Josef Fritzl - the face of evil

So Josef Fritzl - the monster of Austria - pleaded guilty to all charges in a sensational case that has kept the world transfixed. This bushy- eyebrowed Austrian enslaved his daughter for 24 years in a dank, cramped cellar, where she was raped over 3,000 times, and with who he fathered seven children.

One of them, Michael, died after not receiving medical attention, and dear Josef merely dumped his body on the stove and burned it.

When the trial first started, Josef pleaded not guilty to the most damning charge of murder, but after listening to the 11 hour video testimony by his daughter Elisabeth, he changed his mind.

Now, he's been sentenced to life imprisonment, and he will spend it at a facility for mentally delinquent persons.

Frankly, the sentence is too good for him. He should be strung up and publicly whipped, and then condemned to spend the rest of his life in the exact same cellar he imprisoned his daughter in.

One part of me wants him to undergo the same torture Elisabeth had to go through - but that would entail getting another Austrian monster to do a Fritzl. Not sure you can find another one so soon.

The rise and fall of capitalism

So there you have it - the world financial system is in tatters, with countless banks, investment houses and blue-chip corporations reporting record losses. Countries are teetering in the brink of bankruptcy - the government in Iceland has already fallen - as they pump trillions of dollars into the economy.

The US is a case in point. Having led the way of consumerism and free market economy, the spend spend spend culture, which depends solely on borrowings, has crashed and burned.

With one of the lowest savings rate in the developed world - Malaysians are eager beavers in this aspect compared to Americans - the US economy is in shambles. Starting from the sub-prime mortgage fallout, the domino effect of loose spending without adequate collateral or safeguards has had a tsunami effect on Wall Street.

Now, the Obama administration is in the midst of trying to push through a multi-trillion dollar bailout through a reluctant Congress.

But all it will do is merely delay the inevitable - a shocking decline in the US GDP and concurrent decline in the standard of living of its citizens.

The US in the end will have to be bailed out - perhaps by their Mid-East partners Saudi Arabia, and perhaps even by China in the long run.

The European economy is similarly shaky, having fallen hook line and sinker for the American way of pushing its business-at-all-costs method.

The rest of the world has also begun to suffer, with Japan leading the way in terms of non-performers among the industrialised nations. Two of the world's biggest economies: China and India, are also struggling from the knock-on effect of US mismanagement.

Karl Marx said, in the Communist Manifesto, that capitalism is inherently unstable. It took a while, but it looks like he may be proved right after all...

The Naked Truth

So Selangor state assemblywoman and exco member Elizabeth Wong has tendered in her resignation after being caught in a nude photo/video scandal. The said photos have been in circulation for the past few months - some say as far back as November - and were taken by her now ex-boyfriend, a party member.

Okay, this issue concerns her personal life, and there has been a lot of support for her from human rights activists and politicians from both sides of the divide.

The photos were allegedly taken while she was sleeping in a compromising position, though there are rumours that there are more photos and videos that show her as a willing participant.

Let's set aside the morality issue for the moment and look solely from the point of law. Eli Wong did no wrong. She is single, and was not involved in an adulterous affair with a married man. She is not Muslim, and as such concepts of khalwat and zina do not come into the picture. So Eli Wong did not break any law. It is not against the law to take photos of yourself in the nude - provided they are not shown outside the privacy of your home.

She is entitled to her private life, and having multiple partners may be frowned on, but it certainly isn't unusual or illegal.

However, keeping such photos in an easily accessible place - like an unsecured laptop, for instance - or putting yourself in such a position where you end up choosing partners without considering that they could turn against you - be it by their own choosing, or doing the bidding of someone else - is not very smart.

Oh Eli! You should never leave such photographic evidence lying around your home unsecured, and neither should you have allowed others access to your home when you are not around.

So many women have fallen prey in the same manner; they trust their lovers enough to have sex on camera, but then cry foul when the relationship ends and the boyfriend shares the footage with others. If your like taking videos or photos in the nude, then be smart - make sure you are the one who keeps it safe. Don't allow copies. When the relationship ends, destroy the evidence immediately.

Eli Wong is, by all accounts, a hardworking and well-liked PKR assemblywoman who has a no-nonsense attitude towards corruption and illegal development. But she has made some powerful enemies, including from within her own party, as well as fellow Selangor exco members whose toes she has stepped on. Developers in the state, too, have an axe to grind with her for campaigning against hillslope projects.

Eli Wong has cost these people money. And they are gleeful over her downfall.

Eli, this did not have to happen. Now all your hardwork has come undone.
You showed poor judgment in this matter; yet, with your resignation, the real losers are the people of Selangor.

Returning the Ruler's immunity?

You know, I am quite shocked at how easily some people are manipulated. I am talking, of course, of the jokers in Umno, the ruling political party in Malaysia.

Just last year, these wankers raised a hue and cry when the rulers of Terengganu and Perlis rejected the Prime Minister's choice of Menteri Besar for the respective states, and choose someone else.

In Terengganu, Abdullah and gang said the Sultan's decision was unconstitutional, and the ruler was ever termed "Natang" - short for binatang, or animal, by the demonstators (all Umno, I bet).

Now, a year later, they are portraying themselves as defenders of the monarchy! Hah! I doubt the Sultan of Perak needs their idotic display of unity behind the rulers. If anything, such displays are counter-productive, as you can easily be accused of trying to manipulate the institution.

Now, some within Umno are even calling for the Ruler's immunity to be reinstated to "protect" the institution. Hello? Wasn't it BN - or more specifically Umno's Mahathir - who stripped them off this privilege in the first place, back in 1983? Do these Umno-its have such short memories?

Sheesh!

Go with the flow

You know, I've spent the whole night ruminating over my life. And I was hoping very much for salvation, in the form of an appointment to see spiritualist. But as fate would have it, my request for an appointment was refused. So here I am, bereft of all hope.
I feel a bit like Perakians now - buying into the dream promised by Anwar and Pakatan Rakyat, and then finding the rug pulled from under them with a change in govt no one wanted.
Now, there's no choice but to go with the flow and see where that takes you.

Khairy and a whole lot of nonsense

Seriously, has there ever been a more rabid band of brainless nincompoops like Umno Youth? And what's with Khairy Jamaluddin asking for Karpal Singh's citizenship to be revoked, and for Umno Youth members to do anything - legal or otherwise - to stop the rightful Perak MB Nizar from entering the state secretariat.

Exactly who appointed Umno Youth goons as the official security force for Perak State? Are they the new Rela force?

As for asking Karpal to be stripped of his citizenship, who is Umno Youth to say this anyway. Idiots, all of em. As far as I know, if the Sultan is displeased with you, he can basically say that you are persona non-grata in the state.

Karpal is not doing anything wrong by saying he wants to sue the Sultan. After all, it was during Mahathir's time that the parliament passed the law allowing rulers to be taken to court. So what exactly is Karpal doing wrong?

The prime minister today stated that Karpal is going to be arrested under the ISA, but since we all know he isn't the one running the country, the DAP chairman could still wind up facing time in Kamunting, a place he knows well.

And meanwhile, the Perakians weep in misery....

Perak in a pickle

I have been following the events in the state of Perak in Malaysia rather carefully. I admit that the whole thing about bringing down the state government via defections instead of elections stinks to high heaven.

It has been rumoured that the BN bought over the assemblymen for a cool RM15 million each.

There has been a lot of negative stuff written about the assemblypersons, especially DAP rep Hee. But I just want to say, how many of us can look a pile of money in the eye without being tempted. They say everyone has a price, and I believe that is true.

With the exception of Nik Aziz and many within PAS who seem to have genuine principles to hold on to, I would imagine that all the rest of us would have our own "surrender" point. Those who say otherwise would be lying, or have very strong moral standing.

But it's obvious from the Perak case that PKR is made up of opportunists who are only in it for the money. All the hopes and dreams of a people are now in tatters thanks to the poor leadership of Anwar and gang.

PKR is a party of no discipline or moral standing. It is sad that so many good people like Sivarasa, Charles Santiago, Syed Husin Ali etc, have pinned their hopes on Anwar to bring positive change, only to have it all end up in a quagmire.