Below average

Did BBC’s Jennifer Pak ever study statistics?

Malaysian authorities are grappling with a growing problem of abandoned babies.

Sixty-five infants have been found so far this year, and many were dead by the time they were discovered.

The government fears that number will surpass previous totals – an average of 100 babies are found each year.-BBC

Now read the three parts in bold carefully. A growing problem, 65 infants and an average of 100 babies a year.

2010 is almost eight months old 8 divided into the total amount of babies abandoned- 8.125 a month

8.125 times 12 months equals 97 babies for a year.

The article claims an average of 100 abandoned babies are found each year. Average is the key word, not record high. So it seems to me based on what Jennifer Pak wrote, the number of abandoned babies is on about a normal level. 97 is less than 100, but its within the margin of error. The amount of abandoned babies is not increasing at all.

Does anyone at BBC understand basic statistics or do they prefer writing scary misleading articles and headlines?

The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is The China National Chemical Construction Corp. They get the award for the following.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese state-run company has been ordered to pay a record $65 million (32 million pounds) in compensation, plus interest, for destroying a Malaysia Airlines plane with falsely declared cargo of caustic chemicals.

The Airbus A330 was ruined when 80 canisters belonging to the Dalian branch of the China National Chemical Construction Corp. leaked an extremely corrosive chemical, oxalyl chloride, in the cargo hold in March 2000.

The crew of the passenger flight from Beijing detected an acrid odour before landing in Kuala Lumpur en route to India and five ground handlers were taken ill when unloading the canisters to be sold to an Indian company.

The passengers disembarked without incident, but the $130 million aircraft was so badly damaged that the manufacturer concluded that it could not be repaired.

The Beijing Higher People's Court ruled on Wednesday that the Dalian company should bear the main blame by declaring the canisters contained a safe chemical in the form of powder, the Beijing Times said on Thursday.

The company had to pay five foreign insurers for Malaysia Airlines $65 million plus interest in compensation, ending a five-year lawsuit, the newspaper said.

Their improper shipment of chemicals didn't just destroy an airplane but endanger human lives. That is way I name The China National Chemical Construction Corp. today's Knucklehead of the Day.

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The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital. They get the award for the following.

SUNGAI PETANI: A woman carefully packed her son's severed fingertip in ice and rushed it to the hospital hoping that doctors would be able to re-attach it.

However, a hospital staff took one look at it and decided it could not be re-attached. He then flushed the digit down the toilet.

A flabbergasted Zuraiza Omar has lodged a police report on the incident and is claiming that Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital was negligent.

Zuraiza's son, Muhamad Shaeidil Amir, 11, was injured on Friday when he accidentally sliced off the tip of his left forefinger while cutting off the top of a coconut with a parang at his home in Kampung Batu Menunggul, Air Putih, Pendang.

"My son was referred to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital at 11am, on Friday. I also took the fingertip, which I packed in ice," said the 35-year-old housewife.

She said her son was treated at the hospital's emergency department, and a staff there asked her for the finger tip.

"He looked at it and said it could not be re-attached. He went out of the room and returned a few minutes later.

"The other staff asked for the fingertip and the man nonchalantly replied that he had flushed it down the toilet. I could sense that his colleagues were shocked by their expression."

Zuraiza said the doctor was also taken aback when she informed him of what had happened.

She then lodged a report at the Alor Star police station.

State health director Dr Hasnah Ismail said the incident was being investigated.

Total incompetence by the hospital. That is all it takes to make Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital today's Knucklehead of the Day.

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Watering hole

Some news from Malaysia. This is great news for the people of Selangor. Then you have to believe what Minister Minister Lim Keng Yaik says about the find of an underwater cavern. A politician or government official would never lie in order to prevent a public panic, right?(Cue the sarcastic laughter)

Linked to- Adam, Big Dog, Blue Star,

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia has discovered an underground water basin as big as Singapore, dismissing fears that its most densely populated state Selangor will run out of water in three years, a government minister said.

The water cavern was found in Batang Padang area in northern Perak state, which can be tapped in the next two years, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Lim Keng Yaik told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Selangor, on the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula, is facing a critical water supply situation, state-owned Bernama news agency reported in January, citing a study. To address the issue, the government planned to call an international tender next month for a 3 billion ringgit ($858 million) project to transfer water from eastern Pahang state to Selangor.

``We have found a huge amount of underground water in Batang Padang, a huge underground cavern, it is as big as the size of Singapore,'' Lim said. ``There won't be a water shortage'' in Selangor, he said.

The government also plans to build a water-treatment plant in a related, 2 billion ringgit project, he said. Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd., Selangor state's investment arm, will build the facility, he said.

The Knuckleheads of the Day award

Today's winners are the Makkal Osai newspaper and Malaysia's Internal Security Ministry. They get the award for the following.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The Malaysian government's decision to temporarily shut down a newspaper for printing a picture of Jesus smoking is a blow for free speech, opposition leaders and a media watchdog said Saturday.

Malaysia's Internal Security Ministry on Friday ordered the Makkal Osai daily to stop publishing for one month after a picture appeared this week showing Jesus Christ clutching a cigarette and what appeared to be a beer can.

The Tamil-language newspaper has insisted that it printed the picture by accident after a staff member failed to spot that Jesus was apparently smoking.

The suspension "will only create a very chilling effect on free expression and is not conducive to creating a vibrant media space," said Lim Kit Siang, an opposition politician with the Democratic Action Party.

He said the matter should have been allowed to rest as there was no malice intended and Christian leaders had accepted the paper's apology.

Media freedom watchdog the Centre for Independent Journalism called the government decision "unwarranted and high-handed".

"That a suspension order can be so swiftly imposed and despite the paper having apologized ... indicate continual disregard for freedom of the press and that alternative expression on religion must not be tolerated," it said.

Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin later defended the government's actions, and said it was a reminder to all publications not to offend other religions.

"This also shows that the government does not only act against those who publish articles or pictures that offend the sensitivities of the Malays and Muslims," Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.

The picture, published on Tuesday, was used to illustrate an article on the sayings of great leaders, and ran with the quote: "If someone repents for his mistakes, then heaven awaits them."

What the newspaper did was in bad taste, but I defend their right to do what they did. In two years of blogging, I've defended people who I very much disagree with, take for instance people like Cindy Sheehan and Ann Coulter, because I strongly believe in Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press. They are essential to have a free society. People talking about unpopular or controversial subjects, should have the right to do so. That doesn't mean they can't get a Knucklehead award from me if I feel they're nuts.

The Malaysian government by shutting down the newspaper, I feel has crossed a line too. Not offending religious groups is noble, but I feel the government can't be deciding what is offensive and what isn't. Its a power that can be easily misused or abused. Some subjects are unpopular, but also correct. Winston Churchill railed against the dangers Nazi Germany posed before WWII but few British politicians or members of the public agreed at the time.(Or they just didn't care.) Color me libertarian when it comes to free speech and press.

The Makkal Osai newspaper and Malaysia's Internal Security Ministry are today's Knuckleheads of the Day.

Note- My wife disagrees with my giving the Internal Security Ministry an award. Guess I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight.

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Good deal

Some news from Malaysia. This man should count himself lucky that two animals is all he had to pay. The first wife could have been thinking of something far more harmful.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Malaysian villager who took a second wife has been ordered by a court to compensate his first wife and their children with a buffalo and a pig, an official said Wednesday.

The Native Court in Penampang district on Borneo island annulled the man's 10-year marriage to his first wife and granted her custody of their three children Tuesday, said District Native Court Chief Innocent Makajil, who presided over the panel deciding the case.

"It is a symbolic punishment because he violated his people's customs by marrying more than once," Makajil said by telephone.

The identities of the couple are not being revealed due to a request by the wife, Makajil said.

The man, a self-employed 30 year old, is from Borneo's Kadazan-Dusun indigenous community. His second wife, whom he married earlier this year, is a Muslim, and he converted from Christianity to Islam, Makajil said.

Not so sharp

Some news from Malaysia.

A Filipino woman was fined yesterday in Malaysia for threatening her condo-minium manager with a knife. The complaint stemmed from the unit’s leaking roof.

According to the Malaysian newspaper The Star Online, Ederlina Hampac Katzengruber, 38, was asked by a magistrate court in Kuala Lumpur to pay 500 ringgit, or around P6,600, for pointing a knife at Jodie Monica Ho Mei Yi in December last year.

Katzengruber, who lives in the condominium unit with her Australian husband, reportedly confronted Ho with a knife and threatened her over the management’s failure to promptly act on her request to fix her unit’s leaking roof.

“The court was told that Katzengruber pointed the knife at Ho and told her, ‘Jodie, do you see this?’ and said it was ‘easy to stab someone in the neck’ and ‘(I) don’t care being put in the jail,’” the report said.

Katzengruber also told Ho that the management’s failure to repair her unit’s leaking roof for four days has damaged the things she kept at her balcony.

After the incident, Ho complained to the police on Dec. 12, 2006 after learning that Katzengruber had also threatened workers carrying out the repairs.

The Star said Katzengruber admitted to committing criminal intimidation on Ho with the knife and putting her in fear that day.

Her lawyer said the Filipino woman committed the offense “due to frustration with the management who failed to repair the roof using the correct tiles.”

There is no excusing what Katzengruber did. The article made no mention of what her sentence will be. Caning as a form of punishment is prevalent in that part of the world.

This story reminded me of a movie Dear wife and I watched not long after getting married. Our favorite quote from the movie was-

"I'll do anything for a woman with a knife."

James Bond is a wise man. LOL.

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Good dogs

Some news from Malaysia. I feel Lucky and Flo should at least get a treat or dog biscuit every day the rest of their lives in compensation. What do you think?.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Two American sniffer dogs who found millions of pirated DVDs while on loan to Malaysian authorities will receive medals of honor when their six-month assignment ends next week, an official said Thursday.

Black Labradors Lucky and Flo will be celebrated at an awards ceremony Monday before they return home to New York, said Nor Hayati Yahaya, the Motion Picture Association's manager for Malaysia.

Lucky and Flo — on loan from the U.S.-based association — have helped uncover pirated DVDs and equipment worth $6 million since they came to Malaysia in March, Nor Hayati said. The cases led to 26 arrests.

She said that the two female dogs seized 2 million of the 2.7 million discs seized this year.

The dogs are trained to sniff chemicals in the discs. They cannot distinguish between pirated and legal discs, but that part of the job is easily done by enforcement officers once the dogs have unearthed the caches. In at least one instance, the dogs were able to uncover secret rooms behind a false wall.

Nor Hayati said the dogs have raised awareness about movie piracy because the local media reported on almost every raid they were involved in, she said.

The Motion Picture Association and Malaysia's Domestic Trade Ministry are selecting two new dogs to be trained in Ireland by the same trainer who taught Lucky and Flo.

Malacca Pirates

No we're not talking about a professional sports team but this news.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Armed pirates attacked a Malaysian barge in the Malacca Strait and kidnapped two Indonesian crew, in the first high sea abduction in the busy waterway in more than two years, a global maritime watchdog said Tuesday.

The incident late Monday marked the third pirate attack in the strait this year, but the first since July 2005 in which ship crew were kidnapped, said Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

The barge was carrying steel billets from Malaysia's northern state of Penang to Belawan in Indonesia when it was raided by some 10 gun-toting pirates, Choong said.

They destroyed all communication equipment on board before fleeing with the ship master and chief engineer, both Indonesian, he said. Another six Indonesian crew were unharmed, he said, adding that the vessel is now in Belawan for investigation.

The strait is notorious for robberies and hijackings, but the number of attacks has fallen since Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, which share the waterway, launched coordinated maritime and air patrols in recent years to curb piracy.

Some 65,000 vessels pass through the Malacca Strait each year, carrying half the world's oil and more than a third of its commerce.

The Malacca Straits is one of the most travelled and most visited shipping channels in the world. Approximately twenty to twenty-five percent of the world's sea trade pass through these waters.

Pirates are a perennial nuisance in that part of the world. They can still be found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and The Philippines. When all is said and done, pirates pose nothing but a local threat.

The greatest in these straits would be a terrorist. The sinking or venting of a large oil tanker, could have catastrophic consequences.(The waters are as shallow as 25m) Some people dismiss the threat, terrorists like Bin Laden prefer dramatic targets. How about a strike lets say close to Singapore? Singapore has a population of over 4.5 million people, and has a very busy port. A terrrorist attack near there would be certain to gain the dramatic television coverage many terrorists seek along with death and destruction.

Bottom line- Terrorists can attack anywhere, that's why a defensive strategy is unlikely ever to work. There are just many vulnerable spots in the world.

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