March 16, 2011 A.C. Grayling* on History (edited by Din Merican) If we pride ourselves on learning from experience, then the experience of humankind is a required source of instruction. For although what happens in the world rarely imitates its antecedents exactly, the present’s resemblances to the past tend to be uncanny. We know that [...]
Archive for March 2011
On History
March 16, 2011On Francis Fukuyama’s New Book: “The Origins of Political Order”
March 15, 2011March 15, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com Book Review From ‘End of History’ Author, a Look at the Beginning and Middle By Nicholas Wade Human social behavior has an evolutionary basis. This was the thesis in Edward O. Wilson’s book “Sociobiology” that caused such a stir, even though most evolutionary biologists accept that at least some social behaviors, [...]
The Doctor tries to turn the clock back
March 15, 2011March 15, 2011 The Doctor tries to turn the clock back by Art Harun Starting from the 2nd installment of the Godfather trilogy, right to the final episode in Godfather 3, we saw the chief mobster, Michael Corleone, vehemently attempting to legitimise his “businesses”. We saw how he bought the Vatican and consequently, an honorary [...]
Nuclear Crisis in Japan
March 15, 2011March 15, 2011 Japan’s Nuclear Crisis deepens By Steven Mufson and Chico Harlan of The Washington Post Japan’s nuclear emergency turned more dire on Tuesday after the third explosion in four days rocked the seaside Fukushima Daiichi complex and fire briefly raged in a storage facility for spent fuel rods at a fourth, previously unaffected [...]
A Case for Scientific Literacy
March 14, 2011March 14, 2011 Scientific Literacy: A Pressing Need by A.C.Grayling* More than twenty years ago the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) published a book called Science for All Americans (1989) to address what it recognised as a pressing need for greater scientific literacy in the general population. Better awareness of scientific ideas [...]
Need Versus Greed
March 14, 2011March 14, 2011 Need Versus Greed by Jeffery Sachs* India’s great moral leader Mohandas Gandhi famously said that there is enough on Earth for everybody’s need, but not enough for everybody’s greed. Today, Gandhi’s insight is being put to the test as never before. The world is hitting global limits in its use of resources. [...]
Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei wins All England Badminton Title Again
March 14, 2011March 14, 2011 Congrats Dato Lee Chong Wei: Next should be a Gold Medal from 2012 Olympics in London Malaysia’s Dato Lee Chong Wei beats Lin Dan of China to retain All England Badminton Title. It was a brilliant performance by the Malaysian to down the Olympic Champion in straight sets. Dato Lee showed flashes [...]
The Daphne Iking Case: Stop the Abuses by A-G Gani Patail
March 13, 2011March 13, 2011 The Daphne Iking Case: Stop the Abuses by A-G Gani Patail by Din Merican On the face of it, it would appear to be a case of a beautiful and seductive woman being torn between two lovers. Not so. It could be a serious issue of prosecutorial misconduct. This is why I [...]
Will Next Time Be Different?
March 13, 2011March 13, 2011 Will Next Time Be Different? by Raghuram Rajan Chicago–Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, in their excellent, eponymous book on debt crises, argue that the most dangerous words in any language are “This time is different.” Perhaps the next most dangerous words are “Next time will be different.” These words are often uttered [...]
Anwar’s Credibility Gap widening or a J-Spin?
March 13, 2011March 13, 2011 Anwar goes on the defence Insight By Joceline Tan@www.thestar.com.my Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is at his lowest ebb since March 2008 and he is turning to the ceramah circuit to defend himself against multi-pronged attacks. ONE of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s oldest and most loyal friends ended his days as a widower [...]
To the Brave People of Japan
March 12, 2011March 12, 2011 Message of Condolences from Dr. Kamsiah, Bloggers and Friends of this Blog and Din Merican To the People of Japan, we feel your sorrow and pain today. You have been hit by a vicious earthquake and a punishing tsunami (8.9 on the Richter Scale), more devastating than the tragedy of Kobe years [...]
On Wang Gangwu
March 12, 2011March 12, 2011 Wang Gangwu: Junzi and Scholar with Intellectual Honesty by Terence Netto @www.malaysiakini.com Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah used the occasion of a book launch ceremony in Ipoh last night to castigate former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad‘s memoirs as “political lying”. In lauding the “intellectual honesty” of the Surabaya-born and Ipoh-raised Professor Wang Gangwu, [...]
For Your Weekend Entertainment
March 11, 2011March 11, 2011 For Your Weekend Entertainment Friends, This is an experiment and a risk I am taking. I am featuring jazz and guitarists who are my favorites. I was once a street corner guitarist during my days at the Second Residential College (now Kolej Sultanah Bahiyah), University of Malaya, Pantai Valley moons ago. That [...]
Mahathir’s Memoirs isn’t the last word on His Era
March 11, 2011March 11, 2011 Mahathir’s Memoirs isn’t the Last Word on His Era(1981-2003) by Terence Netto The self-description of a life in an autobiography or its stepchild, memoirs, is an uneasy task to anyone who has lived in the maw of febrile political events. Practitioners find it difficult to tread the line between their involvement and [...]
Democracy and Accountability
March 11, 2011March 11, 2011 Democracy is about Accountability to Citizenry by Mustafa K. Anuar* In a functioning democracy, political leaders are accountable to the people in whose name they rule. Well, that’s the theory. In practice, many leaders tend to forget that these people are the ones who put them in the seats of power in [...]
The Dalai Lama Steps Down
March 10, 2011March 10, 2011 Dharamsala: Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the 52nd Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day Today marks the 52nd anniversary of the Tibetan people‘s peaceful uprising of 1959 against Communist China‘s repression in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, and the third anniversary of the non-violent demonstrations that took place across [...]
