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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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Fine Bordeaux less than a fine investment in 2012 Posted: 26 Dec 2012 05:37 AM PST PARIS, Dec 26 — Wine sales at auction houses were flat to lower in 2012, with lower prices for the top Bordeaux weighing on results. Values for Burgundies, which have long been in short supply and as a result command high prices, vaulted to new peaks. But, even so, the Burgundies could not make up for the Bordeaux disappointments. Several major auction houses have released their final sales totals for the year, and only Christie's seemed to have been able to hold its ground. It said this week it expected to report its global wine sales were more than US$90 million (RM270 million), the same level as in 2011. Sotheby's said its total global wine sales were US$64.5 million in 2012, down from the US$85.5 million it reported last year. Acker Merrall & Condit said its total wine sales were US$83.3 million. That was down from the US$110 million it reported in 2011. Bordeaux prices headed lower all through the year. The top Premier Crus — Chateaux Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Latour, Haut-Brion and Mouton Rothschild — were all down, in some cases as much as 40 per cent from the previous highs. At Spectrum Wines' Hong Kong auction two weeks ago, cases of 1982 Chateau Lafite went for between US$33,860 and US$38,115, all below their pre-sale estimate of US$40,000. A year ago, such cases of Lafite were selling for about US$45,000. The lots of '82 Margaux at Spectrum's auction sold for between US$6,655 and US$7,865 a case, missing their presale estimates of US$8,000 to US$9,000. Prices for the '82 Latour held up a bit better. One 12-bottle case went for US$15,730, still below its estimate of US$16,000; the other case went for the same price, above its presale estimate of US$11,000. Spectrum wine specialist Dan Rhodes blamed part of the slide in Bordeaux prices on the glut of inventor — there is quite a lot of Bordeaux in Asia — as well as the producers themselves, who have priced their current releases at historic highs that he said "leave little room for appreciation..." Prices for Burgundies, especially from Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, accelerated aggressively through the year. At Spectrum Wines' summer auction in June, a case of 1990 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache sold for US$53,775. By December, a case of the same wine sold for $67,375 at Sotheby's, a 26 per cent price increase. "Burgundy continues to be of great interest, albeit at the very high end, and high-end wines from the Rhône Valley and Italy would appear to be next on the Asian radar screen," Rhodes said. The auction season for 2013 starts at the end of January with Acker Merrall & Condit's sale in Hong Kong followed closely by Sotheby's in London. — Reuters

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QPR’s Taraabt not in Morocco Nations Cup squad Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:55 AM PST File photo shows Queens Park Rangers' Adel Taarabt (R) challenging Bolton Wanderers' Nigel Reo-Coker during their English Premier League soccer match at Loftus Road in London August 13, 2011. – Reuters pic LONDON, Dec 26 – Morocco have left Queens Park Rangers forward Adel Taraabt out of their 24-man African Nations Cup squad for the finals which start in South Africa next month. The 23-year-old does not feature on the player list for the tournament, which runs from Jan. 19 to Feb. 10, published on the Royal Moroccan Football Federation website (http://www.frmf.ma). However, Dutch-born striker Mounir El Hamdaoui has returned to the squad for the first time since September after reviving his career on loan at Fiorentina from Ajax Amsterdam. Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh has also been omitted from the list which includes Aston Villa midfielder Karim El Ahmadi and Liverpool forward Oussama Assaidi from the Premier League. The mercurial Taraabt has been out of favour with the national team but hoped to have done enough to impress Morocco coach Rachid Taoussi, who took charge in the summer. "I hope to be at the African Nations Cup but even if I'm not there, and that would be painful, I'll be the biggest Morocco supporter," he said on the lequipe.fr African soccer blog. Taraabt's exclusion will boost QPR in their battle to avoid relegation under new manager Harry Redknapp. They are second-bottom of the Premier League, five points from the safety zone. – Reuters

UEFA appeals own sanctions against Serbia and England Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:34 AM PST LONDON, Dec 26 – UEFA has appealed against the sanctions that its own control and disciplinary body imposed on Serbia and England for incidents in an Under-21 match in October, European soccer's governing body said today. "Having reviewed the motivated decisions for the sanctions imposed in this specific case... the UEFA disciplinary inspector felt it necessary to immediately confirm his intention to appeal on UEFA's behalf," UEFA said in a statement. UEFA has the right to appeal against decisions made by its own disciplinary committee and to ask for tougher sanctions if it considers they are too lenient. The English FA criticised UEFA for not sending a "strong enough message" on racism after the Serbia FA was fined €80,000 (RM321,086) by UEFA and told it must stage its next Under-21 home match behind closed doors after its players and fans were found guilty of improper conduct. The punishments followed England's 1-0 victory in the European Under-21 championship playoff on Oct. 16 in Krusevac when visiting fullback Danny Rose complained he was racially abused by Serbia supporters before, during and after the game. England scored with the last kick of the match and fighting broke out between players and officials immediately after the final whistle. Two Serbia coaches, four Serbia players and two England players were suspended by UEFA following the altercations. – Reuters

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‘How I Met Your Mother’ to end in 2014 Posted: 26 Dec 2012 06:13 AM PST 'How I Met Your Mother' – Season 9 will be the last one. – CBS Television Studio LOS ANGELES, Dec 26 – Fans of "How I Met Your Mother" won't have much longer to wait to finally discover whom Ted Mosby will marry, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The ninth season of the long-running show, starting in the fall of 2013 in the US, will be its last. The CBS show will see main cast members Josh Radnor, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders return for the last time as the gang of 30-something New Yorkers. The show, which first hit the screens in 2005, follows the ups and downs of the narrator's love life. Young architect Ted Mosby tells his children about all the events that led him to meet their mother. CBS is currently airing the eighth season of the show, with more than eight million viewers following it. – AFP/Relaxnews

Stevie Wonder, Gilberto Gil give Rio Christmas cheer Posted: 26 Dec 2012 02:56 AM PST US musician Stevie Wonder (R) and Brazilian musician Gilberto Gil perform at the Copacabana beach on December 25, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. – AFP pic RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 26 – US singer Stevie Wonder joined Brazil's Gilberto Gil late Tuesday for a massive free Christmas concert on Rio's Copacabana beach attended by half a million people. "Tudo bem?" (Everything allright?) Wonder shouted out to the crowd in Portugese after being led on stage by his sons. Dressed in a golden suit, the blind singer began his set with "What a Wonderful World," then performed hits like "I Just Called to Say I Love You," "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and to sing a cover of the late Michael Jackson, "The Way You Make Me Feel." Earlier, Gil opened the show with "Realce" and "A Novidade" on a stage set with the exclusive Copacabana Palace Hotel as a backdrop. "Good night Rio, Merry Christmas. Thank you for the gift of your presence," he said. Up to a million spectators had been initially expected, but police estimates cited in local media put the number at 450,000 to half a million people who braved sweltering temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on one of the hottest evenings of the year. During a benefit concert a week ago, Wonder and Gil performed for thousands of people who paid a US$400 (RM1,226) entry fee each. Rio is expecting to host 752,000 tourists for its lavish New Year's Eve celebrations. Throughout the Southern hemisphere's summer season, which began on December 21 and ends in March, about 3.2 billion tourists are expected to flock to the city and spend US$2.6 billion, according to Tourism Ministry figures. For February's Carnival, the state government hopes 900,000 tourists will visit the city and spend about US$665 million. – AFP/Relaxnews

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UAE says arrests cell planning attacks Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:42 AM PST DUBAI, Dec 26 – Security forces in the United Arab Emirates have arrested a cell of UAE and Saudi Arabian citizens which was planning to carry out militant attacks in both countries and other states, the official news agency WAM said today. The US-allied UAE, a federation of seven emirates and a major oil exporter, has been spared any attack by al Qaeda and other insurgency groups. But some of its emirates have seen a rise in Islamist sentiment in recent years, and Dubai, a business and tourism hub cosmopolitan city that attracts many Westerners, could make an attractive target for Islamist militants, analysts say. The arrested group had acquired materials and equipment for use in what WAM called terrorist operations. "The security authorities in the UAE, in coordination with the related security parties in Saudi Arabia, announced the arrest of an organised cell from the deviant group that was planning to carry out actions against national security of both countries and some brotherly states," WAM said without elaborating. The phrase "the deviant group" is often used by authorities in Saudi Arabia to describe al Qaeda members. In August, Saudi authorities arrested a group of suspected al Qaeda-linked militants – mostly Yemeni nationals – in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has arrested thousands of suspected militants since the 2003-2006 attacks on residential compounds for foreign workers and on Saudi government facilities in which were dozens of people were killed. The United States has poured aid into Yemen to stem the threat of attacks from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and to try to prevent any spillover of violence into Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter. In 2010, AQAP, a merger of al Qaeda's Yemeni and Saudi branches, said it was behind a plot to send two parcel bombs to the United States. The bombs were intercepted in Britain and Dubai. The UAE has escaped the upheaval that has shaken the Arab world but moved swiftly to stem any sign of political dissent by detaining more than 60 local Islamists this year over alleged threats to state security and links to a foreign group. – Reuters

Mental illness, poverty haunted Afghan policewoman who killed American Posted: 26 Dec 2012 07:22 AM PST Afghan policemen carry the dead body of a victim at a local hospital after a suicide bomb attack in Khost province December 26, 2012. The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a US contractor in Kabul suffered from mental illness, her children said. – Reuters pic KABUL, Dec 26 – The Afghan policewoman suspected of killing a US contractor at police headquarters in Kabul suffered from mental illness and was driven to suicidal despair by poverty, her children told Reuters on Wednesday. The woman was identified by authorities as Narges Rezaeimomenabad, a 40-year-old grandmother and mother of three who moved here from Iran 10 years ago and married an Afghan man. On Monday morning, she loaded a pistol in a bathroom at the police compound, hid it in her long scarf and shot an American police trainer, apparently becoming the first Afghan woman to carry out such an attack. Narges also tried to shoot police officials after killing the American. Luckily for them, her pistol jammed. Her husband is also under investigation. Her son Sayed, 16, and daughter Fatima, 13, described how they tried to call their parents 100 times after news broke of the shooting, then waited in vain for them to come home. They recalled Narges's severe mood swings, and how at times she beat them and even pulled out a knife. But the children said she was consistent in bemoaning poverty. "She was usually complaining about poverty. She was complaining to my father about our conditions. She was saying that my father was poor," Sayid said in an interview in their damp, cold two-room cement house. On the floor beside him were his mother's prescriptions and a thick plastic bag filled with pills she tried to swallow to end the misery about a month ago. On another occasion, she cut her wrist with a razor, Sayed said. "My father was usually calm and sometimes would say that she was guilty too because it wasn't a forced marriage. They fell in love and got married." There was no sign in their neighbourhood of the billions of dollars of Western aid that have poured into Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001, or of government investment. RAW SEWAGE, STAGNANT WATER, DIRT ROADS The lane outside their home stank of raw sewage. Dirty, stagnant water filled holes in dirt roads nearby, where children in tattered clothes played and butchers stood by cow's hooves in shops choked by dust. Afghanistan is one of the world's poorest nations, with a third of its 30 million residents living under the poverty line. The sole distractions from the daily grind appeared to be a deck of playing cards and a compact disc with songs from Iranian pop singers, scattered on the floor of a room where Narges would lock herself in and weep, or sit in silence. At times, Narges would try to focus on building her children's confidence, telling them to be guided by the Muslim holy book, the Koran, to tackle life's problems. Sayed and Fatima said she never spoke badly of the US presence in Afghanistan or of President Hamid Karzai's government. Neighbour Mohammad Ismail Kohistani was dumbfounded to hear on the radio that Afghan officials were combing Narges' phone records to try to determine whether al Qaeda or the Taliban could have brainwashed her into carrying out a mission. But he was acutely aware of her mental problems and often heard her scream at her husband, whose low-level job in the crime investigation unit of the police brought home little cash. Kohistani, who operates a small sewing shop with battered machines, never imagined his neighbour could be accused of a high-profile attack that raised new questions about the direction of an unpopular war. "I became very depressed and sad," said Kohistani, sitting on the floor few feet from a tiny wood-burning stove in Narges's home, alongside family photographs and a police training manual. Fatima would often seek refuge in Kohistani's house when her mother's behaviour became unbearable. "She did not hate us, but usually she was angry and would not talk to us," said Fatima, her eyes moist with tears. Nevertheless, she missed her mother. The children were staying with a cousin. "I ask the government to free my mother, otherwise our future will be destroyed," said Fatima. Officials described it as another "insider shooting", in which Afghan forces turn on Westerners they are meant to be working with to stabilise the country. There have been over 52 such attacks so far this year. The shooting at the police headquarters may have alarmed Afghanistan's Western allies. But some Afghans have grown numb to the violence. Kohistani's 70-year-old father Omara Khan, who sports a white beard, sat twirling prayer beads beneath a photograph of Narges in a black veil beside one of her husband. Asked what he thought of the attack, he laughed. "This is common in Afghanistan," said Khan, who lived through decades of upheaval, including the 10-year Soviet occupation and a civil war that destroyed half of Kabul and killed some 50,000 civilians. "People are killed every day." – Reuters

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Christmas provides Connecticut town a break from mourning Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:35 PM PST A teddy bear rests on the snow-covered grave of six-year-old Benjamin Andrew Wheeler, one of 20 schoolchildren killed in the December 14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, on Christmas morning at the Newtown Village Cemetery in Newtown, Connecticut December 25, 2012. – Reuters pic NEWTOWN, Dec 26 – Christmas has helped some people in the grieving Connecticut town of Newtown cope a little better with the shooting tragedy that killed 20 schoolchildren, while others have yet to feel the holiday joy. Smiles returned for those taking a respite from the mourning now that funerals for the victims have concluded. For the crestfallen, the holiday spirit was absent in a town that just buried its children. "We're getting through this with our faith and our prayer. People are smiling a little more now," said John Barry, owner of an information technology staffing company. "The week was so horrible. Now, it's time to celebrate Christmas." This largely Christian town was shaken on the morning of Dec 14, when a 20-year-old gunman armed with a military-style assault rifle shot dead 20 children aged 6 and 7 and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It was the second-deadliest school shooting in US history. Little is known about the shooter, Adam Lanza, who also killed his mother before the rampage and later himself to create a death toll of 28 in a tragedy that has revitalised the debate over US gun control laws. The sadness has moved some to act. Makeshift monuments to the dead have popped up all over town, funds have been raised, and many visitors have made a pilgrimage to Newtown, offering support. "It doesn't feel like Christmas. It's too sad to feel like Christmas," said Joanne Brunetti of Newtown, who was staffing a 24-hour candlelight vigil in the center of town early Christmas morning. "I got my shopping done a lot later than usual. I just felt like my heart wasn't in it." At another monument across town, Tim O'Leary of nearby Danbury, Connecticut, said reading the memorials to the victims only helped "a little." "It (Christmas) shouldn't even be happening," O'Leary said. "Life has changed as we know it." MISSING ANGEL The mood was more uplifting at Christmas Eve Mass on Monday night at Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, which held its biggest service at the high school auditorium. Parishioners Dan and Michelle McAloon of Newtown decided to go Christmas caroling this year for the first time, gathering other families and children to roam a neighborhood where the families of three victims live. "We were just spreading some cheer, trying to make the situation a little better," Michelle McAloon said. "They all smiled, and they all cried a little," she said of the victims' families. "Everybody said we are doing it again next year," Dan McAloon said of the carolers. "It's going to become a tradition." Nine families from the parish lost someone in the shooting, and at least four of those families came to the big Christmas Eve Mass, Monsignor Robert Weiss said. "There is reason to celebrate," Weiss said after the service. "Hopefully when people start to see their extended families, or people from outside of Newtown, or even go out of town, they will be able to. You can't get away from it in this town," he said. Christmas Eve Mass featured a pageant that told the Christian story of Jesus' birth. One of the more poignant moments came when people applauded a group of two dozen little girls dressed as angels. They all knew shooting victim Olivia Engel, 6, was supposed to be among them. "I highly recommend that before you rip open those gifts, say a prayer for those children," Weiss told parishioners. "Then give your own children a hug." – Reuters

Beauty buzz: facial oils to treat acne Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:00 PM PST Plant-based facial oils can balance and soothe adult acne. – Picture courtesy of ©Valua Vitaly /shutterstock.com NEW YORK, Dec 26 – A slew of beauty and health bloggers have anointed 2012 the year of the facial oil. Since experts claim that plant-based oils - avocado, argan, chia seed, and coconut oils, to name a few - don't clog your skin, several brands launched facial oils designed to treat adult acne this year and the new skin product category is set to be the next big thing. Once feared for making skin too greasy, facial oils have hit the mainstream. Fresh, Själ Skincare, Nude, Sulwhasoo, AmorePacific, and Colbert M.D. have all recently added face oils to their product lineups. "It might sound contradictory (and maybe downright scary!), but one of the best things you can do for a bout of blemishes is to slick your skin with oil," writes blogger Well + Good NYC on Friday. While the jury is out on which is best, NBC News recommends tea tree oil for acne, such as The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil (US$9, RM28). Research suggests that five percent tea tree oil works as well as five percet benzoyl peroxide, the controversial main ingredient in Proactiv. Well + Good NYC recommends a few facial oils to try as well, including Marie Veronique Organics Treatment Oil (US$80). Three oils play a part in keeping your skin under control: argan oil controls surface sebum, borage oil fights off inflammation, and tea tea oil controls acne. Or try La Bella Figura Tesoro Mediterranean Blend. For US$70 a bottle, this facial oil works on both acne and wrinkles in a lightweight formula. Holistic beauty buffs can also slick on De La Terre Herb Rich Oil for Blemished Skin (US$50), which contains vitamin-C-rich blackberry, burdock, fennel, and ginger to expel impurities and clear away spots - at least that's the claim. Still not everyone is convinced: Harpers Bazaar advises steering away from oils if you're acne-prone. Their recommendation: something a bit lighter, such as New York dermatologist Dennis Gross Vitamin D Serum-Oil (US$65). As with any oil, apply three drops at night after your serum or cream, since oils can block the absorption of other products. – AFP-Relaxnews

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Hashtag symbolises end of an era for Newsweek Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:13 PM PST WASHINGTON, Dec 26 — Almost 80 years after first going to print, the final Newsweek magazine hit newsstands Monday featuring an ironic hashtag as a symbol of its Twitter-era transition to an all-digital format. This December 24, 2012 photo shows the final print edition of Newsweek, seen here in Washington, DC. Newsweek ends its 80-year run as a weekly news magazine with a final print edition published this week with a December 31, 2012 date. The magazine went with a vintage photo of its old Midtown Manhattan headquarters in New York for the cover shot and a Twitter hashtage headline of "#lastprintissue." — AFP/Relaxnews The second-largest news weekly magazine in the United States has been grappling with a steep drop in print advertising revenue, steadily declining circulation and the migration of readers to free news online. During a fierce decades-long rivalry with fellow American coffee-table staple Time magazine, Newsweek pushed the envelope with bold and often controversial covers. Its first issue, on February 17, 1933, featured seven photos from that week's news printed on the front, including Adolf Hitler snapped in Berlin as he declared: "the German nation must be built up from the ground anew." For its final cover, dated December 31, editor Tina Brown used an aerial archive shot of the magazine's New York headquarters as the backdrop for her message, #LASTPRINTISSUE — the word print emblazoned in red ink. "The issue in your hand is the last edition of Newsweek in print," wrote Brown in an introduction entitled: "A NEW CHAPTER: Sometimes, change isn't just good, it's necessary." "The next (issue), in the first week of January, will be on your iPad or Kindle or phone. By late February, you will see the full evolution of the spanking-new, all-digital Newsweek Global, currently in development." The Washington Post sold Newsweek to California billionaire Sidney Harman for one dollar in 2010, ahead of a deal with Internet conglomerate IAC to merge the magazine with the news and opinion website The Daily Beast. Memorable Newsweek covers in recent years have included a December 2003 edition with a bedraggled, long-bearded Saddam Hussein pictured below the headline: "We got him." In 2011, a computer-generated image of the late Princess Diana alongside Kate Middleton, the photogenic young lady who was about to marry her son Prince William, caused quite a stir. In May, after Barack Obama came out in favour of same-sex marriage, he was adorned with a rainbow halo and the accompanying headline: "The First Gay President." The "#MuslimRage" cover in September, which sought to spark a conversation about anti-American violence sweeping the Muslim world, saw thousands take to Twitter to mock the premise with both real and imagined gripes. Announcing the demise of Newsweek's print magazine in October, Brown, also editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast, said the all-digital version would be targeted at today's "highly mobile, opinion-leading audience." She cited research showing that 39 per cent of Americans get their news online and said Newsweek had reached "a tipping point at which we can most efficiently and effectively reach our readers in all-digital format." — AFP/Relaxnews

Gaia’s irrepressible prophet Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:36 PM PST KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Floods in Madeira, Portugal. The "snowmageddon" in parts of Europe and the US. Hail in parts of Damansara and KL. The ash from that Icelandic volcano. And the earthquake bonanza of 2011, along with the Fukushima tsunami. The world appears to be going mad. "He Knew He Was Right: The Irrepressible Life of James Lovelock and Gaia" by John Gribbin and Mary Gribbin But it wasn't until Hurricane Sandy flooded New York that brought home the news that maybe, maybe, this whole global warming/climate change thing wasn't born out of some New Age-fuelled paranoia. Just when we thought we'd be okay after dodging the Mayapocalypse ... James Lovelock, author of The Vanishing Face of Gaia: A Final Warning (2009), seems to suggest that all this is natural, at least where climate change is concerned. One year earlier in a Daily Mail report headlined "We're all doomed!", he pictures a hot, chaotic world coping with climate-caused disasters: droughts, famine and floods, and that we might as well get used to it instead of trying to fix it, because "it is too late to repair the damage". Our living planet ... Arguably, not many people have heard of James Ephraim Lovelock, but they may have heard of NASA's search for life on Mars, and the fight against ozone-eating CFCs. Lovelock was the British scientist who invented the scientific instruments that would be instrumental in both. He is perhaps more famous for another invention: the Gaia theory. To most of us, Earth is just a ball of rock with a liquid centre and a thin layer of air. The Gaia theory depicts the Earth as a living, self-sustaining super-organism (this is as non-scientific as I can manage). The theory was formulated in the 1970s and developed with the help of a few others, particularly the microbiologist Dr Lynn Margulis. This theory suggests one way the Earth regulates its own temperature is with the help of ocean-dwelling phytoplankton. When the seas warm, the organisms breed and produce a gas which ultimately helps seed clouds and increases cloud cover, creating a sun shield of sorts that cools down the planet's surface. Proof that seems to support this was said to have been found, though conclusive evidence remains elusive, The concept of a living, sentient Earth wasn't the only strange idea he had. He loves nuclear energy — his answer to our CO² and energy problems — and rubbishes the idea that radioactive waste is bad. As a Brit and beneficiary of the British National Health Service (NHS) he also believed "there was always a nagging fear that in the States you could be financially ruined by a severe illness." ... and its spokesman James Lovelock's youth gave little indication of the man he would become. He skipped classes and didn't care about homework. He cleared "obstructions" to wherever part of the English countryside he wished to roam with home-made explosives. He went to study chemistry in Manchester because a girl he'd fancied was there. He was once accused of cheating in class because he gave all the correct answers, but it turned out that the university's standards were... a bit low. Lovelock argues that when lives are concerned one must be correct — a viewpoint shaped by his days at school and an accidental chemical explosion. He didn't just "know" he was right, he made sure he was. He Knew He Was Right: The Irrepressible Life of James Lovelock and Gaia, penned by John and Mary Gribbin is a celebration of his life, philosophies and Gaia theory and, perhaps, given the more positive reception to the latter these days, an "I told you so" to his detractors. Lovelock also received the Geological Society of London's highest award, the Wollaston Medal, in 2006 for his work on the Gaia theory. John Gribbin himself is an interesting character. The astrophysicist and science writer predicted — wrongly — that a huge earthquake caused by an alignment of the planets would destroy Los Angeles. His book, Get a Grip on Physics (2003), was spotted in Tiger Woods' wrecked SUV. Sadly, the way the biography is written isn't nearly as interesting as the authors, the subject or his ideas. The writing is dry and uninspiring and it's jam-packed with lots of information about Lovelock, his work and the history of the Gaia hypothesis. It was hard work, digging out all those gems about his life and any other relevant titbits. The material that over-explains the Gaia theory is deadweight to the average reader, but one suspects the average reader is not really who the authors are writing for. He may still be right John and Mary Gribbin may think Lovelock knew he was right about climate change, but do we? Until Climategate, most of us seemed to agree with Al Gore. Lovelock's gloomier predictions of mankind's fate takes into account the planet's extremely long, but finite lifespan (perhaps like Lovelock's own — the man's pushing 100); our Sun has five billion more years before it loses all its energy, and when that happens the Earth will die anyway, but not before the planet, he hopes, shapes us into better beings. "We are about to take an evolutionary step and my hope is that the species will emerge stronger," he said in that gloomy Daily Mail report. "It would be hubris to think humans as they now are God's chosen race." Early this year, however, Lovelock more or less conceded that maybe his projections about how our climate would change the world were a bit "alarmist", though his views on nuclear energy, wind power and sustainable development remain unchanged. Even if The Day After Tomorrow isn't happening any time soon, the things happening in some parts of the world of late pretty much shows just how screwed we are if the weather catches us off-guard. Just ask those who were flooded out by Hurricane Sandy in New York. He Knew He Was Right The Irrepressible Life of James Lovelock and Gaia John and Mary Gribbin Allen Lane (2009) 240 pages Non-fiction ISBN: 978-1-846-14016-7 Alan Wong is an editor and book reviewer.

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Pakatan: Kos RM50 juta bukan satu masalah, yang penting daftar pemilih bersih Posted: 26 Dec 2012 01:55 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR, 26 Dis – Cadangan bekas pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman supaya diadakan daftar pemilih setiap tiga tahun sekali menjelang pilihan raya umum (PRU) disambut baik oleh pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat (PR) dengan mengatakan kos RM 50 juta bukanlah satu masalah akan tetapi yang paling penting pilihan raya menjadi lebih berwibawa. Setiausaha Agung PKR, Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (gambar) berkata, cadangan Abdul Rashid itu diterima baik dan ia sememangnya merupakan tanggungjawab SPR. "Ada tiga tugas hakiki SPR mengikut Perlembagaan, selain daripada membuat persempadanan kawasan pilihan raya dan menjalankan pilihan raya, tugas hakiki SPR juga ialah menjalankan proses pendaftaran dan memastikan daftar pemilih bersih. "Oleh kerana itu adalah tugas hakikinya, kita bersikap terbuka terhadap apa-apa cadang yang boleh memastikan daftar pemilih itu bersih dan tidak pertikaikan, termasuklah cadangan yang diangkat Tan Sri (Abdul) Rashid memandangkan beliau mempunyai 27 tahun pengalaman di dalam SPR," kata Saifuddin apabila dihubungi The Malaysian Insider. Dalam soal mendaftarkan daftar pemilih, kata Saifuddin lagi, faktor kos itu tak seharusnya dijadikan halangan. "Saya rasa jika angka RM50 juta itu harga untuk membersihkan daftar pemilih, saya merasakan itu harga yang munasabah," kata Saifuddin lagi. Dalam laporan Sinar Harian Online hari ini, bekas pengerusi SPR itu dilaporkan mencadangkan agar daftar pemilih disediakan setiap tiga tahun sekali menjelang pilihan raya umum (PRU) bagi menghilangkan kerisauan sesetengah pihak yang menganggap daftar pemilih sebagai tidak bersih. "Jadi saya cadang begini. Lebih baik kita daftar tiga tahun selepas pilihan raya, kita daftar semula. Tapi kita perlukan RM50 juta," katanya. Menurut Abdul Rashid, jumlah RM50 juta bukan satu kadar yang besar bagi memastikan semua pihak berpuas hati terhadap perjalanan pilihan raya di Malaysia. "Kacang sahaja bagi negara ini RM50 juta setahun, kita cakap soal bilion-bilion. Macam bancian, kita buat cara itu. "Sebab itu saya kata, tiap-tiap tiga tahun selepas pilihan raya, supaya bilangan ini, orang yang tidak ada di situ, namanya ada tetapi tidak ada di situ, akan jadi minimum, paling kurang. "Kalau dia pindah pun, orang masih kenal dia. Masalah sekarang ini, dia pindah, orang tak kenal dia. Sebab dia pindah, alamat dalam kad pengenalan dia, alamat rumah sewa. Sudah bertukar tangan dekat 50 orang mana orang nak kenal. Jadi ini masalah," katanya. Sementara itu, Setiausaha Agung PAS, Datuk Mustafa Ali berkata perkara ini sudah lama dikemukakan PAS kepada SPR, dan ia harus dilaksanakan bagi memastikan pilihan raya itu bersih. "Perkara ini dah lama dikemukakan oleh kami kepada SPR, dari Rashid jadi pengerusi lagi. Pendaftaran pemilih harus dibersihkan. "Saya rasa bukan masalah duit, tetapi sesetengah pendaftaran pemilih ini dimasukkan tanpa ditapis pada masa yang lalu," katanya. Menurut Mustafa lagi, prosedur menguruskan daftar pemilih yang ada sekarang tidak diikuti seratus peratus oleh SPR. "Kita mahu pendaftaran yang bersih, masalah kos bukan menjadi isu. Kalau kerajaan boleh belanja berbillion-billion untuk projek, kenapa ini tidak boleh?" kata Mustafanya. Prosedur SPR menguruskan daftar pemilih juga dikritik Saifuddin. Saifuddin juga memberi contoh Bangladesh sebagai sebuah negara yang menangguhkan pilihan raya bagi bertujuan membersihkan daftar pemilih. "Seingat saya, ada satu negara yang menangguhkan pilihan raya untuk membersihkan pilihan raya, iaitu Bangladesh. Mereka mendapat kerjasama dari Kesatuan Eropah (EU) untuk membantu membersihkan daftar pemilih dan membangunkan satu daftar pemilih yang kredibel. "Bila saya baca artikel itu, pengundi di Bangladesh bila dia menyemak namanya dan mengundi, gambarnya tertera di skrin komputer dan barulah boleh mengundi. "Sudah tentu Malaysia lebih maju dari Bangladesh dalam banyak bidang, tetapi dalam pilihan raya, Bangladesh sanggup menangguhkan pilihan raya. Malaysia harus belajar dari pengalaman Bangladesh membersihkan daftar pemilih," kata Saifuddin lagi. Ahli Jawatankuasa Eksekutif Pusat (CEC) DAP, Anthony Loke mempersoalkan mengapa Abdul Rashid tidak melaksanakan cadangannya semasa masih lagi bersama SPR. "Kalau dia yang cakap, itu cuma cakap-cakap kosong sahaja. Sebab kita dah cakap perkara ini sudah sekian lama," katanya. PRU ke 13 perlu diadakan selewat-lewatnya selepas mandat Barisan Nasional (BN) tamat pada penghujung April 2013. Oktober lalu di parlimen, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz memberitahu parlimen SPR akan melaksanakan cadangan yang dibuat oleh Jawatankuasa Khas Parlimen (PSC) mengenai reformasi pilihan raya pada PRU akan datang. Dari 32 cadangan yang dibuat oleh PSC, hanya enam sahaja yang tidak akan dilaksanakan kerana melibatkan kos tambahan, kata menteri di jabatan perdana menteri dalam respon kepada Ahli Parlimen Tanjong, Chow Kon Yeow. "Setakat yang kita tahu, Dewan Rakyat telah meluluskan sepuluh tuntutan pada Disember 2011 dan 22 lagi pada April 2012. "SPR telah memberitahu kita bahawa kesemua cadangan sedang dan akan dilaksanakan. Daripada 32, hanya enam sahaja yang tidak dilaksanakan kerana mengikut undang-undang dan kos yang tinggi," kata Nazri lagi. Bagaimanapun, Nazri berkata itu tidak bermakna SPR tidak akan melaksanakan enam cadangan tersebut pada masa akan datang.

Kajian awal untuk sistem tram di George Town sudah disiapkan Posted: 26 Dec 2012 01:38 AM PST GEORGE TOWN, 26 Dis – Kajian awal untuk mengadakan sistem tram di George Town bagi mengurangkan kesesakan lalu lintas di tengah bandar itu sudah disiapkan. Sistem tram yang akan diuruskan secara bersepadu oleh Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang (MPPP), dirancang untuk menyambungkan Tanjung Bungah, Ayer Itam, Paya Terubong, Bayan Baru dan Bayan Lepas ke pusat bandaraya, kata timbalan pengarah bahagian kejuruteraan majlis perbandarannya, A Rajendran. Walaupun masih belum lagi dijalankan, beliau mengatakan kajian dilakukan terhadap sistem tram itu dapat membuat perubahan drastik terhadap pergerakan trafik dalam bandar. "Sistem tram akan mengambil sebahagian besar dari jalan-raya dan ini memaksa kita untuk mengehadkan kemasukan kenderaan ke dalam bandar," katanya di dalam sidang media hari ini. Pusat bandaranya di George Town, terutamanya di kawasan Komtar sering mengalami kesesakan lalu lintas yang teruk pada waktu puncak. Rajendran berkata sistem tram ini akan menggabungkan sistem pengangkutan awam oleh Rapid Penang dan bas antara bandar di pulau ini. "Kita juga mencadangkan peningkatan laluan bas dan meluaskan kawasan laluan," katanya lagi. Baru-baru ini, kerajaan negeri menyediakan satu perkhidmatan bas, Transit Kawasan Pusat (CAT), yang membawa penumpang dari Komtar ke kawasan bersejarah sejauh lapan kilometer. "Ada tiga bas di bawah sistem CAT dan kita mencadangkan untuk menambah dua lagi laluan zon bersejarah seperti Jalan Anson, Jalan Gurdwara dan Jalan Larut," katanya lagi. Baru-baru ini, majlis perbandaran mengubah laluan trafik di sekitar Komtar dan melebarkan jalanraya tersebut untuk mengurangkan kesesakan lalu lintas di kawasan tersebut. Antara perubahan yang dilakukan ialah menghapuskan lampu isyarat di sekitar jalan raya di Jalan CY Choy, Jalan Prangin, Jalan Ghaut dan Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong serta menukarkan Jalan CY Choy menjadi satu hala. Majlis perbandaran juga merancang untuk menambah harga meletak kenderaan di tepi jalan raya di pusat bandaraya pada masa hadapan. "Kami merancang untuk menambahkan harga kepada mereka yang meletak kenderaan melebihi sejam di tepi lot meletak kenderaan. "Ini memastikan kita tempat letak kenderaan sentiasa mencukupi di tengah bandar," katanya lagi. Harga meletak kenderaan yang dikenakan majlis perbandaran adalah sekitar 60 sen dan 80sen sejam. Rajendran berkata, kecuali perubahan trafik di Komtar, rancangan yang lain masih belum dilaksanakan lagi. "Kita mesti memastikan pelaksanaan projek itu berjalan lancar dan rancangan ini tidak membebankan rakyat sebelum melaksanakannya," katanya lagi.

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Jenaka Tok Guru beri DAP tanah Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:32 PM PST 26 DIS – Setelah Orang Melayu ada beberapa cerita jenaka seperti Luncai Terjun Dengan Labu-Labunya, Musang Berjanggut, Pak Pandir, Lebai Malang dan lain-lain, maka yang  terbaru ADUN UMNO di Perak keluar pula dengan karya jenaka Tok Guru Nik Aziz beri tanah beribu ekar kepada dua ADUN dan juga pemimpin DAP Perak. Tanah hutan itu dikatakan diberi bagi memungkinkan DAP bersetuju menjadikan Nizar Jamaluddin sebagai Menteri Besar Perak. Bagaimana, dan bila masa dini hari pilihanraya 9 Mac 2008 itu sempat Tok Guru Nik Aziz  dan mana-mana pembantunya sempat berhubung dengan pemimpin DAP Perak yang belum dikenaliny lagi? Agak ajaib juga Tok Guru dan pemimpin DAP berkenaan dapat mengenal pasti tanah yang luas sebagai tawar menawar. Dengan keputusan PRU yang demikian, dini hari itu DAP sempat menghubungi Ustaz Ahmad Awang, Pesusruhjaya PAS Perak masa itu untuk berjumpa di Ipoh bagi membincangkan pembentukan kerajaan  campuran. Sebelum mereka bersetuju untuk berjumpa Ustaz Ahmad tanya Pengerusi DAP yang menang DUN Sitiawan itu, siapa jadi Menteri Besar. Syarat berjumpa itu ialah calon Menteri Besar dulu. Setelah ada bayangan ia boleh menawarkan jawatan itu kepada PAS, barulah mereka berjumpa sebelum masuk fajar. Tok Guru itu pun tak kenal lagi Nizar. Tidak ramai orang PAS di luar Perak yang kenal Nizar masa itu. Saya yang berasal dari Perak pun hanya baru mengenalinya kerana dia bertanding di DUN Pasir Panjang tempat saya mengundi. Dan setelah lama menenai Tok Guru sejak belasan tahun sebelum menjadi Menteri Besar, saya tak nampak akan keupayaan beliau untuk menawarkan orang itu dan orang ini dengan apa-apa kemudahan yang ada  dalam negerinya. Dan kalau ada orang meminta itu  dan meminta ini, beliau tidak mudah menyetujuinya sebelum bertanyakan nasihat orang-orang yang rapat dengannya. Dan apabila saya ikut pula dasar DAP, saya tahu benar parti itu amat benci pada rasuah. Mereka jauh berbeza dengan saudagar-saudagar MCA. Semua tahu orang DAP itu bukanlah malaikat. Mereka pun ada nafsu juga. Jika ada orang-orang DAP yang mudah gelap mata dengan apa yang boleh dikaitkan dengan rasuah, maka itu pun satu jenaka juga. Kemungkinan, terjebak dengan rasuah itu ada, tetapi itulah yang dikatakan jenaka jika ia berlaku. Dan kita tahu disiplin DAP tentang orang-orangnya yang rasuah amat tinggi. Kit Siang tidak akan beri muka kepada orang-orangnya yang ada dosa itu. Jika dua ADUN DAP yang bersepupu itu ada skendal menerima tanah hutan dari Kelantan diketahui oleh DAP, mungkin DAP teragak-agak untuk bertindak semasa Perak dalam pentadbiran Pakatan Rakyat. Jika ia bertindak masa itu ada risiko kerajaan itu akan tumbang. Tetapi, setelah ada rampasan kuasa terhadap kerajaan itu, tiada apa yang DAP bimbangkan untuk mengenakan tindakan kepada dua ADUN bersepupu itu –satu ADUN Sitiawan dan satu lagi ADUN Pantai Remis. Dan kalau Tok Guru tadi pandai pula menyuap DAP dengan tanah yang orang terfikir tentang partinya PAS boleh buat begitu dan kedua orang tidak fikir beliau sendiri pandai berlakun begitu, jika betul bagai karya jenaka orang UMNO itu, itupun saja jenaka  tentang PAS dan tentang Tok Guru sentiasa menyebut takutkan dosa. Karya jenaka UMNO ini, kiranya P.Ramlee masih ada, boleh dijadikan filem jenaka seperti Bujang Lapuk atau Labu Labi atau  Nujum Pak Belalang. Saya teringat jenaka P.Ramlee seperti, "Pok pok pok, bujang lapuk, ada macis tiada rokok." * Ini adalah pandangan peribadi penulis.

The misery of Les Misérables Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:29 PM PST DEC 26 – I write this having just returned from watching the Tom Hooper-directed film version of Les Misérables. Oh, dear God in heaven. I wanted to slash my wrists during the first 10 minutes. I've never liked the musical version of Les Misérables. While the music is some of the most beautiful ever written for the modern stage, the lyrics are mostly hit-and-miss. But if you're a big fan of the musical, you will love the movie. It's very much the musical filmed. The film version is the result of Hooper's slavish devotion to the musical's original songbook. There is hardly any spoken dialogue; Hooper makes the actors sing every damn thing, making the singers sing "live" on set and recording their scenes as they sing. This is the first time I've watched a musical and wished the actors would stop singing. Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean forgets he's not on the West End and hams it up to the point he gets unbearable. I found myself relieved that Anne Hathaway's role is limited in the film as her supposedly "amazing'" rendition of the iconic "I Dreamed A Dream" is as melodramatic as opera while her voice is just barely passable. But she will probably win an Oscar despite her overwrought, "reach for your tissues" near-constant tortured expressions. I feel that director Tom Hooper needs a stern talking-to for his sadistic treatment of Russel Crowe as the antagonistic Inspector Javert. Crowe is no singer. It's obvious he labours through the many songs he's forced to sing when he could have just said, instead of sung, the words. You could see all the effort Crowe putting into his portrayal, which was let down by his inability to rise to the musical's punishing vocal demands. Fortunately, the  supporting younger cast were a joy. Samantha Barks impresses as the lovelorn Eponine, while Eddie Redmayne and Amanda Seyfried as young lovers Marius and Cosette manage a sincerity to their portrayals the major names like Jackman and Hathaway exchanged for overacted melodrama. The film was a missed opportunity as there were times where it flirted with greatness but instead descended into barely passable territory. The cinematography was amazing with some truly beautiful shots while the attention to detail in the costuming and setting was very noticeable. Now, if only as much care had been put into the screenplay. For me, the best bits were the scenes that evoked the difficult, chaotic time of upheaval in France during citizen uprising. Instead of properly evoking one of the most fascinating eras of France's history, Hooper instead fell into neverending exposition via sung lyrics. Les Misérables could have become a cinema classic but it looks like that it will, like the musical, either invoke extreme dislike or abject adoration. You will either love it or hate it. So if you can't bear the thought of hearing people sing every line, including their own names ("My name is Javert/You are Jean Valjean), in a film for two and half hours, stay away from Les Misérables. Unless you too want to end up writing about just how much you hate it at 4am in the morning. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

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