masterwordsmith-unplugged |
- Two Ministers and Two Patriotic Songs
- Goodbye, Three-In-Ones!
- Introducing the Celtic Thunder
- Forward to Uphold Integrity
- The Broken Wing
| Two Ministers and Two Patriotic Songs Posted: 28 Jul 2012 05:23 AM PDT On 1987, the late Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat, Minister of Information twice, from 1978 to 1982 during the leadership of Tun Hussein Onn , and from 1987 to 1999 when the leadership of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad . composed a patriotic song called 'Setia'. In an article written by Andrew Sia of The Star: Tok Mat, as he is known, freely admits that his job was really as a Propaganda Minister. In his political memoirs, Umno: Akhir Sebuah Impian (Umno: The End of a Dream), he explains how his ministry's campaigns, such as Setia (Loyalty), were actually a response to the Team A versus Team B split in Umno in 1987. "I had to bring Malay loyalty back to Umno. And I had to raise a presumption that anybody who supported (Team B led by Tengku Razaleigh then) was not loyal. I went all out in this psychological warfare," he writes. "The Malays were numb to political arguments ... I needed something that penetrated the heart. I needed a song." So he wrote one himself: the famous Setia song with its supposedly patriotic lyrics ("Demi negara yang tercinta", or "For our beloved country", goes the first line) that was broadcast for years especially via the Government's RTM (Radio Televisyen Malaysia) stations. Tok Mat admits in his book that he first used Information Ministry staff in 1977 on a "mission" to topple the PAS State Government of Kelantan. He reveals that later, in 1995, during the Sabah state elections, he sent 500 ministry staff members to "campaign for Umno" against PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah, which was controlling the state government then). "The officers went to the ground," he explains in fluent English at a recent interview. "They rented rooms in villages, they slept and ate like the locals, they gathered information and persuaded the people. This silent propaganda works very well." He replies: "You could say I abused radio and TV, but it was a privilege I had. I could not depend on TV3, (The New) Straits Times, Berita Harian or Utusan Malaysia because they were then controlled by Anwar Ibrahim's boys. I had no choice but to use RTM. CLICK HERE for the rest of the article. CLICK HERE for an interview with The Nut Graph on the late Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat's views on 1Malaysia and other issues.  This is the video clip: Listen to the two songs...and form your own judgement...            |
| Posted: 28 Jul 2012 04:06 AM PDT For as long as I have known her, Angela has constantly reminded me that 'Powdered coffee 'creamer' isn't food, it's processed chemicals'. Recently, she sent me the following article. I googled for the source and discovered that it was first published in Natural News. by Ethan A Huff, Staff Writer, Natural News Every day, millions of Americans add powdered coffee "creamer" products to their morning cups of coffee because they falsely believe that these substances are somehow healthier than real cream. But little do they know that most coffee creamer products contain no actual cream, or food for that matter, as they are really nothing more than a crafty blend of toxic chemicals. When powdered coffee creamers first came onto the scene back in the 1950s, they actually contained real dehydrated cream and sugar, which made them a convenient, non-perishable source of cream for coffee. Over time, however, manufacturers began to phase out the cream, and replace it with things like processed vegetables oils, stabilizers, chemical sweeteners, and other additives that were less expensive and that more easily dissolved in coffee. Today, the average canister of so-called "creamer" substitute contains not a trace of actual food, at least not food in the technical sense of the word. Take the Coffee-Mate brand of coffee creamer, for instance. The original powder flavor contains corn syrup solids, hydrogenated vegetable oils, and a handful of stabilizing, emulsifying, and flavoring chemicals (SOURCE: HERE). Not only is there no "cream" of any kind in Coffee-Mate's Original Powder, but there are also no natural food ingredients whatsoever. This is why some countries actually require that powdered coffee additives be called "whiteners" rather than "creamers," since they do not actually contain any real cream. CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article.      |
| Introducing the Celtic Thunder Posted: 28 Jul 2012 01:00 AM PDT Celtic Thunder is the name of two different music groups. The original Celtic Thunder began performing traditional Irish music in Washington, D.C. in 1977. The original Celtic Thunder played its first gig in May of 1977 at the Harp Pub in Baltimore, and went on to become one of the most influential traditional music groups in the U.S. Called "a great Irish band" by the Village Voice and "one of the best Irish folk acts in America" by The Washington Post, Celtic Thunder has released three albums. The band's second album, The Light of Other Days, won the Indie award for Best Celtic Album. The band's founders are brothers Jesse Winch (bodhran, bouzouki, guitar, harmonica) and Terry Winch (button accordion). The Winches, first generation Americans, learned their craft alongside their father, Patrick Winch, and his friend P.J. Conway, as they played for traditional Irish ceilis in New York City in the 1950s. Along with another original member, Linda Hickman (flute, whistle, vocals), the band has featured Laura Murphy (lead vocals), Regan Wick (piano, Irish step-dance), Nita Conley (vocals, guitar, piano), Steve Hickman (fiddle, harmonica, vocals), Tony DeMarco (fiddle), Dominick Murray (vocals, guitar), Rob Thornburgh (fiddle, vocals), Marty Somberg (fiddle), and Patrick Orseau (fiddle). The Celtic Thunder band should not be confused with the PBS TV production (and related CD/DVD), which features a variety of commercial Irish and non-Irish material sung by an assortment of male vocalists and others, and who also calls itself Celtic Thunder. The group known for its specials on PBS is a singing group composed of male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland.[1] They are accompanied by the Celtic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Phil Coulter, the musical director of the group. CLICK HERE FOR MORE. Recently, Linda shared this video clip with me. CLICK HERE TO ENJOY THEIR LIVELY MUSIC. CLICK HERE FOR THEIR OFFICIALYOUTUBE CHANNEL. Have a great day!      |
| Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:19 PM PDT Power never takes a back step by Josh Hong Source: Malaysiakini So, High Court judge Rohana Yusof quashed Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's order last year declaring Bersih unlawful. In other words, the umbrella group that is made up of more than 60 NGOs can now function as a legal entity with head held high. It is vindication for the Bersih 2.0 steering committee, especially for Ambiga Sreenevasan, Pak Samad Said and Maria Chin Abdullah. And also a small victory in Malaysians' long and tumultuous walk for political freedom. Of far greater significance are Justice Rohana's remarks that "in my view, the decision is tainted with irrationality... The decision to declare Bersih unlawful was made without taking into account some relevant facts or by taking into account irrelevant facts". This is a damning verdict on the home minister who claims to hold a master's degree in law from the now not-so-prestigious London School of Economics. In plain language, Hishammuddin is simply kepala angin and his paranoid behaviour before the two Bersih rallies - July 2011 and in April this year - was nothing but befitting a mad dog. Then again, the quality - or the lack of it - of this particular Umno princeling has always been highly controversial, and his keris-waving antics were a major contributing factor to Umno's losing Malay votes that remain vivid in the minds of many. No amount of whitewashing will be able to erase that racist and jingoistic image of his from public memory. When a group of cow-head protesters hurled insults at the Hindus in August 2009, Hishammuddin - whose father is fondly remembered as a gentle statesman - rushed to their defence by arguing pig heads had been used to stir up Muslim sentiments. Still, any seasoned lawyer will know two wrongs never make a right, and the correct approach was to condemn both, instead of practically endorsing the act of either of them by appealing for 'understanding' in front of the media. Persistently high crime rates continue to plague Hishammuddin's records. He and the inspector-general of police may blame them on 'perception', but facts speak for themselves. Car parks in shopping malls are no longer safe, while break-ins are as banal as one's frequenting a mamak stall across Malaysia. Tell missions to remove travel advice Who are now the best people for the home minister to consult as to whether the rising crime rates are merely a public perception? Malacca state exco member Latiff Tamby Chik and Faizah Shuib, widow of the late former deputy home minister during Mahathir's era? If the government is so certain that KL is as safe as Singapore or Oslo, perhaps it can tell the foreign missions, such as Austria and Ireland, to remove their travel advice over street crimes in our capital. One may ask how on earth the worst-performing and internationally notorious home minister has been able to keep his job until now? It has to do with the fact that removal of Hishammuddin from cabinet will entail severe consequences for Najib Abdul Razak, the apprentice prime minister who is best known for being adverse to taking risks. Najib may look popular according to surveys, but he has no faithful allies in government, thanks partly to his vainglorious wife. Given Hishammuddin's fleeting loyalty and opportunistic character - who once praised Mahathir profusely as his 'idol' and conveniently forgot his own father's and grandfather's contributions to forging ethnic unity - even kinship ties can become fragile before the temptation of power. As Malcolm X put it succinctly: power never takes a back step - only in the face of more power. Hishammuddin now sees himself just two steps away from Seri Perdana, and any attempt to block him will likely result in a concerted effort to engineer an early downfall of Najib involving Muhyddin Yassin, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (another infamous fence-sitter) and, no doubt, Mahathir Mohamad, who has been scheming for his son Mukhriz to be fast-tracked into cabinet. So, expect him to stay put. But the docile, almost slavish mainstream media are equally responsible for sustaining Hishammuddin in his position. Other than Utusan Malaysia, the New Straits Times, Berita Harian and The Star that are now completely written off for their propagandistic deception, the Sin Chew Daily, too, is in the habit of back-scratching. Don't forget: on the eve of the Bersih 2.0 protest last year, several Sin Chew senior journalists spin-doctored the rally - which was in full compliance with our constitution - as being unlawful and an attempt to subvert the 'rule of law'. Now that the High Court has chastised Hishammuddin for his reckless behaviour, the self-congratulatory Sin Chew must issue an apology for distorting the good intentions of the Bersih 2.0 steering committee or make itself a laughing stock with its own assertion to 'uphold integrity'. So must Hishammuddin. Or maybe it does not really matter any more, since a large segment of the Malaysian electorate is ready to punish him and his cohorts through the ballot box. JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.      |
| Posted: 27 Jul 2012 03:30 PM PDT Broken Wing - Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover By Jim Hullihan Some people are just doomed to be failures. That's the way some adults look at troubled kids. Maybe you've heard the saying, "A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high." I'm sure that T. J. Ware was made to feel this way almost every day in school. By high school, T. J. was the most celebrated troublemaker in his town. Teachers literally cringed when they saw his name posted on their classroom lists for the next semester. He wasn't very talkative, didn't answer questions and got into lots of fights. He had flunked almost every class by the time he entered his senior year, yet was being passed on each year to a higher grade level. Teachers didn't want to have him again the following year. T. J. was moving on, but definitely not moving up. I met T. J. for the first time at a weekend leadership retreat. All the students at school had been invited to sign up for ACE training, a program designed to have students become more involved in their communities. T. J. was one of 405 students who signed up. When I showed up to lead their first retreat, the community leaders gave me this overview of the attending students: "We have a total spectrum represented today, from the student body president to T. J. Ware, the boy with the longest arrest record in the history of town." Somehow, I knew that I wasn't the first to hear about T. J.'s darker side as the first words of introduction. At the start of the retreat, T. J. was literally standing outside the circle of students, against the back wall, with that "go ahead, impress me" look on his face. He didn't readily join the discussion groups, didn't seem to have much to say. But slowly, the interactive games drew him in. The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of positive and negative things that had occurred at school that year. T. J. had some definite thoughts on those situations. The other students in T. J.'s group welcomed his comments. All of a sudden T. J. felt like a part of the group, and before long he was being treated like a leader. He was saying things that made a lot of sense, and everyone was listening. T. J. was a smart guy, and he had some great ideas. The next day, T. J. was very active in all the sessions. By the end of the retreat, he had joined the Homeless Project team. He knew something about poverty, hunger and hopelessness. The other students on the team were impressed with his passionate concern and ideas. They elected T. J. co-chairman of the team. The student council president would be taking his instruction from T. J. Ware. When T. J. showed up at school on Monday morning, he arrived to a firestorm. A group of teachers were protesting to the school principal about his being elected co-chairman. The very first communitywide service project was to be a giant food drive, organized by the Homeless Project team. These teachers couldn't believe that the principal would allow this crucial beginning to a prestigious, three-year action plan to stay in the incapable hands of T. J. Ware. They reminded the principal, "He has an arrest record as long as your arm. He'll probably steal half the food." Mr. Coggshall reminded them that the purpose of the ACE program was to uncover any positive passion that a student had and reinforce its practice until true change can take place. The teachers left the meeting shaking their heads in disgust, firmly convinced that failure was imminent. Two weeks later, T. J. and his friends led a group of 70 students in a drive to collect food. They collected a school record: 2,854 cans of food in just two hours. It was enough to fill the empty shelves in two neighborhood centers, and the food took care of needy families in the area for 75 days. The local newspaper covered the event with a full-page article the next day. That newspaper story was posted on the main bulletin board at school, where everyone could see it. T. J.'s picture was up there for doing something great, for leading a record-setting food drive. Every day he was reminded about what he did. He was being acknowledged as leadership material. T. J. started showing up at school every day and answered questions from teachers for the first time. He led a second project, collecting 300 blankets and 1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter. The event he started now yields 9,000 cans of food in one day, taking care of 70 percent of the need for food for one year. T. J. reminds us that a bird with a broken wing only needs mending. But once it has healed, it can fly higher than the rest. T. J. got a job. He became productive. He is flying quite nicely these days. Source: HERE      |
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