IRANIAN REVOLUTION (1979)
GULF WAR (1990-1991)
INDIAN NUCLEAR TESTS (1998)
9/11 (2001)
WMDS IN IRAQ (MID-2000S)
TUNISIAN REVOLUTION (2011)
EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION (2011)
Masterwordsmith
The process of collecting and analyzing intelligence is comparable to predicting an earthquake, Panetta said at Thursday’s hearing. “People can tell you where the tremors are, they can tell you where the fault lines are,” he said. “They can tell you the threat of something happening is close, but they can’t tell you exactly when the earthquake will take place.”
It is quite evident that BN has the upper hand in the race to the next GE. Support for Pakatan Rakyat is waning due to many reasons including the fast imploding PKR, the implications of the verdict in Anwar’s Sodomy II Trial on Anwar and PKR and other factors.
Most of us seem to be either in political fatigue, or going about with a newly-acquired apolitical stance or filled with skepticism. Yet, the fact remains that the next GE is fast approaching, probably sooner than we think.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES Eventually, individuals like Masterwordsmith are identified. They are mocked till the next scandal emerges. Rather than identifying the core issues and dealing with them, we are often taken aback by the audacity of political leaders to ally with Masterwordsmith Is it that big of a surprise to know that the major UMNO -BARISAN employ a group of people to lobby likes Masterwordsmith at all time? Maybe it is time to take corruption out of the murky undergrounds, exposed it to the daylight of regulation and recognize that money and politics will also be intermingled. It is about time to regulate this phenomenon so that such high level exploitation does not occur. Democracy is flawed. How else would you explain the perverted incentive system that plagues democracies? We call this plague corruption In Indian politics, the rise of big money is relatively new. But the perception of political leaders being affiliated to business remains morally blasphemous in society. While fundraising isn’t illegal in Malaysia, it highly discouraged in our social practices. Instead, when businesses approach political leaders, it has to be in the shady night. The consequence Legalising Corruption It was called lobbying. For all practical purposes lobbying can be thought of as controlled corruption. Businesses register as interest groups and approach political leaders with their plans. Any transaction that takes place between the politician and the lobbyist is recorded and made available upon request. You don’t see hoards of money floating around because interactions are regulated (or American politicians are particularly good at hiding the money). This doesn’t mean that America isn’t haunted by lobbying issues but they are better at dealing with it. A World Bank economist commented on the current corruption crisis by saying “even greed needs to regulated.”Have you noticed the increasing use of the “I” word in conversations around us? “I did this”; “I said that…” “Ultimately, I had to resolve the situation…” When someone goes wrong, “Didn’t I warn you beforehand…?” When someone achieves something, “Oh, I always knew you would win this!” When something untoward happens, “I did have a premonition…”And don’t just smile and nod in agreement. You do it too! All of us have this deep-seated, all-pervasive need to make our mark on events around us. Most conversations end up being nothing but an overlap of “I-s”, where each one tries to tell his story, readmore http://themalaysiantribune-taxidriver.blogspot.com/2011/02/malaysia-today-is-playboy-but.html
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