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Chye Seng Huat Hardware: Coffee anyone? Posted: 03 Mar 2013 04:14 PM PST By Kenny Mah March 04, 2013 The coffee bar logo. – Pix by CK Lim SINGAPORE, March 4 – The historical Jalan Besar neighbourhood is pretty quiet on Sundays. The rows of post-colonial shophouses have settled into a relative calm after a week of relentless industry. There are ringing chimes and the chanting of mantras by devotees at the Thekchen Choling Tibetan Buddhist temple at Beatty Lane. Soon the Sunday service will convene at the church opposite. A few doors away, an unassuming hardware store stands along Tyrwhitt Road, gleaming white with what appears to be a fresh coat of paint over its Art Deco façade. Peer through the square grilles of the windows and you might observe a rather different sort of hardware being put to use: an espresso machine. This dramatic contrast might befuddle casual visitors but Singaporean coffee aficionados can appreciate the paradox: old-time Chye Seng Huat Hardware is now the coolest bean in town. The main entrance (left); interior of the café (right).The original name of the disused hardware store (established in 1950) was actually Keat Seng Metals. Café founder Leon Foo (of specialty coffee purveyor Papa Palheta fame) came up with the new moniker after discussions with his landlord. Launched in August 2012, it has proved to be an auspicious one (Chye Seng Huat means "to flourish" in Hokkien) for though we arrive only a few minutes after opening, the café is already half-full. How to get inside though? The front entrance is closed up, and if you've tried waving at hipster coffee types you know the sort of response you're likely to get, much less through iron bars and glass windows. he famous 360° coffee bar.A little detective work reveals a garage door next to the main building, slightly ajar. Beyond this iron side gate are customers reading their Sunday papers and catching up with one another. Behind us, a trio of cyclists enter the sunny courtyard, park their bikes by the exposed wall, and saunter into the coffee bar in their spandex body suits. Something else to capture the customers' attention besides the news, I guess. Chye Seng Huat Hardware is divided into four major areas – the Coffee Bar (where coffee is made and served), the Roastery (where micro production methods result in unique roasting profiles for their beans), the Workshop (for barista training and classes) and the Annex (an experimental tasting bar for intimate coffee appreciation sessions). Cold brew coffee (left); bar stools (right).Design-wise, a generous use of metal, wood and even brass for certain fixtures lends an authentic air to the café, recalling its prior incarnation as a hardware store. Smack in the centre of the café is the island's first, well, island coffee bar. It's an impressive sight. Shaped like a teardrop, this 3600 bar is where all the action is. At one end, a barista looking dapper in his well-tailored shirt and starched brown apron pulls shot after shot of espresso and pours precisely foamed milk into immaculate latte art. Steady, sure, no sweat. Elsewhere another barista carefully measures out single origin beans for filter coffee lovers. Walnut chocolate brownie (left); the baristas hard at work (right).Besides the espresso and filter coffees, Chye Seng Huat Hardware is known for their excellent cold brews. The small dark glass bottles the chilled coffee comes in help to protect its volatile flavours from light damage. Good thing too, for the cold brew method extracts the best of the beans used; in this case, the bright citrus notes of the Ethiopian Sidamo shine through with a clean aftertaste. They even have coffee beer on tap for those who need an alcoholic kick to their morning (or evening) cuppa. Now everyone can drink coffee. (Wouldn't be a bad motto, yes?) The story of Chye Seng Huat Hardware (left); cup and receipt (right).Their nibbles aren't to be sniffed at either. Their signature brownie is moist and dense with chocolate and walnuts while the banana bread is perfectly spiced with a light crumble. We hear their freshly baked madeleines are to die for too. In between bites of cake and sips of coffee, we can't help but nose around; the café is too beautiful not to. There are scores of vintage records neatly stacked away; these aren't just for display as they have a functional gramophone. The songs you hear may well have been the same songs played back in the good old days when this café was still a hardware shop. There's nothing quite like the warm sound of vinyl. And nothing quite like a good cup of coffee. Fortunately for us, Chye Seng Huat Hardware has both in spades. Chye Seng Huat Hardware 50 Tyrwhitt Road, Singapore 207563, Tel: +65 6396 0609, Opening hours: 9am to 7pm (Tue –Thu); 9am to 10pm (Fri – Sun); closed Mondays, or visit the website. * Kenny likes software too. Read more café stories at lifeforbeginners.com.

An app to share your dining history with Posted: 03 Mar 2013 03:28 PM PST March 04, 2013 The Places I've Eaten app allows users to book reservations. – AFP picLONDON, March 4 – Want to know what your friends are eating and where they're dining? A restaurant reservation site has launched a Facebook app that allows users to rate the places they've been and share their dining experience with friends. Developed by international reservation site OpenTable, the Places I've Eaten app taps into the social networking platform to promote the sharing of information and allows users to book reservations. Users can search for restaurants based on ratings, needs (kid-friendly environment), desires (waterfront view) and the places where friends have dined. The new app could be described as an extension of FoodSpotting which OpenTable acquired earlier this year. Meanwhile, another popular food-discovery app is Forkly, which makes recommendations on the best places for specific dishes. For instance, if you're in the mood for a good burger, the app will make recommendations based on your location and ratings from friends and fellow users. For travelers looking for the best local eats, TripAdvisor's Local Picks ranks restaurants worldwide based on the opinions of local residents. Their 'Foodies' newsfeed also shows users which restaurants their Facebook friends have tried. The app covers 850,000 restaurants around the world. – AFP-Relaxnews

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Steely Spurs turn screw on faltering Arsenal Posted: 03 Mar 2013 03:03 PM PST March 04, 2013 Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale scores a goal past Arsenal's Wojciech Szezesny. — Reuters pic LONDON, March 4 — Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal 2-1 in a typically frantic North London derby at White Hart Lane yesterday to open up a seven-point gap on their arch-rivals and take a big step towards returning to the Champions League next season. Both Spurs goals came in a two-minute burst shortly before halftime with man-of-the-moment Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon scoring before Arsenal hit back with a header from Per Mertesacker just after the interval. But Arsenal failed to break down the Spurs defence again and they ended the day in fifth place on 47 points with their long unbroken run in the Champions League, dating back to 1998, under serious threat. They have never finished below Spurs since Arsene Wenger became manager in 1996. Although unsourced reports in Sunday papers said Arsenal were going to be the subject of a $1.5 billion takeover bid from Arab investors, failure to reach the Champions League would probably devalue that figure considerably. Spurs, after years in Arsenal's shadow, seem to be the club on the move with victory bringing them to within two points of second-placed Manchester City who meet Aston Villa today. Tottenham Hotspur's Benoit Assou-Ekotto tackles Arsenal's Olivier Giroud. — Reuters picAfter missing out on Europe's elite competition last season, there is real belief at White Hart Lane they can clinch a place this time round after stretching their unbeaten league run to 12 matches and moving above Chelsea with 54 points from 28 games. "It was a very, very important win for us," Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas told reporters. "There are still 10 matches to go and we have to keep fighting hard to get back into the Champions League, but we are motivated and confident, while Arsenal are at a low." Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was puzzled by his team's loss. "When we went 2-0 down we should have been 2-0 up," he said. "It was a strange game to lose and it is difficult to understand how we lost it. We made mistakes at the back but they never dominated us and we played very well. Now we have a massive challenge to finish in the top four." All Arsenal Arsenal dominated the first 25 minutes, closing Spurs down quickly and looking far more impressive than they had done in many recent matches. Much of the pre-game hype had centred on Tottenham midfielder Bale, who had been in stunning form with eight goals in his previous six matches, and he continued his prolific form. Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas Boas (left) and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger react during the match. — Reuters picThe Welshman fired Spurs ahead with his first real chance, narrowly staying onside to collect a through ball from Gylfi Sigurdsson and shoot into the far corner of Wojciech Szczesny's net. Arsenal's defence was quickly breached again when Scott Parker picked out Lennon who beat the offside trap and waltzed round Szczesny to double the lead. Arsenal won last season's derby at the Emirates 5-2 after trailing 2-0 and they also trailed 1-0 there this season before beating Spurs 5-2 again and they came back into this match when Mertesacker headed home at the near post from a Theo Walcott free kick. But Arsenal's hopes of another fightback were thwarted by the superb Spurs defence in which Jan Vertonghen was outstanding alongside captain Michael Dawson. "It was massive win today," Dawson said. "It probably wasn't our best performance of the season, we didn't keep the ball like we can, but we showed some real determination and grit out there and got the three points we deserved. "We want to be back in the Champions League and that showed in our celebrations afterwards." — Reuters

Gulf investors reported may bid RM7b for Arsenal Posted: 03 Mar 2013 03:35 AM PST March 03, 2013 The chase for Arsenal, seen at its home ground Emirates Stadium in London, adds to a string of investments in European football teams by Middle Eastern interests. — Reuters file picDUBAI, March 3 — A Middle Eastern consortium is poised to bid £1.5 billion (RM7 billion) for full ownership of Britain's Arsenal Football Club in the biggest-ever takeover of a football team, The Telegraph newspaper reported. The bid is likely to be mounted in the next few weeks, seeking to buy out the current majority owner, US sports investor Stan Kroenke, the British newspaper said. The Middle Eastern investors do not want to reveal their identities yet but will be backed by funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the newspaper reported late yesterday without naming its sources. The consortium would make available transfer funds "to transform the club into a major force in European and world football", the newspaper quoted an unnamed source familiar with the plan as saying. "The bid team regard Arsenal as one of the great clubs of European football but also one that is no longer punching its weight and is in danger of falling behind," it said. The newspaper added that the consortium would pledge to reduce ticket prices at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London, and would aim to recreate there some of the atmosphere of Highbury, Arsenal's historic former stadium. The takeover would raise questions over the future of Arsenal's manager, Arsene Wenger, although the consortium values his football knowledge and wants him to remain at the club, The Telegraph said. An acquisition would add to a string of investments in European football teams by Middle Eastern interests over the past several years. Manchester City, the current English Premier League champions, were bought by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family in 2008, while Kuwait's al-Hasawi family bought twice European Cup winners Nottingham Forest in July last year. France's Paris St Germain and Spain's Malaga are owned by Qatari investors. — Reuters

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US teen designs compact nuclear reactor Posted: 02 Mar 2013 09:35 PM PST March 03, 2013 Wilson gained fame four years ago after designing a fusion reactor he planned to build in the garage of his family's home.LOS ANGELES, March 3 — Eighteen-year-old Taylor Wilson has designed a compact nuclear reactor that could one day burn waste from old atomic weapons to power anything from homes and factories to space colonies. The American teen, who gained fame four years ago after designing a fusion reactor he planned to build in the garage of his family's home, shared his latest endeavour at a TED Conference in southern California on Thursday. "It's about bringing something old, fission, into the 21st Century," Wilson said. "I think this has huge potential to change the world." He has designed a small reactor capable of generating 50-100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power as many as 100,000 homes. The reactor can be made assembly-line style and powered by molten radioactive material from nuclear weapons, Wilson said. The relatively small, modular reactor can be shipped sealed with enough fuel to last for 30 years. "You can plop them down anywhere in the world and they work, buried under the ground for security reasons," he said, while detailing his design at TED. "In the Cold War we built up this huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and we don't need them anymore," Wilson said. "It would be great if we could eat them up, and this reactor loves this stuff." His reactors are designed to spin turbines using gas instead of steam, meaning they operate at temperatures lower than those of typical nuclear reactors and don't spew anything if there is a breach. The fuel is in the form of molten salt, and the reactors don't need to be pressurised, according to the teenager. "In the event of an accident, you can just drain the core into a tank under the reactor with neutron absorbers and the reaction stops," Wilson said. "There is no inclination for the fission products to leave this reactor," he said. "In an accident, the reactor may be toast, which is sorry for the power company, but there is no problem." Wilson, who graduated grade school in May, said he is putting off university to focus on a company he created to make Modular Fission Reactors. He sees his competition as nations, particularly China, and the roadblocks ahead as political instead of technical. Wilson planned to have a prototype ready in two years and a product to market in five years. "Not only does it combat climate change, it can bring power to the developing world," Wilson said with teenage optimism. "Imagine having a compact reactor in a rocket designed by those planning to habitat other planets. Not only would you have power for propulsion, but power once you get there." — AFP/Relaxnews

Scientists link two rats’ brains, a continent apart Posted: 02 Mar 2013 03:56 PM PST March 03, 2013 RIO DE JANEIRO, March 3 — Creating a "superbrain" of connected minds, scientists on Thursday said they had enabled a rat to help a fellow rodent while the animals were a continent apart but connected through brain electrodes. With electrodes imbedded in its cortex, a rat in a research institute in Natal, Brazil sent signals via the Internet to a counterpart at a university lab in Durham, North Carolina, helping the second animal to get a reward. The exploit opens up the prospect of linking brains among animals to create an "organic computer," said Brazilian neurobiologist Miguel Nicolelis. It also helps the quest to empower patients stricken with paralysis or locked-in syndrome, he said. "We established a functional linkage between two brains. We created a superbrain that comprises two brains," Nicolelis said in a phone interview with AFP. Published in the journal Scientific Reports, Nicolelis' team gave basic training to thirsty rats, who had to recognise lights and operate a lever to get a reward of water. They then implanted ultra-fine electrodes in the rats' brains, which were linked by a slender overhead cable to a computer. In a glass tank in Natal, the first rat was the "encoder," its brain sending out a stream of electrical pulses as it figured out the tricks for getting the reward. The pulses were sent in real time into the cortex of the second rat, or "decoder," rat, which was facing identical apparatus in a tank in North Carolina. With these prompts from its chum, the decoder rat swiftly found the reward in turn. "The pair of animals collaborated to solve a task together," said Nicolelis. What the second rat received were not thoughts, nor were they images, Nicolelis said. When the encoder rat achieved various tasks, the peaks in his brain signals were transcribed into a telltale pattern of electronic signals that were received by the decoder rat. Once the rat recognised the usefulness of these patterns, they became incorporated into its visual and tactile processing. "The second rat learns to recognise a pattern, a statistical pattern, that describes a decision taken by the first rat. He's creating an association of that pattern with a decision," said Nicolelis. "He may be feeling a little tactile stimulus, but it's something that we don't know how to describe because we cannot question the subject." The linkage "suggests we could create a brain net, formed of joined-up brains, all interacting," the scientist said, hastening to stress that such experiments would only be conducted on lab animals, not humans. "If you connect several animal brains, rat brains or primate brains, you probably could be creating an organic computer that is a non-Turing machine, a machine that doesn't work according to the Turing design of all the digital computers that we know. It would be heuristic, it wouldn't use an algorithm, and it would uses probabilistic decision-making based on organic hardware." Still unclear is how the decoder animal incorporates the encoder's signals into its mental space, a phenomenon called cortical plasticity. "We basically show that the decoder animal can incorporate another body as an extension of the map that the animal has in it's own brain," said Nicolelis, adding, though: "We don't know how this is done." Nicolelis carries out research at Duke University in Durham and at the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute for Neuroscience of Natal, or ELS-IINN. A decade ago, he leapt to prominence for pioneering work in having lab monkeys move a robotic arm through brain impulses. The latest work should help this, he said: "We are learning ways to interact with and send messages to the mammalian brain that will be fundamental for our goals of medical rehabilitation." His next goal is to have a paraplegic patient give the official kickoff to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, using a brain-machine interface to activate an artificial limb. — AFP/Relaxnews

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Jimi Hendrix estate rolls out ‘People, Hell and Angels’ studio set Posted: 03 Mar 2013 07:28 AM PST March 03, 2013 Still mesmerising after four decades: A tattoo artist works to create an image of Hendrix on the thigh of a man during the "Expo Tatuaje" international, a tattoo expo, in Monterrey March 2, 2013. — Reuters picLOS ANGELES, March 3 — If there were any doubts about the lingering force of fabled rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix more than four decades after his death, his latest single should put them to rest. The single "Somewhere" went to No.1 on the Billboard Hot Singles sales in February. That bodes well for the latest posthumous album plucked from the Hendrix musical vaults, which producers say has stood up well to the test of time. "People, Hell and Angels", to be released on CD this Tuesday, is billed as a collection of 12 previously unreleased studio performances by Hendrix, although some of the songs have emerged in other versions since his death at age 27 in 1970 from an accidental drug overdose. The album arrives with the simultaneous release of newly struck mono vinyl editions of early Hendrix classic albums "Are You Experienced" and "Axis: Bold As Love". The tracks on "People, Hell and Angels" were planned as a follow-up to the influential guitarist's chart-topping 1968 album "Electric Ladyland". "After the huge success of the (Jimi Hendrix) Experience and those first albums, he wanted to branch out more, and the blues sound on this is just different from the others," said Janie Hendrix, Jimi's step-sister and president and CEO of Experience Hendrix, the company founded by the musician's father to oversee the star's estate. "This new album is very important for all his fans as it really showcases his creativity and a different side to him," she told Reuters. Feeling constrained by the limitations of the Jimi Hendrix Experience trio (which included drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist Noel Redding), the guitarist had already started working with an eclectic group of musicians. They included the Buffalo Springfield's Stephen Stills, drummer Buddy Miles, saxophonist Lonnie Youngblood and bassist Billy Cox, with whom Hendrix had served in the US military. The resulting sessions, culled from 1968 and 1969, form the basis of "People, Hell and Angels", co-produced by Janie Hendrix, original engineer and mixer Eddie Kramer and long-time Hendrix historian John McDermott. Creatively free "What we wanted to do with this new album is provide what we all felt are really compelling examples of Jimi's artistry and also his often overlooked role as a producer," said McDermott, a long-time collaborator with Experience Hendrix on various Hendrix projects. "He saw right away that guys like Buddy Miles and Billy Cox, with whom he later formed Band of Gypsys, brought a new approach and sound to his songs and music. And Jimi was always very free creatively. He wasn't afraid to serve the song," McDermott told Reuters. McDermott cites "Electric Ladyland", which featured such diverse players as Stevie Winwood, Dave Mason and Chris Wood. "Working in the studio was a totally different palette for him, compared with playing live," he said. "He could experiment with extra percussion, an additional guitar, organ — whatever he felt the track needed." And while those tracks, which include such titles as "Earth Blues", "Baby Let Me Move You" and "Izabella", are now 45 years old, the audio quality is superb, because nothing beats analogue tape for enduring sound quality. "Jimi's masters were recorded before the era of mass-production that caused the archival nightmares of the Seventies, for example, where tapes lose their glue backing, (so) we've never faced that problem with the Jimi Hendrix library. His whole tape archive is in very good shape," McDermott said. The new album is the latest in a slew of albums, films, tribute tours and books following Hendrix's death in London, which far outnumber the three studio albums he released in his four-year career at the top. "He's a timeless artist and the technology's finally caught up to what he was trying to do musically," Janie Hendrix said. "People are still hungry for real music and good songs, and Jimi was a great songwriter and one of the greatest guitarists of all time," she said. Every new generation regarded Hendrix as a touchstone, said McDermott. "If you want to understand the role of rock guitar and listen to real virtuosity, then Jimi's the man. "People react to the originals, and that's what he was, a true visionary whose music doesn't sound dated at all nearly half a century later." — Reuters

David Lynch to appear in his daughter’s film Posted: 02 Mar 2013 07:08 PM PST [unable to retrieve full-text content]LOS ANGELES, March 3 – According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tim Roth, Paz Vega and Vincent D’Onofrio have been cast by director Jennifer Chambers Lynch for her latest indie film. Shooting will start this summer on “A Fall From Grace” by Jennifer Lynch, who already has four feature films under her belt. For her latest directing job, her father, ...

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Penduduk pukul penceroboh bersenjata M16 hingga mati di Semporna Posted: 03 Mar 2013 02:03 AM PST March 03, 2013 SEMPORNA, 3 Mac — Puluhan penduduk bertindak memukul sehingga mati lelaki bersenjata M16, yang dipercayai terlibat dalam serangan hendap yang mengorbankan lima anggota polis, di Kampung Sri Jaya, Siminul, Semporna, malam tadi. Bagaimanapun sehingga kini polis belum memberi pengesahan tentang identiti lelaki itu. Dalam insiden 7 pagi hari ini, seorang lelaki berbadan besar, berpakaian serba hitam, memegang senjata M16 dan berumur dalam lingkungan 50-an turun daripada sebuah bukit dan melepaskan beberapa das tembakan ke arah sebuah surau di Kampung Senallang Lama, Semporna, di sini. Seorang penduduk, Abdul Hani Samaullah, 44, berkata selepas melepaskan tembakan lelaki itu turut menjerit di hening pagi bahawa "saya yang menembak polis malam tadi". "Lelaki itu kemudian membuka setiap pintu rumah penduduk dan mengarahkan mereka berkumpul di satu kawasan lapang," katanya yang turut berkumpul bersama penduduk di dalam keadaan ketakutan. Abdul Hani berkata penduduk menyerang lelaki terbabit apabila dia bertinggung dan memasang api rokok serta meletakkan senjatanya. Beliau berkata lelaki itu dipukul hingga mati dan mayatnya diletakkan dekat dengan sebuah pokok di kampung itu. Wartawan Bernama yang dalam perjalanan membuat liputan majlis perasmian jambatan baru oleh Menteri Kemajuan Pembangunan Luar Bandar dan Wilayah Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal di Kampung Nihak Nihak, pada 8.30 pagi iaitu 30 kilometer daripada Kampung Senallang Lama, sempat melihat mayat lelaki itu dan mendapati kepala lelaki itu berlumuran darah. Kelihatan penduduk mengemas beg pakaian mereka dan mengosongkan rumah mereka dengan membawa anggota keluarga, termasuk kanak-kanak dan wanita, untuk melarikan diri ke kawasan kampung lain. Kebanyakan penduduk adalah petani dan pekebun ladang kelapa sawit. Cubaan Bernama untuk menghubungi Ketua Polis Daerah Semporna DSP Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah untuk mendapatkan maklumat lanjut gagal. — Bernama

Empat rakyat Malaysia ditawan, dakwa tentera Sulu Posted: 03 Mar 2013 01:20 AM PST TERKINI @ 07:00:41 PM 03-03-2013 March 03, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Mac — Empat pegawai Malaysia didakwa telah tawan oleh Militan Muslim Filipina yang menuntut Sabah, lapor stesen radio Filipina hari ini. Sejam sebelum itu, pihak berkuasa Malaysia mengatakan mereka telah menawan tiga penceroboh militan Filipina itu diikuti dengan pertempuran di tiga lokasi di negeri Borneo itu yang menyebabkan kematian lima anggota polis dan dua suspek militan. Militan yang mendakwa mereka sebagai Tentera Kesultanan Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, berkata kepada pemberita di Bandar Taguig, lapor syesen radio Filipina dzBB Divine Caraecle. Jamalul dipetik sebagai berkata dia tidak mengarahkan serangan terhadap pihak berkuasa Malaysia dan menegaskan pengikutnya juga diarahkan untuk menghormati hak rakyat Malaysia yang ditawan itu. Sementara itu Ketua Polis Negara Tan Sri Ismail Omar (gambar) sebelum ini dilaporkan berkata berlaku tiga insiden di tiga lokasi berlainan iaitu penahanan tiga anggota penceroboh yang cuba keluar dari kawasan kepungan pasukan keselamatan di Kampung Tanduo, lima anggota polis mati ditembak di Kampung Seri Jaya Simunul di Semporna dan laporan pencerobohan 10 lelaki di Kampung Lumalong dan Kampung Dasar Lama di Kunak. "Saya juga telah memanggil Panglima Angkatan Tentera Jen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin untuk mengukuhkan kedudukan dengan mengambil kira apa yang berlaku di tiga lokasi itu," katanya pada sidang akhbar di Residental Felda Sahabat kira-kira 130 kilometer dari sini. "Mereka juga dalam keadaan bersedia untuk tindakan selanjutnya." Ismail turut meminta orang ramai agar jangan mempercayai khabar angin dan berita yang tidak disahkan oleh polis tentang apa yang berlaku di negeri ini. Beliau berkata orang ramai tidak perlu membuat andaian melainkan disahkan pihak berkuasa terutama jika berdasarkan laporan di media sosial dan komunikasi lain. Ismail sekali lagi menegaskan bahawa sehingga hari ini polis tidak pernah mengeluarkan perintah berkurung kepada penduduk di negeri ini. Zulkifeli yang turut hadir dalam sidang media itu berkata bagi meningkatkan keyakinan masyarakat terhadap tahap keselamatan mereka, dua lagi batalion tambahan tentera dihantar hari ini dan ditempatkan di beberapa kawasan di kawasan pantai timur negeri itu.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Stop living in the past, your majesty Posted: 02 Mar 2013 05:50 PM PST March 03, 2013 A geology graduate turned writer, Khairie Hisyam Aliman enjoys stating the obvious... occasionally in writing. He is still figuring out how to write a proper bio of himself. MARCH 3 — Blood has been spilled in Lahad Datu. Sadly Malaysian blood has too. The Lahad Datu standoff has been going on for weeks. Since I first heard of the news, I've been wondering about one thing above everything else: What was Sultan Jamalul Kiram thinking? Was he trying to take Sabah by force? With reportedly less than 200 men and only a fraction of them armed with firearms, surely he's not that delusional — unless he secretly snuck in Batman and at least half The Avengers' team into Tanduo with his men. Was he trying to hold us at ransom with the lives of his own men? I find it hard to stomach such cynicism — he can't be 100 per cent sure that we would not eventually expel them with deadly force once our patience runs out. Was he just nuts? Maybe. Whatever his disagreements with Malaysia over Sabah are, they should go through proper diplomatic channels. The days of armed invasion in lieu of negotiations are long gone, unless of course your army boast the best equipment and weaponry in the world with the manpower to boot (like a certain superpower nation) as opposed to a handful of 'soldiers' mostly armed with keris and barong. And even then the world frowns on military invasions, unfortunately. Especially since no one of note recognises the Sulu Sultanate as a sovereign entity anyway. Occupying the Tanduo village does not aid his cause in any good way. All it does is antagonise both the Malaysian and Filipino governments who now have to deal with his 'royal army'.  Additionally, it also antagonises observers, and most importantly Sabahans, by causing this mess in the first place — now two good Malaysians are dead with more injured due to what he asked his 'army' to do, and what impression does that leave on the people who are supposed to be his 'subjects'? Overall, it's a lose-lose situation for him. His men are starving, outnumbered and surrounded by superior forces, and he has no leverage except the fact that both governments care enough about the men to keep trying to avoid bloodshed in resolving this issue. Yesterday, after we heard of the encounter that lead to casualties on both sides, Jamalul Kiram's spokesman Abraham Idjirani was quoted as saying: "The Sultanate of Sulu in full council and family decided to put into the hands of Allah the date of our brothers." Yet, in the Quran we found: "Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (Ar-Ra'd, 13:11). It is in Jamalul Kiram's power to avoid further bloodshed — by ordering his men to quit Tanduo village peacefully. If he does this, he can save his 'brothers' from further unnecessary harm. Saying that he leaves everything to Allah while he can actively do something about it (but choosing not to) is a cowardly cop-out. These men are so loyal to him that they risk their lives for him. Does he hold so little value for their lives that he would sacrifice them on principle? In 1963, the Cobbold Commission found that Sabahans were generally in favour of joining with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia. Sabah has not looked back in the decades that followed. While I'm no Sabahan, your majesty, it seems to me that Sabah has gotten over you and moved on long ago. So should you. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Rod Stewart, Al Stewart dan penyanyi kita Posted: 02 Mar 2013 04:27 PM PST March 03, 2013 Meor Yusof Aziddin adalah Malaysian folk singer/songwritter yang telah menghasilkan 10 album indipenden sejak tahun 2000 sehingga 2011. Juga penulis untuk buku tentang kehidupan, "Sembang Tepi Jalan" dan "Syurga Yang Hilang." Memblog di www.pestajiwa.net. Berkerjaya sebagai "professional busker" di KL Sentral di bawah pengurusan KTMB sejak tahun 2010 sehingga ke hari ini. 3 MAC — Saya mula mendengar lagu-lagu Rod Stewart pada tahun 1978 lagi. "Maggie May", "I Was Only Joking", "I Don't Want to Talk About it", "Sailing" antara lagu yang selalu saya nyanyikan sewaktu mula belajar bermain gitar pada 1982 dulu. Yang menarik tentang Rod Stewart adalah suaranya yang serak-serak basah, bernada tinggi dan tersendiri. Sepanjang bergelar penghibur, Rod Stewart atau nama sebenarnya Roderick David Stewart sudah menghasilkan 26 studio album sejak album solo pertamanya yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1969 (An Old Raincoat Wont Ever Let You Down) selepas meninggalkan Jeff Beck Group dan Faces pada tahun sebelumnya. Sehingga ke hari ini beliau masih gagah di atas pentas dan bergelar "Legenda". Menarik tentang Rod Stewart, selain punya suara yang bagus dan berkualiti, beliau juga seorang singer-songwriter yang berbakat. "Maggie May", "You're in my Heart", "I Was only Joking", "Hot Legs" antaranya adalah lagu ciptaannya sendiri. Dan kebanyakan lagu yang diciptanya meletup di seluruh dunia. Tidak kira samada beliau yang menulis lirik dan lagu komposer lain yang menciptanya, yang penting ada tertera namanya sebagai singer-songwriter, seperti Lennon-McCartney atau Elton John-Bernie Taupin. Itu yang kurang dimiliki oleh penyanyi-penyanyi pop kita. Penyanyi terkenal kita seperti Saleem, Jamal atau penyanyi-penyanyi lain hanya pandai melalak dan bergantung pada lagu-lagu dari para komposer. Hasilnya komposer seperti M.Nasir dan Saari Amri yang buat untung dengan duit hasil royalti cipta lagu, manakala penyanyi yang pernah menjadi anak didik mereka ada yang tenggelam, ada yang timbul... Dan yang paling malang adalah kebanyakan nasib yang menimpa band-band rock cintan yang muncul di zaman kegemilangan muzik rock pada awal tahun 90an dulu. Di mana mereka kini? Yang boleh survive mungkin hanya penyanyi mereka saja. Tak laku jadi penyanyi boleh jadi pelakon. Yang lain seperti pemain dram, gitar, bass ? Ada yang jual nasi lemak, ada yang kerja kilang, ada yang balik kampung . Menyedihkan tapi itulah kenyataannya. Sebagai contoh, kalaulah band-band yang bagus seperti Bloodshed, Wing, Search atau Left-Handed mencipta kesemua lagu dan lirik mereka sendiri untuk setiap album mereka yang diterbitkan di era kegemilangan mereka sekurang-kurangnya, sudah tentu mereka akan menerima royalti sehingga ke hari ini. Jika mahu meminta khidmat para komposer yang terkenal itu boleh, cuma had kan 1 atau 2 lagu saja. Tapi itulah, kebanyakan mereka tidaklah bijak sangat dalam merencanakan perjalanan muzik mereka untuk satu jangka masa yang panjang. Al Stewart? Saya percaya tidak ramai pendengar muzik yang mengenalinya walau bagi saya beliau jauh lebih hebat dari Rod Stewart. Lagu hitnya itulah "Year of the Cat" yang terdapat dalam judul album sama yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1976. Penerbitnya pula Alon Parsons yang hebat sebagai sound engineer juga terkenal melalui kumpulan muziknya, Alan Parsons Project. Alan Parsons sangat dikenali melalui sentuhannya yang terlibat sebagai Engineer dalam album Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon yang diterbitkan oleh Floyd sendiri pada tahun 1973. Juga yang paling penting beliau terlibat sebagai Sound Engineer untuk album Beatles, Abbey Road (1969) dan Beatles, Let it Be (1970). Untuk 3 album itu saja sudah cukup untuk kita memartabatkan Alan Parsons sebagai antara Penerbit dan Engineer yang ulung sepanjang abad  Saya mendengar muzik Al Stewart pada tahun 1990 melalui album kompilasi yang judul albumnya Best of Al Stewart — Songs from the Radio (1985). Bayangkan Al Stewart sudah lahir dengan album pertamanya Bed Sitter Images yang berkualiti pada tahun 1967, tahun saya dilahirkan. Menarik tentang Rod Stewart dan Al Stewart, selain di hujung mereka punya nama yang sama, mereka juga lahir di tahun yang sama. Rod Stewart lahir pada 10hb Januari 1945 di North London, England manakala Al Stewart pula lahir di Glasgow, Scotland pada 5hb September 1945. Ke dua mereka sudah menjangkau usia 68 tahun sehingga hari ini, masih hidup dan aktif dengan karier masing-masing. Beza antara mereka pula, tema kebanyakan lagu Rod Stewart tentang cinta budak sekolah dengan mesej yang ringan seperti lagunya "Maggie May" dan "Baby Jane" manakala Al Stewart pula kebanyakan lagu-lagunya lari dari tema cinta para remaja. Pun ada juga lagu-lagu Rod Stewart yang bercerita tentang tema yang serius seperti kisah perang dan soldadu yang malang seperti yang terdapat dalam lagu popularnya, "Sailing". Itu kita kata beliau pun ada fikir tentang lagu-lagu yang bermutu juga walau susunan ayat-ayatnya tidaklah sebijak Al Stewart. Saya percaya kita akan mendapat banyak pengetahuan dengan lagu-lagu ciptaan dan lirik Al Stewart seperti lagu "On the Border", "Road to Moscow", "Almost Lucy", "Year of the Cat", "Palace of Versailles" antaranya, bahkan banyak sangat lagunya yang bagus-bagus dan berkualiti. Kebanyakan album-album Al Stewart berkonsep. Liriknya berkisar tentang kehidupan, epik, sejarah, kemanusiaan dan sejagat. Sepanjang bergelar Singer-songwiter Al Setwart sudah menghasilkan 16 album studio dari tahun 1967 hingga 2008. Yang menariknya sangat kurang lagu-lagu beliau yang bertemakan cinta pra-matang para remaja. Harga yang perlu beliau bayar untuk menjadi singer-songwriter yang punya prinsip adalah beliau tidaklah se aura atau se popular Rod Stewart. Tempoh lakunya pun antara tahun 1975 sehingga 1980. Album-albumnya yang mendapat sambutan Modern Times (1975), Year of the Cat (1976), Time Passages (1978) dan 24 Carrots (1980). Antara kelebihan Al Stewart adalah cara penciptaan lagu-lagunya. Pertukaran kord dan gubahan untuk album-album nya sangat menarik. Cara beliau menyanyikan lagu-lagunya juga unik dan original. Gabungannya dengan Peter White (gitaris dan song-writer) dalam beberapa album sangat berkesan. Apa pun seperti biasa bila kita kembali kepada kenyataan, memang Rod Stewart punya karisma sebagai seorang penghibur. Dek kerana imej dan auranya yang hebat, sehingga ke hari ini beliau dan lagu-lagunya masih diterima oleh para peminat di seluruh dunia. Al Stewart? Sehingga ke hari ini saya tidak pernah jemu mendengar lagu-lagunya.  Rod Stewart pula saya menyanyi lagu-lagunya hanya untuk cari makan, tidak lebih dari itu dan jika beliau berkunjung ke Malaysia, saya tidak akan menonton konsertnya walau diberikan tiket percuma, kalau Al Stewart, saya akan turun. * Ini pandangan peribadi penulis.

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