Friday, March 31, 2006

Tough question about best friend

During his trip to Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, British prime minister Tony Blair visited an Islamic boarding school twinned with a school in West Yorkshire.

After singing John Lennon's Imagine and treating the prime minister to displays of silat and joget, the pupils asked Blair questions about his foreign policy.

Apparently, one of the questions was: "Why did you allow your best friend George Bush to persuade you to start a war with Iraq?"

In reply, Blair told the children some waffle about the Iraqi people could now vote, and that he believed "people of different faiths can live together in harmony and peace".

Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

House for Rent


Semi-furnished double-storey terrace house for rent,
4+1 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, with water-heaters, kitchen cabinets, stove, curtains (RM950/month)
7 Jalan Warisan Mulia 4/7
Kota Warisan
43900 SEPANG

Call 019-28-AZLAN, 019-28-29526 to view

Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

Glenda batters Pilbara


Australian Region Infrared Satellite Image

Source: Image from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT-1R via Bureau of Meteorology.

Captured: Wednesday 29 March 2006 09:30 UTC



The forecast path shown above is the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's best estimate of the cyclone's future movement and intensity. There is always some uncertainty associated with tropical cyclone forecasting and the grey zone indicates the range of likely tracks.

Due to the uncertainty in the future movement, the indicated winds will almost certainly extend to regions outside the rings on this map. The extent of the warning zone reflects this.

Communities along the Pilbara coast should be aware that SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE GLENDA is expected to approach the coast later this afternoon and Thursday. Gales with gusts to 100 kilometres per hour are expected to develop on the Pilbara coast this evening with gusts increasing to 125 kilometres per hour overnight.

Residents of the central and west Pilbara coast are warned of the risk of very destructive winds with gusts exceeding 250 kilometres per hour during Thursday close to the centre as this very dangerous cyclone nears the coast.



Source: Image from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT-1R via Bureau of Meteorology.
Captured: Thursday 30 March 2006 10:30 UTC

Last Updated: Thursday, 30 March 2006, 10:00 GMT 11:00 UK
Cyclone Glenda lashes Australia

Glenda could be as destructive as Larry, which hit two weeks ago

A major cyclone has begun crossing Australia's north-west coast as thousands of residents ride it out.


The shore was being lashed by 130 km/h (80 mph) winds, the government weather authorities said, according to AP.

Onslow, a fishing town of more than 800 people in the remote Pilbara region, was expected to feel the worst of Cyclone Glenda, meteorologists said.

The storm first hit land at about 1600 local time (0800 GMT), Bureau of Meteorology manager Grahame Reader told AP.

Emergency workers feared Cyclone Glenda could be as dangerous as Larry, or Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US city of New Orleans in August.

"This does have the potential to do what happened in the eastern states and what happened in America," State Emergency Services official Steve Cable told Australian television.


Australia set for Cyclone Glenda

Towns along the west Australian coast are bracing for the arrival of Cyclone Glenda, a category four storm expected to bring winds of 250 km/h (155 mph).


Heavy rain has already hit the remote Pilbara region, but worse is expected later on Thursday.

Pilbara's 10,000 residents have been advised to seek shelter. Hundreds have decided to leave the area.

Australia's north-east is still recovering from Cyclone Larry, which hit the area two weeks ago.

That storm, which made landfall in the state of Queensland, caused no fatalities but left a damage bill which is expected to top AUS$1bn (US$707m).

A weather forecaster told ABC radio on Wednesday that Cyclone Glenda's current wind speeds were similar to that of Larry's prior to it hitting the coast.

"It is a very large system, one of the strongest cyclones we have seen off our Australian coastline," Gavin Edmonds said.

Getting ready
This latest cyclone is forecast to hit land near the towns of Karratha and Dampier.

"We are asking people to stay indoors and to seek shelter," Jim Cahill, an operations manager with the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, said on Thursday.

"The cyclone is basically very close and there are extreme winds and a lot of danger."

Global mining giant Rio Tinto has halted its huge iron ore shipping operation in the region ahead of Glenda's arrival.

Oil firms have also moved their floating rigs out of the path of the cyclone.

The Man who would be PM


The Right Honourable Dr James Gordon Brown, MP

Widely tipped to become Labour Leader and UK Prime Minister after the retirement of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown is the longest continuously-serving Chancellor of the Exchequer since Nicholas Vansittart (1812-1823). Only William Gladstone has served longer in the office. Gordon Brown was appointed on 2 May 1997. David Lloyd George previously held the the twentieth century record - he was in office for a total of seven years and two months between 1908 and 1915. In the nineteenth century, William Gladstone was Chancellor for a total of 12 years and four months between 1852 and 1882.

Brown dominates the domestic political agenda like few previous holders of that office. The ultimate prize of Number 10 continues to elude him but with Tony Blair expected to stand down before the next election, it is closer than ever. There are few other contenders that could command the same level of support within the Labour Party.

A Labour activist since his teenage years, Brown obtained a first class degree in History from Edinburgh University and worked in television before entering parliament in 1983, along with Tony Blair.

He shared an office with his younger colleague and the pair's sometimes stormy relationship was the driving force behind the modernisation of their party and the creation of New Labour.

Brown's first and arguably boldest move as chancellor in 1997 was to hand control of interest rates to the Bank of England. His early period in office was characterised by fiscal prudence, but he went on to put up taxes in order to pay for increased investment in the NHS.

His stewardship of the economy, which has seen low interest rates and falling unemployment, took centre stage during the recent election campaign.

His frequent appearances alongside Blair at campaign events led to speculation that preparations for the smooth handover of power were already under way - but both sides have denied the existence of a deal or "gentleman's agreement".

Biography of The Right Honourable Dr James Gordon Brown, MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer

James Gordon Brown was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer on 2 May 1997. He has been MP for Dunfermline East since 1983 and was Opposition spokesperson on Treasury and Economic Affairs (Shadow Chancellor) from 1992.

Brown was born on 20 February 1951 and educated at Kirkcaldy High School and while at school he suffered a detached retina in a rugby accident, so his left eye is now made of glass. At Edinburgh University he gained 1st Class Honours in History and then a Doctorate on the radical Labour Party politician, James Maxton. He was Rector of Edinburgh University and Chairman of the University Court between 1972 and 1975, while still a student. From 1976 to 1980, Brown lectured at Edinburgh University and then Caledonian University (then known as the Glasgow College of Technology) before working as a journalist at Scottish Television (1980-3).

After becoming an MP, Brown was the Chair of the Labour Party Scottish Council (1983-4). Before becoming Shadow Chancellor he held two other senior posts on the Opposition front bench - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1987-9) and Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary (1989-92).

Brown has had a number of works published including Maxton, The Politics of Nationalism and Devolution, New Scotland, New Britain and Where There is Greed: Margaret Thatcher and the betrayal of Britain's future. He has edited a number of books including John Smith: Life and Soul of the Party and Values, Visions and Voices: An Anthology of Socialism.

Outside of work, Brown's interests include football (Raith Rovers F.C. supporter since childhood), tennis and film. Brown married Sarah Macaulay at his home in North Queensferry, Fife, on 3 August 2000 after a four-year courtship. Mrs Brown is a public relations executive and was, until 2001, Chief Executive of Hobsbawm Macaulay, the consultancy firm she owned with Julia Hobsbawm. On 28 December 2001, a daughter, Jennifer Jane, was born prematurely; she died on 8 January 2002 of a brain haemorrhage. Their second child, a son, John, was born on 17 October 2003. In January 2006 it was announced that they were expecting a third child in July.

Biographies
Peston, Robert (2005). Brown's Britain: How Gordon Runs the Show. Short Books. ISBN 1904095674.
Bower, Tom (2003). Gordon Brown. HarperCollins. ISBN 000717540X.
Keegan, William (2003). The Prudence of Mr Gordon Brown. John Wiley. ISBN 0470846976.
Naughtie, James (2001). The Rivals: The Intimate Story of a Political Marriage. Fourth Estate. ISBN 1841154733.
Routledge, Paul (1998). Gordon Brown: The Biography. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0684819546.
Speeches 1997-2006, to be published by Bloomsbury in September 2006.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Streamyx narrowband non-service

Wan Nazariah Wan Mohd Noor
TM Net Customer Care Support (streamyx@tm.net.my)
TM Net Sdn. Bhd.
Website: www.tm.net.my

(ICOMS#702005-165117)

Please arrange for another rebate to be credited to my account.

My Internet was problematic from March 13 to 20 (Report Number 1109911) with about 10 disconnections a day. Then until last Thursday it was out of action. Fixed on Thursday but with about 3 or 4 disconnections a day. At 0035 hrs on Sunday morning (Report Number 1210873) it kaput until earlier today, March 27.

I have discussed at length with your technician Farid 012-389 5170 who is the chap who has to come everytime to reset the network card in the Telecoms cabinet. Apparently, this network card is faulty and frequently trips. He is as fed up as I am and not just because he has to come to reset the network card every time it trips but also because Telekoms Malaysia doesn't seem to be interested in replacing it with one in working order.

If I can offer some helpful advice: It would be cheaper for you in the long run to replace the faulty network card and find out the reason for the frequent tripping. It could be something as simple as overheating in the cabinet. In which case, you should replace the cooling fan as well.

The rebate of RM14 you gave me the last time is really quite unfair as my neighbour, Puan Rogayah, who faced the same issue I did (as we are connected the the same network card) got a rebate of RM44. In fact, she is so fed up with the problem that she moved to Subang Jaya during the recent school mid-term break. Like me, she does a lot of work online and your narrowband non-service is not something she was able to put up with.

I have done everything I could think of short of asking my MP to move a motion in Parliament to cut your CEO's salary. I am sure you do not enjoy receiving my messages as much as I do not relish your extremely poor service.

Its about time you show what PIONEERING THE POSSIBILITIES really means and fix the problem once and for all.

with much regret
Azlan Adnan

On 3/9/06, TM Net Customer Care Support (streamyx@tm.net.my) wrote:
> Dear Mr. Azlan Adnan,
>
> Thank you once again for your e-mail to TM Net. Firstly, we apologise for the late reply.
>
> With regards to your previous request for rebate, we would like to inform you that adjustment has been made to your account and it is reflected on your 11 February 2006 bill. Alternatively, you may check your latest outstanding amount via https://tmbill.tm.net.my.
>
> Should you require any further assistance or to submit any enquiry / feedback, kindly visit www.tm.net.my and click on Customer Support or call 1-300-88-9515.
> Thank you.
>
>
> Regards,
> Wan Nazariah Wan Mohd Noor
> Customer Care Support,
> TM Net Sdn. Bhd.
> Website: www.tm.net.my
>
> (ICOMS#702005-165117)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AZLAN ADNAN
> Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 11:01 PM
> To: streamyx@tm.net.my
> Subject: Re: Re : Re: rebate request
>
> ***********************
> This e-mail was scanned by TM Net E-Mail Virus Shield.
> ***********-***********
>
>
> I am quite fed up with your lack of service. In the past week alone I have
> had to make two service disruption reports: 649273, 699924, the last one
> being only this afternoon,
>
> Are service disruptions a permanent feature of your "service"?
>
> What exactly is preventing you from implementing a permanent solution to my
> woes?
>
> Until and unless you fix this issue, you will continue to be hearing from
> me, profanity or no profanity. Sometimes you come up with such ridiculously
> preposterous statements and exhibit such denial of the lack of service that
> you do no provide, that it is impossible to believe that you are serious and
> sincere in wanting to fix this issue.
>
> Please exhibit some empathy with the difficulties you cause me and fix the
> issue permanently. Surely you can't now say this is too much to ask for?
>
> still waiting
>
> On 1/24/06, TM Net Customer Care Support (streamyx@tm.net.my) wrote:
> >
> > Dear Mr. Azlan,
> >
> > Thank you once again for your e-mail to TM Net.
> >
> > Further to your enquiries on rebate request, kindly note we have suggested
> > a rebate due to the Streamyx service interruption. This has been proposed
> > to our management. Please note that, the rebate approval is depending on
> > our management. Once approved, the adjustment to be reflected in your
> > account.
> >
> > Kindly note that, we wish to assist you. However your language might be
> > hindrance to this. Kindly refrain from using profanity as our communication
> > will going smoother.
> >
> > We apologise for the inconvenience caused you have encountered. Your
> > patience and understanding are highly appreciated.
> >
> > Should you require any further assistance or to submit any enquiry /
> > feedback, kindly visit www.tm.net.my and click on Customer Support or call
> > 1-300-88-9515.
> > Thank you.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> > Noor Aziean bt Omar
> > Customer Care Support,
> > TM Net Sdn. Bhd.
> > Website: www.tm.net.my
> >
> > (ICOMS#564669-146865 ONYX#5216757)
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Azlan Adnan
> > Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 2:01 AM
> > To: streamyx@tm.net.my
> > Subject: Re: rebate request
> >
> > ***********************
> > This e-mail was scanned by TM Net E-Mail Virus Shield.
> > ***********************
> >
> >
> > dear stupid person,
> >
> > your bloody backside "Furthermore, we can see that you are able to get
> > connected smoothly to your Streamyx account."
> >
> > you must be fucking blind or what.
> >
> > u people at TM don't know the first thing about customer service, so just
> > stop being in denial and fix the service disruptions.
> >
> > why does the DSL light go out almost every day? sometimes for just a few
> > minutes, sometimes for 3 days or more. of course lah not until a week. so
> > if
> > you give me problems that don't last a week u buggers think you are giving
> > good service?
> >
> > Kepala hotak engkau! u people are so stupid it make me so angry.
> >
> > geram nyer!!!
> >
> > On 1/7/06, TM Net Customer Care Support (streamyx@tm.net.my) wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear Encik Azlan,
> > >
> > > Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. Firstly, we would
> > > like to apologise for the late reply.
> > >
> > > We refer to your request for rebate due to Streamyx service
> > > disruption. Upon investigate further with our technical department, we
> > > regret to inform you that we are unable to proceed with any rebate
> > request
> > > as we noted that your connection problem in November 2005 being
> > rectified by
> > > our technical personnel within 7 days from the date
> > reported. Furthermore,
> > > we can see that you are able to get connected smoothly to your Streamyx
> > > account. We apologise for any inconvenience.
> > >
> > > Should you require any further assistance or to submit any enquiry /
> > > feedback, kindly visit www.tm.net.my and click on Customer Support or
> > call
> > > 1-300-88-9515.
> > > Thank you.
> > >
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Shamsida Bt. Abdullah,
> > > Customer Care Support,
> > > TM Net Sdn. Bhd.
> > > Website: www.tm.net.my
> > >
> > > (ICOMS#398064-139819 ONYX#4761246)

One Last Drive

A True Story by Kent Nerburn

There was a time in my life twenty years ago when I was driving a cab for a living. It was a cowboy's life, a gambler's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss, constant movement, and the thrill of a dice roll every time a new passenger got into the cab.

What I didn't count on when I took the job was that it was also a ministry. Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a rolling confessional. Passengers would climb in, sit behind me in total anonymity, and tell me of their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and made me weep. And none of those lives touched me more than that of a woman I picked up late on a warm August night.

I was responding to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a someone going off to an early shift at some factory for the industrial part of town.

When I arrived at the address, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground-floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a short minute, then drive away. Too many bad possibilities awaited a drive who went up to a darkened building at 2:30 in the morning.

But I had seen too many people trapped in a life of poverty who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation had a real whiff of danger, I always went to the door to find the passenger. It might, I reasoned, be someone who needs my assistance. Would I not want a driver to do the same if my mother or father had called for a cab? So I walked to the door and knocked.

"Just a minute," answered a frail and elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman somewhere in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like you might see in a costume shop or a Goodwill store or in a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The sound had been her dragging it across the floor.

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm, and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice." I looked in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to go?" I asked. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they had first been married. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she would have me slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now." We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. "How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said.

"You have to make a living," she answered.

"There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held on to me tightly. "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

There was nothing more to say. I squeezed her hand once, then walked out into the dim morning light. Behind me, I could hear the door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I did not pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the remainder of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? How many other moments like that had I missed or failed to grasp? What if I had been in a foul mood and had refused to engage the woman in conversation?

We are so conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unawares. When that woman hugged me and said that I had brought her a moment of joy, it was possible to believe that I had been placed on earth for the sole purpose of providing her with that last ride.

I do not think that I have ever done anything in my life that was any more important.

The changing face of Malaysian politics


Nik Aziz Nik Mat has controversial views about women

By Jonathan Kent
BBC, Kuala Lumpur

Recently the daughter of a former prime minister of Malaysia compared the fate of Muslim women to black South Africans under apartheid. And senior police officers received a public dressing-down by their chief for a lack of awareness of human rights. But Jonathan Kent is keen to put on record that, behind the headlines, lurks another, different, Malaysia.

On a good day I reckon I have the best job in the world.

It gives me an excuse to talk to people from every walk of life in Malaysia.

I have interviewed prime ministers and religious leaders and businessmen, but that also means spending inordinate amounts of time in smart residencies and marble dressed hotels and that is not the Malaysia I love.

There is a modest wooden house next to the mosque in Kampung Melaka.

The green paint is peeling and the door hinges could use a spot of oil. But it is home to Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the elderly chief minister of the state of Kelantan and the spiritual leader of Malaysia's conservative Islamic opposition party PAS.

Nik Aziz studied at the same religious school as all but one of the leaders of Afghanistan's Taleban.

In the past he has declared that wearing make-up can invite rape, that the state should offer jobs to ugly women because pretty ones can find husbands, and that TV sport shows featuring skimpily clad women should be banned.

But if you are picturing an irascible boggle-eyed firebrand think again.

He [Nik Aziz] may believe that I am going to burn in hell but he is always charming and welcoming, and there is always a mischievous sparkle in his eye

Nik Aziz embodies the deep-rooted gentility that is one of the defining characteristics of Malay culture.

He may believe that I am going to burn in hell but he is always charming and welcoming, and there is always a mischievous sparkle in his eye.

And however uncompromising his pronouncements, he always ends them by saying: "But that is just what I, an old man, believe. You must decide for yourselves."

It is a humility he shares with Malaysia's Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, a man whose heart belongs to the country's small towns and villages where decency can still prevail.

'Quiet dignity'

Halfway up the Cameron Highlands road, down a blink-and-you-miss-it turning, through a ramshackle village, across a river and through the forest, is another small home.

It belongs to Zaini, a member of one of Malaysia's indigenous communities collectively known as the orang asli.

It is a hut made of bamboo and thatched with palm leaves. The air flows though the slatted floor and it is perfectly cool even in the tropical heat.

Zaini brings pineapple from the field outside and you have never tasted fruit so sweet.

The orang asli are defined by the land. Their relationship with it is spiritual as well as material.

And though nearly 50 years after independence Malaysia is yet to give most of its indigenous people ownership of their ancestral land, they struggle on with quiet dignity.

Indeed dignity is a quality I associate with many of the poorest Malaysians.

The rubber tappers, the farmers, the tea pickers, the hunter gatherers. They raise their families, put food on their tables, eke out the little money they have with great stoicism and hope for a better future.


Some dishes are more exotic than others at the kopitiam

'Extraordinary' food
In Pulau Tikus on Penang Island there is a coffee shop - I forget its name - what locals call a kopitiam, in the hokkien Chinese dialect.

It is old and not particularly clean, its tables and chairs are plastic and the food is extraordinary only in the way that much of the food in Malaysia is extraordinary.

They do a few dishes and they do them well. This is the kind of place I meet up with friend or interviewees and where they ask the key Malaysian questions.

"Can you take spicy ah?" They push small bowls of hot chillies towards me and look coy.

"Spicy, no problem," I'll say and pop a chilli padi in my mouth.

"You can take belacan [dried shrimp paste]?" they ask.

"Belacan oso," I reply, "and petai."

Petai are crunchy beans with a metallic flavour whose essence comes back to haunt one hours or even days after they have been eaten.

They look impressed.

These last two years the quiet Malaysians have started to speak up
"What about durian?" Durian is a fruit the taste of which has been described as like eating cheese off a dead body.

"Aiyoh," I say "durian cannot," and screw up my face.

At this point everyone will laugh.

Political awakening

This kopitiam is the favourite of Lim Kean Chye. The doyen of Penang lawyers, 86-years-old and sharp as a pin.

I ask him what has changed here during his lifetime.

"Nothing," he says. And of course it has not.

The noodles are the same, the local coffee, the chatter as people meet friends and eat.

But then he tells me of the old days when doors were left unlocked, bullock carts were parked on Northam Road and there was always a free cup of tea for the rickshaw pullers.


Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became prime minister in October 2003

There is a nation of quiet Malaysians out there.

Recently I recorded five from very different ethnic, religious and political backgrounds debating police reform, something I think they may have been too scared to do under the old premier, Mahathir Mohamad.

But these last two years the quiet Malaysians have started to speak up.

And though the braying benches of parliamentarians who call one another monkeys or racists warn that public debate will lead to race war, disorder and strife, the Malaysians I meet can thrash out the issues and get along with one another just fine.

And with a quiet Malaysian like Abdullah Badawi at the helm perhaps their time has come.

From Our Own Correspondent was broadcast on Saturday, 25 March, 2006 at 1130 GMT on BBC Radio 4. Please check the programme schedules for World Service transmission times.

THREE WAYS TO LISTEN AGAIN
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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4841580.stm

Published: 2006/03/25 12:49:41 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Surprise, surpise!

These websites have a lot of surprises, if not exactly interesting!

Whore Presents: www.whorepresents.com
Expert Sex Change: www.expertsexchange.com
Penis Land: www.penisland.com
The Rapist Finder: www.therapistfinder.com
Molestation Nursery: www.molestationnursery.com

Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

Syed Albar's fruitless junket to Myanmar


Syed Hamid Albar (right) was not allowed to see Aung San Suu Kyi


March 25, 2006 14:58 PM
Myanmar Opposition Unhappy No Meeting With Syed Hamid

By D. Arul Rajoo

BANGKOK, March 25 (Bernama) -- The National League for Democracy, Myanmar's main opposition party, is disappointed that an Asean fact-finding delegation led by Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar did not meet them.

The Chiang Mai-based Irrawaddy online news said NLD confirmed that Syed Hamid did not hold any meeting with the party.

"We are very sorry. Why didn't they meet with us?" Irrawaddy quoted NLD spokesman Myint Thein as saying from the party's headquarters in Yangon.

Despite a request to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, Syed Hamid did not see her.

The state-run The New Light of Myanmar called the trip by the Asean delegation a goodwill visit.

Irrawaddy said Asean's first attempt at making a balanced assessment of Myanmar's democratic progress appeared to have ended in failure.

The online news site is run by Irrawaddy Publishing Group which was established in 1992 by Myanmar nationals living in exile following the 1990 Suu Kyi-led NLD election victory which Myanmar's military rulers refused to recognise.

It quoted veteran politician Amyotheryei Win Naing who questioned Syed Hamid's decision to shroud the trip in secrecy despite intense interest from inside and outside Myanmar.

"I believe Mr Albar is going to tone down the trip's consequences in this way so that he might have the possibility to come back here later," he said.

Syed Hamid, who arrived in Yangon on Thursday, left the capital yesterday after meeting Prime Minister Gen Soe Win and Foreign Minister Nyan Win but did not meet the junta leader Senior General Than Shwe.

During his last trip to the capital in October last year, Syed Hamid met all the three leaders.

Yesterday, he also met the head of the junta-affiliated Union Solidarity and Development Association, Htay Oo, who is also Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation, and the vice chairman of the National Convention Convening Committee Aung Toe.

Syed Hamid had described the visit as a chance to obtain first-hand information on the progress of the implementation of the reconciliation and democratisation process in Myanmar.

Asean, under pressure by the international community, reached an agreement with Myanmar at its summit in Kuala Lumpur last December to allow a delegation led by Syed Hamid to visit the country and evaluate its progress towards democracy.

Syed Hamid is expected to submit a report on his trip during the Asean Foreign Ministers meeting in Bali on April 17 and 18.

-- BERNAMA



Malaysian FM cuts off Burma trip

Malaysia's foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, has cut short his fact-finding trip to Burma, in which he was due to check progress on political reform.

It was not clear why Mr Syed Hamid left Burma on Friday, rather than Saturday, as scheduled.

He met the Burmese prime minister, but his request to see the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, was not granted.

Mr Syed Hamid made the trip as an envoy of the regional diplomatic group Asean.

As current chairman of the group - the Association of South East Asian Nations - he was sent to evaluate whether Burma's military junta is implementing its plan for political reform.

Burma has been widely criticised for a lack of progress.

Several times Burma postponed the envoy's visit, saying it was too busy moving its administrative capital, or discussing democratic reform.

This was a snub to Asean to pay it back for forcing Burma to forego its turn as chair of the organisation, the BBC's South-East Asia correspondent Kylie Morris says.

She says it is unlikely this uncompleted fact-finding mission will see Burma restored to the bosom of Asean.

Regional impact

Before arriving in Rangoon, Mr Syed Hamid said his aim was to "obtain first hand information on the progress of the implementation of the reconciliation [with the opposition] and democratisation process in Myanmar [Burma]".

But he did not meet anyone from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.

He will brief Asean foreign ministers on his findings during their 17-18 April summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Malaysia has said a failure to reform by Burma, which is a member of Asean, is starting to cause problems for the whole region.

Mr Syed Hamid says Burma's neighbours can only continue to defend the regime internationally if they can report back that there is progress towards reform.



March 29, 2006 15:51 PM
Myanmar Leaders In Exile Want Syed Hamid To Meet Opposition Parties

By D. Arul Rajoo

BANGKOK, March 29 (Bernama) -- A Myanmar government-in-exile leader has urged Asean to set clear conditions and pressure the Myanmar government to let Asean special envoy Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar to meet opposition parties, student activists and, particularly, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is under house arrest.

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) said Syed Hamid's recent fact-finding mission was incomplete as he had failed to meet these groups of people who were important in any national reconciliation process.

Its Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Bo Hla-Tint, said the Asean foreign minister's retreat in Bali next month must affirm its stance that the Malaysian foreign minister must be allowed to meet Suu Kyi and other opposition figures.

"This must be a continuous process and such visits must be frequent. It's good that Asean managed to have direct political engagement but it's not enough just meeting government leaders," he said when launching NCGUB's 12th report on "Human Rights in Burma 2005", here today.

Myanmar's military rulers do not recognise the Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy party's victory in the 1990 general election.

Bo said Syed Hamid was not allowed to meet opposition figures because the military government considered him as visiting the country in his capacity as the foreign minister of Malaysia and not as a special envoy of Asean.

"They have been telling their people and the media it was a visit by the Malaysian foreign minister and not a visit by the Asean special envoy," he said.

Last week, Syed Hamid made a two-day visit to Yangon and met Prime Minister Gen Soe Win and Foreign Minister Nyan Win but did not meet the junta leader Senior General Than Shwe.

He made the trip after Asean, under pressure from the international community, reached an agreement with Myanmar during the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur last December to allow a delegation led by Syed Hamid to visit the country and evaluate its progress towards democracy.

Syed Hamid is expected to submit a report on his trip at the Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Bali on April 17 and 18.

Bo said he had made a request through the Malaysian embassy here to meet Syed Hamid but had yet to receive approval.

Asked about Suu Kyi's condition, Bo, a qualified civil engineer who won a seat in the 1990 general election in Myanmar but is living in exile in Washington, said there was hardly any confirmation as outsiders were not allowed to see her.

"Only her doctor can see her with permission from the top authorities but he is not allowed to reveal her condition. She underwent two operations last year ... we are also not sure of rumours that she has cancer," he said.

Bo said that while Asean was doing its best to change the situation in Myanmar, the country's neighbours China, India and Thailand could play a bigger role to pressure the military regime.

Former Thai diplomat Asda Jayarama said that while India and Thailand could be influenced, it needed intervention from United Nations Security Council members with veto powers to talk with China.

"I am sure this can be done ... there are a lot of tradeoffs happening among the big five," he said.

On the Myanmar military regime's sudden decision to move the country's capital to Pyinmana, Bo said it was an irrational one and was done due to phobia and fear of foreign invasion.

"This is not a joke but from what we heard from inside the country, the first lady (Than Shwe's wife) had a bad dream.

So, an advisory group of prominent astrologers came up with the idea of moving the capital to avoid bad luck. Until then, they had wanted to move only the military headquarters, said Bo.

-- BERNAMA

Friday, March 24, 2006

Dr Zaki Badawi


Zaki Badawi: Leading figure in British Islam


I was saddened to learn of Dr Zaki Badawi's passing today, exactly two months after he died. I met him at The Muslim College in London ten years ago and found him a very gracious, humble yet learned gentleman.


Influential Muslim cleric mourned

Prince Charles and Tony Blair are among leading figures to have paid tribute to one of the UK's most influential Muslim clerics, Zaki Badawi, who has died.

He was principal of the Muslim College in Britain and called for Muslims to engage fully with life in the country.

Mr Blair described him as "a wonderful mix of spirituality and practicality", while the prince said his death was "a blow personally and for the country".

Dr Badawi, 83, collapsed and died after delivering a speech in London.

'Warm-hearted'

Dr Badawi was a former imam of Regent's Park Mosque, in London, and forged close ties with Jewish and Christian leaders.

Following his election in 1984, he had served as the chairman of the Council of Mosques and Imams of the United Kingdom.

The Muslim College in Britain was a seminary he founded to train imams and Muslim leaders in the West.

In the aftermath of the 7 July London bombings, Dr Badawi was consulted by the government on how best to tackle extremism.

"Dr Badawi's passing constitutes a major loss for British Muslims"
Sir Iqbal Sacranie
Muslim Council of Britain

Prince Charles said in a statement: "His brand of wisdom, scholarship, far-sightedness and above all humour has ensured that Zaki played an extraordinarily important role in the life of this country and amongst the Muslim community.

"His hard-won legacy will, I hope, provide a fitting tribute to a truly remarkable and warm-hearted man."

Dr Badawi's death came on the day of a major gathering of Christians and Muslims at London's Lambeth Palace to mark the launch of the Christian Muslim Forum.

Dr Badawi had agreed to serve as an adviser to the forum and had been due to attend the event on Tuesday evening.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Blair paid tribute to the cleric's "excellent work" which he had carried out during "a lifetime of service".

He said Dr Badawi had been "a special person" and it was poignant he had died on the same day the forum had been launched.

Later, Tory leader David Cameron said: "Zaki Badawi's contribution to the integration of Muslims in British national life will be remembered and his death is a great loss."

'Man of conscience'

Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, who worked on inter-faith initiatives with Dr Badawi, said he was the "face and voice of Islamic dignity and tolerance".

"He was a man of conscience and courage and I cherished his friendship," Sir Jonathan added.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, described Dr Badawi as a "uniquely effective interpreter of Islam" and paid tribute to Dr Badawi's contribution to Christian-Muslim dialogue.

A statement from the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said it was "shocked and saddened" by Dr Badawi's death.

"Dr Badawi's passing constitutes a major loss for British Muslims," said Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary-general of the MCB.

The editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed Versi, said Dr Badawi's death was a "loss to all communities".

"Dr Badawi was a great scholar of Islam and has made a huge contribution to the Muslim community. His devotion to inter-faith dialogue was unparalleled," Mr Versi said.



Obituary: Dr Zaki Badawi
By Dominic Casciani and Andrew Walker
BBC News

Dr Zaki Badawi was one of the UK's most respected Muslim leaders, who preached harmony between different faiths.


Many of his supporters regarded him as the unofficial "Grand Mufti of Britain", a leading voice who could command respect within his own faith, and among others.

Following his election in 1984, he had served as the chairman of the Council of Mosques and Imams of the United Kingdom. For the same period, he was the principal of the Muslim College in Britain, a seminary he founded to train imams and Muslim leaders in the West.

It was the first Muslim body in the United Kingdom to offer university-accredited qualifications for Islamic theological training, the equivalent of studying divinity to enter the Church of England.

Born in Egypt in 1922, Dr Badawi was educated at Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious of the major Islamic institutions.

"His brand of wisdom, scholarship, far-sightedness and above all humour has ensured that Zaki played an extraordinarily important role in the life of this country and amongst the Muslim community"
Prince of Wales

Continuing to study at the University of London, he obtained his Doctorate in modern Muslim thought. His teaching posts took him to universities in Malaysia, Singapore and Nigeria.

On his return to Britain, Dr Badawi was Director of the Islamic Cultural Centre, the Chief Imam of London Central Mosque in Regent's Park and also helped to establish the Sharia Council which gives guidance to Muslims on important issues of the day.

It was during his time as imam at Regent's Park that he began calling for imams to focus on using English in their sermons, and on doing more to reflect life in the UK, rather than life on another continent.

This, he argued, was crucial to help the immigrant Muslim communities fit in and find acceptance in their new home.

Dr Badawi's council aimed to reconcile any conflict between Islamic law and the British civil code.

As part of his work, Dr Badawi negotiated with the Bank of England and Treasury to establish the UK's first licensed Islamic financial institutions, such as mortgages compliant with Islamic law, which opposes the paying of interest.

Moves like these, he argued, were classic examples of allowing people of faith to follow their deeply-held beliefs while at the same time playing a full part in society.

Understanding across faiths

But some of Dr Badawi's most important work came in the field of inter-faith relations. The cleric, who had a dry wit, became close friends with many senior figures in British Christian and Jewish life, regularly holding meetings with them in mosques, churches and synagogues.

One of the key bodies to which Dr Badawi dedicated his time was the Maimonides Foundation, an organisation that sought to build understanding between Jews and Muslims, both in the UK and in the Middle East.

Mehri Niknam, director of the foundation, said he had been like a "wise father" in the counsel he offered to those determined to break down barriers.

Many years ago he became a key adviser to the Prince of Wales on Islamic issues. Those initial meetings led to a warm friendship, with Dr Badawi and the Prince often meeting to debate world events.

Dr Badawi also enjoyed contributing to the media, including television. This enthusiasm for speaking out ran contrary to many of his peers who were wary of speaking beyond the mosques where they gave sermons.

He was awarded an honorary knighthood in 2004, one of the few senior Muslims to be given such an award because of their work in faith issues, rather than other fields such as business or medicine.

Facing extremism

He called the events of 11 September 2001 "a violation of Islamic laws and ethics".

When a fatwa was placed upon Salman Rushdie for his Satanic Verses, Badawi took a different position to many British Muslims, saying spurn the book, but save the man.

He waged a scholarly war against forced marriages and female circumcision, citing their cultural rather than Islamic roots.

And he was outraged after being detained at JFK airport last August before being prevented from entering the US. A week later he was given an "unreserved apology" and assurances of a visa by the US Embassy in London. US authorities never explained why he was refused entry.

In the wake of the July 7 bombings of London, Dr Badawi returned to themes that he had first raised on arrival in the UK many years before, saying that Muslims needed to seize the opportunity to reclaim from extremists the presentation of their faith.

In one of his last interviews with the BBC in the autumn of 2004, he called for more local accountability and democracy in the mosques. He said this would help communities find figures who could give moral leadership.

Critically, he said the younger generation were best placed to present the true face of Islam to British society, given widespread concern about terrorism.

Some European-born Islamic thinkers are now pushing the liberal boundaries of what many Muslims usually regard as the authentic code of their faith. But Dr Badawi was more of a traditionalist at heart, rather than an out-and-out reformer.

He himself, though, tried to resist definition. While some non-Muslims considered him a liberal thinker, and some Muslims considered him too radical, he himself said he did not like words such as "moderate".

"It implies I am somehow less of a Muslim," he said. "I call myself mainstream."

Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

Sunday, March 12, 2006

UK happy Iraq is 'a mess'

UK foreign office minister Kim Howells has admitted the situation in Iraq is "a mess."

Howells, who is visiting the country to examine the oil industry, however, played down fears of a civil war.

He said Iraq was undergoing a "very, very painful process" and praised how ordinary Iraqis were adapting to the country's changes. He said Iraq was also no longer in a position to harm other countries.

"Iraq as a mess, But it is a mess that can't launch an attack now on Iran; a mess that won't be able to march into Kuwait; it's a mess that can't develop nuclear weapons. So yes it's a mess but it's starting to look like the sort of mess that most of us live in."

Don't you just wish you could smack that smirk off his gloating face? A true Bushite apologist, if you ask me.

Balkan war criminals still at large


Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic (right):
On the run for 10 years

Two top indicted war crimes suspects are unlikely to be arrested anytime soon. Bosnian Serb wartime leader Radovan Karadzic and his former top general Ratko Mladic have been on the run for 10 years, accused of genocide.

The fact that the two fugitives remain free has increased speculation that both are now living in neighbouring Serbia and Montenegro and are therefore out of reach of peacekeepers in Bosnia.

For 10 years, the two former Bosnian Serb leaders have thumbed their noses at the West.

Accused of genocide, they have been at the top of The Hague's most wanted list since the transfer of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic to the international war crimes tribunal in 2001.

The West's attempts to capture them have been characterised by unfulfilled promises, botched arrest attempts and, until recently, a distinct lack of interest.

Radovan Karadzic, the former political leader and Ratko Mladic, his military commander, have managed to exploit not only their hero status among many Serbs but also the remote, inaccessible mountains and valleys where they are believed to have spent much of their time in hiding.

The two men have managed to evade arrest for so long but, it is believed, they have done so in different ways and have been supported by different people.

In 2004, documents leaked by western diplomats suggested general Mladic was still enjoying the protection of the Bosnian Serb military.

General Mladic's erstwhile political leader, Radovan Karadzic, has been somewhat difficult to track down. It is understood that very little hard evidence has emerged about his movements since he disappeared from his former wartime headquarters in the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale.

Most recent intelligence reports put Karadzic living in the remote mountains of north-west Montenegro, not far from his home town of Niksic. But international peacekeepers cannot act there, as the area is part of Serbia and Montenegro.

Indicted
Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic have both been charged and indicted in absentia by the United Nations war crimes tribunal at The Hague.

They face 16 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and violation of the laws of war in Bosnia-Hercegovina between April 1992 and July 1995.

The indictment says Karadzic, a former Bosnian Serb leader, and Mladic, who was a chief of the Bosnian Serb army, are responsible for persecution of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians on national, political and religious grounds.

The tribunal says Karadzic's and Mladic's squads killed thousands of Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 "in order to kill, terrorise and demoralise the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat population".

THE CHARGES

  • Persecution of Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat civilians
  • Targeting of political leaders, intellectuals and professionals
  • Unlawful deportation and transfer of civilians
  • Unlawful shelling of civilians
  • Unlawful appropriation and plunder of property
  • Destruction of homes and businesses
  • Destruction of places of worship

    It says Karadzic and Mladic are responsible for the unlawful confinement, murder, rape and inhumane treatment of the civilian population in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

    It lists detention facilities, such as Omarska, Keraterm and Luka, where Bosnian Muslims and Croats were detained and says the camp commanders were accountable to Karadzic and Mladic.

    In many instances, women and girls were repeatedly raped. Food rations and medical care in the prisons were inadequate.

    Karadzic and Mladic are accused of shelling Sarajevo and of using 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995. Both men are charged with the unlawful appropriation and destruction of property and places of worship. The tribunal also accuses Karadzic and Mladic of committing grave breaches and violations of the laws or customs of war.

    Radovan Karadzic: Psychologist, poet and war crimes suspect

    Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is one of the most wanted men in the world. Accused of leading the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims and Croats, he has twice been indicted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

    The UN says his forces killed at least 7,500 Muslim men and boys from Srebrenica in July 1995 as part of a campaign to "terrorise and demoralise the Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat population".

    He was also charged over the shelling of Sarajevo, and the use of 284 UN peacekeepers as human shields in May and June 1995.

    He was obliged to step down as president of the SDS in 1996 as the West threatened sanctions against Republika Srpska, and later went into hiding.

    Karadzic was born in 1945 in a stable in Savnik, Montenegro.

    His father, Vuk, had been a member of the Chetniks - Serb nationalist guerrillas who fought against both Nazi occupiers and Tito's communist partisans in World War II - and was in jail for much of his son's childhood.

    His mother, Jovanka Karadzic, described her son as loyal, and a hard worker, who used to help her in the home and in the field.

    She said he was a serious boy who was respectful towards the elderly and helped his school friends with their homework.

    In 1960 he moved to Sarajevo, where he later met his wife, Ljiljana, graduated as a doctor, and became a psychologist in a city hospital.

    He also became a poet and fell under the influence of the Serb nationalist writer Dobrica Cosic, who encouraged him to go into politics.

    Years later, after working briefly for the Green Party, he helped set up the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) - formed in 1990 in response to the rise of national and Croat parties in Bosnia and dedicated to the goal of a Greater Serbia.

    Less than two years later, as Bosnia-Hercegovina gained recognition as an independent state, he declared the creation of the independent Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina (later renamed Republika Srpska) with its capital in Sarajevo, and himself as head of state.


    Ratko Mladic: carried out ethnic cleansing of Croats and Muslims

    Ratko Mladic was Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's army chief throughout the Bosnian war. Along with Karadzic, he came to symbolise the Serb campaign of ethnic cleansing of Croats and Muslims and is one of the most wanted suspects from the Bosnia conflict.

    Ratko Mladic was born in Bosnia, in the village of Kalinovik, in 1942. He was brought up in Tito's Yugoslavia, becoming a regular officer in the Yugoslav People's Army.

    INDICTMENT CHARGES

  • Genocide
  • Complicity in genocide
  • Crimes against humanity
  • Violations of laws or customs of war

    As the country began to disintegrate in 1991, he was posted to lead the Yugoslav army's 9th Corps against Croatian forces at Knin. Later he took command of the Yugoslav Army's Second Military District, based in Sarajevo.

    Then, in May 1992, the Bosnian Serb Assembly voted to create a Bosnian Serb army, appointing General Mladic commander.

    He is considered to have been one of the prime movers in the siege of Sarajevo and in 1995 led the Serb onslaught against the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica, the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.

    Bosnian Serb forces laid siege to the Srebrenica enclave, where tens of thousands of civilians had taken refuge from earlier Serb offensives in north-eastern Bosnia.

    The Serb forces bombarded Srebrenica with heavy shelling and rocket fire for five days before Mladic entered the town accompanied by Serb camera crews.

    The next day, buses arrived to take the women and children sheltering in Srebrenica to Muslim territory, while the Serbs separated out all Muslim men and boys from age 12 to 77 for "interrogation for suspected war crimes".

    In the five days after Bosnian Serb forces overran Srebrenica, at least 7,500 Muslim men and boys were murdered.

    After the end of the Bosnian war, Mladic returned to Belgrade, enjoying the open support and protection of Milosevic. He lived openly in the city - visiting public places, eating in expensive restaurants and even attending football matches until Milosevic's arrest.

    Having lived freely in Belgrade for some time, Mladic disappeared from view when former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was arrested in 2001.

    Starting in October 2004 former aides to Mladic began surrendering to the war crimes tribunal, as Belgrade came under intense international pressure to co-operate. They included Radivoje Miletic and Milan Gvero, both accused of involvement in ethnic cleansing.
  • Bush domestic policy adviser charged with thefts


    Claude Allen:
    was considered a rising Republican star

    US President George W Bush's former political adviser has been charged with stealing more than US$5,000 from department stores.

    Claude Allen resigned abruptly as his domestic policy adviser last month.

    Allen, 45, has denied at least 25 thefts from Target and Hecht's stores.

    The scam allegedly involved Allen claiming refunds for merchandise that he did not buy.

    Allen was arrested on Thursday (9 March 2006) by police in Montgomery County, Maryland, following an investigation into an alleged incident at the Target store in Gaithersburg, Maryland on 2 January.

    A Target employee said he saw Allen put items in an empty Target bag, which he then took to the refund desk with a receipt, and claimed money back, according to a police statement.

    He was credited more than $5,000 to his credit card through similar transactions at other shops, police said.

    'Misunderstanding'

    Allen reported the 2 January incident to White House staff the next day, saying it was a misunderstanding related to his credit cards, a White House spokesman said.

    "He assured them that he had done nothing wrong and the matter would be cleared up," the spokesman said.

    Allen, a lawyer born in Philadelphia, was promoted to White House domestic policy adviser in early 2005, having been the No 2 official at the health and human services department.

    Appeals court nominee

    President Bush had nominated him in 2003 for a seat on the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia, but withdrew him because of political opposition.

    Allen resigned suddenly on 9 February, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.

    Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

    Balkan war criminals cheat justice


    Slobodan Milosevic:
    architect of Balkan "ethnic cleansing"

    War criminal former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has died in the detention centre at The Hague tribunal.

    The tribunal said Milosevic, 64, was found dead in his cell on Saturday morning and that although the cause was not yet clear, there was no indication of suicide.


    Milosevic's untimely death is a blow to prosecutors, who had been hoping to convict him as being part of a joint criminal enterprise that operated across the former Yugoslavia, intent on setting up a greater Serbian state.

    Milosevic faced charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged central role in the wars in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo during the 1990s. He also faced genocide charges over the 1992-95 Bosnia war, in which 200,000 people died.

    Mothers and widows of Muslims killed in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war said they regretted that Milosevic's death meant he would never face justice for the killings.

    "However, it seems that God punished him already," said Hajra Catic of the Association of Srebrenica mothers.

    Serbia-Montenegro's Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic, who accused Milosevic of organising the assassinations of many of his colleagues and family, said it was a pity the former president had not faced justice in Belgrade.

    Both the former Serbian leader's parents committed suicide.

    Milosevic's death comes just six days after a fellow Serb prisoner at The Hague, Milan Babic, committed suicide.

    The Croatian Serb leader had pleaded guilty to crimes against humanity carried out during the 1991-95 war in Croatia.



    Milan Babic:
    admitted persecuting the non-Serb population in Krajina

    Milan Babic had expressed shame and remorse

    Former Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic has committed suicide in his prison cell in The Hague, the UN war crimes tribunal has said.


    Babic, 50, was serving a 13-year prison term for crimes against humanity, after admitting persecuting the non-Serb population in Croatia's Krajina region.

    He was a key ally of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic but later testified against him at the tribunal.

    He was found dead on Sunday (5 March 2006) evening, the tribunal said in a statement.

    Babic was president of the self-declared breakaway Krajina Serb republic, covering about one-third of Croatian territory, after Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.

    He was jailed in 2004 for crimes committed during Croatia's 1991-1995 war. In return for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped four other charges of murder, cruelty and the wanton destruction of villages.

    It is the second time a detainee in The Hague has committed suicide. The first was Slavko Dokmanovic, another Croatian Serb leader, in 1998.



    Slavko Dokmanovic:
    responsible for Vukovar massacre

    The Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague has confirmed that the former Serb mayor of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar committed suicide while he was in custody awaiting sentence.

    The inquiry decided that he hanged himself with his tie while depressed.


    The tribunal's investigation found that on the day of his death, Dokmanovic had already had two unsuccessful suicide attempts. He finally hanged himself from a wardrobe door.

    Slavko Dokmanovic, who was considered one of the biggest catches of the tribunal, was found hanging in his cell shortly after midnight on 29 June 1998, just a week before a verdict in his case was due.

    Dokmanovic was accused of complicity in the 1991 slaying of more than 200 hospital patients in Vukovar. He was accused of overseeing the eviction of at least two-hundred men, mostly Croats, who'd been sheltering in Vukovar hospital. They were then killed by rebel Serbs, protected by the Federal Yugoslav Army.


    Vukovar:
    suffered a three-month siege by Serb forces

    Vukovar was a modestly prosperous, sleepy, provincial town in eastern Croatia, near the border with Serbia, noted for its picturesque baroque architecture. That was before the war for Croatia's independence erupted in July 1991.

    By the end of its three-month siege at the hands of Serb forces in November 1991, Vukovar had become utterly devastated.


    It was, perhaps, the most comprehensively destroyed town of any size in either Bosnia-Herzegovina or Croatia during the wars of the first half of the 1990s.

    Capture of the town was an important strategic objective for the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army. It was designed to consolidate Serb control over the region of Croatia known as eastern Slavonia.

    That objective was achieved, even though there was little left, apart from than ruins, following the siege.

    It was also accompanied by the ethnic cleansing of Croats, who prior to the war were present in Vukovar municipality in roughly the same numbers as Serbs.

    Croat defenders of Vukovar later claimed that the town could have been saved from capture by Serb forces if the nationalist President Franjo Tudjman had been willing to send reinforcements.

    Mr Tudjman was accused of deliberately sacrificing Vukovar - dubbed the Croatian Stalingrad because of its devastation - so as to reinforce his portrayal of Croatia as the victim of Serb aggression.

    Grim events

    Whatever the late President Tudjman's intentions, Vukovar has since become a symbol of destruction - and atrocities.

    When the Serb forces took control of Vukovar on 19 November 1991, several hundred people took refuge in the town's hospital in the hope that they would be evacuated in the presence of neutral observers.

    A deal to that effect had earlier been agreed in negotiations between the Yugoslav army and the Croatian government.

    But instead of the hoped-for evacuation, about 400 individuals - including wounded patients, soldiers, hospital staff and Croatian political activists - were removed from the hospital by Yugoslav army and Serb paramilitary forces.

    According to The Hague Tribunal's indictment, which was originally issued in 1995, three Yugoslav army officers, Colonel Mile Mrksic, Major Veselin Sljivancanin and Captain Miroslav Radic, oversaw the removal of some 300 men to Ovcara farm, four kilometres outside Vukovar.

    The detainees were beaten up. Some died of their injuries and approximately 260 of them were executed and then buried in a mass grave.

    Details of the Vukovar massacre soon began to emerge as survivors reported on the events, and doubts began to appear about the large number of missing detainees.

    But it took several years of exhumations and painstaking investigations to gather the evidence that formed the basis of the Tribunal's indictment.

    Trail of guilt

    Subsequently, the Tribunal also issued the first of its sealed, secret indictments; against the wartime Serb mayor of Vukovar, Slavko Dokmanovic.

    With the three army officers out of the Tribunal's reach in President Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia, and with the danger that Dokmanovic might escape from eastern Slavonia across the border to Yugoslavia if he were to be publicly indicted, his arrest by UN forces was swiftly accomplished in 1996.

    Two years later Dokmanovic hanged himself in prison while awaiting the verdict at the end of his trial in The Hague.

    Mrksic and Radic surrendered to the Tribunal after Belgrade began to enact laws on the extradition of indicted war crimes suspects last year.

    Sljivancanin's arrest will now make it possible to go ahead with the trial of all members of the group known as the "Vukovar Three".

    Vukovar, as part of eastern Slavonia, was the only region of Croatia's rebel Serb-held areas to escape capture by the Croatian army in 1995.

    Because it was spared a military campaign in that year with the subsequent refugee exodus, it has also remained the only region with a substantial ethnic Serb community.

    After the Dayton peace treaty for Bosnia and the Erdut agreement for Croatia brought the wars in the region to an end, eastern Slavonia was placed under UN administration for two years.

    It was finally reintegrated with Croatia in 1998.

    Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

    Saturday, March 11, 2006

    Churchill sculpture sparks uproar


    A mental health charity has defended a statue it commissioned of Sir Winston Churchill in a straitjacket.

    The statue has been criticised as "absurd and pathetic" by his grandson, Tory MP Nicholas Soames.

    Charity Rethink commissioned the 9 ft high sculpture, unveiled in Norwich, to highlight the stigma of mental health.

    Rethink said the image of Churchill - who suffered bouts of depression - was designed to "portray a more positive image of people with mental illness".

    "I would question whether his depression was ever really a straitjacket for him."
    Allen Packwood, Churchill Archives Centre

    Rethink director of campaigns Paul Corry said Churchill was often used by professional counsellors when talking about depression.

    "We did not intend the statue to be offensive in any way," he added.

    "The message we want to portray is that it is possible to recover from mental illness and overcome it and be successful - because Churchill is an example of someone who was able to do that.

    "We are not intending to undermine Churchill or denigrate the efforts of anyone involved in the Second World War in any way whatsoever.

    Allen Packwood, director of the Churchill Archives Centre, said while he could understand the reasons for putting up the statue, he disagreed with the portrayal of Churchill.

    "It does highlight the fact that even the most famous individuals, the most iconic, are human, do suffer from human frailties ... and I think it is quite right that that does not diminish him, it heightens his achievements," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

    "What I would question is whether his depression was ever really a straitjacket for him," he added.

    He said did not believe the former prime minister - who liked being in control of his image and being depicted as strong - would have liked the sculpture.

    "I think this illustrates quite positively that Winston Churchill, despite any problem he may have had with his mental health, was able to carry out his functions."
    Norwich North MP Dr Ian Gibson

    But Norwich North MP Dr Ian Gibson disagreed, saying Churchill himself acknowledged his depressive periods.

    "He does record that he has bad days and that he was in a straitjacket," he told the programme.

    "I think this illustrates quite positively that Winston Churchill, despite any problem he may have had with his mental health, was able to carry out his functions," he said.

    Commenting on the statue, Mr Soames MP said he was sure the mental health charity behind the project was perfectly "sensible," but the idea of showing Winston Churchill who suffered from depression wearing a straitjacket was "appalling and a pity," but would not harm his grandfather's memory.

    'Publicity paying off'

    Peter Threadkell of the Norwich branch of the Royal British Legion reportedly told the Daily Express paper it was "disrespectful".

    "To show him in this way insults his memory," he said.

    Mr Gibson said he felt the critics has "misinterpreted" the idea behind the statue.

    "I think a lot of people will disagree with Mr Soames, although I see some have agreed with him. I think they have misinterpreted what is happening here," he said.

    "The publicity itself is paying off. The campaign is gaining a lot of publicity from this statue."

    The glass fibre and bronze sculpture has been erected in Norwich city centre and will remain until the end of March.

    Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

    Friday, March 10, 2006

    Keling

    March 09, 2006 22:45 PM
    Court To Decide On DBP's Application To Strike Out 'Keling' Lawsuit

    KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- The High Court Thursday fixed March 24 to decide on an application by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) to strike out a lawsuit against the agency for including the word "keling" in its Kamus Dewan dictionary.

    Senior Assistant Registrar Tasnim Abu Bakar fixed the date after hearing submissions by DBP and the Angkatan Pelopor India Muslim Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan (APIM) in chambers.

    APIM accused DBP of failing in its statutory role and responsibility by allowing the word and its various meanings to be published in the dictionary.

    They are:

  • Keling - a word used to define an Indian who originates from South India (specifically from the state of Kalinga).

  • Keling karam - used in a metaphor to describe someone who likes to make noise.

  • Keling mabuk todi - used metaphorically to describe someone (drunk) who utters nonsense.

  • Keling pelikat - used for Indians who are Muslims (i.e. kelings who wear kain pelikat).

  • The association is also seeking to have the word "keling" dropped from DBP's Kamus Dewan Third Edition and a ban on the sale and distribution of the publication and other DBP publications that contained the word.

    It said the word insulted and lowered the dignity of the Indian community.

    In the summons, APIM named DBP Director-General and Harian Zulfadzli Sdn Bhd as defendants.

    DBP Deputy Director-General Abu Bakar Mohamad, in an affidavit supporting the application to strike out the lawsuit, stated that APIM had no right and locus standi to sue on behalf of the Indian community.

    -- BERNAMA



    What about "awtar keling?" This means bullshit. Also "belit macam cakap keling" means a long-winded grandfather's tale that takes a long time to reach the point, if any.

    Keling or kaling is derived from the word "Kalinga" and was first used to denote the early Indians in Malaya, who came from the now-defunct south Indian state of Kalinga. What's so derogatory about that?

    If the word keling has subsequently gained a negative connotation it is only a reflection of the behaviour of the kelings, for which they have total and sole responsibility. If the kelings stop behaving like kelings, then being a keling will no longer be held in odium.

    Kelings have only to correct their behaviour that insulted and lowered the dignity of the Indian community.



    For the information of The Keling Speaks:

    Kalinga was an ancient kingdom of central-eastern India, in the province of Orissa. Kalinga was a rich and fertile land that extended from the river Subarnarekha to Godavari and from Bay of Bengal to Amarkantak range in the West. The kingdom had a formidable maritime empire with trading routes linking Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo, Bali, Sumatra and Java.

    Colonists from Kalinga settled in far away places such as Sri Lanka, Burma as well as the Indonesia archipelago. Even today Indians are referred to as Kelings in Malaysia because of this. Many Sri Lankan kings both Sinhalese and Tamil claimed decent from Kalinga dynasties.

    Kalinga is mentioned in the Adiparva, Bhismaparva, Sabhaparva, Banaprava of Mahabharat so also is the conquest of Karna. Kalinga King Srutayu stated to have fought the Mahabharat war for the Kauravas. Kalinga is also mentioned as Calingae in Megasthenes' book on India - Indica:

    "The Prinas and the Cainas (a tributary of the Ganges) are both navigable rivers. The tribes which dwell by the Ganges are the Calingae, nearest the sea, and higher up the Mandei, also the Malli, among whom is Mount Mallus, the boundary of all that region being the Ganges." (Megasthenes fragm. XX.B. in Pliny. Hist. Nat. V1. 21.9-22. 1. [1])

    "The royal city of the Calingae is called Parthalis. Over their king 60,000 foot-soldiers, 1,000 horsemen, 700 elephants keep watch and ward in "procinct of war." (Megasthenes fragm. LVI. in Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 8-23. 11. [2])

    The Kalinga script (ref), derived from Brahmi, was used for writing. Among the offshoots, Kalinga script had the maximum resemblance with the parent script, Brahmi and later modified to Oriya script in the beginning of the second millennium. This makes the Oriya Script as the most unique and least distorted script among the Indic scripts. ([1])

    This region was scene of the bloody war fought by the Mauryan king Asoka the Great of Magadha around 260 BCE, and whose death and destruction later served as a precursor as one of the main centers of Buddhism.

    Kharavela was a famous king of Kalinga during the 2nd century BCE, who, according to the Hathigumpha inscription, attacked Rajagriha in Magadha, thus inducing the Indo-Greek king Demetrius to retreat to Mathura.



    Why stop with the Kamus Dewan? I suppose the likes of Angkatan Pelopor India Muslim Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan (APIM) and The Keling Speaks would want to file a lawsuit to expunge "keling" from all encyclopaedias and history books as well? Well, good luck to you kelings!

    BTW, The Keling Speaks, you can hide behind a veil of anonymity but you can't hide the fact that you're a keling!

    Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice

    Doctors attack US over Guantanamo

    More than 260 medical experts have signed a letter condemning the US for force-feeding prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

    The doctors said physicians at the military prison had to respect inmates' right to refuse treatment.

    The letter, in the medical journal, The Lancet, said doctors who used restraints and force-feeding should be punished by their professional bodies.

    Some 500 terror suspects are being held without trial at Guantanamo Bay.

    The US has argued that the Geneva Convention does not apply to prisoners at the camp, who, it says, are enemy combatants who continue to pose a threat to national security.

    Human rights groups and the UN have urged the US to close down the facility.

    Amnesty International said the "troubling" accusations in the doctors' letter underlined the need for the "independent medical examination of the prisoners.

    'Nasal tubes'

    The open letter in the Lancet was signed by more than 260 top doctors from seven countries - the UK, the US, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Italy and the Netherlands.

    "We urge the US government to ensure that detainees are assessed by independent physicians and that techniques such as force-feeding and restraint chairs are abandoned," the letter said.

    The doctors said the World Medical Association - a world body representing physicians, including those in the US - specifically prohibited force-feeding.

    Detainees at the camp have said hunger-strikers were strapped into chairs and force-fed through tubes inserted in their noses.

    More than 80 inmates are said to have gone on hunger strike in December last year - a figure that has now reportedly dropped to four.

    Dr David Nicholl, a UK neurologist who initiated the Lancet letter, told the Reuters news agency the allegations of force-feeding represented "a challenge" to the American Medical Association, which is a signatory to the World Medical Association's code of conduct.

    "Are they going to obey those declarations [forbidding force-feeding], or are... [they] literally not worth the paper they are written on?" he asked.

    Story from BBC NEWS:
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4790742.stm

    Published: 2006/03/10 00:09:34 GMT

    © BBC MMVI


    The Lancet 2006; 367:811

    DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68326-8

    Forcefeeding and restraint of Guantanamo Bay hunger strikers

    David J Nicholl a, Holly G Atkinson b, John Kalk c, William Hopkins d, Elwyn Elias e, Adnan Siddiqui f, Ronald E Cranford g and Oliver Sacks h, on behalf of 255 other doctors

    We write regarding the forcefeeding and restraint of Guantanamo Bay detainees currently on hunger strike.1,2 The World Medical Association specifically prohibits forcefeeding in the Declarations of Tokyo and Malta, to which the American Medical Association is a signatory.

    Fundamental to doctors' responsibilities in attending a hunger striker is the recognition that prisoners have a right to refuse treatment. The UK government has respected this right even under very difficult circumstances and allowed Irish hunger strikers to die. Physicians do not have to agree with the prisoner, but they must respect their informed decision. Those breaching such guidelines should be held to account by their professional bodies. John Edmondson (former commander of the hospital at Guantanamo) instigated this practice, and we have seen no evidence that procedures have changed under the current physician in charge, Ronald Sollock.3

    Edmondson, in a signed affidavit, stated that ?the involuntary feeding was authorized through a lawful order of a higher military authority.?4 This defence, which has previously been described as the Nuremberg defence,5 is not defensible in law. In a reply to an earlier draft of this letter, Edmondson said that he was not forcefeeding but ?providing nutritional supplementation on a voluntary basis to detainees who wish to protest their confinement by not taking oral nourishment?.

    Recently, it was confirmed that health-care staff are screened to ensure that they agree with the policy of forcefeeding before working in Guantanamo Bay.1 On his departure, Edmondson was awarded a medal for his ?inspiring leadership and exemplary performance [which] significantly improved the quality of health care for residents of Guantanamo Bay? and ?scored an unprecedented 100% on both the Hospital and the Home Health surveys.?3 The New York Times, however, reports that hunger striking detainees are strapped into restraint chairs in uncomfortably cold isolation cells to force them off their hunger strike.2

    We urge the US government to ensure that detainees are assessed by independent physicians and that techniques such as forcefeeding and restraint chairs are abandoned forthwith in accordance with internationally agreed standards.

    We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

    Signatories of the Correspondence letter ?Forcefeeding and restraint of Guantanamo Bay hunger strikers?

    References
    1. Okie S. Glimpses of Guantanamo: medical ethics and the war on terror. N Engl J Med 2005; 353: 2529-2534. CrossRef

    2. Golden T. Tough US steps in hunger strike at Camp in Cuba. New York Times. Feb 9, 2006:
    http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70714F...
    (accessed Feb 22, 2006).

    3. Byrington S. Sollock takes command of Naval Hospital. Guantanamo Bay Gazette 2006; 63: 3
    http://www.nsgtmo.navy.mil/Gazette%20Online/archived%20...
    (accessed Feb 22, 2006).

    4. Al Joudi et al vs George Bush in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Case1: 05-cv-00301-GK. Document 48, Exhibit A. Filed Oct 19, 2005.

    5. Spitz V. Doctors from hell: the horrific account of Nazi experiments on humans. Boulder: First Sentinent, 2005:.

    Affiliations

    a. Department of Neurology, City Hospital, Birmingham B18 7QH, UK
    b. Physicians for Human Rights and Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
    c. Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, Derby, UK
    d. Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, London, UK
    e. Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
    f. CAGE Prisoners, London, UK
    g. Department of Neurology, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
    h. 2 Horatio Street #3G, New York, NY, USA

    Wednesday, March 08, 2006

    Norovirus Q & A

    What are Noroviruses?
    Noroviruses are a group of viruses that are the most common cause of gastroenteritis (stomach bugs) in England and Wales. In the past, noroviruses has also been called "winter vomiting viruses", "small round structured viruses" or "Norwalk-like viruses".

    How does it spread?
    The virus is easily transmitted from one person to another. It can be transmitted by contact with infected person; by consuming contaminated food or water or by contact with contaminated surfaces or objects.

    What are the symptoms?
    The symptoms of norovirus infection will begin around 12 to 48 hours after becoming infected. The illness is self-limiting and the symptoms will last for 12 to 60 hours. They will start with the sudden onset of nausea followed by projectile vomiting, and watery diarrhoea. Some people may have a raised temperature, headaches and aching limbs. Most people make a full recovery within 1-2 days, however some people (usually the very young or elderly) may become very dehydrated and require hospital treatment.

    Why does norovirus often cause outbreaks?
    Norovirus often causes outbreaks because it is easily spread from one person to another and the virus is able to survive in the environment for many days. Because there are many different strains of norovirus, and immunity is short-lived outbreaks tend to affect more than 50% of susceptible people. Outbreaks usually tend to affect people who are in semi-closed environments such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools and on cruise ships.

    How can these outbreaks be stopped?
    Outbreaks can be difficult to control and long-lasting because norovirus is easily transmitted from one person to another and the virus can survive in the environment. The most effective way to respond to an outbreak is to disinfect contaminated areas and to institute good hygiene measures including hand-washing and provide advice on food handling and also isolating those infected for up to 48 hours after their symptoms have ceased.

    How is norovirus treated?
    There is no specific treatment for norovirus apart from letting the illness run its course. It is important to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration.

    If I?m suffering from norovirus, how can I prevent others from becoming infected?
    Good hygiene is important in preventing others from becoming infected ~ this includes thorough hand washing before and after contact. Food preparation should also be avoided until 3 days after symptoms have gone altogether.

    Who is at risk of getting norovirus?
    There is no one specific group who are at risk of contracting norovirus ~ it affects people of all ages. The very young and elderly should take extra care if infected, as dehydration is more common in these age groups.
    Outbreaks of norovirus are reported frequently in semi-closed institutions such as hospitals, schools, residential and nursing homes and hotels. Anywhere that large numbers of people congregate for periods of several days provide an ideal environment for the spread of the disease. Healthcare settings tend to be particularly affected by outbreaks of norovirus. A recent study done by the agency shows that outbreaks are shortened when control measures at healthcare settings are implemented quickly, such as closing wards to new admissions within 4 days of the beginning of the outbreak and implementing strict hygiene measures.

    How common is norovirus?
    Norovirus is not a notifiable disease so reporting is done on a voluntary basis. The HPA only receives reports of outbreaks and we see anywhere between 130 and 250 outbreaks each year. It is estimated that norovirus affects between 600,000 and a million people in the UK each year.

    Are there any long-term effects?
    No there are no long-term affects from norovirus.

    What can be done to prevent infection?
    It is impossible to prevent infection, however, taking good hygiene measures (such as frequent hand washing) around someone who is infected is important. Certain measures can be taken in the event of an outbreak Including the implementation of basic hygiene and food handling measures and prompt disinfection of contaminated areas, and the isolation of those infected for 48 hours after their symptoms have ceased.

    Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice