Bloggers in trouble

Should I feel sorry or what ? Sympathise ? Empathise ? I'm talking about those two blogging guys who got the editors of an established newspaper so riled up. Now those two bloggers are getting sued. Our two 'folk heroes' believe that they speak for the 'misinformed' public. Alternative and unspun news and facts. In fact, many other bloggers too have done the same, but..... they were not targetted. Even the politician bloggers (opposition and others) don't write nice things about the establishment. Nobody has stopped them yet. The common bond between these two cyber-writers is that both of them are unhappy with the newspaper's administration and editorial officials. So some unkind remarks or innuendos were written to embarrass or shame the news guys. Maybe they went out of line somewhere. Its common knowledge that one of the said bloggers used to be on that newspaper team. Maybe the pain of being 'let go' is still burning ? The other fellow is known to be feuding with one of the former editors and likes to ridicule the newspapers. I admit that I do read their blogs and its amazing how they can come up with such sensational stories sometimes. Very entertaining. They should have looked out for their readers comments. Some are so rude and insulting. These commenters will spoil and sullify your blogs. You can criticize, but don't libel. And what's with these news guys ? Makan cili kah ?

Johore flooded again !

Kluang, Kota Tinggi and several towns in southern Johore were flooded again, just three weeks after the first wave in mid-December 2006. Most of the folks had returned to their homes when the floodwaters receded just a few days ago. All the hard work of washing and cleaning their homes to make them liveable again was wasted. Now, some of them had to evacuate their houses to go back to the shelters. Some families claimed that not only their furniture and electrical appliances were destroyed, they found that some valuables and cash were 'missing'. We sometimes 'forget' about these things when our main priority at the time was to save our families and loved ones. We put our trust and faith on the 'security authorities' to keep our homes safe from looters and other like predators. Ever wondered who has access to the flood stricken properties ? Our national leader is not around again to visit the flood victims as he is away on 'official duties' in the Philippines. He promised to come and have a look as soon as he can. When the floods hit the southern states last month, he was on vacation, fishing and looking at a yacht in Turkey. But he did cut short his vacation to come and cuddle babies and mingle with the folks in the shelter. Every smart aleck knows what causes floods. Soil erosion from barren hillslopes causing heavy silting in the rivers and streams and long continuous heavy rains. Rich natural vegetation scraped away for 'mega projects'. There's one very ultra-mega project just recently launched in Johore. This project is named after the state ruler. What every smart aleck doesn't know is that any proposed project that covers more than a hectare of land area must submit an Environment Impact Assessment report to the Environment ministry. Somebody is not doing their job and somebody is faking the report. Who's going to take responsibility for the disaster ? Its been said, time and time again, don't mess around with Mother Nature. See what happened.

Looking back at 2006

Already one week into 2007 and this is my first post for 2007. The holiday mood is slowly fading and everyone's back in their business. Never expected the floods to be so devastating in Johore and the southern states. From the pictures we saw on tv and on internet sites, reminds us of the New Orleans floods in the US, and some coastal areas look like the tsunami aftermath. That is one of the most memorable events of 2006. Wonder what will Mother Nature hand us this year. If only we had preserved her natural assets and protected our environment, we would not be so devastated. Develop some more, cut the hillslopes, chop off the trees, choke the streams and rivers. When disaster comes , you ought to know who to blame. You asked for it. Malaysian politics can be summed up as this : Everybody thinks that they are smarter than the government and Prime Minister and can run the country better. Racial harmony and religious tolerance are not being given the chance to flourish because of certain chauvinistic parties. People without religious credentials shut up say the holier than thees. Local warlords and their kin can break the local bylaws and get away with them. Those other politicians who kick up the ruckus are plain envious, so they say. What next 2007 ? Will we Malaysians ever change ?