A TALE OF 2 MINDS.

Watching and waiting for some one to jump from a tall building has added a new dimension to the meaning of spectator sport in Shenyang, China. This desire for such sadistic event is not the domain of any country or culture but there is this general trend where the public seems to have developed a total insensitivity towards savegery and has become extremely callous about suffering. Furthermore, they have progress to a point where there is a need to titillate themselves to a higher and higher intensity of sadism in order to satisfy their desires.
As for the jumper, what could have made someone to change so dramatically, as to make suicide their final option? Suicidal people are (surprise!!) people just like you and me. "They are not weak in their mind nor are they crazy but are suffering from depression". WHO estimates, in the year 2000, approximately 873,000 people died from suicide, and 10 to 20 times more people attempted suicide worldwide. This represents one death every 40 seconds and one attempt every 3 seconds and that 450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological or behavioural problems at any time. Let us learn to watch for warning signs and who knows you may yet save a life of someone close to you.

Spectators Gather to Watch Woman's Suicide Attempt

TAIPEI - On Sept. 17, a woman attempted suicide by threatening to jump from a tall building in Shenyang. During her six hours of refusing the lifeguards' rescue efforts, more than a thousand people gathered on the street to watch the incident.
The report from the Shenyang Chinese Business Morning added that traffic was completely blocked. Drivers were slowing their cars to watch, bike riders hopped off their bikes and locked them on the sidewalk, and walkers came to a stop.
Someone was reportedly selling telescopes to allow the onlookers to zoom in on the scene far above their heads.
The report said that some people brought chairs from their homes to sit on the sidewalk more comfortably. At lunch hour, many skipped their meal in order to keep watching. As one lady in her 50s said, "I'd rather starve and suffer. If I go home, I am afraid I will miss her jumping from the building, and that would be a pity." Others rushed home to grab mineral water and biscuits, and then returned to the scene.
The woman was rescued by two firefighters six hours later. The surrounding crowds dispersed shortly thereafter, and street traffic resumed.

Chinese Link : Epoch Times –www.dajiyuan.com

CATEGORY 5 "HURRICANE AMESELES" SIGHTED

Lack of political will in Indonesia will see to the rapid spread of Bird Flu in this sprawling archipelago. When this happens, it will be only a matter of time when an infected illegal economic migrant slips through our net to visit one of his many "saudara" somewhere along the west coast.
The future will be "ain't what it used to be". We may have handled the Nipah and SARS virus rather well but again that is only a category 2 hurricanes. What is the government strategy in the containment of the "selesema burung"? How would the tracking of the already infected be done? How do we test and quarantine cluster infections? We may have started to stock up Tamiflu, it may be too little and too late. We cannot afford to continue to be in denial of the situation. There are so very many questions left unanswered by the relevant authorities.


Botched culls typify Jakarta's flu paralysis
Link : Sydney Morning Herald
September 24, 2005

The lure of free entertainment on a sunny Sunday afternoon drew hundreds to a field near the Javanese village of Babat to witness the first mass cull of pigs infected with the deadly bird flu virus.

Adults and children milled around, watching animals being slaughtered, thrown into a pit and burnt with no sign of public safety precautions. The Indonesian Agriculture Minister, Anton Apriantono, shouted frantically to department staff to find if it was saf
e to remove his white mask to answer questions.

"Don't blame me if you get bird flu because you don't wear a mask. This is very dangerous, you know, as the virus can be transmitted through the air," he warned reporters that July afternoon.
Mr Apriantono was soon struggling to explain why only 31 pigs and 40 ducks from Tangerang region, bordering Jakarta, were being culled, instead of the promised hundreds of infected pigs and thousands of chickens.

"We only culled the infected animals as we do not have the money to carry out a mass culling," he said.

Days earlier, an auditor who lived nearby, Iwan Rapei, and his two daughters died with symptoms of heavy pneumonia. Tests confirmed Mr Rapei carried the bird flu virus.
Yesterday the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency demanded Indonesia improve its virus control and immediately start culling in infected areas.

In April tests at pig farms uncovered bird flu infections, but no cull was ordered. This week it emerged several of the 17 Indonesians in hospital with bird flu in the latest outbreak came from Tangerang or areas close to Jakarta.
The botched cull raises concerns about Indonesia's ability to prevent a pandemic that could kill millions across the region.

The World Health Organisation's regional spokesman, Peter Cordingley, believes Indonesia is now the "hot spot" for bird flu, and the WHO's country representative, Georg Peterson, describes it as the "weak link" in global efforts to avert a pandemic.

Experts are seething. "They have spent a year saying they have it under control; this is bullshit," said one official working on the outbreak. "Indonesia hasn't got it under control and the longer they go on not culling the bigger the problem is going to be."

Mr Cordingley said the WHO has known "for some time the H5N1 virus is entrenched in Indonesian poultry populations".
"Each time a human being becomes infected, we worry because one of the scenarios for this pandemic to start is if one person has the avian influenza virus in his body at the same time as the normal flu virus, [then] there is the possibility of genetic exchange between the two viruses."

Although tests had shown more than half its exotic birds carried the bird flu virus, Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo was kept open on Sunday for thousands of visitors, including hundreds of expatriates on a charity fun run. Several of those since taken to hospital were zoo visitors.
The Health Minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, at first denied the possibility of human transmission, then stated it was inevitable and Indonesia was in the grip of an epidemic. She later reversed her position, saying the outbreak could possibly become an epidemic and called on the nation to increase "alertness" .

But Mrs Supari's extraordinary flu alert was attacked by other cabinet ministers on the grounds it could harm tourism and investment.
This week Mr Apriantono finally announced culls in "highly infected" areas. But he later said more than 20 per cent of stock had to be infected for a cull order to be issued - and that no such areas existed.
Mr Cordingley said the problem was a familiar one in Asia. "There is no incentive for somebody who raises chickens to report infected chickens if he is not going to be compensated for the day government authorities come in and kill all his chickens," he said.

MISTAKING SHORT MEMORY FOR CLEAR CONSCIENCE *

At the age of 23, Chin Peng (than the Comunist Party of Malaya secretary general) and the Communist Party of Malay initiated a 12 year guerrilla war based on his idealism some 57 years ago. As in any war there are two histories, that taken from the version of those who ultimately prevailed and that of the defeated. After having lost his chosen vocation as being a guerrilla, he than decided to become a writer relating his personal side of the story with his 2003 book "My Side of History". In it, he fought a 12 years insurgency for something he believed to be right when the Brtish began a new federalization program which included laws that stated that non-Malays could only qualify as citizens if they had lived in the country for 15 of the past 25 years and had to prove proficiency in either Malay or English. What is certain is that it caused untold misery to all and sundry and the civilian casulties totaled 2,478 with another 810 missing .
He has applied to the court that he and his followers be allowed back to Malaysia, and the KL High Court has fixed Sept 21st for the hearing. He has also filed an application to restrain the Goverment and it's agents from making statements.

OBH, Before 1948 you had justly earned your reputation as a freedom fighter against Japanese colonization but when you walked the way of violence, that was the day you lost all your right. You did not represent the common folks who were tired of the violence and the tragedy that they left barely 3 years earlier. You lured impressionable young men and women from their family and lead them into the path of slaughter and terror. Did you not feel the pain that they felt when bullets tore into their young bodies fighting for an idealogy born not for democracy but to ensure ascendency of your one party idealogy? Did you not stop to count the tears that flowed from each parents eyes when they learnt of a lost son or daughter ? You have demanded that the Malaysian goverment to stop making libelous statement about you. We demand responsibility and accountability from you. You have created your own reputation after 1948. There is absolutely no excuse for the terror, the sorrow, the pain and the crime that you and the CPM have perpetrated. None.

Goverment : Chin Peng has no right to sue
Link : The Sun

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) secretary-general Chin Peng and other members of the defunct organisation have no locus standi to sue the Malaysian government to stop it from making statements deemed malicious to them, the government contended.

According to a statement of defence filed by the Malaysian government at the Ipoh High Court on Aug 16, the government claimed that from the aspects of history and public knowledge, the reputations of Chin Peng and other members of his party had already been ruined in the eyes of the public all this while.

The government also claimed that Chin Peng could not bring about the action for other ex-members of the CPM because the relief he sought was for libel.
It claimed the suit violated the right of freedom of expression as enshrined under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.
The affidavit-in-reply was filed following an order by the Ipoh High Court on Aug 4 to the government to enter its defence against the suit filed by Chin Peng four months ago.

Chin Peng, born Ong Boon Hua, 81, had filed the suit on behalf of himself and his followers, seeking a declaration that the 1989 Peace Treaty signed between the CPM and the Malaysian government in Hadyai, Thailand was still valid.

He also sought damages and an injunction to prevent the Malaysian government or its agents from making libelous statements about him.
The suit was filed following reports on March 21 and May 6 that Deputy Information Minister Datuk Zainuddin Maidin had announced that Radio Television Malaysia would air documentaries on the atrocities committed by the communists after the Second World War and for a decade following Malaysia's independence.Chin Peng, who was born in Sitiawan, Perak, now lives in Thailand and has resorted to the courts to seek to return to Malaysia to live out the rest of his days

*Quoted from Doug Larson

THE 49TH YEAR OF MERDEKA - DIVERSITY IN UNITY

In the midst of all the "yabayaba" and the extravaganza in celeberating Indepedence Day in Malaysia, it fell upon only one senior party leader of the Barisian Naional who was clear headed enough to outline 5 key issues in nation building. The almost defeated Gerakan president Lim Keng Yaik clearly highlighted what must be done to move Malaysia forward as a nation.
"1. DEVELOP a national economic strategy that will enhance our global and regional competitiveness and improve our competitive position
2. BUILD on common values to achieve Bangsa Malaysia
3. FURTHER enhance public-private partnership for national economic development and
4.ADDRESS problems of the urban poor and low-income families so that in the 21st century, no Malaysian is marginalised or left behind."
Well, I counted 4 issues highlighted in the Star News today. The 5th carefully tucked away briefly mentioning "REVIEWING the education system so that it not only builds unity in diversity but also provides the nation with sustainable long term advantage". Shouldn't education be highlighted too, that being the great common uniting factor for all Malaysian more so "in a multi-racial and multi-religious country, where it is the responsibility of the government to develop and safeguard an education system" rather than to disharmonize it by introducing religious elements in it's syllabus ?. Anuar Musa the UMNO state chief of Kelantan yesterday lamented on the plight of "the economic interests of the Malays are being overlooked" due to the rivalry between PAS and UMNO. The last time I had a look at the ethnic demography of Kelantan, the non Malays make up 7% of the population. So if you are not a Malay, as far as economic activity is concerned, you don't get to be counted or most probably the 7% decided to move out of Kelantan the day before yesterday.
Today is the 48th anniversary celebration of independence for Malaysia, it does not matter even if it is the 42nd or the 24th. What matters most is that the future of this sovereign country of Malaysia whose laws are based on the constitution should never be at the mercy of shadowy racial or religious hijackers. We must never take the Middle East road (see atricle below) where all strives to "look out for their own future and act in ways that strengthen them politically" under the guise of unity in diversity where one stronger party seeks to assimilate the other. Let us take the road of "diversity in unity" where " it presumes that all members of a given society will fully respect and adhere to those basic values and institutions that are considered part of the basic shared framework of the society. At the same time, every group in society is free to maintain its distinct subculture-those policies, habits, and institutions that do not conflict with the shared core-and a strong measure of loyalty to its country of origin, as long as this does not trump loyalty to the society in which it lives if these loyalties come into conflict.
Tomorrow is post independence day. Let us continue to remember the Goverment of the day in our prayers that they may continue to fear God and maintain justice for all

Mideast Course At the Mercy of Local Factions
By Robin Wright and Glenn

Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, August 29, 2005; Page A01
Link : Washington Post

For all the attention and resources the Bush administration has poured into the Middle East, the outcome of its two most critical initiatives is increasingly vulnerable to the sectarian passions, tumultuous history and political priorities of the local players, say U.S. officials and regional experts.

Two developments over the past week marked major movement for the U.S. agenda: Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, a critical step in the creation of a Palestinian state and regional peace. And Iraq submitted a constitution to its national assembly, offering the legal foundation for a new Iraqi state.

President Bush yesterday and in his radio address Saturday hailed the two events as turning points in promoting democracy and peace in the region. On Iraq, Bush said its people have "demonstrated to the world that they are up to the historic challenges before them. The document they have produced contains far-reaching protections for fundamental human freedoms, including religion, assembly, conscience and expression."

But the actual implementation of Iraq's constitution and the viability of Gaza will now depend largely on forces beyond Washington's control -- and both face mounting challenges.

"The theme in this region is the reality of a foreign military power that comes in with great determination and overwhelming force, defeats people, subjugates a nation and then gets completely lost in the local maelstrom of interests and the irresistible force of indigenous identity -- religious, ethnic, sectarian, national. People act in a maniacal way when they assert these identities, which includes nurturing and protecting them," said Rami Khouri, a U.S.-educated Arab analyst and editor of Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper.

"Every single foreign power that has been in this region since Alexander the Great -- through the Romans, Greeks, Ottomans, British, French and now Americans -- has learned the same lesson," Khouri said.

The growing U.S. challenge in trying to influence events was reflected when Bush called a top Shiite politician Wednesday, a day before Iraq's constitution was due, to warn against alienating the Sunni minority and potentially sabotaging the entire process. But the Shiite parties did not quickly or fully appease Sunni concerns -- and Iraq missed its deadline for a third time on Thursday.

"The U.S. is shackled by the very forces that it liberated," said Robert Malley, the International Crisis Group's Middle East program director and a former Clinton administration National Security Council staff member.

"All those forces silenced during Saddam Hussein's rule are using a period of transition, when Iraq is remaking itself, to express themselves or gain advantage. Even though the United States is the dominant force, it is increasingly finding itself a bystander as Iraqis vie for power and to define what a future Iraq is going to be," Malley said.

The administration acknowledged yesterday that political transformations take time and often do not unfold evenly -- and that the outcome is far from guaranteed.

"If the Sunnis do vote for it and approve the constitution, if the constitution is not stopped, then it will be a national contract and it will help with the counter-insurgency strategy," Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If they don't, then it will be a problem."

Bush also acknowledged the split among Iraqis, which he described as a right of free individuals living in a free society. "We recognize that there is a split amongst the Sunnis, for example, in Iraq. And I suspect that when you get down to it, you'll find a Shiite in disagreement with a Shiite who supports the constitution, and perhaps some Kurds are concerned about the constitution," Bush said. "We're watching a political process unfold."

But rivalries over shaping that future in a free environment have also sparked tensions, even within sectarian factions. Despite the presence of more than 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, clashes erupted last week between two Shiite militias: Troops loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr fought the Badr Organization of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

Militia wings of Iraq's political parties are "looking out for their own future" and will continue to "act in ways that strengthen them, politically and militarily," said Edward Walker, president of the Middle East Institute and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel. "They see themselves winning [over other groups] and now they're fighting to see who gets the biggest piece of the action. That puts the U.S. in a different position."