Vasthu Sastra By T. SELVA ‘Beautifying’ your consciousness is just as vital as preparing your living space for an auspicious festival. FOR Malaysian Hindus, Deepavali is the mother of all festivals. By preparing the body, mind and spirit correctly for the auspicious day, which falls on Friday this year, celebrants can attract positive energy that feeds prosperity, health and happiness in their lives. To help with this “tuning”, Vasthu Sastra maintains that preparing your living space is vital. If you have ignored defects like peeling paint, stained walls and doors, broken roof and ceiling tiles, rusty gates, leaking or broken pipes, fused bulbs, dead plants, etc, it is important that you fix them before the festive day. Such flaws are inauspicious, as they attract negative energies and bring down misery on occupants. Make sure to replace withered and dead plants with some flowering plants, whether in the garden or inside the house. Avoid thorny plants and creepers, as Vasthu Sastra dee...

100+ people liked this Tan Le's astonishing new computer interface reads its user's brainwaves, making it possible to control virtual objects, and even physical electronics, with mere thoughts (and a little concentration). She demos the headset, and talks about its far-reaching applications.

About this talk What do you think of people in poverty? Maybe what Jessica Jackley once did: "they" need "our" help, in the form of a few coins in a jar. The co-founder of Kiva.org talks about how her attitude changed -- and how her work with microloans has brought new power to people who live on a few dollars a day. About Jessica Jackley Jessica Jackley is the co-founder of Kiva.org, an online community that helps individuals loan small amounts of money, called microloans, to entrepreneurs throughout the world. Full bio and more links

from TEDTalks (video) 22 people liked this Historian and diplomat Joseph Nye gives us the 30,000-foot view of the shifts in power between China and the US, and the global implications as economic, political and "soft" power shifts and moves around the globe.

My hope is that in the near future, we will have a PM to lead the country who - for a significant time- would have been a sportsman/woman. Doesn’t need to be an Olympian or even national athlete — just a club player would do Why? 1) Teamwork Sportsmen know the value of teamwork. Especially those who play team sports - football, hockey, rugby, cricket etc. Take our great football team — Mokhtar Dahari achieved greatness because he had, amongst others, Chin Aun pulling the strings in the middle of the field. He had Arumugam in goal. Each fed off the others to achieve their own levels of greatness in football. Can our politicians demonstrate this? 2) Pull their Weight Sportsmen pull their weight. They work extra hard and walk the extra mile to cover for a member who may not be of the same standard or competence. If you had no more substitutes to use in a game, you are thankful to have players just to make the numbers. ( I have been there countless times) I used to say of my late goa...

Since the announcement in Budget 2011 that a 100 storey tower costing RM5 billion will be built using PNB's own money, PNB investors must be divided over this behemoth project. Already there are several petitions against this proposal with one claiming breaching the 200k Tak Nak response to the Tower. But do these protests matter to 1Malaysia at all or to PNB? PNB's manages a fund size of about RM150 billion and 9.9 million investors. They can hold a referendum with their investors on what they think of the tower and if 9.9 million supports the tower, the Tak Nak campaign is really meaningless right? After all, in BolehLand, the folks are often reminded majority wins and rule even if it's 50.1 percent support it! "I think they won't give us good dividends now," said a colleague who always await the annual dividend. "They will reduce it to use it to build the tower!" But then it's only for a few years, after that you may get more when the income c...

from Straight Talk by Khoo Kay Peng Like the Malay Rulers, I share their concern over current political trend. However, I am surprised that the Rulers have taken such a one-sided approach regarding their concern. There is no democratic government in the world which has done so much to bastardize the sovereignty of citizenship like Malaysia. A Malaysian citizen is a citizen regardless of race or creed. This federal government has tried to usurp the sanctity of the federal constitution by creating a politically motivated multi-tiered citizenship e.g. Malay Bumiputera, Non-Malay Bumiputera, Chinese, Indian & Others. This action is a dangerous attack on the federal constitution. The Malay Rulers urged the people to understand and appreciate the history of the formation of the country and the Federal Constitution founded on the social contract, that is the spirit of consensus and understanding among the races and the concurrence of the Malay Rulers. It is pertinent for t...

As soon as we get into the Kelantan border beyond kampung Merapoh in Kuala Lipis, our sights are assaulted by waves of PAS banners and flags. The Kampung nearest the Pahang border here is Kampung Mentara is obviously a PAS stronghold. We immediately feel, judging from the volume of flags and banners, that this is PAS territory. I had to calm my friends who are travelling with me. They are accustomed to the Umno/BN way of handling by elections. This means, they are more at ease with the usual overwhelming firepower kick-ass approach. They prefer to see waves of party workers all over the country converging on a small town like Gua Musang. Then you would be assaulted by the sight of Umno workers in vests, with walky-talkies and other state of the art communications gadgetry, crisscrossing the terrain with 4-wheel vehicles, the puteri Umno troopers doing their rounds. It would be a boisterous affair and intimidating at times. People in Umno are more used to the big guy appro...

About this talk Plants behave in some oddly intelligent ways: fighting predators, maximizing food opportunities ... But can we think of them as actually having a form of intelligence of their own? Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso presents intriguing evidence. About Stefano Mancuso Stefano Mancuso is a founder of the study of plant neurobiology, which explores signaling and communication at all levels of biological organization, from genetics to molecules, cells and… Full bio and more links

“So your blood test and Pap smear results are in; everything is fine, you’re very healthy.” “Okay cool. I want to go on the pill.” “I’m afraid I can’t prescribe you those.” “Why not?” “Because you’re not married. Wait, what religion are you?” So here’s the deal: Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) has a pretty decent Ob/Gyn department. You have to wait a bit, but not as long as at other government departments and you can laugh at pregnant women waddling about while you wait. The service is actually pretty good, especially if you are referred, as they try to accommodate all your needs. After they tell you you’re a whore, that is. “Actually, I’m not too sure. We’ve had a case like you before, where the woman was not a Muslim. Let me check with the consultant if we can give it to non-Muslims.” Two minutes later, the consultant walks in. He tells me he can’t give me birth control pills because the hospital can’t be seen to encourage this sort of behaviour among unmarried women. “W...

A small fry in the California state assembly, Chuck DeVore, can now dictate to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, whom she can or cannot meet. I can remember studying history in the 60's (now no longer a history lesson in Malaysia) that the United States revolved and truly function in a democratic system. I can see the desperation of President Obama in running his country, which was once the most powerful country in this world and respected by world leaders across the globe. In order to maintain this position, the US had no choice but to sleep with dictatorship and authoritarian leaders who are willing to support his foreign policies. Is this Chuck Devore sent by President Obama to dictate to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not to meet up with the Opposition leaders during her trip to Malaysia. Is Chuck Devore paid to do this dirty job or a political assassin engaged by the present ruling government of Malaysia? What this fellow Chuck Devore described of the Oppos...

Tunku Abdul Aziz Judged internationally, by almost every performance indicator known to man, Malaysia is a duffer, and that is putting it charitably. Our report card is drowning in a sea of red ink. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index just released shows Malaysia scoring 4.4 points at number 56 out of 178 countries surveyed. Many have questioned the methodology used and have gone so far as to suggest developing our own index. But let me just say this. Whatever we may think, the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index enjoys a reputation second to none as the world’s most authoritative index of its kind. A similar sentiment has been expressed about the world’s top universities index. Shoot the bearer of bad news and retreat to hide under our tempurung and croak our lungs out for the entire world to hear about our version of Malaysia’s achievements. We have become a nation of bad losers. When Datuk Anwar Fazal, Raja Aziz Addruse, Datuk Param Cumaraswamy a...

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani October 30, 2010 A screenshot of the Facebook page today. KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — As the anti-tower protest broke its 200,000 barrier last night on Facebook, Permodalan Nasional Berhad’s (PNB) top management met to seek ways to overcome the growing opposition to the proposed 100-storey Warisan Merdeka skyscraper. The Malaysian Insider understands that officials from PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd met with PNB chiefs to express their concerns over the increasing influence of the petition on the popular social network. The meeting also outlined how PNB plans to overcome and counter the negative public perception through social media such as Twitter and Facebook. PNB Merdeka Ventures is a wholly-owned unit set up by PNB has to undertake the RM5 billion skyscraper project in the land it bought from Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad in 2000. PNB paid RM310mil or RM220 per sq ft to buy the land but the market ...

The protest against the controversial switch in the teaching of Science and Maths in English to Malay had barely begun before the Education Minister made another contentious announcement: from 2013, students must pass History to clear the SPM exam. Before this came the decision to scrap the PMR exam from 2016. All these decisions were sudden, like a shot in the dark, though it can be said that there was an ongoing debate on the issue of the medium of instruction of Science and Maths, though it was nowhere near resolution. The scrapping of the PMR took parents and students by surprise largely because a school system without exams was outside people’s experience and unthinkable. How to stream students after Form Three? How to be sure standards will not be compromised if assessments are school-based? How to motivate students to work hard in the absence of periodic formal exams? Before people’s anxieties were properly addressed and alternatives clearly spelt out, the government scrapped th...

The decision to make history a compulsory pass possibly has to do with present times discussion on the rights of BolehLand fellos stipulated in the Constitution. It's a decision done on a spur like most decisions on education and the fellos suffering are likely the teachers and students. When supposedly unity was perceived as shaky among the different races, they thought out the national service though some suspect that under the guise of inculcating discipline, unity and all that, there was a subtle agenda to remind the NS trainers to be grateful to the BN government and that only the BN government can guarantee unity and NS trainers must show gratitude and remember who they should thank when they reach the age of voting. Though the government may deny it is a political move but one thought up by academicians, the timing is somewhat suspect. If they thought history was important, the academics and our smart Education officials try to convince us, behind many government policies an...

Soh (left) was trying to lobby MCA for await for RCIGUA MUSANG Soh Cher Hai a brother-in-law to a late Teoh BengHock, has claimed which he was assaulted by an MCA supporter during a convene organised by a Chinese celebration here. He had arrived in Gua Musang yesterday with Teohs sister Teoh Lee Lan as well as six other members of Malaysians for Beng Hock to lobby for a arrangement of a royal commission of enquiry to examine a genocide of a domestic cabinet member to Selangor Executive Councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah. The group was trying to approach Women, Family as well as Community Development Deputy Minister Datuk Heng Seai Kie when Soh was allegedly assaulted. When she arrived, she abandoned us as well as one after another a talk. So you waited for 40 mins for her to finish her speech, pronounced a groups spokesman Ng Yap Hwa final night. Ng pronounced they chose to come to Galas as it was simpler for them to meet with ministers as well as elected representatives to lobby for suppor...

Indonesia to rebrand dictator Suharto as 'national hero' Kuan Yew, Mahathir paid their respects to associate tyrant Suharto Suharto's 31-year sequence was heartless as well as corrupt. Yet right away they wish to honour him. Singapore's first father, Lee Kuan Yew, voiced sadness which his "very aged friend" was not reception "the honour which he deserves". Malaysia's long-term Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir, strew a tear as he reason a dying man's hand. As General Suharto lingered upon his deathbed in January 2008, a former president of Indonesia, who had ruled his nation from 1967 to 1998, was surrounded by informal leaders as well as garlanded with tributes from alternative internal luminaries. Singapore's first father, Lee Kuan Yew, voiced sadness which his "very aged friend" was not reception "the honour which he deserves". Malaysia's long-term Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir, strew a tear as he reason a dying man...

"Ban (ki-moon) told me he would review the stipulation and, if necessary, he would assemble the limit where all initial ladies would be invited to attend," pronounced Rosmah. UN Praise For Malaysia's Initiative HANOI - Malaysia came in for praise Saturday from the United Nations for initiating the move to finalise issues as well as problems inspiring children, youths as well as women around the world. The admiration came from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, pronounced Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, mother of Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who had handed to him the stipulation of the initial First Ladies Summit hosted by Malaysia last month. "Ban told me he would review the stipulation and, if necessary, he would assemble the limit where all initial ladies would be invited to attend," pronounced Rosmah, who had accompanied Najib to the 17th Asean Summit as well as Related Summits, here. She spoke to Malaysian reporters after handing over to Ban...

KUALA LUMPUR - The supervision has been taken to task over its preference to go forward with its devise to squeeze RM8 billion value of armoured fighting vehicles (AFV). Sungai Siput part of of parliament Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj pronounced a price offering by DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (Deftech) was 3 times aloft than a market price for a most appropriate APC model, which he pronounced price not some-more than RM10 million a unit. It's RM31 million per section when a price of a most appropriate APC in a world usually costs RM 10 million this is 3 times more, he told reporters in parliament yesterday. Recalling a subject by Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua during a final parliamentary session, Jeyakumar pronounced a Defence ministry had settled which a minute of intent released to Deftech did not meant a supervision was going to squeeze a APC, but was only meant for serve discussion. This proceed is strange. If you go to a shop, as well as are since a quotation 3 ti...