Category: Politics & government

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Politics & government Society This blog WDYT

[1066] Of WDYT: BN in the next general election

I am testing two new plugins. So, let us begin!

In light of current development, if a general election is held in 2008, how many seats in term of percentage would Barisan Nasional control as the result of the election?

  • 80% or above (32%, 10 Votes)
  • Between 70% and 80% (19%, 6 Votes)
  • Anywhere from 60% to 70% (29%, 9 Votes)
  • Below 60% (19%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 31

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This survey is not as nearly as scientific at all. So, if there is any statistician wannabe out there, spare me the lecture.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

p/s — The Background is probably Third Eye Blind’s most underrated song.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

pp/s — this is a sticky post. I intend to keep the poll open until next Friday. And please vote only once. I have taken the necessary basic steps to ensure one vote per unique visitor but it is not too hard to circumvent the rules I (or rather, the author of the plugin) have set in place.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

ppp/s — I changed my mind. Until Thursday instead of Friday. I need to make Metblog KL as a sticky post.

Categories
Conflict & disaster Politics & government

[1064] Of secret Israeli-Syrian peace treaty?

Peace at last?

In the NYT today:

ISRAEL’S newspapers are rife with reports of a peace agreement secretly forged between Israeli and Syrian negotiators. Though both the Syrian and Israeli governments have denied any involvement in the talks, past experience shows that such disavowals are often the first indication of truth behind the rumors.

Certainly, there is nothing new about the details of the purported plan, which involves a staged Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, occupied since 1967, and the full normalization of relations between Damascus and Jerusalem. Nor is there a precedent in the willingness of Israeli and Arab leaders to enter into direct discussions without the participation or knowledge of the United States.

Though an editorial piece, I cannot help but notice that the author mentions Jerusalem instead of Tel Aviv.

Categories
Economics Politics & government

[1061] Of global warming in the 2007 State of the Union

After years of denial and under pressure from growing green presence in the Congress, the Bush administration is expected to finally give global warming the attention it deserves:

George Bush is preparing to make a historic shift in his position on global warming when he makes his State of the Union speech later this month, say senior Downing Street officials.

Somehow however, I feel Bush is only happy to touch on global warming instead of discussing further on Iraq. Iraq has been such a failure that it has become a good policy to divert public attention away from Iraq.

Nevertheless, finally, perhaps this is the way forward. This u-turn by the Bush administration might set the momentum we all need to formulate an globally inclusive post-Kyoto plan to combat global warming. Bush’s proposal might be insufficient but a change is still a change.

Earlier this week, ExxonMobil of whom had developed a reputation as the staunch denier of global warming, abandoned its denial stance and joins the fight against global warming. Also, this week, major companies called for a carbon trading system, putting President Bush under pressure just hours before his address:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Chief executives from such major corporations as General Electric and DuPont teamed up with environmental organizations Monday, urging U.S. lawmakers Monday to pass sweeping legislation that would ultimately cut greenhouse gas emissions.

This will be an exciting address for us, the greens. The snowball is now an avalanche.

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Politics & government

[1052] Of mark February 10

Mark February 10 in your calendar people. Why?

And that’s why I [Barack Obama] wanted to tell you first that I’ll be filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee. For the next several weeks, I am going to talk with people from around the country, listening and learning more about the challenges we face as a nation, the opportunities that lie before us, and the role that a presidential campaign might play in bringing our country together. And on February 10th, at the end of these decisions and in my home state of Illinois, I’ll share my plans with my friends, neighbors and fellow Americans.

While I was watching Barack Obama addressing at the DNC in Boston on TV long ago, I thought he was the star of the day. I still remember of him speaking something to the effect of “there is no red state, there is no blue but there is a United States of America.” That, as an non-American living in America during the 2004 election, moved me a lot. I thought, if only Malaysia has a politician like him that unites us all, instead of driving a wedge through us all.

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reservedp/s – sharing is good. The Obama speech at the DNC that touches the no red, no blue state:

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

Beautiful, is it not?

Categories
Politics & government

[1050] Of Batu Talam: null and void?

The boycott of Batu Talam by-election reminds me of the past Thai election.

The natural question is this: is there a Malaysian provision that would null and void the election result if certain quota is unfulfilled, i.e. very low voter turnout?