Malaysian Style: Asking questions that states the obvious

Malaysians love to ask questions that states the obvious, enjoy this video clip from Youtube...too funny and the word "Abuden?" is a Malaysian slang that means "What else could it be?".

I gotta love the lady that answered "I am bathing the caterpillars"....HAHAHAHA...please enjoy.

Joshua

The time is near: Semarak Reformasi

God is Good All The Time

When you are in doubt that whether God cares, remember this song that God is good all the time...:) Enjoy the song and know that God is always there for you.

Unanswered Prayers

I recently read an article by Anne Cetas entitled "Unanswered":-

"One of my biggest struggles is unanswered prayer. May be you can relate. You ask God to rescue a friend from addiction, to grant salvation to a loved one, to heal a sick child, to mend a relationship. All these things you think must be God's will. For years you pray. Yet you hear nothing back from Him and you see no results.

You remind the Lord that He's powerful and that your request is a good thing. You plead. You wait. You doubt- maybe He doesn't hear you, or maybe He isn't so powerful after all. You stop asking- for days and months. You feel guilty about doubting. You remember that God wants you to take your needs to Him, and you tell Him your requests again.

We may sometimes feel we're like the persistent widow in Jesus' parable recorded in Luke (Chapter 18) of the Bible. She keeps coming to the judge, badgering him and trying to wear him down so he'll give in. Yet we know that God is kinder and more powerful than the judge in the parable. We trust Him for He is good and wise and sovereign. We remember that Jesus said we "always ought to pray nad not lose heart"

So we ask Him, "summon Your power, O God; show us Your strength , as You have done before" (Psalm  68:28). Then we trust Him... and wait"

Delay is not denial, so keep praying and not lose heart. This also personally reminds me of my dear friend who was suffering colon cancer for 4 years before he went home to be with the Lord. The friend is none other than Terry Gallagher which I have mentioned several times throughout my blog, Terry is definitely to be included as in Hebrews 11: 13 &16 " All these people were still living in faith when they died...they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. There God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepare a city for them"

Therefore my friends, please never lose heart in seeking God's answer. At the end of the day, we live in faith that our hope will be fulfilled by the Almighty who delivered the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, who perform miraculous wonders that no one else is or will ever be able to perform other than Him alone.

Faith is a journey and not a destination. If we know every single thing that will happen in the future, then we would not need any faith in our lives.

Some atheist are so sure and convinced that God does not exist but they themselves are not even sure of their own future.

God bless us all.

Joshua

People's Power the heart of Democracy.

While the mainstream media in Malaysia like RTM 1, RTM 2, TV3, NTV 7 (TV channels) and newspaper like Utusan Malaysia, The Star, Berita Harian, New Strait Times playing over, over and over of the violent acts of  the 0.001% provocateurs/ saboteurs of the worldwide and nationwide rally for free and fair election in Malaysia. Let's have a true glimpse of the rest of the 99.99% crowd for free and fair elections. The spring of democracy and unity have arrived in Malaysia. There's no tyrant nor dictator in any civilizations in prehistoric era to the modern-information era in the world was/ is able to stop the arrival of spring. Please have a look:



May God almighty clean the country from corrupt and tyrant leaders!

Marina Mahathir's Bersih 3.0 Experience.

My Bersih 3.0 experience: Behind the barbed-wire barricades
— Marina Mahathir

The Malaysian Insider

Apr 29, 2012

APRIL 29 — It was the barbed wire that did it for me. Up til Friday afternoon I was still unsure about going. My hubby thought I’d already made my point last year. I was annoyed with continually being asked whether I was going or not, more so with the non-story that came out in M’kini which basically said I hadn’t decided yet. I mean, does it matter?

 

Then I saw the photos of the police rolling out the barbed wire and I saw red. Since when did our police, or whoever is their boss, roll out barbed wire — barbed wire!! — against their own people?? Are we thugs? Terrorists? Thieves?

 

So I decided to go. I contacted friends and found out their plans on how to get round the roads which were sure to be blocked and the LRT which may be stopped. The same friend who so kindly offered to be my ‘bodyguard’ last year offered himself again. We got into my car, went to collect some other friends and drove to as close to Central Market as we could.

Part of the way down Jln Brickfields we couldn’t go any further so we got down to walk. On one side of the street were thousands of people in yellow walking in the direction of the Central Market. On the other side of the street were hundreds of police in their dark blue uniforms. But they didn’t look hostile and just watched us go by.

We got to the Central Market which was swarming with people. Earlier I’d read a tweet that said that people were going into the Market to have lunch and my friends and I were laughing about Malaysians and their food. “Well,” we said, “Central Market restaurants will get a lot of business!”. But when we got there, the Market was totally closed. So all those restaurants lost business today!

Caught up with friends in the car park while we sat to wait. It was HOT!! On the little CM stage, Ambiga was seated there with many of our colleagues from women’s groups. I went up to say hello, took some photos and then went down to wait again. At 1.20pm or so, Ambi took the mike to announce that we were going to move off soon, heading towards Dataran Merdeka. But, she added, we were not to breach the barriers, we would only go as far as we could and then we would simply sit down for a while and then disperse.

The atmosphere was much more fiesta-like than last year. There were people in yellow T-shirts or in other colours, in shorts or in tudungs, lots of young ones and some also of a certain age. Like last year, it was a very diverse crowd. I bumped into some old friends, some young people I knew including a nephew and the children of some friends, and met some new ones, people who were coming to a rally for the first time ever. These were not radical highly-politicised types, just your average men and women, the type you’d meet at the supermarket perhaps. I asked one newbie woman why she came and she said it was because she realised that if she wanted change, then she had to do something.

After Ambiga spoke and a quick briefing by the marshals, we moved off. Because of the crowd we made our way slowly, stopping every now and then to take photos of the awesome crowd and ourselves. At Central Market I estimated there were at least 6,000 people that I could see (though I have to say I’m bad at estimates) but many, many more joined us as we walked along.

When we got to Lebuh Pasar Besar, there was a big crowd on it facing the direction of Dataran Merdeka while others continued on to Jalan Tun Perak. We decided we would stay on Lebuh Pasar Besar (where the Bar Council is) and made our way towards the bridge across the Klang River (just before Agro Bank). That was where we had to stop because the police had put up a barrier of barbed wire (actually my husband said it’s razor wire, not barbed wire) and those red plastic road barriers, all stamped ‘DUKE’. On the other side of the barrier stood a whole row of police. Most look quite senior and they simply stood there and looked at us.

I got to the front of the barrier where someone had put up a sign that said ‘Welcome to Tel Aviv’. It felt very accurate. The police recognised me and nodded. I asked them, “What is this?” pointing at the razor wire, which has blades on them which can seriously cut you if you get hurled on to them (see close-up pic above). The senior cop there shrugged and gave a wan smile. “This makes me sad,” I said to him. Again he shrugged.

We stood there for a while. Some people started to sing Negara Ku so we all joined in. The senior cop who shrugged at me stood at attention, really the only one who did so. Some people started chanting ‘Bukak, bukak!’ meaning open the barriers. But overall there were high spirits but nothing provocative.

Then suddenly all the cops moved back, away from us. We were puzzled but in a short while we realised why. Several police trucks moved in and headed in our direction. For a moment I wondered if they were simply going to mow us down. Then they retreated again. Next a whole row of police with helmets, batons and shields formed in front of the trucks facing us. Again we wondered if they were going to charge us, which seems silly because they too would have come up against the razor wire.

Someone then told us to sit down. So we did on our side of the barrier while on the other side, about 10 metres away, the police were lined up with their shields and batons. It looked like it was going to be a battle of wills, who would last longer in the heat. We were prepared to sit for the next two hours til 4pm, the appointed dispersal time.

After about 15 minutes sweating behind the razor wire, someone told us to move back and disperse. “We must use our brains. Don’t provoke. It’s time to move back.” So we moved away from the barriers and milled around the streets, just looking at people. Bumped into more friends and chatted to random people who said hello. It was a nice atmosphere, akin to going to a fun run or something like that.

We then read a Star tweet that said that Ambiga said Bersih 3.0 was already successful and we can all now disperse. So my friends and I made our way back to Brickfields, got into my car and drove home.

It was only after that that we started to get SMSes and tweets regarding teargas at Dataran Merdeka. It was a shock because up til then there was nothing to indicate that the police might do that, even when they brought the ones with the helmets and shields out. We passed many cops on our way home and they hardly looked at us.

My phone was running low on battery and I had to wait til I got home before hearing from my daughter that she had been tear-gassed. She was part of a team video-streaming the events today and was near Dataran Merdeka, stuck among thousands of people, when some people, against Bersih’s instructions, breached the barriers and ran onto the Dataran. The police then started running away from them and soon they saw why: the teargas canisters being fired at them. Her first time being tear-gassed, she said it was awful but people around her were all helping one another. What was more frightening was the fear of being crushed but luckily people were so mindful of this that if anyone fell, they were immediately given space and a hand up. She’s fine though and I never really worried about her because she had a friend with her who was tasked with making sure she was alright.

(Her videos, along with those by others, are now on the Bersih428 YouTube channel).

Since reaching home, I’ve been trying to keep up with the many, many reports on today’s events, both the good and the bad. Yes, there were some people who misbehaved, let’s be honest. We don’t know who they are but in such a large crowd there are bound to be people like that, despite instructions from the Bersih steering committee and marshals not to provoke anyone. There are also very likely agent provocateurs who are out to make trouble and discredit Bersih.

But it doesn’t detract from the fact that an unbelievable number of people turned out today, far more than last year, and compared to the incidents of bad behaviour, there was a far larger number of people who marched and rallied peacefully. I hardly saw anyone with a frown or a scowl but lots of happy smiles. Just like last year, I never once felt unsafe. Instead I felt part of a large Malaysian community, all together for one cause. Or two, since the anti-Lynas people also turned out in huge numbers.

Here’s a report from the UK’s Independent newspaper which is pretty accurate although there were far, far more than 25,000 people there. It was hard to see everybody but it had to be about 50,000-80,000. There are thousands and thousands of photos and videos being uploaded right now. So go take a look and decide for yourself. I also hope people will put up their personal stories too.

I’m sorry that there were people who got injured, both protestors and police. None of that was really necessary. A few weeks ago, at the International Women’s Day rally in PJ, 5,000 people turned up and there was absolutely no violence because the police left everyone alone to do their thing. The same could have happened today, if only the powers-that-be could have been wiser.

One more thing, about those politicians who were there. At Central Market there were some there but they were not allowed to speak. Along the march, if anyone started any chants that sounded political, others wouldn’t take it up and they pretty soon petered out. Like last year, the most popular chants were those that simply said ‘Bersih’ and ‘Hidup Rakyat’. Most were simple ordinary people, who just want to express how they feel and who really have no time for politicians.

Besides, which politician or political party, from any side, can mobilise anything as incredible as Global Bersih? — rantingsbymm.blogspot.com

Change, Save Malaysia!

As democracy flourishes in Myanmar with Nobel Peace Laurrete Auug San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) wins all the 43 seats it contested in the recent by-election in Myanmar. It's time for Malaysians to decide a better future for the country and its people.

Change, Save Malaysia!

Ubah, Selamatkan Malaysia!

Human love may fail but God's love never will.

Not everyone relationship, no matter how much love you put into it will guarantee a happy ending BUT through God's love for us, there's no doubt that there will be a happy ending. No matter how much the Devil wants to see God's death and destruction, Love will always prevail no matter how dark evil can be.

If you have experience God's love, its never a unsuitable time to "pass it on"

Joshua

May knocked down but not out forever...

Friends are the flowers in the garden of life

Friends are the flowers in the garden of life, great friends are the trees in the garden of life that protect and comfort us. Friends, I want to say that I have a beautiful garden of life, it's not perfect but it's good enough for me until all of us live together the in the garden of Heaven forever and ever.

Joshua

MYLAUNCHPAD NEWS | Cybercriminals target phones, Android 'most exposed'

MYLAUNCHPAD NEWS Cybercriminals target phones, Android 'most exposed'

by Hui Min Neo

BARCELONA, (AFP) - Cybercriminals are sneaking a fast-increasing amount of malware into smartphones to steal data or even money, with those running on Google's Android most exposed to security threats, analysts said.

While the Android open concept has gained the hearts of those who find the iPhone too closely managed by Apple, it is also turning out to be the Google operating system's Achilles heel.

"Something really worrying about the Google model, which is also the beauty of that model, is the openness of the environment," Cesare Garlati, consumer specialist at security firm Trend Micro, told AFP.

Anyone can create or install an application on an Android phone, Garlati pointed out, as opposed to the Apple controlled Appstore which imposes a layer of screening.

"Android's security model basically says, it is the responsibility of the end user to judge if an application is secure.

"I think that is asking too much from the user. Who is able to understand if a vendor is legitimate?" he asked.

Trend Micro surveyed independent analysts about security features on the four main mobile operating systems -- Apple's iOS, RIM's BlackBerry, Microsoft's Windows and Google's Android -- and found that Blackberry was ranked most secure and Android the least.

BlackBerry benefitted from the fact that it was originally designed more as a platform than a device, while iOS, ranked second most secure, was tightly controlled by Apple.

Nevertheless, Garlati stressed that "no platform is immune from problems."

With over a billion people expected to own a smartphone by 2013, cybercheats are increasingly setting their sights on the market.

Several sessions at this year's Mobile World Congress therefore addressed security, with companies including McAfee, SAP, Kaspersky Lab all trotting out new security products for tablets or smartphones. Technology company Juniper Networks compiled a "record number of mobile malware attacks" in 2011, particularly on Android phones.

In 2010, just 11,138 mobile malware samples were recorded, but they soared 155 percent to 28,472 in 2011, the company said. Just under half -- 46.7 percent -- occurred on Android phones, said Juniper, whose study did not look into Apple breaches.

"The combination of Google Android's dominant market share and the lack of control over the applications appearing in the various Android application stores created a perfect storm, giving malware developers the means and incentives to focus on the platform," the group said.

Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive of the eponymous computer security firm, said: "We are pretty sure that this will follow the computer's evolution," pointing out that threats had surged from 90,000 in 2004 to some 16 million in 2011, with internet transactions largely fueling the rise. Some criminals are hiding "malicious code in legitimate applications" that consumers are downloading unwittingly. Once they have gained access to data on the phone, they are stealing information that could be used in identity theft or in illegal transactions.

A further incentive for cybercriminals to breach smartphone security is that unlike computers, each phone "has a direct link to money" through the SIM card, Denis Maslennikov, Kaspersky Lab's senior malware analyst said. Criminals are able, for instance, to implant so-called trojan horses that prompt phones to send SMSes to premium numbers.

"In 2012, the whole malware industry will become a fact we will have to deal with," he warned.

Time to move on?

Question:

I got a question from a friend recently asking when is a good time to move on from a failed relationship? When to give up?

Answer:

It will be time to move on when you're thinking about the relationship too much and it's not getting anywhere.

Post-answer comment:

I guess at the end of the day, anykind of relationships whether a special life-partner relationship to a friendship or even a pet-human relationship, it will always take two sides to maintain a healthy and happy relationship.

Except for a relationship with God, others will always have a chance to let you down but I am thankful that I am blessed with friends for nearly a decade that couldn't offer anymore genuine heartfelt friendships that one can ever ask for, for that thank you for being you, my friends and praise the Lord for all of you!

So it is your time to move on from something/ someone that bitters your soul? Wish them well in the heart and move on with your head held high because God still loves you.

Joshua

How cute can Ice Rats be?



Cows crossing the road...

I was driving the other day and a cow decided to cross the road (it was actually a herd but only managed to snap one in the picture). So I had to stop and was even able to take a picture haha. Cute creatures of God. However, it can be hazardous, since this is not a farming area, owners of the herd should be more responsible, as it is dangerous for the road users and the animals.

Anyway, God bless us all.

Joshua

Hoping for snow...

The view outside of my room during my stay in Shotley, Suffolk, England on Christmas Eve morning. I was peeking outside the window as early as 7.00 am to see if there was any snow, I've not seen snow falling off from the sky throughout my entire lifetime...lol. No white Christmas for me during my stay though, but it doesn't mean that it was any less amazing.

Until the next picture...

Adios, May God bless us all...

Joshua

My Christmas 2011

Had a great Christmas in England. This is the Christmas Tree where I spent Christmas, lovely people, lovely food, bless them all. Thank you for having me over for Christmas, Howell family! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Now, the Lunar/Chinese New Year, Year of the Dragon will be on 23rd January 2012 and will be eating more...more calories and hopefully more laugthers to burn those calories off...haha.

Take care everyone.

Joshua