Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

---

Olympics: Pyeongchang wins vote to stage 2018 Games Posted: 06 Jul 2011 08:31 AM PDT [unable to retrieve full-text content]DURBAN, July 6 – Pyeongchang of South Korea won the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympics today, comprehensively winning a vote by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over rivals Munich of Germany and France’s Annecy. IOC President Jacques Rogge announced Pyeongchang’s victory at the IOC’s session in Durban. It will be the first time a ...

Pyeongchang wins vote to host 2018 Winter Olympics Posted: 06 Jul 2011 08:31 AM PDT South Koreans celebrate as they hear that Pyeongchang won in a first round of voting for the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in Pyeongchang, at a ski jump stadium in Pyeongchang, about 180km east of Seoul, July 7, 2011. The South Korean city of Pyeongchang was chosen by the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics. – Reuters pic DURBAN, July 6 – Pyeongchang of South Korea won the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympics today, comprehensively winning a vote by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over rivals Munich of Germany and France's Annecy. IOC President Jacques Rogge announced Pyeongchang's victory at the IOC's session in Durban. It will be the first time a Korean city has staged the Winter Games and only the third time it will have been held in Asia. "This is one of the happiest days for our country, our people and millions of youth dreaming of winter sport," Pyeongchang bid chief Cho Yang-ho said seconds after the announcement. The Pyeongchang delegation in Durban cheered and chanted "Korea, Korea" after Rogge announced the decision. Pyeongchang narrowly missed victory in each of the last two Winter Olympic votes, losing out to Vancouver of Canada for the 2010 Games and to the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi for 2014. Each time they had led on the first round of voting by IOC members but failed to gain an overall majority and lost out on the second round. Today they won outright on the first round and avoided suffering the same fate for the third time. The Koreans put in a determined bid, stressing their virtues of perseverance and patience, and employed their country's President Lee Mying-bak and Olympic women's figure skating champion Kim Yuna to persuade and charm the IOC. – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

---

A Minute With: Bill Pullman about ‘Torchwood’ Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:25 AM PDT LOS ANGELES, July 6 – Actor Bill Pullman has played everything from an American president in "Independence Day" to a doctor in "Caspar, but in the new drama series "Torchwood: Miracle Day," he stars as Oswald Danes, a convicted child killer who's about to be executed. But the execution, which premieres July 8, doesn't go quite as planned because the sci-fi series, based on the British cult favourite, opens with a provocative scenario – what happens when people suddenly stop dying? Pullman, 57, (picture) who co-stars with John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Mekhi Phifer, talked about making the series, and why he can't smell anything. Q: How would you describe this? A: "It's a very gripping sci-fi story that deals with a catastrophic situation. At first you think, everyone's immortal! How great is that? But then the dark side of that becomes apparent – no one dies, but we have only limited resources, and what does that do to people? Bring out their best or worst? Are the problems solvable? So it's a real roller-coaster ride and it deals with some quite profound themes." Q: Were you a fan of the original BBC TV series? A: "I'd never seen it but I loved this script and thought, what a great idea." Q: The BBC series' creator and writer/producer Russell Davies, who's also producing the STARZ show, says it's not a reboot or new version. So what is it? A: "I'd say it's a continuation of the original show, which even in its three years was always changing and growing. And now it's morphed into our show, and just because we're going global there's no disconnect with the old show and characters. I think fans of the old show will get it right away." Q: You're best known for playing decent, upstanding members of society. So did you jump at the chance to play a child killer, or did they have to twist your arm? A: "I jumped at it, though the quick description of him – a paedophile murderer – doesn't sound good. But that's not his essential condition. Yes, he begins there – the most reviled person for doing the most heinous crime. But then either through coincidence or divine intervention, who knows, I become the pivot person who suddenly gets reborn. And then I set off on a journey to discover who I really am with this whole new life I've been given. How much baggage do I carry around from my past? What am I capable of? So he's a very rich character." Q: So many British TV shows have become huge hits in America and around the world. What's the secret of their success? A: "There's definitely a pattern of great British shows that get reinvented in America and do really well here, but I think 'Torchwood' is a bit different. It's more of a hybrid that doesn't exist as a reinvention. It's a global story, and it's interesting that it now comes to L.A. which is such a multicultural place." Q: You split your time between L.A. and your ranch in Montana. Is ranching a good counter-balance to acting? A: "It is. I co-own the ranch with my brother, and he and his wife are really the backbone of the operation. I come in and do stuff like fix irrigation systems, pasture maintenance and so on ... I find (that) I think better and more clearly when I'm doing ranch stuff. It gives me a good perspective on my acting career." Q: Is it true that you lost your sense of smell when younger? A: "I did. I was 21, and rehearsing a play, took a fall and was in a coma for a few days. And when I recovered, I'd lost my sense of smell completely." Q: So acting's potentially a very dangerous profession? A: "(laughs) Yes, and theatre can kill you." Q: So are there any advantages to having no sense of smell? A: "Well, I can do certain jobs because smells don't bother me. But that means I'm usually the one at the ranch cleaning up all the manure." – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Adele ready to hit the stage in London Posted: 06 Jul 2011 01:43 AM PDT British singer Adele reports she is ready to roll this week at the iTunes Festival in London. – AFP pic LONDON, July 6 – British songtress Adele told BBC Radio 1 that she is ready to hit the stage again after being on a medical hiatus for the past month with laryngitis. Reported on July 5, the singer says she now has a clean bill of health, just in time for her planned performance at London's iTunes Festival tomorrow, July 7. She told Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles she'd been recovering in the UK, but is ready to perform a full set tomorrow. "It's basically a hole in your vocal cord but I sang through it so that's why it popped," she explained of the illness. "I'm better now, it's fine, I got the all-clear." After cancelling her North American tour in early June due to laryngitis, Adele also recently announced a fresh set of dates in the region in August and October. This spring she toured Europe and the UK, beginning March 21 in Oslo and wrapping up on April 21 in London. Adele is touring in support of her breakthrough sophomore album, 21, which reached number one in album charts in 17 countries. In the UK, the album has spent more time at the top of the charts than any female artist in history. If you can't make it to London for the gig, the iTunes Festival app will offer live streaming video of the entire festival, including Adele's performance. All shows in the festival are set to begin at 8pm GMT. Adele's opening set is British soul singer Michael Kiwanuka. Get the app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/itunes-festival-london-2011/id431168066?mt=8 – AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Features

---

Device battery life could be doubled if your WiFi took short naps Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:28 AM PDT DURHAM (North Carolina), July 6 — The batteries on smartphones, laptops and tablets could last up to twice as long as they currently do if slight changes were made to the WiFi technology they use. Research conducted by a Duke University graduate student has found that the WiFi technology used to connect to the internet and download information such as pictures, music and video "can be a major drain of battery." The WiFi drain on the battery is even more pronounced when multiple devices are competing to download information in close vicinity to each other. One solution, proposed computer science graduate Justin Manweiler, is to allow "mobile devices to sleep while a neighboring device is downloading information. This not only saves energy for the sleeping device, but also for competing devices as well." The system, called SleepWell, could relieve WiFi congestion by staggering device activity cycles so they don't overlap with others, "ultimately resulting in promising energy gains with negligible loss of performance," said Manweiler. "Energy is certainly a key problem for the future of mobile devices, such as iPhones, iPads and Android smartphones," stated Romit Roy Choudhury, assistant professor electrical and computer engineering at Due's Pratt School of Engineering. "The SleepWell system can certainly be an important upgrade to WiFi technology, especially in the light of increasing WiFi density." SleepWell was recently presented at the ninth Association for Computing Machinery's International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications and Services (MobiSys), in Washington, DC. — AFP-Relaxnews Letting devices nap for short periods of time may be the key to extending battery life. AFP pic Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Lifestyle may affect sudden cardiac death risks Posted: 05 Jul 2011 09:20 PM PDT NEW YORK, July 6 — There's yet another reason for women to stay fit, eat healthy, abstain from smoking and maintain their weight at a healthy level: those who do so may be less likely to die from sudden cardiac death, a US study said. Each of the different factors — a Mediterranean-style diet, a healthy weight, not smoking and exercise — were linked to a smaller chance of sudden cardiac death, which is related to a malfunctioning of the electrical rhythm of the heart, the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association said. Added together, the factors were tied to a 92 per cent reduced risk. "The more you adhere to this healthy lifestyle, the better you are in terms of your risk of sudden cardiac death," said Stephanie Chiuve from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, the lead author of the study. Sudden cardiac death is responsible for half of all cardiac deaths, with about 250,000 to 310,000  cases occurring annually in the United States, the authors write. Chiuve and her colleagues looked at results from the Nurses' Health Study, in which more than 81,000 women periodically answered surveys about their health and lifestyle over 26 years. During the span of the study, 321 women suffered sudden cardiac death at an average age of 72. Women who ate a diet closest to the Mediterranean diet, which has a high proportion of vegetables, fruits, nuts, omega-3 fats, and fish, along with moderate amounts of alcohol and small amounts of red meat, had the lowest risk of sudden cardiac death — 40 per cent less than those whose diets least resembled the Mediterranean diet. Normal-weight women were 56 per cent less likely to suffer sudden cardiac death compared to obese women, while at least 30 minutes a day of exercise reducing the risk by 28 per cent. Women who had never smoked were 75 per cent less likely to suffer sudden cardiac death than women who smoked at least 25 cigarettes per day. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association, did not look at how long women stuck to each of the healthier lifestyle factors, nor was it able to prove that healthy living is actually responsible for the drop in sudden cardiac death risk. But the researchers did conclude that 81 per cent of cases of sudden cardiac death were due to unhealthy lifestyles. Chiuve said the results were important for understanding who is at risk from sudden cardiac death. Most people are flagged as being at high risk because of other health problems, such as a past heart attack. "But with sudden cardiac death, the majority (of cases) occur in the general population. Lifestyle is not something that's generally focused on in sudden cardiac death research," she told Reuters Health. And a side-benefit of lifestyle-based efforts to prevent sudden cardiac death, a rare condition, are the positive impact it can have on more common health problems, such as diabetes, stroke and coronary disease, she added. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

---

Vague principles, contradictory policies Posted: 05 Jul 2011 04:53 PM PDT JULY 6 — Some ideas are vague for a reason. In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, the majority is afraid of commitment and responsibilities. It is simply impractical to have clear opinions or positions. Consistency arising from those opinions and positions is a barrier to success. One has to be pragmatic to be successful. Vagueness allows such pragmatism. To put it bluntly, it creates contradictions. That is not too far off from the truth in our world. That is not too far off from the political culture in Malaysia. There are vague positions and from those ambiguities, contradictions. 1 Malaysia is an example. Despite all efforts to explain it by far too many sides, 1 Malaysia is still an ambiguous concept. It appeals to the idea of inclusiveness and equality, yet those with distaste for these very liberal ideas are the ones promoting it. There are of course true blue egalitarians within Barisan Nasional who are also promoting 1 Malaysia but when both racialists and egalitarians are able to appeal to 1 Malaysia in contradictory terms, the concept itself cannot escape the accusation of being ambiguous. In the early stage of 1 Malaysia, one particular idea was floated around to justify its vagueness. It was "strategic ambiguity." It stated 1 Malaysia was made ambiguous on purpose so that it could be used to appease all sides. All sides can take ownership of 1 Malaysia by applying to it their own definition. That and its vagueness means 1 Malaysia is both everything and nothing, neither here nor there. Its ambiguity means it is not opposable. Given the feudalistic culture that prevails in Malaysia, in BN and in Umno in particular, there is an imperative to support it just because it came from the top. With nothing to oppose and everything to accept, it was good for BN and Umno in a time when both are just emerging from a relatively disastrous infighting. They needed a rallying call. A vague call seemed fine. Perhaps in its pretension that BN is a perfect replica of Malaysian society, they might have thought that what works for BN might work for Malaysia. The Malaysian society is more diverse than BN however. And because many Malaysians are outsiders to BN and are less enamored with feudalistic culture, they are more demanding in knowing why they should be on board with 1 Malaysia. At least, for those who care, anyway. After persistent ambiguity, many have become disinterested in defining 1 Malaysia. They have moved on. At the same time, 1 Malaysia sees relegation from a grand ambition contributing to national identity to a mere economic programme troubled by inconsistency.  Today, in fact, 1 Malaysia is all about the government and Economic Transformation Programmes and nothing else. It is about projects. It is about buildings and infrastructure. It is about cold hard cash. But because the programmes are ultimately derived from the vague 1 Malaysia, it suffers from contradiction. The GTP and the ETP are market-driven but both embrace government intervention; price controls are everywhere. The ETP is privately sector-driven but these drivers are government-linked companies: Menara Warisan comes to mind. The best epitome of inconsistency is the term "market-friendly affirmative action." Again, 1 Malaysia in the end is about projects and cold hard cash. There is no principle governing it. Anything goes. To prove that this is really a prevailing political culture rather than merely one belonging exclusively to BN, members of Pakatan Rakyat themselves are not doing well in terms of ambiguity. The "negara berkebajikan" introduced by PAS is the latest example. What is it exactly? So far, the buzz has it that it is Islamic, it is not an Islamic state, it is not the welfare state concept and it is different from the system practised by the BN-led federal government. There is little clarification on why it is Islamic, why it is not an Islamic state, why it is not the welfare state and why it is different from BN policy. Apart from several key terms, it is ultimately vague. To be fair, PAS must be given time to articulate the idea, especially since the idea is creating a competition to the political centre. Nevertheless, the fact that concept was released before its articulation makes it susceptible to the same criticism directed against 1 Malaysia. Unless the articulation lifts the veil of ambiguity soon, "negara berkebajikan" will be a potpourri of contradictions, much like 1 Malaysia. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

The economics of compassion Posted: 05 Jul 2011 04:50 PM PDT JULY 6 — The ETP is meaningless. Or at least it is to the man on the street. "Where do they get the numbers from?" a fellow I know asks me. The only numbers that mean anything to him right now are the prices of his food. His shi cha (iced Chinese tea) and his chap fan (mixed rice) cost more these days while he isn't earning more. And that is the reality for most Malaysians as we find prices rising while our incomes remain flat. If the middle-class are feeling the pinch, what more those in the lower-income bracket? While the government spends millions on labs that are supposed to fix whatever problems we have, the poor remain poor. I get angry when those who know nothing of poverty claim that with hard work, anyone can buy what they want or be who they want to be. Poverty is called a trap for a reason. It is easier to fall out of wealth than to come into it. And for those already poor or born into poverty, the odds are against them from the start. I hear the same refrains from the same people about the so-called "poor and lazy." "Their own fault for having so many kids." "Lazy drunkards-lah they all." "We work hard, they should too. My tax money shouldn't be used to help them. They should help themselves." It is unfair to expect children brought up with poor nutrition, in squalid conditions and challenging home environments to do as well as the middle-class and wealthy. The rich have no right to expect the poor to save themselves when the wealth of a few hinges on the desperation of the many. Without sweatshops and cheap labour, we wouldn't be paying the low prices we do for all things from food to clothing. Malaysian employers are guilty of paying employees as little as they can get away with all in the name of profit. Henry Ford, when chided over the comparatively high wages he paid his workers, answered that if he didn't pay his workers enough, how could they afford to buy his cars? Poverty is a problem that breeds plenty of other problems. Crime, disease, social unrest — all these are exacerbated by poverty. Poverty is everyone's problem — not just the poor's. The economics of compassion works this way — lowering poverty levels isn't an act of generosity. It is not about feeling good or getting brownie points. It is sheer pragmatism. Fewer poor people equals more people spending money. Consumption, spending and spreading the ringgit around — that is the heart of capitalism. Eradicating poverty benefits the many but wealth is mainly concentrated in a collective of the few. I am not advocating a communist ideal where equality is artificially induced, with brute force if necessary. What I am saying is that addressing economic imbalance makes sense as well as sen. The first steps would be imposing fair wage policies and making quality education accessible to all income levels. Level the playing fields by making sure everyone will be empowered to support themselves and help poor and rich children alike get access to good public education at all levels. This world we were born into is a patently unfair one. We are all dealt hands which we have to play the best we can. But the world isn't a casino. It is not about cashing in, emptying the pot and taking everyone else for all they have. If life is a game, then it is one where we are all on the same side. Maybe those few star players may be paid a bit more while those players born without legs, do we leave them out of the game? Life is a better game when we make sure that everyone can play. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

---

Himpunan Bersih Sabtu tertakluk pada kelulusan permit, kata polis Posted: 06 Jul 2011 03:16 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Julai – Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar mengingatkan Bersih 2.0 agar memohon mendapatkan permit bagi perhimpunan Sabtu ini sambil menegaskan, kegagalan berbuat demikian bermakna ia akan dianggap sebagai satu perhimpunan tidak sah. Bercakap pada sidang media di Bukit Aman di sini petang ini, Khalid berkata sehingga kini sekretariat Bersih 2.0 belum memaklumkan ataupun memberitahu pihak polis tentang rancangan perhimpunan mereka meskpin pentadbiran Najib bersedia untuk menyediakan stadium. "Tiada panggilan daripada mereka, tiada maklumat," kata beliau. Semalam, sekretariat Bersih 2.0 membatalkan perhimpunan di jalanan sebaliknya sanggup menerima tawaran agar ia diadakan di stadium. Apabila ditanya bahawa Bersih 2.0 sudah pun mendapat lampu hijau daripada kerajaan untuk mengadakan perhimpunan di stadium, Khalid berkata: "... (Pengerusi Bersih 2.0) Datuk Ambiga, bekas presiden Majlis Peguam. Beliau harus tahu undang-undang." Bagaimanapun beliau memberi jaminan bahawa urusan memproses permohonan permit akan dipercepatkan dengan mengambil kira keadaan semasa. "Kami akan mengutamakan permohonan mereka. Lazimnya, permit perlu dipohon sekurang-kurangnya seminggu sebelum majlis. Jadi, mengapa kami memberikan keutamaan? Sebab, kerajaan sudah pun membenarkan mereka mengadakan perhimpunan di stadium, kami akan bekerjasama dan kami akan," katanya. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

Pakatan sokong himpunan Bersih di stadium, jangka 300,000 hadir Posted: 06 Jul 2011 02:34 AM PDT Oleh Melissa Chi dan Lisa J. Ariffin KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Julai – Pakatan Rakyat (PR) mengumumkan bahawa perikatan itu menyokong rancangan Bersih 2.0 yang mahu mengadakan perhimpunan di Stadium Merdeka di sini, Sabtu ini meskipun tempahan untuk menggunakan premis bersejarah itu masih belum diluluskan. "Pakatan Rakyat menyokong Bersih mengadakan perhimpunan mereka di Stadium Merdeka meskipun dalam laporan terakhir, perdana menteri khususnya menteri dalam negeri membuat pusingan dengan memberi pelbagai alasan tidak membolehkan stadium digunakan," kata Ketua Umumnya Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (gambar) kepada pemberita selepas mesyuarat Majlis Pimpinan PR di sini hari ini. Mengikut perkembangan setakat awal petang ini, Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein menegaskan Bersih 2.0 masih kekal sebagai sebuah pertubuhan haram manakala pengurusan Stadium Merdeka pula memberikan pelbagai alasan dalam meluluskan permohonan tempahan lokasi itu. Kepimpinan Bersih 2.0 yang menghadap Yang di-Pertuan Agong semalam memutuskan untuk membatalkan perhimpunan jalanan, sebaliknya menerima tawaran Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak agar ia diadakan di dalam stadium. MENYUSUL LAGI Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com