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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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Recreate the winning cocktail from the world’s best bartender Posted: 25 Dec 2013 04:54 PM PST December 26, 2013 Golden Basque Punch. – AFP/Relaxnews, December 26, 2013.When the man named the best bartender in the world mixes drinks for the holidays, you can bet they go beyond vodka tonics. With holiday parties filling up itineraries and homes around the world, Spaniard David Rios of The Jigger Cocktail & Disco Bar in Bilbao offers a few cocktail recipes to set the festive tone and whet guests' appetites. This past summer, Rios rose above 43 finalists from around the world to be crowned the World Class Bartender of the Year 2013. Here's the cocktail recipe that tipped Rios above his rivals at the Diageo-sponsored competition. Gold Basque Punch 60ml Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve Scotch Whisky 30ml Amer Picon bitter aperitif 30ml pineapple juice 10ml grenadine 30ml soda   Glass: wine glass Garnish: orange twist Method: Stir ingredients over a large block of ice and serve in a chilled wine glass. – AFP/Relaxnews, December 26, 2013.

Chocolate sculptures showcase pastry artist’s crafty side Posted: 24 Dec 2013 07:04 PM PST December 25, 2013 Gonzalo Jimenez poses at his chocolate workspace at the Grand Hyatt in New York. - Reuters pic, December 25, 2013.As executive pastry chef at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York, Gonzalo Jiménez creates all kinds of desserts but he has a passion for chocolate and uses it to create intricate sculptures of robots, steam pumps and other objects. "I was supposed to go to architecture school," said Jiménez, also known as Chef Gonzo, whose whimsical creations often reflect industrial themes. "I enrolled and everything but when I was a teenager, I left home and started cooking in a restaurant." Jimenez, who makes a line of hand-made chocolates for the Grand Hyatt, studied culinary arts and molecular gastronomy and earned a degree in pastry arts at the IAG (Instituto Argentino de Gastronomía) in Buenos Aires, honing his skills at luxury hotels in Argentina, Colorado and New Orleans. The 29-year-old spoke to Reuters about learning how to temper chocolate from elderly German women in Patagonia, and his dream of representing his home country in the World Pastry Cup competition. Q: Did you always want to be a pastry chef? A: No, I first started as a savory chef but switched into pastries because I really like the crafty side of it, like making wedding cakes and things like that. Q: How did you become interested in food? A: I was always around when my mom and the maid were cooking. It was always Spanish cuisine because my dad is from Spain, and my mother learned cooking from my grandmother on my dad's side. Q: Is Argentina represented in your pastry? A: I use a lot of dulce de leche (caramelised milk) and quince paste and corn, which represents the north of Argentina. The cuisine of my country is a mixture of different European countries - French, Italian and Spanish. We don't have a distinguished cuisine, as such. Q: Does Argentina have a tradition of chocolate? A: Yes. In Patagonia, we have the Germans who ended up there after the war (World War Two). This beautiful town called Bariloche has a couple of chocolate factories. It was while working at small boutique hotels in Patagonia that I started becoming interested chocolate, working with elderly German women who taught me. Creations from Gonzalo Jimenez seen at his chocolate workspace. Jimenez creates all kinds of desserts but he has a passion for chocolate and uses it to create intricate sculptures of robots, steam pumps and other objects. - Reuters pic, December 25, 2013.Q: What did you learn? A: Mostly how to temper the chocolate by passing it through three different temperatures to create a chemical reaction. Once you melt it you have to temper it otherwise it'll never get solid. It's a pretty hard thing to do. I still mess up now and then. Chocolate, versatile as it is, is very temperamental. I can make anything out of chocolate from truffles and bonbons to cakes and mousses to elaborate sculptures and structures. That's why I love it. But it's tricky. Q: How did you start sculpting with chocolate? A: When I came to the States I saw pastry chefs doing it. I started reading about it, coming up with different structures while working as a pastry chef in Colorado. My old chef didn't want me fooling around with chocolate sculptures. So if we had a Sunday brunch and I wanted to put a sculpture on the buffet, I had to work overnight. I would work 48 hours in a row making the sculpture and in the morning, it was there. I really love it. Q: Where do you get your inspiration? A: I'm inspired by whatever I see. A year ago I was into mechanics - bolts and nuts and industrial look of things. Before that, I was into steam pumps. Now I'm working more on abstract pieces. Q: Where do you hope to take this? A: It's 5 percent of what I do as a pastry chef. There are still so many things I don't know about chocolate ... I would love to represent Argentina in the World Pastry Cup (an international pastry contest that takes place every two years in Lyon, France). Q: Do different countries treat chocolate differently? A: In Argentina, they do traditional chocolate, like in Europe. They don't use as many crazy colors and cocoa butter and their flavors are very subtle. It's different here in the States. Everything is more dramatic. Q: Do you eat chocolate? A: I work with dark, milk and white chocolate. If I have to eat chocolate, I would rather eat milk. But actually I don't eat chocolate. I try it, but it's not like I'm going to buy myself a box of bonbons. - Reuters, December 25, 2013.

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New manager Sherwood meets managerless West Bromwich Posted: 25 Dec 2013 01:10 AM PST December 25, 2013 Tottenham Hotspur head coach Tim Sherwood (pic) will take charge of his first game as a full-time Premier League manager on Thursday when managerless West Bromwich Albion visit White Hart Lane. Both clubs sacked their managers earlier this month, but Spurs moved quickly and bravely by appointing a man with no previous top-flight experience. Sherwood, 44, has made a name for himself working with the youngsters at Tottenham, but now has a dream opportunity to manage one of the top clubs in Europe. "Opportunities come in different ways, but initially he gives Tottenham some stability and he has some credentials. He is ambitious and a leader," said former Spurs manager David Pleat. "I look back to when he was at Blackburn with Alan Shearer, David Batty, Chris Sutton and Graeme Le Saux - big players. He was the leader and considered the man who spoke for the team. "He is a hard-working guy. He has developed and, along with (assistant coaches) Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey, helped develop some good players who have emerged this season." As interim manager, Sherwood guided his side to an entertaining 3-2 win at Southampton on Sunday. Bringing back Emmanuel Adebayor from the wilderness has proved a key decision as the Togolese striker now has three goals in two games under Sherwood following his brace at St Mary's. "Ade scored a fantastic goal to keep us in the game and in the second half we did the job together to get the three points," said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. "We showed a lot of positive things for the future. It was important to win because now we have two games at home to try to make the difference and try to come back into the top four. We have to continue (this form) and work together because the Christmas period is important." With Andros Townsend (hamstring), Younes Kaboul (thigh) and Jan Vertonghen (ankle) sidelined, Sherwood is missing some first-team players, but by handing 19-year-old midfielder Nabil Bentaleb a debut at Southampton, he showed that he is prepared to place his trust in the club's young players. West Brom caretaker coach Keith Downing believes the mood at his club will improve once a long-term replacement for Steve Clarke is appointed, but says that he is happy to keep things ticking over for as long as necessary. Downing will take charge of his second game at Tottenham, with Albion likely to appoint their new man by the end of the week. "Confidence is the biggest challenge," said Downing, who saw his side draw 1-1 at home to Hull City on Saturday. "Results dictate people's moods, so it has to be an issue. Getting people to change their confidence and get upbeat is all about results. "At the moment the confidence is low and there is uncertainty, which accumulates. But once a manager is appointed, things will settle down quickly. "West Brom have never made a mistake in the five years I have been here. Robbie Di Matteo, Roy Hodgson and Steve Clarke were all good selections. "I wouldn't want them to rush things, but the quicker it is done, in terms of settling everybody down and getting a direction, the better. "It is important they do it soon, but if it means me holding the job for another week, so be it. That's fine, providing they get the right man." Striker Victor Anichebe is West Brom's only injury doubt, as he is struggling with a groin injury. - AFP, December 25, 2013.

Brazil’s most expensive World Cup stadium has leaking roof Posted: 24 Dec 2013 11:35 PM PST December 25, 2013 The most expensive of the 12 stadiums built or revamped for the 2014 World Cup has a leaking roof less than eight months after it was finished, the stadium's operators said yesterday. Secopa, the local government agency that runs the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia, will ask the company that rebuilt it to explain why parts of the roof let in rain during last weekend's women's match between Brazil and Chile. Local media reported that almost the entire lower ring of the stands was soaked although Secopa played down the problem, saying the leaks were not serious and would not affect any of the matches being played there during next year's World Cup. "Because it is a new, grandiose and complex stadium, some small points are still being corrected and tested but there is nothing that compromises the running of the stadium or the holding of events there," Secopa said in a statement. The stadium comes with a five-year guarantee and any repair work will be paid for by the builders, Secopa added. The national stadium in the capital Brasilia cost more than 1.2 billion real (RM1.6 billion). It will stage six World Cup matches including a quarter-final and the third-place playoff. The venue was inaugurated in May and hosted the opening match of the Confederations Cup between Brazil and Japan in June. It has held 17 major events since then, including several first division football matches, stadium officials said. The uproar over the scandal of a leaky roof at the 73,000 seat arena is not the first time construction work at Brazilian stadiums has been called into question. The Joao Havelange stadium in Rio was closed earlier this year, six years after it was built for the Pan American Games. Engineers ruled that the roof was in danger of collapsing in high winds and said repairs taking 18 months must be carried out for the the stadium to be fit to host the 2016 Olympics. At least three of the six World Cup stadiums still to be finished before the tournament kicks off in June will be handed over behind schedule. A total of five people have died while working on the 12 venues, including one man in Brasilia. - Reuters, December 25, 2013.

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Italian holiday film laughs all the way to the bank amid recession Posted: 24 Dec 2013 06:16 PM PST December 25, 2013 As Italy drags itself out of the deepest recession since World War Two, Italians are laughing at a holiday film that makes fun of their country's economic woes. "Sole a Catinelle" (which roughly translates as "The Sun is Shining Cats and Dogs") has made 50 million euros (RM225 million) at the box-office in less than a month, a success not rivalled in Italian cinemas since James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar. The film is set in today's Italy, overloaded with public debt and struggling to emerge from recession with a jobless rate of more than 40 percent among non-studying 15-24-year-olds. The story focuses on 36-year-old Luca Medici from Bari, in the southeastern region of Puglia, a husband and father who, like many Italians, has lived for years beyond his means. After years of unexpected success as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman and lavish spending on high-tech gadgets, he suddenly loses his job and is haunted by motley creditors. Medici's family life is strained, with a wife who is also about to lose her job and a nine-year-old son with whom he has difficulty relating. So he decides to gamble everything with a dream holiday aimed at patching up family differences. The movie is providing some rare welcome news for Italy's film industry, which was suffering even before the economic crisis and which has seen revenues slump over the past year. Buoyed by the popularity of "Sole a Catinelle", its producers are talking to foreign counterparts about remaking the film in the United States, Germany, France and Spain, according to Pietro Valsecchi, the chief executive of Taodue, a unit of Italian media company Mediaset which produced the movie. "Several foreign companies are interested in the idea of a remake. French producers say the movie is charming, but I've also heard from the United States, Germany and Spain," Valsecchi said. One evening this month, a 77-year-old Milanese grandmother took her teenage grandson to see "Sole a Catinelle". "This is just the kind of film that makes you think," said the woman, who declined to give her name. "The movie is funny but never gross, light but not commonplace." - Reuters, December 25, 2013.

Italian holiday film laughs its way to the bank amid recession Posted: 24 Dec 2013 06:16 PM PST December 25, 2013 As Italy drags itself out of the deepest recession since World War Two, Italians are laughing at a holiday film that makes fun of their country's economic woes. "Sole a Catinelle" (which roughly translates as "The Sun is Shining Cats and Dogs") has made 50 million euros (RM225 million) at the box-office in less than a month, a success not rivalled in Italian cinemas since James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar. The film is set in today's Italy, overloaded with public debt and struggling to emerge from recession with a jobless rate of more than 40 percent among non-studying 15-24-year-olds. The story focuses on 36-year-old Luca Medici from Bari, in the southeastern region of Puglia, a husband and father who, like many Italians, has lived for years beyond his means. After years of unexpected success as a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman and lavish spending on high-tech gadgets, he suddenly loses his job and is haunted by motley creditors. Medici's family life is strained, with a wife who is also about to lose her job and a nine-year-old son with whom he has difficulty relating. So he decides to gamble everything with a dream holiday aimed at patching up family differences. The movie is providing some rare welcome news for Italy's film industry, which was suffering even before the economic crisis and which has seen revenues slump over the past year. Buoyed by the popularity of "Sole a Catinelle", its producers are talking to foreign counterparts about remaking the film in the United States, Germany, France and Spain, according to Pietro Valsecchi, the chief executive of Taodue, a unit of Italian media company Mediaset which produced the movie. "Several foreign companies are interested in the idea of a remake. French producers say the movie is charming, but I've also heard from the United States, Germany and Spain," Valsecchi said. One evening this month, a 77-year-old Milanese grandmother took her teenage grandson to see "Sole a Catinelle". "This is just the kind of film that makes you think," said the woman, who declined to give her name. "The movie is funny but never gross, light but not commonplace." - Reuters, December 25, 2013.

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As Egypt hardliners and radicals gain, compromise has to bridge widening chasm Posted: 25 Dec 2013 07:24 AM PST December 25, 2013 Mourners surrounding a vehicle transporting victims of the bombing in Mansoura to a funeral service. - Reuters pic, December 25, 2013.If there was any hope left that the generals who overthrew Egypt's elected president six months ago might ease the state's crackdown on dissent, a suicide bomb that ripped through a police station on Tuesday may have destroyed it. The most populous Arab country enters the new year with deeper divisions in its society and more bloodshed on its streets than at any point in its modern history. The prospects for democracy appear bleaker with every bomb blast and arrest. The army-backed government says it will shepherd Egypt back to democracy and points out that the state defeated Islamist militants when they last launched waves of attacks in the 1990s. But this time around there are more weapons and harder ideologies, and a bitter example of a failed democratic experiment to toughen positions on all sides. Like much of the recent violence, the bombing that killed 16 people on Tuesday was bloodier than all but the worst attacks of the 1990s. The tactic of using suicide bombers to hit security forces is more familiar to Iraq or Syria than to Egypt, which for all its history of militancy is one of the few Arab states that has never experienced a modern civil war. The blast was claimed by a Sinai Peninsula-based Islamist militant group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which has stepped up attacks on government targets in recent months and narrowly failed to assassinate the interior minister in September. The blast set off mob attacks on the shops, homes and vehicles of people believed to be supporters of ousted President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood. "After the funerals of the martyrs, angry people smashed my pharmacy and my brother's shop," said Mohamed Heikal, a Brotherhood activist in the city of Mansoura, scene of Tuesday's bombing. "We had nothing to do with what happened," he said, condemning the bombing as a terrorist attack. With much of the public feverishly backing the government's calls to uproot the Brotherhood, talk of political accommodation is non-existent. Analysts see little or no chances of a political deal to stabilise a nation in turmoil since Hosni Mubarak's downfall in 2011. Signs of escalation abound. Mursi and other top Brotherhood leaders have been ordered to stand trial on charges that could lead to their execution. They are charged with conspiring with foreigners to carry out a terrorist plot against Egypt. Following Tuesday's attack, Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. Meanwhile, the frequency of attacks suggests militants are taking centre stage within the Islamist movement, further diminishing hopes of the state reaching an accommodation with moderates and strengthening the hawks in government. One consequence could be to increase the chances of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi becoming Egypt's next president. The army chief who deposed Mursi after mass protests against Brotherhood rule has yet to decide whether to run, an army source said. Though Sisi would almost certainly win were he to run, the source said he is hesitan,t partly due to the mountain of problems awaiting Egypt's next head of state. Analysts say the increase in violence makes it less likely Sisi and those around him would trust anyone else with the reins of power. "The more dire the situation becomes, the less a second tier civilian candidate will be seen able to take charge of the situation," said Michael Wahid Hanna, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a New York-based think-tank. "This deterioration will increase pressure on Sisi to run." Crowds that gathered outside the compound hit in Tuesday's attack to show support for the security forces brandished Sisi's portrait. Egypt has experienced violence for decades, including the assassination of President Anwar Sadat by an Islamist gunman in 1981, and attacks on tourist sites in the 1990s that hurt the economy. But civil bloodshed has reached an unprecedented level. A conservative estimate puts the overall death toll since Mursi's fall at over 1,500. Most of those killed were Mursi supporters, including hundreds gunned down when the security forces cleared a protest vigil outside a Cairo mosque. At least 350 members of the security forces have been killed in bombings and shootings since Mursi's downfall. The state has declared them martyrs of a war on terror. The army has suffered its greatest casualties since the 1973 Middle East war, most of them in the Sinai Peninsula, where the most heavily armed Islamists are based. The blood spilt since Mursi's downfall has evoked comparisons with Algeria - a country pitched into a decade of civil war in 1991 when its army aborted an experiment with democracy because Islamists looked set to win power. Some dismiss that comparison, arguing the past failures of militants in Egypt should dissuade Islamists from following that path. As the attacks spread beyond the Sinai Peninsula, the risks are compounded by the large quantities of weapons smuggled in from neighbouring Libya since the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, in a war that saw his arsenals looted by rebels. "This incident shows that the group operating in Mansoura is organised, well equipped and capable," said Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayid, a professor of political science at Cairo University, referring to the Nile Valley town where Tuesday's attack took place. "This points to the difficulty of any compromise between the government and Islamist groups." The Brotherhood, most of whose leadership are in jail, continues to reiterate its mantra of peaceful resistance and denies turning to violence. It is pressing a campaign of protests on university campuses where its followers routinely clash with the police. As that strategy fails to make much of an impact, there is a risk of radical logic winning over its supporters, posing a threat to the Brotherhood itself. Analysts believe the security establishment has a firm grip over the course of government, reasserting political influence that diminished after the 2011 uprising. Activists say the freedoms won in that uprising are in danger. The state has widened a crackdown on dissent, on December 22 jailing three leading secular activists to three years in prison for breaking a law that curbs the right to protest - a major blow against those behind the January 25, 2011 revolution. "What we see now is a security apparatus that seems to be out of control, going after individuals and groups it has grudges against," said Nathan Brown, a professor of political science at George Washington University. "You sometimes hear murmurs that people in the leadership worry that an overly harsh set of actions will make the political divisions in Egypt worse, and there has to be some lessening of the security crackdown. This bombing puts off that date." Khaled Dawoud, a liberal politician, said the wave of Islamist attacks will make calls for reconciliation less popular. He has continued to call for a political accommodation even after being stabbed by Mursi supporters in October. "In any country where terrorism takes place, public freedoms and hopes for democracy suffer a retreat. That is the law of gravity," he said. - Reuters, December 25, 2013.

Bethlehem marks Christmas in restive Mideast Posted: 24 Dec 2013 04:34 PM PST December 25, 2013 A view of Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity as people gather for Christmas eve celebrations in the biblical West Bank city of Bethlehem, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, yesterday evening. - AFP pic, December 25, 2013.Thousands of worshippers and tourists from around the world flocked Tuesday to Jesus's birthplace in Bethlehem, as the Middle East reels from conflicts and Pope Francis celebrates his first Christmas mass. Jerusalem's Latin patriarch will lead a procession to Bethlehem and celebrate midnight mass in the holy city attended by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and other dignitaries. Christmas this year comes as conflicts and natural disasters have stricken Christians worldwide, from the historic Syrian town of Maalula where residents still speak Jesus's ancient Aramaic, to typhoon-hit Tacloban in the Philippines. Filipinos who survived the deadly typhoon Haiyan defiantly prepared to celebrate Christmas in their ruined communities Tuesday where hogs were being roasted, festive trees adorned streets and churches were filled to overflowing. "Nothing can stop us from welcoming Christmas even though we have lost our home," 63-year-old butcher's wife Ellen Miano told AFP in Tacloban. In a Christmas message last week, Fuad Twal, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke of the sufferings of the Palestinian people and the vicious conflict that has rocked Syria for 33 months. Twal, the top Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, said Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that resumed in July after a three-year hiatus were being hampered by Israeli settlement construction. "As long as this problem is not resolved, the people of our region will suffer," said Twal, adding the Israel-Palestinian conflict was "a major obstacle" to Middle East stability. The patriarch also called for a ceasefire in Syria, where bloody fighting between regime forces and rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad has killed an estimated 126,000 people since March 2011. "As the Syrian problem cannot be resolved by the force of arms," he said. "We call on all political leaders to assume the responsibility for finding a mutually acceptable political solution that will end the senseless violence and uphold respect for the dignity of people." For Maalula residents it will be a grim Christmas as hundreds of Christians have fled a rebel assault on their ancient hamlet and have taken shelter in the Syrian capital Damascus. A man sells corn on the cob in Manger Square, Bethlehem, as people gather for Christmas eve celebrations in the biblical West Bank city. - AFP pic, December 25, 2013.Pope Francis, who has repeatedly prayed for an end to the Syrian conflict and spoken against international armed intervention since his election in March, plans to make his first visit to the Holy Land in May next year. The Argentine pope will first visit Jordan, then Israel and the Palestinian territories and is expected to celebrate high mass in Bethlehem. The Vatican is expected to officially announce the visit after Christmas. Francis has voiced growing concern about the plight of Christian minorities in Syria and across majority Muslim Arab nations, where democracy protests have toppled autocratic leaders and seen the emergence of radical Islam since 2011. In November the pontiff insisted in a meeting with patriarchs from Syria, Iran and Iraq that he will not accept a Middle East without Christians. "We will not resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians," he said, calling for "the universal right to lead a dignified life and freely practise one's own faith to be respected". "Syria, Iraq, Egypt and other areas of the Holy Land sometimes overflow with tears." Eastern Christians number between an estimated 10 and 13 million, with minorities living in Muslim-majority Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian territories, as well as Israel. On a light-hearted note, the US government said it had officially cleared Santa Claus for entry to the United States from Tuesday after the authorities waived stringent livestock checks on his nine reindeers. - AFP, December 25, 2013.

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Revisiting Solzhenitsyn’s chronicle of terror, The Gulag Archipelago Posted: 24 Dec 2013 09:02 PM PST December 25, 2013 Alexander Solzhenitsyn's book reveals the shocking truth about Soviet terror under Stalin. - AFP pic, December 25, 2013.Published 40 years ago in Paris, Russian dissident writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn's masterpiece, The Gulag Archipelago, revealed the shocking truth about Soviet terror and changed the way the USSR was viewed in the West. When Solzhenitsyn's mammoth tome hit bookshops on December 28, 1973 the shock was enormous as it brought to light the horrific scale of the repression under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. The word "gulag" - a Russian acronym for Main Camp Directorate - refers to the vast Stalin prison system that left millions dead, and has become synonymous in all languages with brutal detention camps. First published by YMCA-Press, the Soviet emigrant publishing house, the book was translated into 40 languages and some 10 million copies were printed around the world. "Judged by how much impact a book has on the course of world history, this is certainly the most influential book of the 20th century," said Solzhenitsyn's literary agent, French publisher Claude Durand. "The sinister world of grey camps" "Solzhenitsyn's book was a shock to us," the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, who died in 1989, wrote in his memoir. "From the first pages arose the sinister world of grey camps surrounded by barbed wire, torture chambers... millions of our citizens vanished in glacial mines of Kolyma." It did not take long for the Kremlin to retaliate. Two months after the book's publication, Solzhenitsyn was arrested, stripped of his citizenship and expelled from the USSR. He returned to Russia in 1994, after 20 years in exile. Back in the Soviet Union, Russian copies of the Paris edition had been smuggled into the country, re-typed on typewriters or photographed. To have a copy of the book at home or lend it to a friend meant to risk being sent to prison for "spreading anti-Soviet propaganda". In 1978 the dissident Balys Gaiauskas was sentenced to 10 years in jail for translating the book into Lithuanian. Solzhenitsyn wrote The Gulag Archipelago, with the help of numerous former prisoners who contacted him after the 1962 publication of his groundbreaking novella, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the first work in the USSR that spoke about the Stalinist camps. That book was published during the short period of de-Stalinization initiated by the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. To write it, Solzhenitsyn had used his recollections of the seven years he spent in the Gulag for criticising Stalin in a letter to a friend. "Thousands of ex-prisoners wrote to me after the publication of 'Ivan Denisovich'. I then realised that fate sent me what I needed. I got material for 'The Archipelago' thanks to them," Solzhenitsyn said in a 2007 interview, a few months before his death. The eyewitness testimonies are what make the book so valuable. They helped reveal the torture of prisoners, revolts and escapes through the boundless taiga as well as the deaths of prisoners from hunger and cold as they were forced to labour at temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius during the harsh Siberian winters. Solzhenitsyn worked on the book for 10 years, mostly in the greatest secrecy as Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation campaign turned out to be short-lived and the KGB secret service had him shadowed. A network of loyalists, whom he called "invisibles", assisted him by taping, microfilming and hiding manuscripts and then smuggling them to the West where they waited for a green light for publication. "He worked in very difficult conditions. He always had to plan in advance where to hide his manuscripts. He had been writing without ever having before him the entire body of his work," said one such "invisible" helper Elena Chukovskaya. "He had been making notes in his notebook: to insert this in this chapter, this chapter is hidden in Estonia, another Moscow..." she said. The Gulag Archipelago remains "the most important book for the people of my generation and has not lost its importance today," said Arseny Roginski, the president of the non-profit group Memorial, which studies and documents the Soviet Union's totalitarian past. "It perfectly describes the birth and operations of the Gulag, always placing people at the centre of the story -- something that only a great writer could do," said Roginski. Until the fall of the Communist regime, Solzhenitsyn spent all the revenues from the book's sales helping Soviet political prisoners.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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Selamat Hari Natal: My message of peace Posted: 24 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST December 25, 2013 Mujahid Yusof Rawa is MP for Parit Buntar and PAS National Unity Committee chairman. The multifaceted aspects of our society have made our social fabric a unique one, one that depicts a diverse yet united society. We have lived with diversity since the Malacca sultanate, when it was a busy port filled with international merchants and traders. There, our history began and developed into one of the most diverse societies. Finally, it was embodied in the formation of an independent Malaya which the world knows today as the Federation of Malaysia. Today, our society is one where diverse faiths are the basic character of Malaysia. Islam, as the religion of the state, allows others to practise their faith in harmony and with respect. Today, Malaysians of the Christian faith celebrate Christmas in a joyful and merry mood. While every faith has its unique celebration and manner in which believers symbolise their gratitude on such a day, I, as fellow Malaysian and a Muslim, urge all Christians to continue the journey of peaceful relationship between faith and cherish our diversity  as a sign of The Creator the Almighty. As a Muslim, I was taught by my Prophets, including Isa Ibnu Maryam (peace be upon all of them) to cherish diversity and live with respect for others. I was told by my  Book (Quran) that it is vital I live strongly with my faith but, at the same time, accept diversity and live with respect. It is in this context that my conviction of a peaceful interfaith relationship has turned into a sacred struggle where the soldiers of peace and bridge-builders come together, not to draw their sword against "others", but to convey the message of peace or salam with full compassion and love with dignity and pride. I stand today as  a fellow Malaysian in your Christmas celebration to call you to fight with me against injustice, racism and religious extremism and to say with a clear voice, we love this nation and we will not surrender to those who want to destroy it in the name of extremism and tyranny. Let 's celebrate with those who have the right to celebrate Christmas today, for it is my duty as a Muslim and as a Malaysian to protect that right. May your celebration of Christmas bring joy and happiness to all Malaysians and forget not the poor and the needy because it is for them we should bring joy and happiness. "You will find that the nearest in love to Muslim believers are those who say: We are Christians – because among them are priests as well monks for these never puff themselves up. And when they listen to the message of the Quran handed down to the messenger Muhammad, you see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they perceive at once its truth, and they pray, : O Lord, we believe – write us down among the witnesses" ( Al Maidah 5: 82-83). – December 25, 2013. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Selamat Hari Natal: My message of peace Posted: 24 Dec 2013 03:00 PM PST December 25, 2013 Mujahid Yusof Rawa is MP for Parit Buntar and PAS National Unity Committee chairman. The multifaceted aspects of our society have made our social fabric a unique one, one that depicts a diverse yet united society. We have lived with diversity since the Malacca sultanate, when it was a busy port filled with international merchants and traders. There, our history began and developed into one of the most diverse societies. Finally, it was embodied in the formation of an independent Malaya which the world knows today as the Federation of Malaysia. Today, our society is one where diverse faiths are the basic character of Malaysia. Islam, as the religion of the state, allows others to practise their faith in harmony and with respect. Today, Malaysians of the Christian faith celebrate Christmas in a joyful and merry mood. While every faith has its unique celebration and manner in which believers symbolise their gratitude on such a day, I, as fellow Malaysian and a Muslim, urge all Christians to continue the journey of peaceful relationship between faith and cherish our diversity  as a sign of The Creator the Almighty. As a Muslim, I was taught by my Prophets, including Isa Ibnu Maryam (peace be upon all of them) to cherish diversity and live with respect for others. I was told by my  Book (Quran) that it is vital I live strongly with my faith but, at the same time, accept diversity and live with respect. It is in this context that my conviction of a peaceful interfaith relationship has turned into a sacred struggle where the soldiers of peace and bridge-builders come together, not to draw their sword against "others", but to convey the message of peace or salam with full compassion and love with dignity and pride. I stand today as  a fellow Malaysian in your Christmas celebration to call you to fight with me against injustice, racism and religious extremism and to say with a clear voice, we love this nation and we will not surrender to those who want to destroy it in the name of extremism and tyranny. Let 's celebrate with those who have the right to celebrate Christmas today, for it is my duty as a Muslim and as a Malaysian to protect that right. May your celebration of Christmas bring joy and happiness to all Malaysians and forget not the poor and the needy because it is for them we should bring joy and happiness. "You will find that the nearest in love to Muslim believers are those who say: We are Christians – because among them are priests as well monks for these never puff themselves up. And when they listen to the message of the Quran handed down to the messenger Muhammad, you see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they perceive at once its truth, and they pray, : O Lord, we believe – write us down among the witnesses" ( Al Maidah 5: 82-83). – December 25, 2013. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Rakyat perlu pentingkan kebersamaan, kata Najib Posted: 25 Dec 2013 02:33 AM PST December 25, 2013 Najib Razak dan Lim Guan Eng berbual mesra di Rumah Terbuka Krismas 2013 yang diadakan di Padang Kota, Pulau Pinang. Gambar The Malaysian Insider oleh Hasnoor Hussain, 25 Disember, 2013.Datuk Seri Najib  Razak hari ini menggesa rakyat menitikberatkan kebersamaan sesama mereka bagi mengukuhkan keamanan, keharmonian dan kestabilan negara. Rakyat perlu mencari kebersamaan antara mereka berbanding mencari apa yang membezakan mereka, kata perdana menteri. Beliau berkata sebagai contoh, walaupun terdapat perbezaan tafsiran seperti konsep Tuhan dalam agama Islam dan Kristian, ia tidak seharusnya dijadikan perbalahan yang boleh merenggangkan hubungan antara kaum. "Islam dan Kristian adalah dua agama terbesar di dunia. Kedua-dua agama ini boleh dikatakan mempunyai asal usul yang sama, ada permulaan yang sama iaitu agama yang dibawa oleh Nabi Ibrahim. "Meskipun dari segi akidah kita ada perbezaan, umpamanya konsep Tuhan. Dalam Islam konsep Tuhan agak berbeza. Tetapi kalau kita sentiasa berbalah atas perkara ini, maka kita akan merenggangkan hubungan antara orang Islam dan orang Kristian," katanya ketika merasmikan majlis Rumah Terbuka Krismas 2013 peringkat kebangsaan anjuran Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan di sini. Turut hadir Menteri Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Joseph Kurup serta Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang Lim Guan Eng. Najib berkata sebagai Perdana Menteri, beliau amat menekankan aspek keamanan, keharmonian serta kestabilan dan komited untuk melakukan apa sahaja demi memelihara ketiga-tiga aspek itu. "Saya pernah sebut saya tidak berminat untuk memenangi sesuatu pertengkaran berhubung sesuatu isu. Saya hanya memikirkan bagaimana mencapai keamanan, keharmonian dan kestabilan yang sewajarnya untuk negara ini. Inilah tanggungjawab saya sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia. "Kita mesti faham sensitiviti antara satu sama lain dan bila kita faham sensitiviti antara satu sama lain, kita tidak seharusnya melakukan sesuatu yang boleh menyakiti hati orang lain. "Orang Islam tidak seharusnya menyakiti hati orang Kristian dan orang Kristian tidak seharusnya menyakiti hati orang Islam," katanya. Beliau berkata konsep rumah terbuka yang dianjur bukan hanya meraikan sesuatu perayaan semata-mata sebaliknya adalah medium untuk rakyat di negara ini berkongsi dan memahami adat serta budaya sesuatu kaum. Najib juga berkata program rumah terbuka membolehkan rakyat berkongsi peluang yang merangkumi adab dan kemakmuran. Beliau berkata rumah terbuka juga boleh dijadikan tirai program Tahun Melawat Malaysia 2014 dan menyemarakkan lagi industri pelancongan negara. Katanya, beliau percaya Kementerian Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan di bawah pimpinan Mohamed Nazri bersedia untuk menjayakan program yang dirancang dan kerajaan pusat sedia bekerjasama dengan kerajaan negeri untuk meningkatkan industri pelancongan. "Adalah penting untuk kita mengingatkan diri sendiri bahawa jika kita bekerjasama, kita akan berjaya mencapai potensi terbesar untuk Malaysia," katanya. - Bernama, 25 Disember, 2013.

Ikan terdampar di pantai bukan petanda tsunami, kata pakar Posted: 25 Dec 2013 02:26 AM PST December 25, 2013 Latest Update: December 25, 2013 06:31 pm Di sebalik kegembiraan fenomena ikan terdampar, penduduk sekitar juga bimbang ia merupakan petanda tsunami. Kejadian beribu-ribu ikan tamban melompat dan terdampar di pantai Kampung Tambisan di Lahad Datu, Sabah semalam bukan petanda tsunami akan berlaku. Ketua Kluster Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar Majlis Profesor Negara Prof Datuk Dr Ibrahim Komoo berkata insiden itu tidak mempunyai kaitan dengan tsunami kerana tiada sebarang gegaran atau gempa bumi dikesan. "Tidak mungkin akan berlaku tsunami kerana tiada sebarang gempa walaupun pada skala kecil direkodkan di kawasan sekitar," kata Naib Canselor Universiti Malaysia Terengganu itu kepada Bernama hari ini. Beliau berkata kejadian itu tidak semestinya berkait dengan alam sekitar seperti tsunami sebaliknya boleh dikaitkan dengan fenomena alam tabii. Menguatkan lagi pandangannya, Dr Ibrahim, yang juga bekas Pengarah Institut Kajian Bencana Asia Tenggara Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia berkata kejadian pelik itu hanya melibatkan sejenis ikan iaitu ikan tamban dan tiada hidupan laut lain. "Kalau sejenis ikan sahaja ia mungkin berkait dengan perubahan fisiologi ikan itu sendiri. "Atau... kejadian itu juga disebabkan perubahan dalam laut sendiri, misalnya suhu air dan kadar kemasinan air laut," katanya. Dr Ibrahim berkata ikan sangat sensitif dengan perubahan kandungan air dan perubahan keseimbangan dalam diri ikan juga akan membuat haiwan itu berkelakuan pelik. - Bernama, 25 Disember, 2013.

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