Another Mansion Without Approval

Another Selangor municipal councillor has been found to be building a mansion without getting approval from the Klang Municipal Council (MPK). How many more is the question?

Mazlynoor Abdul Latiff’s mansion at Kampung Raja Uda along Jalan Lengkungan is about 80% completed and resembles the controversial four-storey mansion built by Port Klang assemblyman Datuk Zakaria Md Deros. MPK president Abdul Bakir Zin confirmed yesterday that Mazlynoor had not submitted plans for the construction of the mansion.

MPK president said “MPK will investigate how the mansion came to be built up to this stage without the enforcement or planning department imposing a stop-work order or even alerting me. Work should not have gone on until plans submitted are approved." Yeah, should investigate and anyway, I have the answer already why it can be built anyhow ..... I'm sure many people also knew why it could be built no matter what.

The best part was, when contacted by The Star, Mazlynoor claimed that other councillors had also built mansions within the area without building plans. “So, you visited the area. You took a lot of photographs. No reason for you to highlight the matter. Everyone is doing it, but my house is small,” he said. Will this open up a can of worms? I'm sure it will unless the government enforced another gag order on this issue. Your comments?
Tags: Politics, Municipal Councillor, Klang Municipal Council, Selangor, Mansion, Port Klang, Datuk Zakaria Md Deros

Microsoft - New Internet Explorer

Microsoft Corp. is giving its Web browser software its first major upgrade in years, amid signs that Internet Explorer's market share is eroding. Microsoft has been heavily testing the new browser, releasing five beta versions over 14 months, and has periodically offered security updates for IE6, first released in 2001.

Still, a lag of more than five years between official releases has cost the company. Web analysis company WebSideStory estimates that Internet Explorer's U.S. market share is about 86 percent, while Firefox commands about 11 percent of the market and smaller offerings account for the rest. Two years ago, IE had about a 93 percent share.

Microsoft is offering IE7 as a free download now.
Tags: Microsoft Corp, Internet Explorer 7, Web Browser, WebSideStory, Firefox

Most Polluted Places

The Top 5 of the most polluted places on planet earth:-

• Dzerzhinsk in Russia, a Cold War chemical weapons site.
• Linfen, heart of China's coal industry.
• Kabwe in Zambia, site for mining and smelting of metals including lead.
• Haina in the Dominican Republic, where battery recycling and smelting have left huge concentrations of lead in residents.
• Ranipet in India, where more than three million people are affected by tannery waste.

Source (click city's name for other sources too): A New York-based environmental charity, Blacksmith Institute, has documented what it calls the 5 most polluted places on the planet. It is dedicated to monitor pollution related environmental projects in developing countries.

Tags: Environment, Pollution, Blacksmith Institute, Most Polluted, Dzerzhinsk, Russia, Linfen, China, Kabwe, Zambia, Haina, Dominica Republic, Ranipet, India

Top-notch Swimming Pool - Australia

One of the world's most technologically advanced pools was officially opened yesterday at the renowned Australia Institute of Sport, in a bid to strengthen the country's chances at the 2008 Olympics. It cost US$12.75m to build the AIS Recovery and Swimming Centre in Canberra.

The centre features a 10-lane, 50m pool with in-built performance analysis and monitoring systems for the training, testing and development of Australia's elite swimmers and teams.

Analysis and monitoring systems packed into the pool walls and blocks, touch pads, magnetic timing gates and 24 fixed cameras will allow coaches and sports scientists to analyse all aspects of the AIS swimmer's performance in training.
The centre will also feature state-of-the art hydrotherapy and recovery facilities – three spa baths, a plunge pool, a cold water walk-through and a river for active recovery and stretching.
Tags: Sports, Technology, Australia, Swimming, Canberra, Australia Institute of Sports, AIS Recovery and Swimming Centre, Sports Scientist

Deepavali or Diwali celebration

Today, worldwide, Deepavali or Diwali is a celebration by people embracing the Hindu religion where my country, Malaysia, is having it too. Also known as the Festival of Lights.

There is a video (humorous one!) produced by Petronas just for the Deepavali celebration.

Would like to wish all who celebrate this festival, Happy Diwali.
Tags: Festival, Deepavali, Diwali, Festival of Lights, Hindu, Religion, Celebration

Sexy Education at University of Toronto

An undergraduate program at Canada's University of Toronto offers discussions on flogging, restraint and role-play. But teachers and students insist it's a serious academic program that isn't simply about sex. The Sexual Diversity Studies program, one of the largest of its kind in North America.

The program promises an academic approach to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual issues -- from history and law to the performance of sadomasochism. There are plans for Canada's first undergraduate major in sexual diversity studies, and for master's and doctorate programs from 2008.

The program includes a drama course called "Sexual Performance: Case Studies in S/M (sadomasochism)" and the arts and literature course "Queerly Canadian," for which one student wrote an in-depth review of a male strip show.

But it also focuses on traditional academic discussion -- from Plato to same-sex marriage, with courses like "Theories of Sexuality" and "Sexual Diversity Politics." Canadian provinces were the first jurisdictions in North America to legalise gay marriage -- and Toronto, with one of the largest gay and lesbian communities in the world, is a perfect backdrop for such a program, the university commented.

Very open-minded society indeed!!!

Tags: Sexy, Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, Sexual Diversity Studies, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Heterosexual, Sexual Performance, Sadomasochism

The Ant Bully - movie review

Yeah, The Ant Bully, it'an animated cartoon but it's fun to have a change at times. Notwithstanding, the amount of free time I have now. Office is officially closed for 1 week due to the muslim Eid celebration (after a month of Ramadan where all muslims fast from dawn to dusk) which should fall on 23 Oct, Monday. But I'm stucked in Khartoum with 2 other colleagues with nowhere to go. So a cartoon film is just nice.

The Ant Bully - voices of Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep & Paul Giamatti (a strong cast of famous actors/actresses here). A story of a 10 year old boy named Lucas. Just moved to a new neighbourhood and was often bullied by the young locals. Lucas tend to take out his frustration on the ants living in his lawn. One night, an ant wizard managed to pour a magic potion into Lucas' ear and he became the size of an ant. With that size, the army ants brought him before the Ant Council to be tried and the queen ant sentenced him to become an ant and a female ant took up the responsibility to teach Lucas. Until Lucas becomes an ant, he can't get the potion to make him human again.

So, he has to earn his stripes. One day, a pest controller came to wipe out pests in Lucas' lawn. A joint-operation of a few species of insects combined to defeat the pest controller. The ants went airborne to strike him. The scene looked like those war films attacking its land based enemies. Something different for a cartoon. Lucas led the field to victory and was given the potion.
Tags: Movie, Cinema, Review, Ant Bully, Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep