Rabu, 12 Februari 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Food

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The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Beer fridge at Sochi Olympics only opens for Canadians

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:43 PM PST

February 13, 2014

Behold, the beer fridge that only opens for Canadians. – AFP/Relaxnews pic, February 13, 2014.It's being called the "coolest", "greatest thing" at the Sochi Olympics: a beer fridge that only opens for Canadians.

Set up in the Canadian Olympic House, the beer machine is a marketing gimmick by Molson Canadian and only opens for Canadian passport holders.

Olympic athletes need just swipe the passport into the red and white beer fridge and the door opens magically to shelves lined with beer.

Given the ongoing food debacle and shortages in Sochi due to security restrictions, sports reporters have been hailing the Canadian beer fridge as the "greatest thing at the Olympics in Sochi". USA Today also called it "the most amazing technology at the Olympics".

The beer fridge first rolled out across Europe last summer, befuddling thirsty locals and livestock alike in urban and rural settings like northern France, Canterbury, White Cliffs of Dover and Brussels.

A promotional video shows thirsty locals trying in vain to open the fridge door. Coincidentally, when a desperate Brit asks aloud, "Is there anybody Canadian?" a backpacker toting a rucksack with the maple leaf flag sewn on the flap miraculously appears, passport at the ready.

After opening the fridge and sharing bottles with their new friends who have gathered around the magical beer distributor, a man in London is heard saying, "Makes me homesick and I've never even been to Canada." – AFP/Relaxnews, February 13, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Napoli into Cup final after crushing Roma

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 03:14 PM PST

February 13, 2014

Napoli's Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler (second left) celebrates with teammates during the semifinal Coppa Italia match SSC Napoli vs AS Roma in San Paolo Stadium, yesterday. – AFP pic, February 13, 2014.Napoli beat AS Roma for the first time in three attempts this season yesterday as their 3-0 victory saw them reach the Italian Cup final running out 5-3 winners on aggregate.

Goals by Jose Callejon, Gonzalo Higuain and Jorginho set up a date for Rafael Benitez's side with Fiorentina – who like Napoli overturned a first leg deficit to knock out Udinese on Tuesday – in the final in Rome on May 3.

It was only Roma's second defeat this season under Frenchman Rudi Garcia – they also lost 3-0 to champions Juventus early in January – but the coach will have been alarmed to see how the meanest defence in Serie A was picked apart by Napoli.

Their frustrations boiled to the surface in the 80th minute as impressive Dutchman Kevin Strootman was sent off after he sarcastically applauded the referee for booking him.

Napoli, who were watched by their legendary Argentinian former player Diego Maradona, were rarely troubled – only Mattia Destro and Gervinho troubling the keeper – and well deserved the chance to make it two Cup wins in the last three editions.

Callejon opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a bullet header after stealing unnoticed between the two central defenders in a move started by Slovakian playmaker Marek Hamsik.

Higuain, an inspired signing from Spanish giants Real Madrid last summer, doubled their advantage three minutes into the second-half with a diving header while Jorginho, newly arrived during the transfer window last month from Verona, put them two goals to the good overall and 3-0 up on the night in the 51st minute after being set up with a brilliant ball by Belgian international Dries Mertens.

In desperation Garcia turned to 37-year-old veteran Francesco Totti, sending him on but he was unable to change the course of the match, although Destro could have done better with two chances, directing a header wide on the hour mark and then striking a shot over the bar with 15 minutes remaining.

On Tuesday Fiorentina moved to within one win of their first trophy since 2001 as they beat Udinese 2-0, to win 3-2 on aggregate.

Goals by captain Manuel Pasqual and Colombian star Juan Cuadrado confirmed their place in the final completing a remarkable revival.

Just 11 years ago their fall from grace looked complete as they languished in the fourth tier as a result of serious financial difficulties before being rescued by brothers Andrea and Diego Della Valle. – AFP, February 13, 2014.

Flores rescues Swansea in Stoke stalemate

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:56 PM PST

February 13, 2014

Swansea defender Chico Flores was back in interim manager Garry Monk's good books as his goal rescued a 1-1 draw at Stoke yesterday.

Monk's team were trailing to Peter Crouch's first half goal at a windswept Britannia Stadium, where the game only went ahead after two pre-match safety inspections due to the storm-force winds prior to kick off.

But Flores netted in the second half as the Spanish defender finally hit the headlines for the right reasons.

It has been a difficult few weeks for the 26-year-old, who was accused of diving to make the most of a challenge from Andy Carroll that led to the West Ham's striker's dismissal and subsequent three-match ban.

A few days later Flores was apparently involved in a training ground bust-up with Monk, who later insisted the incident had been blown out of proportion.

Flores then played his part in Saturday's 3-0 south Wales derby win over Cardiff as Monk began his managerial career with a bang after taking up the reins from the sacked Michael Laudrup.

And he was in the right place at the right time to net the equaliser against Mark Hughes's team and keep Swansea in 10th place.

Around 90 minutes before kick-off it appeared highly likely the game would be called off given the battering the stadium received from the gales.

But, unlike yesterday's fixtures at Manchester City and Everton, the match was allowed to proceed and it proved the right decision as the winds started to drop by kick-off.

Crouch bagged his eighth goal of the season in the 17th minute, tapping home from close-range after Peter Odemwingie's effort rebounded back off a post.

It could have been 2-0 in the 20th minute but for Michel Vorm tipping over the crossbar a dipping 20-yard effort from Marko Arnautovic.

Swansea were better in the second half, with Wilfried Bony firing just over the angle of bar from the edge of the area 90 seconds in.

Flores then popped up with the equaliser, deftly flicking home a Pablo Hernandez cross beyond the despairing reach of Asmir Begovic in the 52nd minute.

Twelve minutes from time, Swansea thought they had the winner when a Bony shot was nudged goalwards by Begovic, only for captain Ryan Shawcross to hook off the line.

Then in the 86th minute Begovic pulled off a stunning save to deny substitute Jonathan de Guzman from long-range. – AFP, February 13, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

Floating school offers hope in Nigeria’s ‘slum on stilts’

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:02 PM PST

February 12, 2014

It's been dubbed the ‘Venice of Africa’ but comparisons between the sprawling Lagos community of Makoko and the historic Italian city begin and end at the water's edge. Makoko's makeshift huts rise from the murky waters of the lagoon around Nigeria's biggest city, a far cry from the ornate bridges and buildings that mark out Venice's cultural and commercial past. – AFP pic, February 12, 2014. It's been dubbed the 'Venice of Africa' but comparisons between the sprawling Lagos community of Makoko and the historic Italian city begin and end at the water's edge. Makoko's makeshift huts rise from the murky waters of the lagoon around Nigeria's biggest city, a far cry from the ornate bridges and buildings that mark out Venice's cultural and commercial past. – AFP pic, February 12, 2014.It's been dubbed the "Venice of Africa" but comparisons between the sprawling Lagos community of Makoko and the historic Italian city begin and end at the water's edge.

Makoko's makeshift huts rise from the murky waters of the lagoon around Nigeria's biggest city, a far cry from the ornate bridges and buildings that mark out Venice's cultural and commercial past.

The arts transformed Venice and sealed its reputation as one of the most important centre of the European Renaissance.

Now it is hoped that education, with the help of innovative architecture, can help create a better future for the children of Makoko.

The prospect comes in the shape of a floating school, built entirely by locals and launched last year, whose triangular frame rises from the water like a half-built house submerged in a flood.

The project, backed by the UN Development Fund, the Nigerian government and the Heinrich Boell Foundation, is the brainchild of local architect Kunle Adeyemi.

His design was inspired by life in the so-called "slum on stilts" and he said that improving the neglected area required a new approach more in tune with local customs and the environment.

"Living on water is actually a way of life... so, the question is then how do you improve that condition, how do you address the challenges of living on water in a safe, healthy and environmentally sound way?" he told AFP TV.

A landmark building

Unlike Venice, which attracts millions of tourists from around the world every year, few visitors to Lagos are likely to find their way to Makoko.

From the Third Mainland Bridge which snakes nearly 12 km through the lagoon, thick wood smoke and fumes from diesel-powered generators can be seen hanging above the patchwork of corrugated iron and tarpaulin roofs.

Fishermen on the lagoon scour the waters in search of the day's catch. Wooden canoes - the only way to get around - ply the watery strips between the flimsy lean-to shacks and washing lines.

The new school is also visible from the bridge, floating on 250 empty blue barrels fixed under its wooden base designed to get around the problems of periodic flooding in the area.

Its three storeys makes it the tallest structure in Makoko and with 220 square m of floor space, it is also the neighbourhood's biggest communal facility.

Fishermen can tether their canoes to the base and come just to mend their nets, as much as children wanting to learn - often for the very first time - or play.

From the top of the A-frame, under its solar panels, the high-rise buildings and lights of Lagos Island - the heart of Nigeria's financial hub - can be seen in the distance.

Adaptable design

The people of Makoko eke out a living by fishing and trading. Few of the estimated 150,000 people who live in the neighbourhood can aspire to escape a life of poverty.

Jeremiah Oleole Austin is one of the few young people to have gone on to further education.

"I was born and brought up here so I know how the people suffer, I feel their pain, I feel their cry and I also know their happiness," said the art student, who is also known as "Big Babba".

"I know what they really need in this community and which is not capable for us to do it. Without some... training or skills, how can they go places?

"There's only a few of us that went out into the city to see more... If there are more schools, I believe there is going to be changes in the community."

Headteacher Noah Shemede agrees.

"Every child deserves an education wherever they are," he said. "We are on water and that doesn't mean that we can't go to school on water. We have to.

"We need more schools to accommodate thousands of children that are at home. We need more schools."

Adeyemi for his part said the building could also be used differently - both in Nigeria and beyond.

"Its main aim is to generate a sustainable, ecological, alternative building system and urban water culture for the teeming population of Africa's coastal regions," his firm, NLE, said on its website.

"It is really just a structure that could actually be used for different forms of uses," added the architect.

"It could be a home, you could use the same prototype and develop that into homes, you could develop it into hospitals, you can develop it into a theatre, a restaurant, all kinds of facilities.

"The key thing is that we have developed a prototype of building and architecture on water using local materials and local resources and available technology." – AFP, February 12, 2014.

New twists for love in age of big data

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:32 PM PST

February 12, 2014

Hinge, a dating app launched last year, draws information from users' Facebook profiles to help match people. – AFP pic, February 12, 2014.It is the ultimate test for big data - finding the secret algorithm of love.

Online dating companies say they have the know-how and scientists have been studying the question for years.

The answers, alas, are not clear-cut for the lovelorn who scour the Internet looking for the perfect mate.

A 2012 study by researchers led by Northwestern University psychologist Eli Finkel concluded there was no algorithm that could predict a successful match, notwithstanding the claims of online dating firms.

"No compelling evidence supports matching sites' claims that mathematical algorithms work," said the study published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest.

The researchers wrote that dating sites "are in a poor position to know how the two partners will grow and mature over time... and how the dynamics of their interaction will ultimately promote or undermine romantic attraction and long-term relationship well-being."

But could it be that dating sites simply have not yet found the right mathematical formula?

'Netflix formula' for love?

A team of researchers led by Kang Zhao at the University of Iowa say in a 2014 study that they found a method that markedly improves chances for online matches.

The new formula, interestingly, is based on the techniques used by successful online companies like Amazon and Netflix, and are based on user recommendations, not merely profiles filled out by love seekers which may be incomplete or inaccurate.

"What we did in our study is to look at users' activity instead of their profiles," Zhao told AFP. "Your activity reflects your tastes and your attractiveness, or your unattractiveness. We extend what Amazon and Netflix have been using."

So if person A shares a lot of characteristics with person B who draws a lot of positive responses from the opposite sex, the reasoning is that person A will elicit a similar response.

This is known as "collaborative filtering" and is used by online commerce firms, according to Zhao, who has been in talks with dating companies on using his formula.

"The new model can better recommend partners that match a user's taste and attractiveness," said the study to appear later this year in the IEEE Intelligent Systems Journal with co-authors Xi Wang, Mo Yu, and Bo Gao.

He said that using this system, "the chances of getting a response increase 40 percent" compared to a baseline without collaborative filtering.

"Whether it's a perfect match, I don't know," he said. "But we can at least help people get a successful date."

No more stigma

The new research comes amid growing interest in online dating.

A 2013 Pew Research Center survey found 11 percent of Internet users - or some nine percent of all American adults - said they have personally used an online dating site. That is a sharp increase from 2008, when just three percent of American adults had used online dating sites.

The survey found 66 percent of those who use online sites or apps have gone on a date with someone they met through one of these services. And 23 percent of online daters have married or begun a long-term relationship with someone they met through a dating site or app, Pew found.

A separate study last year by University of Chicago researchers found more than one-third of US marriages between 2005 and 2012 began with online dating, and those couples may be slightly happier than couples who meet through other means. However, some experts took issue with the findings because the survey was commissioned by eHarmony.com, one of the largest US dating sites.

Hacking OKCupid

While the algorithmic method for love has come under fire, one case suggest it may be possible to tweak or hack those formulas to optimize results.

Christopher McKinlay, while studying for a Ph.D in mathematics, "scraped" data from the profiles of 20,000 women on the dating site OKCupid to find what would get them interested, and increased the "matches" and the number of responses he got from women on the site.

And in the end he found his match, who became his fiancee, according to the account in his just-published e-book, "Optimal Cupid: Mastering the Hidden Logic of OKCupid."

In their 2012 paper, Finkel and colleagues point out that there are benefits to online dating, notably its "efficient" means of facilitating the meeting of potential partners.

But they caution that there is a downside to this approach - people can get overwhelmed by the large number of choices and can reduce people to "two-dimensional displays of information."

As the science of love is debated, more people are turning to mobile dating apps which help identify available partners nearby based on smartphone geolocation. Some apps allow people to make their own assessment of a dating prospect.

Hinge, a dating app launched in Washington last year, draws information from users' Facebook profiles to help match people.

Hinge data scientist John Kleint told AFP the app's use of Facebook likes and postings helps in setting connections, but he acknowledges the limitations of any formula.

"Trying to develop an algorithm for love is probably the most difficult thing you can do," Kleint said. "We try to get you a good first date and you can take it from there." – AFP, February 12, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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Mortensen, Dunst a glamour couple in Hitchcock vein in Berlin

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:02 PM PST

February 12, 2014

Director and screenwriter Hossein Amini (L) with cast members Daisy Bevan (C) and Viggo Mortensen (R) at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. – Reuters pic, February 12, 2014.Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and the breakout star of the last Coen brothers movie, Oscar Isaac, team up in the stylish Hitchcock-inspired thriller "The Two Faces of January" which premiered yesterday at the Berlin film festival.

The movie marked the highly anticipated directorial debut of Iranian-British screenwriter Hossein Amini, who penned blockbusters such as 2011's "Drive".

It is based on a novel by the late US crime writer Patricia Highsmith ("The Talented Mr Ripley"), who delighted in ripping away the veil of middle-class propriety to find what lurks beneath.

The film opens in a sun-kissed Athens of the 1960s, with besotted American couple Chester and Colette (Mortensen and Dunst) impeccably dressed and touring the Acropolis.

They catch the eye of Rydal, a Greek-speaking American tour guide who seems dazzled in particular by Colette, a classic Hitchcock blonde with a secret.

Rydal is played by Oscar Isaac, who won rave reviews last year for his turn as the brooding singer-songwriter of "Inside Llewyn Davis".

They fall into conversation and Rydal shows them around town while good-naturedly conning them out of petty cash along the way.

The couple joins Rydal and his date, a beautiful American heiress, for dinner that night.

But after Chester and Colette retire to their five-star hotel, tipsy on ouzo, there is a knock on the door from a private detective.

The man accuses Chester of swindling his clients back in New York out of a fortune with a shady oilfield investment scheme and, in the course of a scuffle, the detective is killed.

Rydal at the same moment realises he has found Colette's new Greek bracelet and, while trying to return it, happens upon Chester trying to hide the body.

The three go on the run from the Greek police together, laying the foundation for a fateful love triangle and leading to a finale that borrows heavily from Greek mythology.

Mortensen, who described himself as a fan of Highsmith's, said he loved the film noir aspects of the story.

"It's a term that's thrown around a lot - it needs to have shadows, it needs to be black and white," he told reporters.

"The only thing I would say is that the characters need to lie and lose, and it needs to end badly for everyone."

Mortensen said characters should always have a secret.

"That's what the story's generally about: the masks, and the masks fall away, and what you end up seeing about these people is often ugly and embarrassing," he said.

"But when it's well done, when the thriller aspect works in terms of storytelling, no matter how badly they behave you're on their side somehow. You don't want the cops to catch them."

Hossein, who was born in Iran, said he long faced a kind of typecasting as a screenwriter, with projects offered to him that dealt only with his native region.

"When I went to the BBC or something it was always 'well, why don't you write about your country?' and I don't have a country. I left my country," he said.

"The world becomes your country and you can tell stories from different places."

"The Two Faces of January" is screening out of competition at the Berlin film festival where it generated mixed reviews.

London's Daily Telegraph called it an "elegantly pleasurable period thriller, a film of tidy precision and class". But movie website Indiewire dismissed it as a "competent disappointment". – AFP, February 12, 2014.

Netflix drama ‘House of Cards’ returns en masse

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:11 PM PST

February 12, 2014

What better way to spend Valentine's Day than to binge out on the machinations of the most duplicitous Washington power couple ever to grace the small screen?

"House of Cards" returns Friday to Netflix, the Internet streaming video service that threw away the Hollywood playbook a year ago when it sent out all 13 hour-long episodes of its flagship original drama in one fell swoop.

It will do so again this time to its 31 million subscribers in the United States, plus those in Canada, South America, Britain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Finland.

Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey stars as the vengeful and manipulative congressman Frank Underwood, with Robin Wright as his wife and willing accomplice Claire, and Kate Mara as ambitious young reporter Zoe Barnes.

Netflix has ordered up a third season, and hinted there may be even more, after "House of Cards" collected nine Emmy nominations, the first ever for an Internet-delivered series, and won Wright a best-actress Golden Globe.

"We think there is plenty of great storyline" to keep the show running, Netflix spokesman Joris Evers told AFP.

Political dramas are already a winning fixture on American television, with ABC's "Scandal" starring Kerry Washington resuming its third season on February 27 and cable channel Showtime's spy-focused thriller "Homeland" renewed for a fourth season.

How accurately "House of Cards" – whose presentational style follows the eponymous post-Margaret Thatcher BBC miniseries set in Westminster – portrays real-life Washington is debatable.

"Honestly, the egos and the quest and thirst for power is very prevalent in Washington," Republican congressman Jeff Duncan, who like the fictional Underwood hails from South Carolina, told Politico.com.

But President Barack Obama only wishes that Washington could be as "ruthlessly efficient" as it appears on "House of Cards," he told a gathering of technology executives in December.

Season two of the show, which is actually filmed north of Washington in the city of Baltimore, finds Underwood assuming the vice presidency, having ruthlessly undercut rivals and even murdered someone in a protracted act of revenge after earlier being denied the promised post of secretary of state.

"One heartbeat away from the presidency and not a single vote cast in my name. Democracy is so overrated," snickers Underwood in one of his signature asides to the viewer, according to TV critics who got a early look at the new season.

Eschewing mainstream television's fixation with ratings, commercial-free Netflix won't comment on how many people stream "House of Cards," saying only that it is "one of the most popular series" in its lineup.

But Evers disputed the notion that Netflix series are usually watched in one sitting, despite the possibility created by shunning the one weekly episode format favored by other smash-hit shows such as the now-ended "Breaking Bad".

"We find that our members typically watch two, sometimes three episodes at a time. It is pretty rare for people to marathon-watch entire series," Evers said.

Brian Carso, a constitutional history professor at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania and fan of the show, sees in "House of Cards" the complicated relationship in American politics between the lofty ideal of virtue and the cold hard reality of power.

"There's something oddly attractive about Frank Underwood and Claire Underwood and Zoe Barnes and the various other players," he told AFP, "and yet they're also repulsive and corrupt – I mean, big-time corrupt."

Political science professor Jeffrey Bosworth of Mansfield University, also in Pennsylvania, thinks Spacey's portrayal of Underwood "plays into public cynicism about politicians and what motivates them" – namely, greed.

"Because Americans are so cynical about politicians, the show appears to be an 'honest' view of our political class," he said.

But Jessica Seigel, who's expecting 30 to 40 people for a "House of Cards" viewing party Friday at Swarthmore College, says the show isn't putting off her dream of one day working in Washington's corridors of power.

"It is slightly discouraging that you see this corruption," the political science student said, "but at the same time it encourages me as someone who really cares about changing Washington to be more involved." – AFP, February 12, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

Gabrielle Giffords, husband pen book urging gun laws to save lives

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 04:50 PM PST

February 12, 2014

Gifford's book builds on an earlier opinion piece in which she criticised senators for failing to enact gun control measures. – February 12, 2014.Former US Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was gravely wounded in a 2011 shooting rampage, has written a book with her husband "to rouse the long-overdue conversation" for gun control, a cause she has focused on since leaving office, her publisher said yesterday.

The book, "Enough: Our Fight to Keep America Safe From Gun Violence", builds on an opinion piece by Giffords published last April in The New York Times after gun control legislation stalled in the US Senate, according to a statement from Scribner, the publisher.

Giffords in the piece criticised senators for failing to enact the measures, which she argued could have prevented future mass shootings, and she accused them of being beholden to the gun rights lobby.

The legislation had been proposed in the aftermath of the December 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 first-graders and six staff members dead.

"'Enough' was one of the first words Gabby said to me after we learned about the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre," Giffords' husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, said in a statement announcing the book, to be released in June by Scribner.

"As Second Amendment supporters and gun owners ourselves, we hope our book rouses the long-overdue conversation our country needs to make responsible changes to our gun laws so that no more precious lives are lost," he added.

Giffords was shot in the head on January 8, 2011, by gunman Jared Loughner, who opened fire during a "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Tucson, Arizona, supermarket. Six people were killed and 12 others were wounded.

Loughner, a college dropout with a history of mental illness, pleaded guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who resigned from Congress two years ago to focus on her recovery, has been lobbying along with Kelly for tougher gun control laws, including expanded background checks and barring stalkers and domestic abusers from buying guns.

Giffords and Kelly formed a group aimed at curbing gun violence, Americans for Responsible Solutions, and have spent heavily on media advertisements and political campaigns in select states to press their efforts.

Susan Moldow, president of Scribner Publishing Group, said in a statement that the new book will offer "a rare look at Gabby's astonishing progress" since the mass shooting in Arizona that helped spark a national debate on gun control.

Giffords's recovery has been widely chronicled since the shooting, most recently when she went skydiving last month in southern Arizona to mark the third anniversary of the shooting.

In another opinion piece earlier this year in the New York Times, she wrote that she still struggles to speak, has vision problems and that her right arm and leg have been "paralysed". But she said there is progress in moving the arm.

Giffords told NBC's "Today" show she is working on her Spanish and again playing the French horn.

This is the second book by Giffords and Kelly. The first, published by Scribner in 2011, detailed the couple's lives together and her life and recovery after being shot. – Reuters, February 12, 2014.

Gabrielle Giffords, husband pen book urging gun laws to save lives

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 04:50 PM PST

February 12, 2014

The legislation had been proposed in the aftermath of the December 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 first-graders and six staff members dead.

Loughner, a college dropout with a history of mental illness, pleaded guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Giffords's recovery has been widely chronicled since the shooting, most recently when she went skydiving last month in southern Arizona to mark the third anniversary of the shooting.

Giffords told NBC's "Today" show she is working on her Spanish and again playing the French horn.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Bahasa

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Putrajaya‎ nafi laporan RSF, dakwa media Malaysia bebas bawah Najib

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:52 AM PST

OLEH MD IZWAN
February 12, 2014

Putrajaya juga menafikan pentadbiran Datuk Seri Najib Razak menyekat kebebasan media cetak kerana sengaja menyukarkan pembaharuan lesen kepada pihak penerbitan. – Gambar fail.Putrajaya hari ini menyangkal dakwaan kebebasan akhbar di Malaysia merosot susulan kejatuhan kedudukan negara dalam Indeks Kebebasan Akhbar 2014 yang dikeluarkan Wartawan Tanpa Sempadan (RSF).‎

Laporan RSF yang dikeluarkan di Perancis semalam, menyaksikan Malaysia merosot dua anak tangga ke-147 daripada 180 negara yang disenaraikan.

"Atas talian dan cetak, media di Malaysia lebih jauh bebas berbanding sebelumnya," kata jurucakap Pejabat Perdana Menteri dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Jurucakap Putrajaya juga berkata, kebebasan media di Malaysia terserlah dengan laman portal berita dan blog politik bebas menulis tanpa sebarang sekatan.

"Malaysia menikmati media atas talian yang terbuka dan bertenaga.

"Sesiapa yang melawat portal berita Malaysia atau blog politik boleh melihat dengan sendiri betapa bebasnya media atas talian," katanya.

Putrajaya juga menafikan pentadbiran Datuk Seri Najib Razak menyekat kebebasan media cetak kerana sengaja menyukarkan pembaharuan lesen kepada pihak penerbitan.

"Malah, dibawah Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak, undang-undang lesen media cetak juga dilonggarkan.

"Keperluan untuk membaharui lesen cetak setiap tahun dimansuhkan dan kebenaran Kementerian Dalam Negeri untuk menghalang, membenarkan atau menarik balik lesen juga dibuka untuk semakan kehakiman," katanya.

Kedudukan terbaru meletakkan Malaysia di bawah negara lain yang kurang membangun seperti Bangadesh (146), Myanmar (145) dan Cambodia (144).

Pada 2013, Malaysia sudah pun jatuh ke kedudukan tercorot, iaitu di tangga ke-145 daripada 179 buah negara dalam Indeks Kebebasan Media 2013 – pencapaian terburuk sejak indeks tahunan RSF diperkenalkan pada 2002.

Malaysia terjunam 23 anak tangga pada 2013 memandangkan negara ini diletakkan di tangga ke-122 pada 2011/2012 untuk Indeks Kebebasan Media.

Kedudukan Malaysia dalam Indeks Kebebasan Media 2014 mungkin di bawah Filipina dan Singapura jika diambil kira tindakan terbaru kerajaan menekan kebebasan media, iaitu pembatalan permit penerbitan FZ Daily, hanya beberapa jam selepas penerbit The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd diberikan izin oleh mahkamah untuk memulakan prosiding terhadap Kementerian Dalam Negeri yang menangguhkan pemberian permit kepada FZ Daily.

Pada 2006, kedudukan Malaysia dalam Indeks Kebebasan Media agak baik, iaitu di tangga ke-92. – 12 Februari, 2014.

PRK ujian kepada MCA jika mahu masuk ke Kabinet, kata Chua

Posted: 12 Feb 2014 12:51 AM PST

OLEH EILEEN NG
February 12, 2014

Chua Soi Lek berpendapat PRK DUN Kajang sepatutnya menjadi kayu pengukur untuk meyakinkan ahli MCA dalam mesyuarat khas (EGM) untuk menerima kembali jawatan Kabinet. – Gambar The Malaysian Insider oleh Afif Abdul Halim, 12 Februari 2014. Pilihan Raya Kecil Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kajang pada 23 Mac merupakan ujian kepada MCA untuk mendapatkan semula sokongan kaum Cina, pada masa yang sama mendapatkan semula tempat dalam Kabinet.

Bekas presiden MCA, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek berkata, parti kaum Cina dalam Barisan Nasional (BN) itu perlu menggunakan PRK tersebut sebagai kayu pengukur untuk menyakinkan ahlinya dalam mesyuarat khas (EGM) pada 23 Februari depan untuk menerima kembali jawatan Kabinet.

"Jika masyarakat Cina mahukan MCA di dalam Kabinet, mereka perlu menolak Anwar," kata Chua, merujuk kepada rancangan PKR meletakkan ketua pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di kerusi campuran itu.

"Jika mereka menolak MCA di Kajang, ia menunjukkan mereka tidak mahu wakil MCA dalam kerajaan dan juga Dewan Undangan Negeri Selangor," katanya lagi ketika wawancara bersama The Malaysian Insider hari ini.

MCA sebelum ini memutuskan tidak menerima sebarang jawatan kerajaan, susulan prestasi buruk dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13 (PRU13) tahun lalu, di mana mereka hanya menang tujuh daripada 37 kerusi Parlimen, dan 11 daripada 90 kerusi DUN yang ditandingi.

Bagaimanapun, dalam EGM 20 Oktober tahun lepas, ahli-ahlinya mengubah keputusan mereka bagi membenarkan pemimpin parti dilantik ke jawatan peringkat negeri dan ahli majlis tempatan, namun keputusan tidak menerima jawatan Kabinet masih kekal.

Sejak itu, penganti Dr Chua, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, berulangkali berkata wujud gesaan dalam parti supaya kembali menerima jawatan di Kabinet untuk menjadi suara kepada komuniti tersebut dengan lebih berkesan.

Ahli-ahlinya, semasa perhimpunan agung tahunan Disember lepas turut menyatakan rasa tidak puas hati mereka, menegaskan keputusan tersebut tidak memberi prospek baik kepada mereka, kerana tidak mempunyai suara dalam dasar dan keputusan yang dibuat kerajaan.

Namun, Dr Chua berkata masyarakat Cina secara jelas menolak wakil MCA dalam Kabinet, ia terbukti apabila mereka memilih DAP dalam PRU13 lalu.

"Saya tidak percaya dengan mempunyai satu atau dua menteri atau timbalan menteri, nasib MCA akan berubah. Atau akan mendapatkan kembali sokongan kaum Cina."

Beliau berkata dakwaan Liow mengatakan masyarakat Cina mahu MCA mewakili mereka dalam Kabinet akan memalukan dirinya sendiri jika Anwar menang PRK itu, serta memberi gambaran beliau seorang yang 'pentingkan diri' dan tergesa-gesa untuk menjadi menteri.

PRK Kajang ini kali ketiga diadakan sejak PRU13, susulan peletakan jawatan penyandangnya, Lee Chin Cheh daripada parti PKR.

Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya mengumumkan tarikh pilihan raya pada 23 Mac, manakala penamaan calon pada 11 Mac.

BN, bagaimanapun, masih belum mengumumkan nama calon mereka, tetapi khabar angin bertiup kencang Naib Presiden MCA, Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun akan diletakkan untuk melawan Anwar. – 12 Februari, 2014.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

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Mengapa saya sokong `Rencana Kajang’

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:05 PM PST

February 12, 2014

Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad is a member of the PAS central working committee and ex-MP of Kuala Selangor.

Rencana Kajang atau ringkasnya RK adalah sangat rumit untuk diringkaskan. Saya cuba membuat penerangan dan kalau baik menjadi pencerahan dan kalau tidak menambah keharuan.

Saya sedar risiko dikecam, paling tidaknya sebagai 'apologist' PKR. Demi misi perjuangan disepakati - menegakkan kebenaran-keadilan serta meruntuhkan kebatilan-kemungkaran, saya akan teruskan.

RK adalah cetusan pemikiran sekumpulan pemikir bagi menghadapi cabaran terhadap kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor. Walaupun rasa terkilan kerana tidak dilibatkan bersama mencetuskannya, saya cuba secara objektif menilainya.

Ada yang cuba membandingkannya dengan 'precedent' politik terdahulu misalnya dalam kes peletakan jawatan seorang menteri Umno-BN (ahli Parlimen) untuk bertanding kerusi DUN bagi laluan untuk diangkat menjadi MB.

RK tentunya mempunyai perhitungan yang berbeza dan punya kelainan dan tidak perlu mengambil insiden terdahulu sebagai 'precedent'.

Bagi penulis, RK adalah satu 'Pre-Emptive Attack' dalam menghadapi ancaman yang menggugah keutuhan pentadbiran kerajaan negeri Selangor.

Kemuncak tujuan RK ialah: Satu pendekatan bagi mempastikan bukan sahaja negeri Selangor dipertahankan bahkan akan terus dilonjakkan menjadi negeri pelopor dalam Malaysia.

Daripada kedudukan Selangor sebagai negeri contoh, Pakatan mahu diberi kepercayaan oleh rakyat untuk mengurus Putrajaya pula sebagaimana Pakatan mentadbir Selangor.

Kecemerlangan Selangor akan menjadi hujah dan bukti bahawa Pakatan bersedia untuk mengangkat negara pula supaya dihormati dan maju.

RK wajar dinilai daripada bacaan politik menyeluruh (Al-Istikraq) yang menuntut, antara lain, supaya diambil tindakan yang bersifat 'menutup pintu-pintu kemudharatan' (Sadda Dzari'ah).

Pembaca tentu mengikuti bagaiman lawan politik sudah pun dan terus akan menyerang negeri ini dengan pelbagai kaedah dan penjuru. Pertentangan agama atas isu kalimah Allah semakin sengit dan api perkauman sengaja ditiupkan oleh unsur ekstremis dan pelampau.

Mereka tidak segan silu mengheret institusi sultan meskipun semua warga tahu bahawa negara mengamalkan Raja Berperlembagaan.

Isu yang lain seperti isu migrasi air dan pentadbiran serta tatakelola juga perlu ditangani secara berkesan supaya tidak dapat dibolosi anasir subvesif.

Dengan kata lain, RK adalah strategi yang terpaksa diambil bagi kemaslahatan yang disepakati untuk mencapai strategi bersama. Laluannya ialah Kajang yang sekali gus merupakan 'faktor kritikal kejayaan' dalam menjayakan gerakan ini.

Apakah semudah itu? Tentunya tidak! Risikonya besar. Dalam bahasa pelaburan, risiko besar, untuk mendapat pulangan yang besar juga.

Tidak sukar menjangka bahawa seteru politik Pakatan akan merancang pelbagai strategi bagi menggagalkan rancangan ini.

Benar perang 'Khalid-Azmin' sudah tidak boleh disorok lagi. Menjustifikasi RK sebagai kaedah penyelesaian adalah amat tidak wajar dan mungkin juga tidak tepat. PAS (dan DAP) akan pasti menolak kalau semua ini hanya untuk memenangkan satu-satu pihak.

Dengan kata lain, PAS akan awal-awal lagi menolak rencana ini, andainya itu sahaja kepentingan (maslahah) yang hendak dicapai atau itu sahaja kemudaratan yang hendak ditangkis kerana tidak setimpal dengan 'risiko berat' atau kemudaratannya (mafasid) yang bakal diterima bagi menjayakan rencana ini termasuk berlaku krisis pentadbiran.

Sebabnya jelas kerana menolak kemudaratan adalah lebih penting daripada mengambil kepentingan.

Namun perlu dipastikan tindakan ini tidak mencetuskan kemudaratan yang lebih besar seperti krisis kepimpinan di mana undang-undang tubuh negeri akan digantung. Semua itu mesti digarap dalam satu langkah yang bersepadu.

Wajar juga diingatkan bahawa RK harus direalisasikan kerana kemaslahatan yang hendak dicapai iaitu iaitu membina 'negeri contoh' dengan menggandingkan kepimpinan ekonomi Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim dengan kekuatan politik Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim di samping tidak lupa akan kekuatan pemimpin Pakatan yang lain.

Pakatan Rakyat adalah pengalaman wadah PAS selaku gerakan Islam dalam Tahaaluf Siyasi.

Mengingatkan bahawa 5 kemestian utama dalam maqasid syariyah iaitu menjaga agama, akal, nyawa, keturunan dan harta benda, kini yang perlu ditambah adalah kepentingan keadilan dan kebebasan. Ia bakal menjadikan gerakan Islam lebih menyeluruh dalam persaingan global ini.

Maka RK mesti keluar dari kepompong pemikiran lama yang mengheret Pakatan kepada politik longkang dan jelek (Gutter Politics).

Penulis mahukan PAS/Pakatan Rakyat membawa negara ke arah satu politik baru yang lebih bersih dan adil supaya benar-benar dapat menjayakan agenda islah (penambahbaikan) serta mengangkat kemuliaan manusiawi yang sebenarnya.

Meskipun tidak diminta dan mungkin juga tidak berapa diperkenan pelbagai pihak, namun inilah pandangan penulis yang menjadikan beliau sangat teruja dan sangat bersemangat dengan 'Rencana Kajang' ini.

Kalau ada yang berpandangan penulis apologist kepada rencana PKR atau sesiapa pun, tuduhan itu sangat malang dan meleset. – 12 Februari, 2014.

* Ini adalah pendapat peribadi penulis dan tidak semestinya mewakili pandangan The Malaysian Insider.

The Gunners’ fixture list, a nightmare in the making

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 03:50 PM PST

February 12, 2014

As a player, Shebby Singh won everything there was to win in Malaysia football, and represented the country on the international stage.

With the abject thumping at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday, so begins two months of football which could make or break Arsenal's season – 12 matches in eight weeks (including last Saturday's visit to Anfield).

For an easier understanding of this scheduling conundrum for the North London side, let me break down this monstrously tricky schedule into three parts.

The curtain rises

We begin this tale of potential glory or potential woe at a blistering pace – four fixtures in three different competitions against quality opposition. Arsenal's schedule reads:

February 8 – Liverpool (away) – 5-1 defeat
February 12 – Manchester United (home)
February 16 – Liverpool (home, FA Cup 5th Round)
February 19 – Bayern Munich (home, UEFA Champions League Round of 16) We have already dissected the match against Liverpool in a previous column entry, and it stands as an inauspicious beginning to what seems to be a truly competitive run of fixtures for Arsene Wenger's men.

This immediate fortnight will set the tone for the remainder of this season – further progress in the FA Cup could turn into a bane as the scheduling gets tighter towards the end of the season and squads are being stretched thin.

Also, a Cup tie set three days before a massive clash with the freight-train that is Bayern Munich does not help matters either. Do not be surprised if Wenger decides to rest his favoured starting 11 for a shot at nicking a result in the Champions League to take with them to the return leg.

One must also make special note of the match against Manchester United (MU) at the Emirates tonight (tomorrow, 3.45am, Malaysian time).

The Arsenal players should rightly be fuming with themselves over their abject performance at Old Trafford back in November, and a resounding win against this MU side would be invaluable for morale and momentum.

MU's greatest performance in the league this season was at home against Arsenal, so can David Moyes make it a double?

Defeat to the Gunners would realistically put to rest any notion of top-level European competition next season, and for a marketing machine such as MU, this digression could prove painful.

Then comes Bayern Munich… unstoppable last season, there seems to be no sign of Pep Guardiola's men slowing down. Aside from the obvious narratives at work – Big English side up against big German side, who wore it better: Guardiola v Wenger?, etc – the significance of this fixture needs further elaboration.

The ensuing result from this match will do Wenger a great deal of good as he can realistically set down the remaining goals for the season, as follows:

1. Defeat Bayern at home (with a clean sheet, ideally) and the Frenchman might decide to go all in, challenging on both (three, if the FA Cup tie with Liverpool ends in victory) domestic and continental fronts.

2. Lose to Bayern at home, and Wenger could very well (depending on the severity of the defeat) phone in the second leg and focus on the quest for his fourth Premier League title.

The slight breather

After a thrilling opening, the dust settles into a more manageable three fixtures in 14 days, none of whom are in the position to challenge for a European berth next season (though depending on results, Swansea City might still be making progress in the Europa League).

February 22 – Sunderland (home)
March 1 – Stoke City (away)
March 8 – Swansea City (home)

Compared with the previous four matches (and the five that come after this) this run of fixtures should be considered routine wins for Arsenal – every point counts, and wins against mid-table sides will be crucial come May.

Regardless of form, Wenger (and fans) should expect nothing but win after win after win if Arsenal are to set the pace at the top of the league.

The roaring conclusion

Kicking things up a notch (or 10), this is truly primetime – a Champions League tie, two clashes against teams chasing a Champions League berth next season and two crucial dates with title rivals.

Two of these matches being London derbies only add to their importance. Check this out:

March 11 – Bayern Munich (away, CL Round of 16) – 2nd Leg
March 16 – Tottenham Hotspur (away)
March 22 – Chelsea (away)
March 29 – Manchester City (home)
April 5 – Everton (away)

The visit to the Allianz Arena will be crucial in deciding Arsenal's progress to the next stage in the Champions League.

A loss could very well rattle this Arsenal squad while a win will surely more than galvanise them with the belief that they can finally get over a trophy drought that has seemingly lasted an eternity in current football time.

The away tie at White Hart Lane comes at a critical stage in Arsenal's season – fresh off a Champions League second leg clash and into a London derby is not the ideal scenario.

After that gruelling week, Arsenal get five days to refresh mentally and physically.

They will need it as a soul-sapping visit to Stamford Bridge is up next, with master tactician Jose Mourinho already rubbing his hands with glee over another 1-0 victory he would be preparing for. This could potentially be a title-deciding six-pointer if results up to this point go the right way for both London sides.

This match being scheduled a day after the Champions League draw for the quarter-finals adds an element of unpredictability to this tie.

The involvement of either side in Europe at that point of the competition complicates matters for Arsenal, more so than Chelsea (the first legs will be played on April 1 and 2, and the second legs will be played on April 8 and 9).

Chelsea would be playing both legs of their (hypothetical) Champions League quarter-final between fixtures against Crystal Palace (away) and at home to Stoke City, whereas Arsenal would be playing both legs between the fixtures which we are looking at next – Manchester City (home) and Everton (away).

Manchester City travel to London at the end of March, four days after visiting neighbours MU at Old Trafford.

While Chelsea could benefit the most from their title rivals sharing the spoils, the match at the Emirates could come to encapsulate a season of rejuvenation not only for the respective sides but the Premier League as a whole, bouncing back from an underwhelming 2012-13.

Finally, Arsenal's visit to Everton could be the trickiest of all with a run at the European berths being very much up for grabs.

Roberto Martinez's men have Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City among their final six matches to determine qualification for Europe next season.

Everton's up-tempo football and relentless pressure could be difficult to deal with at this stage of the season for Wenger's men.

However, with the realisation that their final five Premier League fixtures are against beatable opposition (with the benefit of week-long breaks in between matches, Champions League and FA Cup progress not factored in), a win could truly cap-off a remarkable 56 days of football for a side certain to go down in the annals of history as having drawn the short end of the scheduling stick. – February 12, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Rabu, 12 Februari 2014