Winds of change... that´s what I would call that is happening at the moment......
The weather changed drastically during the previous week, throughout the weekend and even till today. Many say Autumn weather is already starting as the temperature drops tremendously and the skies are starting to be even gloomier than before. Night fall appears by 830pm instead of the previous summer time 11pm. Hard to be wearing thin clothes out lately as the weather changes too drastically and you probably either be caught in the harsh bitter cold or get wet from the rain..... Time to start taking out all the winter clothes.
And also time to start shopping for full snow and winter clothes to brace our first winter together in Germany. Shoes, clothes, jackets etc...... guess have to find one Saturday to go check things out as shops here don´t open on Sundays at all, yeap... you read correctly.... here the Sabbath day is really practiced and not just speech. In fact, shops down here closes at 8pm on Weekdays and 6 pm on Saturdays.... makes shopping all the more interesting -.- Sunday is strictly a family day. Other than the F&B line, everything else is closed, even the major shopping malls! And Sunday is the day where you´d just see all the familes on the streets of Berlin or in parks or woods having picnics together with their loved ones or families. Amazing ain´t it?! I wonder why such things are not practiced in our country.
With the coming of winter, comes our first celebration of Christmas far away from my homeland. I wonder how Christmas is like here. I know they are more into the celebration than in Malaysia, as it is a Muslim country. What more..... chances of having a white christmas is there...... woots, our first white christmas, baby and myself. ^^
Am also looking forward to November, hopefully we can be travelling to Scotland in November... *Keeps fingers crossed*
The leaked cable said that “in good times Umno can maintain control by distributing power and money to get what it wants (but) in bad times, it uses the stick.” — Reuters file pic
US ambassador James R. Keith said in a leaked cable, released by whistleblower site WikiLeaks through the Malaysia Today news portal that “in good times Umno can maintain control by distributing power and money to get what it wants (but) in bad times, it uses the stick, and for now that means intimidation.”
The document, signed by the US ambassador at the time, charged that Umno “controlled” security institutions like the military and the police by appointing “party stalwarts” to head these institutions. The cable said that while the army would remain “loyal” to legitimate leadership, the police, on the other hand, took direct orders from Umno.
“Umno leaders, united behind but also in a sense using Prime Minister (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, have made it clear that they are willing to blacken Malaysia’s reputation to ensure the end to opposition leader (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim’s political challenge,” said the cable in reference to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leader’s on-going sodomy trial where he was charged with sodomising an ex-aide on June 26, 2008.
“The ruling elite maintains control over the security apparatus through party stalwarts who run the security institutions, mainly the police but also the military. We believe the military will remain loyal to legitimate leadership and is not a likely tool to overturn an elected, royally-approved and Malay-led government from either the ruling or opposition side. The police, on the other hand, follow orders from the ruling party.
The document also stated that the government had “failed” to convince the majority of Malaysians that Anwar’s sodomy trial was not politically-motivated. — file pic
The cable added that Umno defined national security as a means to protect the party’s “superiority” and to ensure that the opposition cannot take over the reins of federal power.
“Now the criminal law is laid bare as a political tool, just as useful to the ruling party as the national security law.
“Umno leaders may fail to grasp the consequences of upping the ante; they hear what we are saying, but do not understand sufficiently well how difficult it will be for them to overcome the shadows they are casting on the country. They no doubt thought they were choosing the more palatable path in using the criminal law, and thus the sodomy charge, rather than detaining Anwar as a matter of national security under the Internal Security Act. But contrary to their intent, many in the international community will take this as escalation,” said the cable.
The document stated that at that point in time the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had “failed” to convince the majority of Malaysians as well as the international community that Anwar’s sodomy trial was not politically-motivated.
“The authorities themselves betray that fiction on a daily basis in the pages of the domestic press, and barely one in 10 Malaysians are buying into the party line a survey tells us,” said the cable.
The report recommended that the US “exploit” every possible opportunity for “authoritative bilateral exchange” to ensure the BN government understood the costs of “efforts that diminish the rule of law.”
