The recent fiasco surrounding apparently offending cartoon strips is beginning to sound absurd. Now it appears that NST is grudgingly apologising "unreservedly" by pulling the TV2 Mandarin News Team and a blogger into the dungeon with it. It never ends does it. Are we going to get petty now just because a newsclip focussed on the cartoon depictions of Prophet Mohamed? And that a blogger is being dragged into the broil just for highlighting an oversight by the NST? What is happening here? Are we really defending a religion here or just pride?

I feel that the earlier genuine attempts at defending Islam is now degenerating into a childish spat.

The Darren Kang Murder trial has ended with an absolutely ridiculous outcome. 5 Thai nationals have emerged from this trial with a 5 year jail term for murder to served from the date of arrest. This lesser sentence was passed as these men were allowed to plead to a lesser charge of manslaugter.
The definition of manslaugter is an unlawful killing of a person without malice. How can 5 men batter a defenseless individual till death if it is without malicious intent? It was murder, period. The prosecution has been incompetent in this case and murderers are not judged accordingly. He should not have allowed them the opportunity to plead to manslaugter. I feel that the prosecution made this careless and hasty decision so that this case can be closed earlier which saves the trouble associated with a long protracted murder trial.

From The Star

Join the queue, Chua tells VVIPs KUALA LUMPUR: No special treatment at hospitals will be accorded to the so-called very, very important people (VVIPs), said Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek...cont..

Hear ye hear ye! The concern now is whether the order goes down the chain of command and if the hospital directors remain undaunted by the persona of VIPs. My gut feeling tells me that nothing much is going to change after this. After all who is Chua Soi Lek but a novice in federal politics. Surely, VIPs will never be fazed by a voice in the wilderness. However, Chua's efforts in setting the records straight is much applauded.

One distasteful cartoon brought a 60 year old Sarawak Tribune to its knees. This untimely oversight was to be the death warrant for this English daily. Now Sarawakians are trying hard to find a suitable replacement. Did it deserve such a severe reprimand? Despite their top editors accepting blame and acknowledging an error, the Government it seems had no mood to compromise. Now, many are left jobless and the English media scene in Sarawak in disarray. Malaysia it seems wanted to portray its seriousness in defending Islam. Would it not have been sufficient to make a public apology? Or have religious fanaticism won the day yet again?

Religion promotes peace. It encourages you to love your neighbour and even forgive your enemies. Those who go the extent of blaspheming will have to deal with the wrath of God. The act of defending a religion is understandable but it will remain a futile exercise in this hostile world. With recent developments how can one not tie Islam with terrorism. Many retort that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, yet strong graphical images of beheadings and bombings were so intertwined with Islam. The word jihad would send jitters down your spine. Perhaps many say that it is not true Islam and these acts of terror do not represent Islam. Who is right and who is wrong?

Religious wars are nothing new and have been on this earth for centuries. It has cost many lives to be lost but the lessons are never learnt. The difficulty of reasoning with religious fanatics is obvious. Perhaps the aim of any exercise is to remove religous fanaticism, not just Islam but other religions as well.

The scale of this current "cartoon" episode has yet to reach its climax. It is a standoff between the West and the Islamic world. Malaysia has stated clearly which side she's on. Perhaps the next world war is looming, and it is unlike any previous world wars. God help us all.

Depiction of Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist in a cartoon sketch has caused turmoil. I agree that it was insensitive of the Danish publishers to proceed with publication of this cartoon which was done in bad taste. To aggravate matters, President Bush has recently pledged support for his Danish counterparts instead of making them apologise. Imagine if the cartoons were to depict Jesus Christ or Virgin Mary in a bad light, would the Christian world just sit back and accept it? Probably not. The double standard practices are too glaring to ignore. It displays the disrespect that the Western world has for Muslims worldwide. This probably stems from the events of September 11.

Indonesia which has suffered so much trauma from terrorism is a perfect example of Western insensitivities and a perverted sence of freedom of speech. Playboy decided to publish in Indonesia knowing very well the volatility of the political and religous situation in this country. They know it will cause controversy but decided to go ahead with it. WHY?

Although I am an avid supporter for freedom of speech, it has to be handled responsibly. Abuse of this freedom is sure to bring disaster in this diverse world.

Have you ever been confused by the term college and university? What about University College, as some places call themselves? Perhaps this article from faqfarm.com will help.

Clearly different countries differ in their terminologies. But the understanding is that universities are certainly more prestigious and they are authorised to confer a degree whereas a college can only confer certificates or diplomas and will have to usually affiliate themselves with a university.

What about University College, eg University College London? Somewhere in between? Perhaps others can enlighten me.

Indeed rumours have been circulating that Fearless will be Jet Li's last kungfu movie. He recently clarified that it will be the last movie displaying his kungfu/wushu style but he will not stop doing action movies. With relief, we can still catch Jet Li in an action genre. In this movie, he introduced a relatively new actress, Sun Li(pictured right), as a romantic interest whom I thought did rather well. Much of the movie has been deleted, 43 minutes in all including scenes with Michelle Yeoh. Therefore, the DVD release will be much anticipated.

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