Irene - (NY) Gay Marriage Attracts Natural Disaster?

 Andrew Cuomo

Men and Women are created as a pair, a complement to each other. A famous random quote, "Its Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!". The recent gay marriage passed in New York is a blow to our natural foundation of existence. Hence the legalization of the abnormal marriage itself can be considered a "natural disaster".

As taught by history, humans are curious beings. Created with the capacity to think has made us 'greedy' for knowledge and experience. Making us never satisfied with the normal and natural course of life. Blessed with choices, humans are constantly curious. Curiosity is what drives us to discover, pushing our race to progress. But once curiosity went over board, the result might be harmful. Gay marriage is a case of curiosity gone out of control.

Once an abnormal or unnatural path is chosen, the consequences would set a precedent. If the result of the choices made did not end with undesirable outcomes, other might tend to emulate. This is the case with gay marriage.

New York made history in June by becoming the sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage. The state Senate passed the bill by a 33-29 margin. Unlike in Massachusetts, the first state to allow gay marriage in 2004, people do not need to be residents of New York to obtain a marriage license, so the state could attract couples from across the country. Apparently, it also has attracted natural disaster as well.

Steve Jobs Resigns

Apple's Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive of the software giant stating that he could no longer meet his chief executive's duties and expectations. Leaving behind a healthy company to his successor. The announcement did not came as a surprise since the 55-year-old has been on medical leave for an undisclosed period since 17 January.

"I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's chief executive, I would be the first to let you know. 

"Unfortunately, that day has come. I hereby resign as chief executive of Apple." - Steve Jobs letter to Apple's board

Mr Jobs, underwent a liver transplant following a pancreatic cancer.

He will be replaced by its chief operating officer Tim Cook. However, Mr. Jobs requested to stay on as Chairman of the Board. Obviously this is a move to minimize the effect of the announcement on Apple's stock. Apple stock dip nearly 7 percent in after hours trading in the span of about half an hour.

Some of his best moments
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/08/best-steve-jobs-performances-ceo/41699/

iPhone 5 Coming

According to Wall Street journal,the iPhone 5 is coming out in mid-October under Sprint. Being a carrier for the iPhone would definitely bump up revenues. What is certain for now is that the retina display would resume to feast our eyes.

No more broken pixels

A Stubborn Autocrat - Col Gadaffi

 Almost Over

Wheres Col Gadaffi? his whereabout is still unknown, but apparently the Libyan leader is still "fighting" and urged residents to "save Tripoli" from the rebels. For the sake of Libya, just stop being delusional and surrender. Any form of resistance would only raise the death toll. Rebels would halt their offensive if Col Gaddafi announced his departure. Col Gaddafi is believed to have thousands of armed followers in the capital. Although some have surrendered. Government forces still control parts of the city, including the areas around Col Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizia compound.

Violence continued as rebel forces continued advancing through the city of Tripoli. Rebel forces advanced while being backed by Nato aircraft. Most of the city has been captured by the rebels. They control nearly all of the city. President Obama said the Gaddafi regime had reached a "tipping point", coming into the frame when everything is set and almost done. While NATO issued a statement early on Monday saying that Gaddafi's regime was "clearly crumbling".

Album Review - Al Di Meola, Elegant Gypsy

Albums and movies are reviewed after the time I digested them thoroughly. So there might be some old stuff reviewed.

"In music, sometimes flashes of brilliance is preferred over a prolonged one."

This is an instrumental album from start to finish. But the album does have a good amount of variety, maintaining listeners interest without the presence of lyrics. Starting with 'Flight Over Rio', a perfect appetizer.

The sound is just relaxing and not as 'intimidating' as Santana's work. However there is power and intricacy sewn into every song. Di Meola and the supporting act played together with such harmony and beauty, all song is not easily overlooked. This album sends fusion lovers into bliss.

For me, a feat which is hard to achieve from an instrument is to sound simple yet complex in the execution. Di Meola convinces with his prodigious hand work. Most instrumental guitarist tried too hard and end up 'boasting' about the speed which they can play the guitar while ignoring the rhythm as a whole. This is not the case with Di Meola. He obviously has the ability to shred at lightning speed, but he tames it and keeps it under control. He is economical in displaying what hes capable of. In music, sometimes flashes of brilliance is preferred over a prolonged one.

I just picked up the album this year. Since Al Di Meola isn't as famous as Malmsteen, I thought the album came out in the 2k era. How wrong i. The album doesn't have the outdated 70-80's sound and is unbelievably fresh sounding even though have been around longer than myself. Why haven't this guy been mentioned at the same level as other guitar greats is still a mystery. It seems that jazz fusion is out of fashion with the jazz intelligentsia. 

A gem in the world of jazz fusion.

Album Review - Protest the Hero, Scurrilous

This album explodes from the get-go. Hectic guitars throughout. Offering minimal room for your ears to breath. Be prepared to catch up to some audacious pacing and abrupt staccato. The guitars, bass and drums intertwined in an 'over the top' manner but maintained to be melodious.

The sounds might just be too complex for the first couple of listen. With Protest The Hero, the intricate music can be a barrier. It can put people off. Whats on offer here won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but they’re an exciting leap of faith. I 'struggled' to digest at first, but the effort put in by this band made me return. The twists and turns within each song mean it’ll take you time before truly knowing the record properly. Cracking their sound even require some endurance. Successful breaking the barriers of intricacy is where you find are solid, well-constructed songs.

Rody Walker has a high pitched melodic vocals which apparently is filled with tons of natural effects. Changing the tone of his voice with ease while maintaining to sound natural. Tim Millar and Luke Hoskin is awesome with the guitars; zitzagging with ease throughout the album.  Arif Mirabdolbaghi supplements with his, at times, lead-esque bass playing. Moe Carlson made his presence felt with some insanely timed drum beats. All elements swaying along with swagger. The effort being poured into a song is just appreciable. Every song contains material of 3 to 5 songs. Crafting impossibly precise breakdowns and unpredictable melodies demonstrates the group’s unbelievable technical abilities as players and songwriters.

It’s a very intense 44.4 minutes. If you're prepared to give them a listen, please be patient. 

#Antara Casino De Genting dan Institusi Kewangan

Pada 28 April 1969, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong telah menghantar borang permohonan bagi mendapatkan lesen kasino kepada Perdana Menteri, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Secara kebetulan, disebelah petang pada hari yang sama, sebuah mesyuarat kabinet berlangsung. Bagai direstui, permohonan itu telah diluluskan pada hari yang sama. 'Selebihnya adalah sejarah'. Genting menjadi kasino pertama di Malaysia. Sehingga ke hari ini, ia adalah kasino tunggal di Malaysia.

Tidak hairanlah pada tahun 2011, Genting Bhd menerajui senarai pembayaran besar sebanyak RM111.48 juta kepada lembaganya menurut Malaysian Business dalam satu kenyataan pada 17/8/2011. Syarikat itu turut mempunyai ganjaran tertinggi antara RM106.65 juta hingga RM106.70 juta bagi seorang pengarah tunggal.

Genting mempunyai peraturan pengunjung yang ketat. Individu berusia 21 ke bawah tidak dibenarkan untuk memasuki premis kasino mereka. Warga Malaysia yang beragama Islam juga ditegah dari mengunjungi pusat kasino tersebut. Hatta apabila berkunjung ke laman web Genting, mereka akan bertanya status agama. Usaha ini harus dipuji. Namun tidak dapat dipastikan bahawa larangan ini melibatkan Muslim warganegara lain....

Persoalannya disini adalah, mangapakah umat Islam Malaysia dilarang dari berjudi di Genting, tetapi tidak dilarang daripada membuka akaun dan membuat pinjaman di bank-bank yang berteraskan riba? Bank-bank konvensional secara terang menjadikan faedah sebagai sumber kewangan utama. Penguatkuasaan menghalang umat Islam Malaysia daripada terlibat dengan riba adalah tidak mustahil. Ironinya, contoh pelaksanaan dapat diambil daripada Kasino Genting.

Antara bank yang ada di Malaysia

Kita perlu ingat, tiada diskriminasi didalam perkara yang haram. Larangan berjudi adalah jelas, namun nada yang lebih keras digunakan dalam pengharaman riba. Muslim di Malaysia juga diberi pilihan samada mahu membuat pinjaman secara konvensional atau menurut sharia. Kita bagai sudah lali dengan status riba yang haram.

(More) Lesson From Japan's Tsunami/Quake

Altruism isn’t dead. Five months after the double disasters, Japanese police say they've received $78 million in missing cash and valuables.In the aftermath of the tragedy, valuable goods were scattered all over the place. Instead of looting them, citizens promptly turned in what they have found.

The $78mn is made out of thousands of missing wallets (contained $48 million in cash) and nearly 6,000 more safes which contained an extra $30 million. At one point, so many safes had been turned in, police had difficulty finding places to store them.

This is an encouraging news for our humanity. The scale of honesty in the wake of disaster is still striking.

Whats more 'shocking', most of the money found has been returned to its owners, after police used identifying documents in the safes to track them down. Even the administration of a deceased person's estate might delay the beneficiaries from receiving their shares for years.

Death Threat Against David Letterman

David Letterman had pissed people outside of the biz or politics. A frequent contributor to a militant website has urged their American followers to assassinate the US talk show host.

The group threatened to cut his tongue out.

It was said that a joke Letterman made about the death of a leading member of al Qaeda, Ilyas Kashmiri, prompted the reaction. The militants believe that Letterman is a Jew (which he is not).

The FBI is taking the threat seriously. But Letterman is not.

Google Purchasing Motorola Mobility

Google is on the brink of purchasing Motorola Mobility, which develops and manufactures mobile phones, for $12.5bn to allow it to expand in the smartphone market. This is inspite the success of their android OS. The boards of both companies had unanimously approved the deal which would be finalize by the end of 2011 or early 2012.

Most people would remember Motorola for their Razor phones, famous before smartphones and touch screen phones became affordable. Motorola was once one of the world's most successful mobile phone manufacturers, but has fallen behind the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC in recent years. The deal seems to be a direct challenge to Apple. 

A Little Bit of Pessimism Makes the World Alright

 

Why people only wish for things which they desire? Forseeable reason; no one wants to be at the unfavorable end of anything. However, being too optimistic is plain naive.

Everyone has an opinion. An opinion normally orbits around experience. Its normal to place an expectation, but sometimes people seems to get lost in their interpretation of achievable, shifting from being realistic to delusional.

Adding a little pessimism to an optimist makes a realist. To me, its the ideal state of mind.

However, trying to forge pessimism into your system doesn't work.

In the quest of incorporating some pessimism in you, lessening your expectations is a good start. Once it became a habit, the next step is to work hard for what you are aiming for. the result would be sweeter than usual.

If pessimism came through experience, the result of our work subsequently might not be spiritually satisfying. But it would definitely be something to be proud of. Naturally pessimism comes from an abnormal experience of absurdity. When one felt the meaning of being helpless, the thought of being a (bit) pessimist would automatically be instilled. 

Imperfect Nature of Published Findings

 Journals

Once a groundbreaking study takes hold in the media, it can develop a life of its own. It would spread through viral marketing; dangerously if its carried by a laymen (which I am a part of in this case) since the information might not go into scrutiny. Worst, it might get altered.

Once a finding is published, people would take notice and would store the information into their brain. People often equates published to reliability. From these findings, people might found renewed hope and would rigorously rely on them. However, retractions might cause complications.

When a study is retracted, it can be hard to make its effects go away. The 'damage' has been done. Much more alarming, people seems to take less interest on retracted studies. Also retracted findings seems to generate less publicity. Today, retractions of scientific studies are surging.

Medical science is based on trust, and most researchers accept findings published in peer-reviewed journals. As often happens, the original paper would inspire clinical research by others. However, peer reviewed studies might be flawed. That filtering process has a loophole. Scientists don't want to replicate each others' findings because they wont receive the credit for it. Researchers seem reluctant to replicate the findings of other researchers, which may lead to more errors unable to be detected. 

The Devil Behind Manchester United - Edited 9.11

Preferably while listening to Clint Mansell's  First Snow

***                                          ***

As a preview to the 2011/2012 season, I would like to share a theory.
 

Last season, Manchester United have broken a record shared with their 'once' arch enemy. The club has finally moved ahead of Liverpool in the league title stakes, winning their 19th title. Although they were schooled of the field by Barcelona in last season's UCL final, their overall achievement cant be ignored. No one have predicted that they would reach last season champions league final.

Now, they look stronger as ever, evidenced during their recent pre season matches. Hinting that business will continue as usual in the near future.

So what makes Manchester United so successful over the years.Whats the force behind them? The answer lies within their emblem. You guessed it, they have something sinister working behind them.

The club crest is derived from the Manchester City Council coat of arms.

Why was the three stripes been replaced? The move might be done to distinct Man Utd from Man City. But out of all available options, why was the devil chosen? Is there an explanation behind this? Is it tied to their success on and off the field?

Books - Not Worth Rioting For?

During the recent disturbance that swept London, there are trends which could be observed.

Most bookshops appeared to be largely unaffected by the rioting that swept across London and other cities. Books have tended to stay safely on their shelves. High-street chains such as Waterstone's and WH Smith, as well as smaller independent bookstores, were reportedly spared during the violence. However there are bookstores affected by the riots.

Do rioters respect reading or they simply don't care about books? the answer is obvious enough. This is a depressing sign for book stores. Would people purchase goods which is ignored while they're available for 'free'?

Through the looting, indirectly market trends could be observed. However the result is redundant since all items are virtually free. It would only indicate what goods people desire most and people's preference.

Electronics and designer clothes are preferred. Remember, obtaining goods through illegal means is one of those things that you shouldn't boast about (for obvious reasons). But that's exactly what have been done by an apparent rookie of vice.

Apple and Samsung - Twisted Relationship

The Economist - Apple is one of Samsung's largest customers, and Samsung is one of Apple's biggest suppliers. Here is where the relationship is twisted; Apple sued Samsung in April over the design of its Galaxy S handset and its Galaxy Tab tablet computer.

Fact: The Apple A4 chip used in both the iPad and iPhone 4 is manufactured by Samsung.

iSuppli; Market-research firm,
The Economist

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/apple-and-samsungs-symbiotic-relationship?fsrc=nwl 

Apple - MVC

MVC = Most Valuable Company

Technology firm Apple has become the most valuable company in the US. Apple has now managed to stay in the top spot at the close of Wall Street for the first time. As the Dow continued to drop, Exxon's market cap slipped while Apple's rose just enough to finish above Exxon's. Apple's stock fell 2.8% to end at $363.69, giving a market cap of $337bn. Exxon is now worth $331bn after it stock fell 4.4%.  

Apple's rise to the top happened rather suddenly. Just a year ago it passed Microsoft to become the biggest tech company.  

Innovation has more value than oil. Exxon has limited growth opportunities because it relies on a limited resource. The price for oil is volatile whereas an Apple product would carry the same price until the end of its life cycle.

Apple tends to introduce a new product roughly every three years, which would mean a new gadget in 2013 after the launch of the iPad in 2010.

Whats next? iDontknow....

Remaining AAA Debt Countries

Australia                    

Austria                                             

Canada                                            

Denmark                                     

Finland                    

UK

France
New Zealand
Germany
Isle of Man
Luxembourg
Netherlands                  
Norway
Singapore
Sweden
Switzerland

Regardless, debt is overrated. Its fake wealth! booo to debt!
So Americans, don't feel so bad about the ratings.                  

Apple Bigger than Exxon ~ Briefly

Apple Inc briefly edged past Exxon Mobil Corp to become the most valuable company in the United States after days of uncertain stock market action. Translating to Apple briefly overtook Exxon today as the most valuable public company in the world. This is unthinkable since the two companies were supposed to be in a different league. What is certain, this news indicates that the digital economy is the future and in some ways more important than the physical economy. 

The technology giant's market value rose on Tuesday to $341.5 billion in a roller coaster afternoon trading, just above Exxon's $341.4 billion. However, Exxon quickly regained the No. 1 spot as its shares rose with stocks globally remaining volatile caused by the downgrading of the United States’ sovereign credit on Friday.

Just three weeks ago, Exxon had a $60 billion value advantage over Apple. But after the financial markets crashed, that changed rapidly. Exxon closed today’s trading at a value of  $348.32 billion, while Apple closed at $346.74 billion even though Exxon's annual revenue is four times that of Apple’s.

Yesterday’s move by Apple, which ended Exxon Mobil’s run of more than five years at the top, capped a remarkable turnaround for a company that once expected to bust before Steve Jobs returned. Since July 1, Apple’s market capitalisation has risen by more than US$20 billion while Exxon’s market cap has slipped nearly US$60 billion in the same period due to volatile crude oil price. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/09/us-apple-exxon-idUSTRE7784RX20110809 

GTA Blamed For London Riot?

Whats up with all these blame game. Please take responsibility where applicable.

A constable said; 

"These are bad people who did this. Kids out of control. When I was young it was all Pacman and board games. Now they're playing Grand Theft Auto and want to live it for themselves."

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23976535-fear-and-a-sense-of-loss-amid-high-streets-smoking-ruins.do

I think the constable was caught in the moment.

US Unlikely to Regain AAA Credit Rating

On Aug. 5, 2011, Standard & Poor’s lowered the US sovereign credit rating to ‘AA+’ from ‘AAA' and removed the rating from CreditWatch negative. This is a first time for the US since it won the top ranking in 1917. The downgrade is mainly due to political risks and rising debt burden. The debt ceiling had been increased, and the election is near.

S&P also downgraded the bailout-saved mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of their reliance to the government. Its funny how the US promotes a free market without the intervention of the government (laissez-faire), but in the end, an intercession is proven to be inevitable.

Now, according to S&P, the US is unlikely to see its long-term credit rating return to AAA any time soon. 'Anytime soon' is a vague statement, which normally comes from a politician. Apparently, S&P is considering the headache currently faced by investors worldwide. I would interpret it to be at least 10 years. 

Star of David on Malaysia's 10 Cent Coin?

Notice anything?

There are reports suggesting the upcoming Malaysia's 10 cent coin would bear a symbol similar to that which is found on the flag of Israel; the Star of David.

Star of David (SoD) is widely-acknowledged as the symbol of Judaism. However, it doesn’t have any religious significance in Judaism. The symbol was also heavily linked to King Solomon (Nabi Sulaiman). Currently it is made famous by the national flag of Israel.

Some conspiracy theorist suggest that the SoD represent an intersection between dimensions. It represent human communication with the unseen. This make sense since prophet Solomon was special, he could interact with the unseen and animals.

Mah Meri women in their traditional dresses

 http://www.elevyn.com/shop_topic/tompoqtopoh/mah+meri+mask+dance

According to Bank Negara, the weave pattern represent the Mah Meri tribe in Peninsular Malaysia. The picture above, might shed some light on the issue. However, the choice raises some question as the tribe is little known. But this might be intended to create awareness. Only Bank Negara knows.

Without filling some spaces, the resemblance is not too obvious. Subliminal message maybe.

I think its pure coincidence. They would have made it more direct as the star above the eagle and the all-seeing-eye on the dollar note. So for those trying to make a story out of this, please find something more serious.

Riot in Tottenham - V for Vendetta?

London or Baghdad?

The world was rocked by the news of a riot in Tottenham, London. Whats more shocking is that the football season hasn't even started.

Buildings were set alight and shops looted after a peaceful demonstration turned violent. The unrest began after a protest over the fatal shooting by police of 29 year old Mark Duggan on August 4th. Mr Duggan was shot after an apparent exchange of fire. 

Disorder has also been reported in Enfield, Walthamstow and other parts of the capital. Britain's worst riots in decades took place in 1985 where a policeman was hacked to death.

The truth is; discontent has been simmering among Britain's urban poor for years, and few have paid attention. The situation can be likened to a loaded gun waiting for something to pull its trigger. So when a local 29-year-old father, was shot dead by an officer, the response came rapidly. The victim was labelled a gangster by the police. People saw an opportunity to rebel and voice their frustration.

Caught in poverty and joblessness cycle, young people in many British urban areas sees little hope for a better life. However they should refer to people less fortunate from other parts of the world. According to a social activists, one out of two children in Tottenham live in poverty. It's one of the poorest areas of Britain. This is not just a theory as evidenced by the map below.

 

Riots concentrated in London's poor neighborhoods

The killing of Mark Duggan was the spark to the looting and rioting. At least now people (and hopefully the government) will take notice of their situation.

It might also have something to do with karma....

WWW is One Year Short From the Age of Majority

The World Wide Web turned 20 years yesterday (6/8/11). 

As usual, time feels to lapse even faster when this type of news comes out. The web is a big collection of HTML pages on the Internet. The internet is one of the most influential presence in our life. It safe to say, for some of us, it came 2nd only to religion.

There was a time when there was no internet. I cant remember most of the activities during the absent. But those were good times. 'Corruptions was hidden from us', allegations and gossips were confined to small audience, secret societies was unknown to many, there was no Rebecca Black, Justin Bieber etc. Those were the time where if you miss anything on TV, YouTube wasn't there for the rescue.

Much recently, series of revolutions has been witnessed in the Middle East and Africa. Tunisia, recognized as the revolution that started it all, was prompted by the the internet.

Now, countries are engaged in cyber warfare. As long as it doesn't involve people dying, and causing serious harm to the environment, carry on.

Residents of Burj Khalifa Have to Fast Longer

Its normal for time to defer from places. However, for some Muslim residents of the tallest structure (for now), they would have to fast longer during the month of Ramadhan. Muslims residing above the 80th floor in Dubai's Burj Khalifa must delay their iftar during Ramadhan by two to three minutes as they see the sunset later, according to the Dubai Islamic Affairs Department.

Besides the delay for iftar, they also have to start their daily fasting earlier since dawn descends faster due to their location. For them, the sun will rise earlier and set later. The delay varies as the level increases. To be more precise, those living on the 80-150 floors should delay their iftar by two minutes while those on the 151-160 floors should delay by three minutes.

In a materialistic world, this news might deflate the price for units above the 80th floor.

Burj Khalifa

I suspect this would also affect the proposed Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia even more. When completed, the 1,000-meter-plus (1km+) (3,280-foot-plus) tower would replace Gulf neighbor Dubai's 828-meter (2,716-foot) Burj Khalifa as the tallest tower in the world. The Burj Khalifa was built by Emaar Properties for a total cost of $1.5 billion.

Proposed Kingdom Tower

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal signed a $1.23 billion contract with Bin Laden Group for the proposed tower. Normally prices for construction material would increase as time progress, however the Kingdom Tower seems to cost less than the Burj Khalifa.

Its normal for the cost of construction to increase as the project progress.

Season 8 Might be the Last for House MD

Hmmm...
 

I love this show. Mostly because of the clever dialogue and realistic (male) actors. Some of the dialogues is just brilliant; which exist in almost every episode. I really appreciate the effort put in by the writers. The series seems to survive the writers strike which dampened other TV series.

Now the producers are seriously considering to end the show. For me, the news isn't that surprising since the series have maintained the same original creator from season 1.

The series had always been strong, and if they decided to end it at the same level, season 8 would be the right time. it seems that all possible relationship had been explored. I couldn't see how they can keep the series entertaining beyond the next (8th). I suspect if the series is to end, it would involve the death of  at least one of its characters.

I have to admit that season 1 to 3 is quite slow but interesting nonetheless. For me season 4 is where the fun begins. With fresh faces and a more dynamic storytelling. Secrets are cleverly revealed at interventions keeping the story engaging. Since the very beginning, there never been a prolonged relationship. Which I like. The tragedy allows its characters to be elaborated further while dealing with their break up. From the look of it, the medical profession would lead to an unhealthy spiritual life (only based on whats presented in the series!).

SPOILER ALERT!

Why UnforcedSchism Choosen?

Forced Division?

People might someday ask why I have chosen a peculiar name; unforced schism, for my blog. Before anyone does, heres my answer.

The obvious reason is, 
Ive been procrastinating for too long and there seems to be no ‘normal’ name left for selection. I tried almost everything that comes to mind, to no avail. So I came up with a term unique enough that might do the job. Here is where it originated from.

‘Unforced error’ is a term which originates from the game of tennis. You could guess the meaning since its quite straight forward. One definition is mistake made by a player which is not due to the opponent's skill or effort. Nothing and nobody forced the error. The error was caused by the player lack of focus. Hence "unforced".

Schism is a word i first heard from a song by the band 'Tool'. Schism carries the meaning of division, disunion, or separation between people. The meaning of division is clear. For me, there are too many divisions among people nowadays. Some are totally unnecessary. Division is normal to exist at a macro level, but being present in a micro level is ridiculous. For example, under a religion, there could exist hundreds maybe thousands of sects. The problem could even exist among family members. And the most mind boggling thing about it is that no one forced them to hate each other. 

Most conflicts starts from miscommunication or lack of communication. So lets strengthen our communication. An illusion of borderless world cant hide the fact that we are still clueless about our fellow humans. We are still divided by the border of ignorance.

Why?

Thus 'unforcedschism'

Colonel Sanders V. Colonel Mason Smith

Great news for chicks out there

I didn't know that Fiji is managed by a military government. Regardless, being too bureaucratic sometimes is not good for business.

KFC has halted its operations in Fiji. This is their decision after Fiji's military government stopped them from importing two cartons of eggs and milk. These two ingredient is used to make its famous flavored crumb coating. The problem started because KFC didn't provide a veterinary certificate, said Colonel Mason Smith. 

Out of this news, now we know two of the ingredients used by KFC for their secret recipe.

The Enforcement of China's One Child Policy

China's one child policy is known worldwide. The obvious objective of this policy is to reduce the population growth before it becomes out of control. This type of policy might backfire in the long run. It is projected that in the year 2100, if a strict implementation is carried out constantly, China's population would be even smaller than the present number of Indonesian. The government claims the policy has shrunk the number of births by around 400m.There are numerous stories that I have heard about the strictness of the Chinese Government in their enforcement. However, it seems that the monitoring are more strict for people living in the cities as compared to those in rural areas. 

The graph below illustrates how a strict implementation would do to China's population.

The Economist (c)

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/chinas-one-child-policy?fsrc=scn/tw/te/dc/obrotherwhereartthou

Islam and Empirical Observation

Signs

16/2/2008 *Edited

In simple terms, empirical observation is conducting experiments. The empirical observation theory depends heavily on experience. Things which is beyond what people could experience would not be taken into consideration. The concept was brought by Francis Bacon, a famous Western scholar. The concept of Empirical observation was later developed by John Locke. He laid the foundation that scientific methodology relies heavily on observable, quantifiable and measurable items. These attributes are the core foundation of empirical observation (EO). This view is totally different from Muslim scientist in the past where they combine the physical with the metaphysical aspect in coming to a conclusion.

Since EO only considers things which are observable and able to be experienced by at least one of our five senses, there is a conflict between this methodology with religion(s). The most obvious reason is due to the fact that God is not observable, thus making them to conclude that He doesn't exist. Through the denial of the existence of God, they inevitably deny Islam (and other religion) which is built around the oneness of God (Tawhid).

Signs

Even though there exist difference in view, Islam doesn't reject empirical observation (EO) totally since it encourage experiments. In Islam, the process of EO is incorporated to the revelation sent by Allah. Conducting experiments is a means to strengthen our belief in God through observing the trend and behavior of His creation. By conducting experiments, human should realize the complexity of the things around us and to realize that it is impossible for them to materialize and function without a Master Creator (God) behind it. Islam sees EO as a tool for the purpose of getting closer to the Creator by observing His signs (ayah). EO is encouraged in Islam since it will utilize our distinctive ability to think. Through it, experience is obtained. Experience is a tool that can be used to improve our life. Furthermore, there are only usable knowledge which can be derived from experience. 

Signs