A picture a thousand words

You probably won't understand this picture unless you are a Malaysian/Singaporean. :D

these chinese words meant "bring puki home".

PS: This picture was taken in a Metro station in Taiwan.

-gAvIn-

Shame in UPM


http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=14837

Mob heckles seven undergrads in UPM
Pauline Puah and Charles Ramendran

PETALING JAYA: Gangsterism reared its ugly head in Univerisiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) when about 50 "pro-establishment" students took the law into their own hands and manhandled seven students who are members of an organisation perceived to be "anti-establishment" last Monday (July 17, 2006).

A video clip obtained by theSun showed the large group surrounding and pushing about six members of the UPM Student Progressive Front (SPF) in the campus canteen.

Giving an account of the incident to theSun today, third-year Chinese Studies student Lim Sok Swan said she and six other friends were manning a help counter for new students when the incident started.

Lim said a group of about 50 students led by a student council leader suddenly surrounded and scolded them for setting up the help counter when the SPF is not a registered body.

"They demanded we leave within 10 minutes, saying we are not allowed to be there to disturb students.

"We replied that we were just helping students' welfare and denied disturbing anyone as it was in a canteen that is open to everyone," she said.

"We had done nothing wrong ,so we declined to leave. They then pushed us away and removed our tables, chairs and flyers," she added.

She alleged that campus security officers who were present did not offer any help and merely watched.

"I was very scared," Lim said, adding she called the police as she felt the tension was escalating.

"They only stopped harrassing us when police officers arrived," she added.

Another student said she was pushed and fell on the floor when trying to take some photographs of what was happening.

The student who said her camera broke when it fell lodged a police report at the Seri Serdang police station.

"A similar incident took place on July 11(2006) where a group of 'pro-establishment' students tore up our materials at the help desk," she added.

Meanwhile, Suaram coordinator Chang Lih Kang urged the Higher Education Ministry, the police and UPM's authorities to investigate and take action against the culprits.

"It's a crime to intimidate someone," he said, adding that at least 15 police reports have been lodged over the incident.

Meanwhile, Subang Jaya police chief ACP Mohd Fuad Talib said police have received five reports from the students.

He said investigations revealed that the incident arose as a result of a misunderstanding over an event organised by the students.

He said apart from some pushing and jostling among the students at the time of incident, no one was reported to have been assaulted.

Mohd Fuad said police have spoken to UPM officials and have left the matter to be resolved internally.

"But our officers will continue monitoring the situation to avoid any untoward incident in future," he said.

UPM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Nik Mustapha R. Abdullah and deputy vice-chancellor (student affairs and alumni) Assoc Prof Dr Azali Mohamed could not be reached for comment today (July 20, 2006).

for the video, click here.
for more context, visit malaysia today.

Things like this should not be allowed to go unpunished...those involved should get a severe warning at the very least, even an expulsion should not be ruled out. Shame on those officers that stood silently and did nothing. I salute the 7 students who stood up against those monkeys, they are courageous.

-gAvIn-

Yap- the place where you can buy things with stone

Yap is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, the westernmost state of the Federated States of Micronesia. The "island" of Yap actually consists of four continental islands (hence the alternative name of the Yap Islands).

Yap is notable for its stone money, known as Fé (see photograph at left): large donut-shaped, carved disks of (usually) calcite, up to 4 m (12 ft) in diameter (most are much smaller). The islanders know who owns which piece, but do not necessarily move them when ownership changes; their size and weight (the largest ones require twenty adult men to carry) make them very difficult to steal. There are five major types: Mmbul, Gaw, Ray, Yar, and Reng, this last being only 0.3 m (1 ft) in diameter. Their value is based on both size and history, many of them having been brought from other islands, as far as New Guinea, but most coming in ancient times from Palau. Approximately 6,800 of them are scattered around the island. As no more disks are being produced, this ceremonial money supply is fixed (Washington Post, 1984). The United States dollar is the currency used for exchange in Yap.

Yap Proper (known as Wa'ab or Waqab) was initially settled by ancient migrants from the Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Archipelago, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The Yapese language is related to the Malay languages of Southeast Asia, though with strong New Guinean influences. In contrast, the people of Yap's outer islands are descendants of Polynesian settlers, and as such have significant ethnic dissimilarities from the people of Yap Proper. Their culture and languages (Ulithian and Woleaian) are closely related to those of the neighboring islands of Chuuk.

taken from wikipedia, here.

-gAvIn-

Creating a Sustainable Business among South Africa's Poor 'One Bite at a Time'

Take a look here. The cookies looks very tempting and the website, succinct, cool and professional. Alicia Polak was an investment banker who worked for Merrill Lynch, in the course of her work, she had the chance to visit Africa and she realized how ineffective and wasteful charities and NGO aides are. Determined to do something, she went to Khayelitsha (a poor and violent quartier in South Africa) and started a cookie company which markets to the high end market. (hotels, restaurants, etc)

The ladies of the KCC ( Khayelitsha Cookie Company) were formerly unemployed. They survived on a small grant from the state. Since joining KCC they have been trained in baking, packing, labeling and customer service. We have seen the effect of full time employment on their quality of life and self esteem. The mere act of commuting to work they have said has made them feel part of mainstream society. They love what they do.

Bridge the gap between poverty and profitable business, and you'll get a virtuous cycle of wealth creating activities, lifting thousands out of poverty. These activities are definitely more "sustainable" (yeah, its cliché) than throwing billions in the form of aid which encourages the feed-me attitude. As Kong Zi said (cliché again, but who cares? :) ), give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, he'll never go hungry. I salute her work.

-gAvIn-

MEET THE WORLD

Icaro Doria is Brazilian, 25 and has been working for the magazine Grande Reportagem, in Lisbon, Portugal, for the last 3 years. He is part of the team (with Luis Silva Dias, João Roque, Andrea Vallenti and João Roque) that produced the flags campaign which has been circulating the Earth in chain letters via e-mail.







taken from http://www.brazilianartists.net/home/flags/index2.htm

-gAvIn-

Zizou!

Back in Malaysia when the europeans played during mid night, I never had the chance to watch him play, what a pity. Well, this video speaks for itself why this guy is so good...

Sad.

After one year living and studying together, we are leaving Colmar soon. Everyone, yes, everyone was very nice, warm, tolerant accomodating and humorous. I can say I learnt alot from them. The profs here are like...our mothers...haha. (My mom in Msia, don't be jealous as no one will ever replace you :) ) Well, as I was walking back home, a poem came to my mind...a very famous chinese poem usually read during Mid Autumn's day...well, although 中秋 still have like one month to go, I guess it doesn't matter that much:

水调歌头

苏轼

明月几时有？把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。

　　我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间！

　　转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？

　　人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

Translation:

"Thinking of You"

When will the moon be clear and bright?
With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.
I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.
I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.
Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.
Dancing with my moon-lit shadow
It does not seem like the human world
The moon rounds the red mansion Stoops to silk-pad doors
Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge
Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?
People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart
The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane
This has been going on since the beginning of time
May we all be blessed with longevity Though far apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.

- Poem written during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival of
1076 by Su Tung Po (Translated by Shun-Yi Lee in 1998)

-gAvIn-

Berlin!

I just came back from Berlin, what I wonderful 4 day trip. (actually, 2 full days only, but nevermind) The first morning, Berlin was ironically empty! Amir, Ali, Hadi and me went to Alexanderplatz to see the Weltzeituhr (the TV tower) and Fernsehturm (the World Time Clock): Surprise, it looks more like Permatang Damar Laut (pick any half dead town haha) than a city who will be hosting the World Cup finals that night, maybe its due to the fact that everyone partied the whole night after German's victory against Portugal and eveyone is trying to catch some sleep ahead of tonight's match.

Taking bus n.100, we past the Berliner Dom and Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche. The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche or Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is one of Berlin's most famous landmarks. The damaged tower is a symbol of Berlin's resolve to rebuild the city after the war and a constant reminder of the destruction of war. We proceeded on foot along the Ku'damm shopping street towards KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens), the second largest shop in Europe (after Harrods), and sells practically everything you want but barely anything you could afford.

Feeling hungry, we headed towards Stadmitte where Checkpoint Charlie (the most famous of the checkpoints between east and west germany lies. I bought some postcards to send home here. We ate lunch at a Turkish restaurant, which serves cheap and tasty kebabs, unlike the ones we find in Colmar. :) Btw, Berlins hosts a large number of turkish immigrants, which went there in droves during the recontruction of Berlin after WW2. Kreutzberg alone hosts up to 100 000 turks. I had the chance to stroll around Kottbusser Tor while my muslim friends performed their prayers...everywhere, signes and names where in turkish.

After lunch, we walked from Stadmitte towards the Brandenburger Tor (Tor means gate...Strasse means road btw). Since the fall of the wall, the Brandenburger Gate has become the symbol of a reunified Berlin. The desolate area that Pariser Platz was during the cold war, is now completely redeveloped and has regained much of its 19th century grandeur. Here, the atmosphere is hot. Supporters from both sides, chanting "força italia" and "allez les bleus", singing their national anthems , waving flags and compete to see which side make their presense felt the most. So far, Italy seems to be winning.

To be continued...
ps: pls bear with me the gibberish photos...

Some photos from the France-Portugal match
taken from AFP pictures

-gAvIn-

Berlin here we come!!!

France have done it again!!! Zidane, having scored two headers in the final of 98 against Brazil to help Les Bleus lift the title then, once again proved the hero of the night striking a penalty hard and low into the bottom left (or right, depends on where ur lookin on from right???) corner of Ricardo's goal after Henry had won the penalty going down from a Carvalho challenge as early as the 33rd minute (i think...). And as he did eight years before, hopefully Zizou will be able to end his glorious career with another win on the world stage...

That being said, i have to say also that in fact, it was the defending prowess of the french team that basically stole the show with one special Lilian Thuram at his best... Being capped for the 120th time for France (duh...) Thuram steered the defense well and Les Bleus managed to hold on to their early lead to advance to their second final in eight years...

Though France started this Cup campaign rather shakily during the group stages, they have managed to come into their own over the last few games with aspiring performances from players the likes of Sagnol, Viera, Thuram, Ribery and one very scintilating Zidane who was absolutely awesome against Brazil... of course the others play well too, Barthez and Makelele workin their asses off and the rest of the team... (damn it's difficult to please everyone ain't it...?)

In short, it was an awesome match between France and Portugal and though the latter fought hard and nearly got back into the game a couple of times, they were just lacking in flair and creativity... oOoOooooOOOooooOoo... =p

P/S; I also lost all my respect for Cristiano who went down numerous times in the penalty box with hardly any contact from the opposition... asshole!!! and oh yeah, we're goin to Berlin for the finalé!!!

-aDRiANo-

WOW!!!

Enron founder Ken Lay who was awaiting sentencing for conspiracy and fraud has died in Aspen Colorado...

-aDRiANo-

LES FEUILLES MORTES
paroles: Jacques Prévert
musique: Joseph Kosma


Oh ! je voudrais tant que tu te souviennes
Des jours heureux où nous étions amis.
En ce temps-là la vie était plus belle,
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui.
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle.
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié...
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
Et le vent du nord les emporte
Dans la nuit froide de l'oubli.
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié
La chanson que tu me chantais.

{Refrain:}
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble.
Toi, tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Et nous vivions tous deux ensemble,
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais.
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment,
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants désunis.

Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
Mais mon amour silencieux et fidèle
Sourit toujours et remercie la vie.
Je t'aimais tant, tu étais si jolie.
Comment veux-tu que je t'oublie ?
En ce temps-là, la vie était plus belle
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui.
Tu étais ma plus douce amie
Mais je n'ai que faire des regrets
Et la chanson que tu chantais,
Toujours, toujours je l'entendrai !

{Refrain}

Old songs are sentimental, meaningful and many a times, beautiful. Hmm...as I want to watch world cup now, I'll give a rought translation later. Ciao!

Translation:

Oh, How much I want you to remember,
The happy days when we were friends.
The days when life was more beautiful,
And the sun shines brighter than today.
The dead leaves that gathered at the shovel,
The memories and regrets
And the northen wind that sweeps away,
In the cold nights of neglect.
You see, I have not forgotten,
The song that you sang to me.

This is a song that brings us together,
You, you loved me and I loved you.
And we lived together,
you who loved me, I who loved you.
But this life separates those who love each other,
Very softly, without making any noise.
And the sea erases on the sands,
The footprints of lovers disunited.

The dead leaves that gathered at the shovel,
The memories and also the regrets.
But my silent and faithful lover,
Always smiling and thankful for life.
I loved you so much, you were so pretty.
How would you want me to forget you
The days when life was more beautiful,
And the sun shines brighter than today.
You were my sweetest friend,
I have only regrets
And the song that you sang,
Forever, forever I will be hearing!

-gAvIn-

Foreign Accent Syndrome

People waking up from a stroke sometimes find themselves acquiring foreign accents, its called the Foreign Accent Syndrome. The syndrome was first identified during World War II, when a Norwegian woman suffered shrapnel damage to her brain. She developed a strong German accent, which led to her being ostracised by her community. Since then we have people who never speak french acquiring french accent, canadian accent, spanish accent and whatever accent you want. Bizzare but true! From what BBC says, victimes generally hates their new accent: that I don't know why because foreign accent is actually quite cute and funny...its boring hearing people who have the same accent with you speak.

-gAvIn-