 'his faith and believe' of a 'just war' or the 5 Christian aid workers who were helplessly murdered while helping in Afghan refugee camp. ( ok , so I am pretty much biased against the war in Iraq . Haha )
Anyway , here are a summary of my views
1. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of selfdiscipline." Can we sincerely be able to say that we had stand up with our voices ( and action ) when it is required ? In school , in varsity , in your neighbourhood , in your church , in your working place ? I agree with James on this and there is just certain things that we got to stand up to in our position and place. Certainly , Christians are not put disappropriately higher percentage in the profesional bracketts ( than the Malaysian national average ) to sit down and live a 'happy' life only. People like OC Lim , Pastor Paul ( Chow Kit ) , Dr Max Ongkillii and my senior Andrew Wong are some examples of people who went beyond . But do it with spirit ( wisdom?) , LOVE and self discipline . Reminded me to a real event where a group of Christian demonstrated along a cemetary for a gay who died of AIDS . Even I was disgusted when I watched this news clip.
2. And eye for an eye ... Or love our neighbour as ourselves . ( the muslims! ) ".... context makes clear that Jesus means to pray good things for our enemies. Old Testament prayers for vindication (such as 2 Chron 24:22; Jer 15:15) still have their place (2 Tim 4:14; Rev 6:10), but our attitude toward individuals who hurt us personally or corporately must be love (Lk 23:34; Acts 7:60). Again, Jesus' words are graphic pictures that force us to probe our hearts; they do not cancel the Old Testament belief in divine vindication (Mt 23:33, 38; Rev 6:10-11), but summon us to leave our vindication with God and seek others' best interests in love." ( NIV commentary ) .
Boycotting an event that is specially allocated to Malaysian Christians as a sign of their 'respect' to us and multiculturism is not in the best taste. Sure , it is great injustice to be subjected to such skewed politics. But this 'bad faith ' will only reinforce certain people biasness towards us. And this cycle of hate and disrespect will continue on. In addition , Christians in Peninsular are 'known' to be generally more distant if an event involves the whole community . Sure , we like our YF , church gangs , Planet shaker concerts etc. but surely there is more to the society than this . Take a bus to a small town / kampung ... And you will see that the 'world' is actually broader and complex than it seemed. Btw , want pre-christians to come to your church ? Do a rumah terbuka.
Anyway , to summarize - I would like to suggest my approach to this issue. I will seek out understanding with the relevant authorities that Christ is central to our belief and this Christmas is an occasion to remember his Birth. Even if the highest authority refuses to budge , I will still ask the Christians to support this occasion . Forget about the Christmas songs/ gospels /hymms , go and sing Malay / Chinese / indian folk songs la. Once the news got out about this ban and how the Christian responded , people will then be able ' to see the Christ in us" . Maybe even then the outpouring of criticism will make the minister sorry ( dun think so la ) . Haha . But that is the 'power' of Christ's teaching , in meekness there is a real strength through Christ.
Lastly , do hope that those who are reading this will spare a thought to the "Christian ' bodies who are representing us . I think they are certainly suffering due to our neglect. Whether CCM , NECF , CFM , CWM , M&Ms ( kidding ) , it has not been easy . Lets pray for them
1. For a real unity of the body . If not , one day we will be divided and conquered through all these factions.
2. Christian leaders who will make a stand and be respected for the choices made.
3. Funding - enough of building super-duper-mega churches or buying more lands and divert some fund to these institutions. Can churches be challenged to be simple ? Kesianle Scripture Union , GCF .. ;)
Dear Friends .
Wow , I must have missed quite a number of mails flying about . And I am sure by now you would have heard the news that there is no official ban on this , only done by " overzealous lower ranking officials" .
I remember talking to a brother 2 weeks ago who commented in frustration on why his church leaders always seemed 'graceful' , you know.. Always forgiving , agreable , suffer through difficulties without complaining etc. I think this is somehow a 'dilemma' facing some Christians today . Whether we should stand up and make out statements loud and clear , or to 'turn the other cheek". Should we like Mr Bush who invaded and kill in 'his faith and believe' of a 'just war' or the 5 Christian aid workers who were helplessly murdered while helping in Afghan refugee camp. ( ok , so I am pretty much biased against the war in Iraq . Haha )
Anyway , here are a summary of my views
1. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of selfdiscipline." Can we sincerely be able to say that we had stand up with our voices ( and action ) when it is required ? In school , in varsity , in your neighbourhood , in your church , in your working place ? I agree with James on this and there is just certain things that we got to stand up to in our position and place. Certainly , Christians are not put disappropriately higher percentage in the profesional bracketts ( than the Malaysian national average ) to sit down and live a 'happy' life only. People like OC Lim , Pastor Paul ( Chow Kit ) , Dr Max Ongkillii and my senior Andrew Wong are some examples of people who went beyond . But do it with spirit ( wisdom?) , LOVE and self discipline . Reminded me to a real event where a group of Christian demonstrated along a cemetary for a gay who died of AIDS . Even I was disgusted when I watched this news clip.
2. And eye for an eye ... Or love our neighbour as ourselves . ( the muslims! ) ".... context makes clear that Jesus means to pray good things for our enemies. Old Testament prayers for vindication (such as 2 Chron 24:22; Jer 15:15) still have their place (2 Tim 4:14; Rev 6:10), but our attitude toward individuals who hurt us personally or corporately must be love (Lk 23:34; Acts 7:60). Again, Jesus' words are graphic pictures that force us to probe our hearts; they do not cancel the Old Testament belief in divine vindication (Mt 23:33, 38; Rev 6:10-11), but summon us to leave our vindication with God and seek others' best interests in love." ( NIV commentary ) .
Boycotting an event that is specially allocated to Malaysian Christians as a sign of their 'respect' to us and multiculturism is not in the best taste. Sure , it is great injustice to be subjected to such skewed politics. But this 'bad faith ' will only reinforce certain people biasness towards us. And this cycle of hate and disrespect will continue on. In addition , Christians in Peninsular are 'known' to be generally more distant if an event involves the whole community . Sure , we like our YF , church gangs , Planet shaker concerts etc. but surely there is more to the society than this . Take a bus to a small town / kampung ... And you will see that the 'world' is actually broader and complex than it seemed. Btw , want pre-christians to come to your church ? Do a rumah terbuka.
Anyway , to summarize - I would like to suggest my approach to this issue. I will seek out understanding with the relevant authorities that Christ is central to our belief and this Christmas is an occasion to remember his Birth. Even if the highest authority refuses to budge , I will still ask the Christians to support this occasion . Forget about the Christmas songs/ gospels /hymms , go and sing Malay / Chinese / indian folk songs la. Once the news got out about this ban and how the Christian responded , people will then be able ' to see the Christ in us" . Maybe even then the outpouring of criticism will make the minister sorry ( dun think so la ) . Haha . But that is the 'power' of Christ's teaching , in meekness there is a real strength through Christ.
Lastly , do hope that those who are reading this will spare a thought to the "Christian ' bodies who are representing us . I think they are certainly suffering due to our neglect. Whether CCM , NECF , CFM , CWM , M&Ms ( kidding ) , it has not been easy . Lets pray for them
1. For a real unity of the body . If not , one day we will be divided and conquered through all these factions.
2. Christian leaders who will make a stand and be respected for the choices made.
3. Funding - enough of building super-duper-mega churches or buying more lands and divert some fund to these institutions. Can churches be challenged to be simple ? Kesianle Scripture Union , GCF .. ;)
My view on Rev Rick Warrens Advice to US voters [09 November 2004]
I have much respect for the man who did so much for the Christian movement in the States and elsewhere , but I will have to disagree onhis advice and focus in the vote. And yes , i am a nobody . hehe .But hear me out.On one hand , it is important to focus on abortion , stem cellresearch etc . At the other hand , it is a vote for unneccessarykilling and war mongering . I realised that the issues of abortion ,stem cell etc. are important and must be protected , but i believethat the life ( of a Muslim brother/sister) is as important or more.And definitely their faith and countless billions outside US who seesa "Christian" Bush + Army killing other people. I certaintly don'tsee this argument from Christ who urges us to have turn the othercheek and love our "despised Samaritan" neighbour. It is not a signof weaknesses , but in obedience to the Creator.
Are Christians turning a blind eye to such injustice just because Bush support these 5 issues ? In fact , Karl Rowe ( Bush electionstrategist ) demands those 11 states to put in the referendum on gaymarriage to entice the church goers to vote. He got their vote andChristians were celebrating ( I am happy too ) . But reflectingback , are we not duped by politicians who may care less to changetheir decision when it suits them?
Luke 14:1-6 . One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of aprominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2There in frontof him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3Jesus asked the Phariseesand experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"4But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed himand sent him away.5Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son[1] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull himout?" 6 And they had nothing to say.
No laws and legislation is more important than the intent of themessage to the heart of the suffering man. That God loved that menand healed him , as to the whole world.
Christianity is a message of peace with God and men , men and men .We do not have war and killing in our doctorine ( supercedes thewarring time in OT). But are we behaving like a righteous men ? Isit not the same intent that Holy War was waged , or the colonisationof countries in the name of God? One Australian writter posed aquestion that "How are the US Christians able to still go to churchand pray when they support war ?" . I have no answer but the bibledoes.
To Rev Rick Warren , it is time for evengelical Christian to flex their muscle again to demand the President that they support to ceasekilling innocent lives. Stop the wheel of hate for " Do unto otherswhat you would like them to do to you". Killings will not stop unlessone party has the 'extra' in them to do so. And the 'extra' is God.This message will be the strongest that none of the bombs will everhope to achieve.
I have much respect for the man who did so much for the Christian movement in the States and elsewhere , but I will have to disagree onhis advice and focus in the vote. And yes , i am a nobody . hehe .But hear me out.On one hand , it is important to focus on abortion , stem cellresearch etc . At the other hand , it is a vote for unneccessarykilling and war mongering . I realised that the issues of abortion ,stem cell etc. are important and must be protected , but i believethat the life ( of a Muslim brother/sister) is as important or more.And definitely their faith and countless billions outside US who seesa "Christian" Bush + Army killing other people. I certaintly don'tsee this argument from Christ who urges us to have turn the othercheek and love our "despised Samaritan" neighbour. It is not a signof weaknesses , but in obedience to the Creator.
Are Christians turning a blind eye to such injustice just because Bush support these 5 issues ? In fact , Karl Rowe ( Bush electionstrategist ) demands those 11 states to put in the referendum on gaymarriage to entice the church goers to vote. He got their vote andChristians were celebrating ( I am happy too ) . But reflectingback , are we not duped by politicians who may care less to changetheir decision when it suits them?
Luke 14:1-6 . One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of aprominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2There in frontof him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3Jesus asked the Phariseesand experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"4But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed himand sent him away.5Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son[1] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull himout?" 6 And they had nothing to say.
No laws and legislation is more important than the intent of themessage to the heart of the suffering man. That God loved that menand healed him , as to the whole world.
Christianity is a message of peace with God and men , men and men .We do not have war and killing in our doctorine ( supercedes thewarring time in OT). But are we behaving like a righteous men ? Isit not the same intent that Holy War was waged , or the colonisationof countries in the name of God? One Australian writter posed aquestion that "How are the US Christians able to still go to churchand pray when they support war ?" . I have no answer but the bibledoes.
To Rev Rick Warren , it is time for evengelical Christian to flex their muscle again to demand the President that they support to ceasekilling innocent lives. Stop the wheel of hate for " Do unto otherswhat you would like them to do to you". Killings will not stop unlessone party has the 'extra' in them to do so. And the 'extra' is God.This message will be the strongest that none of the bombs will everhope to achieve.
4 more years of famine? [04 November 2004]
Nov 4 - Congratulations to George Bush on being nominated again as the President of the US . Wish you well , and more God fearing than Godly fearing . We look forward from today with a renewed hope ( or hopelessness ? ) that mistakes will be acknowledged and wrongs will be put right. We pray for you to be wise in choosing friends , those who will give you the right , wholesome view .. and those who knows the sovereign of God. For He giveth , and can taketh away.Ironic that the best choice of a US president is one who kills , lies and is arrogant about it. Oh wait , it may not have sink in yet and believed that he did everything right. But time to let it rest. ? Eh? An authrority has been picked and all authorities are responsible to answer to God at the end.
Updates - after lunch
Surprise surprise. We had lunch just now and somebody's boss said the same thing . 4 years ago it was a fiasco and they elected a somebody whom nobody knows . Now that we know he is less smart than an ape being controlled by the VP and co , they still voted for him . We all realised that Americans are fundamentally 'different". To this Sally replied : There is a Chinese Saying - If it is not your fault, and is not my fault so is the SOCIETY's fault.
Nov 4 - Congratulations to George Bush on being nominated again as the President of the US . Wish you well , and more God fearing than Godly fearing . We look forward from today with a renewed hope ( or hopelessness ? ) that mistakes will be acknowledged and wrongs will be put right. We pray for you to be wise in choosing friends , those who will give you the right , wholesome view .. and those who knows the sovereign of God. For He giveth , and can taketh away.Ironic that the best choice of a US president is one who kills , lies and is arrogant about it. Oh wait , it may not have sink in yet and believed that he did everything right. But time to let it rest. ? Eh? An authrority has been picked and all authorities are responsible to answer to God at the end.
Updates - after lunch
Surprise surprise. We had lunch just now and somebody's boss said the same thing . 4 years ago it was a fiasco and they elected a somebody whom nobody knows . Now that we know he is less smart than an ape being controlled by the VP and co , they still voted for him . We all realised that Americans are fundamentally 'different". To this Sally replied : There is a Chinese Saying - If it is not your fault, and is not my fault so is the SOCIETY's fault.
October Surprise [1 November 2004]
Hey , it is one day before the Nov 2 election in the States . If only resident of US who vote , the chance is that Bush will be reelected. But if other nations nations are allowed to vote , he would have lost by a big margin . The logic is that since US is either invading militarily / economically , the rest of the world that is invaded by this country should be allowed to vote as well. And guess what , majaority of them hate the US guts now. The Vienna Boys choir in Genting Highlands was the hightlight of the week. Since they were here only for a day , the rest of the Malaysian *ahem* cultured population seemed to throng over the hill resort to check out these adorable folks. They were good .. honestly splendid. And to cap out a memorable performance with a local song ( Can mali chan ) and a few goodies from the evegreen " The sound of Music " , Johann and Joseph Strauss , the got the crowd standing in acknowledgement of their impeccable performance.
however , low grades to Genting Resorts for the choice of venue. The aircon duct sounds lounder than the biggest of those fellas. And the air con seemed redundant as the whole "Arena of Stars" felt stuffy and hot. The worst is the sound system . At some part , the were not audible or are not properly balanced. Not only that , some of the boys were not miked up during their sketch .. which left the audience bewildered as the sketch progresses. How do they expect a crowd of 6000 to clearly appreciate the orchestra of voices or performance with such cheap investment in AV equipments ? Or is the performance only for the few VIPs that we sitting just below the stage ? And the cardinal sin for Genting is that they DID NOT apologzed.
Hey , we understand if they don't have the expertise to support or if somethings went wrong. But they could have offered an explaination or at best an apology at the intermission . Is it an Asian thing ? Shame on them as the Austrian conductor diplomatically apologised for his boys after the intermission which i think is no fault of theirs. It was a moral victory for the troupe . Shame on Genting.
Hey , it is one day before the Nov 2 election in the States . If only resident of US who vote , the chance is that Bush will be reelected. But if other nations nations are allowed to vote , he would have lost by a big margin . The logic is that since US is either invading militarily / economically , the rest of the world that is invaded by this country should be allowed to vote as well. And guess what , majaority of them hate the US guts now. The Vienna Boys choir in Genting Highlands was the hightlight of the week. Since they were here only for a day , the rest of the Malaysian *ahem* cultured population seemed to throng over the hill resort to check out these adorable folks. They were good .. honestly splendid. And to cap out a memorable performance with a local song ( Can mali chan ) and a few goodies from the evegreen " The sound of Music " , Johann and Joseph Strauss , the got the crowd standing in acknowledgement of their impeccable performance.
however , low grades to Genting Resorts for the choice of venue. The aircon duct sounds lounder than the biggest of those fellas. And the air con seemed redundant as the whole "Arena of Stars" felt stuffy and hot. The worst is the sound system . At some part , the were not audible or are not properly balanced. Not only that , some of the boys were not miked up during their sketch .. which left the audience bewildered as the sketch progresses. How do they expect a crowd of 6000 to clearly appreciate the orchestra of voices or performance with such cheap investment in AV equipments ? Or is the performance only for the few VIPs that we sitting just below the stage ? And the cardinal sin for Genting is that they DID NOT apologzed.
Hey , we understand if they don't have the expertise to support or if somethings went wrong. But they could have offered an explaination or at best an apology at the intermission . Is it an Asian thing ? Shame on them as the Austrian conductor diplomatically apologised for his boys after the intermission which i think is no fault of theirs. It was a moral victory for the troupe . Shame on Genting.
My Tribute to the America Elections 04 - Lesser of 2 Evils ? [29 October 2004]
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." - George W. Bush
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'." - Governor George W. Bush
"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future." - Governor George W. Bush
"The future will be better tomorrow." - Governor George W. Bush
"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world." - Governor George W. Bush
"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made." - Governor George W. Bush
"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe." - Governor George W. Bush
Exam Time --- arggghh [12 October 2004]
Hi , Tired of reading stuff ... cause starting from this week till the next 3 weeks is when i will be assessed on what i have learned this semester. Instructional Technology - everytime that is mentioned , it will almost immediately bring a blank face to the the next person .Wanna make a guess who is not a key person in this discipline 1. Piaget 2. Rowntree3. Johnassen 4. William Hung Easy rite ?Btw, this cult hero is back in Asia Pacifc - visiting his preferred country Singapore . Apparently , some minister in Taiwan called this country a hard taik hidung . ( nasal phelgm ) and backed up by burnining of the Singaporean flags by its citizens. i think that is too much , from one US loving country to another . They should talk and pat each others back like their master .. or is it becoz the master is too busy trying to win some elections. Sheep
United Nations after 7 years
Nothing can be more interesting than to have a bunch of old pals together. We were called the "United Nations" group in UPM .. cause the group consists of a plethora of socio economic combinations. 1. Me - the handsome one , Chinese Male2.Conrad - the more handsome and muscular national hockey player , Chindian Male 3.Chris - the kuricacik - Chinese Hakka Female 4.Yee Lu - our east Malaysian friend who is fluent in BM . Chinese Female 5.Marina - ole tennis pal from Muar , very pretty and increasing in La " " - Chindian Female 6.Sherinder - ever grinning and blur - our Sikh Femal friend 7. Julie - the motherly figure who is of a mix of ethics ( no idea ) - semua taruk . Our first gathering where everybody is present .. after 7 years . There were 2 camps ... with national border intact. The Marriage - babies - pampers group and the happening Single - dun- say -"Mar " - or -else !!!! group . But it was fun turning my head and talking different things at the same time . And the best things are the part where Conrad takes out his laptop to show his collection of photos . Yep , we have all grown up .... at least chorologically . Nice to chat with you people . Lets do it again ...
Hi , Tired of reading stuff ... cause starting from this week till the next 3 weeks is when i will be assessed on what i have learned this semester. Instructional Technology - everytime that is mentioned , it will almost immediately bring a blank face to the the next person .Wanna make a guess who is not a key person in this discipline 1. Piaget 2. Rowntree3. Johnassen 4. William Hung Easy rite ?Btw, this cult hero is back in Asia Pacifc - visiting his preferred country Singapore . Apparently , some minister in Taiwan called this country a hard taik hidung . ( nasal phelgm ) and backed up by burnining of the Singaporean flags by its citizens. i think that is too much , from one US loving country to another . They should talk and pat each others back like their master .. or is it becoz the master is too busy trying to win some elections. Sheep
United Nations after 7 years
Nothing can be more interesting than to have a bunch of old pals together. We were called the "United Nations" group in UPM .. cause the group consists of a plethora of socio economic combinations. 1. Me - the handsome one , Chinese Male2.Conrad - the more handsome and muscular national hockey player , Chindian Male 3.Chris - the kuricacik - Chinese Hakka Female 4.Yee Lu - our east Malaysian friend who is fluent in BM . Chinese Female 5.Marina - ole tennis pal from Muar , very pretty and increasing in La " " - Chindian Female 6.Sherinder - ever grinning and blur - our Sikh Femal friend 7. Julie - the motherly figure who is of a mix of ethics ( no idea ) - semua taruk . Our first gathering where everybody is present .. after 7 years . There were 2 camps ... with national border intact. The Marriage - babies - pampers group and the happening Single - dun- say -"Mar " - or -else !!!! group . But it was fun turning my head and talking different things at the same time . And the best things are the part where Conrad takes out his laptop to show his collection of photos . Yep , we have all grown up .... at least chorologically . Nice to chat with you people . Lets do it again ...
Freedom of religion but not freedom of choice ? The Malaysian Dilemma [23 September 2004]
Court orders checks with NRD on "Islam" in IC
Putrajaya, Tues. – The Court of Appeal today ordered Senior Federal Counsel Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid to seek clarification from the National Registration Department on the Practice of putting the word "Islam" on identity cards.
The order was issued by head of the three-member panel, Justice Datuk Gopal Sri Nam, as the court questioned whether the word "Islam" on the identity card was mandatory under Malaysian law.
Sri Nam, who sat with Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohamed and Datuk Arifin Zakaria, adjourned hearing of an appeal by a woman seeking a declaration that she was free to practise the religion of her choice as enshrined in the Federal Constitution to Oct 14. The appellant, Lina Joy, whose original name is Azlina Jailani, is appealing against the High Court' decision rejecting her application to drop the word "Islam" in her identity card.
Justice Datuk Faiza Tamby Chik, in rejecting her application, had said as a Malay, she could not renounce Islam.
In his judgment on April 23, 2001, the judge also refused to decide on Lina’s wish to renounce Islam on the grounds that the issue should be decided by the Syariah Court.
Before the adjournment, the Court of Appeal heard a submission from Lina’s counsel, Datuk C. V. Das, who argued that the High Court judge failed to distinguish between the jurisdiction exercisable by two bodies that played a major role in Islamic law enactment, namely the Islamic Religious Council and the Syariah Court.
He said the distinction was important as the council was dealing with administrative matters while the Syariah Court dealt with legal matters.
Das said except in Kelantan and Pahang, all matters involving the Islamic law enactment were under the jurisdiction of the Islamic Religious Council and not the Syariah Court. He also told the court that the declaration was important because Lina, who is in her 40s, wanted to register her marriage under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. – Bernama
Court orders checks with NRD on "Islam" in IC
Putrajaya, Tues. – The Court of Appeal today ordered Senior Federal Counsel Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid to seek clarification from the National Registration Department on the Practice of putting the word "Islam" on identity cards.
The order was issued by head of the three-member panel, Justice Datuk Gopal Sri Nam, as the court questioned whether the word "Islam" on the identity card was mandatory under Malaysian law.
Sri Nam, who sat with Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohamed and Datuk Arifin Zakaria, adjourned hearing of an appeal by a woman seeking a declaration that she was free to practise the religion of her choice as enshrined in the Federal Constitution to Oct 14. The appellant, Lina Joy, whose original name is Azlina Jailani, is appealing against the High Court' decision rejecting her application to drop the word "Islam" in her identity card.
Justice Datuk Faiza Tamby Chik, in rejecting her application, had said as a Malay, she could not renounce Islam.
In his judgment on April 23, 2001, the judge also refused to decide on Lina’s wish to renounce Islam on the grounds that the issue should be decided by the Syariah Court.
Before the adjournment, the Court of Appeal heard a submission from Lina’s counsel, Datuk C. V. Das, who argued that the High Court judge failed to distinguish between the jurisdiction exercisable by two bodies that played a major role in Islamic law enactment, namely the Islamic Religious Council and the Syariah Court.
He said the distinction was important as the council was dealing with administrative matters while the Syariah Court dealt with legal matters.
Das said except in Kelantan and Pahang, all matters involving the Islamic law enactment were under the jurisdiction of the Islamic Religious Council and not the Syariah Court. He also told the court that the declaration was important because Lina, who is in her 40s, wanted to register her marriage under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. – Bernama
Worship at St Andrew's [20 September 2004]
Praise to God !! That was an awesome time of worship that S2S had in St Andrews on Saturday . Of course , we had a lot of planning hiccups and worship practise non-moments. But God has use the group in the most amazing manner ... . All praise to him.It rained cats and dogs and sinks that day . Before that , almost half of the worship team was up from early morning till afternoon for S2S Q4 planning meeting . On top of that , we had the last worship + practise till 2 plus . And Chiao and I then adjurned to the Beyond headstart group - which was intellectually challenging ( jealousy , envy , self image and self concept .. wowo ) while the rest were lunging the equipments and setting up for the night worship .
When i arrive , detected that most of the youths are in the early teens group . The fast songs will get the moving , but the worship part may wear them out . But i guess the major worry i had then is when i was introduced to the new American pastor .. Pastor Tom . He has the strongest handshake for any pastors and I tot that the worship may be too different that what he had last time . Anyway , all praise to Him . It went on without much fuss , better than our practises. And we had another jamming session after that. It was just youthfy thing that I could have done and enjoy if my age starts with '1x'.
Tired , yet refreshed. And went back to church and to mamak .. biggest mamak group for some time now . Sunday worship was also good . Too tired and not too prepared , but God is in control . Somehow , the songs has much more significant connection than when i choose them originally . Of course , gota stressed out my pianist and musicians .. then introduce pscyho-motocally challenged hand movements to confuse the congregation. But a few times when i peek , notice some individuals are actually singing .. and even praying . Wow , hope it inspires them to have a closer relationship /worship on their own . Now , gota go back to my assignments . Tonight , Don Carson is going to speak on Revelations . May just go for one day . Mother is coming up .. important. hehe
Praise to God !! That was an awesome time of worship that S2S had in St Andrews on Saturday . Of course , we had a lot of planning hiccups and worship practise non-moments. But God has use the group in the most amazing manner ... . All praise to him.It rained cats and dogs and sinks that day . Before that , almost half of the worship team was up from early morning till afternoon for S2S Q4 planning meeting . On top of that , we had the last worship + practise till 2 plus . And Chiao and I then adjurned to the Beyond headstart group - which was intellectually challenging ( jealousy , envy , self image and self concept .. wowo ) while the rest were lunging the equipments and setting up for the night worship .
When i arrive , detected that most of the youths are in the early teens group . The fast songs will get the moving , but the worship part may wear them out . But i guess the major worry i had then is when i was introduced to the new American pastor .. Pastor Tom . He has the strongest handshake for any pastors and I tot that the worship may be too different that what he had last time . Anyway , all praise to Him . It went on without much fuss , better than our practises. And we had another jamming session after that. It was just youthfy thing that I could have done and enjoy if my age starts with '1x'.
Tired , yet refreshed. And went back to church and to mamak .. biggest mamak group for some time now . Sunday worship was also good . Too tired and not too prepared , but God is in control . Somehow , the songs has much more significant connection than when i choose them originally . Of course , gota stressed out my pianist and musicians .. then introduce pscyho-motocally challenged hand movements to confuse the congregation. But a few times when i peek , notice some individuals are actually singing .. and even praying . Wow , hope it inspires them to have a closer relationship /worship on their own . Now , gota go back to my assignments . Tonight , Don Carson is going to speak on Revelations . May just go for one day . Mother is coming up .. important. hehe
To the article that " Is Bush God choosen? " [14 September 2004]
Interestingly , God does put people to power in his big universal plan . Nebucanezzer was installed into power when Israel decided to rely on Egypt than God - to teach about obedience ; though jerusallem was pillaged etc. For Israelites at that time , Mr N was an evil person. But he is the 'necessary' evil .
Mr Bush is technically part of the greater plan too . And he won in a most 'amazing' manner .. which some do attribute it to God intervention and approval. Yet , my thought has changed over time as i realised that this "Godly" man has gone against some of the basic principles of Christ's teaching. He authorised revenge and killings in foreign lands , lies and crafted his agendas etc. He may have a faith based platform in US , but the rest of the world does not see his 'God'. I cannot be judgemental but in comparison to other God fearing person that i come accross , their behaviours do not match . Thus , can it be that Mr Bush is now a "Saul" . Saul was chosen by God , a king that never was . Saul was rejected because of his disobedience. Saul was a 'big' man , 'one head taller' than anyone else , handsome - yet his greed and selfish decisions corrupts him .
Being popular and able to be seen as a spiritual person does not make one "God appointed". In fact , I was very surprised when i came accross some articles on Adolf Hitler. He too , is a faith based person and I am sure that his people then see him as "God" sent. This does not equate both Bush and Hitler together. But it is a fine line between obedience to God and self righteousness. Mr Bush , be very careful.
Interestingly , God does put people to power in his big universal plan . Nebucanezzer was installed into power when Israel decided to rely on Egypt than God - to teach about obedience ; though jerusallem was pillaged etc. For Israelites at that time , Mr N was an evil person. But he is the 'necessary' evil .
Mr Bush is technically part of the greater plan too . And he won in a most 'amazing' manner .. which some do attribute it to God intervention and approval. Yet , my thought has changed over time as i realised that this "Godly" man has gone against some of the basic principles of Christ's teaching. He authorised revenge and killings in foreign lands , lies and crafted his agendas etc. He may have a faith based platform in US , but the rest of the world does not see his 'God'. I cannot be judgemental but in comparison to other God fearing person that i come accross , their behaviours do not match . Thus , can it be that Mr Bush is now a "Saul" . Saul was chosen by God , a king that never was . Saul was rejected because of his disobedience. Saul was a 'big' man , 'one head taller' than anyone else , handsome - yet his greed and selfish decisions corrupts him .
Being popular and able to be seen as a spiritual person does not make one "God appointed". In fact , I was very surprised when i came accross some articles on Adolf Hitler. He too , is a faith based person and I am sure that his people then see him as "God" sent. This does not equate both Bush and Hitler together. But it is a fine line between obedience to God and self righteousness. Mr Bush , be very careful.
Post 9-11 2004 [13 September 2004]
the roles this Iraq has played down through history. 1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq. 2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization.3. Noah built the ark in Iraq. 4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq. 5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor which is in Iraq.7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq. 8. Jonah preached in Nineveh 9. Assyria, which was in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel. 10. Amos cried out in Iraq. 11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem. 12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq13. The 3 Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in 15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the captive Jews into Iraq. 16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq. 17. The wise men were from Iraq. 18. Peter preached in Iraq ?? ( not sure ) Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. second? It is Iraq.Interesting summary . there are another portion that talks about prophesies and some nutty assestment . Almost the same like Geoge Bush tying Al Qaeda to Iraq. Both have "Q".Condolences to Indonesians who got killed in the blast . The Musical Night was a blast . !! Praise the Lord . Wowo!!!
the roles this Iraq has played down through history. 1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq. 2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization.3. Noah built the ark in Iraq. 4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq. 5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor which is in Iraq.7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq. 8. Jonah preached in Nineveh 9. Assyria, which was in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel. 10. Amos cried out in Iraq. 11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem. 12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq13. The 3 Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in 15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the captive Jews into Iraq. 16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq. 17. The wise men were from Iraq. 18. Peter preached in Iraq ?? ( not sure ) Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. second? It is Iraq.Interesting summary . there are another portion that talks about prophesies and some nutty assestment . Almost the same like Geoge Bush tying Al Qaeda to Iraq. Both have "Q".Condolences to Indonesians who got killed in the blast . The Musical Night was a blast . !! Praise the Lord . Wowo!!!
Vijay Singh The world No 1 [08 September 2004]
The man who tamed the tiger . And he would have been the man that brought fame to Malaysia ... if the goverment officers were a bit more long sighted. Here is the story of a aircraft technician's son who married a local Sabahan lass. He wanted to become a Malaysian PR but bereucracy deemed that he is not qualified enough to be one. Its funny how we spend 90 million on 26 atheletes and 26 officials aka mamasans for the Athlens olympics and yielded a golden egg . Vijay would have cost nothing yet blossomed our name around the world. At least Fiji has a world No 1 now.
To Russia With Love
Dear Mr Putin , Our condolences to your children and adults who have perished. We would prefer otherwise , but guess now is the time to move on . As you ponder on the next move , remember that being strong in might may not achieve what you desire . Be different than George Bush .
The man who tamed the tiger . And he would have been the man that brought fame to Malaysia ... if the goverment officers were a bit more long sighted. Here is the story of a aircraft technician's son who married a local Sabahan lass. He wanted to become a Malaysian PR but bereucracy deemed that he is not qualified enough to be one. Its funny how we spend 90 million on 26 atheletes and 26 officials aka mamasans for the Athlens olympics and yielded a golden egg . Vijay would have cost nothing yet blossomed our name around the world. At least Fiji has a world No 1 now.
To Russia With Love
Dear Mr Putin , Our condolences to your children and adults who have perished. We would prefer otherwise , but guess now is the time to move on . As you ponder on the next move , remember that being strong in might may not achieve what you desire . Be different than George Bush .
Khidmat Negara - No 2 in MSN Search ranking worldwide [7 September 2004]
Some say that there is a silver lining in everything , if you 'search' hard enough .
Apparently there was a great difficulty for hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who wanted to know whether they or their children were successful in their quest to be a participant in the Khidmat Negara programme ( National Service ) . In their eagerness , the 8 toll-free phonelines were jammed pack by callers. So , the logical way ahead is to go through the cyberspace reminiscent of Americans when 9/11 happened few years ago. Search engines are the necessary tool to be used here , especially when one does not know which Malaysian government website hosts them nor if it is operational. Finally , the number of tries and retries managed to push the "Khidmat negara" to a silver medal in MSN search worldwide.
I think that for the first time in many years that I notice a Malaysian-only search requirement appear so high in international ranking . As we celebrate the national day tomorrow , why not push this to another level to be no 1 ?! . Of course on a hindsight , it may mean that those 'technical failures' that the government websites could easily overcome are still not solved. I would prefer efficiency than another record breaking feat .
Popular Searches
Advanced Search · Get the MSN Toolbar
Top 5 Search Movers
1. paul hamm
2. khidmat negara
3. olympic results
4. misty may
5. wdve
Some say that there is a silver lining in everything , if you 'search' hard enough .
Apparently there was a great difficulty for hundreds of thousands of Malaysians who wanted to know whether they or their children were successful in their quest to be a participant in the Khidmat Negara programme ( National Service ) . In their eagerness , the 8 toll-free phonelines were jammed pack by callers. So , the logical way ahead is to go through the cyberspace reminiscent of Americans when 9/11 happened few years ago. Search engines are the necessary tool to be used here , especially when one does not know which Malaysian government website hosts them nor if it is operational. Finally , the number of tries and retries managed to push the "Khidmat negara" to a silver medal in MSN search worldwide.
I think that for the first time in many years that I notice a Malaysian-only search requirement appear so high in international ranking . As we celebrate the national day tomorrow , why not push this to another level to be no 1 ?! . Of course on a hindsight , it may mean that those 'technical failures' that the government websites could easily overcome are still not solved. I would prefer efficiency than another record breaking feat .
Popular Searches
Advanced Search · Get the MSN Toolbar
Top 5 Search Movers
1. paul hamm
2. khidmat negara
3. olympic results
4. misty may
5. wdve
Doulos PC 2nd Anniversary Celebration [6 September 2004]
S2S rocks!!
Church Anniversary coming this Saturday . Wow . We are looking forward to the weekend to do this presentation . It will start with a slow song that connects from previous play while building up to the current mood. Then a play by our own Doulos Idola Charis and A+ Arty Farty Sarah Chan . This would be intersting with many voices thrown in . And then I-Wei and Sarah will come and share their tots. Wrap-up with a cool song called "Let everything that has breath" . You should see the arrangement with blessed team of talented pianist , drum , guitar , drum etc. thrown in . Do pray for us .. and the rest of the presentations . Everyone is working hard to make this event count. Amen .
S2S rocks!!
Church Anniversary coming this Saturday . Wow . We are looking forward to the weekend to do this presentation . It will start with a slow song that connects from previous play while building up to the current mood. Then a play by our own Doulos Idola Charis and A+ Arty Farty Sarah Chan . This would be intersting with many voices thrown in . And then I-Wei and Sarah will come and share their tots. Wrap-up with a cool song called "Let everything that has breath" . You should see the arrangement with blessed team of talented pianist , drum , guitar , drum etc. thrown in . Do pray for us .. and the rest of the presentations . Everyone is working hard to make this event count. Amen .
I say peace ( 20 July 2004 )
Guess what . Iran is now suspected of being involved with the 911 attack . Yes , they were obviously working with their good friends Iraq and buddy al qaeda to stage the attack . So claimed Bush and his 'intelligence' . Wonder if anything truthful ever come from these 2 folk. oh yeah , maybe Bahamas will be involved next year since they still argue with the US over their Banana export duties. Enough of him . Crocodiles in Klang River. That is news . But guess we missed out the bigger picture that this creature is so tahan that it can withstand the pollution in the Klang River. Now I think they DID survive the dinosour age.
Guess what . Iran is now suspected of being involved with the 911 attack . Yes , they were obviously working with their good friends Iraq and buddy al qaeda to stage the attack . So claimed Bush and his 'intelligence' . Wonder if anything truthful ever come from these 2 folk. oh yeah , maybe Bahamas will be involved next year since they still argue with the US over their Banana export duties. Enough of him . Crocodiles in Klang River. That is news . But guess we missed out the bigger picture that this creature is so tahan that it can withstand the pollution in the Klang River. Now I think they DID survive the dinosour age.
Response to Mob Violence. ( July 19 , 2004 )
Or one can be a " Peter " , asking questions which may at the 'wrong' moment stir up consciousness. Guess when we talk about group think or herd mentality , it is not an easy issue to tackle esp since we can also be involved. Be it a Christian mob who kills and torches down houses in Indonesia , right wing groups chanting anti-gay messages who turned violent or rowdy church groups that disrupts others in mamak .. we are susceptible . And one of the most vivid story in the bible that potrays this is when Moses is on the mountain , Aaron was surrounded by the Israelites who wanted to see the "God' who brought them out of Egypt & Aaron agreed.
Being a "Peter' is to acknowledge that we are weak and to grow in maturity when the issue comes out again. Peter denied 3 times the Lord when people in the crowd / mob identified him , so he conformed to the crowd. Yet later when confronted by almost simliar crowd who were stirred with the tongue-speakers, he was able to stand up and testify ( Acts 2:14-41 ) and won over 3000 converts.
"Blessed is the meek , for they will inherit the earth " . Understand that we are called to be humble . And meekness is not weakness but 'power under control'. One of the character of group is the 'strength' in numbers . And in herd mentality , numbers can be associated to power which can falsely assure its group members. So maybe in an initial response to a group situation , ask " Am i showing meekness' ?
We are also called to be wise. 'Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger' Proverbs 29.8 .Understand that we are infuenced by emotions / ego as individuals and groups . So , step out of the group and correct ones emotion and ego. Then decide what to do with the group . Peter was able to address the second group becoz they were not a mob .. yet. But i do think that we can be "Peter the Rock headed " in some sense of him asking questions at the "wrong moment" ... So to be a person who is willing to ask gentle questions to realign the groups direction.( of course it is risky if they decide to turn on you ... ) Definitely , fleeing is an option which my moral education has taught me if i hit a lembu in a kampung.
I think in summary , we have some really tough choices to make in our daily lives and does not hurt if we have do more reading to make informed decisions ( like the simulated prison experiment ) . I think i choose Peter than Aaron or Joshua in this self created illustration ( not vetted by bible intellectuals ya ) because he did grow from his experiences. Aaron still blamed the 'sinful israelites ' for forcing him to build the gold calf and Joshua was halfway high in the mountain to do anything. By grace , even the weak can be strong , and it is not by numbers.
Or one can be a " Peter " , asking questions which may at the 'wrong' moment stir up consciousness. Guess when we talk about group think or herd mentality , it is not an easy issue to tackle esp since we can also be involved. Be it a Christian mob who kills and torches down houses in Indonesia , right wing groups chanting anti-gay messages who turned violent or rowdy church groups that disrupts others in mamak .. we are susceptible . And one of the most vivid story in the bible that potrays this is when Moses is on the mountain , Aaron was surrounded by the Israelites who wanted to see the "God' who brought them out of Egypt & Aaron agreed.
Being a "Peter' is to acknowledge that we are weak and to grow in maturity when the issue comes out again. Peter denied 3 times the Lord when people in the crowd / mob identified him , so he conformed to the crowd. Yet later when confronted by almost simliar crowd who were stirred with the tongue-speakers, he was able to stand up and testify ( Acts 2:14-41 ) and won over 3000 converts.
"Blessed is the meek , for they will inherit the earth " . Understand that we are called to be humble . And meekness is not weakness but 'power under control'. One of the character of group is the 'strength' in numbers . And in herd mentality , numbers can be associated to power which can falsely assure its group members. So maybe in an initial response to a group situation , ask " Am i showing meekness' ?
We are also called to be wise. 'Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger' Proverbs 29.8 .Understand that we are infuenced by emotions / ego as individuals and groups . So , step out of the group and correct ones emotion and ego. Then decide what to do with the group . Peter was able to address the second group becoz they were not a mob .. yet. But i do think that we can be "Peter the Rock headed " in some sense of him asking questions at the "wrong moment" ... So to be a person who is willing to ask gentle questions to realign the groups direction.( of course it is risky if they decide to turn on you ... ) Definitely , fleeing is an option which my moral education has taught me if i hit a lembu in a kampung.
I think in summary , we have some really tough choices to make in our daily lives and does not hurt if we have do more reading to make informed decisions ( like the simulated prison experiment ) . I think i choose Peter than Aaron or Joshua in this self created illustration ( not vetted by bible intellectuals ya ) because he did grow from his experiences. Aaron still blamed the 'sinful israelites ' for forcing him to build the gold calf and Joshua was halfway high in the mountain to do anything. By grace , even the weak can be strong , and it is not by numbers.
When logic does not compute
Today marked the release of the British report on the failure of their government over Iraq . Much similar with that of the US , the bulk of the blame goes to the intelligence who actually seemed more stupid than the name suggest. Maybe they should change the name to 'hearsay' . Anyway , both Bush and Blair camp got what they design for , a political respite . Yet their " so what if we got wrong info , we made the right decision " rethoric seemed more illogical than ever. And tell that the the faceless thousands who lost their live , armies who fought for a unclear bravado and those who were beheaded. All these for a few who lives in luxury , makes determined choices and then talk and talk . tsk tsk .My ode to Mr Kim of Korea who got beheaded. No thanks to the Korean gov too.
Today marked the release of the British report on the failure of their government over Iraq . Much similar with that of the US , the bulk of the blame goes to the intelligence who actually seemed more stupid than the name suggest. Maybe they should change the name to 'hearsay' . Anyway , both Bush and Blair camp got what they design for , a political respite . Yet their " so what if we got wrong info , we made the right decision " rethoric seemed more illogical than ever. And tell that the the faceless thousands who lost their live , armies who fought for a unclear bravado and those who were beheaded. All these for a few who lives in luxury , makes determined choices and then talk and talk . tsk tsk .My ode to Mr Kim of Korea who got beheaded. No thanks to the Korean gov too.
I have finally 'arrived" , got my own space in the cyberworld without even needing to squat . Chance to come to this website which is pretty friendly and easy to use . Hope I will not be wrong .
Will jot down some of my tots into this website for memories . Hope there are some nice tools i can use to put in a graphic or two .. but have not explored yet. Oh , there it is .. let me put my photo in . whopps .. not enuff storage . Oh , have added in my lovely girlfriend to the mailing list .. by default . So , you are not able to run away from getting updates .. at least i will have a solitary fan . hehe Anyway , greetings from Malaysia to the rest of the world out there.
Will jot down some of my tots into this website for memories . Hope there are some nice tools i can use to put in a graphic or two .. but have not explored yet. Oh , there it is .. let me put my photo in . whopps .. not enuff storage . Oh , have added in my lovely girlfriend to the mailing list .. by default . So , you are not able to run away from getting updates .. at least i will have a solitary fan . hehe Anyway , greetings from Malaysia to the rest of the world out there.
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About Me
- amoker
- Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
- I am mysterious ... and leave la some comments if my writting make sense. Proud Of Malaysia and disillusioned by the direction.