The power of panicking

While fear of further market downturn brought Dow Jones a historic dive after the $700 billion bailout bill failed to pass in the Congress, a rumor of bomb attack in a temple in India resulted in a stampede that killed 168 people. A real bomb attack a few days earlier killed 6 and wounded 45. The imminent threat painted by the Bush administration based on false intelligence lead the congresses to say yes on the war in Iraq.

Fear can do more harm than the real threat.

Ford Model T goes 100

Oct 1, 2008 marks the centennial of Ford Model T, the symbol of modern era in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Cnet.com has a very good review of the car that had shaped American landscape.

History in the making

This season's news is far more thrilling yet entertaining than any TV shows ever made. The first black presidential candidate for the United States talks sense in this time of turmoil and is leading in the polls. The 72 years-old John McCain seeks to be the oldest first-term president and picks a female governor of Alaska with no national experience nor foreign experience (and needs babysitting by McCain throughout the campaign) to be his running mate. Her less-than-handful interviews by the media are disaterous. Financial institutions on Wall Street crumble one after another. Investment banks got bought up by gigantic banks which become even more gigantic, got nationalized or gone bankrupt. John McCain "stops" campaigning and rushs to Washington to "lead" a bipartisan meeting with House representatives, President Bush, head of the Fed and Treasury Secretary to settle on a bill that allows the government to use as much as $700 billion to bail out bad credits, but both Democrats and Republicans say that McCain is not helping if not bring trouble. The meeting ends with a standoff after the Republicans revolt. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson half-knees to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and begs the Democrats to resume the meeting, and concedes that it is the Republicans that are holding back the negotiation. The House leaders spend the whole weekend doing some real work to sort out a bill, which is only rejected in the House by 23 votes, because many congressmen and congresswomen do not want to take the risk of upsetting their constituents only 5 weeks away from election. Dow Jones plummets by 777 points, the biggest one-day drop ever. The rest of the world follows suit.

This is history in the making. I am so glad to witness it up close.

p.s. The decision by a few US Supreme Court judges decided in 2000 the fate of millions in the Middle East. Let's hope that the decision of a few dozens of US House representatives do not turn the world over this time.

ATV burn-up on re-entry

From BBC news:


Europe's "Jules Verne" space freighter has destroyed itself in a controlled burn-up over the southern Pacific.

The 13.5-tonne cargo ship had completed a six-month mission to the space station and was packed with the orbiting platform's rubbish.

Two engine firings were required to slow the freighter sufficiently to pull it into the atmosphere.

The European and US space agencies had chase planes in the air to try to capture the fireball on video.

Palin's foreign policy experience in her own words

It is a joke to put this woman on the VP seat. I am very looking forward to the VP debate next Thursday.

Yet another final frontier

Prayer

A friend of mine was to deliver her baby daughter at the end of July. I lost touched with her 2 weeks before the due day, and I wrote her an email almost 2 months after that. What I got back was a short message, saying her baby was dead. I was shocked.

It must have been two awful months of her life.

I wish I can do more than praying for her.

New toy

My new toy: Nikon FM2. Made from 1982 till 2001 and all mechanical, they are the most sturdy SLR ever made. This particular one was made in 1989, and it comes with a Nikkor 50mm f1.8.

Top Republican says Palin unready

from BBC news:

Senior Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has voiced doubts about Sarah Palin's qualifications for the vice-presidency.

John McCain's running mate "doesn't have any foreign policy credentials", Mr Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald.

Mr Hagel was a prominent supporter of Mr McCain during his 2000 bid for the US presidency, but has declined to endorse either candidate this year.

He was opposed to the Iraq War, and recently joined Mr McCain's rival Barack Obama on a Middle East trip.

'Stop the nonsense'

"I think it's a stretch to, in any way, to say that she's got the experience to be president of the United States," Mr Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald newspaper.

And he was dismissive of the fact that Mrs Palin, the governor of Alaska, has made few trips abroad.

"You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything."

Mr Hagel also criticised the McCain campaign for its suggestion that the proximity of Alaska to Russia gave Mrs Palin foreign policy experience.

"I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia'," he said.

"That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

香 港 潮 語 學 習 字 卡

[按此打開]

The night after Mid-Autumn Festival

The sky clears off at last.

Taken by SonyEricsson W890i, then BW using GIMP2.4

Taxi drivers 'have brain sat-nav'

from BBC news:

Scientists have uncovered evidence for an inbuilt "sat-nav" system in the brains of London taxi drivers.

They used magnetic scanners to explore the brain activity of taxi drivers as they navigated their way through a virtual simulation of London's streets.

Different brain regions were activated as they considered route options, spotted familiar landmarks or thought about their customers.

Porn Star Registry

Luke Thighwalker.. Darth-invade-her.. Obe-comon-boon-me.. C3P-blow.. Sperminator.. Winnie The Poo-hole.. hahaha..

MadTV Abercrombie skit

Damn funny!

Key wins for Hong Kong opposition

From BBC news:

Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp has won more than a third of seats in elections on the island, and so retains a key veto over future major legislation.

Final results show the pro-democracy opposition won 23 out of 60 seats in the Legislative Council of the Chinese-administered but autonomous territory.

Thank you so much for everyone who voted for the pro-democracy camp.

Starry Night

I am trying to identify constellations these days. I've got a book and Windows Worldwide Telescope helps a lot. Of course, I am taking pictures for those stars too. I used my Nikon D70s and its kit lens set at 28 mm, f3.5, ISO 800. At first I got less stars than my eyes could see. Then I thought the noise reduction treated fade stars as noise, as some people on the web suggested. But at last I figured that I had my UV filter attached to the lens all the time. Simply taking it off captures even more stars naked eyes can see.

梁 家 騮 醫 生 當 選

醫 學 界 梁 家 騮 擊 敗 郭 家 麒 當 選
2008-09-08 HKT 07:18

立 法 會 選 舉 ， 醫 學 界 功 能 界 別 由 威 爾 斯 醫 院 外 科 醫 生 梁 家 騮 擊 敗 尋 求 連 任 的 郭 家 麒 當 選 。

威 爾 斯 醫 院 外 科 醫 生 梁 家 騮 得 2217 票 ； 港 大 微 生 物 學 系 副 教 授 何 栢 良 得 2138 票 ； 西 醫 工 會 會 長 楊 超 發 得 580 票 ； 郭 家 麒 得 1869 票 。

Congratulations! I am so proud of you 騮哥! 努力為公義做事!
__________________________

政綱 (初稿)

監察政府施政、關注政制發展
立法會的主要功能是審議法案、監察施政。若缺乏監察，政府便會有意無意地作出疑似官商勾結、私相授受的行為。近日「副局長」及「政治助理」的委任，和數年前「西九龍發展」的建議等，就是明顯的事例。我們的業界代表，須是獨立敢言的，而不是得到政府或醫管局高層祝福的「朋友」。本人若能當選，定必以嚴謹、理性和求真的態度，代表業界監察政府施政。

來屆立法會，政制發展是無法迴避的議題，每一席位都是影響香港往後數十年的關鍵。本人的立場和大部份的市民一樣，認同「雙普選」是保障人權法治的基石，有利於香港的長遠發展。時間當然是越早越好，但可接受有限期的等待。內容方面卻更加重要，任何過渡安排都應以真正的普選為最終目標。

改善行醫環境、平衡社會利益
不論在公營機構服務、或是私人執業的同業，都希望工作穩定，可以持續發展，專心發揮所長，服務社會。可惜，近十餘年的政府政策和社會變遷，每每令同業如處於驚濤駭浪之中。缺乏發展機會、强差人意的聘用條件、工時偏長，都令在醫管局工作的同事士氣低落。人力供求失衡、保健組織惡性經營、領匯及私人商舖租金和專業責任保費急升、私家醫院病床不足等，亦使私人執業的感到艱難。以上的問題，都曾有同業提出解決方案，欠缺的是坐言起行的決心，這便是業界代表的責任。

政府剛提出的醫療融資建議，市民的供款只能減少政府在公營醫療的保貼，但並不足以促使市民選擇私營服務。若政府利用市民的供款購買私營服務，經驗所得，政府必定以壟斷者的角色扭曲市場，若果沒有合理的平衡機制，本人不會支持。

本人的競選網站將稍後開始運作，網址為www.leungkl.org，歡迎探訪及發表意見。

Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'

From the Associated Press:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task that is from God."

In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it "God's will."

What the fuck?? Does she mean the Iraq war is a holy war? The last thing we need in this world is another fundamentalist! Think about she is literally a heart beat away from the presidency if the MaCain-Palin ticket wins the election!
_______________________

Check this out. A friend of mine posted it on his Facebook. I can't verify the authenticity of the tape, but if it is not a hoax, it is how dismal this pair of president/vice-president is gonna be:
"McCain's Voice Mail to Palin Leaked to Press"

A boy and a peasant

Read from a blog some inspiring stories:

Always remember those who serve
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
'How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked.
'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.
'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins.
'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.
You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

The obstacle in our path
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.