Diantara Ali dan Baba, siapa?

13hb. Mac, 201o

Diantara Ali dan Baba: Mungkin Ibrahim Ali dari PERKASA

oleh Zaid Ibrahim

Saya bersetuju dengan Ibrahim Ali yang mengatakan tak ada salahnya bagi beliau selaku Pengurusi Perkasa untuk berkerja dengan tauke Cina yang terkaya Vincent Tan, atau dengan mana-mana tauke lain yang membuat projek perumahan atau jambatan atau projek lain di Kelantan. Orang Melayu sepatutnya berkerja dengan siapa saja yang boleh memberi manfaat dan keuntungan kepada orang Melayu sendiri. Yang penting dia betul-betul berkerja atau berniaga secara aktif. Yang penting Melayu ini bukan “sleeping partner” atau bukan Ali kepada Baba. Yang penting Melayu yang tahu harga diri.

Malangnya ramai pemimpin Melayu/Bumiputera yang ada kabel dengan Perdana Menteri atau orang atasan lain dapat peluang hanya untuk jadi Ali kepada Baba. Maka dilantiklah Ali ini sebagai pengarah syarikat yang tak buat apa-apa kerja. Ali ini juga diberi saham. Maklumlah, Ali ini kan orang Bumiputra yang ada kedudukan istimewa dan peruntukan khas, walaupun bapa atau datuk dia lahir di Kerala atau Madras, atau di Aceh dan sebagainya. Orang yang benar-benar putera bumi di negara kita seperti Senoi, Negrito dan Proto Melayu di samping kumpulan-kumpulan etnik Semelai, Jakun, Temuan, Temiar dan sebagainya, tak pernah pula kita lihat dapat jawatan pengerusi syarikat-syarikat besarMereka tak ada perlindungan dibawah Perkara 153 yang ajaib itu.

Jadi bila wira Perkasa dan pengikut-pengikut UMNO Baru ini mahu pertahankan “keistemewaan” mereka, apakah sebenarnya yang mereka mahu pertahankan. Tak ada siapa pun yang bercadang nak ambil balik hak Bumiputera di bawah Perlembagaan. Tak orang bukan Melayu dan tidak juga Pakatan Rakyat yang mahu buat begitu. Lagi pun mustahil ianya dapat dilakukan dengan jumlah kerusi yang dipegang di Parlimen oleh kaum Bumiputera. Kadang-kadang ada di antara kita yang lupa bahawa di Sabah dan Sarawak, kaum Bumiputera merupakan kaum majoriti. Jadi apakah yang dibisingkan oleh “pembela hak Bumiputera” ini.

Sebenarnya, yang mereka mahu pertahankan ialah “sistem rentier” di mana nama Bumiputera UMNO itu ada harga untuk mendapat saham percuma atau elaun percuma atau jawatan pengarah dalam sesuatu syarikat. Mereka mahu Baba sentiasa perlukan servis dan nama mereka. Jadi Ali jenis ini sanggup terus mempertahankan elit Baba ini walaupun syarikat-syarikat Baba inilah yang menjadi persaingan dan mengurangkan peluang kepada peniaga Melayu yang tulin ikhlas yang mahu berniaga dengan erti kata yang sebenar. Inilah hakikatnya

Sepatutnya Ali ini perlu sedar diri dan benar-benar berjuang secara ikhlas. Apa yang perlu diperjuangkan oleh Ibrahim Ali dan Utusan Malaysia ialah supaya Model Ekonomi Baru yang dilaung-laungkan oleh Perdana Menteri Najib Razak itu dapat membanteras fenomena ekonomi pajakan nama Bumiputera Ali kepada Baba. Selagi Ali mendapat elaun murahan yang mudah dan percuma dari Baba, selagi itulah ekonomi orang Melayu akan dikawal oleh Ali yang ada kabel untuk kekayanan Baba. Baba ini pula bukan sebarangan Baba. Orang Cina pun tak suka mereka kerana bolot segala-galanya.

Tapi saya rasa adalah mustahil Najib akan membersihkan ekonomi “rentier” ini kerana para pemimpin UMNO akan marah, ketua Bahagian UMNO akan marah dan Ahli Parlimen UMNO akan marah. Mereka akan marah kalau Model Ekonomi Baru ini bersifat adil dan memberi peluang saksama kepada rakyat Malaysia.

Mereka mahu kepentingan mereka dipertahankan. Mereka akan marah kerana akan hilang peluang mendapat elaun murahan’ peluang jual nama Jadi mungkin Model Ekonomi Baru ini sebenar tak ada apa yang baru kecuali tabiat lama yang akan terus mementingkan UMNOputra. Tetapi kita sedia teliti dan meneliti dasar baru ini dengan adil..

[Via http://dinmerican.wordpress.com]

Experts say US doctors overtesting, overtreating

CHICAGO – Too much cancer screening, too many heart tests, too many cesarean sections. A spate of recent reports suggest that too many Americans — maybe even President Barack Obama — are being overtreated masters degree in psychology.

Is it doctors practicing defensive medicine? Or are patients so accustomed to a culture of medical technology that they insist on extensive tests and treatments?

A combination of both is at work, but now new evidence and guidelines are recommending a step back and more thorough doctor-patient conversations about risks and benefits.

As a medical journal editorial said this week about Obama’s recent checkup, Americans including the commander in chief need to realize that “more care is not necessarily better care.”

Obama’s exam included prostate cancer screening and a virtual colonoscopy. The PSA test for prostate cancer is not routinely recommended for any age and colon screening is not routinely recommended for patients younger than 50. Obama is 48.

Earlier colon cancer screening is sometimes recommended for high-risk groups — which a White House spokesman noted includes blacks. Doctors disagree on whether a virtual colonoscopy is the best method. But it’s less invasive than traditional colonoscopies and doesn’t require sedation — or the possible temporary transfer of presidential power, the White House said.

The colon exam exposed him to radiation “while likely providing no benefit to his care,” Dr. Rita Redberg, editor of Archives of Internal Medicine, wrote in an online editorial. Obama’s experience “is multiplied many times over” at a huge financial cost to society, and to patients exposed to potential harms but no benefits.

She also took issue with another test Obama had which uses radiation — a heart scan to look for calcium deposits in his arteries. She said the test isn’t recommended for low-risk men like Obama.

“People have come to equate tests with good care and preventio

[Via http://tvidter.wordpress.com]

Forbes 2010 list of wealthiest people is released

Warren Buffett, Bernard Arnault and Jeffrey Bezos move up from previous year positions By: Diamond World

The Forbes magazine list of the world’s richest people in 2010 has been released, identifying Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico as the wealthiest man in the world, having an estimated fortune of $53.5 billion, higher by $18.5 billion than the previous year. The 2010 list consists of names of 1,011 billionaires and a combined net worth of $3.6 trillion, while in 2009, the total net worth identified was $2.4 trillion. This year names of 218 new billionaires have been added.

Featuring in the list are some names of executives associated in some manner with the gem and jewellery industry. Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway has been placed on number 3 with fortunes worth $47 billion; he was named the second wealthiest man last year. Ranked at No.7 was Bernard Arnault of LVMH with a net worth of $27.5 billion, while the previous year, Arnault ranked at No.15. Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon.com was at No. 43 with a net worth of $12.3 billion, rising higher by 25 spots than last year. Francois Pinault and family (retailer PPR) stood at No. 77 with a net worth of $8.7 billion.

Nicky Oppenheimer and family stood at No. 154 with net worth of $5 billion, lowered by 56 spots from 2009. Laurence Graff was at No. 374 with a net worth of $2.5 billion, dropping by 69 spots. Beny Steinmetz of the Steinmetz Diamond Group stood at No.488 with a net worth of $2 billion; Lev Leviev was down 187 spots to No.655 with a net worth of $1.5 billion and Jack Ma of Internet retailer Alibaba Group was placed at No. 828 with a net worth of $1.2 billion.

[Via http://gemmanews.wordpress.com]

Brazil-Russia bilateral relations

In a multilateral world unfolded after 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States have lost their preeminence over the international agenda. The turmoiled incursion in Iraq and the virulent domestic crisis were reasons for questioning North American dominance. In that scenario, emerging countries for instance Brazil and Russia gained leverage, which have exposed a changing global arrangement. These two states, notoriously known for their continental territories and enormous populations, were depicted as developing markets with geopolitical substance. Nevertheless, they do not have enough power to change by themselves the agenda; in reason of that, they need to cooperate to assure that their common demands will be part of the current order.

When President Lula came into office, he asserted that Russia was one of the pillars of Brazil’s foreign policy. He portrayed the bilateral contact as strategic and affirmed that the partnership should be intensified and the complementary features deepened. Russia matches Brazil’s interest to become more respected because it has important credentials. Besides being a permanent member of the United Nation’s Security Council and having the capability to craft the nuclear bomb, Russia has advanced technology, a well-known science expertise and impressive hydrocarbon reserves that could be compared to Brazil’s pre-salt layer.

The recent oil discoveries along the Brazilian coastline represent a great opportunity for the two countries to cooperate on energy and to widen collaboration between their state-owned companies, Brazil’s Petrobras and Russia’s Gazprom. Moreover, Brazil’s macroeconomic stability and proficiency in biofuels and in ethanol production attract the attention of Russia. The Brazilian influence in Latin America and its positive contacts with the peripheral world, for example with the African Union, are also other triumphs perceived by Russia. Mr. Medvedev, who came to Brazil in 2009, has also noticed that the partnership should be broadened.

South-south cooperation is the relations’ core and the two states usually combine opinions in multilateral affairs. They are classified by some scholars as system affecting countries, needing to merge in order to achieve their objectives. That happened when Brazil and Russia joined China and India in the BRIC group, aiming to gain greater political bargain, and when the subprime crisis affected the economy. The two countries, coping with other emerging actors, pressed the more powerful economies for market regulation and to an even distribution of International Monetary Fund’s quotas.

It is imperative that Brazil and Russia improve their bilateral relations to grant a more important role in a complex world. Both countries have valuable appeals that can be shared and deepened in order to permit them a paramount position in the actual scenario. Common interests and an effective alteration in the international agenda can be assured by an organized approach in multilateral talks.

[Via http://nonrefoulement.wordpress.com]

JOBS ADS JUMP, BUSINESS CONFIDENCE LIFT AUSTRALIAN SHAREMARKET

A SURGE in job advertisements and improving business confidence data boosted the Australian sharemarket today.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose for the eighth consecutive day, closing higher by 12.2 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 4820.1 on light share-trading volumes, after an extremely quiet night on Wall Street.

The index bounced from 4791.1 to 4828.1 as confidence in the domestic economy was bolstered by economic data. ANZ Bank said job advertisements surged 19.1 per cent in February from January and National Australia Bank said its business confidence index rose 4 points to plus 19 points in February from January.

But the index failed to break through the seven-week high of 4828.5 struck yesterday.

“The domestic situation looks good in isolation,” said Wesley Legrand at Grand Private Equities. “But we have to see what global influences come to bear.” Mr Legrand remains concerned about the level of sovereign debt in Europe.

For the full article: The Australian

[Via http://jollygoodnews.wordpress.com]

Secret documents, obtained from the the CIA, paint "a very clear picture of what members of Congress knew about so-called enhanced interrogation techniques and when they knew it"

- So, when to we start the treason courts?

These people have DELIBERATELY put this country in harms way.

We should apply some penalties that make sense with these horrible crimes of Treason!

Washington, DC

(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has received a Memorandum from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) marked “Top Secret” that includes a detailed report of a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) closed hearing regarding the subject of enhanced interrogation techniques.  The CIA produced the document pursuant to a previous court order in Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the CIA (Judicial Watch v. Central Intelligence Agency, Case: 1:09-cv-01352).  The court order stipulates that documents pertaining to congressional briefings for Speaker Pelosi and other members of Congress on “enhanced interrogation techniques” must be provided to Judicial Watch by April 15th.

The following are excerpts from the Memorandum, dated July 14, 2004:

• Summary of testimony by DOD Official, Lt. Gen. William Boykin:  “At this point, General Boykin read a prepared statement to the Committee in which he asserted that interrogation is a critically valuable tool, and, citing observations made by service personnel at Ft. Bragg, said that the most [imp]ortant factor in the capture of Saddam Hussein was interrogation.”
• Summary of testimony by member of the CTC (Counterterrorism Center), name redacted:  “…Even today long term detainees like Khalid Shayk Muhammed and Zubaydah are providing good information because their histories go back a long way and often a tidbit they provide, while not initially operationally significant, ends up being the piece that completes the puzzle; DC/CTC closed by noting that he was personally persuaded that detainee reporting has saved lives.”
• Rep. Jane Harman:  “What do you think of the value of enhanced techniques?”  John Pistole, Witness for the FBI:  “In my view the benefits are huge and the costs are insignificant.  Very few detainees don’t provide us with good information….”
• Rep. Ruppersberger:  “Are there procedures that we have stopped that should be resumed?”  Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, the Army G-2, [now Director of the National Security Agency (NSA)]:  “Yes.  Diet and sleep management.  Those, plus segregation which is still employed, are key…”
• General Alexander also testified that field commanders wanted more “97E’s” (interrogators), “even to the point of trading off some of their combat troops.”
• Saddam Hussein was not subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques, but “friendly discussions with an eye to future public prosecution.”

The document also recounts an allegation by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) that the CIA had not been giving the committee “full and candid testimony on the detainee issue.”  Testimony also suggests that interrogators at Fort Bragg believed that “unobtrusive forms of interrogation are the best.”

“We are now beginning to get a very clear picture of what members of Congress knew about so-called enhanced interrogation techniques and when they knew it,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  “Intelligence officials repeatedly informed members of Congress that enhanced interrogation techniques are effective and save lives.  It is little wonder why the Obama administration would try to keep these documents hidden, given the administration’s ideological hostility to these effective interrogation techniques”

In February, Judicial Watch released documents, previously marked “Top Secret,” indicating that between 2001 and 2007, the CIA briefed at least 68 members of Congress on the CIA interrogation program, including so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques.”  The documents include the dates of all congressional briefings and, in some cases, the members of Congress in attendance and the specific subjects discussed.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who previously denied she was briefed by the CIA on the use of these techniques, is specifically referenced in a briefing that took place on April 24, 2002, regarding the “ongoing interrogations of Abu Zubaydah.”

http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2010/mar/judicial-watch-obtains-top-secret-memorandum-detailing-closed-congressional-hearing-en

[Via http://txlady706.wordpress.com]

Like pulling teeth

George Washington's teeth, between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915. (Library of Congress)

It’s been a long year but the final votes to pass this godforsaken health care reform bill are coming together. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi needs to wrangle 216 votes out of 431, and there are now 50 senators “open to using reconciliation to finish health reform.”

Back a couple weeks ago I was encouraging my readers to call their senators and request they support passing a public option via reconciliation. There are apparently now 37 senators willing to do that. Unfortunately, I think it’s pretty clear that is not going to happen this go, but the current bill is still a vast improvement over the status quo.

Even if you have already, call your senators and representative to ask for their “yes” vote on health care reform.

[Via http://knowyourgovernment.wordpress.com]