Political Correctness 101

On March 11, 2011, Japan shook and swayed as a result of a 9.0 magnitude undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan. A tsunami – with waves up to 76 feet high and travelling up to 10km inland – followed soon after. Worst still, there is now the dangerous issue of radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

All these indicates the gravity and severity of what’s happening in Japan at the moment. Naturally, an outpour of sympathies and condolences has been made in Japan’s direction. Foreign governments immediately offered assistance and humanitarian aids. And throngs of Hollywood’s who’s who called for the public to donate and pray for Japan.

But surprisingly so, there were still reports of gaffes made by people and institutions from all over the world.

Let's Get Craic-ing!

Pre-script: This article was published in the March edition of "The Inkslingers".

I have been fortunate enough to visit the homeland of the Leprechauns recently.

The weather there was typically Irish – unpredictable – and the winter was frigid cold. But the sights were truly magnificent. That is not, however, what intrigued me the most.

It’s not St. Patrick’s Day if that’s what you think I meant. It is the craic that was most noteworthy as it is quintessentially Irish. Pronounced as crack, the term does not correspond to any specific translation or definition. But it can be roughly captured as 'fun' or 'general enjoyment'. There can be great craic going on, especially in pubs, or you could be a craic yourself by being good company.

Where the Sun Don't Shine

Pre-script : I know the title isn't grammatically correct but it just sounds better.

In the previous entry, I wrote about the things I miss about being in Dublin. Now it's only right to balance that with an entry on the things which I don't miss about Dublin. Here goes:

Baile Átha Cliath

I think I need to blog consistently again. I need to practice, I need to sharpen my writing skills. Hence this entry.

Anyway, I've been away for slightly more than 10 weeks (2 1/2 months). I was based in Dublin (in the Irish language is known as "Baile Átha Cliath", hence the title of this entry) the entire time, only being out of Ireland for roughly 2 out of those 10 weeks.

Of course there are many things I'd like to share, but for a start, I'll list a few things I miss about living in Dublin.

Satu Hari Di Malaysia

Tatkala fajar menyinsing tirai pagi.
Mataku celik, telingaku jaga, aku senyum.
Alangkah indahnya Malaysiaku.

Dari bendang terbentang
ke kota raya megah bergaya.
Malaysiaku maju membangun.

Indera Kayangan ke Bawah Bayu
Kaya bangsa, budaya dan bahasa.
Malaysiaku penuh kepelbagaian.

Lautan luas, puncak dunia, angkasa raya
Diredah, ditawan, digapai.
Malaysiaku memang boleh.

Tatkala suria membayangi titian hari.
Mataku melihat, telingaku mendengar, aku muram.
Adakah ini Malaysiaku?

Silence Silentius

Silence is a girl. She is the daughter and sole heir of Cador, a noble knight, and Euphemie. But the King of England disallows the inheritance of property by women as the king lost two knights over it. So Silence is raised as a boy, christened as Silentius. And a boy Silentius is to everyone else in hope that one day ‘he’ could lay claim to ‘his’ father’s property.

Upon reaching the age of 12, Silentius is confronted by characters known as Nature, Noreture (nurture) and Reason. Nature wants Silentius to return to a role appropriate to his biological gender. But then Noreture and Reason persuades Silentius to continue the way things are to avoid shaming the family. They also argue that Silentius could lose his current status in society. At this stage, he decides to remain Silentius.

But as the story unfolds, Silentius goes through many tribulations, mostly due to the evil deeds of the queen. Eventually, all secrets are made open and King Evan has the treacherous queen arrested and Silence is made his new queen. The king restores the inheritance of all women in England. Cador and Euphemie make a return to court and are forgiven. Hereon then, everyone live happily ever after.

NST vs. NYT

The world has recently been overwhelmed by news reporting and coverage on the incident off-the coast of Gaza. The incident involved the Israeli Navy and a small fleet or flotilla of ships bound for blockaded Gaza and occurred in international waters.

The international flotilla was carrying aid meant for the people of Palestine. The flotilla was also ferrying peace activists and volunteers. However, on early Monday morning of May 31, 2010, the Israeli Navy decided to board the flotilla. A confrontation was reported. And as a result of that, several passengers become casualties and many others are injured.

Up to the time of this entry, the interest in the issue remained strong. And the issue still make news as the impact is very much felt and lingered amongst not only people in Malaysia but also the entire world. Many news reports have been made thus far, be it locally or internationally. Some of them are rather factual and to-the-point, but there are also those which raise concerns in relation to ethical reporting.

To illustrate my point, I present you with 2 news articles from The New Straits Times (NST) and The New York Times (NY Times).

The Kingmakers

Do you think journalist just report the world as they see it?

Think about that, think hard. Relate it to the whole "Police v. Aminulrasyid" discourse. In the mean time, indulge me a little time to explain my thoughts on that.

Every profession has its purpose. One either provides a service or produce a product. A baker bakes, a singer sings, a tailor sews. A journalist? What about them? What has a journalist got to offer? Well, they manufacture news. Note my choice of word, manufacture.

The bread-and-butter of journalistic career is to run about town (or world, depending on what he or she is covering) chasing for newsworthy items. Once they find something worth reporting, they'll get down to business. The hunt for quotable statements and insider information thus begins.

Malaysian Idle

“In works of labour, or of skill,
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.”

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
British hymn writer and minister

The above saying may be of Christian origin, but I reckon there's no harm in me quoting it since the logic makes a great deal of sense. Idleness can indeed be the cause of many great mischief. And Malaysia, the land where everything is Boleh, is renown for its very own brand of idleness - the lepak culture.

It is rather ironic that citizens of Bolehland, who strives for a plethora of feats and records (some bordering absurdity) has a less motivated alter ego, one who loiter aimlessly at shopping malls by day and chat through the night at local mamak place or kopitiam.

Cynics At Large!

I don’t know the exact date I let go of my puerile dream of becoming Doogie Howser. Back then, I thought if he could save lives, I could too. And then I realised that Doogie was fictional and that an actor was paid to play him. I also realised the idealistic notion of a teenage doctor out to save the world was not real. Needless to say, my idol fell off the pedestal. Besides, even Doogie did not want to be Doogie anymore. He’s Barney Stinson now. Hang on, am I a cynic? Come to think of it, I probably am!

Cynicism. We have a good dose of it in our society today. Who would’ve thought that cynicism as we understand now – a bitter and disbelieving attitude, is a descendent of an ancient system of beliefs? Cynics were the adherents of an ancient Greek school of philosophy. It originally promoted a virtuous life in agreement with nature. They advocated the pursuit of virtue in a simple and unmaterialistic lifestyle. A rather poetic ironical turn of events don’t you think?

Big Fat Figures For Americans To Munch On

The title of this entry is actually the title of an article in today's NST (world section). The article is taken from Times of India and written by SubodhVarma. Click here for the Times of India article.

Facts as stated in the article :

1. Total food grain consumption (wheat, rice, and all coarse grains like rye, barley, etc.) by American is more than 5 times that of an Indian. 
2. Each Indian eats about 178kg of grain annually while an American consumes 1,046kg.
3. In per capita terms, US grain consumption is twice that of the European Union and thrice that of China.
4. Each American consumes an average of 78kg of milk compared to 36kg in India and 11kg in China.
5. Vegetable oils consumption per person is 41 kg oer year in US, while Indians are making do with a mere 11kg per year.
6. 43.6kg of beef are consumed in America yearly in per capita terms. In India, 1.6kg and China 5.9kg.
7. In the US, 45.4kg of poultry meat is consumed every year by each person compared to 1.9kg in India.
8. As for pork, in per capita terms; European Union consumes 42.6kg, America consumes 29.7kg and in China 35kg.
9. Food grain consumption in Africa is 162kg per year for each person or about 445g per day.

Melodi

I saw probably 2-3 minutes worth of Melodi this afternoon. And in that 2-3 minutes, an unknown Melodi reporter was interviewing a sick artiste (I don't know his name, he was formerly in some rock kapak band unfamiliar to me). I remembered that he was previously featured for his current state - selling nasi lemak by some sidewalk in KL. He seemed to have "repented" and very much humbled by his present disposition.

But today's story is not about him selling nasi lemak but on the fact that he is now stricken by some illness which I suspect has got to do with kidney problems. I watched it halfway, so I may get that wrong. The point is he's sick.

Empathicalism

I can't say for sure, but based on my modest research (solely via the internet), I have come to be rather certain that the philosophy of "empathicalism" is fictitious, even if it's not, it has a relatively low number of disciples.

What's "empathicalism" you may wonder. Well, maybe the excerpt below would be of some help.

FA : Oh? What's empathicalism?
AH : The most sensible approach to true understanding and peace of mind.
FA : Sounds great, but what is it?
AH : It's based on empathy. Do you know what the word "empathy" means?
FA : No, I'll have to have the beginner's course on that one. Empathy. Is it something like sympathy?
AH : Oh, it goes beyond sympathy. Sympathy is to understand what someone feels. Empathy is to project your imagination so that you actually feel what the other person is feeling. You put yourself in the other person's place.

[ FA: Fred Astaire; AH : Audrey Hepburn ]