Wednesday, August 29, 2007

What Does Merdeka Day Mean To You?








Traveling down memory lane and pondering the Merdeka Days that I had been through these few, many years, it has been like a blink of the eyes that our country has been independent for 50 glorious years.

Malaysia has developed and advanced since its colonial period. From an agricultural state to an advanced metropolitan with the latest technology.

But. Have you asked yourselves, what does Merdeka Day mean to you?

Is it merely a day where everyone comes out of their 'hiding' and 'celebrate' and 'cheer'?









Or does it merely mean flying of the Jalur Gemilang?

(pls keep in mind that the photo are for illustration purpose only)






I still remember the Merdaka Days that I 'celebrated' while I was still in the school bench. It only means a rest day for me. No need to go to school. No homework. ...yeah!!!...
(mind you... too young to understand the meaning of independence then...)

I bet that all the youngsters nowadays do not appreciate the hardship that our leaders, past and present, have done to fight for the independence of our country. They will not understand the sacrifices of our arm force in fighting for our country.

Our country's leaders have done a good work to maintain peace among the many/multi races here in Malaysia. But yet, the people nowadays will do anything to cause racial discomfort, spreading rumours about racial clashes, disagreement, etc...


Our country has come so far. Though only merely a 50 years. However, do you wish for your children to live in a peaceful country, and see the next 50th anniversary of our country's independence?

We might not be around by then, or we might be too old to witness it. But I hope that my children will be able to witness it, and appreciate the independence of our country through the peaceful living of many different ethnic and background.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Global Warming. Do You Want This To Go On?

Reading from Reuters, that Global Warming is forecast to set after 2009.

Is this what we are gearing up for..? Are we prepared to face the consequences..? Are we not going to preserve this world of ours, so that we can have a better world to live in?

Are we so ignorant of what's the cause of the Global Warming? Let me tell you. It is all caused by us, mankind, homosapiens, and whatever you want to call it.

Global warming will step up after 2009: scientists

Thu Aug 9, 2007 2:13PM EDT

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent

(Reuters) - Global warming is forecast to set in with a vengeance after 2009, with at least half of the five following years expected to be hotter than 1998, the warmest year on record, scientists reported on Thursday.

Climate experts have long predicted a general warming trend over the 21st century spurred by the greenhouse effect, but this new study gets more specific about what is likely to happen in the decade that started in 2005.

To make this kind of prediction, researchers at Britain's Met Office -- which deals with meteorology -- made a computer model that takes into account such natural phenomena as the El Nino pattern in the Pacific Ocean and other fluctuations in ocean circulation and heat content.

A forecast of the next decade is particularly useful, because climate could be dominated over this period by these natural changes, rather than human-caused global warming, study author Douglas Smith said by telephone.

In research published in the journal Science, Smith and his colleagues predicted that the next three or four years would show little warming despite an overall forecast that saw warming over the decade.

"There is ... particular interest in the coming decade, which represents a key planning horizon for infrastructure upgrades, insurance, energy policy and business development," Smith and his co-authors noted.

The real heat will start after 2009, they said.

Until then, the natural forces will offset the expected warming caused by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, which releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

"HINDCASTS" FOR THE FUTURE

"There is ... particular interest in the coming decade, which represents a key planning horizon for infrastructure upgrades, insurance, energy policy and business development," Smith and his co-authors noted.

To check their models, the scientists used a series of "hindcasts" -- forecasts that look back in time -- going back to 1982, and compared what their models predicted with what actually occurred.

Factoring in the natural variability of ocean currents and temperature fluctuations yielded an accurate picture, the researchers found. This differed from other models which mainly considered human-caused climate change.

"Over the 100-year timescale, the main change is going to come from greenhouse gases that will dominate natural variability, but in the coming 10 years the natural internal variability is comparable," Smith said.

In another climate change article in the online journal Science Express, U.S. researchers reported that soot from industry and forest fires had a dramatic impact on the Arctic climate, starting around the time of the Industrial Revolution.

Industrial pollution brought a seven-fold increase in soot -- also known as black carbon -- in Arctic snow during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, scientists at the Desert Research Institute found.

Soot, mostly from burning coal, reduces the reflectivity of snow and ice, letting Earth's surface absorb more solar energy and possibly resulting in earlier snow melts and exposure of much darker underlying soil, rock and sea ice. This in turn led to warming across much of the Arctic region.

At its height from 1906 to 1910, estimated warming from soot on Arctic snow was eight times that of the pre-industrial era, the researchers said.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Think Before You Whine

Think you are unfortunate? Think you are persecuted?

Do you whine when the air-conditioning went down on you? Do you whine when you can't find a nice blouse to wear for the night? Do you still whine...?

THINK AGAIN.

Are you as unfortunate as those who will be mentioned below?

THINK AGAIN..

I came across Susan Loone's Blog and one of the posts that attracted me is the 50 refugees.

"50 refugees" tells the stories of 50 asylum seekers, amongst others, from 3 different countries and different ethnicities and backgrounds.

This is a true story about abuse, fear, neglect, humiliation, persecution and violence that these poor souls went through.

I am totally saddened by the recount of Force Labour, Religious Persecution, and there are many more.

Refugees are human with flesh and blood too. Please help them