masterwordsmith-unplugged

   We hang petty thieves and appoint the bigger thieves to public office.
 ~Aesop, Greek slave & fable author
 

   Politics is the gentle art of getting votes

   from the poor and campaign funds from the rich,

   by promising to protect each from the other.

   ~Oscar Am ringer, "the Mark Twain of American Socialism."

     

   I offered my opponents a deal:

   "if they stop telling lies about me,

   I will stop telling the truth about them".

   ~Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952..

     


   A politician is a fellow who will lay down

   your life for his country.

   ~Texas Guinan. 19th century American businessman

     


   I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious

   a matter to be left to the politicians.

   ~Charles de Gaulle, French general & politician

     

   Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city,

   it might be better to change the locks.

   ~Doug Larson (English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, 1902-1981)

     


Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being

   governed by those who are dumber.
 ~Plato, ancient Greek Philosopher

Politicians are the same all over.

   They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.
 ~Nikita Khrushchev, Russian Soviet politician

   

   When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become PM;

   I'm beginning to believe it.

   ~Quoted in 'Clarence Darrow for the Defense' by Irving Stone.

     


   Politicians are people who,

   when they see light at the end of the tunnel,
 go out and buy some more tunnel.
 ~John Quinton, American actor/writer

     


   What happens if a politician drowns in a river?

   It's pollution.

   What happens if all of them drown?

   It's a solution ....!!!



Quote " POLITICS IS THE RELIGION OF THIS WORLD AND RELIGION IS THE POLITICS OF THE OTHER WORLD: THAT'S THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO . AND THE POLITICIAN AND THE PRIESTS HAVE BEEN IN A DEEP CONSPIRACY FOR CENTURIES
(OSHO)

Thanks to Mr TSK for sharing.

Whilst many have taken umbrage at one yukky satire, here's a very refreshing one by 'Uncomfortably Numb'..possibly someone I know...here goes...a classy, witty and absolutely first class political satire. Well done!

KajangGate: The real, I mean it, the REAL reasons. Yes, it’s true. I swear.
– by Uncomfortably Numb

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Jaba Sadist and welcome to the exclusive interview by The Malaysian InsideUs with a PKR insider on the issue of the moment, KajangGate. Encik Insider, thank you for agreeing to this interview and welcome to The Malaysian InsideUs.

Yes yes, tenkiu tenkiu. I, in fact, should thank you for interviewing me. Because we really need to justify, eh... I mean, explain this issue to all of you peasants, eh... I mean beloved voters.

We need to explain so that there will be no misunderstanding. We love transparency you know. You know, transparent like that.... like see through like that... so we need to go on the ground to explain this stuff you know.

I mean by going to the ground I don't mean to say we need to kiss your feet lah... but you know la what I mean Jaba kan? We need to explain. Yes. Yes.

So, can you explain KajangGate please? Like transparent like that, okay?

Okay. You know Jaba, as the Chief Strategist of PKR, I have strategically put myself in all the strategic areas so that I could strategically strategise our strategies.

I have sent people everywhere, like spies like that you know. Then I found out that Prime Minister Najib might be removed by some dark forces, you know these dark forces arr... very not transparent one... very dark like that you know.

Who are these dark forces? Darth Vader?

Yes, yes, Darth Vader and his progenies, Darth Maul, Darth Sidius, Count Dooku like that.

These sure the Sith Lords who are going to defeat Prime Minister Najib and throw him out from the Presidency of Umno.

These Sith Lords are planning planning like that you know... and my spies told me this is going to happen very soon.

So?

Aaah... this is where people like you, Art Harun and all the peasants, eh... I mean the voters, don't know.

You all don't know because you all are not Jedis like us you know. You all are... err... for the lack of a better word... sorry eh... nothing personal... but for the lack of a better word, stupid and ignorant non-politicians.

You see, if the Prime Minister is thrown out and replaced....

Err...who do you think will replace him?

My guys have strategically told me that Dr M (Dr Mahathir) will be prime minister and Zainuddin Maidin will be deputy prime minister.

But they are not even MPs.

Aaah... you see, this is where you do not see Jaba. They will declare an emergency lah.

Then Dr M will become PM and Zai will become DPM. They will declare emergency in Selangor too.

And Pakatan rakyat will never ever get to be in Putrajaya if that happened. I mean, the whole galaxy will be ruled by the dark forces. You understand?

They will declare emergency like they did in Kelantan before lah. And the worse thing is this you know I heard... when they wrest control arr... they are going to send Zul Nordin to hug all the Indians on the street every day man... I mean, how lar like that... we need to save Selangor from this la bro.

But Pakatan is firmly in control in Selangor. Kelantan was different. There was a Constitutional crisis. And nobody seemed to have a firm majority. So the government of the day declared emergency and put Kelantan under Mageran. Selangor however, is firmly and definitely under Pakatan.

This is why I said you all don't know because you all are not Jedis like us, politicians, especially PKR politicians. You have to trust me when I say I know because I know. You know?

So, assuming you are right, how would KajangGate impact on this thingy you were telling me about?

You see, we need Anwar Ibrahim to be in Selangor, as an Exco member only ya, not as MB, just an Exco member. He can then prevent all these things from happening.

So, you are putting Anwar in Selangor Exco in order to save prime minister Najib from being unseated from Umno presidency and save his job as the prime minister? Is that what you are saying?

Yes. Anwar will save the prime minister from being sacked. And by doing that, Anwar will save Selangor and the whole Malaysia from being under an emergency.

Now, you mean to say that Selangor and the whole Malaysia will only be saved if Najib continues to be the prime minister?

Yes.

Now that's ironic, no?

You see, that's why I say you don't know jack shyte about politics, Jaba. That's why you are at The Malaysian InsideUs and not with us in the Parliament.

Okay, okay... assuming you are right... how would Anwar, being an Exco member of Selangor state government, prevent what you said will happen from ever happening.

Eh, that one secret la bro.

Eh, what happen to transparency, like see through like that?

Ya lah. Transparent also got place we cannot be so transparent lah. Like all transparent how to walk in public la. Nanti semua nampak, apa hal bro?

But really, how is he going to do that?

Okay lah... you know DSAI la Jaba, he can prevent things from happening just by being there you know. I mean, I have seen him making things happen just by being there.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the post.

It has been more than a year since i posted anything on Malaysian politics. This fantastic piece merits an exception to my abstinence...

Don't forget to check out the comments in TMI.

A bus filled with politicians was driving through the countryside one day, on the campaign trail.

The bus driver,caught up in the beautiful scenery, loses control and crashes into the ditch.

A farmer living nearby hears the horrible crash and rushes out to discover the wreckage.

Finding the politician, she buries them.

The next day, the police come to the farm to question theman. "So you buried all the politicians?" asked the policeofficer. "Were they all dead?"

The farmer answered, "Some said they weren't, but you know how politicians lie."

____________________________

How many politicians does it take to change a lightbulb?

Two.

One to change it, and another one to change it back again.
______________________________

Fidel dies and goes to heaven. When he gets there, St. Peter tells him that he is not on the list and that no way, no how, does he belong in heaven. Fidel must go to hell.

So Fidel goes to hell where Satan gives him a hearty welcome and tells him to make himself at home.Then Fidel notices that he left his luggage in heaven and tells Satan, who says, "No hay problema, I'll send a couple of little devils to get your stuff."

When the little devils get to heaven they find the gates are locked - St.Peter is having lunch - and they start debating what to do.

Finally, one comes up with the idea that they should go over the wall and get the luggage.

As they are climbing the walln, two little angels see them, and one angel says to the other, "My goodness! Fidel has been in hell no more tha ten minutes and we're already getting refugees!"
___________________________

A doctor, an engineer, and a politician werearguing as to which profession was older.

"Well," argued the doctor, "without a physician mankind could not have survived, so I am sure that mine is the oldest profession."

"No," said the engineer, "before life began there was complete chaos, and it took an engineer to create some semblance of order from this chaos.So engineering is older."

"But," chirped the triumphant politician,"who created the chaos?"

_________________________________________

Capitalist and Socialist Hell

A young, ruthless executive died and went to hell.

When he got there,he saw one sign that said Capitalist Hell, and another that said Socialist Hell.

In front of the Socialist Hell was an incredibly longline, while there was no-one in front of the Capitalist Hell.

So the executive asked the guard, "What do they do to you in Socialist Hell?"

"They boil you in oil, whip you, and then put you on the rack," the guard replied."

And what do they do to you in Capitalist Hell?"

"The same exact thing," the guard answered."

Then why is everybody in line for Socialist Hell?"

"Because in Socialist Hell, they're always out of oil, whips, and racks!"
________________________

 Definition:Politics Poli (Poly): Many... . Tic(k)s: Blood sucking creatures

A very thought-provoking article:

Power is said to be the unexpected triumph of democracy. It is the ruthless power game in the political arena among gladiators and it can be a double-edged knife. It can lead a country to prosperity if it is used judiciously but if wielded arrogantly it can lead to one’s downfall. Many dictators have perished in the course of history when power goes into their heads. It is a virus which is deadly: “la folie des grandeurs”. History is replete with the rise and fall of megalomaniacs. Shoes and projectiles were hurled at them or their images were crushed under the feet of protestors. Statues posted once in their honour are pulled down. They were toppled down into the dustbin of History. The Arab spring is a glaring example. Closer to us we have witnessed the rise and fall of many arrogant power-hungry politicians in our local history.

Politics is the pursuit of power. The meek and smiling masked politician with honeyed tongue who knocks at our doorstep to beg for our most coveted vote, by a magical wand is turned into a demi-god if  appointed as a minister but not by his merit but by his ethnic profile. He is transformed like Frankenstein into a dictator, arrogant, and walks with his head to the sky. He lives in his ivory tower barricaded by bodyguards armed to the teeth.The sycophants and turncoats will flock to the megalomaniac opening the car doors, talking to him in the ears, even ready to prostrate to his feet. Chamchas in their search for morsels will try to be in the good books of the demigod. But once power slips from his hands he is deserted callously. I still remember an editorialist of the seventies labelling the chamchas as “les mouches vertes”. The behaviour and body language of  the chamchas in the presence of  someone hierarchically superior is usually revealing. The breed of sycophants cuts across communities and is rampant nowadays.The days of idealism and ideologies of the swinging sixties are long buried in our society.

We always proclaim the rule of law in our country. But who does not remember the episode of a girls’ star-school which broke off thirty minutes late in the afternoon simply because an economics teacher has inadvertently made a reference, though fully justified to the said minister in his lesson and by mischance the Minister’s daughter happened to be in that class. The trauma it engendered was embedded in the psyche of those contemporary pupils. Who dares to  book a Minister for parking on the non –parking zone? The irony is that the police officer will in a matter of hours be transferred punitively to the most remote station of the island. In every sector it is the same.

Politisation of  everyday life is asphyxiating us to the point of dysfunction of our institutions. If today our schools become ungovernable with rampant indiscipline it is because of politicians poking their nose into the day-to-day business of the institution. A caretaker can more easily “transfer” a rector if he has links with a minister than the other way round. The recent bryani scandal is symptomatic.

But contrary to us, in Australia, there was once a Prime Minister who was booked for a non parking offence and he eventually paid his fine like any citizen. Examples must come from above. We were full of admiration : when British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s 16-year old son was arrested for being drunk, the PM and his wife were present at the police station and subsequently their son was bailed out. Can we have such behaviour here? We strongly doubt it. Instead the police would have been told “taler mo fer transfer toi! Mo do’nn toi enn klak. Mo montre toi ki mo ete”.

Many motorists find it scandalous every morning and afternoon that the huge traffic has to be held up because a Vice PM is passing through at Vandeermeersh street.

CLICK HERE for more.

Thanks to Angela who sent this brilliant article to me.

It is definitely a MUST READ for all Malaysians because recent events resonate with this article written by Michael Snyder.

CLICK HERE to read the article.

Please CLICK HERE to read a thought-provoking post on gerrymandering and democracy written by Philip Bump of The Atlantic Wire.

I have actually featured most of the following quotations in different posts this year but am reposting them because it is in a good collection collated via similar vein of thought. Thanks to Angela who shared this.

1. In my many years I have come to a  conclusion that one useless man  is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.   -- John Adams

2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. -- Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -- Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George  Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -- James Bovard , Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor  people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.   -- Douglas Case, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University.

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.   -- P.J. O'Rourke , Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. -- Frederic  Bastiat , French economist(1801-1850)

11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up  in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it.  If it keeps  moving, regulate it. And if it  stops moving, subsidize it.   -- Ronald Reagan (1986)

12. I don't make jokes.   I just watch the government and report the facts. -- Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!-- P. J. O'Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much  money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to  the other. -- Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -- Pericles (430 B.C.)

16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.  -- Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap, except when Congress does it. -- Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.  -- Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings.   The inherent blessing
     of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. --   Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin    --   Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.  -- Herbert Spencer , English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly Native American criminal class, save Congress. -- Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians -- Edward Langley,  Artist (1928-1995

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.  -- Thomas Jefferson

25. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public  office. -- Aesop

The following post showcases ten inspiring speeches given by political leaders. "From Mahatma Gandhi's keynote speech in the struggle for Indian independence to Martin Luther King's powerful 'I have a dream' oration during the civil rights movement, here are ten speeches that changed the course of history."

READ MORE HERE.

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies." —Groucho Marx

"Politics, noun. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

"The Democrats are the party of government activism, the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller, and get the chickweed out of your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then get elected and prove it." —P.J. O'Rourke, Parliament of Whores

“The enemy isn’t conservatism. The enemy isn’t liberalism. The enemy is bulls**t." —Lars-Erik Nelson, political columnist

"Vote: the instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country." —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

"Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke." —Will Rogers

"For seven and a half years I've worked alongside President Reagan. We've had triumphs. Made some mistakes. We've had some sex...uh...setbacks." —George Bush Sr.

"She's a wonderful, wonderful person, and we're looking to a happy and wonderful night — ah, life." —Sen. Ted Kennedy, speaking about his then-fiancee, Victoria Reggie

"Our intent will not be to create gridlock. Oh, except maybe from time to time." —Bob Dole, on working with the Clinton administration

"If ignorance goes to forty dollars a barrel, I want drilling rights to George Bush's head." —Jim Hightower, former Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, referring to the elder Bush

"There they are. See no evil, hear no evil, and...evil." —Bob Dole, watching former presidents Carter, Ford and Nixon standing by each other at a White House event

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country." —Marion Barry, former mayor of Washington, D.C.

"What right does Congress have to go around making laws just because they deem it necessary?" —Marion Barry

"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself." —Ronald Reagan

I am still very surprised at the turn of events on nomination day. At a time when unity is needed to attain the mission and vision of a better Malaysia, it is certainly very worrying to see the emergence of independent candidates from both sides of the divide. In 2008, there were 115 candidates but this time round, 270 independent candidates filed their papers yesterday. That is an increase of 134%!

To date, these include:

1. Jenice Lee (DAP) incumbent Teratai state assemblyman who was sacked by the DAP disciplinary board for fielding as an independent. She has been given 14 days to make an appeal.

2. MP Sim Tong Him, who is contesting for the parliamentary seat in Kota Melaka under the DAP banner, was sacked for fielding himself as an independent in the Kota Laksamana state seat.

3. Former Agriculture and Agro-based Industries deputy minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shariff Omar has been sacked from UMNO for contesting as an independent in the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat in Penang.  He is also contesting as a Pakatan-friendly independent in Tasek Gelugor and also the Sungai Dua state seat.

4.Fadzil Hanafi who submitted his nomination papers to stand as an independent candidate for the Alor Mengkudu state seat in Kedah has been sacked by Umno for breaching party discipline.

5. Barisan Nasional candidate for the Pasir Mas parliamentary seat Che Johan Che Pa did not to submit his nomination papers in Kelantan, paving way for a straight fight between Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Nik Aziz's son, Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz.

6.Tapah PKR chief Ridzuan Bani has entered the race as an independent candidate. He said his supporters and party members – not him – were unhappy with the leadership’s chosen candidate, K. Vasantha Kumar.

7. Umno Wanita deputy chairman Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim also joined the fray as an independent. She has since announced she was resigning from Umno.

8. There will be a six-cornered fight for the Machang Bubuk state seat in Penang between

• Gerakan's Tan Lok Heah
• PKR Lee Khai Loon
• Kita “Datuk” Dr Vicky Vikneswaran
• Datuk Tan Hock Leong
• Wan Balkis Wan Abdullah
• Ooi Suan Hoe.

According to Dr Bridget Welsh, 39.2 percent of the parliamentary seats and 35.8 percent of the state seats have an independent or smaller party from outside of the two coalitions running. This pattern is not confined to any state or area but is nationwide. To illustrate, here's a compilation courtesy of Malayiakini:

According to Malaysiakini HERE:

Just two days to nomination day, the Registrar of Societies (ROS) has apparently sent a letter to DAP informing the party that ROS does not recognise DAP's central executive committee (CEC).

DAP is expected to converge an emergency meeting 3pm today as it scrambles to deal with the repercussions of the ROS’ decision, and will most likely call for a press conference an hour later.

Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng refused to comment further on the matter when asked during a press conference to announce its Selangor candidacy list at DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Other DAP leaders, when contacted by Malaysiakini, confirmed receiving a letter from the ROS, but did not specify as to its content.

The letter, dated yestersay and supposedly by the ROS, is being circulated on the Internet. However, its authenticity has yet to be verified by DAP or ROS.

If true, this could tantamount to a major blow to DAP’ preparations for the coming May 5 general election, touted to be the tightest in Malaysian political history.

As of now, it is also unclear if this would affect the party's candidates' use of the DAP logo on nomination day.

DAP had come under ROS' probe for the "technical glitch" that happened during party polls in December last year, which resulted in their initial CEC lineup to be reshuffled.

The party had claimed that there was a technical error in vote tabulation but DAP leaders have refused calls for fresh polls despite protests from certain party members.

More to come.

After a very tiring day thanks to the heat wave in Penang and meandering my way through the traffic congestion, I finally settled down in front of my computer screen with a small bowl of peanuts - a little treat after one month's abstinence. When I clicked into The Malaysian Insider, lo and behold, I nearly choked on my peanuts when I read THIS ARTICLE - a classic case of unabashed hackneyed self-glorification.

It is common knowledge that long time political parties have a tendency to project a political narrative of their history, mission, vision, events, achievements and aspirations. But to issue a report card and then to give itself top marks not forgetting taking credit for various developments?

And then to say:

The report card will be used as part of the party’s campaign in Election 2013 and comes in an A2 size format listing MCA’s contributions on the left while rivals the DAP and PKR’s are on the right.  

 Virtually all of the space given to the opposition in the report card says “no contribution”. CLICK HERE for more.

*Cringing!!!!

I have not seen the report card but I do wonder if many of the claims and/or conclusions are nauseatingly trite, simplistic and exaggerated. A self-serving report card would be a stumbling block in listening to citizens' concern/issues.Easy - deny by making high falluting claims.

Such weak and banal efforts fall flat. Would you regard it as a sincere and honest report? I wonder if they realize how such overtures are driving people further and further away while they rejoice at the pinnacle of political demagogy.

This report reminded me of what I learnt decades ago in varsity about the political phenomenon - cult of personality which has been used by many politicians, including Stalin and North Koreans.



"A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized, heroic, and, at times god-like public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. 

Sociologist Max Weber developed a tripartite classification of authority; the cult of personality holds parallels with what Weber defined as "charismatic authority". 

A cult of personality is similar to hero worship, except that it is established by mass media and propaganda."
(Source: HERE)

To put things into perspective, I wish to draw your attention to this fantastic article from BBC by Lucy Williamson, Delving into North Korea's mystical cult of personality:


Every night, North Korea's news bulletin begins with a song about the mythical qualities of the country's leader Kim Jong-il and the mountain where he is said to have been born.

North Koreans are used to the hyperbole of their state media, with a constant stream of stories about Kim Jong-il's economic guidance and benevolent care.

And since the death of the Dear Leader on 17 December, the media have focused their attention on a series of strange, natural phenomena being reported across the country - a giant lake of ice cracking in half, a red glow covering the mountain where their leader was born and, most recently, magpies gathering by the dozens in a single tree, in grief, according to one party official.

"We can't dismiss it as just a natural phenomenon," he told state television. "It shows that not only the people of the world, but the animals too, cannot forget our Dear Leader."

This is hardly surprising, perhaps, when his image - and that of his father Kim Il-sung - appears everywhere in billboards, buildings, television reports and every office wall.

Along with the army, North Korea's media apparatus is perhaps the institution most responsible for keeping its leaders in power.

It built powerful personality cults around both Kim Jong-il and his father and is now beginning to do the same with his son and successor, Kim Jong-un.

It is a myth-making factory that, for most of its audience, is their only source of news.

'Flowery language'
Brian Myers, professor of International Relations at Dongseo University in South Korea, has studied the archives of North Korean media reports closely.

He says this kind of imagery from the natural world has been seen before in other political systems.


North Korean media has used emotive language to encourage loyalty to Kim Jong-il
"There is the belief, which was common also in imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, that the actual physical territory occupied by the nation reflects the attributes of the race itself," he said.

"And this kind of flowery language that we've seen in the past few days, of ice cracking and cranes being seen in the sky, does reflect a uniquely North Korea understanding of a connection between the territory and the race."

And in the case of Kim Jong-il, he said, the media have spent years stirring up complex feelings in the minds of people.

"Kim Jong-il's official image in the propaganda was always a man with no time for himself, and a large part of the propaganda was aimed at making the public feel guilty about the overwork that he was subjecting himself to, Mr Myers said.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this article.

There is a difference though between Kim and Chua. The former could fall back on "the power of his lineage, and the personality cult created by his country's unique cultural machine." What about Chua?

Is the sun setting for MCA or is it undergoing a metamorphosis?

It will be interesting to see how MCA performs in the next GE. If they do well, they can frame this 'report card'.

And if they don't, I wonder what will they do with this report card?

Do leave a message to share your thoughts.

Thanks!

It is about time responsible leaders exhort us to vote for the character of a candidate based on their campaign manifesto, aspirations,  ideas and service record. To that end, each of us must take responsibility and do our homework by undertaking research to find out the background and worthiness of the candidates without being influenced by any other kind of political propaganda. Then only can we rightly vote for the best candidate.

At the rate we are being fed on a staple diet of disinformation and misinformation, whither Malaysia?

CLICK HERE for a paper on misinformation.




 This link  reports that "an intriguing new study released last week in Psychological Science in the Public Interest reveals why people are more apt to believe false information being fed to them by the media and politicians.

According to the team of psychological scientists working on the study, led by Stephan Lewandowsky of the University of Western Australia, the main reason that people are more likely to believe false information (for example, that climate change is a hoax) is because it actually takes less brain power to believe a statement is false than to accept it as truth. Finding the truth takes time and effort that people often don’t care enough to spend on particular issues that aren’t of immediate concern.

A few excerpts from the report:

The main reason that misinformation is sticky, according to the researchers, is that rejecting information actually requires cognitive effort. Weighing the plausibility and the source of a message is cognitively more difficult than simply accepting that the message is true – it requires additional motivational and cognitive resources. If the topic isn’t very important to you or you have other things on your mind, misinformation is more likely to take hold. 

And when we do take the time to thoughtfully evaluate incoming information, there are only a few features that we are likely to pay attention to: Does the information fit with other things I believe in? Does it make a coherent story with what I already know? Does it come from a credible source? Do others believe it? 

Misinformation is especially sticky when it conforms to our preexisting political, religious, or social point of view. Because of this, ideology and personal worldviews can be especially difficult obstacles to overcome. 

Even worse, efforts to retract misinformation often backfire, paradoxically amplifying the effect of the erroneous belief. CLICK HERE for more.

Time carried an article here which discusses the same research and why misinformation sticks and corrections can backfire. 

Sora Sing's The Upside of Gossip: Social and Psychological Benefits discusses how engaging in behind-the-back talk actually had meaningful social benefits. It lowered gossipers’ stress, prevented exploitation and promoted more generous behavior.


This site also reported something interesting:

A new study about media misinformation and media users’ ignorance is only the latest wakeup call for anyone who worries that the American press has gone badly astray. From the summary of “Misinformation and the 2010 Election” comes this bottom line:

• The public is thoroughly cynical about political campaign advertising.
• Much of the public is misinformed about major issues.
• Fox News viewers are especially prone to believing things that are not true.

The report, from the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, won’t surprise anyone who’s been paying attention to national affairs and the media. We have an information crisis. Influence peddlers and opinion launderers can now spend unlimited amounts of money, much of it raised from anonymous sources, to push political issues and candidates. A system that has absolutely no accountability is almost guaranteed to become a sewer, and this one certainly has.

Meanwhile, “news” outlets are becoming not just advocates but outright partisans in the worst sense of the term. They treat policy as war, and in wars the truth comes second to winning.

In some respects, the survey is heartening. Nine in 10 voters believed they’d seen ads that were misleading or false, and more than half of the voters thought such ads were a frequent occurrence — and that the misinformation was accelerating. Why is this good news? Because the more skeptical people become about political ads, the more likely they are to disbelieve all political ads. It’s the only rational approach at this point, given our political system’s unwillingness to address the poison it spews, and I hope that by 2012 the public will have a universal belief that any political advertisement they see is probably a lie. MORE HERE.

The Washington Post  says that misinformation is the norm at political conventions and discusses how "by its very nature, that means downplaying unpleasant facts, highlighting the positive and knocking down the opposing team."

So, what then should we do? Read carefully and cautiously. Think, analyze and then only accept it if you are fully convinced it is the truth.

Check out my post on The Politics of Misinformation.

When writing this post, I realized that so many types of governments have this problem. Then, why do even more succumb to both disinformation and misinformation???

In closing, allow me to quote from THIS BLOG:

Nothing affects the lives of average citizens than the pervasive, endemic, and widespread cronyism that has infected cities and states across the entire country, again, driven by the ability of corporatist cartels to buy off politicians with special favors, campaign contributions, lucrative jobs, and many times, old-fashioned bribery and influence peddling. 

Nothing is more damaging to society than the existence of a two-tiered legal system, where average citizens are subjected to increasingly punishing and draconian laws, while the rich and powerful get pass or a slap on the wrist. 

And finally, there are the issues related to our disappearing constitutional rights, the widespread expansion of a total-information-awareness surveillance security/police state, and again, a lot of it pushed by nefarious corporate interests, acting behind close doors, hidden from public scrutiny. 

Something that should be very concerning to progressives is the trend on the so-called liberal media, which has now become obsessed with reporting on every single "outrage" committed by Republicans and the right wing.  The reporting mainly serves to inflame emotions of the "liberal" viewers, but really have very little effect on addressing the real issues we should be confronting. CLICK HERE for more.

If there is any reason why the situation is so bleak in this land, it is largely due to the pathetic standards of education. Whoever it was that made all the wrong decisions effectively destroyed our human resources, the pool of leaders, thinkers and citizens who could together develop Malaysia.

Alas, with the slow death of the thinking mind and the manner in which we are losing our international or even regional competitiveness, I dread to think of the kind of messages and information that we may get in the future. Just take a look at how some politicians respond to citizens who express their concerns about mega projects. CLICK HERE to read a letter written by an old friend whom I have not seen for many years. Is it wrong to question when it appears that ome decisions seem to have been made without public consultation or EIA and then the public are confused about subsequent statements?

If you do have time, please read Lies, Damn Lies…and What We Believe Anyway by Jeff Cobb where he dargues that fundamentally, we need to place more emphasize than ever on developing and practicing good learning habits – like critical thinking and reflection – that prevent misinformation from making inroads in the first place.



As the report suggests, once the truth gets twisted, straightening it back out is no easy matter.

In any circumstance, it is absolutely vital that critical thinking skills are used when receiving any form of information, especially news.

That is why I believe once the standard of education in any country goes down the drain, the nation is likely to move in the same direction. Why? By the time the current brood of youths grow up, they will be the future voters. If they are not taught to think, the tendency is for such students to docilely accept whatever the status quo tells them, especially via disinformation. To me, this post is very important so that we can stay safe, smart and savvy in a world of lies, hypocrisy and the manipulation of media/truth.

As it is, I can already see it happening whereby some do not question or analyze various sources of information but believe most - if not all - of what they see/hear or read. There is so much information available but we have to expose ourselves to such sources of information carefully, exercising selective exposure and retention after analyzing to see if it is genuine information, disinformation or misinformation.

Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth. Disinformation should not be confused with misinformation, information that is unintentionally false.

Unlike traditional propaganda techniques designed to engage emotional support, disinformation is designed to manipulate the audience at the rational level by either discrediting conflicting information or supporting false conclusions. A common disinformation tactic is to mix some truth and observation with false conclusions and lies, or to reveal part of the truth while presenting it as the whole (a limited hangout).

Another technique of concealing facts, or censorship, is also used if the group can affect such control. When channels of information cannot be completely closed, they can be rendered useless by filling them with disinformation, effectively lowering their signal-to-noise ratio and discrediting the opposition by association with many easily disproved false claims. CLICK HERE for more.




Here are 25 rules of Disinformation from HERE.


1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. 

Regardless of what you know, don’t discuss it — especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it’s not reported, it didn’t happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.

2. Become incredulous and indignant. 

Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the “How dare you!” gambit.

3. Create rumor mongers. 

Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such “arguable rumors”. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a “wild rumor” which can have no basis in fact.

4. Use a straw man. 

Find or create a seeming element of your opponent’s argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.

5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. 

This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as “kooks”, “right-wing”, “liberal”, “left-wing”, “terrorists”, “conspiracy buffs”, “radicals”, “militia”, “racists”, “religious fanatics”, “sexual deviates”, and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.

6. Hit and Run. 

In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism reasoning — simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent’s viewpoint.

7. Question motives.

Twist or amplify any fact which could so taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.

8. Invoke authority. 

Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough “jargon” and “minutiae” to illustrate you are “one who knows”, and simply say it isn’t so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.

9. Play Dumb. 

No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues with denial they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.

10. Associate opponent charges with old news.

A derivative of the straw man usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with. Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually them be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues — so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.

CLICK HERE for the remaining 15 rules.

Please read: Twenty-Five Ways To Suppress Truth:   The Rules of Disinformation  (Includes The 8 Traits of A Disinformationalist)  by H. Michael Sweeney


Michael D. Day who wrote Disinformation, Misinformation And Politics As Usual in his blog put it very well when he said:


An unwary public is easy prey for those who would manipulate public opinion.  It goes beyond biased reporting, or stories that remain unreported.  An outright lie is usually only effective for the short-term.  Eventually, when people discover it’s a lie, everyone knows it, and it’s no longer an effective issue.  But disinformation is much more diabolical.  A propaganda tool developed by the Soviets, disinformation is the intentional reporting of falsehoods, mixed with a little truth. If you make it something that people want to believe, and present it as coming from a respectable source, a certain percentage of the public is bound to swallow it.

Then something interesting happens.  When uninformed “believers” pass on disinformation, believing it to be true, it now becomes misinformation.  Unintentionally, falsehoods get spread like gossip, each person in the chain eager to depend on the credibility of the person giving them the information, and not bothering to check the facts.  In this way the story is kept alive, repeating it as if it were true.  And even though skeptical individuals will discover the misinformation as false, enough “believers” will continue passing it along to sustain a long-term impact on public opinion.

This unintentional spreading of misinformation makes “useful idiots” (a Soviet term) of those involved.  There are those who manipulate and those who allow themselves to be manipulated.  The net effect of disinformation is not so much that those who are manipulated are confused, but that they are made to appear ignorant.  Then all the manipulators have to do is put them down and laugh at them.  They no longer need to argue their point because they have made those who are being manipulated to look like fools.  At least that’s their strategy. CLICK HERE for more.

Please read Political Game Playing and Media Disinformation in America - Political Game Playing Promotes Partisanship Through Polarization by Daniel Schechter of Global Research.




“No matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as the truth.” 
― John F. Kennedy

“Be careful who you choose as your hero or who you choose to deify, be it Clay Aiken or Barack Obama. You put all you're hope and all your dreams and all your ideas about stuff into one human being. They're a human being they're going to let you down. 

You can't make someone your hero because of something you read on the internet. The internet is not a source of information it is a source of disinformation.” 
― Craig Ferguson

“Disinformation is duping. 
Misinformation is tricking.” 
― Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity

Next post will be on Misinformation. Stay tuned.

Tom Orlik reported HERE that on Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew met with China's Premier Li Keqiang, a crucial first meeting between new representatives of the world's two biggest economic powers. Lew's interlocutor sits at the top of the world's second-largest economy -- a country whose GDP reached approximately $8.3 trillion in 2012. But how accurate are the statistics that illuminate China's growth? Even Li himself has said (as quoted in a U.S. State Department cable published by WikiLeaks) that China's GDP figures are "man-made" and therefore unreliable.

CLICK HERE to read this excerpt from Wall Street Journal China reporter Tom Orlik's book book, Understanding China's Economic Indicators,  where he explains how to get to grips with China's data.

Please read the following article by Beina Xu where she discusses South China Sea Tensions in great detail.

In this article, she covers:


Introduction
What territories are involved and disputed?
What is the 9-Dash Line?
What resources are at play in the region?
How does the dispute affect trade routes in the sea?
What are the military stakes?
What is being done to resolve the disputes?
What does this mean for the United States' pivot to Asia?
Further Reading


Her writing will give you further insight on this issue. Don't miss it!

CLICK HERE to read this article.

Demurely dressed in a high-necked jumper on a chilly autumn day, the pretty 20-year-old brunette could be any university student.

But this photograph posted on Facebook shows Xi Mingze, the new 'princess' of China.As the cherished only daughter of China's new president Xi Jinping, Ms Xi, nicknamed Muzi, is being expensively educated in the US, where she has been enrolled under a pseudonym since 2010 at Harvard University, Massachusetts.

'She is a bookworm, very quiet and studious,' one of her acquaintances, a Chinese writer, told The Mail on Sunday last night.

Though she is said to be protected by bodyguards, she has shunned the party lifestyle of another Chinese 'princeling' at Harvard, Bo Guagua.

Mr Bo, whose mother Gu Kailai murdered British businessman Neil Heywood, was renowned at Oxford and Harvard as a playboy. His politician father, Bo Xilai, faces corruption charges.
In contrast, friends of Ms Xi say she devotes herself to her courses, which include political studies. She attended a discussion last spring about the political tumult convulsing China's Communist Party, where she reportedly listened 'intently' from the top row of the lecture hall.

Powerful: Xi Jinping became China's new leader last week

Flamboyant: Xi Mingze's mother Peng Liyuan is a well known singer

Her mother, a flamboyant People's Liberation Army singer, Peng Liyuan, 49, is Mr Xi's second wife.
Ms Xi was said to have been sent to America because her father is an admirer of Western culture.



READ THE REST OF THE ENTRY HERE.

Thanks to Angela who sent me this link.

Here's an interesting analogy which merits some consideration. Thanks to LLT who sent me this post. I may have posted this before and some of you may have sent it to me before. I am old, forgetful and can make mistakes in attributing posts to the wrong person as I compile materials in a folder in chronological order. Hence, the latest is the first item on the list which means that someone could have sent me that same post before but it is now at the bottom of the list. Please do not be offended if I do not acknowledge posts. In fact, I am thinking of just putting 'thanks to a friend/reader' in future instead of mentioning the name to avoid any misunderstanding. Thank you for your patience. Have a nice day,

___________________________

If you start with a cage containing five monkeys and inside the cage, hang a banana on a string from the top and then you place a set of stairs under the banana, before long a monkey will go to the stairs and climb toward the banana.

As soon as he touches the stairs, you spray all the other monkeys with cold water.

After a while another monkey makes an attempt with same result ... all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put the cold water away.

Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and attempts to climb the stairs.To his shock, all of the other monkeys beat the crap out of him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys, replacing it with a new one.

The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment...... with enthusiasm, because he is now part of the "team".

Then, replace a third original monkey with a new one, followed by the fourth, then the fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs he is attacked.

Now, the monkeys that are beating him up have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs. Neither do they know why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

Finally, having replaced all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys will have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, not one of the monkeys will try to climb the stairway for the banana.

Why, you ask? Because in their minds...that is the way it has always been!
 
This, my friends, is how certain *ahem* organizations operates... and this is why, from time to time:

ALL of the monkeys need to be REPLACED AT THE SAME TIME.

I am sure you can get my drift. Keep smiling and have a great day!

What are the most important political lessons of 2012?

First, we saw the end of the electoral power—at the national level—of the Republican Party's theologically rigid agenda. Mitt Romney's primary season embrace of the social and economic agenda of the more rabid elements of his party doomed him, especially the shrill immigration rhetoric and the harshly insensitive theory that no additional sacrifice or contribution should be sought from those at the top. When he tried to move away from the sharpest edges of this during the general election, the public didn’t trust him.

Romney's defeat was not simply the arithmetic of voting blocs; it was the larger statement that " We all did build this." The sense of community in our politics and society re-asserted itself against the hard individualism of the right. Hence the near certainty that Congress will enact immigration reform and tax rates that require the wealthiest to pay more. The two theologians of the Republican Party—Grover Norquist on taxes and Wayne LaPierre on guns—are now struggling. This is good for our politics.

Second, the president did best and crafted his majority when he spoke to true progressive values. During much of his first term he was quite tepid in his embrace of those values. And his poll numbers were flat, the public disengaged from his efforts. But when he finally spoke up on the agenda that the public cares about—from same-sex marriage to immigration reform to a fair distribution of the tax burden—the public responded. The lesson is clear: The timorous politics of so many Democrats who feel compelled to rush to the middle, to be meek, to shy away from the agenda of change that is needed, is not only wrong substantively, it is wrong politically.

Third, revolutions are messy things. The initial euphoria of the Arab spring—the most important foreign policy event of the past several years—has now been replaced by the grind of upheaval that has no clear direction. Yet the move toward secular society does seem to have traction, the desire for freedom as we understand it seems to be real. There are countervailing forces—the Islamists' desire to impose an intolerant theology. Yet in Egypt and elsewhere the foundation of democracy is visible, if under threat. Whether the state of Egypt ends up replicating Pakistan (we hope not) or Turkey (we hope so), it surely will not be Iran. The Middle East is still a mess, from Syria to Iran. Yet it does appear to be moving in the right direction.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the post.