Hugo Farrant was chilling at Magick River when he received an invitation from Julian Assange to record a new episode of RAP NEWS in London, all expenses paid. Not long after that the names Julian Assange and WikiLeaks were on everybody's lips. Watch high-end rapper-poet Hugo in action and you'll soon have his name on your lips too...
GO, HUGO, GO!!!
RAP NEWS from The Juice Media produced by Hugo Farrant & Giordano Nanni
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Fuck Yourself ~ A birthday tribute to Zappa
CLASSIC ZAPPA QUOTES
A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff.
Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.
I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird.
If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.
It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice. There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia.
Most people wouldn't know music if it came up and bit them on the ass.
Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read.
Music is always a commentary on society.
Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something.
One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds.
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry.
Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows.
The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.
Without deviation progress is not possible.
Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.
You can't always write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say, so sometimes you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream.
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.
FRANK ZAPPA (21 December 1940 - 4 December 1993) was a massive influence on me. I first heard about Zappa and his band at the time, The Mothers of Invention, in 1967 when I spent a year in New Jersey as an exchange student. In 1968, shortly before I returned to Malaysia, I attended a Zappa concert at Billy Graham's Fillmore East in New York City, and had the singular honor of shaking Frank Zappa's hand and chatting with him for about 3 minutes. I also nodded at Jimmy Carl Black ("the Indian of the group") and crossed the street with Ian Underwood (keyboardist with the Mothers) to buy a few beers. We had a nice little chat, though I can't remember what about.Before he excused himself to pack his gear, Frank presented me with a chocolate teardrop wrapped in foil. I ate it on the latenight bus heading home - and have never been the same. I realized, over subsequent years, that I had encountered one of the Most Intelligent Humans on Earth. Forty-two years after that initial meeting in New York, that still remains true for me. Thank you, Frank. You live on in my heart and in my neural circuitry.
P.S. Upon my return from the US, I actually wrote several letters to Zappa. Imagine my joy and delight when an envelope arrived on 29 April 1977 bearing Frank Zappa's personal logo. Frank would have been 70 today. I'm sure he won't mind my sharing this letter with you ;-)...
Would you believe I have been meaning to answer your letter since I first received it and just now got around to doing it? Well, you'd better ... anyway, yours was perhaps the most interesting piece of correspondence of the year (was it two or three years ago?)
Who are you? What the fuck are you doing over there? Why are you "almost Chinese"?
Hope to hear from you again.
Your friend,
Frank Zappa
P.S. The photo with the simulated green complexion was most amusing.
Monday, December 20, 2010
1Choice for Malaysia ~ by Mariam Mokhtar
Another punchy piece from Mariam Mokhtar I read on Malaysiakini today. I'm cloning it as a community service to those who can't or won't subscribe. Sorry, Malaysiakini. This is for the national good! :-)
Malaysia's upcoming general election offers the country its most significant choice for several decades.
The political tsunami of 2008 was an eye-opener. At the second Pakatan Rakyat convention in Kepala Batas, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang acknowledged the weaknesses in the opposition pact and urged party member to unite and remain focused.
The nation faces enormous challenges in the years to come. The economic demands are tremendous. The next government needs to stabilise the economy and stimulate growth in the private sector. It has to deal with its burgeoning debt, cut subsidies and rein in borrowings if it does not want to risk bankruptcy.
Our probems are not just economic. We are faced with a rising tide of extremism from Malay groups, borders which are porous, a rise in Islamic fundamentalism, a rise in racist incidents, problems in our schools and hospitals, the destruction of the police and judiciary, babies being abandoned, high levels of corruption and a weakening of civic society.
These problems demand a robust solution and a strong government to tackle them. The burning question is: Which party is best suited to lead us out of this quagmire?
PKR recently held elections, whilst BN and the other component parties have deferred theirs. DAP and Gerakan have followed suit. This is indicative of the pressures these political parties face. All want to mount a strong challenge when the country goes to the polls.
The parties have resolved to capture the imagination of the voters and the differences between them are obvious. BN believes that only it can solve the country's economic and social ills. Its slogan 1Malaysia remains just that - a slogan because in practice, certain races are held back by an invisible wall - the ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) concept.
In contrast, the Pakatan coalition believes that it can do a better job. It realises that the public mindset is changing. Race-based politics is a thing of the past. It is convinced that Malaysia is an increasing enlightened nation which believes in justice, the recognition of the rights of everyone regardless of race and that each Malaysian desires to be a part of the nation and be able to contribute towards its future.
The future of Malaysia, according to the BN administration, is to capitalise on mega-projects to boost the economy, just as during the Mahathir era.
In his Budget 2011 debate, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said the BN's obsession with “grandeur” will presage its fall.
He said: “This rush for symbolic mega-projects, supposedly to portray pride for the country, is being repeated now under the present prime minister. Here I would like to question the wisdom of Permodalan Nasional Bhd's order from the government to involve itself in mega projects.”
One of these is the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka skyscraper which is expected to cost over RM5 billion. When completed, it will be the tallest building in Malaysia.
Risky strategy
PM Najib Abdul Razak's plans for mega-projects to stimulate the economy is risky as it fails to consider the country's current economic standing and the need to lower the budget deficit and improve competitiveness.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala has said that Malaysia's debt would rise to 100 percent of GDP by 2019 from the current 54% if the government does not cut subsidies.
He said: “We do not want to be another Greece. We do not want to end up like Greece with a total debt of EUR300 billion. Our deficit rose to record high of RM47 billion last year.”
Malaysia's foreign direct investment (FDI), he said, dropped 81 per cent from RM23.47 billion in 2008 to RM4.43 billion in 2009, in comparison with Thailand which recorded an FDI of RM19.01 billion and Indonesia with RM19.08 billion.
Pakatan has warned of an economic crisis due to crony capitalism and corruption; a social crisis due to narrow racial policies; and a political crisis due to democratic fatigue arising from the BN's abuses of power.
Corrupt practices only bring benefits to cronies and hefty losses to the people. Malaysia's failure to attract foreign investment shows a desperate need for change in the management of the economy. Both good governance and a need to improve its competitive edge are vital.
Pakatan has decided to uphold a joint policy and welfare programme to defend the people based on four basic principles:
* A transparent and real democracy
* A high and stable economic performance
* Social justice and human development
* A close relationship between state-federal and international policies
Armed with these principles, Pakatan is determined to make Malaysia a better place. The three parties may have their roots in different ideologies – PAS (Islamic credentials), DAP (social ideology) and PKR (liberal ideals).
Perhaps you would prefer to have a government which relies on the Internal Security Act to stifle criticism, one in which corruption goes unchecked and where the judiciary and police are mere stooges of the state.
In order to make the necessary changes to this country, Anwar and his coalition must have a clear mandate to govern.
The best choice for Malaysia is in your hands. Vote wisely! May all your wishes come true - Happy Christmas!
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.
Malaysia's upcoming general election offers the country its most significant choice for several decades.
The political tsunami of 2008 was an eye-opener. At the second Pakatan Rakyat convention in Kepala Batas, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang acknowledged the weaknesses in the opposition pact and urged party member to unite and remain focused.The nation faces enormous challenges in the years to come. The economic demands are tremendous. The next government needs to stabilise the economy and stimulate growth in the private sector. It has to deal with its burgeoning debt, cut subsidies and rein in borrowings if it does not want to risk bankruptcy.
Our probems are not just economic. We are faced with a rising tide of extremism from Malay groups, borders which are porous, a rise in Islamic fundamentalism, a rise in racist incidents, problems in our schools and hospitals, the destruction of the police and judiciary, babies being abandoned, high levels of corruption and a weakening of civic society.These problems demand a robust solution and a strong government to tackle them. The burning question is: Which party is best suited to lead us out of this quagmire?
PKR recently held elections, whilst BN and the other component parties have deferred theirs. DAP and Gerakan have followed suit. This is indicative of the pressures these political parties face. All want to mount a strong challenge when the country goes to the polls.The parties have resolved to capture the imagination of the voters and the differences between them are obvious. BN believes that only it can solve the country's economic and social ills. Its slogan 1Malaysia remains just that - a slogan because in practice, certain races are held back by an invisible wall - the ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) concept.
In contrast, the Pakatan coalition believes that it can do a better job. It realises that the public mindset is changing. Race-based politics is a thing of the past. It is convinced that Malaysia is an increasing enlightened nation which believes in justice, the recognition of the rights of everyone regardless of race and that each Malaysian desires to be a part of the nation and be able to contribute towards its future.
The future of Malaysia, according to the BN administration, is to capitalise on mega-projects to boost the economy, just as during the Mahathir era.
In his Budget 2011 debate, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said the BN's obsession with “grandeur” will presage its fall.He said: “This rush for symbolic mega-projects, supposedly to portray pride for the country, is being repeated now under the present prime minister. Here I would like to question the wisdom of Permodalan Nasional Bhd's order from the government to involve itself in mega projects.”
One of these is the 100-storey Warisan Merdeka skyscraper which is expected to cost over RM5 billion. When completed, it will be the tallest building in Malaysia.
Risky strategy
PM Najib Abdul Razak's plans for mega-projects to stimulate the economy is risky as it fails to consider the country's current economic standing and the need to lower the budget deficit and improve competitiveness.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala has said that Malaysia's debt would rise to 100 percent of GDP by 2019 from the current 54% if the government does not cut subsidies.He said: “We do not want to be another Greece. We do not want to end up like Greece with a total debt of EUR300 billion. Our deficit rose to record high of RM47 billion last year.”
Malaysia's foreign direct investment (FDI), he said, dropped 81 per cent from RM23.47 billion in 2008 to RM4.43 billion in 2009, in comparison with Thailand which recorded an FDI of RM19.01 billion and Indonesia with RM19.08 billion.
Pakatan has warned of an economic crisis due to crony capitalism and corruption; a social crisis due to narrow racial policies; and a political crisis due to democratic fatigue arising from the BN's abuses of power.
Corrupt practices only bring benefits to cronies and hefty losses to the people. Malaysia's failure to attract foreign investment shows a desperate need for change in the management of the economy. Both good governance and a need to improve its competitive edge are vital.
Pakatan has decided to uphold a joint policy and welfare programme to defend the people based on four basic principles:* A transparent and real democracy
* A high and stable economic performance
* Social justice and human development
* A close relationship between state-federal and international policies
Armed with these principles, Pakatan is determined to make Malaysia a better place. The three parties may have their roots in different ideologies – PAS (Islamic credentials), DAP (social ideology) and PKR (liberal ideals).
Perhaps you would prefer to have a government which relies on the Internal Security Act to stifle criticism, one in which corruption goes unchecked and where the judiciary and police are mere stooges of the state.In order to make the necessary changes to this country, Anwar and his coalition must have a clear mandate to govern.
The best choice for Malaysia is in your hands. Vote wisely! May all your wishes come true - Happy Christmas!
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In 'real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.
Herbie Hancock's Imagine Project
Crank up the volume, folks!
Tomorrow Never Knows
Turn off your mind, relax
and float downstream
It is not dying
It is not dying
Lay down all thought
Surrender to the void
It is shining
It is shining
That you may see
The meaning of within
It is being
It is being
That love is all
And love is everyone
It is knowing
It is knowing
That ignorance and hate
May mourn the dead
It is believing
It is believing
But listen to the
color of your dreams
It is not living
It is not living
Or play the game
existence to the end
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Of the beginning
Inspired arrangements of two outstanding John Lennon songs by Herbie Hancock, whose Imagine Project was brought to my attention by Heiko Niedermeyer. Thanks, soulbro!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Dictators love nuclear power
[A cogent and well-written essay by An Engineer from The Malaysian Insider, 19 December 2010]
DEC 19 — I am not at all surprised that the Barisan Nasional government has decided to build a nuclear power plant. After all, despite what environmentalists might like to think, the primary case against nuclear power has always been its economics.
When you take into account the lifecycle cost of nuclear power — from feasibility to construction to operation and, finally, decommissioning — it is the most expensive conventional method of producing electricity.
Add to that the inherent risks of nuclear reactors, plus the still unresolved question of what to do with spent fuel, and it is no surprise that the nuclear power industry has seen some very tough times in the past three decades.
Over the past few years, however, high prices of oil, gas and coal, coupled with concerns with carbon dioxide and global warming, have given nuclear advocates a new lease of life. Under current conditions, provided we are prepared to ignore the safety and environmental contamination issues, it is possible to make a conceivable economic argument for nuclear power.
Nuclear power requires tremendous up-front investment followed by relatively low operating costs. Thus all you have to do is assume an unrealistically low interest rate and continually high prices for fossil fuels. Project these assumptions over decades and you can show that nuclear energy is less expensive than using fossil fuels. However, you must carefully avoid all comparisons of nuclear with renewable energy — hydro, wind, solar and biomass — which are undoubtedly superior in terms of economics, safety and environmental protection.
Paradoxically, the characteristics of nuclear power so feared by its critics — enormous capital cost, open-ended escalation clauses and the oligopolistic nature of the industry — makes it a very attractive proposition for corrupt practices, provided you can ride roughshod over the opposition. This is exactly what happened in the Philippines, more than three decades ago.
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP)
The story of BNPP, Southeast Asia’s first and only nuclear power plant, illustrates some of the points above perfectly. In 1971, Ferdinand Marcos decided to build a nuclear power plant for the Philippines. However, at that time he was still the democratically-elected president and was unable to convince his people of the need to go nuclear.
By 1973, conditions were in place for him to push through his choice. The opposition had been eliminated by his declaration of martial law in 1972 and the quadrupling of oil prices because of the Arab oil embargo during the Yom Kippur war of 1973, made nuclear easier to sell to the public.
The tragic tale of BNPP has been carefully and comprehensively documented by the conservative business magazine, Fortune, in a remarkable 1986 article entitled “The $2.2 billion Nuclear Fiasco.” Initially Marcos delegated the responsibility for the plant to the National Power Co, the government-owned electric utility, which began negotiating for the supply of two 600MW nuclear plants from General Electric. By 1974 negotiations were more or less complete, with GE offering to supply two 620 megawatt reactors for US$650 million (RM2 billion at prevailing rates).
Westinghouse was late to the game and decided to leapfrog GE by dealing personally with Marcos. Westinghouse appointed Herminio Disini, a golfing buddy of Marcos whose wife was a cousin of Imelda Marcos, as its agent and he was able to arrange for the latecomer to present its pitch directly to Marcos and his cabinet at Malacanang Palace. After the meeting Marcos directed National Power to stop negotiating with GE and deal only with Westinghouse.
In 1976, after many rounds of fruitless negotiations and interference from Marcos, National Power announced that Westinghouse would build the BNPP, with one 626MW reactor, for US$722 million. The intervention of Marcos meant that the Philippine people had to pay a higher price for half the power! In addition, Disini, although he had no prior experience in construction, formed a new company which was awarded major BNPP subcontracts by Westinghouse.
Volcano and earthquake zone
Although the site was contentious, work began quickly, even before seismic and other on-site tests by the government regulator, the Philippines Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), were completed. Just 100km from Manila, BNPP sits on Mount Natib, a dormant volcano and within 40km of three geologic faults.
Alarmed by these facts PAEC called the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) for help. In 1978, two years after construction had commenced, the IAEA concluded that the volcanic and earthquake risks were “improperly addressed” and recommended that construction be stopped until more tests were done.
The PAEC chairman, Librado Ibe, was under tremendous pressure to ignore the IAEA report and issue a construction permit for work on the reactor itself to commence. Unable to resist any further, Ibe signed the permit in April 1979 and, four days later, emigrated with his family to the United States. Ibe explained to Fortune Magazine that he felt it was unsafe to resist Marcos’s lieutenants any longer.
A few months later Marcos himself halted construction because Filipino opposition to BNPP has grown substantially after the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, US. Marcos appointed a new ad hoc commission to study the plant and they concluded that it was unsafe and would have to be modified to meet new US safety standards.
After two further years of haggling, Westinghouse agreed to upgrade the design, at an additional cost of US$700 million. By then the total cost of BNPP had risen to USD$1.8 billion.
Westinghouse rushed to complete BNPP amid growing opposition from Filipino activists. Construction was completed in January 1985 and BNPP was handed over to National Power. Westinghouse collected its money and the last construction worker left in May 1985.
Not a single watt
However, the plant was in no state to be fuelled. Inspections found more than 4,000 faults arising from poor quality control by the main sub-contractors, Disini’s company, and another controlled by a brother of Imelda Marcos. The main problems were attributed to poor welding, faulty pipe support brackets, substandard valve installations and leaking underground conduits and vaults.
In 1986, Marcos was overthrown in the People Power Revolution. Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii while Disini bolted to his villa in Vienna, where he apparently still stays.
Subsequent investigations by Corazon Aquino’s government found evidence of massive commissions paid by Westinghouse to Disini, which he shared with Marcos. The new government attempted to sue Westinghouse for corruption and restitution for faulty construction. In 1996 Westinghouse agreed to pay the Philippines government US$100 million in an out-of-court settlement.
Further studies have indicated it would cost an additional US$1 billion to correct all the defects in design and construction. Rather than throw good money after bad, the Philippines government decided to mothball the plant.
BNPP has been scrupulously maintained for more than 25 years, costing millions of dollars per year. It has not produced a single watt of electricity. The final price rose to US$2.2 billion, three times higher than the original estimate, and the final instalment was paid by the Filipino people in 2007, thirty-two years after construction commenced.
ONE MORE GOOD REASON TO BOOT BN OUT IN GE13!
DEC 19 — I am not at all surprised that the Barisan Nasional government has decided to build a nuclear power plant. After all, despite what environmentalists might like to think, the primary case against nuclear power has always been its economics.
When you take into account the lifecycle cost of nuclear power — from feasibility to construction to operation and, finally, decommissioning — it is the most expensive conventional method of producing electricity.
Add to that the inherent risks of nuclear reactors, plus the still unresolved question of what to do with spent fuel, and it is no surprise that the nuclear power industry has seen some very tough times in the past three decades.
Over the past few years, however, high prices of oil, gas and coal, coupled with concerns with carbon dioxide and global warming, have given nuclear advocates a new lease of life. Under current conditions, provided we are prepared to ignore the safety and environmental contamination issues, it is possible to make a conceivable economic argument for nuclear power.
Nuclear power requires tremendous up-front investment followed by relatively low operating costs. Thus all you have to do is assume an unrealistically low interest rate and continually high prices for fossil fuels. Project these assumptions over decades and you can show that nuclear energy is less expensive than using fossil fuels. However, you must carefully avoid all comparisons of nuclear with renewable energy — hydro, wind, solar and biomass — which are undoubtedly superior in terms of economics, safety and environmental protection.Paradoxically, the characteristics of nuclear power so feared by its critics — enormous capital cost, open-ended escalation clauses and the oligopolistic nature of the industry — makes it a very attractive proposition for corrupt practices, provided you can ride roughshod over the opposition. This is exactly what happened in the Philippines, more than three decades ago.
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP)
The story of BNPP, Southeast Asia’s first and only nuclear power plant, illustrates some of the points above perfectly. In 1971, Ferdinand Marcos decided to build a nuclear power plant for the Philippines. However, at that time he was still the democratically-elected president and was unable to convince his people of the need to go nuclear.
By 1973, conditions were in place for him to push through his choice. The opposition had been eliminated by his declaration of martial law in 1972 and the quadrupling of oil prices because of the Arab oil embargo during the Yom Kippur war of 1973, made nuclear easier to sell to the public.
The tragic tale of BNPP has been carefully and comprehensively documented by the conservative business magazine, Fortune, in a remarkable 1986 article entitled “The $2.2 billion Nuclear Fiasco.” Initially Marcos delegated the responsibility for the plant to the National Power Co, the government-owned electric utility, which began negotiating for the supply of two 600MW nuclear plants from General Electric. By 1974 negotiations were more or less complete, with GE offering to supply two 620 megawatt reactors for US$650 million (RM2 billion at prevailing rates).
Westinghouse was late to the game and decided to leapfrog GE by dealing personally with Marcos. Westinghouse appointed Herminio Disini, a golfing buddy of Marcos whose wife was a cousin of Imelda Marcos, as its agent and he was able to arrange for the latecomer to present its pitch directly to Marcos and his cabinet at Malacanang Palace. After the meeting Marcos directed National Power to stop negotiating with GE and deal only with Westinghouse.In 1976, after many rounds of fruitless negotiations and interference from Marcos, National Power announced that Westinghouse would build the BNPP, with one 626MW reactor, for US$722 million. The intervention of Marcos meant that the Philippine people had to pay a higher price for half the power! In addition, Disini, although he had no prior experience in construction, formed a new company which was awarded major BNPP subcontracts by Westinghouse.
Volcano and earthquake zone
Although the site was contentious, work began quickly, even before seismic and other on-site tests by the government regulator, the Philippines Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), were completed. Just 100km from Manila, BNPP sits on Mount Natib, a dormant volcano and within 40km of three geologic faults.
Alarmed by these facts PAEC called the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) for help. In 1978, two years after construction had commenced, the IAEA concluded that the volcanic and earthquake risks were “improperly addressed” and recommended that construction be stopped until more tests were done.The PAEC chairman, Librado Ibe, was under tremendous pressure to ignore the IAEA report and issue a construction permit for work on the reactor itself to commence. Unable to resist any further, Ibe signed the permit in April 1979 and, four days later, emigrated with his family to the United States. Ibe explained to Fortune Magazine that he felt it was unsafe to resist Marcos’s lieutenants any longer.
A few months later Marcos himself halted construction because Filipino opposition to BNPP has grown substantially after the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania, US. Marcos appointed a new ad hoc commission to study the plant and they concluded that it was unsafe and would have to be modified to meet new US safety standards.
After two further years of haggling, Westinghouse agreed to upgrade the design, at an additional cost of US$700 million. By then the total cost of BNPP had risen to USD$1.8 billion.
Westinghouse rushed to complete BNPP amid growing opposition from Filipino activists. Construction was completed in January 1985 and BNPP was handed over to National Power. Westinghouse collected its money and the last construction worker left in May 1985.
Not a single watt
However, the plant was in no state to be fuelled. Inspections found more than 4,000 faults arising from poor quality control by the main sub-contractors, Disini’s company, and another controlled by a brother of Imelda Marcos. The main problems were attributed to poor welding, faulty pipe support brackets, substandard valve installations and leaking underground conduits and vaults.In 1986, Marcos was overthrown in the People Power Revolution. Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii while Disini bolted to his villa in Vienna, where he apparently still stays.
Subsequent investigations by Corazon Aquino’s government found evidence of massive commissions paid by Westinghouse to Disini, which he shared with Marcos. The new government attempted to sue Westinghouse for corruption and restitution for faulty construction. In 1996 Westinghouse agreed to pay the Philippines government US$100 million in an out-of-court settlement.
Further studies have indicated it would cost an additional US$1 billion to correct all the defects in design and construction. Rather than throw good money after bad, the Philippines government decided to mothball the plant.
BNPP has been scrupulously maintained for more than 25 years, costing millions of dollars per year. It has not produced a single watt of electricity. The final price rose to US$2.2 billion, three times higher than the original estimate, and the final instalment was paid by the Filipino people in 2007, thirty-two years after construction commenced.
ONE MORE GOOD REASON TO BOOT BN OUT IN GE13!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Dean Johns on Khir Toyo & the Tooth Fairy
Reproduced as a community service from Malaysiakini for non-subscribers...
By Dean Johns
Malaysiakini | Dec 15, 2010 | 12:04pm
I wonder how many Malaysians are still gullible enough to fall for BN's latest fairy tale, that the prosecution of erstwhile dentist and former Selangor Menteri Besar, Mohd Khir Toyo (left), is a sign that the BN regime is serious about combating high-level corruption in its ranks.
Especially in light of the fact that the authorities have shown themselves so utterly toothless in countless former and current cases ranging from Mahathir Mohamad's bailout of his son Mirzan's failed shipping line, through the misallocation of approval permits (APs) by Rafidah Aziz, the Maika Holdings and Telekom shares affairs involving Samy Vellu, and current suspicions surrounding the obscene affluence of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
And that's just a very small sample of the blatant selectivity of the BN government's crime- and grime-fighting activities.
In fact the nation's chief law-enforcer himself, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, actually personifies this grossly iniquitous situation, having been promoted to his current position in reward for services rendered in the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim on his first trumped-up sodomy charge.
Abdul Gani (left) and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein are both apparently content to preside over a system of 'justice' that condones execution-style shootings of unarmed and even underage 'suspects', the faking of 'accidents' or 'suicides' by unfortunates in police and MACC custody, and the fabrication of 'evidence' against critics and opponents of the BN gang.
But when it comes to the investigation and prosecution of rich or politically-connected criminals, or investigating murder suspects among themselves and their supporters, they're quite astonishingly incompetent.
So it's no wonder that Khir appeared so relaxed and all toothy smiles when he was arrested and charged, and that Gani Petail came across as so utterly unconvincing when discussing the matter with the media.
For example, while it emerged that Khir is simply accused of buying two plots of land for his mansion at a suspiciously steep discount, not for the massive corruption that must have enabled him to afford the land in the first place and the magnificent mansion he subsequently built on it, Gani Petail claimed that the investigation had been so slow because of its complexity.
And then he appeared to be confused, or else deliberately confusing, about whether the case was being conducted under the criminal code or the MACC Act, thus calling into question what the possible penalty could involve state seizure of the property in the unlikely event that Toyo is found guilty.
"You have to go back to the basis of it, how the matter was transacted, (getting) witnesses, recording of witness statements, getting everything clear...especially since this happened some time ago...we cannot have a flimsy investigation," he was quoted as explaining.
Perhaps recalling the disgraceful parade of suborned and perjured witnesses back in the days of his involvement in the notorious trials of Anwar Ibrahim ten years ago, he also stressed that the prosecution would apply "the full force of the law" to prevent tampering with witnesses in the Khir (left) case.
Despite such sanctimonious assurances, many Malaysians saw this case as the wayang kulit performance or sandiwara that it so evidently is, staged specifically to restore some of BN's tattered credibility in advance of a forthcoming general election.
Fable and fiction
Prime Minister Najib Razak (right) responded to these allegations with his customary far-fetched fictions, like the old fable that "the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)...is an independent body."
He then went on to claim that the issue of corruption had long been politicised by the opposition, adding that "they want to imply that we're not serious, or that we want to cover up, or that we practise selective prosecution and so on."
As Joe Fernandez recently wrote in Malaysiakini about such lack of seriousness, determination to cover up, and practise of selective prosecution, BN's "time-honoured tradition" in these regards "can be seen from the fact that the number of MACC files opened this year alone, an incredible 700-odd, involves only some RM6 million in bribes."
This is an absolute disgrace to any organisation claiming to be anti-corruption in a country where billions are routinely looted every year by its misleaders and their cronies. And a massive rebuke to any prime minister who has the presumption to claim that the corruption over which he presides is "politicised" by critics of his misgovernment.
Recently he went even further than "politicised," demonising those alleging that Felda is bankrupt as "traitors to the nation."
"Who says Felda is bankrupt? There's no such thing," he fulminated, before going on to lamely claim that "the management said not to mention it (the amount), but Felda has a lot of money in its savings...(and) it's safe."
How long, I wonder, does Najib fancy he can fool the Malaysian people with the fairytales his spin-doctors dream-up to try and forestall his Humpty-Dumpty-style fall? How long can he strut around in his emperor's new clothes before the overwhelming majority of Malaysians see him for once and for all as naked Razak?
How much longer can he get away with playing Ali Baba to the 40,000 or 400,000 or however many thieves of BN?
How much longer can he persevere with his ploy of presenting himself as the hero of "1Malaysia" while simultaneously sponsoring Perkasa as the Big Bad Wolf huffing and puffing and threatening to blow the piggies' houses down?
The recent proposal by Perkasa's president, the odious, toadious Ibrahim Ali (right), to set up a museum commemorating the riots of May 1969 would be enough to get any opposition figure arrested and jailed under the ISA.
But this racist ratbag is apparently BN's special, untouchable Ugly Duckling, and thus free to swan around in parliament and in public stirring-up as much strife as he likes on the government's behalf.
Just as Khir Toyo's surprising wealth will be found to have reached him legitimately via some magical agency like the Tooth Fairy, or if you prefer the Fairy Gigi, and thus the giggle will once again be on the BN-plagued Malaysian people.
DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he mentors creative writing groups. Already published in Kuala Lumpur is a third book of his columns for Malaysiakini, following earlier collections Mad about Malaysia and Even Madder about Malaysia.
By Dean JohnsMalaysiakini | Dec 15, 2010 | 12:04pm
I wonder how many Malaysians are still gullible enough to fall for BN's latest fairy tale, that the prosecution of erstwhile dentist and former Selangor Menteri Besar, Mohd Khir Toyo (left), is a sign that the BN regime is serious about combating high-level corruption in its ranks.Especially in light of the fact that the authorities have shown themselves so utterly toothless in countless former and current cases ranging from Mahathir Mohamad's bailout of his son Mirzan's failed shipping line, through the misallocation of approval permits (APs) by Rafidah Aziz, the Maika Holdings and Telekom shares affairs involving Samy Vellu, and current suspicions surrounding the obscene affluence of Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
And that's just a very small sample of the blatant selectivity of the BN government's crime- and grime-fighting activities.
In fact the nation's chief law-enforcer himself, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, actually personifies this grossly iniquitous situation, having been promoted to his current position in reward for services rendered in the prosecution of Anwar Ibrahim on his first trumped-up sodomy charge.
Abdul Gani (left) and Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein are both apparently content to preside over a system of 'justice' that condones execution-style shootings of unarmed and even underage 'suspects', the faking of 'accidents' or 'suicides' by unfortunates in police and MACC custody, and the fabrication of 'evidence' against critics and opponents of the BN gang.But when it comes to the investigation and prosecution of rich or politically-connected criminals, or investigating murder suspects among themselves and their supporters, they're quite astonishingly incompetent.
So it's no wonder that Khir appeared so relaxed and all toothy smiles when he was arrested and charged, and that Gani Petail came across as so utterly unconvincing when discussing the matter with the media.
For example, while it emerged that Khir is simply accused of buying two plots of land for his mansion at a suspiciously steep discount, not for the massive corruption that must have enabled him to afford the land in the first place and the magnificent mansion he subsequently built on it, Gani Petail claimed that the investigation had been so slow because of its complexity.
And then he appeared to be confused, or else deliberately confusing, about whether the case was being conducted under the criminal code or the MACC Act, thus calling into question what the possible penalty could involve state seizure of the property in the unlikely event that Toyo is found guilty.
"You have to go back to the basis of it, how the matter was transacted, (getting) witnesses, recording of witness statements, getting everything clear...especially since this happened some time ago...we cannot have a flimsy investigation," he was quoted as explaining.
Perhaps recalling the disgraceful parade of suborned and perjured witnesses back in the days of his involvement in the notorious trials of Anwar Ibrahim ten years ago, he also stressed that the prosecution would apply "the full force of the law" to prevent tampering with witnesses in the Khir (left) case.
Despite such sanctimonious assurances, many Malaysians saw this case as the wayang kulit performance or sandiwara that it so evidently is, staged specifically to restore some of BN's tattered credibility in advance of a forthcoming general election.
Fable and fiction
Prime Minister Najib Razak (right) responded to these allegations with his customary far-fetched fictions, like the old fable that "the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)...is an independent body."He then went on to claim that the issue of corruption had long been politicised by the opposition, adding that "they want to imply that we're not serious, or that we want to cover up, or that we practise selective prosecution and so on."
As Joe Fernandez recently wrote in Malaysiakini about such lack of seriousness, determination to cover up, and practise of selective prosecution, BN's "time-honoured tradition" in these regards "can be seen from the fact that the number of MACC files opened this year alone, an incredible 700-odd, involves only some RM6 million in bribes."
This is an absolute disgrace to any organisation claiming to be anti-corruption in a country where billions are routinely looted every year by its misleaders and their cronies. And a massive rebuke to any prime minister who has the presumption to claim that the corruption over which he presides is "politicised" by critics of his misgovernment.
Recently he went even further than "politicised," demonising those alleging that Felda is bankrupt as "traitors to the nation."
"Who says Felda is bankrupt? There's no such thing," he fulminated, before going on to lamely claim that "the management said not to mention it (the amount), but Felda has a lot of money in its savings...(and) it's safe."
How long, I wonder, does Najib fancy he can fool the Malaysian people with the fairytales his spin-doctors dream-up to try and forestall his Humpty-Dumpty-style fall? How long can he strut around in his emperor's new clothes before the overwhelming majority of Malaysians see him for once and for all as naked Razak?
How much longer can he get away with playing Ali Baba to the 40,000 or 400,000 or however many thieves of BN?
How much longer can he persevere with his ploy of presenting himself as the hero of "1Malaysia" while simultaneously sponsoring Perkasa as the Big Bad Wolf huffing and puffing and threatening to blow the piggies' houses down?
The recent proposal by Perkasa's president, the odious, toadious Ibrahim Ali (right), to set up a museum commemorating the riots of May 1969 would be enough to get any opposition figure arrested and jailed under the ISA.But this racist ratbag is apparently BN's special, untouchable Ugly Duckling, and thus free to swan around in parliament and in public stirring-up as much strife as he likes on the government's behalf.
Just as Khir Toyo's surprising wealth will be found to have reached him legitimately via some magical agency like the Tooth Fairy, or if you prefer the Fairy Gigi, and thus the giggle will once again be on the BN-plagued Malaysian people.
DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he mentors creative writing groups. Already published in Kuala Lumpur is a third book of his columns for Malaysiakini, following earlier collections Mad about Malaysia and Even Madder about Malaysia.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Meanwhile, back at Magick River...
It's been a bit wet for the past few weeks. This is how the forest looks after a storm.
Can you hear the roar of the river?
Can you hear the roar of the river?
Roger Reginald Putra in his usual Lion King pose.
The Bamboo Palace on a sunny afternoon (pic by Meesh)
Village kids Koi and Kuku pretending to be savages. One day they painted
their hands bright blue. What's that all about, I asked. "We are Na'vi!" they solemnly declared.
their hands bright blue. What's that all about, I asked. "We are Na'vi!" they solemnly declared.
Atamuna or Atan for short - cute but incorrigibly mischievous!
Climbing all over Pierrick, erstwhile manager of the Bamboo Palace
and the last member of the Love Bus to leave...
and the last member of the Love Bus to leave...
Pierrick became part of the landscape after he arrived in April.
He finally packed his stuff and left for Cambodia at the end of November...
... but he might return pretty soon to clear up some unfinished business!
That's Tiphaine next to Pierrick. A fairy princess he found in Batu Arang, of all places...
Flashback to April 2010 when Pierrick arrived at Magick River
to meet Love Bus buddies Moses and Mitch.
to meet Love Bus buddies Moses and Mitch.
After 4 years away, Arakah returns to Magick River with a new look and a new name.
Sexy tree spotted by Marissa GiannakeMy internet was down from midnight, 30 November, till around noon on 9 December. I did consider drafting a heavy-duty essay to upload from the cybercafe... but life and love got in the way... sorry! Maybe it's just as well I didn't force myself to address some of the murky issues oozing out of the political sewers. Others like Dean Johns and Mariam Mokhtar are already doing so diligently and eloquently - and I feel no compulsion to go over the same old ground.
However, I must say something about the utterly messed-up situation in Malaysia - and the US government's outrageous attempt to silence WikiLeaks by arresting site founder Julian Assange on absurd rape charges - reminiscent of the ludicrous sodomy trials of Anwar Ibrahim.
Murder can never be justified as a means to any end. What WikiLeaks has achieved with its bold disclosure of the absolute barbarity and monstrosity of the US-led military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq is that there can no longer be the slightest shred of doubt that Anglo-American Imperialism is so out-of-sync with humanity's spiritual evolution it has turned into a putrefying corpse whose reek can be smelt throughout the universe. There can be no more business-as-usual justification for the cynical spin and diabolical misbehavior so many have exposed but nobody has better documented than WikiLeaks.
The New World Order agenda must be resisted and derailed by the majority of awakening humans - or we shall be consigning ourselves, our children and grandchildren to Hell - literally!
Similarly, we in Malaysia must resolve right now to vote Barisan Najis out of power in the upcoming elections. We have no other option - believe me, folks. Murder has become the modus operandi of Najib Razak's desperate regime - murder, not only of human individuals but also of all possibility of democratic government ever arising in this country.
Zero tolerance for tyrannical leaders with blood on their hands!
Let that be our battlecry for 2011!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
11:11 Mudras to enter the Nine Gateways to the Ultra Greater Reality
THE OPENING OF THE 11:11 DOORWAY With Solara
January 11 - 12, 1992
The Activation of First Gate
~ Healing our Hearts ~
Master Cylinder at the Great Pyramids, Giza, Egypt
Over 144,000 people participated worldwide in Opening the 11:11 Doorway.
The 11:11 Doorway is the bridge between duality and Oneness. It opened on January 11, 1992 and will close between November 11 December 31, 2011.
The Activation Ceremony for the Opening of the 11:11 Doorway took place over 38 continuous hours at the Master Cylinders in Egypt and New Zealand. In Egypt, we began at eleven minutes after midnight on January 11th and continued until 2:11 pm on January 12.
During our six days of preparations, our main focus was on the Remembrance of Who We Are and Why We Are Here.
Although we are now at a very different energy level, that of the Ultra Greater Reality, the dedication and focus of this momentous and powerful event is still strong and true. It is timeless.
Deep Love and Gratitude to:
• Kumari and Ramariel whose support was invaluable.
• Our brilliant Musicians: Etherium (John Mazzei) & Elariul (Erik Berglund).
• With eternal gratitude to all the shining ones who joined with us at the Master Cylinders in Egypt and New Zealand.
• Filming, Editing and Post Production: Akiel, E-Ma-Náku, Solara & Zaragusta.
• The Staff of Star-Borne for organizational help.
• And to all of our magnificent One Being who participated in Anchor Groups worldwide to Open the 11:11 Doorway.
No video exists of the New Zealand Master Cylinder.
Copyright © 1992 by Solara and the Individual Artists. All Rights Reserved.
CONTINUE VIEWING THE FIRST GATE ACTIVATION WITH SOLARA
Sunday, November 7, 2010
In the shadow of an active volcano...
Not so spectacular if you happen to live in Yogyakarta - like my friend Carol Lolley, who has been trying to organize relief for the more than 200,000 people rendered homeless by a series of worsening eruptions since 26 October.
Getty Images
However, a massive eruption yesterday sent a lethal plume of ash and lava several miles into the atmosphere, raising the death toll to hundreds. Carol has no choice but to flee the city immediately - but she has yet to renew her US passport and all flights out of Yogya - and even Jakarta - have been cancelled.
Getty Images
One feels utterly powerless in the face of something so cataclysmic. Once again, we are reminded how puny we are compared to nature - and how our arrogance has blinded us to the fact that we really have no control over the greater part of the reality spectrum.
Getty Images
Let's send love, moral support, and whatever else possible by way of aid, to our fellow humans afflicted by Merapi's eruption. Indonesia needs our help in these cataclysmic times.
Getty ImagesHowever, a massive eruption yesterday sent a lethal plume of ash and lava several miles into the atmosphere, raising the death toll to hundreds. Carol has no choice but to flee the city immediately - but she has yet to renew her US passport and all flights out of Yogya - and even Jakarta - have been cancelled.
Getty ImagesOne feels utterly powerless in the face of something so cataclysmic. Once again, we are reminded how puny we are compared to nature - and how our arrogance has blinded us to the fact that we really have no control over the greater part of the reality spectrum.
Getty ImagesLet's send love, moral support, and whatever else possible by way of aid, to our fellow humans afflicted by Merapi's eruption. Indonesia needs our help in these cataclysmic times.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Deepavali in Singapore
I'm posting this from a backpackers hostel in Little India, Singapore. In a couple of hours I shall be heading home. The atmosphere here is quite colorful with swarms of Indians dressed in festive finery to celebrate the triumph of Light over Darkness - despite BN winning two by-elections yesterday!HAPPY DEEPAVALI, EVERYONE!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
2012 ~ Advent of the Solar Human
"In 2012 there are two numbers, 20 and 12. In the vigesimal code 20 is the highest unit number and means totality, completeness. It also refers to the achetype of the sun, the star around which a planet revolves.
So 20 also indicates solar power as experience of totality.
12 is the number of the temple, of the crystal, and also refers to the archetype of the human. So 2012 is a coded reference to the new human ripened to enter the solar temple to learn about the nature of the Totality that he has become.
The solar temple represents the intelligent phase in the evolution of matter - the advent of the solar human, the new evolutionary type suitable for the noosphere."
~ Elders of the Supreme Star Council of the Federation of the Galactic Federations
Closing Of The Cycle The Last Days and What Is To Be Done
By Jose Argüelles
“How come all I see
Is the child of God in misery?”
(Song lyric heard in a hotel restaurant in Chennai, India)
Message of the Time:
Let the wall fall into the moat
The civilization is in ruin
Use no force to correct things
But persevere in silence
The evil way is on the ascent
But it has no foundation
Within yourself the signs of tomorrow are ripened
When we look at our world today in the middle of the year 2010, we see something that more and more resembles the beginning of Roland Emmerich’s 2012. Devastating earthquakes, floods, an unprecedented oil spill – the hemorrhaging of the Earth – and volcanoes. Besides the Iceland eruption, on May 29 it seems three other volcanoes went off: One in Guatemala, one in Ecuador and one in the area of the North Mariana islands. Note that the Mariana volcano – an underwater eruption – is very close to the deepest underwater trench in the world, the Mariana trench. Deep water volcano, Earth’s response to BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig that blew up just about the time the Iceland volcano first went off. Choreography courtesy the divine plan!
The human experiment – for it was never anything more than that – is now out of control. If the cycle is truly ending on 21 December 2012, and something is going to happen, then what is left to be done? No one yet has stepped forward to say, “game over!” So all that is left to be done is to change our consciousness.
As we see from the riots in Greece and Bangkok, not to mention the Israeli response to the effort to get aid to Gaza, while demonstrating the frustration of the people, as always, those who hold the power, the guns and the bombs, wield and often brutally maintain the power. Retreat to the inner realms and cultivate the highest consciousness. This is the essence of the message of the time.
This is a grand drama that is playing out now. What we are seeing is the exhaustion of materialism, what the Club of Rome defined in 1973 as the Limits of Growth. I was recently on an investigative visit to East Africa (Kenya) and South India. For a counterpoint to the misery that was everywhere evident, as I was traveling through different parts of these two countries, I took time to watch CNN, Al-Jazeera or BBC in the hotels so I could follow the oil spill and witness the European union voting a trillion dollar bail out for the Euro and some failing economies. It made me wonder: Where is the trillion dollars to give every human being on Earth a roof that doesn’t leak, an actual sanitary toilet, clean drinking water and real food on the table? No, it was quite evident that the species has failed in taking care of its own and in its capacity to save its environment. What people need to understand is that 21/12/2012 is actually humanity’s deadline, and right now it would rather send a man to Mars then deal head-on with what it has created on its home planet.
So the message of the time, it should be emphasized, is not just to change but to transform your consciousness into a supermental force. The route of material evolution is over. Now we can return to the mainstream of cosmic consciousness.
Consciousness and not life and form is the essential evolutionary principle of the cosmos. As the great Indian thinker Sri Aurobindo wrote concerning this premise: “In this vision of things the universe will reveal itself in its unity and totality as a manifestation of a single being, nature as its power of manifestation, evolution as its process of gradual manifestation in matter.”(Supermind in Evolution)
The power of the mind created the machine and the artificial time that governs our lives. Returned to itself, the power of the mind can ultimately heal all things. The power of a hundred thousand minds synchronized as a single planetary consciousness focused on a single point could alter the evolution of our mind and spirit irrevocably while providing us with the knowledge, insight and telepathic skills to turn our crisis into the second creation.
Such a supermental event of consciousness by 2012 is possible. It is the solution augured by the message of the time. We would then also know, that we are not alone. Cosmic civilization throughout the universe, we will find out, had been waiting for us to come upon this solution. We will hear the cry resounding across the Earth: “Welcome Home!” And we will know: Yes, we are home. A new time and a new day will dawn.
Jose Argüelles is the person who first introduced the date December 21, 2012 into mass consciousness with The Mayan Factor. The initiator of the Harmonic Convergence global peace meditation of 1987, Arguelles is also the founder of the annual Whole Earth Festival (1970) in California, and one of the originators of the Earth Day concept.
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