Kabaddi

27 Nov 2010 - Probably you have never heard of Kabaddi (my spell check does not recognize it). Note however, that this is one of the sports of the Asian Games. According to some, Kabaddi is the key to good health and long life. "Look at me, I am 50 years old and I can hold my breath for three minutes," boasts Balwan Singh, India's coach. "You can live 100 years playing Kabaddi.". The sport, long dominated by South Asian countries, involves teams joining hands, holding their breath and raiding opponents, chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi , kabaddi" as they do so. "you can keep chanting kabbadi and your internal organs, your heart, your lungs will become strong," explains Singh. He is not the only one to espouse the health benefits of the sport (game?). Three of the 14 members of Japan's kabaddi team are reportedly monks, while five others have graduated from a ZAn Institute.

Sexy Trunks

26 Nov 2010 - The skimpy trunks sported by the Singapore waterpolo team at the Asian Games are causing red faces and uproar in the conservative city state. The trunks display the Singapore flag's half white crescent moon on the front of the red briefs in what has been described as "inappropriate fashion". The government mouth-piece The Singapore Times used strong language as "disgusting" and "disgraceful". However, many Singaporeans praised the design as "sexy" and "cool". Unfortunately the team did not seek advice from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Arts, who condemned the design. Singapore has strict rules on the public display of the republic's flag The Singapore team were placed sixth after losing to Kuwait 5 - 4. Team manager Samuel Wong apologized for the trouble caused by the uniform.   

Bruni Comics

26 Nov 2010 - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, world famous as France's first lady and as a model/singer, has now been "immortalised" as a comic book heroine, an American publisher said. The 32-page comic book, released last month in English, but yet to find a publisher in France, is an unauthorised political biography with a difference.  A depiction of Mme. Sarkozy is on the cover, bare-shouldered in an evening gown with her hands crossed demurely in front of her poised before a billowing French tri-color. The readers are promised that "... being a French story, it has romance, sensuality, the occasional menage-a-trois." The scenes depict Bruni's family moving from Italy to France during the 1970s Red Brigades attacks, her modelling and music careers, her views and work on AIDS fundraising and her controversial meeting with the Pope. Other women who have received the comic book treat are US First Lady Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, J.K. Rowling and Olivia Newton-John.

Military Rule

25 Nov 2010 - Myanmar's military Government ordered more than 80 people at a shelter for patients with HIV/AIDS to leave following a visit by newly freed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (see my post yesterday). Suu Kyi, who was released a week ago from 7 years under house arrest, visited the shelter on the outskirts of Yangon on Wednesday, promising to provide it with badly needed medicines. She also addressed a crowd of about 600 people, who came to see her. A day after the visit, Government officials told patients they would have to leave by next week or face legal action because the center's permit was not being renewed. By law, home owners must seek government permission every two weeks to allow visitors to stay overnight. The shelter accommodates 82 patients, including young children, offering them housing, food, medicine and educational opportunities.

Great Picture (25)

24 Nov 2010 - I have paid tribute to Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi in the last few days, and like to share this picture from Magnum pictures showing a woman reading in her garden. There is no other human being around - she is all alone, but seems comfortable in her environment. Ms. Kyi pays an enormous personal price for standing up against the generals and advocating for democracy, human rights and economic progress. The Military regime has kept her under detention for more than 15 years of the last 21 years, and her release last week drew thousands of cheering supporters into Yangon's streets. This picture shows her isolation and her dignity.

Facebook Hooligans

23 Nov 2010 - Big alarm in Malaysia: police are monitoring a new trend in gangsterism in which members of gangster syndicates are recruited via Facebook, days Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar. "We are aware of new trends and are monitoring Facebook gangsterism and will investigate specific cases if necessary, " the Inspector-General said. Criminal gangs are recruiting youngsters for their ranks and were frealy revealing their background and even disclosing dates, times and venues of their meetings. It is estimated that in Malaysia alone about 2,000 people are using Facebook to get connected to gangsterism, including uploading pictures and video clips of their activities. Some parents have already responded and raised fears that (quote) "this new trend will negatively influence and pollute their children's mind." The trend is already wider spread in Singapore, where Facebook gangsters are involved in illegal money-lending, extortion and other (quote) "undesirable activities". And I thought Malaysia was a quiet place ...

Target

22 Nov 2010 - A country employee in Arizona has been fired after mistakenly euthanising a dog that saved soldiers in Afghanistan and lived through explosions in the war-torn country, officials announced. The unidentified Pinal County  animal control employee euthanised the female shepherd mix on Monday last week and was immediately placed on administrative leave. The dog, named Target, has been brought to the Phoenix area in August by Sgt. Terry Young after his tour of duty. Target reportedly frightened a suicide bomber inside a military base and potentially saved dozens of soldiers' lives. The dog escaped from Young's back yard, but later Young found Target's picture on a website used by country dog catchers to help owners track down lost pets. When Young went to collect Target he found her already dead. Country officials said it was all a mistake ...  

Plastic Bags

22 Nov 2010 - In the last seven years I have seen how Hong Kong slowly moved from being completely plastic indifferent to somewhat plastic aware. The Government struggled to introduce a levy of HKD 0.5 to be paid for every plastic bag used by the consumer, but succeeded in the end. It turned out that Hong Kong people can actually remember to bring their own back when they have to pay for the plastic one. Now in Malaysia, the situation is worse than I have ever seen in Hong Kong. Consumers are not required to pay for the plastic bags they use. Shop assistants tend to hand them out like candy, bundling wares two or three times over, no matter how small. Hey Malaysia, if you are shopping frozen goods, souvenirs or small items, or are just running your errands, please bring along your own bag, and do tell salespersons not to give you one if it is not necessary.

Quote of the Day (27)

21 Nov 2010 - Burmese Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi reached out to the country's splintered opposition, calling on thousands of exuberant supporters to unite following her release from house arrest. She later told a news conference that she was in favor of dialogue and national reconciliation. "Ihad better go onliving until I see a democratic Burma.", Ms. Kyi said.

City Parks

21 Nov 2010 - Lonely Planet has published a Top Ten of city parks. The argument goes that it is all nice and well to be working on the - let's say - 34th floor of your air-conditioned office building, but the question is if we really now what the world out there, and in particular nature out there, is all about. Most office workaholics would not really care, so it is good to know that the city park is just around the corner in most urban jungles. No surprise but the list is topped by New York's Central Park. It's iconic, endearing and cinematic, and shady lanes and strawberry fields (forever). London has St. James's Park and Paris has the Jardin du Luxembourg. The list goes on with Sdney, Beijing, Singapore and Barcelona mentioned, but what about Amsterdam's Vondelpark. Maybe it's on the small side to make the list, but it has everything a good city park needs to offer. So maybe not in the Lonely Planet Top Ten, but my number eleven.