Hurricane Katrina has frozen New Orleans to a standstill. At first, it was suspected Katrina was an accident but it became clear later that this is a terror act.

Planet Earth has been identified as the mastermind of the dastardly attack. Words have it that al-Qaeda is working with the planet. Through satellite imaging, CIA has been able to prove that al-Qaeda is supplying planet Earth with the lost Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. However, skeptical foreign officials at the United Nations have expressed doubt. Fox News insists that these foreign officials know nothing.

An unidentified White House official informs the __earthinc that President Bush will be seeking the Senate’s blessing to declare war against the planet within the next 24 hours. Furthermore, unnamed source from the Pentagon hints that the name of the operation is Operation Earthling Freedom.

Across the Atlantic and the Pacific, Tony Blair and John Howard have expressed their willingness to join up and rid the world of planet Earth. Several others like Fiji, Malawi, Latvia and Maldives have promised supports.

p/s - Louisanans would probably want to thank President Bush for the New Orleans flooding.

New Orleans had long known it was highly vulnerable to flooding and a direct hit from a hurricane. In fact, the federal government has been working with state and local officials in the region since the late 1960s on major hurricane and flood relief efforts. When flooding from a massive rainstorm in May 1995 killed six people, Congress authorized the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, or SELA.

Over the next 10 years, the Army Corps of Engineers, tasked with carrying out SELA, spent $430 million on shoring up levees and building pumping stations, with $50 million in local aid. But at least $250 million in crucial projects remained, even as hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin increased dramatically and the levees surrounding New Orleans continued to subside.

Yet after 2003, the flow of federal dollars toward SELA dropped to a trickle. The Corps never tried to hide the fact that the spending pressures of the war in Iraq, as well as homeland security -- coming at the same time as federal tax cuts -- was the reason for the strain. At least nine articles in the Times-Picayune from 2004 and 2005 specifically cite the cost of Iraq as a reason for the lack of hurricane- and flood-control dollars.

With increasing global temperature mean, some predicts there will be more monster hurricanes on the way. Well, actually, most climate models predict the same thing. So, is the ever increasing storms strength caused by climate change? I don't know but last year was bad. This year is worse. Next year?

Pity the insurance industry. Estimated loss tops USD25 billion. Incidently, Jeremy Leggett in his book The Carbon War says climate change will affect the insurance industry

"Fly the flag" campaign (or something like that) has been going on for weeks now. However, certain Malaysian minister has expressed disappointment - there seems to be lack of support for the drive from the public.

I don't know about cold shoulders but I saw a residential area wrapped with flags about a week ago:



Whatever it is, I'm sure he will be happy with all those flags. And I'm sure, some of us would be happier if a model had gone naked instead draped in Jalur Gemilang. I know I do.

Oh, well. Seven more hours to the 48th anniversery of a free Malaya. Seven hours and 17 days to 42 years of the Malaysian Federation.

Or.

Hai. Tujuh jam lagi untuk ulangtahun ke-48 Malaya yang merdeka. Tujuh jam dan 17 hari lagi untuk menyambut harijadi ke-42 Persekutuan Malaysia .

Goddamn, I took way too much time to translate that into Malay. If anybody could od any better, be my guest.

p/s - finally, Google Adsense. It's on the left side of the screen, below all the links and other nonsense. I know it's not a strategic place to have the ads but hey, I'll think of something when I'm ready to properly update my template.

pp/s - alright, I've moved it way down. Way down. I'm making it as unintrusive as possible.

I shot nearly 20 photos a couple of days ago and I like these two the best.

The first picture was shot in the KLCC conference center, or something like that. There was a UK education fair there. But seriously go to the US instead. It's cheaper in the US and sometimes, UK schools are, ahem, overrated.



Next is a photo of a building called Maxis Tower, I think. It stands right beside the Petronas Twin Towers.

Yesterday, I went to meet several people, mostly people behind ReCom.org. One of them was Nick Choo, one that dreamt up Impianku.org at Malaysia Forum 2. During the meet up, he kept bugging me and everyone else to submit something to Impianku.org. And I did later.

I dream for world peace!

And there I go - possibly a material for Miss World competition. If only I were one of the fairer sex.

Like many Malaysians, and Miss World candidates for that matter, I do have my version of the future. I do hold a paper cup in hope that someday, some kind of leisurely liquid (will fall) from the blue sky above. That liquid is something that will somehow make Malaysians go crazy and see other beings around them differently, more respectful of Gaia.

I wish we as Malaysians see the jungle not as another resource to exploit, see not the air to be taken for granted for free, look not the land for just another place for some ill-designed buildings or another golf course.

We cannot act as if what we do recklessly upon mother earth will not affect us adversely. We must see the environment around us as part of an ecosystem – a system that you and I, they and us are part of. If you ask why, I’d say because we, humans are part of an ecosystem called Earth.

It is harrowing to see our parks are being replaced by hard cold concrete structures, our jungles razed for timbers, our waters polluted in the name of progress. Slowly, in the named of progress, we are killing the Earth subsequently, ourselves.

We can move forward without sacrificing everything that is green or blue. We do not need to industrialize ourselves like others have done. We are living in a different age where almost everything is possible. Hybrid vehicles are there to reduce emissions while solar and wind powers are there to satisfy our need for energy. All we need right now is a proper mindset – a perception that our lifestyle is unsustainable for our system.

There is an old Cree proverb - “Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money”.

Yes. I dream for a green Malaysia. And for world peace too. Arrr!

And Impianku.org is featured in Malaysian newspaper The Star today; the article written by minishorts.

I hope Nick is happy now.

I once told a friend before returning to Malaysia that I would feel restricted in Malaysia and would eventually miss greater liberty that I had enjoyed in the US. Nearly two months later, I still stand by that statement firmly.

One of the favorite publications is the National Geographic Magazine and my father subscribes to it. So, that basically means I get to read it for free. The magazine offers great articles with exhilarating photos from all over the world. Reading National Geographic sort of satifies part of my hunger. Unfortunately, today, that hunger turns into anger - the August issue has been censored. To be precise, the Zip USA section. I have a photo to prove it:


Other copies have also been “sanitized”. Another shot to prove my words:


Perhaps, the censoring process is the reason why the August issue only reached my home just today - late in the month - instead of the time it should have had, which is way doggone earlier.

This is outrageous. While it is a picture of a naked person, whoever that ordered the censorship has no right to say what I – and truly we - can enjoy and what I can’t enjoy. I can think for myself and even if I were aroused by the picture, of which would be ridiculous, nobody has the right stop me from being excited. To make things worse, National Geographic is not even pornography.

It gets even worse when it gets to television. Sometimes, the censorship is so heavy that you couldn't possibly make sense of a show. Alright, I'm exaggerating but the fact is most of the times, all those censored words are not meant to be expletives.

Hey, what are they saying?

They are saying "fuck fuck fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck, bitch".

Oh.

In truth, for instance, it's a documentary about snails and the actual words go, "snails are bisexual". The word bisexual is censored.

This just drives me nut. There might be subtitles but most of the times I find the translators responsible for subbing failed to accurately translate one language into another. And you can say goodbye to good comedy due to censorship. I mean, who would watch a comedy by reading subtitle?

And what good is a classification system if everything is censored?

The reason for classification in the first place is to tell viewers what they should expect from a show. There is no need for classification if everything is censored. Any classification system would be a farce if a program rated as matured content is censored and practically being transformed into "suitable for general viewing".

Those that directed these censorships think consumers are stupid. I feel insulted by this. You should too.

If I were a true fan of George W. Bush, I'd already commit a either-you’re-with-us-or-you’re-against-us kind of fallacy - either you believe they are wrong, or you agree with those censorship zealots that you're stupid.

Heh, imagine if PAS rules Malaysia...

p/s - racist UMNO MP in the Parliament. Keep this in mind the next time you vote. The saddest thing is, MP of Jerai clearly violated a rule but got away just because he is on the side of the majority. This is what we call tryanny of the majority. (via)

Ajax has been drawn into Group B of the Champions League along with Arsenal.

Alright. This is the last throe. No more Arsenal for me. I will no longer associate myself with Arsenal. Screw all English teams from now on. And earlier:

I'm not sure whether that is encouraging or not but according to reports, Ajax played quite well and was simply unlucky. On the side note, Ajax has got to stop playing Arsenal. OMG, every year, it's all about Arsenal, Arsenal and Arsenal. If Ajax is going to meet Arsenal again this season in the Champions League group stage (of which thank goodness, that prospect is too minute for me too worry on), I'm going to be an ardent supporter of the Red Devils. With van der Sar on that cursed team, I think I could live with that, temporarily.

My ass. Screw all English teams. From Manchester United to Arsenal to Cambridge to whatever teams in the history of English football. I will only support former Ajax players in the EPL. To hell with everything English.

On the bright side though, it is all too possible that Ajax might easily qualify for the next round. Reason is Group B comprises of Ajax, Arsenal, Sparta Prague and Thun of Switzerland. At the very least, second place. With a little luck, even champion of group B. Arsenal has always been overrated in European competition anyway.

More about the Champions League draw is at the new UEFA site.

And oh, the most interesting group is probably Chelsea and Liverpool's. Both have been drawn into a same cesspool.

Anyway, these are my predictions of whom will go through into the next stage:

Group A: Bayern and Juventus
Group B: Arsenal and Ajax
Group C: Barcelona and somebody. The second club is quite though to predict since the three of the rest, Panathinaikos, Bremen and Udinese do seem equally strong. But I'll go with Bremen.
Group D: ManUre and Benfica
Group E: Milan and Schalke. PSV might replace Schalke but PSV has been stripped of its firepower. Many of its players are gone.
Group F: Real and Lyon
Group G: Liverpool and Chelsea
Group H: Inter and Porto. Rangers might cut in at Porto's expense.

p/s - maybe Ajax doesn't have to worry too much about Arsenal. Somebody at Ajaxtalk, in reaction to my post said:

I hear you but they struggle in the Champions League EVERY year the past few years, even though they seem to have always had a fairly easy group to qualify from, until now.....

Not too worried about them, their most consistent striker is bound for Jail!

Guess who we are talking about at Ajaxtalk. Hint: some Dutchboy that Arsenal bought recently from Feyenoord.

Suddenly, I'm seeing the current negotiation for the new Iraqi Constitution with a certain shade of green.

The United Nations had planned to carry out a conference to rehabilitate of what was once the largest marshland in the world - the Tigris-Eupharates marshes - in Tokyo this week. The conference was expected to be attended by those that are interested in sponsoring the noble effort to care the land of the two rivers. Japan in particular has pledged $11 million for the rehabilitation project. Currently however, according to Associated Press, due to the current situation regarding the Iraqi Constitution, the United Nations has decided to postpone the meeting.

Iraqi politicians haven’t made much progress towards a charter that is agreeable to all sides. On the floor right now in Baghdad, three fractions – the Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunnis - are contending on three major issues – Islam, oil revenue and governance. The US has relented on Islam's influence on a new constitution. I'm not quite happy with that but the Iraqis deserve to decide their fate for themselves but American's compromise on Islam has allowed the negotiation to move forwards.

The deadline for negotiation was first set on August 15 but the Iraqis have agreed to give themselves a 7-day extension after failing to show up at their own date. Hence, the next deadline was to be on the 22nd but again, negotiation failed and the Iraqi Parliament gave the negotiators three more days to discuss the charter. The new deadline is looming and major disagreements still exist. With three fractions on three issues, many suspect that the Iraqi politicians will again fail to beat the deadline.

The NYT has said that the imposition of deadline on this issue is unhealthy. Part of me is starting to agree with them.

The difficulty of the issue at hand has led some to speculate the eventuality of civil war. Nobody wants a civil war but already there are sect clashes in Iraq, however minor it might be. And if civil war is an inescapable scenario, effort to restore the marshes will come to a halt.

The restoration project has been going slowly but steadily. Once covered nearly 20,000 sq km, Saddam Hussein audaciously reduced the marshes to less than 10% of the original size. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, the United Nations Environmental Protection and others have restored up to 40% of the area. With Japan’s aid, it is possible to run the project at a sustainable pace. Yet, all this ultimately depends on the development of the Iraqi Constitution.

At the same time, a civil war will putthe constitution talk to a stop indefinately. Therefore, subsequently, civil war is the last thing that all self-declared greens, and in fact the world, need in Iraq.

The rehabilitation effort must not come to a standstill. It must be carried out until the Garden of Eden on Earth is fully restored to its former glory. For this very reason, all greens should support any effort that might produce a constitution acceptable to all three Iraqi sides.

Terrorism has struck its target once again; free speech is being violated. Worse, free speech is being assaulted not by terrorism itself. Instead, the assault is being carried out by the very body that's supposed to protect freedom.

A new law that bans thoughts and speeches that might incite extremism has been introduced in the UK. Under the new rule, if a non-British citizen is convicted, then he or she will be subjected to deportation.

The new law has been out and about for a few weeks now. However, part of the detail pertaining the new deportation law has only been made known to the public as late as a few hours ago.

It must be stressed that the British authority is threading on a dangerous ground. There's a fine line between freedom and security and they’re negotiating the two components at the expense of free speech.

Whenever free speech is sacrificed in the name of security, terrorism at large has won. There's no need for any terrorist to set up another bomb in another major city to threaten free civil society. They need not to do anything anymore to shake the foundations of free civil society. The guardian has done that for the terrorists.

It's a harrowing feeling to find out that a bastion of liberty is bowing to those that despise freedom. Britain doesn’t have to stoop as low as those religious fanatics that are intolerant of freedom. Britain doesn’t have to erode civil liberty in order to secure itself. But yet she does and ironically, Britain is limiting free speech so she might fight those that seek to vanquish freedom.

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eight-Four mentions of thought police. The deportation law might be an attempt to criminalize thought of which is no different from Orwell’s dystopia. For this very reason, freedom lovers should be wary of the new restriction, Brit or no Brit.

p/s - where one fails, others will rise up. Nine states in New England (reg. req.) are taking the next step to cut power plant emissions while the federal government has yet to concretely act on climate change.

pp/s - Ajax has qualified for the Champions League by beating Brøndby 3 - 1 in the second leg in Amsterdam. The aggregate is 5 - 3 in Ajax's favor. It was almost a bad game - Ajax was in terrible shape in the first half but luckily, things changed for the better later with new wonder kid Babel scoring 1 and (super) substitute Sneijder scoring another two.

Enough talking. I'm going to watch the video at www.ajaxfans.de.

nb: some part of this post is irrelevent because this is the new home the __earthinc. I've moved from Michigan's account.

I will no longer update this site. I've migrated to Exabytes.

Yeah, this is the first time I actually need to pay for webhosting service. The specification is inferior to what is being offered by Michigan. However, since I've graduated from the school, Michigan won't be sparing me 1 gigabyte with almost unlimited bandwidth anymore. If I had wanted to maintain the __earthinc at Michigan, I would've to pay ridiculous amount of money to maintain my blog, which is beginning to swell in size.

For the past few months, visitors have increase beyond my expectation. At one time recently, nearly 200 unique visitors crashed onto my site. A little from Wikipedia, some from bookmarkers, many more from search engines and the rest from Project Petaling Street. I love PPS.

Anyway, for future visit please go to http://www.maddruid.com/ for updates instead. If you like this site, do bookmark it. That's http://www.maddruid.com/.

Thank you to all that has been visiting my blog. I hope you will continue to be with me until either one of us is gone.

Meet you at maddruid.com soon.

p/s - expect some errors at the new site. I'm still configuring the directories since I, of whom am a n00b, actually migrated the site manually. I had to do it since I don't quite trust others with my stuff anymore.

pp/s - ReCom.org is back up.

I haven’t explored Kuala Lumpur as much as I would want to yet despite already being in the city for nearly two months now. I’m excited to rediscover the city all over again. Unfortunately, there are some whispers in the wind, telling me that Kuala Lumpur hates pedestrians with a capital h.

Generalizing is bad and I might be generalizing. Yet, in the several times that I had taken a walk in the city, I found that busy intersections, like the one nearest to the Indonesian embassy on Jalan Tun Razak, have no crosswalk light for pedestrians at all. Even the paint that mark the crosswalk on the street has somewhat faded. Worse, at some junctions, there is no crosswalk at all. Motorcycles and other vehicles that stop on existing ones instead of behind it don’t make the situation any better.

On the same stretch of road, only closer to the national library, there are crosswalk lights and the crossings are clearly marked. However, most of them don’t work or simply broken. And you don’t have to talk about ergonomic design. I have this one picture to demonstrate that common sense is not so common:



Why does the button face the fence instead of its possible users is beyond me. The button up close and personal:



And this is how people adhere to traffic rule. Observe the crosswalk, the position of the car and the position of the motorcycle on the far right:



And do you see the light for the crosswalk?

It doesn’t work. I waited for nearly 15 minutes, which is enough for the traffic system there to complete maybe two or even three cycles, but it never turned green. And I swear I did press the button several times. Note too that the button that I need to request for a crossing is the one button that faces the fence.

And the person on the other side of the road simply ignored the light when he found out that it doesn’t work.

Beautiful, isn’t it? A nonsensically placed button for a nonworkable crosswalk light is definitely an invention worthy of mention millennia to come. Who could have thought of it, I ask you?

As if it is not enough our rivers look like sewers:



Yes, that is actually a river.

Bah! I'm mad. And rawr! I want to be a cat.


Here pussy, pussy, pussy...

When I found out that the fixture between Chelsea and Arsenal was going to be aired on ESPN, I said to myself, hey, this should be a great matchup. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a dull match. Worse, Chelsea won with a very unexciting goal.

The first ten or fifteen minutes were entertaining though. Both teams were tactically aggressive and the game was almost as fast as ice hockey. It could have easily been one all if luck were on both side.

After Ljungberg was replaced with van Persie, my god, I’d really thought golf was much more arousing than Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi. In the match, van Persie seemed to be a liability. To me, it does seem pointless to have that former Feyenoord player on the grass. However, I can’t say that without being biased since I’m love Ajax so much, anything related to Feyenoord is bad.

On the other hand, Arjen Robben was effective. He played very well though his did far better during the Netherlands – Germany game that he played days earlier.

Crespo - yuck. I don’t know why Mourinho bought him from Inter Milan in the first place. Every time he received a ball, the ball somehow magically ran to Lehman with much problem. I’m sure Mourinho was thinking of the same thing when he substituted the Italian with Didier Drogba.

However boring it was, for the most parts, Arsenal did control the game. I don’t know what the final metrics look like but if it wasn’t for Drogba, it would've been an Arsenal game – a draw probably still but an Arsenal game nonetheless.

And as I said, the game was boring. The same statement applies throughout the first part of the second half. Specifically, until I said, god, this is boring. Please give something to light up the game.

And voila!

Drogba scored - rather sloppily I must add. I was dissatisfied with that goal but a goal is a goal. And god, if you are listening, I think we misunderstood each other. When I said light up, I really meant a goal for the men in maroon, not in blue. Bah!

After Drogba’s lucky strike, the game did get a bit more interesting as Arsenal tried to step up. The game also got a tad more physical. I mean, c’mon, Makalele was so excited to show van Persie some brotherly love that the Frenchman hugged the Dutchman at one time. The referee had to give Makalele a card to make him stop.

Near the end, Drogba had a chance to increase the lead. It would have been a beautiful goal but Lehman was in the way.

On the 93rd minute, the ref blew the whistle. Blurgh...

Anyway, Ajax will be up against Brøndby again on this 24th in Amsterdam for the Champions League qualifier. Current aggregate stands at two all. Ajax should have won the away game but an own goal made a hell out of that match. Regardless, I’m confident that Ajax will make it.

Ah, I can already smell the artificial tuft of the Big House. I can feel excitement in the air. I can hear roars from everywhere and see hot chicks with no bras. I crave for blood, especially Buckeyes’.

If you haven’t gotten a clue yet, it will be the football season all over again baby! Just two more weeks! Another season to abuse one's voice box.

(Greatest apology to soccer. I love soccer but after four years at Michigan, I fell for this no good American game. So, if you have to wives, you'll need to differentiate it. So, soccer is soccer and football is football, unless it’s football)

First on Michigan’s list is Northern Illinois on September 3. This one should be easy, especially when it’s at home. Michigan should be able to apply excessive firepower against a minor team. A walk in the park.

Then, it’s the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame. Notre Dame has always been a pain in the ass for Michigan. You’ll never know what they are up to. However, this time around Notre Dame will be fighting in Ann Arbor. It’s time for revenge and Notre Dame, and any other teams including Michigan for that matter, seems to have trouble playing away game. So, I bet Michigan will win this one. A bit of struggle but a win nonetheless.

Third game, Eastern Michigan. A big win. ‘Nuff said.

After an easy match, the next game will be Michigan’s first away game and it’s against the Badgers. Last year, Wisconsin was a really scary shit. This rodent kicked what was then a steamrolling Purdue and was up there trying to wrestle the Big Ten championship all by itself. Hell, this team raped Ohio State! They were a real contender, until they met Michigan State and Iowa. However, report has it that Wisconsin is a demoralized team. However, knowing how bad Michigan could be in an away game, this might get ugly. In any way however, I think Michigan will be alright, though not unscathed.

Having a week to recuperate, then, it’s Minnesota. I don’t know about you but after two years in a row of excessively sweeter than sweet about-to-lose-but-somehow-we-made-it-in-the-fourth-quarter’s, I’m looking at another about-to-lose-but-somehow-we-made-it-in-the-fourth-quarter game. If not, the golden gophers will be ravaged mercilessly.

After Minnesota, it will be the Nittany Lion. It’s terrible to see Paterno in a really bad shape. But seeing Paterno in a really bad shape is what will keep Michigan rolling on with much effort. I know, a person like Paterno deserves more respect than I’m apparently showing here but c’mon. Give it a break. No. In fact, take a hike. Please.

Two whipping boys are fun to play with. But happy time is over because Iowa is anything but easy. Iowa shared the Big Ten throne last year with Michigan and this time, they will definitely want to take the crown as their own. There is no reason to think that Iowa will not be able to go for the kill. Even more when this battle will be fought in the Hawkeyes’ nest. Verdict? Our first loss.

But worry not. Northwestern - the only school in the Big Ten that can say ‘N U’ after being given an ‘F U’ with an innocent face (really. I was there when it happened last year. It was hilarious) – should give the Wolverines something to forget Iowa. Definitely another win for Michigan.

With Northwestern done, it will be Indiana. By this time, it should be 9 – 1. This Indiana game should be a booster before the mother of all games.

At the end, it will be the biggest rivalry in college football. It’s Ohio State versus Michigan. It’s the mother of all games year after year after year. After year. I don’t know what will happen here and I don’t dare predict the score. Regardless, Michigan will be playing in Ann Arbor instead at some smelly place. Nevertheless, I dare say one thing – there will be a riot in Columbus.

Have any of you read the New Straits Times yesterday? And did you flip into a section dedicated to Indonesian national day?

Well, if you haven't, there is a page sponsored by a Malaysian company. I've scanned it and it's here for your consumption. The page doesn't entirely fit into my scanner so I splitted it into two halves.

The first part:



What's you first impression of the picture above? To me, it's innocent and truly celebrate our neighbor achievement. Semangat kejiranan. Maybe even ASEAN spirit. But, wait till you see the second part and find out who actually sponsored the page:



What's the matter Guthrie? Is your guilt hunting you?

The sky is no doubt much clearer after several days of heavy rain here in Kuala Lumpur. However, the current development is kind of hazy. Indonesia has pinpointed a couple of Malaysian companies as the culprits behind the open burning in Sumatra. Those companies on the other hand have denied such allegation. The best thing is, the Malaysian government believes these firms.

Hmm. I wonder who is lying?

Remember a couple of weeks earlier when ReCom.org was hacked?

Well, it happened again. This time however, the webhost has suspended ReCom.org's account. The account has been suspended since the day before yesterday. I'm not sure when the account will be reactivated but certain individuals within ReCom.org are trying to work it out before August 20th. Wish them luck.

Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza is a mixed signal at best. The return of Gaza to the Palestinian authority, prima facie, is a good development for those that long for peace worldwide. However, web spun by reality is a tad more intricate than simple arithmetic.

First on the line is public perception. Is the withdrawal really a step taken towards peace or is it due to pressure applied by the Palestinian extremists. If it is wholly attributed to peace, then it is something to be celebrated by everybody. Perhaps not by the groups that opposes the pullout but sacrifice needs to be made. If terrorist pressure is the cause, then it is something the Palestinian and Muslim extremists to celebrate.

In truth, I suspect Ariel Sharon is accounting for both factors. He himself has said, this withdrawal will increase Israel security. In context of the two factors, withdrawal improves Israel’s reputation to the world audience and more importantly, to moderate Palestinian. A pullout also reduces the possible conflicts in Gaza.

Yet, many has stressed that Gaza is a start, not the end. That comment comes after one of Ariel Sharon’s top aides in an interview with a local paper said that the pullout from Gaza is a plan to freeze the peace process and in effect, the creation of a Palestinian state. After all, the pullout is unilateral. And moreover, Gaza is minute compared to the West Bank while West Bank, in particular Jerusalem, is the ultimate goal of both sides.

And then, there are fractions in the Israeli Knesset. Though Ariel Sharon is administering the disengagement plan, he is at the wimp of the Israeli majority and the majority, or at least a very large minority does vehemently disagree with Sharon. Several high ranked officials have resigned in protest of Sharon’s policy. One of them is Benjamin Netanyahu – former prime minister and until recently, former finance minister of Israel. Many perceive that Netanyahu is set to go again Sharon for the top post. If Netanyahu once again becomes the prime minister, Gaza disengagement be the end or even undone given his opposition towards Sharon’s plan.

The motives of the disengagement supporters are also in question. As mentioned earlier, Sharon’s top aide has mentioned that this is a plan to freeze any peace talk with the Palestinian and hence, put a stop, or at least delay, the establishment of the Palestinian state. If this fraction gets what they want, the disengagement plan will prove to be ultimately detrimental to Palestinian ambition.

Already, this pullout has bolstered the position of Jewish groups that are against any pullout plan, even more when it concerns the West Bank. In fact, Israel, while is engaging in this disengagement, plans to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank despite criticism from the EU and the US. It is all too possible that this is a move to placate the Jewish right.

There are however representatives in the Knesset that are motivated towards a true peace and the coexistence of Israel along with a free Palestinian state. That cannot be denied. With respect to this group, Shimon Peres is someone to be admired of.

Finally, this disengagement has already been criticized as mere facade. Once the Gaza pullout is done, Israel still control services in Gaza – ranging from water to electricity to transportation.

But despite all the variables, perhaps the most crucial element here is the assumption of good faith. That assumption is so important that without it, nothing will work regardless of the simplicity or the complexity involved. Without trust, everything will crumble.

This applies to everybody, even those couch potatoes that live thousands of miles from the conflict. Including certain sadist and biased Malaysian bloggers that laughed whenever a Jew is slaugthered.

Whoa. I’ve just found out that out there in the jungle, rumor is out and about that Wal-Mart is trying to take over Carrefour. Both giants have denied the rumor, however.

Imagine what kind of giant would be born if that rumor were true. Wal-Mart, already the world’s largest company, buying out French giant Carrefour – that’s just unfathomable. What would be more unthinkable is that a French company is being bought by an Uncle Sam Arkansas-based retailer.

But if it were true, the marriage would offer a huge economy of scale to Wal-Mart. That alone would render other competing retailers as ants waiting to be squashed upon.

Thank goodness all these are mere hearsays. Else, the next time anybody goes to Paris, they would need a Wal-Martian visa.

I poked my nose in lowyat.net a few hours ago. To be exact, being the political animal that I am, I browsed their real world issues section. Interesting stuff is being discussed over there, especially about religion. Unfortunately, the discussion is massive and I simply lack the will to read all of it. A few skips and hops later, I ran across a topic on global dimming.

I’ve read about that phenomenon before in the papers and at realclimate.org but never quite understood it. So, I had put it at the back of mind so that I may check it out sometimes later for better comprehension. I never did that until I saw the posting at lowyat.net. So, I did a little online research on it. Soon, I started to wonder, is there a relationship between global dimming and the haze?

Hmm…

Global dimming got the attention it deserved after the September 11 attack. Almost all aircrafts were grounded for a few days and the sky was free from steel flies for the first time in decades. It was during this time that scientists observed a minor increase in daily temperature variation.

Now, after being four years in Michigan, I do think Kuala Lumpur is extremely hot. But, after I crashed into DAP’s little sedated protest that were full of police officers, I got engaged into a conversation with a stranger.

Like all people, when there is nothing to talk about, they talk about the weather. And goddamn, we did exactly that. He said that that day, Kuala Lumpur was less hot than usual. I didn’t agree with his statement but already dazed with the haze along with the fact that I didn't know him, I would rather be agreeable rather than starting an awkward moment by second guessing him.

Right now however, I think he was right. Yet, by eyeballing the data, it doesn’t seem like it.

I visited Weather Underground and went straight for Kuala Lumpur’s reading for August for every year beginning at 1998 and ending at 2005. If you do want to eyeball the data or even conduct a complete analysis, the data is at 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

If you did a complete analysis, do give me a howler. What you should be looking for is a decrease in temperature variation to link dimming to the haze (the idea is, the haze blocks the sunlight and hence, reduces the average temperature during the day and increases the average temperature during the night).

For warming, it’s a general rise in temperature, naturally but this should be a secondary objective.

I can’t see any change in variation or even a rise in temperature though the rain does give me a problem. I simply can’t observe the real effect by having the ceteris paribus rule being violated. I suppose I could do a difference-in-difference analysis but I’m far too lazy for real econometrics at the moment.

I have however sent an email about a possible link between the haze and global dimming. I extremely look forward for a reply from them.

For an introduction to global dimming, Wikipedia is an excellent choice.

I woke up on Saturday and saw an alert on global warming:

After correcting for the mistake, the researchers obtained fundamentally different results: whereas Spencer's analysis showed a cooling of the Earth's troposphere, the new analysis revealed a warming.

Using the analysis from Mears and Wentz, Santer showed that the new data was consistent with climate models and theories.

"When people come up with extraordinary claims -- like the troposphere is cooling -- then you demand extraordinary proof," Santer said. "What's happening now is that people around the world are subjecting these data sets to the scrutiny they need."

USA Today also reports the same thing. On a related subject that came up a few days ago:

Summers in European cities have grown up to 2.2 Celsius (4.0 Fahrenheit) hotter since the 1970s and global warming may cause ever more sweltering temperatures, the WWF conservation group said on Thursday.

Do I hear a naysayer? Wake up already. With this, I do hope the world can go beyond Kyoto and something more effective, backed with sterner but sensible action.

Regardless, the monster haze is sparing Kuala Lumpur today.





Compare that to similar shots taken three days ago.





This is definately a relief though I think I'm having a fever due to my singing in the haze yesterday.

p/s - Heh. Indonesia wants Malaysia to pay for oxygen produced by Indonesian forest in reaction to DAP's demand for compensation (via). That's the spirit...

In all seriousness, this shows how porous the nation state's border is, considering all externalities, jokes aside.

pp/s - Heh. I have a sweet idea how to handle that suggestion.

Let’s assume all public spaces are privatized, including the atmosphere and the ocean and hence, Indonesia would be able to charge Malaysia for Indonesian oxygen utilized by Malaysians. However, assume that all nation states in this world are able to monitor their borders and have full knowledge of what crosses their borders.

Now, it’s safe to say that oxygen produced by Indonesia, or as a matter of fact any gas produced by anything that is owned by anybody, knows no boundary. Ergo, each year, countless Indonesian oxygen crosses into Malaysia illegally. Therefore, we should sue Indonesia for failing to prevent Indonesian oxygen from reaching Malaysia and hence, forcing Malaysians to breathe Indonesian oxygen!

If this is nonsensical at best, idiotic at its worst, that Indonesian engineer should have known better. Unless of course, if we were to privatize everything, it would be a different story altogether.

ppp/s - my goodness, Indonesia actually refuses Malaysia and even ASEAN’s help! What is wrong with the Indonesian government? Just accept the fact that you can’t effectively act within your own domain and desperately needs help!

It was Friday morning and I had nothing to do.

So, upon finding out that DAP was holding a protest in front of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to crash the party. I must say that I had walked all the way from Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak to the embassy. I dare say it was a two-kilometer walk in the haze. I was just singing in the haze, what a glorious feeling and I'm choking again.

I had thought the Indonesian embassy was located nearby the American's, right across the street. Thought I knew where it was. Unfortunately, that was the Singaporean's instead. I was so happy to know Singaporeans were there to save the day. (Heh. To my Singaporean friends, I'm just joking. Love you guys. But, er, maybe love is too strong a word)

Anyway, I kept walking on down Jalan Tun Razak until I started to have doubt. So, I stopped by the Japanese embassy and asked for direction. A person at the Japanese embassy told me how to get there but not before asking "Are you walking?" and grinning.

I said, yeah and offered him my thanks. I did say thank you but considering that he was grinning upon learning that I was walking, what I had really wanted to say was FU, in a very mild and polite, eastern tradition.

A few coughing later, there it was - Kedutaan Besar Republik Indonesia.



At the embassy, it seemed that there were more police officers than there were protesters. Nonetheless, there were decent amount of sedated people - which, by the way, was disproportionately Chinese Malaysian. Sigh. DAP really needs to get more members with diverse background. Malaysia desperately needs a party that really transcends racial barriers but that is another lament for another day.



After awhile, Lim Guan Eng, I presume, came out after meeting the Indonesian ambassador. There was a mini press conference too, sort of.



While the DAP guy was courting the press, some Indonesians were probably worried.



And then little publicity with little "Jerebu Ancam Kita. Bayar Ganti Rugi" banner. Basically, DAP is demanding Indonesia to compensate Malaysia for the damages done. More about DAP's demand is here. Heh, like Indonesia has anything left in its treasury to compensate us.



Know what I really think?

We should send everything to make the fire go away and help Indonesia strengthens its system. Maybe, we should even establish an ASEAN Court, just like the European Court in order to handle contentious transboundary issues. It might sound like a socialist's prank but accounting for the externality, I'm convinced Malaysia should help Indonesia out even without compensation.

Ever heard about white men's burden? Well, making sure that the region is stable in every aspect is increasingly becoming Malaysians, Singaporeans and Bruneians' (is Bruneian the right noun?) burden.

Or, alternatively, we should invade Sumatra. Heh. Worried about the NEP? I'd rather worry about that racist policy than this damn haze.

And walauwei. Mamat ni main CS ke?



And Indonesia will be celebrating their independence day in August. Hence, the banner:



War is peace, ignorance is strength and slavery is freedom, dong!

And finally, ah! The landmark of the city:



No, not that two towers.

p/s - I'm not a member of DAP and I'm definately not a socialist commie.

I ran a short errand to Ampang with my mother earlier today. Heh, I'm not sure anymore whether Ampang is part of Kuala Lumpur or Selangor. Whatever it is, I brought my handy camera with me and took the liberty to shoot some photos of Ampang.

From the top of Ampang Point, the view was hardly unexpectable. It was the paramount of a green's dystopia. Dry, arid, dusty, acrid. There was nothing much to be seen even with a thorough scan of Ampang. The sight was distasteful as well as despicable.



Tried zooming around here and there but the smog made any effort useless.



It's depressing to know that even Los Angeles has better air quality than Kuala Lumpur currently. I've been to Los Angeles and I hate it. And all this is making an overrated Ann Arbor suddenly underrated. I really miss the sweet smell of green grasses, the soft summer wind, the clear blue sky. Can't believe everything, from the flow of Huron to the whispering of the leaves in the arboretum, all that was merely two months ago.

Hell, I'd rather be stuck in a snowstorm during an average winter instead of inhaling Indonesian armpits. I simply can't believe that I'm right in the middle of a huge environmental catastrophe. Yeah, climate change does affect us all but that comes at a snail pace. This Indonesian smog charges at lightspeed. I'm overwhelmed and angry. Angst might be the right word to describe me right now.

News has it that DAP is organizing a protest there at 1100 local time. I'm going to the Indonesian embassy tomorrow. If I had command a battalion of army, I'd have gone to Jakarta.

For the moment, I know one thing - whoever has not a plan to curb haze in their manifestos for the 2008 election, I'll be giving them a firm middle finger at the ballot. Sadly however, judging how Malaysian parties write their manifestos, I'd probably won't be voting at all.

Let’s be frank. Indonesian Sumatra is a pain in the ass. Anything that happens in Sumatra affects Malaysia. Any Indonesian action, or rather lack of, which concerns Sumatra, produces externality on Malaysia. Two clear examples are illegal land clearing via open burning and piracy in the Malacca Straits.

Granted, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are responsible for the security in Malacca Straits. Yet, with vast undeveloped and swampy area in eastern Sumatra, Indonesia will need to do a lot more than what Malaysia and Singapore have been doing all along. Unfortunately for us all, Indonesia doesn’t have that kind of resources to start with. Subsequently, Indonesia’s inability to act within its own domain is producing negative externalities on its neighbors.

Malaysia, along with Brunei and Singapore are probably the most stable nations in Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s relative inability to act however is a threat to the three stable states. One way to stabilize the region is to internalize all Indonesian Sumatra’s problems, including their environmental and security mess.

Yes, in other words, one mean to solve all these problems is by making it exclusively our problems. Malaysia will need to encourage and convince all Sumatran states, perhaps including Aceh, into joining the Malaysian Federation. Once that happens, Malaysia will be able to make sure haze and even piracy along the busiest waterway in the world are things of the past. Apart from internalizing the environmental and piracy threat, imagine the wealth that will be made available to the Federation. More crude oil for us all, timbers, fishes, all the minerals. It will be as if Malaysia has just stumbled upon El Dorado.

Of course, the main issue remains the 250,000-strong Tentera Nasional Indonesia along with its pool of almost 60 million people according to CIA’s The World Factbook. In event of war, Malaysia’s only hope is for Indonesian fragile economy to collapse along with its cranking warships. If war ever broke up, an appropriate comparison would be the Iran-Iraq War where Iran had vast military reserve but with aging equipment while Iraq’s small but well-equipped force. The war was a stalemate but hey, Indonesia declared war on Malaysia back in the 1960s but we along with our allies kicked Jakarta and the commies’ ass. So, we might actually have a chance against Indonesia.

And hey! We know how hawkish Indonesia could be. Let’s see if they have the muscle to match their "ganyang Malaysia" spirit. After all, it was our frigate that rammed into an Indonesia’s warship in the name of Malaysian sovereignty over a piece of land under the Sunda Sea and Indonesia couldn't do anything but accussed Malaysia of bullying them. And I doubt Indonesia has even repaired that warship.

But then, let’s give Indonesia’s retaliation a blind eye, assume that Indonesia’s economy will collapse, there will be no backlash from the international community and we all have nine lives. With so many assumptions, you've probably realized that I'm an economics graduate. Regardless, assuming Brunei accepts a re-invitation to join Malaysia as the new 14th state:



The new Malaysian Federation will look something like:



And we'll probably need a new flag too. Our current flag would have too few lines. Unless, Sumatra is decreed as the fourth Federal Territory! Yeah, that's more like it. We would be able to keep our pseudo-American flag! w00t!

O say does that Jalung Gemilang yet wave...
O'er land of meritokrasi, and the home of boleh.

Heh. Selangor should be particularly happy - the federal government would have little reason to appeal to Selangor for more land.

Or, instead of invading them, maybe Indonesia should just sign the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution.

Next entry on Malaysian federalism: Pattani.

p/s - I've just read Utusan Malaysia and someone finally mentioned about the haze agreement. But, heh, there are seven countries that have ratified the treaty, not six. Somebody needs to check his fact...

According to Jakarta Post:

SINGAPORE (DPA): A sudden and unexpected shift in wind direction could bring the choking haze shrouding Malaysia to Singapore, the National Environmental Agency (NEA) warned on Thursday.

Heh, read this too:

Or, we, about 25 million Malaysians plus a couple millions of Singaporeans could together take a deep breath and blow the haze towards Jakarta. Let's see if they like their own shit. Or the Malaysian government could build fat ass fans that could redirect the haze towards Jakarta. Or at least until all the haze reaches Singapore... err, I mean Indonesia.

God, this haze thing is driving me nut.

All your base are belong to us. It's a counter-conspiracy by the Malaysian authority! They built a monster fan somewhere and blew the haze towards Singapore! Muahahaha!

While there is going to be a protest in front of the Indonesian embassy tomorrow, I agree with n305er. There is a possibility that Malaysian companies are the culprits over there in Sumatra.

While the Malaysian authority has indeed no right to enforce Malaysian laws upon Indonesian territory, Malaysians could apply pressure to various Malaysian plantation companies operating in Sumatra, like Guthrie for instance. So,


Let's target Indonesia and Guthrie.

p/s - Comcast has nothing to do with this. I'm just recycling their envelope.

Since my teddy bear is still in Michigan, somewhere, I think, he can't be my spokesperson anymore like he used too during the US 2004 presidential election. I terribly miss him but great news folks! My cat has agreed to be my new spokesperson!

Here is what she has to say about the haze:


That is dedicated to all Indonesians. I know that most of you don't have the internet but hell, I know you President does. For Haze Haters in KL (via).

And that was a piece of envelope sent by Azwan. So, an unsincere heartfelt thank to Azwan for sponsoring the paper and hence, allowing me to recycle. =p

So people, apart from carpool, telling your reps about ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and whining while cursing Indonesia, send pictures to Haze Haters in KL at laychkoh[at]gmail[dot]com or barrieo[at]gmail[dot]com right now. Pronto.

p/s - Brøndby managed to tie Ajax down. The result for the Champions League qualification is 2 - 2. Ajax should have won if it wasn't for Escude own goal in the 90th minute. And Babel's goal was crazy, superb and lucky all at the same time. Watch all goals at www.ajaxfan.de.

Next meeting will be in Amsterdam on August 24.

pp/s - protest in front of the Indonesian embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Friday at 1100 local time (via). Anybody going? A good chance to shoot some photos (and probably get arrested). I've never got arrested by Malaysian police but was once arrested for a short while by Ann Arbor police for dissent (snowballing the police). If somehow I get arrested, then I would be able to compare which is better - getting arrested by Malaysian or Ann Arbor's. =p

Amid this noxious state, Malaysia has finally offered aid to Indonesia. According to Reuters:

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Malaysia offered on Wednesday to help neighbour Indonesia extinguish forest fires that have smothered Kuala Lumpur in a thick pall of smoke for a week, aggravating traffic and health conditions.

It's about time and Indonesia better accept it.

In any case, there was a short rain just now here in Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, the rain did little to relieve the worsening condition. The haze has been relentless.

And while the government finally seems to be crawling in the right direction, we as Malaysians should help out. Instead of moaning how bad the situation really is, start out by not driving and take up public transportation instead. Or at least carpool. If you are whinning but still drive an SUV even to get to the nearest convenience store, just stfu because you have just forfeited your right to bitch.

Another thing we could do is to inform our reps of ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and how Indonesia has yet to ratify it.

Being back in Malaysia is beginning to be a very horrible experience and it's all due to the haze. The haze has been worsening and it’s expected to last well into October. On top of that, with the current dry season, there might be water rationing in approximately two weeks if rain doesn't pour down. Isn’t that sweet?

Haze is the buzz word in the Malaysian blogosphere currently. Everywhere you go, it's there. It’s kind of expected since bloggers are kind of zeitgeists – bloggers are humans and they tend to talk about everything that is current. So I figure, hell, let’s take a tour of haze loving people by sweeping through the Project Petaling Street.

First stop, jon choo's weblog with entry OMG Haze!!! This blog criticizes others for blaming Indonesia for the haze. He states that in one of the last, what’s becoming annual, haze, Malaysian companies were involved in open burning in Indonesia. For that reason, Malaysian should not blame Indonesia but instead, look into the mirror.

I however disagree with the blog's punch line. While I do disagree with placing the blame entirely on Indonesia’s shoulder, Indonesia does share an elephant size of the blame. Reason is that Indonesia has been reluctant and unable to enforce no open burning rule within its territories. And even if Malaysian plantation companies are the culprits, enforcement falls on Indonesia’s hand, not Malaysia's. In fact, I don’t mind if the Indonesian government want to sue those companies. Heck, if Indonesia could sue Newmont - which is one of the largest extraction conglomerates in the world for various environment damages - I’m sure Indonesia could do that same to any company that is related to the cause of the haze.

On the Malaysian side, at least there are enforcements against open burning. In fact, Malaysia doesn’t impose death penalty on illegal clearing while Indonesia does and yet enforcement makes the difference. If I wouldn’t know any better, the word enforcement might mean the word joke in Bahasa Indonesia.

Second on the inspection is Shagadelica. This blog laments on how the government does not plan to make the Air Pollution Index public. I share the same sentiment. The government should just release the readings just like what has been done with AP list.

And then, there’s A Spicy Life which talks about health tips. A commendable effort but I’m afraid we are already dead.

Even minishorts talks about haze! Do you realize what does this mean? It’s like Bush commenting on Michigan affirmative action admission policy! But then, a couple sentences later, I realized that she doesn’t actually talk about haze per se. So, it’s more like Menj trying to talk about religious freedom but instead ended talking about nonsense and then calling others morons.

However, I’m being unfair since I haven't read the whole thing and I don't plan to read that entry. Maybe even the minishorts - Menj comparison isn't suitable. After all, minishorts is much more lovable than Menj.

After minishorts, here comes the most original idea by HodgePodge I Am. The blog hints that this might be an Indonesian conspiracy to screw Malaysia! BJ Thoughts shares the same idea of conspiracy though this blog tries to explain the idea more thoroughly.

Nilesh Babu thanks Indonesia for this uninspiring gift and notes that Cyberjaya and Wangsa Maju are practically being eaten by smog.

mental jog on the other hand talks about a hazy article by The Sun.

And a picture worth a thousand word. osaya 2nite has a picture to describe how bad the haze is. Observe the distance between the camera and the object of interest. dDoinkster Speaks offers another picture while Rajan has kind words for the Indonesian authority.

And finally, another picture by xes.

With the roundup done, do you know what we should do right now?

We should all organize a "Malaysian Bloggers against haze" and write a letter to our rep or even phone them. In that letter or phone call, tell the rep about ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and urge him or her to urge the Parliament to urge Indonesia to have a goddamn urgency to ratify this urgent environmental treaty urgently, or urgently, else. Tell them, that we don't f care about the AP right now, that we don't f care about security on Malacca Straits at the moment, that we don't f care about Myanmar currently, that we don't f care for a lot of other things but we do f care about choking ourselves to our f death.

If you don't know who represents you, the Malaysian Parliament has a complete list though they don't seem to offer us the reps' email address.

So, what are you waiting for? Get your urgent ass off your urgent chair and do something urgent, urgently.

p/s - oh yeah, happy belated ASEAN day, chickens.

pp/s - Roadkill, what seems to be a Singaporean, offers reading on pollution index by Singapore's National Environment Agency. If we couldn't rely on our own goverment to provide pollution reading, maybe should rely on Singapore's and become Singaporeans themselves!

ppp/s - photo from Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


The Petronas Twin Towers, on an average day, could be seen in between the condominium and the trees.


That apartment building I reckon is about 200 meters away.

p4/s - the Malaysia Department of Environment has finally made the Air Pollution Index public. It has been kept secret before this and there were growing discontent towards the government policy.

I've just read a piece written by Beth Romulo and published by Philippines-based Manila Bulletin Online regarding the new Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate.

I have no problem with the article save one point:

The new agreement is not intended to replace the Kyoto protocol, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick explained, when the agreement was announced, but to complement it, by bringing in the developing countries, and offering them the most modern technology to help lower emissions. Despite the fact that the US did not ratify the Kyoto pact, it has proceeded voluntarily and been able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 0.3 percent while the EU’s 25 members have increased to 3.4 percent.

Wow. According to him, the US has been able to reduce carbon emission by 0.3%. Moreover , that sentence that touches on US vs. EU emission is written as weaselly as it could be written.

Why is it spurious?

The author says that there is a drop but fails to give the time frame. Is it year to year basis? Is it 2005 against 1990?

According to BBC, "the US carbon dioxide emissions have increased to more than 15% above 1990 levels." Moreover, Washington Post says the US 2004 emission level has increased by 1.7%.

I could give him a benefit of a doubt and assume he meant a reduction for the year 2005 (despite that there are 5 more months before the year ends). However, mind you at the same time that the US targets 18% reduction in emission intensity, not reduction of 18% of emission level. There is a huge different in intensity and level and this is where the US has been able to do. The US has been able to reduce the intensity and I think the author of the article us confused with the two terms.

More about emission intensity from the same article by Washington Post:

Connaughton, the chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, and other administration officials said they are focused on obtaining practical commitments industrialized countries can meet without damaging their economies. He said that although some G-8 countries are struggling to meet their goal of bringing greenhouse gas emissions down to 1990 levels by 2012, the United States is on track to fulfill its pledge to reduce its carbon intensity -- how much emissions are rising relative to overall economic growth -- 18 percent by 2012.

On Thursday, the Energy Information Administration announced that the nation's carbon emissions rose 1.7 percent in 2004 -- but that amounted to a 2.6 percent drop in carbon intensity, because the U.S. economy grew 4.4 percent that year. The rate of increase in U.S. carbon emissions more than doubled from 2003 to 2004 because of heightened economic activity.

Now, I'm not saying reducing in emission intensity undesireble. Quite the contrary, any reduction is good to me. But this Beth Romulo needs to recognize which is which or else, misinformation might be spread out whenever he writes anything about greenhouse gases emission.

From Samizdata:

The bureaucratic mind at work, from the WSJ Political Diary:

Before deploying from Savannah, Georgia to Iraq by a chartered airliner, the troops of the 48th Brigade Combat Team, a National Guard unit, had to go through the same security checks as any other passengers. Lt. Col. John King, the unit's commander, told his 280 fellow soldiers that FAA anti-hijacking regulations require passengers to surrender pocket knives, nose hair scissors and cigarette lighters. 'If you have any of those things,' he said, almost apologetically, 'put them in this box now.' The troops were, however, allowed to keep hold of their assault rifles, body armour, helmets, pistols, bayonets and combat shotguns" -- reported in the Air Finance Journal.

What can I say?

A couple of days ago, I read a blog entry with huge bolded letters slapped on top of it. The entry talked about the current Anglicization process of the Malay language. Like the person that blogged about it first, I despise this trend.

Beforehand, I must say I am no purist. Despite my tongue is stamped with the word Malay all over it, my grasp of my mother tongue is almost pathetic. My Malay vocabulary is kind of limited and I’m more comfortable writing in English to Malay though I frequently confuse my tense forms. Given my situation, I do understand why when certain people speak in Malay, they tend to talk in both Malay and English at the same time.

However, this should be used by the press as an excuse.

I cringe whenever I see any word that sounds English but is written instead in Malay in form that adheres to English pronunciation, particularly whenever mainstream Malay media uses it. Like previu or bajet for instance. The Malay word for preview beats me but bajet, can’t the media just use the good old peruntukan or belanjawan? And just yesterday in Utusan Malaysia, an article talked about polygamy and guess which word the author of the article chose? Polemik.

And then there are akauntabiliti, integriti, transparensi, profil, kontroversi, emosi, posisi. Whatever happened to the words ketanggungjawaban, kebolehpercayaan, ketelusan, rumusan (help me on this), kegamatan (whoa, I totally need a Malay dictionary), perasaan, kedudukan?

Adding more to the list: cif (cheif), propisi (proportion), kondisi (condition), ambisi (ambition).

And yeah, one more word, OMFG – infotainment. WTF?

I haven’t been using Malay extensively for the past five or six years and I might be off the road whenever Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka added more words to Malay vocabulary but if this is the trend, let’s all just use English instead. Save the entire effort of translating – transposing is more like it - and let’s all write in English instead. There is no need to spend resources on Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka anymore.

In France I heard, they have language vigilantes to protect the French language. They arm themselves with everything they’ve got in a crusade against English encroachment on French. Dewan Bahasa should emulate the French vigilantes, not the French’s gut. (Thousand apologies to all Frenchies and any Francophile. I can’t help it)

I’m telling Dewan Bahasa to be a purist. They should be a purist. It is their job to defend the Malay language. Who else should defend the Malay language if not Dewan Bahasa? Samy Vellu?

Dewan Bahasa is slacking so bad that a person that brought this up in that blog that I mentioned earlier is a Malaysian Chinese, not a Malaysian Malay. How sad is that?

p/s - did I mention that Ajax won against PSV?

It's official. Ajax will meet Brøndby in the third preliminary round of the Champions League. Both teams will meet in Copenhagen on August 10 and later in Amsterdam on August 24. Brøndby secures a meeting with Ajax after drilling Dynamo Tbilisi 5 - 1 on aggregate.

I'm not sure whether it will be a breeze for Ajax or not. Frankly, I haven't been following Ajax's transfer activities during the summer and I've only started to revisit Ajax USA cum ajaxtalk forum in the last few weeks. I do know however, there is no big signing for Ajax while van der Vaart is gone to Germany.

God. I've forgotten how much fun it is to visit a soccer forum. In Ajax forum, at least in the last few years of my carrier as a forum participant, there is a repeating theme - the love for Italian players. But I'm digressing.

Anyway, in the recent Amsterdam Tournament, Ajax finished last; Ajax lost 1 - 0 to Arsenal and later, to Boca Juniors by the same score line. I'm not sure whether that is encouraging or not but according to reports, Ajax played quite well and was simply unlucky. On the side note, Ajax has got to stop playing Arsenal. OMG, every year, it's all about Arsenal, Arsenal and Arsenal. If Ajax is going to meet Arsenal again this season in the Champions League group stage (of which thank goodness, that prospect is too minute for me too worry on), I'm going to be an ardent supporter of the Red Devils. With van der Sar on that cursed team, I think I could live with that, temporarily.

But all this talk about Champions League should be shoven aside at the moment because tomorrow, Ajax will be up against the evil farmers from the light bulb city of Eindhoven. Yes, it is the evil P$V, Chelsea’s satellite club, or so it seems. The stake?

The Johan Cruijff Shield. The shield itself is nothing but winning against PSV is something.

With that, let us welcome back the Eredivisie.

Hup Ajax hup!

There was one time when I could see the Petronas Twin Towers clearly from my home in Kuala Lumpur. At the moment however, the view is kind of hazy, no thanks to Indonesia.

In ASEAN, there is a treaty known as Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (pdf). Basically, it encourages parties of the treaty to cooperate with each other in combating haze. As of August 2005, seven ASEAN members have ratified the agreement. They are Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It is, however too bad that none of the parties is a major contributor to the haze – the one prime source of this haze, Indonesia, has yet to ratify the treaty.

ASEAN members need to pressure Indonesia into signing this treaty. Forget about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy for awhile. I don’t think Malaysians and indeed Singaporeans should care for Myanmar if we all are going to choke ourselves to death with Indonesian smog. We should criticize Indonesia first and Myanmar second unless Myanmar somehow gets some sort of nuclear warhead from North Korea.

ASEAN politicians have praised Indonesia for reducing open burning in Sumatra. But surely, praise or no praise, Indonesia is not doing enough. ASEAN's worst haze happened in 1998 and since then, several ASEAN members have themselves covered by smog yearly. More needs to be done and Indonesia’s ratification of the transboundary haze pollution treaty is a great jumpstart towards improving the air quality in Southeast Asia.

If Indonesia lacks the resources needed to implement enforcement against open burning, I’m sure Malaysia and Singapore and even Brunei could offer assistance in term of manpower and monetary aid.

If nothing could convince Indonesia to tie up its shoelaces, then Malaysia and Singapore should team up and invade Indonesia, divide Sumatra among themselves and solve this haze problem once and for all.

Or, we, about 25 million Malaysians plus a couple millions of Singaporeans could together take a deep breath and blow the haze towards Jakarta. Let's see if they like their own shit.

Or the Malaysian government could build fat ass fans that could redirect the haze towards Jakarta. Or at least until all the haze reaches Singapore... err, I mean Indonesia.

God, this haze thing is driving me nut.

p/s - Oh, if you are reading this David, don't let Monika read this. Else, the grand scheme to grab Sumatra would fail!

pp/s - I'm moving to a new host soon. So, please bookmark www.maddruid.com instead of my current url.

One of the few sites that I visit almost everyday is ReCom.org. However, currently at time of posting, it seems ReCom.org has been put out of commission.

The front page is blank save a black dot.

An inspection on the source code shows that the dot is linked to http://www.tbh.jp/index.php. A visit to that site reveal nothing useful, at least to me.

A visit on every folder on ReCom.org gives 404 error.

Oh well, I don't remember how many times ReCom.org has been hacked.