We the people

What makes a nation? shared history, shared culture, shared language, shared values, if these are the elements that makes a country there are many that no longer fits the definition. If there is one factor that is true in all citizens of any country is that each one of us hope for a better life. Many move away from the country of their origins to another for better security, better treatment, better jobs, better life but in the end that is what we all want.

We do share one value, we value a good life and the ability to live as we see fit, yet here we are segmented, separated by our fears, hatred and pettiness. We carve out borders to exclude others, we huddle with our own kind out of hatred and we reject foreign values out of fear.

Humanity is one but diverse, yet its diversity is what separates us.

So I ask again, what makes a nation? I say it is fear.

計画通り

"for everyone of us you kill there will be thousands more to replace us"

now see there's the problem, the strategy is never about submission it's about suffocation and once you're all tired fighting amongst yourselves we'll just drop by and do as we please, guess what, it worked

Fe E

so what is irony?
I see irony in many things
Being hit by an ambulance that was meant to take you to the hospital
Going to war to make peace
Getting sick from a medicine

I also find irony in being able to access things easier after a system is set up to prevent access to it.

or shall I say, well done sir you just wasted much needed resources on something that is guaranteed to not work intended.

To movie goers

and by that I mean anyone who goes to the cinema to watch movies.

Ringing cellphones are irritating please switch it off or switch it to silent mode, if you do need to pick the phone step outside the cinema.

Keep your mouth closed when you chew, in fact close your mouth when you chew regardless where you are, it's disgusting, nobody wants to hear you eat.

Shut up and watch, pay attention to the story, understand the context, you can ask or discuss about the movie after it's over if you want to talk about it, it's what sane people do, unless it's a comedy in which you're allowed to laugh.

I pay money to watch a movie, not to listen to retards.

abide by this simple guideline and I will not accidentally tip my super-sized soda/popcorn to your person or cause harm to your mobile phone.

*this rule also applies to classical concerts and stage plays

go vote

Silver linings

For every bad news, disaster or calamity positivist encourage others to look at the silver lining, the gain instead of the loss. This is like focusing on the nutritional value of eating a plate of human excrement. OK I might be exaggerating, it's really not that bad, it's like not having to pay income tax after you lost your job not to mention the amount of time you get to spend with your family or yourself, or not having to pay for your child's tuition fees after he or she was run over by a truck (and think of the possible compensation payout you might get from that) and think about the job opportunities you might get after a disaster that wipe out half of the human population on the planet and if you do get the short end of the stick on the general population reduction measure you gain more than you've lost, the only thing that you've lost is your life and all earthly bonds but you get to see the afterlife and god, maybe some old friends and relatives. If you don't believe in the afterlife you can always be glad for not having to worry about getting a job, pay taxes, in fact you don't personally have to pay for anything.

So yes, if you come to me and tell me to look at the silver lining from a bad thing that happen to me I'm going make you do the same the next time it happens to you.

Time to bail!

It has been several days since the US bailout plan was approved and less than 2 days since the UK plan was approved and we can already see the immediate effect on the stock markets, everything is up, the DOW, the NASDAQ , FTSE, you name it. Does this mean the economy is improving? it seems like it, will it regain public trust in banks? probably not but the banks will still making money regardless.

So what have we learned from this economic roller coaster experience? for one thing we know that the market, like god, works in a mysterious but predictable way, also, like god when the market makes a turn for the worst it's the less fortunate that gets the short end of the stick and then forced to look at a non existent silver lining. Another thing that we can take out from this learning experience is that if you're big enough it you will never have to be accountable for your mistakes no matter how big that mistake is, in fact it's more likely that you will be rewarded for it with a slap on the wrist as the worst consequence you'll receive.

700 billion

I'm not going to talk about the irony of a Republican government nationalizing companies, I think that horse is dead and beaten, instead I will talk about the numbers. I can say with a degree of certainty that most of us have never dealt with numbers that high in any field, especially when we talk about money. 

The recent move by the US government to bailout failing major financial institutions is costing the American taxpayers around $700 billion, to some the move may seem like elitist socialism but in the end the American public gets to own one some of the most well known financial institution in history (at least technically), so congratulations Americans you're now the (technical) owner of one of the most prestigious financial institution in the world. 

Let's look at that number again, 700 billion. Now let's take a look at the population in New York City, 8 million, now we move further back and look at the population of the US, it's estimated to be around 305,226,110, now lets move even further back and see the world's population, 6,725,295,014. Technically they could give away $2 million dollars to every person on the face of the earth and still have plenty more to spend, of course it would bring the world economy into financial ruin but seeing how things are going now I don't see the difference. 

So here's my proposal, invest in people, give everyone $2 million dollars and hope they'd spend it, and if you're loosing or have lost your home because of the mortgage crisis I'm sure you'd like to buy that dream home you just lost.

a tribute...

and now I give to you the symbol of Jakarta and the spirit of its people......

it's called monumental failure

it's HUGE!

Putting all other rants aside I now present to you something so hideous it's mesmerizing, the Giant Can:

It's filled with 960 ml of barely tea, yes that's right, 960 ml, only 40 ml short of a whole liter 

Here we go again

I have nothing against people who make movies about THE holocaust, I do however have a lot against the amount of it.

Yes it was a terrible event and yes it DID happen and yes it is necessary for people to be made aware of such atrocities through popular art, literature and cinema but why does it almost always focus on THE holocaust? why isn't there more movies about
massacres that happened more recently?

I don't think there are anyone in the "Western" world who has not heard of the systematic racial purge that happened in the Second World War but while we watch and study the history of the Holocaust most of us ignore the fact that many of the refugees arriving in the developed countries came from places where genocide are not seen in their history books but is happening in front of their eyes.

Do we not owe them our attention by making others aware of their condition as well?
or are they not relevant enough because they do not share the same history as we do?

Righty ho then

やっとここに着いた、後戻りはない

Waiting

As the clock ticks I wait until the my final day comes, as I wait I can't help but think of the date and one sentence said many years ago on, "You are about to embark on a great crusade", while I do not equate myself to those whom these words are addressed to these words still ring true, if I loose this one last push I will be left with nothing.

Departing....again

As I pack my bags again I realized that I have to leave a few things behind, then as I look around those things my thoughts wander to my former work colleagues, my niece, my cats, friends and other people that I will leave behind. This isn't the first and it wouldn't be my last time....One last look. 

Chapter 3

So I was told my student visa was granted today, suffice to say I was relieved, soon I won't have to deal with religious ignoramus shouting over the speaker, traffic jams, and smog filled air. Will there be anything I miss? naturally, the cheap prices of some things and a handful of people but other than that I'm glad.

This will be a new chapter for me in this journey called life, it will be different and it will be the same, I will meet with new people and familiar faces, somethings I will do differently and others will be the same but one thing for sure it's going to be something.

You Habla Engrish!?

From a figure manufacturing website

Fact

I don't get upset often but if I do  and it's caused by someone else other than myself I suggest you keep your distance. Apologies mean next to nothing to me and I hold a grudges, if want to say you're sorry be sorry for your existence and fix that error.

Yes I'm not a very nice guy but if you know me you already know that.

Percentages

Less people die from self inflicted gunshot wound or jumping off buildings than those who smoke, yet chain smokers are not arrested for attempt to commit suicide (which is illegal in some countries).  Ok there's the issue of intent but with the various warnings on smoking that's about as intentional as standing on a train track while being warned that they'll get hit by a train.

Then again what do I care, the more people die due to their own stupidity the better it is for the rest of us.

Oh great.....

(Insert caption here)

I like attics.

A bigot is a person who is prejudiced against anyone outside his/her own kind, don't be picky hate everything, at least that way you'd be fair.