Khamis, 13 Mac 2014

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

German court sentences Bayern boss Hoeness to jail for tax evasion

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 08:31 AM PDT

March 13, 2014

Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness arrives for the verdict in his trial for tax evasion at the regional court in Munich today. – Reuters pic, March 13, 2014.A German court convicted Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness of tax evasion today and sentenced the man who turned the football club into one of the world's most successful sports dynasties to 3-1/2 years in jail.

Judge Rupert Heindl ruled that Hoeness's voluntary disclosure that he had failed to pay taxes had been incomplete and thus did not meet a vital requirement needed for amnesty under laws designed to encourage tax evaders to come clean.

Hoeness has admitted evading 27.2 million euros (RM124.13 million) in taxes on income earned in secret Swiss bank accounts, but the football club executive was hoping for leniency in one of the most closely watched tax evasion cases in German history.

"The voluntary disclosure is not valid with the documents that were presented alone," said the judge. He said the confession was riddled with mistakes and that Hoeness had failed to submit other documents requested by tax inspectors on time.

The 62-year-old Hoeness, who also owns a Bavarian sausage factory, bowed his head and stared at the floor when the verdict was delivered, his face turning red as he struggled to retain his composure. He left the court in silence, avoiding reporters.

The case hinged on the question of whether Hoeness, who as a player helped West Germany win the 1974 World Cup, cooperated fully with his voluntary disclosure. His case shocked the nation and prompted thousands of tax dodgers to turn themselves in.

Hoeness's defence lawyers immediately announced they would appeal to the Federal Court of Justice.

"The high court will decide if his voluntary disclosure was valid, or partially valid or botched," said lawyer Hanns Feigen. "That's the interesting point. The key point is the way a taxpayer is being treated – as if he hadn't turned himself in."

The maximum sentence for tax evasion is 10 years and the prosecutors, citing Hoeness's cooperation, had sought a 5-1/2 year sentence.

Hoeness was first charged with evading 3.5 million euros in taxes. But when the trial began on Monday he stunned the court by admitting he had actually evaded five times that amount – or 18.5 million euros.

That figure was raised further to 27.2 million euros on the second day of the trial based on testimony by a tax inspector. Hoeness's defence team acknowledged the higher figure.

Hoeness, whose team won last year's Champions League and dominates the German Bundesliga, apologised to the court and pleaded for leniency. The club's earnings have soared under his stewardship, which has lasted 35 years in various posts. With more than 220,000 members, it is one of the world's biggest football clubs.

"I deeply regret my wrongdoing," he said on Monday. "I'm doing everything I can to put this unhappy chapter behind me."

Tax evasion is a serious crime in Germany. Peter Graf, the late father of tennis champion Steffi Graf, was sentenced in 1997 to three years and nine months for evading 12.3 million marks (6.3 million euros). He was released after 25 months.

Hoeness, once one of Germany's most admired soccer executives, alerted tax authorities in January 2013 about his bank account and undeclared income. He said the Swiss account was a personal account created for financial market trades.

Some 55,000 tax evaders have turned themselves in over the last four years and paid a total of about 3.5 billion euros in back taxes, according to the taxpayers association. The number of voluntary disclosures rose four-fold in 2013 from 2012.

Hoeness had been a friend of Chancellor Angela Merkel and a popular TV talk show guest. He spoke out for higher taxes and railed against tax evasion. His case has led to calls to change German laws that allow tax evaders to avoid prosecution if they turn themselves in before an investigation starts.

It is unclear if Hoeness can remain chairman of Bayern Munich's supervisory board. The club said its boards would deliberate the matter but would not decide immediately.

FC Bayern Munich AG is privately owned. Major German companies Adidas AG, Allianz and Audi AG , all of which are based in Bavaria, each have an 8.3% stake in the club. Deutsche Telekom AG is the club's main advertising sponsor.

Members of the supervisory board include Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges. – Reuters, March 13, 2014.

Former Kuala Lumpur player takes FAM to court over life ban

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 08:09 AM PDT

March 13, 2014

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) is ready to face any eventualities in a suit brought by former Kuala Lumpur player, Hafizi Roslee against the association on allegations that he was involved in match fixing.

FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the FAM was helpless as the player had taken the case to court even though the association had barred any individual or association from doing so.

"As he is suing us, there's nothing we can do... I understand we have received the letter from his lawyer. We will appoint a lawyer to handle the case and wait for the decision," Taufik told reporters after chairing a disciplinary committee meeting at Wisma FAM, Kelana Jaya, in Petaling Jaya today.

Hafizi, 29, who was represented by counsel Kevin De Rozario, said the case was filed through Tetuan Khairuddin Ngiam & Tan at the High Court Registrar's office in Petaling Jaya on March 6.

He named FAM as the first defendant and the Kuala Lumpur Football Association as the second defendant.

In the originating summons, Hafizi is seeking a court order for the decision of a life ban from any football activities sanctioned by FAM on him to be revoked.

He is also seeking a declaration that the FAM disciplinary code was unconstitutional, arbitrary as well as contrary to justice and public policy and the court has the jurisdiction to revoke the code.

Apart from that, Hafizi is also seeking a declaration that he was not bound by the charge letter and hearing handled by the first defendant in his absence on December 20, 2013.

The court fixed March 17 for case management before Judicial Commissioner Rosilah Yop.
Hafizi was among five Kuala Lumpur players who were banned for life and fined RM20,000 by the FAM after being found guilty of corruption and match-fixing.

The four other players who received the same punishment were Jeremy Danker, Khairul Anuar Shafie, Fadhlullah Yunsifar and Phoo Kai Lun.

Apart from the five, Kuala Lumpur chief coach, Stanislav Lieskovsky of Slovakia; assistant coach Rosli Omar and team officer Saari Jani were also found guilty by the committee and received the same punishment. – Bernama, March 13, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz

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‘Breaking Bad’ actor changes gear in ‘Need for Speed’

Posted: 12 Mar 2014 07:27 PM PDT

March 13, 2014

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul attend DreamWorks Picture's 'Need For Speed' screening hosted by The Cinema Society and Bushmill's after party at Jimmy At The James Hotel in New York City. – AFP pic, March 13, 2014.Fresh from the success of "Breaking Bad," Aaron Paul has plunged into a very different role in high-octane action movie "Need for Speed," swapping crystal meth for straight adrenaline.

Adapted from the video game of the same name, the film is Paul's first since he shot to stardom alongside Bryan Cranston in the hit TV show about a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin.

"I literally started this film the day after I wrapped 'Breaking Bad,'" Paul – who played Jesse Pinkman alongside Cranston's Walter White for five seasons – said before the movie's US release tomorrow.

"They had a charter plane waiting for me, I got on the plane, flew to Mendocino and I started at 6:30 in the morning the next day," added the 34-year-old.

Paul already had a long list of big-screen supporting role credits. But it was "Breaking Bad," which ended in September that almost certainly earned him the leading role in "Need for Speed."

In the film, directed by Scott Waugh and produced by Steven Spielberg, he plays Tobey Marshall, an honest mechanic who joins a cross-country race to avenge a friend's death and save his garage from bankruptcy.

The role is in stark contrast to that of Pinkman, who makes and deals in crystal meth in New Mexico.

"That was the goal, to try and do something as far away from Jesse Pinkman as possible. And then my next thing, I wanna do something far away from Tobey Marshall," he told reporters.

"Jesse never really found his footing until he was becoming really who he was toward the end of the series. But Tobey Marshall in 'Need for Speed' is a very strong guy, very grounded and very passionate."

Stunt driving lessons

The actor, who will be in Ridley Scott's "Exodus" later this year, said he hopes "Need for Speed" will lead to a sequel or sequels, to "dive deeper into the past of Tobey Marshall."

That would seem a distinct possibility, given the box office success of similar high-speed car films like the "Fast and Furious" franchise, which has made $2.3 billion (RM7.6 billion) over the six movies so far.

Waugh, an ex stuntman who made the powerful 2012 film "Act of Valor" about Navy SEALS, said "Need for Speed" was inspired by films from the late 60s and early 70s and from that era's icon, Steve McQueen.

And unlike an increasing number of films, he foregoes computer-generated effects in favour of old-school driving and stunt skills.

"I really wanted to make sure that everything was real. I'm a huge fan of the 60s and the 70s and the 80s car movies, 'Vanishing Point,' 'French Connection,' 'Grand Prix' (and) 'Bullitt,'" Waugh said.

"They did everything in camera, it was all real and the actors drove," he added. "In the last decade, we really relied on CG and a lot of time, I don't understand why because we can still do it practically.

"I understand if you have to deal with space or gravity, I get it. But not in a car movie."

To land the role, Paul therefore had to attend stunt driving school.

The actor didn't hesitate for a second.

"I jumped at the opportunity. We did a crash course, to learn how to drive these cars in a very aggressive way. By the end of first day, I was doing 360s. Anyone can do this crash course, it's so much fun," Paul said.

"Once you understand the mechanism of the emergency break, it's super simple. It's a lot easier than you would think." – AFP, March 13, 2014.

Bollywood to dance into final frontier: America

Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:02 PM PDT

March 12, 2014

Indian movie actress Vidya Balan (CL) and IIAF organizers at a press conference to promote the upcoming 15th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards which will take place in Tampa, Florida. – AFP pic, March 12, 2014.Bollywood is promising a song-and-dance extravaganza as Indian cinema throws its awards ceremony in the US for the first time, looking to tap into a mature but lucrative market.

The International Indian Film Academy said "House of Cards" and "American Beauty" star Kevin Spacey would appear in an acting workshop during the April 23-26 program in Tampa, Florida, part of an effort to woo an American audience.

Hoping to show Bollywood's global appeal, the prolific industry's answer to the Oscars has never been held in India since its inception in 2000. Instead, the awards have travelled to Britain, Canada and Australia but never the United States, the home turf of globally dominant Hollywood.

"It was high time, really. I don't know what has taken us so long," said leading Indian actress Vidya Balan, who will also appear at the awards.

In what may be a hopeful omen for Bollywood's chances stateside, Vidya said she unwittingly held up the airport's passport control line as the US officer explained to the actress her fondness for India's "uplifting" films.

Vidya, who is known for portraying strong women and served last year on the Cannes Film Festival's jury, said US audiences were beginning to ditch stock images of Indian cinema as just formulaic song-and-dance routines.

"I think some had the idea that Hindi film was esoteric or all a one-off spectacle," she told AFP. "I think they are now ripe to see that Hindi cinema has far more to offer."

Promoting Indian culture

Nonetheless, the awards plan a heavy dose of glitz with music, dancing and leading names for the main April 26 gala organizers predict will pack the 66,000-capacity home stadium of American football's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The event will feature performances by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani singer of qawwali spiritual music whose work has appeared in both Bollywood and Hollywood films. He is the nephew of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who gained an international audience through his collaborations with Western musicians including Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

Organizers said that Tampa had courted the Bollywood awards and that the industry chose the city off the Gulf of Mexico for its record at holding major events including American football's Super Bowl and the 2012 convention of the Republican Party.

Kiran Patel, an Indian American health care mogul in Tampa who helped bring the awards to the city, said that Bollywood played a "tremendous role" in the world by appealing to moviegoers regardless of religion, race or other dividing factors.

"It is not only entertainment that it is doing, but it is introducing our culture, our heritage to mainstream America," he told a news conference in New York.

"This is a way of showcasing our culture in a very different way and at a level that has never been witnessed in this country."

The awards will kick off with a free party for the Tampa public complete with Indian food, music and dancing.

An economic boost

Bollywood already has natural inroads in the United States, where nearly three million people are of Indian descent. The industry is also not short of viewers, estimating its films sell 5.3 billion tickets each year around the world.

But organizers said that the awards would bring additional economic benefits, with some 130 Indian chief executives jetting to Tampa to look at business cooperation on the sidelines.

"We have seen at the back of an IIFA, Indian companies going out there and investing in that economy," said Sabbas Joseph, director of the International Indian Film Academy.

Past award ceremonies have also brought surges in tourist numbers, which have risen by up to 195 percent during the event, he said.

"You have the East and West coming together, you have businesses coming together and you have tourism coming together." – AFP, March 12, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Features

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Pint-sized tyrannosaur was king of the Arctic

Posted: 12 Mar 2014 08:01 PM PDT

March 13, 2014

A new genus of Tyrannosaur Nanuqsaurus hoglundi also known as the 'polar bear lizard' was found in Alaska. - AFP graphic, March 13, 2014.A pint-sized tyrannosaur braved the frigid Arctic and feasted on fellow dinosaurs 70 million years ago, according to a report published yesterday on a new species identified from fossilised skull bones in Alaska.

Scientists have crowned the fierce creature the "polar bear lizard," or Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, and they say it stood as tall as a modern man but was half the size of its very close cousin, T. rex, the "lizard king."

An analysis of several skull bones and teeth are described in the journal PLoS ONE by Anthony Fiorillo and Ronald Tykoski of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Texas.

Roving across land that was dark for half the year and prone to rainy, snowy and frigid spells, the miniature tyrannosaur likely had a strong sense of smell and may also have had sharp vision to hunt prey at night.

It was also just as big as another common meat-eating dinosaur found in Alaska, the Troodon, Fiorillo told AFP.

"To us that is a really cool thing because it is telling us, we think, that there is something about the Arctic environment of 70 million years ago that selected for an optimal body size for a successful predator."

Skull fragments tell a story

The bones were found on a bluff above the Colville River in northern Alaska.

Remains of the much larger T. rex have typically been found further south, scattered across the western United States where the climate would have been warmer.

The area inside the Arctic Circle where the dinosaur bones were found was not as cold 70 million years ago, and was probably on par with modern day Seattle, Washington, or Calgary, Canada.

The tyrannosaur's skull fragments were found in a hole along with a horned dinosaur it likely killed and tried to eat, based on the tooth-size gashes in the plant-eater's bones, researchers said.

At the time of publication, researchers had four bone pieces, some of which were crucial because they showed the head growth of an adult, rather than a juvenile, and allowed scientists to estimate the overall skull size.

Since then, more fragments have been unearthed, Fiorillo said.

"We have a pretty complete picture of the skull roof now. The beauty of that is that the sediment that filled it in preserves the shape of the brain and we can see that this animal also had a well developed sense of smell."

University of Chicago palaeontologist Paul Sereno, who was not involved in the research, described the jaw and skull fragments as "pretty exciting."

When fossils of dinosaurs were first found in the Arctic three decades ago, they were initially mistaken for whale bones.

Early on, some experts believed the dinosaurs may have migrated, or that juveniles would have been unable to survive there, but more recent discoveries have debunked those ideas.

"We couldn't get ourselves to believe that they lived up there in the darkness," Sereno told AFP, adding that recent discoveries have changed that way of thinking.

"They must have been managing somehow. We know that reindeer change their diet to eat all sorts of strange things."

The new species' name, Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, is a nod to the Inuit name for polar bear, Nanook, and the natural gas tycoon Forrest Hoglund who helped fund the Texas museum where Arctic dinosaur bones are displayed. – AFP, March 13, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

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The Malaysian Insider :: Books

In Mona Lisa’s smile, US historian sees a feminist

Posted: 12 Mar 2014 08:26 PM PDT

March 13, 2014

It's taken him 12 years, but an amateur art historian from Texas reckons he's solved the mystery of the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile, five centuries after it was immortalized by Leonardo da Vinci.

In a just-published book, "The Lady Speaks: Uncovering the Secrets of the Mona Lisa," William Varvel argues that La Gioconda was a 16th-century feminist who favoured a greater role for women in the Catholic church.

"La Gioconda was trying to get people to see that the New Jerusalem would be here as soon as you recognise women's theological rights," Varvel, 53, a former mathematics professor, told AFP in a telephone interview.

"La Gioconda may be a grand statement for women's rights," he added.

His theory joins many others – some serious, others fanciful – surrounding what is perhaps the world's most famous painting, which draws legions of tourists every day to the Louvre museum in Paris.

History remembers the Mona Lisa as Lisa del Giocondo, a mother of five born into an aristocratic Florentine family whose husband, a cloth and silk merchant, commissioned the portrait.

Da Vinci, who had already painted The Last Supper for a Dominican convent, toiled on the oil-on-poplar painting from 1503 to 1506 and perhaps several years after.

In his 180-page book that's not always an easy read, Varvel explains that, in the course of his career, Da Vinci had painted "each and every verse" of the final chapter of the Old Testament's book of Zechariah, which anticipates the rise of an ideal society within a New Jerusalem.

He did so, Varvel contends, "in order to state that women's rights to the priesthood should be recognized."

What's more, the author said, "Leonardo constructed and placed a total of 40 separate symbols taken from chapter 14 into the background, middle ground and foreground of the composition of the Mona Lisa."

Religious clues?

Thus, Calvary rises from behind the Mona Lisa's right shoulder, while the Mount of Olives is on the other side. And folds on the arms of her robe suggest a yoke – a reference to Biblical texts and women's oppression.

For Da Vinci, the idea of a New Jerusalem "was based upon a universal recognition of both men and women of the laity to have recognised rights of the priesthood of Jesus Christ," Varvel said.

He added: "The perception of the New Jerusalem is the secret that her smile reflects."

Fascination with the Mona Lisa endures: over the years, some viewers claim to have sensed mysterious signs in her eyes, her voice has been reconstructed by Japanese enthusiasts, and a doctor once diagnosed her as having an excess of cholesterol.

"It's even been said that she's a man, even the portrait of Leonardo da Vinci himself," art historian Laure Fagnart told AFP.

"In my mind, there's nothing that's really hidden from us," added Fagnart, a specialist in Renaissance art at the University of Liege in Belgium who has not read Varvel's book.

"This is the portrait of a bourgeois woman like dozens of others from that time, albeit perhaps more difficult to read than other works," she said.

"Da Vinci was an artist who put thought into his painting, he did nothing in an innocent fashion."

For all the years he's committed to studying the Mona Lisa, Varvel has never actually seen it up close.

"I'm not going to fight the crowd to see La Gioconda," he said. "If I go to Paris, the Louvre is going to give me a private showing – and if they don't, I won't go." – AFP, March 13, 2014.

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Launch of ‘Adopt-the-Street’ project to aid Orang Asli

Posted: 12 Mar 2014 04:51 PM PDT

March 13, 2014

Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by LoyarBurok where all your profound, abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite, sagacious, and other thesaurus-described queries are answered. Free Your Mind!

Lord Bobo, I am a 21-year-old Orang Asli. My Tok Batin has recently died. Although I was saddened by his passing, I was quite excited to participate in the democratic process of electing a new Tok Batin. I waited and waited, and all of a sudden, we had a new headman installed. No campaign, no election — how can? (Temuan from Hulu Langat, verbal inquiry)

Thank you for this inquiry, which was communicated to us by a loyal minion from the Malaysian Centre of Constitutionalism and Human Rights (MCCHR). Lord Bobo is, of course, sorry to hear about the loss of your Tok Batin. Death, like a parent-in-law, is rarely a welcome visitor.

Unfortunately, your non-experience regarding the appointment of the new headman is nothing shocking.

The Aboriginal Peoples Act 1954 (APA), which was enacted to provide for the protection, well-being and advancement of the aboriginal peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, states that the 'hereditary headman of an aboriginal community shall be the headman thereof or, in the case of an aboriginal community in which the office of the headman is not hereditary, a person selected to be headman by the members of the community shall be the headman' [section 16(1)].

Essentially, this means that your headman could have been appointed due to his hereditary status, or by traditional means that may include the practice of traditional and spiritual rituals.

Villages in other parts of the Peninsular have reported that their Tok Batins are usually appointed by the Department of Orang Asli Affairs' Director-General under the recommendation of the village. There are also villages in the Peninsular which have maintained a democratic method of choosing their leaders.

While we are sure that you were disappointed by this experience, you should also be alarmed by what proceeds in the rest of section 16(1), which states that the selection of a headman is subject to the confirmation of the Minister of Rural and Regional Development. What?!

Yes, your community may have sacrificed 20 goats, crossed mountains, and fasted for 30 days to seek the approval of the gods for this new leader, but they still have to seek the approval of the Minister.

Section 16(2) slams the final nail in the coffin by stating that the Minister may remove any headman from his office.

His Supreme Eminenceness will summarise the above as follows: The government has absolute power in appointing the headman of your village. Does this sound democratic to you?

Hold on, don't stab yourself with that poisoned blowpipe dart yet. There is still hope for democracy in your village. Laws can be amended (take a look at our Constitution — it has been amended 600 times!).

What you need to do is to learn how to get your elected representatives to table this amendment (as a matter of fact, the government is currently trying to pass a highly dubious amendment to the APA that may greatly curb your community's rights to customary land).

"Get my who to table what?", you ask. Well, lucky for you, the good folks at the MCCHR have been working hard through their 'UndiMsia! – Empowering Orang Asli Youth' programme to encourage Orang Asli youths (particularly those of you in the Hulu Langat constituency) to connect with your elected representatives to solve the problems close to their hearts.

Please don't think that we are not talking about calling your MPs and ADUNs to get your 'longkang jam' taken care of. We mean hard-hitting matters like education, land issues, and Orang Asli rights.

For the past three years, UndiMsia! has been engaging with various Orang Asli communities in the Hulu Langat constituency. They have been conducting workshops and promoting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People (UNDRIP), a comprehensive declaration that seeks to protect the rights of indigenous people all over the world.

One village has been identified to start UndiMsia!'s pilot 'Adopt-the-Street' project. Kampung Genting Peres has started to engage their elected representative and the Selangor state government on their customary land rights. They are now in the midst of strengthening their claims to their lands by working with the state to map their customary land.

They have had many conversations with their ADUN, YB Tuan Haji Razaly bin Hassan, and in the process have scored a football field.

The launch of the football field and the 'Adopt-the-Street' project is taking place this Saturday (15 March 2014) at Kampung Genting Peres (GPS N3.12371 E101.95105) from 8.00 am. Their ADUN will be there, and everyone reading this is invited to attend and even join them in a friendly game of football. Email move@undimsia.com for more information.

Come and have a chat with the ADUN — perhaps, you can begin to work with him and his colleagues to amend the APA and to bring back true democracy to your village.

Although Lord Bobo already knows your question before you even knew you had a question, as a practical display of your true desire to have your query answered, His Supreme Eminenceness has graciously allowed you to communicate your questions by either emailing asklordbobo@loyarburok.com or tweeting your question, mentioning @LoyarBurok and using the hashtag #AskLordBobo. Now, what the hell are you waiting for? Hear This and Tremblingly Obey (although trembling is optional if you are somewhere very warm)! – March 13, 2014.