MAS Advertising?

23 Dec 2011 - I have a simple question: is Malaysia Airlines seriously promoting the slogan 1 Malaysia by offering a discount for multi-racial group travelers? The ad "Malaysia Airlines celebrates the spirit of 1 Malaysia" was posted in the right column of my Facebook page. I do not have the habit of clicking these ads and helping the Facebook Gods to further shape my dodgy profile, but I am always in need of cheap tickets to Europe so ... hey! It seems that MAS goes all political by touching the very sensitive topic of "race" or "ethnicity" in Malaysia by offering a discount for people who travel in groups of three, six or nine, if they belong to different races. One simply has to show the Malaysian passport or ID card to qualify. There is even a word for your travel companions: your muhibbah mates. What to make of this ad?  

Six Stars

23 Dec 2011 - The flag of China is a red field charged in the upper corner nearest the flagpole with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly (the side farthest from the flag pole). The red represents revolution; the five stars and their relationship represent the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party.. Sometimes, the flag is referred to as the "Five Star Red Flag". It is rather amusing that Vietnam blundered by welcoming  Vice President Xi Jinping with a flag with six stars. The official media in Vietnam ignored the mistake, but the internet is buzzing. One person said "Please stop the people who want to turn Vietnam into China's sixth star.". Xi Jinping went to Vietnam to improve relations over some disputed islands in the South China China.
PS Sorry for the poor quality picture ... but it's the only proof I have ...

Self-repair

22 Dec 2011 - I was always recall Stanley Kubrick's master-piece "2001" a Space Odyssey", when I read about developments like this. But researchers have done it again: are we one step closer to computers ruling the world? In any way, self-repairing electronic chips are one step closer, according to a team of US researchers. The group has created a circuit that heals itself when cracked thanks to the release of liquid metal which restores conductivity. The process takes less than an eye blink to bring the circuit back to use. The researchers said that their work could eventually lead to longer-lasting gadgets as well as solving one of the big problems of interplanetary travel. The work was carried out by a team of scientists and engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (never heard of the place, but that's where it obviously happens) and is published in the journal Advanced Materials. The process works by exploiting the stress that causes the initial damage in the chips to break open tiny reservoirs of a healing material that fills in the resulting gaps, restoring electrical flow.

Gay Marriage Improves Health

18 Dec.2011 - This from the BBC website ... Legalising same-sex marriage may create a healthier environment for gay men, say US researchers. The number of visits by gay men to health clinics dropped significantly after same-sex unions were allowed in the state Massachusetts. This was regardless of whether the men were in a stable relationship, reported the American Journal of Public Health. A UK HIV charity said there was a clear link between happiness and health. Research has already suggested that gay men are more likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts than heterosexual men, and that social exclusion may be partly responsible. Same-sex marriages are legal in six US states, with Massachusetts the first to allow them in 2003.Researchers from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health surveyed the demand for medical and mental health care from 1,211 gay men registered with a particular health clinic in the 12 months prior to the change, and the 12 months afterwards. They found a 13% drop in healthcare visits after the law was enacted. There was a reduction in blood pressure problems, depression and "adjustment disorders", which the authors claimed could be the result of reduced stress. Lesbian women were not included in the study as there were insufficient numbers to give a statistically meaningful result. Dr Mark Hatzenbuehler, who led the study, said: "Our results suggest that removing these barriers improves the health of gay and bisexual men. "Marriage equality may produce broad public health benefits by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health conditions." A spokesman for the Terrence Higgins Trust, a UK-based sexual health and HIV charity, said: "There is a known link between health and happiness. "It's no surprise that people who are treated as second class citizens tend to have low self esteem, which in turn makes them more likely to take risks. "Whether this is drugs, alcohol abuse, or unsafe sex, treating gay men unequally has lasting repercussions for their health."