An American Expat in Southeast Asia

Malaise Then - Apocalypse Now

2011-12-27T20:09:00.000+08:00

There is a certain irony I suppose that I would be writing this from the steamy rainswept jungles of the Philippines not too far from where Francis For Coppola filmed the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now.

From the start, Apocalypse Now, the film based on Joseph Conrad's novella, the Heart of Darkness was besieged with problems. In the steamy Philippine jungle, the staff and crew were struck down with dysentery almost immediately, that together with a typhoon, delays and budget over runs, the film now, perhaps one of the greatest movies ever made was almost never completed. Grossly over budget and delayed countless times, the movie was finally released on 15 August 1979.

Looking back, Colonel Kurtz' final words seem today to be more prophetic than apocalyptic.

"Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision -- he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath: " 'The horror! The horror!' "

America's Summer of Madness

It was the summer of 1979, a hot summer plagued by long gas lines and a sense of hopelessness, never-ending that seemed to permeate everything. That summer our nation would be subjected to Jimmy Carter's infamous "malaise" speech. The opening lines of which failed to reassure and instead conveyed a man's impotence. It was as if everything was ending and the cultural decay had hastened. Chaotic and mad, a film released late that summer entitled "Apocalypse Now" seemed just fitting for the zeitgeist.

So where are we today thirty-two years later? Has the erosion of our confidence in the future finally destroyed the social and the political fabric of America? As 2012 approaches how many Americans are confident of what the future holds?

It has been over thirty-two years since and little remains of the film sets at Baler and Caliraya here in the Philippines. The jungle it seems has a way of forgetting the past.

Gimme Shelter

2011-12-24T22:48:00.000+08:00

Don't Ever Dream Of Freedom

2011-12-04T18:28:00.000+08:00

While the international community and much of the world's media has been focused on the so-called "Arab Spring" and on events transpiring across the Middle East, they seem to have turned a blind eye to South East Asia and in particular on West Papua and the plight of the West Papuan's.

There was hope that with President Obama's visit last month, that the United States would take a tougher stance on Indonesia's brutal human rights abuses in West Papua but sadly the people of West Papua are coming to the bitter realization that their cries for freedom and self-determination have fallen on deaf ears.

The only crime of the West Papuan's has been to peacefully raise their national flag and declare independence from Indonesia and for that they have and continue to suffer the wrath of the Indonesian government.

There was a time when the United States supported the West Papuans and their right to self-determination, but it would seem no more.

Less than a month ago this is what Hillary Clinton had to say...

"There needs to be continuing dialogue and political reforms in order to meet the legitimate needs of the Papua people, and we will be raising that again directly and encouraging that kind of approach....[sic]"

Take a look at the video above, this is how Indonesia deals with the West Papuans. The comments in the video regarding the pig sty deserve a closer examination and give a glimpse into the mindset of the Indonesian soldiers who see the West Papuans, the majority of which are Christians, as infidels.

For the Indonesians, the separatist conflict in West Papua has little to do with state sovereignty and more so to do with religious strife.

The West Papuans deserve more than noncommittal gobbledygook from America. They deserve freedom.

Obama: Throwing Papua Under the Bus

Curing Alesha's Lesbianism

2011-11-11T23:47:00.000+08:00

Looking at Alesha, it is hard to imagine that she is any different than your typical twenty-something girl, petite with colored auburn hair, she goes to college during the day and works at Starbucks in the afternoon as a barista, she listens to Lady Gaga on her Ipod and likes to watch CSI Miami on television when she has the time.

Like anyone Alesha has dreams, she dreams of one day becoming a fashion designer... she also dreams of a day when she longer has to live her life in fear. You see, Alesha likes girls and she lives in Malaysia, a country where her sexual peccadilloes could see her behind bars or worse.

It is not uncommon that Alesha finds herself often preyed upon by vile lecherous policemen and other so-called "authorities". Poking and grabbing at her, her oppressors feel that she is free game and they snicker among themselves as they offer to cure her of her lesbianism. If Alesha had enough to fear, she has more now.

The Malaysian state of Malacca has said it will amend its state Islamic enactment to prosecute gays and lesbians by applying the same type of Shariah legal mechanism used against deviant Muslim sects.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said Wednesday 9 November:

“We will revise the current enactment to specifically deal with homosexuals and lesbians in the state, including groups that promote such uncanny sex.”

It was needed, he said, because no specific law at present exists to prosecute such groups.

“We will suggest the enactment to also cover bisexuals and transsexuals,” he said, adding that action could also be taken against any non-governmental organisation promoting and supporting such sexual practices.

“We don’t want such unsavoury culture creeping in and damaging the moral fabric of our society,” Mohd Ali said.

Mohd Ali also attacked the group Sisters in Islam, calling on them to drop the word “Islam” from their name as he claimed they had been “frequently issuing contradicting and confusing statements on Islam”. Sisters in Islam is one of the groups who supported the banned ‘Seksualiti Merdeka’ festival.

Seksualiti Merdeka has been held since 2008 in Kuala Lumpur, and represents a coalition of Malaysian NGOs (including Malaysian Bar Council, SUARAM, Empower, PT Foundation, United Nations, Amnesty International) and individuals. Apart from the annual festival, they also organize workshops, talks, film screenings and letter writings. It was banned by Kuala Lumpur City Hall who vowed to scupper any attempts at reviving or promoting the “immoral” event.

Triumph The Dog Poops on #OccupyWallStreet

2011-11-05T23:09:00.000+08:00

Obama's Attack Watch - Comical or Kafkaesque

2011-09-15T19:44:00.003+08:00

Hu Is Watching Yu

While many Americans are laughing at the Attack Watch video now going viral on the web or reading how Obama's ominous threats are "pointless", there are some Americans who are not laughing.

Perhaps someone should ask Gibson Guitar's CEO Henry Juszkiewicz just how funny opposing Barack Obama can be.

It's not like Americans were not warned or did not see this coming, before Obama's Attack Watch there was Fight the Smears where Barack Obama's campaign responded that the president would "respond to any smears forcefully with all means at our disposal". Sadly there are some Americans who are finding out the hard way just what that means.

I can't help but ask myself if Americans deserving of freedom or liberty when they seem to have lost all respect for it. Our children are being groped in the nation's airports and now a sitting president is urging his political supporters to spy on and report their fellow citizens. Where is the outrage?

Seriously this is the kind of surreal spy vs. spy crap is something we would expect from some Cold War era totalitarian regime where some poor sod forfeits a kidney for listening to the wrong radio station.

The idea of a government or it's president attempting to restrict freedom of speech and/or inducing and encouraging it's citizens to spy on each other is not representative of a free demographic society respectful of human rights, rather it is the staple of an authoritative and at times totalitarian regime who is unwilling to embrace the principles of freedom or liberty.

Regardless of where Barack Obama was born, he is not an American. He is an enemy of the State and should be treated as such.

Related Posts:

Barack Obama Vs. America

Time Magazine Reporting For Duty

We Won't Get Fooled Again

2011-08-10T21:28:00.001+08:00

"We'll be fighting in the streets with our children at our feet, And the morals that they worship will be gone. And the men who spurred us on sit in judgment of all wrong. They decide and then the shotgun sings the song. I'll tip my hat to the new constitution."

'Won't Get Fooled Again' by The Who

The prescience in Pete Townshend's words ring true across Britain tonight as violence rages in London, Birmingham, Liverpool and other cities throughout England. Impotent to stop the spread of violence the authorities have threatened to use rubber bullets in a sophomoric attempt to establish law and order. Someone might wish to inform Messiers David Cameron and crew that lead bullets are much more effective.

Ask anyone the reason for the devastating riots and you will get a plethora of reasons ranging from economic uncertainty to racial strife. In a supposed rare glimpse of sobriety a couple of inebriated ladettes share their learned thoughts with the BBC and mumble that they are just showing the rich that "we can do what we want".

Well, score one for the ladettes. You see this is not about economics or race, but rather relativism. Reaping what it has sown, England is now discovering that simple aphorism that cultural relativism inevitably drags moral relativism in it's wake.

Growing up in an environment that eschews moral absolutism and embraces cultural relativism and the "diversity of opinions", these drunken ladettes find themselves cursed now with the inability to distinguish right from wrong, where the truth now becomes subjective depending merely on one's point of view. This isn't the first time we have seen this, we saw it in the aftermath of Katrina when countless celebrities and liberal politicians defended the actions of the looters and we see it today with a growing tide of politicians such as David Cameron and Barack Obama who believe that a nation's fiscal ineptitude can be rectified simply by fleecing the rich.

It was another politician, John Adams who in 1787 said - "The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If "Thou shalt not covet" and "Thou shalt not steal" were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."

In the name of tolerance, diversity and political correctness we have drifted away from God and embraced moral relativism. In our arrogance, we as a society have by "secular edict" decreed that sin no longer exists and moral precepts are unfounded. In complete defiance of the laws of nature and of God we have chosen to live our lives as we see fit and by "choice" - not by what is right and what is wrong.

"I'll tip my hat to the new constitution. Take a bow for the new revolution. Smile and grin at the change all around. Pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday. Then I'll get on my knees and pray We don't get fooled again. Don't get fooled again, no no."

It's Not The Hat It's The Woman Wearing The Hat

2011-08-08T23:04:00.000+08:00

If you ever visit Vietnam you will see many beautiful and charming Vietnamese ladies wearing the Áo Dài (Vietnamese traditional long dress) and Non La (conical leaf hat, Vietnamese: Nón Lá) walking gracefully along the streets. While the hats are worn by both sexes, it is the Vietnamese woman who epitomizes it.

Vietnam's conical straw hat or the nón lá has its origin, coming from a legend related to the history of rice growing in Vietnam. The story is about a giant woman from the sky who has protected mankind from a deluge of rain. She wore a hat made of four round shaped leaves to guard against all the rain. After the Goddess was gone, the Vietnamese built a temple to commemorate her as the Rain-shielding Goddess.

The conical straw hats are used elsewhere throughout Southeast Asia, but they are not as common as they are in Vietnam. The hats are mostly worn in other countries by farmers and those working in the rice paddies. Since I've been living in Southeast Asia I have heard the hat refered to in many different ways, a straw hat, an Asian hat, a palm frond hat, a coolie hat but I never heard the hat referred to in any offensive way until today.

In a post entitled Does American Apparel's Ching Chong Hat Offend You? the website Racialicious asks readers if they find the wearing of the hat by Americans as offensive. The irony of which apparently eludes Latoya Peterson the editor and owner of the site. With a website though entitled Racialicious one might think that both the author and Ms. Peterson would be a bit more sensitive considering.

Remember, it is not the hat, its the woman wearing the hat, and come to think of it, yes Ms. Peterson you would look offensive wearing it.

Monday Bloody Monday

2011-08-08T02:34:00.000+08:00

In a few hours from now, the Asian Markets will open, all weekend the concerns have been growing as to how badly Standard and Poor's downgrade of the U.S.'s credit rating from AAA to AA+ will affect the Asian financial markets.

In the city state of Singapore a few money changers over the weekend were either were refusing to accept the US dollar or grudgingly accepting it on parity with the US dollar.

Faith in the greenback and faith in America's financial strength, stability and leadership are now gone. The hardest thing to accept I suppose as an American here is the realization that this dethroning or change as Barack Obama likes to call it is irreversible. The debt crisis was but one of many factors contributing to our fall from grace. It didn't help having a president who did not believe in the greatness of our nation. Needless to say, when our president believes that American Exceptionalism is nothing more than a myth, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Our role as the sole remaining superpower in the world is now over. Our role in Southeast Asia as a partner and defender of peace and freedom has now come to an end. This isn't pessimism my friends this is the reality, a reality that many Americans will ultimately need to come to terms with. You see, at the end of the day, it is all about confidence, and once the confidence is gone then there is not much left. Confidence in our currency and our nation would require a president and government that is attuned to brand-building not to self-deprecation. The world wants to see America as that bright city on the hill, a leader and not simply a nation who sees themselves as one of the guys.

If you are wondering if the confidence can ever be restored - sure it can. Pay back the 14.7 trillion and then the confidence might slowly return. Other than that, no amount of half-measures or talk is ever going to undo the damage done. Paying back the trillions in debt would require cuts in spending that would be too painful for Americans to accept and as such Americans will need to get used to their new role in the world, a role that Obama envisioned for us.

The problems America has are not just financial though, American themselves are to blame. You see it is not Obama that ails us, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president.

The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.

The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.

Remember to Behave During Ramadan

2011-08-03T05:01:00.003+08:00

Now that the month of Ramadan has begun, Malaysia's channel 8TV thought this would be an opportune time to remind all the non-muslims in Malaysia how to behave by urging them to "please understand and respect the significance of Ramadan".

Released as a public service announcement on 8TV, the three commercials targeting non-muslims depict a socially-inept “Chinese” girl eating in public, wearing revealing clothing and being loud and obnoxious during the Muslim fasting month.

Needless to say a fury of outrage over the condescending tone and racism depicted in the ads on Twitter ensued after which 8TV's chief operating officer Ahmad Izham Omar grudgingly had them taken down.

Oh and to answer your questions, no there are never any public service announcements urging Malaysians to "please understand and respect the significance of Christmas".

Washington's Dog and Pony Show

2011-08-03T01:02:00.002+08:00

Across Southeast Asia there is an ubiquitous feeling of repugnance that has replaced the overall malaise here as millions watched America's politicians in Washington sip champagne and celebrate the "victory" of adding another 2.4 trillion to the nation's debt. Many here are perplexed to say the least, asking the simple question - "What is there to celebrate?"

America's talking heads in the media have all spoke about how the markets will rebound throughout the world on the good news, but that has not been the case nor the reality here on the ground. Reflecting not only the mood here but the reality, the markets are down and so is the dollar with the bottom sadly no where in sight. Expect the decline to continue.

Despite what some of our politicians might think, the debt crisis is not rocket science and Americans understand it clearly and so do our creditors overseas. It would be nice if Americans could just dictate to the bank what their credit limit would be but we can't. Sure you might be able to run up a million dollar tab on a black American Express Centurion card, but you can be well rest assured that the good folks at American Express are going to be asking how you intend to pay your bill at the end of the month.

So how does one ever dig themselves out of a US14.29 trillion dollar hole? That is the most pertinent question today that is on everyone's mind, the one that no one seems to be answering is perhaps one of the biggest reasons why the gloom in the markets and the dollar will remain until real change comes to America and to Washington.

The mindless hope and change mantra that has been droning on from Washington for the last few years has become about as welcome here in Southeast Asia as a dengue mosquito. Look around and you see millions here clamoring for Iphones and Ipads not for the right to eat the rich or bugger each other with a government imprimatur. Where are the priorities?

Faith in our nation and our economy will return when meritocracy rules rather than militant egalitarianism and when our nation's president is seen as a true leader and not the ringmaster of some macabre dog and pony show as we saw with the handling of the nation's debt crisis.

Common sense dictates that when you are in a hole you stop digging and it is America's ingenuity unmolested by bureaucracy that will lift us from the abyss and not the government.

Raise The Debt Ceiling Rap

2011-07-30T08:17:00.001+08:00

Raise The Debt Ceiling Lyrics - Here

Forward to all your friends below.

Obama's Army Detweets

2011-07-30T07:29:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, Chairman Soetoro issued the following instructions to his legions of fawning jackbooted apparatchiks.

"If you want to see a bipartisan compromise — a bill that can pass both houses of Congress and that I can sign — let your members of Congress know,” Obama said.“Make a phone call. Send an e-mail. Tweet. Keep the pressure on Washington, and we can get past this.”

A short time later, Obama’s official 2012 campaign Twitter account announced to its 9.4 million followers that it would begin publishing the Twitter account names of House Republicans. Over the course of the day, @BarackObama sent out around 100 tweets.

Fed up with his divisive politics, incompetence and spam over 30,000 of Obama's lickspittle automatons detweeted from the battle field.

2012 can't come any faster.

Obama: Pride Before the Fall

2011-07-30T05:07:00.001+08:00

Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal laments that an unloved Barack Hussein Obama does not seem to be genuine in what he says and does. Noonan's choice of words is intriguing to say the least and is clearly indicative that she is just as out of touch with the American mainstream as Obama is.

Correct me if I am wrong but wasn't it a mesmerized Noonan herself who once held up Chairman Soetoro's hagiography and attempted to school the rest of us yokels on the virtues of Obama's hope and change?

Spurious yes. But the word you are looking for Ms. Noonan is mendacious.

Mr. Obama is worse than a liar, he is a fraud, a fraud that was perpetrated on the American people and that has made America the laughing-stock of the world with many of our own allies wondering how an individual so hostile to America and her allies could have ever been elected president. America's growth in government at the expense of free enterprise is something deeply disturbing not only for Americans but for our friends and allies overseas.

Obama's arrogant attempt to thrust his radical agenda on the world has been met with derision. What many Americans back home and in Washington fail to realize is that Obama's arrogance, mendacity and narcissism extends well beyond our borders.

America's debt crisis has only exacerbated things. The faith that many of our allies have had in America is diminished, this has nothing to do with the current impasse in raising the debt ceiling but everything to do with America's lack of fiscal responsibility. What you won't read in the papers back home is that it's not congress, the senate or even Obama that will ultimately decide whether America's debt ceiling is raised - it is our nation's creditors.

Obama On Leadership

2011-07-23T06:01:00.001+08:00

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government can not pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."

-- Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

It is both ironic and hypocritical that Barack Obama now feels that as President it is his duty to raise the nation's debt ceiling thereby pushing our nation even further towards the brink of default and placing the burden on the backs of our nation's children and grandchildren. It was George Bernard Shaw once said that "When a stupid man is doing something that he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty."

Barack Obama says that leadership means that "the buck stops here", but does Mr. Obama himself truly understand what leadership is all about? Before you even think of answering that question, just ask yourself which is a desirable attribute of leadership, ethnicity or meritocracy?

There's hardly anything worse for the morale of the nation than having a leader who practices the "Do as I say, not as I do" philosophy. I was shocked, but not surprised that Barack Hussein Obama would use the threat of cutting off social security to our nation's seniors rather than leading by example. This is not leadership, this is tyranny.

Perhaps it is high time that both Obama and Congress lead by example and be willing to cut their own lavish salaries and benefits. President Obama could take the first step - the White House has 454 employees who's combined salaries come to an astonishing $37.1 million dollars a year. More than one-third of the White House staff earn better than $100,000 a year! That is more than double what the average American makes a year! The median income in the United States is $46,300 a year and statistics show that 50 percent of the population live on $46,000 or less a year.

Our nation's leaders seem to be more interested in serving themselves rather than the country and that my friends is the crux of our problems. How many of you got an 83% raise in pay last year?

Upscale Budget Accommodation In Singapore

2011-07-19T05:12:00.003+08:00

A recent article in the Jakarta Globe states that some backpacker hostels in Singapore are going upmarket, to cater to a rising number of backpackers with bigger budgets. Well, this isn't entirely true. It isn't just backpackers looking for reasonably priced place to stay but businessmen and tourists as well who have been looking for a decent place to stay without having to pay an arm and a leg.

If you are looking for a hotel room in Singapore expect to pay anywhere from S$200 (US$165) to S$600 (US$493) a night. On the high end, Singapore has some of the finest and most luxurious hotels in Southeast Asia - if not the world, but on the low end, it can be the lowest of lows. In other words, if your idea of an "accommodation experience" is a budget hotel with hourly rates, rubber mattresses and greasy sheets then a cheap room at Hotel 81 will be right up your alley. Trying to find a clean decent budget hotel in Singapore that is below a US$100 a night is for the most part an exercise in futility and the this is the niche that the former backpacker hostels are now starting to exploit.

The competition between Singapore's hostels is booming with many offering crisp linens, hotel mattresses, air conditioning, free movies, wifi and in some places even a free breakfast. Urban Hostel is one of those such places and in my opinion it's one of the best, it's located only a two minute walk from Aljunied MRT station which makes everything convenient and from Changi Airport the fare is just S$1.80 to Aljunied MRT station, so you can skip taking the taxi. Urban Hostel has both dorm rooms and private rooms - with prices starting from just S$15.00 a night - bookable online - and later when you want see the city, just hop on the MRT and you can be at Orchard road is about ten minutes.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit's recently published Worldwide Cost of Living Report 2011, Singapore is now the 10th most expensive city to live in - in the world. It can be cheaper though when you know your way around.

Sleep on that.

The End Of An Era - The Last Shuttle Launch

2011-07-14T12:01:00.000+08:00

I will never forget the 12th of April 1981, I was a senior in high school that year. Across the nation in classrooms the televisions were on for the students to watch this historic event of the first shuttle launch. Growing up and going to school in Texas not far down the road from NASA made it all the more amazing that day and gave many us a special sense of pride. It was on that day that we all felt that anything was possible and it was.

It was an event and a time that would forever affect my life in ways that I will never be able to explain to those who did not experience themselves. The pride that we felt as a people and the optimism we had for the future.

Something happened and I'm not sure what it was but along the way the exhilaration and pride that we all felt that day slowly faded. The shuttle launches lost their significance and our desire to explore our universe took a backseat to the more pressing social issues of the day. The space shuttle became a tool, not to explore the unknown but to provide for social justice. Rather than scientific, the accomplishments would become social, and a divisive plethora of "firsts" would follow with each shuttle launch dividing us by ethnicity and gender. No longer was it the human race reaching out for the stars, but the first woman, the first black and the first (insert ethnicity). It was at that time that many of us came to the bitter realization that our journey had come to an end.

Like many I found myself overwhelmed with emotion and nostalgia when I saw Chris Bray and his father's photostream on Flickr. I'm overcome with emotion because I know exactly what Chris Bray and his father Kenneth were feeling that day.

Last week my high school class celebrated our 30th class reunion. Sadly I was in Singapore and missed it, but I'll be sharing this with them and with all of you wherever you are.

Mysterious W Appears On Obama's Head

2011-07-14T03:42:00.000+08:00

The transformation begins...

The astute Keith Koffler at White House Dossier noticed this earlier. Look closely and you will notice a W has formed on the far left side of Obama's head.

This could mean only one thing...

Zainuddin Maidin - Malaysia's "Baghdad Bob"

2011-07-11T20:19:00.001+08:00

As I watched the video and the telephone interview with of Malaysia's former information minister Zainuddin Maidin concerning the brutal government crackdown of the recent protests in Malaysia for freedom and democratic reform, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Laugh because it reminded me of Iraq's past information minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf who came to prominence during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Nicknamed "Baghdad Bob" he is best known for his grandiose and grossly unrealistic propaganda broadcasts prior to and during the war, extolling the invincibility of the Iraqi Army and the permanence of Saddam's rule.

Cry because, like "Baghdad Bob" this man does not have a clue as to how ridiculous he looks and how badly this now reflects on Malaysia. Even when the reporter informs him that the viewers are watching scenes of the violence he continues his bodoh sombong rant claiming that there is no violence and that the Malaysian "people" are laughing at the foreign journalists and reporters for fabricating their reporting. Sadly, Mr. Zainuddin Maidin does not live in the real world.

What is going on in Malaysia echoes Plato's allegory - the Myth of the Cave and perhaps it serves as the perfect metaphor for what is transpiring here - a delusional reality and an ignorance of the truth.

Like Baghdad Bob, Zainuddin's announcements were intended for an domestic audience that for years has been enslaved and subjected to a cult of personality who's brutal repression of the opposition, government media control and fabrication of the truth has been the only reality that many Malaysians have known and have become accustomed to. Malaysian's don't want to overthrow Malaysia, they want what anyone wants, and that is the light of freedom and the rights that any democratic society should have. It is the Malaysian government who quite clearly cares more about retaining power than the well-being of their own citizens.

Enjoy this classic comedic gold from "Baghdad Bob"

Democracy, Freedom And The Malaysian Summer

2011-07-04T05:18:00.002+08:00

Bullets and government repression might have stalled the youthful push for an Arab Spring, but the Arab Spring has now led to a Malaysian summer here in Southeast Asia and the heat and humidity is leaving many here thirsting for freedom and democratic reform.

In 2007 then-Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi brought the calls for reform to an abrupt end using the old tried and true methods of repressing the media and then quelling the peaceful protesters with chemical-laced water cannons and teargas. It's questionable whether such old-school tactics will work this time and quite possibly they could backfire.

Not unlike their Arab counterparts, Tech-savy Malaysians have taken to the internet to spread their message of civil resistance using social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of traditional government attempts at repression and media censorship.

Seemingly oblivious to the sociopolitical changes and technology advances being employed, the authorities in Malaysia have in recent weeks detained over 100 people for supporting a political rally in Kuala Lumpur by wearing yellow T-shirts blazoned with the words "Bersih 2.0" - "Bersih" is the Malaysian word for "Clean". - In response, Malaysians have taken to Facebook and Twitter urging their supporters to defiantly don the yellow t-shirts.


Sorry No Yellow T-Shirts

The opposition political parties and NGOs that operate under the "Bersih 2.0" banner are demanding more honest elections. They are campaigning for measures to ensure that each person votes only once, the removal of fraudulent names from electoral rolls and an end to gerrymandering of constituencies to benefit the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO). All are reasonable requests that would boost political competition. Instead of responding to the substance of these demands, UMNO has chosen to intimidate and threaten those who make them.

Malaysian officials have declared the rally illegal because, they say, the participants are trying to overthrow the government. Authorities have warned people not to attend with the police threatening to use everything at their disposal to prevent the rally from taking place.

In 2007, the social media was in it's infancy as was the widespread use of internet enabled devices. This time around the revolution wont just be televised it will be on Facebook and Twitter as it happens and the world will be watching.

Prime Minister Najib Razak should be welcoming democratic reform rather suppressing it or Malaysians might come the conclusion that the government cares more about retaining power than it does the country's well-being.

Sorry Michelle But The Thrill Is Gone

2011-06-25T14:59:00.000+08:00

"Fortunately, we have help from the media. I have to say this: I am very grateful for the support and kindness that we've gotten. People have respected their privacy, and in that way, no matter what people may feel about my husband's policies or what-have-you, they care about children, and that's been good to see."

Mrs Obama's admiration of the media's supposed respect and love of children makes us wince. I can't help but wonder who this lady is talking to, it surely isn't me or anyone that I know. Where was Michelle Obama when the trials and tribulations of Sarah Palin's children was on the nightly news?

As disconnected as she is, Mrs. Obama is right about one thing, and that is that the media has bent over backwards to help them. Not just the Obama children but the Obama's themselves.

For Mrs. Obama, it's almost comical, there are not many first ladies who can get away with lecturing a nation on their unhealthy eating habits while carrying an extra thirty pounds of fat in their own ass.

For Mr. Obama, where can we begin to start. The harsh reality is that eligibility and meritocracy played second fiddle to the color of Barack Obama's skin and as such he will always be seen as America's first affirmative action president.

But for most of America, the thrill is gone. We've done it! We have overcome the scourge of racism that once plagued our country. We elected a black president! But now it is time to move on and hopefully the main-stream media that has coddled and protected Barack Obama will come to that realization as well.

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Obama and CNN: Black, White or Yellow

May You Live In Interesting Times

2011-06-24T19:53:00.000+08:00

In his book Kingdom of Fear, Hunter Thompson recalls the ancient Chinese curse being told to him by an elderly dope fiend one rainy night in Hong Kong towards the end of the Vietnam war. Looking back it's quite possible that the historians of the future will see that the end of the Vietnam war as the the end of Pax America, what Thompson saw as the final days of the American century.

It's difficult to talk about America's decline without sounding like a defeatist - As prescient as Thompson might have been, my perspective here is different. I can't see what the late Hunter Thompson saw or for that matter what much of America sees. What I see as an American in Southeast Asia is what many here see and that is - the storm clouds gathering on the horizon and the harsh realization that what so many Americans fought and gave their lives for will soon be gone forever.

The optimism of the past looks strangely outdated today, there is a sense of malaise that is slowly giving way to the realization that America can no longer be depended on here in Southeast Asia to fight and defend those very things that our forefathers gave their lives for. No where is this more evident than in the Philippines today.

Just eighty nautical miles off the coast of Palawan in the Philippines, China is laying claim to an area called Reed Bank, part of a vast area off the coast of Palawan that's oil reserves and wells now supply 15% of all the petroleum consumed in the Philippines.

While Chinese warships threaten and fire on Philippine ships off the coast of Palawan, the United States has found themselves in a precarious situation - warned by China to stay out of the conflict, the United States is unable to do anything other than offer meaningless platitudes of support and coercing the victims of Chinese aggression to engage in a collaborative diplomatic process with their aggressor not unlike the collaborative diplomatic process that the late Czechoslovakian Prime Minister Milan Hodža was once urged to engage in with his aggressor. But this isn't 1937 it is 2011 and their will be no Roosevelt-like calls for a quarantine or anything that might possibly offend the Chinese even when an allies' sovereignty is at stake.

As reassuring as it might be, deep in his heart the Philippines President Benigno Aquino must surely know that the mutual defense treaty he holds in his hand is nothing more than a relic of the past, nothing more than a piece of paper.

The End if the World is Now

2011-05-21T12:31:00.002+08:00

It is 21 May 2011, here in Southeast Asia (remember friends we are a day ahead of you guys stateside). Today is Judgement Day according to Harold Camping and his fellow travelers and yet still no sign of the apocalypse. No earthquakes, tsunamis or typhoons - it is however hot as hell outside.

So just to let you know, I'll be blogging the end of time live as it happens.

Enjoy your weekend and party like there is no tomorrow.

UPDATE:

Only a few hours left till midnight here. I'm starting to wonder if I've been left behind.

Update:

Oh well.......

Nuclear Terrorism and Pakistan

2011-05-20T17:16:00.001+08:00

"...Emboldened, our adversaries are now wondering how the situation can be manipulated in their favor, how they can effectively play one side in America against the other while they wait patiently for America to adopt an "alternative foreign policy". We can now expect to see a "lack of motivation" in our negotiations with countries such as Iran and North Korea and a dangerous shift in momentum in countries such as Pakistan..."

It was back in 2007 that both our adversaries and our allies first learned of the alternative foreign policy the United States would be employing once Barack Hussein Obama was elected. The comments above are from a post we made back in April of that year.

It was also back in 2007 when we first commented on Pakistan's Khushab reactor where we showed the rapid construction of the third reactor there. New satellite images now show that the forth weapon's grade nuclear reactor at the Khushab site is now almost completed and Washington and the rest of the world is scratching their heads wondering where the money has come from and Pakistan is deviant in continuing this dangerous provocation.

This whole thing should of course raise more than a few eyebrows in Washington, but it hasn't. I can assure though that it has raised more than a few eyebrows in India and the rest of south and Southeast Asia where China's influence is growing at an alarming rate.

For it's cooperation in the war on terrorism, the United States has and continues to provide Pakistan with financial aid, over $20 billion so far, and despite the fact that Pakistan has repeatably betrayed us and continues to dangerously act contrary to American interests, we continue to pay. Why?

There is a reason for this. Pakistan is to South and Southeast Asia what the Palestinians are to the Middle East. The only difference, and it is a big one is that Pakistan is a nuclear power. Instead of throwing rocks, the Pakistanis threaten India and the region - constantly reminding the world of the consequences should we not heed to their demands. Quite simply it is nothing more than nuclear extortion. It is this game of nuclear blackmail that both North Korea and Pakistan have perfected and one that Iran is desperately eager to learn.

Pakistan's harboring of Osama Bin Laden should have been sufficient enough proof of Pakistan's double game and that my fellow Americans many of which are acutely aware of our nation's own financial constraints would finally come to their senses and demand that not one more American tax dollar is sent to that hell hole.

Anyone who honestly thinks that Pakistan was not aware that Osama Bin Laden was living in a large compound adjacent to one of Pakistan's top military academies has a screw loose and that includes Defense Secretary Robert Gates who apparently gets his intelligence from his trusted Pakistani government sources while he reclines by the pool at the Hilton hotel. If getting betrayed wasn't enough to wake Robert Gates from his pool-side slumber then perhaps discovering that he has been two-timed as well will.

Seemingly our nation's policy of appeasement dictates that we parade around on the world stage with a giant turd poised on our head as well. Obama's foreign policy is not winning us friends nor is it garnering us any respect. We are simply being laughed at.

Believe me when I say that giving Pakistan US67,500 for the restoration of the Mid‐18th‐Century Sunehri Masjid (Golden Mosque) in Lahor is not the way to promote America or American values.

Why is the continuation of financial aid for Pakistan even a subject of debate?

We went to war with Afghanistan because they wouldn't hand him over and now we give our treasure to a nation that harbored him.

Obama The Terrorist - The Silent Moderates

2011-05-07T18:50:00.000+08:00

Osama is mujahid - Obama is a terrorist

While the initial reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death throughout Southeast Asia was surprisingly muted with many expressing disbelief on his demise, the general mood is disturbingly changing. Yesterday afternoon the mosques were packed full from Indonesia and Malaysia to the Philippines with thousands of Al Qaeda supporters and sympathizers taking to the streets afterwards protesting and marching on the respective United States embassies.

The show of sympathy for Al Qaeda's leader was stunning with many shocked at the large number of supporters who came out. To those in America and Europe who still think that Al Qaeda's virulent strain of Islam had but a few supporters, yesterday was an eye-opener. Manila's Golden Mosque which normally attracts only around 500 worshipers for Friday prayers was filled to the brim with over 5000 worshipers yesterday afternoon. In Malaysia, Al Qaeda's sympathizers took to the streets and in Indonesia posters were put up denouncing Obama as a terrorist and Osama as a mujahid.

In provocative displays of religious chauvinism Islam's fieriest orators took this unique opportunity to stoke the flames of recrudescent radicalism from a vast new contingent of self-radicalized moderates, by denouncing the West and praising Osama Bin Laden. It is this new contingent, the "silent moderates" who will seek no rapprochement and offer no quarter with the West. Emboldened by the West's appeasement, deference and lack of resolve, they number in the millions and range from bomb-makers to home-makers but each one shares a common goal and that is absolute victory.

While our adversaries overseas are plotting to one day soon deliver the nuclear coup de grâce - our TSA agents are back home are either busy groping preteens in the nation's airports or attending Muslim sensitivity classes. Time is not on our side and neither will be victory if we don't pull our heads out of the sand.

To paraphrase Churchill, the West has been offered a choice between war and shame. She has chosen shame and will get war.