No news is good news

Sometime I wonder why I even bother to check the paper, news site and TV for news. It’s all just so depressing or just plain stupid, and at times depressingly stupid.

News that caught my attention today was that in Portland, Oregon -- The American Nazi Party volunteered to pick up trash along a quiet stretch of rural road in Oregon state, causing an uproar after getting a sign placed there crediting its work. "American Nazi Party" is written on the sign, which is part of the "Adopt-A-Road" program that encourages local groups to clean up road litter in exchange for recognition on small signs. Only in America I guess. Give them a chance. I think this Nazi group will do great work picking up all the “white trash”

The American constitution is a great thing that has just been manipulated and taken advantage of. I envy Americans cause they have the power to sue anyone when wrong has been done. This fear of being sued insure that the quality of products, services, and infrastructures is kept at a high, and the right of an individual or group is protected. But it’s just sad when this great constitution is just totally abused left, right and center.

And Americans has been brainwashed with the “it’s their right to do what they want “ mentality, that their blinded by how their society and culture is suffering and degeneration. It’s sadder still when you think that America has so much potential to do “real” good for it’s self and the rest of the world, unlike now where it does what is good for it’s self.

In Kuwait a gun battle between Kuwaiti security forces and Islamic militants left three people dead Sunday in Kuwait City. This bit of news interest me because it happened in the neighborhood of Salmiyah, which is where I spent 6 years of my childhood before the first Gulf War.

In Israel, more than 130,000 people have gathered outside the Israeli parliament to protest against plans to withdraw Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. This “road map to peace” process is sure working out. From a Muslim standpoint what’s so sad about the Jews is that they were Gods chosen. They were the best among man, and they screwed it up. My personal definition of the Jews is the people that remembered every promise God made to them, yet forgot every promise they made to God. Yes God promised you the land of Palestine, but only if you followed his path.

In Iraq a British C-130 military transport plane crashed in the north of Baghdad. Last Wednesday it was an American helicopter. Of course the Iraqi resistance say they shot both aircraft down. So either the Coalition have badly trained pilots, and maintenance crew, or the Iraqi got some new land to air toys.

The Pentagon has already announced that it will keep 120,000 troops for the next two years, hence a lot of people think Iraq certainly will not be independent and free regardless of the elections. But how can the US be so confident that the elected Iraqi government would agree to the continuation of the US occupation, given that the recent polls showed over 90% of the Iraqi population viewed the US with contempt. In addition the US has been building military bases and the largest Embassy in the region, so what makes the US so sure that the future regime will not sever relationship and close down the bases and the embassy. Maybe the answer is the US intends to engineer the election; a genuine ‘free and fair’ election is possibly the last thing that the US will endorse. And therefore, the purpose of the election is merely to try and give some sort of bogus legitimacy on a regime that will be far more representative of the US interests than the Iraqi masses.

And in Iraq Marines call executing wounded combatants "dead-checking."

I am a Muslim!

The title for this blog has been a source of unsureness thus far. So I've changed “Urban Malaya” to “Urban Muslim”. I'm not really sure why I did that. And probably by the time I'm finished with this post it's going to be changed again to “Urban Mukmin”.

Before being a Malaysian, I'm a Malay, and before those two, I'm a Muslim first and foremost. With a lot of the crazy things going around between America and it's fight against the so called “axis of evil” and “terrorism”, being know as a Muslim is no longer a source of pride for all, but a source of shame for some. I have been guilty of this sin in that at times when my office colleagues debate or complain about there understanding of Islams strict guidelines I have taken the easy route and kept my mouth shut. Ashamed I am and hope God will forgive me for my silence.

I'm far from being a good Muslim, for there is a lot I do not practice fully when it comes to my religion. I'm not trying to be or sound self righteous. It's just what's been on my mind.

In the future you'll probably read more of my thoughts on world event's. And Insyaallah ( God willing ) I'll have the balls to give my opinion not just as a 25 year old Malaysian. But more importantly as a 25 year old Muslim.

Tsunami...

It seemed to close for comfort, yet at the same time so far from home. Watching the reports as they first game in on that x'mas weekend on TV was cereal. As information came in and the death toll raised, the tsunami changed my reaction from “freaky!” earlier on to “so many gone” later in the day.

I was planning a trip to Phuket Thailand that weekend for a whole week of relaxation, but my friends who were organizing the trip just couldn't get things together on time. Yes I was disappointed at the failed plans, then I switched on the TV, and you can guess how that feeling of disappointment quickly changed to a feeling of bewilderment. But this isn't a story about a near death experience because it wasn't. I feel I have no right to talk about how I almost “was there” compared to the people who were there and survived it.

As is normal human nature, a tragedy like this brings out the best in man, and the worst. From the people who left everything behind to travel to Asia to try and help, to the bastards who took this opportunity to take orphaned children from their shattered homes and sell them to the highest bidder. I've heard so many stories that have uplifted my spirit, and stories that have made me feel like “I hope God is going to smite us sometime soon”.

I believe everything happens for a reason, and I believe some time down the road God's grand plan for the tsunami will be understood. Then again maybe it never will be. I guess that's how the Great Lord work.

Interesting Story :

My boss was in Sri Lanka when the tsunami hit and she barely got out of it a live. Her story is so amazing, bizarre and scary all at once. She was in her beach lodge when she first heard the screaming. By the time she opened the front door to see what all the yelling was about the first wave was literally on top of her. She was swept 1KM inland by the waves, and just barely managed to tie her self to a coconut tree before the tides started residing and sucking all in its wake back to sea . ( a lot of the people who drowned were those who were sucked out to see on the tsunami's way out ).

When the sea level resided, she was naked except for her panties. Everything else had been torn off by the force of the waves. She looked around her and dead bodies were everywhere. Amazingly she got through it all with only some scratches and bruises.

Still can't figure it out...

Started messing around with Picasa and Hello to try and get pictures in this blog. Yet to figure out how to get a small photo in the profile section. More tweaking is to be done! wish me luck. I'm listening to Wilson Phillip's “your in love” man! Does it bring back memories. It also reminds me of that seen in the movie “Harold and Kumar” if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about. The song isn't gay, well not really gay, and my MP3 player play-list was on random, so don't give me sh*t about it. *grin*

What is it about waking up early on a Saturday? I mean i can get up early if i have to, but without a reason my body just refuses to cooperate in the matter.

Had to run in to work earlier today to get some recording done. I work in broadcasting, and to make sure i don't get swamped on Monday, I usually come in on Saturday morning for about an hour or two. I work in the “Info center” which handles news and traffic for a few of the network radio stations. My job designation is traffic research assistant and as the job title implies, I prepare and compile traffic information to be read by the on air DJ. Also, on the side I do the public announcement segment's (CSA),and have my own digital game review slot. The CSA's can get very mundane at times, but it's good practice for air presentation. I've managed to cut down on my slurring, and have better pace when I read.

The dream is to one day get the opportunity to do my own show, and there has been some positive feedback from the station and program manager, so I'll just to wait and see. But the waiting is getting to me. I'm a very optimistic person, but also very insecure. I wonder if it's logically possible to have both of these traits at once

Today is the first day of the 2005 rugby season. Didn't get selected for today's squad, but then I've been out of training for a while with a back problem. Still it's no excuse. I'm over weight and it's effecting my game. Shit I got to get my life organized.

I hope to do nothing but nothing tomorrow, but knowing my luck something will pop up. Yup I just remembered, I have laundry to do...

Been thinking about a lot lately...

Training Day:

I wish I could say that I had a great nights sleep last night, but I didn’t. It’s always this way after rugby training. My muscles are aching like crazy around my calves, thigh and shoulder. But saying that, if you’re a person who does a lot of sports, or a lot of heavy physical work, you know what I mean when I say the “aching” is a good feeling. It’s a feeling of being alive, a feeling of pushing ones self to the max, regretting it the next morning, and looking forward to it again in a few days.

Dozing off :

It’s becoming more and more of a problem while I’m driving, and I’m afraid one day it’s going to be the death of me. It’s the type of dozing that sneaks up on you while you’re driving. Your eyes just close, and when they reopen you realize your 200 meters down the road from where you remember you were. Thank God I haven’t hit anything or anyone yet, but there have been a few close encounters. It’s not lack of sleep. Maybe if you come across this posting sometime in the future, you can post a remedy.

Eid Al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice):

Eid Al-Adha just past by last weekend, and it reminded me of something funny that happened to me a few Eid’s ago. If you don’t know what it is, Eid Al-Adha or Feast of Sacrifice is the most important feast of the Muslim calendar. It concludes the Pilgrimage to Mecca. Eid al-Adha lasts for three days and commemorates Ibrahim's (Abraham) willingness to obey God by sacrificing his son. Muslims believe the son to be Ishmael rather than Isaac as told in the Old Testament. Ishmael is considered the forefather of the Arabs. According to the Koran, Ibrahim’s was about to sacrifice his son when a voice from heaven stopped him and allowed him to sacrifice a ram instead. The feast re-enacts Ibrahim's obedience by sacrificing a cow or ram. The family can keep about a third of the meal and donates the rest to the poor. I hope this explanation is correct, and if it isn’t, correct me or forgive me for my ignorance.

Anyway back to my original story, this happened a few Eid’s ago. My grandmother had bought a cow for the Eid, (didn’t use the work sacrifice cause it makes it sound so cultish) My dad and I were skinning and cutting up the allocated portion of meat that was for the family and just as we thought we were finish, my granddad comes in and mentions that he hasn’t had cow brain stew (I kid you not, it’s a Malay traditional dish) in a while, so getting the hint, my dad and I set forth the retrieve the brain. The severed head had been staring at us for the past few hours, and now it was time to mutilate it.

Now the best way of cracking the skull open would have been to use an axe, and just split that mother f*cker in two, but as it usually is that case with noble deeds there was no axe to be found, so we settled for second best which was a metal saw. Some of you out there who have cracked open a cow skull are probably thinking “metal saw?” Yes a metal saw isn’t the most efficient way, but it was getting dark, and there was a deadline. So here I am with my dad, on our knees trying to saw this MOFO in two and it’s going know were. The saw blade is too fine, the head is unstable, and the floor is caked with blood. Fifteen minutes into this mission of love and frustration surrounded by mosquitoes, smelling like cavemen and looking like two extra’s from a Rob Zombie B-grade horror flick, I look at my dad and say “if I ever become a psycho serial killer…this is the point in my life where I turn bad” I thought it was funny considering the circumstance, but my dad thought it was hilarious! He just fell back on his ass and couldn’t stop laughing, and seeing ones dad laugh himself to tears is something not seen often by a child.

To cut along story short, we got the brain, it took too long that my granddad lost the craving, and I ended up BBQ-ing cow testicles to find out how they tasted. The answer? They tasted Ok, but not worth the gross factor.

Auschwitz liberation:

Holocaust survivors and world leaders held an emotional ceremony in Poland, 60 years after the liberation of the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp.
The Nazi regime murdered six million Jews and many others during what became known as the Holocaust. Auschwitz, the largest of the Nazi camps, where 1.1 million people died, was liberated by the advancing Soviet army on 27 January 1945.

Something like this should never have happened, and Yes we have to remember event’s like this so we don’t make mistakes like it again, but I’m getting a bit tired of Israel rubbing it in our faces with the whole “poor us” routine. We have the Israeli President Moshe Katsav Expressing fears over a resurgence in anti-Semitism in Europe, yes it is a worrying resurgence, but what about the Muslims, Arabs, Indians, Asians, Africans, Hindus, and the other minorities who are being subjected to racism? Mr. Katsav, it’s happening to all the minorities, not just the Jews.

Then we have Mr. Katsav question whether the memory of the Holocaust has lost its power to deter attacks and insults against Jews. Now this sounds more like the actual reason why Israel like to shove down our throat the memory of the Holocaust? In a way the Israelis are saying “yes we kill innocent Palestinians, destroy there homes, take their lands, but please don’t get angry with us cause we had to go though the Holocaust.”

Lets always remember and stand up against injustice in what ever form it comes in, but lets not use the memory of it as a shield to deflect responsibility for our own injustices.

It's still too soon...

I think like most people with a new Blog, everyone wants to make the visual appearance as personal and unique as possible. I tried messing around with the HTML code with my bare minimal understanding of it (the rest was just guess work). Hopefully I’ll get pictures up by this weekend.

I’m watching the news...

Is there any doubt America’s going to win the Iraqi elections. I say America and not the Intern Government because, going up the food chain, it’s America that has all to gain. With no proper and secure way of voting and running the ballads, with 280,000 Iraqi expatriates having enrolled to vote recorded, which is just over a quarter of the estimated one million eligible voters living outside Iraq, and with America really needing a win to use as it’s new justification to stay in Iraq, does “Florida” ring a bell?

First it was “The fight against terror”, then it was “WMD”, followed by “The hunt for the mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi”, and with a win in the elections, “The protection of Democracy”. And who’s going to argue against anything with “Democracy” in it, might as well just call your self a terrorist, or a communist if you do. It Reminds me of the “Patriot Act” I mean who in the Senate was going to argue against anything with a title like that. Pure brilliance by the Bush Administration. It’s all about the Packaging

I hope I’m wrong, I hope the elections are fare, and I hope Bush chokes on a chicken bone.

Bismillah Hirrahman Irrahim. And so it begins...

But where do I begin? there's so many things to talk about, and so much shit going on to choose as a topic, but I guess the best thing is to start simple, and leave the heavy stuff for when I’m in a better state of mind. In away this blog is a test for me. A test of commitment. A test to see if I care enough about the people and things around me to spend some of the time usually used for procrastinating to voice out my opinion, or in this case type it out.

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." Herm Albright (1876 - 1944)