I guess everybody has heard the news. The Portuguese deserves it.

I hope the Czech will win against Denmark and eventually seize the trophy. I am saying this because the Czech Republic is the only team with Ajax's players; they are Galasek and Grygera.

There is nothing more to be said.

Next stop, World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Hup Holland Hup.

Earlier today, Dick Advocaat has hinted that he might step down as the Dutch national team manager after the current ongoing tournament. He cited that fans’ criticism on the substitution of Robben with Bosvelt during the arguably the most exciting match of the Euro 2004.

I have said “fuck Advocaat” in my earlier post. In fact, the word “fuck Advocaat” was written live as the match went on badly after a marvelous start. And I myself have received a few criticisms from my visitors; even more strangers when Google ranked me number one for the search phrase "fuck Advocaat".

Well, I admit. I had been too harsh. Therefore, I will bow to some of my visitors’ demand for an apology and this post is dedicated to just that.

I apologize for saying the F-word.

Nevertheless, I still believe the replacement of Robben was a huge mistake. Even Kluivert had said last week that Advocaat deserves the fans’ abuse. In my opinion and many others de Oranje supporters, a removal of Arjen Robben is similar to removing Zidane from the French squad.

This is because de Oranje essentially depends on wingers. With wrong-minded wingers (read defensive wingers, like Bosvelt), the whole team will implode, just like what had happened during the Czech game. I could certainly see how the match changed. Many others, including some of my Dutch friends, hold the same opinion with me.

Yet, I admit, without Advocaat, de Oranje would probably be a terrible team with world class talented players, just like Spain. For almost 8 long years, de Oranje had been struggling to perform as a team and failed. The greatest embarrassment is de Oranje failure to qualify for the last World Cup. But Advocaat at least, somehow, managed to rebuild the team and right now, at least the Dutch is performing if you put a blind eye on the Netherlands – Germany match and a few other games during the qualification stage.

But, Advocaat should not feel threatened by fans’ criticism no matter how personal it is. Criticism is part of the game. When you in a stadium, or anyway, of course you will hear some bad words but that what makes the game as a game. Criticism, no matter how harsh it is, is just part of the game. There is no need to quit the manager post just because the fans’ insulted you.

Heck! The Barca’s fans booed their own club a few years back but that does not mean they hated Barcelona. It was just criticism; a demand for a better performance, just like what happened in Aveiro. In fact, this criticism probably helped Advocaat to manage de Oranje. Notice how Robben was not removed during the Sweden match.

Again, I apologize for the F-word directed at Advocaat. However, I will only do the Advocaat banner thing if de Oranje wins the tournament. And nope, I will not delete it. I am somewhat against censorship.

Alright. Let’s stop disputing. Support de Oranje!

Let’s harass the Portuguese in return.

And Advocaat, you should stay, at least until World Cup 2006. Do not do a Voeller; do an Eriksson.

p/s - I hope Ibrahimovic is okay.
pp/s - read this. Thank God I have no relationship with Portugal.

Currently, the penalty shootout is about to commence.

After full regulation time and 2 extra times, the score is tied at zero all but there were unbelievable millions of chances.

Pray people pray!!!

Go van der Sar! This is the time to erase the Ajax - Juventus game in 1996 from your mind!

1. Ibrahimovic missed!

2. OMG! Cocu hit the post!

3. THE DUTCH ADVANCES TO THE SEMIFINAL!!! YEAH!!! YEAH!!! YEAH!!! VAN DER SAR SAVED THE DAY!!! GO VAN DER SAR!!! GO DUTCH!!! DE OJANGE!!! GO HOLLAND!!! YEAH!!!

4. Bye people! I'm going to celebrate this by having a dinner in Chicago. GO DUTCH!!!
AND I LOVE YOU ADVOCAAT!!! MUAH!!! BUT I LOVE VAN DER SAR MORE!!! See you guys later tomorrow!!! IM SORRY FOR THE PREVIOUS HARSH WORD BUT NOW I LOVE YOU ADVOCAAT!!! GO VAN DER SAR!!! AJAX RULES!!! DE ORANJE!!!

p/s - I apologize for the word fuck in my previous post. I'll do a Advocaat + the Dutch's tricolor later. I need to watch this game!

Two quarterfinals, two winners, two losers and one whinner.

Portugal and (surpise, surprise!) Greece made it to the Semifinals. I am sure everybody does know that England lost to the Portuguese due to penalty shootout, no thanks to Beckham. Greece on the other hand surprised the whole world by beating the defending champion France by one goal.

In reference to the Portugal - England game, it is such a shame to see the English falling out of the championship. The English team and the sensational Liverpool player, Micheal Owen played well from the finish to the last. It would be exciting to see England in the latter stage but oh well. And Owen's goal for England in the game, in my opinion is sizzling hot despite the fact he merely capitalized on a Portuguese's defensive lapse. His footwork and the way the ball was shot passed the goalie is stunningly elegant. But all is lost, no thanks to Beckham, again.

About France and Greece, before the game started, I said somewhere to a few people, "Is there ever a doubt?"
It turned out, France did another, well, France.

And tomorrow will be the third quarterfinal. It will be between the Netherlands (YEAH!) and Sweden and it will be a close one as both teams seem to be attacking-minded. What is better, both teams have at least an Ajax player. In the de Oranje side, they are Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Johnny Heitinga; the Swede on the other hand has the Italian killer, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Dutch of course has tonnes of former Ajax players (van der Sar, Reiziger, van der Meyde, Davids, Kluivert, de Boer, Overmars and Seedorf)

Hup Holland Hup!

And oh, I forgot - one whinner, Italy.

The Netherlands - Latvia and Germany - Czech Republic.

To all de Oranje fans, me included, cross your fingers and pray hard.

1. de Oranje is on the road to the quarterfinal! The Czech has just made it 2 - 1 to their favor and the Netherlands is leading Latvia 2 to nil! w00t! w00t! w00t!

2. Makaay made it 3 - 0!!! YEAH BABY YEAH!!!

3. HOLLAND! HOLLAND! HOLLAND! We made it! We made it to the next round! w00+ BABY! w00+!

AUF WIEDERSEHEN, DEUTSCHLAND!

Thank you Galasek, Grygera and the whole Czech team!

p/s - ehem. Dedicated to de Oranje:

In Den Haag we stole the tulips,
On the Rhine we sailed the freight,
In Braga we sealed their lips,
And to Algarve, we'll be alright.

Onwards to Lisbon!

pp/s - With Euro 2004 going on in Portugal, I've forgotten everything in the world but the world does not stop in Braga. In Iraq, a Korean was beheaded; in Malaysia, air quality is dropping due to terrible haze. I hope, during the Olympics, everything will stop.

Italy is on the brink of elimination. Currently, Sweden is one, Denmark is one. The same score goes for the Italy-Bulgaria match. If the situation continues to be the same, Italy will get the boot.

I could hear the Italians shouting "Defense! Defense!"...

1. Tomasson has just made it 2 - 1 for Denmark. Come on Sweden, one more goal! Make it a draw. Collude to dispose the Italian!

2. Italy is in big trouble. With 3 or 4 minutes minutes to go, Bulgaria is holding them down. Even if Sweden lose, Italy won't have the taste of a Euro 2004 quarterfinal. This calls for a celebration!

3. It doesn't matter any more. In the 89th minutes, Sweden made it 2 - 2. Italy won't qualify no matter what.

4. Cassano has just scored for Italy but again, it doesn't matter. Italy has been phrased out by the Scandavanian brothers.

5. Conspiracy theory is emerging. I'd say to these people, Italy is out. Fair and square.

France against Switzerland and England versus Croatia. I have no doubt that France and England will qualify.

And good news, despite news that the Czech is fielding in a second team, according to "Algemeen Dagblad and De Telegraaf Rafaël van der Vaart has called Tomás Galásek to ask (beg...) him and his Czech team-mates to please, please, please everything all they got in the Germany game. Galásek answered that the Czechs will absolutely not give the game away." (via Soccerpages)

I hope this is a start of a Dutch-Czech alliance as both teams don't like the German. For the Dutch, it's just the rivalry; for the Czech, it's Euro 1996.

1. Maybe I should be careful of what I write. Currently, Croatia is leading England by one goal. Halftime is approaching fast.

2. Well, Scholes just scored for England. 1 - 1.

3. France and England have qualified for the quarterfinal.

p/s - the first ever civilian aircraft to reach the edge of space - SpaceShipOne. It happened earlier today. History is unfolding.
pp/s - wow. For Yahoo!, I am placed at number one for the search "Advocaat". And wow, look at the traffic. Unbelievable. I am also on top of the list for "fuck Advocaat" on Dutch's Altavista.

Spain versus Portugal and of course, Greece versus Russia. But the latter game is not as big as the former.

Asier is most likely to cheer for Spain. He is a Spaniard but hey, he cheers for Barcelona albeit he is from Madrid.

So...

But then I am from Malaysia and have always cheered for Ajax and the Netherlands since I was probably 12 or 13.

So...

And finally, some sources have revealed that the Czech will field a second team. Juventus' Pavel Nedved is certainly not going to play against the Krauts. This is going be tough for the Dutchies.

Please God please! Let the German and the Czech make a draw.

1. The Portuguese and the Greek have qualified for the next stage. Too bad for Spain.

Currently at halftime with the scoreline of 2 to 1 in the Dutch's favor. Bouma of PSV Eindhoven and Nistelrooy of Manchester United (former of PSV too) put the Dutch in the lead below the 20 minutes mark. Koller pulled one up for the Czech a few minutes after Nistelrooy's goal.

If the Dutch could hold out the Czech this time, I believe they will have an easy route to the second round.

Hup Holland Hup!

1. OMG! What Advocaat is doing? He just swapped Robben for Bosvelt! OMG! Advocaat is crazy!!! What are you doing Advocaat?

2. Galasek has just been swapped. Here to you Galasek, fellow Ajacied!

3. A BBC commentator just said that if the Dutch fails to win this, the Dutch media is going to sharpen their pencils for Advocaat for taking Robben out.

4. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Advocaat!!! You better be ready for hell!!! I hate you!!!

5. FUCK ADVOCAAT!!! YOU ARE GOING DOWN!!!

6. HOLY FUCK!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Heitinga has just been sent out by the referee!!!

7. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. Fuck Advocaat. And thanks to Advocaat, we will have to rely on the German for a place in the quarterfinal.

p/s - video of Totti's spitting on a Danish player. Via http://www.dr.dk
pp/s - a tribute to the Netherlands. We didn't lose. We fought valiantly.



Proud to have a Dutch connection; yet, still heart broken.


Hup Holland Hup!

"...it's a flick ... and it's in!

And Ibrahimovic has scored!"

Seeing the probability of Italy not progressing beyond the group stage is electrifying. And seeing an Ajacied doing it in the Italian face is even better.

It seems Ibrahimovic's value would definately go up after Euro 2004 is done and this is certainly good news for Ajax Amsterdam's future coffer.

p/s - a friend made a joke on Totti's three-match ban.

Question: Hey Totti where is Sweden?
Totti: Within spitting distance of Denmark.

Indeed it is. Indeed it is.

I am appalled and disgusted by the Malaysian government’s decision to approve the Broga incinerator plant despite the presence of both international and local efforts to stop the project.

Ideally, I would prefer the government to setup recycling plants instead of an incinerator. I do know the incinerator will cost almost USD 400 million – I do not know the cost of setting up a recycling plant and thus I cannot compare the two. However, the pollution produced by any incinerator, is intolerable. Incinerator is after all, a furnace for garbage, whether it is high-tech or not.

But that itself is not my main objection to the project. Concession could be made if the tradeoff between the environment and development is too big. Still, the location of the “another Barisan Nasional government’s project” certainly is not subjected to any compromise; the government-claimed clean incinerator – imagine! The word clean is being used to describe an incinerator! Ridiculous! - is located in a catchment area.

It is a water cache area for God’s sake! The government is supposed to protect any catchment area from pollution but in Malaysia, the government is no doing its supposed job! In fact, it itself is violating its own rules!

Fresh water is important for life. It is important for us for daily usage. It is imperative for us to protect the source of fresh water. Failure to do that will be devastating. Failure to respect the very commodity that life depends on will lead to the extinction of life itself. What is money when the elixir of life itself is being threatened?

The government in Malaysia needs to do it job. The government is supposed to protect its citizens' property and here, clearly the government fails miserably to protect and secure a valuable source of water for its citizens. If the government fails to do its job, then it will be of an uttermost importance to replace such incompetent bureaucrats with the ones that are capable protecting any crucial strategic resources - may it be fresh water or crude oil - for its citizens.

Here is the middle finger to the Japanese firms benefit from this project, the Japanese government for encouraging this project, the Malaysian Department of the Environment (and the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment) for not standing up for the environment and to the Malaysian government for failing its citizens on many uncounted occasions.

....................,/¯'./

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And I wish, by the time the plant is completed, ELF is ready to give Malaysia a visit.

Russia is the first to book a ticket home. Greece meanwhile shares the top of Group A after drawing with Spain.

Tomorrow, the English will be up against the Swiss. I bet the Swiss are going to be so neutral that they won't even shoot or defend a shot. It will be up to the referee to make sure the Swiss' neutrality won't exceed his. If that does happen, oh boy! It should be a duller than any Italian game.

But then again, with Beckham on the other side, it seems that neutrality is almost an impossible concept. Go Swiss!

For the first five minutes, the Dutch seems to control the game. van Nistelrooy had a minor chance earlier but Oliver Khan managed to get his hand on the ball easily.

1. Just now, the German just had a corner kick but the Dutch cleared it cleanly.

2. A German player, Kuranyi just received a yellow card for touching the ball with his hand in the Dutch penalty box.

3. Forget about updates. I'm just going to watch the game.

4. OMG! Streaming sucks. And the German seems to be taking over the game.

5. FUCK! They got the first goal!

6. It's almost halftime and van der Vaart had a near miss.

7. It's halftime. The Dutch has been relatively ineffective against the German. van Nistelrooy is useless. Zenden is pathetic. Advocaat! Replace Zenden and get Robben in, please!

8. Yeah! Zenden has been replaced with Overmarsl Davids with Sneijder. Yeah! More Ajax related players on the field.

9. The Dutch are losing prosession. =(

10. The Dutch's confidence is building up.

11. No wonder Manchester United didn't perform. I don't see van Nistelrooy anywhere on the field.

12. Corner, thanks to Marc Overmars but it was cleared by Khan later.

13. Overmars is on fire, already proving he is better than Zenden.

14. Overmars made a thunderous shot but Kahn dived to save the day! I hope the rumor that Overmars is coming back to Ajax is true. He would be a great asset for the Champions' League.

15. GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!! Thank God for Nisterooy! A pass from van der Meyde connected with the Manchester striker and then, with one touch, the ball went pass Kahn! GOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!! GOALLLLLLLLLLL!!! GOAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

16. The Dutch are converting posession into chances! Currently, Overmars on the left yet again...

17. Corner! Thanks to former Ajacied van der Meyde.

18. A German, I don't know his name, just released a scary shot. Thank God it was out off target.

19. A ah! Ballack - yellow card! Yeah baby! Yeah!

20. The game ends! One all! A good game! Better, Czech Republic defeated Latvia with just 2 - 1. Goal difference won't come to play early. 1 - 1. The final score. In my opinion, the entrance of Overmars changed the game. Advocaat should have started with Overmars instead of Zenden. I need a depressant; too hyped for the evening.

21. Wait! Pistons - Lakers is tonight! I'll skip the depressant.

p/s - I am impressed by the latest Mozilla Firebird browser version.
pp/s - for a limited time, a hilarious ads concerning the Netherlands - Germany rivalry.

Let's fire up for the next big game : The Netherlands against Germany.

For de Oranje! In de Oranje's honor!

Wilhemus van Nassouwe ben ik, van Duitschen bloed.
Den vaderland getrouwe, blijf ik tot in den doed.
Een prinse van Oranje ben ik, vrij, onverveerd.
De koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geëerd.

I bet 2 to 1 in the Dutch's favor. Nistelrooy and Sneijder are going to score. Till tomorrow!

p/s - why Spain?
pp/s - Ajacied Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored as Sweden drilled Bulgaria 5 - 0.

England is probably felling like how Bayern Munich felt when Manchester United stole the win during a Champions' League final game. Two goals by Zidane after the 90th minutes.

Final score: France 2 - 1 England.

Beckham, eat your heart out.

It's Euro 2004!

The Netherlands all the way and screw the Italian! We want revenge!

p/s - On the first day, Portugal 1 - 2 Greece. Are we seing another World Cup 2002?

If life were measured in degree, I would have returned the starting line. I would have returned to the place where it all started, where it all begun.

December is fast approaching and I wish I could delay time, or at least lengthen my road to a bachelor degree till April 2005. What a wishing thinking.

When I graduate, I know what I want to do, at least temporarily. It will be World Wide Fund for Nature or maybe Greenpeace for real. I've been donating some money to them and I will want to donate more than money for my cause.

And I am in the final phrase of salvaging my summer plan. With about 2000 bucks in my pocket set aside for this, it will be depressing if this doesn't go through.

Anyway, Top of the Park, Ann Arbor Summer Festival starts this Friday and will last well into July. This should be my last Festival. I have never missed it since I first got here, and I am not planning on missing it.


Let us celebrate summer as if this is the last summer ever!

What do I think of genetically engineered food?

After more than a year of thinking, I am still undecided on the issue despite being a green. Another green related issue that I am undecided is the usage of nuclear power. James Lovelock’s supportive statement on nuclear power as a short run solution to the problems brought upon by the six greenhouse gases has not helped me form a concrete opinion for or against nuclear power.

Genetically modified food has the capacity to save millions and possibly a few billions from hunger. Technology has helped revolutionized agricultural sector before the Industrial Revolution and now, we are on the eve of another agricultural revolution, apart of a larger ongoing life science revolution.

The only difference between the last two with today’s revolution is the tools that were and are used.

Back in the 18th century, new techniques of growing crop were discovered. The introduction of machineries helped distribute nutrient better throughout farmlands. Soils were more protected by four field crop rotation. More importantly, this revolution jumpstarted the industrial revolution that forever changed mankind’s course of history.

The second agricultural revolution happened in the mid 20th century with the introduction of fertilizers and pesticides. Output increased greatly thanks to the development done during the Second World War. This revolution introduced to us pesticide; one of them is a chemical known as DDT – the one that persuaded Rachel Carson to write Silent Spring. In the book, she familiarized the public with the idea of food chain and that in turn prepared the world for modern environmental movement.

Now in this new revolution, we are playing with the building blocks of life itself - the proteins that create you and me and all living beings. We are playing God and scarily, we excel at it. In fact, we have managed to create new species of plants and animals for better or for worse, for a greater purpose or for our mere amusement. For instance, fluorescence fish is one of the first ever genetically modified pets in the world. This fish, glow in the dark.

The capability to save millions of lives is the key point presented by the people that believe in GE food. This point is particularly attractive when you are dying from hunger in Africa due to drought, war or any unwelcome situation. The people that believe in GE food are confused by the opposition to such technology. One of the proponents of GE food is the giant biotechnology firm Monsanto of which, according to Wikipedia, controls 70 per cent of the world genetically engineered crop supply.

One of the arguments against GE food is safety. Unlike the effect of pesticide, the effect of GE food is still unknown. It would take several years, or even decades before the effect takes place. Furthermore, some assert that GE plants somehow alter soil composition in a negative way, making the soil less fertile and impedes future food output.

Though people may disagree on a lot of things, in my opinion, the benefits could be seen in the short run, almost immediately, if the distribution system is efficient, which I doubt very much. The ugly side of the story would probably be revealed in the future - nobody knows for sure. It all depends on your investment horizon, as few economists that I have the pleasure of knowing would have called it.

For this lack of information, I will always err on GE issue. But for all I know, I may have eaten some of it unknowingly.

However, cases like the Monsanto versus Schmeiser, a multimillions/billions firm against a small Canadian farmer, tend to force me to side with typical greens even if I disagree with some of the greens.

p/s - Akamai, one of the main players in the World Wide Web, is having a problem. As a result, countless sites such as Yahoo!, CNET, Reuters and Greenpeace going at a very slow pace since late Friday. Sometimes, the page loading process even failed.
Suddenly, the world seems to be slowing down.

The French Parliament is inserting the word environment into their constitution. And the Green opposes such change.

Very amusing. Of all fractions, it is the Green that opposes (the other lefties abstain) instead of the right.

p/s - Safire is a goddamn hilarious man. He hates the French, he hates the democrat and he hates the penny. And yeah, abolish the penny! LOL!

pp/s - I thought the oil price was stabilizing at the new price. But, the new price is at $42.45 per barrel - no thanks to the newest incident in Saudi Arabia. And hell, air travel is going to be expensive.

ppp/s - Jeffrey Chen died in a plane crash on Monday. I first read about it in the paper but I was not sure whether it was the same Jeff that I knew. A news through the Solar Car Team's mailing list later confirmed this, unfortunately.
I don't really know him because I didn't really talk to him a lot. But I do remember that he was cheerful in most cases and he gave me rides to and fro Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. And he did smile to me whenever he bumbed up with me.
May God bless him.

p^4/s - A joke on Bush for comparing so-called war on terrorism with WWII.
If Bush was alive on December 8, 1941:
"My fellow Americans. Yesterday was a day that will live in infamy. We were the victims of a vicious and unprovoked attack by the Empire of Japan.Therefore, I have decided to attack Spain."