Mahathir Mohamad has lashed the government as "weak"

AFP News: Malaysian former premier Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday lashed the government as "weak" and said he feared that vote-buying would be deployed to stem its losses in upcoming general elections.

Mahathir, who stepped down in 2003 after two decades in power, echoed analysts’ views that the increasingly unpopular government is headed for losses at the polls expected to be held in March.

He also criticised its decision to jail ethnic Indian protesters, saying the minority community had no way of airing its grievances, and that a wave of public protests was inspired by the government’s repeated errors.

In an interview with foreign newswires to mark the launch of a book on his correspondence with world leaders, Mahathir said the ruling United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) would still lead the Barisan Nasional coalition.

"Even if (UMNO) lose 20, 30 of their candidates, the Barisan Nasional is going to win", Mahathir said, but added that voters would be sending a message with what is expected to be a reduced majority.

"It will give a much truer picture of the support that the government gets, but I fear corruption of the voters," he said.

"I hope that this kind of money politics — I know a lot of people are collecting a lot of money now — if they use money politics the result may not reflect the true feeling of the people." Mahathir was critical of his successor Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s jailing of five ethnic Indian activists under a draconian internal security law that allows for indefinite detention without trial.

The leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) infuriated the government in November by leading 8,000 people onto the capital’s streets, claiming that ethnic Indians are marginalised in multicultural Malaysia.

"No, I don’t think they should have thrown the leaders (into detention), they should have met these people first and had proper discussion," Mahathir said.

The 82-year-old said he did not accept the claim that Indians are marginalised, but that coalition member the Malaysian Indian Congress was not representing them properly.

"Here you have only one (Indian) political party and nobody else is allowed to come in and that is what is making the Indians really unhappy," he said.

The Hindraf rally was one of several streets demonstrations that have shaken the government in recent months, along with an election reform rally that drew more than 30,000 protesters.

"There are occasions when there is a need for protest, when (the people) see that the government is repeatedly doing the wrong thing or they see the government is being weak, then they resort to protest," Mahathir said.

The one-time strongman of Malaysian politics said he expected his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim, who he sacked in 1998 when he was jailed on corruption and sodomy charges, to continue to be a "thorn" in the government’s side.

Anwar’s ban on seeking political office expires in April this year, but Mahathir was scathing of his prospects.

"There is no more political future for (Anwar)," he said. "If he thinks he is going to be the prime minister, he is daydreaming. " Abdullah was Mahathir’s hand-picked successor when he stepped down in 2003, but after the new leader dumped several of his pet projects he began launching accusations of economic mismanagement, nepotism and corruption.

M'sian teacher chided for making Hindu students shave beards

Posted by Raja Petra
Tuesday, 29 January 2008

A TEACHER in Muslim-majority Malaysia has been reprimanded for forcing six Hindu schoolboys to shave their moustaches and beards, which they were growing for a religious ritual this month, a news report said.

The Star newspaper on Tuesday quoted State Education Director Hussain Harun as saying that the teacher in the northern Perak state was enforcing school regulations that require students to be clean shaven.

However, he was guilty of being insensitive to the students' feelings, and has been told off, Mr Hussain was quoted as saying. The teacher also forced the students to remove religious wristbands to enforce a rule that no ornaments be worn in school.

'If need be, the teacher would have to apologise ... for hurting their feelings by being insensitive to their religious and cultural needs,' The Star quoted Mr Hussain as saying. 'The best way is to ask for their forgiveness.'

The students were growing their hair as part of a ritual for the Thaipusam festival that was celebrated on Jan 23. Many ethnic Indians, who form 8 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million population, let their hair grow for a certain period and have themselves shaved on Thaipusam day.

The Star did not identify the teacher's religion.

The incident is a reflection of growing racial friction, which threatens to unravel the country's carefully nurtured ethnic and religious pluralism.

About 60 per cent of the population is Muslim Malay, and the minority Indians and Chinese are concerned that a pro-Muslim tilt in the civil service and judiciary is eroding their religious rights.

Ms Lok Yim Pheng, secretary general of the National Union of the Teaching Profession, slammed the teacher's actions.

'Of course, we don't want the boys' beards to be too long, but we must understand these particular boys' religion,' she said. 'The teacher should be more sensitive ... They must act professionally. They cannot act out of emotions.' -- AP

தைப்பூசம் 2008 Thaipusam

தைப்பூசம் முடிந்து ஒரு வாரம் ஆகிறது. நானும் மலேசியாவின் புகழ் பெற்ற முருகக் கடவுள் தளமான பத்துகேவ்ஸ் போய் இருந்தேன்.. இந்த வருட திருவிழாவின் மக்கள் கூட்டத்தை காணவே அங்கு சென்றேன். திருவிழாவில் கடந்த தைப்பூசத்தை விட மக்கள் தொகை குறைவாகவே இருந்தது..

ஆனால் அவ்வப்போது ஒளிபரப்பபட்ட அறிவிப்பில் கூட்ட நெரிசல் அதிகமாக இருப்பதாக கூறப்பட்டதை கேட்டு எனக்கும் என் தோழர்களுக்கும் சிரிப்புதான் வந்தது... மேடையில் அன்று மைக் பிடித்த தமிழனே இன்னும் உனக்கு ஏன் இந்த பொய்...?

இந்து மக்கள் தைப்பூசத்தை புறக்கணித்தது கோவில் நிர்வாகத்தினருக்கு உரைத்து இருக்குமா? அப்பனே முருகா அது உனக்குத்தான் வெளிச்சம்...

மக்கள் சக்தி போராட்டத்தின் விளைவால் மலேசிய இந்திய மக்களின் ஒற்றுமையை நான் இங்கு கண்டேன்..உணர்ந்தேன்.. போராட்டம் தொடரட்டும்..இந்த மண்ணில் வாழ இருக்கும் நம் இன சந்ததியினருக்கு மிகச் சிறந்த வாழ்க்கை கிடைக்க வேண்டும்.. வாழ்க மக்கள் சக்தி!!

Indian Space Research Organisation joins big league in space

Mr G Madhavan Nair ,Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation,
Department of Space ,Government of India

Indian space agency continues its successful run, this week it placed in orbit an Israeli spy satellite launched under a commercial contract.

This has propelled the Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO into the big league and its now well poised to enter the US$ 15 billion a year global launch market, Indian satellite images are already popular.

The commercial arm of ISRO the Antrix Corporation has meanwhile been doing brisk business with its total turnover for the last fiscal rising to Rupees 664 crores. ISRO is all set to rake in the money while travelling to Moon, Mars and Beyond.

The twenty fifth launch of a rocket from the Indian space port, a significant milestone in more ways than one.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or the PSLV placed an Israeli spy satellite TecSAR in orbit on Monday.

This is ISRO's second fully commercial launch and even though they are not saying how much Israel paid them. Sources said that it is higher than the market rate of 20,000 dollar or 8 lakh rupees per kg. The TecSAR weighs about 300 kg.

For its first commercial launch., the 352 kg Italian satellite Agile. ISRO had charged 11 million dollars or 44 crore rupees. That too was well above the market rate.

PSLV is popular because its considered reliable and the launch site is close to the equator giving the necessary edge.

''People have realized that the PSLV is a real workhorse based on its reliability and cost effectiveness,'' said Dr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO.

Now, the Indian space agency gets 75 per cent of its business from foreign clients.

ISRO's commercial arm, Antrix Corporation has increased its turnover by 50 per cent this fiscal, earning almost 664 crore rupees.

ISRO has contracts for launching four small satellites for Singapore, Netherlands, Canada and Germany.

And the agency has also won a contract for making two large communications satellites for European customers.

It is not just ISRO's hardware that is in demand, but the images taken by Indian Remote sensing satellites are much in demand in the international market.

The international experts are all praise for ISRO.

''Indian Space Organisation is good, and more important than the facilities it is the quality of the engineers and scientists and the technicians. They have a great capability,'' said Dr Michael Griffin, Administrator, NASA, USA to NDTV.

On being asked that whether India is ready to go moon and beyond, he replied, ''Absolutely. India has the technical capability and will soon prove it to send an unmanned scientific spacecraft to the moon.''

''And frankly India has the intrinsic capability to, within quite a few years to be conducting human space flights if they wish to do so,'' he added.

India is today a force to reckon with among the comity of space faring nations, with 11 communications satellites in orbit, the largest domestic constellation in all of Asia Pacific and with seven remote sensing satellites in space India today can map at resolution less then a meter. ISRO can now truly dream big.

Source: NDTV.com

Pallava Bagla

Sunday, January 27, 2008 (New Delhi)

Dasavatharam release date announced!

www.tamilstar.com

---

Reel Talk
Dasavatharam release date announced!

Jan 20, 2008, 09:05

We looked forward to a Deepavali release, and when that didn't happen, we hoped for Pongal. Like the now legendary ten roles Kamal will play in Dasavatharam, we began to wonder if the film's release too would acquire myriad release dates! Meanwhile, we had to be content hearing the entire buzz the movie was creating: the fabulous make-up involved,

the spectacular stunts, and second guessing which heroine will be paired against which avatharam. But the suspense is over now; the release date of what is perhaps the most awaited movie of the year has finally been officially announced.

Dasavatharam will hit theatres on April 10, 2008. But wait – there's a hotter buzz. The total prints for release numbers to an astounding 1200. Never in the history of Tamil movies has there been so many prints made for a movie. The movie is set to release not just all over South India (Tamilnadu: 275 prints, Andhra: 225, Kerala: 75, Karnataka: 75) but also all over North India with 300 Hindi prints. Prints going overseas total 250. All this could only mean that Kamal knows for certain that in Dasavatharam he has a blockbuster that will outdo everything else lined up this year.

© Copyright 1999 - 2003 by TamilStar.com

Some Jokes to Brighten your Day

*Break Into the House*
A man went to the police station wishing to speak with the burglar who had broken into his house the night before.

"You'll get your chance in court," said the desk sergeant.

"No, no,no!" said the man. "I want to know how he got into the house without waking my wife. I`ve been trying to do that for years!"

***********

*Lost Wife*
The man approached a very beautiful woman in a large supermarket and asked,"You know, I've lost my wife here in the supermarket.

Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?"

"Why?" she asks.

"Because every time I talk to a beautiful woman, my wife appears out of nowhere."

***********

*Teacher*
"If there are any idiots in the room, will they please stand up?" said the sarcastic teacher.

After a long silence, one freshman rose to his feet."Now then mister, why do you consider yourself an idiot?" enquired the teacher with a sneer.

"Well, actually I don't," said the student, "but I hate to see you standing up there all by yourself."

***********

*Hearing*
An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years.

He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again."

The gentleman replied, "Oh, I havn't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!"

***********

*Wedding*
Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, "Why is the bride dressed in white?"

"Because white is the color of happiness and today is the happiest day of her life." Her mother tried to explain, keeping it simple.

The child thought about this for a moment,then said, " So, why is the groom wearing black?"

***********

* Dream*
A woman awoke excitedly on Valentine's Day and announced enthusiastically to her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's day! What do you think it means?"

With certainty in his voice, the man said, "You'll know tonight."

That evening the man came home with a small package and handed it to his wife. With anxious anticipation the woman quickly opened the package to find a book entitled - "The meaning of Dreams" .

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2008

China and India Try to Make Up

By Ishaan Tharoor

Having been propelled to the center of the global stage by their booming economies, China and India will have to set new terms for their long troubled relationship. And the prospects looked positive on Tuesday as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left Beijing with 11 memorandums signed and a renewed spirit of goodwill forged between the two titans of Asia. "We are at an exciting point in history when the center of gravity of the world economy is moving towards Asia," Singh told the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences earlier in the day. The agreement of principles adopted by the two sides was titled "A Shared Vision for the 21st Century."

But plenty of differences remain to cloud that shared vision, and will need many more such diplomatic exchanges — and a change in the political climate — before they're fixed. China and India have regarded each other more as foe than friend for much of the past half century. A border dispute following a wintry war fought in 1962 looks no closer to being resolved, and wasn't even on the agenda for Singh's visit. Many in India's policy circles still blame China for arming highly combustible Pakistan with nuclear weapons, and grumble at their eastern neighbor's efforts to historically stymie India's quest for nuclear technology — those this week's events pointed to a softening of Beijing's stance against India being allowed to acquire such technology. Indians also warily eye China's expanding influence in smaller nations throughout South Asia such as Nepal and Bhutan. Beijing, for its part, was upset by India's joint military exercises with the U.S. and Japan in the Bay of Bengal last November, which China saw as part of a U.S.-led effort to contain China's growth as a regional power. As both begin to flex their growing geo-political muscles, China and India find themselves uneasily locked in competition for resources and influence around Asia and, increasingly, the globe.

What brings both sides together, however, as it has done for generations, is commerce. The previous round of Sino-Indian talks in New Delhi last year set a goal of boosting bilateral trade to $40 billion by 2010 — that figure is likely to be eclipsed two years ahead of schedule, and was pumped up after this week's meetings to $60 billion. Business leaders on both sides are pressing for further measures to integrate their booming economies. Even on that front, significant obstacles remain. The Chinese despair over India's bureaucratic hurdles that stifle foreign investment; many in India, on the other hand, resent the country's spiraling trade deficit with China — nearing $10 billion — and pin it on the unfair advantages China's government affords its manufacturers. Two-thirds of India's exports to China are in bulk commodities and raw materials such as iron ore. "India is like a supplicant, and it's unsustainable," says G. Parthasarathy, a strategic analyst and former Indian diplomat.

Singh and his Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, made all the right noises this week about bridging divides. "Our systems are different," said Singh, "but people in both countries are united in their aspirations for a better future." He stressed India's need for "strategic autonomy" in order to allay Chinese suspicions of undue American influence. Wen did his part too, proudly declaring: "When China and India work together, it is good for peace and development in Asia and the world."

Others may be less sanguine about Sino-Indian consensus. The two countries, whose emerging markets are still driven by coal-fired industry, quickly found common ground on climate change — agreeing that the onus of curbing carbon emissions was not on them. And with vital energy interests of both countries vested in Burma's military junta, neither exerted much pressure on the regime during last October's brutal crackdown on dissent.

Although neither country wants confrontation with the other, friction will inevitably accompany the simultaneous rise of both China and India. But the pragmatic message of concord and cooperation crafted in Beijing this week reflects a shared preference for avoiding rancor. During his visit, Singh hailed the planning of Beijing's 2008 Olympics as "an inspiration." Chinese officials swiftly responded, offering aid and expertise for what's imagined as India's own coming-out party, the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Such symbolic confidence-building gestures and painstaking summitry may be more reminiscent of 1970s Cold War thaws than of exchanges between entrepreneurial powerhouses, but they are essential if the rivalry between India and China is to become a relic, rather than a harbinger, of a bipolar world.

Find this article at: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704401,00.html

Kallori - The movie about Friendship and Love...

A movie about true friendship which is totally different form earlier films telling about friends and their relationships. Balaji Shakthivel the blockbuster director of the “Kathal” delivered another good movie after three years. Hard work always paid well as this movie. He has been one of the trendsetters in the recent times for realistic films that overrule the current Masala movies. It is another superb production movie from mega director Shankar’s 'S' Pictures. I was waiting for another director whom able to replace the vacant place that left by ace Director Jeeva and I have found Balaji Sakthivel.
'Kallori' is a simple story told in a straight forward manner. It about a group of friends from varied background whom value their friendship. Hemalatha as Kayal stands out with a mature performance and Tamanna as Shobana slowly grows on you while you tend to identify with Muthu as the story progresses. The chemistry between Muthu and Shobana is the highlight of the movie.

The story tells how an inclusion of a new friend in college brings turmoil in their relationships. Shobana and Muthu attaracted to each other and the relation grows as love but they could not express their feelings as they are caught between remaining true friends and turning lovers that they feel might tarnish their relationship with the rest who believe true friends don't really turn lovers. The movie climax ends unexpectedly and will leave deep effect in your heart.

Edmund Hillary, first atop Everest, dead at 88

Sir Edmund Hillary

In 1953, Hillary — a beekeeper by trade — and his team reached the mountain's south peak. But, exhausted by the altitude, most team members could go no farther. Only Hillary and a native Nepalese climber, Tenzing Norgay, continued on till the top of Everest.

Picture from AFP

New strain on Malaysia's ethnic ties

New strain on Malaysia's ethnic ties

By Robin Brant BBC News, Kuala Lumpur

Relations are not good right now between the Malaysian government and the two million plus people living here who are descended from Indian migrants.

There is confusion over exactly what has happened in recent days, but if the government really has decided to tighten up its visa policy for all Indian migrant workers, it would be a startling diplomatic gesture.

Just as political leaders across the world are lining up to do deals with India, Malaysia appears to have gone the other way.

It is unexpected, to say the least.

India and Malaysia have a long history of close cultural, economic and political ties.

Indians migrated here in their thousands in the 1800s, to work the rubber plantations. There are now more than two million Malaysian Indians.

The big problem here that we have is that nobody trusts each other anymore Manjit Bhatsia

But dissent has been brewing. It boiled over with a public protest last November - a rare thing here.

Thousands took to the streets to demonstrate, in defiance of a police ban.

The cabinet decision to suspend visas is proof that the event, with images of riot police and water cannons beamed around the world, has shaken those at the top of government.

They are worried - worried about instability and what it might do to the economy, and worried about the delicate coalition that is modern-day Malaysian society.

'No trust'

Indians are one of the three dominant groups here.

The Chinese established communities over centuries. Together with the Malays they all make for a fragile but mostly harmonious mix.

This mix is in trouble now, though, according to Manjit Bhatsia, an academic and writer who was born in Malaysia but now lives and works in Australia.

"The big problem that we have is that nobody trusts each other anymore," he said.

"There's a working relationship, a very strong working relationship at the top level of society, but at every other level of society it just doesn't work.

"That's the problem, this administration needs to understand that it has created a monster."

The root problem is the years of discrimination some Malaysian Indians say they have endured, accusing ethnic Malays of enjoying preferential treatment.

The underlying problems that we have can easily erupt between the communities Deputy PM Najib Tun Razak

A government strategy to lift the majority Malays out of poverty has ensured discounts on housing, quotas for civil service jobs, and places at university for the bumiputera, the "sons of the soil".

Malaysia is riding high on an oil-fuelled boom.

Ethnic Indians see Malays enjoy the spoils of political domination and the Chinese reap economic rewards.

They feel left behind, and some are demanding change.

The men who organised the march in Kuala Lumpur six weeks ago are in prison now.

They were arrested and detained indefinitely under stringent security laws, having been deemed a threat to national security.

"It's a very delicate situation in Malaysia," the country's deputy prime minister told me when I interviewed him last weekend.

In a blunt assessment of the fragility of the ethnic mix here, Najib Tun Razak said: "The underlying problems that we have can easily erupt between the communities."

As for the demonstration, illegal under Malaysian law, he said: "If we allow street demonstrations to take place on a regular basis, it will in fact entice or aggravate other sections of the community who want to respond to it."

There is a history of racial violence in Malaysia. In one incident in 2001, six men died in a week of clashes between Malays and Malaysian Indians in an area west of Kuala Lumpur called Kampung Medang.

It started when a man kicked over a chair as he passed a wedding celebration.

Some of the victims were hacked to death.

International message

With a general election approaching, there is a fear, even an expectation among some, that the clashes in Kampung Medang could be repeated.

I have walked around the new estate which has since risen up to replace the squats in the Kampung Medang.

One simple image conveys the divide.

On one side of a road, running through the low-rise tower blocks, I saw a Malaysian Indian making roti - thin fried bread - in a restaurant.

On the other side of the road, a Malay man was chopping chicken to order as a Malay woman in a headscarf selected fish from an ice-packed polystyrene box.

They live side by side but most people will tell you that they do not share their lives.

I interviewed one of the men who organised the protest in November just before he was arrested.

P Uthayakumar said the public demonstrations would go on.

"What else can we do?" he said. "We've exhausted all avenues."

The government has made it clear it will not tolerate any more marches. The organisers are locked up, indefinitely.

The decision to tighten visa controls for Indian workers wishing to come here was a message sent on the international stage but to a domestic audience - along the lines of: "Stop what you are doing or we will make life difficult for your friends and relatives seeking to join you".

As Malaysia prepares to elect a new government, the stakes are high.

Malaysia is oil-rich and developing quickly. Stability is the key.

At the moment, Malaysia is in a rare state of instability.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7178709.stm

Published: 2008/01/09 18:39:30 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Harga minyak naik lagi??

Jumlah pengunaan petrol di Amerika banyak. Petrol menjadi karenah utama Amerika serang Iraq. Petrol menjadi punca pendapatan utama beberapa negara di dunia. Ada negara yang mengusahakan pelancongan sebagai sumber kedua sebagai persediaan menghadapi situasi tidak ada minyak di dunia. Adakah petrol akan habis di suatu masa kelak? Apa akan terjadi jika petrol habis hari ni? Adakah Malaysia bersedia mengahadapi situasi ini? Aritkel yang di tulis oleh saudara Hishamuddin Rais membincangkan isu mengenai "PEAK OIL THEORY/TEORI PUNCAK MINYAK" dan implikasi jika minyak tidak lagi dapat digali secara ekonomikal.
Menurut artikel beliau pada satu jangka masa pengeluaran hasil bahan bakar petroleum berkembang tinggi hingga sampai ke satu puncak. Sesudah sampai ke puncak ini maka pengeluaran bahan bakar ini akan terus menurun berkurangan.

Huru-hara peringkat global pasti meletus jika tiada petrol untuk kegunaan harian. Sistem pengangkutan yang akan paling terjejas. Jika harga petrol naik di Malaysia, secara automatik semua harga barang akan naik. Apa akan terjadi jika petrol sendiri tidak dapat digali secara ekonomikal? Baca artikel penuh saudara Hishamuddin Rais di Detik Daily.

Just a wrap up about recent happenings around the world on Hindraf issues!!

Candlelight Vigil - The police used water cannon to disperse a crowd who had earlier defied a ban and successfuly held a short candlelight vigil at Dataran Merdeka.

— PHOTO: AFP

Palay, 23, said he planned the fast to last exactly five days -- one day for each detained member from Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force. Singaporean had ended a five-day hunger strike in support of Malaysian Hindu rights activists detained under a tough internal security law(ISA).

Picture grabbed from Rajoorox Blog.

Hindraf leader sues Government, IGP and A-G for RM100m
Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) legal advisor P. Uthayakumar has filed a RM100mil defamation suit against the Government and its two high-ranking officers for allegedly linking him with terrorist groups.


Protect Hindus in Malaysia, BJP tells Govt
The BJP statement said the party believes that India has a moral obligation to take up the case of injustice and persecution of Malaysian Hindus and PIOs (People of Indian Origin) with the authorities in Kuala Lumpur. “The UPA government cannot shirk from this responsibility either out of its commitment to anti-Hindu pseudo-secularism or under the pretext that this is an internal matter of Malaysia." Thanks Hindustan Times.

Im A Legend - நான் பார்த்த படம்

நான் பார்த்த இன்றைய ஆங்கில படம் என் சிந்தனையை தூண்டியது! ஒரு நாள் மனிதர்கள் எல்லாம் அழிந்து நாம் ஒருவர் மட்டும் உயிர் வாழ்ந்தால் எப்படி இருக்கும்? வில் சிமித் இந்த படத்தில் ஒரு ராணுவ மருத்துவ ஆய்வாளராக சிறப்பாக நடித்துள்ளார். வைரஸ்சால் பாதிக்கப்படும் மனித குலத்துக்கு அவர் எப்படி உதவுகிறார் என்பதை படத்தை பார்த்தால் புரியும். நெஞ்சு வழி அல்லது பயந்த சுபாவம் உள்ளவர்கள் பக்கத்தில் மற்றவர் துணையுடன் படம் பார்ப்பது நல்லது. மொத்தத்தில் இது நல்ல பொழுது போக்கு படம்.

Poster taken from I am Legend official website.

உலகம் எவ்விதம் அழியும்? உலகில் வாழும் சில லச்சம் மனிதர்களே சிந்திக்கும் விஷயம் இது! மூன்றாம் உலக யுத்தம் மூண்டால் மனித குலம் நிச்சயம் அழிவை எதிர்நோக்கும் என்கின்றனர் பலர். மனிதனால் உருவாக்கப்படும் சக்திமிக்க குண்டுகள் அல்லது விஷ வாயுவினால் மனிதர்கள் இறக்க வழி வகுக்கும் எனப்படுகிறது. ஒரு வேளை "Im A Legend" படத்தில் வருவது போல் புது வித வைரஸ்சால் நாம் கொள்ளப்படுவோமா? வான்வெளி மின் கற்களால் உலகத்தில் ஒரே கணத்தில் கோடிக்கணக்கான மனிதர்கள் ஒரே நேரத்தில் மடிவர் என்பது இன்னொரு கணக்கு. கணக்குகள் பலவிதம் ஆனால் மரணம் என்பது அனைவரின் வாழ்வில் உள்ள விஷயம்தான். வாழும்வரை தர்மம் செய்தும் மற்றவர்களுக்கு நல்லது செய்தும் வாழ்வோமாக... நல்லது செய்ய முடியாவிடின்; கெடுதி செய்யாமல் இருப்பது மிக்க நலம்!

புதிய ஆண்டே நீ வருக..யாவருக்கும் நன்மைகளை கொடுப்பாயாக..

2008 - இந்த புதிய ஆண்டு உலக வரலாற்றில் மேலும் பல நல்ல கெட்ட நிகழ்வுகளை பதிக்கும் என்பதில் ஐயமில்லை. வருட தொடக்கம் மேலும் ஒரு ரத்த கறையோடு நடைப்போட ஆரம்பித்து இருக்கிறது.. பெனாசிர் புட்டோவின் கொலை பாகிஸ்தானின் தற்போதைய அரசியல் அரங்கை மிகவும் சிக்கலுக்கு தள்ளி இருக்கிறது. யார் பெனாசிர் புட்டோவை இறப்புக்கு காரணம்? இதுதான் இன்றைய கேள்வி.. பதில் ஒரு ஓரத்தில் ஒளிந்து கொண்டு இருக்கிறது..உங்களுக்கு தெரியுமா..?

அமெரிக்காவின் அதிபர் தேர்தல் இன்னொரு பக்கம் சூடு பிடித்துக் கொண்டு இருக்கிறது. வெற்றி யார் பக்கம்? ஒபாமாவா, எட்வர்ட்ஸ் அல்லது ஹிலாரியா... என் ஆதரவு ஒபாமாவுக்கே! :-)

அடுத்து மலேசியாவின் பக்கம் வருவோம்..இங்கும் தேர்தல் நேரம் நெருங்கி வருகிறது. மலேசியாவின் ஆளுங்கட்சி கண்டிப்பாக வெற்றி பெறும் ஆனால் கடந்த பெருன்பான்மை வெற்றி கிட்டுமா என்பது இன்னொரு கேள்வி.. Hindraf எழுச்சி மக்களிடம் ஒரு விழிப்பை@தாக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்தி உள்ளது. இந்தியர்கள் ஓட்டு எப்பக்கம் என்பது மலேசியாவில் நடக்கும் நிகழ்வுகளை கூர்ந்து கவனித்தால் ஓரளவு புரியும்.

பல்லாண்டுகளாக தங்களின் சுதந்திரத்திற்காக உதிரத்தை கொடுத்து தன்னலம் பற்றி யோசிக்காமல் தன் தமிழ் இனத்திற்காக போராடும் போராளிகளே.. தர்மம் இறுதியில் வெல்லும்.. தமிழ் வீரர்களே உமக்கு எமது வணக்கங்கள்!

தன்னலம் கருதாமல் மனிதனை இனம், மதம், ஜாதி என்று பிரித்து பார்க்கவிடில் இவ்வுலகில் பிரச்சினைகள் இருக்காது. இந்த ஆண்டு உலகில் நன்மைகள் பல நடக்க வேண்டும் என்பதே எமது பிரார்த்தனை ஆகும்.

இன்பமே சூழ்க; எல்லோரும் வாழ்க..

Ethnic Indian protest leader sues Malaysia's government over terror accusation

The Associated Press

Published: January 4, 2008

Source:International Herald Tribune

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: An ethnic Indian protest leader filed a US$28 million (€19 million) defamation suit against Malaysia's government Friday for claiming his group had possible terrorist links.

Lawyers for P. Uthayakumar, a leader of the Hindu Right Action Force, or Hindraf, filed the suit in the Kuala Lumpur High Court seeking damages totaling at least 100 million ringgit (US$28 million; €19 million) from the government, the national police chief and the attorney general.

Uthayakumar was suing the government because it "attempted to blacken his reputation globally" with the claims of terror links, said N. Surendran, a lawyer involved in the case.

"They have not produced a shred of evidence to prove their claim," Surendran said.

Senior government and police officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The suit stemmed from what Uthayakumar — who is currently jailed without trial for allegedly threatening national security — called "a campaign of vilification and demonization" launched by authorities, according to the lawsuit documents.

Government and police officials had said last month that Hindraf was being investigated for possible ties to terrorism, including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka. The LTTE has been branded a terror group by the United States and European Union.

The accusations came amid a crackdown on Hindraf after it organized a rally of about 30,000 ethnic Indians on Nov. 25 to protest the community's economic plight and alleged racial discrimination by the Malay majority government.

The protest was crushed by police with tear gas and water cannons.

Uthayakumar and four other Hindraf leaders were subsequently detained under security laws that allow indefinite detention without trial.

Hindraf has tried to highlight what it claims is racial discrimination faced by ethnic Indians, who form 8 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people. Malays, who are Muslims, make up about 60 percent of the population, and ethnic Chinese account for a quarter.

Many Indians say the Malay-dominated government does not give them a fair chance to get jobs and education. They also complain their temples are being systematically destroyed. The government has repeatedly rejected claims of any discrimination.