NST Letters: Effigy-Burning: When It’s Okay for Some But Not Others

Well, its been a while. A whole slew of recent submissions – mostly on global warming – have not appeared in any of the publications. So kudos to NST for their printing this, and here’s hoping they’re old global warming skepticism can resurface, particularly in the wake of 11 years of cooling and Climategate.

(UPDATE: It seems that NST did print my letter on Climategate in its hardcopy version. I shall have to track it down. UPDATE 2: Found it!)

From NST Letters 7 Dec 2009 (NST links become defunct after a certain period):

EFFIGY-BURNING: When it’s okay for some but not others
2009/12/07
SCOTT THONG YU YUEN, Ipoh

RECENTLY, the issue of intentionally showing disrespect to images of people has been in the limelight.

Some people have been stepping on photographs of politicians, while others have been burning effigies of ministers. In response to this, various individuals and groups have denounced such acts as “not Malaysian culture”.

And on the issue of our culture, a short while back mass street protests were also denounced as “not Malaysian culture”.

It seemed pretty acceptable a few years back when thousands of Malaysians from various political parties and non-governmental organisations gathered in mass street protests and burnt effigies of former United States president George W. Bush, former British prime minister Tony Blair and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert.

There were no objections from anyone back then.

But I guess “Malaysian culture” can be redefined on a daily or case-by-case basis. Constant evolution is an aspect of culture, is it not?

A few differences from my original:

In response to this, various individuals and groups have denounced such acts as ‘not Malaysian culture’.

And on the issue of our culture, a short while back mass street protests were also denounced as ‘not Malaysian culture.’

Funny… It seemed pretty acceptable a few years back when thousands of Malaysians from various political parties and NGOs gathered in mass street protests and burnt effigies of George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Ehud Olmert. There was nary a peep of objection from our leaders and betters back then.

Perhaps that line about street protests touched too close, as it has been UMNO personalities who have been calling it ‘not Malaysian culture’ in response to various Opposition and NGO protests.

Remember:

Above is Poster #3 from Malaysian Politics Motivational Posters

Related to this:

• Burning Photos and Effigies of Politicians is Not Asian Culture – has links to the Bush, Blair and Olmert cases.

• Dr M Hypocritical and Ignorant of Historical Malaysian Street Demo Culture

• Najib Tun Razak Says Street Demonstrations Such As Bersih Rally Not Part of Malaysian Culture, Conveniently Forgets Malayan Union Protests

• Penang: Massive Illegal UMNO Street Mob Protests Anti-NEP

• Civil Servants in Street Demos Will Be Sacke

Malaysiakini Letters – Global Warming: Don’t Naively Believe Everything

Hah! I got it in at last. Eat this, global warming hysterians!

I re-added the links to news and science sites in the citations (in non-bolded links below), as Malaysiakini removed them. They left in some of the links as they saw fit, however (in bolded links below).

Or just head on over to Global Warming is Unfactual for more facts. Malaysiakini had removed some of them.

From Malaysiakini letters 20 April 2009:

Global warming: Don’t naively believe everything

Scott Thong | Apr 20, 09 4:52pm

I refer to the letter Global warming – getting the facts right.

Allow me to respond by citing five simple facts about global warming that are seldom heard.

1. According to the National Center for Policy Analysis [pages 5-8], only 1~2% of the atmosphere is made up of greenhouse gases. Of that amount of greenhouse gases, only 3.62 percent of it is carbon dioxide.

And most significantly for proponents of anthropogenic global warming, only 3.4% of that carbon dioxide is emitted by human activity. That is to say, even if all human activities were immediately shut down tomorrow, 96.6% of the carbon dioxide would not be affected.

[Which also means that only 0.28% of the greenhouse effect is human-caused.]

2. The wavelength of radiation that carbon dioxide absorbs is not only very narrow, it is also already mostly absorbed by other gases – such as the water vapour the writer mentions.

And this is also affected by the law of diminishing returns – once carbon dioxide and other gases absorb all this radiation, then adding more carbon dioxide does not have any effect – the radiation is already being absorbed in full. (Source: Page 13 of this PDF)

3. Historical data shows that temperature always rises first, followed 800 years later by carbon dioxide levels. This is the reverse of what global warming theory claims.

4. How is temperature measured, anyway? Nasa relies mostly on ground-based measuring instruments. However, many of them are placed in really stupid locations where they are exposed to a lot of temporary heat.

You should really take a look at the hilarious photos of temperature sensors placed in hot car parking lots, next to air-conditioner exhaust vents, inches from exposed light bulbs, and near flaming barbeque grills.

Don’t you think this biases the temperature measurements towards the hotter end of the scale?

5. Global warming? What global warming? Where? Where? Does anybody even read the news anymore, or are they content to parrot decades-old talking points about melting ice caps and rising oceans? Extra credit to you if you know that:

The oceans have been cooling since 2003. (Source: Nasa)

Sea ice is growing at the fastest rate ever recorded. (Source: Arctic Research Center)

Arctic ice is back to 1979 levels, meaning no net melting has occurred in 30 years. (Source: Daily Tech)

The melting scare in recent years might have been caused by scientists having undermeasured the amount of ice by 500,000 square kilometers due to a sensor glitch, as they now bashfully admit. (Source: Bloomberg)

Antarctic ice is at the highest levels ever recorded. (Source: Heartland Institute)

[And it is proven that the ice is expanding! (Source: The Australian)]

The year 2008 saw colder temperatures across the United States. (Source: National Climatic Data Center)

It snowed in Saudi Arabia during their coldest winter in 30 years. (Yes, it snowed in the Desert Kingdom!) (Source: Arabian Business.com)

It snowed in Iraq for the first time in 100 years. (Source: Reuters)

In 2009, it snowed in the United Arab Emirates for the second time in history. When was the first time? In 2004. (Source: Associated Free Press and Terra Daily)

China had its coldest winter in 100 years. (Source: Reuters)

Pakistan had its coldest temperatures in 70 years. (Source: The Indian Express)

Australia had its coldest summer in 50 years. (Source: Bloomberg)

Mumbai, India had its coldest winter in 40 years. (Source: India News)

Takijistan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, had its coldest winter in more than 25 years. (Source: npr)

There was record cold in Vietnam. (Source: Earth Times)

A rare snowfall occurred in Jerusalem. (Source: BBC)

All this chill is probably why the fearmongers’ language has gradually been shifted to ‘climate change’ instead of ‘global warming’. So do tell me, how does the alleged carbon dioxide heating up the planet cause all this cooling climate change?

Finally, the writer insinuates that there are ‘forces bent on denying the scientific evidence related to climate change’, that is, ‘businesses whose profits depends on humankind continuing unabated on this downward path, and the politicians funded by these businesses.’

Tell that to Al Gore, head cheerleader of global warming doom-saying – whose film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ was officially ruled by the British High Court to be unscientific and one-sidedly political.

He whose house uses 22 times the electricity as the average American family and who has earned more than US$35 million in profits from his company Generation Investment Management LLP that sells carbon offsets.

Maybe that is why more and more people have felt that global warming is exaggerated since around the time ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ was released and why global warming is the currently the lowest concern on people’s minds.

[Addition: Two thirds of people no longer believe that global warming is human caused!]

Don’t naively believe everything a pundit claims. Heck, don’t even believe what I am saying – go and check it all out for yourselves. All the above facts are backed up by citations from legitimate news sources that can be viewed here.

——————————

Malaysia Today: PM Najib Condemned UMNO, MCA and MIC

Ooh, you know I’d never get away with this in the newspapers!

From Malaysia Today letters 16 April 2009:

PM Najib condemned UMNO, MCA and MIC!
Thursday, 16 April 2009 11:15
By Scott Thong

In the spirit of Malaysian unity, our new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has declared his intention that Malaysians break away from being in an “ethnic prison” and instead think as one.

To quote him: “…we are still operating in an ethnic prison and we should have got over it over the years.”

He also said that most Malaysians were still concerned about their own community, whereas under the 1Malaysia concept he espouses, “…we take actions that are based on every ethnic group in Malaysia”.

This is when my sheer genius made the stunning – yet wholly plausible – connection that PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak just roundly condemned UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress)!

These singularly race-based organizations must be the ‘ethnic prisons’ that are only ‘concerned about their own community’, are not ‘based on every ethnic group in Malaysia’, and that prevent us from ‘getting over it over the years’ that PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak is warning us about!

The fact that these three organizations also happen to be the main component parties of Barisan Nasional – the coalition that placed Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the premiership -surely does not detract from the accuracy of my brilliant insight!

And if anyone disagrees with my totally logical reasoning, allow me to discuss the matter like an adult. Here goes:

:p

See reference from NST 16 April 2009:

NST Letters: Scott’s Reply to Mukhriz Mahathir on Iraq Deaths

Wow. So the NST printed my response to Mukhriz Mahathir’s reponse to me the day after I sent it in.

(It’s now confirmed – 750,000 lives saved by Bush.)

And they edited it in such a way as to be quite a bit more belligerent, combative and self sure than my original (for example, referring to ‘Mukhriz’ by his first name and the 40% shooting deaths thing). And also less snarky, heh! They also shifted the nuance away from the fact that terrorism in Iraq is really all about Muslims killing Muslims, which is to be expected of course.

My original letter and the citation links are at bottom for comparison.

And as is quite frequent, the title they gave doesn’t accurately convey the actual content.

This is much more editing than my letters have usually undergone – sometimes they would be published word for word, or with only one paragraph removed.

I don’t know if Mukhriz Mahathir himself will have the time to respond again, seeing as now has been given a Deputy Minister post in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and might be pretty busy.

I also got a call from the NST the morning this letter was publised. Apparently, ISIS (Institute of Strategic and International Studies) wants to get in touch with me for some reason. I’m wondering what for.

The NST guy said it wasn’t anything bad, and it least it isn’t Mukhriz Mahathir’s Perdana Global Peace Organisation, which would mean it’s probably looking for a good intellectual scrap. Or Chandra Muzaffar’s JUST (International Movement For A Just World), ‘cos he’s a renown America and Bush critic.

From NST Letters 10 April 2009:

2009/04/10

IRAQ WAR: Was it so rosy under Saddam?
By : SCOTT THONG YU YUEN, Ipoh

I REFER to the letter on the Iraq war from Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir of the Perdana Global Peace Foundation (“Invasion can’t be justified” — NST, April 9).

Mukhriz mentions “1,200,000 innocent men, women and children” killed during the invasion and occupation of Iraq by American troops, but not once does he mention that of these innocent civilians killed, the vast and overwhelming majority were the victims of terrorists, not troops under former US president George W. Bush’s orders.

Does Mukhriz not acknowledge that the vast majority of those that the American troops targeted and killed were not civilians, but illegal combatants who were trying to kill soldiers and civilians?

Or that these terrorists were bombing their own Iraqi brothers and sisters in marketplaces and mosques in order to bully them into acquiesence?

Or that the “illegal American occupiers” often went out of their way and put themselves at additional risk in order to avoid civilian casualties?

Does he not acknowledge that the same Opinion Research Business survey he quotes from also states that 21 per cent died of car bombs, four per cent of sectarian violence and one per cent of kidnappings?

That is more than a quarter of all deaths clearly not due to the direct acts of American soldiers. And this does not include the 40 per cent of casualties from shootings that the terrorist thugs were responsible for.

Does he not acknowledge that if these terrorists — many of them foreign interlopers, not Iraqis — had kept out of the conflict, the 28,000 additional American troops would not have been sent to Iraq by Bush?

What did the terrorists, these so-called “freedom fighters”, accomplish besides killing most of the “1,200,000 innocent men, women and children” that Mukhriz grieves for?

Does Mukhriz not acknowledge that during the Anbar Awakening, the Iraqis themselves rose against al-Qaeda’s atrocities, a stance that persists today? Or is it simply too inconvenient a fact that Iraqis would side with the American occupiers over their own brethren?

He boldly claims, too, that going to war — including on a false pretext — cannot create peace. Does he refuse to admit that Iraqis today have more peace and freedom than any time in the past 30 years of despotism and deprivation?

Does he refuse to admit that the violent death rate has undeniably dropped to peacetime levels, with 85 per cent of Iraqis polled by the British Broadcasting Corporation last month describing the current situation as being “very good” or “quite good”?

Or was life really all that rosy under the brutal reign of Saddam Hussein?

Sadly, this is all too often the state of things whenever the Iraq conflict is brought up. Bush is thoroughly demonised to the point that the entire context of the invasion and the subsequent al-Qaeda war on ordinary Iraqis are totally ignored.

This letter is the third in the series. Previously:

1) NST Letters – Just War: The Plus Factor in Bush’s Iraq Invasion

2) Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir – Yes, That One – Responds to Scott’s Letter on Iraq War

My original letter I sent in below the fold. Parts I wish to point out and contrast to the NST edited version are bolded.

Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir – Yes, That One – Responds to Scott’s Letter on Iraq War

So someone has replied to my letter to the NST on how Bush saved 600,000 Muslim lives.

(It’s now confirmed – 750,000 lives saved by Bush.)

And it’s none other than Mukhriz Mahathir himself, son of the legendary log-in-eye-guy Dr Mahathir himself! Must have a lot of free time now that he lost the UMNO Youth head post to Khairy.

I am honoured. I’ve sent in my rebuttal, and I do hope the NST sees fit to print this blogging David’s face off with that political Goliath.

From NST Letters 9 April 2009:

2009/04/09
IRAQ WAR: Invasion can’t be justified
By : DATUK MUKHRIZ MAHATHIR for Perdana Global Peace Organisation

I REFER to the letter “The plus factor in Bush’s Iraq invasion” (NST, April 7) from Scott Thong Yu Yuen.

The writer opined that the US-led invasion of Iraq, a sovereign nation, has done more good than bad for its citizens who had suffered greatly under the rule of Saddam Hussein.

He went on to use the Iraq Body Count (IBC), a project that estimates civilian deaths in Iraq, as his point of reference and claimed that since only 98,882 Iraqis had died since the invasion, Bush’s war-mongering saved more than 600,000 lives that would have been lost had Saddam still been in power.

There are a few obvious problems with this reasoning.

One, Thong’s use of the IBC as a source is an uneducated choice.

The IBC is not a project that monitors Iraqi deaths; it is a project that monitors media reports of Iraqi deaths, using sources such as the Financial Times and the pro-war Observer, which are often misleading and biased in nature.

The writer should also understand that conditions in Iraq leave many civilian deaths undiscovered and unreported by journalists.

In 2006, the IBC itself noted on its website that it is tame in its analysis, as it provides data that is at a “conservative cautious minimum” (see www. iraqbodycount.org/analysis/ qa/ ibc-in-context).

It is thus imperative that the writer understands and acknowledges this before going on to attempt an explanation on the so-called “plus factors” of George W. Bush’s illegal invasion.

In turn, I suggest the author uses the Opinion Research Business (ORB) as a source.

The ORB is an independent polling agency in London, and has estimated that 1,200,000 civilians have died since 2003. Unlike the IBC, this polling agency includes surveys carried out in rural areas in Iraq, far away from the safe neutral zone that most Western journalists report from.

Also, the ORB is a respected polling company that has conducted studies for customers as mainstream as the BBC and Britain’s Conservative Party, so its figures aren’t swayed by anti-war sentiments.

As to the writer’s notion that “a just war can actually bring more peace”, I would like to emphasise that this US-led invasion is a heinous war crime.

To go to war on a false pretext, to rape a country of its natural resources (namely oil), to murder 1,200,000 innocent men, women and children, to create five million Iraqi refugees is a war crime that has not — even by the perverted logic used by the writer in claiming that Bush has done no worse than Saddam — created any peace at all.

If the NST doesn’t print my letter, no fear – my blog shall carry my pwnage response. Perhaps Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir might even be curious enough to Google his way to it.

UPDATE: They printed it!

NST Letters – Just War: The Plus Factor in Bush’s Iraq Invasion

UPDATES: Mukhriz Mahathir responds to my letter, and I respond to him in turn.

So far only the New Straits Times has printed my letter based on my calculations that Bush saved 600,000 Muslim lives:

2009/04/07
Just War: The plus factor in Bush’s Iraq invasion
By : SCOTT THONG YU YUEN, Ipoh

IT is a fundamental human right to be able to live in peace, without the fear or threat of violence. But while there are many who identify themselves as “pro-peace, anti-war”, they fail to recognise the concept of a “just war” — a war that is justified in its motivation and that aims to achieve justice.

A just war can actually bring more peace and preserve more lives than non-intervention. Perhaps this concept would be better understood by using an example, say, the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies.

True, former US president George W. Bush’s original reason for invading Iraq — that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction — proved to be unfounded. But let’s do some quick calculations on the end results of the invasion and occupation.

For the 57 months from March 2003 to the end of 2008, using the Iraq Body Count project estimate, 98,882 Iraqi civilians died as a result of Bush’s war. That is a rate of 1,734.8 deaths per month.

Compare with Saddam’s reign: For the 285 months of his presidency from July 16, 1979 to April 9, 2003, using just six of the war crime events listed by US War Crimes Ambassador David J. Scheffer, 865,000 Iraqis civilians died as the result of Saddam’s rule. That is a rate of 3,035.1 deaths per month — 1.75 times greater than Bush’s death rate.

(This figure does not include the deaths of non-Iraqis for any reasons, nor the Iraqi casualties during the wars against Iran and Kuwait, or the many other documented human rights abuses.)

Compare with the Bill Clinton-era embargo: For the 108 months from Aug 6, 1990 to Aug 6, 1999, the United Nations estimated one million Iraqi civilians died as a result of the sanctions. That is a rate of 9,259.3 deaths per month — 5.337 times greater than Bush’s death rate.

(This figure does not include the further four years of the sanctions until 2003. Meanwhile, Saddam himself lived the easy life unaffected by the sanctions.)

Now, taking the total deaths during Bush’s Iraq war (98,882), added to that of the Saddam and Clinton eras (173,044 + 527,733), and subtracting the Bush total from that (700,777- 98,882), we can estimate how many more lives would have been lost from 2003 to 2008 had Saddam still ruled under continued sanctions (601,895).

Suffice to say, Bush’s “warmongering” saved more than 600,000 lives in Iraq.

I expect plenty of replies and flames in the letters to come, as is the fate of Malaysia’s Leading Neocon whenever he speaks out publicly. Perhaps I shall reprint some of them, but can any of them argue based on facts and statistics rather than opinion?

Mad Rush to Board Bus at CIQ

From The Star 25 Opinions, Dec 2008:

From Malaysiakini letters 26 Dec 2008:

From NST Letters 5 Jan 2009:

Mad rush to board bus at CIQ

I HAD previously alerted pedestrians who intend to walk from the Johor Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex to Singapore that they would be in for a hazardous journey.

There is no dedicated lane for pedestrians, and the five-foot way along the vehicle road is more like a “two-foot way”, or even one or “no-foot way” at times. Therefore, the oddysey down the CIQ complex to the Causeway carries the very real risk of being knocked down by a vehicle.

I have good news and bad news: The good news is, we don’t have to worry about risking our lives to go to work each morning. The bad news is that walking from the CIQ to Singapore is now not allowed at all! Apparently, it is simply too risky.

It looks like everyone will have to take a bus from now on, no matter how long the queue. That said, I really must commend the staff at the CIQ bus waiting area.

On Wednesday morning, the huge crowd waiting in line for buses once again was became a free-for-all, squeeze-in-where-you-can melee. As usual, up to 12 or so lines were squeezed chaotically into two lines to board the buses.

Then one of the officers stationed at the area began shouting at people to form an orderly queue. He even took a hands-on approach by firmly, but not roughly, placing his hand on the shoulders of those in the fringe lines and beckoning them to the rear.

Soon the spread-out mob became an orderly double line, and you know what? Within minutes, even those at the back of the queue were boarding the buses. It’s amazing what some order and authority can do.

I really admire the guts the officers showed when they sorted out the mess.

However, the CIQ management really needs to give serious consideration to the traffic bottlenecks and especially the total neglect of pedestrians. Just because it is a long, long way to trek, the powers that be apparently decided that no one would even attempt it.

I am definitely not the first to ask that the old customs building be reopened for pedestrians only.

SCOTT THONG YU YUEN,

Ipoh.

Previous CIQ complaint letters at Pedestrians Have it Tough at CIQ and Impose law and order on the JB Custom & Immigration Quarantine Complex.

See also this The Star report, which may have been researched in response to all the complaints being sent in about the CIQ:

Stranded as walking banned at Causeway
By GLADYS TAY

JOHOR BARU: The new ruling barring people from walking across the Causeway has not only turned out to be an inconvenience but left some stranded in Singapore.

The ruling, which was implemented by Malaysia since the new Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex opened has now been adopted by authorities in the island republic.

With the ruling, pedestrians who were previously able to walk across the 1km causeway when there were massive traffic jams on either side are now forced to wait for public transport.

Many Malaysians, especially workers and students, have been stranded at the checkpoint due to the lack of buses especially during traffic jams and peak hours.

Student Cary Nyeo, 21, had to stay over at a friend’s house in Singapore on Dec 24 when she was unable to board a bus back to Johor Baru.

About turn: Pedestrians who are not allowed to walk across the Causeway have to turn back. This has caused delays and other inconveniences to them.

Nyeo, who is taking a management course in Singapore, said signboards had been put up at the CIQ informing people that walking was not allowed.

“I have seen people break the rule but it is really dangerous to walk across the border now with no pedestrian lanes available,” she said.

Secondary school student Jasmine Tee said the new ruling would extend her travelling time to and from school. The 14 year-old student of Woodlands Secondary in Singapore said she was worried she would reach home very late in the evening.

“If I have to attend extra-curricular activities, I will have to take public transport home,” she said.

“Previously, I would walk across the causeway during a traffic jam and reach home at about 8pm.”

Johor Immigration director Mohd Nasri Ishak said pedestrians were not allowed to walk across the border because it was dangerous.

Southern Johor School Bus Association vice-president Lee Sin Min said they had gone to the new CIQ to check out the place to familiarise themselves with the routes and procedures.

He said the waiting bays for buses were not enough.

Pedestrians Have it Tough at CIQ

A friendly warning from someone who regularly walks the 30 minutes from the new JB Customs on the mountaintop to Singapore, and back again in the evening.

From Malaysiakini letters 19 Dec 2008:

From The Star Opinion 19 Dec 2008:

• SCREENCAPTURE 1

• SCREENCAPTURE 2

From NST Opinions 21 Dec 2008:

From Malaysia Today (with lots of choice comments at the link, one included in screenshot below):

Pedestrians have it tough at CIQ

I WOULD like to offer two friendly warnings to all travellers who are entering or leaving Malaysia via the new Customs and Immigration Quarantine Complex in Johor Baru.

First, when leaving Malaysia, you’ll be in for quite an odyssey if you plan to go on foot. There is apparently no dedicated lane for pedestrians all the way to or from the Causeway.

You’ll have to follow the vehicle roads and play “frogger” or “chicken” with motorists to cross the road at certain points as there is no raised pedestrian crossing or zebra crossing.

Second, upon returning to Malay­sia and after you have made it through the passport checkpoints, you will have a choice: turn left to walk to Johor Baru City Square shopping complex, or turn right and go down an escalator or stairs to a bus waiting area.

I have learned first hand that once you make that choice, you cannot change it.

Let’s say that you go to the bus area, but then want to try walking to the JB City Square due to a lack of buses.

If you try to walk back up the stairs, backtracking not more than 10 metres or so, you will be stopped by the guards who have orders not to allow anyone to return via the way they came. Maybe if you try walking backwards, they’ll make an exemption.

Instead, you have to walk back to the entry zone and go through the passport checkpoint all over again. At rush hour, it means you may have to queue behind some 50 people two times in a row!

The alternative is to simply walk along the road meant for vehicles, which again is full of risk.

By not providing any contingencies for pedestrians, the CIQ Complex is crippling the self-dependency and initiative of many Malaysians.

SCOTT THONG YU YUEN,

Ipoh.

This is Frogger:

See also previous letters on the new JB Customs, at Impose law and order on the JB Custom & Immigration Quarantine Complex.

Let’s Throw Shoes at Others Besides Bush (‘Cos He Actually Saved Iraq)

Malaysiakini put up my facts-based letter here.

Waiting for KTemoc to give me a new title after ‘Leading Malaysian Neocon’.

I also use the same facts to show up the admin writer batsman in Malaysia Today at the comments here.

For lots of links to verify my facts, more info, and photo evidence of the real situation in Iraq (whether they hate Bush and the Americans or not), see Hey Ignorant World – There is PEACE in Iraq!.

Let’s throw shoes at others besides Bush
Scott Thong Yu Yuen | Dec 17, 08 4:20pm

Recently, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi made headlines when he took off his shoes and threw them at President George W Bush, in order to show his displeasure at the US president’s policies.

It made me wonder if Muntadhar al-Zaidi misses the glory days of that most beloved of benevolent peacemongers, Saddam Hussein. It also made me think about throwing some shoes of my own.

Solely in terms of numbers: Roughly one million Iraqis died under Saddam’s reign, averaging 50,000 deaths a year.

Under the American ‘oppressors’, only an average of 6800 deaths occured a year – and the rate decreases daily.

Most of the deaths were caused not by US troops nor by Iraqi soldiers, but by foreign terrorists who felt that the suffering or ordinary Iraqis were a small price to pay for embarrassing the ‘crusaders’. Can someone please throw some shoes at Al-Qaeda now?

And may I remind you that under the Bill Clinton-era embargo, the United Nations reported that more than one million Iraqis had died from nine years of deprivation (more than 100,000 a year) – with 567,000 of them children under the age of five.

Muntadhar could therefore consider Clinton twice the murderer as Saddam, and 14 times the murderer as Bush.

Yet I don’t see Muntadhar throwing shoes at Clinton. Maybe he’s just waiting for Baghdad to book a seminar where Clinton will give one of his expensive talks.

Thanks to the evil Bush’s imperialistic abuse of international law, South Africa and even the city of Chicago have a higher violent crime rate for their population than Iraq does. Shoes ought to be thrown at the leaders of those places.

Oil production has also increased far beyond the post-Gulf War period, with profits going to the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure. May I remind you that any oil that was pumped out under Saddam’s rule went not to the common Iraqis, but straight into Saddam’s pockets – or those of corrupt UN officials involved in the Oil-For-Food scandal. Shoes ought to be thrown at them instead.

I suggest that Malaysian media seriously consider sending an entourage of reporters to Iraq to interview the local people and compose a photo essay. It won’t be all that dangeroues. After all, western reporters can now walk around Baghdad without body armour or armed escort.

Just like all the smiling men, women and children can now go to the market, enjoy amusement park rides (yes, they have them in Iraq!) and play soccer without having to fear a visit from Saddam’s enforcers or roving gangs of terrorists.

Muntadhar may hate Bush, but it looks like someone forgot to tell the millions of liberated pro-Bush Iraqis that he is a heartless mass murderer who deserves our vilification.

See also the kind of inhumane torture Bush forces upon the Guantanamo Bay detainees, including:

Air conditioning, Christina Aguilera music, Red Hot Chilli Peppers (the band, not the spice), so much food to choose from they get fat, Islamic prayer 5 times a day, free Korans, free Game Boys, movie nights, English classes, arts classes, exercise equipment, and more stuff so horrifying that they beg to stay.

Malaysia’s ISA, the Gitmo Holiday Club is not.

———————————

Scott South sent in a letter to Malaysiakini agreeing with me and telling about how the Middle East has been anti-US for 50 years (about the length of the existence of kick-a$$ Israel, so that’s probably the explanation there), and made me realize a goof of mine: Iraq has a lower violent death rate, not crime rate as I mistakenly put!

Though I don’t think Bush is really even close to being a tyrant…

Bush not as bad as he’s made out to be
Scott South | Dec 18, 08 4:25pm

I refer to the Malaysiakini article Let’s throw shoes at others besides Bush.

As an American who once lived in KL, it was pleasant to read the writer’s comments about George Bush not being the worst tyrant in the world, much as I dislike him.

Next month when Barack Obama becomes president, we will embark on the long road to economic and image recovery.

The Gulf Wars, meanwhile, have been over-rated for their negative effect on the image of America in Muslim countries.

Arab and other Islamic countries have hated America for 50 years. Long before Sept 11, the racist, hate-mongering comments in the Dubai Gulf News vilifying the American people (not just the government, but the people) were horrendous.

Meanwhile, the Dubai government college where I taught was a place where Americans regularly received preposterous emails from students accusing them of being Jews and spies.

As for Sept 11, many Arabs are still convinced that those attacks were perpetrated by the CIA to make Muslims look bad. Nothing ever changes in the Arab world.

I just have one small bone to pick in the above article: the writer describes Chicago as having a greater crime rate than Baghdad.

Actually, Houston, San Francisco and Chicago, according to a recent survey by a prestigious British think tank, have considerably lower violent crime rates than London.

This survey rated 215 world cities, and Baghdad ranked dead last in safety.

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Impose law and order on the JB Custom & Immigration Quarantine Complex

My gripe about my experience which happened today, with the new Custom & Immigration Quarantine Complex (Bangunan Sultan Iskandar) in Johor Bahru that opened today, that was written up in word form today, and sent to Malaysia Today and Malaysiakini today. Promptness, the great advantage of New Media!

I doubt the relevant authorities will be reading Malaysia Today or Malaysiakini, however. They never do except to bash them.

From Malaysia Today:

  

Impose law and order on the JB Custom & Immigration Quarantine Complex

On Tuesday, the 16th of December 2008, the new Custom & Immigration Quarantine Complex (Bangunan Sultan Iskandar) began operations in Johor Bahru. As one of the thousands of Malaysians who commutes to work in Singapore daily, I was a firsthand witness to the new system.

Overall, I must say that I am impressed by the facilities of the CIQ Complex – and more so by the security and verification measures that the old customs system sorely lacked.

However, I have one very serious gripe that I hope the CIQ Complex management will immediately seek to rectify.

Once a bus passenger clears the passport check, the next process is to head back down to the bus waiting area to try and catch a bus. On a workday morning, this step is literally a descent into madness.

If any reader has ever taken a bus from Malaysia to Singapore at the old customs complex, they’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Just like always, the bus crowd becomes a literal rabid mob!