Was it wise of Malaysia's Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to invite its former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir to give the opening speech in its annual conference this year?
Undoubtedly the answers to this question will be fast and furious, but without consensus. It's just amazing how much emotion Dr Mahathir still evoked in his countrymen. The revulsion for him is certainly noticeable by the boycott of several non-government organisations (NGOs) who objected to the inappropriateness of a man they believe to have violated human rights to open the annual conference of Suhakam.
So engrossed in their revulsion of Mahathir and their frustration that he continues to command respect in some quarters, they forgot to question the presence of the representative of the USA, whose administration has been one of the worst abusers, if not the worst abuser, of human rights in recent times - oppressing, killing and dictating its will upon the people of foreign sovereign nations. The US continues to arrogantly violate human rights under the cloak of spurious respectability, extracted only by virtue of its super military and economic powers.
But such is the personality of Dr Mahathir that to some Malaysians, the USA is but a mere 'lesser' evil. Surf around Malaysian blogsites and read Malaysiakini and one would find there, his personality being tossed around and turn over in numerous ways, with the focussed intent to abuse and crucify him and his indomitable self confidence.
Mahathir has been a ruthless one-man juggernaut as he dragged a reluctant Malaysia screaming into the 21st Century. Anyone who stood in his way was 'chopped' down. He had no bloody patience for namby pamby stuff like, for example, 'environmental impact study' (EIS) or 'public consultation' or any other form of governance processes that he perceived as heel-dragging.
He was determined to propel Malaysia into the rankings of 1st World nations, as an admired, respected, competitive, wealthy and proud member, and by a deadline too. The last word in his vocabulary is procastination. Undoubtedly he saw Singapore's progression into being a 1st World nation with much chagrin as Malaysia is in reality resource-richer with more potential than the little island nation. Yet ....., and that probably might have been what had frenetically driven Mahathir when he was PM.
But Mahathir has to cope with a political system that demands ethnic supremacy and ethnic dominance in virtually every field, instead of reliance on meritocracy and the free market. Even when his relationship with his one-time heir apparent and charismatic deputy turned sour, with a threat of being politically toppled, Mahathir pulled a few rabbits out of his prime minister's hat to remain in power - eg. he turned the table against, and dumbed into embarrassment, a party accuser who had hope to expedite Mahathir's retirement by insinuating the Old Man was corrupt and practising cronyism. Mahathir's unrelenting energy, confidence, vision and loyalty have all been both his strengths and weaknesses.
His energy and confidence gave him the drive to do what he did, but those very virtues couldn't tolerate different viewpoints.
His vision was amazingly acute but unfortunately too advanced for his chosen few to understand, keep up to or implement. “Yes sir, yes sir, all done”, but in truth they couldn’t cope with his vision and drive. They dared not tell him of their f**kups. They fell very much behind, and in the process unwittingly sabotaged his programme of development and improvement.
Mahathir was thus let down by his generals. But as a Field Marshal he should have selected the best officers to put flesh to his vision and policies. But his loyalty to them proved to be a liability as he sheltered them from falling off the face of the earth. He chose the lame and therefore he must accept responsibility for their inability to perform.
He saw Malaysia through a very difficult period during the Asian economic 'meltdown' with his brand of economic package, which subsequently even drew grudging respect from officials of the World Bank.
Despite his staffing handicap (relative to Singapore) he has achieved much. But the 'collateral' damage along the way has been considerable. Though he inherited the draconian ISA or Internal Security Act from his predecessors, (the ISA being a British invention, and later copied in some form by the USA in its post 9/11 Patriot Act, and soon by Australia) he is now associated as the very person behind the repressive Act.
But no worries, we’ll continue to hear from and about him.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Bush Administration - Mischievous, Misleading, Misfocused, & Missed Opportunities
The editorial of the San Francisco Chronicles lamented the Bush administration's failure to learn and profit from the 9/11 attacks, that a band of zealots could throw a nation with the mightiest military force in history into shock and fear.
It stated that while the attack on Afghanistan toppled a regime that harboured al Qaeda, it bemoaned the diversionary and wasteful adventure in Iraq.
In Bush's misfocused foray into the Middle-East (as we know, covertly for oil and Israeli interests), the US diluted both its ability to mitigate a natural disaster occurring at home as well as to conduct an effective relief effort. Funds that ought to have gone into strengthening the levees around New Orleans were slashed with disastrous conseuqences, and National Guards that ought to be out aiding and protecting its citizens in New Orleans were actually in Iraq.
Today America is no safer than before the war in Iraq. The USA has wasted humdreds of billions of dollars, international goodwill and admiration, and worst of all, more than 1800 lives of young Americans.
In fact, the security situation for Americans today in the USA is ominously threatening. Not only do they await the next terrorist attack to pop out of nowhere or somewhere, its citizens see new legislations coming into play that curb their previously enjoyed freedom. In this further restriction of freedom and democracy, have the terrorists won after all?
But what is really needed to combat such elusive terrorists, but not yet evident, is a professional and effective intelligence organ, the once reknown CIA, that would not be misused into fabricating "intelligence" to justify a pack of avaricious and sinister lies. The partisan and unmerited appointment of Michael Brown as the head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), now replaced for incompetence, has been a shameful example of why all is not well in the crony-plagued Bush administration.
It stated that while the attack on Afghanistan toppled a regime that harboured al Qaeda, it bemoaned the diversionary and wasteful adventure in Iraq.
In Bush's misfocused foray into the Middle-East (as we know, covertly for oil and Israeli interests), the US diluted both its ability to mitigate a natural disaster occurring at home as well as to conduct an effective relief effort. Funds that ought to have gone into strengthening the levees around New Orleans were slashed with disastrous conseuqences, and National Guards that ought to be out aiding and protecting its citizens in New Orleans were actually in Iraq.
Today America is no safer than before the war in Iraq. The USA has wasted humdreds of billions of dollars, international goodwill and admiration, and worst of all, more than 1800 lives of young Americans.
In fact, the security situation for Americans today in the USA is ominously threatening. Not only do they await the next terrorist attack to pop out of nowhere or somewhere, its citizens see new legislations coming into play that curb their previously enjoyed freedom. In this further restriction of freedom and democracy, have the terrorists won after all?
But what is really needed to combat such elusive terrorists, but not yet evident, is a professional and effective intelligence organ, the once reknown CIA, that would not be misused into fabricating "intelligence" to justify a pack of avaricious and sinister lies. The partisan and unmerited appointment of Michael Brown as the head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), now replaced for incompetence, has been a shameful example of why all is not well in the crony-plagued Bush administration.
Katrina Screwed Dubya Real Good
This article by Mark Morford indicates, if anything, Bush's standing with the American people may be on a downhill slide. It tears Bush apart in the most damning piece that I must share it with you - I have provided extracts below, but if you want to, read the full article here.
Morford took a sarcastic approach in his commentary on President Bush's incompetence in the handling of the relief efforts that he titled it "Stop! Don't criticise Bush for doing what he was hired to do."
There could well be another hidden meaning in that title, one that we Malaysians are so familiar with, namely "You get the sh*t you voted for."
Anyway, here are those extracts:
Everyone is slamming poor Dubya. Everyone is saying, "Oh, my God, he's more inept than we ever imagined, he has no idea what's really going on, he's oblivious and in denial and he pretty much let all those poor black people die in filth and misery, and he basically ignored the massive Katrina disaster for days before finally being pressured into cutting his umpteenth vacation short and actually taking action."
This is what they're saying. Kanye West was right, Bush doesn't care about black people, or the poor, or anything that doesn't directly serve his handlers' agenda .
Another one on how the Bush administration f**k New Orleans real good:
The Associated Press reported that the Army Corps of Engineers asked for $105 million for hurricane and flood programs in New Orleans just last year. The White House hacked that down to about $40 million, even as it passed the most bloated and nauseatingly pork-filled $12.3 billion energy bill in recent history, one that guaranteed we'd be sucking at the tit of foreign oil and kneeling before Bush's pals in Big Energy.
There's one on cronyism too:
Why did FEMA chief Michael Brown wait hours after Katrina struck to timidly plead with his parent company, Homeland Security, for some backup, not to actually get their hands dirty but rather to help "convey a positive image" about the government's response to the victims? Why, because he's an incompetent lackey Bush appointee who was fired from his former job as head of something called the International Arabian Horse Association. Yay pathetic nepotism.
There there are those Republicans who see the Katrina glass as half-full rather than half-empty:
Just look. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, icon of hollow self-righteousness and the energy magnate's friend, has already leveraged the Katrina nightmare to argue for more drilling in Alaska, much in the way BushCo whored Sept. 11 to cram the Patriot Act down the nation's throat and make fear and xenophobia a national pastime.
And as a finalΓ©:
Here, then, is the new American motto, as reimagined by BushCo: Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and we'll let them die in a filthy and decrepit storm-ravaged American football stadium while our president languishes on vacation and ponders his oil futures and fondly remembers his good ol' days of getting drunk at Mardi Gras before going AWOL from the military. God bless America.
Well, I don't know about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky - besides that's old news - but Katrina sure as hell has screwed Dubya real good.
Morford took a sarcastic approach in his commentary on President Bush's incompetence in the handling of the relief efforts that he titled it "Stop! Don't criticise Bush for doing what he was hired to do."
There could well be another hidden meaning in that title, one that we Malaysians are so familiar with, namely "You get the sh*t you voted for."
Anyway, here are those extracts:
Everyone is slamming poor Dubya. Everyone is saying, "Oh, my God, he's more inept than we ever imagined, he has no idea what's really going on, he's oblivious and in denial and he pretty much let all those poor black people die in filth and misery, and he basically ignored the massive Katrina disaster for days before finally being pressured into cutting his umpteenth vacation short and actually taking action."
This is what they're saying. Kanye West was right, Bush doesn't care about black people, or the poor, or anything that doesn't directly serve his handlers' agenda .
Another one on how the Bush administration f**k New Orleans real good:
The Associated Press reported that the Army Corps of Engineers asked for $105 million for hurricane and flood programs in New Orleans just last year. The White House hacked that down to about $40 million, even as it passed the most bloated and nauseatingly pork-filled $12.3 billion energy bill in recent history, one that guaranteed we'd be sucking at the tit of foreign oil and kneeling before Bush's pals in Big Energy.
There's one on cronyism too:
Why did FEMA chief Michael Brown wait hours after Katrina struck to timidly plead with his parent company, Homeland Security, for some backup, not to actually get their hands dirty but rather to help "convey a positive image" about the government's response to the victims? Why, because he's an incompetent lackey Bush appointee who was fired from his former job as head of something called the International Arabian Horse Association. Yay pathetic nepotism.
There there are those Republicans who see the Katrina glass as half-full rather than half-empty:
Just look. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, icon of hollow self-righteousness and the energy magnate's friend, has already leveraged the Katrina nightmare to argue for more drilling in Alaska, much in the way BushCo whored Sept. 11 to cram the Patriot Act down the nation's throat and make fear and xenophobia a national pastime.
And as a finalΓ©:
Here, then, is the new American motto, as reimagined by BushCo: Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and we'll let them die in a filthy and decrepit storm-ravaged American football stadium while our president languishes on vacation and ponders his oil futures and fondly remembers his good ol' days of getting drunk at Mardi Gras before going AWOL from the military. God bless America.
Well, I don't know about Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky - besides that's old news - but Katrina sure as hell has screwed Dubya real good.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Bush's Cronyism Came Home to Roost
When both sides of the US Congress and Senate condemned the poor response in relief aid to the victims of New Orleans, and asked for the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Michael Brown, to be sacked, President Bush slipped into his usual gear, praising instead Brown for doing a ‘heck of a job’.
Bush was again in denial, as he had been in the case of Karl Rove’s complicity in revealing Valeri Plame’s name to the press. Besides, Michael Brown has been one of his strongest political loyalists.
But Bush found himself more cornered when the utter scale of the f**kup became so apparent even to a man like him. And the last straw happened when the media ferreted out published reports that Brown had added on to his CV things that shouldn’t be even there. Basically he had no experience in emergency services. He was given the job for his loyalty to Bush, but then Bush had never imagined Brown would be called upon to prove his credentials in anger. He thought it would be a cushy job for one of his boys.
You know what Abraham Lincoln said?
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
Well, the chickens have come home to roost for Bush.
He has retreated from his earlier defiant stand with regards to his FEMA chief, and has now replaced Michael Brown with Vice-Admiral Thad Allen, chief of staff of the Coast Guard.
Vice-Admiral Thad Allen will have a hell of a job recovering the situation because it has become more complicated as a result of Brown’s pathetic or even non-existent actions. A senior Republican Senator, Trent Lott, whose house in Mississippi, was destroyed by Katrina, said:
"Michael Brown has been acting like a private, instead of a general."
But the fault lies with Bush, not Brown. Brown was just a party hanger-on, rewarded for his loyalty to Bush. He didn’t have any experience for the job. The people who recommended and appointed him should be held accountable.
This is a lesson also for Malaysia, though we aren’t without Bush’s current nasty experience.
Bush was again in denial, as he had been in the case of Karl Rove’s complicity in revealing Valeri Plame’s name to the press. Besides, Michael Brown has been one of his strongest political loyalists.
But Bush found himself more cornered when the utter scale of the f**kup became so apparent even to a man like him. And the last straw happened when the media ferreted out published reports that Brown had added on to his CV things that shouldn’t be even there. Basically he had no experience in emergency services. He was given the job for his loyalty to Bush, but then Bush had never imagined Brown would be called upon to prove his credentials in anger. He thought it would be a cushy job for one of his boys.
You know what Abraham Lincoln said?
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
Well, the chickens have come home to roost for Bush.
He has retreated from his earlier defiant stand with regards to his FEMA chief, and has now replaced Michael Brown with Vice-Admiral Thad Allen, chief of staff of the Coast Guard.
Vice-Admiral Thad Allen will have a hell of a job recovering the situation because it has become more complicated as a result of Brown’s pathetic or even non-existent actions. A senior Republican Senator, Trent Lott, whose house in Mississippi, was destroyed by Katrina, said:
"Michael Brown has been acting like a private, instead of a general."
But the fault lies with Bush, not Brown. Brown was just a party hanger-on, rewarded for his loyalty to Bush. He didn’t have any experience for the job. The people who recommended and appointed him should be held accountable.
This is a lesson also for Malaysia, though we aren’t without Bush’s current nasty experience.
A Touch of Iraq in New Orleans (3)
Yesterday I was at home watching the news when an updated situation in New Orleans was inevitably aired. The authorities were conducting forced evacuations in that devastated city. Soldiers were prepared for a possible shootout with some stubborn residents. They entered into houses with their weapons in readiness posture, prepared to shoot to kill if necessary.
What struck me was one soldier saying to the camera crew:
“Hell, I don’t like doing this to our own people. I feel bad and strange about this.”
I have to admit I cannot guarantee the above statement has been copied verbatim, but as far as I could recall, the message went like that. The soldier was obviously referring to his combat posture with a readiness to shoot-to-kill, but his possible threats were actually fellow Americans. He didn’t fancy killing his own countrymen and women.
That piece of TV news should have flashed across the USA. I hope Americans would remember what the soldier said, and how he felt as he walked into house after house, emotionally overwhelmed with the dread of killing another American.
Why do I wish so? Because that’s exactly what US soldiers are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I want Americans to be aware of that.
Yes, over “there” the folks US soldiers could possibly shoot (or have shot) aren’t Americans, but like Americans they could well be innocent civilians with a family too.
America, think about that!
Related:
(1) A Touch of Iraq in New Orleans
(2) A Touch of Iraq in New Orleans (2)
(3) Iraq Involvement Haunts New Orleans
What struck me was one soldier saying to the camera crew:
“Hell, I don’t like doing this to our own people. I feel bad and strange about this.”
I have to admit I cannot guarantee the above statement has been copied verbatim, but as far as I could recall, the message went like that. The soldier was obviously referring to his combat posture with a readiness to shoot-to-kill, but his possible threats were actually fellow Americans. He didn’t fancy killing his own countrymen and women.
That piece of TV news should have flashed across the USA. I hope Americans would remember what the soldier said, and how he felt as he walked into house after house, emotionally overwhelmed with the dread of killing another American.
Why do I wish so? Because that’s exactly what US soldiers are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I want Americans to be aware of that.
Yes, over “there” the folks US soldiers could possibly shoot (or have shot) aren’t Americans, but like Americans they could well be innocent civilians with a family too.
America, think about that!
Related:
(1) A Touch of Iraq in New Orleans
(2) A Touch of Iraq in New Orleans (2)
(3) Iraq Involvement Haunts New Orleans
Colin Powell on New Orleans' Disaster
Colin Powell is not happy, understandably so.
The former US Secretary of State was also the top general in America and had served in Korea and Vietnam. With that background, dealing with contingency plans on a daily basis, he is puzzled as to why better preparations were not made before Hurricane Katrina struck.
After all, hurricanes are not new to those areas in the USA south-east. And with today's technology and knowledge, the weather forecast and monitoring, especially of a storm like Katrina, would have been more than adequate to enable authorities to better prepare. You would have thought so but Bush and his men failed miserably.
No, it’s not just nasty KTemoc, but two-thirds of Americans think Bush didn’t do enough. Many accused Bush of not responding swiftly enough.
The problem has been Bush’s staffing of the Emergency Services with people who don’t have any experience but were his election supporters. Yes sirree, cronyism is well and truly alive in Bush’s administration. In this, there is striking commonality between the USA and many nations in Asia.
Colin Powell is probably the most respected black American so his comments will be listened to and analysed in detail.
There is also a racial element hanging over the New Orleans relief disaster. The Pew Research Center found out that two-thirds of the African-Americans believed Bush would have responded faster to the emergency if most of those affected had been white.
But Colin Powell was more diplomatic, stating that so many African-Americans were left unprotected because they were poor. He didn’t mention that they were black. Well, Powell is that sort of bloke.
He added it should have been obvious that when a mandatory evacuation has been ordered, the government shouldn’t expect everyone to be able to comply entirely on their own. There would be the handicapped, the sick and the poor. Something ought to have been done for those disadvantaged citizens.
Confronted with so many accusations of his sheer incompetence, Bush decided he has to do something and indeed he did - He declared Friday 16 September a national day of prayer and remembrance for the victims. Great president!
The former US Secretary of State was also the top general in America and had served in Korea and Vietnam. With that background, dealing with contingency plans on a daily basis, he is puzzled as to why better preparations were not made before Hurricane Katrina struck.
After all, hurricanes are not new to those areas in the USA south-east. And with today's technology and knowledge, the weather forecast and monitoring, especially of a storm like Katrina, would have been more than adequate to enable authorities to better prepare. You would have thought so but Bush and his men failed miserably.
No, it’s not just nasty KTemoc, but two-thirds of Americans think Bush didn’t do enough. Many accused Bush of not responding swiftly enough.
The problem has been Bush’s staffing of the Emergency Services with people who don’t have any experience but were his election supporters. Yes sirree, cronyism is well and truly alive in Bush’s administration. In this, there is striking commonality between the USA and many nations in Asia.
Colin Powell is probably the most respected black American so his comments will be listened to and analysed in detail.
There is also a racial element hanging over the New Orleans relief disaster. The Pew Research Center found out that two-thirds of the African-Americans believed Bush would have responded faster to the emergency if most of those affected had been white.
But Colin Powell was more diplomatic, stating that so many African-Americans were left unprotected because they were poor. He didn’t mention that they were black. Well, Powell is that sort of bloke.
He added it should have been obvious that when a mandatory evacuation has been ordered, the government shouldn’t expect everyone to be able to comply entirely on their own. There would be the handicapped, the sick and the poor. Something ought to have been done for those disadvantaged citizens.
Confronted with so many accusations of his sheer incompetence, Bush decided he has to do something and indeed he did - He declared Friday 16 September a national day of prayer and remembrance for the victims. Great president!
Friday, September 09, 2005
Vintage Mahathir - He Ripped US' Guts Out
This was what Mahathir said that caused the US and UK rep to leave.
He averred that US and British pilots whose bombs killed Iraqi civilians were murderers, and actions taken by those two countries during the invasion and occupation of Iraq amounted to terrorism.
To be fair, military pilots have no option except to carry out an operational order, but the authorities that gave those orders would be responsible of the “murders”. Unfortunately, when one is the most powerful nation in the world, even if it invaded a sovereign nation on a pack of lies, there’s buggerall the world could or can do. There have been examples of such murderous impunity - namely, the Japanese military during its occupation of China and subsequently in WWII, Nazi Germany and Sharon's Israel.
On the issue of pilots having no option, there has been in fact an unusual precedent. Several Israeli pilots led by a highly decorated retired pilot Brigadier General Yiftah Spector had condemned airstrikes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as 'illegal' and 'immoral' and refused to fly the militarily unjustified attacks on innocent Palestinians.
It is an unlawful act of mutiny by the pilots which could end them in military jail.
Mahathir compared the Anglo-American attacks on the Iraqi civilians with those conducted by Israelis on Palestinian civilians. He stated that US, UK and Israel may be nations but they are just like terrorists, or terrorist nations, inflicting terror attacks and consequential deaths on innocent civilians.
He asked the audience at the human rights conference, to examine the murderous conduct of the Anglo-American bomber pilots, with this question:
"Who are the terrorists? The people below who were bombed, or the bombers? Whose rights have been snatched away?"
Then he asked a rather pertinent question which we already know the answer. But it is refreshing for him to remind us of the vast disparity in treatment – bearing in mind the context of this question, that it was asked at a conference on human rights.
Why isn’t there any tally or careful documentation of Iraqi deaths, quite the contrast with any US soldier killed?
In fact, the situation is far worse than just documenting a death. Whenever the US military made a disastrous mistake and killed innocent villages, the Americans brushed the crime aside by terming those victims as ‘terrorist suspects’. Please read my previous posting on such a happening in Afghanistan - Bombing Afghanistan for the Greater Good
The sad and frustrating part is that the press in most cases (admittedly not all) had accepted such bullsh*t. The thing with the current American administration is that it cannot be trusted for whatever it says. It would even lie to its own people.
Mahathir reminded us those innocent civilians killed by US action in a war that the US created, based on lies, would still be alive under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, bad arse as that Mother of them all may be.
Naturally Mahathir made mention of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, etc (like Bagram), where he scorned at the US for breaking international laws on human rights by torturing detained Iraqis and others.
It was payback time because the US had accused Mahathir of rights violations when he fired Anwar as his deputy in 1998. He must have relished the sweet revenge as he laughed at the US double standards.
Either the words were too stinging or their shame pricked, the British High Commissioner and US officials scooted off midway through Mahathir's speech. Those diplomats have not made themselves available for comments. They must still be pissing whiskey and bourbons to drown their shame after the dressing down - a dressing down that unfortunately for them has the clear ring of truth.
He averred that US and British pilots whose bombs killed Iraqi civilians were murderers, and actions taken by those two countries during the invasion and occupation of Iraq amounted to terrorism.
To be fair, military pilots have no option except to carry out an operational order, but the authorities that gave those orders would be responsible of the “murders”. Unfortunately, when one is the most powerful nation in the world, even if it invaded a sovereign nation on a pack of lies, there’s buggerall the world could or can do. There have been examples of such murderous impunity - namely, the Japanese military during its occupation of China and subsequently in WWII, Nazi Germany and Sharon's Israel.
On the issue of pilots having no option, there has been in fact an unusual precedent. Several Israeli pilots led by a highly decorated retired pilot Brigadier General Yiftah Spector had condemned airstrikes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as 'illegal' and 'immoral' and refused to fly the militarily unjustified attacks on innocent Palestinians.
It is an unlawful act of mutiny by the pilots which could end them in military jail.
Mahathir compared the Anglo-American attacks on the Iraqi civilians with those conducted by Israelis on Palestinian civilians. He stated that US, UK and Israel may be nations but they are just like terrorists, or terrorist nations, inflicting terror attacks and consequential deaths on innocent civilians.
He asked the audience at the human rights conference, to examine the murderous conduct of the Anglo-American bomber pilots, with this question:
"Who are the terrorists? The people below who were bombed, or the bombers? Whose rights have been snatched away?"
Then he asked a rather pertinent question which we already know the answer. But it is refreshing for him to remind us of the vast disparity in treatment – bearing in mind the context of this question, that it was asked at a conference on human rights.
Why isn’t there any tally or careful documentation of Iraqi deaths, quite the contrast with any US soldier killed?
In fact, the situation is far worse than just documenting a death. Whenever the US military made a disastrous mistake and killed innocent villages, the Americans brushed the crime aside by terming those victims as ‘terrorist suspects’. Please read my previous posting on such a happening in Afghanistan - Bombing Afghanistan for the Greater Good
The sad and frustrating part is that the press in most cases (admittedly not all) had accepted such bullsh*t. The thing with the current American administration is that it cannot be trusted for whatever it says. It would even lie to its own people.
Mahathir reminded us those innocent civilians killed by US action in a war that the US created, based on lies, would still be alive under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, bad arse as that Mother of them all may be.
Naturally Mahathir made mention of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, etc (like Bagram), where he scorned at the US for breaking international laws on human rights by torturing detained Iraqis and others.
It was payback time because the US had accused Mahathir of rights violations when he fired Anwar as his deputy in 1998. He must have relished the sweet revenge as he laughed at the US double standards.
Either the words were too stinging or their shame pricked, the British High Commissioner and US officials scooted off midway through Mahathir's speech. Those diplomats have not made themselves available for comments. They must still be pissing whiskey and bourbons to drown their shame after the dressing down - a dressing down that unfortunately for them has the clear ring of truth.
Mahathir: US & UK Double Standards in Human Rights
Tun Dr Mahathir, former prime minister of Malaysia, even in retirement, is not a man that many Malaysians would take to. They consider him a real bad arse. Most talk bad about him behind his back when he was in office but now, with his retirement, more openly.
The reality is that, though Mahathir has not been always right, he has also not been always wrong.
The problem for Malaysians with regards to Mahathir is that they find it hard to deal with him in a balanced manner – either they like him or they hate his guts.
So even when he has done something right, his detractors would go ape-shit. That’s to be expected given not only their political disdain, but their emotional dislike of him.
His presence at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) annual conference has been resoundingly condemned by many Malaysians because they considered it highly inappropriate for a man who has been criticised for his abuse of human rights to be at a human rights forum. Many Malaysian non-government organisations (NGOs) boycotted the conference because of his presence.
Yet no one seems to have any concerns that the diplomatic representatives of the Coalition of the Willing were invited too. Can anyone, especially those who boycotted the conference, remember Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram, Fallujah, callous and unjustified attacks on areas populated by innocent civilians, use of cluster bombs and other internationally prohibited weapons, questionable military rules of engagement, unpunished murders and torture by some US military service people, indeed the whole nine yards of human rights abuses by the US principally, and to a lesser degree, the UK.
But no, the hatred of Mahathir supersedes or even clouds the inappropriateness of inviting the US representative to a human rights forum.
Anyway, Mahathir gave his usual Mahathir-speak, criticizing the double standards of the US and UK in defending human rights. That naturally led to a walkout by the representatives of the US and UK. Mahathir said of the walkout:
“They have the right to walk out. They have the right to criticise me like I have the right to criticise them." Indeed.
But if we can put aside the hatred for Mahathir for one instant, does anyone see anything wrong in his criticism of the US and UK's abuses of human rights in Iraq, and particularly for the Americans, at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan, and having the bloody nerve to preach to others about human rights?
Double standards? In the end it seems it's not just the US and UK who have been practicing double standards. We need to include Mahathir and those NGOs who boycotted the conference as well.
The reality is that, though Mahathir has not been always right, he has also not been always wrong.
The problem for Malaysians with regards to Mahathir is that they find it hard to deal with him in a balanced manner – either they like him or they hate his guts.
So even when he has done something right, his detractors would go ape-shit. That’s to be expected given not only their political disdain, but their emotional dislike of him.
His presence at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) annual conference has been resoundingly condemned by many Malaysians because they considered it highly inappropriate for a man who has been criticised for his abuse of human rights to be at a human rights forum. Many Malaysian non-government organisations (NGOs) boycotted the conference because of his presence.
Yet no one seems to have any concerns that the diplomatic representatives of the Coalition of the Willing were invited too. Can anyone, especially those who boycotted the conference, remember Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram, Fallujah, callous and unjustified attacks on areas populated by innocent civilians, use of cluster bombs and other internationally prohibited weapons, questionable military rules of engagement, unpunished murders and torture by some US military service people, indeed the whole nine yards of human rights abuses by the US principally, and to a lesser degree, the UK.
But no, the hatred of Mahathir supersedes or even clouds the inappropriateness of inviting the US representative to a human rights forum.
Anyway, Mahathir gave his usual Mahathir-speak, criticizing the double standards of the US and UK in defending human rights. That naturally led to a walkout by the representatives of the US and UK. Mahathir said of the walkout:
“They have the right to walk out. They have the right to criticise me like I have the right to criticise them." Indeed.
But if we can put aside the hatred for Mahathir for one instant, does anyone see anything wrong in his criticism of the US and UK's abuses of human rights in Iraq, and particularly for the Americans, at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan, and having the bloody nerve to preach to others about human rights?
Double standards? In the end it seems it's not just the US and UK who have been practicing double standards. We need to include Mahathir and those NGOs who boycotted the conference as well.
More Americans killed because of US War on Terror
The US ‘war on terrorism’ has killed more US lives than saved them.
The American launched wars on Iraq and Afghanistan was purportedly to protect American citizens against terrorists. Even though virtually everyone on this globe knows that, let’s pretend for one silly instant that the US aggression was a pre-emption against potential threats.
Dr. Erica Frank of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta said "Since the point of investing in counter-terror is to protect American lives, the question [must be] is a dollar better spent in Iraq or is it better spent here?"
While the answer is obvious and the accusation not new, Dr Frank has come up with some quantitative analyses, in terms of lives, of the Bush administration's terror policies.
According to her, the US would probably save more lives by spending the money on disease prevention and research, and basic services to the community. Unfortunately all the money that should have addressed those health and community requirements have been squandered on war on terror. The overall pluses and minuses work out to a thumbs down for war, because it has caused more US deaths by depriving death prevention health care in the US.
Then there was Hurricane Katrina. Oh, Katrina, you have been a naughty girl, but it has sadly taken your furious devastation to wake up some Americans and the American press, and put a bit of backbone into their ‘patriotic’ spine so that they are more willing to question Bush bullsh*t.
Dr Frank continued, "The most recent effects of these diversions of funding have been seen in the unfolding tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the surrounding area.”
She was referring to the diversion of funds for the strengthening of New Orleans’ levees, which even led to the angry resignation of the frustrated chief of the US Army Engineering Corp responsible for the levees. Dr Frank cited numerous reports showing that Washington reduced spending on the maintenance of the levees, leading to their disastrous effect on New Orleans.
Dr Frank said to the British Medical Journal that more Americans will die unnecessarily because of Bush irresponsible policies. She reminded governments that they have a mandatory obligation to protect their citizens, including anticipating possible future threats to Americans' health.
The American launched wars on Iraq and Afghanistan was purportedly to protect American citizens against terrorists. Even though virtually everyone on this globe knows that, let’s pretend for one silly instant that the US aggression was a pre-emption against potential threats.
Dr. Erica Frank of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta said "Since the point of investing in counter-terror is to protect American lives, the question [must be] is a dollar better spent in Iraq or is it better spent here?"
While the answer is obvious and the accusation not new, Dr Frank has come up with some quantitative analyses, in terms of lives, of the Bush administration's terror policies.
According to her, the US would probably save more lives by spending the money on disease prevention and research, and basic services to the community. Unfortunately all the money that should have addressed those health and community requirements have been squandered on war on terror. The overall pluses and minuses work out to a thumbs down for war, because it has caused more US deaths by depriving death prevention health care in the US.
Then there was Hurricane Katrina. Oh, Katrina, you have been a naughty girl, but it has sadly taken your furious devastation to wake up some Americans and the American press, and put a bit of backbone into their ‘patriotic’ spine so that they are more willing to question Bush bullsh*t.
Dr Frank continued, "The most recent effects of these diversions of funding have been seen in the unfolding tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the surrounding area.”
She was referring to the diversion of funds for the strengthening of New Orleans’ levees, which even led to the angry resignation of the frustrated chief of the US Army Engineering Corp responsible for the levees. Dr Frank cited numerous reports showing that Washington reduced spending on the maintenance of the levees, leading to their disastrous effect on New Orleans.
Dr Frank said to the British Medical Journal that more Americans will die unnecessarily because of Bush irresponsible policies. She reminded governments that they have a mandatory obligation to protect their citizens, including anticipating possible future threats to Americans' health.
Yasser Arafat's Death - Aids Ruled Out But Poison ...?
From his grave, Yasser Arafat still makes us posed questions, about the cause of his death.
Unfortunately for those Zionists who like to believe he died of Aids, both American and Israeli newspapers have confirmed, through their private investigations that Arafat did not suffer from Aids. Arafat’s rather gaunt appearance before his demise plus deliberate badmouthing by his enemies (Israelis, pro-Israeli & anti-Palestinian quarters, etc) that he was dabbling in unnatural sex had fuelled the Aids rumours.
One senior but unnamed Palestinian official gave Arafat’s French medical records to two Israeli journalists on the proviso that they shared the information with a US newspaper in an independent investigation of Arafat’s fatal illness.
The newspapers' investigation attributed the cause to a stroke, caused by a bleeding disorder. Unfortunately the cause of the bleeding disorder still could not be determined, exactly as Arafat’s French doctors had concluded.
It has been this mysterious bleeding disorder that still raises strong suspicions that Arafat was poisoned. The obvious suspect is Israel. Unfortunately, Israel has a notorious reputation for poisoning Arab leaders that they found to be too troublesome for their political or security agenda.
For example, it has been a proven fact that Israel had poisoned Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, in Amman in 1997. In exchanged for captured Israeli spies in Jordan, the Jordanian King forced Israeli PM Netanyahu to provide the antidote, thus saving Khaled. Because of this notorious case, there continues to be strong belief, though not backed by evidence, that Arafat was poisoned by the secret agents of his arch enemy, Ariel Sharon.
The newspapers that conducted the independent investigation also mentioned that poisoning was highly unlikely. Somehow this hasn’t convinced some senior Palestinian officials. We need to note too that the term 'unlikely' doesn't completely rule out such a possibility .
The investigation identified the fatal error in Arafat’s treatment before he passed away. He was not provided any antibiotics until only 15 days after the onset of his illness. His doctors had believed that he was suffering from flu. It was too late to mitigate that original mistake by the time he reached France.
In the final days of his life, Arafat showed he suffered from weight loss, low count of platelets, blood clotting before he finally lapsed into a coma. He then experienced brain haemorrhage and the incremental loss in the use of his vital organs. Some of these medical problems were the same as those suffered by Khaled Mashaal before the latter was treated by the Israeli-provided antidote that Jordan secured for him.
Unfortunately for those Zionists who like to believe he died of Aids, both American and Israeli newspapers have confirmed, through their private investigations that Arafat did not suffer from Aids. Arafat’s rather gaunt appearance before his demise plus deliberate badmouthing by his enemies (Israelis, pro-Israeli & anti-Palestinian quarters, etc) that he was dabbling in unnatural sex had fuelled the Aids rumours.
One senior but unnamed Palestinian official gave Arafat’s French medical records to two Israeli journalists on the proviso that they shared the information with a US newspaper in an independent investigation of Arafat’s fatal illness.
The newspapers' investigation attributed the cause to a stroke, caused by a bleeding disorder. Unfortunately the cause of the bleeding disorder still could not be determined, exactly as Arafat’s French doctors had concluded.
It has been this mysterious bleeding disorder that still raises strong suspicions that Arafat was poisoned. The obvious suspect is Israel. Unfortunately, Israel has a notorious reputation for poisoning Arab leaders that they found to be too troublesome for their political or security agenda.
For example, it has been a proven fact that Israel had poisoned Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, in Amman in 1997. In exchanged for captured Israeli spies in Jordan, the Jordanian King forced Israeli PM Netanyahu to provide the antidote, thus saving Khaled. Because of this notorious case, there continues to be strong belief, though not backed by evidence, that Arafat was poisoned by the secret agents of his arch enemy, Ariel Sharon.
The newspapers that conducted the independent investigation also mentioned that poisoning was highly unlikely. Somehow this hasn’t convinced some senior Palestinian officials. We need to note too that the term 'unlikely' doesn't completely rule out such a possibility .
The investigation identified the fatal error in Arafat’s treatment before he passed away. He was not provided any antibiotics until only 15 days after the onset of his illness. His doctors had believed that he was suffering from flu. It was too late to mitigate that original mistake by the time he reached France.
In the final days of his life, Arafat showed he suffered from weight loss, low count of platelets, blood clotting before he finally lapsed into a coma. He then experienced brain haemorrhage and the incremental loss in the use of his vital organs. Some of these medical problems were the same as those suffered by Khaled Mashaal before the latter was treated by the Israeli-provided antidote that Jordan secured for him.
Holy Snake Slither Off
The ‘holy’ snake at a Hindu temple at Puching in Malaysia must have said, “Holy sh*t, so many guys are blaming for the unholy traffic jam. I better slither off.”
And indeed it did night before. Maybe it did so because it doesn’t live on eggs and milk. Hmmm, I wonder whether it likes chunks of unholy Malaysian politicians?
Those people queuing up and yet to see the divine ophidian must have also said “Holy mackerel, we have been too late.” Motorists would have high-fived and said “Holy mother, now we should be back to normal, with 1 hour jam only instead of an unholy 2.”
Since the revelation of his Holy Slithery, more than 30,000 people have seen the king cobra. According to the Hindu feng shui expert or a vasthu sastra expert, sighting a king cobra is good luck.
In a way I am glad because sooner or later some poor idiot will try to touch the snake and get himself bitten with all the holy sh*t consequences.
Related:
(1) Holy Snake?
(2) Snake Bit Man, Snake Died
And indeed it did night before. Maybe it did so because it doesn’t live on eggs and milk. Hmmm, I wonder whether it likes chunks of unholy Malaysian politicians?
Those people queuing up and yet to see the divine ophidian must have also said “Holy mackerel, we have been too late.” Motorists would have high-fived and said “Holy mother, now we should be back to normal, with 1 hour jam only instead of an unholy 2.”
Since the revelation of his Holy Slithery, more than 30,000 people have seen the king cobra. According to the Hindu feng shui expert or a vasthu sastra expert, sighting a king cobra is good luck.
In a way I am glad because sooner or later some poor idiot will try to touch the snake and get himself bitten with all the holy sh*t consequences.
Related:
(1) Holy Snake?
(2) Snake Bit Man, Snake Died
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Stampeded to Death because of Hoax!
Jokes can bloody kill, and in Sri Lanka, it did.
Saudi Air Flight SV 781, a Boeing 747 with 400 plus passengers and 19 crew members, was taxiing on the runway for departure to Riyadh and Jeddah when the pilot was informed he had a bomb on board. The news stated that the airport authorities (presumably through the control tower) also ordered the pilot to evacuate the passengers from the aircraft.
I questioned the report that the airport authorities would have ordered the pilot to conduct an evacuation. Balls! Only the pilot has the authority to do that, and he would be the one making the decision. All the airport people could do was to pass the message and of course suggest evacuation, or refuse to let the aeroplane take off.
Anyway, the pilot stopped the taxiing and had the crew opened the emergency door. At this stage, I am speculating from the news report that the cabin crew did not manage properly an orderly evacuation because the report stated that “panic-stricken passengers poured out.”
One poor Sri Lankan woman was killed and 62 others wounded in a stampede aboard. This was where cabin crew management failed.
Saudi Airlines should be reasonably safe from Osama’s men. After all, aren’t they kinfolk?
But I hope that hoaxer choked him or herself on his/her dinner. Arsehole!
Saudi Air Flight SV 781, a Boeing 747 with 400 plus passengers and 19 crew members, was taxiing on the runway for departure to Riyadh and Jeddah when the pilot was informed he had a bomb on board. The news stated that the airport authorities (presumably through the control tower) also ordered the pilot to evacuate the passengers from the aircraft.
I questioned the report that the airport authorities would have ordered the pilot to conduct an evacuation. Balls! Only the pilot has the authority to do that, and he would be the one making the decision. All the airport people could do was to pass the message and of course suggest evacuation, or refuse to let the aeroplane take off.
Anyway, the pilot stopped the taxiing and had the crew opened the emergency door. At this stage, I am speculating from the news report that the cabin crew did not manage properly an orderly evacuation because the report stated that “panic-stricken passengers poured out.”
One poor Sri Lankan woman was killed and 62 others wounded in a stampede aboard. This was where cabin crew management failed.
Saudi Airlines should be reasonably safe from Osama’s men. After all, aren’t they kinfolk?
But I hope that hoaxer choked him or herself on his/her dinner. Arsehole!
Making a Donkey out of Wannabe Studs
Virtually every Chinese, most Malaysians and some Aussies know that to the Chinese, the tiger’s penis is an aphrodisiac, far better than viagra or cialis. Obviously it’s the poor tiger’s organ, hence an ‘organic’ substance ;-)
I am not sure how tiger meat comes into play in the world of hard-ons (aphrodisiacs) though I have heard vaguely of tiger bones being used for other medicinal reasons.
But the Chinese in China go for tiger meat, with a restaurant claiming it’s from the Siberian specie. A bit of ginger, some vroom garlic, Himalayan herbs, soya sauce, Chinese wine, and stir fry, then toss in some asparagus tips – wunderbar! [just Ktemoc’s make-believe recipe – the nearest I have gotten to a tiger was in a zoo]
The Siberian tiger is the largest tiger in the world and is in dire danger of being made extinct. Only a few hundred exist in that region bordered by Russia, China and North Korea. So, how the hell does the restaurant gets away with such blatant killing and eating of an endangered specie.
Officials raided the restaurant in Heilongjiang province in northeast China that had been serving tiger meat, but when interrogated, the owner confessed it was donkey meat spiked with tiger urine. He charged an exorbitant price of 800 yuan (Aussie $131) a dish, served to wannabe studs.
The whistleblowers were the local media who heard about the exotic stir-fried dishes. The dish came with a complementary medicinal liquor made from tiger meat and bones.
One mystery remains. Where the hell did the tiger urine come from, and how it was obtained.
I am not sure how tiger meat comes into play in the world of hard-ons (aphrodisiacs) though I have heard vaguely of tiger bones being used for other medicinal reasons.
But the Chinese in China go for tiger meat, with a restaurant claiming it’s from the Siberian specie. A bit of ginger, some vroom garlic, Himalayan herbs, soya sauce, Chinese wine, and stir fry, then toss in some asparagus tips – wunderbar! [just Ktemoc’s make-believe recipe – the nearest I have gotten to a tiger was in a zoo]
The Siberian tiger is the largest tiger in the world and is in dire danger of being made extinct. Only a few hundred exist in that region bordered by Russia, China and North Korea. So, how the hell does the restaurant gets away with such blatant killing and eating of an endangered specie.
Officials raided the restaurant in Heilongjiang province in northeast China that had been serving tiger meat, but when interrogated, the owner confessed it was donkey meat spiked with tiger urine. He charged an exorbitant price of 800 yuan (Aussie $131) a dish, served to wannabe studs.
The whistleblowers were the local media who heard about the exotic stir-fried dishes. The dish came with a complementary medicinal liquor made from tiger meat and bones.
One mystery remains. Where the hell did the tiger urine come from, and how it was obtained.
Israeli Rabbi Casts Racist Slur on Katrina's Black Victims
4 days ago I blogged about some US Christians who believe that hurricane Katrina was sent by God to punish the Americans for supporting the Israeli pullout of Gaza. Please see US Christians Believe God Kills Americans for Israel
Now, just in case anyone didn’t hear that, a well known Israeli rabbi, in fact a former chief rabbi of Israel, Ovadia Yosef, repeated that curse.
He said Hurricane Katrina has been God's way of punishing US President Bush for his impious role in forcing Israelis to leave the Gaza Strip. In his weekly sermon which was broadcast over Israeli TV, he stated:
"It was God's retribution. God does not shortchange anyone. He (Bush) perpetrated the expulsion (of Jews from Gaza). Now everyone is mad at him. This is his punishment for what he did to Gush Katif, and everyone else who did as he told them, their time will come, too."
I wonder what the f**k this rabbi is going to do to the Romans (ancestors of modern day Italians) who truly f**k the entire Jewish nation some 2,000 years ago, and sent them off to the 4 corners of the world. Comet strike on Rome?
Yosef, the spiritual leader of Jews of Middle East origin, also declared that the American victims of Katrina have no God. Godless Americans?
In other words they are either aetheists, pagans, heathens or communists (or like me, KTemoc?). He claimed that recent natural disasters were the result of a lack of Torah study. Jeez, where can I get a copy a.s.a.p?
Yosef used a derogatory word, Kushim to describe African Americans, pointing out that they were the principal victims, because they didn’t study the Torah.
The word Kushim in the Bible refers to an ancient African people but in vernacular Hebrew is derogatory and nothing less than racist. It's akin to nigger. Heil Hitler to rabbi Yosef!
"So the LORD struck the Kushim before Asa, and before Yehudah; and the Kushim fled."
"Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar: and there fell of the Kushim so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty." Divre Hayamim - 2nd Book - 14:13-14
Yosef, who is already 85 years old, is like Ayatollah Khomeini, or rather like-minded. Like a mad mullah he prefers violence, or perhaps being an old man he is f**king bitter and full of hatred, and as an extremist rabbi is very much like the biblical King Josiah. He has in the past called on the Israeli army to ‘joyfully’ annihilate Arabs with rockets.
‘Joyfully’ kill people?
That’s why I likened him to King Josiah because that biblical character mercilessly smite and smote the religious opposition and anyone who didn’t agree with him, chopped them up into pieces, and then burned their bones on a sacrificial altar, dedicated, I suppose, to Yahweh. Yes, Josiah was big on smiting, burning of bones on altars and terrifying anyone who didn't subscribe to his brand of Judaism. For Yosef, rockets should do the same trick (of burning bones) in modern times.
Hey, this mad mullah even claimed that the six million Jews slaughtered during the Holocaust were reincarnations of sinners in previous generations. Reincarnation in Judaism?
Heil Hitler again to Yosef!
Now, just in case anyone didn’t hear that, a well known Israeli rabbi, in fact a former chief rabbi of Israel, Ovadia Yosef, repeated that curse.
He said Hurricane Katrina has been God's way of punishing US President Bush for his impious role in forcing Israelis to leave the Gaza Strip. In his weekly sermon which was broadcast over Israeli TV, he stated:
"It was God's retribution. God does not shortchange anyone. He (Bush) perpetrated the expulsion (of Jews from Gaza). Now everyone is mad at him. This is his punishment for what he did to Gush Katif, and everyone else who did as he told them, their time will come, too."
I wonder what the f**k this rabbi is going to do to the Romans (ancestors of modern day Italians) who truly f**k the entire Jewish nation some 2,000 years ago, and sent them off to the 4 corners of the world. Comet strike on Rome?
Yosef, the spiritual leader of Jews of Middle East origin, also declared that the American victims of Katrina have no God. Godless Americans?
In other words they are either aetheists, pagans, heathens or communists (or like me, KTemoc?). He claimed that recent natural disasters were the result of a lack of Torah study. Jeez, where can I get a copy a.s.a.p?
Yosef used a derogatory word, Kushim to describe African Americans, pointing out that they were the principal victims, because they didn’t study the Torah.
The word Kushim in the Bible refers to an ancient African people but in vernacular Hebrew is derogatory and nothing less than racist. It's akin to nigger. Heil Hitler to rabbi Yosef!
"So the LORD struck the Kushim before Asa, and before Yehudah; and the Kushim fled."
"Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar: and there fell of the Kushim so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty." Divre Hayamim - 2nd Book - 14:13-14
Yosef, who is already 85 years old, is like Ayatollah Khomeini, or rather like-minded. Like a mad mullah he prefers violence, or perhaps being an old man he is f**king bitter and full of hatred, and as an extremist rabbi is very much like the biblical King Josiah. He has in the past called on the Israeli army to ‘joyfully’ annihilate Arabs with rockets.
‘Joyfully’ kill people?
That’s why I likened him to King Josiah because that biblical character mercilessly smite and smote the religious opposition and anyone who didn’t agree with him, chopped them up into pieces, and then burned their bones on a sacrificial altar, dedicated, I suppose, to Yahweh. Yes, Josiah was big on smiting, burning of bones on altars and terrifying anyone who didn't subscribe to his brand of Judaism. For Yosef, rockets should do the same trick (of burning bones) in modern times.
Hey, this mad mullah even claimed that the six million Jews slaughtered during the Holocaust were reincarnations of sinners in previous generations. Reincarnation in Judaism?
Heil Hitler again to Yosef!
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Secret Society of Handsome Chinese Cryptographers
Certain days of the year are celebrated or remembered for their political significance. There's USA Independence Day, Bastille Day, attack on Pearl Habour, Battle of Trafalgar, D-Day, etc.
But one doesn't refer to these historical moments by their dates, as 7/4, 7/14, 12/7, 10/21 or 6/6. They are mentioned by the significance of their events, for example, Bastille Day as in the storming of the Bastille, or the invasion of Europe against the Nazi occupiers designated by military planners as D-Day.
Why then do we have 9/11 and now 7/7 for the terrorist attacks on respectively New York's World Trade Centre's Twin Towers and London's Tube Stations? Why not refer to them as 'Attack on Twin Towers' (or WTC) or 'London Tube Bombings'? Why the use of numerals to indicate the dates of occurrence?
Well, we can explain the designation of one of the answers, namely 7/7 for the London Tube Bombings. Whoever started it followed the American example, either because it seemed logical at that time to 'standardise' reference to such terrorist attacks by their dates of occurrence, or to deliberately confer a horrendous image as that evoked by the Twin Tower collapses.
Wikipedia has this to say about 9/11:
"The attacks are often referred to simply as September 11 or 9/11. The latter is from the U.S. style for writing short dates, and is pronounced 'nine-eleven.' Within the United States, the typographic styling of the 9/11 designation alludes to 9-1-1 (also written 911, pronounced 'nine-one-one' in either case), the emergency telephone number used by the U.S. and Canada."
"Furthermore, the two 'ones' in 9/11 are seen by some as being representative of the two towers of the World Trade Centers. For these symbolic reasons and for convenience, 9/11 has become a common domestic term for the attacks."
"There was some initial speculation that the correspondence between 911 and the date 9/11 as mentioned above was intentional, to communicate something along the lines 'Starting now, life in America is about emergencies rather than ease.'"
But it doesn't explain, for example, why the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbour has never been referred to as 12/7 or twelve-seven.
Personally I suspect that the origin of the numerals (of dates) to refer to momentous occasions, whether joyous or tragic, can be traced to Chinese traditional practice. Chinese are very fond of referring to such significant occasions by their dates, starting with the month in number and followed by the date of the day.
Chinese refer to the celebration of the first republic of China as 10-10 or double ten, when Sun Yat Sun declared China a republic on 10 October 1911. Double ten of course carries an additional symbol of very 'ong', a Chinese word (Hokkien) meaning blazing luck or fortune.
One day I was with a group of friends discussing a particular event, which we naturally referred to by the traditional numerical coding. Maniam was puzzled by the numbers and asked me what the hell we were referring to. I explained the Chinese practice of employing such numerical coding for ease of reference. His eyes lit up feeling as if he had been inducted into the Secret Society of Handsome Chinese Cryptographers - Maniam spoke such beautiful Hokkien so he's always been thought of as a Hokkien Penangite.
Soon there was no stopping him as he referred to virually all events using such codings. I had to explain to him his birthday or mine, or for that matter, the first time he ever bonked anyone, didn't count as a momentous occasion and therefore shouldn't be referred to by such codings because no one would have any clue what he was talking about. He grudingly accepted that personal birthdays weren't historically momentous dates for society in general but was adamant the sacrifice of his virginity definitely was. Ah, well ...
And what was that event that got him interested in Chinese numerical coding of events in the first place?
513.
But one doesn't refer to these historical moments by their dates, as 7/4, 7/14, 12/7, 10/21 or 6/6. They are mentioned by the significance of their events, for example, Bastille Day as in the storming of the Bastille, or the invasion of Europe against the Nazi occupiers designated by military planners as D-Day.
Why then do we have 9/11 and now 7/7 for the terrorist attacks on respectively New York's World Trade Centre's Twin Towers and London's Tube Stations? Why not refer to them as 'Attack on Twin Towers' (or WTC) or 'London Tube Bombings'? Why the use of numerals to indicate the dates of occurrence?
Well, we can explain the designation of one of the answers, namely 7/7 for the London Tube Bombings. Whoever started it followed the American example, either because it seemed logical at that time to 'standardise' reference to such terrorist attacks by their dates of occurrence, or to deliberately confer a horrendous image as that evoked by the Twin Tower collapses.
Wikipedia has this to say about 9/11:
"The attacks are often referred to simply as September 11 or 9/11. The latter is from the U.S. style for writing short dates, and is pronounced 'nine-eleven.' Within the United States, the typographic styling of the 9/11 designation alludes to 9-1-1 (also written 911, pronounced 'nine-one-one' in either case), the emergency telephone number used by the U.S. and Canada."
"Furthermore, the two 'ones' in 9/11 are seen by some as being representative of the two towers of the World Trade Centers. For these symbolic reasons and for convenience, 9/11 has become a common domestic term for the attacks."
"There was some initial speculation that the correspondence between 911 and the date 9/11 as mentioned above was intentional, to communicate something along the lines 'Starting now, life in America is about emergencies rather than ease.'"
But it doesn't explain, for example, why the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbour has never been referred to as 12/7 or twelve-seven.
Personally I suspect that the origin of the numerals (of dates) to refer to momentous occasions, whether joyous or tragic, can be traced to Chinese traditional practice. Chinese are very fond of referring to such significant occasions by their dates, starting with the month in number and followed by the date of the day.
Chinese refer to the celebration of the first republic of China as 10-10 or double ten, when Sun Yat Sun declared China a republic on 10 October 1911. Double ten of course carries an additional symbol of very 'ong', a Chinese word (Hokkien) meaning blazing luck or fortune.
One day I was with a group of friends discussing a particular event, which we naturally referred to by the traditional numerical coding. Maniam was puzzled by the numbers and asked me what the hell we were referring to. I explained the Chinese practice of employing such numerical coding for ease of reference. His eyes lit up feeling as if he had been inducted into the Secret Society of Handsome Chinese Cryptographers - Maniam spoke such beautiful Hokkien so he's always been thought of as a Hokkien Penangite.
Soon there was no stopping him as he referred to virually all events using such codings. I had to explain to him his birthday or mine, or for that matter, the first time he ever bonked anyone, didn't count as a momentous occasion and therefore shouldn't be referred to by such codings because no one would have any clue what he was talking about. He grudingly accepted that personal birthdays weren't historically momentous dates for society in general but was adamant the sacrifice of his virginity definitely was. Ah, well ...
And what was that event that got him interested in Chinese numerical coding of events in the first place?
513.
Churlish Bush - Childish Bush?
If we recall, during the tsunami relief aid campaign, when Israel offered assistance to Sri Lanka in the form of a rescue mission, the Lankans rejected the offer.
That copped some criticism from some Malaysian bloggers.
Well, now we have the same situation.
President Hugo Chavez offered the USA aid in the form of 2 mobile hospital units, 120 rescue and first aid experts, 10 water purification plants, 18 power generation plants, 20 tonnes of bottled water and 50 tonnes of food to support relief operations of the hurricane devastated areas. That offer was rejected by President Bush.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said the churlish rejection reflects poorly on President Bush silliness and poor leadership. Bush should have considered the needs of the victims rather than play silly politics.
Hope those Malaysian bloggers will now condemn President Bush’s petulant stupidity and churlishness (or is it childishness) for rejecting aid that could have greatly ameliorated the hurricane victims' sufferings.
That copped some criticism from some Malaysian bloggers.
Well, now we have the same situation.
President Hugo Chavez offered the USA aid in the form of 2 mobile hospital units, 120 rescue and first aid experts, 10 water purification plants, 18 power generation plants, 20 tonnes of bottled water and 50 tonnes of food to support relief operations of the hurricane devastated areas. That offer was rejected by President Bush.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said the churlish rejection reflects poorly on President Bush silliness and poor leadership. Bush should have considered the needs of the victims rather than play silly politics.
Hope those Malaysian bloggers will now condemn President Bush’s petulant stupidity and churlishness (or is it childishness) for rejecting aid that could have greatly ameliorated the hurricane victims' sufferings.
Holy Snake?
In Puchong, Malaysia in a century-old Hindu temple, where Sri Maha Mariamman is worshipped, a 3 metres king cobra has draped itself around the statue of Sri Amman, a Hindu deity. Amman is just another name for Mariamman, worshipped mainly in Tamil Nadu, and hence by Malaysians of the predominantly Tamil ethnic group.
It is stated that most Sri Maha Mariamman temples would have an anthill, though I don’ t know why? But there is also a belief that the anthill is a resting place for cobras, but frankly I doubt cobras would want to lie around in a nest of swarming red ants.
Incidentally, if my childhood memory hasn’t yet failed me, Sri Maha Mariammam is the ‘sister’ of Kali. I suppose we better stretch the meaning of ‘sisters’ to align it with the way African Americans call each other brathers!
There are two Hindu temples in Ayer Itam village, Penang where the two ‘sisters’ are worshipped. Kali’s temple is in Kampong Baru whilst Sri Maha Mariamman is further up near the Ayer Itam village centre. Many Chinese are worshippers of Sri Maha Mariamman, where she is famed for her divine curing, very much unlike her ‘sister’.
The king cobra is one of the two better known species of cobra in Malaysia. The other, shorter and more aggressive specie is naja naja or Indian cobra. The naja naja is almost black while the king cobra (ophiophagus hannah meaning snake-eater) is usually brown or even greenish. The king cobra grows to about 5 to 6 metres and stays away from populated areas. The king cobra’s diet is usually snakes. Yes, it’s cannabilistic and very useful in controlling the population explosion of snakes. By virtue of its size, its volume of poison injected in a bite is usually fatal but unlike its smaller cousin it’s a shy and reclusive snake, living in the bush to prey on its normal fare of snakes.
In Hinduism, the king cobra is usually associated with Lord Siva, wrapped around his neck, symbolising creation and destruction.
Malaysian devotees have been offering milk, eggs and flowers for the snake, though I am sure it prefers optimum sized snakes like a naja naja. The offerings remind me of my family offerings to departed loved ones on Chinese Cheng Beng festival. By some strange coincidence the offerings so happened to be dishes we like too ;-) So I wonder whether the origin of the traditional offerings of milk and eggs had anything to do with these being favourites of priests too?
It is stated that most Sri Maha Mariamman temples would have an anthill, though I don’ t know why? But there is also a belief that the anthill is a resting place for cobras, but frankly I doubt cobras would want to lie around in a nest of swarming red ants.
Incidentally, if my childhood memory hasn’t yet failed me, Sri Maha Mariammam is the ‘sister’ of Kali. I suppose we better stretch the meaning of ‘sisters’ to align it with the way African Americans call each other brathers!
There are two Hindu temples in Ayer Itam village, Penang where the two ‘sisters’ are worshipped. Kali’s temple is in Kampong Baru whilst Sri Maha Mariamman is further up near the Ayer Itam village centre. Many Chinese are worshippers of Sri Maha Mariamman, where she is famed for her divine curing, very much unlike her ‘sister’.
The king cobra is one of the two better known species of cobra in Malaysia. The other, shorter and more aggressive specie is naja naja or Indian cobra. The naja naja is almost black while the king cobra (ophiophagus hannah meaning snake-eater) is usually brown or even greenish. The king cobra grows to about 5 to 6 metres and stays away from populated areas. The king cobra’s diet is usually snakes. Yes, it’s cannabilistic and very useful in controlling the population explosion of snakes. By virtue of its size, its volume of poison injected in a bite is usually fatal but unlike its smaller cousin it’s a shy and reclusive snake, living in the bush to prey on its normal fare of snakes.
In Hinduism, the king cobra is usually associated with Lord Siva, wrapped around his neck, symbolising creation and destruction.
Malaysian devotees have been offering milk, eggs and flowers for the snake, though I am sure it prefers optimum sized snakes like a naja naja. The offerings remind me of my family offerings to departed loved ones on Chinese Cheng Beng festival. By some strange coincidence the offerings so happened to be dishes we like too ;-) So I wonder whether the origin of the traditional offerings of milk and eggs had anything to do with these being favourites of priests too?
Cheesed-off Japanese Politician Promoted Cheese
Man, there’s no better publicity than bad publicity. Tell people a book is banned and its sales will soar before the 'thought' police arrives. Tell some blokes that Miss So & So is ... eh ... naughty, and her date book will soon be chock a bloc full.
Likewise with cheese.
A former Japanese PM, Yoshiro Mori went to the residence of current PM Junichiro Koizumi to persuade the Liberal Democratic Party leader not to dissolve parliament and call for elections, but Junichiro obviously didn’t entertain his requests. So Yoshiro turned sulky and complained about the refreshment he was provided by Junichiro – just a lousy foreign beer and some hard cheese. He grumbled that the cheese was so dried out and hard that he couldn’t bite into it, showing the press a thin slice of orange-brown cheese.
But cheese cognoscenti recognized the cheese he waved in disgust as Mimolette, a French cheese whose flavor increases as it ages and hardens. In fact it’s supposed to be hard. The harder the cheese gets, the tastier it is, with older cheeses commanding a higher price. Junichiro was actually laying out his best cheese board for the blasphemous non-gourmand – la primitive!
Because of the publicity, the “insulted” cheese has enjoyed an increased sales at Japanese gourmet food and department stores. The harder ones have all been sold out.
To console the failed politician, PM Koizumi has promised to treat him to dinner with a full selection of cheeses at an expensive restaurant. May I recommend for that bloke, obviously a man with weak teeth, some Brie or Camembert plus a nice dessert wine like the Australian De Bortoli Noble One.
Bon appetit!
Likewise with cheese.
A former Japanese PM, Yoshiro Mori went to the residence of current PM Junichiro Koizumi to persuade the Liberal Democratic Party leader not to dissolve parliament and call for elections, but Junichiro obviously didn’t entertain his requests. So Yoshiro turned sulky and complained about the refreshment he was provided by Junichiro – just a lousy foreign beer and some hard cheese. He grumbled that the cheese was so dried out and hard that he couldn’t bite into it, showing the press a thin slice of orange-brown cheese.
But cheese cognoscenti recognized the cheese he waved in disgust as Mimolette, a French cheese whose flavor increases as it ages and hardens. In fact it’s supposed to be hard. The harder the cheese gets, the tastier it is, with older cheeses commanding a higher price. Junichiro was actually laying out his best cheese board for the blasphemous non-gourmand – la primitive!
Because of the publicity, the “insulted” cheese has enjoyed an increased sales at Japanese gourmet food and department stores. The harder ones have all been sold out.
To console the failed politician, PM Koizumi has promised to treat him to dinner with a full selection of cheeses at an expensive restaurant. May I recommend for that bloke, obviously a man with weak teeth, some Brie or Camembert plus a nice dessert wine like the Australian De Bortoli Noble One.
Bon appetit!
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
F*** by Own Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
When Bush and his neo-con cohorts were looking for an excuse to invade Iraq, it used the WMD lie. Its transatlantic cousin, Britain under Tony Bliar, helped with that by fabricating the infamous 45 minutes flight of Saddam’s missiles with WMD-warheads from Baghdad to London. But Bush wanted the “9/11 traumatized” American public right behind him all the way, so he had to lie further.
He mentioned the very words that would terrify the Americans into blind support of his nefarious intent. Bush fibbed about Iraq being a haven for the al Qaeda terrorist and that Saddam Hussein had links with Osama bin Laden.
There is an old Chinese warning about one wishing too hard for something because it may just become true. A nasty self-fulfilling prophesy, so to speak.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday that Iraq has today become an even greater 'center for terrorist activities' than Afghanistan under the Taliban. Bearing in mind that Afghanistan under the Taliban was host to Osama bin Laden, it must be real bad in Iraq today for Annan to suggest this comparison.
Annan explained to the BBC that this has come about because many young and hotheaded Muslims are extremely pissed off with the US arrogant and brutal treatment of Muslims, especially in Iraq.
What Annan has just stated is nothing new. Even Americans themselves are aware of the revulsion young Muslims have for the West led by the USA. Britain just had its home grown terrorism.
The Australian government who has always been quick to deny that its involvement in the Iraqi war would lead to increased probability of terrorism in Australia has during the past few months been preparing Australians of the impending terrorist strike – it’s no longer a question of “if” but rather “when”. As part of his mitigatory programme, PM JohnHoward has also held "talks" with Muslim leaders in Australia.
Well, that's one nasty self fulfilling prophesy as promised by Chinese belief. Here's another one for the US Administration to chew upon.
The USA talks regularly about democracy in the Middle East. Bet you ten to one when that happens the USA wouldn’t like it one little bit. For the past several decades the USA has been the biggest culprit in suppressing democracy while fostering and entrenching draconian dictatorships in many countries it wants to control, either for oil or strategic control of a region or chokepoint. Saddam Hussein and the Shah of Iran were but two examples.
Of course it has to utter the usual bullsh*t about bringing democracy to authoritarian ruled nations, purely for the benefit of its domestic public, but it actually quakes at the thought of, say, Saudi Arabia becoming truly democratic and ruled by an elected government like that of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. Why would it want that when right now, it has the Saudi royalty in its pocket. Bet you twenty to one the US Intelligence constantly feeds information to the Saudi government's strong arm boys about democratic movements in Saudi Arabia.
He mentioned the very words that would terrify the Americans into blind support of his nefarious intent. Bush fibbed about Iraq being a haven for the al Qaeda terrorist and that Saddam Hussein had links with Osama bin Laden.
There is an old Chinese warning about one wishing too hard for something because it may just become true. A nasty self-fulfilling prophesy, so to speak.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said yesterday that Iraq has today become an even greater 'center for terrorist activities' than Afghanistan under the Taliban. Bearing in mind that Afghanistan under the Taliban was host to Osama bin Laden, it must be real bad in Iraq today for Annan to suggest this comparison.
Annan explained to the BBC that this has come about because many young and hotheaded Muslims are extremely pissed off with the US arrogant and brutal treatment of Muslims, especially in Iraq.
What Annan has just stated is nothing new. Even Americans themselves are aware of the revulsion young Muslims have for the West led by the USA. Britain just had its home grown terrorism.
The Australian government who has always been quick to deny that its involvement in the Iraqi war would lead to increased probability of terrorism in Australia has during the past few months been preparing Australians of the impending terrorist strike – it’s no longer a question of “if” but rather “when”. As part of his mitigatory programme, PM JohnHoward has also held "talks" with Muslim leaders in Australia.
Well, that's one nasty self fulfilling prophesy as promised by Chinese belief. Here's another one for the US Administration to chew upon.
The USA talks regularly about democracy in the Middle East. Bet you ten to one when that happens the USA wouldn’t like it one little bit. For the past several decades the USA has been the biggest culprit in suppressing democracy while fostering and entrenching draconian dictatorships in many countries it wants to control, either for oil or strategic control of a region or chokepoint. Saddam Hussein and the Shah of Iran were but two examples.
Of course it has to utter the usual bullsh*t about bringing democracy to authoritarian ruled nations, purely for the benefit of its domestic public, but it actually quakes at the thought of, say, Saudi Arabia becoming truly democratic and ruled by an elected government like that of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. Why would it want that when right now, it has the Saudi royalty in its pocket. Bet you twenty to one the US Intelligence constantly feeds information to the Saudi government's strong arm boys about democratic movements in Saudi Arabia.
World's First Suicide Bomber!
Yukio Seki has his epitaph describing him as "the world's first official human bomb". Given today’s horrifying consequences of such suicidal missions, I am not sure his family would be too pleased to read that notoriety written on the plague of his statue.
Yukio was the leader of the first kamikaze raid in October 1944. The suicidal missions first launched off from the Philippines during the closing stages of WWII, when the Japanese military ran out of hardware and resources, but not steam to continue its ferocious fight againt the Americans. Like today’s angry and fanatical Islamists, those Japanese resorted to the ultimate sacrifice in a desperate though vain attempt to stem the American inexorable march towards Tokyo.
The name kamikaze means ‘divine wind’ which harkens back to the myth of the ‘divine wind' that stopped Kublai Khan’s Mongolian fleet of 4,000 ships from invading Japan in 1281. A typhoon appeared from nowhere (no satellite weather forecast in those days) and destroyed the entire invading fleet, thus saving Japan by 'divine intervention' - Banzai!
Wikipedia said the truth was the Chinese shipbuilders, who hated the Mongolian invaders themselves, sabotaged the vessels by building them poorly.
A kami is of course a Japanese spirit. That ‘miraculous’ typhoon that saved Japan was given the special name of ‘divine wind’ or kamikaze. The Japanese WWII military strategists had hope for another ‘divine’ intervention to prevent their ‘divine’ Emperor from being vilified by gaijin (foreigners), but decided that if their gods were a bit tardy responsing to their frantic appeals they might just take things into their own mortal hands and create a 20th Century kamikaze out of the remnants of their air assets.
The naval suicide attack units flying the planes were called shinpΕ« tokubetsu kΕgeki tai (special attack units) but due to the peculiarities of the Kanji, the Japanese written language adopted from the Chinese language, the word shinpΕ« could also be pronounced as kamikaze.
Surely you would expect such a visual statement of Japanese wartime duty, honour, sacrifice and death (and bloody hope) expressed in a statue of a kamikaze pilot to be located at a Japanese coast gazing serenely and defiantly towards the eastern horizon across the Pacific Ocean where the mighty American fleet came from.
But no, the statue stands at Mabalacat airfield in the Philippines from where the first kamikazes took off.
The Filipino aim is obvious, to attract Japanese tourists to the Philippines, where more than one million people died from Japanese wartime brutalities. Predictably, most visitors have been Japanese.
One Filipino wrote: "This memorial is an outrage and insults the memory of Filipino veterans. It is revolting." Sorry brother, it's Banzai for the mighty yen.
Yukio was the leader of the first kamikaze raid in October 1944. The suicidal missions first launched off from the Philippines during the closing stages of WWII, when the Japanese military ran out of hardware and resources, but not steam to continue its ferocious fight againt the Americans. Like today’s angry and fanatical Islamists, those Japanese resorted to the ultimate sacrifice in a desperate though vain attempt to stem the American inexorable march towards Tokyo.
The name kamikaze means ‘divine wind’ which harkens back to the myth of the ‘divine wind' that stopped Kublai Khan’s Mongolian fleet of 4,000 ships from invading Japan in 1281. A typhoon appeared from nowhere (no satellite weather forecast in those days) and destroyed the entire invading fleet, thus saving Japan by 'divine intervention' - Banzai!
Wikipedia said the truth was the Chinese shipbuilders, who hated the Mongolian invaders themselves, sabotaged the vessels by building them poorly.
A kami is of course a Japanese spirit. That ‘miraculous’ typhoon that saved Japan was given the special name of ‘divine wind’ or kamikaze. The Japanese WWII military strategists had hope for another ‘divine’ intervention to prevent their ‘divine’ Emperor from being vilified by gaijin (foreigners), but decided that if their gods were a bit tardy responsing to their frantic appeals they might just take things into their own mortal hands and create a 20th Century kamikaze out of the remnants of their air assets.
The naval suicide attack units flying the planes were called shinpΕ« tokubetsu kΕgeki tai (special attack units) but due to the peculiarities of the Kanji, the Japanese written language adopted from the Chinese language, the word shinpΕ« could also be pronounced as kamikaze.
Surely you would expect such a visual statement of Japanese wartime duty, honour, sacrifice and death (and bloody hope) expressed in a statue of a kamikaze pilot to be located at a Japanese coast gazing serenely and defiantly towards the eastern horizon across the Pacific Ocean where the mighty American fleet came from.
But no, the statue stands at Mabalacat airfield in the Philippines from where the first kamikazes took off.
The Filipino aim is obvious, to attract Japanese tourists to the Philippines, where more than one million people died from Japanese wartime brutalities. Predictably, most visitors have been Japanese.
One Filipino wrote: "This memorial is an outrage and insults the memory of Filipino veterans. It is revolting." Sorry brother, it's Banzai for the mighty yen.
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