But, oh come on. Don't give up. Please satisfy those rightists' gut. Else, they'll keep using absence of evidence doesn't mean absence of WMD. Logically valid but pathetically unconvincing given the parameters of the real world.

LOL! Several years after the invasion, no WMD yet. And oh, the post-Kuwait weapon doesn't count because the argument is, the old Iraqi regime had disposed of the WMD, or at least lost the capability to produce any decent weapon before Bush made the false allegation.

The war has some positive externalities I agree but still, the invasion is illegal. In retrospect, it was amusing seeing Collin Powell presenting doubtful proofs at the Security Council. However, despite the fact Americans were being lied to, quite a number of them reelected Bush into the White House.

Ah, the real world. It couldn't get any better.

p/s - OMFG! I have to get a copy of Time. (Via).


Ann Coulter - undoubtedly, my most hated female figure related to politics - is on the Time magazine. Unfortunately, she is an alum of my school...

Go Blue, I supposed. It would have been fantastic if she had attended OSU. I'm just glad that Republican is an endangered species here on campus. Else, who knows who Michigan might produce next.

To hate her, you have to read and listen to her raving. If you're at least in the center of the political spectrum, trust me, you'll quickly turn into a left temporarily for the duration of your read. When I first saw her, I said to myself, "who is this? This is worse than O'Reilly!"

I'm off to Borders. Probably I could read it on my way to the airport later today, while listening to my Micro Zen. Micro Zen is sexy, did I tell you that?

Not 48 hours ago, snow was still falling. Thank goodness for the change of flow. Today was as bright as any summer day could be though some more warmth was in order. Very much excited upon seeing the sun up in the sky, I went for a 2-hour jolly walk in an arboretum in Ann Arbor.

I took about 20 to 30 photos and this is probably my favorite:


I think the photo could have been better if I could take a sip of the sky into the photograph. I'd love to get a second shot of it if time and weather permit me to enjoy another stroll tomorrow.

This like the next photo too:


Too bad I couldn't figure out what's the best lighting for it. In my opinion, the blue hue is too strong.

It has been a long time since I last heard a bird or two sang when I'm still in bed. For the past few days however, hearing the birds singing while it was snowing was rather strange.

A trivia, this freak snow is the latest snowfall in more than 110 years.

"On April 3 and April 4 of 2003, we had an ice storm after temperatures rose to nearly 70 degrees on April 1," he said. "The biggest snowstorm to ever hit the Detroit area was on April 6, 1886 when 24.5 inches of snow fell and the latest snowstorm we ever had was the five to six inches of snow that fell over May 21 and May 22 of 1883."

It's a record. Well, Ann Arbor is not really in the Detroit area (more like New York...) so I don't know. But, as far as I am concerned, I don't want any record-breaking event related to snow. I want my spring. Now. Period.

I made the following posting on ReCom.org and thought, hey, I'll post this on my blog too. And thus begun the Clone Wars have. =p

About a year or so ago, an assault rifle ban introduced by the Clinton administration lapsed. Many predicted an increase in crime with the ban lapse. And it has been a natural experiment ever since. My econ professor said during the day of the lapse, America is a great country, but it's a weird one. With the regression analysis of firearm on crime in mind, I agreed with him then.

However, despite the prediction, according to NYT here (reg. req.), crime has not risen, at least not significantly from what I understand from the article. Really surprising to me and it only strengthens my opinion on the freedom to arm. Do note however that the assault rifle ban was somewhat ineffective because it banned a subset of firearms.

I'm kind of divided on whether we should have free access to firearm (or at least easily obtained license like those of vehicle licenses) or we should ban firearm from the public altogether. One part of me thinks we should be allowed to own firearms (I�ve held a "senapang patah" a few times but never fired it) or we should all be happy with the current status in Malaysia.

In my opinion, if all private citizens were to be allowed to arm themselves, then those bag-snatchers, thieves, etc would have to think twice or thrice before they act. Furthermore, to those who are in love of CS, Quake, Doom, etc, shooting is fun! You must agree!

At the same time, I'm a green and I find myself quite irritated seeing another hunting season on the horizon.

In the light of this finding by NYT, what is your opinion on freedom to arm?

Nevertheless, I'm quite ignorant of the current firearm status in Malaysia. If anybody has some info to offer, do share it.

This is a modified version.

p/s - presenting to you, two presents I give to me (yes, I'm that sad).


I chose Creative Zen Micro over IPod because:
1. Everybody has an IPod, or two. I want to be different.
2. Zen Micro, for USD 220 offers 5 GB of space, FM radio, recorder (able to record radio broadcast and voice!) and the best thing that IPod lacks, replaceable battery!

Behind the mp3 player is my left hand. Behind my left hand is Rifkin's The European Dream. I found out about the book from Boris. I'm currently reading In Praise to Slowness. With all due respect to Carl Honor�, despite some appealing ideas, my economic sense disagrees with many of the author's points.

In the recent months or years, relationship between Southeast Asian countries has been spiced up to a whole new level. Below is how I see the origin of conflicts.

Myanmar - we are moving progressively towards a democratic system and ASEAN agrees with us. Suu Kyi is free? Go arrest her again.

Thailand - it's not our fault. We are a peaceful nation. Those troubles in the south are caused by Malaysia, in the west, Myanmar, in the north China and in the east Cambodia and Laos! Thai tea anyone?

Laos - we're Communist and we're poor. So, we'll keep our mouth shut and let you Capitalist pigs do your work. We also kick every Laotian that disagrees with our chairman. Just shut up and we won't kick you to kingdom come.

Vietnam - Spratly is ours! We've proven that by confronting the Chinese navy! Want shrimp? You can't impose tariff on us! We are not dumping!

Cambodia - we love revolutions! Viva la revolucion!

Malaysia - we are probably the second richest after those bloody kiasunistic Singaporeans (we'll be first, don't worry lah) but why does everybody hate us? Before you answer that, could we have Sipadan and Ligitan? Oh, and Ambalat too. Along with Pulau Batu Putih and Spratly. Hey Brunei, want to join the Federation? Hey Aceh, we'll treat you better than Jakarta if you'd just join us. Can we have Pattani too?

Brunei - oil, oil, oil. Who needs democracy when you have all the oil in the world?

Singapore - we are richer than you, better than you and most likely sexier than you but can we have that water for free please? No? Oh come on! Quit being a bitch. Just give it to us for free. Why are you so like that one?

Indonesia - this oil subsidy is costing us gazillion of Rupiahs. We can't afford it but Indonesians will hate us if we remove it. We need scapegoats. Hey Malaysia, quit treating us like that! Australia you racist white man! Timor you foul betrayer! America you devil! All of you are stinking imperialists! Rise Indonesia rise! For Indonesia Raya!

Philippines - die rebels die! Hmm... Killing these rebels are tougher than it ought to be. Oh, no. More demostration?

Timor Laste - help! Gankers are everywhere!

Sekian, terima kasih.

p/s - Happy Earth Day Earthy. I'm not refering to myself of course.


Save the blue sky!

My truly last exam will be this coming Tuesday. Graduation day will come a week or so after that. Knowing that. gosh, I'm going to miss the economics department.


Another shot of Lorch, taken about a week later.



Goddamned! If only I could bring down that one pesky tree so that I could get a better view of Lorch! LOL!

It has been a great honor to be under the tutelage of some of the distinguished economists. I wish I had done more during my years here in Michigan. That's my only regret.

At least, I will be able to wear a gold tassel on graduation day. You can almost bet your head that I will be bragging to those that will wear white tassels.

In the 48th minute, Feyenoord 1 - 0 Ajax.

57th minute, Feyenoord 1 - 1 Ajax.

80th minute, Feyenoord 2 - 1 Ajax.

86th minute, Feyenoord 2 - 2 Ajax.

90th minute, Feyenoord 2 - 3 Ajax.

Full time, w00000000000000000000000000000000t! And the win is even sweeter given the fact that Ajax supporters were barred from entering de Kuip Stadion by the Rotterdam mayor.

With the win, Ajax is now second behind PSV. If AZ loses their next match, Ajax is up and running for the 2005/06 Champions' League season. The first place is possible, however unlikely - but let's celebrate first and worry later!

p/s - damn the hooligans. Here's an explanation of what happened in Rotterdam:

Here goes!

The Ajax supporters (1,600) were divided over two trains from the ArenA to De Kuip. 800 on each train. I was on train #1. Just before arrival, less than one mile before De Kuip, some nutters managed to pull the emergency brake, in spite of riot police presence on board. The train was suddenly standing still, furniture was thrown out of the windows and approximately 30 hooligans managed to open the doors and get off the train. There weren't many Feyenoord supporters there. Riot police were on the spot in no-time and secured the area.

More here.

A shoutout.

Welcome Jun to World of Warcraft!

FTW!

Did you know, Malaysia ranked 7th as countries that contribute to the American $60 billion trade deficit?

The first place is China's of course, contributing half of the deficit - $30 billion. Malaysia is attributed with almost $3 billion.

It's interesting to see how the dots connect. And I wonder, does Malaysia have a trade deficit? I have to look that up.

I do know however, Malaysia has an huge budget deficit to GDP ratio; if I recall correctly, larger than the US. This is one reason why I find Malaysia is weird - in the US, the deficit is giving everybody headache; in Malaysia, almost nobody gives a damn.

Maybe because, the people in Malaysia care more for the establishment of moral police rather than maintaining and improving sound economic performance. Given that, it's surprising to see Malaysia as one of the tiger economies.

p/s - to all Liverpool fans, aww, shut up and quit telling me that you guys are in the semifinal. Let me be with Ajax...

As such, w00t! Feyenoord lost 1-4 to Den Bosch. Pity Ruud Gullit but w00t! Ajax stays third and is making ground for second place!

pp/s - who am I kidding. Malaysia is an export-oriented country. Trade deficit. LOL!

I'd suppose, Japan should forget its dream of a permanent seat in the United Nations. According to AP, China has just voiced out its strongest statement against Japan's bid for a greater role in the United Nations. Veto against Japan is now almost certain.

The United Nations should simply abolish veto power. It allows the interest of the few to outweigh the will of the majority; it's undemocratic to say the least.

Besides the veto issue, it's kind of weird however to see Japan not giving any ground to China, despite the importance of courting the dragon. If I were Japan, I would do what China wants and then do away with the China's pride later. But hey, it seems to me that this irrationality is the Japanese nationalists' undoing.

Well, a nationalist does what a nationalist does - most are myopic as usual. Perhaps we can't really blame China if the Japanese's bid fails.

I have nothing much to say. All I wanted to do by posting this entry is to highlight an article entitled Economics Often a Bundle of Contradictions.

WASHINGTON - Buying binges by consumers and companies can power the economy yet catapult the trade deficit. A weaker dollar can help U.S. manufacturers but hurt American shoppers. Rising home prices can give a homeowner a sense of wealth and make a house hunter feel cash-strapped. These are just a few of the apparent contradictions of economics.

Now, you know what I learn in macroeconomics. Well, part of it.

p/s - after a string of bad performance and news, Ajax seems to have find it form in the last two matches.

Today, Ajax drilled 4 goals behind second placed AZ Alkmaar. AZ earlier this week won its away match against Villareal and making them closer the UEFA semifinal.

With Ajax's win, the team has returned to the third place, with one point behind AZ. However, Ajax has played an extra game compared to both AZ and Feyenoord. Feyenoord, currently fourth in the Eredivisie, will play Ajax next week. Ajax need to at least draw with Feyenoord in order to stay third and keep a sensible gap with AZ. Else, no Champions' League for us.

PSV is first and has possibly secured the Dutch crown.

pp/s - w00t! Somebody from Bloomberg actually replied to my job application. We'll see what's going to happen from here.

I just wanna cry. =(

I was browsing for some jobs somewhere. There, I saw a position at the Michigan's House of Representatives. The job description is as follow:

Job Qualifications
Interns should display an interest in politics/public policy, exhibit ample written and oral communication skills, maintain the ability to effectively convey ideas in a diplomatic manner, and be adept in working with diverse groups of people and perspectives.

Job Description
Interns would be responsible for assisting policy analysts with research pertaining to the following legislative issue areas: energy and technology, labor and industry, economy, transportation, education, mental health, banking, criminal justice, family and children services, environment, agriculture, tax and healthcare. We are flexible about times, days and the number of hours worked each week;

The catch line however:

however, given the state's nearly $1 billion budget deficit, interns cannot be paid.

Somebody is actually using the decifit as a reason not to pay. Pretty hilarious, to me at least.

Lo and behold!


My place is somewhere in the red circle.

Almost the whole Ann Arbor, at Google Maps, if you are interested.

Does anybody remember Iraq anymore?

All I have to say is, once this is over, the Iraqi people better be the freest fucking people on the face of the earth. They better be freer than me. They better be so fucking free they can fly.

From Get your war on. It's old but then again, it never gets old.

Earlier yesterday, during dinner, I couldn�t finish the food on my plate. I felt bad about it but I sincerely didn�t have the stomach for more. I probably shouldn�t have literally bit more than I could chew.

To be easy on myself, I was in fact served instead of helping myself with the stuff that I couldn�t even name. Hours later after leaving my table, I realize that I�m not unique in having leftover on the plate and I'm not entirely sure the server is at fault.

Then it came to me � the richer we are, the more we waste. To be precise as what has been implied in countless economic classes, the wealthier we are, the more we consume. However, though consumption itself produces waste, I�m talking about a different species of waste altogether. The waste I�m referring to is the things that are consumable but aren�t consumed and thrown out as filthy garbage nevertheless, just like the food I left on my plate.

I definitely expect better-off people to waste more than famine victims in Africa and elsewhere. I hold this but I still waste. It seems that I, no, we, are cursed to waste. Worse, I call myself a green - what a terrible curse it is. It�s painful to acknowledge this while knowing others would be willing to even eat our leftover if they were given the chance to do so, no matter how disgusting it is.

Perhaps, this is why I eat rather irregularly. Too scared to waste and too scared to violate my own principle. Yet, I violate it often and risk of being a hypocrite almost everyday. It�s the curse of an idealist I�d suppose.

By this September, a decision on the new structure of the Security Council, the most powerful body in the United Nations will be made known. Or at least, Kofi Annan wants a decision on it within the next six months.

Currently, two models have been presented. The first model includes six new permanent members. So far, it seems that should the members of the UN accept the first model, Germany, Brazil and India should have a great chance of getting their hands on the extra tickets for the seats. Two African nations and Japan would complete the quorum.

Model two is about tier membership of which, I have yet to understand. Whatever model two is, the former model has been talked about a lot and many favor it to the latter model.

For Germany, Brazil and India, there aren�t many obstacles for them. Germany in particular has a comfortable claim � France and Japan fully support the inclusion of Germany. Really, Germany and Japan are having a sort of you-back-me-and-I-back-you alliance, pretty much like, as I'd imagine China would imagine, in the last world war. China, if you haven't notice, isn't quite eager to meet a Japanese.

This has proven to be an headache to Japan. China and South Korea oppose the idea of giving Japan a seat. Both opposing countries have repeatedly mentioned that Japan hasn�t been apologetic enough for its past war crime. Japan or maybe it's just Koizumi, despite needing support from China, has ignored China.

The war ended almost 60 years ago. Many of us on this planet don�t even remember seeing the war with our own two eyes. China and South Korea need to move on and quit whining for something that happened generations ago.

I'm just glad Japan has stopped apologizing. Else, China would have a too much fun bullying others.