God voting for McCain or Obama in America ?

According to the Los Angeles Times in the USA, earlier this summer, a Christian conservative couldn't resist publicly calling on the higher power of his belief to deliver a downpour upon Barack Obama as the Democrat accepted his party's United States presidential nomination. Is God voting for John McCain or Barack Obama later in November ?

Michael Moore chided for insensitive remarks

Michael Moore chided for insensitive remarks

While Sharon Stone was blasted in China in May for claiming that the extremely powerful earthquake in Sichuan could have been the result of bad "karma", Michael Moore has also rightly been childed in the US for saying that the timing of Hurricane Gustav is a “ proof that there is a God in heaven” since the storm approaching the Gulf Coast could disrupt the National Convention of Republicans to be held next week.

A million flee as Hurricane Gustav aims at US

Soviet history in 70s offers lessons for Russia

Although Russia is quite legitimately concerned about its own border security, they must also learn from the not really pleasant lessons of the history of the former Soviet Union in the 1970s when over-use of military forces in overzealous tit-for-tat attempts to mirror-image its arch nemesis all over the world led to uncontrollable misallocation of economic resources within the country as well as diplomatic isolation abroad, causing the entire Soviet polity to implore from within later.

Russia honours VI Lenin in Red Square parade

Russia honours VI Lenin in Red Square parade

At the military parade held on the Red Square in Moscow on 9th May, 2008, many young soldiers and even ordinary Russians were seen to be carrying the portraits of Lenin (1870-1924) with pride. This shows that seventeen years after the disintegration of the ex-USSR, Russia and the people of Russia, including its youths, have come to a more balanced, nuanced and also mature assessment of the history of the October Revolution: Lenin was never a 'god' or 'satan', but certainly a great man who showed his people a way forward without resorting to the imageries of heaven or hell at a critical time when the old Russia was bedevilled by feudalist powers and institutions, very widespread illiteracy and superstition, economic backwardness and also absolute poverty, massive social dislocation consequent upon Tzarist Russia's involvement in the First World War as well as foreign interventions.

L' Internationale inspired Chinese Revolution

Russia rediscovers self-worth in WWII history

As a matter of fact, Russia has already sent an advance notice to the others in the form of a military parade on the Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2008 that it did at least one good, proud and great thing for mankind in the period from 1917 to 1991 when the communists ruled: the Russian people and its Red Army stood up heroically against Nazi Germany's onslaught, ultimately won and thereafter liberated Europe.

Russia strives to regain self-respect & honour

Russia strives to regain self-respect & honour

One of the greatest mistakes made in the West and among Western liberals since the formal disintegration of the former Soviet Union in 1991 was to treat and even humiliate Russia and the Russian people as if nothing they did from 1917 to 1991 was right and praiseworthy. The struggle of Russia and the people of Russia to regain their self-respect and national honour will become an extremely important and prominent feature of international relations for many years to come. How events unfold would certainly be of concern for the whole world.

Return of Russia-West Cold War over Georgia

Return of Russia-West Cold War over Georgia

The 'little hot war' in Georgia would, more likely than not, be recalled by future historians as a signpost of the return of the classic Russia-West Cold War to the contemporary system of international relations.

Russia warns USA over Czech' s missile shield

Anwar Ibrahim scores gold in Permatang Pauh

My friend Anwar Ibrahim has won the Permatang Pauh by-election and he is back to the frontline of national politics in Malaysia with honour and dignity. Our common friend Dr. Toh Kin Woon has also just called from Penang to happily share with me the exciting news for Malaysia. The message from Permatang Pauh is very loud and clear: Malaysians have again rejected Umno's opportunism of playing with racial as well as religious issues for personal positions and/or partisan advantages at the expense of national unity and social peace in our dear country.

Unity in diversity for a better Malaysia for all

China tested in best & worst of time in 2008

At this very moment when millions of peoples in the world, including within mainland China itself, cheer China for successfully hosting the Olympics 2008 in Beijing, it is certainly difficult for some to reconcile it with another fact that only 107 days ago, an extraordinary and also most heart-breaking earthquakes devastated many areas in Sichuan, causing thousands to lose their lives, and millions of other homeless. 2008 will certainly go down in the very eventful history of the Chinese people as one of the most unforgettable years of collective resilience.

Beijing Olympics end joyously under clear sky

Beijing Olympics end joyously under clear sky

The sixteen-day terrorism-free Olympic Games has been successfully closed just now in Beijing whose sky was clear, and its weather, fine. Let us pray for the success of the next Olympics to be held in London.

Tribute to New China's martyrs & forerunners

China dominates world with Ping Pang sweep

Undoubtedly, China has now dominated the world of table tennis with all the four Olympic titles of the game bagged by its men and women. Table tennis is known as Ping Pong or Ping Pang in the Chinese world.

Ipoh childhood hobby becomes Olympic sport

Greeting veterans of DAP with reminiscences

At the opening of DAP's convention this morning in KL, I also catched up with other veterans such as Dr. Chen Man Hin (left) and also Choo Kiang Siong (right). Dr. Chen, a medical doctor and the party's former MP for Seremban as well as its ex-Chairman, is the eldest veteran of the party who is respected by leaders and members of all age groups, while Choo Kiang Siang served as DAP's State Assemblyman for Malim Nawar in Perak when I was the DAP MP for Kampar. It was Choo Kiang Siang who imparted to me the many field survival skills in real-world politics in semi-rural areas, including visiting wet markets, attending funeral services as well as singing karaoke songs at wedding dinners to keep our "fish-and-water" relations with the people or lao bai xin. Kiang Siang is also a passionate singer of old-time Hakka folk songs.

Rendezvous with two DAP founding veterans

Rendezvous with two DAP founding veterans

At the opening of DAP's convention this morning, I met up two of the party's founding veterans, namely Chian Heng Kai (left) and Liew Ah Kim (right). Both of them are also former DAP MPs, and Heng Kai was detained without trial in open court under the ISA from 1976 to 1981. From 1987 to 1989 when most of the top DAP leaders such as Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh and Lim Guan Eng were incarcerated again under ISA, three of us held the fort and kept the flag flying at the National Headquaters in Petaling Jaya where we worked and exchanged ideas. Under their very generous tutelage and guidance, my English-Chinese translation skill as well as speed really improved by leaps and bounds.

Unity in diversity for a better Malaysia for all

Domingo & Zu Ying to sing at Olympics' finale

It has been announced that world-class Chinese soprano Song Zuying and Spanish tenor Placido Domingo will sing as a team on the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in the capital of China on tomorrow.

Liu Huan's voice excites old & young Chinese

Flying to Melbourne with just a RM99-ticket !

Nothing has thrilled me more in recent weeks than the really fantastic news that I can now fly with an Air Asia's RM99-ticket to Melbourne to visit relatives, teachers as well as friends, and to attend the wedding dinners of their children or grand children, or their Christmas parties. Melbourne is quite emotive to my family not only because I lived and also studied there for about five years, but also because my father, a member of Ipoh's Turf Club, really loved to follow the Melbourne Cup even where there was no Internet, SMS or realtime TV broadcast yet.

Two most memorable love songs Down Under

Table tennis still captures my heart and mind

Table tennis or Ping Pong or Ping Pang, whether played by women or man, certainly still captures my heart and mind even though I myself have not been playing the game very often in the past several years.

Bringing East & West together with Ping Pang

Primary data collection for study of mindsets

I am actually now in Chai Leng Park near Permatang Pauh. I came last evening and would spend a day or two here to collect racist and dirty-minded propaganda materials for some learned friends in KL who are specialists in psychology and social psychology. They propose to study the impacts of such materials on mindsets and behaviours of groups.

Economist Dr. Toh Kin Woon leaves BN party

Economist and Penang BN's ex-State EXCO Dr. Toh Kin Woon has quit Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia or Gerakan, a component party of the National Front. I have known Dr. Toh Kin Woon personally since 1990 in Petaling Jaya while he was still an UKM associate professor and he has always impressed me as a trustworthy and thoughtful intellectual. I am certain he will continue to contribute his educated ideas for the progress and betterment of our society as well as people of all races.

Unity in diversity for a better Malaysia for all

Unity in diversity for a better Malaysia for all

Although Khalid Ibrahim and myself have befriended with one another for only about two years, situations and circumstances always lead us to cross paths. We met again yesterday at the nomination center for the Permatang Pauh by-election to show our support for our common friend Anwar Ibrahim who is contesting as a parliamentary candidate.

Permatang Pauh encounter with Penang' s CM

Permatang Pauh encounter with Penang' s CM

Lim Guan Eng, my fairly old friend since the Monash University years in Down Under, still looked relaxed as the new Penang Chief Minister. I succeeded him as the President of the Monash University Malaysian Students' Union (MUMSU) in 1985 as I entered my third year of study. We met at the nomination center in Permatang Pauh early yesterday.

With Ramasamy & Jeff Ooi in Permatang Pauh

With Ramasamy & Jeff Ooi in Permatang Pauh

Dr. P. Ramasamy (left) and Jeff Ooi (right) were also there at the nomination center in Permatang Pauh enjoying sunshine and chats with me. After the nomination, there was a very heavy downpour.

Paths cross with Kit Siang in Permatang Pauh

Paths cross with Kit Siang in Permatang Pauh

Dr. Chen Man Hin (left), Lim Kit Siang (second from right), Tan Kok Wai (right) and I also crossed paths in Permatang Pauh this morning.

Catching up with old friends on a 'battlefield'

Catching up with old friends on a 'battlefield'

This moring, I visited the nomination center for the Permatang Pauh by-election and met old friends such as Ronnie Liu (left) and Dr. Wan Azizah (second from right) as well as her daughter Nurul Nuha (right).

Lion dance greets multiethnic Batu' s new MP

Tamil boy scores first Olympic gold for India !

25-year old Abhinav Bindra (pix), the ace shooter who scores the first gold medal for India in the Beijing Olympics, hails from the republic's southern state of Tamil Nadu which is also fast-growing economically.

Panyu girl scores first Olympic gold for China

Elder Bush : keep politics out of Olympics '08

In a recent interview with former US president George H.W.Bush, the USA Today quoted the father of current President George W. Bush as saying that politics should be kept out of the Beijing Olympic Games.

Dr. Kissinger seen at Beijing Olympic opening

Baseball fan Bush enjoys sporty life in Beijing

According to an AP news report, President George Bush really enjoyed the Beijing Olympic Games with his family. Bush is a fan for baseball.

Jewish cuisine for Bush & family in Red China

Jewish cuisine for Bush & family in Red China

My dear Australian friend Lucia, who visited Beijing just a few weeks before the Olympics 2008 began, has found Dini's Kosher Restaurant very memorable and she would like to recommend it to Dr. Kissinger, USA President Bush and their families who are in the secular republic enjoying sports, music, cultures and other life-celebrating activities.

Panyu girl scores first Olympic gold for China

Panyu girl scores first Olympic gold for China

Chen Xiexia, China's first gold medalist for Beijing Olympics, is a 25-year old woman who hails from Guangzhou's Panyu District. Chairman Mao was right when he said that "women can hold up half of the sky", and the liberation of women from feudal disempowerment is certainly one of the proudest achievements of the modern Chinese Revolution and also a remarkable contribution to the progressive enlargement of the universal realm of freedoms like the Western abolition of slavery.

Tribute to New China's martyrs & forerunners

Guangzhou to host 16th Asian Games in 2010

The next major sporting event in China will be the 16th Asian Games to be held in the very cosmopolitan and outgoing Guangzhou in 2010. Guangzhou is also where the famous Canton Fair is held twice a year.

Dr. Kissinger seen at Beijing Olympic opening

Dr. Kissinger seen at Beijing Olympic opening

Uncle Ng said he saw Dr. Henry Kissinger on TV at the official opening of the Olympic Games 2008 in the National Stadium of China. I guess the veteran American strategist was an officially invited guest of the government of China for he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the bilateral relationship between China and the USA in the 1970s. Kissinger, now 85, served as the US National Security Advisor and as the Secretary of State later in the administration of President Nixon. The ex-professor and author of Diplomacy and other works on world politics and international relations won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973.

Tribute to New China's martyrs & forerunners

Tribute to New China's martyrs & forerunners

At the spectacular opening of the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing last night, dazzling fireworks also brightened up the dark sky right above the Monument To The People's Heroes which serves as an expression of eternal gratitude of the Chinese people to the many generations of martyrs and forerunners who paved the way for a rejuvenated nation.

Honour of Olympic Flame for Dr. Sun Yat Sen

Beijing Olympics opens with dazzling success

The trouble-free opening of the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing was spectacular indeed. The weather was simply fine, and the sky, clear.

My mother also ready in Ipoh for Olympics '08

My mother also ready in Ipoh for Olympics '08

Mother just called to remind my wife and me that the official opening of Olympics 2008 in Beijing will be telecast live on 8.00 pm and ask if we have enough stock of chrysanthemum tea packs in our USJ house. She also assured me that she knows how to turn on the right channel.

Ipoh childhood hobby becomes Olympic sport

Liu Huan's voice excites old & young Chinese

To be very honest, I did not know Liu Huan (pix) until April this year when my friend Beng Ching's 20-year old daughter Xiao Qing emailed her 'uncle' a video showing a musical concert held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last year when L' Internationale was performed. Liu Huan, 45, is surely famous throughout the world now as a singer of the theme song of Olympics 2008 with Sarah Brightman tomorrow.

Sarah Brightman to sing Olympics theme song

Sarah Brightman to sing Olympics theme song

It has been announced that British soprano Sarah Brightman will sing the theme song of Olympics 2008 with her male counterpart Liu Huan from China at the official opening ceremony of the Games in Beijing. Sarah, 48, is certainly no stranger to me as I have started collecting her performances in casserts, CDs, VCDs and DVDs since 1992 when she sang Amigos Para Siempre for the Olympics in Spain's Barcelona.

Multilingual Muslim guide to Beijing Olympics

Peng Liyuan likely to star at Olympic opening

More likely than not, Peng Liyuan (pix) will be featured at the official opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on the evening of 8 August (Friday). The 45-year old major general of the PLA Ground Force and holder of a master degree in music is another very prominent singer of traditional as well as contemporary folk songs in China's mainland.

Last torch bearer of Beijing' s Olympic Games

Last torch bearer of Beijing' s Olympic Games

China's most popular singer of folk songs and also world-class soprano Song Zuying (pix) will be the last bearer of the torch of Olympics 2008 in Beijing on 7 August (Thurs). Song, 41, comes from the Miao ethnic minority in the Hunan Province, and she is affiliated to the PLA Navy.

Bringing East & West together with Ping Pang

Originated in the late 19th century in Britain as an after-dinner game for upper-class Victorians, table tennis was made fairly popular in the 1970s in New China through its 'Ping Pang diplomacy' with the US, and the official Olympic sport since 1988 is still loved by many Chinese. It is a good sport because it is economcally affortable for many working people as well as their children, and it is environmentally friendly too.

Songs & music for Olympics' opening in China

Songs & music for Olympics' opening in China

For many enthusiasts of contemporary songs and music of China such as my friend Beng Ching's wife and daughter, they are waiting eagerly to see their 'idols' like Song Zuying (above) and Lang Lang perform at the grand openning ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing on 8 August.

Chinese martial art competition for Olympics

Chinese martial art competition for Olympics

Unlike table tennis, traditional Chinese martial art or Wushu will not be an official sport in the forthcoming Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. However, a competition of Wushu would reportedly be held.

Lion dance' s dazzling, irresistible magnetism

Educational values of stamp collecting hobby

There are many old British stamps in my family's collection and some of the really rare items were actually contributed by my second uncle and the second elder brother of my father who was a holder of Senior Cambridge Certificate and ex-student of Ipoh's Anglo-Chinese School. Indeed, stamp collecting also serves to enhance its enthusiasts' sense of geography as well as perspective of history in the mental universe.

Stamp collecting as a mind-broadening hobby

Stamp collecting as a mind-broadening hobby

Collecting used stamps was a hobby I shared with my dear father and siblings. We obtained many used stamps from overseas countries like Australia, Britain, Canada, China, New Zealand and the United States through postal correspondences with pen friends and family relatives. Uncle Krisnan and Uncle Raju also contributed some items from India to our collection, a portion of which is still being kept and preserved by me. In those years, collecting stamps served to broaden our minds and stirred our interests in foreign lands, peoples as well as cultures.