Categories
Personal

[984] Of loving Facebook

Yes. After more than a year on it, I have finally come to appreciate it. At this moment, I’m missing all the people that I’ve come to befriend with at Michigan and looking for them up rather religiously on Facebook. So far, so good.

Currently however, I trying to track a history-majored Hmong friend what attended Prof. Lieberman’s Southeast Asian history class that I enrolled in as a freshman. Why him?

Well, his parents and him are exiled from Laos. The fact that his rights have been robbed by a authoritarian communist state really sticks in my mind. Through him, I learned that there is a large Hmong community in Chicago.

And he invited me to a dinner three years later after no news at all! How sweet is that? He cared to track me down.

Unfortunately, I, embarrassingly have forgotten his name.

And I still owe him dinner.

Categories
Economics Environment Kitchen sink Liberty

[983] Of let us be honest

Let’s be honest to ourselves this once.

You can’t expect more subsidy and expect taxes not to go up.

You can’t expect the government to give you everything and not expect taxes to go up. You can’t both have your cake and eat it too. Well, George Carlin might disagree but he’s a comedian.

C’mon.

You really want to satisfy your conscience by helping the poor by using somebody else’s money.

And c’mon.

You are more interested in jealousy rather than wealth inequality.

Let’s be honest.

You can’t expect others to grant you justice when you commit injustice to others.

You can’t expect to conserve your liberty if you would violate others’ liberty, every single chance you had.

Honestly, freedom is a two-way street.

You can’t expect a person to respect you when you disrespect others. Respect is reciprocal.

You really can’t expect people to trust you when you lied to them. Trust is reciprocal.

Let’s be honest. Let’s be true to ourselves this once.

You can’t prove that a supreme being exists. Or do not exist for that matter. You may believe or disbelieve in but but knowing and believing are two very different verbs. For all we know, theists and atheists are fighting over something that both of them can’t prove.

What does honesty mean to you?

How is it that your religion claims to monopolize everything that is good in this world but seems to produces only hate?

Let’s be honest. Goodness is larger than religion.

Be honest.

Could you advocate racism but in the same breathe, talk of unity across communal groups? How honest could you answer that question?

Be honest.

Do you call a person as racists but unwittingly realize that you’re a racist too?

Be frank.

Do you sway freely with populism or do you stand firm with your priciples? Have a backbone for once. Please.

Be true to yourself. In your little heart, answer this.

Do you really think you could consume everything today and still expect there’s something left for tomorrow?

And let be honest this one time.

As far as this entry is concerned, honesty is a cliché.

Categories
Activism Economics

[982] Of Malaysia-US FTA talk with US Ambassador

I got this from a friend. And sharing is good. Well, not always.

Dinner Talk: “US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) – What’s in it for Malaysia”

The President of the MIT Club of Malaysia, Dr Christopher Shun and the Executive Committee wishes to invite you to reserve your seat(s).

Speaker: HE Christopher J LaFleur, US Ambassador

Day / Date: Friday, 15 December 2006

Venue: Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel

Function Room 7 & 8, New World Lower Ground Floor, Jalan Ampang, 50450 K.L.

Other details:

7.30 p.m.: Pre-dinner drinks

8.15 p.m.: Dinner begins

9.15 p.m.: Talk by HE Christopher J LaFleur

9.45 p.m.: Q & A session

10.30 p.m.: Presentation of gift of appreciation by the President of MIT Club.

Dress code: Formal (Lounge suit for men)

Cost: RM150 per person

Payment must be made in full by Monday, 4 December 2006 for your reservation to be confirmed. Admittance is strictly by payment confirmation. No cards issued; there will be a seating plan.

Cheques payable to ”MIT Club of Malaysia”. Please mail cheques to Ms May Lim, Signium World Executive Search Sdn Bhd, Pusat Dagangan Phileo Damansara II, 306 Block A, Jalan 16/11, 46350 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Payment can also be made directly into Maybank Current A/C No. 514196 214125, and receipt faxed to the fax no. below.

Details/Reservations: Debbie (T 03-79575882 / 79521388, F 03-7952 1399, E admin@signiumasia.com).

Thank you for your interest and kind support.

Executive Committee

MIT CLUB OF MALAYSIA

I’m thinking of going, if my trip to Cameron Highlands is canceled. Anybody interested in tagging along with me?

Categories
Economics Politics & government

[981] Of Anwar Ibrahim calls for more subsidy

Anwar Ibrahim calls for a reduction of retail prices of gasoline. I’d imagine such call would introduce greater subsidy to already heavily subsidized prices in Malaysia:

Kerajaan sepatutnya merendahkan harga runcit petrol di Malaysia berikutan penurunan harga minyak mentah sedunia, keuntungan Petronas yang meningkat dan kadar inflasi yang tinggi.

It roughly translates to:

With respect to global price drop of crude oil, rising profitability of Petronas and high inflation rate, the government should lower the retail price of gasoline in Malaysia.

There goes half of the support I had for him.

Categories
Politics & government

[980] Of sowing the next May 13

Did anybody read what Khairy Jamaluddin wrote in the NST today?

For the first time ever, Malaysians who previously only read reports in newspapers or saw excerpts on the news were exposed to Umno uncut, unplugged.

For the first time, they followed every syllable, every word and every gesticulation from each speaker.

The ensuing “culture shock” is understandable. Never before have those on the outside had the opportunity to see what only delegates, observers and official media have seen in the past.

But what must be understood here is that, as far as Umno members are concerned, there was nothing unusual about this year’s debate.

Now that logically begs the question: If the rhetoric in Umno has always been like this, then shouldn’t non-Malays be even more worried since this is the norm?

The answer is an emphatic “no”.

I won’t guess how would the non-Malays or even the Malays answer that question. But what do you mean by no, Khairy?

To me, if the people in UMNO see such rhetoric as norm, then everything should be a whole lot more worrying. If we as a nation see such racist rhetoric as norm, then I fear the ground is already fertile for May 13, part two.