A good lesson to learn from Tammy

Categories: Wormie Says

The current furore on the self-filmed sex video of Tammy of NYP is indeed regretable. I will not dwelve on the ethics or the legal aspects. These had probably been extensively debated in coffeeshop, blogs, newspapers, etc. What I would like to touch on involve the 'danger' of modern technology.

With current technology, taking digital stills and video is too convenient. All you need to do is to have a fairly cheap phone and you will get both. Gone are the days when you have to fork out thousands of dollars just to get a decent video camera. With such ease anyone can just use the handphone which is now ubiquitous and just click and viola! he or she had just become a director and producer! With such ease it is little wonder that people nowadays, seem to be trigger happy. The take anything that they can think of and anything that may interest them. Digital technology does not only provide easier capturing of events, it is also 'free' to keep the stills or video. They do not have to be developed to be seen unlike the old film technology. Once taken, the pictures and stills can be seen instantaneously and if you don't like it, just delete it off. All this for free!

Together with the convenience of digital stills and video we also are in the age of sharing. Sharing our experience, our photo collections, journeys in life and much more. Problem is we are not only sharing with people we know, but we share with people we do not even know exist! Of course what I am talking about is the Internet. We have the ubiquitous blogs, forwarding of emails, newsgroups and so on. All this make sharing too simple.

Coupled with the above, is the fact that people of today like to 'show off'. By show off, I mean they like to tell people what they are doing, what their thoughts are and how they feel (like myself!), or being kaypoh if you like. Gone are the days when people will keep their opinion to themselves or write down their feelings in their diaries. Now diaries in the form of blogs are no longer personal. They are there for the whole world to see. This has to do with the anonymity that the Internet provides to a certain extent.

Adding all these there things together, you will see that how it is so easy to abuse the new found technology. You take a photo, upload to your blog and the whole world will know! Because of these, young people especially need to be aware of the pitfalls in the new technology.

If you want to keep a secret, do not tell anyone! Sounds obvious enough.

If you want to keep you personal photos to yourself, do not leave it in the phone. With bluetooth or infrared technology, it is so simple to beam to another phone and had the photos uploaded. Phones can also be easily stolen like what happened in the NYP case.

Try to abstain from taking photos that you may regret at a later date. Example will be your nude photos and videos which you would like your boyfriend to have. This is because, there is always a chance that your boyfriend may ditch you and then show his 'prize catch' to the whole world. Some guys may even show off their 'beautiful bounty' to his friends in a bid to be one upmanship.

The Tammy's case is a perfect example of what 'good' intentions can go wrong. Unfortunately this will not be the last case we will see. Therefore if it something private, then only capture it in your mind. This way, anything private will stay private!

Where Oil Is Mined, Not Pumped

Categories: Do You Know?
Oil sand as the name implies are bitumen-coated sand and is composed of sand, bitumen, mineral rich clays and water. Bitumen, in its raw state, is a black, asphalt-like oil — as thick as molasses. It requires upgrading to make it transportable by pipeline and usable by conventional refineries. The upgraded bitumen product consists of naphtha, light and heavy gas oils that are combined to produce a light, sweet crude oil.

Use of oil sand is however not new. However it was not initially used as a fuel source. It was used by the local Aboriginal people a long time ago who used it to waterproof their canoes.

Oil sand deposits are found all over the world, with the largest deposits located in Venezuela and Alberta, Canada. Together with conventional oil, oil produced from oil sand makes Canada the second largest oil producing country after Saudi Arabia. The world's largest produce is in Alberta, Canada on the banks of the Athabasca River.

Conventional oil is extracted by drilling traditional wells into the ground whereas oil sand deposits are mined using strip mining techniques. Mined oil sand then undergoes an extraction process to separate the bitumen from the sand before undergoing further processing to produce crude oil.

Environmentalist had been up in arms since the extraction of oil sand began. The energy- intensive mining process spews vast volumes of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to gases that scientists say play a big role in global warming. For every barrel of synthetic oil produced in Alberta, more than 80 kg of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere and between 3 and 5 barrels of waste water are dumped into tailing ponds. The companies say they plan to eventually fill all the pits and are planting trees. But they say the waste ponds -- filled with water, sand and petroleum byproducts -- will take years to settle. Yet such re-filling is not without hazards. Officials of the government agency Environment Canada said in a recent interview that in the past five years, they have taken 21 enforcement actions against oil-sands companies for such violations as releasing prohibited contaminants into the air and water.

In Alberta, this form of oil extraction completely destroys the boreal forest, the bogs, the rivers as well as the natural landscape. The boreal forest ecosystem is the contiguous green belt of conifer and deciduous trees that encircles a large portion of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, the boreal forest stretches across most of northern Canada and into Alaska. It is important as the "great lung" of North America, and it manages to do what the rain forest of the Amazon does but with only the fraction of the flora and fauna. The mining industry believes that the boreal forest will eventually colonize the reclaimed lands, yet 30 years after the opening of the first open pit mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, no land is considered by the Alberta Government as having been "restored."

The environmentalists also argued that the $22 billion invested represents an enormous step in the wrong direction, as this will prolong North America's addiction to oil. This will lead to ever increasing demand for oil instead.

Reference Oil Sand: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Reference Boreal Forest: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Of kopi susu, sari and cheongsum...

Categories: Singapore
The Government is launching a Community Engagement Program and held a no-holds barred dialogues with community leaders, grassroot leaders and students a few days ago. From press reports it was clear that frank and difficult questions were asked and equally frank answers given. I would like to share my thoughts on bridging the racial divide.

As the PM had said, it is impossible for Singapore to become a "kopi susu" society simply because we are different. There is no point in pretending that we are the same. But we must create conditions that reduce and blur these differences. I had mentioned in my previous blog about how a Chinese can go through every day life without coming into any meaningful contact with those from the minority group.

The Government had introduced Racial Harmony Day in schools and visits to various places of worships. This is a good start but for me it is too superficial. Examples given by the Education Minister of how SAP school organises football matches with neighbourhood school in promoting racial integration is also too superficial. This is because once these events are over, the children will drift back to their comfort zone and the social contacts ceased. Anyway, in the mist of the competition, albeit friendly no doubt, the main intention of the event can be easily lost.

What I feel is more important is the role of the media. The majority of Singaporeans watch TV and listen to the radio. Like I said in previous blog, if you watch the national TV, you can easily forget that Singapore is a multiracial country. This is because Chinese channels have purely Chinese programs, with Malay and Tamil channels almost purely Malay and Tamil programs respectively. Channel News Asia fare slightly better because some of the programs do highlight the minority issue, personality and reports.

What I propose is for the national TV to slot in short clips about each ethic groups. This I feel will make each ethnic group aware of the other's practice, cultures and taboos. How many Singaporean know the difference between Hari Raya Haji and Hari Raya Puasa? How many Singaporean know about Thaipusam? By having short clips, say 30 seconds, such occasions will make the society appreciate the other festivities. Knowing Singaporean is an overworked lot, they are unlikely to actively seek out their neighbours once they are at home and therefore, the role of national TV. This may be equivalent to the 'push' technology of Blackberry PDA! You are reminded even if you chose not too!

The recent insanity triggered by the publication of Prophet Mohammad caricature by a Danish newspaper demonstrated the importance of understanding and respect of each other's culture. I feel that if the majority of the Danish people understand more of the Muslim faith, the caricatures may never had been printed and the aftermath insanity could have been prevented.

Maybe the cost of production of such clips is high, but the cost of rupture of the social fabric may be higher.

South Pacific territory of Tokelau ....

Categories: Do You Know?

The tiny South Pacific territory of Tokelau is voting on whether to become one of the world's smallest self-governing states. Tokelau? I did a search and found the followings.

Tokelau consisted of three coral atolls, which together make up just 4.7 sq miles (12 sq km), lying halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. It has no airport, roads or capital, with an annual income of $2m. It has been governed by New Zealand since 1926 after the British transferred administration to it. It has a population of just 1500 people. They have no currency of their own but uses the New Zealand dollars.

And in case you have been wandering which country a web address belongs to when you see .tk, this internet country code belongs to Tokelau of course!

BBC news report
CIA factfiles
Tokelau Council of Ongoing Government
History
Tokelau travel

End all this insanity....

Categories: Wormie Says

Since the publication of Prophet Mohammad caricature a few days ago, we have seen some insanity on both sides. On the one corner, we have over-zealous defendants of freedom of speech and on the other corner, we have and equally over-zealous defendants of Islam. And unfortunately, in this match, the spectators bear the brunt of the fallout.

Defendants of freedom of speech had proven their point when various newspapers in various European countries boldly printed their thinking on the front page. 'Defendants' of Islam have also proven their point with the widespread demonstrations and unfortunate in a violent manner. And who are the people who suffer as a consequence? The spectators - the silent majority - who are not involved in the controversy.

Any winner in this match? None whatsoever. Any loser? YES, everybody involved and sadly the spectators as well.

It is timely that the Organisation of Islamic Countries had categorically expressed their disapproval with the way the over-zealous Islamic defendants are showing their protests. It is equally heartening that heads of Western countries are calling for restrain on their press.

I feel that both sides are in the wrong. One being provocative and the other walking straight into the former's trap. By depicting the Prophet with a bomb on his turban, the West tried to stereotype the Muslims. But by resorting to violence, burning of Embassy and destruction, these very 'Muslims' are reinforcing the very stereotype they are trying to prevent.

Feelings had been deeply hurt but resorting to violence will not help. Since money talks, the most effective method to deal with such controversy will be to boycott their products. Already, we can see the effectiveness of this boycott with Danish companies quoted as having lost about a million a day in trade. This is certainly more effective and fruitful.

Already we had seen much destruction and both sides had made their point. Now should be the time to look back and reflect on each actions and consequence. Now is the time to stop the insanity.

Is Singapore really such a mature society?

Categories: Singapore

I was on a bus this morning when this question struck me. I was watching the TV mobile which was showing the promotional clips on an upcoming local production called "A Light Affair". The thing that caught my attention was when the girl was asked what type of underwear she likes, and she replied "I like nothing". Is Singapore truly so opened?

I find Singapore is a land of contradictions. You enlist 18 year old boys for reservist. Yet they are not allowed to vote in the election. They are given condoms on oversea stint and yet they cannot watch R(A) movies. And now you have Desperate Housewives and A Light Affairs and yet sex education is still a taboo although this is slowly changing.

Outwardly Singapore seemed to have reached a certain level of maturity. This is because Bedroom scenes are in abundance on our TV. And this include local productions. We even have the 'notorious' Crazy Horse performance, bar top dancing and I am sure others which I am not familiar with. All these presumed a certain level of maturiy.

However, there lies the contradictions again. People are 'encouraged' to be courteous. The Police have to 'defend' themselves when they try to stop racing on our roads. Camera had to be installed in lifts so as to 'discourage' people from urinating in lifts. The list goes on and on.

My suspicion that our society is a pseudo-mature one is strengthened when I read an article directed from tomorrow.sg by Sonic. The article highlighted that skateboarding is not allowed in the Esplanade. This may sound strange because here we have people harping on creating a vibrant society and at the same time we have people stopping what would constitute the creation of a vibrant society. Granted that the authorities is concerned for the safety of the people using the Esplanade, would this suggest that our society is not mature enough as to differrentiate between having clean good fun and infringing on others privacy?

So unless some tweaking is done at every level, our so called mature society status is at best a pretentious one.

The Scenic bridge

Categories: Malaysia, Singapore

So will the 'scenic' bridge materialised? Whatever the outcome of the planned meeting between the Foreign ministers of Malaysia and Singapore, a bridge will definitely be build. Question is whether it will be straight or in 'S'-shape.

The bridge is definite because of what the Dr Mahathir had said when he was the Prime Minister. He had said that Malaysia does not need Singapore's agreement if she wants to replace the Causeway in its territorial waters. Therefore he had already put national pride at stake. Therefore there is only one course of action and that is to built the bridge. Only the shape of the bridge is in question.

The disadvantage of building a half-bridge in an 'S'-shape is certainly one of cost. To build a straight bridge is expensive enough but to build an 'S'-shaped one will certainly magnified the cost given the extra length needed. Not only that, when and if a straight bridge is to be build, this 'S'-shaped section would probably have to be removed. This is because the end of the S-shaped bridge is to be linked to the existing Causeway on the Singapore side.

Another problem is the railway and the water pipes that runs parallels to the Causeway. The train certainly can't take the crooked bridge. And if the train can't take the crooked bridge, then the idea behind replacing the Causeway would be irrelevant. In fact if Malaysia decides to stop the train service in JB, then this will only be to her disadvantage as the agreement on the railway in Tanjung Pagar is tied to the use of the railway station.

But whatever disadvantage and impracticality there is overshadowed by national pride. Therefore the bridge must be built!

Singapore, on the other hand, has more room to manouver. They have left the issue open when they said that they will agree to the bridge if 'both sides benefits from the arrangements'. They will not looked stupid if they don't go ahead with building the bridge. But what may the 'benefits' that Singapore is looking for?

My thinking is that of the Tanjung Pagar railway station and the question of the check-point. Tanjung Pagar railway station had proven to be a stigma. Physically it prevented the expansion of the Keppel Harbour. Emotionally it represented the 'colonisation' of Malaysia. Therefore by removing the railway station the benefits are huge.

Another issue may be the use of SAF planes in the Malaysian airspace. Previously SAF planes could fly past Malaysian airspace on their take off. After the fallout between Dr Mahathir and Mr Goh Chok Tong, this privilege was stopped. Since then, all SAF planes that needed to intrude the Malaysian airspace on its take-off needs individual clearance. This has definitely hindered the efficiency of the SAF. This also cause a dent in Singapore's national pride.

Singapore may also be looking in the opening of Malaysia air space to commercial flights. If this happens, SIA will be the main beneficiary. Malaysia has many places of interest especially it natural beauty. With Singapore being the main tourist hub and stop over, this will let Singapore to exploit Malaysia's eco-tourism sector as its own backyard. This will further enhance Changi Airport. Malaysia will also benefit from this arrangement but its benefit will be less.

The renewal of water from Johor has loss its urgency since the introduction of NeWater. Of course this may provide the sweetener that Singapore may be looking for.

Malaysia has more to loose compare to Singapore if there is no agreement. Therefore it may be in Malaysia's interest to provide some 'leeway' to Singapore. The only thing Singapore will loose is the cordial ties it is currently enjoying with Malaysia. Then again, given the cordial relations between Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi and Mr Lee Hsian Loong, an agreement may be hammered out. If that happens, Malaysians will be deprived of a 'scenic' bridge, the world's first crooked bridge and a place in the Guiness Book of Records.

The price of total freedom of speech

Categories: Wormie says
With the publishing of the Prophet Mohammad caricature a few days ago, now we can see the consequence. Sure it is easy to blame on the militancy of 'Muslims'. But isn't all this started with the West adamant? If they feel so strongly about freedom of speech then let them be answerable to those innocent people who have their properties damaged and bodily-harmed.

Even the law recognised the consequence of a provoked reaction. So why can't the West understand and accept what they have done - that is simply a provocation by publishing the caricature after the Danish government issued a statement of regret. The Danish newspaper may be ignorant but the rest of the newspapers are just plain provocative when they printed on their front page that they have a right to freedom of speech!

If this the what freedom of speech is all about, then I feel sorry for those who preached it. Luckily the British newspaper had more common sense then to print the caricatures. Lets hope they will resist the so-called freedom of speech but be more responsible to the public at large.

This sad episode should be a timely reminder to people in multi-racial society. This is exactly what will happen if someone is irresponsible with their speech.

But at the same time it is also very sad that the very reason why the caricature was protrayed is the very thing that happened - violence. Because of the so-called 'Muslim' extremist, what was protrayed happened. This will reinforce the disrespect and ignorance of the West towards Islam. I hope Muslims leaders will be responsible and urges their followers to be moderate in their displeasure to the caricature. Maybe by proving the West wrong, will then be respect for the religion.

A case of Pot calling the Kettle black!

Categories: Wormie Says

If western countries can ban Martin's Scorsese's depiction of Jesus as a normal man with sexual desires in the Last Temptation of Christ on grounds of blasphemy, then the same western countries should also ban publications of the caricatures depicting Prophet Mohammad. If they don't, then the question is not one of freedom of speech but one of respect and human rights!

For the record: On 1988, October 22, a French catholic fundamentalist group launched molotov cocktails inside the Parisian saint Michel movie theater to protest against the film projection. This terrorist attack injured thirteen people, four of them where severely burned.

Just tell me which religion has no extremist?

All religions are good, its the people that make them bad!

If a religion is not mainstream then they are usually referred to as a sect. However which religion does not start off as a sect since they have to start from somewhere! Even the different denominations of Protestants started of as a sect until they gain widespread belief. The same goes with Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc

Hair in exchange for pain?

Categories: Malaysia

Once again the Malaysian police is in the limelight for the wrong reasons. This follows hot on the heals of strip-search incident. Now it involves the shaving bald of 10 elderly men who were caught playing mahjong during the Chinese New Year. The reason for shaving them bald was based on Section 9a of the Lock Up Rules which stated that a detainee's head can be shaved bald. This incident again created much public uproar and once again showed the inconsistency in the implemetation of rules in Malaysia.

If you remember correctly, Datuk Anuar Ibrahim was never shaved bald even after being detained for many months before his trial. But than again, he 'exchanged' his hair for a black-eye. Maybe these elderly men should be thankful - not only do they get a free hair cut, they are also spared some pain and external injuries!

Malaysia boleh!!

Problem with freedom of speech

Categories: Wormie Says

For a long time the West had been championing the freedom of speech. This is all good and sundry if freedom of speech is used responsibly. The current controversy involving the portraying of Prophet Mohammad in a cartoon caricature is a good example on the dangers of freedom of speech if it is not laced with some responsibility.

In the Islamic faith, the Prophet Mohammad cannot be portrayed as such images could encourage idolatry. Therefore the caricature is forbidden under Islam. And to portray the Prophet with the bomb as a turban is a definite affront to the Muslims.

Granted that when the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten first published the caricature in September last year, they may have been ignorant about such sensitivities. However after the outcry by the Muslim world, other newspapers should be sensitive. Instead, they chose to publish the caricature citing the freedom of speech as its main principle. This is where freedom of speech fails.

When people talk about freedom of speech, they are assuming that the person behind the speech is a responsible one. Being responsible means not having an intention to hurt or injury either physically, mentally or emotionally. Otherwise chaos will happen under the guise of freedom of speech. A good example will be that of Osama bin Laden. He is exercising his freedom of speech when he asked "Muslims" to attack the US. The Hamas which recently won the Palestinian election is also practicing freedom of speech when they say that they will destroy Israel and so is the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad regarding Israel. But what are the consequences of such "freedom of speech"? Terrorism. This is the consequence of freedom of speech without responsibility.

In many Asian societies, the populations are rather heterogeneous. Therefore, freedom of speech is always tampered with some restrictions. This is probably difficult for the West to understand because they have a more homogeneous populations. Chances of hurting someone by saying something stupid is less likely compared to the so-called Eastern cultures.

It is interesting to note that the Western newspapers are still adamant and being provocative in publishing the caricatures amid talks of anti-Muslims protests in Denmark and the current terrorist climate around the world. When violence breaks out, it is easy to blame it on the so-called Muslim terrorist when the West had not been sensitive to their concerns. To tackle the so-called Muslim extremist is not by force but by diplomacy. If you push anyone to a corner even the moderates will change sides. The more you push, even the most moderates will switch in time.

It is therefore timely when the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that freedom of the press should not be an excuse for insulting religions and that "the freedom of the press should always be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious beliefs and tenets of all religions"

If the West has no respect for any other cultures as amply seen in its colonial history, then freedom of speech is just another tool in its colonial mentality.