Saudi Arabia Next?

 UN; Encyclopedia Britannica, The Economist

Based on the graph above, the likelihood of an uprising to occur is higher if the age of the leader doubles or triples the median age of the population. Such a wide gap is more common in autocracies or in democracy where a person ruled for too long.

The Economist

This is where unbelievably wealthy corrupts store their questionable earned money. Why I call them corrupts? some are trying to escape from being taxed, some are hiding the source of their income and other selfish reasons. Switzerland is well known as the world’s biggest tax haven: Switzerland’s banks house around $2.1 trillion, or 27%, of offshore wealth, according to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Fasting and Cancer

Denial is beneficial for the soul while starvation is effective against desire (nafs). Starvation is also known to be beneficial to the body. It is known that animals fed near-starvation diet see dramatic boosts in their lifespans.

The lack of nutrition seems to make our cellular repair mechanism work harder. [Maybe to their full capacity and true potential(?) I'm no doctor]. The cellular repair mechanism helps to slow the gradual accumulation of cellular damage that is related to aging. In time of scarcity, normal cells switch their attention away from reproduction and towards preservation, beefing up their repair mechanisms. We have been pampering our body with numerous supplements and medicine that it might become "complacent" in the future.

It is now found that fasting is helpful in treating tumor since it both protect healthy tissue and make tumors easier to treat. Furthermore, it is found that fasting can actually make cancerous cells more susceptible to chemotherapy than they otherwise might be (experiment done on mice). Cancerous mice treated with a combination of chemotherapy and fasting had better survival chances and smaller tumors, for several different types of cancer, than those treated with either fasting or chemotherapy alone. Fasting is cheap, affordable, safe and, in theory, should work against a wide variety of cancer types.

Lack of nutrients seems to spur the activity of cellular repair mechanisms. Maybe our body knows best and is created in a way to respond naturally in accordance with situations. That might be why we often don't feel like eating when we are ill. I believe this is also for medicine and supplements. The less we depend on them, the better of our immune system would be. Human used to live for hundreds of years without the help of modern medicine. However, they also benefited from the less/non-polluted environment around them.

The Dog Strikes Back

 Still remember the little Darth Vader Volkswagon ad?

Notice the price at the end; starting $20,000 (RM60,000)? Now, theres a follow up to this ad; its called 'the dog strikes back'.

Bahhahhaha! Nice

Longest Grand Slam Final in Pro-Tennis History

5 hours 53 minutes. 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, (5-7), 7-5

Defending champion Djokovic lifted the title for the third time after Sunday's success against second seed Nadal. Djokovic outlasted 10-time Grand Slam winner Nadal to clinch an epic five-setter that went 5 hours 53 minutes. At 1:37 a.m. Monday morning (local time [Melbourne]), an exhausted Djokovic emerged the winner.  I think the match went on for so long because both player played safe as evidenced by numerous long rally. Add this to the never give up attitude of Nadal (and Djokovic in this match), we have the longest grand slam final.

This definitely made those paying for tickets satisfied in exhaustion.

Album Review - My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges

I've started to listen to My Morning Jacket since they were crowned best indie rock act in 2006 (Z) and before they were the opening band for Pearl Jam during their 2006 US tour. 

Evil Urges is the most musically friendly album by MMJ. However this positive sounding attribute is the source of criticism from their long time fans. Much of the complaint about "Evil Urges" has been directed towards what some fans perceive to be a more extreme departure from their earlier sounds. There is a departure from their previous style of experimentation with songs. It seems that they are playing it to safe this time around. It is a record that is very different from the brand of Americana roots rock that they produced with their first three records.

But I have no problem with that. The fact that the first album that I've listened from this band is "Z" made it easier for me to digest "Evil Urges". Moreover, I love bands that evolve as they get older. The quality of some of the songs is pure beauty and Jim James' incredibly expressive voice have never been better. Complemented by a funky bass throughout, made all the songs comprehensible (but not equally enjoyable). The songs in this album keeps on growing on me with every listen. That is why it took me so long to review it.

But I'm satisfied enough to say MMJ's experimentation in this album succeeded.

Debt as % of GDP

Debt. The financing tool that would benefit the present and enslave the future generation. Countries which are categorized as developed have a high level of debt as percentage of GDP. Huge rise in debt levels can be seen since the 2008 crisis. The highest recorded to date is Japan with 512%. Britain came second with 507%. Some of the figures indicates that the debt level in these countries had spiraled out of control. The level of debt as % of GDP in emerging superpowers are much more manageable with China = 184%, Brazil = 148%, and India = 122%.

Smarter by Chewing Gum?

Recent studies shows that by chomping gum before exams, students fare better in comparison to those who didn't. According to studies, the benefits of chewing gum includes boosting mental performance, higher math grades, improving memory, become less stressed, and much happier.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/does-chewing-gum-make-you-smarter

Maybe this is the secret to the tactical prowess possessed by Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) of Manchester United. The manager is famous for his constant gum chewing during a football match. Is it a technique to stay calm under pressure? Or maybe he is displaying a metaphor of United chewing up their opponents....who knows?

Numbers in the Holy Quran

Here are some interesting numbers that could be found in the Holy Quran as discovered by Dr. Tarek Suwaidan. He managed to find divine miracles in the verses of the Quran through the linkage between the science of numbers and their meaning.

1) “Life on earth” appeared 115 times versus 115 times for “the afterlife”

2) “Angel” appeared 88 times versus 88 times for “Devils.”

3) “Life” appeared 145 times versus 145 times for “Death.”

4) “Benefit” appeared 50 times versus 50 times for “Harm.”

5) “Calamity” appeared 75 times versus 75 times for “Thanks.”

6) “Gold” appeared 8 times versus 8 times for “well being” i.e. living a good life.

7) “Mind” appeared 49 times versus 49 times for “Light.”

8) “Man” appeared 24 times versus 24 times for “Woman”

And in another miracle, the following words were mentioned for a certain number of times:

1) The word “month” was mentioned: 12 times.
2) The word “day”: 365 times.
3) The word “sea”: 32 times.
4) The word “land “: 13 times.

Note: Planet Earth = Sea + land = 32 +13 = 45.
The proportion of the sea on planet Earth = (32 ÷ 45) * 100 = 71.11111111111111111111%
The proportion of land on planet Earth= (13 ÷ 45) * 100 = 28.88888888888888888889%
The proportion of land + the proportion of the sea = 100%, and this is what modern science recently found.

I haven't manage to scrutinize the information available. However, if its true, سبحان الله. I find some figures to be odd which made me quite skeptical about Dr. Tarek findings. However, the oddity is not entirely bad; it might be the sign that this is definitely the word of God. For example the word "day" is mentioned 365 times says Dr. Tarek. 365 days is the total for a gregorian calender. But it is widely known that the Prophet used the hijri calender, in which the total number of days is approximately 354. Personally, I find this odd....

Fujifilm X-Pro1

 

Hezbollah's Electronic Counterespionage ~ on the CIA?

Hezbollah is not known for their electronic counterespionage capabilities. Yet recently, the Associated Press said the CIA’s operations in Lebanon had been impacted after Hezbollah identified and captured a number of U.S. spies.

According to Robert Baer (TIME), Hezbollah have managed to aggressively went after the CIA in Lebanon using telephone "link analysis" (LA). LA is an electronic intelligence gathering that uses software capable of combing through trillions of gigabytes of phone-call data in search for irregularities.

But (as usual) the actual truth behind the capture has not been made public. Regardless of the tactics used, this is definitely a cause for concern to the CIA. It seems that globalization and the rapid spread of sophisticated technologies have made espionage work much easier. 

Emerging Superpowers Leading the Recovery

2007-2008 seems to be a distant past. However the impact from the worst economic crisis since the great depression can still be felt. Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Fed, said: 

"The current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged as the most wrenching since the end of the second world war."

Now the Euro crisis might drag the (still) unresolved situation further. However, the situation in Europe and the US had given emerging superpowers (China, India, Brazil) the opportunity to grow.

Here is a comparison of how output per person (GDP) has changed in the world's biggest economies since 2007. (courtesy of the Economist Intelligence Unit)