WATCH: "You could tell he was scoping out the trouble aspects of it."
But eventually the ANWAR loses patience with UMNO.
Caimans are relatively small crocodilian reptiles in the Alligatoridae family that live in Central and South America.
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The new work comes from three psychological scientists at the City University of New York (Kendall Eskine, Natalie Kacinik and Jesse Prinz) who started off exploring a possible connection between morality and taste -- not aesthetic taste, but actual taste, in the mouth. A recent and growing body of research is showing that thinking and judgment can be powerfully influenced by the body and its interaction with the world. Everything from cleanliness to temperature can shape the way we think and feel, and the CUNY scientists wondered if taste might similarly mold our thoughts about right and wrong.
So they did a simple test. They recruited a group of volunteers for a study of arm-hand movements, and as part of that study they asked them to very quickly pick up and drink a "shot" of beverage. In fact, the motion study was a ruse -- a cover for the actual study. For that, some of the volunteers drank water, while others drank a sweet punch, and still others a bitter herbal concoction. The idea was to see if taste influences emotions -- especially disgust -- which in turn shape moral judgment.
They measured moral judgment using several vignettes involving transgressions. One of these vignettes had to do with, yes, unreturned library books. Others focused on corrupt politicians, shoplifters, ambulance-chasing lawyers, a man eating his dead dog and second cousins having sex. In each case, the volunteers rated the acts on a continuum from "extremely morally wrong" to "not at all morally wrong." Finally, the volunteers noted whether they considered themselves politically liberal or conservative.
When they analyzed all the data, the results were unambiguous. As reported online in the journal, Psychological Science, taste dramatically influenced moral judgment, such that physical disgust resulting from the bitter drink led to much harsher moral judgments. What's more, self-identified conservatives who drank the bitter drink were much more judgmental than conservatives who drank sweet punch or water. Liberals' moral judgments were unaffected by what they drank.
Why was this effect more pronounced in people espousing conservative politics? It's not entirely clear, but one possibility is that disgust, as an emotion, is closely connected with one's sense of purity and the violation of that sensibility. Purity norms are more prevalent in conservative than in liberal morality. This also fits well with the fact that most people can't articulate the reasons for their moral positions: When pressed for rationales, most people concede that this or that act simply "feels" right or wrong, just as Jerry's overdue book upset Mr. Bookman at his very core.
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Rosma Crying 2 Rahim Thamby UMNO is in a mess. A gigantic mess dear. Rahim Thamby Fix it!” Right now
Rahim Thamby Chik Tongue Tornado! carelessly spoken words that can cause a lifetime’s regret
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PKR legal bureau chief Latheefa Koya slammed the New York-based Ethisphere Institute.is another frog under coconut shell
Can we get Mahatir now for saying “How dare you raid my Malayalee officer ?” law and order” rather than “order and law
This persons I know also has no remorse whatsoever -- they will destroy people's trust, entire careers, etc. without a blinking an eye. Knowing them has been a learning experience for me, too. I have thought of them as a black hole, sucking in and destroying everything near them.
related article The Doctor in the House Doing Overtime The Predictability of Predictions
"At some point governments and corporations must have accountability for their actions, just like individuals. If there is no one monitoring their actions, how can we assume that they will act in the our best interests? I feel our government has been less than honest with its people."
WAKING UP TO CLASS POLITICS IN MALAYSIA ? WILL THE REAL HONEST MALAY PLEASE STAND UP
Be afraid, Umno; be very afraid
WATCH: "You could tell he was scoping out the trouble aspects of it."
But eventually the ANWAR loses patience with UMNO.
Caimans are relatively small crocodilian reptiles in the Alligatoridae family that live in Central and South America.
A tribute to whistle-blowers
"Can you meet me at Barista now? Make sure no one follows you," the shaky voice on the phone told me on a sultry April afternoon last year. He sounded nervous, but finally gathered the courage to meet me after much persuasion.
At the popular coffee shop outside the landmark Regal cinema in south Mumbai, Zende (name changed), a senior official of the city's electricity and transport undertaking (BEST), unravelled how the development rights of a prime bus depot plot was awarded to a developer, Indiabulls, at a throwaway price a few weeks earlier. As we sipped cold coffee, Zende betrayed a sense of constant anxiety, fearing he would be hounded and victimised by his seniors if found leaking information.
These are the brave anonymous and faceless whistle-blowers whom many journalists depend on for tip offs, just as the police bank on their informers. Based on Zende's information, The Times of India published a series of investigative reports over the next few days, which rocked the city and made the then chief minister Ashok Chavan (later caught in the Adarsh scam himself) intervene and order a probe into the land transaction. During this time, Zende took many risks in parcelling out sensitive documents to back up my articles. On one occasion, we met inside the leafy compound of an architecture college, eating Vadas in the canteen. His paranoia made him believe that his boss may be tapping his phone.
As in virtually all murky deals, the BEST had invited bids from builders to develop a strategically-located bus depot plot in Mumbai's western suburb of Santa Cruz. The tender document stipulated that bidders must quote a minimum price of Rs 369 crore, a figure that was arrived at by key officials after evaluating the value of this prime real estate.
Yet, barely two weeks before the bids were to be opened, the BEST administration suddenly decided to scrap this reserve price and allowed prospective bidders to quote any price they wanted. With barely four developers putting in their offers, the rapidly-growing real estate company Indiabulls got the development rights for just Rs 50 crore after it turned out to be the highest bidder.
The BEST Workers' Union described it is an "obvious scam". Chavan later told me that the transaction "sounds suspicious" and that he would get to the bottom of this controversy. When the CM finally ordered the inquiry, the BEST administration decided that it was no longer prudent to go ahead with processing the acceptance of Indiabulls' bid. It cancelled the land deal. Zende had a triumphant look when I met him again. "We need to celebrate this over beer," he said, before we parted. It's been over a year since then. Neither of us kept that promise.
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DR MAHATHIR’S PERFACT COSMETIC SURGERY ON KTM
PETALING JAYA (Aug 5, 2010) : Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said today the ministry welcomed an MACC probe into KTMB’s RM1.89 billion purchase of electric trains from China as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). He told theSun the ministry had no qualms about the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission accepting the PAC’s recommendations. “If PAC feels MACC should investigate, we have no problems with that,” he said. Kong said that as far as he was concerned, the MACC is welcome to probe any previous or current project undertaken by the ministry. “If the MACC wants to investigate, (by all means) … we won’t be selective … neither will we protect anyone.” theSun reported yesterday that PAC had formally made a request to the anti-graft body in a letter last week, and had included a copy of PAS MP Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad’s debate speech on the 10th Malaysia Plan delivered during the March parliamentary meeting. Dzulkefly was unhappy with Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad’s agreement with ZhuZhou Electric Locomotive Co Ltd of China to buy by direct negotiation, 38 units of six-car Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains at a cost of RM48 million each, which may be RM500 million more for the whole deal. The company had earlier won a tender to supply eight three-car EMU units at a cost of RM13.725 million each. The tender for the three-car units in 2008 was, however, cancelled following new demands and needs highlighted by the National Key Results Area (NKRA) for urban public transportation. The NKRA had highlighted the need for a rapid increase in passenger capacity. Asked about specifications yesterday, Kong said he was unsure of the technical details. “These things were done much earlier and the deal even before I came into the ministry, though there is some final paperwork to be done,” he said. Former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat however in his blog (http://ongteekeat.net/) postings today, said the differences are not as simple as the CCTV and slide presentation panel as Dzulkefly claimed. He however did not divulge further details on specifications. “In my earlier blog posting (July 1), I did touch upon the difference in specifications between the 38 sets in question and the eight sets of three-rail car EMUs tendered earlier but later cancelled and unawarded. “This was done solely based on my knowledge of the difference in specifications when I served as minister, though the direct negotiation and the subsequent award of contract was under the jurisdiction of the MOF (Finance Ministry),” Ong wrote. In his July 1 posting, Ong wrote: “Any price comparison must always be based on the technical specifications, or we run the risk of comparing apples with oranges.” Yesterday, the Pandan MP said Dzukefly should have a better grasp of the detail specifications with a real understanding of the financial implications linked to the urgency of the purchase. He stressed that he had “no intention of playing spokesman” for the Transport Ministry or other agency, but was merely guided by his conscience “to voice my concern over the matter”. “To me, any well-intentioned move to protect the public interest would only be meaningful if we can get the facts right,” Ong added. When the news broke that Najib has struck a deal with Singapore’s counterpart Lee Hsien Loong regarding the KTM land in Singapore, I am surprised to see some commentators and readers sounding positive with it. Some readers on Malaysiakini were even surprisingly critical of Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s suspicion of the deal. Not much detail has been disclosed regarding the deal, so judging the merits of the deal is certainly premature. However, we should note that any deal coming from a prime minister of Malaysia with no track record of integrity is always alarming, especially when it seems to be rushed and little detail is disclosed. You can’t fault anyone to think of another “submarine” or “Altantuya”. And let’s wait for further details to be disclosed, if it will ever come. I bet many who are positive with the deal have not personally visited the KTM site. They would fail to appreciate the full opportunity (read: $$$) that Malaysia could be missing out.  Click for larger view The KTM land is located in Tanjong Pagar (lower left corner in the map), right at the end of a major street called Shenton Way. The area consisting of Shenton Way and Robinson Road is the heart of Singapore’s financial industry, where important institutions and landmarks, like Monetary Authority of Singapore (Singapore’s Bank Negara), The Treasury, DBS Bank, CPF (Singapore’s EPF), SIA Tower, Capital Tower, International Plaza and Singapore Exchange, are located. At the adjacent area called the Marina Bay, the ‘new CBD (central business district)’ is currently under heavy development. That’s where the most expensive property can be found. And incidentally that’s also where the newly open ’sin city’ of Singapore – Marina Sans Integrated Resort a.k.a. the casino – is located. The expressway at the bottom of the map snaking across is East Coast Parkway (ECP). Lands north of ECP are all prime (huge $$$), and south of it are the parks, sea and Keppel port. You can see that the remaining space with potential for further development is none other than the KTM land. To appreciate the vicinity of the KTM land, look at the photo below:  Turn right at the end of Shenton Way, that is KTM Terminal Considering the heavy development going on in the vicinity and the relatively large area size, the KTM land is a gold mine. By accident to the Malaysian government, of course, for nobody decades ago would imagine a train terminal sitting on a gold mine. It is under this context that all people of Malaysia should scrutinise the deal, whether or not the Najib administration has done for the maximum benefit of the country, whether or not there are any under-table deals undisclosed, for the benefits of his cronies. Only through disclosure of full details, especially the financial considerations, will the deal have a chance to be acceptable to all. readmore | ||||
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