(kc08009) Kim Hock likely to quit as national chief coach
PETALING JAYA: Yap Kim Hock may submit his resignation letter as the national chief coach after completing a four-year Olympic cycle during the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) coaching and training committee meeting today.
Kim Hock was appointed as the chief coach in 2004 with a target to end the medal drought for the country in the Olympics at the Beijing Games last month.
And he managed to fulfil the task. Lee Chong Wei became the first shuttler in 12 years to win an Olympic medal, a silver, for Malaysia after losing to Lin Dan of China in the men’s singles final.
A gold would have been the icing on the cake for Kim Hock to end his roller-coaster ride as the BAM chief coach.
It’s now BAM’s call to accept Kim Hock’s decision or to reassign him to take charge of the national juniors.
There had been outstanding results for him with the senior side, including the 2006 Asian Games and 2007 All-England titles won by Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong. But he had struggled as far as communications and rapport with some of the other coaches were concerned – especially with those having strong characters, among them Misbun Sidek and Rexy Mainaky.
In fact, a tiff between Kim Hock and Chong Wei during the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur last year also marred his credentials as chief coach.
Besides looking into the roles of the coaches and reviewing the reports from them, the BAM are also expected to review the status of their players and restructure their training set-ups.
They are expected to downsize the squad for a more comprehensive programme geared towards the 2012 London Olympics.
The BAM’s coaching and training committee are headed by the association’s president, Datuk Nadzmi Mohd Salleh.
THE GHOST ARE HUNGRY-TO-NITE By Kaypo Anak Kuching (THE BORNEO POST)
I REALISE with a start that the Month of the Hungry Ghosts has arrived again, as my Chinese neighbours begin to burn joss sticks and paper money by the roadside every night. This ghostly month falls on the seven moon of the Chinese lunar calendar. On the first day of the month, which coincided with the 1st of August on the Gregorian calendar this year, the gate of hell was thrust wide open, and all the neglected homeless disparaged ghosts would be released to wander the earth, looking for sustenance once a year. They would haunt the human world for a full moth, and would return to hell on the last day of the seventh moon. The origin of this ancient Chinese festival is mired in all kinds of myths, but probably has its roots in the Buddhist doctrine of Karma and reincarnation. People who have not lived a good life get punished in hell after death. Some of the worst offenders would be denied the chance to be reincarnated. Then again, the festival could have been embedded in the Chinese native belief in ancestor worship and their concept of afterlife. The soul of the departed requires continual offerings from his children in the form of paper money and food. This is done annually during the Ching Ming festival, when children must go to the grave of their parents and do the worshipping ritual. Some do it on the first and the fifteenth days of every lunar month at the family alter. By this account, the souls of those people without children would go hungry in hell. And so would those who died far away from their homeland, or those who died a terrible death. In that sense, the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts is an annual manifestation of the Chinese people’s compassion for those desolate departed souls. It is one of the biggest festivals on the Chinese calendar. On the 15th day of the lunar month, a huge crowd would throng the temple at Wayang Street in Kuching City to participate in the festivities. After the religious rituals are over, all the goodies offered to the nadir world would be open for grabs by the crowd. Some of my Chinese friends also observe many taboos during the entire month. They prefer to stay at home at night. Auspicious ventures like starting a new business or getting married are avoided. With so many invisible eerie ‘brothers’ around, it is more prudent to abstain from anything that requires good luck. Inevitably, there would be those few atheist friends of mine who would laugh at all those practices as just another form of superstitious belief in the afterlife. But like all Sarawakians, they are pretty sensible people, and do not go around desecrating other people’s offerings by the roadside. You may not believe in ghosts yourself, but you must respect those people who do. I am an agnostic when it comes down to the matter of whether ghosts or fairies exist or not. But I have heard many personal testimonies from many respectable rational and educated friends of all races about their encounter of the ghostly kind. The rural folks who live in the deep dark interior have their long traditions of peaceful co-existence with all kinds of spirits in the wild. But even in the large crowded cities and towns, there is no shortage of urban legends recounting the exploits of evil and civil spirits. They are the reasons why there are so may mediums in so many Chinese temples, so may bomohs practicing their craft in the villages, and the Ibans have their dukun or their manang with their white magic to heal people who have been afflicted by various spirits wandering the earth. I have known this chap by the name of Ah Kow who used to work as a labourer in the construction industry. When he was between jobs, this boisterous lively young man used to hang around the coffee shops at India Street and Court House Road for a yarn and his daily cuppa. The next I heard about him was that he had been hospitalised with a strange disease. The skin all over his body kept peeling off, until there was not a single square inch of healthy skin on this poor man. The doctors and the specialists conducted all kinds of tests on him, but failed to come up with a definitive diagnosis on his peculiar condition. Eventually, he spent his days mostly soaked in water into which all kinds of traditional herbs have been added, presumably to ameliorate his pain. Ah Kow’s friends suspected foul play of the occult kind, and consulted many mediums, but none could heal him. Finally, they went to one of those mediums who kept and bred small ghosts in small charmed coffins. This particular sinseh had learned his art from Thailand, and had brought back a small idol with four faces that had power over the ghosts. The sinseh spent one night with Ah Kow in his hospital room. He told Ah Kow his small ghosts would stand guard at the window. If there were untoward movements around, his small ghosts would follow supernatural trespassers. Early next morning, he reported what the ghost attendants had found out. Apparently, Ah Kow had lived at a bangsal (a living quarters for workers on a construction site) while on a job some time ago. He had quarrelled with and insulted the wife of an Orang Ulu co-worker. The lady apparently had some knowledge of dark magic learnt from the long traditions of her community. At the construction site, workers usually take a bath at the end of the working day, to wash off the dirt and the grime. Then they would simply hand the towel to dry on a line nearby. What the Orang Ulu lady did was to obtain the blood of some dead person, cast a spell over it, and smear it on Ah Kow’s towel. When he took a bath next, the affliction was transferred to his skin when he dried himself with the towel. When the correct diagnosis was made, it was a matter of prescribing the correct treatment. Ah Kow was discharged from the hospital, and was next seen walking around Court House Road with his deformed skin and all. I did not hear from or about him for a while, and had forgotten him altogether. Then, the friend from Court House Road reported that Ah Kow had died, with the comment that perhaps the curse that had been inflicted on him was simply too great to be removed. Am I guilty of spreading superstitious beliefs in telling this sad tale? Ghost stories will always be at the core of our oral traditions. I have amassed a depository of such stories in my memory. It is a pity nobody collects these stories and writes them down in a book, to preserve this peculiar element of Sarawak’s unique way of life. Whatever you say about the harmful effects of superstition, many Sarawakians in towns and villagers do believe in ghosts. I know of at least ten practitioners who specialise in healing afflictions and possessions by unwelcome visitors from the world beyond. They do not do it for personal gain, but instead see their occupation as a vocation to help people in need. In fact, they will tell you that the price of their gift is their poverty for life! Of course, in 21st century Sarawak, we live a life of relative comfort, replete with all that science and technology can offer. Our official grand narrative will never recommend sick people to consult bomoh and medium. I suspect most medical practitioners will frown upon this form of alternative medicine as primitive and unscientific. But beneath our veneer of modernity and progress, we must admit that we know very little of the supernatural world. Though most of us have never seen a ghost, are we therefore so foolhardy, during this Month of the Hungry Ghosts, to go to the cemetery in the dead of night, to dare the ghosts to come out and prove their existence? As the ancient Chinese sage Confucius once said’ “It is better to respects gods and ghosts and keep them at arm’s length.”
KUCHING: Nineteen-year-old Cornelius Engki could only watch in consternation as he witnessed a horrifying tragedy struck. Three cousins of his died before his eyes and the experience has left Cornelius speechless. In the late afternoon incident yesterday, six workers, all from Kampung Stutong near here, were at a work site at Lorong 39, Kampong Stutong Baru.Cornelius was one of them.Three, however, were working to replace a telephone pole and were planting it in when the heavy metal structure tilted to one side and hit an electric cable above. The three - Isaac Elkana, 34, Davendra Kihin, 21, and Philipos Loren, age unknown, were struck with instant death. Isaac and Davendra, both married, each left behind five children and an unborn child. Cornelius, who was nearby the three men, was grazed by the falling pole on his foot where the electric current left a light burnt mark. But the sight of his dead relatives was enough to shock him into silence. The other two co-workers, because they were a little way off, escaped the tragedy. They called for help and ambulance, Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and Rescue 991 arrived several minutes later. However, there was little they could do but to pronounce the victims dead and cover them with newspapers. “We arrived at the scene but there was nothing we could do about it,” said Tabuan Jaya Fire Station’s Zone Enforcer Wong Tong Leong. He added that it took him and nine other personnel seven minutes to reach the scene due to heavy traffic. Curious onlookers caused heavy traffic at the area and three Mobile Patrol Vehicles (MPVs) were despatched to the scene to control the situation. Family members surrounded the site, many weeping while Cornelius received hugs from his parents, certainly glad that he survived the electrocution. The bodies of the three victims were brought to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for post mortem. Kuching district police chief ACP Wong Wai Loong has classified the incident as a tragedy.
Levy Li Su Lin, 21 Miss Malaysia/Universe 2008/9 said that...... 'way for me to relax is to sit under a shady coconut tree and read a book. Or I just look at the sea and horizon. Instantly I feel whole and renewed.'
Angie Seow Pei Ying, 18 Winner I Want to be a Model (Season 2)said that... 'Yoga works for me, as I calm down when I meditate and concentrate on a mantra.'
'When I am stressed, I like to surf the Net, check out interesting websites and learn something new.
“I also love movies and hanging out with friends! When surrounded by good pals, I feel good!
“Going to the mall with my gang always puts me in good spirits and makes me relaxed as we just wander around aimlessly.”
Physically, a fasting person’s system gets an overhaul. Mentally, a person will develop more concentration and a greater capacity to resist desires An individual will have a greater capacity to withstand physical disturbance, illness, fatigue and disease. When breaking fast, control abnormal appetite and do not overload the stomach by eating too much heavy food as the body can become bloated After a long fast, continue with a light liquid diet until all digestive trouble is over and normal hunger is established Break your fast with half a cup of diluted fruit juice, vegetable soup, or the water of a young coconut. When fasting, do not entertain thoughts of food but, rather, think divine thoughts. Health benefits of fasting are the detoxification the practice brings. Fasting, with guidance, is an ideal way to lose weight.
No. 1: Anne (not real name) and her colleague were planning to take a break from their workplace. A man she was allegedly familiar with approached and chatted with her in front of her colleague. She accepted his invitation to go for a walk while the colleague returned to the workplace. Anne asked the man where he was taking her but did not get a reply. Then suddenly, she was dragged to the staircase inside a building and asked to sit on the floor. The man kissed her while trying to remove her pants. She tried to escape but was pushed to the ground with her mouth covered. She said she was raped for 30 minutes.
No. 2: Nia (not real name) was cooking when a man entered the house, holding a machete which he then placed on the chair near the doorway. With the weapon, the man threatened her husband, then dragged him out of the house and locked the door. Once the husband was outside, the man proceeded to the kitchen and forced Nia to the bathroom and raped her. After committing the heinous crime, the rapist quickly left the house.
No. 3: Jil (not her real name) laughs for no apparent reason and utters words no one understands. She has been lost in her own world since that fateful night when she was raped. She came to Kuching in search of a new life but got more than she bargained for the night she accepted an invitation from her friends to go out after work. She was 17. The next day, her limp naked body was found near a graveyard by a worker who immediately sent her to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH). She was admitted unconscious. After 50 days of treatment by a Chinese physician from Peninsular Malaysia, she came to but could not remember what had happened … nor would she get of out bed. Jil was never the same again. She spoke in words no one could understand and laughed (happily) most of the time.
No. 4: Lyn (not real name) was called by a male teacher to a school library. She went since she did not suspect anything sinister would happen. But she ended up being raped inside the library.
No. 5: Elen (not real name) had been raped since she was nine. It always happened when her mother was away or asleep at night.
She was also forced to take contraceptives each time she was raped. It was only after 10 years that she revealed her ordeal. The rapist was none other than her own father.
Most people think of rape by a stranger as a ‘real rape’. This the easiest for people to handle psychologically because it is not difficult to identify predatory behaviour … like climbing in through the window under cover of night. What is probably not well understood is that sex predators are on the prowl virtually everywhere and at all times … even right in the victims’ homes.
From January to July this year, 22 rape and 364 forcible rape cases have been reported and referred to the Sarawak General Hospital.
KUALA LUMPUR: National shuttler Lee Chong Wei has never won a title when ranked as world No. 1.
He has a chance to set the record straight when he competes in the Japan Open, which will be held in Tokyo from Sept 16-21. Chong Wei: Has held to the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive week.
In 2006, Chong Wei took part in the Macau Open as the top seed and the world No. 1 but failed to justify his status when he lost to China’s Lin Dan in the final.
His coach Datuk Misbun Sidek, however, is looking beyond the Japan Open.
Misbun wants Chong Wei to be the first Malaysian player to maintain his world No. 1 ranking for a long time, although he knows it won’t be easy.
His former charges – Rashid Sidek and Mohd Roslin Hashim –also reached the No. 1 spot but only for a brief spell.
Chong Wei, he said, would have to work hard on two areas of his game if he wanted to extend his stay at the top spot, which had been dominated by Olympic champion Lin Dan for about two years.
“Not only must Chong Wei be able to handle the pressure that I will put on him in training but he must also improve his physical condition,” said Misbun at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“It is good that Chong Wei has held on to the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive week. But it is important that he maintains it for a longer period. It will be difficult to climb up the ladder again if he drops down the rankings.”
Misbun was all smiles when talking about Chong Wei’s attitude towards training, although the shuttler had been kept busy with so many functions since returning as the silver medallist from the Beijing Olympic Games.
“He is not at his best physical condition. He is still tired. But I admire his spirit. He has been demanding for more in training. The pace of training will pick up from Monday,” said Misbun.
“It is a delight to see Chong Wei handling all this (the fame after winning the silver medal for the first time in 12 years for the country) very well. He is humble.”
At the Japan Open, defending champion Chong Wei’s first real rest will come in the quarter-finals against Simon Santoso of Indonesia. Also in the same half with the Malaysian is another Indonesian, Taufik Hidayat.
In the lower half are second seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, China’s Chen Yu and Peter Gade-Christensen of Denmark.
KOTA KINABALU: Three men have been arrested by police to facilitate investigation into the death of a Universiti Malaysia Sabah undergraduate, Sherliana Gediun. State Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim, in disclosing this yesterday, said the police managed to track down the suspects, all locals in their 20s, in Tuaran and Kota Marudu. “We started making the arrests on Wednesday. They were arrested separately and have been remanded for four days to facilitate investigation,” Noor Rashid said, adding the case is investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides the mandatory death penalty on conviction. “One of the suspects arrested is believed to be the van driver,” he said. Noor Rashid, however, said police have yet to positively identify the body found in Tuaran to be that of Sherliana, as they were still waiting for the DNA report. Sherliana, 22, a final year student undertaking a course on Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at the School of Education and Social Development of the University, went missing after leaving her village at the end of holidays on Aug 22. Her mother and younger brother had sent her to Kota Marudu bus terminal where she boarded a Kota Kinabalu-bound van to return to the University. That was the last time they saw or heard from her.
ASSALAMUALAIKUMWARAHMATULLAH..... Singapore's Feng Tianwei (pic) shocked the Chinese camp when she bundled out reigning world champion Guo Yue to advance to the semi-finals of the Volkswagen World Cup women's table tennis tournament at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium last night.
The 22-year-old put up an impressive attacking display to beat the Beijing Olympics bronze medallist and world number two 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9 in 43 minutes to earn her first World Cup semi-finals appearance.
Top seeded Guo Yue, spearheading the Chinese challenge in the absence of injured Olympic champion Zhang Yining, had cruised into the quarter-finals as the Group A winner. She beat Yang Fen of Congo 11-3, 11-5, 12-10, 11-3 for her third consecutive win.
Tianwei had qualified second from Group B behind world number three Li Xiaoxia of China after beating Li Jiao of Holland 13-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 in her final group match earlier.
But it was Tianwei who turned the tables on Guo Yue for the first time in four meetings.
China-born Tianwei is ranked ninth in the world and was given Singapore citizenship in January in time to help her adopted country bag a silver in the Olympics team event last month.
Guo Yue's exit meant that it would only be the second time that the final will not be an all-China affair.
Tianwei will play against world No. 10 Tie Yana of Hong Kong today for a place in the final. Yana, also a former China national player, earned her place in the semi-finals with a hard-fought 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-8, 17-19, 11-7 win over South Korea's Kim Kyung-ah.
The other semi-final will be between another Singaporean, Wang Yue Gue, and Xiaoxia.
The spiky-haired Tianwei now has a shot at collecting the winner's cheque of US$44,000 if she maintains her fine form but she never expected her fortune.
“Looking at the draw for the quarter-finals earlier, I thought it was the end of the road for me and I can go shopping tomorrow,” she said.
“But I guess I have to work harder and keep my focus after this. This is my first win over Guo Yue and I have to thank my coach (Liu Guodong). His tips from the sideline helped me to counter my opponent's style.”
Guo Yue said that she did not put up her best performance last night but still gave Singaporean rival the credit.
“It has been a hectic two months of preparing for the Beijing Olympics and I have to admit that I didn't train much coming into this event. But Tianwei played very well today,” said Guo Yue, who beat Singapore's Li Jiawei for the Olympic bronze medal.
The semi-finals will be played today from 7pm. The third place play-off and final are scheduled for 9pm and 9.45pm respectively. Tickets are priced at RM30 and RM10 (for students).
KUALA TERENGGANU: Two robbers believed to have been behind an armed robbery in Gong Badak on Thursday have struck again, this time just two doors away from their first hit. In the 6.15am incident, the suspects approached the cashier on the pretext of buying a packet of cigarettes.
But just as the cashier turned around to get the item, the suspect grabbed one of the employees, pulled out a knife and demanded money from the 24-year-old cashier.
The robber fled with RM100, seven packets of cigarettes and several cellphone pre-paid cards with his accomplice on a motorcycle.
In the first incident, a shop owner lost RM650 and a stack of prepaid cards.
WHAT image comes to mind when you think of kampung (village) schools? An old rickety fan, rows of wooden chairs and tables, and wide-eyed children in front of a blackboard, perhaps?
Ah, but for some smart schools in the rural areas and towns of Sarawak, you could not be more wrong.
From interactive whiteboards to organising information databases on the computer, the Education Ministry’s smart school initiative has brought ICT skills to the previously uninitiated, prompting them to engage in innovative ways of using technology in the classroom. This has helped to narrow the digital gap between urban and rural students.
KUCHING: Sports and studies can go hand in hand, as Dayang Siti Nur Intan Baizuri Abang Sulaiman has proven.
The 24-year-old lass, who has been actively involved in cycling for more than 10 years, was named the best student in a degree programme at Twintech College Sarawak’s fifth convocation here on Saturday.
She was presented with the award by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman moments after receiving her scroll for a Bachelor’s degree in computer science.
Dayang Siti Nur Intan said she took pride in her achievement, having burnt the midnight oil on occasions to prepare for examinations.
“I normally go for sports training early in the morning before class, then I rest in the evening and sometimes study until midnight,” she said.
She took up cycling in 1997 on the encouragement of one of her brothers and represented the state at Sukma in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
In 2002, she won a bronze medal in mountain biking. She also took part in the cycling road race.
“At first it was quite difficult for me to balance my sports activities and studies. But gradually, I learnt to manage my time better,” she said.
Dayang Siti Nur Intan, who is now lecturing in computer science and information technology, added that she planned to further her studies.
Fellow graduate Bong Sze Ping received the best student award in a diploma programme while Noraisah Saha was the best student in a certificate programme.
Altogether, 100 students received their scrolls at the convocation.
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More News Nation Headlines Voice concerns on DNA bill now, says Home Minister Election Court: Pensiangan decision today Landslides in Penang being cleared Umno Youth questions ‘voices of the people’ Option of pulling out of BN open Repairs to MRR2 completed,all six lanes open Shahrir: Don’t give petrol as prize 50 Barisan MPs begin eight-day study trip Clerk found with head almost severed Horse races called off due to waterlogged track Two MPs to return on Sept 15 DAP against MPs crossing over for personal gain Zulkifli gets show-cause letter from PKR Ka Chuan advises Wanita MCA and Youth members after state elections Ka Ting: Need for amicable solution over racist remarks Remaining in BN for sake of unity Winners aligned to MCA leaders Najib: All BN parties have roles to play Kohilan creates Gerakan history Friendly fight for Puteri chief’s post The cat and mouse game continues Roti Bengali treat during Ramadan, too Aged woman is first casualty Visit stricken folk, Barisan reps told Suhakam raps Immigration Student hopes to get a laptop Khairy to Pakatan: Suspend duo charged with graft MCA polls aspirant in SMS slur Socso to relax rules on claims Three people nabbed in murder of UMS student Man drowns while fishing for extra cash Domestic travel picks up as holidaymakers tighten belts Matta to act against agent for stranding 14 Sabah plans gaharu venture Jeanne visits paralympic team Hunters grab last day offers Woman believes daughter-in-law may still be alive RM1mil worth of cigs seized Cyclist named best Bachelor’s degree student Firms to lower toll rates MB defends decision not to visit storm victims Temples in draft plan will not be demolished Go Most Viewed Most E-mailed Umno Youth questions ‘voices of the people’ Option of pulling out of BN open 50 Barisan MPs begin eight-day study trip Clerk found with head almost severed Action of timber tycoons leaves bad taste in Sarawak Shahrir: Don’t give petrol as prize Two MPs to return on Sept 15 Low quality Raya food in Terengganu Landslides in Penang being cleared Move to make KT free of street people Wall Street may cheer Fannie, Freddie bailout 50,000 villagers in flooded India refuse to leave Britney returns to MTV Video Music Awards Election Court: Pensiangan decision today SCORE to help bring more business Bintulu Port sees strong cargo growth Perdana park offers land near Northport Piracy attack will result in extra costs for shippers English not the medium Police can’t be judge, jury and executioner in fighting crime Latest Jobs from Star-JobsR&D Chef General Manager Project Assistant Administrative Asst. Contract Manager Engineer & Process Engineers Chargeman & Maintenance Assistant QA Executive Boilerman Business Planners
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As a conclusion, Good diet + Proper exercise = Fit
ELECTRIC CARS SOON FOR MASSES Rising oil prices and advances in battery technology are refuelling interest in electric cars. Izwan Ismail recently buckled up Detroit Electric’s electric car technology at Proton’s Test Circuit in Shah Alam. insidepix1
Lam says Detroit Electric is currently in preliminary talks with Proton on the possibility of licensing its vehicle platforms such as the Persona, Savvy and Lotus for the production of the electric alternative. Lam says Detroit Electric is currently in preliminary talks with Proton on the possibility of licensing its vehicle platforms such as the Persona, Savvy and Lotus for the production of the electric alternative.
Just imagine: Before going to sleep, you plug in a charger into your car. The next morning, the car’s all charged up and ready for your drive to work. As part of the Government’s initiative to tackle rising fuel prices and source for alternative “green” transportation modes, Proton has been tasked to test and validate Detroit Electric’s technology and to explore collaborative development possibilities for a range of pure electric cars. The Detroit Electric car is powered by lithium-ion dry battery and has a range of up to 300 kilometres once fully charged. Depending on the power of the battery, which ranges from 50 kilowatts to 150kW, the electric drive system can accelerate the car up to 220km per hour.
The charging process, which takes about eight hours, can be done through the conventional electric outlet. There is also a fast charging format that allows the car to be charged for just 30 minutes with
80 per cent power rate.
Driving an electric car is similar to the conventional petrol or diesel car, except that you will not hear any engine sound since the engine has been replaced with an electric motor.
The Detroit Electric car will be priced at about RM80,000 for a model the size of the Persona. This may be slightly more expensive than the conventional car, but since the electric car does not consume fuel, savings over the long term is significant, Lam pointed out.
In terms of cost savings, the electric drive system is capable of powering a sedan at just 3.5 sen per km, compared to 35 sen per km for a petrol-powered equivalent – that’s 10 times cost savings, and it includes the cost of charging the battery at current electricity tariffs.
Detroit Electric is looking at producing electric vehicles in three categories: sports car, sub-compact and medium-sized sedan.
OMG!!! it's MONDAY..8th September.. juz finishing my TELL ME MORE... hahahaha..kinda funny to talk to the computer..and repeat the same words over & over again.. the dialogue session was okay.. 25% completed.. sumtyms got to hv British 'slange' my voice was a bit rough for few words..but yeahh..got high scores la..now i know it's not tat easy to speak clearly so tat can ppl understand.. then for the word pronounciation.. 100% completed.... i cant fully remember wat did i say.. hahaha.... only i can remember 'automatic'.. tat's the toughest one...huhuhu.. luckily..most i got full scores la... but still.....i ned to improve my languange n pronounciation..huhu... long way to go.... nvrmind.... try the best b4 the better comes.. bha..BULIH BHA KALO KO.. gotta go soon.. BUBYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just read a news about someone that had 'ruin' our national anthem before are going back to malaysia....he said that he wrote and change the national anthem with no intention to ashamed our country, but its just a reality that happen. he had bow for apologize of what he had done before and now he comes back to our lovely country... here's it story....
~~Despite the infamy surrounding his Negarakuku video, a young graduate decides to come home.
BEING part of the production team of the Taiwanese’s television programme One Million Star is a great learning experience for Malaysian student Wee Meng Chee. Securing a job at the prestigious production house behind the show and others like Guess Guess Guess and Here Comes Kang Xi is a golden opportunity that every mass communication student in Taiwan craves.
“It is a difficult job which sometimes requires you to work 24 hours a day,” says Wee, the first and only foreigner hired by Gin Star Entertainment Co. Ltd. He got the job while studying at Ming Chuan University.
Last year, Wee became an instant online celebrity last year when his video, Negarakuku, which raps about racial discrimination against Chinese, corrupt cops and indolent civil servants, was posted on YouTube.
In a phone interview from Taiwan, the 25-year-old mass communication graduate constantly paused to search for words that best described his feelings. Wee (left) and Yap getting a Malaysian living in Laos to pen a congratulatory message for the country, on its turning 51.
He’d written the song as a gift to the country in conjunction with its 50th birthday celebrations, he says. But some people felt he was mocking the national anthem. At the height of the controversy, he bowed to mounting pressure and made a public apology.
“Song-writing is my way of keeping a diary of my feelings about things happening around me. I compose new songs when there are special occasions such as birthdays and weddings, or when I broke off with my girlfriend.
“When I wrote Negarakuku and Muar Chinese, songs about my country and hometown, I just wanted to reflect life’s realities. I don’t think I can change the world by highlighting issues that concern the public, but I do hope that Malaysia will become a better place one day.”
Muar Chinese, a satirical music video, takes digs at people who are ashamed of speaking their own dialects.
At it turned out, the hoo-ha surrounding his compositions got the attention of Wee’s boss at Gin Star, who was impressed with his creativity and ability to compose songs and shoot his own music videos.
“He liked my work and even suggested that I work on another programme on which guests get to impersonate Taiwanese politicians,” he says.
However, after completing his tertiary education, Wee did not hesitate to quit his job because he wanted to return home.
“When I tendered my resignation, my boss asked me to stay until the end of the season of One Million Star, in August. He even told me that I have the potential to be a producer one day.
“But I had made up my mind to return to Malaysia because it is my home. I reckon it’s time for me to pay back to the country, with the skills I’ve learnt from another country.”
Many people urged him not to come back, quoting reasons like political instability, a bad economy and the lack of job opportunities here. But Wee was undaunted.
“People think Taiwan is a better place to stay in, but they do not know that the Taiwanese, too, are unhappy with their own country. Many of them are planning to migrate to other countries like the United States, Singapore or even Malaysia.”
Wee feels that while others view working overseas as an opportunity to earn big money, his focus is different.
“Every country has its shortcomings but if you only look at the problems and want to leave, who is going to stay in Malaysia?
“Just like your own mother; no matter how badly she treats you, you’re still her child and have the responsibility of taking care of her.
“Everyone wants something better in life, but the best thing is in your heart. For me, Malaysia is my country and my home and it will forever be that.”
Patriotism aside, what bothers him is that no employer might want to hire an “infamous” person. This concern prompted Wee to kick off a documentary project entitled I Want to Go Home, with three friends, Yap Chin Chern, Hew Teck Choy and Chia Wei Gang .
On July 31, they started their month-long overland journey home from Hong Kong, stopping along the way to film Malaysians living there, as well as in Macau, China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
The team compiled congratulatory messages from those they met, to be featured in the documentary.
Through the film, Wee aims to show potential employers that he is not a troublemaker, but “a rebel with a cause”.
“The main purpose of filming the documentary is to convey the thoughts of those who could not make it home for the country’s 51st independence celebrations,” he explains.
HI GUYS.. Wah.Cade had manage to monopolyze the blog..It's no longerK@*'s blog but it had turn to Cade's blog..hehe..Keep it up Cade..Some of ur post is nice but the rest might be too long n i don't read long post..hehe.. It has been a while for me from blogging into this right?Quite not in the mood actually..I thought i was only suppose to put around 12-12 post only but unfortunately i thought wrongly.. If it's about what i've been reading this pass month there's too much already..i reread all the julie garwood novels, one novel per day can you believe it? This weekend i've been able to finish CASTLE,THE PRIZE,LION'S DEN,THE GIFT,THE SECRET and HONOUR'S SPLEANDOUR. Luckily i'm a fast reader it's just that a lot of my time wasted on those novels(i know it's bad but the temptation is too high).. Any of you who wants all of these novels can come to my room and borrow it(If there's more than one of u i think i'll charge..hehe) ps:I've bought the last novel of the twillight saga buy stephanie mayer-BREAKING DAWN yeay!!(there's goes my 50 ringgit but well it was worth it..i just love edward cullens)
LG HAS A SECRET LG Electronics has placed yet another handset on the fashion runway, following in the footsteps of its successful design-centric models from the Black Label Series. The Secret is the Black Label Series’ strongest model yet, even outperforming the Chocolate and Shine in terms of design, durability and performance. The Secret is the Black Label Series’ strongest model yet, even outperforming the Chocolate and Shine in terms of design, durability and performance.
The Secret, or model KF750, which made its debut at CommunicAsia, is the Black Label Series’ strongest model yet, even outperforming the Chocolate and Shine in terms of design, durability and performance, according to the company.
The touch-enabled slider phone is not only fashionable and slim at 11.8 millimetres thick, but also highly durable, thanks to the use of materials such as carbon fibre and tempered glass. So, say goodbye to scratch marks.
Striking a good balance of style and substance, the Secret comes with Neon Touch Navigation buttons and touch-screen function for multimedia features such as music, photos, games, documents and FM radio.
It is also equipped with a five-megapixel camera, which boasts
120-frame-per-second video recording and playback, and photo and video-editing features, including facial editing and the SmartLight feature that automatically adjusts a picture’s light settings.
For Internet surfing and e-mail access, LG has bundled in the Google package, which also enables the use of Google Maps and YouTube.
And for more entertainment, the phone comes with motion-sensor games, which allow users to play onboard games by tilting or shaking.
Other exciting capabilities are DivX-certified video playback, auto-rotating display and auto-luminance control. With auto-rotating display, images on the screen can be shifted to be viewed in any position while with auto-luminance control, screen lighting is automatically adjusted according to ambient brightness.
The Secret, which has
100 megabytes of internal memory and a Micro Secure Digital card slot that supports cards up to four gigabytes, will be made available in most parts of Asia by end of next month.
KUALA LUMPUR: A 48-year-old salesman pledged his car as collateral for a RM3,000 loan from an Ah Long, who took the car after he failed to repay the loan in time in October, 2006. The salesman's is now upside down.
Last September, he was shocked when the bank informed him that, since he had stopped paying the loan instalments since October 2006, it had auctioned it off – and that he still needed to pay the bank RM18,000 or risk being sued. He is paying that in instalments.
Last month, the big shock came. He received a summons to appear in the Teluk Intan magistrate's court in October as his car had been used in smuggling cigarettes.
“I borrowed RM3,000 from an Ah Long but when I could repay him in time, he took my car and asked me to deposit RM4,000 into his account to get my car back. I was afraid he would cheat me and so I didn’t put in the money,” Lim said after he had appealed to MCA Public Services and Complaints Department (PSCD) for help.
“I kept trying to get in touch with the Ah Long again but I couldn’t. Finally, I lodged a police report in May last year,” said Lim.
At a press conference yesterday, MCA PSCD head Datuk Michael Chong said he had received 15 similar cases this year with five cars used in crime and 13 cases of passports given up as collateral.
“Cars bought under hire-purchase agreements belong to the finance companies and passports are government properties. These cannot be used as collateral,” he said.
KOTA BARU: Pas spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat supports meetings between Pas and Umno leaders on issues relating to Islam but only on an individual basis.
Nik Aziz said it was all right for them to meet but it must not involve the party.
"They can meet each other on their own but the party must not be dragged into it.
"I have had enough of Umno as they are not professional in their political work," he said at his residence in Pulau Melaka yesterday.
He also confirmed that he had not attended the meetings and did not know anything about them.
"I have missed many meetings of the syura council (the highest decision-making body) because of my health.
"If such a meeting is called, then I will not be involved. I leave it all to the party president (Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang)."
TV: All shook up by Camp Rock Aimed at hitting tweens’ G-spot, Camp Rock has already made waves since it premiered in the US two months ago with the young uns clamouring for more of the current “It” band, the Jonas Brothers (Kevin, Joe and Nick).
In fact, the premiere of Camp Rock outrated that of HSM!
But those hoping for the clean, Christian teenybopper musicians to be in every scene will be sorely disappointed as Camp Rock gives most of its face-time to relatively unknown singer-songwriter Demi Lovato (of Disney Channel’s As The Bell Rings).
Camp Rock, although formulaic, does not fail to disappoint — if you get your kicks watching teenagers wear grown-up clothes breaking into song and dance every now and then.
Set in an outdoorsy camp for musicians, a talented but poor Mitchie Torres (Lovato) is painfully embarrassed about her caterer mother who took on a job at the camp so the girl could enter with a discount.
Shane Gray (Joe Jonas) is an angst-ridden and jaded boy bander with “Connect Three” (played by the JB) who seems to have lost his passion for music. He’s been sent packing to Camp Rock by his bandmates to rekindle the music-making spark.
Throw in puppy love, “believe in yourself” mantra, the resident bitchy blonde drama queen (“Whatever, major loser” is delightfully her best line), smart-ass sidekick and some catchy tunes, and there you have a summer craze enough to get teenage hearts go a-flutter.
It has all the ingredients to make kids remember this TV film for at least a few months and for the theme song to be stuck in the head a couple of days.
Specially made for kids who sometimes feel awkward and misunderstood, which is practically everyone, the film, like all Disney Channel original offerings has the message of self-love and being true to yourself.
Lame acting, perpetual cheesy smiles and predictable plot aside, the film won’t win an Emmy. But it will certainly warm up the hearts of both tweens and parents.
TODAY WE STUDY ABOUT "TELL ME MORE" IT WAS VERY INTERESTING YET FUNNY TO ME.... BECAUSE I HAVE TO "COMMUNICATE" WITH THE COMPUTER..... FROM THE AVTIVITY I MANAGED TO IMPROVE MY PRONOUNCIATON SKILLS...
I LEARN A LOT TODAY, AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN.....
21 THGS GIRLS DUN REALISED ON BOYS!!! - TAKEN FRM MY FRIEND'S FS BULLETIN.. :) thnx DINO!
You HAVE to read all of them and if you don't,u r going to come across with problems in your relationship for the next month! 1) Guys may be flirting around all day, but before they go to sleep, they always think about the girl they truly care about.... 2) Guys are more emotional than you think, if they loved you at one point, it'll take them a lot longer than you think to let you go, and it hurts every second that they try. 3) Guys go crazy over a girl's smile(: 4) A guy who likes you wants to be the only guy you talk to. 5) Giving a guy a hanging message like "You know what?..uh...nevermind.." would make him jump to a conclusion that is far from what you are thinking. And he'll assume he did something wrong and he'll obsess about it trying to figure it out. 6) If a guy tells you about his problems, he just needs someone to listen to him. You don't need to give advice. 7) A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teases you. 8) GUYS LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE THEM!!! 9) Guys use words like hot or cute to describe girls. They rarely use beautiful or gorgeous. If a guy uses that, he loves you or likes you a whole heck of a lot. 10)If the guy does something stupid in front of the girl, he will think about it for the next couple days or until the next time he spends time with the girl. 11)If a guy looks unusually calm and laid back, he's probably faking it and he is really thinking about something 12) When a guy says he is going crazy about the girl, he really is Guys rarely say that 13)When a guy asks you to leave him alone, he's just actually saying, "Please come and listen to me 14)If a guy starts to talk seriously, listen to him. It doesn't happen that often, so when it does, you know something's up. 15) When a guy looks at you for longer than a second, he's definitely thinking something. 16) Guys really think that girls are strange and have unpredictable decisions and are MAD confusing but somehow are drawn even more to them 17)A guy would give the world to be able to read a girl's mind for a day. 18)No guy can handle all his problems on his own. He's just too stubborn to admit it 19)NOT ALL GUYS ARE RUDE!!! Just because ONE is RUDE doesn't mean he represents ALL of them 20)WHEN A GUY SACRIFICES HIS SLEEP AND HEALTH JUST TO TALK TO YOU, HE REALLY LIKES YOU AND WANTS TO BE WITH YOU AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE 21)Even if you dump a guy months ago and he loved you he probably still does and if he had one wish it would be you to come back into his life
well..i wud nvr say it's diff 2 noe boy's hearts...coz im used to hv guy frens everywhre.. but..wat i noe frm the past was, wen it comes to crius relationship... BOYS ARE BETTER THAN GIRLS.. and wen it comes to break up.... BOYS WUD BE THE ONE TAT CAN REALLY HURT UR HEART..
P/S: so..those having couple outside thre..be sure keep it safe n put lots of LOVE in the air!!! :P
HELLO EVERYONE... Let us share this Information...
"Lack of Vitamin D Boosts Death Risk.." MONDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News)—Inadequate vitamin D could increase your risk of death by 26 percent, a new study concludes.
Yet many people are not getting enough vitamin D, which the skin makes naturally when exposed to sunlight. A nationwide survey found that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women in the United States were not getting enough of this vital nutrient.
“The importance of vitamin D may be underappreciated,” said lead author Dr. Michal Melamed, a clinical fellow at Johns Hopkins University. “There are studies that link low vitamin D levels to the development of heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, hypertension and different cancers,” she said.
According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine, people should get between 200 and 400 international units of vitamin D a day. The best way to get vitamin D, naturally, is by being out in the sun.
As little as 10 to 15 minutes of sun a day can give you all a vitamin D you need. Vitamin D is also available in small quantities in foods such as fish and milk.
So that,all of us must make sure that have enough vitamin D...:)
Let us share "How to Quit Smoking":Start Here -Quit Once, Quit Again, Quit for Good-
Most people try to quit smoking a few times before they finally succeed. Therefore, failing is not failure—it's practice. Nicotine loves the brain and the brain loves it right back; it even found its own little pleasure-inducing receptor there (the nicotinic receptor). What other satisfying thing do you do 200 times a day (the average number of puffs a pack-a-day smoker enjoys) and then abruptly decide not to do at all?
The good news is that although the science of addiction research is relatively young, the way to quit smoking is becoming clearer: Some combination of drugs, stop-smoking aids, counseling, support, and changes of habit will work for you. Maybe not the first time, but maybe this time. Good luck.
A speech’s introduction is its most important part.
If you lose your audience in the first 15 seconds to 2 minutes, you might as well pack your bags and go home. You’ll never – or almost never – regain their attention.
Here are some tips to help you get through the first few moments of your speech:
1. Do Memorize your First Sentence For the first 10 seconds or so of any speech your mind is doing its best to fight off an anxiety attack. It’s not the time to be creative. Write out your first sentence or two. And memorize it. (By the time you’ve made it through those first daunting moments, your mind will begin to function again.)
2. Don't Start with a Joke Unless you’re a gifted comic, the chances of getting an audience to laugh at a joke right at the start are miniscule. Why invite disaster? Making some self-deprecating, humorous remark, on the other hand, is a great way to begin. (You can, if appropriate, tell a joke later in your presentation, after the audience has warmed up to you.)
3. Don't Waste Time with Pleasantries Winston Churchill called opening pleasantries “banalities.” Don’t tell the audience how happy you are to be speaking to them. Don’t tell them what a great group of people they are. Don’t acknowledge the dignitaries in the audience. It all sounds like so much hooey. (You can make similar comments later in your speech when they’ll sound more sincere.)
4. Do Jump Right In Tell a story. Make a startling assertion. Ask a provocative question. Cite a brief quote or outrageous statistic. Whatever you do, just do it. Don’t introduce your introduction.
5. Don't Apologize “I’m sorry I didn’t have more time to prepare.” “Please excuse me, I’m not a very good speaker.” “I hope you’ll overlook my nervousness.” Apologies are either an insult to the audience or an invitation not to be taken seriously. Don’t put yourself and your insecurities up front. Focus instead on the audience and on your message.
The time and effort you put into crafting a powerful opening – whichever strategy you choose – will pay off. It will win you the audience’s attention, respect, and goodwill. And it will make you feel more confident.
The Witt Communications Newsletter contains advice for improving your ability to present yourself and your ideas in a way that wins people's cooperation. It comes out once a month.
hahaha maybe u all learned it before.... but i just remind u all about this...
Astronomers have developed a theory about how our solar system formed that explains why it has small, rocky planets close to the sun and big, gaseous ones farther away. Astronomers believe our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust called the solar nebula. Gravity pulled together a portion of gas and dust at the center of the nebula that was denser than the rest. The material accumulated into a dense, spinning clump that formed our sun.
The remaining gas and dust flattened into a disk called a protoplanetary disk swirling around the sun. Protoplanetary disks around distant stars were first observed through telescopes in 1983. Rocky particles within the disk collided and stuck together, forming bodies called planetesimals. Planetesimals later combined to form the planets. At the distances of the outer planets, gases froze into ice, creating huge balls of frozen gas that formed the Jovian planets.
Hot gases and electrically charged particles flow from our sun constantly, forming a stream called the solar wind. The solar wind was stronger at first than it is today. The early solar wind drove the light elements -- hydrogen and helium -- away from the inner planets like Earth. But the stronger gravity of the giant outer planets held on to more of the planets' hydrogen and helium, and the solar wind was weaker there. So these outer planets kept most of their light elements and wound up with much more mass than Earth.
Astronomers developed these theories when they thought that rocky planets always orbited close to the parent star and giant planets farther out. But the "rule" was based only on our own solar system. Now that astronomers have learned something about other solar systems, they have devised new theories. Some scientists have suggested that the giant planets in other solar systems may have formed far from their parent stars and later moved in closer.
Contributor: Jay M. Pasachoff, Ph.D., Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy and Director, Hopkins Observatory of Williams College.
How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: Pasachoff, Jay M. "Planet." World Book Online Reference Center. 2004. World Book. http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar433460.
The LAPD, The FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it.
The CIA goes in.
They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist.
The FBI goes in.
After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming.
The LAPD goes in.
They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling: "Okay! Okay! I'm a rabbit! I'm a rabbit!" ...hehehe...
as a university student,computer or laptop is such our life...it is based on my experienced...i feel like mad person when my laptop break down...
however....do u really know who is the first person that geek the computer?
in ur mind surely think about Bill Gates....
eventhough...based from my reading from msn.com,Bill Gates or even a guy is not the person that turns out the 1st computer.......but a girl...
The first computer programmer is a woman.
Believe it. Long before Bill Gates, there was August Ada King, aka Ada Lovelace, who is widely credited with being the first computer programmer.
In footnotes of an 1843 study she translated for fellow mathematician Charles Babbage, whose yet-to-be-built "analytical engine" -- a mechanical precursor to today's modern computer -- Lovelace proposed ways the machine could be programmed. One particularly prescient insight she had: that computers had applications beyond crunching numbers, such as composing music.
Her nascent contributions to the field did not go unnoticed: The Ada programming language used to code U.S. military software is named in her honor.
haa...that's wonderful right....the power of women
for more information...u can search more information at
assalamualaikum thank god cz i can give me comment here of what i have read during this month.i jz read newspaper NSTP today and its frontpage is all about politic.today is about Raja Petra and Teresa kok,who were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last Friday, will be filing a writ of habeas corpus seeking their release. The applications are expected to be filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
In the ISA crackdown on Friday, Raja Petra was the first to be arrested, followed by Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng several hours later, and Kok shortly after that.
Tan was released the next day.
But for Kok and Raja Petra's families, the weekend was spent worrying about their whereabouts, safety and well-being. Police have so far refused to say where Kok and Raja Petra were being held. "Her (Kok) parents are very affected by their daughter's arrest. Like most of us, they want answers," Kok's lawyer Sankara Nair said yesterday.
He is also expected to file a suit against a Bahasa Malaysia daily for accusing his client of inciting religious tension.
"Teresa had instructed me to take legal action against the newspaper as soon as the report was published last Tuesday."
On Saturday, Kok's father, Kok Kin Tong, said despite being warned of her impending arrest, his daughter had refused to go into hiding.
He said his daughter felt she had done nothing wrong.
Marina Lee, the wife of Raja Petra, also confirmed that his lawyers would be filing the habeas corpus writ tomorrow at the latest.
"They are preparing the affidavit, most likely tomorrow (today), but it could also drag on until Tuesday," she said.
Marina said she was coping well, but was worried on how her husband's arrest was affecting their youngest daughter.
"She's in the midst of her final exams now and what she witnessed and went through during the arrest at home was intimidating.
"But she's a strong-hearted girl, and I think she will be all right."
Despite repeated attempts by her husband's lawyers, the police have refused to disclose where he was being detained.
Marina criticised Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar for backing the ISA arrests with illogical reasons and excuses.
I'm now interested on the latest new car in the world....
for example, at TAKANEZAWA, Japan. Honda Motor celebrated the start of production of its FCX Clarity, the world’s first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle intended for mass production. In a ceremony at a factory an hour north of Tokyo, the first assembly-line FCX Clarity rolled out to the applause of hundreds of Honda employees wearing white jump suits.
It looks like an ordinary family sedan, costs more to build than a Ferrari and may have just moved the world one step closer to a future free of petroleum.Honda will make just 200 of the futuristic vehicles over the next three years, but said it eventually planned to increase production volumes, especially as hydrogen filling stations became more common. On Monday, Honda announced its first five customers, who included the actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
Honda said even the small initial production run represented progress toward a clean-burning technology that many rejected as too exotic and too expensive to gain wide acceptance.
“Basically, we can mass produce these now,” said Kazuaki Umezu, head of Honda’s Automobile New Model Center, where the FCX Clarity is built. “We are waiting for the infrastructure to catch up.”
Fuel-cell vehicles have been a sort of holy grail of the auto industry, offering the promise of driving without emitting air-polluting exhaust. Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen and oxygen from ordinary air to make electricity, in a process whose only byproducts are water and heat. They have drawn renewed attention in an era of climate change, $140 a barrel oil, and rising competition for dwindling fossil fuels.
“This is a must-have technology for the future of the earth,” said Takeo Fukui, Honda’s president. “Honda will work hard to mainstream fuel-cell cars.”
Fuel cells have an advantage over electric cars, whose batteries take hours to recharge and use electricity, which, in the case of the United States, China and many other countries, is often produced by coal-burning power plants.
Honda says its FCX Clarity can be filled easily at a pump, can drive 280 miles on a tank, almost as far as a gasoline car. It also gets higher fuel efficiency than a gasoline car or hybrid, the equivalent of 74 miles a gallon of gas, according to the company.
But the technology has faced many hurdles, not the least of which has been the prohibitive cost of the fuel cells themselves. Honda says it has found ways to mass produce them, which promises to drive down costs through economies of scale. On Monday, it showed reporters its fuel-cell production line, which resembled a semiconductor factory more than an auto plant with its humming automated machinery and white smocked workers in dust-free rooms.
Mr. Fukui said the cars cost several hundred thousand dollars each to produce, though he said that should drop below $100,000 in less than a decade as production volumes increase. In the meantime, the car company will be effectively subsidizing its customers, who will lease the vehicles for $600 a month. That is not much more than the leasing price of one of Honda’s top Acura line of luxury cars.
At Monday’s ceremony, Mr. Fukui presented an oversize key to the first FCX Clarity customer, a film producer from Los Angeles on hand for the occasion. Honda said it would offer the car in Southern California first because the state has been a leader in building hydrogen filling stations.
Honda said the five had been chosen after the company got a wave of queries from American consumers when it publicized the car last year. On Monday, Honda also announced three dealerships near Los Angeles that will be the first to start leasing FCX Claritys.
Fuel-cell vehicles have been a big gamble for Honda, which has spent the last 16 years and millions of dollars — the company will not say exactly how much — developing them. For a time, the company was criticized for pouring money into unproven technologies while refusing to follow the rest of the industry into large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
Now, with gas prices soaring, Honda is in an enviable position of not being burdened with large inventories of gas-guzzling full-frame trucks that require hefty incentives to sell, or the factories that build them. Analysts have said Honda and the rival Japanese carmaker Toyota have seized a commanding lead in more efficient, green technologies like hybrids as well as fuel cells.
Honda says one big breakthrough was shrinking the size of its fuel cells. In the FCX Clarity, they fit in a box-shaped unit the size of a desktop PC that weighs about 150 pounds, less than half of their size a decade ago.
The FCX Clarity’s fuel-cell unit can generate up to 100 kilowatts of electricity, enough to accelerate the car from zero to 60 miles an hour in less than nine seconds, and give it top speeds of 100 miles an hour, Honda says. Even at high speed, the FCX Clarity, a four-door sedan that looks like a sleeker version of the Accord, drives with the hushed whine of a golf cart.
Honda said a big remaining hurdle to true mass production is the lack of filling stations that sell hydrogen. Even in California, where the state government has led a push to build hydrogen stations, there are still very few public stations, Honda said. That will make it hard to drive the car far from home, limiting its appeal, the company said.
For now, the first batch of customers seem drawn by the car’s novelty as much as anything else. The first owner, the film producer Ron Yerxa, said he did not plan to drive it far, just to work and to eat out — far enough to draw the admiration of passers-by.
I'm dreams that i would get my dream in the future....hope so...
POH: Businessman Azizi Abidin has been a crowd-puller at the Ramadan bazaar at Medan Gopeng, here, selling dim sum and chee cheong fun instead of the usual ayam percik and popiah for buka puasa,
Made from his secret recipe, Azizi, 41, and his sister Azlin, 34, have been doing brisk business with the Chinese fare.
With nine different types of dim sum, Azizi and Azlin have been kept busy at the stall.
According to Azizi, the dim sum is mainly made with chicken meat, prawns and crabmeat, prepared to the taste of lohe black pepper dumpling tops the list of the nine types that I sell at the bazaar,” said Azizi, who has been in the dim sum business for the past two years.
Among the nine different types sold at his stall are pandan mochi, prawn dumpling, mushroom dumpling, siew mai (glutinous rice with chicken), black pepper dumpling, spinach dumpling, crab dumpling and teo chew dumpling.
Regularly based at the Politeknik Ungku Omar, Azizi also makes chee cheong fun for buka puasa at the bazaar.
Using four different types of flour, Azizi prepares the chee cheong fun, which is Hong Kong-styled.
Serving the delicious Chinese-styled halal food items for buka puasa, it is not surprising that the dim sum, dumplings and chee cheong fun were snapped up quickly by Chinese and Indian customers.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into Taiwan with heavy rain and strong winds Sunday, killing at least one person and flooding low-lying regions.
Several people are reported missing.
Officials at Taipei's international airport said domestic flights were cancelled and many international flights delayed for hours because of the storm.
Trains also stopped running and several mountain highways were blocked by landslides, including the main Taipei-Ilan highway after torrential rains caused a 30-metre cave-in along a mountainous section.
Late Sunday, TV stations reported that a bridge in Taichung county had collapsed, plunging three vehicles into a river and drowning at least one person.
The fate of the other vehicles' occupants was not known.
Forecasters say Sinlaku made landfall in coastal Ilan county in northeastern Taiwan at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, but quickly turned and headed back out to sea.
After spiralling off Taiwan's northeastern coast for several hours, it gradually roared northeast toward Japan but its outer bands were expected to continue to affect Taiwan and eastern China.
Several mountainous regions recorded more than a metre of rain on the weekend and a few large rivers overflowed their banks.
More than 1,000 people were evacuated overnight from low-lying areas in two counties in the north, and 14 people were injured, mostly by falling objects, it said.
As the storm moved away from eastern Taiwan, authorities began to restore rail traffic, allowing people to resume plans to visit their families for Sunday's traditional moon festival.
Television footage showed traffic jams in Ilan's flooded streets, which were littered with fallen billboards and uprooted trees. Power was cut in 120,000 households in the county, the reports said.
In eastern China, more than 170,000 people were evacuated from their homes in low-lying areas of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
China's weather observatory issued a second-degree disaster weather warning, forecasting winds close to hurricane force and heavy rains in coastal areas, Xinhua said.
Authorities in Zhejiang called nearly 30,000 fishing boats to shore, it said.
Sinlaku is the third typhoon, as hurricanes are called in much of the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, to hit Taiwan this year.
i would to share with u all about the islamic sholar.
Abu Musa Jābir ibn Hayyān (c. 721–c. 815), known also by his Latinised name Geber, was a prominent Muslim polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geologist, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician. He is "considered by many to be the father of chemistry". His ethnic background is not clear; although some sources state that he was an Arab, other sources introduce him as Persian.
Jabir Ibn Hayyan is widely credited with the introduction of the experimental method in alchemy, and with the invention of numerous important processes still used in modern chemistry today, such as the syntheses of hydrochloric and nitric acids, distillation, and crystallisation. His original works are highly esoteric and probably coded, though nobody today knows what the code is. On the surface, his alchemical career revolved around an elaborate chemical numerology based on consonants in the Arabic names of substances and the concept of takwin, the artificial creation of life in the alchemical laboratory. Research has also established that oldest text of Jabiran corpus must have originated in the scientific culture of northeastern Persia. This thesis is supported by the Persian language and Middle Persian terms used in the technical vocabulary.
do you like kick box.. i love it.. there a some article to you..
More people are turning to Muay Thai as a way to keep fit.
It is easy to pick up and there’s the benefit of an intense workout without expensive equipment, writes SUZANNA PILLAY.
MUAY what? If you haven’t heard about Muay Thai/Thai boxing by now, you will soon as it could be coming to a gym near you. It’s the latest in fitness that’s taking the world by storm.
Interest in Muay Thai worldwide was first sparked by Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the 1990s. Muay Thai is just one of the fighting styles used in MMA, which also borrows moves from jiujitsu, boxing, wrestling and other martial arts.
Today, thanks to increased publicity from television shows, interest in Muay Thai is red-hot.
Reality television shows such as The Contender Asia, produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor), has done wonders for Muay Thai. Just as successful as its predecessor, The Contender, which focused on boxing, The Contender Asia saw 16 of the world’s best Muay Thai fighters pit their skills against each other for the title of Contender Champion and a prize sum of US$250,000 (RM875,000). It was a monster hit that has inspired youths and children worldwide to embrace the sport. So what exactly is Muay Thai? Regarded as the national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai was first used by Siamese soldiers in the 13th century. Unlike Western-style boxing (which has two body contact points and where all targets are above waist level), Muay Thai’s eight body contact points and use of the hands, elbows, knees and feet in fights earned it the nickname of “the science of the eight limbs”.
Typical moves in Muay Thai include knee and elbow strikes, punches and kicks. It also works the core abdominal muscles, making it the ultimate all-in-one workout.
And it’s not just the guys who are flipping over it. Its benefits as an effective aerobic workout has not been lost on women. More and more women are signing up for Muay Thai workouts because of their health benefits.
Aside from being a great overall fat-burning, cardiovascular workout, it improves the muscle tone of jiggly underarms, flabby legs and droopy bottoms. Add to that the unexpected but welcome benefit of Muay Thai as a form of stress relief. Feeling pressured? Just hit a striking pad or punching bag.
Like all sports, Muay Thai builds up physical strength and stamina. Fighters are expected to last for seven to eight three-minute long rounds of sparring in competitions.
To be fighting fit, Muay Thai fighters are put through a rigorous workout that includes running, jumping rope and shadow-boxing, said Mohd Aly Yakir, 28, who has been a Muay Thai instructor for four years and has taught in Singapore and Thailand. Apart from his own classes at Dance KL in Bangsar, Lee as he prefers to be called, also teaches Muay Thai at the Celebrity Fitness gym in the area.
“It’s an intense workout. So if you’ve been inactive for a while expect stiff limbs after your first session,” said Lee. He has been practising the art for seven years.
Of Malaysian-Thai parentage, he is also skilled in the martial arts of Kendo, and Taekwando.
In Malaysia, Lee said Muay Thai has been slowly gaining popularity in the last four years, especially in the states bordering Thailand such as Kedah and Kelantan where the sport is known as tomoi.
Thanks to more awareness of Muay Thai from television shows, people from all walks of life in Malaysia are turning to Muay Thai as way to keep fit. His Muay Thai workout class in Bangsar has people of all ages from teens to 60-year-olds.
Interest is also increasing because more gyms in the country are starting to offer it as a workout option.
“You don’t need to buy expensive equipment and your whole body also gets an intense workout. It’s flexible and fast to pick up.
“You can learn basic Muay Thai steps in three months.
“For those keen on competing, if you have confidence, within seven months you can be ready for the ring.”
With his martial arts background, it took Lee just seven months to learn all the necessary skills for competition.
He has represented the national teams of Thailand (2002-2003), Singapore (2004-2005) and Malaysia (1997-2002) in Muay Thai.
It is unfortunate, he said, that people have the wrong impression about Muay Thai and that there is a misconception that it will encourage fighting and aggressive behaviour in youths.
His view of Muay Thai, which he had previously regarded as just a sport, changed when he went to Chiang Mai, Thailand to study the martial art.
“I realised it was more than that. It teaches self-awareness, confidence and discipline. A Muay Thai student has to have courage and not abuse his knowledge of the martial art. It is not meant for starting fights but for self-protection.
“Think of it this way: Muay Thai is to the Thais’ what silat is to Malaysians.
MURDER SUSPECT REARRESTED AFTER SHORTLIVED FREEDOM......
Read Carefully.....
JOHOR BARU: A man arrested in connection with the murder of Tenggaroh state assemblyman Datuk S. Krishnasamy had a shortlived freedom yesterday. He was re-arrested under the Emergency Ordinance after being released on police bail.
The 36-year-old had been re-arrested because he was deemed a threat to public safety, said a statement from the state Criminal Investigation Department yesterday.
The suspect was arrested on Sept 5 in Seri Alam, Masai, by a team from the Federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.
He is believed to be the son of a top MIC politician in Johor. Krishnasamy, 62, was shot dead at point blank range by a gunman in a lift at the state MIC headquarters in Jalan Segget here on Jan 11.
Ramadan or Ramazan is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to Angel Gabriel, to deliver it to Prophet Muhammad. It is the Islamic month of fasting (sawm), in which participating Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person patience, sacrifice and humility. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of God, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance into the future, ask for help in refraining from everyday evils and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.The most prominent event of this month is the fasting (sawm) which should be practiced by all Muslims. Every day during the Blessed month of Ramadan Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat Suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, and perform the fajr prayer. They do not eat or drink anything after this prayer is said, until the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib (sunset), is due. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set, until the next morning's fajr prayer.
During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual thoughts and activities during fasting hours are also forbidden.[Qur'an 2:187] Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice, and sympathy for those who are less fortunate. It is also intended to make Muslims more generous and charitable.
Those who are traveling, pregnant women who fear for the health of their unborn, and those with severe health problems related to eating are exempt from fasting. One reason for this could be that lack of food and liquid in these situations could be detrimental to one's health. While fasting is not considered compulsory in childhood (which ends at puberty), many children endeavour to complete as many fasts as possible as practice for later life.
when we talk about ramadhan months..there not only about food but also famous with firecraker..
this very dangerous and sometimes may cause death..
TUMPAT: A firecracker the size of a 20 sen coin exploded in a boy's palm, badly injuring him. Mohamad Zulkifli Abdul Ghani, 14, a school dropout, was trying to light the first of two firecrackers that he had bought from a sundry shop. His mother, Rosiah Deraman, 53, of Kampung Putat Tujuh, said: "I was cooking when I heard a loud bang from the back of the house. I ran out and saw his hand bleeding." The boy was taken to Lati Hospital in Pasir Mas.
this a proof..i hope all of us will take this as lesson.
Wow.... Liverpool win last night...even it win just in 2-1, it enough to put man U in lower than Liverpool club in EPL....
Liverpool stand-in captain Jamie Carragher believes the 2-1 win against Manchester United can give them hope to mount a title challenge this season.
He said: "It gives us belief and confidence because we've beaten the best team in Europe.
"It gives us the belief that we can beat anyone in the league.
"We hope we can now push on for the rest of the season. It should spur us on, because we've not been playing too well. That is the best we've played."
The defender added: "It also gives us a bit of breathing space between us and United, and top is where a club like Liverpool should be."
Manager Rafael Benitez said after his first league win against United since being appointed Liverpool manager in 2004: "It was good for the confidence of the players.
"At half-time we were talking about having confidence and determination going forwards - and in the second half we were the best team.
"We showed quality and character to come back, and the understanding of Robbie Keane and Dirk Kuyt was very good. Their pressing was really important for the rest of the team."
Hope Liverpool can win the UEFA champion league for year 2008/2009 for 6th times.....
i have good news for u.. who hungry right now.. just read article...
Every Ramadan, thoughts turn to traditional dishes, chef Jasmin Mohd Zon tells TAN BEE HONG.
IN September, Cafe Serena Brasserie will offer special recipes personally picked by chef Jasmin Mohd Zon and his kitchen team. The buffet spread will include both Western and local specialties. Most of the food is arranged on island tables for easy access.
Firstly, pick off bunches of fresh dates and a refreshing drink of air bandung, air selasih, sugar cane, soya bean milk or a hot teh tarik. Those who want to break off for prayers, can head for the surau.
Then come back and slowly savour Jasmin’s very own favourite appetisers like kerabu prawns and pucuk paku, tahu sumbat (stuffed tofu with peanut sauce) and all kinds of ulam-ulam ™with a choice of dressings like sambal belacan, budu, sambal tempoyak and cincaluk.
Or tuck into the freshest seafood kept chilled on ice — freshly shucked oysters, tiger prawns, crabs, mussels and clams. Sushi and sashimi are prepared a la minute, with tuna, fresh salmon and white fish as well as rolled sushi. Freshen the appetite with a soup. There are western-style soups as well as Asian brews like spicy ox-tail, tom yam and sup singgang.
Jasmin has worked out a total of five menus on a rotation basis, so diners won’t get bored. There will be two rice dishes daily — plain rice and a choice of nasi biryani, nasi minyak, nasi tomato and nasi hujan panas.
But plain rice goes best with the hot, spicy main dishes like ayam masak merah, rendang tok, ayam percik, kambing kuzi, creamy beef ribs and starfruit, fish head curry, ostrich with cumin and dried chili, fish tikka and fried spicy crab.
“We have seven action stations daily,” says Jasmin. “Apart from roast lamb and beef, there are chefs making popiah basah and dim sum, grilling seafood, satay, otak-otak and stuffing pita bread. We also have a noodles section with curry mee, soup noodles, laksa Johor, mee jawa, mee rebus and wantan noodles.”
The curry mee is a spicy offering. You can top up the noodles with your favourite items of tofu pok, chicken, prawns and long beans. If you like it really hot, add lots of dried prawn sambal or a squeeze of lime juice for that extra zing.
The dessert table is filled with pastries and cakes, fresh fruit and local kuih muih. You also get bubur serawa nangka, chilled avocado cream, cendol and leng chi kang.
The Ramadan Delights buffet, on till Sept 30, is priced at RM95++. Children aged six to 12 pay half price.
CAFE SERENA BRASSERIE Hotel Nikko KL Jalan Ampang, KL 03-2782 6228
Ramadan is derived from the Arabic root word ramida or arramad intense scorching heat and dryness, especially the ground. From the same root there is ramdaa, sunbaked sand, and the famous proverb: "Kal Mustajeer minar Ramadaa binnar" - to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. And in a hadith the Messenger of Allah (saas) said : "The prayer of repenters is due when the young camel can feel the sun's heat early in the morning." (Muslim)
Thus, the Ramadan is so called to indicate the heating sensation in the stomach as a result of thirst. Others said it is so called because Ramadan scorches out the sins burns the ground. Some said it is so called because the hearts and souls are more readily receptive to the admonition and remembrance of Allah during Ramadan, ad the sand and stones are receptive to the sun's heat. The framers of this beautiful language may have been inspired by Allah (SWT) in naming this month Ramadan. Otherwise, the relation between the heat and its properties is miraculously similar to that of Ramadan. While the heat represents the matter that helps shape, form, and mold virtually every matter, from metal and plastics, to plants and living cells-Ramadan undoubtedly helps a serious believe remold, reshape, reform, and renew his physical and spiritual disposition and behaviour.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged the government to make changes to the Internal Security Act (ISA) to suit the present situation and in the interest of human rights.
Vice president Tan Sri Simon Saun said the government should review the ISA and all the cases to ascertain whether the detentions were necessary to safeguard national security and peace.
“We hope the government will make changes to the ISA introduced during the administration of second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Suhakam believes that such a law is only applicable for 10 years and not 100 years,” he told reporters after the “Roundtable Discussion on Legal Empowerment of The Poor” here today.
Suhakam commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said it viewed detention without trial seriously and had repeatedly suggested that ISA detainees be freed or charged in court.
“If there is proof to support the detentions, the detainees must be charged in court. This is in line with the principles of human rights,” he said.
Suhakam also proposed to visit blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Seputeh Member of Parliament Teresa Kok who were detained under the ISA on Friday.
LEE Chong Wei's status as the World No 1, for a second time around, will be brought into focus when he defends his title at the Japan Open which begins in Tokyo today.
Chong Wei, the top seed, may not have China's Olympic champion Lin Dan to challenge him but, nonetheless, it will not be an easy ride for the Malaysian.
The last time Chong Wei reigned as the World No 1 in 2006, he didn't win a single title and this is something the 26-year-old will want to change.
In fact, Chong Wei, as the world's top player in 2006, lost the Taiwan and Macau Opens and was bundled out in the quarter-finals of the Madrid World Championships by China's Bao Chunlai that same year.
But now, a much improved and steadier Chong Wei has the opportunity to clinch his first crown as the world's leading player and, barring a collapse, should do so.
Chong Wei should have little trouble beating his first round opponent, a qualifier, before meeting Sho Sasaki of Japan. Once again, he is expected to come through but Chong Wei will be tested in the quarter-finals by Taiwan Open champion Simon Santoso of Indonesia.
Going by experience, Chong Wei should overrun Santoso, and if he does, comes up against a bigger obstacle in the shape of another Indonesian, Taufik Hidayat in the semi-finals.
But Taufik's form has slipped considerably of late which means Chong Wei should secure his spot in the final.
Chong Wei is expected to meet second seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro for the title, and after having secured a one-sided win against the Indonesian in the Olympics, the top-seeded Malaysian should complete back-to-back Japan Open titles on Sunday which should see him reign as the World No 1 for at least another month.
Roslin Hashim is the other Malaysian competing in the men's singles and the veteran singles player will be boosted by his solid performance in the Taiwan Open where he finished runner-up to Santoso.
Roslin should advance from his opening encounter against Hong Kong's Chan Yan Kit, but then comes up against Thai stalwart Boonsak Ponsana. This encounter could see the Malaysian's run end.
In the men's doubles, third seeds Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari will also be aiming for their third straight Super Series title but much will depend on the form of Indonesia's Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan.
Zakry-Fairuz are drawn to meet top seeds Markis-Hendra in the last four and, should they beat the high-flying Indonesians, Zakry-Fairuz next meet Danish veterans Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen for the title.
In the women's singles, Wong Mew Choo faces tricky preliminary round matches before a possible grudge quarter-final against Lu Lan of China.
But Mew Choo must first overcome the hardworking Yu Hirayama of Japan and Olympic bronze medallist Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia in the first and second rounds respectively before getting her chance to avenge her Olympics quarter-final defeat to Lu Lan.
MALACCA: Lim Geok Kim and his wife Meng Yeok are still mourning the loss of their son Ricky who died after completing his three-month national service stint recently.
Now, they are traumatised at the thought of their only surviving child, Jane, 17, being selected to undergo NS training and are adamant not to let her go.
“We are not going to push our luck this time. She will stay with us at home no matter what,” added Lim, 46, yesterday who is a renovation worker from Tanjung Kling.
If the authorities want to catch anyone, just take us both. We will not let her go.”
Although they do not blame the authorities for the son’s death, the couple said they could not risk losing Jane.
“Our family was only just recently united after Ricky’s three-month absence from home,” he said during a press conference held by Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him.
They had recently found out from the NS website that Jane was selected for training.
Ricky, 20, had returned after his NS training on Sept 6 and died on Sept 15.
The SMK Catholic High student did not complain of any illness or pain prior to his death but he did complain about the camp’s hygiene and yellowish water supply.
p/s: kinda sad..huhu..whose fault was tat???ermmm..authorities??yeah..for nt doing their job...huhu..PPL...
tell me more is an effective and anterative program for learning english.I have never use tell me more before this but i enjoy using tell me more.It is creative,effective and anterative ways for learning english, for my opinion if the usage of tell mere is fully emplemented in all school in malaysia it will be a great success.But there is certain weakness in the tell me more program,for me its hard to navigate but with a good instruction it can be improve.The activities in tell me more is very helpfull in improving my english and it also very entertain,for example the dialog sesion,its is very fun to see the reaction of the person that is talking to us and i cant wait to reply back.I have learn how to mention lot of word diferrent ways and i also learn how to improve my vocabulary.Grammar and more.-putra
Ying Xin kidnap-cum-murder case: JOHOR BARU: The four suspects, in custody to facilitate investigations into the kidnap-cum-murder of 16-year-old Lai Ying Xin, have had their remand orders extended to Sunday. State police chief Datuk Mohktar Shariff said the remand orders, which expired yesterday, were extended as police were still waiting for the DNA and chemist's reports from the relevant authorities.
The remains of Lai Ying Xin, which had been placed at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital mortuary, would be released to her family once the tests had been concluded.
Ying Xin was abducted at a hypermarket in Kulai, where she worked part-time, on Sept 11 between 9pm and 10pm.
Her parents lodged a police report the next day after they received a ransom call. Ying Xin, a straight-A student of Sekolah Menengah Sultan Ibrahim Kulai, was believed to have been strangled to death and her body burnt.
Her charred remains were found at a site in Kulai on Sept 16 after four suspects led police to the place.
This murder case reminded me about our own safeness.. I wonder why her friends will murder her in such a cruel way! One of the suspects is just 16 years old! Is it the teenagers today changed to be prematured? Why? I think of the teenagers today watched too many murder films and that kind of films had shown all the steps to murder! This cause confusion in their minds between what is right and wrong!
KUALA LUMPUR: It was a double disappointment for Malaysia at the Japan Open in Tokyo yesterday when Lee Chong Wei was dethroned in the men’s singles while Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty’s chase to become the queens of the day remained elusive yet again.
After a brilliant start, top seed Chong Wei simply could not keep up with the blistering pace set by Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia and crashed to a 17-21, 11-21 defeat in a 40-minute battle.
Many would agree that it was certainly not the same Chong Wei who did the country proud a few weeks ago by beating Sony en route to winning a silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Blistering: Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia posing with his winner’s medal and trophy after beating Lee Chong Wei 21-17, 21-11 at the Japan Open yesterday. — AP
His attacks were way off the mark. There were too many unforced errors and he was even slower than usual especially in the second game.
With the tame defeat yesterday, Chong Wei failed in his bid to justify his current world number one ranking status. He has yet to win a title during his tenure as the world’s top ranked player.
“Sony was just too fast and I could not keep up with his speed. I was tired and was struggling to give that extra push,” said Chong Wei in a telephone interview.
“It is quite normal to experience a draught in the stadium but I failed to adjust to it. There were silly mistakes and that frustrated me even more. Sony was so determined today.
“But I am looking forward to a break from competition next week. (Chong Wei is skipping next week’s China Masters). I hope to get a good rest at home. Hopefully, I will bounce back,” he added.
Women’s world No.11 ranked pair Eei Hui-Pei Tty could not hide their disappointments after letting slip a golden chance to nail their first Open title.
The duo, who have played the bridesmaids’ role three times since teaming up in 2002, went down 19-21, 21-5, 18-21 to China’s youngsters Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei in a 54-minute encounter.
Eei Hui was dejected over their defeat to the Chinese pair who are not even ranked in the top 300.
“We have never played them before and it took us a while to get used to their style of play in the first game. We finally got a better grip of the game but it was too late.
“Our standard was about the same and we were so close to beating them. This is so disappointing,” said Eei Hui.
“This Chinese pair hardly go out. But by winning the Japan Open today, they have proved they are the pair to watch in the future.”
This Warden Message is being issued to inform American citizens traveling to or residing in the Mexican state of Chihuahua of an increase in violent criminal activity fueled by a war between drug cartels. Over 900 homicides have taken place in Ciudad Juarez in 2008, including 200 in August. Drug-related murders are occurring throughout the state of Chihuahua and are not confined to major cities. The U.S. Consulate General has no information indicating that American citizens are being targeted because of their nationality; however, U.S. citizenship does not provide a shield from the violence.
The narcotics-related violence has taken a heavy toll on municipal and state police forces, and their ability to respond to or control street crime has deteriorated. This has resulted in an increase in armed robberies, carjackings, car theft, bank robberies, and other crimes in Ciudad Juarez and throughout the state. The federal government of Mexico has provided an additional security presence in parts of the state to try to curb the violence
When a girl looks at a boy, it's hard to tell the reason why, she might consider him as a friend, or she might love him to no end.
when a boy looks at a girl, he considers her as a precious pearl, that he tries to treasure, in his heart,where it brings him pleasure.
when a girl looks at a boy, she hides her feelings b'coz she is shy, she wants the boy to come and confess, the feelings in her heart,she can't express.
when a boy looks at a girl, the feelings for her in his heart is real, when time runs out,he is desperate, b'coz he don't want to go seperate
when a girl looks at a boy, then he is not here,she begins to cry, But y she did not tell when he was here, when he was always there to care.
when a boy looks at a girl, the girl in his heart,he will always feel, whether she is here or not here, in his heart,she will always be there.
Love is always the same, boy or girl it doesn't matter in the name, But why is it so hard to tell, when in love we have already fell.
The origin of this indigenous dance is not clearly known but it is believed to have been in existence along with the Iban tribe since the 16th Century. The Ngajat dance is believed to have been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most important harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses and so on.
The male dancers wear large feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘cawat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches to below their knees with intricate weaving. Traditionally this dance was only performed by male dancers but not anymore.
The dance is arranged straight lines and in a circle and does involve dramatic leaps and jumps performed by the male dancers.
Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak or ketebong’ provide the music. The musicians may be either male or female.
P/S: IF U WAN TO KNOW MORE BOUT IBAN TRADITIONS..PLS DO ASK.HEHE..I'LL HELP WAT I CAN.. :p
Salam and gudmorning to all my friends.... Let us share more about "INSOMNIA"
INSOMNIA (Inability to sleep; Dyssomnia; Sleeplessness; Wakefulness)
There are more care to avoid this problem: Try changing your nighttime sleeping habits and other behavior before taking drugs for insomnia. For example:
-Avoid emotional upset or stressful situations before bedtime. -Avoid using alcohol in the evening. Avoid caffeine for at least 8 hours before bedtime. Give up smoking, because nicotine is a stimulant. -Eat a light snack before bedtime. Foods such as warm milk or turkey contain a natural sleep inducer called L-tryptophan. -Establish a regular bedtime, but don't go to bed if you feel wide awake. -Exercise regularly, but not in the last 2 hours before going to bed. Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has been shown to make people fall asleep faster and get deeper and more restful sleep. Sex can be a natural sleep inducer for some people. -Relax by reading, taking a bath, or listening to soothing music before going to bed. -Take your TV or computer out of your bedroom. Otherwise, your brain becomes used to the stimulation and starts to expect it when you are there. This makes it harder for you to fall asleep. -Use the bedroom for bedroom activities only. Once in bed, use creative imagery and relaxation techniques to keep your mind off unrestful thoughts. Avoid staying in bed for long periods of time while awake, or going to bed because of boredom.
So,if some of you have problem to sleep,you can try it... THANX from SHAFIZA...:-)
MILK PRODUCTS MADE LOCALLY AND SUBJECTED TO RIGOROUS TESTS, PEOPLE ASSURED..(TAKEN FRM THE STAR DATED 24TH SEP 08)
PETALING JAYA: Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad, F&N Dairies (M) Sdn Bhd and Mars Malaysia have assured consumers that their products do not contain melamine and are safe for consumption. Dutch Lady Malaysia managing director Hans Laarakker said no Dutch Lady Malaysia products had raw materials sourced from China. “Milk products sold in Malaysia are manufactured in our factories in Petaling Jaya, or imported fully-packed from countries like the Netherlands and New Zealand,” said Laarakker. Dutch Lady Malaysia manufactures and distributes milk products ranging from infant formula, growing up milk powder, UHT (ultra high temperature), sterilised and pasteurised milk as well as yoghurt products. As for the withdrawal of Dutch Lady’s strawberry-flavoured milk in Singapore, Laarakker said it was an isolated case where the milk, packed in plastic bottles, was tested and found to contain melamine. He added the particular strawberry-flavoured milk in plastic bottle was the only product from China. Laarakker, however, reassured the public that strawberry flavoured milk packed in boxes were safe to drink. F&N Dairies general manager Edward Liew said all their dairy products were subjected to rigorous tests and hygiene standards at every stage of the production chain. F&N Dairies list of dairy products include sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, Magnolia milk and ice-cream, Farmhouse, Daisy, F&N aLIVE, TeaPot Carnation and Ideal. Mars South-east Asia managing director, Ahmed Amer, said Mars did not source any ingredients from companies found to be selling melamine-contaminated dairy pro-ducts. “Just last week, the Chinese food safety watchdog tested product samples of Mars China’s domestic powder suppliers and found them to be free of melamine.” Mars produces M&Ms Snickers and Dove chocolates.
P/S: I WAS JUZ ABOUT TO DRINK MY HL MILK WEN I RCV TEXT FRM MY DAD REGARDING TIS MATTER..BUT..NAAHH..IM STIL ALIVE!! DO TINK TWICE OR MORE WEN U CHOOSE PRODUCTS NT ONLY FRM CHINA..MONEY MATTERS...
Air pollution is a broad term applied to any chemical, physical (particulate matter), or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.
The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet earth.
Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the earth's ecosystems. Worldwide air pollution is responsible for large numbers of deaths and cases of respiratory disease.
Enforced air quality standards, like the Clean Air Act in the United States, have reduced the presence of some pollutants.
While major stationary sources are often identified with air pollution, the greatest source of emissions are actually mobile sources, principally the automobile.
There are many available air pollution control technologies and urban planning strategies available to reduce air pollution; however, worldwide costs of addressing the issue are high.
The most immediate method of improving air quality would be the use of bioethanol fuel, biodiesel, solar energy, and hybrid vehicle technologies.
The World Health Organization estimates that 4.6 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution.
Many of these mortalities are attributable to indoor air pollution.
Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents.
Research published in 2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air pollution annually.
Direct causes of air pollution related deaths include aggravated asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies..
-so,take care our earth... THANK YOU from SHAFIZA...:-)
Let's share about FOSSIL FUEL (take from science reference-SCIENCE DAILY- )
FOSSIL FUEL (Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals.)
In common dialogue, the term fossil fuel also includes hydrocarbon-containing natural resources that are not derived from animal or plant sources.
These are sometimes known instead as mineral fuels.
The utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial development and largely supplanted water-driven mills, as well as the combustion of wood or peat for heat.
Fossil fuel is a general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years.
The burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that allows radiative forcing and contributes to global warming.
P/S (A small portion of hydrocarbon-based fuels are biofuels derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and thus do not increase the net amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere..)
SANITARY NAPKINS CAUSES CERVICAL CANCER AND BACTERIAL INFECTION
"Light","Carefree" are catchy phrases to popular brands of sanitary pads.However,the material that is able to produce paper thin pads,is cellulose gel. After more than 3 hours of wearing,the genital area is prone to bacterial action. And do you know that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons? It's because asbestos makes u bleed more,ad if u bleed more,u're going to use more.The law did not prohibit the usage of asbestos in tampon making because they did not consider tapons as being ingested,therefore didn't consider them illegal or dangerous. Besides,tampons contain 2 more components that are equally harmful _ rayon(for absorbency),and dioxin(a chemical used in bleaching).The tampon industry is convinced that women need bleached white products in order to view the product as pure and clean.Now,the catch is that,dioxin,which is produced in the bleaching process,is carcinogenic.Apart from that,dioxin is toxic to the immune and reproductive systems.Prolonged usage of tampons will cause the fibers from the tampon to accumulate in the body,that is when TSS(Toxic Shock Syndrome) occurs.
Summarised from |WOMEN HEALTH MAY ISSUE-THRUSH|
As consumers,we now can choose feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached and that are all cotton.
KUCHING: A group of seven former village chiefs from Bau Lundu is demanding an apology from Tasik Biru assemblyman Peter Nansian Ngusie for allegedly uttering the word gila gila (crazy) in reference to them.
Speaking at a news conference here, they gave Nansian three days apologise, failing which they would take legal action against him.
Former village chief Mohd Yasir Abdullah, 56, of Kampung Tembawang Baru, Bau, said the remark tarnished their reputation.
Nansian, who is Sarawak People’s Democratic Party senior vice president, was reported in a local English daily on September 10 as saying that the service of the chiefs was terminated because of non€“performance, and being obsolete, old and gila gila.
He was quoted as saying: “I do know one or two village chiefs who are gila gila and like to oppose everything done by the Government.”
Mohd Yasir denied the chiefs’ service was terminated because they campaigned for opposition parties in the March 8 general election.
“We have never campaigned for anybody. We have been discharging our duties for long and all of a sudden our service was terminated without notice. This is not fair,” he said. -Bernama
P/S: GOSH...lets teach the politicians nt to use wrong phrases durin conference... n..ppl....dun get disturbed easily wit those kinds of words...b opened..mybe he didnt mean for that 'gila-gila'....
There is an article called "Your Health: Exercise - and live your 'golden years'" from the website above.
EXERCISE increases lifespan by an average of one to four years for people who engage in moderate to difficult exercise routines. Those additional years will be healthy ones because exercise benefits the heart, lungs, bones and muscles. Even moderate exercise has warded off many dreaded diseases.
Besides that, walking briskly for three hours -- about half an hour with a day of rest -- per week can reduce your chances of developing many chronic health problems.
For your information,mitochondria are units in cells that produce energy . Usually, the mitochondrial DNA is higher in those who exercised compared to sedentary participants, it remains greater in younger than in older subjects. However, the endurance exercise-trained people have substantially higher insulin sensitivity than the sedentary groups. In contrast, age-related declines were found in the sedentary groups. As a conclusion, we can witness that endurance exercise may exert a lifespan-enhancing effects and by just the simple act of moving our body, we can not only live longer but also live well in our 'golden years'.
I have read an article about the problem of 'RISING CRIMINE RATE IN KLANG'.This article drew my attention as i live somewhere around there.
I brought my friends who come from sarawak to my place last holiday she was so overwhelmed with our house's locks.I think evryone will do that if u saw break-ins hip and happening in your residential area.
From my opinion,I think the state government did the right things to voice out this problem to the police.Acording to the article the matter gone worsen,the criminals are bolder, they even carry out break-ins or snatch theft durings the day.
Residents there want the police to do somethinngs they no longer can accept excuses that the police lacked personnel or faced logistics problems.Dr Xavier said if the police were facing such problems they should ask for more allocations under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to beef up the force. He urged the state and district police to looks into ways to reduce crime in Klang and also hold more activities to teach the community on ways to avoid becoming victims and how to protect their own neighbourhoods.
I think not only kl-selangor face this problem but other places as well.No one would wish to live in fear and to be the next victim.We hope this problem will reach to a solution soon and our lives back to as peaceful as before.
hassanal kc08047 From Star.... Tenaga Nasional’s target price has been reduced from RM8 to RM6.80 after it reported weak core net profit of RM2.5bil for the financial year ended Aug 31 due to a net loss of RM282.9mil.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said on Friday it was downgrading Tenaga to Hold from Buy, due to a more challenging demand outlook amid the recent financial crisis that could lead to cuts in GDP growth forecasts.
“We expect share price weakness due to Tenaga’s weak FY08 results. Following our earnings downgrade, our target price for Tenaga that is pegged to 10 times FY10 price-to-earnings (PE) is reduced to RM6.80 per share (RM8.00 previously),” it said.
The research house said it expected lower power demand growth due to less promising economic outlook and higher capacity and energy payments following the commissioning of Jimah plant and higher coal cost.
“We reduced our FY09-11F net profit by between 6% and 28% after factoring in higher capacity payment of RM1bil for Jimah plant (RM700mil previously) and lower power demand growth of 2.5% against 3.5% previously,” it said.
Commenting on Tenaga’s financial performance, it said FY08 revenue grew 10.4% year-on-year led by 6.1% power demand growth, but net earnings was dragged down by 22.5% higher operating expenses due to independent power producers (up 22.4%) and fuel (up 40.4%) costs.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said FY08 net profit was 21% and 19% below its and market expectations, respectively, due mainly to the weak Q4 earnings.
It added Tenaga recognised two months of higher gas cost (raised from RM6.40/mmbtu to RM14.31/mmbtu) but only one month of the 24% average tariff rate hike due to back-billing.
It estimated the one-month delay resulted in RM400mil of lost revenue.
“We maintain our view that Tenaga is likely to be compensated with a subsidy or tariff adjustments come July 1, 2009, as failure to do so would weaken Tenaga’s cashflow and ultimately, affect its ability to pay the IPPs,” it said.
salam i wantto share ab article in star.AS the economic turbulence from the US spreads to Europe and the rest of the world, the one thing we in Malaysia must not delude ourselves about is that we will not be too affected by the global financial crisis.The concern is just how big of a bite will it take off the economy.The financial meltdown in the US and Europe has started to rear its ugly head on the real economy - as the US is fond of saying, “from Wall Street to main street” — after US retail sales slowed by a bigger quantum than what economists were expecting.Retail sales are an indicator of the health of the US consumers whose activities account for the majority of the US GDP, and the big worry will be the overall impact on employment.Over in Malaysia, more indicators, some of which are anecdotal at the moment, are painting an anaemic outlook for the country.Property sales in the primary and secondary markets are down and fewer launches are being seen by developers, partly as a result of managing the high-cost environment and decreasing appetite for luxury projects.Banks are also said to be getting more cautious after seeing how risky loans and derivatives overseas have obliterated the balance sheets of some of the world’s biggest banks. Car sales are expected to slip and companies are getting more cautious over their operations.The current account is still healthy after posting a near RM61bil surplus but the general consensus is that it will drop as external demand for manufactured goods and commodities wanes.And the biggest leading indicator of all of that could be found in the stock market.Bursa Malaysia is surprisingly the best performing stock market in South-East Asia, East Asia and North Asia this year, meaning it has fallen the least.Investors can find some sort of empty solace in that, but the bitter truth is that it is not something to be really proud about. Markets in Sri Lanka and Pakistan have fallen the least and traders say our relative safeness is due to institutional funds pulling out strongly in the second quarter.But the biggest worry is that the Malaysian market is not cheap and its prospective price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is among the highest in Asia, which will be a millstone over the market’s neck when sentiment globally improves.Investors should also worry that the PE ratio may go up significantly and earnings growth forecast for the market will be trimmed should brokers in town decide to cut their forecast of crude palm oil (CPO) prices for next year.If their forecasts of CPO prices are anywhere close to the current price of just over RM1,600 a tonne, the aggregate earnings growth estimates for the entire market could contract next year.Simply put, depending on how severe a slowdown or recession is overseas, it’s going to be a rough ride for Malaysia.Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire
Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (Arabic: محمّد; Transliteration: Muḥammad;IPA: [mʊħɑmmæd̪]; pronunciation (help·info); also spelled Mohammed or Muhammed) (ca. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina), is the central human figure of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله Allāh), the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets of Islam. Muslims consider him the restorer of the uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus (Isa) and other prophets of Islam. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general, and, for Muslims and followers of several other religions, an agent of divine action.
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at a young age and was brought up under the care of his uncle. He later worked mostly as a merchant, and was first married by age 25. Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and other prophets in Islam.
Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers. To escape persecution Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632 a few months after returning to Medina from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam and he united the tribes of Arabia into a singular Muslim religious polity.
The revelations (or Ayats, lit. "Signs of God"), which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Qur'an, regarded by Muslims as the “word of God”, around which his religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern times have been far less so.Besides this, his life and deeds have been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries.
I was so furious when i read this article cause i think nowadays companies would do unethical things in order to earn more.It is reported that 4 infants died of consuming diary product that contain melamine in china.Nearly 53,000 children in China have fallen sick after drinking contaminated baby formula.What a sad tradegy!
From that article we got to know that Melamine, used to make plastics and fertilizer which can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure if it is consumed into human body.It has been found in infant formula and other milk products from 22 of China's dairy companies.Those supplier did this as melamine contain high nitrogen which can mask protein deficiency as a result of the milk is diluted.
In my opinion,although products that were found to be contaminated with this compound were banned but people stil with bad perception on china diary product.I hope government should enforce their law to ensure products meet requirment and safe to use.Otherwise consumer is not protected people will live in fright.
I believe people that came out with the idea of adding melamine into diary product is a highly educated person or group.I think knowledge cannot be abused in this way.Ethic is a very important value to be inculcated in all profession.Hope education would not harm people rather than help people in the future.
last week ago, i'm was interested about breast cancer which i'm read in the READER DIGEST....
Breast cancer is a cancer that starts in the cells of the breast in women and men. Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer (10.4% of all cancer incidence, both sexes counted) and the fifth most common cause of cancer death. In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths).
Because the breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, breast cancer also occurs in males. Incidences of breast cancer in men are approximately 100 times less common than in women, but men with breast cancer are considered to have the same statistical survival rates as women.
Breast cancers are described along four different classification schemes, or groups, each based on different criteria and serving a different purpose:
* Pathology - Each tumor is classified by its histological (microscopic anatomy) appearance and other criteria.
* Grade of tumor - The histological grade of a tumor is determined by a pathologist under a microscope. A well-differentiated (low grade) tumor resembles normal tissue. A poorly differentiated (high grade) tumor is composed of disorganized cells and, therefore, does not look like normal tissue. Moderately differentiated (intermediate grade) tumors are somewhere in between.
* Protein & gene expression status - Currently, all breast cancers should be tested for expression, or detectable effect, of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2/neu proteins. These tests are usually done by immunohistochemistry and are presented in a pathologist's report. The profile of expression of a given tumor helps predict its prognosis, or outlook, and helps an oncologist choose the most appropriate treatment. More genes and/or proteins may be tested in the future.
* Stage of a tumor - The currently accepted staging scheme for breast cancer is the TNM classification. This considers the Tumor itself, whether it has spread to lymph Nodes, and whether there are any Metastases to locations other than the breast and lymph nodes.
Breast cancer is usually, but not always, primarily classified by its histological appearance. Rare variants are defined on the basis of physical exam findings. For example, Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a form of ductal carcinoma or malignant cancer in the ducts, is distinguished from other carcinomas by the inflamed appearance of the affected breast. In the future, some pathologic classifications may be changed. For example, a subset of ductal carcinomas may be re-named basal-like carcinoma (part of the "triple-negative" tumors).
The first symptom, or subjective sign, of breast cancer is typically a lump that feels different than the surrounding breast tissue. According to the Merck Manual, more than 80% of breast cancer cases are discovered when the woman feels a lump. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the first medical sign, or objective indication of breast cancer as detected by a physician, is discovered by mammogram. Lumps found in lymph nodes located in the armpitsand/or collarbone[citation needed] can also indicate breast cancer.
Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge. Pain is an unreliable tool in determining the presence of breast cancer, but may be indicative of other breast-related health issues such as mastodynia.
When breast cancer cells invade the dermal lymphatics, small lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, its presentation can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain, swelling, warmth and redness throughout the breast, as well as an orange peel texture to the skin referred to as peau d'orange.
Another reported symptom complex of breast cancer is Paget's disease of the breast. This syndrome presents as eczematoid skin changes such as redness and mild flaking of the nipple skin. As Paget's advances, symptoms may include tingling, itching, increased sensitivity, burning, and pain. There may also be discharge from the nipple. Approximately half of women diagnosed with Paget's also have a lump in the breast.
Occasionally, breast cancer presents as metastatic disease, that is, cancer that has spread beyond the original organ. Metastatic breast cancer will cause symptoms that depend on the location of metastasis. More common sites of metastasis include bone, liver, lung and brain. Unexplained weight loss can occasionally herald an occult breast cancer, as can symptoms of fevers or chills. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of metastatic breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms. These symptoms are "non-specific," meaning they can also be manifestations of many other illnesses.
Most symptoms of breast disorder do not turn out to represent underlying breast cancer. Benign breast diseases such as mastitis and fibroadenoma of the breast are more common causes of breast disorder symptoms. The appearance of a new symptom should be taken seriously by both patients and their doctors, because of the possibility of an underlying breast cancer at almost any age.
Epidemiological risk factors for a disease can provide important clues as to the etiology, or cause, of a disease. The first case-controlled study on breast cancer epidemiology was done by Janet Lane-Claypon, who published a comparative study in 1926 of 500 breast cancer cases and 500 control patients of the same background and lifestyle for the British Ministry of Health.
Today, breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to be the final outcome of multiple environmental and hereditary factors. Some of these factors include:
1. Lesions to DNA such as genetic mutations. Mutations that can lead to breast cancer have been experimentally linked to estrogen exposure. Beyond the contribution of estrogen, research has implicated viral oncogenesis and the contribution of ionizing radiation in causing genetic mutations.[citation needed]
2. Failure of immune surveillance, a theory in which the immune system removes malignant cells throughout one's life.
3. Abnormal growth factor signaling in the interaction between stromal cells and epithelial cells can facilitate malignant cell growth. For example, tumors can induce blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) by secreting various growth factors further facilitating cancer growth.[citation needed]
4. Inherited defects in DNA repair genes, such as BRCA1, BRCA2 and p53.[citation needed]
Although many epidemiological risk factors have been identified, the cause of any individual breast cancer is often unknowable. In other words, epidemiological research informs the patterns of breast cancer incidence across certain populations, but not in a given individual. The primary risk factors that have been identified are sex, age, childbearing, hormones, a high-fat diet, alcohol intake,[22][23] obesity,[24] and environmental factors such as tobacco use, radiation and shiftwork.
No etiology is known for 95% of breast cancer cases, while approximately 5% of new breast cancers are attributable to hereditary syndromes. In particular, carriers of the breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are at a 30-40% increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer, depending on in which portion of the protein the mutation occurs.
Worldwide, breast cancer is by far the most common cancer amongst women, with an incidence rate more than twice that of colorectal cancer and cervical cancer and about three times that of lung cancer. However breast cancer mortality worldwide is just 25% greater than that of lung cancer in women.
[1] In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths).
[2] The number of cases worldwide has significantly increased since the 1970s, a phenomenon partly blamed on modern lifestyles in the Western world.
The incidence of breast cancer varies greatly around the world, being lower in less-developed countries and greatest in the more-developed countries. In the twelve world regions, the annual age-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 women are as follows: in Eastern Asia, 18; South Central Asia, 22; sub-Saharan Africa, 22; South-Eastern Asia, 26; North Africa and Western Asia, 28; South and Central America, 42; Eastern Europe, 49; Southern Europe, 56; Northern Europe, 73; Oceania, 74; Western Europe, 78; and in North America, 90.
Women in the United States have the highest incidence rates of breast cancer in the world; 141 among white women and 122 among African American women. Among women in the US, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second-most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer). Women in the US have a 1 in 8 (12.5%) lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer and a 1 in 35 (3%) chance of breast cancer causing their death. In 2007, breast cancer was expected to cause 40,910 deaths in the US (7% of cancer deaths; almost 2% of all deaths).
In the US, both incidence and death rates for breast cancer have been declining in the last few years in Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. Nevertheless, a US study conducted in 2005 by the Society for Women's Health Research indicated that breast cancer remains the most feared disease, even though heart disease is a much more common cause of death among women. Many doctors say that women exaggerate their risk of breast cancer.
Lower age of first childbirth (less than 24 years maternal age), having more children (about 7% lowered risk per child), and breastfeeding (4% per breastfeeding year, with an average relative risk around 0.7[37][38]) have all been correlated to lowered breast cancer risk in large studies.
Phytoestrogens such as found in soybeans have been extensively studied in animal and human in-vitro and epidemiological studies. The literature support the following conclusions:
1. Plant estrogen intake, such as from soy products, in early adolescence may protect against breast cancer later in life.[40]
2. Plant estrogen intake later in life is not likely to influence breast cancer incidence either positively or negatively.
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (March 2008)
Studies have found that "folate intake counteracts breast cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption" and "women who drink alcohol and have a high folate intake are not at increased risk of cancer." A prospective study of over 17,000 women found that those who consume 40 grams of alcohol (about 3-4 drinks) per day have a higher risk of breast cancer. However, in women who take 200 micrograms of folate (folic acid or Vitamin B9) every day, the risk of breast cancer drops below that of alcohol abstainers.
Folate is involved in the synthesis, repair, and functioning of DNA, the body’s genetic map, and a deficiency of folate may result in damage to DNA that may lead to cancer. In addition to breast cancer, studies have also associated diets low in folate with increased risk of pancreatic, and colon cancer.
Foods rich in folate include citrus fruits, citrus juices, dark green leafy vegetables (such as spinach), dried beans, and peas.
Breathing secondhand smoke increases breast cancer risk by 70% in younger, primarily pre-menopausal women. The California Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that passive smoking causes breast cancer and the US Surgeon General has concluded that the evidence is "suggestive," one step below causal. There is some evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke is most problematic between puberty and first childbirth. The reason that breast tissue appears most sensitive to chemical carcinogens in this phase is that breast cells are not fully differentiated until lactation.
Prophylactic oophorectomy (removal of ovaries), in high-risk individuals, when child-bearing is complete, reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by 60%, as well as reducing the risk of developing ovarian cancer by 96%.
Hormonal therapy has been used for chemoprevention in individuals at high risk for breast cancer. In 2002, a clinical practice guideline by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that "clinicians discuss chemoprevention with women at high risk for breast cancer and at low risk for adverse effects of chemoprevention" with a grade B recommendation.
The guidelines[clarify] were based on studies of SERMs from the MORE, BCPT P-1, and Italian trials. In the MORE trial, the relative risk reduction for raloxifene was 76%.[57] The P-1 preventative study demonstrated that tamoxifen can prevent breast cancer in high-risk individuals. The relative risk reduction was up to 50% of new breast cancers, though the cancers prevented were more likely estrogen-receptor positive (this is analogous to the effect of finasteride on the prevention of prostate cancer, in which only low-grade prostate cancers were prevented). The Italian trial showed benefit from tamoxifen.
Additional randomized controlled trials have been published since the guidelines. The IBIS trial found benefit from tamoxifen. In 2006, the NSABP STAR trial demonstrated that raloxifene had equal efficacy in preventing breast cancer compared with tamoxifen, but that there were fewer side effects with raloxifene. The RUTH Trial concluded that "benefits of raloxifene in reducing the risks of invasive breast cancer and vertebral fracture should be weighed against the increased risks of venous thromboembolism and fatal stroke". On September 14, 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration approved raloxifene (Evista) to prevent invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Breast cancer screening is an attempt to find unsuspected cancers. The most common screening methods are self and clinical breast exams, x-ray mammography, and breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Genetic testing may also be used.
Breast self-examination involves examining one's own breasts using a specific palpation technique to detect any lumps in the breast tissue, which may be cancerous. Clinical exams are similar, except they are performed by a clinician or doctor.
X-ray mammography uses x-rays to examine the breast for any uncharacteristic masses or lumps. Regular mammograms -- the process of getting breast mammography -- is often recommended as a preventative measure, particularly for older women and at-risk individuals.
Finally, breast MRIs are another imaging technique that can be used to spot potentially cancerous masses.
Genetic testing for breast cancer typically involves testing for mutations in the BRCA genes. This is not generally a recommended technique except for those at elevated risk for breast cancer.
Breast cancer is diagnosed by the examination of surgically removed breast tissue. A number of procedures can obtain tissue or cells prior to definitive treatment for histological or cytological examination. Such procedures include fine-needle aspiration, nipple aspirates, ductal lavage, core needle biopsy, and local surgical excision. These diagnostic steps, when coupled with radiographic imaging, are usually accurate in diagnosing a breast lesion as cancer. Occasionally, pre-surgical procedures such as fine needle aspirate may not yield enough tissue to make a diagnosis, or may miss the cancer entirely. Imaging tests are sometimes used to detect metastasis and include chest X-ray, bone scan, Cat scan, MRI, and PET scanning. While imaging studies are useful in determining the presence of metastatic disease, they are not in and of themselves diagnostic of cancer. Only microscopic evaluation of a biopsy specimen can yield a cancer diagnosis. Ca 15.3 (carbohydrate antigen 15.3, epithelial mucin) is a tumor marker determined in blood which can be used to follow disease activity over time after definitive treatment. Blood tumor marker testing is not routinely performed for the screening of breast cancer, and has poor performance characteristics for this purpose.
Breast cancer is staged according to the TNM system, updated in the AJCC Staging Manual, now on its sixth edition. Prognosis is closely linked to results of staging, and staging is also used to allocate patients to treatments both in clinical trials and clinical practice. The information for staging is as follows:
TX: Primary tumor cannot be assessed. T0: No evidence of tumor. Tis: Carcinoma in situ, no invasion T1: Tumor is 2 cm or less T2: Tumor is more than 2 cm but not more than 5 cm T3: Tumor is more than 5 cm T4: Tumor of any size growing into the chest wall or skin, or inflammatory breast cancer
NX: Nearby lymph nodes cannot be assessed N0: Cancer has not spread to regional lymph nodes. N1: Cancer has spread to 1 to 3 axillary or one internal mammary lymph node N2: Cancer has spread to 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes or multiple internal mammary lymph nodes N3: One of the following applies:
Cancer has spread to 10 or more axillary lymph nodes, or Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the clavicle (collar bone), or Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes above the clavicle, or Cancer involves axillary lymph nodes and has enlarged the internal mammary lymph nodes, or Cancer involves 4 or more axillary lymph nodes, and tiny amounts of cancer are found in internal mammary lymph nodes on sentinel lymph node biopsy.
MX: Presence of distant spread (metastasis) cannot be assessed. M0: No distant spread. M1: Spread to distant organs, not including the supraclavicular lymph node, has occurred
Summary of stages:
* Stage 0 - Carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
* Stage I - Tumor (T) does not involve axillary lymph nodes (N).
* Stage IIA – T 2-5 cm, N negative, or T <2 cm and N positive.
* Stage IIB – T > 5 cm, N negative, or T 2-5 cm and N positive (< 4 axillary nodes).
* Stage IIIA – T > 5 cm, N positive, or T 2-5 cm with 4 or more axillary nodes
* Stage IIIB – T has penetrated chest wall or skin, and may have spread to < 10 axillary N
* Stage IIIC – T has > 10 axillary N, 1 or more supraclavicular or infraclavicular N, or internal mammary N.
* Stage IV – Distant metastasis (M)
Approximately 90% of new breast cancer cases in the US will be classified as "early-stage" cases (DCIS, Stage I,IIA, IIB or IIIA), due to early detection and prevention techniques. Early-stage treatment options are different from late-stage options.
Breast lesions are examined for certain markers, notably sex steroid hormone receptors. About two thirds of postmenopausal breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and progesterone receptor positive (PR+). Receptor status modifies the treatment as, for instance, only ER-positive tumors, not ER-negative tumors, are sensitive to hormonal therapy.
NEW YORK: Stocks rallied Monday as investors placed bets that a recovery in the financial and housing sectors is more likely to occur following the U.S. government's move to bail out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The U.S. government's plan also touched off a global stock rally Monday. Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 3.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 4.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 3.92 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.22 percent, and France's CAC-40 surged 3.42 percent.
The Dow Jones industrials gained nearly 300 points.
The announcement Sunday that the Treasury Department was seizing control of the companies, which own or back about half the nation's mortgage debt, brushed aside investors' long-simmering worries that the pair would be felled by a spike in bad mortgage debt.
Investors were hoping that the plan to inject up to $100 billion in each of the government-chartered mortgage financiers could not only help lower mortgage rates but perhaps help buoy the overall economy.
The move could help banks feel more open to write new mortgages and to refinance existing mortgages at lower rates, offering a possible lifeline to consumers struggling with increasing payments.
But the government's steadying hand for two institutions that many Wall Street observers had said were simply too big to let fail isn't likely to alleviate troubles for homeowners who have fallen far behind on their mortgages.
Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams in New York, said that while the plan boosts confidence in sectors like financials and home builders, it doesn't immediately alleviate worries about other areas of the economy.
Still, he said the move was far more welcome than a collapse of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
"It saves Armageddon from happening,'' he said.
"If you think about it, this helps the financials, this helps the housing market. Tech took a huge hit last week. Does this really affect tech? I don't think so.''
At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 289.78, or 2.58 percent, to 11,510.74 after being up nearly 350 points in the early going.
Broader stock indicators were also higher.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 25.48, or 2.05 percent, to 1,267.79.
The Nasdaq composite index added 13.88, or 0.62 percent, to 2,269.76. Bond prices edged higher in late trading on Monday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.68 percent from 3.69 percent late Friday.
The dollar was higher against other major currencies. while
Common shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be made virtually worthless by the plan, which will dilute the stock.
But the companies' shares had already suffered huge declines in the last year so many shareholders have already endured the majority of their losses.
Fannie Mae shares plunged $6.34, or 90.1 percent, to 70 cents, while Freddie Mac fell $4.21, or 83 percent, to 89 cents.
"This was another needed piece of the puzzle with regard to eliminating fear and stress in the market,'' said Jim Dunigan, chief investment officer for PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia, referring to the government's move.
"It helps with the balance sheet questions that are out there for financials without a doubt.''
Still, Dunigan remains cautious.
"This isn't a magic wand. We're probably going to see another couple bank failures,'' he said.
The government's action may raise protests from upset shareholders.
While Fannie was able to raise $7.4 billion in capital earlier this year, Freddie Mac was unable to fulfill its promise to raise $5.5 billion in capital.
"The Fannie shareholders have a lot of questions that need to be answered from their board of directors,'' said Doug Daschille, chief executive of investment firm First Principles Capital Management.
Other financial names rallied, particularly those seen as having big exposure to mortgages. Bank of America Corp. jumped $2.50, or 7.7 percent, to $34.73, while Wachovia Corp. rose $2.24, or 13.4 percent, to $18.99. Citigroup Inc. rose $1.25, or 6.6 percent, to $20.32.
Among financials, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was one of the few decliners, falling $2.05, or 12.7 percent, to $14.15 as investors worried that the No. 4 U.S. investment bank was having trouble finding an investor to help shore up its balance sheet.
Home builders also gained ground alongside most financials. Lennar Corp. rose $1.39, or 10.3 percent, to $14.95, and KB Home advanced $2.93, or 14.2 percent, to $23.5.
In the tech space, SanDisk Corp. fell $1.04, or 5.9 percent, to $16.60, while Apple Inc. fell $2.26 to $157.92. Investors are worried the slowing economies overseas will damp demand.
The U.S. government's plan also touched off a global stock rally Monday. Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 3.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 4.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 3.92 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.22 percent, and France's CAC-40 surged 3.42 percent.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 11 cents to settle at $106.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Hurricane Ike fanned unease about the well-being of Gulf of Mexico oil infrastructure that could be in its path.
In corporate news, Washington Mutual Inc. fell 15 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $4.12 after removing Kerry Killinger from the chief executive spot.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. fell $1.38, or 11 percent, to $10.92 but came well off its lows of the session after an investment newsletter mistakenly passed along an old news story about the company's 2002 bankruptcy filing.
NEW YORK: Wall Street finished mixed in fickle trading Wednesday, with investors still unsettled about the U.S. economy ahead of Friday's employment report and only somewhat relieved about sliding commodities prices.
The Commerce Department gave the market just modest comfort when it said orders for manufactured products rose by 1.3 percent in July. The figure was higher than the 0.8 percent predicted by economists polled by Thomson Financial/IFR; the department also upwardly revised its June reading to an increase of 2.1 percent.
However, many traders shrugged off the report as old news, given that it is now September.
With automakers releasing sluggish August sales and the Federal Reserve reporting weak economic activity throughout the nation, the market proceeded cautiously.
A massive pullback in commodities since earlier in the summer has helped alleviate some of Wall Street's inflation worries.
Oil briefly slid below $108 a barrel Wednesday as the dollar strengthened and Hurricane Gustav appeared to leave oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico mostly undamaged.
But oil pared its losses to end above $109 a barrel. And investors are realizing that oil has fallen partly because global demand growth is waning - bad news not only for energy companies, but also for the technology and industrial sectors.
On Tuesday, stocks gave up a huge early advance only to close lower, as investors' enthusiasm about oil's selloff gave way to concerns about the economy in the United States and abroad.
"All the data in the last two weeks has actually been very good,'' said Joseph V. Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck & Co., pointing to Wednesday's factory orders data, falling oil prices, and the recent upward revision of second-quarter gross domestic product.
"Despite all that, you didn't get a commensurate market performance. And that's troubling.''
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.96, or 0.14 percent, to 11,532.88, after rising by as many as 37 points and falling by as many as 100.
An identity card is a document that exists to enable a person to be identified. It is also a document required by law to be applied for and issued. It is not a matter of rights and privileges. Rather, it is a statutory requirement.
When a citizen applies for an identity card and has complied with all the requisites for an identity card to be issued, there is no reason so say that the person does not have a right. If the granting of an identity card is left to the whims and fancies of the department concerned, this cannot be right.
However, it must be noted that there are rules regulations and requirements that must be complied with before an identity card can be issued. The relevant department is vested with the discretion to evaluate whether the requirements have been fulfilled.
The process of evaluation gives the relevant department the power to make a decision. But the fact remains that such discretion must be exercised in a proper manner and not arbitrarily
The words ‘rights’ and ‘privileges’ have been loosely used in recent times. Their real meanings can only be appreciated by understanding the context in which they are used.
THERE is a tendency to use the words “rights” and “privileges” to mean different things. When a person claims to have a right to something, he is saying that he is entitled to it as a matter of law.
The word “privilege” is often used to mean there is no such entitlement in law, but it is something that may be granted. This sometimes crops up in dealings with the Government.
For example, a person may claim that he is a citizen or he may complain that he is entitled to an identity card which is not being issued. Statements are then made that there is no right but only a privilege. However, for the individual who believes that he is a citizen, he is puzzled when told that citizenship is a privilege €“ he is not entitled to claim it as a right.
The latest dry-cleaning technology helps keep colours bright.
THERE is nothing dry about the dry-cleaning process. In fact, the term dry-cleaning is an oxymoron; the process involves soaking garments in perchloroethylene (or perc), a dry cleaning agent.
But what happens when your laundry is stained after dry-cleaning? Well, chances are your garments may have been washed in cleaning agent that was contaminated, explains Aaron Chen, 48, managing director of Pressto Asia Sdn Bhd.
“Some laundry outlets put off recycling (or distilling) their cleaning agent to perhaps the end of the week or month. As a result, the solution may not be clean and may become a breeding ground for bacteria, causing garments to smell sometimes.”
“We use fifth generation computerised washing machinery,” says Chen. “Our dry cleaning machine sends the cleaning agent for distillation after every wash.
-Smile. Smile naturally; do not smile too much and remember to do it genuinely. When taking pictures, do not pout or make duck lips. It does not look cute and it's a big turn off for most guys.
-Practice good hygiene. Looking and smelling clean is obviously an important part of your image. Make sure you take good care of your body, your hair, your teeth and your nails. Trust me, nobody wants to see what you've had for breakfast or that incident of when your brother "spilled sugar" over your hair.
-Take good care of that skin. Remember to wash your face every night with a mild soap , dry with towel, and cleanse with a cotton pad and facial cleansing solution. And keep your hands off to avoid breakouts. Also, don't forget to moisturize, and NEVER go to sleep wearing makeup! It'll look like such a mess in the morning!
-Do not swear excessively. Cursing often will make others think that you're an unintelligent/immature person and would most likely ignore you. Besides, it's not very lady-like. Be nice and gentle. Sometimes, if it slips out, that can count as an "oops!" moment, but don't make it a habit!
-If you have a website, keep it simple. Do not put a lot of graphics and pictures which is another big turn off to a lot of people. Be yourself online; just because everyone writes in abbreviations doesn't mean that you have to do the same.
-Do not wear a lot of jewelry. One necklace and a pair of earrings are fine, but more than that is too much. Try not to get any unnecessary piercing and tattoos. Keep it simple and fashionable - don't just follow trends. When in doubt, remove a piece.
-Do not be someone you're not. Be yourself and don't try to copy other people's styles. Sometimes people feel the need to experiment, but some things are best left the way they are. Instead, enhance your good personality traits and let yourself shine.
-Study hard and go to school everyday. Everybody loves someone who knows her stuff. In the end, being successful is really important. Don't let your social life preoccupy your thoughts; work hard in class and be consistent. Value your intelligence and work your hardest. If you are having trouble in this area, don't be afraid to speak with your teacher or guidance counselor. Review what you went over in each class everyday. This will help you avoid having to cram all of the information the day before the test. If you're struggling in a specific area, hire a tutor to help you get back on track.
-Do not be a show-off. Show-offs makes a person be disliked and/or hated. Be proud of your accomplishments, but don't shove it in people's faces.
-Remember the 3 S's Protect your skin from the sun by remembering to: :Slip clothing on over your bathing suit when you're not in the water to block sun rays from your skin. :Slap on a shady hat that covers your face, neck, and ears. :Slop on sunscreen before going outdoors and remember to reapply every two hours.
-Do not be immature. Know how to handle situations maturely and reasonably. You don't need to whine or cry to get what you want.
-Do not try too hard to be cute. It just doesn't work that way. It makes people feel sorry for you and shows them that you are not comfortable with who you are. You can put effort into your looks and behavior, but remember to let yourself enjoy moments being comfortable with yourself.
-Do not compare yourself. It's not fair to you or your body. While it maybe tempting, just focusing on being the most wonderful you, and don't let anyone tell you who you should be.
-Nourish your body. Maintain a healthy diet and only allow yourself to have junk food in moderation. Be sure to drink 8 cups of water(8 fl/oz= 1 cup) everyday. Also remember to take a multi-vitamin everyday to help maintain your health.
-Work it. You don't have to be an athlete to be fit! Doctors and experts recommend that the average girl gets at least 20 minutes of exercise 2-3 times a week. So find something you like. Join a team. What ever gets you moving and on your feet! And remember to stretch those muscles out before any activity.
-Join clubs and groups! If there is a club you are interested in at school, go right ahead a join! Clubs make it easy to find new friends, know that. And it's fun! It will keep you busy and active and over all, it will keep you happy.
-Get your beauty sleep. Make sure that you're getting the recommended 8-10 hours of nightly sleep. Get yourself a bedtime routine and stick to it (even on the weekends). To get your body in sleep mode if you're feeling restless, try reading a book, writing in a journal, taking a warm bath, or listening to some gentle music. If you are watching a boring t.v. show, that can also help as long as you turn the volume down to where you almost can't hear it.
-Just say No. There is absolutely no reason to experiment with drugs, whether due to pressure or curiosity. Hold yourself to a higher standard or risk completely compromising your image.
-Dont rule the relationship. Don't tell your parnter what to do, this works both ways. You dont want to be known as the annoying girlfriend.
-On MSN... If you go on msn, don't use a very complicated name. Most people do anyway, just using your regular name will make you a little more unique.
-Work on your image. Not that it's not good. You just wanna boost your self confidence higher. By looking great, you'll feel great too! Remember to eat healthily, sleep right, excercise, shower, get a hair cut/trim every 3-6 months.
-Keep your posture "ladylike" DOn't slump. Keep a straight back. It actually makes you look taller. It may sound corny but you'll find out why as you get older and wiser.
i've read a novel written by sydney sheldon entitled 'the sands of time'.sheldon is one of the famous author in the world and his writings are very interesting. reading novel is my interest, especially english novel. here, i would like to persuade all of you to read english stories more because we could get so many information about culture and life of other countries which we never know before.
For example, the novel i read tells me about the life of nuns in convent. after i read that, now i know that the nuns give their lives up to their god so that they could be with their god in the world afterlife. the way of life in convent is really different, with their strict regulations and rules.
For example, the nuns are not allowed to talk to each other. they are also barred from watching each other. the life in convent is very quiet and they communicate using signs they make by moving their hands.
The other novels written by the same author i've read are 'if tomorrow comes','rage of angels','master of the games',and some more.i don't really like to read malay novel because,yeah you know malay stories often tell you about love,romance,and the plot of the stories are about the same, which are different from english stories.
For me,reading english stories could increase your grammar and vocabulary as well as giving a lot of information to you.
During my mid semester break i had read a artical that attract my attention...The title is how to be a good son..
To be a good son it have seven step..the step is : 1) dont use bad language when to your parent.. 2) Listen all things that teacher said to you. 3) Be honest with your parent 4) Be independant. 5) dont be lazybone. 6) Love your brother and sister 7) show your love to your parent.
That seven thing can make your parent feel that you as son appreciate them as your parent and will make your relation with your parent become more stronger...
Also in this article also given a few tips that can maintain our relation with our parent..firstly,dont yell when talking..Next, share something interesting or jokes with your parent..ok... you can read this article at www.wikihow.com/Be-a-good-son
i've read an article about smoking....so, i state here a few facts that weca share together...
The figures of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics show:
* One out of every five deaths is caused by tobacco. * An average of 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco. * Tobacco is to blame for many serious pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. * Tobacco and nicotine are some of the most potent carcinogens, and are to blame for a majority of all cancers of the lung, trachea, bronchus, larynx, and oesophagus. * Tobacco use also produces cancers in the pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix. * Impotence is sometimes attributable to nicotine addiction (because of the propensity of nicotine to reduce blood flow). * Smoking is an important risk factor for respiratory illnesses, causing 85,000 deaths per year from pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia. * Children and adolescents who are active smokers will have increasingly severe respiratory illness as they grow older. * Smoking during pregnancy causes about 5-6% of prenatal deaths, 17-26% of low-birth-weight births, and 7-10% of pre-term deliveries, and it increases the risk of miscarriage and foetal growth retardation. * Cigarettes are responsible for about 25% of deaths from residential fires, causing nearly 1,000 fire-related deaths and 3,300 injuries each year.
KUCHING: If calculated justly, the Federal Government's actual spending and contributions to the security of Sarawak would outweigh all other arguments that it is not doing enough for the state. That was the subtle but meaningful reminder from former head of state Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub, who was influential in the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
In an interview published in the Borneo Post yesterday, he said the Federal Government's role in the steady progress of the state should not be overlooked, and open arguments and demands were not norms in the closely-knit Barisan Nasional family.
Rahman, who is also a former chief minister, said that before the formation of Malaysia, Sarawak faced threats from its neighbour and the clandestine communist organisation.
"Who built the roads from Limbang to Lawas? The Federal Government did it and it was very expensive. "Who pays for education, police, military and so forth? You list it all down and you will see the cost is a gigantic amount.
"So I do not want to talk like others, saying we should bargain for this and that.
"Taib (Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud) and I prefer to see the prime minister if we have problems because we are all in one family, the BN family," he was quoted as saying.
The Federal Government's five per cent petroleum royalty payment to Sarawak has been a hotly debated topic for more than a decade now but the issue has gained momentum after an opposition politician's political manoeuvres.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim promised a 20 per cent petroleum royalty if he becomes the prime minister and that lyric is now being actively parroted by all and sundry here, including the DAP.
Rahman also denied the allegation that it was he who agreed on the five per cent quantum when he was chief minister, saying that it was his deputy, the late Tan Sri Stephen Yong who agreed to the amount.
However, he explained that the agreement was reached based on an understanding that the petroleum royalty would be reviewed periodically.
"I don't know if we had those revisions since then but that was what had been agreed upon."
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri George Chan said it was better to ask the Federal Government for a bigger development budget, rather than engage in a never-ending argument on the quantum of petroleum royalty to the state.
Mother, brother of Oscar-winning Hudson shot dead 26th October, 2008 CHICAGO: The mother and brother of Oscar-winning actress and chart-topping singer Jennifer Hudson has been found shot dead at the family’s Chicago home, according to Hudson ‘s publicist and authorities. A Chicago police department spokesman said the murders appeared to be the related to a domestic incident, but would not identify the victims. Hudson ‘s personal publicist Lisa Kasteler confirmed that the victims were Hudson ‘s mother, Darnell Donnerson, 57, and her brother, Jason Hudson, 29. Donnerson suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Hudson was shot in the chest, according to the Cook County Examiner’s Office. There were no signs of forced entry to the home, according to Joseph Patterson, deputy chief of patrol of the Chicago Police. Neighbors reported hearing gunshots at Donnerson’s home in the gritty Englewood neighborhood on the city’s South Side between 8:00 or 9:00 am Friday, but no one raised the alarm until around 3:00 pm, authorities said. It was Julia Hudson who made the gruesome discovery after returning home from her day shift at a bus company. The older sister of Jennifer Hudson summoned the police and also reportedly told them that her seven-year-old son was missing. Authorities immediately issued an all points bulletin for the missing boy, Julian King. Police said the missing youngster might have been abducted from the home and could be in the company of William Balfour, a suspect in the double homicide, who should be considered armed and dangerous. The bulletin said Balfour, 27, could be driving a white Chevrolet Suburban truck. The truck was registered to Jason Hudson, the slain brother of the singer, according to records. Neighbours and news reports identified Balfour as Julia Hudson’s estranged husband and the step-father of her son. On his MySpace page, Balfour described himself as a “proud parent” and played up his links to Jennifer Hudson. “I might as well let you all know that Jennifer Hudson is my wife’s sister. I’m proud of her and wish her nothing but the best in what she do. But don’t hit me up asking bout her, other than that it’s on!” he wrote. A slide show on the same site featured family snaps of Jennifer alongside shots of a bare-chested Balfour flexing his muscles for the camera. Balfour is currently on parole after serving six and a half years for attempted murder, according to TMZ’s website. He also has a conviction for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008 Two double-killers sent to gallows First hangings ordered by new justice minister bring toll to 15 for year
By MINORU MATSUTANI Staff writer Two convicted double-killers were hanged Tuesday, bringing the execution toll to an unusually high 15 for the year. The executions were the first ordered by Justice Minister Eisuke Mori since he assumed the post Sept. 24 when Prime Minister Taro Aso formed his Cabinet.
Mori disclosed the names of the prisoners, a practice started by Kunio Hatoyama when he was justice minister. Michitoshi Kuma, 70, was convicted of kidnapping and strangling two 7-year-old girls in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in February 1992. He was hanged at the Fukuoka Detention Center. His death sentence was finalized two years ago. Throughout his trial and appeals, Kuma maintained his innocence, saying the evidence used against him was fabricated. His support group revealed that he had planned to request a retrial in the near future. Masahiro Takashio, 55, was convicted of robbing and fatally stabbing a 55-year-old woman and her 83-year-old mother during a home invasion in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in March 2004. Takashio knew the woman's father, who lived with the victims. He was hanged at the Sendai Detention Center. His death sentence was finalized 22 months ago. There were nine hangings in 2007, while 2006 saw four. Mori's immediate predecessor, Okiharu Yasuoka, gave the go-ahead for three executions in October even though he held the office for only about a month.
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(kc08009)
Kim Hock likely to quit as national chief coach
PETALING JAYA: Yap Kim Hock may submit his resignation letter as the national chief coach after completing a four-year Olympic cycle during the Badminton Association of Malaysia’s (BAM) coaching and training committee meeting today.
Kim Hock was appointed as the chief coach in 2004 with a target to end the medal drought for the country in the Olympics at the Beijing Games last month.
And he managed to fulfil the task. Lee Chong Wei became the first shuttler in 12 years to win an Olympic medal, a silver, for Malaysia after losing to Lin Dan of China in the men’s singles final.
A gold would have been the icing on the cake for Kim Hock to end his roller-coaster ride as the BAM chief coach.
It’s now BAM’s call to accept Kim Hock’s decision or to reassign him to take charge of the national juniors.
There had been outstanding results for him with the senior side, including the 2006 Asian Games and 2007 All-England titles won by Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong. But he had struggled as far as communications and rapport with some of the other coaches were concerned – especially with those having strong characters, among them Misbun Sidek and Rexy Mainaky.
In fact, a tiff between Kim Hock and Chong Wei during the World Championships in Kuala Lumpur last year also marred his credentials as chief coach.
Besides looking into the roles of the coaches and reviewing the reports from them, the BAM are also expected to review the status of their players and restructure their training set-ups.
They are expected to downsize the squad for a more comprehensive programme geared towards the 2012 London Olympics.
The BAM’s coaching and training committee are headed by the association’s president, Datuk Nadzmi Mohd Salleh.
p/s:news frm STAR ONLINE.dated 3/9/08
THE GHOST ARE HUNGRY-TO-NITE
By Kaypo Anak Kuching (THE BORNEO POST)
I REALISE with a start that the Month of the Hungry Ghosts has arrived again, as my Chinese neighbours begin to burn joss sticks and paper money by the roadside every night.
This ghostly month falls on the seven moon of the Chinese lunar calendar. On the first day of the month, which coincided with the 1st of August on the Gregorian calendar this year, the gate of hell was thrust wide open, and all the neglected homeless disparaged ghosts would be released to wander the earth, looking for sustenance once a year.
They would haunt the human world for a full moth, and would return to hell on the last day of the seventh moon.
The origin of this ancient Chinese festival is mired in all kinds of myths, but probably has its roots in the Buddhist doctrine of Karma and reincarnation. People who have not lived a good life get punished in hell after death. Some of the worst offenders would be denied the chance to be reincarnated.
Then again, the festival could have been embedded in the Chinese native belief in ancestor worship and their concept of afterlife. The soul of the departed requires continual offerings from his children in the form of paper money and food. This is done annually during the Ching Ming festival, when children must go to the grave of their parents and do the worshipping ritual. Some do it on the first and the fifteenth days of every lunar month at the family alter.
By this account, the souls of those people without children would go hungry in hell. And so would those who died far away from their homeland, or those who died a terrible death. In that sense, the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts is an annual manifestation of the Chinese people’s compassion for those desolate departed souls.
It is one of the biggest festivals on the Chinese calendar. On the 15th day of the lunar month, a huge crowd would throng the temple at Wayang Street in Kuching City to participate in the festivities. After the religious rituals are over, all the goodies offered to the nadir world would be open for grabs by the crowd.
Some of my Chinese friends also observe many taboos during the entire month. They prefer to stay at home at night. Auspicious ventures like starting a new business or getting married are avoided. With so many invisible eerie ‘brothers’ around, it is more prudent to abstain from anything that requires good luck.
Inevitably, there would be those few atheist friends of mine who would laugh at all those practices as just another form of superstitious belief in the afterlife. But like all Sarawakians, they are pretty sensible people, and do not go around desecrating other people’s offerings by the roadside. You may not believe in ghosts yourself, but you must respect those people who do.
I am an agnostic when it comes down to the matter of whether ghosts or fairies exist or not. But I have heard many personal testimonies from many respectable rational and educated friends of all races about their encounter of the ghostly kind. The rural folks who live in the deep dark interior have their long traditions of peaceful co-existence with all kinds of spirits in the wild. But even in the large crowded cities and towns, there is no shortage of urban legends recounting the exploits of evil and civil spirits.
They are the reasons why there are so may mediums in so many Chinese temples, so may bomohs practicing their craft in the villages, and the Ibans have their dukun or their manang with their white magic to heal people who have been afflicted by various spirits wandering the earth.
I have known this chap by the name of Ah Kow who used to work as a labourer in the construction industry. When he was between jobs, this boisterous lively young man used to hang around the coffee shops at India Street and Court House Road for a yarn and his daily cuppa.
The next I heard about him was that he had been hospitalised with a strange disease. The skin all over his body kept peeling off, until there was not a single square inch of healthy skin on this poor man.
The doctors and the specialists conducted all kinds of tests on him, but failed to come up with a definitive diagnosis on his peculiar condition. Eventually, he spent his days mostly soaked in water into which all kinds of traditional herbs have been added, presumably to ameliorate his pain.
Ah Kow’s friends suspected foul play of the occult kind, and consulted many mediums, but none could heal him. Finally, they went to one of those mediums who kept and bred small ghosts in small charmed coffins. This particular sinseh had learned his art from Thailand, and had brought back a small idol with four faces that had power over the ghosts.
The sinseh spent one night with Ah Kow in his hospital room. He told Ah Kow his small ghosts would stand guard at the window. If there were untoward movements around, his small ghosts would follow supernatural trespassers. Early next morning, he reported what the ghost attendants had found out.
Apparently, Ah Kow had lived at a bangsal (a living quarters for workers on a construction site) while on a job some time ago. He had quarrelled with and insulted the wife of an Orang Ulu co-worker. The lady apparently had some knowledge of dark magic learnt from the long traditions of her community.
At the construction site, workers usually take a bath at the end of the working day, to wash off the dirt and the grime. Then they would simply hand the towel to dry on a line nearby. What the Orang Ulu lady did was to obtain the blood of some dead person, cast a spell over it, and smear it on Ah Kow’s towel. When he took a bath next, the affliction was transferred to his skin when he dried himself with the towel.
When the correct diagnosis was made, it was a matter of prescribing the correct treatment. Ah Kow was discharged from the hospital, and was next seen walking around Court House Road with his deformed skin and all.
I did not hear from or about him for a while, and had forgotten him altogether. Then, the friend from Court House Road reported that Ah Kow had died, with the comment that perhaps the curse that had been inflicted on him was simply too great to be removed.
Am I guilty of spreading superstitious beliefs in telling this sad tale?
Ghost stories will always be at the core of our oral traditions. I have amassed a depository of such stories in my memory. It is a pity nobody collects these stories and writes them down in a book, to preserve this peculiar element of Sarawak’s unique way of life.
Whatever you say about the harmful effects of superstition, many Sarawakians in towns and villagers do believe in ghosts. I know of at least ten practitioners who specialise in healing afflictions and possessions by unwelcome visitors from the world beyond. They do not do it for personal gain, but instead see their occupation as a vocation to help people in need. In fact, they will tell you that the price of their gift is their poverty for life!
Of course, in 21st century Sarawak, we live a life of relative comfort, replete with all that science and technology can offer. Our official grand narrative will never recommend sick people to consult bomoh and medium. I suspect most medical practitioners will frown upon this form of alternative medicine as primitive and unscientific.
But beneath our veneer of modernity and progress, we must admit that we know very little of the supernatural world. Though most of us have never seen a ghost, are we therefore so foolhardy, during this Month of the Hungry Ghosts, to go to the cemetery in the dead of night, to dare the ghosts to come out and prove their existence?
As the ancient Chinese sage Confucius once said’ “It is better to respects gods and ghosts and keep them at arm’s length.”
KC08009
THREE COUSINS ELECTROCUTED TO DEATH
KUCHING: Nineteen-year-old Cornelius Engki could only watch in consternation as he witnessed a horrifying tragedy struck.
Three cousins of his died before his eyes and the experience has left Cornelius speechless.
In the late afternoon incident yesterday, six workers, all from Kampung Stutong near here, were at a work site at Lorong 39, Kampong Stutong Baru.Cornelius was one of them.Three, however, were working to replace a telephone pole and were planting it in when the heavy metal structure tilted to one side and hit an electric cable above.
The three - Isaac Elkana, 34, Davendra Kihin, 21, and Philipos Loren, age unknown, were struck with instant death.
Isaac and Davendra, both married, each left behind five children and an unborn child.
Cornelius, who was nearby the three men, was grazed by the falling pole on his foot where the electric current left a light burnt mark.
But the sight of his dead relatives was enough to shock him into silence.
The other two co-workers, because they were a little way off, escaped the tragedy.
They called for help and ambulance, Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) and Rescue 991 arrived several minutes later.
However, there was little they could do but to pronounce the victims dead and cover them with newspapers.
“We arrived at the scene but there was nothing we could do about it,” said Tabuan Jaya Fire Station’s Zone Enforcer Wong Tong Leong.
He added that it took him and nine other personnel seven minutes to reach the scene due to heavy traffic.
Curious onlookers caused heavy traffic at the area and three Mobile Patrol Vehicles (MPVs) were despatched to the scene to control the situation.
Family members surrounded the site, many weeping while Cornelius received hugs from his parents, certainly glad that he survived the electrocution.
The bodies of the three victims were brought to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) for post mortem.
Kuching district police chief ACP Wong Wai Loong has classified the incident as a tragedy.
Hello...salam....
let us readg together...
How Relaxing ways when stress.....
Levy Li Su Lin, 21
Miss Malaysia/Universe 2008/9 said that......
'way for me to relax is to sit under a shady coconut tree and read a book. Or I just look at the sea and horizon. Instantly I feel whole and renewed.'
Angie Seow Pei Ying, 18
Winner
I Want to be a Model (Season 2)said that...
'Yoga works for me, as I calm down when I meditate and concentrate on a mantra.'
'When I am stressed, I like to surf the Net, check out interesting websites and learn something new.
“I also love movies and hanging out with friends! When surrounded by good pals, I feel good!
“Going to the mall with my gang always puts me in good spirits and makes me relaxed as we just wander around aimlessly.”
so, all of us must avoid from the stress....
from....SHAFIZA...K28...
Facts and tips on fasting
Physically, a fasting person’s system gets an overhaul.
Mentally, a person will develop more concentration and a greater capacity to resist desires
An individual will have a greater capacity to withstand physical disturbance, illness, fatigue and disease.
When breaking fast, control abnormal appetite and do not overload the stomach by eating too much heavy food as the body can become bloated
After a long fast, continue with a light liquid diet until all digestive trouble is over and normal hunger is established
Break your fast with half a cup of diluted fruit juice, vegetable soup, or the water of a young coconut.
When fasting, do not entertain thoughts of food but, rather, think divine thoughts.
Health benefits of fasting are the detoxification the practice brings.
Fasting, with guidance, is an ideal way to lose weight.
KC08009
DAMN THE RAPISTS!!!PITY TO VICTIMS!
Consider the following case studies:
No. 1: Anne (not real name) and her colleague were planning to take a break from their workplace. A man she was allegedly familiar with approached and chatted with her in front of her colleague.
She accepted his invitation to go for a walk while the colleague returned to the workplace. Anne asked the man where he was taking her but did not get a reply.
Then suddenly, she was dragged to the staircase inside a building and asked to sit on the floor. The man kissed her while trying to remove her pants. She tried to escape but was pushed to the ground with her mouth covered. She said she was raped for 30 minutes.
No. 2: Nia (not real name) was cooking when a man entered the house, holding a machete which he then placed on the chair near the doorway.
With the weapon, the man threatened her husband, then dragged him out of the house and locked the door. Once the husband was outside, the man proceeded to the kitchen and forced Nia to the bathroom and raped her. After committing the heinous crime, the rapist quickly left the house.
No. 3: Jil (not her real name) laughs for no apparent reason and utters words no one understands. She has been lost in her own world since that fateful night when she was raped. She came to Kuching in search of a new life but got more than she bargained for the night she accepted an invitation from her friends to go out after work. She was 17. The next day, her limp naked body was found near a graveyard by a worker who immediately sent her to the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH). She was admitted unconscious. After 50 days of treatment by a Chinese physician from Peninsular Malaysia, she came to but could not remember what had happened … nor would she get of out bed. Jil was never the same again. She spoke in words no one could understand and laughed (happily) most of the time.
No. 4: Lyn (not real name) was called by a male teacher to a school library. She went since she did not suspect anything sinister would happen. But she ended up being raped inside the library.
No. 5: Elen (not real name) had been raped since she was nine. It always happened when her mother was away or asleep at night.
She was also forced to take contraceptives each time she was raped. It was only after 10 years that she revealed her ordeal. The rapist was none other than her own father.
Most people think of rape by a stranger as a ‘real rape’. This the easiest for people to handle psychologically because it is not difficult to identify predatory behaviour … like climbing in through the window under cover of night. What is probably not well understood is that sex predators are on the prowl virtually everywhere and at all times … even right in the victims’ homes.
From January to July this year, 22 rape and 364 forcible rape cases have been reported and referred to the Sarawak General Hospital.
KC08009
FAZDRUL...
KUALA LUMPUR: National shuttler Lee Chong Wei has never won a title when ranked as world No. 1.
He has a chance to set the record straight when he competes in the Japan Open, which will be held in Tokyo from Sept 16-21.
Chong Wei: Has held to the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive week.
In 2006, Chong Wei took part in the Macau Open as the top seed and the world No. 1 but failed to justify his status when he lost to China’s Lin Dan in the final.
His coach Datuk Misbun Sidek, however, is looking beyond the Japan Open.
Misbun wants Chong Wei to be the first Malaysian player to maintain his world No. 1 ranking for a long time, although he knows it won’t be easy.
His former charges – Rashid Sidek and Mohd Roslin Hashim –also reached the No. 1 spot but only for a brief spell.
Chong Wei, he said, would have to work hard on two areas of his game if he wanted to extend his stay at the top spot, which had been dominated by Olympic champion Lin Dan for about two years.
“Not only must Chong Wei be able to handle the pressure that I will put on him in training but he must also improve his physical condition,” said Misbun at Stadium Juara in Bukit Kiara yesterday.
“It is good that Chong Wei has held on to the No. 1 spot for a second consecutive week. But it is important that he maintains it for a longer period. It will be difficult to climb up the ladder again if he drops down the rankings.”
Misbun was all smiles when talking about Chong Wei’s attitude towards training, although the shuttler had been kept busy with so many functions since returning as the silver medallist from the Beijing Olympic Games.
“He is not at his best physical condition. He is still tired. But I admire his spirit. He has been demanding for more in training. The pace of training will pick up from Monday,” said Misbun.
“It is a delight to see Chong Wei handling all this (the fame after winning the silver medal for the first time in 12 years for the country) very well. He is humble.”
At the Japan Open, defending champion Chong Wei’s first real rest will come in the quarter-finals against Simon Santoso of Indonesia. Also in the same half with the Malaysian is another Indonesian, Taufik Hidayat.
In the lower half are second seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, China’s Chen Yu and Peter Gade-Christensen of Denmark.
THREE ARRESTED OVER UMS'S STUDENT DEATH
KOTA KINABALU: Three men have been arrested by police to facilitate investigation into the death of a Universiti Malaysia Sabah undergraduate, Sherliana Gediun. State Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim, in disclosing this yesterday, said the police managed to track down the suspects, all locals in their 20s, in Tuaran and Kota Marudu.
“We started making the arrests on Wednesday. They were arrested separately and have been remanded for four days to facilitate investigation,” Noor Rashid said, adding the case is investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides the mandatory death penalty on conviction.
“One of the suspects arrested is believed to be the van driver,” he said.
Noor Rashid, however, said police have yet to positively identify the body found in Tuaran to be that of Sherliana, as they were still waiting for the DNA report.
Sherliana, 22, a final year student undertaking a course on Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) at the School of Education and Social Development of the University, went missing after leaving her village at the end of holidays on Aug 22.
Her mother and younger brother had sent her to Kota Marudu bus terminal where she boarded a Kota Kinabalu-bound van to return to the University.
That was the last time they saw or heard from her.
KC08009
HASSANAL
ASSALAMUALAIKUMWARAHMATULLAH.....
Singapore's Feng Tianwei (pic) shocked the Chinese camp when she bundled out reigning world champion Guo Yue to advance to the semi-finals of the Volkswagen World Cup women's table tennis tournament at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium last night.
The 22-year-old put up an impressive attacking display to beat the Beijing Olympics bronze medallist and world number two 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9 in 43 minutes to earn her first World Cup semi-finals appearance.
Top seeded Guo Yue, spearheading the Chinese challenge in the absence of injured Olympic champion Zhang Yining, had cruised into the quarter-finals as the Group A winner. She beat Yang Fen of Congo 11-3, 11-5, 12-10, 11-3 for her third consecutive win.
Tianwei had qualified second from Group B behind world number three Li Xiaoxia of China after beating Li Jiao of Holland 13-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 in her final group match earlier.
But it was Tianwei who turned the tables on Guo Yue for the first time in four meetings.
China-born Tianwei is ranked ninth in the world and was given Singapore citizenship in January in time to help her adopted country bag a silver in the Olympics team event last month.
Guo Yue's exit meant that it would only be the second time that the final will not be an all-China affair.
Tianwei will play against world No. 10 Tie Yana of Hong Kong today for a place in the final. Yana, also a former China national player, earned her place in the semi-finals with a hard-fought 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-8, 17-19, 11-7 win over South Korea's Kim Kyung-ah.
The other semi-final will be between another Singaporean, Wang Yue Gue, and Xiaoxia.
The spiky-haired Tianwei now has a shot at collecting the winner's cheque of US$44,000 if she maintains her fine form but she never expected her fortune.
“Looking at the draw for the quarter-finals earlier, I thought it was the end of the road for me and I can go shopping tomorrow,” she said.
“But I guess I have to work harder and keep my focus after this. This is my first win over Guo Yue and I have to thank my coach (Liu Guodong). His tips from the sideline helped me to counter my opponent's style.”
Guo Yue said that she did not put up her best performance last night but still gave Singaporean rival the credit.
“It has been a hectic two months of preparing for the Beijing Olympics and I have to admit that I didn't train much coming into this event. But Tianwei played very well today,” said Guo Yue, who beat Singapore's Li Jiawei for the Olympic bronze medal.
The semi-finals will be played today from 7pm. The third place play-off and final are scheduled for 9pm and 9.45pm respectively. Tickets are priced at RM30 and RM10 (for students).
KC08047
ROBBERS STRIKE AGAIN...
KUALA TERENGGANU: Two robbers believed to have been behind an armed robbery in Gong Badak on Thursday have struck again, this time just two doors away from their first hit.
In the 6.15am incident, the suspects approached the cashier on the pretext of buying a packet of cigarettes.
But just as the cashier turned around to get the item, the suspect grabbed one of the employees, pulled out a knife and demanded money from the 24-year-old cashier.
The robber fled with RM100, seven packets of cigarettes and several cellphone pre-paid cards with his accomplice on a motorcycle.
In the first incident, a shop owner lost RM650 and a stack of prepaid cards.
hye....
WHAT image comes to mind when you think of kampung (village) schools? An old rickety fan, rows of wooden chairs and tables, and wide-eyed children in front of a blackboard, perhaps?
Ah, but for some smart schools in the rural areas and towns of Sarawak, you could not be more wrong.
From interactive whiteboards to organising information databases on the computer, the Education Ministry’s smart school initiative has brought ICT skills to the previously uninitiated, prompting them to engage in innovative ways of using technology in the classroom. This has helped to narrow the digital gap between urban and rural students.
KC08046
Cyclist named best Bachelor’s degree student
KUCHING: Sports and studies can go hand in hand, as Dayang Siti Nur Intan Baizuri Abang Sulaiman has proven.
The 24-year-old lass, who has been actively involved in cycling for more than 10 years, was named the best student in a degree programme at Twintech College Sarawak’s fifth convocation here on Saturday.
She was presented with the award by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman moments after receiving her scroll for a Bachelor’s degree in computer science.
Dayang Siti Nur Intan said she took pride in her achievement, having burnt the midnight oil on occasions to prepare for examinations.
“I normally go for sports training early in the morning before class, then I rest in the evening and sometimes study until midnight,” she said.
She took up cycling in 1997 on the encouragement of one of her brothers and represented the state at Sukma in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
In 2002, she won a bronze medal in mountain biking. She also took part in the cycling road race.
“At first it was quite difficult for me to balance my sports activities and studies. But gradually, I learnt to manage my time better,” she said.
Dayang Siti Nur Intan, who is now lecturing in computer science and information technology, added that she planned to further her studies.
Fellow graduate Bong Sze Ping received the best student award in a diploma programme while Noraisah Saha was the best student in a certificate programme.
Altogether, 100 students received their scrolls at the convocation.
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http://library.thinkquest.org/18755/yourbody/keep_fit.shtml
hi~ i am winnie~(KC08018)
you all can go to this website to learn the way to keep fit!
It will tell you which type of food you eat will make a difference if you want to keep fit!
Ofn course!If we eat more carbohydrates and protein, our body will be very pleased..
However, if we eat too much fat, we will getting fat!
Another concept is, losing weight does not mean that keeping fit!]
And, we will never become fit only by eating less!
As a conclusion,
Good diet + Proper exercise = Fit
ELECTRIC CARS SOON FOR MASSES
Rising oil prices and advances in battery technology are refuelling interest in electric cars. Izwan Ismail recently buckled up Detroit Electric’s electric car technology at Proton’s Test Circuit in Shah Alam.
insidepix1
Lam says Detroit Electric is currently in preliminary talks with Proton on the possibility of licensing its vehicle platforms such as the Persona, Savvy and Lotus for the production of the electric alternative.
Lam says Detroit Electric is currently in preliminary talks with Proton on the possibility of licensing its vehicle platforms such as the Persona, Savvy and Lotus for the production of the electric alternative.
Just imagine: Before going to sleep, you plug in a charger into your car. The next morning, the car’s all charged up and ready for your drive to work.
As part of the Government’s initiative to tackle rising fuel prices and source for alternative “green” transportation modes, Proton has been tasked to test and validate Detroit Electric’s technology and to explore collaborative development possibilities for a range of pure electric cars.
The Detroit Electric car is powered by lithium-ion dry battery and has a range of up to 300 kilometres once fully charged. Depending on the power of the battery, which ranges from 50 kilowatts to 150kW, the electric drive system can accelerate the car up to 220km per hour.
The charging process, which takes about eight hours, can be done through the conventional electric outlet. There is also a fast charging format that allows the car to be charged for just 30 minutes with
80 per cent power rate.
Driving an electric car is similar to the conventional petrol or diesel car, except that you will not hear any engine sound since the engine has been replaced with an electric motor.
The Detroit Electric car will be priced at about RM80,000 for a model the size of the Persona. This may be slightly more expensive than the conventional car, but since the electric car does not consume fuel, savings over the long term is significant, Lam pointed out.
In terms of cost savings, the electric drive system is capable of powering a sedan at just 3.5 sen per km, compared to 35 sen per km for a petrol-powered equivalent – that’s 10 times cost savings, and it includes the cost of charging the battery at current electricity tariffs.
Detroit Electric is looking at producing electric vehicles in three categories: sports car, sub-compact and medium-sized sedan.
OMG!!! it's MONDAY..8th September..
juz finishing my TELL ME MORE...
hahahaha..kinda funny to talk to the computer..and repeat the same words over & over again..
the dialogue session was okay..
25% completed..
sumtyms got to hv British 'slange'
my voice was a bit rough for few words..but yeahh..got high scores la..now i know it's not tat easy to speak clearly so tat can ppl understand..
then for the word pronounciation..
100% completed....
i cant fully remember wat did i say..
hahaha....
only i can remember 'automatic'..
tat's the toughest one...huhuhu..
luckily..most i got full scores la...
but still.....i ned to improve my languange n pronounciation..huhu...
long way to go....
nvrmind....
try the best b4 the better comes..
bha..BULIH BHA KALO KO..
gotta go soon..
BUBYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KC08009
I just read a news about someone that had 'ruin' our national anthem before are going back to malaysia....he said that he wrote and change the national anthem with no intention to ashamed our country, but its just a reality that happen. he had bow for apologize of what he had done before and now he comes back to our lovely country...
here's it story....
~~Despite the infamy surrounding his Negarakuku video, a young graduate decides to come home.
BEING part of the production team of the Taiwanese’s television programme One Million Star is a great learning experience for Malaysian student Wee Meng Chee. Securing a job at the prestigious production house behind the show and others like Guess Guess Guess and Here Comes Kang Xi is a golden opportunity that every mass communication student in Taiwan craves.
“It is a difficult job which sometimes requires you to work 24 hours a day,” says Wee, the first and only foreigner hired by Gin Star Entertainment Co. Ltd. He got the job while studying at Ming Chuan University.
Last year, Wee became an instant online celebrity last year when his video, Negarakuku, which raps about racial discrimination against Chinese, corrupt cops and indolent civil servants, was posted on YouTube.
In a phone interview from Taiwan, the 25-year-old mass communication graduate constantly paused to search for words that best described his feelings.
Wee (left) and Yap getting a Malaysian living in Laos to pen a congratulatory message for the country, on its turning 51.
He’d written the song as a gift to the country in conjunction with its 50th birthday celebrations, he says. But some people felt he was mocking the national anthem. At the height of the controversy, he bowed to mounting pressure and made a public apology.
“Song-writing is my way of keeping a diary of my feelings about things happening around me. I compose new songs when there are special occasions such as birthdays and weddings, or when I broke off with my girlfriend.
“When I wrote Negarakuku and Muar Chinese, songs about my country and hometown, I just wanted to reflect life’s realities. I don’t think I can change the world by highlighting issues that concern the public, but I do hope that Malaysia will become a better place one day.”
Muar Chinese, a satirical music video, takes digs at people who are ashamed of speaking their own dialects.
At it turned out, the hoo-ha surrounding his compositions got the attention of Wee’s boss at Gin Star, who was impressed with his creativity and ability to compose songs and shoot his own music videos.
“He liked my work and even suggested that I work on another programme on which guests get to impersonate Taiwanese politicians,” he says.
However, after completing his tertiary education, Wee did not hesitate to quit his job because he wanted to return home.
“When I tendered my resignation, my boss asked me to stay until the end of the season of One Million Star, in August. He even told me that I have the potential to be a producer one day.
“But I had made up my mind to return to Malaysia because it is my home. I reckon it’s time for me to pay back to the country, with the skills I’ve learnt from another country.”
Many people urged him not to come back, quoting reasons like political instability, a bad economy and the lack of job opportunities here. But Wee was undaunted.
“People think Taiwan is a better place to stay in, but they do not know that the Taiwanese, too, are unhappy with their own country. Many of them are planning to migrate to other countries like the United States, Singapore or even Malaysia.”
Wee feels that while others view working overseas as an opportunity to earn big money, his focus is different.
“Every country has its shortcomings but if you only look at the problems and want to leave, who is going to stay in Malaysia?
“Just like your own mother; no matter how badly she treats you, you’re still her child and have the responsibility of taking care of her.
“Everyone wants something better in life, but the best thing is in your heart. For me, Malaysia is my country and my home and it will forever be that.”
Patriotism aside, what bothers him is that no employer might want to hire an “infamous” person. This concern prompted Wee to kick off a documentary project entitled I Want to Go Home, with three friends, Yap Chin Chern, Hew Teck Choy and Chia Wei Gang .
On July 31, they started their month-long overland journey home from Hong Kong, stopping along the way to film Malaysians living there, as well as in Macau, China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
The team compiled congratulatory messages from those they met, to be featured in the documentary.
Through the film, Wee aims to show potential employers that he is not a troublemaker, but “a rebel with a cause”.
“The main purpose of filming the documentary is to convey the thoughts of those who could not make it home for the country’s 51st independence celebrations,” he explains.
~~nur fitriah binti mohd jaafar
HI GUYS..
Wah.Cade had manage to monopolyze the blog..It's no longerK@*'s blog but it had turn to Cade's blog..hehe..Keep it up Cade..Some of ur post is nice but the rest might be too long n i don't read long post..hehe..
It has been a while for me from blogging into this right?Quite not in the mood actually..I thought i was only suppose to put around 12-12 post only but unfortunately i thought wrongly..
If it's about what i've been reading this pass month there's too much already..i reread all the julie garwood novels, one novel per day can you believe it?
This weekend i've been able to finish CASTLE,THE PRIZE,LION'S DEN,THE GIFT,THE SECRET and HONOUR'S SPLEANDOUR.
Luckily i'm a fast reader it's just that a lot of my time wasted on those novels(i know it's bad but the temptation is too high)..
Any of you who wants all of these novels can come to my room and borrow it(If there's more than one of u i think i'll charge..hehe)
ps:I've bought the last novel of the twillight saga buy stephanie mayer-BREAKING DAWN yeay!!(there's goes my 50 ringgit but well it was worth it..i just love edward cullens)
KC08037
LG HAS A SECRET
LG Electronics has placed yet another handset on the fashion runway, following in the footsteps of its successful design-centric models from the Black Label Series.
The Secret is the Black Label Series’ strongest model yet, even outperforming the Chocolate and Shine in terms of design, durability and performance.
The Secret is the Black Label Series’ strongest model yet, even outperforming the Chocolate and Shine in terms of design, durability and performance.
The Secret, or model KF750, which made its debut at CommunicAsia, is the Black Label Series’ strongest model yet, even outperforming the Chocolate and Shine in terms of design, durability and performance, according to the company.
The touch-enabled slider phone is not only fashionable and slim at 11.8 millimetres thick, but also highly durable, thanks to the use of materials such as carbon fibre and tempered glass. So, say goodbye to scratch marks.
Striking a good balance of style and substance, the Secret comes with Neon Touch Navigation buttons and touch-screen function for multimedia features such as music, photos, games, documents and FM radio.
It is also equipped with a five-megapixel camera, which boasts
120-frame-per-second video recording and playback, and photo and video-editing features, including facial editing and the SmartLight feature that automatically adjusts a picture’s light settings.
For Internet surfing and e-mail access, LG has bundled in the Google package, which also enables the use of Google Maps and YouTube.
And for more entertainment, the phone comes with motion-sensor games, which allow users to play onboard games by tilting or shaking.
Other exciting capabilities are DivX-certified video playback, auto-rotating display and auto-luminance control. With auto-rotating display, images on the screen can be shifted to be viewed in any position while with auto-luminance control, screen lighting is automatically adjusted according to ambient brightness.
The Secret, which has
100 megabytes of internal memory and a Micro Secure Digital card slot that supports cards up to four gigabytes, will be made available in most parts of Asia by end of next month.
Seized car used for smuggling
KUALA LUMPUR: A 48-year-old salesman pledged his car as collateral for a RM3,000 loan from an Ah Long, who took the car after he failed to repay the loan in time in October, 2006. The salesman's is now upside down.
Last September, he was shocked when the bank informed him that, since he had stopped paying the loan instalments since October 2006, it had auctioned it off – and that he still needed to pay the bank RM18,000 or risk being sued. He is paying that in instalments.
Last month, the big shock came. He received a summons to appear in the Teluk Intan magistrate's court in October as his car had been used in smuggling cigarettes.
“I borrowed RM3,000 from an Ah Long but when I could repay him in time, he took my car and asked me to deposit RM4,000 into his account to get my car back. I was afraid he would cheat me and so I didn’t put in the money,” Lim said after he had appealed to MCA Public Services and Complaints Department (PSCD) for help.
“I kept trying to get in touch with the Ah Long again but I couldn’t. Finally, I lodged a police report in May last year,” said Lim.
At a press conference yesterday, MCA PSCD head Datuk Michael Chong said he had received 15 similar cases this year with five cars used in crime and 13 cases of passports given up as collateral.
“Cars bought under hire-purchase agreements belong to the finance companies and passports are government properties. These cannot be used as collateral,” he said.
Nik Aziz: It's all right to meet
KOTA BARU: Pas spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat supports meetings between Pas and Umno leaders on issues relating to Islam but only on an individual basis.
Nik Aziz said it was all right for them to meet but it must not involve the party.
"They can meet each other on their own but the party must not be dragged into it.
"I have had enough of Umno as they are not professional in their political work," he said at his residence in Pulau Melaka yesterday.
He also confirmed that he had not attended the meetings and did not know anything about them.
"I have missed many meetings of the syura council (the highest decision-making body) because of my health.
"If such a meeting is called, then I will not be involved. I leave it all to the party president (Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang)."
ANAS
K28
KC08060
TV: All shook up by Camp Rock
Aimed at hitting tweens’ G-spot, Camp Rock has already made waves since it premiered in the US two months ago with the young uns clamouring for more of the current “It” band, the Jonas Brothers (Kevin, Joe and Nick).
In fact, the premiere of Camp Rock outrated that of HSM!
But those hoping for the clean, Christian teenybopper musicians to be in every scene will be sorely disappointed as Camp Rock gives most of its face-time to relatively unknown singer-songwriter Demi Lovato (of Disney Channel’s As The Bell Rings).
Camp Rock, although formulaic, does not fail to disappoint — if you get your kicks watching teenagers wear grown-up clothes breaking into song and dance every now and then.
Set in an outdoorsy camp for musicians, a talented but poor Mitchie Torres (Lovato) is painfully embarrassed about her caterer mother who took on a job at the camp so the girl could enter with a discount.
Shane Gray (Joe Jonas) is an angst-ridden and jaded boy bander with “Connect Three” (played by the JB) who seems to have lost his passion for music. He’s been sent packing to Camp Rock by his bandmates to rekindle the music-making spark.
Throw in puppy love, “believe in yourself” mantra, the resident bitchy blonde drama queen (“Whatever, major loser” is delightfully her best line), smart-ass sidekick and some catchy tunes, and there you have a summer craze enough to get teenage hearts go a-flutter.
It has all the ingredients to make kids remember this TV film for at least a few months and for the theme song to be stuck in the head a couple of days.
Specially made for kids who sometimes feel awkward and misunderstood, which is practically everyone, the film, like all Disney Channel original offerings has the message of self-love and being true to yourself.
Lame acting, perpetual cheesy smiles and predictable plot aside, the film won’t win an Emmy. But it will certainly warm up the hearts of both tweens and parents.
HYEE...
FRAN'S HERE.....
TODAY WE STUDY ABOUT "TELL ME MORE"
IT WAS VERY INTERESTING YET FUNNY TO ME....
BECAUSE I HAVE TO "COMMUNICATE" WITH THE COMPUTER.....
FROM THE AVTIVITY I MANAGED TO IMPROVE MY PRONOUNCIATON SKILLS...
I LEARN A LOT TODAY,
AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN.....
..FROM,KC08062...
21 THGS GIRLS DUN REALISED ON BOYS!!! - TAKEN FRM MY FRIEND'S FS BULLETIN.. :) thnx DINO!
You HAVE to read all of them and if you don't,u r going to come across with problems in your relationship for the next month!
1) Guys may be flirting around all day, but before they go to sleep, they always think about the girl they truly care about....
2) Guys are more emotional than you think, if they loved you at one point, it'll take them a lot longer than you think to let you go, and it hurts every second that they try.
3) Guys go crazy over a girl's smile(:
4) A guy who likes you wants to be the only guy you talk to.
5) Giving a guy a hanging message like "You know what?..uh...nevermind.." would make him jump to a conclusion that is far from what you are thinking. And he'll assume he did something wrong and he'll obsess about it trying to figure it out.
6) If a guy tells you about his problems, he just needs someone to listen to him. You don't need to give advice.
7) A usual act that proves that the guy likes you is when he teases you.
8) GUYS LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE THEM!!!
9) Guys use words like hot or cute to describe girls. They rarely use beautiful or gorgeous. If a guy uses that, he loves you or likes you a whole heck of a lot.
10)If the guy does something stupid in front of the girl, he will think about it for the next couple days or until the next time he spends time with the girl.
11)If a guy looks unusually calm and laid back, he's probably faking it and he is really thinking about something
12) When a guy says he is going crazy about the girl, he really is
Guys rarely say that
13)When a guy asks you to leave him alone, he's just actually saying, "Please come and listen to me
14)If a guy starts to talk seriously, listen to him. It doesn't happen that often, so when it does, you know something's up.
15) When a guy looks at you for longer than a second, he's definitely thinking
something.
16) Guys really think that girls are strange and have unpredictable decisions and are MAD confusing but somehow are drawn even more to them
17)A guy would give the world to be able to read a girl's mind for a day.
18)No guy can handle all his problems on his own.
He's just too stubborn to admit it
19)NOT ALL GUYS ARE RUDE!!!
Just because ONE is RUDE doesn't mean he represents ALL of them
20)WHEN A GUY SACRIFICES HIS SLEEP AND HEALTH JUST TO TALK TO YOU, HE REALLY LIKES YOU AND WANTS TO BE WITH YOU AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
21)Even if you dump a guy months ago and he loved you he probably still does and if he had one wish it would be you to come back into his life
well..i wud nvr say it's diff 2 noe boy's hearts...coz im used to hv guy frens everywhre..
but..wat i noe frm the past was, wen it comes to crius relationship...
BOYS ARE BETTER THAN GIRLS..
and wen it comes to break up....
BOYS WUD BE THE ONE TAT CAN REALLY HURT UR HEART..
P/S: so..those having couple outside thre..be sure keep it safe n put lots of LOVE in the air!!! :P
KC08009
HELLO EVERYONE...
Let us share this Information...
"Lack of Vitamin D Boosts Death Risk.."
MONDAY, Aug. 11 (HealthDay News)—Inadequate vitamin D could increase your risk of death by 26 percent, a new study concludes.
Yet many people are not getting enough vitamin D, which the skin makes naturally when exposed to sunlight. A nationwide survey found that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women in the United States were not getting enough of this vital nutrient.
“The importance of vitamin D may be underappreciated,” said lead author Dr. Michal Melamed, a clinical fellow at Johns Hopkins University. “There are studies that link low vitamin D levels to the development of heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, hypertension and different cancers,” she said.
According to the U.S. Institute of Medicine, people should get between 200 and 400 international units of vitamin D a day. The best way to get vitamin D, naturally, is by being out in the sun.
As little as 10 to 15 minutes of sun a day can give you all a vitamin D you need. Vitamin D is also available in small quantities in foods such as fish and milk.
So that,all of us must make sure that have enough vitamin D...:)
Thank You..From SHAFIZA..:-)
HELLO....
PLEASE...ATTENTION TO THE SMOKER...
Let us share "How to Quit Smoking":Start Here
-Quit Once, Quit Again, Quit for Good-
Most people try to quit smoking a few times before they finally succeed. Therefore, failing is not failure—it's practice. Nicotine loves the brain and the brain loves it right back; it even found its own little pleasure-inducing receptor there (the nicotinic receptor). What other satisfying thing do you do 200 times a day (the average number of puffs a pack-a-day smoker enjoys) and then abruptly decide not to do at all?
The good news is that although the science of addiction research is relatively young, the way to quit smoking is becoming clearer: Some combination of drugs, stop-smoking aids, counseling, support, and changes of habit will work for you. Maybe not the first time, but maybe this time. Good luck.
THANK YOU...
FROM SHAFIZA...:-)
How to Start a Speech
Do's and Don'ts
A speech’s introduction is its most important part.
If you lose your audience in the first 15 seconds to 2 minutes, you might as well pack your bags and go home. You’ll never – or almost never – regain their attention.
Here are some tips to help you get through the first few moments of your speech:
1. Do Memorize your First Sentence
For the first 10 seconds or so of any speech your mind is doing its best to fight off an anxiety attack. It’s not the time to be creative. Write out your first sentence or two. And memorize it. (By the time you’ve made it through those first daunting moments, your mind will begin to function again.)
2. Don't Start with a Joke
Unless you’re a gifted comic, the chances of getting an audience to laugh at a joke right at the start are miniscule. Why invite disaster? Making some self-deprecating, humorous remark, on the other hand, is a great way to begin. (You can, if appropriate, tell a joke later in your presentation, after the audience has warmed up to you.)
3. Don't Waste Time with Pleasantries
Winston Churchill called opening pleasantries “banalities.” Don’t tell the audience how happy you are to be speaking to them. Don’t tell them what a great group of people they are. Don’t acknowledge the dignitaries in the audience. It all sounds like so much hooey. (You can make similar comments later in your speech when they’ll sound more sincere.)
4. Do Jump Right In
Tell a story. Make a startling assertion. Ask a provocative question. Cite a brief quote or outrageous statistic. Whatever you do, just do it. Don’t introduce your introduction.
5. Don't Apologize
“I’m sorry I didn’t have more time to prepare.” “Please excuse me, I’m not a very good speaker.” “I hope you’ll overlook my nervousness.” Apologies are either an insult to the audience or an invitation not to be taken seriously. Don’t put yourself and your insecurities up front. Focus instead on the audience and on your message.
The time and effort you put into crafting a powerful opening – whichever strategy you choose – will pay off. It will win you the audience’s attention, respect, and goodwill. And it will make you feel more confident.
The Witt Communications Newsletter contains advice for improving your ability to present yourself and your ideas in a way that wins people's cooperation. It comes out once a month.
hahaha
maybe u all learned it before....
but i just remind u all about this...
hehehehe......
be a good presenter...ok???
-KC08019-
Hello..
Today I will share about 'PLANET'
How the planets formed
Astronomers have developed a theory about how our solar system formed that explains why it has small, rocky planets close to the sun and big, gaseous ones farther away. Astronomers believe our solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust called the solar nebula. Gravity pulled together a portion of gas and dust at the center of the nebula that was denser than the rest. The material accumulated into a dense, spinning clump that formed our sun.
The remaining gas and dust flattened into a disk called a protoplanetary disk swirling around the sun. Protoplanetary disks around distant stars were first observed through telescopes in 1983. Rocky particles within the disk collided and stuck together, forming bodies called planetesimals. Planetesimals later combined to form the planets. At the distances of the outer planets, gases froze into ice, creating huge balls of frozen gas that formed the Jovian planets.
Hot gases and electrically charged particles flow from our sun constantly, forming a stream called the solar wind. The solar wind was stronger at first than it is today. The early solar wind drove the light elements -- hydrogen and helium -- away from the inner planets like Earth. But the stronger gravity of the giant outer planets held on to more of the planets' hydrogen and helium, and the solar wind was weaker there. So these outer planets kept most of their light elements and wound up with much more mass than Earth.
Astronomers developed these theories when they thought that rocky planets always orbited close to the parent star and giant planets farther out. But the "rule" was based only on our own solar system. Now that astronomers have learned something about other solar systems, they have devised new theories. Some scientists have suggested that the giant planets in other solar systems may have formed far from their parent stars and later moved in closer.
Contributor: Jay M. Pasachoff, Ph.D., Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy and Director, Hopkins Observatory of Williams College.
How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: Pasachoff, Jay M. "Planet." World Book Online Reference Center. 2004. World Book. http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar433460.
Thank you..
FROM SHAFIZA..kc08029:-)
This is about the funny story...
Title: Catch a Rabbit
The LAPD, The FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it.
The CIA goes in.
They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist.
The FBI goes in.
After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming.
The LAPD goes in.
They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling: "Okay! Okay! I'm a rabbit! I'm a rabbit!" ...hehehe...
From shafiza...:-)
assalamualaikum....
as a university student,computer or laptop is such our life...it is based on my experienced...i feel like mad person when my laptop break down...
however....do u really know who is the first person that geek the computer?
in ur mind surely think about Bill Gates....
eventhough...based from my reading from msn.com,Bill Gates or even a guy is not the person that turns out the 1st computer.......but a girl...
The first computer programmer is a woman.
Believe it. Long before Bill Gates, there was August Ada King, aka Ada Lovelace, who is widely credited with being the first computer programmer.
In footnotes of an 1843 study she translated for fellow mathematician Charles Babbage, whose yet-to-be-built "analytical engine" -- a mechanical precursor to today's modern computer -- Lovelace proposed ways the machine could be programmed. One particularly prescient insight she had: that computers had applications beyond crunching numbers, such as composing music.
Her nascent contributions to the field did not go unnoticed: The Ada programming language used to code U.S. military software is named in her honor.
haa...that's wonderful right....the power of women
for more information...u can search more information at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace
http://www.myfavoriteezines.com/articles/trivia/first-computer-programmer.html
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/love.htm
assalamualaikum
thank god cz i can give me comment here of what i have read during this month.i jz read newspaper NSTP today and its frontpage is all about politic.today is about Raja Petra and Teresa kok,who were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last Friday, will be filing a writ of habeas corpus seeking their release. The applications are expected to be filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.
In the ISA crackdown on Friday, Raja Petra was the first to be arrested, followed by Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng several hours later, and Kok shortly after that.
Tan was released the next day.
But for Kok and Raja Petra's families, the weekend was spent worrying about their whereabouts, safety and well-being. Police have so far refused to say where Kok and Raja Petra were being held.
"Her (Kok) parents are very affected by their daughter's arrest. Like most of us, they want answers," Kok's lawyer Sankara Nair said yesterday.
He is also expected to file a suit against a Bahasa Malaysia daily for accusing his client of inciting religious tension.
"Teresa had instructed me to take legal action against the newspaper as soon as the report was published last Tuesday."
On Saturday, Kok's father, Kok Kin Tong, said despite being warned of her impending arrest, his daughter had refused to go into hiding.
He said his daughter felt she had done nothing wrong.
Marina Lee, the wife of Raja Petra, also confirmed that his lawyers would be filing the habeas corpus writ tomorrow at the latest.
"They are preparing the affidavit, most likely tomorrow (today), but it could also drag on until Tuesday," she said.
Marina said she was coping well, but was worried on how her husband's arrest was affecting their youngest daughter.
"She's in the midst of her final exams now and what she witnessed and went through during the arrest at home was intimidating.
"But she's a strong-hearted girl, and I think she will be all right."
Despite repeated attempts by her husband's lawyers, the police have refused to disclose where he was being detained.
Marina criticised Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar for backing the ISA arrests with illogical reasons and excuses.
I'm now interested on the latest new car in the world....
for example, at TAKANEZAWA, Japan. Honda Motor celebrated the start of production of its FCX Clarity, the world’s first hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicle intended for mass production. In a ceremony at a factory an hour north of Tokyo, the first assembly-line FCX Clarity rolled out to the applause of hundreds of Honda employees wearing white jump suits.
It looks like an ordinary family sedan, costs more to build than a Ferrari and may have just moved the world one step closer to a future free of petroleum.Honda will make just 200 of the futuristic vehicles over the next three years, but said it eventually planned to increase production volumes, especially as hydrogen filling stations became more common. On Monday, Honda announced its first five customers, who included the actress Jamie Lee Curtis.
Honda said even the small initial production run represented progress toward a clean-burning technology that many rejected as too exotic and too expensive to gain wide acceptance.
“Basically, we can mass produce these now,” said Kazuaki Umezu, head of Honda’s Automobile New Model Center, where the FCX Clarity is built. “We are waiting for the infrastructure to catch up.”
Fuel-cell vehicles have been a sort of holy grail of the auto industry, offering the promise of driving without emitting air-polluting exhaust. Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen and oxygen from ordinary air to make electricity, in a process whose only byproducts are water and heat. They have drawn renewed attention in an era of climate change, $140 a barrel oil, and rising competition for dwindling fossil fuels.
“This is a must-have technology for the future of the earth,” said Takeo Fukui, Honda’s president. “Honda will work hard to mainstream fuel-cell cars.”
Fuel cells have an advantage over electric cars, whose batteries take hours to recharge and use electricity, which, in the case of the United States, China and many other countries, is often produced by coal-burning power plants.
Honda says its FCX Clarity can be filled easily at a pump, can drive 280 miles on a tank, almost as far as a gasoline car. It also gets higher fuel efficiency than a gasoline car or hybrid, the equivalent of 74 miles a gallon of gas, according to the company.
But the technology has faced many hurdles, not the least of which has been the prohibitive cost of the fuel cells themselves. Honda says it has found ways to mass produce them, which promises to drive down costs through economies of scale. On Monday, it showed reporters its fuel-cell production line, which resembled a semiconductor factory more than an auto plant with its humming automated machinery and white smocked workers in dust-free rooms.
Mr. Fukui said the cars cost several hundred thousand dollars each to produce, though he said that should drop below $100,000 in less than a decade as production volumes increase. In the meantime, the car company will be effectively subsidizing its customers, who will lease the vehicles for $600 a month. That is not much more than the leasing price of one of Honda’s top Acura line of luxury cars.
At Monday’s ceremony, Mr. Fukui presented an oversize key to the first FCX Clarity customer, a film producer from Los Angeles on hand for the occasion. Honda said it would offer the car in Southern California first because the state has been a leader in building hydrogen filling stations.
Honda said the five had been chosen after the company got a wave of queries from American consumers when it publicized the car last year. On Monday, Honda also announced three dealerships near Los Angeles that will be the first to start leasing FCX Claritys.
Fuel-cell vehicles have been a big gamble for Honda, which has spent the last 16 years and millions of dollars — the company will not say exactly how much — developing them. For a time, the company was criticized for pouring money into unproven technologies while refusing to follow the rest of the industry into large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
Now, with gas prices soaring, Honda is in an enviable position of not being burdened with large inventories of gas-guzzling full-frame trucks that require hefty incentives to sell, or the factories that build them. Analysts have said Honda and the rival Japanese carmaker Toyota have seized a commanding lead in more efficient, green technologies like hybrids as well as fuel cells.
Honda says one big breakthrough was shrinking the size of its fuel cells. In the FCX Clarity, they fit in a box-shaped unit the size of a desktop PC that weighs about 150 pounds, less than half of their size a decade ago.
The FCX Clarity’s fuel-cell unit can generate up to 100 kilowatts of electricity, enough to accelerate the car from zero to 60 miles an hour in less than nine seconds, and give it top speeds of 100 miles an hour, Honda says. Even at high speed, the FCX Clarity, a four-door sedan that looks like a sleeker version of the Accord, drives with the hushed whine of a golf cart.
Honda said a big remaining hurdle to true mass production is the lack of filling stations that sell hydrogen. Even in California, where the state government has led a push to build hydrogen stations, there are still very few public stations, Honda said. That will make it hard to drive the car far from home, limiting its appeal, the company said.
For now, the first batch of customers seem drawn by the car’s novelty as much as anything else. The first owner, the film producer Ron Yerxa, said he did not plan to drive it far, just to work and to eat out — far enough to draw the admiration of passers-by.
I'm dreams that i would get my dream in the future....hope so...
hehehe...
"Study smart, not study hard...."
from the rock, k28....
POH: Businessman Azizi Abidin has been a crowd-puller at the Ramadan bazaar at Medan Gopeng, here, selling dim sum and chee cheong fun instead of the usual ayam percik and popiah for buka puasa,
Made from his secret recipe, Azizi, 41, and his sister Azlin, 34, have been doing brisk business with the Chinese fare.
With nine different types of dim sum, Azizi and Azlin have been kept busy at the stall.
According to Azizi, the dim sum is mainly made with chicken meat, prawns and crabmeat, prepared to the taste of lohe black pepper dumpling tops the list of the nine types that I sell at the bazaar,” said Azizi, who has been in the dim sum business for the past two years.
Among the nine different types sold at his stall are pandan mochi, prawn dumpling, mushroom dumpling, siew mai (glutinous rice with chicken), black pepper dumpling, spinach dumpling, crab dumpling and teo chew dumpling.
Regularly based at the Politeknik Ungku Omar, Azizi also makes chee cheong fun for buka puasa at the bazaar.
Using four different types of flour, Azizi prepares the chee cheong fun, which is Hong Kong-styled.
Serving the delicious Chinese-styled halal food items for buka puasa, it is not surprising that the dim sum, dumplings and chee cheong fun were snapped up quickly by Chinese and Indian customers.
SALAM AND HELLO for everyone....
This is news for today....
"Typhoon Sinlaku floods Taiwan"
Sep 14, 2008 12:05 PM
Annie Huang
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into Taiwan with heavy rain and strong winds Sunday, killing at least one person and flooding low-lying regions.
Several people are reported missing.
Officials at Taipei's international airport said domestic flights were cancelled and many international flights delayed for hours because of the storm.
Trains also stopped running and several mountain highways were blocked by landslides, including the main Taipei-Ilan highway after torrential rains caused a 30-metre cave-in along a mountainous section.
Late Sunday, TV stations reported that a bridge in Taichung county had collapsed, plunging three vehicles into a river and drowning at least one person.
The fate of the other vehicles' occupants was not known.
Forecasters say Sinlaku made landfall in coastal Ilan county in northeastern Taiwan at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, but quickly turned and headed back out to sea.
After spiralling off Taiwan's northeastern coast for several hours, it gradually roared northeast toward Japan but its outer bands were expected to continue to affect Taiwan and eastern China.
Several mountainous regions recorded more than a metre of rain on the weekend and a few large rivers overflowed their banks.
More than 1,000 people were evacuated overnight from low-lying areas in two counties in the north, and 14 people were injured, mostly by falling objects, it said.
As the storm moved away from eastern Taiwan, authorities began to restore rail traffic, allowing people to resume plans to visit their families for Sunday's traditional moon festival.
Television footage showed traffic jams in Ilan's flooded streets, which were littered with fallen billboards and uprooted trees. Power was cut in 120,000 households in the county, the reports said.
In eastern China, more than 170,000 people were evacuated from their homes in low-lying areas of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
China's weather observatory issued a second-degree disaster weather warning, forecasting winds close to hurricane force and heavy rains in coastal areas, Xinhua said.
Authorities in Zhejiang called nearly 30,000 fishing boats to shore, it said.
Sinlaku is the third typhoon, as hurricanes are called in much of the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, to hit Taiwan this year.
THANK YOU from SHAFIZA...:)
peace be upon you....
i would to share with u all about the islamic sholar.
Abu Musa Jābir ibn Hayyān (c. 721–c. 815), known also by his Latinised name Geber, was a prominent Muslim polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geologist, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician. He is "considered by many to be the father of chemistry". His ethnic background is not clear; although some sources state that he was an Arab, other sources introduce him as Persian.
Jabir Ibn Hayyan is widely credited with the introduction of the experimental method in alchemy, and with the invention of numerous important processes still used in modern chemistry today, such as the syntheses of hydrochloric and nitric acids, distillation, and crystallisation. His original works are highly esoteric and probably coded, though nobody today knows what the code is. On the surface, his alchemical career revolved around an elaborate chemical numerology based on consonants in the Arabic names of substances and the concept of takwin, the artificial creation of life in the alchemical laboratory. Research has also established that oldest text of Jabiran corpus must have originated in the scientific culture of northeastern Persia. This thesis is supported by the Persian language and Middle Persian terms used in the technical vocabulary.
thanks for reading.....
assalamualaikum...
do you like kick box..
i love it..
there a some article to you..
More people are turning to Muay Thai as a way to keep fit.
It is easy to pick up and there’s the benefit of an intense workout without expensive equipment, writes SUZANNA PILLAY.
MUAY what? If you haven’t heard about Muay Thai/Thai boxing by now, you will soon as it could be coming to a gym near you. It’s the latest in fitness that’s taking the world by storm.
Interest in Muay Thai worldwide was first sparked by Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the 1990s. Muay Thai is just one of the fighting styles used in MMA, which also borrows moves from jiujitsu, boxing, wrestling and other martial arts.
Today, thanks to increased publicity from television shows, interest in Muay Thai is red-hot.
Reality television shows such as The Contender Asia, produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor), has done wonders for Muay Thai. Just as successful as its predecessor, The Contender, which focused on boxing, The Contender Asia saw 16 of the world’s best Muay Thai fighters pit their skills against each other for the title of Contender Champion and a prize sum of US$250,000 (RM875,000). It was a monster hit that has inspired youths and children worldwide to embrace the sport.
So what exactly is Muay Thai? Regarded as the national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai was first used by Siamese soldiers in the 13th century. Unlike Western-style boxing (which has two body contact points and where all targets are above waist level), Muay Thai’s eight body contact points and use of the hands, elbows, knees and feet in fights earned it the nickname of “the science of the eight limbs”.
Typical moves in Muay Thai include knee and elbow strikes, punches and kicks. It also works the core abdominal muscles, making it the ultimate all-in-one workout.
And it’s not just the guys who are flipping over it. Its benefits as an effective aerobic workout has not been lost on women. More and more women are signing up for Muay Thai workouts because of their health benefits.
Aside from being a great overall fat-burning, cardiovascular workout, it improves the muscle tone of jiggly underarms, flabby legs and droopy bottoms. Add to that the unexpected but welcome benefit of Muay Thai as a form of stress relief. Feeling pressured? Just hit a striking pad or punching bag.
Like all sports, Muay Thai builds up physical strength and stamina. Fighters are expected to last for seven to eight three-minute long rounds of sparring in competitions.
To be fighting fit, Muay Thai fighters are put through a rigorous workout that includes running, jumping rope and shadow-boxing, said Mohd Aly Yakir, 28, who has been a Muay Thai instructor for four years and has taught in Singapore and Thailand. Apart from his own classes at Dance KL in Bangsar, Lee as he prefers to be called, also teaches Muay Thai at the Celebrity Fitness gym in the area.
“It’s an intense workout. So if you’ve been inactive for a while expect stiff limbs after your first session,” said Lee. He has been practising the art for seven years.
Of Malaysian-Thai parentage, he is also skilled in the martial arts of Kendo, and Taekwando.
In Malaysia, Lee said Muay Thai has been slowly gaining popularity in the last four years, especially in the states bordering Thailand such as Kedah and Kelantan where the sport is known as tomoi.
Thanks to more awareness of Muay Thai from television shows, people from all walks of life in Malaysia are turning to Muay Thai as way to keep fit. His Muay Thai workout class in Bangsar has people of all ages from teens to 60-year-olds.
Interest is also increasing because more gyms in the country are starting to offer it as a workout option.
“You don’t need to buy expensive equipment and your whole body also gets an intense workout. It’s flexible and fast to pick up.
“You can learn basic Muay Thai steps in three months.
“For those keen on competing, if you have confidence, within seven months you can be ready for the ring.”
With his martial arts background, it took Lee just seven months to learn all the necessary skills for competition.
He has represented the national teams of Thailand (2002-2003), Singapore (2004-2005) and Malaysia (1997-2002) in Muay Thai.
It is unfortunate, he said, that people have the wrong impression about Muay Thai and that there is a misconception that it will encourage fighting and aggressive behaviour in youths.
His view of Muay Thai, which he had previously regarded as just a sport, changed when he went to Chiang Mai, Thailand to study the martial art.
“I realised it was more than that. It teaches self-awareness, confidence and discipline. A Muay Thai student has to have courage and not abuse his knowledge of the martial art. It is not meant for starting fights but for self-protection.
“Think of it this way: Muay Thai is to the Thais’ what silat is to Malaysians.
**every person love to keep fit for healty..**
that all..
AQILAH
Assalamualaikum.......
MURDER SUSPECT REARRESTED AFTER SHORTLIVED FREEDOM......
Read Carefully.....
JOHOR BARU: A man arrested in connection with the murder of Tenggaroh state assemblyman Datuk S. Krishnasamy had a shortlived freedom yesterday.
He was re-arrested under the Emergency Ordinance after being released on police bail.
The 36-year-old had been re-arrested because he was deemed a threat to public safety, said a statement from the state Criminal Investigation Department yesterday.
The suspect was arrested on Sept 5 in Seri Alam, Masai, by a team from the Federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman.
He is believed to be the son of a top MIC politician in Johor.
Krishnasamy, 62, was shot dead at point blank range by a gunman in a lift at the state MIC headquarters in Jalan Segget here on Jan 11.
Ramadan or Ramazan is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to Angel Gabriel, to deliver it to Prophet Muhammad. It is the Islamic month of fasting (sawm), in which participating Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person patience, sacrifice and humility. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of God, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance into the future, ask for help in refraining from everyday evils and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.The most prominent event of this month is the fasting (sawm) which should be practiced by all Muslims. Every day during the Blessed month of Ramadan Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat Suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, and perform the fajr prayer. They do not eat or drink anything after this prayer is said, until the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib (sunset), is due. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set, until the next morning's fajr prayer.
During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual thoughts and activities during fasting hours are also forbidden.[Qur'an 2:187] Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice, and sympathy for those who are less fortunate. It is also intended to make Muslims more generous and charitable.
Those who are traveling, pregnant women who fear for the health of their unborn, and those with severe health problems related to eating are exempt from fasting. One reason for this could be that lack of food and liquid in these situations could be detrimental to one's health. While fasting is not considered compulsory in childhood (which ends at puberty), many children endeavour to complete as many fasts as possible as practice for later life.
salam everyone...
when we talk about ramadhan months..there not only about food but also famous with firecraker..
this very dangerous and sometimes may cause death..
TUMPAT: A firecracker the size of a 20 sen coin exploded in a boy's palm, badly injuring him. Mohamad Zulkifli Abdul Ghani, 14, a school dropout, was trying to light the first of two firecrackers that he had bought from a sundry shop. His mother, Rosiah Deraman, 53, of Kampung Putat Tujuh, said: "I was cooking when I heard a loud bang from the back of the house. I ran out and saw his hand bleeding." The boy was taken to Lati Hospital in Pasir Mas.
this a proof..i hope all of us will take this as lesson.
linda
Wow....
Liverpool win last night...even it win just in 2-1, it enough to put man U in lower than Liverpool club in EPL....
Liverpool stand-in captain Jamie Carragher believes the 2-1 win against Manchester United can give them hope to mount a title challenge this season.
He said: "It gives us belief and confidence because we've beaten the best team in Europe.
"It gives us the belief that we can beat anyone in the league.
"We hope we can now push on for the rest of the season. It should spur us on, because we've not been playing too well. That is the best we've played."
The defender added: "It also gives us a bit of breathing space between us and United, and top is where a club like Liverpool should be."
Manager Rafael Benitez said after his first league win against United since being appointed Liverpool manager in 2004: "It was good for the confidence of the players.
"At half-time we were talking about having confidence and determination going forwards - and in the second half we were the best team.
"We showed quality and character to come back, and the understanding of Robbie Keane and Dirk Kuyt was very good. Their pressing was really important for the rest of the team."
Hope Liverpool can win the UEFA champion league for year 2008/2009 for 6th times.....
Go go go Liv...
from the rock, k28.....
AQILAH
assalamuaikum..
hi everyone!!!
i have good news for u..
who hungry right now..
just read article...
Every Ramadan, thoughts turn to traditional dishes, chef Jasmin Mohd Zon tells TAN BEE HONG.
IN September, Cafe Serena Brasserie will offer special recipes personally picked by chef Jasmin Mohd Zon and his kitchen team. The buffet spread will include both Western and local specialties. Most of the food is arranged on island tables for easy access.
Firstly, pick off bunches of fresh dates and a refreshing drink of air bandung, air selasih, sugar cane, soya bean milk or a hot teh tarik. Those who want to break off for prayers, can head for the surau.
Then come back and slowly savour Jasmin’s very own favourite appetisers like kerabu prawns and pucuk paku, tahu sumbat (stuffed tofu with peanut sauce) and all kinds of ulam-ulam ™with a choice of dressings like sambal belacan, budu, sambal tempoyak and cincaluk.
Or tuck into the freshest seafood kept chilled on ice — freshly shucked oysters, tiger prawns, crabs, mussels and clams. Sushi and sashimi are prepared a la minute, with tuna, fresh salmon and white fish as well as rolled sushi. Freshen the appetite with a soup. There are western-style soups as well as Asian brews like spicy ox-tail, tom yam and sup singgang.
Jasmin has worked out a total of five menus on a rotation basis, so diners won’t get bored. There will be two rice dishes daily — plain rice and a choice of nasi biryani, nasi minyak, nasi tomato and nasi hujan panas.
But plain rice goes best with the hot, spicy main dishes like ayam masak merah, rendang tok, ayam percik, kambing kuzi, creamy beef ribs and starfruit, fish head curry, ostrich with cumin and dried chili, fish tikka and fried spicy crab.
“We have seven action stations daily,” says Jasmin. “Apart from roast lamb and beef, there are chefs making popiah basah and dim sum, grilling seafood, satay, otak-otak and stuffing pita bread. We also have a noodles section with curry mee, soup noodles, laksa Johor, mee jawa, mee rebus and wantan noodles.”
The curry mee is a spicy offering. You can top up the noodles with your favourite items of tofu pok, chicken, prawns and long beans. If you like it really hot, add lots of dried prawn sambal or a squeeze of lime juice for that extra zing.
The dessert table is filled with pastries and cakes, fresh fruit and local kuih muih. You also get bubur serawa nangka, chilled avocado cream, cendol and leng chi kang.
The Ramadan Delights buffet, on till Sept 30, is priced at RM95++. Children aged six to 12 pay half price.
CAFE SERENA BRASSERIE
Hotel Nikko KL
Jalan Ampang, KL
03-2782 6228
let`s go guy..
hehehehe
it delicios..
* AQILAH *
Ramadan....What is it?
Ramadan is derived from the Arabic root word ramida or arramad intense
scorching heat and dryness, especially the ground. From the same root
there is ramdaa, sunbaked sand, and the famous proverb: "Kal Mustajeer
minar Ramadaa binnar" - to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. And
in a hadith the Messenger of Allah (saas) said : "The prayer of repenters
is due when the young camel can feel the sun's heat early in the morning."
(Muslim)
Thus, the Ramadan is so called to indicate the heating sensation in the
stomach as a result of thirst. Others said it is so called because Ramadan
scorches out the sins burns the ground. Some said it is so called because
the hearts and souls are more readily receptive to the admonition and
remembrance of Allah during Ramadan, ad the sand and stones are receptive
to the sun's heat. The framers of this beautiful language may have been
inspired by Allah (SWT) in naming this month Ramadan. Otherwise, the
relation between the heat and its properties is miraculously similar to
that of Ramadan. While the heat represents the matter that helps shape,
form, and mold virtually every matter, from metal and plastics, to plants
and living cells-Ramadan undoubtedly helps a serious believe remold,
reshape, reform, and renew his physical and spiritual disposition and
behaviour.
KUALA LUMPUR, TUES:
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has urged the government to make changes to the Internal Security Act (ISA) to suit the present situation and in the interest of human rights.
Vice president Tan Sri Simon Saun said the government should review the ISA and all the cases to ascertain whether the detentions were necessary to safeguard national security and peace.
“We hope the government will make changes to the ISA introduced during the administration of second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Suhakam believes that such a law is only applicable for 10 years and not 100 years,” he told reporters after the “Roundtable Discussion on Legal Empowerment of The Poor” here today.
Suhakam commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam said it viewed detention without trial seriously and had repeatedly suggested that ISA detainees be freed or charged in court.
“If there is proof to support the detentions, the detainees must be charged in court. This is in line with the principles of human rights,” he said.
Suhakam also proposed to visit blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Seputeh Member of Parliament Teresa Kok who were detained under the ISA on Friday.
LET READ..
LEE Chong Wei's status as the World No 1, for a second time around, will be brought into focus when he defends his title at the Japan Open which begins in Tokyo today.
Chong Wei, the top seed, may not have China's Olympic champion Lin Dan to challenge him but, nonetheless, it will not be an easy ride for the Malaysian.
The last time Chong Wei reigned as the World No 1 in 2006, he didn't win a single title and this is something the 26-year-old will want to change.
In fact, Chong Wei, as the world's top player in 2006, lost the Taiwan and Macau Opens and was bundled out in the quarter-finals of the Madrid World Championships by China's Bao Chunlai that same year.
But now, a much improved and steadier Chong Wei has the opportunity to clinch his first crown as the world's leading player and, barring a collapse, should do so.
Chong Wei should have little trouble beating his first round opponent, a qualifier, before meeting Sho Sasaki of Japan. Once again, he is expected to come through but Chong Wei will be tested in the quarter-finals by Taiwan Open champion Simon Santoso of Indonesia.
Going by experience, Chong Wei should overrun Santoso, and if he does, comes up against a bigger obstacle in the shape of another Indonesian, Taufik Hidayat in the semi-finals.
But Taufik's form has slipped considerably of late which means Chong Wei should secure his spot in the final.
Chong Wei is expected to meet second seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro for the title, and after having secured a one-sided win against the Indonesian in the Olympics, the top-seeded Malaysian should complete back-to-back Japan Open titles on Sunday which should see him reign as the World No 1 for at least another month.
Roslin Hashim is the other Malaysian competing in the men's singles and the veteran singles player will be boosted by his solid performance in the Taiwan Open where he finished runner-up to Santoso.
Roslin should advance from his opening encounter against Hong Kong's Chan Yan Kit, but then comes up against Thai stalwart Boonsak Ponsana. This encounter could see the Malaysian's run end.
In the men's doubles, third seeds Zakry Latif-Fairuzizuan Tazari will also be aiming for their third straight Super Series title but much will depend on the form of Indonesia's Olympic champions Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan.
Zakry-Fairuz are drawn to meet top seeds Markis-Hendra in the last four and, should they beat the high-flying Indonesians, Zakry-Fairuz next meet Danish veterans Lars Paaske-Jonas Rasmussen for the title.
In the women's singles, Wong Mew Choo faces tricky preliminary round matches before a possible grudge quarter-final against Lu Lan of China.
But Mew Choo must first overcome the hardworking Yu Hirayama of Japan and Olympic bronze medallist Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia in the first and second rounds respectively before getting her chance to avenge her Olympics quarter-final defeat to Lu Lan.
MALACCA: Lim Geok Kim and his wife Meng Yeok are still mourning the loss of their son Ricky who died after completing his three-month national service stint recently.
Now, they are traumatised at the thought of their only surviving child, Jane, 17, being selected to undergo NS training and are adamant not to let her go.
“We are not going to push our luck this time. She will stay with us at home no matter what,” added Lim, 46, yesterday who is a renovation worker from Tanjung Kling.
If the authorities want to catch anyone, just take us both. We will not let her go.”
Although they do not blame the authorities for the son’s death, the couple said they could not risk losing Jane.
“Our family was only just recently united after Ricky’s three-month absence from home,” he said during a press conference held by Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him.
They had recently found out from the NS website that Jane was selected for training.
Ricky, 20, had returned after his NS training on Sept 6 and died on Sept 15.
The SMK Catholic High student did not complain of any illness or pain prior to his death but he did complain about the camp’s hygiene and yellowish water supply.
p/s: kinda sad..huhu..whose fault was tat???ermmm..authorities??yeah..for nt doing their job...huhu..PPL...
tell me more is an effective and anterative program for learning english.I have never use tell me more before this but i enjoy using tell me more.It is creative,effective and anterative ways for learning english, for my opinion if the usage of tell mere is fully emplemented in all school in malaysia it will be a great success.But there is certain weakness in the tell me more program,for me its hard to navigate but with a good instruction it can be improve.The activities in tell me more is very helpfull in improving my english and it also very entertain,for example the dialog sesion,its is very fun to see the reaction of the person that is talking to us and i cant wait to reply back.I have learn how to mention lot of word diferrent ways
and i also learn how to improve my vocabulary.Grammar and more.-putra
Ying Xin kidnap-cum-murder case:
JOHOR BARU: The four suspects, in custody to facilitate investigations into the kidnap-cum-murder of 16-year-old Lai Ying Xin, have had their remand orders extended to Sunday.
State police chief Datuk Mohktar Shariff said the remand orders, which expired yesterday, were extended as police were still waiting for the DNA and chemist's reports from the relevant authorities.
The remains of Lai Ying Xin, which had been placed at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital mortuary, would be released to her family once the tests had been concluded.
Ying Xin was abducted at a hypermarket in Kulai, where she worked part-time, on Sept 11 between 9pm and 10pm.
Her parents lodged a police report the next day after they received a ransom call.
Ying Xin, a straight-A student of Sekolah Menengah Sultan Ibrahim Kulai, was believed to have been strangled to death and her body burnt.
Her charred remains were found at a site in Kulai on Sept 16 after four suspects led police to the place.
This murder case reminded me about our own safeness.. I wonder why her friends will murder her in such a cruel way! One of the suspects is just 16 years old! Is it the teenagers today changed to be prematured? Why?
I think of the teenagers today watched too many murder films and that kind of films had shown all the steps to murder! This cause confusion in their minds between what is right and wrong!
KUALA LUMPUR: It was a double disappointment for Malaysia at the Japan Open in Tokyo yesterday when Lee Chong Wei was dethroned in the men’s singles while Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty’s chase to become the queens of the day remained elusive yet again.
After a brilliant start, top seed Chong Wei simply could not keep up with the blistering pace set by Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia and crashed to a 17-21, 11-21 defeat in a 40-minute battle.
Many would agree that it was certainly not the same Chong Wei who did the country proud a few weeks ago by beating Sony en route to winning a silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Blistering: Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia posing with his winner’s medal and trophy after beating Lee Chong Wei 21-17, 21-11 at the Japan Open yesterday. — AP
His attacks were way off the mark. There were too many unforced errors and he was even slower than usual especially in the second game.
With the tame defeat yesterday, Chong Wei failed in his bid to justify his current world number one ranking status. He has yet to win a title during his tenure as the world’s top ranked player.
“Sony was just too fast and I could not keep up with his speed. I was tired and was struggling to give that extra push,” said Chong Wei in a telephone interview.
“It is quite normal to experience a draught in the stadium but I failed to adjust to it. There were silly mistakes and that frustrated me even more. Sony was so determined today.
“But I am looking forward to a break from competition next week. (Chong Wei is skipping next week’s China Masters). I hope to get a good rest at home. Hopefully, I will bounce back,” he added.
Women’s world No.11 ranked pair Eei Hui-Pei Tty could not hide their disappointments after letting slip a golden chance to nail their first Open title.
The duo, who have played the bridesmaids’ role three times since teaming up in 2002, went down 19-21, 21-5, 18-21 to China’s youngsters Cheng Shu-Zhao Yunlei in a 54-minute encounter.
Eei Hui was dejected over their defeat to the Chinese pair who are not even ranked in the top 300.
“We have never played them before and it took us a while to get used to their style of play in the first game. We finally got a better grip of the game but it was too late.
“Our standard was about the same and we were so close to beating them. This is so disappointing,” said Eei Hui.
“This Chinese pair hardly go out. But by winning the Japan Open today, they have proved they are the pair to watch in the future.”
Violent Incident Report
This Warden Message is being issued to inform American citizens traveling to or residing in the Mexican state of Chihuahua of an increase in violent criminal activity fueled by a war between drug cartels. Over 900 homicides have taken place in Ciudad Juarez in 2008, including 200 in August. Drug-related murders are occurring throughout the state of Chihuahua and are not confined to major cities. The U.S. Consulate General has no information indicating that American citizens are being targeted because of their nationality; however, U.S. citizenship does not provide a shield from the violence.
The narcotics-related violence has taken a heavy toll on municipal and state police forces, and their ability to respond to or control street crime has deteriorated. This has resulted in an increase in armed robberies, carjackings, car theft, bank robberies, and other crimes in Ciudad Juarez and throughout the state. The federal government of Mexico has provided an additional security presence in parts of the state to try to curb the violence
from geetha (kc 08050)
WHOSE LOOKING AT WHO??
When a girl looks at a boy,
it's hard to tell the reason why,
she might consider him as a friend,
or she might love him to no end.
when a boy looks at a girl,
he considers her as a precious pearl,
that he tries to treasure,
in his heart,where it brings him pleasure.
when a girl looks at a boy,
she hides her feelings b'coz she is shy,
she wants the boy to come and confess,
the feelings in her heart,she can't express.
when a boy looks at a girl,
the feelings for her in his heart is real,
when time runs out,he is desperate,
b'coz he don't want to go seperate
when a girl looks at a boy,
then he is not here,she begins to cry,
But y she did not tell when he was here,
when he was always there to care.
when a boy looks at a girl,
the girl in his heart,he will always feel,
whether she is here or not here,
in his heart,she will always be there.
Love is always the same,
boy or girl it doesn't matter in the name,
But why is it so hard to tell,
when in love we have already fell.
P/S: MISS THE EXPERIENCE BEING IN LOVE.....
NGAJAT IBAN.. (IBAN DANCE)
The origin of this indigenous dance is not clearly known but it is believed to have been in existence along with the Iban tribe since the 16th Century. The Ngajat dance is believed to have been performed by warriors on their return from battles. This dance is now performed to celebrate the most important harvest festival called ‘Gawai’, to welcome important guests to the longhouses and so on.
The male dancers wear large feathers as part of their headgear, hold an ornate and long shield in their hand with chains, beads and a loincloth called the ‘cawat’. The female dancers have an elaborate headdress, chains, beads and a ‘dress’ that reaches to below their knees with intricate weaving. Traditionally this dance was only performed by male dancers but not anymore.
The dance is arranged straight lines and in a circle and does involve dramatic leaps and jumps performed by the male dancers.
Gongs and other ethnic percussion instruments such as the ‘enkeromong’, ‘bendai’, ‘canang’ and ‘dumbak or ketebong’ provide the music. The musicians may be either male or female.
P/S: IF U WAN TO KNOW MORE BOUT IBAN TRADITIONS..PLS DO ASK.HEHE..I'LL HELP WAT I CAN.. :p
Salam and gudmorning to all my friends....
Let us share more about "INSOMNIA"
INSOMNIA (Inability to sleep; Dyssomnia; Sleeplessness; Wakefulness)
There are more care to avoid this problem:
Try changing your nighttime sleeping habits and other behavior before taking drugs for insomnia. For example:
-Avoid emotional upset or stressful situations before bedtime.
-Avoid using alcohol in the evening. Avoid caffeine for at least 8 hours before bedtime. Give up smoking, because nicotine is a stimulant.
-Eat a light snack before bedtime. Foods such as warm milk or turkey contain a natural sleep inducer called L-tryptophan.
-Establish a regular bedtime, but don't go to bed if you feel wide awake.
-Exercise regularly, but not in the last 2 hours before going to bed. Exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has been shown to make people fall asleep faster and get deeper and more restful sleep. Sex can be a natural sleep inducer for some people.
-Relax by reading, taking a bath, or listening to soothing music before going to bed.
-Take your TV or computer out of your bedroom. Otherwise, your brain becomes used to the stimulation and starts to expect it when you are there. This makes it harder for you to fall asleep.
-Use the bedroom for bedroom activities only. Once in bed, use creative imagery and relaxation techniques to keep your mind off unrestful thoughts. Avoid staying in bed for long periods of time while awake, or going to bed because of boredom.
So,if some of you have problem to sleep,you can try it...
THANX from SHAFIZA...:-)
MILK PRODUCTS MADE LOCALLY AND SUBJECTED TO RIGOROUS TESTS, PEOPLE ASSURED..(TAKEN FRM THE STAR DATED 24TH SEP 08)
PETALING JAYA: Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad, F&N Dairies (M) Sdn Bhd and Mars Malaysia have assured consumers that their products do not contain melamine and are safe for consumption.
Dutch Lady Malaysia managing director Hans Laarakker said no Dutch Lady Malaysia products had raw materials sourced from China.
“Milk products sold in Malaysia are manufactured in our factories in Petaling Jaya, or imported fully-packed from countries like the Netherlands and New Zealand,” said Laarakker.
Dutch Lady Malaysia manufactures and distributes milk products ranging from infant formula, growing up milk powder, UHT (ultra high temperature), sterilised and pasteurised milk as well as yoghurt products.
As for the withdrawal of Dutch Lady’s strawberry-flavoured milk in Singapore, Laarakker said it was an isolated case where the milk, packed in plastic bottles, was tested and found to contain melamine.
He added the particular strawberry-flavoured milk in plastic bottle was the only product from China.
Laarakker, however, reassured the public that strawberry flavoured milk packed in boxes were safe to drink.
F&N Dairies general manager Edward Liew said all their dairy products were subjected to rigorous tests and hygiene standards at every stage of the production chain.
F&N Dairies list of dairy products include sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, Magnolia milk and ice-cream, Farmhouse, Daisy, F&N aLIVE, TeaPot Carnation and Ideal.
Mars South-east Asia managing director, Ahmed Amer, said Mars did not source any ingredients from companies found to be selling melamine-contaminated dairy pro-ducts.
“Just last week, the Chinese food safety watchdog tested product samples of Mars China’s domestic powder suppliers and found them to be free of melamine.”
Mars produces M&Ms Snickers and Dove chocolates.
P/S: I WAS JUZ ABOUT TO DRINK MY HL MILK WEN I RCV TEXT FRM MY DAD REGARDING TIS MATTER..BUT..NAAHH..IM STIL ALIVE!!
DO TINK TWICE OR MORE WEN U CHOOSE PRODUCTS NT ONLY FRM CHINA..MONEY MATTERS...
HELLO....
MORNING EVERYONE....
Let's talk about AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution is a broad term applied to any chemical, physical (particulate matter), or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.
The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural gaseous system that is essential to support life on planet earth.
Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the earth's ecosystems. Worldwide air pollution is responsible for large numbers of deaths and cases of respiratory disease.
Enforced air quality standards, like the Clean Air Act in the United States, have reduced the presence of some pollutants.
While major stationary sources are often identified with air pollution, the greatest source of emissions are actually mobile sources, principally the automobile.
There are many available air pollution control technologies and urban planning strategies available to reduce air pollution; however, worldwide costs of addressing the issue are high.
The most immediate method of improving air quality would be the use of bioethanol fuel, biodiesel, solar energy, and hybrid vehicle technologies.
The World Health Organization estimates that 4.6 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution.
Many of these mortalities are attributable to indoor air pollution.
Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents.
Research published in 2005 suggests that 310,000 Europeans die from air pollution annually.
Direct causes of air pollution related deaths include aggravated asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung and heart diseases, and respiratory allergies..
-so,take care our earth...
THANK YOU from SHAFIZA...:-)
GOOD MORNING...
Let's share about FOSSIL FUEL (take from science reference-SCIENCE DAILY- )
FOSSIL FUEL (Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals.)
In common dialogue, the term fossil fuel also includes hydrocarbon-containing natural resources that are not derived from animal or plant sources.
These are sometimes known instead as mineral fuels.
The utilization of fossil fuels has enabled large-scale industrial development and largely supplanted water-driven mills, as well as the combustion of wood or peat for heat.
Fossil fuel is a general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years.
The burning of fossil fuels by humans is the largest source of emissions of carbon dioxide, which is one of the greenhouse gases that allows radiative forcing and contributes to global warming.
P/S (A small portion of hydrocarbon-based fuels are biofuels derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide, and thus do not increase the net amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere..)
THANX
FROM SHAFIZA...:-)
SANITARY NAPKINS CAUSES CERVICAL CANCER AND BACTERIAL INFECTION
"Light","Carefree" are catchy phrases to popular brands of sanitary pads.However,the material that is able to produce paper thin pads,is cellulose gel. After more than 3 hours of wearing,the genital area is prone to bacterial action.
And do you know that tampon makers include asbestos in tampons?
It's because asbestos makes u bleed more,ad if u bleed more,u're going to use more.The law did not prohibit the usage of asbestos in tampon making because they did not consider tapons as being ingested,therefore didn't consider them illegal or dangerous.
Besides,tampons contain 2 more components that are equally harmful _ rayon(for absorbency),and dioxin(a chemical used in bleaching).The tampon industry is convinced that women need bleached white products in order to view the product as pure and clean.Now,the catch is that,dioxin,which is produced in the bleaching process,is carcinogenic.Apart from that,dioxin is toxic to the immune and reproductive systems.Prolonged usage of tampons will cause the fibers from the tampon to accumulate in the body,that is when TSS(Toxic Shock Syndrome) occurs.
Summarised from |WOMEN HEALTH MAY ISSUE-THRUSH|
As consumers,we now can choose feminine hygiene products that aren't bleached and that are all cotton.
TAKEN FRM THE STAR ONLINE..
KUCHING: A group of seven former village chiefs from Bau Lundu is demanding an apology from Tasik Biru assemblyman Peter Nansian Ngusie for allegedly uttering the word gila gila (crazy) in reference to them.
Speaking at a news conference here, they gave Nansian three days apologise, failing which they would take legal action against him.
Former village chief Mohd Yasir Abdullah, 56, of Kampung Tembawang Baru, Bau, said the remark tarnished their reputation.
Nansian, who is Sarawak People’s Democratic Party senior vice president, was reported in a local English daily on September 10 as saying that the service of the chiefs was terminated because of non€“performance, and being obsolete, old and gila gila.
He was quoted as saying: “I do know one or two village chiefs who are gila gila and like to oppose everything done by the Government.”
Mohd Yasir denied the chiefs’ service was terminated because they campaigned for opposition parties in the March 8 general election.
“We have never campaigned for anybody. We have been discharging our duties for long and all of a sudden our service was terminated without notice. This is not fair,” he said. -Bernama
P/S: GOSH...lets teach the politicians nt to use wrong phrases durin conference...
n..ppl....dun get disturbed easily wit those kinds of words...b opened..mybe he didnt mean for that 'gila-gila'....
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Focus/2365373/Article/index_html
There is an article called "Your Health: Exercise - and live your 'golden years'" from the website above.
EXERCISE increases lifespan by an average of one to four years for people who engage in moderate to difficult exercise routines. Those additional years will be healthy ones because exercise benefits the heart, lungs, bones and muscles. Even moderate exercise has warded off many dreaded diseases.
Besides that, walking briskly for three hours -- about half an hour with a day of rest -- per week can reduce your chances of developing many chronic health problems.
For your information,mitochondria are units in cells that produce energy . Usually, the mitochondrial DNA is higher in those who exercised compared to sedentary participants, it remains greater in younger than in older subjects. However, the endurance exercise-trained people have substantially higher insulin sensitivity than the sedentary groups. In contrast, age-related declines were found in the sedentary groups. As a conclusion, we can witness that endurance exercise may exert a lifespan-enhancing effects and by just the simple act of moving our body, we can not only live longer but also live well in our 'golden years'.
I have read an article about the problem of 'RISING CRIMINE RATE IN KLANG'.This article drew my attention as i live somewhere around there.
I brought my friends who come from sarawak to my place last holiday she was so overwhelmed with our house's locks.I think evryone will do that if u saw break-ins hip and happening in your residential area.
From my opinion,I think the state government did the right things to voice out this problem to the police.Acording to the article the matter gone worsen,the criminals are bolder, they even carry out break-ins or snatch theft durings the day.
Residents there want the police to do somethinngs they no longer can accept excuses that the police lacked personnel or faced logistics problems.Dr Xavier said if the police were facing such problems they should ask for more allocations under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to beef up the force.
He urged the state and district police to looks into ways to reduce crime in Klang and also hold more activities to teach the community on ways to avoid becoming victims and how to protect their own neighbourhoods.
I think not only kl-selangor face this problem but other places as well.No one would wish to live in fear and to be the next victim.We hope this problem will reach to a solution soon and our lives back to as peaceful as before.
hassanal
kc08047
From Star....
Tenaga Nasional’s target price has been reduced from RM8 to RM6.80 after it reported weak core net profit of RM2.5bil for the financial year ended Aug 31 due to a net loss of RM282.9mil.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said on Friday it was downgrading Tenaga to Hold from Buy, due to a more challenging demand outlook amid the recent financial crisis that could lead to cuts in GDP growth forecasts.
“We expect share price weakness due to Tenaga’s weak FY08 results. Following our earnings downgrade, our target price for Tenaga that is pegged to 10 times FY10 price-to-earnings (PE) is reduced to RM6.80 per share (RM8.00 previously),” it said.
The research house said it expected lower power demand growth due to less promising economic outlook and higher capacity and energy payments following the commissioning of Jimah plant and higher coal cost.
“We reduced our FY09-11F net profit by between 6% and 28% after factoring in higher capacity payment of RM1bil for Jimah plant (RM700mil previously) and lower power demand growth of 2.5% against 3.5% previously,” it said.
Commenting on Tenaga’s financial performance, it said FY08 revenue grew 10.4% year-on-year led by 6.1% power demand growth, but net earnings was dragged down by 22.5% higher operating expenses due to independent power producers (up 22.4%) and fuel (up 40.4%) costs.
HwangDBS Vickers Research said FY08 net profit was 21% and 19% below its and market expectations, respectively, due mainly to the weak Q4 earnings.
It added Tenaga recognised two months of higher gas cost (raised from RM6.40/mmbtu to RM14.31/mmbtu) but only one month of the 24% average tariff rate hike due to back-billing.
It estimated the one-month delay resulted in RM400mil of lost revenue.
“We maintain our view that Tenaga is likely to be compensated with a subsidy or tariff adjustments come July 1, 2009, as failure to do so would weaken Tenaga’s cashflow and ultimately, affect its ability to pay the IPPs,” it said.
putra kc08008
salam i wantto share ab article in star.AS the economic turbulence from the US spreads to Europe and the rest of the world, the one thing we in Malaysia must not delude ourselves about is that we will not be too affected by the global financial crisis.The concern is just how big of a bite will it take off the economy.The financial meltdown in the US and Europe has started to rear its ugly head on the real economy - as the US is fond of saying, “from Wall Street to main street” — after US retail sales slowed by a bigger quantum than what economists were expecting.Retail sales are an indicator of the health of the US consumers whose activities account for the majority of the US GDP, and the big worry will be the overall impact on employment.Over in Malaysia, more indicators, some of which are anecdotal at the moment, are painting an anaemic outlook for the country.Property sales in the primary and secondary markets are down and fewer launches are being seen by developers, partly as a result of managing the high-cost environment and decreasing appetite for luxury projects.Banks are also said to be getting more cautious after seeing how risky loans and derivatives overseas have obliterated the balance sheets of some of the world’s biggest banks. Car sales are expected to slip and companies are getting more cautious over their operations.The current account is still healthy after posting a near RM61bil surplus but the general consensus is that it will drop as external demand for manufactured goods and commodities wanes.And the biggest leading indicator of all of that could be found in the stock market.Bursa Malaysia is surprisingly the best performing stock market in South-East Asia, East Asia and North Asia this year, meaning it has fallen the least.Investors can find some sort of empty solace in that, but the bitter truth is that it is not something to be really proud about. Markets in Sri Lanka and Pakistan have fallen the least and traders say our relative safeness is due to institutional funds pulling out strongly in the second quarter.But the biggest worry is that the Malaysian market is not cheap and its prospective price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is among the highest in Asia, which will be a millstone over the market’s neck when sentiment globally improves.Investors should also worry that the PE ratio may go up significantly and earnings growth forecast for the market will be trimmed should brokers in town decide to cut their forecast of crude palm oil (CPO) prices for next year.If their forecasts of CPO prices are anywhere close to the current price of just over RM1,600 a tonne, the aggregate earnings growth estimates for the entire market could contract next year.Simply put, depending on how severe a slowdown or recession is overseas, it’s going to be a rough ride for Malaysia.Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire
hassanal haris
kc08047
assalamualaikum
Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (Arabic: محمّد; Transliteration: Muḥammad;IPA: [mʊħɑmmæd̪]; pronunciation (help·info); also spelled Mohammed or Muhammed) (ca. 570 Mecca – June 8, 632 Medina), is the central human figure of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the messenger and prophet of God (Arabic: الله Allāh), the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets of Islam. Muslims consider him the restorer of the uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus (Isa) and other prophets of Islam. He was also active as a diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, military general, and, for Muslims and followers of several other religions, an agent of divine action.
Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca, he was orphaned at a young age and was brought up under the care of his uncle. He later worked mostly as a merchant, and was first married by age 25. Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn) acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and other prophets in Islam.
Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some tribes of Mecca; he was treated harshly and so were his followers. To escape persecution Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622. This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina Muhammad managed to unite the conflicting tribes, and after eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to ten thousand, conquered Mecca. In 632 a few months after returning to Medina from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam and he united the tribes of Arabia into a singular Muslim religious polity.
The revelations (or Ayats, lit. "Signs of God"), which Muhammad reported receiving until his death, form the verses of the Qur'an, regarded by Muslims as the “word of God”, around which his religion is based. Besides the Qur'an, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern times have been far less so.Besides this, his life and deeds have been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries.
wai mun,
I was so furious when i read this article cause i think nowadays companies would do unethical things in order to earn more.It is reported that 4 infants died of consuming diary product that contain melamine in china.Nearly 53,000 children in China have fallen sick after drinking contaminated baby formula.What a sad tradegy!
From that article we got to know that Melamine, used to make plastics and fertilizer which can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure if it is consumed into human body.It has been found in infant formula and other milk products from 22 of China's dairy companies.Those supplier did this as melamine contain high nitrogen which can mask protein deficiency as a result of the milk is diluted.
In my opinion,although products that were found to be contaminated with this compound were banned but people stil with bad perception on china diary product.I hope government should enforce their law to ensure products meet requirment and safe to use.Otherwise consumer is not protected people will live in fright.
I believe people that came out with the idea of adding melamine into diary product is a highly educated person or group.I think knowledge cannot be abused in this way.Ethic is a very important value to be inculcated in all profession.Hope education would not harm people rather than help people in the future.
last week ago, i'm was interested about breast cancer which i'm read in the READER DIGEST....
Breast cancer is a cancer that starts in the cells of the breast in women and men. Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer (10.4% of all cancer incidence, both sexes counted) and the fifth most common cause of cancer death. In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths).
Because the breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, breast cancer also occurs in males. Incidences of breast cancer in men are approximately 100 times less common than in women, but men with breast cancer are considered to have the same statistical survival rates as women.
Breast cancers are described along four different classification schemes, or groups, each based on different criteria and serving a different purpose:
* Pathology - Each tumor is classified by its histological (microscopic anatomy) appearance and other criteria.
* Grade of tumor - The histological grade of a tumor is determined by a pathologist under a microscope. A well-differentiated (low grade) tumor resembles normal tissue. A poorly differentiated (high grade) tumor is composed of disorganized cells and, therefore, does not look like normal tissue. Moderately differentiated (intermediate grade) tumors are somewhere in between.
* Protein & gene expression status - Currently, all breast cancers should be tested for expression, or detectable effect, of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2/neu proteins. These tests are usually done by immunohistochemistry and are presented in a pathologist's report. The profile of expression of a given tumor helps predict its prognosis, or outlook, and helps an oncologist choose the most appropriate treatment. More genes and/or proteins may be tested in the future.
* Stage of a tumor - The currently accepted staging scheme for breast cancer is the TNM classification. This considers the Tumor itself, whether it has spread to lymph Nodes, and whether there are any Metastases to locations other than the breast and lymph nodes.
Breast cancer is usually, but not always, primarily classified by its histological appearance. Rare variants are defined on the basis of physical exam findings. For example, Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), a form of ductal carcinoma or malignant cancer in the ducts, is distinguished from other carcinomas by the inflamed appearance of the affected breast. In the future, some pathologic classifications may be changed. For example, a subset of ductal carcinomas may be re-named basal-like carcinoma (part of the "triple-negative" tumors).
The first symptom, or subjective sign, of breast cancer is typically a lump that feels different than the surrounding breast tissue. According to the Merck Manual, more than 80% of breast cancer cases are discovered when the woman feels a lump. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the first medical sign, or objective indication of breast cancer as detected by a physician, is discovered by mammogram. Lumps found in lymph nodes located in the armpitsand/or collarbone[citation needed] can also indicate breast cancer.
Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge. Pain is an unreliable tool in determining the presence of breast cancer, but may be indicative of other breast-related health issues such as mastodynia.
When breast cancer cells invade the dermal lymphatics, small lymph vessels in the skin of the breast, its presentation can resemble skin inflammation and thus is known as inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer include pain, swelling, warmth and redness throughout the breast, as well as an orange peel texture to the skin referred to as peau d'orange.
Another reported symptom complex of breast cancer is Paget's disease of the breast. This syndrome presents as eczematoid skin changes such as redness and mild flaking of the nipple skin. As Paget's advances, symptoms may include tingling, itching, increased sensitivity, burning, and pain. There may also be discharge from the nipple. Approximately half of women diagnosed with Paget's also have a lump in the breast.
Occasionally, breast cancer presents as metastatic disease, that is, cancer that has spread beyond the original organ. Metastatic breast cancer will cause symptoms that depend on the location of metastasis. More common sites of metastasis include bone, liver, lung and brain. Unexplained weight loss can occasionally herald an occult breast cancer, as can symptoms of fevers or chills. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of metastatic breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms. These symptoms are "non-specific," meaning they can also be manifestations of many other illnesses.
Most symptoms of breast disorder do not turn out to represent underlying breast cancer. Benign breast diseases such as mastitis and fibroadenoma of the breast are more common causes of breast disorder symptoms. The appearance of a new symptom should be taken seriously by both patients and their doctors, because of the possibility of an underlying breast cancer at almost any age.
Epidemiological risk factors for a disease can provide important clues as to the etiology, or cause, of a disease. The first case-controlled study on breast cancer epidemiology was done by Janet Lane-Claypon, who published a comparative study in 1926 of 500 breast cancer cases and 500 control patients of the same background and lifestyle for the British Ministry of Health.
Today, breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to be the final outcome of multiple environmental and hereditary factors. Some of these factors include:
1. Lesions to DNA such as genetic mutations. Mutations that can lead to breast cancer have been experimentally linked to estrogen exposure. Beyond the contribution of estrogen, research has implicated viral oncogenesis and the contribution of ionizing radiation in causing genetic mutations.[citation needed]
2. Failure of immune surveillance, a theory in which the immune system removes malignant cells throughout one's life.
3. Abnormal growth factor signaling in the interaction between stromal cells and epithelial cells can facilitate malignant cell growth. For example, tumors can induce blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) by secreting various growth factors further facilitating cancer growth.[citation needed]
4. Inherited defects in DNA repair genes, such as BRCA1, BRCA2 and p53.[citation needed]
Although many epidemiological risk factors have been identified, the cause of any individual breast cancer is often unknowable. In other words, epidemiological research informs the patterns of breast cancer incidence across certain populations, but not in a given individual. The primary risk factors that have been identified are sex, age, childbearing, hormones, a high-fat diet, alcohol intake,[22][23] obesity,[24] and environmental factors such as tobacco use, radiation and shiftwork.
No etiology is known for 95% of breast cancer cases, while approximately 5% of new breast cancers are attributable to hereditary syndromes. In particular, carriers of the breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are at a 30-40% increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer, depending on in which portion of the protein the mutation occurs.
Worldwide, breast cancer is by far the most common cancer amongst women, with an incidence rate more than twice that of colorectal cancer and cervical cancer and about three times that of lung cancer. However breast cancer mortality worldwide is just 25% greater than that of lung cancer in women.
[1] In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide (7% of cancer deaths; almost 1% of all deaths).
[2] The number of cases worldwide has significantly increased since the 1970s, a phenomenon partly blamed on modern lifestyles in the Western world.
The incidence of breast cancer varies greatly around the world, being lower in less-developed countries and greatest in the more-developed countries. In the twelve world regions, the annual age-standardized incidence rates per 100,000 women are as follows: in Eastern Asia, 18; South Central Asia, 22; sub-Saharan Africa, 22; South-Eastern Asia, 26; North Africa and Western Asia, 28; South and Central America, 42; Eastern Europe, 49; Southern Europe, 56; Northern Europe, 73; Oceania, 74; Western Europe, 78; and in North America, 90.
Women in the United States have the highest incidence rates of breast cancer in the world; 141 among white women and 122 among African American women. Among women in the US, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second-most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer). Women in the US have a 1 in 8 (12.5%) lifetime chance of developing invasive breast cancer and a 1 in 35 (3%) chance of breast cancer causing their death. In 2007, breast cancer was expected to cause 40,910 deaths in the US (7% of cancer deaths; almost 2% of all deaths).
In the US, both incidence and death rates for breast cancer have been declining in the last few years in Native Americans and Alaskan Natives. Nevertheless, a US study conducted in 2005 by the Society for Women's Health Research indicated that breast cancer remains the most feared disease, even though heart disease is a much more common cause of death among women. Many doctors say that women exaggerate their risk of breast cancer.
Lower age of first childbirth (less than 24 years maternal age), having more children (about 7% lowered risk per child), and breastfeeding (4% per breastfeeding year, with an average relative risk around 0.7[37][38]) have all been correlated to lowered breast cancer risk in large studies.
Phytoestrogens such as found in soybeans have been extensively studied in animal and human in-vitro and epidemiological studies. The literature support the following conclusions:
1. Plant estrogen intake, such as from soy products, in early adolescence may protect against breast cancer later in life.[40]
2. Plant estrogen intake later in life is not likely to influence breast cancer incidence either positively or negatively.
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed.
Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (March 2008)
Studies have found that "folate intake counteracts breast cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption" and "women who drink alcohol and have a high folate intake are not at increased risk of cancer." A prospective study of over 17,000 women found that those who consume 40 grams of alcohol (about 3-4 drinks) per day have a higher risk of breast cancer. However, in women who take 200 micrograms of folate (folic acid or Vitamin B9) every day, the risk of breast cancer drops below that of alcohol abstainers.
Folate is involved in the synthesis, repair, and functioning of DNA, the body’s genetic map, and a deficiency of folate may result in damage to DNA that may lead to cancer. In addition to breast cancer, studies have also associated diets low in folate with increased risk of pancreatic, and colon cancer.
Foods rich in folate include citrus fruits, citrus juices, dark green leafy vegetables (such as spinach), dried beans, and peas.
Breathing secondhand smoke increases breast cancer risk by 70% in younger, primarily pre-menopausal women. The California Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that passive smoking causes breast cancer and the US Surgeon General has concluded that the evidence is "suggestive," one step below causal. There is some evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke is most problematic between puberty and first childbirth. The reason that breast tissue appears most sensitive to chemical carcinogens in this phase is that breast cells are not fully differentiated until lactation.
Prophylactic oophorectomy (removal of ovaries), in high-risk individuals, when child-bearing is complete, reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by 60%, as well as reducing the risk of developing ovarian cancer by 96%.
Hormonal therapy has been used for chemoprevention in individuals at high risk for breast cancer. In 2002, a clinical practice guideline by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that "clinicians discuss chemoprevention with women at high risk for breast cancer and at low risk for adverse effects of chemoprevention" with a grade B recommendation.
The guidelines[clarify] were based on studies of SERMs from the MORE, BCPT P-1, and Italian trials. In the MORE trial, the relative risk reduction for raloxifene was 76%.[57] The P-1 preventative study demonstrated that tamoxifen can prevent breast cancer in high-risk individuals. The relative risk reduction was up to 50% of new breast cancers, though the cancers prevented were more likely estrogen-receptor positive (this is analogous to the effect of finasteride on the prevention of prostate cancer, in which only low-grade prostate cancers were prevented). The Italian trial showed benefit from tamoxifen.
Additional randomized controlled trials have been published since the guidelines. The IBIS trial found benefit from tamoxifen. In 2006, the NSABP STAR trial demonstrated that raloxifene had equal efficacy in preventing breast cancer compared with tamoxifen, but that there were fewer side effects with raloxifene. The RUTH Trial concluded that "benefits of raloxifene in reducing the risks of invasive breast cancer and vertebral fracture should be weighed against the increased risks of venous thromboembolism and fatal stroke". On September 14, 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration approved raloxifene (Evista) to prevent invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Breast cancer screening is an attempt to find unsuspected cancers. The most common screening methods are self and clinical breast exams, x-ray mammography, and breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Genetic testing may also be used.
Breast self-examination involves examining one's own breasts using a specific palpation technique to detect any lumps in the breast tissue, which may be cancerous. Clinical exams are similar, except they are performed by a clinician or doctor.
X-ray mammography uses x-rays to examine the breast for any uncharacteristic masses or lumps. Regular mammograms -- the process of getting breast mammography -- is often recommended as a preventative measure, particularly for older women and at-risk individuals.
Finally, breast MRIs are another imaging technique that can be used to spot potentially cancerous masses.
Genetic testing for breast cancer typically involves testing for mutations in the BRCA genes. This is not generally a recommended technique except for those at elevated risk for breast cancer.
Breast cancer is diagnosed by the examination of surgically removed breast tissue. A number of procedures can obtain tissue or cells prior to definitive treatment for histological or cytological examination. Such procedures include fine-needle aspiration, nipple aspirates, ductal lavage, core needle biopsy, and local surgical excision. These diagnostic steps, when coupled with radiographic imaging, are usually accurate in diagnosing a breast lesion as cancer. Occasionally, pre-surgical procedures such as fine needle aspirate may not yield enough tissue to make a diagnosis, or may miss the cancer entirely. Imaging tests are sometimes used to detect metastasis and include chest X-ray, bone scan, Cat scan, MRI, and PET scanning. While imaging studies are useful in determining the presence of metastatic disease, they are not in and of themselves diagnostic of cancer. Only microscopic evaluation of a biopsy specimen can yield a cancer diagnosis. Ca 15.3 (carbohydrate antigen 15.3, epithelial mucin) is a tumor marker determined in blood which can be used to follow disease activity over time after definitive treatment. Blood tumor marker testing is not routinely performed for the screening of breast cancer, and has poor performance characteristics for this purpose.
Breast cancer is staged according to the TNM system, updated in the AJCC Staging Manual, now on its sixth edition. Prognosis is closely linked to results of staging, and staging is also used to allocate patients to treatments both in clinical trials and clinical practice. The information for staging is as follows:
TX: Primary tumor cannot be assessed. T0: No evidence of tumor. Tis: Carcinoma in situ, no invasion T1: Tumor is 2 cm or less T2: Tumor is more than 2 cm but not more than 5 cm T3: Tumor is more than 5 cm T4: Tumor of any size growing into the chest wall or skin, or inflammatory breast cancer
NX: Nearby lymph nodes cannot be assessed N0: Cancer has not spread to regional lymph nodes. N1: Cancer has spread to 1 to 3 axillary or one internal mammary lymph node N2: Cancer has spread to 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes or multiple internal mammary lymph nodes N3: One of the following applies:
Cancer has spread to 10 or more axillary lymph nodes, or Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the clavicle (collar bone), or Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes above the clavicle, or Cancer involves axillary lymph nodes and has enlarged the internal mammary lymph nodes, or Cancer involves 4 or more axillary lymph nodes, and tiny amounts of cancer are found in internal mammary lymph nodes on sentinel lymph node biopsy.
MX: Presence of distant spread (metastasis) cannot be assessed. M0: No distant spread. M1: Spread to distant organs, not including the supraclavicular lymph node, has occurred
Summary of stages:
* Stage 0 - Carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
* Stage I - Tumor (T) does not involve axillary lymph nodes (N).
* Stage IIA – T 2-5 cm, N negative, or T <2 cm and N
positive.
* Stage IIB – T > 5 cm, N negative, or T 2-5 cm and N positive (< 4 axillary nodes).
* Stage IIIA – T > 5 cm, N positive, or T 2-5 cm with 4 or more axillary nodes
* Stage IIIB – T has penetrated chest wall or skin, and may have spread to < 10 axillary N
* Stage IIIC – T has > 10 axillary N, 1 or more supraclavicular or infraclavicular N, or internal mammary N.
* Stage IV – Distant metastasis (M)
Approximately 90% of new breast cancer cases in the US will be classified as "early-stage" cases (DCIS, Stage I,IIA, IIB or IIIA), due to early detection and prevention techniques. Early-stage treatment options are different from late-stage options.
Breast lesions are examined for certain markers, notably sex steroid hormone receptors. About two thirds of postmenopausal breast cancers are estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and progesterone receptor positive (PR+). Receptor status modifies the treatment as, for instance, only ER-positive tumors, not ER-negative tumors, are sensitive to hormonal therapy.
thats all from me....
from the rock, k28........
US stocks rally on plan for mortgage giants
NEW YORK: Stocks rallied Monday as investors placed bets that a recovery in the financial and housing sectors is more likely to occur following the U.S. government's move to bail out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The U.S. government's plan also touched off a global stock rally Monday. Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 3.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 4.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 3.92 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.22 percent, and France's CAC-40 surged 3.42 percent.
The Dow Jones industrials gained nearly 300 points.
The announcement Sunday that the Treasury Department was seizing control of the companies, which own or back about half the nation's mortgage debt, brushed aside investors' long-simmering worries that the pair would be felled by a spike in bad mortgage debt.
Investors were hoping that the plan to inject up to $100 billion in each of the government-chartered mortgage financiers could not only help lower mortgage rates but perhaps help buoy the overall economy.
The move could help banks feel more open to write new mortgages and to refinance existing mortgages at lower rates, offering a possible lifeline to consumers struggling with increasing payments.
But the government's steadying hand for two institutions that many Wall Street observers had said were simply too big to let fail isn't likely to alleviate troubles for homeowners who have fallen far behind on their mortgages.
Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams in New York, said that while the plan boosts confidence in sectors like financials and home builders, it doesn't immediately alleviate worries about other areas of the economy.
Still, he said the move was far more welcome than a collapse of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
"It saves Armageddon from happening,'' he said.
"If you think about it, this helps the financials, this helps the housing market. Tech took a huge hit last week. Does this really affect tech? I don't think so.''
At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 289.78, or 2.58 percent, to 11,510.74 after being up nearly 350 points in the early going.
Broader stock indicators were also higher.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 25.48, or 2.05 percent, to 1,267.79.
The Nasdaq composite index added 13.88, or 0.62 percent, to 2,269.76. Bond prices edged higher in late trading on Monday.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.68 percent from 3.69 percent late Friday.
The dollar was higher against other major currencies. while
Common shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be made virtually worthless by the plan, which will dilute the stock.
But the companies' shares had already suffered huge declines in the last year so many shareholders have already endured the majority of their losses.
Fannie Mae shares plunged $6.34, or 90.1 percent, to 70 cents, while Freddie Mac fell $4.21, or 83 percent, to 89 cents.
"This was another needed piece of the puzzle with regard to eliminating fear and stress in the market,'' said Jim Dunigan, chief investment officer for PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia, referring to the government's move.
"It helps with the balance sheet questions that are out there for financials without a doubt.''
Still, Dunigan remains cautious.
"This isn't a magic wand. We're probably going to see another couple bank failures,'' he said.
The government's action may raise protests from upset shareholders.
While Fannie was able to raise $7.4 billion in capital earlier this year, Freddie Mac was unable to fulfill its promise to raise $5.5 billion in capital.
"The Fannie shareholders have a lot of questions that need to be answered from their board of directors,'' said Doug Daschille, chief executive of investment firm First Principles Capital Management.
Other financial names rallied, particularly those seen as having big exposure to mortgages. Bank of America Corp. jumped $2.50, or 7.7 percent, to $34.73, while Wachovia Corp. rose $2.24, or 13.4 percent, to $18.99. Citigroup Inc. rose $1.25, or 6.6 percent, to $20.32.
Among financials, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was one of the few decliners, falling $2.05, or 12.7 percent, to $14.15 as investors worried that the No. 4 U.S. investment bank was having trouble finding an investor to help shore up its balance sheet.
Home builders also gained ground alongside most financials. Lennar Corp. rose $1.39, or 10.3 percent, to $14.95, and KB Home advanced $2.93, or 14.2 percent, to $23.5.
In the tech space, SanDisk Corp. fell $1.04, or 5.9 percent, to $16.60, while Apple Inc. fell $2.26 to $157.92. Investors are worried the slowing economies overseas will damp demand.
The U.S. government's plan also touched off a global stock rally Monday. Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 3.4 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 4.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 3.92 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.22 percent, and France's CAC-40 surged 3.42 percent.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 11 cents to settle at $106.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Hurricane Ike fanned unease about the well-being of Gulf of Mexico oil infrastructure that could be in its path.
In corporate news, Washington Mutual Inc. fell 15 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $4.12 after removing Kerry Killinger from the chief executive spot.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. fell $1.38, or 11 percent, to $10.92 but came well off its lows of the session after an investment newsletter mistakenly passed along an old news story about the company's 2002 bankruptcy filing.
US stocks mixed on economic worries
NEW YORK: Wall Street finished mixed in fickle trading Wednesday, with investors still unsettled about the U.S. economy ahead of Friday's employment report and only somewhat relieved about sliding commodities prices.
The Commerce Department gave the market just modest comfort when it said orders for manufactured products rose by 1.3 percent in July. The figure was higher than the 0.8 percent predicted by economists polled by Thomson Financial/IFR; the department also upwardly revised its June reading to an increase of 2.1 percent.
However, many traders shrugged off the report as old news, given that it is now September.
With automakers releasing sluggish August sales and the Federal Reserve reporting weak economic activity throughout the nation, the market proceeded cautiously.
A massive pullback in commodities since earlier in the summer has helped alleviate some of Wall Street's inflation worries.
Oil briefly slid below $108 a barrel Wednesday as the dollar strengthened and Hurricane Gustav appeared to leave oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico mostly undamaged.
But oil pared its losses to end above $109 a barrel. And investors are realizing that oil has fallen partly because global demand growth is waning - bad news not only for energy companies, but also for the technology and industrial sectors.
On Tuesday, stocks gave up a huge early advance only to close lower, as investors' enthusiasm about oil's selloff gave way to concerns about the economy in the United States and abroad.
"All the data in the last two weeks has actually been very good,'' said Joseph V. Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck & Co., pointing to Wednesday's factory orders data, falling oil prices, and the recent upward revision of second-quarter gross domestic product.
"Despite all that, you didn't get a commensurate market performance. And that's troubling.''
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.96, or 0.14 percent, to 11,532.88, after rising by as many as 37 points and falling by as many as 100.
geetha
Identity cards
An identity card is a document that exists to enable a person to be identified. It is also a document required by law to be applied for and issued. It is not a matter of rights and privileges. Rather, it is a statutory requirement.
When a citizen applies for an identity card and has complied with all the requisites for an identity card to be issued, there is no reason so say that the person does not have a right. If the granting of an identity card is left to the whims and fancies of the department concerned, this cannot be right.
However, it must be noted that there are rules regulations and requirements that must be complied with before an identity card can be issued. The relevant department is vested with the discretion to evaluate whether the requirements have been fulfilled.
The process of evaluation gives the relevant department the power to make a decision. But the fact remains that such discretion must be exercised in a proper manner and not arbitrarily
geetha
RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES
The words ‘rights’ and ‘privileges’ have been loosely used in recent times. Their real meanings can only be appreciated by understanding the context in which they are used.
THERE is a tendency to use the words “rights” and “privileges” to mean different things. When a person claims to have a right to something, he is saying that he is entitled to it as a matter of law.
The word “privilege” is often used to mean there is no such entitlement in law, but it is something that may be granted. This sometimes crops up in dealings with the Government.
For example, a person may claim that he is a citizen or he may complain that he is entitled to an identity card which is not being issued. Statements are then made that there is no right but only a privilege. However, for the individual who believes that he is a citizen, he is puzzled when told that citizenship is a privilege €“ he is not entitled to claim it as a right.
GEETHA
The latest dry-cleaning technology helps keep colours bright.
THERE is nothing dry about the dry-cleaning process. In fact, the term dry-cleaning is an oxymoron; the process involves soaking garments in perchloroethylene (or perc), a dry cleaning agent.
But what happens when your laundry is stained after dry-cleaning? Well, chances are your garments may have been washed in cleaning agent that was contaminated, explains Aaron Chen, 48, managing director of Pressto Asia Sdn Bhd.
“Some laundry outlets put off recycling (or distilling) their cleaning agent to perhaps the end of the week or month. As a result, the solution may not be clean and may become a breeding ground for bacteria, causing garments to smell sometimes.”
“We use fifth generation computerised washing machinery,” says Chen. “Our dry cleaning machine sends the cleaning agent for distillation after every wash.
geetha
BE A PERFECT GIRL
-Smile.
Smile naturally; do not smile too much and remember to do it genuinely. When taking pictures, do not pout or make duck lips. It does not look cute and it's a big turn off for most guys.
-Practice good hygiene.
Looking and smelling clean is obviously an important part of your image. Make sure you take good care of your body, your hair, your teeth and your nails. Trust me, nobody wants to see what you've had for breakfast or that incident of when your brother "spilled sugar" over your hair.
-Take good care of that skin. Remember to wash your face every night with a mild soap , dry with towel, and cleanse with a cotton pad and facial cleansing solution. And keep your hands off to avoid breakouts. Also, don't forget to moisturize, and NEVER go to sleep wearing makeup! It'll look like such a mess in the morning!
-Do not swear excessively.
Cursing often will make others think that you're an unintelligent/immature person and would most likely ignore you. Besides, it's not very lady-like. Be nice and gentle. Sometimes, if it slips out, that can count as an "oops!" moment, but don't make it a habit!
-If you have a website, keep it simple.
Do not put a lot of graphics and pictures which is another big turn off to a lot of people. Be yourself online; just because everyone writes in abbreviations doesn't mean that you have to do the same.
-Do not wear a lot of jewelry.
One necklace and a pair of earrings are fine, but more than that is too much. Try not to get any unnecessary piercing and tattoos. Keep it simple and fashionable - don't just follow trends. When in doubt, remove a piece.
-Do not be someone you're not.
Be yourself and don't try to copy other people's styles. Sometimes people feel the need to experiment, but some things are best left the way they are. Instead, enhance your good personality traits and let yourself shine.
-Study hard and go to school everyday.
Everybody loves someone who knows her stuff. In the end, being successful is really important. Don't let your social life preoccupy your thoughts; work hard in class and be consistent. Value your intelligence and work your hardest. If you are having trouble in this area, don't be afraid to speak with your teacher or guidance counselor. Review what you went over in each class everyday. This will help you avoid having to cram all of the information the day before the test. If you're struggling in a specific area, hire a tutor to help you get back on track.
-Do not be a show-off.
Show-offs makes a person be disliked and/or hated. Be proud of your accomplishments, but don't shove it in people's faces.
-Remember the 3 S's Protect your skin from the sun by remembering to:
:Slip clothing on over your bathing suit when you're not in the water to block sun rays from your skin.
:Slap on a shady hat that covers your face, neck, and ears.
:Slop on sunscreen before going outdoors and remember to reapply every two hours.
-Do not be immature.
Know how to handle situations maturely and reasonably. You don't need to whine or cry to get what you want.
-Do not try too hard to be cute. It just doesn't work that way. It makes people feel sorry for you and shows them that you are not comfortable with who you are. You can put effort into your looks and behavior, but remember to let yourself enjoy moments being comfortable with yourself.
-Do not compare yourself.
It's not fair to you or your body. While it maybe tempting, just focusing on being the most wonderful you, and don't let anyone tell you who you should be.
-Nourish your body.
Maintain a healthy diet and only allow yourself to have junk food in moderation. Be sure to drink 8 cups of water(8 fl/oz= 1 cup) everyday. Also remember to take a multi-vitamin everyday to help maintain your health.
-Work it.
You don't have to be an athlete to be fit! Doctors and experts recommend that the average girl gets at least 20 minutes of exercise 2-3 times a week. So find something you like. Join a team. What ever gets you moving and on your feet! And remember to stretch those muscles out before any activity.
-Join clubs and groups!
If there is a club you are interested in at school, go right ahead a join! Clubs make it easy to find new friends, know that. And it's fun! It will keep you busy and active and over all, it will keep you happy.
-Get your beauty sleep.
Make sure that you're getting the recommended 8-10 hours of nightly sleep. Get yourself a bedtime routine and stick to it (even on the weekends). To get your body in sleep mode if you're feeling restless, try reading a book, writing in a journal, taking a warm bath, or listening to some gentle music. If you are watching a boring t.v. show, that can also help as long as you turn the volume down to where you almost can't hear it.
-Just say No.
There is absolutely no reason to experiment with drugs, whether due to pressure or curiosity. Hold yourself to a higher standard or risk completely compromising your image.
-Dont rule the relationship.
Don't tell your parnter what to do, this works both ways. You dont want to be known as the annoying girlfriend.
-On MSN... If you go on msn, don't use a very complicated name. Most people do anyway, just using your regular name will make you a little more unique.
-Work on your image.
Not that it's not good. You just wanna boost your self confidence higher. By looking great, you'll feel great too! Remember to eat healthily, sleep right, excercise, shower, get a hair cut/trim every 3-6 months.
-Keep your posture "ladylike" DOn't slump.
Keep a straight back. It actually makes you look taller. It may sound corny but you'll find out why as you get older and wiser.
~AQILAH~
Hello everyone.....
i've read a novel written by sydney sheldon entitled 'the sands of time'.sheldon is one of the famous author in the world and his writings are very interesting.
reading novel is my interest, especially english novel. here, i would like to persuade all of you to read english stories more because we could get so many information about culture and life of other countries which we never know before.
For example, the novel i read tells me about the life of nuns in convent. after i read that, now i know that the nuns give their lives up to their god so that they could be with their god in the world afterlife. the way of life in convent is really different, with their strict regulations and rules.
For example, the nuns are not allowed to talk to each other. they are also barred from watching each other. the life in convent is very quiet and they communicate using signs they make by moving their hands.
The other novels written by the same author i've read are 'if tomorrow comes','rage of angels','master of the games',and some more.i don't really like to read malay novel because,yeah you know malay stories often tell you about love,romance,and the plot of the stories are about the same, which are different from english stories.
For me,reading english stories could increase your grammar and vocabulary as well as giving a lot of information to you.
~AQILAH~
Assalamualaikum and hye everyone...
During my mid semester break i had read a artical that attract my attention...The title is how to be a good son..
To be a good son it have seven step..the step is :
1) dont use bad language when to your parent..
2) Listen all things that teacher said to you.
3) Be honest with your parent
4) Be independant.
5) dont be lazybone.
6) Love your brother and sister
7) show your love to your parent.
That seven thing can make your parent feel that you as son appreciate them as your parent and will make your relation with your parent become more stronger...
Also in this article also given a few tips that can maintain our relation with our parent..firstly,dont yell when talking..Next, share something interesting or jokes with your parent..ok... you can read this article at
www.wikihow.com/Be-a-good-son
thats all from me thank you..
slm and hello to everyone....
i've read an article about smoking....so, i state here a few facts that weca share together...
The figures of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics show:
* One out of every five deaths is caused by tobacco.
* An average of 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco.
* Tobacco is to blame for many serious pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.
* Tobacco and nicotine are some of the most potent carcinogens, and are to blame for a majority of all cancers of the lung, trachea, bronchus, larynx, and oesophagus.
* Tobacco use also produces cancers in the pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix.
* Impotence is sometimes attributable to nicotine addiction (because of the propensity of nicotine to reduce blood flow).
* Smoking is an important risk factor for respiratory illnesses, causing 85,000 deaths per year from pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia.
* Children and adolescents who are active smokers will have increasingly severe respiratory illness as they grow older.
* Smoking during pregnancy causes about 5-6% of prenatal deaths, 17-26% of low-birth-weight births, and 7-10% of pre-term deliveries, and it increases the risk of miscarriage and foetal growth retardation.
* Cigarettes are responsible for about 25% of deaths from residential fires, causing nearly 1,000 fire-related deaths and 3,300 injuries each year.
Mohd Dzulfikar. Rosli
kc08023
news from Borneo
KUCHING: If calculated justly, the Federal Government's actual spending and contributions to the security of Sarawak would outweigh all other arguments that it is not doing enough for the state.
That was the subtle but meaningful reminder from former head of state Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub, who was influential in the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
In an interview published in the Borneo Post yesterday, he said the Federal Government's role in the steady progress of the state should not be overlooked, and open arguments and demands were not norms in the closely-knit Barisan Nasional family.
Rahman, who is also a former chief minister, said that before the formation of Malaysia, Sarawak faced threats from its neighbour and the clandestine communist organisation.
"Who built the roads from Limbang to Lawas? The Federal Government did it and it was very expensive.
"Who pays for education, police, military and so forth? You list it all down and you will see the cost is a gigantic amount.
"So I do not want to talk like others, saying we should bargain for this and that.
"Taib (Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud) and I prefer to see the prime minister if we have problems because we are all in one family, the BN family," he was quoted as saying.
The Federal Government's five per cent petroleum royalty payment to Sarawak has been a hotly debated topic for more than a decade now but the issue has gained momentum after an opposition politician's political manoeuvres.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim promised a 20 per cent petroleum royalty if he becomes the prime minister and that lyric is now being actively parroted by all and sundry here, including the DAP.
Rahman also denied the allegation that it was he who agreed on the five per cent quantum when he was chief minister, saying that it was his deputy, the late Tan Sri Stephen Yong who agreed to the amount.
However, he explained that the agreement was reached based on an understanding that the petroleum royalty would be reviewed periodically.
"I don't know if we had those revisions since then but that was what had been agreed upon."
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri George Chan said it was better to ask the Federal Government for a bigger development budget, rather than engage in a never-ending argument on the quantum of petroleum royalty to the state.
Mother, brother of Oscar-winning Hudson shot dead
26th October, 2008
CHICAGO: The mother and brother of Oscar-winning actress and chart-topping singer Jennifer Hudson has been found shot dead at the family’s Chicago home, according to Hudson ‘s publicist and authorities.
A Chicago police department spokesman said the murders appeared to be the related to a domestic incident, but would not identify the victims.
Hudson ‘s personal publicist Lisa Kasteler confirmed that the victims were Hudson ‘s mother, Darnell Donnerson, 57, and her brother, Jason Hudson, 29.
Donnerson suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Hudson was shot in the chest, according to the Cook County Examiner’s Office.
There were no signs of forced entry to the home, according to Joseph Patterson, deputy chief of patrol of the Chicago Police.
Neighbors reported hearing gunshots at Donnerson’s home in the gritty Englewood neighborhood on the city’s South Side between 8:00 or 9:00 am Friday, but no one raised the alarm until around 3:00 pm, authorities said.
It was Julia Hudson who made the gruesome discovery after returning home from her day shift at a bus company. The older sister of Jennifer Hudson summoned the police and also reportedly told them that her seven-year-old son was missing.
Authorities immediately issued an all points bulletin for the missing boy, Julian King.
Police said the missing youngster might have been abducted from the home and could be in the company of William Balfour, a suspect in the double homicide, who should be considered armed and dangerous.
The bulletin said Balfour, 27, could be driving a white Chevrolet Suburban truck. The truck was registered to Jason Hudson, the slain brother of the singer, according to records.
Neighbours and news reports identified Balfour as Julia Hudson’s estranged husband and the step-father of her son.
On his MySpace page, Balfour described himself as a “proud parent” and played up his links to Jennifer Hudson.
“I might as well let you all know that Jennifer Hudson is my wife’s sister. I’m proud of her and wish her nothing but the best in what she do. But don’t hit me up asking bout her, other than that it’s on!” he wrote.
A slide show on the same site featured family snaps of Jennifer alongside shots of a bare-chested Balfour flexing his muscles for the camera.
Balfour is currently on parole after serving six and a half years for attempted murder, according to TMZ’s website. He also has a conviction for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008
Two double-killers sent to gallows
First hangings ordered by new justice minister bring toll to 15 for year
By MINORU MATSUTANI
Staff writer
Two convicted double-killers were hanged Tuesday, bringing the execution toll to an unusually high 15 for the year.
The executions were the first ordered by Justice Minister Eisuke Mori since he assumed the post Sept. 24 when Prime Minister Taro Aso formed his Cabinet.
Mori disclosed the names of the prisoners, a practice started by Kunio Hatoyama when he was justice minister.
Michitoshi Kuma, 70, was convicted of kidnapping and strangling two 7-year-old girls in Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in February 1992. He was hanged at the Fukuoka Detention Center.
His death sentence was finalized two years ago.
Throughout his trial and appeals, Kuma maintained his innocence, saying the evidence used against him was fabricated. His support group revealed that he had planned to request a retrial in the near future.
Masahiro Takashio, 55, was convicted of robbing and fatally stabbing a 55-year-old woman and her 83-year-old mother during a home invasion in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, in March 2004. Takashio knew the woman's father, who lived with the victims.
He was hanged at the Sendai Detention Center.
His death sentence was finalized 22 months ago.
There were nine hangings in 2007, while 2006 saw four. Mori's immediate predecessor, Okiharu Yasuoka, gave the go-ahead for three executions in October even though he held the office for only about a month.
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