Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by yuusuke-kun

Skytrex also got ribut

yuusuke-kun — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 20:46:42 +0800

9 Bad Habits Malaysians NEED To Stop Doing

yuusuke-kun — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 07:32:33 +0800

Some of these may not actually sound that shocking to you, and that’s probably because you’re guilty of some of these bad habits, but rest assured the rest of the world definitely finds it shocking, and down right rude. Maybe even disgusting. Don’t want to be judged by the people around you? Then be on the look out for these bad habits and try your best to avoid doing any of them:

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1. Leaving our trash and dirty trays on the table
Here’s a fun fact a lot of Malaysians don’t seem to know: you’re supposed to clean up after your own trays after eating
(at fast food restaurants or cafeterias, that is). Places like McDonalds, KFC and even the IKEA cafeterias aren’t in charge of your dirty tables.
You’re supposed to dispose of the trash yourself!

2. Spitting in public
Nobody likes stepping on spit, phlegm or anything else that’s excreted from the body for that matter.
It’s not a very nice sight either. So if you really need to spit, find a drain or toilet bowl. Spare our eyes, and shoes.

3. Not flushing after using the toilet
How many times have you walked into a cubicle, looked inside the bowl, and walked right back out, because someone before you didn’t flush?
Well, if you don’t like finding un-flushed toilet bowls, make sure you do not do the same!
Seriously, Malaysia has one of the dirtiest toilets (even in malls) and this has got to change!

4. Asking “what race was the person?” when we hear of some incident
Whether it was an accident, a robbery, or something gang related, our first response is to ask “what race was the person?”.
Not like it matters or makes a difference if the person was Chinese, Indian, Malay, American or some other race, kan?

5. Throwing trash out our car window or littering as we walk
Even if it’s just a small piece of tissue, bear in mind that sedikit-sedikit, lama-lama jadi bukit, and someone else has to pick up after you.
Do NOT use the “everyone does it anyway” excuse. If everyone thought the same way, no one will ever stop littering.
Take care of our planet people! We only have one that we’re currently living on!

6. Using priority seats that are meant for pregnant women, the disabled and/or elderly
Of course you can use it if there aren’t any pregnant women, disabled or elderly people around;
but make sure you keep an eye out!

7. Blocking the entire path on an escalator
If you’re not in a rush, and you just want to stand there while the escalator brings you from one floor to another, you can!
Just stand on the left side. Let those who are in a rush walk up/down the right side of the escalator.
That way everybody’s happy! Everybody win liao.

8. Forcing our way into places before the people inside can even get out
Especially when we try to get on a bus or LRT during peak hours. Everyone becomes so kiasu they practically stampede into the vehicle before letting the passengers inside get out.
C’mon guys, you need to allow passengers inside to alight before there’s even space for you to get in. It’s not rocket science!

9. Asking for discounts on fixed prices or already-discounted items while shopping
Most, if not all retail shops in malls DON’T offer additional discounts and yet we still catch Malaysians trying to bargain for cheaper prices.
Also, don’t bother asking–or scolding–the shopkeeper or part time worker for discounts.
You’re not going to get any because they’re not in charge of the prices!

Source
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Philippine Troops Fight to Retake City

yuusuke-kun — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 08:37:25 +0800

[center]A Muslim militant group linked to ISIS attacked and took control of parts of Marawi city on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines last week. Philippine government troops have been evacuating civilians and fighting back, with soldiers on the ground and attack aircraft in the sky. Gunmen from local terrorist groups with ties to ISIS, called the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf, overran the city, leading President Rodrigo Duterte to declare 60 days of martial law in Mindanao, as 85,000 residents fled to evacuation centers. While the government says it has now regained control of most of the city, fighting continues, and the death toll has climbed to nearly 100.

In this May 27, 2017, photo, a fire rages at houses following airstrikes by the Philippine Air Force in Marawi, southern Philippines.
Philippine military jets fired rockets at militant positions Saturday as soldiers fought to wrest control of the southern city
from gunmen linked to the Islamic State group.

Soldiers run for cover to evade sniper fire while trying to clear the city of armed militants, one street at a time,
on May 25, 2017 in Marawi city, Philippines.

Soldiers fire at enemy positions while they try to clear the city of armed militants one street at a time
on May 25, 2017 in Marawi city.

A helicopter gunship fires a rocket at Muslim militant positions in the continuing assaults
to retake control of some areas of Marawi city on May 28, 2017.

Residents and commuters queue up at a police checkpoint at the entrance to Iligan City on the southern island of of Mindanao
on May 29, 2017, after local authorities locked down the city due to a terror threat.

With white flags to indicate they are non-combatants, displaced residents continue to flee by a convoy of vehicles
to safer areas as government troops battle with Muslim militants on May 29, 2017.

A view of the Maute group stronghold with an ISIS flag in Marawi City
in southern Philippines, on May 29, 2017.

A police officer holds a poster of wanted Filipino Muslim militants known as "Maute " group at a checkpoint set up
at the entrance to Iligan city on May 27, 2017. Iligan city is one of the safe havens
for the tens of thousands of Marawi residents who have fled their city following the rampage by Muslim militants.

Smoke billows from the city center after an air attack by Philippine government troops on May 30, 2017 in Marawi city.

Government troops head to the frontline as fighting with Muslim militants in Marawi city
enters its second week on May 30, 2017.

Source
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Scenes From the Moscow Metro

yuusuke-kun — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 08:24:55 +0800

[center]Moscow’s underground transit system is now more than 80 years old, and carries up to 9 million passengers through more than 200 stations every day. Most of the architecture and decor was built decades ago, meant to be a showcase for Soviet artists, ideals, and icons. The system is now modernizing, in part, preparing for the 2018 World Cup, which will be hosted in Russia. Several Reuters photographers have captured images of the varied and unique Moscow Metro stations, as well as the workers and passengers underground, over the past year.

The Metro sign is seen at the entrance to VDNKh metro station, with the Monument to the Conquerors of Space
seen in the background, in Moscow on June 2, 2016.

Commuters walk through Fonvizinskaya metro station in Moscow on April 13, 2017.

A station manager controls trains coming and leaving the platform as she sits in a booth at Zhulebino metro station on April 18, 2017.
Another visible change is the controversial replacement of many of the elderly women who used to sit in a booth at the bottom of the seemingly endless escalators,
who were famous for telling passengers off if they sat down on the escalator steps. One attendant known by locals as Auntie Lyuda was famous for telling jokes on Mondays,
reading poems and telling passengers to imagine they were in England—if passengers want to walk up and down the steps of the escalator,
they should do so on the left. Now the attendants are mainly young men, and have yet to show any skill in bantering with passengers.

An interior view shows Mendeleyevskaya metro station on March 7, 2016.

Otradnoye metro station on June 7, 2016.

People travel on an escalator at Park Kultury metro station on March 14, 2017.

People wait for the train at Kievskaya metro station on April 17, 2017.

A Moscow metro employee drives a train through Paveletskaya metro station on March 20, 2017.

People wait for the train at Kurskaya metro station on March 21, 2017.

The platform controller signals that the train can leave at Komsomolskaya metro station
in Moscow, Russia, on March 24, 2017.

Source

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Only A True Pokémaster

yuusuke-kun — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 10:14:10 +0800

https://www.buzzfeed.com/jamiejones/never-gonna-give-mew-up

Ayam scored 19/20, considering few years have'nt played the game, no longer watching the anime & stuffs.. Not Bad.jpg

Brunei sultan loves his children

yuusuke-kun — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 07:13:53 +0800

“If they don’t like someone, they just behead him”

yuusuke-kun — Fri, 25 Dec 2015 10:03:29 +0800

ISIS territory, from everything we hear, is an absolutely miserable place to live. This should be a liability for ISIS: if it's really so terrible to be live under its rule, you'd think that a number of their fighters would want to leave.

There haven't been waves of mass defections from ISIS — partly because, according to some reports, ISIS commanders shoot people who try to leave. But a few people have left the group. Scholars Anne Speckhard and Ahmet S. Yayla found some of them and got them to agree to interviews, excerpts of which they have published in the newest issue of the journal Perspectives on Terrorism.

The defectors' stories are harrowing. They're also a valuable window into how life in ISIS works — and some of the group's real weaknesses.

Why the defectors quit: life in ISIS territory is awful

Speckhard and Yayla found these defectors, all of them originally from Syria, on the Turkish-Syrian border. To a man, they had horrific stories to tell. Take, for instance, this account from one of the defectors (names were withheld or replaced with pseudonyms) about how ISIS executed prisoners where he was stationed:

There is a well by the name of Hute. There they cover the eyes of the prisoners and tell them, ‘You are free now, just walk now, but don’t open your eyes.’ They walk and fall into the well. It smells horrible because of all the corpses inside the well. I know that over three hundred people were thrown into that well.

According to Speckhard and Yayla's sources, such cruelty is central to ISIS's strategy. The group uses fear of atrocity to keep the population in line, and to intimidate other armed groups. One fighter recalls how ISIS used child suicide bombers to drive the Free Syrian Army (Jaysh al-Hur in Arabic) out of the city of Raqqa roughly two years ago (note: Daesh is another name for ISIS):

When Daesh came to Raqqa, Jaysh al-Hur was in power, but Daesh took over for many reasons. First, Daesh sent small groups to establish themselves inside the city. Secondly, they sent suicide bombers of young boys, especially to the gates where Jaysh al-Hur had guards. This was very effective, as everyone feared the suicide bombers and it was very difficult to distinguish if an approaching child was a suicide bomber or not. Being unwilling to shoot a possibly innocent child, the sentries would run away and Daesh could enter.

Some defectors say they were driven away by this cruelty. "What I don’t like [is] if someone did something wrong [then] they tried to waterboard him," a defector who calls himself Abu Shujaa said. "What I don’t like is that if they don’t like someone they just behead him. Or if a woman is not wearing hijab they bring someone to flog her, or if someone doesn’t believe they cut his ear."

The Syrians interviewed by Speckhard and Yayla say they were particularly stunned by the gap between what ISIS claimed it would be and the way it actually worked.

"In 2014, I realized that Daesh were liars," another defector, Abu Walid, said. "For instance, there was an [ISIS] guy who raped a woman, but got away with it."

According to the defectors, the reality of life in ISIS territory stymied the group's recruiting in Syria. While people had previously joined out of a sense that ISIS's cause was just and that the group could provide them a better life, this fantasy has been shattered by the grinding poverty and misery that characterizes life under ISIS.

As a result, the interviewed defectors say, recruiting has declined. We can't know that this is true for sure, given that this is testimony from only a few Syrians and we lack hard data, but it is significant that former ISIS fighters have a feeling that recruiting is tapering off.

"The few people who join now do so only because they need to eat. They are the ones who don’t have work," Abu Walid said. "The rest try to escape to Turkey or Lebanon, or go by sea."

What these interviews tell us about how ISIS works, and doesn't

There are limits to Speckhard and Yayla's research: Their sample is small, for example, and limited to Syrians. But the testimony is consistent with other research about ISIS defectors, as well as broader testimonies that suggest ISIS is just plain bad at building a government that has real popular support among the people it rules.

Earlier this year, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation put together a report analyzing testimony from 58 ISIS defectors. These defectors included ISIS recruits who'd joined from all over the world, not just from Syria, so the report gave a broader view of the reasons ISIS fighters choose to leave — all of which were consistent with the testimony Speckhard and Yayla gathered.

When I interviewed ICSR director Peter Neumann in September, he explained that there were four main reasons he'd found for why ISIS fighters quit:

1. Recruits joined to fight Bashar al-Assad, but ended up largely fighting other Syrian rebels, and were disappointed by this.

2. Defectors believed ISIS was too brutal to fellow Sunni Muslims.

3. Defectors said ISIS leaders were corrupt and played favorites.

4. Many also said living conditions in ISIS territory were awful; they'd been promised a glorious caliphate but found squalor.

These grievances are in line with the ones Speckhard and Yayla found: that ISIS is too cruel and doesn't live up to the religious paradise it promises in its propaganda.

Interestingly, Neumann's research also suggested the pace of defections was growing, seeming to corroborate the defectors' testimony that ISIS is facing growing recruitment and retention problems.

"What we can say for sure, based on our data, is that the numbers [of defections] are increasing," he explained. "Two-thirds of all of the public defections happened this year; one-third alone happened in the last three months."

Again, these sample sizes are limited, so it's worth taking the information with a grain of salt. Moreover, defections are still limited, so it's hardly crippling the group.

But the two studies of defectors do help us understand why ISIS's failures as a state are such an acute vulnerability. According to Brookings fellow Megan Stewart, recent insurgencies that have successfully transitioned to being actual states tend to prioritize serving the needs of their population. These groups "invest deeply and extensively in governance activities," she writes, "recognizing them as a critical source of legitimacy."

ISIS isn't doing that very well, it seems. This is especially difficult for ISIS, per Stewart, because the group is losing territory.

"As military pressure against IS intensifies, its governance will likely to get worse," Stewart writes. "However, this poor and restrictive governance enfeebles IS, and as Eli Berman and Jake Shapiro have argued, it could even serve to be the Islamic State’s undoing."

So while defections are not, on their own, a major threat to ISIS, they point to something that is indeed a serious problem for the group — one it's not clear ISIS knows how to fix.

Source

Muslims love Jesus, too

yuusuke-kun — Fri, 25 Dec 2015 09:27:50 +0800

Christmas, as everyone knows, commemorates the birth of Jesus and is a major religious celebration for Christians around the world.

But what many people don't know is that Jesus is an important figure in Islam, too, even though most Muslims don't celebrate Christmas (though some of us, especially American Muslims, do).

In honor of the holiday, here are six things you may not know about the role of Jesus — and his mother, Mary — in Islam:

1. Jesus, Mary, and the angel Gabriel are all in the Quran (as are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and a bunch of other Bible characters).

2. Muslims believe that Jesus (called "Isa" in Arabic) was a prophet of God, was born to a virgin (Mary), and will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice and to defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal ("the false messiah"), also known as the Antichrist. All of which may sound pretty familiar to many Christians.

3. Mary (called "Maryam" in Arabic) has an entire chapter in the Quran named for her — the only chapter in the Quran named for a female figure. In fact, Mary is the only woman to be mentioned by name in the entire Quran: As noted in the new Study Quran, "other female figures are identified only by their relation to others, such as the wife of Adam and the mother of Moses, or by their title, such as the Queen of Sheba." Mary is mentioned more times in the Quran than in the entire New Testament.

4. Just as with all the other prophets, including Mohammed, Muslims recite, "Peace be upon him" every time we refer to Jesus.

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The name "Jesus, son of Mary" written in Arabic calligraphy, followed by "peace be upon him."[/center]

5. Muslims believe that Jesus performed miracles: The Quran discusses several of Jesus's miracles, including giving sight to the blind, healing lepers, raising the dead, and breathing life into clay birds.

6. The story of Jesus's birth as told in the Quran is also the story of his first miracle, when he spoke as an infant in the cradle and declared himself to be a prophet of God. Here's the story:

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

And remember Mary in the Book, when she withdrew from her family to an eastern place. And she veiled herself from them. Then We [God] sent unto her Our Spirit [the angel Gabriel], and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said, "I seek refuge from thee in the Compassionate [i.e., God], if you are reverent!" He said, "I am but a messenger of thy Lord, to bestow upon thee a pure boy."

She said, "How shall I have a boy when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?" He said, "Thus shall it be. Thy Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me.’" And [it is thus] that We might make him a sign unto mankind, and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter decreed.

So she conceived him and withdrew with him to a place far off. And the pangs of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a date palm. She said, "Would that I had died before this and was a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!" So he called out to her from below her, "Grieve not! Thy Lord has placed a rivulet beneath thee. And shake toward thyself the trunk of the date palm; fresh, ripe dates shall fall upon thee. So eat and drink and cool thine eye. And if thou seest any human being, say, ‘Verily I have vowed a fast unto the Compassionate, so I shall not speak this day to any man.’"

Then she came with him [the infant Jesus] unto her people, carrying him. They said, "O Mary! Thou hast brought an amazing thing! O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not an evil man, nor was thy mother unchaste." Then she pointed to him [Jesus]. They said, "How shall we speak to one who is yet a child in the cradle?"

He [Jesus] said, "Truly I am a servant of God. He has given me the Book and made me a prophet. He has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I live, and [has made me] dutiful toward my mother. And He has not made me domineering, wretched. Peace be upon me the day I was born, the day I die, and the day I am raised alive!"

That is Jesus son of Mary— a statement of the truth, which they doubt.

Merry Christmas!

Source

One of the best story from Humans of New York

yuusuke-kun — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 22:48:32 +0800

[center][/center]
“I was the only doctor in the area, so when ISIS captured our town, I knew that they would ask me to work for them. We should have left right away. One night five men came to our house. They were wearing masks and they refused to take off their shoes. Their Arabic was not with a Syrian accent. They claimed to be searching for weapons and went from room to room.

They knew about me already, because they kept calling me ‘Doctor.’ When they finished searching the house, they arrested my husband. It was a night in January, so it was too cold for them to start their car. The engine kept turning over and over. I thought that maybe a miracle would keep them from taking him. But then I heard the engine start and they drove away. I paced in the street all night. At one point I heard a gunshot in the distance, and I thought for sure they had killed him. I thought it was all my fault. We should have left right away.”

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

[center][/center]
“ISIS needs educated people to support them. None of them finished school. They cannot manage the cities they capture because they have no skills. When they took me to prison, at first they were very aggressive. They kept putting a gun to my head and taking it away. But after a few minutes of this, one of the men began speaking to me in a very nice way. He said: ‘You are an Islamic man. Please, be a good Muslim and help us. We want your wife to open a hospital for us. And we want you to manage it.’ I agreed to everything they asked. I told them I would help. Then the moment they let me go home, we packed our bags and left.”

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Ode To My Father

yuusuke-kun — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 08:09:27 +0800

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Five years ago JK Youn stormed into the Korean big leagues with the fantastic Haeundae (or Tidal Wave for its very simply titled international release). The film remains one of Korea’s biggest grossing films (we’re talking Top 10), and despite the fact it’s a rollicking character driven disaster movie that harkens back to 1970s Hollywood classics, the film failed to gain momentum outside of its home nation. JK Youn returns with Ode To My Father, a film that has all the key elements of success which made Haeundae such a crowd pleaser, while also offering a more dramatic film with excellent pacing.

Like many Korean films, Ode To My Father is focused on family life, its importance, and how it should be treasured above all things. Whether or not you agree with such a sentiment does not damage enjoyment of the film, as we carefully follow this family through 60 years of history. Starting in modern day, in which Yoon shows his sweeping camera skills as we follow a pure white butterfly, we soon find ourselves heading back in time as we begin to understand protagonist Yoon Duk Soo’s (Hwang Jung Min) attachment to his shop. Why won’t he sell and live the quiet life? Well it’s a tale that weaves historical events with more personal matters in an epic journey of growing up and taking responsibility.

[center][/center]

The first sequence of major importance, of which there are many, sees refugees from North Korea trying to board American military ships. It’s a ferocious sequence in which the desperation can be clearly felt, bringing back memories of Saving Private Ryan’s D-Day landings. Other trips through time include Duk Soo’s time as a miner in Germany, which is home to its own moment of nerve shredding terror during an explosion/cave-in, as well as a trip to vietnam during the war. There’s enough moments to keep such an emotionally charged film continue on a steady path of progression without becoming episodic like FORREST GUMP. In relation to that film, we also see Duk Soo and his best friend Dal Gu (Oh Dal Su) encounter Korean celebrities in their younger years, although many of these references may fly over the heads of Western viewers.

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Ode To My Father manages to mix just about every genre seamlessly, without feeling like a jack-of-all-trades. The powerful emotional segments bring in high moments of melodrama, but these are quickly complemented by rather broad comedic moments. The music and slapstick can appeal to all and makes for a nice variation in feelings for the audience. One moment you’ll be gripping on tightly due to tension, and the next you’ll find yourself laughing hysterically at Duk Soo and Dal Gu’s antics. This is certainly a film that has been manufactured for the widest possible audience, and although this can cause many films to fail as they try and please everyone, the plot and time jumping allows for each moment to fill just enough of the running time. Just when the romance may begin to slow things down for some of the audience, there’s an action sequence ready to get the adrenaline pumping again.

The three leads are incredibly impressive, with the actors, all in their 40s, managing to portray their characters from their early 20s into their late 70s. The make-up may not always be entirely convincing, but those performances sure are. Hwang and Oh have very noticeable chemistry that aids every scene from the enjoyable banter, to moments where tears begin to flow. They feel like true friends, but also individual people. The romance is also allowed to blossom naturally and never descends into trite speeches and eye-rolling dialogue.

Ode To My Father is an astonishing mix of cinematic genres that all come together to make a powerful and enjoyable film. The wonderful climax left me in tears, which is something a film hasn’t done in years (maybe even a decade). If viewed with an eye for cynicism, then it will be obvious to see that the film is trying to twist your emotions with very well coordinated musical cues, slow motion shots, and facial expression loving close-ups. But leave the cynicism outside, because this could be a film for the whole family, and I’m talking from young kids to great grandparents.

Source

Lonely Anti-Muslim protester welcomed into masjid

yuusuke-kun — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 15:25:23 +0800

Lonely anti-Muslim protester greeted lovingly with hugs and invitation to learn about Islam — and she does

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Ohio woman receiving hug from Noor Islamic Cultural Center member- Facebook[/center]

An Ohio woman who was the only one to show up at a local mosque to protest against the Islamic faith was greeted by counter-protesters and members of the mosque who gave her hugs and extended an invitation to enter to learn more about Islam — which she accepted

The woman — identified as Annie on Facebook –showed up Saturday at the Noor Islamic Cultural Center In Dublin, Ohio, on the day of the misleadingly named Global Rally for Humanity — a nationwide protest against Muslims in the U.S.

Carrying multiple signs –including one stating ‘No Sharia law”– Annie was met by multiple counter-protesters who engaged her in a lively, but mostly friendly, debate about Islam, the Koran and President Obama, whom she claimed was a Muslim.

In the rather long video, both Annie and the counter-protesters agreed there was too much bloodshed in the Middle East, with the woman complaining about the “muzzies,” stating that too many Muslims don’t understand the Koran — while admitting she has never read it herself.

[center][/center]

Confronted by a Muslim woman wearing a hijab who offered to pose with her for a photo by saying,”I’m an American too,” Annie accepted an invitation to enter the mosque and meet with the members who applauded her as she entered the foyer.

Before entering, Annie was stopped by a local policeman sent to keep an eye on the protest that never happened, who asked her if she was carrying a weapon. She replied, “nope,” but joked that — as a Christian — she would probably burst into flames upon entering.

Source

Dr. Mads Gilbert on Gaza-Israel

yuusuke-kun — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 07:53:00 +0800

[center][/center]

From the eyes of a humanitarian relief MD and an activist who has been volunteering in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City since the attack in 2006.

Dr Mads Gilbert's latest book 2015 entitled "Night in Gaza"

Listening to Dr Gilbert's true story was very inspiring , a wake up call to take action. Dr Gilbert had brought the audience to re-live the attack of 2014 from his photos and videos taken in Shafa Hospital - injured, bloody, amputated patients, dead bodies in body bags, the screams of painful child with shrapnels in his body and burned skin - these materials are evidence of the Zionist brutality.

"I don't support political movement , I don't support Hamas, Fatah or PLO but I support the Palestinian people in their right to live"

July 8 2014 Israel attacked again causing immense destruction with
2251 killed & 3436 wounded children . From statistics (refer UN OCHA), the IDF had killed 5 times more civilians than army. In the 2014 attack, 17000 housing units destroyed, Shafa Hospital received 8952 patients with 490 dying or dead on arrival, and 51% injured.

The soccer kids on the beach - 4 boys killed - July 2014

Drone attack killing 2 Palestinian boys on their rooftop - 2014.

Ashraf Mashrawi produced a 47 minutes short movie on the life in Gaza with constant electricity shortage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t657lfeIg4s

BDS works! Alliance works.
It is not a Muslim cause; it is for HUMANITY.

[center]
"The only language that will be heard by Zionist is global pressure.
We saw what happened in South Africa on apartheid. The system was finally abolished when people
starting to unite against the oppression with economic pressure and massive boycott movement." -Dr Mads Gilbert[/center]

Another rough notes jotted by my colleague - https://www.evernote.com/shard/s261/sh/5208aa6c

Keyboard Jihadist

yuusuke-kun — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 21:45:34 +0800

[center]

Easy going man. the field is virtual. and if you don't agree,
we can always go out for some cup of tea and see how stupid you are.
Because I'AM ALWAYS right

If you're not with us, then you must be with them..
Seriously, you are apart of the sinners and kafirun

The smilely is there so that every time they
slay someone with the keyboard, it looks cute

No one argues. Or you get the CAPSLOCK
and exclaimation marks!!!
[/center]

Vandalised Penang's iconic mural restored

yuusuke-kun — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 11:40:16 +0800

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We are happy to update that the sister and brother mural has been restored after another case of vandalism. Thanks to Thomas Powell, Artist for your help.

Source[/center]

Bengap 4.0

yuusuke-kun — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 19:11:17 +0800

Go or no go this year?

Chernobyl's Elephant Foot

yuusuke-kun — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 12:52:14 +0800

[center]The Elephant’s Foot could be the most dangerous piece of waste in the world.

The “Elephant’s Foot” is a solid mass made of melted nuclear fuel mixed with lots and lots of concrete, sand, and core sealing material that the fuel had melted through. It is located in a basement area under the original location of the core. In 1986 the radiation level on the ”Elephants Foot” was measured at 10,000 roentgens per hour.

After just 30 seconds of exposure, dizziness and fatigue will be experienced a week later.
Two minutes of exposure and your cells will soon begin to hemorrhage
Four minutes: vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.
300 seconds and you have two days to live.
30 minutes: Equivalent to having 500,000 x-rays taken

By the fall of 1986, the emergency crews fighting to contain the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl made it into a steam corridor beneath failed reactor Number 4. Inside this chamber they found black lava that had oozed straight from the core. The most famous formation was a solid flow that their radiation sensors firmly told them not to approach. With cameras pushed in from around a corner, the workers dubbed the dimly lit mass “the Elephant’s Foot.” According to readings taken at the time, the still hot portion of molten core put out enough radiation to give a lethal dose in 300 seconds.

From a safe distance, workers – or “liquidators” as they were called- rigged up a crude wheeled camera contraption and pushed it towards the Elephant’s Foot.

Source
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Amsterdam Prepares for 2015 Sail Festival

yuusuke-kun — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 12:31:15 +0800

[center]
Tall ships escorted by small boats arrive in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015,
to participate in SAIL Amsterdam 2015, a five-yearly festival celebrating the Dutch capital’s maritime history that is expected to draw some 2 million visitors.
The 9th edition of the nautical event lasts until Sunday, Aug. 23 on and around the IJ river.[/center]

Since its first edition in 1975, SAIL Amsterdam has grown to become the largest public event in the Netherlands and the largest free nautical event in the world.

Every five years, in excess of 600 ships navigate along the North Sea Canal before mooring in and around the IJhaven in Amsterdam.

The ninth edition of SAIL Amsterdam takes place from August 19 to 23.

SAIL Amsterdam 2015 offers a broad program, catering to both young and old and is the ultimate showcase of Amsterdam’s maritime legacy.

The Sail-in parade will be eight kilometres long, and includes fifty tall ships, and the biggest one in the harbor will be from Windstar.

The organization expects around 2 million visitors at the event.

Those eager to have a look at the tall ships can head to ‘Orange Ocean’, the spot where they’ll be moored along the IJ. The ships will be joined by a full program of live music at the nearby SAIL Music Marina and a nightly fireworks display.

The Wind Surf will be moored in the center of the river IJ. She will arrive on August 19 and passengers can witness the Sail in parade. The ship will leave on August 20. Other cruise ships during Sail include turnarouds of Celebrity Silhouette and Costa Fortuna, and an overnight call from Azamara Quest. Ships will be at AMT and VCK quays.

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Why do you tend to swear?

yuusuke-kun — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 19:16:05 +0800

10 Lost Technologies

yuusuke-kun — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 22:04:25 +0800

The world has never been more technologically advanced than it is now, but that doesn’t mean that some things haven’t been lost along the way. Many of the technologies, inventions, and manufacturing processes of antiquity have simply disappeared with the passage of time, while others are still not fully understood by modern day scientists. Some have since been rediscovered (indoor plumbing, road building), but many of the more mysterious lost technologies have gone on to become the stuff of legend. Here are ten famous examples:

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The Antikythera Mechanism

One of the most mysterious of all archeological artifacts is what is known as the Antikythera Mechanism, a bronze machine that was discovered by divers off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera in the early 1900s. The mechanism consists of a series of over 30 gears, cranks, and dials that could be manipulated in order to chart the astronomical positions of the sun, moon, and other planets. The device was found among the remains of a shipwreck that scientists have dated to the 1st or 2nd century BC. Its true purpose is still not fully known, and the mystery behind its construction and use has puzzled researchers for years. The consensus now seems to be that the Antikythera Mechanism was a kind of primitive clock that could calculate lunar phases and solar years, which has led some to refer to it as the earliest example of an “analog computer.”

Stradivari Violins

One lost technology of the 1700s is the process through which the famed Stradivari violins and other stringed instruments were built. The violins, along with assorted violas, cellos, and guitars, were constructed by the Stradivari family in Italy from roughly 1650-1750. The violins were prized in their day, but they’ve since become world famous for having an unparalleled—and impossible to reproduce—sound quality. Today there are only around 600 of the instruments left, and most are worth several hundred thousand dollars. In fact, the name Stradivari has become so synonymous with quality that it has come to serve as a descriptive term for anything considered to be the best in its field.

Damascus Steel

Damascus steel was an impossibly strong type of metal that was widely used in the Middle East from 1100-1700 AD. It is most famously associated with swords and knives. Blades forged with Damascus steel were known for their amazing strength and cutting ability, and were said to be able to slice rocks and other metals—including the blades of weaker swords—cleanly in half. The blades are believed to have been created using wootz steel, which was most likely imported from India and Sri Lanka and molded and blended to create a patterned blade. The special quality of the swords is thought to have derived from this process, which weaved together tough cementite and soft iron to form a metal that was as strong as it was flexible.

2000-year-old metal coatings superior to today’s standards

Research has shown that artisans and craftsmen 2,000 years ago used a form of ancient technology for applying thin films of metal to statues and other items, which was superior to today’s standards for producing DVDs, solar cells, electronic devices and other products. Fire gilding and silvering are age-old mercury-based processes used to coat the surface items such as jewels, statues and amulets with thin layers of gold or silver. From a technological point of view, what the ancient gilders achieved 2000 years ago, was to make the metal coatings incredibly thin, adherent and uniform, which saved expensive metals and improved its durability, something which has never been achieved to the same standard today. Apparently without any knowledge about the chemical–physical processes, ancient craftsmen systematically manipulated metals to create spectacular results. They developed a variety of techniques, including using mercury like a glue to apply thin films of metals to objects. The findings demonstrate that there was a far higher level of understanding and knowledge of advanced concepts and techniques in our ancient past than what they are given credit for.

Sloot Digital Coding System

Here’s a very modern lost invention, but one that fascinates data storage experts to this day. In the late 1990s, a Dutch electronics technician named Romke Jan Berhnard Sloot announced the development of the Sloot Digital Coding System, a revolutionary advance in data transmission that, he claimed, could reduce a feature-length movie down to a filesize of just 8KB. The decoding algorithm was 370MB, and apparently Sloot demonstrated this to Philips execs, dazzling them by playing 16 movies at the same time from a 64KB chip. After getting a bunch of investors, he mysteriously died on September 11, 1999, two days before he was scheduled to hand over the source code.

Vitrum flexile

Flexible glass is a legendary lost invention from the time of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar (between 14–37 AD). As recounted by Isidore of Seville, the craftsman who invented the technique brought a drinking bowl made of flexible glass before Caesar who threw it to the floor, whereupon the material dented, rather than shattering. The inventor then repaired the bowl easily with a small hammer. After the inventor swore to the Emperor that he alone knew the technique of manufacture, Tiberius had the man beheaded, fearing such material could undermine the value of gold and silver.

Cloudbuster

A cloudbuster (or cloud buster) is a device designed by Austrian psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, which Reich said could produce rain by manipulating what he called "orgone energy" present in the atmosphere. From the 1950s onwards, the FDA became involved in aggressively investigating healthcare providers who were offering treatment not accepted by mainstream researchers, and in particular by the American Medical Association. Reich was one of the therapists who was targeted. On February 10, 1954, the U.S. Attorney for Maine, acting on behalf of the FDA, filed a complaint seeking a permanent injunction under Sections 301 and 302 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to prevent interstate shipment of orgone accumulators and to ban some of Reich’s writing. The court complied and ordered that all accumulators and their parts were to be destroyed. All written material that discussed how to use the accumulators was also to be destroyed. It also banned ten of Reich’s books that mentioned orgone energy, until such time as references to orgone were deleted.

Greek Fire

Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning even on water. The ingredients and the processes of manufacture and deployment of Greek fire were very carefully guarded military secrets. So strict was the secrecy that the composition of Greek fire was lost, and remains a source of speculation to this day. Consequently, the “mystery” of the formula has long dominated the research into Greek fire. Despite this almost exclusive focus however, Greek fire is best understood as a complete weapon system of many components, all of which were needed to operate together to render it effective.

Starlite

Some of the best inventions in history have come from unlikely sources, and that’s how you’d explain Starlite. First announced in the pages of Jane’s International Defense Review, Starlite was a revolutionary insulation created by hobbyist chemist Maurice Ward in the 1980s. This wasn’t just a pipe dream, though – tests conducted on live TV showed the material keeping an egg completely raw after 5 minutes of blowtorching. Several noted scientists vouched for its incredible ability to resist heat and impact. Unfortunately, Ward passed away in 2011 before revealing the secret of Starlite to any other living being, and the material hasn’t been seen since.

Tesla's Death Ray

Let’s close this out with another Nikola Tesla creation that thankfully never saw the light of day. In the late 1930s, Tesla approached the U.S. military with a proposal: he would create for them a new style of weapon that could be fired remarkable distances. Exact blueprints for this weapon have never been revealed, but there are a number of speculations. Some believe it might have been a primitive laser, while others think it was an electrostatic generator that blasted microscopic pellets of tungsten at intense force a distance of over 300 miles. Whatever it was, the Army didn’t bite and Tesla’s death device is lost forever.
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Giant snake and gator adapting with society

yuusuke-kun — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 23:06:27 +0800

This is a creatively sarcastic attempt made by artists Pushparaj Appu from Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Baadal Nanjundaswamy to bring to task the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike which fails to take the quality of roads seriously.

There are uncleaned potholes everywhere which prove to be dangerous during rains.The artists have been installing anacondas, crocs, severed human hands to jibe at the dismal attitude of the Palike towards road maintenance.

And the sarcasm seems to work as is shown by the fact that all the potholes where the creations have been installed have been filled by authorities in record time.

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