Tahun 2010 berlalu lebih awal!

Pagi Khamis 30 Disember 2010 negara dikejutkan dengan berita PM mengisytiharkan cuti umum untuk keesokan harinya, Jumaat 31 Disember.  Ada di kalangan rakyat yang gembira, tetapi ada juga terkedu.  Golongan kedua ini termasuk mereka yang merancang melaksanakan tugas-tugas rasmi sebelum tirai 2010 ditutup.  Najib, yang begitu teruja dengan kemenangan Malaysia ke atas negra jiran dalam sukan bola sepak, telah melondehkan tirai 2010 dengan mendadak sekali.

Ada yang tertanya: Bagaimana PM buat keputusan?  Sudahkah dia pertimbangkan baik-baik dari semua segi?  Dahlah hari bekerja - termasuk bank - 5 hari.  Menjelang hujung tahun yang patutnya dipanjangkan dengan sebab yang jelas tiba-tiba dipendekkan lagi ...

Sudahkah PM menimbangkan betul-betul implikasi ekonominya?

Ibu bapa yang menghantar anak mereka kembali ke sekolah pun terpaksa bergegas-gegas menyiapkan segala yang perlu - sebab sekolah tidak akan dibuka pada 31 Disember.

Ada 2 persoalan di sini.  Pertama: wajarkah cuti umum diisytiharkan sewenangnya?  Kedua: jikapun wajar diisytiharkan cuti tidakkah ada hari yang lebih sesuai?

Pada pendapat saya, jawapan soalan kedua itu jelas:  Hari yang lebih sesuai diisytiharkan ialah Isnin 3 Januari 2011.  Cuti umum Isnin bermakna kita panjangkan hayat 2010 supaya ramai yang sempat membereskan tugas yang nyaris-nyaris tertunggak sementara kita tunda sedikit permulaan 2011.

Ramai yang akan mampu tersenyum jika itu dilaksanakan.

Insiden ini menunjukkan gaya PM kita membuat keputusan:  trigger-happy.  Implikasinya serius apabila berhadapan dengan krisis yang memerlukan keputusan jitu dibuat dengan pantas.

Richard Holbrooke 1941-2010

'To End A War' in 1990's

In 2000's

My comment:  An outstanding, brilliant diplomat, probably accomplished more than Kissinger did for the US.  A very colourful person who conducted diplomacy in much of his own way - did not not shy away from befriending dictators.  He is widely quoted (in obituaries) for the following 1999 words:

"If you can prevent the deaths of people still alive, you're not doing a disservice to those already killed trying to do so.  And so I make no apologies for negotiating with Milosevic and even worse people, provided one doesn't lose one's point of view."

Kissinger said of Holbrooke:

"If Richard calls you and asks you for something, just say yes. If you say no, you'll eventually get to yes, but the journey will be very painful."

Colourful adjectives and pictures such as 'physical, feisty, bulldozer, the raging bull' have been used to describe Holbrooke the diplomat.

Notable for the Dayton Agreement which ended the Balkan war.  Of Jewish parentage, raised as a Quaker, but turned out to be atheist, according to his mother. Married three times.

Died on Monday December 13. 2010 caused by a torn aorta.  [A torn aorta is a rip in the inner wall of the body's largest artery. The result is serious internal bleeding, a loss of normal blood flow and possible complications in organs affected by the resulting lack of blood, according to medical experts. Without surgery it generally leads to rapid death.]

You may not agree with some of the things he did, but you have to admit he did work for his country's interest, and he had given his best, up to the last hours of his life.  Above all, he seemed to have truly believed in what he did.

Here is an obituary  that appears today on the New Yorker:

'Hisham says Soi Lek has upset Umno leaders'

I read the report by Clara Chooi of the Malaysian Insider [December 08, 2010 pm] with interest, not for the contents (as they are just predictable of the Keris-wielding Malay jaguh) but at the picture that goes with the report.  I searched through the web for reports by other - especially the mainstream - media but could not find any at the time (just suppose they are still waiting for words from the top on how to print it ...)

You can read for yourself the report in the Malaysian Insider, but I just want you to behold the picture that goes with the report:

Isn't it the IGP in the background.?

If so, it brings home the very point [of course, there was another] which Chua Soi Lek seemed trying to get across:  abuse of power, conflict of interest, complacency, sheer recklessness ...

In his capacity as a politician, representing (the big brother or the real tuan)  UMNO at that, airing his disappointment over some opinions from his own political comrades, he has the IGP on his side.

The picture disturbs me, an ordinary citizen, just as many statements that came out of the mouth of this politician do.  He threatens his political enemies - and friends alike - while playing with the ambiguity as to whether he is just a benign politician or the sinister in charge of the police.

Are we on the verge of seeing the ISA being invoked, given the charged atmosphere:  what with the 'Ketuanan Melayu' issue being spinned out-of-control, and the Palace seemed so gullibly dragged in?  Furthermore. the GE fever, or fervour, which Najib has brought on, seems to have been doused by a stream of bad omens against it.

The GE is just a mechanism to perpetuate the BN's hold on power.  There is other means too.

The ISA cards could be on the table, and the pretexts have been so nicely designed ...  After all, Najib has also vowed that Putrajaya should be defended at all costs.

'AG and Documents' by Art Harun

 [Comment: I couldn'thave said better ...]

I read with particular interest a report by the Malaysian Insider that the AG was ready to declassify documents which are now classified as official secrets under the Official Secrets Act in the Tun Ling Liong Sik's prosecution.

The AG was quoted as saying, "I have no problems. I will provide the documents." The reason for doing so, according to the report is, "we have an understanding...that this will be sorted before the trial proper starts."

The report continues to say that "the top government lawyer said he was doing it to ensure the trial would run smoothly."

Tun Ling is charged under section 418 of the Penal Code. That charge, upon conviction, carries a sentence of imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine, or both.

It is good to see the AG willingly disclosing all documents to the defence for once. In this case, those documents are deemed so important to the nation, so much so they were categorised as official secrets. The disclosure of these documents may even affect national security. That is why they are so categorised.

However, in order for the court to arrive at a fair and just decision, the truth must come out. It is therefore only fair for the AG to declassify the documents so thatthe trial will run smoothly (as the AG is quoted to have said) and also to enable the defence team to prepare its defence properly.

The willingness and the speed by which the AG agrees to declassify the documents and is releasing the same to the defence is however a far cry from the Sodomy 2 case, where the AG is unwilling to even release medical notes and reports to the defence team.

The medical notes and reports are personal in nature. They are not categorised as official secrets. They are just about the accuser's rectum, what it contains and how the rectum looks like. To put it bluntly, those reports and notes are about, well, to be crass, they are about a person's ass. Nothing more.

These documents are essential to the defence. They will serve to justify and verify the truth and accuracy of what the various medical doctors are saying in their testimony. The disclosure of these documents will no doubt ensure justice and fairness.

It will reveal the naked truth.

Harga barang naik lagi ...

Goodbye Sam-y

I really enjoy the music ... thanks whoever created it.

enter

Imposing Moderation by Force

One of Najib's favourite themes is moderation.  According to Najib, while the majority of Malaysians  are moderate and they want to promote moderation, it is the 'extremists' who are more vocal.  The latter are eager to have their words heard while the moderate majority largely remains silent.  Therefore there is a serious imbalance here; it is an aberration of reality.  Hence the moderate majority needs - and be coaxed -  to speak up while the minority extremists should be less vocal, be silent, or all the way silenced.

Mempertahankan Putrajaya

Semua orang maklum bahawa Perhimpunan Agung UMNO yang diadakan saban tahun bukan untuk orang UMNO sahaja, tetapi juga semua rakyat Malaysia, terutamanya pembagkang.  Melalui perhimpunan itu , MNO cuba mempamerkan kebolehannya, kesepaduannya, keupayaannya, dan keangkuhannya.

Ikrar Najib untuk 'mempertahankan Putrajaya dengan apa cara sekalipun, ... walaupun bercerai daging dari tulang ...'  merupakan isyarat kepada anggota UMNO supaya buatlah apa saja untuk BN terus memerinah.  Segala jentera Negara, bukan saja jentera BN, akan digunakan untuk tjuan itu.

Bebalnya Najib dan Rais ...

Laporan yang diterbitkan dalam Utusan Malaysia tentang ungkapan Anwar yang didakwa menghina Malaysia:

...  Perdana Menteri mengulas dakwaan Ketua Pembangkang itu bahawa pengiktirafan yang diberi oleh negara asing terhadap kemajuan Malaysia sehingga dianggap sebagai sebuah negara Islam moden adalah satu penghinaan.

Kata-kata keji itu dikeluarkan Anwar semata-mata untuk menjayakan usaha terbarunya memujuk Perdana Menteri Australia, Julia Gillard supaya memberi tekanan kepada kerajaan Barisan Nasional atas alasan mengamal rasuah dan menipu pada pilihan raya.

Anwar berkata demikian semasa ditemu bual oleh Sky News Australia kelmarin dalam usahanya mencari sokongan antarabangsa selepas cubaan terdahulu untuk meraih sokongan Amerika Syarikat berhubung pertuduhan liwat yang sedang dihadapinya gagal.

"Mereka (kerajaan Gillard) tidak boleh hanya pergi ke Malaysia dan berkata, 'ini adalah negara Islam moden yang bagus'. Saya menganggap ia sebagai penghinaan," katanya seperti dipetik daripada laman berita The Australian hari ini.

Penghinaan yang disifatkan oleh Anwar itu dipercayai merujuk kepada pengiktirafan Gillard terhadap kemajuan negara semasa melakukan sesi lawatan rasmi ke Kuala Lumpur baru-baru ini dalam usahanya untuk mengukuhkan hubungan dengan Malaysia.

ANALISIS

Saya telah 'potong dan tampal' laporan UM dari laman webnya sendiri.  Pragraf yang dihitamkan itulah yang dijadikan asas untuk melemparkan tuduhan melulu terhadap Anwar.  Pengamatan saya:

1.  Anwar tidak berkata bahawa 'pengiktirafan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara Islam moden' itu satu penghinaan.

2.  Tafsiran yang boleh dibuat oleh akal yang waras, hatta yang berpendidikan setakat SPM pun ialah seperti berikut:

                 'Semata-mata disebabkan kamu (PM Australia Gillard) kata Malaysia sebuah negara Islam moden 

                  maka kamu tidak boleh mengkritiknya, itu satu penghinaan bagi Malaysia.'

3.  Paragraf lain dalam laporan UM di atas adalah tafsiran dan karangan editor semata-mata, dengan tujuan memburukkan Anwar.

4.  PM Najib, disebabkan kebebalannya atau sengaja atas gesaan penasihatnya, telah memutarbelitkan pernyataan Anwar itu untuk kempen politiknya, sekaligus menutup cerita sebenar tentang dakwaan rasuah dan penghakisan hak politik dan kemanusiaan di Malaysia.

5.  Malangnya akhbar UM terus suba membebalkan fikiran rakyat, dan menjadi alat kepada kebebalan pemimpin BN untuk mempertahankan kekebalannya.

6.  Rais, The Dinosaur, sebagai menteri penerangan, pula cuba mengampu penilaian bebal Najib terhadap pernyataan Anwar dengan membuat perumpamaan ikan haruan yang berenang di air keruh.  Hakikatnya Pemikiran Rais-lah memerlukan kepada pencerahan.  Rais merupakan tenaga BN yang sudah luput tarikhnya, etapi makin ghairah mempertahankan kedudukannya.   Rais patut diletakkan di Muzium Negara untuk mengenag jasanya kepada BN.

PRU13: Kempen BN bermula

Rata-rata media arus perdana negara membantai Anwar Ibrahim.  Berita Harian (BH) dan Utusan Malaysia (BH) mendahului dengan tajuk utama 'Suara Sumbang Anwar'.  Namun tajuk yang lebih tepat ialah 'Gearing  for Polls' seperti yang didedahka oleh The Star.

Perbahasan Bajet 2011 Ketua Pembangkang

Perbahasan Bajet 2011 bhg 2

Perbahasan Bajet 2011 bhg 3

Umno’s fight to stay in power is threat to stability, says report

By Yow Hong Chieh

[The Malaysian Insder]

September 30, 2010

Najib faces an uphill struggle to sell his New Economic Model to the Malay community. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — A recent report by The Economist has singled out intrigues within Umno and the ruling party’s determination to stay in power at all costs as the biggest threats to political stability in Malaysia.

The Economist Intelligence Unit country report also suggested that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) would make gains, but was “unlikely to garner enough parliamentary seats to form a majority government.”

Malaysia’s stability over the last five decades has depended on three “steadying factors”: Barisan Nasional’s (BN) firm hold on power, Umno’s tight control of BN and Malay majority support for Umno,” said the magazine’s Intelligence Report on Malaysia for October.

It noted, however, that all three were no longer a given, as shown by BN’s poor showing in Election 2008 and the historic sweep by PR parties of five states and 82 parliamentary seats.

“The March 2008 general election showed that all three influences have weakened. As a result, these forces may prove unable to hold the country’s political framework together in 2010-14,” the report said.

“Political intrigues within Umno, coupled with its determination to stay in power at all costs, therefore constitute the biggest threats to political stability in Malaysia.”

Factions within Umno have been embroiled in a struggle to determine the party’s direction in recent months, following attempts by party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak to implement market-friendly reforms.

Najib, who is also the prime minister, has faced considerable opposition from conservative elements within his own party to reforms that are seen to threaten Malay special rights.

He also faces an uphill struggle to sell his New Economic Model (NEM) to the Malay community at large — whose response has been tepid — and has come under attack from increasingly influential Malay pressure groups like Perkasa.

On top of that, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to snipe from the sidelines.

The Economist Intelligent Unit report also predicted that BN would lose more seats in the next general election as Umno could no longer count on the support of “better educated, liberal middle-class Malays”, who favoured the opposition.

“The most likely election outcome would seem to be a further loss of seats for the BN, as younger moderate Malay voters — disenchanted by political scandals and Umno’s strong promotion of Islamic values — decline to give it their support, and Indian and Chinese voters remain reluctant to return,” it said.

9/11 plunges the world into darkness

In his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday, September 24, 2010, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmadinejad caused a stir when he hypothesised that the 9/11 incident was orchestrated by the US government. Barack Obama called the speech 'offensive, hateful inexcusable' and went on to address the Iranian people via an interview with the BBC-Persian Radio in a deliberate move o humiliate the Iranian leadership. In reality, what Ahmadinejad did was to echo the concern of many who still doubt the official version of the 9/11 event. By labeling the doubt as just a conspiracy theory and appending it to the list of other events with mysterious circumstances will not let it to rest. The public need and deserve a more transparent and objective investigation of the event - an event which changed the world in a profound manner.

Zunar ditahan, pelancaran buku tetap mendapat sambutan

Pelancaran Cartoon-o-phobia dapat sambutan
S Pathmawathy [Malaysiakini]
Sep 25, 10
1:30am

Beberapa jam sebelumnya, polis menangkap kartunis politik Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque - yang lebih dikenali sebagai Zunar - dan merampas lebih 60 nashkah karya terbarunya - Cartoon-o-phobia.

Namun buku itu tetap dilancarkan seperti yang dijadualkan bertempat di Dewan Perhimpunan Cina Kuala Lumpur Selangor (KLSCAH) di bawah pemerhatian polis.

Kira-kira 10 anggota polis berkawal di luar dewan dan mereka
meletakkan kon polis bagi menutup laluan masuk utama menuju ke tempat letak kereta.

Zunar ditangkap dan dibawa ke balai polis Sepang lewat petang semalam, selepas polis menyerbu pejabatnya, Sepakat Efektif Sdn Bhd.

Namun begitu, majlis pelancaran karya terbarunya mendapat sambutan sebagai tanda sokongan kepada Zunar untuk terus berkarya.

Bahkan, dalam mesej kepada 150 hadirin, yang disampaikan melalui
isterinya, Fazlina Rosley (kiri), Zunar berkata, rampasan bukunya itu tidak akan menghalang usahanya untuk mendedahkan perbuatan rasuah dan penyalahgunaan kuasa.

Fazlina, bagi pihak suaminya, mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua yang hadir.

"Dia berkata bahawa dia tidak berniat untuk bercakap tentang politik, tetapi (sayangnya ini adalah) nasib kartun yang sekarang telah terbukti ditakuti oleh kerajaan," kata Fazlina, disambut dengan tepuk berterusan pada hadirin.

Sementara itu, ketua pengarang kumpulan Malaysiakini, Steven Gan, dalam ucapannya, menegaskan bahawa Zunar harus dikagumi kerana ketabahannya itu.

"Untuk itu dia dihukum. Ini adalah buku keempatnya yang diharamkan, dan ia berlaku beberapa bulan selepas buku-bukunya yang lain diharamkan.

"Ini adalah cara Zunar untuk menunjukkan jari tengah," tambahnya, disambut gelak ketawa para hadirin.

Steven (kiri) memuji keberanian dan ketabahan Zunar dan membandingkan karyanya dengan kartunis terkemuka tanahair, Datuk Muhammad Nor Khalid, yang lebih dikenali sebagai Lat, sambil memuji beliau yang berkarya menyentuh pemimpin berprofil tinggi "tanpa jaring keselamatan di bawah".

Gan menggambarkan kompleksiti dalam meringkaskan sesuatu peristiwa ke dalam satu gambaran, seperti yang dipaparkan dalam komik yang dihasilkan oleh Zunar enam tahun yang lalu, ketika pejabat Malaysiakini diserbu polis dan komputernya dirampas.

"Sebagai seorang wartawan saya telah melalui bagaimana hendak menyimpulkan seribu kata-kata kepada 500 perkataan, dan Zunar mampu melakukan semuanya dalam satu komik," katanya.

Mengenai kejadian hari ini, Steven berkata, beliau tidak terperanjat apabila Zunar menelefonnya untuk memberitahu pejabatnya diserbu dan buku-bukunya dirampas.

Tiga buah buku Zunar sebelum ini - 1 Funny Malaysia, Perak Darul Kartun dan Isu Dalam Kartun - diharamkan oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri kerana didakwa melanggar Akta Penerbitan dan Mesin Cetak (PPPA).

Ketika melancarkan buku tersebut, Menteri Besar Perak yang diguling, Datuk Seri Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin,
yang turut dipaparkan dalam Perak Darul Kartun, memuji kesedaran politik dalam karya Zunar.

Menurutnya, karya kartun tersebut melampaui batas-batas perkauman dan agama dan "menyatukan kita semua di sini atas platform yang sama".

Beliau turut mengecam tindakan terhadap Zunar itu sebagai sesuatu yang boleh terjadi "30 atau 40 tahun" lalu ketika buku diharamkan dan tidak ada cara lain untuk menyuarakan perbezaan pendapat.

Namun, dalam nada menyindir, Nizar berkata, dalam era sekarang di mana semuanya boleh dengan mudah diakses dan dimuat-turun dari Internet, "kita masih lagi mengharamkan buku".

Malah, beliau menyarankan agar terma 'cartoon-o-phobia' dimasukkan ke dalam Wikipedia.

Beliau menyifatkan tindakan merampas buku dan penangkapan Zunar sebagai langkah "terdesak kerajaan yang hampir tenggelam".

Nizar berharap untuk melihat lebih banyak lagi karya Zunar yang menurutnya akan menjadi pemangkin kepada peluang pembangkang untuk mengambil alih kerajaan.


Manakala bekas presiden Majlis Peguam, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan (kanan), yang turut hadir di majlis pelancaran itu, menyifatkan tindakan terhadap Zunar itu sebagai "tidak masuk akal".

Tindakan itu, tambahnya, mencerminkan dan menunjukkan bahawa pihak berkuasa telah "benar-benar paranoid".

Sebaliknya, tegas beliau, media dan kebebasan kreatif harus diamalkan dan bukannya dilarang.

Zunar, sebelum ditangkap, memberitahu bahawa kandungan buku terbarunya itu 'lebih menggigit' daripada karya-karya beliau sebelumnya.

Menurutnya, isu-isu yang dimuatkan antaranya meliputi isu pembunuhan Altantuya, konspirasi terhadap Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, isteri PM, kes kehilangan enjin jet pejuang, kapal selam Scorpene yang tidak boleh menyelam, Sarawak, perkauman, rasuah dan pembaziran dana awam.

Cartoon-o-phobia adalah kompilasi kartun yang diterbitkan dari November 2009 hingga September 2010 dalam Malaysiakini dan diterbitkan oleh Kinibooks.

Cartoon-o-phobia setebal 80 halaman penuh warna dan dijual pada harga RM25. Ia boleh dibeli secara online melalui Gerakbudaya dan Kartun Kafe.

A Must Watch: Towards A 2-Party State System and Justice for All

Dark Road leading to PRU13

The 13th general election is looming. Logically it has to come by March 2013. Yes, logically it is coming. When will it come, and indeed will it ever become a reality? That is a question plaguing a difficult nation. Since becoming PM, Najib should have been keen to seek a new mandate. Is he a leader by popular choice, or does he reign by a borrowed mandate, and an unconvincing one at that?

For Najib, unlike the more civil Badawi, it is not elections which he is looking forward to, but how to secure victory by hook or by crook, or indeed how he can remain at the top in a reasonably legitimate way. Over the few months that he is a leader, the term ‘legitimate’ has become so indeterminate.

To go for all-out elections is suicidal , at least for the near future, for Najib’s administration. That, Najib himself knows very well. Out of the eleven by-elections the nation has seen since March 2008, BN only managed to secure 3 wins, namely in Batang Ai, Bagan Pinang and controversially in Hulu Selangor. The latest BN loss in Sibu sent shivers through Najib’s camp; has the tsunami actually reached the East Malaysian coast, they must be wondering.

These were indeed bad omens for BN – and the nation.

Najib is a fighter, one who does not shy away from street fighting. He is a new breed of BN leader, one that BN desperately needs to win back the loss the former PM Badawi seemed so willingly accepted (for which the latter has been punished.) That Perak was won back amidst legal controversies is one of Najib’s signatures. He never keeps it a secret that Selangor should also be won back at any price, and his army is working on it.

Najib’s strategy leading to PRU13 seems to be that the bottom line is BN stays at Putrajaya in the aftermath, whatever it takes. His armies of SB, police, EC, BN machinery are all hard at work to ensure that. The signs that come from the ground seem to be that a victory will not come easily for BN. Najib has then to look for another way, and that is the unfortunate course for the nation.

Malaysia has not known, barring the dark days of May 13, 1969, a violent confrontation between her various races and religions. Indeed the people of Malaysia have learnt that they have to live with each other, and even generally agreed that plurality is a blessing, not a curse. The vast majority of the Malaysians seem to rational enough to avoid the racialist path to solving problems. That is not to say there have not been violent outbursts, but then they were isolated and readily esolved.

Therefore, the events of the past months just do not tally with the prevalent trend. Everywhere suddenly one sees signs of intolerance. There was the event of cow heads in a Selangor temple and the desecration of Churches. Now one sees headmasters or principals, one after another, hurling racist remarks . The episode of the Friday sermon in Penang is a nother point in case. The latest was the Surau in Seremban. One cannot help but pondering whether the nation is spiraling towards anarchy …

All these point to some sinister forces at work, with a common objective, to poison the atmosphere w on the road to PRU13. That they are widely reported by the main media shows someone wants it to prove a point. [It has been an open secret that the mainstream media exercises self-censorship and sometimes with advice from the power-that-be, and sensitive news do not easily get reported.] Another sad thing is that the police seems quite incapable to prevent these incidents, and even more impotent in determining the culprits. We are talking here about the same police which has so efficiently quelled street demonstrations, stopped opposition ceramahs, and even incriminate peaceful vigils. The responses from the BN leaders are even more wanting.

All these spell bad omens for the nation. Unless the authority takes serious steps to preempt further such incidents while bringing the culprits behind previous ones to book and punished them heavily, one cannot help but to conclude that we are at the verge of an anarchy – planned anarchy; perhaps, that is so because BN - and Najib - see it as the only way to  remain in power post PRU13.

And  the nation still remembers the Altantuya ghost - and that she has not yet been exorcised.

Polis halang Upacara Memasang Lilin Bantah ISA

The RPK Phenomenon

Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) is a phenomenon.  RPK is known to not just Malaysians, but also the international community, via his website Malaysia Today (MT).  That the latter has become an authoritative source of information about what is not going so well with the BN government stems from the fact that each piece of story which RPK chooses to post, no matter how baffling and incredible, would later turn out to be true. The latest concerns a member of the prosecution team for the Sodomy II trial.  When the piece about her first appeared in MT, it sounded too good to be true.  But now even the AG cannot ignore it and has to respond, implicitly admitting the truth of the episode.

Strategi Samseng: Selangor, Media dan Perang Saraf

Pertarungan politik dipertontonkan kepada masyarakat melalui media.  Jika anda menguasai media, maka anda telah menguasai sebahagian besar daripada medan pertarungan.  Media boleh melaporkan sesuatu perkembangan menurut seleranya. Penilaian tentang apa yang akan jadi berita bergantung pada editor media. Ada berita yang penting tetapi tidak disiarkan.  Ada yang disiarkan tetapi secara tidak adil, iaitu sama ada lebih baik daripada realiti atau lebih buruk.  Itu semua menurut selera penguasa yang menguasai media.

The Question of Palestine: The shift of Power

Israel is an artificial state implanted in the middle of Arab-Muslim Middle East by the post-World War II powers.  The creation of Israel as a Zionist state serves two main motives, ulterior or otherwise:  the projection of Western powers in the Arab-Muslim world (hitherto a major power) and the resolution of guilt on the part of Europe for their gross mistreatment of Jews.  Since its inception in 1948, the Zionists of Israel have embarked on their agenda of expansion, grabbing lands through massacres and wars, the latter notably in 1967.  That the international law forbids the acquisition of land by means of wars never seems to bother the Zionists.  While they seized lands from the natives who were sent fleeing, they also coaxed Zionists worldwide, by means of attractive incentives, to settle in the 'promised land' of Israel.  Jewish settlements, the owners of which often resort to violence,  sprout in the middle of Arab neighbourhoods.  When the natives  resisted, they were labelled 'terrorists'.  Resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly regrading its behaviour in the occupied territories, unanimously apart from the US and its handful of protectorates, were never heeded by the regime in Tel Aviv.  In the critical centre of power that rules the world, the UN Security Council, Israel finds guardian in the now-sole-superpower, the US; any resolutions critical of  Israel have invariably been vetoed by the latter.

Kegilaan Label

Label, seperti nama, adalah instrumen yang pening dalam komunikasi.  Berbanding nama, label dipilih untuk memberi impak - positif atau negatif - yang besar ke atas sasaran.  Tabiat melabel boleh jadi satu kegilaan.  Ada orang mengunakan label untuk mempromosikan sesuatu produk.  Ada juga orang yang menggunakan label untuk membunuh. Sebagai contoh, pemerintah ingin menjadikan '1Malaysia'  label yang tidak boleh dicabar. Promosi dijalankan besar-besaran supaya label 1Malaysia dikaitkan dengan produk-produk yang 'baik'.  Sehingga sesuatu produk atau idea yang berkait dengan 1Malaysia harus diterima-pakai serta-merta tanpa banyak soal.  Contoh sebaliknya, label 'ektremis', radikal, atau 'teroris' digunakan oleh George Bush untuk memburukkan semua yang tidak bersetuju dengan agenda hegemoninya.

Freedom Flotilla: Hodohnya perangai Yahudi

Manolo Luppichini

Seorang wartawan yang menyertai Freedom Flotilla telah mengadu kad kreditnya yang dirampas oleh komando Israel telah digunakan. Wartawan dari Ttali, Manolo Luppichini, mendakwa semua barangnya, termasuk dompet yang mengandungi kad kredit, telah dirampas komando Israel semasa beliau berada dalam sebuah daripada kapal, Sfintoni-8000 dalam konvoi 6-kapal pada 31 Mei lalu.

Semua aktivis di atas kapal itu telah menunjukkan bantahan secara pasif (pasisve resistance) walaupun ramai yang dikenai tembakan peluru getah dan pelali.

Setelah dibebaskan dan kemabali ke negaranya, Luppichini mendapati kad kreditnya telah digunakan untuk pembelian beberapa barangan. Kad kreditnya jenis tercaskan (rechargable), oleh itu mempunyai had yang rendah. Walaupun jumlah yang dibelanjakan tidak banyak, ini merupakan satu tindakan menyamun oleh tentera regim Zionis yang tidak beramruah.

Klip Mendedahkan Penipuan Israel

Kebanyakan rakaman adegan di atas kapal Mavi Marmara ang dibuat aktivis telah dirampas regim Isarel.  Begitu pun, ada yang dapat diselamatkan oleh aktivis.  Dalam klip video berikut terdapat rakaman yang dibuat seorang aktivis yang berada di kapal Mavi Marmara, Iara Lee dari Amerika Syarikat.

Raw Footage [1 jam]



Wawancara dengan Iara Lee, aktivis di Mavi Marmara:

Bahagian 1



Bahagian 2

'Turkey-Israel rift a concern for U.S.'

U.S. Defense Secretary says European reluctance to boost links with 


Turkey played a role in pushing Ankara eastward.

'Implications for regional stability'

 U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday he was concerned about the deterioration in relations between Turkey and Israel and the implications for regional stability, and expressed hope ties would be re-established over time.

European reluctance to boost links with Turkeyplayed a role in pushingAnkara eastward, Gates told reporters in London.

Israel's relations with Turkey have taken a turn for the worse following Israel's raid of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla which resulted in the death of nine Turkish activists aboard one of the ships.

On Tuesday, Turkey's president Abdullah Gul said that 21 Asian countries meeting at a security summit have denounced Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last week.

Gul said the condemnation showed Israel was isolated and that it "will suffer the consequences for its mistake against Turkey."

Freedom Flotilla: 49% rakyat AS menyokong Israel

Satu tinjauan mendapati 49% rakyat Amerika Syarikat menyokong tindakan Israel dan menyalahkan penganjur Flotilla dalam insiden 31 Mei.  Hanya 19% menyokong penganjur flotilla.

Komen

Rakyat AS sentiasa dilindungi daripada mendapat kedudukan yang sebenar dalam isu Islam, Arab dan Israel.  Baca buku karangan Edward Said 'Covering Islam', dan bahagian 'American Orientalism' siri video 'On Orientalism' yang disiarkan dalm blog ini.  Sebab itu kita lihat reaksi mereka berbeza dengan Eropah yang lebih hampir secara fizikal dengan dunia Arab dan Islam.

Tali Fahima masuk Islam

Tali Fahima

Warga Israel beragama Yahudi, Tali Fahima, seorang aktivis yang menyokong perjuangan Palestin, telah mengumumkan dia kembali kepada Islam, pada 8 Jun 2010.

Fahima telah melafazkan shahadahnya di hadapan beberapa ulama di sebuah masjid di Umm Al-Fahm, sebuah bandar di Haifa, yang majoriti penduduknya orang Arab. Setelah upacara shahadah Fahima telah pergi menemui pemimpin Pergerakan Islam , Raed Salah. Raed Salah pernah menjadi datuk bandar Umm Al-Fahm.

Bandar Umm Al-Fahm

Dilahirkan pada tahun 1976 Fahima seorang penyokong parti Likud sehingga tahun 2003.  Perubahan dalam hidupnya berlaku setelah dia menghubungi Zakaria Zubeidi, ketua Briged Shuhada Al-Aqsa di Jenin setlelah mendengar dakwaan Zubeidi (dalam satu wawancara) status Zubeidi beralih daripada seorang aktivis keamanan  kepada teroris dalam senarai regim Zionis.  Fahim telah berpindah ke Jenin untuk menjadi 'perisai manusia' bagi Zubeidi setelah mendapati Zubeidi berada teratas dalam senarai sasaran pembunuhan Israel.

Pada tahun 2004 Fahima telah selama 3 tahun dipenjarakan regin Zionis atas kesalahan menterjemah dokumen rahsia tentera untuk Zubeidi.  Dia dibebaskan pada tahun 2007, tetapi tidak dibenakan keluar negara, menghubungi agen asing, atau memasuki wilayah Tebing Barat.

Kini Fahima tinggal di Ara'ra, sebuah perkampungan Arab di wilayah yang dirampas Israel.  Dia menganggap dirinya orang Palestin dan sekarang menjadi guru bahasa Ibrani (Hebrew).

Gadis AS kehilangan sebelah mata berdemo di Tebing Barat

Emily yang kesakitan dibantu seorang wanita Arab

Emily yang cedera

Demonstrasi membantah serangan Israel ke atas Freedom Flotilla berjalan aman di Malaysia.  Tetapi tidak begitu halnya di Israel.  Seorang gadis rakyat Amerika Syarikat yang menyertai demonstrasi di Israel, Emily Henochowicz, telah kehlangan sebelah matanya akibat ditembak dengan bom pemedih mata.

Emily telah menyertai demo di Qalandiyah yang merupakan pintu masuk ke Tebing Barat dari Baitul Maqdis apabila dia ditembak.  Selain dari mata kiri yang tanggal sepnuhnya, dia juga mengalami kesan bakar di mukanya dan pecah tulang pipinya di soket mata, menurut ibunya, Shelly Kreitman.

Emily telah menyertai demo sejurus selepas kapal Mavi Marmara diserang komando Israel pada Isnin 31 Mei.  Ibu Emily menyangkal dakwaan Israel bahawa bom pemedih mata telah terpantul dari sebuah dinding sebelum mengenai Emily.  Dari video dan kesan yang dialami Emily, jelas bom itu ditembak secara langsung ke arah Emily.

Emily adalah rakyat Amerika Syarikat berbangsa Yahudi, datuknya seorang mangsa Holocaust.  Sebelum ini, Barak Obama telah memohon Israel menjelaskan bagaimana warganya telah mengalami kecederaan dalam demonstrasi di Israel.

Komen
1.  Israel memerangi orang Yahudi sendiri.
2.  Pola yang menunjukkan sikap Israel yang sentiasa berbohong untuk melepaskan diri dari kebenaran.

Lihat juga: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/eyewitness-account-how-emily-lost-an-eye-1.294997

Flotilla Passengers Huwaida Arraf of Free Gaza Movement and Retired Army Col. Ann Wright Respond to Israeli Claims on Deadly Assault

Komen Bekas Duta AS: Penjelasan Israel Meragukan

Edward Peck adalah bekas duta Amerika Syarikat ke Iraq pada masa pemerintahan Carter dan ke Mauritania semasa Reagan.  Beliau berada dalam kapal Mavi Marmara yang diserang komando Israel.   Tegasnya, 'Israel’s explanation for deadly Gaza Aid attack full of holes as a window screen'.

'Kegilaan Israel' Siri Debat Finkelstein lwn Tokoh Israel

1 Finkelstein vs Israel
   Finkelstein cuba memaparkan rekod sebenar krisis Arab-Isarel tetapi 
     ditentang bekas jurucakap Sharon, Gissin, dengan   begitu biadap.

2 'The Shadow of Proximity':   
     Finkelstein vs Morris
      Finkelsatein mencabar 'ahli sejarah' Morris tentang tulisannya sendiri.

3 'Israel towards totalitarianism'
    Bagaimana Israel menyisihkan dan memusuhi semua orang yang 
       mengkritiknya, termasuk Yahudi dan Zionis!

4 'Holocaust Industry'
       Bagaimana kisah Holocust dijadikan bahan untuk memenangkan agenda Zionis 
       dan bagaimana mereka menggunakan Holocaust untuk menimba keuntungan dan 
       sebagai 'blackmail'

5 'No clear weapons'
    Isu senjata nuklear Ian berbanding senjata nuklear Israel.

6 Shlomo Ben Ami vs Finkelstein  1/6

7 Shlomo Ben Ami vs Finkelstein  2/6

8 Shlomo Ben Ami vs Finkelstein  3/6

9 Shlomo Ben Ami vs Finkelstein  4/6

10 Shlomo Ben Ami vs Finkelstein  5/6

11  Shlomo Ben Ami vs Finkelstein  6/6