DAP’S TUNKU AZIZ AGAINST BERSIH 3.0

VETERAN DAP leader, Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz appeared today to break ranks with his party leadership over its backing of Bersih 3.0 this Saturday, claiming the event encourages Malaysians to 'break the law'. 

Tunku Abdul Aziz makes a point why he is against the Bersih 3.0 rally to reporters in Kuala Lumpur

“My opposition to this kind of demonstration is- we are encouraging people to break the law and we are supposed to be lawmakers. I think there is a contradiction here,” he said. “I am in favour of us assembling if that is not breaking the law but breaking the law is something that I cannot support.” The DAP vice-chairman, who is among the few Malays in the Chinese-dominated party, had declared his stand this afternoon at the Dewan Negara sitting here during the ongoing debate on the royal address. 

Speaking to reporters at the Parliament lobby later, Tunku noted that this was his personal stand on the issue, which he has conveyed to his colleagues in the DAP leadership. “Well, I’ve told them that I am opposed [to Bersih 3.0]. “I am opposed to this on a personal basis as a matter of personal principle.... what the party wants to do, that’s the party’s decision,” he said. The senior leader noted that although most street demonstrations start off with peaceful intentions, they often turn out to be violent and chaotic. “Now, when something happens, who is going to take responsibility? 

“The person or the people who organise it will probably not be there. Who will be looking after the casualties, people who are injured, people who are trampled upon? “The tendency is to blame the authorities and I think this is not fair,” he said. Tunku Abdul Aziz labelled election watchdog Bersih “irresponsible” for refusing to budge from its plan to use Dataran Merdeka for the “sit-in” protest, pointing out that the authorities have already offered alternative venues.

“The whole idea is to protest. Does it matter where the protesting is done?” he pointed out. But he also stressed that he was in full support of an individual’s constitutional right to assembly, provided that this right is exercised within the confines of the law. He said the police were a legally established authority and Bersih 3.0’s organisers should accept their advice on the suitable venue for the event. “The law provides for us to assemble but what I am saying is — who is responsible for security in our country? The police. “Whatever we do, we have to consult the police. If they advise us; maybe you have to change your route, maybe you should do it somewhere else, that’s what we should do, because to go against the police... they are an established legal authority,” he said. 

Asked for alternative ways for Bersih to air its grouses over the country’s failure to reform the polls process, Tunku Abdul Aziz said: “There must be other ways without getting on the streets.” He pointed out that those who oppose to the country’s laws could use Parliament as their avenue to amend the legislation instead of taking to the streets in a show of force. “We may be part of any party or organisation but that does not mean we abandon our conscience. 

“All of us should never do that. Some things we support, other things we must oppose,” he said. Bersih has clashed with the authorities on its plan to use Dataran Merdeka for its rally this Saturday. Both the Home Ministry and KL City Hall have offered alternative venues, including Stadium Merdeka, which was Bersih’s choice of venue last year, but the election watchdog has rejected the suggestion, saying it had come at too short a notice.

courtesy of: CLARA CHOOI (TMI)

Bersih 3.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur

Visitors to Kuala Lumpur on 28th April 2012 should be aware that the city is bracing itself for what could be one of the largest political demonstrations in its history. A massive sit-down protest is planned at Merdeka Square (Dataran Merdeka) on Saturday the 28th, from 14:00 to 16:00, to call for free and fair elections in Malaysia.  

Dataran Merdeka

It is the third mass rally called by a coalition of NGOs known as Bersih ("clean" in Malay) over recent years, pushing for an end to an electoral system riddled with serious irregularities. Bersih has eight key demands: clean up the electoral roll; reform the postal ballot; use indelible ink for voters; a minimum 21-day campaign period; free and fair access to media; strengthen public institutions; stop corruption; and stop dirty politics. The last mass protest, Bersih 2.0 in July 2011, saw a heavy-handed response from the authorities, with the police using baton charges, water cannons and tear gas. Dozens of people were injured, and about 1,600 arrested.

Yellow is the color of the day.

 Since then, the government has promised changes to the laws on peaceful assembly, and umpteen small protests have passed off peacefully. The police even adopted a softly-softly approach towards the thousands of supporters of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who gathered in early January to hear the verdict in the latest court case against him. 

Anwar acquitted

 Anwar was acquitted, much to the delight of the crowd, but the celebrations were cut short by three small bomb blasts in quick succession. Five people were injured in the explosions, none seriously. It is a warning that attending a political rally in Malaysia does come with risks, even if the police are not being confrontational. 

Bomb blast

 Whether the government will adopt the same heavy-handed tactics with Bersih 3.0 as with its predecessor is anyone's guess. But an early indication is that the protest was declared illegal within hours of it being announced. The main worry for visitors, apart from being baton charged/tear gassed/water cannoned/arrested, is that KL will face a similar "shutdown" to last July, when major road and rail links were blocked by the police. 

Another major shutdown of KL?

 Adding extra spice to this rally is the knowledge that the next general election, or GE13 as it is known in this acronym-loving country, is just months away. With free and fair polls, Malaysia could well see its first democratic change of government since independence in 1957. But after more than five decades in power, the ruling UMNO and its coalition partners are in no mood to abandon an electoral system which has served them so well. As the saying goes, turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

Nestle to buy Pfizer's infant-nutrition business

Swiss food and drink giant Nestle SA announced a deal Monday to acquire Pfizer Inc.'s infant-nutrition business for $11.85 billion in a bid to boost sales in emerging markets. 

The company based in Vevey, Switzerland said the acquisition would "enhance its position in global infant nutrition" because 85 percent of the Pfizer Nutrition unit's sales is in emerging markets, many of which have large, fast-growing populations. The deal would particularly help Nestle to boost growth in China and maintain its position as one of the world's largest sellers of infant formula. 

It is subject to regulatory approval, however, and Nestle, since it already sells so much infant formula, may face some antitrust hurdles to complete the deal. Nestle's shares fell 3 percent to 55.30 Swiss francs ($60.71) after the Zurich exchange opened. The maker of Nescafe, Haagen Dazs and Jenny Craig said it estimated that the Pfizer unit's 2012 sales would bring $2.4 billion. 

"Infant nutrition has been at the heart of our company since it was founded in 1866," Nestle CEO Paul Bulcke said in a statement. "Pfizer Nutrition is an excellent strategic fit and this acquisition underlines our commitment to be the world's leading nutrition, health and wellness company." Nestle's offer beat a rival joint bid by Groupe Danone and Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. for the infant-nutrition business, which Pfizer had put up for sale last July along with a separate animal-health business unit. 

Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, has been shedding its noncore businesses as it moves to focus on developing new prescription drugs. Last year it suffered the patent expiry of blockbuster drug Lipitor, the cholesterol fighter. It also sold its business unit that makes drugs in capsule forms to KKR & Co. last August for $2.4 billion. Nestle forecast Friday that 2012 will be a challenging year but reported that first-quarter sales rose a healthy 5.6 percent from a year earlier, fueled by strong growth in emerging markets and higher retail prices. 

"The takeover affirms Nestle's worldwide No. 1 position in one of the most attractive growth markets," said bank analyst Patrik Schwendimann of Zuercher Kantonalbank. "One positive side effect is that speculation about large acquisitions by Nestle will calm down for the foreseeable future."

Pfizer Lipitor drug

Meow - the super-size cat!

Meow can't help but waddle. He's one super-sized cat. The two-year-old orange and white tabby tips the scale at nearly 18kg, and the Santa Fe Animal Shelter is on a mission to get the feline back into shape.  

Meow's 87-year-old owner could no longer take care of him, so the pet was turned over to a shelter in southeastern New Mexico that called the Santa Fe shelter for help. "The thing with this cat is when you look at it, certainly it's obese. You see that! But it's a sweet looking cat. His face is very sweet. It's just incredibly fat," shelter spokesman Ben Swan said Friday. 

Meow - a real life Garfield?

Meow has been placed with a foster family. He'll be on a special diet so he can start shedding some pounds. The goal is for him to lose at least 4.5kg so he can be put up for adoption. The shelter plans to post updates on Meow's weight loss on its Facebook page. 

It's not clear how the feline was able to gain so much weight in just two years. Adult cats typically weigh between 3kg and 5kg. "If you go online, you'll see a lot of fat cats and these are people who have fed them just one thing, like meat or something that's not nutritionally balanced," Swan said. 

"Then the cat refuses to eat anything else and then they just get fatter and fatter and fatter." Meow has one thing going for him. He's not the fattest cat out there. That record belongs to Himmy, a tabby from Australia that weighed almost 21kg. 

The shelter said Guinness World Records has since stopped accepting applications for the record over concerns it would encourage people to overfeed their animals. In Meow's case, the shelter is awaiting blood test results to make sure he doesn't have any additional health problems. "He's very sweet. He's doing everything a normal cat would do except he loses his breath and tires easily," Swan said. "We're seeing what we can to do help him."

Busty news anchor boosts TV ratings in Japan

The ratings of Japan's NHK television channel has risen following the introduction of a busty news anchor.

Since April 1, Sugiura Yuki - who has a pair of G-cup breasts – has taken the anchor responsibilities in the morning news segment of the TV station.

Although the 28-year-old has not shown off her assets, she has captured much attention.

Her appearance on the news segment also became a hot social topic, which helped to boost the ratings of the programme.

Sugiura joined the TV station upon graduating from Sophia University in 2006. She was the winner of a beauty pageant competition in the school.

She was first posted to the company's branch office in Fukuoka, before being transferred to Nagoya where she made her name after hosting some literature and art programmes.

Sugiura was later transferred to the headquarters in Tokyo and began her news anchor role.

The beautiful and mysterious Fukang meteorite

When it slammed into the surface of Earth, there was little sign of the beauty that lay inside.

But cutting the Fukang meteorite open yielded a breathtaking sight.

Within the rock, translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine gleamed among a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron.

Cosmic wonder: Marvin Killgore of the Arizona Meteorite Laboratory lets the sun shine through a polished slice of the Fukang rock

The rare meteorite weighed about the same as a hatchback when it was discovered in 2000, in the Gobi Desert in China's Xinjiang Province.

It has since been divided into slices which give the effect of stained glass when the sun shines through them.

An anonymous collector holds the largest portion, which weighs 925lb. in 2008, this piece was expected to fetch $2million (£1.26million) at auction at Bonham's in New York - but it remained unsold.

Valuable: The main mass of the Fukang meteorite, which failed to sell after being valued at $2million. The intact space rock weighed as much as a small car

It is so valuable that even tiny chunks sell in the region of £20-30 per gram.

Arizona's Southwest Meteorite Laboratory, which holds about 70lb of the rock, says the remarkable find will turn out to be 'one of the greatest meteorite discoveries of the 21st century'.

It says the Fukang specimen outshines all other known examples of the pallasite class, which makes up just one per cent of all meteorites. However, it is not the biggest - in 2005 space rock hunter Steve Arnold dug up a 1,400lb sample in Kansas.

The Arizona lab's experts say pallasites, whose make-up of half nickel-iron, half olivine gives them their mosaic-like appearance, are 'thought to be relics of forming planets'.

They are believed to originate from deep inside intact meteors created during the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago and very few specimens are thought to have survived their descent through Earth's atmosphere.

4.5 billion years in the making: Golden olivine meets silvery nickel-iron to create a stunningly beautiful mosaic effect

February 2005 saw the Chinese space rock transported all the way to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, in Tucson, Arizona.

The U.S. lab claims their polished slice of the original meteorite is the world's biggest pallasite cross section, measuring 36in by 19in.

World biggest pallasite.

Malaysian man survives with half a skull

Children would often cry when they see him, but Mohd Izanuddin Hisham Muhamad, 24, is used to it.

The resident of Kampung Kubang Panjang in Kelantan, Malaysia, looks like an "alien", as some people have nicknamed him.

But despite missing half his skull, he is full of hope and his appearance has not dented his spirit.

The oldest of three children described the accident three years ago. He said it happened one Friday afternoon. He was riding his motorcycle home from work.

"A Honda Jazz driven by a Thai national tried to overtake another vehicle. He didn't succeed and ended up hitting my motorcycle.

"I flew like Superman for a distance of 2m and crashed into a large tree by the roadside. My helmet broke into two.

"I ended up being in a coma... for three months." When he woke up in hospital, he said he felt his head and was shocked to find a huge dent.

He added: "I asked my mother, who was by my bed, for a mirror and I nearly 'lost my head' when I saw that my once-perfect head was deformed."

His mother, Shamsiah Yatim, 57, and his father,Muhamad Mohd Noor, 52, helped calm him down. And he eventually accepted his fate.

Besides his missing skull, Hisham now has a squint in his left eye but his vision has not been affected.

He said that the first day he was home from hospital, he panicked when a neighbour's child cried in fear when he saw his head.

He said his parents, who are labourers, are now struggling to pay for his medical treatment, which cost RM8,000 to RM12,000, excluding medication.

4-yr-old with an IQ like Einstein

Brainbox Heidi sat an IQ test after staff at her nursery said she was so intelligent they were struggling to find activities to challenge her.

The average score for an adult is 100 and a “gifted” individual 130 — but the exceptional youngster impressed examiners with a staggering 159...Albert Einstein is 160!

Heidi — who can already add, subtract, draw figures and write in sentences — was reading books meant for seven-year-olds when she was two.

And she beats former Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman (score 154) and is only slightly behind Big Bang scientist Stephen Hawking (160). Both are also members of Mensa. 

Heidi Hankins

According to her father, Matthew Hankins, the fair-haired little Heidi began showing signs of unusual intelligence from as early as the age of one.

"We always thought Heidi was pretty bright because she was reading early. I happen to specialise in measuring IQs in children and I was curious about her, and the results were off the scale.

"I got her the complete set of the Oxford Reading Tree books when she was two, and she read through the whole set of 30 in about an hour. It’s what you would expect a seven-year-old to do.

"She is not precocious, she likes her Barbies and Lego, but then you will find her sitting down and reading a book. We are really proud of her,” said Matthew, a lecturer at University of Southampton.

John Stevenage, chief executive of British Mensa, said: "Heidi’s parents correctly identified that she shows great potential.

"We wish them well, and are pleased that they have chosen to join the Mensa network for support, where we aim to provide a positive environment for younger members to develop."

To qualify for Mensa, a candidate must hold an IQ that falls within the top 2% of the population. Heidi is reportedly one of approximate 90 children under the age of 10 who belong to British Mensa.

The average adult’s IQ is 100, and a gifted individual’s is 130.

Heidi’s dad Matthew, from Winchester, Hants, hopes she can now skip a school year to ensure she is challenged when she is old enough to go.

Why Did Facebook Acquired Instagram?

Facebook just bought Instagram, the photo-sharing social network that started its life as an iPhone app. The purchase price? One Billion Dollars!!! So here’s the elephant-in-the-room question: WHY?

Instagram is the popular photo-sharing social network that debuted on the iPhone two years ago. (Just last week, Instagram launched an Android version of its app.) It combines a collection of preset photo filters with easy-to-use photo sharing capabilities. In the last two years, it’s attracted somewhere in excess of 30 million users. It’s also spawned dozens of imitation apps.

Facebook agreed to buy it for the enormous sum of one billion dollars (for a 2 year old company with 14 staff!).

While the deal may raise concerns about another technology bubble, the price tag is only about 1% of Facebook’s projected valuation when the world’s largest social-networking site sells shares to the public.

Some news agencies are reporting that Instagram also fielded an offer from Google in the last month or so, but that Facebook clinched the deal by doubling its last offer of $500 million. Instagram’s 13-member staff will be joining Facebook’s staff, but Facebook has pledged not to absorb Instagram. Rather, they’ll “continue to develop it independently.” (Kind of like what happened when Google bought YouTube.)

What does this mean to Apple users? Likely nothing. Although a tighter integration with Facebook (despite Facebook’s promise not to remove Instagram’s connectivity to other social networks) could be a minor thumbing of Facebook’s nose at Apple. Reportedly, when Apple integrated Twitter-sharing into iOS and OS X, they attempted to do the same with Facebook but couldn’t come to an amicable agreement. For right now, nothing will change for iPhone Instagram users. But who knows what the future holds?

Prior to the Instagram deal, Zuckerberg had only purchased smaller companies, including e-book publisher Push Pop Press Inc. and mobile-messaging app Beluga Inc. Nothing came close in size to Instagram, an app used by smartphone owners to upload photos, color them with vintage effects and other filters, and then share them with friends.

“This is an important milestone for Facebook, because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users,” Zuckerberg said in a statement.

But back to the issue at hand: Why is Facebook buying Instagram? It doesn’t need Instagram. What does Instagram bring to Facebook?

Users? Instagram’s 30 million users are nothing to sneeze at, but even if not a single one of them were also Facebook users (which isn’t remotely the case), it barely holds a candle to Facebook’s 7 billion users.

Technology? Instagram doesn’t seem to have invented any new technology; it simply combines several existing technologies in an attractive, easy-to-use package. Instagram owns no patents that I can find.

Hardware? Whatever servers host Instagram’s social network can’t possibly compare to Facebook’s massive server farms.

Talent? Knowing very little about the 13 people who work at Instagram, I can’t speak to this. Measuring their talents and capabilities against Facebook’s army of employees is something that’s probably impossible to be objective about. But Facebook is largely staffed by developers (aka, software makers), so it’s hard to imagine that Facebook couldn’t do most, if not all, of the things that Instagram’s staff has done, if it so chose.

Systrom and Krieger: Laughing all the way to bank??

Regardless of all this… Instagram is unquestionably valuable. Its value has to stem from its popularity, since it’s unknown how Instagram’s been able to monetize its business — if at all. (The app is a free download, there’s no charge for using its services, and it serves no ads to its users.) So what’s the secret to Instagram’s success, and therefore its value? Put simply: Instagram was a good idea that struck its match at exactly the right moment!

But even that doesn’t present any obvious advantages to Facebook. Facebook users already share gazillions of photos with each other every day - both on the web and via Facebook’s own mobile app. And any developer in the world could come up with a set of pre-made photo filters.

So what does Instagram get Facebook? I see only two possibilities:

1) It gives them caché. Consider this: Facebook’s highly publicized IPO is coming up soon, and they might believe that a high-profile acquisition like Instagram will boost the attractiveness of their portfolio.

2) It eliminates a potential threat. Facebook is probably nearing its ceiling for new users, while Instagram’s star is rising, and has nowhere to go but up. There were rumors flying around a while back that Facebook was working on its own Instagram-type photo-sharing app for iPhone and Android, but despite some strong evidence of said app’s existence, it never materialized. Maybe Facebook figured it’d be easier to join ‘em instead of beating ‘em.

Which do you think it is? Might it be a combination of both?

Then again, Mark Zuckerberg is a known Instagram fan and user. So maybe he just wanted a shiny new toy to call his own.

That means Systrom built Instagram’s valuation from zero to US$500-million (Sequoia Capital value Instagram at 500 million dollar just before Facebook bought over) in two years, then doubled it to US$1-billion in a week. Despite the odds, (Kevin) Systrom and (Mike) Krieger always knew they are building a billion-dollar company.

Systrom and Krieger: Founder of Instagram

No-one should be shy about their body, says Britain Got Talent naked violist

The ‘sexy’ violinist who wowed all four judges on Britain’s Got Talent has defended her decision to pose naked for a risque photo shoot.

Analiza Ching, who posed nude with her violin covering her breasts, said: ‘I just wanted to try something different and I really don’t think anyone should be shy about their own body.

‘We are all human at the end of the day.’

Analiza Ching

Analiza won the approval of all four judges for an energetic routine during which her violin playing was accompanied by enthusiastic dancing.

Little Britain star David Walliams told her: ‘You made playing the violin sexy,’ and head judge Simon Cowell said her act ‘was exactly what we should be looking for in a show like this’.

Analiza, originally from China, said that she didn’t set out to be provocative when she performed.

She said: ‘You can never try to be sexy because you’ve either got it or not. For me, it’s the music and every time I start playing the violin and the music starts, my whole body and my personality changes.’

Analiza has performed in front of several members of the Royal Family and counts Colin Firth, the Oscar-winning star of The King’s Speech, as a fan.

At Royal Albert Hall

Currently single, she has inevitably been compared to Vanessa Mae, another classical musician with mainstream appeal.

She said she hoped her participation in Britain’s Got Talent would bring her work to a whole new audience, adding: ‘I hope the show will give me a bigger stage and a bigger career.

‘It is a great chance for me.’