BN has lost the war of Popularity

Popularity is Power from the people!

A popular government has the solid backing of the CITIZENS. A popular leader doesn’t have to bribe anyone for support; just a mere word and he can mobilize thousands in one solid show of solidarity and affection endorsing their choice for those whom the citizens prefer to lead them.

When the leader/ leaders possesses the allegiance of the marjority of a nation’s people behind them, commanding their trust, respect and overwhelming support and affection.

WELL, THAT IS POWER! 

What the rallies seem to have accomplished

If popularity is any indicator, I doubt that the BN lineup can come anywhere near to the appeal that Anwar and his brothers in arms command. At merely stating that there is to be an assembly, the people just come out in droves to see them in a show of support and solidarity, without promises of free food or any other enticements apart from the fact that they want to see in person this man and his comrades in the flesh and hear their views. And if needed, to rally behind them in a show of strength and mass support.

 Time and again, this has been demonstrated via the rallies throughout the nation.

 Detractors may feel that the assemblies don’t seem to go anywhere but sifting through all the logic and reason, somehow there is a grudging conclusion that perhaps it does meet a purpose. Shoring up the sentiments of the people, deposit as it were, to be withdrawn in a crucial time. Whipping up the sentiments of outrage amongst the people that they have been defrauded.

 Perceived foul play is a thorn in people’s mindsets.  Everyone of whatever ethnicity feels indignant to have their sense of decency and fairplay mocked, and when ingrained into their psyche, it will stay there for a long time and will be  vented explosively when opportunity comes. The rallies can also pressure the BN ruling coalition to toe the line and not procrastinate anymore if they are really seeking to reform for the better.

The rallies have made superstars of the Pakatan line up. Nurul, Che GU Bard, Tian Chua, Mat Sabu, Tony Pua to name a few, apart from already idolized top guns. And not only exclusively from PR but the personalities from NGOs as well.  The rakyat can easily relate to these personalities, these perceived  champions and identify with them as one of their own. They have captured the imagination of the Rakyat as underdogs championing their cause for justice and righteousneous although, it may be an idealistic notion that may not have bearing to bread and butter issues affecting livelihood

 
Nonetheless, it appeals psychologically to the core essence of decent people with moral values. Touches on raw nerves and pent up emotions that has been set aside in the people’s psyche for years under the iron handed authoritarian rule of the BN. This is an accumulation of those many years of pent up frustrations of the common layman on the street  who have been exposed to, heard about or victimized in one form or another , the excesses of the ruling party , commited with impunity for half a decade ,in total disregard of the rakyat’s  opinions , as if they  didn’t matter. So what is witnessed now in these rallies is the venting of the people’s exasperation and disapproval of the abused practices inflicted on the country for so long.

It takes two hands to clap and make a sound. Pakatan is but just one hand, the rakyat make up the other .If the people are not supportive and in consensus with the cause, very few will attend the rallies. They will stay away not because the authorities tell them to do so or that it is illegal, but simply because they cannot commit emotionally. But on the contrary, looking at the numbers in attendance, in spite of warnings and veiled threats by the powers,  generally  law respecting and abiding people attend the gatherings,  it shows just how  disapproving of the government ( judging from the ground sentiment of the rakyat ) the people are.

 More importantly, it also reveals the intensity of the emotions that is felt by the people. The “Tidak Apa, Biar saja!” attitude has shifted to “ Ta boleh dah.! Sudah lah, cukup la itu, Ta boleh lagi.”

And this represents  the marjority voice of the Rakyat, including even those who prefer not to attend and have voiced out their protest through the ballot. They may want to move on in despair that they were denied the opportunity to UBAH, but doesn’t mean that they have given up all hope.

A voice of Gen Y.

 Especially  among the idealistic  young generation who have  heard accounts about what it was like under BN from the older generation besides interpret ting for themselves how much truth those accounts carry in current times.

They make up their own minds based on testimonies and evidence presented and come to a conclusion by their own accord influenced by their own intellect.

 They may not have felt the brunt of the excesses in comparison to their parent’s generation, but doesn’t mean that they do not feel offended or concerned when their sense of values in what is acceptable and decent in our society and culture is aroused.  More so when perpetrated by those entrusted to lead us and make the correct decisions on our behalf with our best interests at heart.

BN losing the war of perception and popularity

Ask any average man on the street to name any BN ministers or legislators with as much charisma and popularity as that of those in PR and chances are there will be very few names to match that of the house hold names of those in PR.

It is a war of perception ,and on the media front especially the social media , BN is suffering huge casualties in the popularity battle for hearts and minds .

Race card again, does it help?!

And harping on the race card to rally the Malays doesn’t seem to help much either, if anything , BN runs the risk of offending their own coalition members and chasing them away to the other side out of sheer exasperation and despair. Not to mention that it has already successfully created the image on the mindsets of those on the other camp on , how despicable and low those responsible will stoop , to preserve their power and control and how desperate they are in fear of losing that power.

The race bashing may appeal to ultra racist elements within UMNO but just how significant are their numbers? Amongst the 3 million or so UMNO members, many are ordinary people with ordinary lifes that has been integrating with the other communities and to an extent are interdependent on each other to advance and progress.They have been doing so for years and to tell them now they have been dancing with the enemy may offend their sensibilities when they know for a fact it is not so. And neither do they feel threatened by the other communities.  Continue to dispense with this spiteful racial rhetoric  of Us vs Them ,so blatantly designed to incite and manipulate , turns decent rational people who can reason ,off.

UMNO has with credit raised up the economic standing and  intellectual abilities and  capacity of the Malay marjority, yet ,with informed intellect, comes a clearer perception of world views guided by common sense and rational thought.  Education does away with ignorance. It removes the proverbial coconut shell. Educated or informed people cannot be lead by the nose anymore. They can decipher very well or understand, emotionally if not intellectually, what is mental colonialism and oppression, simply because they are now  intelligent and mature enough.

Get off your high horse!

The elite of UMNO and BN need to step out of their gilded horse drawn carriages or their limousine motorcades and mingle with the Rakyat to regain a sense of the pulse of the people. They are so clearly out of touch with what is going on, on the ground, what the Rakyat has evolved into  after  56 years post independence and how they really think and feel about the state of affairs in the nation.

From the makcik nasi lemak to the pakcik warong, Muthu’s dobi to Ah Seng’s workshop to the SMIs, Towkays and Dato’s of Sdn Bhds. What and how do they feel about the past 50 years under BN.? Why so many of them voted as they did during the PRU13??

 In a nutshell , BN is as unpopular as a rotten egg in a crowded room. The stink from 50 years of abuses cannot be washed off overnight. But if they can discard the smelly parts then there may be hope yet.

Please don’t rock the boat and just allow us to be  Malaysians 

In the urban areas, where the economic power houses and life sustaining organs of the nation that generates the wealth exist, the message has been sent loud and clear, No More!  Enough already!  Let’s get on with living as Malaysians and collectively transform it into a nation to be envied for prosperity and cooperation of her patriotic people, who have a very strong sense of nationhood and love for their homeland. Using our very diversity as a formidable strength to challenge the world and emerge celebrated. We can have our cake and eat it too, distributed fairly to all to ensure all will have a piece.

Whether that task can be done by PR or BN is a  moot issue. More pressing are the ideals of the marjority  seeking a better quality of citizenship and way of life in our homeland. 

Here we go again, the Mahathir race card!

Mahathir, under which the cronyism, corruption and nepotism flourished under his 22-year iron-fist administration and are still very much alive and kicking  today is once again playing his infamous racial card again for obvious reason. His UMNO Baru (current UMNO party) is dying a natural death since Mar 2008 General Election. For the first time, the ethnic-Malay, Chinese and Indians have all voted in favor of opposition parties in the last general election in retaliation to the worsening corruption practiced by UMNO and their component parties. PM Najib and his lame attempts at governing  might be one of the reasons voters voted out the arrogant BN coalition but he was the direct production of Mahathir’s assembly-line in churning out low quality leaders. 

 Mahathir does not have much time to waste and his primary focus now is to ensure  there may be a continuation of the  Mahathir dynasty after the Razak dynasty completes the cycle.

But that can only happen if the voters think UMNO has changed for the betterment of the people instead of their own cronies. 

 The coming UMNO assembly also may witness the return of former finance minister Daim Zainuddin besides Mahathir as special advisors who would influence the country’s policies.  It would be fun if  Mukhriz can be convinced to wave the keris (dagger) in imitation to the previous actors,Najib and Hishammuddin Hussein and the frogman Ibrahim Ali. If he does ,wonder what will his competitor Khairi, say to that!.

 The racial card has being used with some success in the past and basically many UMNO leaders today has played that game in one way or another.
  But that was before the explosion of internet via social media or blogging . It cannot be denied that the majority of Malay voters who voted against UMNO in the general election were the educated youngsters who read the “truth” from the net.
  Mahathir is playing a losing racial game if he thinks he can rally this important group of Malay youngsters to back UMNO as the ultimate party in ruling the government forever.

  
 Nevertheless it is to be  believed what some fortune-tellers are saying about Mahathir to live till the ripe age of 88-years-old, Mukhriz Mahathir has to step up and spring board to the premiership come  rain or shine else without his grand old daddy the junior may just ended up as another UMNO ordinary member.

With police force, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Election Commission, Judiciary and to some extent even the Royalty deeply entrenched in the “UMNO Culture”, chances are higher for Mahathir dynasty to become a reality than to have opposition coalition (PR) taking over the federal government. 

The combination of the Three Musketeers Najib-Mahathir-Daim would blow all aspects of democracy to pieces. 

 RE spun from http://www.financetwitter.com/2009/03/mahathirs-racist-agenda-dynastys.html

38 Reasons why BN was/is rejected wholesale!

All these have nothing to do with Race!

1. Since 2000 there has been 218 deaths in police custody?

2.There were 4 deaths in police custody within the last month? Including a foreign national.

3.MACC was never  held accountable for the deaths of Teoh Beng Hock and Sarbani while they were in their custody?

4.How come  Mindef agreed to pay Razak Baginda RM500 million for services rendered to the Malaysian Government in the purchase of the Scorpene submarines?

5.Many know that  Royal titles are being sold like in 2006 Mohd Ali Baharom (a Malay Army Veteran Association head) had paid a whopping RM250,000 in order to be called a ‘Datuk’.

6.According to a report by influential London-based daily The Guardian, a Tax Justice Network’s researcher estimated that US$283 billion (RM892 billion) has been transferred to tax havens from 1970 to 2010 an amount that is three and a half times more than Malaysia’s foreign debt of RM257.2 billion in 2011 and is second to Nigeria (US$306 billion or RM964 billion?

7.  TOL companies have thus far collected more than RM20 billion and the government is still giving them license to plunder and pillage the rakyat?

8.Despite 1Malaysia cry,  100 big companies set up, owned and managed by Chinese Malaysians were taken over by government, and later managed by Malays since 1970s, e.g. UTC, UMBC, MISC, Southern Bank as has  happened to rice millers in Kedah and Chinese owned bus transport companies?

9.What about the fact  that the daughter of the recently-retired chief secretary to the government, Mohd Sidek Hassan, despite a lack of any proven track record in the energy field has the “lion’s share” in the newly introduced renewable alternative energy scheme (FiT)?

10. Financial Wastages of the goverment generated by:
11..The BMF scandal……… … RM3.2 billion
12..The Maminco scandal..……… RM 1.6 billion
13.The Forex losses scandal…… RM30 billion
14. The Perwaja steel scandal……RM 2.56 billion
15. The submarines commission…RM500 million
16. Bank Islam losses and bailout..RM700 million

17. The PKFZ scandal………………..RM 12 billion

18. Sime Darby losses………………..RM964 million

19. Terengganu Stadium collapse.. RM292 million

20. NFC CowGate scandal……… RM250 milion

21. Bailout of MAS (twice)…………RM7.9 billion

22. Defence Ministry paying RM1,146 for a RM160 technical pen

23. Youth and Sports Ministry buying a RM50 carjack for RM1,664
24. Paying RM 2.57 million to deceased pensioners

25.MARA Training Centre paying RM25,500 for 150 kg of sugar 

26.Tourism Ministry    overpaying almost RM270 million for advertisements

27.Marine Parks Dept paying RM56,350 for night binoculars valued at RM1,940

28. TNB spending RM770,000 to supply power to a single house

29. The truth that while the federal debt on paper inches closer to the 55 percent of GDP threshold, the “true debt” as of December 2011 was RM573 billion, or a whopping 67 percent of the GDP which included contingent liabilities such as government guarantees and “off balance sheet” borrowings. In 2009, these hidden debts totalled RM84 billion, which increased to RM117 billion in 2011. Five years ago, our government borrowings stood at RM250 bil but now it has reached RM520 billion. If we include the borrowings of GLCs such as MAS, TNB and others, total borrowings would hit almost RM700 bil.

30.  Malaysia with (USD350 billion) is #5 in the top 10 list of countries with the highest measured cumulative illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009?

31.  MACC is a declawed, debarked, toothless and tethered watchdog?

32.  3 Ministers in the new Cabinet was sworn in without being appointed Senators?
33. Why Sharizat and her Family are still not been held accountable for the debacle in NFC?
34. People who have never registered to vote is on the electoral roll?
35. Foreigners  given Malaysian IC and citizenship to vote in GE13?
36. Among the 92 percent valid addresses, 74 percent of the voters can be recognised, but only 31 percent out of the recognisable voters resided at their listed addresses?
37. EC lying about the  Fatwa approved indelible ink was diluted to dissolve some haram elements in the ink?
38. An audit on the electoral roll has revealed a shockingly large number of dubious voter records, a total of about 200,000.

And all the above has no bearing on race!

Sourced and condensed from :
 http://zorro-zorro-unmasked.blogspot.com/2013/06/is-he-always-told-truth.html

BN even quoted biblical scriptures to defend their position

A tweet from BN

Barisan Nasional        ? @barisanasional

Whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment - Romans 13:1-5
11:01 PM - 23 May 2013

countered by this tweet from another twitterer, also quoting scriptures from the bible.

"He who justifies the wicked & he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD." - Proverbs 17:15.

Just goes to show again that,
 Fools can never pretend to be smart but the smart can easily pretend to be fools, and feign ignorance.
 It is easier to fool people  than to convince people they have been fooled!

A voice of reason amongst the madness of paranoia and spiteful politics from UMNO

Don't blame the people, listen to them!

Umno supreme council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said Barisan Nasional (BN) should not allow talk of "Chinese political tsunami" to continue to foment, and should instead study how to regain the lost Chinese votes, he said.

According to a report in China Press today, Saifuddin noted there has been a vote drain for BN in every election. For example, he said, BN lost a lot of Malay votes in 1999, many Indian votes in 2008 and Chinese votes in the recent 13th general election.

But when BN lost a lot of Malay votes in 1999, it was with the strong support of Chinese voters that the coalition was able to secure a mandate, he added.

"Since 2004, BN's majority in Parliament has been reduced.

"To remain in power, BN leaders must listen to the voice of the people, such as in regard to the coming exercise to redelineate electoral boundaries," he said during a dialogue with the Chinese community in Malacca on Friday, the first between an Umno supreme council member and local Chinese leaders.

The former deputy higher education minister and former Temerloh MP said the country faces three realities: alternative media, the rise of new society and the rise of new politics.

"These are realities the country's leaders cannot ignore or take lightly.

"For example, the rise of alternative media provides the public easy access to information; and the rise of new society allows people to think out of the box," he said.

He also said the rise of new politics means more people will think independently.

The people have progressed to the "third stage" of democracy, where they not just vote but take part in nation building, he said, adding that the nation's leaders should also change accordingly to continue to win the support of the people.

- theSun

Please dear TUN, stop trying to provoke!

Dr Mahathir's speeches , comments are just consistently and  blatantly racist. While Malaysians are working to forge a Malaysian spirit and to value unity in diversity, this one man stands up to monger fear and sow hatred. How should the world deal with us as a country? CEOs of foreign MNCs can just pick up their Blackberries and type: "On second thoughts, give Malaysia a miss for now." Two years of lobbying of corporate HQ by the company's country manager in Malaysia can disappear in two seconds. Fund managers can do fancy maths to create proxy exposures to Malaysian equities minus the political risk. They can invest in these synthetic assets instead of investing in the real thing on Bursa Malaysia. Local investors, including the select few who are already ponied up on the inside track, must surely ask whether we have the climate of trust to do an ETP. Judging by his heroic belief in the veracity of his own crude exposition of exchange rate economics all these years, one can only assume that he does not know that he is harming the country by the things he says. This is the kindest way that one can say anything about the noises he makes.

Why i am supportive and voted for the other side! Coz i am horrified!

 Why I voted for the other side,

Well PM , First of all, as a minority in my country, I will be frank and come straight out to say that I voted against your party. It was not personal, nor did it have anything to do with ethnicity. It was nothing against you personally but I was simply following my heart, the inner voice within me was too loud to ignore. I would have liked to vote for your statement of it being unnecessary for change but if I had done so, there will be endless sleepless nights for me as my conscience will nag me throughout.

 
   For it will mean giving  support to a party who have so blatantly in full witness by me, consistently time and again challenged my sense of decency and propriety  by commiting with impunity acts that no peace loving righteous society can condone. Yet your government in the past years hitherto , has given me the perception that IT does condone the acts that outraged and arouse our moral indignation without so much as a thought for the Rakyat’s sensibilities and worst try to cover up such acts with deception and denial of the truth, unsuccessfully, all in the name of political maneuvering to avoid accountability just because you are powerful enough to do so.

  You must realise that there are those of us ordinary  people  who have better access to information and are more than adept in relying on our common sense to interpret  what is accurate and perceive what are transparent  attempts to deceive or obscure.

 Don’t  you see, many of us are also God loving and God fearing in our respective faiths  and we are firm adherents of the  believe  that we must uphold the values and principles of righteous living, or at the very least strive to be decent human beings with standard values on moral behaviour.

 I and many others(God Forbid) still can understand and probably put up with the shenanigans of money politics, rhetoric spewing tactics for hearts and minds, even dirty offensive tricks playing on emotions of the public as merely ploys that politicians use to jostle for positions of power and entitlement they feel they deserve but where is the line? Are there any moral boundaries?
   Personally speaking, I allow my conscience to be my guide in terms of acceptable actions, and hence I am well aware of where the line I should not cross lies.

   We teach our kids, don’t lie, don’t cheat and HORRORS upon  HORRORS , don’t kill,  It is WRONG, more grievously so when innocent lives get sacrificed. We are held accountable for our misdeeds ,justice is blind, and for some in our community, they are  answerable  to  GOD.

 
  Yet in the political power game to dodge accountability, the very beacon in the establishment who are supposed to be upholding and protecting  these values and tenets are the very ones who are seen to display, commiting the acts we fastidiously wish to impart on our next generation never to do. Something is wrong with this picture, or in this day and age “It does not compute”. Alarm bells in all those who have any sense of propriety will without doubt ring incessantly within, more louder for us who live , breathe and eke out our daily toil and existence in this beloved nation of Malaysia.

Why did I vote for the other side?

 Many reasons but none of it has anything to do at all will my ethnic identity. You have labelled it as an ethnic tsunami, I beg to differ. 

   It has more to do with a tsunami of the collective and concerned conscience of a nation’s people , under siege . A common ground that transcends all barriers of race and religion. Our humanity !

 Now that the dust has settled.

 As a citizen of this nation, I have no qualm as to who governs now that the dust has cleared, and your coalition has now narrowly won the mandate. Your other statement” it is time for a reconciliation” does strike a note with me and I am sure many likeminded people like me. We just want to move on now; we have voiced our protest at the ballot. I will neither march nor protest in any “people’s initiative?” Not that I dare not but I am too civil and my common sense speaks against it. Although if I am outraged enough, I will do so at the drop of a dime.

Again, why did I vote for the other side?

Well, I and millions of my fellow countrymen voted for HOPE for this land of ours, it is merely that simple. You do not have to be a rocket scientist or is it political scientist to sense that.  And although the opposition claims the cry of UBAH as their campaign rallying call, but that very word penetrated deep into resonating the hearts and psyche  of ordinary better informed  Malaysians yearning for a breathe of fresh air in the foul stench of the political climate and how we are governed. And what is seen is a manifestation of that collective consciousness of imprisoned conscience expressed in the ballot.

    UBAH means to me, a chance, no matter how slight, to usher in our hopes and aspirations for  that which is acceptable and decent plus some of the other mumbo jumbo espoused by the other side, hoping that  civility and mutual respect can be restored to a degree. Even the remotest chance of hoping for  that to happen is enough to convince me to give it a go.

   I am not a fool to believe in a complete change of the flawed system and culture we have been governed under for so long. But I am naïve enough to have the faith, and desperate HOPE that it can at least if not eradicated but brought under control.

   And that is mainly the reason why I voted for the other side, not because of their campaign promises and reasoning on economics, although I have to admit , many of their arguments made a lot of sense. But the main most important reason is that  it will be like choosing the lesser of two evils  and should they fail to perform, we can always kick them out as well.   I hate this feeling of choice but can I help it when all I see and hear presently serves to strengthen the perception of the ruling elite and their extreme excesses.

  We as Malaysians wish for the innate feelings of subtle oppression and suppression of our talents to dissipate. The obstacles in feeling fettered by shackles need to be smashed that our yearning to play our part in making this beloved nation great can be realized. Also I resent very much the feelings of resentment that have insidiously crept into  the Rakyat’s  psyche borne by the pathogens  in the atmosphere of ethnic divisiveness perpetuated by agents with selfish agendas..

     Please do take into heart the often used phrase “you can fool some people some of the time but cannot fool all the people all the time.”

   I sincerely hope that you have noticed where the bulk of the sentiments of young Malaysians, educated and astute, lie. And that they cross ethnic boundaries, attempts to drive a wedge with this generation ,using whatever card , be it race or religion ,only serves to reinforce their conviction of foul play. It is obscene and offensive  to them as it is to me and likeminded sensible Malaysians.

   Another generation of Malaysians will be coming of age to vote in a few years, and they will be much better informed with all the options of alternative media that is available.

And they combined with the young bloods who have just voiced their concerns at the ballot will comprise of the collective voices of discerning Rakyat who cannot be easily mislead nor manipulated by propaganda mongering tactics designed to inflame emotions more than to educate..

  It is more likely their choice will be influenced by their intellects  guiding their conscience and not their ignorance on the real state of affairs. Eventually there will be another stronger combined force or  tsunami wave in selecting between perceived right and wrong. 

 Start over on a clean slate

 Please heed my plea to uphold or put into place a system that can guide you to the moral high ground,I now begrudgingly look towards you as the one who  has to steer our nation’s course, do not copy Captain Smith’s  navigational charts knowing  full well  how tragic was that course for the Titanic.

 The past is the past, ever a pragmatic, I am more concerned with what is ahead, you may not be able to wipe the slate clean but that doesn’t mean you cannot place the slate on the side and write into a fresh one. Refer to it by all means and learn “What Not To Do “ with the notations on the old slate or do the reverse.

 I might not have supported what your party stood for, but I have to acknowledge you as my nation’s leader now, albeit begrudgingly. The onus is now on you to win over the hearts and minds of those that  your administration’s past policies have effectively polarized , marginalized and held asunder for so long.

   Not only that but also to restore confidence and pacify the feelings of perceived gross social injustice perpetrated upon those you purport to champion. It is time to put a lid on the alleged  excesses  or rein in the strays mucking up everything, it will not look good on your C.V.

  There may be hope yet if the government will pursue an agenda of national reconciliation to unite one and all into the pursuit of better standards of values and living for all, including the top echeleons of society and those who preside.

And I along with many others across the ethnic divide , will gladly give you approval if we sense that there are sincere and bold attempts without fear or favor to make amends of past errors. Extricate yourselves from the quagmire of past iniquities and system of doing things from the 20^th century.

  If you still refuse to acknowledge and sense the profundity of the times, it will eventually be your own undoing. It will be a grave mistake to make attempts to halt the impetus of a people by underestimating the magnitude of the Rakyat’s disillusionment with the status quo.

 As for many of us, it will be business as usual, slogging through with the expensive cost of subsisting in a cosmopolitan city, anxious and concerned on what is to come in the very near future. Not only bread and butter issues but also social concerns that may affect my personal sense of security for my family and close ones, and the quality of live and pursuit of knowledge for our kids, not only academically but also on values ,hoping that they have not been polluted yet by what is already out there.

 I am proud to be a citizen of this nation, please make me proud of my Government!

Death of an innocent..TBH.
LEST WE FORGET! The family needs closure!

How corruption in the US created the largest inequality gap in their history! .

Breaking Inequality is a documentary film about the corruption between Washington and Wall Street that has resulted in the largest inequality gap in the history of America.

It is a film that exposes the truth behind the single event that occurred back in the early 70′s that set us off on this perilous journey that we are currently on.

The inequality gap is presently the worst that it has ever been and there is no solution in place to repair this crippling problem.

No country in the history of the world has ever remained a super power without a middle class and the road we are currently traveling doesn’t include this all-important segment of the population. The old saying “As goes the middle class… so goes the nation” holds true even more today than ever.

We live in a world where governments can create as much money as they want in order to fund all kinds of wasteful projects, wars, handouts, and banker bailouts. The current system by design has transferred the wealth from average everyday Americans to an elite few who care not about the majority.

Corruption in Malaysia, it is what it is.!

Ultimately, the question is- which party did you vote for and why?- If your answer is the opposition because the current regime is corrupt, then get ready for a rude awakening. 

  Voters who voted opposition back in 2008 did not do so primarily because the current regime was corrupted. If that was the main reason, how on earth could former PM Mahathir rule this land for a whopping 22 years, despite the fact that his regime opened the floodgates of corruption and racism? In actual fact, Malaysian Chinese and Malays love corruption, without them realizing it.

Like it or not, corruption has been part and parcel of Malaysian culture, thanks to Father of Corruption – Mahathir Mohamad. That was why a study done some moons ago found that graduates actually thought corruption was not such a big deal after all. Corruption has been ingrained into the mindset of Malaysian citizens so much so that it’s almost legal and inseparable entity from daily lifes. Corruption was like lion-dance during Chinese New Year and “meriam-buloh” during Hari Raya festivals. While Malaysian Chinese consider corruption as a main ingredient to get business going, Malaysian Malays consider corruption as “rezeki”. That’s why the opposition can only go so far by drumming government massive corruptions as the reason why they should be booted from Putrajaya.

Do you really think corruption will disappear into thin air if the  opposition wins the  general election and form the federal government? Why do you think everybody rush to lick Lim Guan Eng and Anwar Ibrahim boots to be fielded as candidates? And do you really think Sabah’s King of Frogs Jeffrey Kitingan, Wilfred Bumburing and Yong Teck Lee really want to take care of the Sabahan? Pleeeeze!!! With the exception of probably Lim Kit Siang and Nik Aziz, you can’t really trust the rest of the opposition politicians. If they have no intention of enriching themselves, then President Obama is still a virgin. Ever wonder why Mahathir confidently declared he will not leave the country before the next election results are announced? That’s because he was dead sure the current corrupt regime will still form the next federal government.

If the recent AES implementation criticisms by the public was any indicator, it shows that the public can’t live without corruption, well, at least majority of them. Malaysian drivers like to speed and drive as if they’re Formula-1 drivers and they have no plan of changing their lifestyle (or rather drive-style). And AES was a classic example of how zero corruption will affect their lifes. While they accept the reality that they would be caught breaking the laws, they want the flexibility to negotiate their way out through bribes. And you can’t “kautim” (settle) by giving money to the AES camera on the spot, can you? These people would rather pay RM50 as “coffee-money” for each of 10 traffic offences than to pay full RM300 for 2 offence tickets, literally speaking.

From sales executives to company directors, 90% of their business deals involve “under-table” money, one way or another. If the only thing that opposition can promise is eliminate corruption, then a sizeable Chinese and Malays would rather vote for the corrupt regime, if that was how they secured their current businesses or “rezeki” in the first place. So, does that mean the current corrupt regime should be returned to power? Well, perhaps the answer can be found by the recent advise from Mahathir himself - choose between the lesser of two evils. Of course when Mahathir blogged his advise, he was referring to the possibility of violent demonstration should the opposition lose in the coming election, although I can’t figure out till today how can one lose something that it does not possess in the first place (*grin*).

Since the opposition has never won the federal government since independence, there’s no benchmark of how corrupted they would become. Thus, the perception of the general public – the BN regime is tremendously corrupt while the PR regime may be mildly corrupt, if the latter choose to corrupt after all. The choice is pretty obvious based on Mahathir’s “choice  between the lesser of two evils” theory. The good news for the opposition fans – the corrupt Chinese businessmen are flexible to switch sides and butter the opposition’s bread should there be a change in government. The bad news – the corrupt Chinese businessmen are  worried that a  perceived lesser corrupt government may mean  lesser business deals for them.

Now, has anyone wondered what  was the cause of the  disappearance of PM Najib during 1st-Jan-2013, when he should be doing the New Year countdown instead of his deputy?
Underground naughty rumours has it that when the PM should be shouting “Happy New Year”, he had instead flew into a resort in Hong Kong. The interesting part was where all the local tycoons were summoned to a private meeting with the prime minister. But that is another story to be told.. As of now, the opposition needs to behave - lock in existing supporters while competing for fence-sitters. But going by the rate on how PAS and DAP childishly playing the religion cards the same way BN used to play, no wonder Mahathir is grining from ear to ear. Worst still, some opposition figures are already counting their chicks before they’re hatched, when they should instead presenting their arsenal of propositions for the betterment of the people.

Above is Condensed from http://www.financetwitter.com/2013/02/malaysian-loves-corruption-cant-live-without-it.html


Most are familiar with the RM300 million stadium named after the Trengganu Sultan – Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, which collapsed just a year after it opened? Point your gun at my head but I’m still betting my last dollar that corruption was involved. But in Malaysia corruption is OK as long as the project does not “collapse” but unfortunately the stadium did collapse one year after it was officially opened by the King himself, and that’s embarrassing enough. At least during Mahathir’s era the Penang bridge (built by Korean construction company), PLUS highway, Putrajaya and Petronas Twin Towers (Japanese and Korean contractor) have not collapse. This leave the preliminary question if the politicians should start pointing the finger at the Korean contractor the moment the stadium collapsed, unless of course this Korean contractor did not even qualified for such project in the first place.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that corruption in Malaysia is so serious that there were abundant jokes about the situation. A bunch of Malaysians paid a visit to their Korean friend’s house hoping to taste homemade “kim-chi”.

• Malaysians: Whoa!!! Your house is like a palace … Is that the latest Benz model? Just how on earth could you afford this? No wonder you won’t go back to Korea *laugh*
• Korean: Come here and I’ll show you my little secret … Can you see that Penang bridge?
• Malaysians: Yes? *scratching their head” …
• Korean: Well, it was supposed to be two Penang bridges because our study showed a single bridge will be insufficient to cater for the traffic …
• Malaysians: So? *getting more confuse*
• Korean: So? So there you have it – a single bridge built with the cost of two …
• Malaysians: *it took them several minutes to digest what the Korean told them* … then burst into laughter as if they’ve found the holy grail …

Some years later, this Korean decided to pay a visit to one of his old Malaysian friends.

• Korean: Whoa! Your house is triple the size of my palace … Is that the latest Lambo model? Simply Amazing! How did you do it?
• Malaysian: Come here my friend and I’ll show you my little secret …
• Korean: OK, OK, I’m coming … *was about to orgasm*
• Malaysian: Can you see that bridge over there?
• Korean: *staring for a couple of minutes* … but I don’t see any bridge …
• Malaysian: *burst into laughter* … precisely …

Now, do you understand why Malaysian politicians are so eager to start mega-projects almost on daily basis? It doesn’t matter if the bridge is “crook” or to be built halfway to nowhere but most importantly the project has to be awarded (you know to whom). In Malaysia you’re untouchable even if the writing is on the wall that you blatantly squandered millions or even billions of taxpayer money but you’re asking for trouble if you wear black or yellow, mentioned the word Altantuya , "toppling the ?? errr... block" or even protest about escalating cost of living or police brutality. Malaysia is indeed a paradise of scandals – from Sex to Stadium.

Extracted and condensed from http://www.financetwitter.com/2009/06/malaysia-paradise-of-scandals-from-sex.html

BN 's self destruction,

Found this interesting read..

http://www.financetwitter.com/2013/05/pr-have-to-do-nothing-because-bn-is-self-destructing.html

PR Have To Do Nothing Because BN Is Self-Destructing

One of the main reasons BN regime (Barisan Nasional or National Front), led by PM Najib Razak, fails to perform better in the May 5th 2013 general election was because it lost in the cyber psychological warfare. Actually opposition PR (Pakatan Rakyat or People’s Alliance) didn’t do anything extraordinary to win the heart of the young urban voters. Instead, it was BN that screwed up by scoring its own goal, and in the process gave away additional 7 parliamentary and a whopping 32 state seats to the opposition. Basically, what BN did over the past 5 years since the 2008′s 12th general election was to scream and broadcast 1Malaysia propaganda almost 24 hours a day.

Back in 2007, Khairy Jamaluddin, then PM Abdullah Badawi’s son-in-law, insulted netizens as “monkeys” and called for tougher punishments against bloggers. If that was not bad enough, Information Minister Zainuddin, a cabinet member who had difficulties differentiating between “election” and “erection”, called bloggers as nothing less than “Goblok” (Indonesian slang for “stupid”). And who can forget Nazri, the controversial minister who threaten bloggers with ISA and had fun in Parliament shouting “You have no brains – Stupid, Stupid, Stupid …” at DAP MP Lim Kit Siang, insulting wheelchair-bound DAP MP Karpal Singh because he couldn’t stand, yelling “racist … bloody racist” at DAP MP Kulasegaran 41 times and whatnot prior.

2007 was also the year where tens of thousands took to the street under Bersih Rally. The rally was an instant success, with subsequent version 2 and 3, primarily due to publicity generated through online blogs. Like it or not, netizens were being forced to embrace the alternative online media simply because the BN regime uses their controlled mainstream media for self-praise while attacking opposition. Najib administration could have win over huge urbanites support should his propaganda print and electronic media gave a more balance coverage. Urbanites flock to the internet for alternative (read: opposition) updates simply because BN’s self-praise effort was excessive thus overkill, so much so that it was so fake and insincere.

After 2008′s 12th general election, BN recognizes the influence of online media. Millions of dollars were spent in recruiting cyber troopers to fight the cyber war dominated by the opposition. Unfortunately, besides spamming hates, sex and racist comments in every blog, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and whatnot’s corner, these UMNO mercenaries could hardly deliver any intelligent substance to help counter corrupt and mismanagement allegations. It was a losing cyber war that UMNO fails (or rather refuse) to understand. It was like deploying former Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin to argue a court case against the “Lion of Jelutong” Karpal Singh.

Post 2013′s 13th general election, it seems Najib administration still does not understand the cyber psychological warfare which they lost dearly. BN’s stone-age mentality will not help them much in the next 14th general election. Their dominance in the traditional mainstream media alone will not help them to capture Selangor or Penang. It was UMNO’s own suppression and oppression which make Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Nik Aziz relevant. UMNO’s suppression and oppression were like fuels that Anwar needs badly to keep his machines moving. That was why Anwar’s first priority after failing to march to Putrajaya was to organize nationwide rallies.

Rally is Anwar’s only option to keep his supporters alive, without which PR is as good as dead come next general election. Of course PR knew they have lost the 13th general election due to gerrymandering and “first past the post” voting system. They smartly use 51% popular votes which they won as the silver bullet to convince their supporters that they’ve actually win the election. What else do you think they can use to justify their rallies? But people will get bored and tired of excessive rallies. They can’t possibly attend rally every month, can they? That was why Anwar and his team didn’t hold back in urging (or rather provoking) people to get ready for street demonstrations.

Sadly, UMNO walks into the trap set by Anwar. UMNO with its new sheriff in town, Home Minister Zahid Hamidi, is actually doing more harm than good by showing his newly found muscle in cracking down opposition leaders. It seems PM Najib has appointed a worse person to replace his cousin Hishammuddin Hussein for the job. By telling people who does not like the present (unfair) electoral system to migrate elsewhere shows Zahid Hamidi’s arrogance and “goblokness”. Now, by arresting and re-arresting opposition leaders, Zahid Hamidi is giving new life and justification for opposition to call more people to take to the street. What was illegitimate has now become legitimate, literally speaking. The crackdowns anger the average Joes and Janes.

Many PR supporters who initially despise street demonstration may now see it as a responsibility to do so because of such brutal crackdown. No wonder Mahathir’s worst enemy is none other than his former protégé Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is a master in toying with peoples’ sentiment. If a clever person like Mahathir couldn’t even contain Anwar, did goblok Zahid Hamidi think he can checkmate opposition Anwar Ibrahim by using similar expired intimidation tactic? Perhaps Zahid thought he could show off his intelligence by arresting all 89 opposition MPs and throw them into jail thus forcing by-elections in all the 89 parliamentary seats (*grin*).

An “Operasi Lalang 2013″ will not work the same way “Operasi Lalang 1987″ did, if that was what Najib administration plans to do next. Unlike 1987 where mobile phone was like a sci-fi Star Trek toy, 2013 is the smartphone era where your photo would be uploaded and shared by millions worldwide instantly if you’re caught bonking David Beckham’s wife. The best thing to do is to lay low, just like what deputy PM Muhyiddin is doing now. Ever wonder why Muhyiddin refrains himself from cursing the Chinese for BN’s less than spectacular win? That’s because Muhyiddin knows he needs the Chinese votebank in case the Malay swing the other way in the future.

Now that PM Najib and de-facto PM Mahathir have burnt the bridge on the Chinese voters, they can only rely on rural Malay votes, and that’s a foolish strategy. For Mahathir to spew anti-Chinese venom is understandable but for PM Najib to parrot the former is absolutely flabbergasted. What if global recession or depression happens in another five years and the palm oil prices tumble? Will PM Najib pacify the rural Felda strong supporters to the tune of millions or billions in taxpayers money due to income losses, without which this ethnic-Malay voters would throw their support behind the opposition? That’s the price you’ve to pay by playing racial cards.

On the other hand, opposition can expect the urban votebank, especially the Chinese, to remain loyal with it. With the estimated 80% – 90% Chinese votes in its pocket, PR can now pull all its resources concentrating in the rural areas. It’s safe to speculate at this junction that the Chinese will not go anywhere but the opposition. If BN’s free flow of money, food, beers, entertainments, lucky draws and whatnot cannot change the Chinese hearts, nothing will. But the same cannot be said about BN – it has to not only defend it’s rural votebank but to pray there’s no internal nor external factors that could potentially swing its only rural supporters.

In short, opposition PR has a better chance of swinging the rural Malay voters than BN in changing the urban multi-racial voters’ perception. Najib administration has to understand that unlike 1987 where the memory about the political crackdown would disappear over time, a repeat of similar brutality in 2013 will be remembered for a very long time, thanks to online media. While the opposition is growing its cake, Najib administration is shrinking its cake. That’s not a very clever thing to do and clamping down on opposition just after the election is helping Anwar’s justification in questioning Najib administration’s legitimacy.

Home Minister Zahid Hamidi is equivalent to Perkasa Ibrahim Ali and Nazri Aziz combined – arrogant with stupidity blended. If 12th and 13th general elections were the Indian and Chinese tsunamis respectively, will 14th general election be the Malay tsunami? Looking at Najib’s newly formed cabinet members, it seems Anwar would have relatively easy meat come next general election. Anwar’s next plan should go all the way into the rural villages and start his provocation strategy, with some fine tuning and bells and whistles thrown i

jokes

Lion and the hanging man.

 A man hung upside down from a tree , rope tied round his legs and slung around a branch and tied off at the bottom  but a candle flame slowly burning the rope on the ground, eventually it will burn through the rope and the man will fall to the ground.

 A hungry lion is at the bottom  of the tree, the hanging man high enough to be just out of reach but as soon as the rope breaks from the candle flame burning then he will fall to the ground into the jaws of the waiting hungry lion.

 WHat does he do? To save himself ? how will he prevent the rope from breaking? 

      Answer: Just sing happy birthday song to the lion.

Four applicants to a job , ask each one in and ask them only one question. Their answer would determine which of them would get the job.

The day came and as the four sat around the conference room table the interviewer asked, "What is the fastest thing you know?"

Dave, the American, replied, "A THOUGHT. It just pops into your head. There's no warning that it's on the way; it's just there. A thought is the fastest thing I know of."

"That's very good!" replied the interviewer.

"And now you sir?" he asked Vladimir, the Russian.

"Hmm... let me see. A blink! It comes and goes and you don't know that it ever happened. A BLINK is the fastest thing I know."

"Excellent!" said the interviewer. "The blink of an eye, that's a very popular cliché for speed."

He then turned to George, the Australian who was contemplating his reply.

"Well, out at my dad's ranch, you step out of the house and on the wall there's a light switch. When you flip that switch, way out across the pasture the light in the barn comes on Yep, Turning on a LIGHT is the fastest thing I can think of."

The interviewer was very impressed with the third answer and thought he had found his man. "It's hard to beat the speed of light" he said.

Turning to Patel, the Guy from India, the fourth and final man, the interviewer posed the same question. Patel replied, (in his Gujju accent!) "Apter herring da 3 prebius ansers sir, et's obius to me dat the fastest thing is DIARRHEA."

"WHAT!?" said the interviewer, stunned by the response. The others were already giggling in their seats...

"Oh, I can expleyn sir," said Patel.

"You see, sir, da ader day my tummy was pheeling bad and so I run so fast to the baatrum,, but before I could THINK, BLINK, or TURN ON THE LIGHT, I alredi done it !"

Just mulling!. How BN may win back hearts and minds!

BN, how you ought to win back hearts and minds of the people.

Fools can never pretend to be smart but the smart can easily pretend to be fools, and feign ignorance.
It is easier to fool people  than to convince people they have been fooled!

 And try as they might, I doubt that the BN Government folks are really as dumb as they seem. Despite all the foolish antics and regurgitated statements puked out in different putrid colors and smells.

BN/ UMNO ,  It is about time you set in motion reforms for the sake of the well being of the nation and future generation, and not be overly preoccupied on how to retain power forever. The people have matured beyond the childlike formative years of growing up. Time to recognise and acknowledge that fact.

Time and place determines effectiveness of Governing methods based on respective interpretation or twisted abuse of democratic laws.  Heavy handed intimidation and coercion with despotic punitive imprisonment, as measures of deterrence, may be or viciously perceived to be necessary, decades ago, but is totally irreconcilable to the psyche and awareness level of the Malaysian people in the IT age of the 21^st century. .

 
 Malaysians in general have matured so much in sensibilities, thought and attitude from over half a century of gradual evolvement.  From ignorance and full or semi-illiteracy to a very high level of awareness and comprehension on the state of affairs affecting our nation. That is how far we have progressed.  A marjority proportion of Malaysian mind sets are not easily manipulated any longer.

This Malaysian consciousness is actually a highly positive national achievement that ought to be acknowledged, applauded and to be extremely proud of.  The proverbial frog under the coconut shell is rendered inapplicable as these enlightened Malaysians discard the shell and replace it with the armour of knowledge, intelligence and good sense. Perfectly capable to give a good run for anyone’s money in the domestic or international arena of competitiveness.

 
There exist a very urgent need to strive to raise many fellow Malaysians to an equivalent level of intelligent mind -sets that is more than capable to decipher between the nonsensical and the serious. Be aware of issues that impacts them. Benefits, advantages or attempts of deception to keep them in the dark.

The government of long ruling BN.  It is not like the rakyat do not appreciate entirely -although begrudgingly-all the 50+ years of “fostering and nurturing “ under very strict disciplinary steps to ensure that  Malaysian society  progresses ,  mature and  responsible,  with strong values and moral grounding. The people have a sort of love –HATE relationship with the BN coalition Government.  But the marjority of the Rakyat has always despised the manner of conduct, and arbitrary interpretation of our constitutional laws, imposed forcibly to discipline the people.

 
And BN, don’t you see, we the people feel we have grown up and matured as a society and nation under one roof. Past decades of the despotic system of Governance, the stern no-nonsense, overbearing punitive ways to get people in line, may have worked for a society still in its formative years of developing. But we really feel we have grown up and matured and more than capable to plot our own destiny. It is now time for a reversal of roles. It is no longer Government knows best, People must listen.  It is time that the People tell the Government what are their needs and concerns, and the Government listens.

 BN, it is time to remove the collar and the reins and not choke your children any longer.

Post merdeka, Malaysians were taking baby steps as a nation seeking an identity, we had been given a name, but merely a name is meaningless without a face. Thereby , the people  still needed fostering and nurturing  to  guide them  into forging  a singular national identity , seeking a common sense of belonging and pride , to help shape our personalities and individualities, so as  to grow up and mature into a collective national identity  with a uniquely Malaysian flavor and soul..

 
Children need to have good grounding by instilling  good values and moral fibre to them from a very young age , a sense of what is right and wrong and decent, we needed a strong guiding presence like all toddlers need help from their 1^st baby steps onwards as they  start growing up as children do, albeit, there are  parents who subscribed to the view that, a very  stern and iron handed approach is favored to ensure that their kids  grow up according to how they were mentally  assembled and moulded into  what they want the kids to  become  .

       As a nation, the multi ethnic composition is akin to siblings in a family with squabbles and disagreements, but as brothers and sisters, the underlying sentiment of sibling love and tolerance is ever present. But when the parents or guardians insist on favoritism and imposes views of superiority vs inferiority. Entitlement vs deprivation on the impressionable innocent minds, it can damage the children, planting seeds of divisiveness that will germinate in their minds...

 
Parents wish their children stay forever innocent and protect them and  guide them in their developing years, but problem is  many parents struggle to come to terms with the fact that their charges are all grown up as mature responsible adults, and they , without realizing it ,  are actually stifling their children’s advancement with over protective measures despite the fact that the kids  are fully capable of being  independent, in thought and in responsible behaviour.

Horrible parenting and resentment

  Imagine a big extended family .  You have elders, few relatives  and Parents , with children, Natural and Adopted ,all  living under one roof. Horrifyingly, there exist the worst despicable kind of parents and guardians who are extremely greedy and selfish and practice favoritism among the siblings. Exploiting the kids for financial gain to enrich and advance their own situations but gang up and do whatever possible to ensure the younger adopted kids stay as they are, depriving them aid to assist in their advancement in life, while handing out crumbs from their coffers and demanding gratitude in return.

 And thus it is cause for resentment.  Deep rooted and ingrained into the psyche of the impressionable young minds.  Resentment is a searing emotional feeling. It  can either increase in intensity or gradually evaporate and to be replaced by feel good factors.

 
And so is the case with BN‘s or the government’s instance.   To regain trust and credibility from the public, BN must generate Perception that there is genuine sincerity, repentance and remorse with firm attempts to make up for past mistakes.  More importantly, if the public can witness that there is indeed definitive reforms backed by very solid determined actions without fear nor favor, it can augur very well with the Rakyat.  Gently and subtly, resentment dissolves and approval manifest. What we need to see to address our resentment. Is that our PM, without fearing repercussions from his own party, takes drastic action to punish those from his own stable because it is morally right and should not be defended.

 Noble ideals and perhaps even greed can be composed together, strange bedfellows ? But as long as none are victimized or made to suffer consequences from the combination, Greed is Good!   When it is not at the expense of the less priviledged but actually is the spur that can elevate their situation and enable them to ride along on the Greedy train and and feast on Greedy Gravy.

 In essence, BN. To win back favour and approval from the people, make the pursuit for a just society, that does not condone nor tolerate abuses of power and corruption at all levels of Government and take immediate action using the full brunt of the law when such abuses or the excesses are exposed. No  person in whatever powerful  position or how much  wealth they have is above the law.

The truth being, actually you need  very very fat sacrificial lambs, as it were. A necessary message of deterrence and the others will start behaving themselves and queue up politely in the straight and narrow. And it is so easy to prove complicity if the authorities wish to use that axe.Probably they already have it in possession.

 A few  serious action of tackling high profile graft credited to you and toppling a very high level guy in your party who also happens to be disliked by the rakyat for his arrogance and contempt for the law, and immediately, you will be popular again.   

  
Primary concern.

Let not the paranoia of losing power overwhelm your collective good senses  in the institution.  Don’t fret over it. Trust that things will fall neatly into place if your main aim is to rectify past iniquities. Don’t even try too hard to publicize your efforts, Just go about doing it without clamoring for fanfare and acknowledgement.

 
 Malaysians are a wise and discerning bunch now, we can easily recognise or sense a rat but also can make out the fragrance of a rose garden from a distance.  BN ,just do the Undoing for the very  namesake  and with a genuine sincere spirit. And trust us Malaysians  , We will notice! Don’t have to trumpet the efforts!   For now, that ought to be enough.

 When something is done  out of passion and dedication and sincerity or devotion to the nature of the task. Be it a career profession or love for the arts  or a recreational pursuit.  Whole-hearted devotion and single minded determination, believing passionately that, to Excel in the chosen field is the reward itself, all other secondary effects will fall into place by themselves without the least bit of effort. It is merely the simple Cause and Effect doctrine.  

Or simply ,Do IT because IT needs to be DONE!!

Hybrid cars and EVs

Are hybrid cars as eco friendly as they are made out to be? Hybrids and EVs (electric vehicles) are supposedly the solution to our self made problem of greenhouse gases, global warming and high cost of fuel. They are like the halo cars for our generation. But are these vehicles really the cure to our woes and be the savior and solution to our current gas guzzling, atmosphere polluting to the point of choking our globe, generation. A recent study conducted by the Norwegian Science and Technology University has it that, the EVs and Hybrids are not as eco friendly as they seem. For instance, consider the lifecycle of an EV that contains the ingredients like nickel and copper in the toxic batteries that powers the vehicles all the way to the energy sources that supplys power to the electric grids. The study maintained that the problem is actually shifted from the vehicle manufacturers to the power companies. It is due to the simple fact that the electricity needed to power up the cars comes from lignite, coal and heavy oil combusting plants. These are all pollutants that also contribute significantly to the environmental damage. Even the supposed clean Hydro power generated from dams will involve felling of a very large tract of trees that in turn may have to relocate natives of the land or affecting the natural habitats of the animals in the region. Basically, most forms of power generation in one way or another has some affect on the environment, apart from maybe solar and wind powered energy. As for the hybrids and EVs .They have batteries that have a lifecycle and after a point will need to be disposed off. As of last year, there were more than 3 million Toyota hybrids sold and that number is actually much much higher today when taking into account the EVs and Hybrids sold by the other car makers. It is difficult to imagine the amount of pollution that will result in the disposing of the toxic batteries. On another level, the study did also allow that EVs powered by the European electricity mix does have an impact that can result in a 10% to 24% decrease in global warming potential. Although, the downside is on the building of the cars, which still has an impact on human toxicity, eco toxicity, freshwater europhication, and metal depletion. It essentially signifies that the Hybrids and the EVs are just an interim solution to a very long term problem. So is there an ideal solution to the problem? The way things are now with our current state of technology towards car making that is largely dependent on the propulsion options, it is an indication of what direction the car makers are heading in developing future vehicles and what the engines of the future will be like. For a few years, Automakers have been exploring the Hydrogen powered propulsion option that was tabled among other options. This energy source is still being debated because of the involvement of tank weight, high storage pressure and the dangers associated with storing liquid hydrogen in cars. It is unlikely that vehicle manufacturers will stray very far from the internal combustion engine at present, so the aim may be to determine an alternative combustible source of fuel that may be able to power the current generation of engines. Bio fuel has been around a few years and the car manufacturers have been dancing with this option for some time.The stuff is renewable, it doesn’t pollute and the CO2 emission is offsetted by the growing of crops and mainly it is a readily available technology. The modern diesel engines have been proven to be highly fuel economical but can also provide good power without the noisy clatter commonly associated with diesel engines. Audi proved that by winning the Le Mans in a diesel engine. Bio-diesel has all these properties but will the petroleum conglomerates tolerate the technology to be used by the masses.There are billions at stake if these technology were to be introduced that they will probably attempt to slow it down or to create obstacles to the smooth transition of the introduction of bio fuel to the world. We need a replacement for the fossil fuel that the world consumes urgently but the prospects of that happening soon is dim especially when recent discoveries of huge reservoirs were made at the North Pole.That means that petroleum is here to stay for a while longer. And as EVs and Hybrids are a brief solution to easing the environmental concerns .Bio fuels is what the world should gamble on or Hydrogen (provided that a way can be found to safely store and use it), are the obvious and accessible choices for solving the ills.

Jack Johnson..gone

This is a true blue original, Jack Johnson..loved his stuff.

eric clapton and steve winwood

Guitar maestros at their bluest best. This is how it is done!! Jamming by the all time greats.Especially old slowhand himself.