Hot War

Cold War was over when the communist regime fell across Europe. With USSR disintegrated and most East Europeans' communism regime fell down the drain, the Cold War disappeared silently too.

Lately, the USA was trying to place some of its missles and radar system in Poland and Czech Republic in which Russia took it seriously and said that USA has breached ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) Treaty. Russia stated that those placements were meant to target Russia.

Meanwhile, USA has responded by saying that those interceptor missiles and radar system's placement were meant to counter any future threats from Iran and North Korea.

Very sensitive situation. Was USA's reasons justified? It seems that Russia was not buying it.

On the other hand, in showing that their arms' strength are still powerful, Russia launched a RS-24 missile from the Plesetsk cosmodrome last Tuesday. This missle could be armed with up to 10 warheads and was designed to evade missile defence systems. Wow! Evade? If you don't intend to bomb people in future why a need for a missile that could evade...... and a missile that could fit in 10 warheads???????? This missile could have been planned for few years back when everything was peaceful and their mind was already filled with destruction of another country with just one powerful missile....tsk tsk tsk

The NATO-Russia Council stated that it will continue to to address Russia’s concerns regarding the plans. Concerns on what when Russia was also well prepared?

Ain't this going to be a HOT WAR!!! Must practice my shooting skills with my Counter Strike game. You'll never know when it will come in handy.
Tags: Cold War, USA, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, NATO-Russia Council, ABM Treaty, RS-24, Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Missile Defence System, Iran, North Korea

Funeral Service

Went to a friend's funeral service just now.....knew her long time ago but lost touch. Got news that she had passed away - committed suicide. What a tragedy!

Knew her to be a joyful person, the one that could get excited with news/events. But she took her life. This was not the way to find out where your long time friend was.

At the funeral service, the pastor shared with us on "John 3:16 - for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have an everlasting life." The pastor stressed on "for God" - that we people, while on this earth, should live our life for God. Be it in our work, family life, relationships.

He also mentioned "whoever" - that this marvellous God is really for whoever.
Tags: Tragedy, Commit Suicide

How to Survive With Your Salary?

Our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has advised the public to spend your money wisely. And no more moonlighting. "With your salary increase, you should manage your budget and money wisely," he told them. "Unlimited spending will only create problems for yourself."

On 21 May, the prime minister announced a pay increase of between 7.5% and 42% for the country's more than one million civil servants, in what is seen as the best ever pay increment for the civil service.

Any clue whether the prime minister has to issue the statement as above due to an email (as shown below) being widely circulated in Malaysia:-

Subject: Can a family man with a salary of RM3,000 survive in Malaysia
Let's do some simple calculations here. In Malaysia, the average family income is RM3,000 per month (where father works, mother doesn't). I understand there are many families whose monthly income does not reach RM3,000, but, to make things simple, let's take RM3,000 as the figure. Ok lah, right?

Okay, let's start rolling with a family which has Papa, Mama, 1 daughter and 1 son. Ngam-ngam ...... Calculation starts...
Electricity and water bill: RM100 (No air-con, No home theatre, No water heater ... ok?)
Phone bill (Digi, Maxis, Celcom or Telekom): RM100
Meals for a happy family: RM775 (3 meals on RM25/day, RM25 for 4 persons...?)
Papa makan / teh-tarik during working hrs: RM155 (RM5/day, RM5 ... can eat what?)
Car repayment: RM400 (A proton saga aeroback, 7 yrs repayment)
Petrol (living in city, traffic-jam): RM300 (go to work, bring son to school, only can afford one car running)
Insurance: RM400 (kids, wife and myself)
House repayment: RM750 (low cost housing repayment for 30 yrs, retired still have to work to pay!)
Tuition: RM80 (got that cheap meh? i don't think so)
Children pocket money @ school: RM20 (RM1/day, eat bread?)
School fees: RM30 (enough ah?)
School books and etc: RM100 (always got extra to pay in school)
Miscellaneous: RM100 (shampoo, rice, sauce, toilet paper)

Oh wait!!! I have to stop here, so... No Astro, no movie @ cinema, no DVD, no CD, no online, cannot KFC, cannot McDonald, cannot go walking in the park during weekend (petrol expensive), no chit chat on phone with grandparents, and etc...

Let's use a calculator to total up... WALAO EH! Sxxx! RM3,310 already...EPF (old age retirement fund) belum potong, income tax lagi........ oledi RM3,310 ... How to survive lah tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian??? Our Deputy Prime Minister asked us to change lifestyle? How to change? Don't eat? Don't work? Don't send children to school and study?

Besides that, I believe in Malaysia population, there are millions of rakyat Malaysia which still don't earn RM3,000/month! !! What is this? Inilah Malaysia Boleh... Sorry... it should be Malaysians Boleh, because we're still alive and kicking!! Our politicians must be mad!!!! Please forward and comment boleh or tak boleh. No wonder so many Ah Loongs (illegal moneylender) around..
Tags: Malaysia, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Salary

World Environment Day 2007

5 June 2007 - designated as the World Environment Day 2007 ("WED") by United Nations Environment Programme. The WED will be launched in Norway.

In conjunction with WED, Malaysia has organised 2 events:-

Sandakan
To commemorate World Environment Day 2007, the Rainforest Discovery Centre of Sabah Forestry Department will organise a 4 days student camp from the 2 - 5 June. There will be 36 students aged 16 - 18 and 6 teachers participating in the camp. The theme of the camp was World Environment Day Student Camp on Climate Change. The locations will be at a rain forest, mangrove forest and The Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok. The main focus of the camp will be on ways in which human beings contribute towards climate change and what can be done to reduce this environmental crisis.

Village of Sukau
Kinabatangan Orang-Utan Conservation Project, Hutan, will mark World Environment Day 2007 celebration with the local communities of the Kinabatangan Floodplain, Sabah, Malaysia. The Kinabatangan floodplain in northern Borneo harbours a rich natural heritage including one of the largest orang-utan populations in Sabah. Over the past decades however, habitat degradation and escalating human-wildlife conflicts have increasingly threatened many rare species and is now also affecting the traditional way of life of the local community.

The Kinabatagan Orang-Utan Conservation Project (KOCP) is an initiative by the Kinabatangan community, the French NGO Hutan and the Sabah Wildlife Department. Over the past ten years, we have been working to involve the local people in the conservation-oriented management of the Kinabatangan wetlands.

For the first time, the KOCP will celebrate World Environment Day on 5 and 6 June with all the villages of the region. Villagers will visit exhibitions on the local natural heritage, its current conservation status and threats. Children will participate in games and competitions and see puppet shows and films. Visitors will be taken along educational jungles trails and will participate in the forest restoration effort by planting of native tree seedlings in degraded forest areas. The “Fishermen for Conservation” programme and community-based ecotourism initiatives will also be presented. The celebrations will be concluded by a competition of decorated river boats on the theme of “Kinabatangan wildlife and forest”.

In Malaysia, a home grown non-governmental organisation, Malaysia Nature Society, has been educating the public with various programmes and has earned international reputation for their efforts.
Tags: World Environment Day 2007, Environment, Nature, Malaysia Nature Society, Climate Change, Conservation, Sandakan, Village of Sukau, Sabah, French NGO Hutan, Kinabatangan, Natural Heritage, Forest Restoration, Wildlife

A True Man / Woman Story

A woman was out golfing one day when she hit the ball into the woods. She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap.

The frog said to her, "If you release me from this trap, I will grant you three wishes." The woman freed the frog, and the frog said, "Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes. Whatever you wish for, your husband will get times ten!" The woman said, "That's okay."

For her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world. The frog warned her, "You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis whom women will flock to". The woman replied, "That's okay, because I will be the most beautiful Woman and he will have eyes only for me." So, KAZAM-she's the most beautiful woman in the world!

For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world. The frog said, "That will make your husband the richest man in the world. And he will be ten times richer than you." The woman said, "That's okay, because what's mine is his and what's his is mine." So, KAZAM-she's the richest woman in the world!

The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, "I'd like a mild heart attack."

Moral of the story: Women are clever. Don't mess with them.
Attention female readers : This is the end of the joke for you.
Stop here and continue feeling good.

Male readers : Please scroll down. ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... ...



The man had a heart attack ten times milder than his wife
Moral of the story : Women are really dumb but think they're really smart. Let them continue to think that way and just enjoy the show.

PS: If you are a woman and are still reading this; it only goes to show that women never listen!!!
Tags: Jokes, Funny, Humour, Man, Woman

Top 6 Fitness Myths and Truths

There are several common misconceptions about exercise and weight loss, but don’t let yourself be fooled! Here are the Top 6 Fitness Myths and the Truths that debunk them:-

Myth #1: You can take weight off of specific body parts by doing exercises that target those areas.
Truth: This concept is called "spot training" and unfortunately, it doesn’t burn fat. When you lose weight, you are unable to choose the area in which the reduction will occur. Your body predetermines which fat stores it will use. For example, doing sit-ups will strengthen you abs but will not take the fat off of your stomach. Similarly, an activity like running burns fat all over your body, not just your legs. You can, however, compliment a balanced exercise program with a selection of weight training exercises to gradually lose weight and tone the body.

Myth #2: Women who lift weights will bulk up.
Truth: While on a weight lifting program, the right hormones (testosterone) are necessary in order to bulk up. Women’s testosterone levels are much lower than men’s, so in most cases, they are not capable of building large muscles. In fact, since muscle takes up less room than fat, women tend to lose inches when they strength train. So in addition to the physical benefits (increased metabolism, decreased risk of osteoporosis, increased strength), strength training will help you slim down too!

Myth #3: If you can’t exercise hard and often, there’s really no point.
Truth: Even moderate activity is shown to reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke. If you don’t have 30 minutes in your day to exercise, try splitting it up into 10-minute segments instead. Everyone can find 10 minutes to spare sometime during the day! There are simple things you can do to increase your activity without having to go to the gym: take the stairs instead of the elevator, jump rope or do body weight exercises (push ups, crunches) at commercial breaks, take a short walk after lunch. Remember that any exercise is better than none!

Myth #4: Performing abdominal exercises will give you a flat stomach.
Truth: This is similar to Myth #1 above. The fact is, the only way to get a flat stomach is to strip away the fat around the midsection. This is accomplished by doing cardio/aerobic exercise (to burn calories), strength training (to increase metabolism) and following a proper diet. Abdominal exercises will help to build muscle in your midsection, but you will never see the muscle definition unless the fat in this area is stripped away.

Myth #5: You will burn more fat if you exercise longer at a lower intensity.
Truth: The most important factor in exercise and weight control is not the percentage of fat calories burned, but the total calories burned during the activity. The faster you walk, bike or swim, for example, the more calories you use per minute. Although you will be burning fewer "fat calories", you will be burning more total calories, and in turn, will lose more weight.

Myth #6: No pain, no gain!
Truth: Exercise should not be painful! At the height of your workout, you should be sweating and breathing hard. You should not be so out of breath that you cannot answer a question, but should not be so comfortable that you can carry on a full conversation. That’s how you know you are working at a good level. It’s important to distinguish between muscle fatigue (feeling "the burn") and muscle/joint pain (sharp and uncomfortable pain during movement). Pain is your body’s way of telling you that you’re doing something wrong. Listen to your body. If it’s painful, stop!

If you don’t understand something or question the source, ask a qualified fitness professional for their advice. Sticking to the truths of these myths will keep you healthy, injury-free, and on track to meeting your fitness goals. [Author: Jen Mueller (M.Ed. in Health Promotion) & a certified personal trainer]
Tags: Fitness, Fitness Myths, Fitness Truths, Exercise, Weight Loss, Weight Control, Health, Spot Training, Muscle Fatigue, Fat Calories, Metabolism

SMS Message on Bus Services

Singapore has embarked on a new technology service which you could find out on your forthcoming bus schedule via SMS. What a service! This will save you lots of time where you don't need to wait for umpteenth hours or you know how fast you need to run in order to hop on to the bus on time.

SBS Transit, the bus company has collaborated with SingTel, a Singapore telco created this service, iris NextBus, to serve the bus commuters who are of SingTel subscribers. This service will be extended to other telco network in time to come. Just a simple SMS message to this service of your preferred bus number, a reply will inform you of the next bus service that will come your way.
Tags: SMS Message, SMS, SBS Transit, SingTel, Singapore, iris NextBus, Technology