Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Mandarin demand is discriminatory?

According to Najib, the private sector should stop the practice of making it compulsory for local graduates to be proficient in Mandarin.

The Deputy Prime Minister urged the private sector to be open in accepting and training local graduates without including certain requirements and looking at their background.

“I have checked some advertisements, where the criteria for potential employees includes being proficient in Mandarin”.

JUST WANNA REMIND NAJIB, OUR DPM, THAT MANDARINE IS A LANGUAGE SKILL, IF YOU HAVE THE SKILL, YOU HAVE THE ADVANTAGE, IT IS NOT DISCRIMINATE, IT IS THE MARKET DEMAND.

Happy Bak Chang Day 端午节快乐

The origins of rice dumplings are traced to the legend of Qu Yuan, a well-loved poet who drowned himself in a river. To stop the fish from eating his body, people made rice dumplings and threw them into the river. Another version of the legend states that the dumplings were made to placate a dragon that lived in the river.

Rice dumplings are made for the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Tour de France 2006 1st - 23rd July
























Tour de France will start on 1st - 23rd July 2006. 5 Stages with HC category - Stage 10, 11, 15, 16, 17. Total distance is 3657.1 km.

Details of each route can be found here.

The route
Running from Saturday July 1st to Sunday July 23th 2006, the 93rd Tour de France will be made up of a prologue and 20 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,600 kilometres.These 20 stages have the following profiles:
* 9 flat stages,
* 4 medium mountain stages,
* 5 mountain stages,
* 2 individual time-trial stages

Distinctive aspects of the race
* 3 mountain finishes,
* 2 rest days,
* 116 kilometres of individual time-trials (including the prologue)
* 22 Category 1, Category 2 and highest level passes will be climbed
* 9 new stop-over towns: Obernai, Saint-Grégoire, Saint-Méen-le-Grand, Cambo-les-Bains, Val d'Aran - Pla-de-Beret, Montélimar, La Toussuire Les Sybelles, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Antony

528和平集会虽遭暴力驱散反涨价人士誓言继续集会抗议

News From Malaysiakini.com, more news here.

昨日参与反对汽油、电费涨价的示威人士当中,有人遭镇暴队殴打至头破血流入院、手骨破裂、甚至被打至全身淤青。而目睹镇暴队采取过激暴力驱散集会的示威者所携带的小孩,更指称镇暴队是“坏人”。

参与抗议集会的回教党党员安兰(amran zulklifi)就是其中一名遭镇暴队以警棍殴打导致头破血流,蒙受最严重伤势的其中一名示威者。

这名38岁的父亲今日在吉隆坡的一家医院接受《当今大马》记者访问时表示,“当时我并不害怕,心里一直在想着走散的孩子,担心他也受到攻击”。当时他携带10岁的孩子,莫哈末查菲兰(Mohd Zafran),一起参与反涨价抗议集会

回忆当时的情景,他表示当镇暴队警告示威者解散,并向示威者发射水炮时,他就将10岁的查菲兰紧紧拥在怀里,但是两父子仍被水炮给射湿了。为了躲避激烈的水炮,他们一伙人被迫逃向水炮车的四周,但是却碰上欲驱散群众的镇暴队。

“此时迎面而来的镇暴队见人就打,根本没有机会和他们沟通,我们只能往后跑,混乱中孩子和我失散了。我背对着镇暴队,他们却一直以警棍和盾牌殴打我的背部和头部。”


Video Clip from YouTube

Ten-year-old Mohd Zafran Amran saw his father being beaten by Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel at a demonstration yesterday.

When met at the Pusat Rawatan Islam in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon, the schoolboy had two words to describe the police personnel - ' orang jahat' (bad people).

"I was alone (when the FRU charged) and was very scared," said Mohd Zafran, whose father Amran Zulkifli was hospitalised after being repeatedly clubbed by the police.

The sight of Amran, whose blood was profusely flowing from deep wounds in his head, had shocked those who were at the protest.

The 38-year-old businessman was immediately sent to the Pusat Rawatan Islam, Kuala Lumpur, where he was given five stitches.

Numerous organisations and opposition leaders have strongly condemned the police's aggression against the 500-odd anti-fuel price hike demonstrators who had gathered peacefully outside the
Kuala Lumpur City Centre.


'Worried about my son'

When malaysiakini met Amran today, he revealed palm-sized black-blue bruises on his shoulder, his back and upper-right arm.

"I was not afraid (when the FRU charged), but I was worried for my kid. I was afraid he would be attacked too," he said.

Recounting the incident, Amran said he shielded his son with his arms when the police had fired their water cannons. They then quickly moved out of range.

"Then came the FRU - armed with shields and batons. They beat whoever came in their path. We had no chance to plea to them, we could only run."

"In the chaos, I lost my son. So I slowed down. The FRU came from behind me and they kept beating my back and head with their shields and batons," he added.

According to him, blood began flowing profusely from his head and his black shirt turned red.

"I felt dizzy but I continued to run from them," said Amran, who was discharged today.

Amran's friends sent him to the hospital. Despite being drenched in blood, the businessman managed to call a friend to look after his son while he received medical treatment.

He said a photo journalist was also beaten on the head and he also bled while others suffered from bruises.

Amran went ballistics when told that Dang Wangi district police chief Kamal Pasha claimed 'minimum force' was used by the FRU. Kamal added that the police had acted in self-defense.

"If it was minimum force, they won't hit our heads. We were unarmed, we didn't assault the FRU. They were not dispersing the protestors. This was not dispersing. They wanted to hurt us!"

Amran had lodged a police report over his assault yesterday.


Broken hand

Meanwhile, another demonstrator Lim Ban Teng, 24, broke his right hand when he was hit with a baton.

He told malaysiakini that the protestors had shouted "OK, OK, we disperse!" but the FRU had ignored the plea.

According to a video footage taken during the scuffle, the protestors were raising their hands to indicate that they were harmless when the FRU charged.

"They suddenly attacked us," said Lim, who is the treasurer of the Malaysia Youth and Student Democratic Movement (Dema).

One of Lim's friends was cut in the face by a police shield while others sustained minor injuries.

"I can't write. This will affect my job," said Lim, who is a tuition teacher.

Dr Hatta Ramli, the chief organiser of yesterday's protest, said they will lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) against the FRU's violence.

Hatta vowed that the protestors would not be cowed by the police violence against them. "We are considering another protest."

Friday, May 26, 2006

Discover Nikon


In this volume, there are four photographers from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia publish thier photos here....

Just go to this link and enjoy the great photos
http://www.discovernikon.com/

Nikon dSLR D200 win Award


TOKYO – Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce that the D200 Digital SLR Camera has been selected by Japan’s Camera Press Club to receive the Camera Grand Prix 2006 award.

A total of 149 cameras - all released between April 2005 and March 2006 - were nominated for the Camera Grand Prix award 2006. The Nikon D200 was chosen as the most outstanding camera from among these nominees to receive the Camera Grand Prix award.

The committee members issued the following statement in support of bestowing the Camera Grand Prix 2006 honor on the D200.

"The Nikon D200 contributes to the widespread dissemination of photographic culture as a digital SLR offering superior operability at an affordable price for both entry-level digital SLR camera users as well as professional and high-end amateur photographers. This high-quality camera received superior evaluations for many of its facets, including performance, price, design, operability and durability. Furthermore, the D200 offers the first 10.2-megapixel CCD image sensor in APS-C Format. Delivering immediate performance, including instant and world-leading*1 power-up of only 0.15 seconds, a remarkable shutter release time lag of only 50 milliseconds, and up to 54 consecutive shots*2 at 5 fps, this camera challenges or surpasses higher-priced products. For enhanced reliability, the D200 features a magnesium body with a superb sealing system that protects against dust and moisture and the shutter unit has been tested through more than 100,000 cycles. The approximately 95% viewfinder frame coverage and approx. 0.94x high-magnification viewfinder with glass pentaprism also contribute to the D200’s high overall performance as a digital SLR camera."

In April 2006, the Nikon D200 also received the Best D-SLR Expert in Europe 2006, from TIPA (Technical Image Press Association), which represents the European photo and imaging publishing industry.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

PENTAX NEW dSLR CAMERA - K100D & K110D


New camera again, tangan gatal lah... i am planning to buy one quite some time ago, but still plan until now. Money is the problem now, not enough bullets...

Latest release by Pentax on 22 May 2006. Both dSLR have 6.1 MP and offer high precision 11-point wide frame AF, ISO sensitivity up to 3200, a large 2.5-inch screen and a top shutter speed of 1/4000 sec as well as being compatible with existing Pentax lenses. The K100D is also Pentax's first DSLR to feature a CCD-shift Shake Reduction system. More information can be obtained here. But these model i believe not in Malaysia yet. Now you can get this model *ist DL2, new in Malaysia, price is RM2999 c/w lens, cheap compared to Nikon and Canon.

The spec of *ist DL2 are:
PENTAX *ist DL2 offers 6.1 effective megapixels and incorporates a large, high-precision 2.5-inch color LCD monitor with approximately 210,000 pixels.











Major Features

- 11-point wide-frame AF to capture off-center subjects in crisp focus
- Bright, clear viewfinder
- Large LCD monitor to facilitate image viewing and menu setting
- Auto Picture Mode for effortless point-and-shoot SLR photography
- Auto sensitivity control up to 3200 standard output sensitivity
- AA-battery power supply for easy battery replacement on the road
- True-to-life, rich-gradation images assured by 6.1 effective megapixels
- Compatibility with existing PENTAX interchangeable lenses
- Super-compact, ultra-lightweight body, with outstanding rigidity











Other features

- High-speed shutter unit, with a top speed of 1/4000 second
- High-speed continuous shooting, up to five images (at “Best” image quality in JPEG format) at the speed of approx. 2.8 images per second
- Eight distinctive Scene modes to accommodate specific subjects/applications
- 19 custom functions to personalize camera operations
- SD memory card compatibility
- Choice of two preview functions (digital/optical)
- Storage of recorded images in day-by-day files on an SD memory card
- Choice of 16-segment multi-pattern metering, center-weighted metering and spot metering to accommodate various photographic applications
- Noise reduction mechanism to reduce digital noise during extended exposures
- USB 2.0 (HI-SPEED) compatibility for speedy data transfer to PC
- Choice of image format between JPEG (Best, Better or Good) and RAW
- Five digital filters (Black-and-white, Sepia, Slim, Soft and Brightness) for easy editing of recorded images
- PictBridge compatibility
- Standard software package, featuring PENTAX PHOTO Laboratory 3 RAW data processing software and PENTAX PHOTO Browser 3 image browser software

PJ City & PJ Half Marathon



For those who want to participate in the PJ Half Marathon, this is the time for you to register. As usual, finishinh time is 2hr 15min to enable to to obtain Certificate of Completion. Also the run is in conjunction with the declaration of PJ to become a city. And a sum of RM 7 million will be spent to clebrate this "sweet" moment. Someone may ask, RM 7 million, how many things you can do in a life time. Celebrate is celebrate, but do not waste the people tax money.

The budget included RM1.8mil to spruce up the municipality, RM1.7mil for logistics and public facilitites, RM1.2mil for printed materials and RM85,000 for the mayor’s cokmar or mace.

The batik for the Sultan of Selangor is expected to cost RM300 while the songket for the city mayor a whopping RM7,000.

Even Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo has remarked that the cost was too high. The mark of development is not in ostentatious displays but in the extent and efficiency of facilities and infrastructure. As Petaling Jaya makes the transition into cityhood, it is crucial that the thinking in its City Hall also reflects the appropriate level of maturity.