HELP!

I have been staying pretty silent on the Lebanon conflict so far till now. Today, I received an email from my Lebanese room-mate when I was in London. It was such an emotional email that I decided to publish here:

Hi,

I was really touched to receive your email... thank you very much for your concern and understanding...

unfortunately, despite all the prayers and demos, and the horrific pics, it seems nothing is convincing the world at large, and in particular the US to agree on a ceasefire...

depsite the killing of 4 UN officials, nothing was done..

this morning, around 3am lebanon time, a whole building full of civilians was brought fully to ground.. at least 40 bodies were recovered for now, but number expected to double as many innocent families were hiding there.. 23 children were among those.. some of them were children with disabilities...

that was again in Qana.. the famous village were in 1996 the israeli DEFENCE (?!?!) forces bombed a UN centre killing 116 innocent women and children... we did not forget those yet.. now a fresher memory is engraved in our hearts, eyes and minds...

this is not the peace USA and israel claim they want... this is not fair.. not human..

WHY? our souls cost less as arabs or citizens of developing countries...

we, you and me, are the future of this world.. let's try to make it better... keep those pics in mind when you vote next time.. when you pay your taxes....USA sending weapons to israeli thru glascow, and blankets to the lebanese.. how ironic.. we will kill you and make you homeless, but no worries, we will give you some food and water to drink... ENOUGH....

UN can not take a decision coz USA has the right to veto..WHAT DEMOCRACY IS THAT!!!!!

be the voice of those innocent children, tell their stories... I am sick of being called anti-semitic... for God's sake, I AM SEMITIC.. those killed are SEMITIC... ask people around you and friends to read more, to open their eyes, to seek the truth....

my Lebanon is destroyed and Dr. Rice and Mr. Bush understand the israeli position...

my people are killed, and the world is condemning.. what about ACTIONS!?!?

We want peace more than anyone else... we never asked for war... give the lebanese their land and prisoners who some were detained for now for more than 28 years without trial... stop invading their air borders and terrorising them... this is peace we want.. for all!!!!

Please spread these words to your friends, maybe one day, people and their leaders in this silent world will wake up from their ever-lasting coma!!!!!!!

Thank you...

Another helpless lebanese in Dublin

SALAM

The Israeli have committed international massacre and yet no one is taking action. Yes, Hizbollah is a terrorist network and should be flushed out but to the extent of killing civilians is inexcusable. Did the British bomb Northern Ireland to flush out the IRA or the Spanish to destroy the Basque region to eliminate ETA? In addition, we are talking about invading someone's sovereign right!

The Americans really need to wake up to their international role and by acting as a "silencer" in these issues, they are really showing their support for the Israelis. The response so far from the UN have been rather muted as US holds a veto in the votes in the security council. No amount of international condemnation seems to be able to move the Israelis.

To Wael (my lebanese friend), hope that your family is doing well in Beirut and may peace reign in Lebanon soon

PS: Am thinking of putting up a petition on the Lebanese cause. Do leave your comments if any on this issue pls

Pioneers forgotten

2006 is the year that Singapore lost of 2 of her founding fathers of independence: S Rajaretnam and Lim Kim San. Unfortunately not many people knew of what they have done for our nation state till they have passed on. Rajaretnam was Singapore's first diplomat and was the one that crafted Singapore's pledge. Lim Kim San served as a bedrock in Singapore's Cabinet over the early years and held key positions in the government before moving into the private sector.

Why have most people not even heard of these founding fathers such as David Marshall, Lim Yew Hock, Goh Keng Swee, Toh Chin Chye, Ong Pang Boon, etc, etc? One of the main reason is due to our education when only Lee Kuan Yew had been glorified in our history textbook. Either through accident or coincidence, our students learn nothing of the post-independence events except for the fight against communism.

These founding fathers including Mr Lee Kuan Yew sacrificed their youth and their career to ensure Singapore reached the stage it is now. Let us show an acknowledgement for these founding fathers and also ensure that their legacy are never lost to history.

This way, sir

Am on course for these past few days and the course have been enjoyable thus far. Learning the finer art of protocol was certainly very interesting and learning from the experts as well.

The food was excellent as we were learning the art of fine dining. Not sure what will be served tomorrow after buffet, chinese and western.

Most of the coursemates were all from MAS and somehow I feel that's a missing link there between myself and the people there. Not sure why as well.

Anyway one more day of enjoyment before going back to work on Friday!

Back from Diving

Open Water Course completed! The weekend in Pulau Aur was fun and enjoyable unfortunately the boat ride there was a bit too long for comfort. Left Singapore at 730pm on Friday, reach Mersing at 1130pm and Aur at 400am. The boat was I would said unique - no seats but beds for people to sleep to get over the sea sickness.

Upon reaching Aur, we had to wade through the low tide before reaching our huts. Pretty basic accomodation but we slept like a log due to the tiring boat ride. Soon we were all awake for breakfast to get ready for our first dive. Spend some time briefing and it's finally time to gear up. Pretty basic and the first 2 dives were all testing all the basic skills. Had to drink some seawater initially but once the skills were completed, it was fairly straight forward.

On our third dive, our instructor felt that we were good enough to follow the advanced group and here we go to Pulau Pinang (NOT PENANG) and manage to see a puffer fish! The kiasu Singaporean in us decided to wake up early on Sunday so as to squeeze 2 dives before we depart at noon.

Aur was definitely a nice place even to come and relax. The coconut trees and the beaches were excellent and the hospitality was impressive. One thing about diving is the eating. Food was the norm betwen every single dive either it's doughnuts, maggi mee, bbq dinner, lunch, etc.

Except for the long boat ride, I am certainly looking forward to another dive trip. Maybe to Tioman!

PS: Will hope to post some pictures once our instructors have given us the pics.

Off to the Sea

Finally decided to sign up for the PADI Open Water Diving Licence since my work place was subsidising a fair amount for a trip up to Pulau Aur (4-5 hour boat ride from Mersing :-( ). So am I off for the weekend to see some fishes, corals, turtles and whatever lurks beneath.

Am looking forward to a 4 day course next week as well where I will learn the finer art of protocol and peeling prawns without using my hands!

Nice break in Penang

Finally decided to take 3 days off work to travel to Penang to visit a good friend who is only back in the region once every 2 years. Went up to KL by coach and I must say it was super luxurious. The ride included dinner, massaging chair and a entertainment system which had tonnes of movies and even had Summerslam! (Must try Transtar if you are visiting KL) Reached KL well ahead of time in 4.5 hours and then it was another 3.5 hours ride up in a comfortable Camry to Penang. Only reached Penang at about 130am.

Penang is always a nice place to visit especially this was my first visit since 2002. It's relaxing place where the pace of live is slower and everything there is well affordable. I always value visiting Penang where it's really a mix of everything a tourist would want to go for. Historic Georgetown is a pleasant place to walk around and if you fancy a bit of beach front holiday, there is always Batu Fringgi. Not forgetting the excellent food as well at super affordable prices.

Did some shopping at Factory Outlets and bought some tau sar piah back as well. Had an excellent seafood dinner at the Tsunami Village Restaurant.

The three days break was also excellent due to the World Cup timing. Was able to watch all the second round matches and even won a small bet! :-)

Back to work again!