Month: Sep 2013
United Nations Human Rights Council’s UPR
UPR stands for Universal Periodic Review. It is a process to review how far all the countries that are members of the United Nations follow the demands made by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
This year, our country, Malaysia will be reviewed by UNHRC. I think Malaysia is a very peaceful and fair country where all minority races are not being discriminated by our government.
Must all the United Nations members agree to all of the UNHRC demands? I feel that not every country needs to be the same as other countries and follow the same universal rules because every country and its citizen is unique and has different needs and values.
For example, Malaysia is an Islamic country while Roman Catholicism is the official religion of Monaco and Argentina. So, they are all different and each country has different social values and ways of live.
So, is it fair if we want all the countries in this world to follow a set of universal rules and values agreed by other countries whose needs and values are different? I think that not only it is wrong, in fact, it is against the human rights to force a country to accept any value or rule which is not suitable for the local people of the country, against their social values, religions or can cause lots of problems to the country. And it is not right to force a country to agree on something that is actually against their Constitutions and rules of laws.
Related articles:
PPMM’s NGI Round Table Discussion On UPR Human Rights Council 2013
Tiny People In The World Of Big Foods
Photographer Christopher Boffoli had photographed a collection of wonderful photo featuring tiny, hand-painted figures photographed against real food environments.
He photographed them as if they were climbing some rock candy, collecting salts, went to a linguine car wash and others.
Aren’t they cute?
(Please click the photos for larger images)
Please click here for more wonderful photos by photographer Christopher Boffoli.
UPR: Pendirian Malaysia Sebelum Ini
Dalam menghadapi tuntutan-tuntutan COMANGO (klik untuk baca) dalam proses UPR (baca: Apa itu UPR? di sini) kita cuba lihat ketegasan pendirian kerajaan Malaysia sebelum ini apabila isu yang sama dibangkitkan.
Sebagai contoh, pendirian kerajaan Malaysia adalah konsisten bersama Kumpulan OIC bagi hak Asasi Manusia semasa menolak Resolusi 17/19 PBB berkenaan hak-hak LGBT serta menarik diri dari Panel berkaitan Hak-hak berdasarkan Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI) di Majlis Hak Asasi Manusia, Geneva, Switzerland 14 Februari 2012.
Malaysia sekali lagi menegaskan pendirian mereka dalam isu ini apabila menolak tuntutan memasukkan hak-hak LGBT dari dimasukkan ke dalam Deklarasi Hak Asasi Manusia ASEAN pada 17 & 18 November 2012.
Malah ASEAN sebagai kelompok negara di rantau ini turut bertegas apabila Danny Lee, Pengarah Pembangunan Masyarakat, Sekretariat ASEAN menegaskan:
“Pengisytiharan tersebut adalah dengan sendirinya merupakan mercu tanda. Apabila kamu memikirkan tentangnya, mempunyai 10 negeri dengan perlembagaan yang berbeza-beza untuk bersetuju terhadap sesuatu perkara bukannya senang…
View original post 347 more words
Gay Right Group Call For Boycott On Barilla
Aurelio Mancuso, head of gay rights group Equality Italia called for a boycott of Barilla’s pastas, sauces and snacks.
He made the call after Guido Barilla, chairman of the world’s leading pasta manufacturer, told Italian Radio 24 on Wednesday that his company would never use a gay family in its advertising.
“I would never do (a commercial) with a homosexual family, not for lack of respect but because we don’t agree with them. Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role.”
Barilla for many years has used the image of a happy family living in an idealized version of the Italian countryside, with the slogan, “Where there’s Barilla, there’s home.”
I support Barilla for supporting the classic family and not promoting gay family in his advertisement because homosexual family is against my religion.
It is funny when Mancuso called for the boycott as Barilla does not say anything against gay, what he said was that he does not want a gay family in his advertisements.
It is wrong and unfair for some people to force other people to accept homosexual family as normal because homosexual family is not accepted by lots of religions.
It seems that Mancuso cannot not respect Barilla’s freedom of speech and opinion.
A Magnitude 7.7 Paskistan Earthquake Killed 327, Created An Island
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Baluchistan on Tuesday.
The U.S. Geological Survey said, the quake, with a depth of about nine miles (about 15 kilometers), struck 43 miles (69 kilometers) northeast of Awaran and 71 miles (114 kilometers) northwest of Bela.
It destroyed houses and cut communications with the worst affected district of Awaran.
The earthquake was so powerful that it caused a small island to emerge from the Arabian Sea, just off the Pakistani coast.
Pakistani officials said that the earth moved with enough force to create a small island visible off the southern coast after the huge tremor.
By Wednesday, 327 people were reported killed by the disaster.
Please click the photos for larger images:
The Mystery Of The Missing Door (Chapter 10: Door And More Doors)
Mic was about to run towards the house to look for Pete and Reen. Safora pulled his shirt to stop him from running to the house.
“Mic, please stay. I am worried about Pete and Reen too, but we must trust the police. It could be dangerous if we just rush into the house,” said Safora.
It was just as if they were watching an action movie as they watched some policemen handcuffed the gang members and took them to the police cars. Then suddenly they heard the police sirens and saw more police cars coming to the house. The policemen rushed out from the police cars and ran into the house.
Meanwhile inside the house, the police chief heard some muffled voices. He was surprised and wondered if there were more of the gang members hiding in the living room. He looked around and saw two boys tied up under a table. He immediately freed Pete and Reen with the help of another policeman.
“Pete, Reen, I am so glad to see you again. Are you okay?” asked the police chief.
“Fine, thank you, sir” answered Pete. “We are not hurt at all, aren’t we Reen?” continued Pete as he smiled at Reen. Reen nodded with a big smile as he gave the police chief a hug.
The police chief smiled, “By the way, it was Safora who called for help. Safora and Mic are really worried about both of you.”
“So she received my message,” said Pete. “I couldn’t type properly for my hands were tied up. Fortunately one of the gang members dropped his phone, so I used it to send Safora the message. Now where’s my phone?” asked Pete as he looked around for his phone.
They all searched for Pete’s phone and a moment later, Reen found it under a chest drawer. Another group of policemen found some wooden doors inside one of the rooms. They took the doors out and the police chief instructed them to take the doors to the police station.
“So…,” said the police chief, “it seems like Mr. Pete’s, Miss Hong’s, and Mr. Luke’s doors may not be st…”
“Excuse me, sir!,” said a policeman running into the house. We just received a message that Mr. Pete from Canary Street has lost his front door. He reached home from the airport and found that his door had disappeared!”
“We must go there now!” said the police chief, “Since Mr. Pete’s door is already stolen, we must protect Mr. Luke’s and Miss Hong’s doors. Send five policemen to Miss Hong’s house and another six to Mr. Luke’s house! Pete and Reen, come with me.”
The police chief went out of the house followed by Pete and Reen. As soon as Safora and Mic saw them, they both ran across the street and hug their brothers. Then they went into the police car.
“Anybody can direct me to Mr. Pete’s house?” asked the police chief.
“I can, sir. I know where is Mr. Pete’s house. He is our uncle’s neighbour,” said Mic.
So they drove to Mr. Pete’s house followed by two other police cars.
Mr. Pete was very sad. While the police chief spoke to Mr. Pete, Mic and Reen walked to Mr. Luke’s house which was a few houses away. Mr. Luke is Mic and Reen’s uncle and the children wondered if their uncle’s front door is still there.
When they arrived at their Uncle’s house, they saw that the front door was wide opened.
“Oh,” said Mic. “I thought Uncle Luke said that he never leaves the front door open because he fears that snakes might come in. Oh well. I’ll ask him about that later.”
“TLINGTLINGTLING,” Mic knocked at the gate using the pad lock. Mr. Luke peeked out and saw the children.
“Hello, Mic, I’m so glad to see you!” he said with a big smile. “Please come in. I have some tasty cookies and chocolates for you. I was just about to call you to invite you with Pete, Safora and Reen to my house. By the way, where’s Pete?” asked Mr. Luke.
Er…,” started Mic, “Pete is at Mr. Pete’s house with the police. We just found out that his front door was stolen. By the way, uncle, why did you leave your front door open? I thought you said that snakes might come in if the door is left open.”
“Oh,” started Mr. Luke. “I must have forgotten to close the door. Now where is my door knob? Hmm…. Maybe I opened it the other way around. Wait…, where is my door? My door is gone? Oh dear, my beautiful door is gone.”
“I’m sorry, uncle but I was just about to say that,” said Mic.
>>> To Be Continued <<<
Google Street View Comes To Malaysia
Do you like the idea of exploring the streets in Malaysia from your computers?
Now we can, but it will take a while until we can explore all the streets in Malaysia because Google Malaysia’s crews are still taking photos of the streets in Malaysia.
However, there are 18 locations that could now be explored using the street view made by Google Maps.
– Sri Subramaniam Temple, Batu Caves
– Masjid Sultan Sallahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam
– Taman Tasik Titiwangsa
– Fort Cornwallis, Penang
– Dharmikarama Burmese Temple, Georgetown, Penang
– Kapitan Keling Mosque, Penang
– Penang War Museum
– Taman Putra Perdana, Putrajaya
– Taman Rimba Riang Park, Selangor
– Taman Tasik Shah Alam, Selangor
– Sunway Lagoon
– Shah Alam Go Kart
– Taman Desa Water Park
– Taman Rimba Kiara
– Taman Botanical Kepong
– Taman Tasik Kepong Metropolitan
– Desa Park City
– Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir
Those places can be explored using the classic Google Maps, or the new Google Maps.
It will be fun to see the car with the camera that Google use to collect all the photos for Google Street View.
Anyway, if you don’t want your house to be seen on the Street View, you can contact Google.
Have fun using Street View!
Here is the video of the launching of Street View feature in Malaysia.
Photos: Typhoon Usagi Hit Southern China, 25 Killed
Passengers queue to register at an airline counter as Typhoon Usagi approaches at Hong Kong airport on Sept. 22, 2013. (AFP/Getty Images)
Passengers queue to register at an airline counter as Typhoon Usagi approaches at Hong Kong airport on Sept. 22, 2013. (AFP/Getty Images)
Typhoon Usagi slammed into southern China on Sunday evening.
Nanfang Daily reported that the typhoon made a landfall at 7:40 p.m. yesterday in Shanwei city, in Guangdong province after veered away from Hong Kong at the last minute.
Australia Network News reported that at least twenty-five people were killed on the China’s southern coast, including thirteen in Shanwei which is in the eastern fringes of Guangdong province.
The typhoon brings very strong wind, storm surge and heavy rains that could cause flooding and landslides.
Xinhua reported that in Shanwei city, the strong winds blew cars off the road near a gas station and houses were toppled.
Flights to and from Hong Kong and three mainland airports were canceled.
Ferry services around the area were also canceled, while Fujian province suspended shipping between mainland China and Taiwan.
Xinhua reported that intercity trains including the high-speed rail to Beijing, Shenzhen and Hong Kong would remain suspended until Tuesday.
Thousands of people were evacuated from coastal areas and temporary shelters were opened.
Hong Kong delayed the opening of markets, banks and schools.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. said it scrapped morning trading today.
Please click the photos for larger images:
The Ugliest Animals
Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus)
Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus)
The blobfish, a denizen of the Pacific has been voted as the unofficial world’s ugliest animal.
The winner was announced at the British Science Festival in Newcastle.
The grumpy-looking, gelatinous blobfish has won a public vote which was organised by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society.
As the winner, the blobfish is now the official mascot of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society.
Biologist and TV presenter Simon Watt, president of the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, said he hoped the campaign would draw attention to the threats facing these weird and wonderful creatures.
It is part of the campaign to raise awareness of unsightly species that play an important role in the ecological web.
Please click the photos for larger images:
Ahmad Ali Karim's Weblog 