Is anyone else as sick as I am about all this talk from this administration with no substance, no sign of ambition and total disregard for this country? You can talk all you want about creating jobs but it doesn’t do a damned thing. We have been waiting for results ever since you took the helm. You attacked Bush and McCain on the campaign trail about it during a time when the unemployment rate was much lower! Yet, somehow more and more people are still getting laid off every month nearly a year into your administration.
They can keep coming out in public saying that job creation is a top priority. Unfortunately thats not going to cut it any more because you’ve told us that since the campaign for the first stimulus package last February. That was supposedly going to create jobs and give the economy the emergency jump-start it needed. You were going to be transparent about it and even went through the trouble of creating a website, recovery.gov, to prove it. What we got was nothing but 700 billion dollars in wasted money. If your going to make jobs a priority, Don’t you think is might be a little important to understand how the job market works?
The healthiest market is one that is self-sustaining. For those of you who don’t know what that means, It’s one without government interference. Businesses don’t hire because they’ve been given extra money to spend because that not a self-sustaining job. When the funds run out whoever was temporarily hired will get laid off again. It’s just the way the market works. That is all the stimulus has done, though. Any growth that we saw was artificial and therefore temporary.
Employers look for work when they need it. That is when it is profitable for them to do so. In order for most retail businesses to be profitable, people have to be buying their product. When you raise taxes on the people they have less money that can go towards spending. As a result, business goes down and layoffs are the next step and it becomes a vicious circle.
The other way government hurts business is when you have a product that is in high demand. In other words people need to live to standards here in America. Arguably, oil and automotives can be considered a good example of this. These are businesses that are regulated and pounded by standards in every step of production. Whether is be the extracting and refining of oil which is becoming more and more prohibitively expensive not because the labor is that intensive, but rather the government weighs everything down like a parasite. In addition, the reason the auto industry has been so hard hit is because they are pounded with EPA requirements every step of the way. If it’s not the government interfering, it’s the unions. These are issues that could all be easily resolved in the free market, which has worked everywhere it’s tried yet we still trash it.
So having said this what does this mean for our economy?
This economic situation our government has catapulted us into cannot be sugar coated. This administration in many ways has put this country on a collision course for disaster. Just look at the historical examples. This country will continued to be weighed down and I’d be very surprised if we saw any improvement in the jobs market over the next year. This is why the importance of the 2010 election cannot be stressed enough. The dynamics of the government right now unfortunately is incapable of fixing this economy because it won’t consider anything that will repair this economy. They have created a reality that does not exist and it could have substantial consequences on the future of this nation.
I’ve had my differences with Senator John McCain. I always considered him to be a RINO. I even held my nose and voted for him in November of 2008. I felt he was too willing to kiss the ring of the Democrats in the name of bipartisanship, so I was blown away when McCain came out and blatantly stated that Obama was on a crusade to bankrupt America.
I could go and say, “ya think?” pointing out what to conservatives are just obvious. A tripled national deficit and double digit unemployment would be like the guy grabbing a bottle of V-8, slapping his forehead and saying, “I could have had a V-8!” But when RINOs get a revelation, it means the rest could possibly fall in line as well.
Hopefully that will translate into conversions among the Blue Dogs for the final healthcare vote.
You wanna know why our country’s in such a shit hole?
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Why despite the billions…no, trillions supposedly spent on improving our lives, we’re still stuck in the rut?
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Why the rich gets richer and the middle class and poor gets poorer?
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Why so many Malaysians have opted to move overseas as a desperate resort for the good of their children’s future?
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I’ll tell u why….
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IT’s US!!! WE BROUGHT THIS UPON OURSELVES!!!!
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We practically defecated in our own backyard and couldn’t be bothered at all to clean up until it was too late…..now that it’s full of shit, we start jumping around like jelly beans, asking “WHY“!!!!???
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Our current shitty government continues to play on racial and religious sentiments to gain popularity, despite all the crap about creating a 1Malaysia……..and despite being in charge of a nation that is supposed quite weathy because of our oil reserves, has failed to improve our lifelihood in anyway.
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Yes, we have the “super rich” but there are definitely a lot more who slog through their fulltime jobs to survive.
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While we continure to pay taxes thru our noses, we see billions leak through the civil service, never to be recovered…….and who pays for these leakages ultiately? WE ALL-lor!!! That’s why the GST, the withdrawal of subsidies of essential items and what nots, have been implemented this year…..country no money mah.
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And who voted them into power!!?? MALAYSIANS!! (of course got some “Malaysianised” illegal immigrants too lah)
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Then there are those complaining about the state of “cleanliness” of our country……yes, it’s also the local council’s fault for not providing suffiocient dustbins……but then again, there are those of us who wouldn’t think twice about vandalising or even worst, making off with those bins!? For what lah!
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And as for the rest of us, how many of us would hold onto that piece of used tissue paper until we’ve found a bin to discard it? I can say, majority would just throw it onto the streets.
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Same thing with our public toilets!!! No one seems to know how to aim when they’re using one…..WHY LAH!!!
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And why the need to wash the bottom and drown the entire toilet!!?? Can’t that wait till you get home? Nothing’s going to grow in there just yet, you know? Don’t say it’s one’s culture…..because if one is to go overseas where there’s no bidet, I can bet that “culturally-inclined” person will just make do.
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And the road accidents…….if only those motorists and motorcyclists would stop treating the roads as their grandfather’s road, and respect every other road users……there would be so much less deaths……..same thing with the buses that ply the highways……..why are the drivers always sleepy and therefore always getting involved in accidents? Why are dingy and old buses still being used? Because we the consumers think nothing of it, close one eye and support these bus companies anyway.
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And now, there’s this stupid stupid issue about who has the rights to the term “Allah”………COME ON LAH!!! Just because the heat is on the ruling party’s president for all his incompetences (in just about every other area), do they really have to create such a fiasco to divert our attention? Christians depending on the Bahasa bibles have since goodness know when been referring to God as “Allah” and that was never an issue……..
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Where do we stupid gullible Malaysians come in, in all this stupidity? Everyone (well, almost everyone) falls for it, hook, line and sinker and heated arguments ensues!! It’s everywhere……online, MSMs….even a mass protest has been organised (But I bet my last two cents that the certain racist party is the responsible organising team). Are these people aware that while they are arguing over such matters, a greater national threat is sitting on his/her plushy throne, smilling in glee while being surrounded by all the weath that has been plundered!!??
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We need to clean up folks……..clean up real good…….clean up all these mess before we can ever hope to sow new seeds in hope for a bountiful harvest for our future generation…….because there’s no way anything will thrive in all the shit that is taking place right now!!!
Be Careful...For Shit May Find It's Way Back To You.....
Ceramic Arts Daily, a blog and website serving active potters, ceramists, ceramic arts educators around the world, announces the release of an exciting free resource: Ceramic Carving Tool Techniques: Bringing the ceramic surface to life nursing education online.
Ceramics sculptural techniques
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Log-PR (Press Release) – Jan 06, 2010 – Ceramic Arts Daily, a blog and website serving active potters, ceramists, ceramic arts educators around the world, announces the release of an exciting free resource: Ceramic Carving Tool Techniques: Bringing the Ceramic Surface to Life. This free download is an excellent resource for educators ceramic art and artists interested in learning new techniques to boost the ceramic surface.One best ways to make a piece of clay work of your own is to literally your fingerprint.Ceramic Carving Tool Techniques: Bringing the ceramic surface to life, you learn to go further, bringing the shape and surface of your work together in a signature style using a variety of carving tools in combination with techniques such as sgraffito carving, engraving, wire cutting, relief and more.Ceramic Carving Tool Techniques: Bringing the ceramic surface to life may be downloaded here: … http://ceramicartsdaily.org/free-gifts/ceramic-carving-t Ceramic Carving Tool Techniques: Bringing the ceramic surface to life includes the following: advice on the best tools for carving, cutting, scraping, and Slashing Clayby Robin HopperNo matter how you want to approach the surface of your clay work, knowing that work best tool for each task – or even what tools are available – is a great way to get started.Scratching surface: Carving Intricate Designs for Color and Sgraffito Depthby Wayne BatesEven the simplest techniques of clay sculpture can give complex results with a little planning and ingenuity. Adding and changing layers of information will help to build a surface that will broaden your visual vocabulary. The sculpture in bas-reli
A Scottish poet has been awarded the Queen’s gold medal for Poetry, which has been described as "poetry of bravery and conviction", according to reports.Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who was the chair of the judging panel for the award, went on to commend winner Don Paterson for his acclaimed anthology Rain. She said that Paterson had achieved in just two decades what few poets manage in a lifetime. The gold medal does not come alongside any monetary prize, instead the Queen pays for the item which is struck in gold by the Royal Mint wood burning fireplace. Duffy explained that poets can not personally put themselves forward for the award but instead it is given to a writer who excels in a poetry collection or a single body of work over the course of the year. According to the official website of the British Monarchy, the gold medal bears the image of the Queen and is designed to portray truth.
Why don’t we know any of this is happening? Every single fucking company that surrounds us lives only to take our money, not to take care of us. The dumber we are, the more money we give them. That’s part of the whole plan – to take advantage of our ignorance. And we have been stupidized for forty years – so now our own parents and grandparents cant warn us. These companies are sharks, they only live to eat. Not to take care of you, the earth, or hell, even themselves. When we are broke, they will die. But, there are small few people who will be rich off of you between now and then.
Tengku Razaleigh: “…maybe I disagree with most things. It does not mean that I should not be a Member of UMNO”
by Aidila Razak
As a vocal critic of UMNO, veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, as some believe, should again turn his back on the grand old party and join the opposition. But according to the Gua Musang MP, his disagreements with UMNO are not enough to take him across the political divide.
“Certain things I agree with, but maybe I disagree with most things. It does not mean that I should not be a member of UMNO,” said Razaleigh, who described himself as a “free thinker” in the party.
In an interview with Malaysiakini last week, Razaleigh also explained why the recent constitutional amendments would do little to free UMNO of its corrupt image, which caused the ruling BN coalition to suffer an unprecedented setback in the March 2008 elections.
He said that any meaningful change that is to take place in the country’s most powerful political party can only happen if its members can wean themselves off patronage politics.
“(The) attitude and the mindset of those UMNO chaps must change. They cannot be dependent on patronage all the time … and they must get rid of old bad habits,” he said.
The amendment also meant that the abolishment of the quota system in party elections, allowing Razaleigh the opportunity to contest for the top position. But this did not mean much to the man who in 1987 came close to ousting then UMNO president Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the party leadership.
“It doesn’t meet half of what I have proposed. I had proposed that every member should be given the right to select their leaders through a fair election,” he said.
Excerpts of the interview follow, with contents edited for the purpose of brevity.
Malaysiakini: After (opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim) invited you to join the (oil royalty) caucus, people are wondering what’s next. Have you been invited to join Pakatan?
Razaleigh: Why should I join Pakatan? I’m very happy where I am. (Laughs) I think Pakatan does not have enough places even for their own people.
Have they talked to you about it?
No, never.
But you have heard people talking about it?
Actually (Pakatan Rakyat coalition advisor Zaid Ibrahim) did make an overture once in his blog, but that’s about all. Zaid said all sorts of things, anyway.
What is your opinion about the Common Policy Framework (CPF) which they launched recently?
I’ve not even seen it.
So you’re not interested in it.
Not that I’m not interested. I’ve just not seen it.
Last week Pakatan had a convention and they presented a joint policy which looked very like a manifesto.
So because of that I should join Pakatan?
No, we just wanted to know your views on it. So the presumption is that you will remain with UMNO.
You can never tell the future. I may be dead tomorrow. (Laughs)
How do you see your place in UMNO today?
Let’s put it this way, I am a free thinker. I like to take the middle road in UMNO. Certain things I agree with, but maybe I disagree with most things. It does not mean that I should not be a member of UMNO.
About the next party elections, all this while the quota system has stopped you from contesting, but it has now been abolished.
I’m not influenced by that. I had offered myself even with the quota system in place. It does not bother me the least. The problem is money politics. If people don’t use money and corrupt the delegates, probably I may have a chance.
Do you plan to run (for president in the party elections) again?
It’s too far ahead to know, isn’t it?
Some people plan far ahead.
Ah, they are lucky people. (Laughs)
Will all these amendments to the UMNO constitution revive the party and help regain the people’s support?
It doesn’t meet half of what I have proposed. I had proposed that every member should be given the right to select their leaders through a fair election. But on top of all that, I think the attitude and the mindset of those UMNO chaps must change. They cannot be dependent on patronage all the time. They cannot be dependent on handouts and get rid of the old bad habits. The leaders must also buck up and change in a positive way.
They should read the signals sent by the people in the 2008 general elections if they want to stay in power. I’m not saying they will lose power but if they continue on the trend in which they have been conducting themselves, if they are not careful, they may be thrown out of office.
It’s not just about tinkering with the party constitution here, there and everywhere. It does not meet the expectations of a lot of people. Even the attitude and the lifestyles of the leadership ought to change. It ought to change and be responsive to the feelings of the people on the ground.
The opposition is in disarray anyway at the moment, and you want me to join Pakatan?
Maybe they will unite under you.
Oh, my God.
Some people have said that with the way the country is going, we are heading the way of Zimbabwe. Do you think that’s true?
The difference (between the two countries is) that in Zimbabwe they have (Robert) Mugabe. (Laughs).
Is that the only difference?
Oh definitely. He is dark compared to the leaders here.
People say we are like Zimbabwe because of the way the Court of Appeal has judged. The Kota Seputeh, Perak and a number of other issues lately has seen the appellate court overruling the High Court.
Yes, it’s unfortunate. I don’t agree with those decisions anyway. I think they have not interpreted the constitution, or the law, in the spirit in which it was written.
Everyone is waiting for the Federal Court to make its decision on the Perak issue (on who is the rightful menteri besar). What’s your prognosis on that?
I think they have no right to get rid of the (Pakatan) menteri besar without the formal vote of no confidence.
They should reinstate (ousted Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin)?
I’m not saying anything about reinstating. Why should he be thrown out in the first place? He shouldn’t be thrown out because it is common knowledge that constitutionally an assembly like Perak should not get rid of their menteri besar without due regard to the feeling of the elected councillors. These people should have a say.
Have you talked to the Perak Sultan about this?
The conversations between the Perak Sultan and I are private.
THE RAZALEIGH INTERVIEW
Part 1: Razaleigh dismisses KPIs as a waste of time
Part 2: For Ku Li, striking oil has turned into a curse
Part 3: To GST or not to GST?
Part 4: Despite his views, Ku Li still loyal to Umno
should once again turn his back on the grand old party and join the opposition.
But according to the Gua Musang MP, his disagreements with Umno are not enough to take him across the political divide.
“Certain things I agree with, but maybe I disagree with most things. It does not mean that I should not be a member of Umno,” said Razaleigh, who described himself as a “free thinker” in the party.
In an interview with Malaysiakini last week, Razaleigh also explained why the recent constitutional amendments would do little to free Umno of its corrupt image, which caused the ruling BN coalition to suffer an unprecedented setback in the March 2008 elections.
He said that any meaningful change that is to take place in the country’s most powerful political party can only happen if its members can wean themselves off patronage politics.
“(The) attitude and the mindset of those Umno chaps must change. They cannot be dependent on patronage all the time … and they must get rid of old bad habits,” he said.
The amendment also meant that the abolishment of the quota system in party elections, allowing Razaleigh the opportunity to contest for the top position.
But this did not mean much to the man who in 1987 came close to ousting then Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the party leadership.
“It doesn’t meet half of what I have proposed. I had proposed that every member should be given the right to select their leaders through a fair election,” he said.
Excerpts of the interview follow, with contents edited for the purpose of brevity.
Malaysiakini: After (opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim) invited you to join the (oil royalty) caucus, people are wondering what’s next. Have you been invited to join Pakatan?
Razaleigh: Why should I join Pakatan? I’m very happy where I am. (Laughs) I think Pakatan does not have enough places even for their own people.
Have they talked to you about it?
No, never.
But you have heard people talking about it?
Actually (Pakatan Rakyat coalition advisor Zaid Ibrahim) did make an overture once in his blog, but that’s about all. Zaid said all sorts of things, anyway.
What is your opinion about the Common Policy Framework which they launched recently?
I’ve not even seen it.
So you’re not interested in it.
Not that I’m not interested. I’ve just not seen it.
Last week Pakatan had a convention and they presented a joint policy which looked very like a manifesto.
So because of that I should join Pakatan?
No, we just wanted to know your views on it. So the presumption is that you will remain with Umno.
You can never tell the future. I may be dead tomorrow. (Laughs)
How do you see your place in Umno today?
Let’s put it this way, I am a free thinker. I like to take the middle road in Umno. Certain things I agree with, but maybe I disagree with most things. It does not mean that I should not be a member of Umno.
About the next party elections, all this while the quota system has stopped you from contesting, but it has now been abolished.
I’m not influenced by that. I had offered myself even with the quota system in place. It does not bother me the least. The problem is money politics. If people don’t use money and corrupt the delegates, probably I may have a chance.
Do you plan to run (for president in the party elections) again?
It’s too far ahead to know, isn’t it?
Some people plan far ahead.
Ah, they are lucky people. (Laughs)
Will all these amendments to the Umno constitution revive the party and help regain the people’s support?
There’s an easy way to plan for retirement. Find out how.
It doesn’t meet half of what I have proposed. I had proposed that every member should be given the right to select their leaders through a fair election.
But on top of all that, I think the attitude and the mindset of those Umno chaps must change. They cannot be dependent on patronage all the time. They cannot be dependent on handouts and get rid of the old bad habits. The leaders must also buck up and change in a positive way.
They should read the signals sent by the people in the 2008 general elections if they want to stay in power. I’m not saying they will lose power but if they continue on the trend in which they have been conducting themselves, if they are not careful, they may be thrown out of office.
It’s not just about tinkering with the party constitution here, there and everywhere. It does not meet the expectations of a lot of people. Even the attitude and the lifestyles of the leadership ought to change. It ought to change and be responsive to the feelings of the people on the ground.
The opposition is in disarray anyway at the moment, and you want me to join Pakatan?
Maybe they will unite under you.
Oh, my God.
Some people have said that with the way the country is going, we are heading the way of Zimbabwe. Do you think that’s true?
The difference (between the two countries is) that in Zimbabwe they have (Robert) Mugabe. (Laughs).
Is that the only difference?
Oh definitely. He is dark compared to the leaders here.
People say we are like Zimbabwe because of the way the Court of Appeal has judged. The Kota Seputeh, Perak and a number of other issues lately has seen the appellate court overruling the High Court.
Yes, it’s unfortunate. I don’t agree with those decisions anyway. I think they have not interpreted the constitution, or the law, in the spirit in which it was written.
Everyone is waiting for the Federal Court to make its decision on the Perak issue (on who is the rightful menteri besar). What’s your prognosis on that?
I think they have no right to get rid of the (Pakatan) menteri besar without the formal vote of no confidence.
They should reinstate (ousted Perak Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin)?
I’m not saying anything about reinstating. Why should he be thrown out in the first place? He shouldn’t be thrown out because it is common knowledge that constitutionally an assembly like Perak should not get rid of their menteri besar without due regard to the feeling of the elected councillors. These people should have a say.
Have you talked to the Perak sultan about this?
The conversations between the Perak sultan and I are private.
THE RAZALEIGH INTERVIEW
Part 1: Razaleigh dismisses KPIs as a waste of time
Part 2: For Ku Li, striking oil has turned into a curse
Part 3: To GST or not to GST?
Part 4: Despite his views, Ku Li still loyal to Umno
As a vocal critic of UMNO, veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, as some believe, should again turn his back on the grand old party and join the opposition. But according to the Gua Musang MP, his disagreements with UMNO are not enough to take him across the political divide.
would do little to free UMNO of its corrupt image, which caused the ruling BN coalition to suffer an unprecedented setback in the March 2008 elections.
In an interview with Malaysiakini last week, Razaleigh also explained why the recent constitutional amendments would do little to free Umno of its corrupt image, which caused the ruling BN coalition to suffer an unprecedented setback in the March 2008 elections.