the digital war of lies and propaganda

Dan Brown once stated that history is written by the eventual winners. Be it a war, a debate, a slight friction or a psychological battle, the victorious side writes their account of events with what they perceive as the absolute truth.

The truth is nothing is absolute truth, since it is impossible for men not to write something without flaws, errors and mistakes. We just tend to read the story from one side of the curtain.

Imagine this utopian scene, if the Axis power consisting of Germany, Italy and Japan had won the World War II. Yes, there would be a need to re-label and re-classify and re-write history books. The Allies of Soviet Union, United States and the British Empire are terrorists in their version of history. Hitler would have become the national hero back in Germany, revered by millions. Stalin would be reclassified as the enemy. So on and so forth.

While back then the only media existed were printing publications, there was relatively scarce supply of reliable sources. People in Germany at that moment probably believed anything mentioned by the mouth of Hitler, as he had this tenacity, this audacious aura of him condemning the Jews as a part of his propaganda. While there maybe truth in his assertions of the Jews, branding a whole group based on the actions of a part of the populus is not justified. But there was nobody else to listen to, and soon when the propaganda hit the accelerator pedal, posters and publications spread sporadically and later it became a national agenda of the Germans to go to war.

Then it was the television. The idiot box as some might call it. Quite frankly, television is controlled by the government. The Israeli media also has their own tv channels, broadcasting their version of truth of the recent attacks on Gaza. While Al-Jazeera broadcasts their version of what was happening in Gaza.

I was given a link of the writings by Uri Avnery, an Israeli left wing politician vying for peace and found a fresh perspective of events that has been going on in Israel. He revealed the lies told in the Israeli media, for example they televised that the UN school attack by the Israelie army was due to shots from Hamas terrorists from inside the school.

They were none. Zero terrorists. The only people inside were people taking refuge. Those merciless beings showing how heartless they are.

But in this digital era, the new propaganda is through the internet. There are multiple websites, blogs and pages on the web showing videos, displaying facts and articles of the mass killings of Palestinians.

In the mid 1990s, there were people who believed that all Jews are evil, a Hitler-ish idea but through the internet, we managed to find pictures of Rabbis protesting the existence of their so called "Promised Land".

And Israelis themselves are not left behind. Through YouTube, they posted a video, supposedly of a precise attack of Palestinians on their base camp. In actuality, BBC did an interview of the victim of the attack, who happens to be a Palestinian! It was the other way around, something we might call as twisted truth. Yet, why are lies constantly being told, if they are on the right path?

According to IslamOnline.net, social networking websites have started their very own version of the war. On facebook, a group called "I Wonder How Quickly I Can Find 1,000,000 People Who Support Israel..," collected 150,000 members.

While another group, "Let's Collect 500,000 signatures to support Palestinians in Gaza" had 650,000 members on their back, far more than what they asked for!

For the record, i don't have a facebook account.

People power as some might refer it to. Not quite the hippie era of the 70s when they also protested the Vietnam war. While the hippie era involved a sect of people in the world, the Internet Propaganda is reaching every room around the world in an instant. Not necessarily to find the truth, but to get the whole idea of what is going on, on both sides of the fence. Just a few clicks and you're on.

Now it is time for the world to know that the only holocaust is not only the one in Germany during the World War II period, but also the holocaust done by the Israeli Defence Forces in Palestine which is still going on and on.

As i mentioned before. Re-label. Re-classify. Re-write.

PS : This is a commentary of articles written by Uri Avnery and the one on IslamOnline.net. This is a precursor of my upcoming article , "Download : History of the Internet".

A Sheikh's Tale

Forget Barack Hussein Obama for a moment!

This is a Sheikh's Tale. Not your regular serban wearing, sermon preaching, kebab eating Sheikh of Arabia! Those are Sheikhs Version 1.0.

This is..the Sheikh of Tanah Malaya. The modern version of a Sheikh. Sheikh Version 123.456. Very updated. Very modern. Shirt wearing, nasi lemak eating, space travelling Sheikh.

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is Malaysia's first astronaut, who works as an Orthopaedic Surgeon. Since his looks were far more superior (sadly,Sheikh's looks are more inferior to mine) to Dr. Faiz, he was chosen to be Malaysia's first astronaut.

You're lucky i wasn't there Sheikh.

It was debated that his forays to outerspace were a waste of funds. In other words, a waste of taxpayers' money. The money of the people. OUR money. I would, say, slightly disagree with that. That's a personal opinion.

And there are accusations of him demanding payments from giving talks, lectures and whatnots around Malaysia.

A Russian tabloid reports that he is a sex symbol of Russian women! Phew.

Human beings do show a higher affinity to negativity. These are rumours nevertheless and IF those accusations are true, i hope he does good with the money and spends the fortune for charity.

Now i want to talk about the fame that comes after being the first cosmonaut. Fame is a two sided coin. Pros and cons. Duality in nature. And Sheikh has shone the positive side of the coin to the kids who aspire to become astronauts.

Come on! Imagine you're at school and Sheikh drops by. Girls will be dazzled by his good looks, while boys would go, "CoOoOL! Now he's a real spaceman!".

The plump Afiq Fikri at the age of 10, although relatively shy, would go :-

"Assalamualaikum Sheikh!". With a thick Arabic accent.

"Waalaikumussalam handsome boy!".

"Did you like..errmmm...ya know...meet Ultraman over there. I heard that he's from outerspace."

"Yeah, i did! In fact Ultraman Taro and Father of Ultra sent their warm regards to you, their number one fan!"

"Ow really! That's ultracool! I wanna meet them too!"

Cut the crap. Well, you see that projection of fame. Fame could be toxic, but Sheikh has inspired lots of kids to have dreams and ambitions. So don't take fame as blindly as cheap popularity, because if you manage to control the fame attached to your name, you will be able to make a whole lot of difference in the world.

He managed to show the world that Islam is practical and is a life discipline even in outer space.

As a representative of Malaysian Mosques Youth Assembly, he went to Gaza to as a part of the humanitarian aid and whenever kids in Gaza saw him, in an instant, they would recognize him as an astronaut.

To put smiles on the faces of those kids in a war torn country, Sheikh has taken away the misery in their sorrow hearts, although it is temporary. But he has done his part.

My good friend Rizal (hope you're reading this), pursuing his medical degree in Indonesia, also dreams of becoming an astronaut one day, just like Sheikh.

Well Rizal, you've got a competitor. May the best man win. I'll make my six pack to become eight or nine starting tonight.

Now, where did i put my orthopaedics and traumatology text book?

The Herald Issue..Allah or Tuhan?

I just don't get it.

I was reading the Malay Male today, regarding the request of the Herald (a weekly catholic newspaper) to use the word 'Allah' in their publication.

With due respect, it is not wrong for them to use the word to designate God. It is not copyrighted to Malays or to Islam, but it is an Arabic word.

Islam originated from Arab and the Quraan, our Holy Book is in Arabic. Even our prayers are in Arabic, thus we use Allah instead of mentioning anything in the Malay language.

But the fundamental issue is that, they are publishing the Malay language edition of the newspaper. So why did they prefer to use an Arabic word for God, instead of the Malay word for God, "Tuhan".

What are they trying to prove? That they're arabic enough to use the word?

Their original scripture was in Hebrew. So why didn't they use the word "Yahweh" which is God in Hebrew.

I still don't get it.

A quarter of a century old...that's not old enough..that's very very old...

Zafarul Asyraf, Liverpool fan, Ahmad Zakiran and Firdauz

To Zafarul Asyraf :

Maybe you're wandering somewhere on Broadway, the 5th Avenue or Times Square right now. Wherever you are, i hope you realize you're 25=1/4 of century years old.

At 25, you're a walking piece of artifact, a historical piece of walking artifact. You're very old let me remind you of that.

Come back save, teach me how to cook, and let's all pray Liverpool will win the Premier League this season. It's your 'second' team, ain't that true?

Happy 25th Birthday.

Real Madrid>Barceclowna.

To Firdauz :

Do take note that i typed your name correctly with the Z at the back.

Let's prepare Coconut Jam/Spread (kaya) tomorrow morning.

Happy Birthday. Let's go Takraw!

You're 22. But you look older than me. Too bad.

Death of Jerry

You're probably busy watching or downloading the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, House, Dirty Sexy Money or maybe the lackluster 'Heroes', but recently i was forced to watch one psychologically disturbing series called "The Tom and Jerry Show".

Cats and mice. Eternal enemies. Forever foes. And in this idle mode i am currently in, i still can't come to terms with the fact that Jerry always, always comes on top on every "Tom and Jerry Show".

I prefer Tom, a cat who does his job well, to look over to house, specifically to kill mices like Jerry.

It's just stereotype episode by episode. Jerry steals a piece of cheese, runs and fools Tom, Tom ends up being burnt, chopped, slashed, squashed and electrocuted.

Tom tries hard but still, he is not able to kill that elusive twat, Jerry.

Of course if he does kill Jerry, that would spell the end of the series.

And i've always thought people liked Tom more than Jerry, since these mice, all they do is steal food, they inhabit our houses, these sources of infection, these small furry rodents are just disturbing to the sight!

To my surprise, people love Jerry because of him being a smart mouse, always manages to find his way out of every acute situation.

I hate Jerry, so i am proposing a movie entitled "The Death of Jerry".

It starts with Tom chasing Jerry around the house, and when Jerry about to maneuver a move, Tom manages to ditch the attack, and after 243,567 eposides, he decides that's about it!

Revenge is sweet.

They talk. They negotiate. But Tom has become a psychopath. He just can't say "no" to the chance of killing this mortal enemy.

"This is it." He hangs Jerry until he almost loses his last breath. Gasping for air, he unties the knot off the neck and from nowhere appears an electric chair.

Jerry. Electrocuted.

Then Tom goes to the kitchen, with Jerry almost dead. Decides to cook curry for dinner.

Mice Curry. But changes his mind , thinks about Roasted Jerry instead. Rethinks, and maybe he prefers Mouse waffle. Settles down with Mice Curry, pure unadulterated authentic Indian style.

Then the most defining moment in the history of the show. With the steam of the semi prepared curry sauce clouding over, Tom puts Jerry in the boiling gravy, closes the lid of the pan, and waits.

He waits the longest wait of his life. The wait for the tasty, succulent meat of Jerry.

And when the Mice curry is prepared, he opens the lid and walla...

Jerry Curry. Digested by his stomach juices, Jerry finally dies and the series come to an epic end.

The Death of Jerry. Mickey and Minnie Mouses, do take note.

PS : Nothing psychopathic about me or this post. As you can see, i am in this psychedelic mood with the new template and vibrant colours all around.

So many things to do, yet time envies me

Exams are over!

This is my "To do list", since i am not going anywhere this winter.

-learn to prepare kaya from Dauz tomorrow morning (kalau bangun awal)
-read novels by Don DeLillo, Chuck Palahniuk and Hunter S. Thompson
-go shopping on eBay. God knows how much i've wasted my money. Heh.
-read articles/news/stuffs
-watch a bunch of documentaries downloaded through the net. Especially download : the history of the internet, a discovery channel special. Highly recommended.
-sleep a lot
-eat a lot
-hibernate
-hopefully, yes hopefully i will try to learn Arabic like seriously. I've been stuck at lesson number 5 since November or was it October. While the title is Arabic made easy, i have to say it is quite misleading. It should be "Arabic made easy, but not for a lazy bum like you Afiq Fikri". Any volounteers to teach me?
-blog some more
-daydream
-wait for the arrival of my "special one"

If i manage to complete all the above, it would be a fruitful holiday period for me.

Now, i want to do some laundry.

Snippets : Alor Star or Alor Setar? Sheesh. It doesn't even matter!

The fact of the matter is, i just don't care.

Actually, i am a bit annoyed. Thus, the birth of this post.

There are much better things to do when you're the head minister of Kedah, and Ustaz Azizan contributed by changing the name of Alor Star to Alor Setar.

What's the point here? I just don't get it.

Not that i don't like him, Dato' Mahadzir Khalid the previous MB was even worse than him.

I'm in the mood to slander politicians. All of them. I am keeping it for later. After my exams are over.

Here's a piece of history, from a letter written by Tunku Ismail Jewa to NST. He is the grandson of Sultan Abdul Hamid, who was the sultan of Kedah from 1882-1943.

It used to be Kota Star, but Sultan Abdul Hamid decided to change it into "Alor" (stream or channel in English), as the city was rich with rivers to water the paddy fields. The most famous would be Terusan Wan Mat Saman.

When Jawi was Romanised in 1909, the government at that very moment changed it into "Alor Star", and the usage of this spelling lasted until 1969.

In 1969, for some mystical reasons, they changed it into "Alor Setar".

Then after attaining city status (due to the population of the city, it isnot based on the development of the city!) in 2003, they reverted it back to "Alor Star".

And on 15th January 2009, it's back to "Alor Setar" once again.

If MCA takes over one day, maybe it's gonna be "Ah Long Star".

MIC might want to change the name of the city to "New Delhi".

Then PKR comes in and changes it to "Star City or Bandar Bintang"!

If i am the MB of Alor Star, i prefer the name "Kolam Hati". Just like Kota Baru, the city will have its own corresponding city in the United Kingdom.

Alor Star/Alor Setar is still my home, no matter how they spell it.

PS : Wish me luck for Paediatrics tomorrow!

24 is a ripe age for...

T-w-e-n-t-y f-o-u-r.

Helmi you're 24 tomorrow. And this will be the very, very last time you're gonna celebrate your birthday in Volgograd.

And tomorrow you're off to UK, so i'd better put this up beforehand.

Thanks for the memories Helmi. We travelled together, you were my naqib, we chatted a lot, shared secrets and bla bla bla.

This is so stereotypical.

Everyone has the knack of searching for you whenever they encounter minor and major glitches in their life. And i am one of them. Hoho.

Everyone wants a dose of conversation with Helmi. Well, since you're a son of a former psychology lecturer, it does amp up your reputation as the one who could understand problems that people face day by day.

I will usually tell you ,"Kau banyak pengalaman hidup Helmi, best la."

And you will stare me with much annoyance. Haha.

Now you're gonna say i'm crapping too much.

So happy birthday Helmi! May you have a prosperous life ahead. And don't forget to print those jerseys in UK if it is possible!

PS : Paediatrics is killing me.

Tickets back to Malaysia

Asyuk and Christopher are selling tickets back to Malaysia for the summer holidays! They asked me for help to put up the prices of the tickets back that they are selling. This list is as follows.

Etihad Airlines : 23,ooo Russian Roubles
Emirates : 29,000 Russian Roubles
Qatar Airways : 27,000 Russian Roubles

Prices may fluctuate according to the currency exchange rate. Since the economic downturn is affecting the Russian currency, they recommend you to book now and save later.

Contact : Christopher Ting, Room 93, Hiroshima Hostel. +79178346619

According to them , this is the cheapest bargain you will ever get. So what are you waiting for?

Note: I am not receiving any sort of commission from those guys.

discrimination of a work of genius : Proton Juara.

In 2001, Proton produced one work of genius which has attained a cult status in the motoring world of Malaysia. Yes, the work of genius i am talking about is none other than the irresistible, the immaculate, the king of all cars, Proton Juara.

When i laid my eyes upon this miraculous work of artistic intelligence, deep inside i thought :-

"I've got to have this one day!". I've always told my mom i just love the geometric shape of Juara, which really looks quite frankly, like a box.

People considered this to be one of the most unimaginative piece of thrash on the road. With its shape and design, some labelled the card, "the moving washing machine."

Others went as far as calling it "the roaming refrigerator." And that is when i say, "this is a work of art, an engineering beauty."

Why the discrimination? Why the double standards? Because it is Malaysian made? I tell you what, if Mazda or Mitsubishi were to release something like this, the people will go :-

"OooO..AaAaA...This is a beauty! Japaneses really do make good cars!."

Look closely and admire the geometricity of this ice cube looking, box shaped designed family car!

You think you BMWs are the best? You think you're German enough to own one? Huh?

Ford? That's American!

Your Skyline GTRs. Your EVOs. Your Mazdas and Toyotas? Japanese cars are the bomb, but still...

I will still tell you Juara is the best. Hands down, it should win some kind of engineering or car designing award!

One word. Absolute Genius.

Final score. Juara 1 - 0 All the cars in the world.



THIS is another one of the most beautiful piece of metal moving on the road. The Classic Volkswagen Beetle.

The sound of its working engine is a melody unrivalled of any cars. That loud chugging sound, mimicking a machine gun.

My friend had one of these cars, and after SPM we used to roam around Alor Star with this car, and the loud sound of the engine storms through the city, as if we were the kings making an entrance to a big party.

Now, go buy your Skylines and EVOs and Audis, while i dream of my Juara and my beetle.

Surat terbuka kepada Sheikh Mansour, pemilik kelab Bandar Manchester

Assalamualaikum Sheikh!

Pertama sekali, kau tak handsome macam aku. Tapi banyak duit, sebab tu ramai awek kau boleh petik dengan senang.

Kedua, tiada pemain bola sepak bernilai 100 million pound sterling. Kaka yang tere men bola sepak pon tak bernilai sebanyak tu. Banyak lagi benda mulia kau boleh buat dengan duit tu.

Contoh terbaik, depositkan duit tu dalam akaun Maybank aku.

Ketiga, Kaka pon lagi handsome dari kau. Afiq>Kaka>Sheikh Mansour

Sekian, terima kasih.

An Open Letter to Sheikh Mansour, owner of Manchester City

Assalamualaikum Sheikh!

First and foremost, you're not as handsome as me. But due to your astronomical amount of money and assets, you seem to be much more prolific at attracting the attention of all chickas in the world.

Secondly, no player is worth 100 million pounds. Not even Kaka. There are more thoughtful ideas of spending such amount of money.

The best example is depositing your money into my Maybank account.

Thirdly, Kaka is much more handsome than you. Afiq>Kaka>Mansour.

That's all, thank you.

Maybanked

My friend wanted to borrow some amount of money just now. My maxis number expired, so i had to call Maybank's customer service to obtain a TAC number.

They scrutinized me, as if i was an ISA detainee. Tight security? I'd rather call it a nuisance.

"Selamat malam, boleh saya bantu cik?" . Such a sweet voice, i wished her face was equally attractive. The voice of a girl who had just sat for her SPM.

An equally attractive, melodic and manly voice replied :-

"Saya Encik Afiq, membuat panggilan dari Russia. Nombor Maxis saya mati, boleh tak tukar nombor telefon supaya saya boleh dapatkan nombor TAC."

"Tak boleh Encik. Encik hanya boleh tukar nombor telefon di ATM. Tapi Encik boleh request TAC number melalui panggilan ini."

"Ok. Bagi saya nombor TAC." Rudeness in motion.

"Saya perlukan butiran dari Encik."

"Tadahal."

"Bagi nombor kad encik."

"1234-5678-9101-1123"

"Nombor IC encik."

"8690-8438-8398."

"Saya perlukan alamat encik."

The imaginary line comes across my mind.

["Boleh saya tanya cik ni single lagi ke. Boleh bagi nombor telefon? Boleh gayut lama sikit. Saya dah bosan dengan soalan2 cik ni."]

"2282, Taman Mutiara, Jalan Sultanah, 05350 Alor SETAR, [ya dah tambah E balik, dulu Alor Star] Kedah Darul Aman."

"Sila tunggu sebentar."

*A blurry ad plays in the background, something about saving money while buying petrol*

"Encik ada guna credit kad maybank?" The same angelic voice reappeared through the phone.

"Tidak. Saya tak guna."

"Boleh saya tahu di mana awak buka akaun awak?"

["Kat kedai runcit belakang rumah cik la."]. Patience is a virtue.

"Di Shah Alam, seksyen 18 ke, 17 entah. Saya kurang ingat."

"Sila tunggu sebentar." She-devil. How long do i have to wait?

*An ad again plays in the background*

An ugly, inferiorly manly voice comes through the phone.

"Selamat malam boleh saya tahu siapa saya bercakap dengan."

"Encik Afiq."

"Ya encik Afiq, saya perlukan beberapa lagi pengesahan. Apakah nombor telefon awak sekarang?"

"Saya call guna skype."

"Boleh saya tahu area code untuk Russia?"

"+7."

"Ape??"

"Tambah tujuh [T-A-M-B-A-H T-U-J-U-H]."

"Ok boleh saya tahu masa di Russia sekarang."

The imaginary punchline would be something like this.

["ini masa study saya, takpon masa makan."]

"Sekarang pukul 6 ptg di Russia."

"Baiklah ini nombor TAC Encik. 769-098. Nombor ini valid untuk 2 jam, tetapi sistem kami akan tutup dalam masa sejam lagi. Jadi gunakanlah secepat mungkin."

"Maksud Encik transaction boleh dijalankan sehingga pukul 12 tengah malam waktu Malaysia ke?"

"Tak, saya maksudkan nombor ini boleh digunakan dalam masa sejam dari sekarang."

"Ok.Trima Kasih. Selamat Malam."

I've officially been Maybanked.

dermathon

Haritu aku baca berita, Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhari bagi RM3.5 million untuk Palestine. Negara Malaysia pon bagi RM3.5 million untuk Palestine.

Encik Syed Mokhtar, anda boleh buat negara sendiri. Buat negeri autonomi Kedah. Macam asobiyah pulak aku ni.

Ada link-link bawah ni. Sesiapa ada duit dan kelapangan bolehla menderma. Kalau sesapa pokai sekarang, nanti boleh menderma.

Mercy Malaysia (Mercy Humanitarian Fund sebagai nota..yaa)

Maybank : 5621-7950-4126
CIMB : 1424-000-6561-05-3

Sesiapa yang tak baca kat website mercy, diorang dah sampai kat Mesir haritu tapi kena sekat kat border Mesir-Gaza. Naseb baik medical supplies boleh hantar jugak. Ramai doktor-doktor dan pembantu berkampung di border tu nak tunggu border dibuka.

With the 2nd wave of supplies from Mercy coming up, don't hesitate to donate.

New Straits Times Malaysia (surat khabar favourite aku kat Malaysia, the Star tu, untuk setiap 1 muka surat berita, ada 20 muka surat iklan. Sempat lagi kutuk the star)

Maybank : 514105-320501

Yayasan Salam Malaysia (pasukan sukarelawan)

Public Bank : 3072 8793 02

Persatuan Bulan Sabit Merah Malaysia

Maybank : 5144 2210 2657

Tabung Dakap Utusan

Maybank : 5621-4270-8704
CIMB : 1259-0000-8040-58

Aman Malaysia

CIMB : 14209-00073890-58

Oxfam (for international transactions)

I think this is a legitimate organisation giving aid to those in Gaza.

Helping Hands - The Gaza appeal

Muslim Aid - International relief and development agency.

the damned zionists

Rabbis protesting

"What is happening now in Gaza is not between the Muslim and the Jews; nor it is between Islam and Judaism; but it is a case between the oppressed (Palestinians) and the oppressor (Zionists)!" "The oppressors are not only the Zionists; Bush and the European leaders; the oppressors also include MUBARAK!, ABBAS!, THE SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY!" "And the good news is, They are all coming down!!! They are all coming down!!!"

Azzam Tamimi, 10/1/2009; London, UK.

Azzam Tamimi is a British Palestinian political activist, championing the Palestinian cause. The excerpt above was taken from this cool blog, written by Maszlee Malik.

I do wonder the position of Saudi Arabia in the war against zionism. They 'supposedly' should take the lead, since they are a 'real' Islamic country, which most people would define as a country pracitising Hudud laws.

What they are doing now is contemplating the consequences of their relations with the USA, who themselves are the biggest ally of the Zionistic Israeli state.

Their oil business. Their economical consequences. Their this. Their that. Repercussions in abundance. They have multiple reasonings.

And this is not a war against Jews. It's against the damned Zionists, who mask themselves with the teachings of Judaism in order to gain support. What you have is a destructive force capable of atrocities and genocides without any punishments or trials. Cunning, very.

According to Maszlee Malik (writer of the blog), if you're in Malaysia, never, i mean never donate to any organisations with links to the Palestinian Embassy since they are a bunch of ugly looking corrupted politicians. Instead, try donating to organisations which have clear objectives and a good track record, such as Mercy and the Red Crescent Society of Malaysia and others.

PS : Finished my first exam today. Woooooooooot! One down. Two to go. Thanks to Matpih for the links on his yahoo messenger.

Fear and loathing in Las Volgo

"We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt-shaker half full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers....Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls....But the only thing that worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible than a man in the depths of an ether binge...."

-from Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Wish me luck for my Psychiatry exam tomorrow!

Snippets : Ketiduran

30 : 23 - And among His signs is the sleep that you take by night and by day, and the quest that you (make for livelihood) out of His bounty: verily in that are the signs for those who listen

atau dalam bahasa Melayunya, bahasa ibunda : -

30 : 23 - Dan di antara tanda-tanda yang membuktikan kemurahanNya dan kasih sayangNya ialah tidurnya kamu pada waktu malam dan pada siang hari, dan usaha kamu mencari rezeki dari limpah kurniaNya (pada kedua-dua waktu itu). Sesungguhnya keadaan yang demikian mengandungi keterangan-keterangan bagi orang-orang yang mahu mendengar (nasihat pengajaran).

Malam tadi aku tak boleh tidur. Pusing kiri. Pusing kanan. Tidor meniarap. Tidor mengiring. Tidor bilang kambing biri-biri. Tidor bilang duit dalam bank. (tak banyak pon)

Orang cakap tak elok tidor meniarap, tapi aku buat jugak.

Tidor elok/afdal tak silap aku tidor mengiring sebelah kanan badan.

Hadis riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim maksudnya :-

"Jika kamu akan tidur maka berwuduklah bagaikan kamu akan sembahyang, kemudian berbaring atas pinggang kanan dan bacalah doa dan jadikanlah doa itu yang terakhir daripada bacaanmu."

Tapi still tak boleh tidor. Barangkali aku tak berwuduk.

Insomniac. Nak jadi gila aku. Bengang tak tentu pasai. Otak dah jam.

Aku bangun kejap dan baca diari dari Gaza kat aljazeera. (macam rhyming bunyi)

'I have had 8 hours of sleep since the beginning of this conflict; we can hear attacks almost every minute.'

Bukan lapan jam sehari, 8 jam tidur dalam tempoh lebih seminggu!

Dan aku tak senang, complain macam-macam lebih daripada kucing nak beranak. Baru semalam tak boleh tidor nyenyak.

Aku bangun pagi ini dan search 'sleep' di dalam al-Quran. Sekadar ingin berkongsi kelemahan diri. Moga-moga diberkati.

Kanoute

Kanoute meraikan goal kemenangan Sevilla malam tadi

Dulu selamatkan masjid di Sevilla, sekarang niatnya ingin menyedarkan dunia tentang kekejaman Zionis Israel.

Ya, melalui bola sepak. Malam tadi Kanoute goal lagi. Sevilla menang 2-1, jaringan kedua oleh Frederic Oumar Kanoute.

Mesir apa dah jadi? Berkomplot dengan Yahudi? Menutup jalan-jalan dari Egypt ke Gaza? Kan bagus kalau Mohammad Aboutreika jadi presiden Egypt.

Hosni Mubarak ni Mr. America la kot, macam dalam movie budak Kelantan tu.

Baik Dr. Mahathir lagi yang keluarkan statement, " We [Muslims] are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people can not be simply wiped out. The Nazis killed 6 million jews out of 12 million [during the holocaust]. But today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."

Orang tuduh dia anti-semitic tapi apa dia kisah? Dia membidas :

"But when somebody condemns the Muslims, calls my prophet a 'terrorist', did the European Union say anything?"

Dr. M, you're the man.

Mungkin dia tak berperang, tapi at least dia bersuara. Sekarang siapa lagi berani bersuara at such a big stage?

Obama preached about "change" while campaigning for the presidential election. Isn't that what politicians do? More talk and less action. But it is too early to judge him, but i doubt there will be any changes.

Alasan diberi untuk tidak bersuara ialah dia belum mengambil alih secara rasmi White House. Nak tunggu sampai ramai lagi orang Palestine mati ke? Alasan boleh diberi Encik Obama, kau memang pandai berhujah. Aku respek kau Mr. Amerika.

Petikan dari saifulislam.com dalam salah satu artikel, "if the only thing we can do to help the Muslims in Palestine is to talk, then talk and don't stop talking. Talk to every single person you meet and let them all know the truth. Educate your wife, your children, your neighbours and your friends about Palestine."

Media cuba memberi persepsi bahawa perjuangan rakyat Palestine adalah gerakan nasionalisma dengan menggelar mereka 'Palestinians'. Realitinya mereka adalah Muslim dan perjuangan ini berteraskan agama.

Sabda Nabi S.A.W. , "Bandingan orang-orang mukmin dalam kasih sayang, kesian dan simpati sama seperti satu jasad. Apabila satu anggota merasa sakit, maka seluruh anggota lain turut berjaga malam dan demam. (Riwayat Muslim)"

Marilah berdoa bersama-sama.

Budak Kelantan

"Hisap Marlboro.Minum Coca Cola. Tengok MTV. Amerika demo."

It is rare that a Malay movie manages to be as natural as our everyday life. But Wan Azli Wan Jusoh's "Budak Kelantan" is as natural as it gets.

The rawness of the movie is equal to listening to any Ramones' song, with its simple yet subtle storyline combined with good acting from the cast. Lately Malay movies are either stupidly funny or too complicated, trying to match our counterparts from Hollywood.

And the dikir barat song at the end of the movie rocks like hell, with a guitar solo accompanying the tribal drums/kompang and that soothing Malaysian rhythm.

Budak Kelantan chronicles the life of 2 childhood friends from Kelantan, who are staying in Kuala Lumpur. They lead absolutely contrasting lives, with Jahar living his life as a drug addict cum rapist cum 'businessman', while Ocet is a pious guy with a good background.

The bulk of the movie consists of how Jahar spends most of his time in Kuala Lumpur, with Ocet tagging along after they accidentally met at Central Market. An honest unhypocritical guy, Jahar shows the negative side of his life to Ocet. Ocet was in limbo , as he was trapped into a corner he never wished for and had to follow his friend during the weekend, witnessing his delinquent habits.

Jahar, who doesn't believe in true love ends up falling for Ocet's girlfriend and a 'classic love triangle' ensues.

As a children of the MTV generation (i have to admit), i myself is a subcriber of American values/cultures. At times the movie wants to view how we have become Americanised due to the effect of globalisation.

I am talking about me. I listen to American music. I dress the way Americans do, with my baggy pants sometimes revealing bits of my underwear. I watch American movies. In short, i admit that i have been Americanised. And therefore, i need to try to change the way i view life, as i was too much into America and everything about it.

And by the way, where are you Barack Obama? A quote from davidduke.com :-

"Roared into the political scene like a lion, but has been as silent as a lamb regarding the Israel invasion of Gaza."

Jahar led a sinful life but yeah he was a real honest dude. And for that i respect him. People lead different lives, and although he knew what he did was wrong, deep inside he wanted to change.

Would it be wrong if he had changed himself for the sake of the girl?

Well, i leave the romantic part of the movie for myself.

I would give the movie a solid 7 out of 10. This is based on the Malaysian movie scale.

Now i want to form a dikir barat band. Interested? Please do contact me.

Ada seko, anak tupey,
ataih jule bokte,
pucuk eko?, perut lapo,
jalan cari makey.

A rush of endorphins to the head

I am blessed with 5 spectrums of senses, several dozen dimensions of emotions, one ugly looking brain, 2 Japanese looking slit like eyes, 2 pairs of excellent upper and lower extremities, one irresistible body and of course, one hell of a handsome looking face.

Now, here i am talking about emotions and more emotions.

It is said that endorphins, which are morphine like chemical substances produced in the body, are inductors of happiness. .

Maybe those drug addicts do feel real happiness when they shoot morphine into their veins which is probably a more potent form of happiness inductors! High way up to the sky and to the moon!

Now, here i am again lecturing you about endorphins. Less potent form of morphine, physiologically produced by the pituitary gland when you're excited, and thus you're being manifested externally as something we commonly call as happiness or happy. Climax is not the particular word i am looking for.

IF (a big one that is), there is a possibility of producing tablets of endorphins, then won't the world be a better place to live in? Pharmacies will be stocked up with piles and piles of endorphin tablets.

Rp. : Tab. Endorphini 0.1
DS. For intake when you're feeling sad or dejected.

Then the whole hippie era would arrive again. Those psychedelic colours, those abstract drawings and music. A whole new generation.

Endorphin addicted.

Theoretically speaking, love potion does exist! A mixture of nerve growth factor, testosterone/estrogen, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin and KAPOW! Whoever drinks will fall in love with the next boy/girl he or she gazes their eyes upon.

Technically speaking, i wish i could give the Terror and Fear tablets for those Israeli soldiers so that they could have that little piece of humanism in their veiled hearts.

But of course, it is not that easy as it sounds to be. Chemically those substances might be unstable in the environment and hence complicates the production of such tablets, but let's leave that to chemists.

Now, i am here telling you that happiness is a personal and self experience. No one knows how happy you are. You can't explain to me with any scales or ranks.

"Hmm...i would say i am happy. The score would be 6/10 based on the scale of happiness. That's how happy i am."

You're a mad man! This is blasphemy! This is madness!

How on this sane planet called earth could you define happiness? Definition differs, it's an individual aspect!

If it is this simple, then one day i might also buy some love pills, anger tablets when i need to, and when i am too happy, i will buy some pills to induce sadness.

The thing is, your 5 spectrums of senses, that plays a much bigger role. The whole experience. It's just not about the emotion, it's about what we go through that stimulates our very own production of endorphins.

The joy of producing our very own endorphins.

It certainly is different from taking someone else's.

Your amygdalas, your cingulate gyruses, your prefrontal cortexes, all of these structures with roles in emotion production in your brain, they might not even recognize foreign endorphins either! They might only want the locally and physiologically self produced endorphins. Egoistic brain, perhaps? Well, that's just my hypothesis.

If you're planning to make some PhD degree based on this post and to really really study endorphins, then do name the theory, "Fikri's theory". Self marketing at its pinnacle!

Now, i am informing you that at this very moment, i do need a rush of endorphins to my head.

Please give me some tablets of endorphins. I really do need them. Sheesh.

PS : Caught a fever. Need to study. Will be off for awhile...NOTTTT!

Mohamed Aboutreika is legend

He may not want to be known as one. But he is indeed a legend.

Suffice to say, i miss my old blog between faith and football. Cause it would be much more appropriate to put this up on that blog.

Sheesh.

In a footballing world where materialism exceeds professionalism, Mohamed Aboutreika is a shining beacon which enlightens us all, a man with high ambitions to change the world.

With the power that he has, of course he can't save the world. He can't go bomb Israeli troops which just launched a ground assault into Gaza.

But footballers have emotions and his is something to be admired of.

He got his message clear by wearing a t-shirt underneath with the message :-

"Sympathize with Gaza"

He scored the winning goal in the African Cup of Nations after a pass from Mohammad Zidan. Scored some beautiful free kick goals.

And above all, he refused a higher salary than his fellow teammate although he deserves it, claiming that equality should be practised in every team.

Cristiano Ronaldo, take note.

Mohammad Aboutreika is legend. (thanks to Ikraq Zhafirin for the link which inspired this post.)

PS : Donate for Mercy Malaysia's Palestine relief fund here. Take some time to visit the website and spend some money for our brothers and sisters there.

Oh me

On a sober Saturday morning, i am writing this.
I am writing this, in a cosy room somewhere on Lenin Prospekt.
Winter's wrath through the windows.
A sea of white, a stretch of snow.
Oh me.

Oh me.
On this same cold sober Saturday morning,
rains of terror, blizzard of rockets,
from the preying eyes of the damned Zionists.
When mortars and grenades are hurled and thrown,
all the Palestinians have are sticks and stones.

While i finish watching a movie.
Someone dies in misery.
While i cry to some sad soppy story.
Someone cries in agony.

Contrast at its zenith.

While i sit here waiting for my friends to cook.
Some others are queuing up for food.
For a piece of bread.
For few hundred grams of flour.
For cans of beans, meats and fish.
For survival.

Tonight i will be watching a game.
I will scream if Torres scores again.
There are screams of pain, shouts of anguish.
Somewhere in Palestine.
While i sit here with my luxury.

Oh me. Oh me.