Fascism, by any other name, still smells as foul

Technorati tags: Fascism, Islam, NGO, Force, MAPIM

Lately, more and more religious NGOs seem to be getting more vocal and coming to the fore to prevent others from airing views that are contrary to these organizations' point of view. It's not that Walski is against them airing their dissatisfaction, as that is well within their rights to do so in a civil society.

The problem Walski has with these NGOs is the assertion that only their view is valid, only their viewpoint must be accepted, and that they have the right to prevent others from speaking out. And on the basis of perceived political risk, the powers that be let them have their way.

It's part of a rising trend - we're seeing in it in Perkasa, and we're seeing it more and more in these religious NGOs. Call it Islamic resurgence if you want, but Walski calls it by its real name - fascism.

MAPIM could very easily have gone the more intelligent route and insist on dialog. Instead, they choose the fascist route - repress any discussion. Quo vadis, Malaysia?

Amplify’d from www.malaysiakini.com

Muslim NGO bares fangs over gender rights forum

A Muslim NGO is taking issue with a roundtable discussion on gender rights and women’s issues on the basis that it allegedly promotes “Western” ideas that it claims are a threat to Islamic values.

The group, Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia (Mapim), in a statement today objected to the event ‘Gender Equality: Unaddressed Women's Rights Issues’ organised by Empower on Oct 31 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Mapim general-secretary Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid singled out two sessions at the roundtable in particular, ‘UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in Defending the Human Rights of Lesbians, Bisexual Women and Transgenders in Malaysia’ by Angela Kuga Thas and ‘A CEDAW Approach to Family Law in Advancing Equality and Non Discrimination’ by Lalitha Menon.

“Mapim rejects attempts by a group of secularists and liberals who are keen to be slaves of the Western agenda,” said Mohd Azmi.

“Discussions such as this is secretly aimed at fuelling campaigns and advocacy to change the values and moral foundations of Islam that are central to Malay-Muslims and Malaysians in general,” he charged. Read more at www.malaysiakini.com

 

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Of Scarlett Johansson & Nation-building...

Technorati tags: Nationbuilding, Ideas, Scarlett Johansson, Unconventional Wisdom

At a glance, the headline of the article clipped below would probably lead the reader to think the article is about being sexy, like Scarlett Johansson. Or at least that's what Walski thought until he took the time to actually read the article.

In all honesty, it's this kind of out-of-the-box thinking that gives Walski hope that this nation does have some hope left, amidst the doom and gloom that occupies the news sphere of our every day existence.

That said, it's sometimes difficult to take such fresh thinking to the next level when everything about how we operate says "in the box, and don't you dare even look beyond the four corners". This happens to be true not only in the government sector, but across the Malaysian homegrown private sector as well.

A great article and a good way to look at solving problems from a different perspective, nevertheless.

Amplify’d from www.themalaysianinsider.com

Sexy like Scarlett Johansson

I was having severe writer’s block — eight hours in front of the computer with no words written. So I decided to watch one of my all-time favourite movies, “The Prestige”.

I had watched it many times before but in the state where my mind was not at its freshest, it was not Hugh Jackman or Christian Bale who grabbed my attention. It was Scarlett Johansson.

You can bet your money that the reason is because of her sheer beauty and unique sexiness, on top of her acting skills, of course.

Then weirdly my mind wandered off a little, to a more serious question. A question I have always pondered about, but could never quite get a truly accurate answer.

The question is, dear all, how do we make the nation-building agenda sexy? Scarlett Johansson-like sexy. Read more at www.themalaysianinsider.com

 

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Proselytizing the Halloween way...

Technorati tags: Zan Azlee, Religion, Scare Tactics, Psychology

Let's face it, there are people who go around scaring people into submission. It's a subtler form of coercion, if you think about it. But is this practice based on scriptural recommendations, or the vivid imagination of those who practice it?

In this article, Zan Azlee offers his opinion...

Amplify’d from www.themalaysianinsider.com

Scaring people into submission

Another popular story is of an old woman (or man, as the stories do vary) who is at her deathbed surrounded by friends and family.

She is about to die but seems to be struggling and in tremendous discomfort. The story continues to explain that this goes on for weeks.

Then it is discovered that she had led a sinful life and used to (insert dreaded sin of your choice) and she is now being punished for it.

They had to do special prayers to ask for forgiveness and only then did the old woman die, and into the next life where she will presumably be punished again.

Recently, stories like these have been making its rounds on FaceBook and as spam emails and the senders always make comments like “repent now!” or “fear Allah!”.

After reading one too many of these stories whenever I log on to FaceBook, it’s actually making me want to repent of all my sins… NOT!

I wonder if it’s desperation that Muslims are trying to preach to other fellow Muslims to repent and return to the right path.

How low do you have to be when you feel the only way to pull somebody back to Islam is by scaring them witless? Read more at www.themalaysianinsider.com

 

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Lies the UMB-eciles tell...

Technorati tags: UMB, UMBeciles, Fascism, Decepticons

UMNO's New Media Unit - or Unit Media Baru (UMB) - is a cyber unit set up by the party to counter what they consider "opposition propaganda". And as it turns out, they do this - quite consistently - by twisting facts, spreading half-truths, and in this case making up stories.

UMB, or UMBeciles as Walski calls them, is essentially a network of pro-UMNO blogs that use cross-posting to spread their poison across cyberspace, with many of these bloggers also having a presence on Twitter, using the service to promote their posts.

And why do they resort to such underhanded tactics? Well, Walski doesn't call them UMBeciles for nothing. They are mindless cyber-guns (or goons) for hire, and essentially do what they're told to do - discredit the opposition. And they do it with impunity.

Ironically, the guy who heads the UMBeciles, an exco member in UMNO's Youth Wing, portrays himself as holier-than-holy, proving once again these scum are nothing but a bunch of worthless hypocrites...

Amplify’d from www.themalaysianinsider.com

Umno blogs used chess champion’s picture to attack Guan Eng’s son, says DAP

A girl whose photograph was used by Umno bloggers to level accusations of sexual harassment against Lim Guan Eng’s son has been identified as 21-year-old chess Grandmaster Anya Sun Corke.

Corke, who represents England in chess, has no ties with Penang and has never been a classmate of Lim’s son as alleged by Umno blogs, the DAP said in a press conference in Parliament today.

The girl is understood to be currently an undergraduate of Wellesley College in the United States.

Pro-Umno bloggers including Bukit Gelugor Umno division chief Dr Novandri Hasan Basri had claimed that the Penang chief minister’s son had assaulted a 16-year-old schoolmate and tried to escape punishment by using his father’s name.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua (picture) showed a press conference today screenshots from Dr Novandri’s and Papagomo’s blog and pictures from www.chessbase.com said to be of a 21-year-old Anya Corke.

“The chess board has been edited from the picture. This proves beyond doubt that the accusations by these Umno cybertroopers are nothing but barbaric lies.

“They have attempted to defame the 16-year-old son of Lim Guan Eng and humiliate his family with a completely fictitious sexual harassment story,” the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said. Read more at www.themalaysianinsider.com

 

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In Memoriam: Steven Paul Jobs (1955 - 2011)

Technorati tags: Obituary, Steve Jobs, Apple

There’s probably not a lot that Walski can add to what’s already been said today about Steve Jobs, across just about all mediums of communication.

What greets visitors to www.apple.com...

Where others chose the path of evolution, Steve Jobs revolutionized. The iPod, iPhone and the iPad will remain the man’s most lasting legacies for that very reason – these three devices not only revolutionized three different industries, but together, revolutionized how we interact with one another.

A quote by Jobs, part of his keynote speech at Macworld 2007, perhaps explains this to some degree:

There's an old Wayne Gretsky quote I love: "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it's been." That's what we try to do at Apple.
(source: Engadget.com)

And let’s not forget Pixar, the company Jobs acquired in the mid-80s (and later sold to Disney), which now sets the benchmark for excellence in animation.

It’s one thing to be visionary. But being visionary, and having the ability to take your vision through to fruition is another thing altogether. And it is that very ability that Walski will remember and admire Steve Jobs for.

Indeed, the world has just lost someone truly great... 
(the man, the vision, and more, in the full post)

As Walski said at the onset, there’s not much that he can possibly add that hasn’t already been said about the man.

By now, we all know of Steve Jobs’ humble beginnings, his career, his successes, and even his failures. He built Apple, was ousted from the company, and later returned to take the company to the pinnacle it’s at today. We also know that along the way, Jobs was at one time dubbed one Silicon Valley’s leading egomaniacs (source: CNN Money). The man was many things, good and bad, but it is probably the good and the visionary that he’ll best be remembered for.

Yesterday, Walski came across this YouTube video, the audio of which was played on the BFM 89.9’s Breakfast Grill morning segment. It gives us a little insight into the man that Steve Jobs was, and Walski thought it apt that he share it with you here.

Whether you’re a Windows die-hard who loathes everything Apple, or someone who swears by their BlackBerry, or even someone who thinks that only vinyl makes your musical day, you’d have to admit that the last 5 years or so have been a half-decade of Apple innovation excitement.

Walski happens to be one of those who’s transcended the strict dichotomy of device preference (he uses Windows, BB and iPad every day), and therefore sees the passing of Steve Jobs as a big loss. He’s not quite iSad (as his friend @blurdevil put it), and Walski’s certain that Apple will continue to trailblaze the world of tech as best as they can under new leadership.

Meanwhile, Walski extends the family of Steve Jobs his personal condolences at this time of grief... we share your loss, and hope that you stay strong. Rest assured that Steve will always be remembered fondly.

Finally, a fitting cartoon tribute to the man (from Pailheads, on Facebook):

R.I.P. Steve... and thanks for everything that you’ve given us.

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QE2: We Are Not At All Amused...

Technorati tags: Humor, USA Reclaimed, Queen Elizabeth II, Email

Walski got the following (spoof) e-mail earlier in the day, and he thought it  imperative that it be shared with all of you, post haste.

Why?

Simply because Malaysia, too, is a former colony (according to popular belief), and going by the e-mail, plus the way things are going in our nation today, Walski would not be at all surprised if we got the same kind of message from Her Royal Highness one day...

Email from the Queen - an important announcement regarding the USA:

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your immediate failure to financially manage yourselves and also in recent years your tendency to elect incompetent Presidents of the USA and therefore not able to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.  A questionnaire may be circulated sometime next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
(The Queen’s 15-point plan to re-take the USA, in the full post)

1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.'  Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters,  and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.'  Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels.  (look up 'vocabulary').
   
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf.  The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of  '-ize.'
   
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
   
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists.  The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent.  Guns should only be used for shooting grouse.  If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
   
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler.  Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
   
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect.  At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables.   Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
   
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon.  Get used to it.
   
8. You will learn to make real chips.  Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps.  Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
   
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all.  Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of  known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager.  New Zealand beer is also acceptable, as New Zealand is pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer.  They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
   
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys.  Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters.  Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
    
11. You will cease playing American football.  There are only two kinds of proper football; one you call soccer, and rugby (dominated by the New Zealanders).  Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
    
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball.  It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America.  Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.  You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the Australians (World dominators) first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
    
13. You must tell us who killed JFK.  It's been driving us mad.
    
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
    
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream)when in season.
    

God Save The Queen!

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Painting the man-made as Divine... Who, dude?

The biggest misconception that is today being propagated: the "hudud" that the Islamists in Malaysia are so keen on unleashing are divine laws verbatim. Well, they're not.

They may have their basis in revelation, but what we have today are human interpretations, containing human alterations, and therefore are as man-made as the civil laws that these Islamists are so gung-ho to replace.

Many cite "hudud" and then point to Saudi as a prime example where there are very few rapes. But does this reflect the truth? Could it be that the stringent conditions for reporting such cases, potentially put the victim at risk of herself being prosecuted for adultery, makes it less than ideal to report the crime in the first place?

The article from The Nut Graph below delves into "hudud" and raises some very pertinent questions. What's clipped below is just a portion of it, and do click on the links provided below to read the article in full.

Amplify’d from www.thenutgraph.com

Whose hudud?

IF we were to believe everything the politicians are saying about hudud, we would come to three conclusions. One, that implementing the punishments prescribed under hudud is divine law that no Muslim can question, and hence is inevitable. Two, that hudud cannot be implemented in Malaysia because of the Federal Constitution and our multi-cultural composition. And three, non-Muslims have no business worrying about this Islamic penal code.

Are any of these assumptions about hudud accurate? Beyond that, what are the proclamations by PAS, Umno and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) politicians regarding hudud really all about?

Hudud: Divine or man-made?

When a Muslim says he or she has to uphold hudud, one needs to ask which hudud do they mean? The truth is, hudud as we know it today is human-made and therefore changeable and contestable.

For example, how many of us know that the Quran prescribes punishment for only four types of crimes — theft, robbery, adultery and slanderous accusation of adultery? And that classical jurists, i.e. men, expanded it to six, and in the 2002 Terengganu hudud and qisas legislation, it was expanded, again by men, to seven.

Three crimes that are today punishable under hudud — apostasy, consumption of alcohol and treason/armed rebellion — are not provided for under hudud in the Quran. Neither is the punishment of stoning for adulterers prescribed in the Quran. And neither, by the way, is death for apostasy.

What else about hudud as we know it today is based on human understanding and interpretation, and not divine authority? Read more at www.thenutgraph.com

 

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Saying No to 1Apartheid

It's about damned time a Muslim spoke up against the latest hudud hubbub that seems to have taken grip. And this piece by Zainah Anwar does just that. In fact, you could say that Zainah dishes it out good, in spades.

There's a big misconception that this hudud thing (to Walski a pre-cursor to turning this nation into an Islamic state) is accepted by all Muslims. The truth is that many who disagree to not dare speak out, in fear of being labeled this, that and the other.

To begin with, Walski thinks that this latest spate of hudud-talk is really a non-issue, being played up primarily for political reasons - just follow the stale cookie trail, and you'll probably draw the same conclusion.

Meanwhile, enjoy Zainah's tirade... it's about damned time, too.

Amplify’d from www.thestar.com.my

No hudud please, we’re Malaysians

ARE our politicians plain bad, crazy or stupid? In this divisive, corrosive, cynical political climate of ours, if I were the Opposition, I would jump and present my party as the party of first and obvious choice for the electorate.

I would have not only welcomed the Prime Minister’s bold announcements in repealing those repressive laws and states of emergency, I would also up the ante and begin a public debate on how we as citizens should exercise and enjoy our Constitutional guarantees of fundamental liberties.

I would be planning over the next few months on how to build public opinion to hold the Government accountable and ensure that whatever alternative national security or public order laws that might emerge will uphold my fundamental freedoms.

I would want to make it politically very costly for the Government if it falls short or back-pedal on the promises of democratic reform it has made.

Instead, what do we get? An offer of the hudud law and its grim serving of chopped-off Muslim hands and feet, and stoning to death! What kind of future is that?

And we have politicians, who supposedly hold the mantle of leadership, who simply and continually miss the point.

“It’s okay to implement the hudud law because it doesn’t affect non-Muslims.” So it’s okay for Muslims to be brutalised? Read more at www.thestar.com.my

 

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