Transition
I'm switching blogs. So check it out: esmondkhoo.wordpress.com
See you there!
I'm switching blogs. So check it out: esmondkhoo.wordpress.com
See you there!
I was just telling a friend that the controversy of Evolution (capital 'E') doesn't seem (to me at least) to be a big issue in Malaysia. Think about it. When has the subject of evolution ever come up in your conversations, or in the media. I can say that in my 3 years in USM, it was brought up maybe once or twice (one of which was during Modern Physics lecture with Dr. Yoon). I heard, even the biology lecturers in USM will just gloss through the topic. And it's only because they have to.
BUT, for some people who are more exposed to western ideas, chances are this is (at least at the personal level) an issue that they grapple with.
SO, for those who
1) have an interest in the evolution vs. intelligent design debate, or
2) those who feel that freedom to challenge accepted ideas/ideologies is suppressed
...then you might find this interesting.
EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED
It's a documentary in the vein of 'Supersize Me' and 'An Inconvenient Truth'. The issue is "The freedom to legitimately challenge 'Big Science's' orthodoxy...without persecution." It's by Ben Stein (lawyer, writer, actor etc.). You might remember him from 'The Mask'. I still remember his line: "We all wear masks, metaphorically speaking"
Go to Expelledthemovie.com
Check it out. I do hope it'll cause a stir just like "An Inconvenient Truth" did. Also hoping it'll come to Malaysia. Wonder what are the chances of that?
Death. I just heard earlier today. A lab assistant from Lab 200 in Physics School USM just collapsed and died last Wednesday night. He was to retire this November.
I'm quite shocked because i see him almost every week. I talk to him occasionally when I go to the lab to do my final year project. In fact, I saw him just last Monday. 3 days before his passing. On Wednesday he punched out of work just like any other day. He died later that night.
I'm just shocked. Someone, living and breathing, snuffed out. Irreversible. Irretrievable. Someone I barely know, but nevertheless...know.
And what I really...regret...is that I never shared the gospel with this man. I remember thinking whether I should talk to this man about his eternal destiny last Monday when I saw him. I thought the same thing on several occasions prior to that. I'm too late...
THE LINK BETWEEN FREEDOM & PROSPERITY
By Rebecca Hagelin
If there’s one thing the American experiment proves, it’s the power of freedom to transform lives. If you let people control their own destinies, there’s no limit to what they can achieve. But if you bind them with the straitjacket of central planning, smother their creativity with over-regulation, fence them in with high tariffs and take their hard-earned money with high taxes, you kill their dreams even as you wreck an economy.
That’s the central lesson of the “2008 Index of Economic Freedom,” just released by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. A country-by-country survey of how free people are worldwide to direct their own economic fortunes, the Index repeatedly demonstrates the vital link between freedom and prosperity. Simply put, the freer people are, the more an economy grows -- and the more everyone benefits.
Take something as basic as income. In the world’s most restricted economies, rated as “repressed” and “mostly unfree” by the Index editors, average income hovers around $4,000 a year. But in a “moderately free” economy, it’s three times as much: $12,830. If you’re in a “mostly free” one, you can double even that amount: $26,630 annually. And in a “free” economy? $33,579 -- more than eight times the money you’d earn in an unfree economy. Turns out you can put a price on economic liberty.
So which country has the freest economy? It may surprise you to learn that it’s not the United States. In fact, the U.S. isn’t even in the top three. We come in at No. 5 -- a bit disappointing, perhaps, but not bad when you notice that the Index editors graded more than 150 nations. Hong Kong took the top spot for the 14th year in a row, followed by Singapore, Ireland and Australia. New Zealand (6th) and Canada (7th) are the only other countries rated “free,” which means they average 80 percent or better on the Index scale of 0-100.
Now, what exactly do we mean when we say that an economy is “free”? Every country is different, of course, with various strengths and weaknesses, but it generally means several things. It means that taxes and inflation are low. It means that the government doesn’t spend too much or control the banks. It means property rights are protected, businesses are easy to start, and the court system -- which is largely free from corruption -- enforces contracts. It means tariffs are low, foreign investment is welcomed, and regulations are kept to a minimum.
The Index editors carefully study the data for each of these areas to assign a grade to each country. Small wonder that only seven make the cut as “free.” Most of the world’s economies fall in the “moderately free” (51) or “mostly unfree” (52) categories. The rest are divided up pretty evenly between “mostly free” (23) and “repressed” (24). Which means that most of the world’s population isn’t very free, economically speaking.
But don’t despair. For one thing, although the level of overall economic freedom held fairly steady over the last year, the overall trend since the inaugural Index in 1995 has been up. Plus -- and here’s the most hopeful part of the whole enterprise -- countries can, and many do, improve. The history of the Index is filled with success stories. Ireland is a prime example, as is Chile. Both nations have made clear-cut changes over the years -- changes that have given people more economic freedom and therefore helped their economies grow.
This connection between freedom and wealth is by no means new. In fact, the Index can be viewed as a new tool to prove an old truth. As the editors note in the introduction to the 2008 Index: “Economic theory dating back to the publication of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations in 1776 emphasizes the lesson that basic institutions that protect the liberty of individuals to pursue their own economic interests result in greater prosperity for the larger society.”
Economic freedom is about more than just the bottom line. When you give people the liberty they crave, you do more than boost an economy -- you make it possible for men and women to improve their lives. In the words of the Declaration of Independence, they’re free to engage in “the pursuit of happiness.” And as the Index proves, it’s a virtuous cycle that leaves everyone better off than they were before.
### Rebecca Hagelin, a vice president at The Heritage Foundation, is the author of “Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That’s Gone Stark Raving Mad“ and runs the Web site HomeInvasion.org.
The founder of Gospel for Asia says while persecution is increasing
worldwide for Christians, he believes it will soon impact believers in America
Persecution against Christians is increasing worldwide, especially in countries such as
India
, where attacks on churches and Christians by Hindu extremists have increased dramatically. In fact, when missionaries graduate from Gospel for Asia (GFA) Bible colleges, they are told to expect persecution -- and perhaps even death -- for spreading the gospel.
According to GFA founder K.P. Yohannan, Christians in those countries expect
such treatment and are prepared when the tough times come. But he believes
Christians in America
"The great falling-away from faith could be worst here in [America]
because people are absolutely not prepared to face suffering or persecution --
because we cannot imagine a gospel with the cross and the suffering in
it," says Yohannan. "Yet the Bible teaches very strong about it. So
as the Word of God says: He who has ears, let him hear."
The ministry leader is convinced that prosperity has caused many Christians
in America
"These are warning signs," he exclaims. "God is telling us
[that] we need to prepare our lives. And preachers going around saying that
revival is coming, and everything is okay, and all these things? I think that
people are [being] set up for huge disaster and denying their faith when they
face problems."
It is estimated that more than 16,000 Christians are martyred worldwide each
year for their faith.
All Original Content Copyright 2006-2008 American Family News Network - All Rights Reserved
What about us in Malaysia? Are we ready when it comes (NOT hoping that it'll come)?
I have turned 22. I don't feel 22. But then again, how does being 22 feel like? I dunno, coz I've never been 22. So actually, I probably am feeling 22 right know but don't know it coz I've never been 22 before. Hmmm...
The past year has been full. Full of memories. Full of experiences. Full of struggles. Full of God's sustaining grace. I read my diary entry for my 21st birthday. The verse i wrote down was Ps. 139:18 - "When I awake, I am still with you." Indeed for the past year, everytime I awoke, I am still with God (and He with me).
At EXCO Planning and Retreat, at one of the devotions we read John 3:30 - "He must become greater; I must become less." The funny thing is, someone else from church also sent me a birthday message accompanied by that same verse. It strikes me coz of the word increase. As my age increases, He must increase, I must become less.
Here's to another year...I am Esmond. And I am 22 years young!
"Groves at this time sank into periods of profound introspection, depressed at his inability to rejoice in the Lord. He thought how easy it had been to appear an outstanding Christian when blessed with a loving wife, a comfortable home, a rewarding profession and a stimulating circle of godly friends; and how hard to maintain any Christian spirit at all when stripped bare and exposed to a thousand weaknesses. "My heart," he confessed, "is very sad to think how profitless a servant I have been." Mercifully, the black moods were interspersed with more hopeful thoughts: "The sense of my Father's love and Saviour's sympathy has never been taken from me amidst all my trials. Nay, I do feel that the Lord is fitting me, by suffering and separation, for the work to which he has called me."
- excerpt from Father of Faith Missions: The Life and Times of Anthony Norris Groves.
Anthony Groves was an early missionary of the Brethren movement. A missionary in Baghdad, the above passage, taken from his biography, happened after he had endured a bad flood, lost his wife to the plague and learned that his friends from another place called Aleppo won't be joining him in the mission fields of Baghdad.
I have made a truly remarkable discovery. I have discovered what makes a joke a lame joke. I have long tried to understand - what is it that makes a lame joke...lame?
First we should note that a lame joke is not analogous to such types of jokes as say, 'knock knock jokes' or 'dirty jokes' for 'knock knock jokes' and 'dirty jokes' may or may not be lame. In other words, 'lame' is not a category or type of joke in that sense. If not, then what is it?
A lame joke is more likely an assigned quality to a joke by a listener rather than it being intentionally lame by the joker. Put another way, a joke requires another person's independent judgment of it for the joke to be lame.
This then, is my discovery; I have found, through keen observation:
Jokes become lame when nobody reciprocates
Even as I look at my own life in recent years, I've noticed that most jokes I (try to) make are not purposefully lame, but I end up being accused of being lame anyway. Why is that so? In almost every instance I recall, my jokes, its punchline and the desired effects were cut short because someone perceived that I was being lame. If a joke was non-lame and delivered correctly, then I reckon that it would have elicited some positive response and thereafter naturally progress to a healthy going-back-and-forth of witty banter.
A joke only becomes lame when nobody reciprocates. Yes, people may laugh at the joke but to reciprocate would be, for example, to respond with another joke.
I don't know if you understand what I'm trying to say, but in all probability...you would have just dismissed this post as...lame.
Here's an interesting human interest story: Gebrselassie apologises to Tergat for breaking record .
Gebrselassie, after breaking the world marathon record, apologized to long time friend and rival Paul Tergat who held the record before Gebrselassie's win. Tergat called to congratulate him and got an "I'm sorry" response instead. Very curious indeed.
I'm not that much into sports, but this Gebrselassie's reaction to his win is, I'm quite sure, not typical of sportsmen. I really wonder why he reacted the way he did. As some very well know, humility and inferiority can often be confused. Was Gebrselassie humble or inferior?
More than that, if he was humble, he would "count all height of honor as nothing" (Thomas a Kempis). If he was genuinely feeling inferior he would have said, "I don't deserve it". But he said "I'm sorry" to his friend? Virtue or Insecurity? Somehow I feel I can relate to this.
However, one thing that occurred to me was how his pursuit (and his achievement) didn't get in the way of his friendship. "Hi, Paul, I'm sorry. You can come here and try to get
it back again next year." "Paul is my friend." And it was reported that Paul Tergat would have none of it, telling Gebrselassie he was
delighted for him. Touching.
