Wan Azizah quits as MP, makes way for Anwar
Jul 31, 2008 News Breaks
This is what I was dreading. I personally think that it is a waste of money to run in an elections and then resign to allow for a by-election. I said this before during the General Elections.
Datuk Dr. Wan Azizah has resigned as Permatang Pauh MP to make way for her husband Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to stand in a by-elections.
The Star reports that the Opposition Leader (former now, I suppose) handed her resignation letter to Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
It is not only a waste of resources, time and money, it’s also a waste of an MP - I personally thought that Wan Azizah has been doing a good job as Opposition Leader. As far as I’m concerned, this has made the election process a farce.
More info at Malaysiakini.
Tags: Anwar Ibrahim, By-elections, Permatang Pauh, PKR, Wan Azizah
LA Earthquake news: Twitter reigns supreme
Jul 30, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
Media convergence is well and alive.
I just read this story on CNET (well, it was headlined on Yahoo! News) about how a woman Twitter-ed her first earthquake experience, from her gynecologist’s office.
The article quotes Verdell Wilson as saying:
“As soon as I got dressed, I twittered my experience from my cell phone,” Wilson said. “I usually twitter to 80 friends, but I now have 274 messages from people commenting on it.”
Why this is significant is because mobile networks and phone lines usually get jammed up during disasters - whether through heavy traffic, or physical damage to cell lines/power stations. With Twitter, all you really need is wireless access.
This is most significant for people like me - journalist - as we start embracing media convergence. There is a lot of talk about using videos, audios and images but I feel that if something is newsworthy, you don’t need anything fancy to attract a reader. And the convergence, IMHO, is really about getting the news out in the fastest possible time using the most convinient and efficient of tools.
In the case of Twitter, it’s text-based, uses less than 140 characters and is live.
Maybe journalists in China covering the Olympics can use it if they encounter any problems with the authorities and the censorship of the Internet during that time, as announced by the Beijing Games organising committee spokesperson.
And if they ban Twitter online as well, then the good news is, Twitter can be updated via SMS too.
2.04pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Internet Censorship, Los Angeles Earthquake, Media Convergence, Twitter
How did George W. Bush make it to the White House?
Jul 30, 2008 Sounds Like Pop
I know, I know - I’ve been told that my blog reeks of politics (does it, really?) but I couldn’t resist this one. No, I’m not going to discuss “Double-yah” and his policies. I’ll let this movie - the trailer below - speak for itself. Michaelangelo Signorile blogged about the trailer’s release yesterday.
The movie is not out yet but a really long an exclusive story by Entertainment Weekly in May which speaks of detractors to director Oliver Stone’s statement (the Josh Brolin plays W!) that the movie is “fair, true portrait of the man”. The Dallas Morning News in April mentioned that four leaked scipts sent to biographers of Bush were mixed in their opinion of its accuracy.
Still, both articles mention that there’s alot of acuracy too - including his obsession with Saddam Hussein and his volatile relationship with his father, including the scene where he has a fistfight with Daddy Bush.
IMDB.com says that the movie is ” A chronicle on the life and presidency of George W. Bush…”
Oliver Stone, in the EW story, said:
“Bush may turn out to be the worst president in history. I think history is going to be very tough on him. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a great story.”
I hope it comes to Malaysia - it will reportedly premier in France (oh, the irony of it all!) in October.
Oohhhh, I can’t wait.
10.05am Malaysian times (+8 GMT)
Tags: George W Bush, Josh Brolin, movie, Oliver Stone, US President, White House
Woman get struck by lightning while video-ing a storm
Jul 29, 2008 Rantings
Shooting a storm using a video camera while holding on to a metal railing - not so smart. Maybe she fell asleep during science class in school.
Nevertheless, I thought it was quite a cool video to watch. I know, I know, I sound evil but I plead Schadenfreude. Which reminds me of a line from one of my favourite musicals ever - Avenue Q:
GARY AND NICKY:
Schadenfreude!GARY COLEMAN:
People taking pleasure in your pain!NICKY:
Oh, Schadenfreude, huh?
What’s that, some kinda Nazi word?GARY COLEMAN:
Yup! It’s German for “happiness at the misfortune of others!”NICKY:
“Happiness at the misfortune of others.” That is German!
Back to the video … for some reason, I find the way viewers are arguing whether it’s real or not even funnier though.
9.30am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: avenue q, lightning, schadenfreude, storm, video
Bad drivers are: “Damn rude!”
Jul 28, 2008 Rantings
Before I get to the point of this post, allow me to vent.
I was having a good morning today, until I met this cow of a female driver (no offense to other female drivers out there). I was driving up a 2-lane hill and was not even going that slowly, when her little MyVi tailgated me (because there was an even slower car in the other lane). I hate being tailgated.
So anyway, once we pass that car, she tries to overtake me except we come to a traffic light and there are more cars on her lane than mine. So she swerves to get behind me (and I could have sworn a car honked at her for her sudden movement).
Then, past the lights, we were going downhill and she follows me all the way until I get a gap to get into the left lane (I needed to turn left). I had signaled left but the moment I started moving in, she does the same too but accelerates so basically, I was almost going to ram into her. Thankfully I didn’t but she again tailgates me. Which annoys the shits out of me, so I start going real slow for about 100metres until the road expands into 4 lanes.
Naturally, she accelerates to overtake me (I could just feel it) and so I told myself that if she even dares glare at me, I’d, well, flick her my finger. She did.
I hate unreasonable drivers. Even if you were in a rush, it’s probably not worth the risk and I don’t think I’d have delayed her by more than a minute, max.
My other peeve is when there is a jam, and people go onto the outer lane which is clear and then try to cut in. I think it’s fine if they can find a gap, but those who actually stop to wait for the traffic to move so they can squeeze in gets on my nerve, mainly because they are causing a jam on the outer lane.
So imagine my thrill when I found this article today. I know, I know, it’s more than three years old, and it’s about traffic in the United States, but I can feel the joy of the drivers there who are “victims” of traffic lane jumpers.
Basically, in 2005 Seattle, two cops became local “celebrities” when they would fine drivers for cutting in lines. The article, in The Seattle Times, reads:
Seattle Police officers Lyndell Jones and Jeff Rodgers carry out a unique mission: They’re the only cops in the state who can bust drivers for simply cutting in line.
The pair stand near a freeway ramp from the West Seattle Bridge corridor to northbound Interstate 5, where commuters in the one-mile queue resent the minority who nose in front just before the ramp.
Whenever the crackdown is on, people honk, wave, give thumbs up and sometimes stop to tattle on the cheaters.
“They love us here,” says Rodgers. “Not many people love a traffic officer. We get public reinforcement, and we come back.”
I wish we had such cops in KL. I could tell them a few places where they could head over to, hide and bust drivers!
8.54pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: lane jumping, seattle times, tailgate, traffic, traffic police
