masterwordsmith-unplugged

South Dakotan sculptor John Lopez creates life-sized scrap metal sculptures with a uniquely Western American twist. In his hands, old discarded farm equipment is recycled into sculptures of iconic creatures from the American West like a bison, a horse plowing a field, or a Texas Longhorn.

Lopez already had a career as a bronze sculptor, but after creating a family grave for his deceased aunt using scrap metal, he began creating recycled metal sculptures out of found or donated pieces of metal as well.

CLICK HERE for more.

CLICK HERE for the official John Lopez page.

Here's a very interesting article from a most enlightening blog!

To the majority of people, eggshells are simply trash.

But to homesteader, eggshells are a surprisingly useful resource. You know what they say… “Waste not, want not.”

I personally get a big kick out of finding uses for things people normally throw away. So, I’ve put together a list of 9 Things You Can Do with Eggshells around your own homestead.

(Holy Moly! My list started out with a measly 9 ideas, but after all of my thrifty readers left their ideas in the comment section, it has grown to 30+! I’ve edited the list with these new additions- keep them coming folks!)

CLICK HERE to read more.

Wrapping paper can be very costly. With Christmas round the corner, here are some frugal gift-wrapping areas that work!

CLICK HERE for more.

Thanks to Angela who shared this article.

A Chinese artist has won a place in the Guinness Book of Records after creating the world's longest wooden carving.

Zheng Chunhui, a famous wood carver, spent four years creating the artwork which is over 40ft long and made from a single tree trunk.

The scene is actually a copy of the famous Chinese painting 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' which was created over 1,000 years ago.

 Read more AT THIS LINK.

You don't have to understand Italian to follow the auctioneer:

A Chinese Ming Vase is up for auction. The bidding opens at a half-million Euros.
Bidding is brisk and each bidder is clearly identified as he the bid by 100,000 Euros. (The exchange rate at auction time was 1 Euro = $1.43.) Within seconds, the bid stalls at one million Euros, and the gasp from the crowd identifies the excitement that prevails. The successful bidder is the last one who bid  one million ,   and the auctioneer counts down the bid, "Going once, going twice, and sold to the gentleman sitting in front of me for one million Euros."

Now, you are going to have to watch the video for yourself.The auctioneer is exuberant. The pace is fast. This is how an auction should be run. Note the excitement on the auctioneer's face after the final bid.

Aspirin Cardio: Auction - YouTube CLICK HERE.

Thanks to Mr TSK for sharing this post.

Wai Ming was born in Canton in 1938, the son of a school master with nine children. Extremely poor as a child, he was raised in Hong Kong enduring many hardships.

There, Wai Ming developed his drawing techniques without any art education and began painting what he saw.Wai Ming's original oil paintings and fine art reproductions, mainly of oriental subjects, are admired and collected by people throughout the world, including the famous and foreign dignitaries.

Seldom has the impact of an artist been so immediate as that of Wai Ming on his arrival in San Francisco from Hong Kong in 1974. His artistic sensitivity is combined with a startling realism that has caught the attention of the public.

His four paintings that he displayed at Swanson Art Gallery in San Francisco for the first time in 1975 were all sold within the first day. Not only has the demand for his work grown steadily, but he is acknowledged by many as one of the Bay Area's leading artist.

CLICK HERE for more.

Thanks to Angela who sent me this information.

Watch this bloke create the character of "The Joker" made famous in the last Batman film by the late Heath Ledger.

Try this the next time you are bored waiting for your meal in a bistro - grab the salt shaker!

CLICK THIS LINK and be amazed. Thanks to YK who shared this link.

It's the face that launched a thousand imitations. Now, archaeologists are convinced they've found the body of the real Mona Lisa.

Buried in a crypt beneath a convent in Florence, Italy, archaeologists believe they have uncovered the skeleton belonging to the model who posed for Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece in 1504.

The wife of a rich silk merchant, Lisa Gheradini, is generally accepted by historians to be the woman with the mysterious smile.

Lisa Gheradini, whose married name was Giocondo, became a nun after her husband's death. She was buried in the grounds of the Convent of Saint Ursula where she died in 1542, aged 63.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the entry.

by: Author Unknown, The Best of Bits and Pieces

Although Henri Matisse was nearly 28 years younger than Auguste Renoir, the two great artists were dear friends and frequent companions. When Renoir was confined to his home during the last decade of his life, Matisse visited him daily. Renoir, almost paralyzed by arthritis, continued to paint in spite of his infirmities. One day as Matisse watched the elder painter working in his studio, fighting torturous pain with each brush stroke, he blurted out: "Auguste, why do you continue to paint when you are in such agony?"

Renoir answered simply: "The beauty remains; the pain passes." And so, almost to his dying day, Renoir put paint to canvas. One of his most famous paintings, The Bathers, was completed just two years before his passing, 14 years after he was stricken by this disabling disease.

And so, almost to his dying day, Renoir put paint to canvas. One of his most famous paintings, Bathers, was completed just two years before his passing, 14 years after he was stricken by this disabling disease."

Renoir could have put away his brush years before when the disease grew worse. He could have become bitter about his life’s situation and given up. He didn’t. Renoir saw beyond the pain to the beauty.

Like the beautiful painting that was created from pained hands, God can take the painful experiences of our lives and create something beautiful in us. This does not minimize, trivialize or spiritualize the pain. Sometimes that pain is physical, but most often emotional. Still, if we allow God to work in us, He will use our painful experiences to shape our lives and form us into something more beautiful.

The next time you encounter pain, look beyond the situation and seek to persevere.

Look for God at work to bring beauty beyond the pain. God bless you!

Have a lovely day and a grand week ahead !

“And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I’m sorry it’s the case, and I’ll work hard to try to elevate it.” –George W. Bush, interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

“I think that the vice president is a person reflecting a half-glass-full mentality.” –George W. Bush, interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

“And one thing we want during this war on terror is for people to feel like their life’s moving on, that they’re able to make a living and send their kids to college and put more money on the table.” –George W. Bush, interview on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Jan. 16, 2007

“The best way to defeat the totalitarian of hate is with an ideology of hope — an ideology of hate — excuse me –with an ideology of hope.” –George W. Bush, Fort Benning, Ga., Jan. 11, 2007

“Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die.” –George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 7, 2006

“The only way we can win is to leave before the job is done.” –George W. Bush, Greeley, Colo., Nov. 4, 2006

“Anybody who is in a position to serve this country ought to understand the consequences of words.” –George W. Bush, interview with Rush Limbaugh, Nov. 1, 2006

“You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war President. No President wants to be a war President, but I am one.” –George W. Bush, Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006 Maria Bartiromo:

“I’m curious, have you ever googled anybody? Do you use Google?” President Bush: “Occasionally. One of the things I’ve used on the Google is to pull up maps. It’s very interesting to see — I’ve forgot the name of the program — but you get the satellite, and you can — like, I kinda like to look at the ranch. It remind me of where I wanna be sometimes.” –interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, Oct. 24, 2006

“You’re one of the outstanding leaders in a very important part of the world. I want to thank you for strategizing our discussions.” –George W. Bush, meeting with the prime minister of Malaysia, New York, N.Y., Sept. 18, 2006

“The Patriot Act has increased the flow of information within our government and it has helped break up terrorist cells in the United States of America. And the United States Congress was right to renew the terrorist act — the Patriot Act.” –George W. Bush, Washington, D.C. , Sept. 7, 2006

“You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.” –George W. Bush, interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006

“I said I was looking for a book to read, Laura said you ought to try Camus. I also read three Shakespeares. … I’ve got a eck-a-lec-tic reading list.” –George W. Bush, interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, New Orleans, La., Aug. 29, 2006

________________

The Great Wizard of Oz

The last four ex-U.S. Presidents are caught in a tornado, and off they whirled to OZ. They finally make it to the Emerald City and came before the Great Wizard.

"WHAT BRINGS YOU BEFORE THE GREAT WIZARD OF OZ?"

Jimmy Carter stepped forward timidly:" I've come for some courage."

"NO PROBLEM!" says the Wizard. "WHO IS NEXT?"

Ronald Reagan steps forward, "Well........., I.......I think I need a brain."

"DONE" says the Wizard. "WHO COMES NEXT BEFORE THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ?"

Up stepped George Bush sadly, "I'm told by the American people that I need a heart."

"I'VE HEARD IT'S TRUE!" says the Wizard. "CONSIDER IT DONE."

There is a great silence in the hall. Bill Clinton is just standing there, looking around, but doesn't say a word. Irritated, the Wizard finally asks, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"Is Dorothy here?"
____________________




Clinton on the Titanic

Reagan, Nixon and Clinton are on the Titanic.

The ship hits the iceberg and sinks slowly.

Everybody starts screaming, panicking, etc.

Reagan shouts: "Women and children first."

Nixon goes: "F*** the women."

Clinton replies: "Do you think we have time?"

-Author Unknown-

Posted for laughs.

If I could go to university again, I would choose to study contemporary music. When I was in school, I wanted to be a lawyer, writer or musician. When the time came for my son to apply to university, I wanted him to do either law or accountancy but ironically, he chose to do contemporary music. That is the circle of life for me. I still remember how he used to share with me what he learnt each semester and I confess I derived much pleasure listening to him share about protest songs and the defining music of the 1960's which I love.

The idea for this post started in the afternoon right after I finished the post on The Silent Cry from a Mother's Grieving Heart. As always, I like to post my favourite oldies in my Facebook status updates and today, I shared the link to Where Have All the Flowers Gone? by Peter, Mary and Paul. A response from a friend to that posting "All deflowered by the hedonistic days of youthhood?" made me all the more determined to write about that song and its composer.

I confess I thought it was Bob Dylan who wrote that song but was pleasantly surprised to discover that Peter Seeger composed "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and many other songs to emerge as "a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and environmental causes".

According to Wikipedia:

Peter "Pete" Seeger (born May 3, 1919) is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly's "Goodnight, Irene", which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of The Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.

As a song writer, he is best known as the author or co-author of :

• "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"

• "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" (composed with Lee Hays of The Weavers)

• "Turn, Turn, Turn!" (popularized by The Byrds and I have also written about it HERE)

Seeger was one of the folksingers most responsible for popularizing the spiritual "We Shall Overcome" (also recorded by Joan Baez and many other singer-activists) that became the acknowledged anthem of the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement, soon after folk singer and activist Guy Carawan introduced it at the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960. In the PBS "American Masters" episode Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, Seeger states it was he who changed the lyric from the traditional "We will overcome" to the more singable "We shall overcome".

Seeger was born in French Hospital, Midtown Manhattan. His genealogy can be traced back over 200 years. A paternal ancestor, Karl Ludwig Seeger, a physician from Wurtemburg, Germany, had emigrated to America in revolutionary times and married into an old New England family in the 1780s.

Wikipedia states that "his namesake, Pete's father, Harvard-trained composer and musicologist Charles Louis Seeger, Jr., established the first musicology curriculum in the U.S. at the University of California in 1913; helped found the American Musicological Society; and was a key founder of the academic discipline of ethnomusicology. Pete's mother, Constance de Clyver Edson, raised in Tunisia and trained at the Paris Conservatory of Music, was a concert violinist and later a teacher at the Juilliard School."

CLICK HERE to read more about his family background and how his father was forced to resign in 1918 because of his outspoken Pacifism during World War I. Charles and Constance moved back east, making Charles' parents' estate in Patterson, New York, northeast of New York City, their base of operations. When baby Pete was eighteen months old, they set out with him and his two older brothers in a home-made trailer, on a quixotic mission to bring musical uplift to the working people in the American South.

I can see how his political roots and perspective emerged even when he was a student. Wikipedia states that Seeger enrolled at Harvard College on a partial scholarship, but as he became increasingly involved with politics and folk music his grades suffered and he lost his scholarship. He dropped out of college in 1938. He dreamed of a career in journalism and also took courses in art.

Far beyond his time, Seeger was the one who introduced the Steel Pan to Americans. In 1956, then "Peter" Seeger (see film credits) and his wife, Toshi, traveled to Port of Spain, Trinidad, to seek out information on the steel pan, steel drum or "Ping-Pong" as it was sometimes called. The two searched out a local panyard and proceeded to film the construction, tuning and playing of the then new, national instrument of Trinidad-Tobago.

Today, Seeger lives in Beacon, New York and remains very engaged politically with active lifestyle in the Hudson Valley Region of New York, especially in the nearby City of Beacon, New York.

What struck me is how Peter Seeger has not wavered at all in his activism from the 1940's to the present! Take a look at his record of activities and be inspired by the talent, spirit and music of Peter Seeger that has resounded for more than half a century now!

According to Wikipedia:

On January 18, 2009, Seeger joined Bruce Springsteen, grandson Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, and the crowd in singing the Woody Guthrie song "This Land Is Your Land" in the finale of Barack Obama's Inaugural concert in Washington, D.C. The performance was noteworthy for the inclusion of two verses not often included in the song, one about a "private property" sign the narrator cheerfully ignores, and the other making a passing reference to a Depression-era relief office.

90th Birthday Celebration

On May 3, 2009, at The Clearwater Concert, dozens of musicians gathered in New York at Madison Square Garden to celebrate Seeger's 90th birthday (which was later televised on PBS during the summer),[35] ranging from Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Billy Bragg, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello, Ani DiFranco and Roger McGuinn to Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Tom Paxton, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Arlo Guthrie. Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez was also invited to appear but his visa was not approved in time by the US government. Consistent with Seeger's long-time advocacy for environmental concerns, the proceeds from the event benefited the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater,[36] a non-profit organization founded by Seeger in 1966, to defend and restore the Hudson River. Seeger's 90th Birthday was also celebrated at The College of Staten Island on May 4.

Other recent appearances

On March 16, 2007, Pete Seeger, his sister Peggy, his brothers Mike and John, his wife Toshi, and other family members spoke and performed at a symposium and concert sponsored by the American Folklife Center in honor of the Seeger family, held at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.,[38] where Pete Seeger had been employed by the Archive of American Folk Song 67 years earlier.

On September 29, 2008, the 89-year-old singer-activist, once banned from commercial TV, made a rare national TV appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, singing "Take It From Dr. King". In September 2008, Appleseed Recordings released At 89, Seeger's first studio album in 12 years. On September 19, Pete Seeger made his first appearance at the 52nd Monterey Jazz Festival, particularly notable because the Festival does not normally feature folk artists.

On April 18, 2009, Pete Seeger performed in front of a small group of Earth Day celebrants at Teachers College in New York City. Among the songs he performed were "This Land is Your Land", "Take it From Dr. King", and "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain".

A number of Pete Seeger celebrations are being organized in Australia including a revival of the musical play about his life One Word ... WE!, a DVD of his 1963 concert in Melbourne Town Hall, and concerts in folk clubs and folk festivals. One Word ... WE! was performed at the Tom Mann Theatre in Surry Hills, Sydney, on 12, 13 and 14 June 2009. It was written by Maurie Mulheron, who is also musical director and a performer. Frank Barnes directed.

In 2010, still active at the age of 91, Seeger co-wrote and performed a song "God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You" with Lorre Wyatt, commenting on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[39]

On October 21, 2011, at age 92, Pete Seeger was part of a solidarity march with Occupy Wall Street to Columbus Circle in New York City. The march began with Seeger and fellow musicians exiting Symphony Space (95th and Broadway), where they had performed as part of a benefit for Seeger's Clearwater organization. Thousands of people crowded Pete Seeger by the time they reached Columbus Circle. Pete Seeger performed with his grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, David Amram, and other celebrated musicians. The event, promoted under the name #OccupyTheCircle, was LiveStreamed, and dubbed by some as "The Pete Seeger March".

He contributed a spoken version of Forever Young to the 2012 album Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International.

Thank you, Peter Seeger, for your life, your music, inspiration and for being such a wonderfully dedicated, spirited and committed activist to every cause in which you believed!

Enjoy the following videos:

1. If I had a hammer - Recorded Live in Australia in 1963

2. If I had a hammer - Recorded live at Wolftrap, August 8, 1993.

After watching both videos, you can see that despite moving on in years, Peter Seeger is still as robust and spirited in his delivery of the song!

3. Where have all the flowers gone?

In July 26, 1956, the House of Representatives voted 373 to 9 to cite Pete Seeger and seven others (including playwright Arthur Miller) for contempt, as they failed to cooperate with House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their attempts to investigate alleged subversives and communists. Pete Seeger testified before the HUAC in 1955.

In one of Pete's darkest moments, when his personal freedom, his career, and his safety were in jeopardy, a flash of inspiration ignited this song.

The song was stirred by a passage from Mikhail Sholokhov's novel "And Quie Flows the Don". Around the world the song traveled and in 1962 at a UNICEF concert in Germany, Marlene Dietrich, Academy Award-nominated German-born American actress, first performed the song in French, as "Qui peut dire ou vont les fleurs?" Shortly after she sang it in German.

Marlene sang to the troops, often a stone's throw away from enemy lines. She was a fervent anti-Nazi and was fearless and dedicated to serving the Allied troops during WWII. She saw a lot of death and injury with her own eyes; you can see the sadness of that experience in her, and the outrage that people keep making the same mistakes over and over. What a woman! We may never see the like again.

The song's impact in Germany just after WWII was shattering. Its universal message, "let there be peace in the world" did not get lost in its translation. To the contrary, the combination of the language, the setting, and the great lyrics has had a profound effect on people all around the world.

May it have the same effect today and bring renewed awareness to all that hear it. (from HERE)

It is quite difficult to promote the reading habit these days because of the pervasive influence of the mass media.

Having said that, in days of old when children did read books by Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie etc., we cannot deny that such literature really broadened our minds and improved our vocabulary. Anyway take a look at the following list. I shudder as I realize how fortunate it is for us that no one has written anything along the lines of the following list of warped titles! Do add to the list - just for laughs!

• You Are Different and That's Bad
• The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables
• Dad's New Wife Robert
• Fun four-letter Words to Know and Share
• Hammers, Screwdrivers and Scissors: An I-Can-Do-It Book
• The Kids' Guide to Hitchhiking
• Kathy Was So Bad Her Mom Stopped Loving Her
• Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence
• All Cats Go to Play
• The Little Sissy Who Snitched
• Some Kittens Can Sing
• That's it, I'm Putting You Up for Adoption
• Grandpa Gets a Casket
• The Magic World Inside the Abandoned Refrigerator
• Garfield Gets Feline Leukemia
• The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy
• Strangers Have the Best Candy
• Whining, Kicking and Crying to Get Your Way
• You Were an Accident
• Things Rich Kids Have, But You Never Will
• Pop! Goes The Hamster...And Other Great Microwave Games
• The Man in the Moon Is Actually Satan
• Your Nightmares Are Real
• Where Would You Like to Be Buried?
• Eggs, Toilet Paper, and Your School
• Why Can't Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Be Friends?

This morning, Angela sent me a link to this fantastic YouTube video clip which says:

On 5th and 6th of January in Bangkok (Thailand) Kseniya Simonova presented a sand story about His Majesty The King of Thailand Rama IX. Devoted to his 84th anniversary, the sand story created by Simonova told about the great inventions of the King conserning the Environment, about His love of his people and of His country.

Kseniya was performing in the Royal Pavillion of Bangkok in a specially built hall in the presence of Her Royal Highnesty Princess Sirindhorn and the Government of Thailand. The spirit of the sand fantasy of Simonova, the feeling which she expressed in her art work stunned the audience. "I was very happyto receive such reaction", - says Kseniya, - "This sand story had a very long period of preparations, I was very worried about how the people of Thailand will take it. The music for my sand story was written by His Majesty the King himself. This music is really beautiful and inspiring. His Majesty is trully a genious person!"

After watching Kseniya's performance, the Princess of Thailand gave her flowers from herself and from her Father, the King as a present. Kseniya gave her Royal Hihnesty two discs with a sand film about the King which was shooted by her and the Ovation.Tv (the Royal Television of Thailand) beforehand.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THAT AWESOME VIDEO CLIP AND BE ENTHRALLED!

Thanks to Angela who sent me this link. Have a nice day, everyone!

International Women’s Day falls on March 8, but the women who have made recent headlines in Malaysia do so for the wrong reasons.

They include self-styled ‘First Lady’ Rosmah Mansor, the Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the ladies of the Obedient Wives Club and the Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen, whose latest brainwave is to turn taxi drivers into “tourism ambassadors”.

Perhaps, one of the taxi drivers should replace the high commissioner in London.

Last week, Ng (right) said: “After they have been selected by our appointed judges, the taxi drivers will be undergoing a one-day awareness course organised by the ministry where we will explain to them their role as tourism ambassadors.”

When Jean Todt, the husband of ex-Bond girl Michelle Yeoh, was made a Malaysian ‘tourism ambassador’, he received an annual fee of RM593,000 and an allowance of RM388,000 towards his holidays in Malaysia.

Will the taxi drivers, our “tourism ambassadors”, be given similar financial incentives? Or do “gwai lohs” get preferential treatment?

Ng wanted to improve the attitude of taxi drivers and be rid of shoddy practices, like the refusal to use meters, which many locals and tourists had complained about. So will they be satisfied with just a fancy title?

She also wanted to promote Malaysia as a duty-free shopping destination and praised the ‘1Malaysia GP Sale’ which promised ‘bargains-galore’ for shoppers from March 10 to April 15.

If only Ng could persuade our self-styled ‘First Lady’ to make Malaysia her ‘buyer’s paradise’. Whenever Rosmah is overseas, it is her shopping exploits which overshadows the Prime Minster Najib Abdul Razak’s visits.

When she went to Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh in January 2011, the secretive First Lady of Malaysia department received so much attention that Najib appeares to have shut it down. Gone was the pink tinged website that used to grace the official PM’s website.

Rural people lack basic infrastructure

If only the victims of domestic violence, incest and teenage pregnancies could receive as much attention as the assorted coloured handbags and multi-million ringgit gems that adorn the First Lady’s podgy wrist and fingers.

Rosmah’s receipt of an honorary degree for education from Curtin University in Australia became a viral sensation on Facebook. In the past, Curtin was embroiled in the sex for degrees scandal; but one would not dream of associating impropriety with honorary degrees.

It must be nice receiving honorary degrees, unlike the children from the Orang Asli community or the indigenous peoples of East Malaysia, where receiving basic schooling is problematical.

Rural schools are poorly maintained and transportation is a problem. Despite the wealth from timber, oil and gas, these rural communities lack basic infrastructure. Curtin University would do well to find out the reasons these places are poorly funded and come up with solutions.

Many of us are barely surviving with the increase in food prices, petrol prices, toll charges and utility bills. It is worse for rural communities. Farmers struggle to feed their families and they spend even less on their livestock.

Animals receive reduced amounts of fodder and some may not receive veterinary care.

Spending taxpayer’s money comes as second nature to most ministers and Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family showed a great deal of finesse, when they made good use of a RM250 million loan meant for the National Feedlot Corporation project.

With great aplomb, they bought a string of luxury condominiums, a pilgrimage and the latest Mercedes-Benz car.

For many farmers, home is a wooden shack, transportation is a dilapidated truck and dreams of going on the haj, remains just that- dreams. At least Shahrizat has a choice of houses. The homes of the Penan, which are located on ancestral lands, are now under water.

Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s vision of building mega-dams means that the interior has to be flooded to generate cheap electricity which his new aluminium smelters, will devour.

It is commendable that Shahrizat was able to protect her husband and her three children, unlike the parents of the Penan girls who were raped by loggers in the Sarawak jungles.

The women and children have nowhere to go and no-one to whom they can turn for help. They have been called “good storytellers” and “liars who often change their stories”.

If only Taib’s young wife, Ragad Waleed Alkurdi, would waddle out of her palatial home ground to enquire why these Penan women are angry. They have been stripped of their lands, an education and also their dignity.

Malaysian women certainly know how to grab the attention of the foreign media - like the titillating details of the Obedient Wives Club’s graphic sex manual.

No-one (in the west) appears to be interested in our corruption, tainted judiciary, violent thugs, radioactive waste and baby dumping, but sex sells. Especially deviant sex!

Despite setting a quota of 30 percent women in decision-making roles in government and industry, Najib has failed miserably in empowering women. With just Shahrizat and Ng as ministers, Najib’s cabinet is not female friendly. Both women are seriously flawed.

If only capable women were in positions of responsibility, the country might not be in such a state. But then why should men care? The rules are made by men, for men.

Naturally, it is hard to talk about improving the country when the women who should be good role models are busy promoting designer handbags and rings, or collecting cows and condos.

This article was extracted from Malaysiakini and written by MARIAM MOKHTAR who is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

Investigators at a major research institution have discovered the heaviest element known to science. This startling new discovery has been tentatively named Governmentium.

This new element has no protons or electrons, thus having an atomic number of 0. It does, however, have 1 neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice neutrons, and 111 assistant vice neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by a force called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since it has no electrons, Governmentium is inert.

However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact.

According to the discoverers, a minute amount of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of approximately four years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons, vice neutrons, and assistant vice neutrons exchange places.

In fact, a Governmentium sample's mass will actually increase over time, since with each reorganization some of the morons inevitably become neutrons, forming new isotopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration.

This hypothetical quantity is referred to as the "Critical Morass".

You will know it when you see it. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element which radiates just as much energy since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

-Author Unknown-

*This is a fictitious satirical fable, author unknown. I only changed the paragraphing of this piece which I first posted HERE under a different title.

*Posted for laughs and a grim reminder of the reality before us. I reckon such a scenario will be ad infinitum unless major changes can be made by people power.

Have a nice day.

Avram Noam Chomsky born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor (Emeritus) in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and a major figure of analytic philosophy. His work has influenced fields such as computer science, mathematics, and psychology. Chomsky is credited as the creator or co-creator of the Chomsky hierarchy, the universal grammar theory, and the Chomsky–Schützenberger theorem. (Source: Wikipedia)

In 2006, Noam Chomsky wrote Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy. A New York Times review said:

Forceful, lucid, and meticulously documented, Failed States offers a comprehensive analysis of a global superpower that has long claimed the right to reshape other nations while its own democratic institutions are in severe crisis, and its policies and practices recklessly place the world on the brink of nuclear and environmental disaster. Systematically dismantling America's pretense of being the world's arbiter of democracy, Failed States is Chomsky's most focused, and urgent, critique to date.

Stephen Lendman wrote an excellent commentary on Noam Chomsky's book AT THIS LINK.

Excerpt from Chomsky's book:

The term failed state is often used by political commentators and journalists to describe a state perceived as having failed at some of the basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government. In order to make this definition more precise, the following attributes, proposed by the Fund for Peace, are often used to characterize a failed state:
loss of control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein, 

• erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions,
• an inability to provide public services, and
• an inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community. 

Often a failed nation is characterized by social, political, and/or economic failure. 

Common characteristics of a failing state include a central government so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; and sharp economic decline. 

The level of government control required to avoid being considered a failed state varies considerably amongst authorities. Furthermore, the declaration that a state has "failed" is generally controversial and, when made authoritatively, may carry significant geopolitical consequences.

Since 2005 the United States think-tank Fund for Peace and the magazine Foreign Policy, publishes an annual index called the Failed States Index. According to the Index:

The index's ranks are based on twelve indicators of state vulnerability - four social, two economic and six political.[6] The indicators are not designed to forecast when states may experience violence or collapse. Instead, they are meant to measure a state's vulnerability to collapse or conflict. All countries in the red (Alert, FSI of 90 or more), orange (Warning, FSI of 60 or more), or yellow (Moderate, FSI of 30 or more) categories display some features that make parts of their societies and institutions vulnerable to failure.

Some in the yellow zone may be failing at a faster rate than those in the more dangerous orange or red zones, and therefore could experience violence sooner. Conversely, some in the red zone, though critical, may exhibit some positive signs of recovery or be deteriorating slowly, giving them time to adopt mitigating strategies.

Here are the 12 factors used by Fund For Peace to ascertain the status of a country (from Wikipedia):

Social

Mounting demographic pressures.
Massive displacement of refugees, creating severe humanitarian emergencies.
Widespread vengeance-seeking group grievance.
Chronic and sustained human flight.
Slum creation in poor areas.

Economic

Uneven economic development along group lines.
Severe economic decline.

Political

Criminalization and/or delegitimization of the state.
Deterioration of public services.
Suspension or arbitrary application of law; widespread human rights abuses.
Security apparatus operating as a "state within a state".
Rise of factionalized elites.
Intervention of external political agents.

At one point in time, the Third Force was the talk of town when some exalted the idea whilst others rejected the concept only to acquiesce in time to come. However, how many are aware of The Third Rail?

According to Wikipedia, "The third rail of a nation's politics is a metaphor for any issue so controversial that it is "charged" and "untouchable"; any politician or public official who dares to broach the subject will invariably suffer politically. The term is most commonly used in North America. The "third rail of American politics" is often said to be the reform of social security; the "third rail" of Canadian politics is said to be health care.

The Chicago Tribune carried an interesting post on The Third Rail in September 2010 HERE. The New York Times also featured an article on the same topic HERE.

In very simple terms, the third rail refers to political suicide which Wikipedia has defined as "the concept that a politician or political party would lose widespread support and confidence from the voting public by proposing actions that are seen as unfavourable or that might threaten the status quo. A politician who committed political suicide might be forced to resign. A political party could stand to lose followers by deviating greatly from its core values and policies. Another term for such policies are "the third rail". Cynics may blame this concept as a reason for a lack of real change or progress in society and that actions described as political suicide are usually sound intentions shot down by reactionism and fear of change."

Mike Foil of the Canada Free Press said it beautifully in his post on Political Suicide:

We are being told that it would be unreasonable for us to expect that politician to actually do what they said they would do because the result would likely end their political career. To take that one step further, it means; keeping a promise made or taking a bold step, which may be a career ending move, is not something we can honestly expect a politician to do. Why? Because we have to realize that their careers are more important than doing what is best for the country as a whole. 

Sometimes, doing what is right and best for America is not the same as what might be best for the person who has to do the hard work or make the tough decision. Doing what is best for the long-term stability of our nation may be very unpopular with the masses marching down the streets of our cities. Doing what is right, when circumstances demand hard choices, can very well end a political career. It might even launch a recall election. But, that should not be the determining factor! Their careers are not more important to the people back home than saving our country. READ MORE HERE.

Has someone been committing political suicide in this country or otherwise?

If it is indeed a hara-kiri (seppuku or disambiguation), is it out of noble intentions or poor communication strategies, spinning for reasons known to the spinners alone or due to a darker side slowly emerging in a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde tradition?

Whatever the case, Malaysians must unite and stay focused to have a massive swing in votes for change to happen when a new and upright government is put into place!

Vote wisely in the next elections!

John was in the fertilized egg business.

He had several hundred young layers (hens), called 'pullets,' and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs.

He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced.

This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters.

Each bell had a different tone, so he could tell from a distance, which rooster was performing.

Now, he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report by just listening to the bells.

John's favorite rooster, old Butch, was a very fine specimen, but this morning he noticed old Butch's bell hadn't rung at all!

When he went to investigate, he saw the other roosters were busy chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing, but the pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover.

To John's amazement, old Butch had his bell in his beak, so it couldn't ring.

He'd sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one.

John was so proud of old Butch, he entered him in the Renfrew County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the judges.

The result was the judges not only awarded old Butch the "No Bell Piece Prize," but they also awarded him the "Pulletsurprise" as well.

Clearly old Butch was a politician in the making. Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the unsuspecting populace and scr**ing them when they weren't paying attention.

Vote carefully next year, the bells are not always audible.


-Author Unknown-


Thanks to P. Leong who sent me this post.

For such retorts one needs presence of mind. Thanks to Angela who sent me these POINTED REPLIES - hree moments in time when you could have heard a pin drop.

Take 1:

Field Marshal Sam Bahadur Maneckshaw once started addressing a public meeting at Ahmedabad in English.

The crowd started chanting, "Speak in Gujarati. We will hear you only if you speak in Gujarati."

Field Marshal Sam Bahadur Maneckshaw stopped. Swept the audience with a hard stare and replied, "Friends, I have fought many a battle in my long career.

I have learned Punjabi from men of the Sikh Regiment; Marathi from the Maratha Regiment; Tamil from the men of the Madras Sappers; Bengali from the men of the
Bengal Sappers, Hindi from the Bihar Regiment; and even Nepali from the Gurkha Regiment.

Unfortunately there was no soldier from Gujarat from whom I could have learned Gujarati."

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Take 2:

JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when Charles DeGaule, the French
President, decided to pull out of NATO.

DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded "does that include the 180,000 who are buried here?"

DeGaule could not respond.

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Take 3:

Robert Whiting, an elderly US gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.

At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, Monsieur ?" the Customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. "Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France !" the Customs officer sneered.

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long, hard look.

Then he quietly explained ... " Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach, at 4:40am, on D-Day in 1944, to help liberate your country, I couldn't find a single Frenchman to show a passport to. ... "

Have a nice day!