Red Roses Available in Black Market

Imagine that Valentine's Day is near and you hoped to get some stuff that was red in colour for your wife/girlfriend. Suddenly, you can't see anything that was red in colour across the city.

The following conversation overheard in a florist shop:-
Man: I'm looking for some flowers for my girlfriend.

Shopowner: They are not available, Sir.

Man: What do you mean? You have no red roses? It's Valentine's Day today and you don't sell flowers in your shop?

Shopowner: It's very unfortunate, Sir. We can't sell RED roses but I suggest that you buy other type of flowers instead.

Man: How come it's not available throughout the city. Where are those red stuff?

Shopowner: The religious police made their rounds and warned shopowners to stop selling red coloured stuff as the red coloured items were banned.

Man: ???????? Fine, fine. Get me a bouquet of carnations then and please wrap it with red coloured wrappers.

Shopowner: Sorry Sir but we could not sell RED coloured wrapper as well. This is my selection of coloured wrappers but no red colour.

Man: This is crazy. Any ideas where I could get what I wanted.

Shopowner: You could go to the back lane. There's a guy there who has what you wanted but I'm warning you first, the police could be watching. Those items you wanted are only found in the black market now and the price were much steeper.


The above conversation could happen in Saudi Arabia as shops couldn't sell red coloured items in view of the Valentine's Day as it was considered un-Islamic - being viewed as as encouraging relations between men and women outside wedlock.

Florists took the risk of despatching orders for flowers in the middle of the night to avoid being caught. Rich fellas went over to Bahrain or United Arab Emirates to celebrate the Valentine's Day.

Related blog posting: What The Roses Say About You
Reading: Saudis clamp down on valentines -BBC News/Middle East
Tags: Red Roses, Saudi Arabia, Black Market, Valentine's Day

No More High Definition HD DVD???

Just when I was targetting to buy a DVD player, this piece of news came about - Toshiba to discontinue HD-DVD business. Toshiba promised to provide continuous technical support to customers who have bought their HD DVD earlier. Why the discontinuation? It seems that it was not selling as well as Blu-Ray DVD.

Pity the earlier purchasers. Even though Toshiba would provide technical supports, movie producers may not be producing DVDs in HD format since there would be lesser HD DVD users, less profitable. So, what's the point of owning one HD DVD when you don't have movies / softwares catering for it which means lesser usage of it, lesser breakdowns. Sometimes I really find such statements by an multinational companies ridiculous.

Looks like the HD DVD would be down the drain. What's the difference between a HD DVD and a Blu-Ray DVD? Read it in Engadget - Blu-ray vs HD DVD: State of the Division.

How did it come about with two different technologies for a DVD? I remembered those days (yeah, during my era and I doubt the young generation could relate to this) there was a war between the VHS and Betamax video format player and Betamax lost the war. This DVD thingy could be the same issue.

Now, what is Blu-Ray? You better read it in Blu-Ray.com.

Which consumer electronics manufactures this Blu-Ray DVD? I have to study which of this is the better ones now. It seems that Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson have it in their stable. Too many choices but Sony's DVD player seems to be getting headline when comparison was made against Toshiba's HD DVD.

Alright, I'm heading to the nearest electrical store to buy a Blu-Ray DVD player. What about the HD technology for TVs????? Going to be redundant soon??? Manufacturers, please decide fast as I want to buy a High Definition TV. Please don't surprise me as what Toshiba has done.

Reading: Analysts react to HD DVD demise - MacUser
Reading: HD DVD bids us adieu; Blu-ray triumphs - The Hollywood Reporter
Tags: HD DVD, Blu-Ray DVD, Toshiba HD DVD, DVD, DVD Player, VHS, Betamax, High Definition, Audio Visual Technology, Audio Visual, High Definition TV

Indonesians Recruited into Malaysian Paramilitary

It's in the news that Indonesians have been recruited into the Malaysian paramilitary force, also known as the Rejimen Askar Wataniah, which is the reserve component of the Malaysian Army.
This Askar Wataniah regiment was said to have recruited Indonesians to man the 2,000 kilometre long border of both Malaysia and Indonesia located at the Borneo Island. An estimated figure of 40,000 member force man the border. Those are huge battalions.

As published in Kompas, people living at the border knew that it was a fact that Indonesian youngsters have been recruited. The West Kalimantan Police has stated that none of their citizens have been recruited. So, who is telling the truth?

The Indonesian army said that if it was true, it could be Indonesians who have taken up the Malaysian citizenship as the citizenship was one of the main criteria in joining the paramilitary force. But how many of the 40,000 member force are Indonesians or previously holding Indonesian citizenships?

What's the issue here? The Indonesian army do not want any future confrontation with their blood brothers in case of any _ _ _ ??????? Indonesian army is preparing to invade Malaysia or what?

Reading: West Kalimantan Police deny Indonesians in Malaysian paramilitary - Jakarta Post
Reading: Askar Wataniah Memang Ada - Kompas

A video preview on Askar Wataniah's Regiment 510's annual training camp.
Tags: Askar Wataniah, Malaysian Paramilitary Force, Indonesia, Borneo Island, West Kalimantan Police, Indonesian Citizenship, Malaysian Citizenship

Shophouse Churches Must Get Permits

Churches in Subang Jaya which have been operating out of shop and factory lots have not been asked to close down, said incumbent Subang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng.

“We have not asked them to close down, but to submit their application for permits,” said Lee, adding that such churches have to get a permit to operate from business premises.

He said many of the churches which are not on religious land have not applied for these annual permits costing RM1,000.

Lee was responding to a statement by incumbent Seputeh MP Teresa Kok that churches in MPSJ need to show concern about the municipality’s draft local plan.

According to her, only one church (First Baptist in SS17) is deemed to be legally on religious land in Subang Jaya, and that all others are officially illegal.

Kok said most of the churches were unaware of the draft local plan and it was now too late to submit their objection as the objection period was over.

She had however filed an objection on the issue, and called for more religious land to be allotted for non-Muslim places of worship.

Lee, when contacted, said the opposition was twisting the issue as the council had not asked the churches to close down but asked them to apply for permits.

Asked if this was the same requirement imposed on mosques, suraus and temples, Lee said: "If they are on their own land then there is no need for them to apply for the permits for their religious houses, but in the cases of the churches, they need to apply for the permits because they are operating from out of the shoplots in business centres and factory lots in industrial areas." - Sun2Surf
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How in the world will churches get to have a land reserved for them in a housing estate? If the churches can't get any land, other options would be at shophouses or even at warehouses / industrial/factory lots (like my church). When churches submit their application for one, it took umpteenth years (literally) for one to be approved.
Tags: Permit, Religious Land, Draft Local Plan, Place of Worship, Religious House, MPSJ, Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya, Subang Jaya

HIV Infected People Will Be Arrested in Egypt

In Malaysia, those people who were HIV infected or diagnosed with the AIDS virus, would still get some freedom in moving about and get to do what they wanted. For those who were weak, they may be resting at home or homes catered for HIV/AIDS patients.

I do not have a friend or relative that has the virus so I won't know how I would react and certainly won't be scared stiff but certainly won't react the way Egypt has reacted.

The Egyptian authorities would go all out to arrest those people that came down with HIV/AIDS. Why did they do that to those people who were already suffering from that sickness? It seems that arrested men would be subjected to anal examination to determine whether they were homosexuals. Ridiculous way of examining. The moment these guys were found involved in unusual sexual desires, they would be chained to hospital beds and undergo further medical tests.

To the Egyptian authorities, this could be a method of stopping the virus from spreading to other victims once and for all. Is homosexual the issue here or was it the disease? I wonder how would conduct a test on a woman if found infected too.

The Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International found this arrest shocking. I called this an extreme case (religious extremists) and the Egyptian authorities were really not well trained in handling such homosexual cases or cases involving people striken with HIV/AIDS. No human feelings/sympathy at all. Would simply call this torturing too.

I have read about so many non-profitable organisations that opened up homes for the HIV/AIDS infected people throughout the world and this Egyptian step must be the first of its kind in this world too. Guinness World of Records may want to recognise Egypt for this.
Tags: Egypt, HIV, AIDS, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International

Tragedy of Restlessness

If I were to ask you to just rest and do nothing all of today, what will you do?
Grab a newspaper, turn on the TV, logon the web, maybe do some shopping or balance your accounts?

If I told you, your food & clothing for all of this year is taken care of - what will you do with your life?
Book a holiday? Climb the Himalayas? Read all the books you've bought in the last year?

The tragedy of our ultra-modern life is there simply is no time for rest, and even if there was - we no longer know how to. Our culture is such that we are constantly distracted - by ads, newsflashes, SMS-es, latest movie releases, etc. We have made life so zippingly fast-paced, that we can't catch up with ourselves any more.

Anything we do, buy, read today is obsolete by the time we lay hands on it - somebody is inventing something better right now, a new discovery is being published today, the way you operate has been superceded by a smarter method. Sadly, though we are so breathless playing catch-up trying to stay focussed we no longer know what is rest much less how to get it.

At a time when we need to recover our humanity and meaning the most, we are swept away by a tide of artificial substitutes. Hollywood, MTV, the tourism and food industry make sure of that. What entertainment and every kind of sensual indulgence offers is a quick-fix, temporary relief, fleeting moments of pleasurable but imaginary escape which leaves us only more hungry, empty and lonely than before. But then, we've got to get back to work - who has time to think about it?

In a similar situation of exhaustion and starvation, Jesus, recognising the urgent need for recovery and nourishment intervened:'"Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. (Mark 6:31-32, NASB)'I love the passage for what it doesn't say as much as what it does. Jesus doesn't say, 'Go away for awhile and come back ready to work again.' He doesn't send you away only when you are fatigued beyond use, and for the sole purpose of rehabilitating the workforce. And it isn't one of those company motivation and indoctrination retreats just to make you more aggressive and productive.

Source: Around The Fire by Dr Y.Y. Yap. "The Tragedy of Restlesness" was delivered at the Headstart Leaders' Spiritual Retreat, 16-18 September 2005.

After reading the above, there are times that we really do need a break if not, stress and burn out could occur thus causing sickness or demotivation to set in. I'm very careful in this area and when I work I could go all out. And when I play I do go all out too even in friendly games (doesn't mean I can't lose but frankly, I don't play to lose in the first place).

As for me, a rest day could involve going for a good massage to relief me from the stress. Soothing music with your muscles getting relaxed would be the choice for me. Holidays - well, it meant strolling around with family and friends with no fixed timing for anything and going for my favourite dishes. Yeah, I like to eat. How do you de-stress yourself?
Tags: Stress, Breathless, Exhaustion, Restlessness, Health

Kidney Stolen While in India

I remembered receiving emails related to the above subject matter which I have treated it as a spam email. How can your kidneys be stolen?

There is this Snope website which detailed all kinds of spam, scam, hoax, fake, false news collated from throughout the world and if you suspect that that news may not be true, you can check it out in Snope.

Suddenly I came across this news article India's booming kidney racket found in BBC News/South Asia -
"When I woke up, I felt this terrible pain on my abdomen. They told me they had taken out my kidney. "I thought I was going to die." Shakeel Ahmed only wanted to come to Delhi to find work.

Then I compared the above article to Snope's collection -
Kidney stolen after a heavy party fling and left in a bath tub filled with ice cubes which I had blogged under Urban Legends.

Wow, frightening enough that it's real after all. Another myth busted?????

Extracted from BBC News/South India:-
* An estimated 150,000 Indians need a kidney transplant every year, but only 3,500 are available.

* Every hospital has a tout. In fact, the doctors or nephrologists will often suggest a person that you can contact to get a kidney. They charge up to US$10,000.

* The recipients were wealthy clients in India and other countries. Some of them were from Greece, Arab countries, United States and one or two patients from European countries."
Tags: Kidney Stolen, Snope, Scam, Kidney Transplant, Kidney Racket, Nephrologists, India, Kidneys, Kidney Black Market