Brainless Stone

This grandmama is apparently brainless, simply blurted out stupid thinking lingering in her mind in the hope of aggravating anti-China sentiments. The 80,000 lives lost in the earthquake don't concern her a bit. Probably she thinks 9-11, Tsunami, Katrina and all disasters are Karma too… Hey, something's wrong with her.

Energy

The oil price hit record high USD 136!!! Despite President Bush's personal begging to Saudi's King Abdullah, OPEC has no intention to increase output to sooth the crisis which leads to subsequent global inflation effect. OPEC said the culprit is the oil price speculation in the capitalism system, and blamed the weakness of USD. The oil reserve is dwindling faster than we expect, alternative energy resources are urgently sought.

The idea of bio-diesel was aggravated but it spurred food price escalation. So, now what? Coal generates pollution, hydro and wind power are limited by geographical conditions, solar technology is not efficient though… nuclear is the good resource, but the waste disposal is a tricky subject. Scientists have no solution to handle the threats of nuclear waste and radiation economically, swiftly and effectively.

Iran, the crowned "axle of evil" by the US, is aggressively developing nuclear technology, giving developed countries sleepless nights. Can't imagine what President Ahmadinejad would do once the country possessed matured nuclear technology. Coupled with the country's immense oil reserve, this Arab country will stir the world.

Protectionism?

News reported that the gulf of repelling immigrant sentiment is spreading in Italy lately. The illegal immigrants have been accused for social disorder. "Coincident" in line with the policy of new Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who suggests stricter immigration control.

Similar cases but more violent were also ignited in South Africa last week. The locals blamed the foreign immigrants mainly from Zimbabwe and Mozambique have stolen their job opportunities by cheaper wages. The locals are demanding higher pay, more benefits but reluctant to contribute more competitive effort. Who should be blamed? In the mid of worsening economy and hiking inflation, small group of right-wing hard-hitting grassroots level would channel their anger and disappointment on someone else.

Camden, a small town on the outskirt of Sydney has voted against the proposal to build a Muslim school for 1200 pupils. The proposal has drawn fierce oppositions and critics from the locals, obviously felt uneasy with and fear of Islamization on their land. They claimed no sense of economical or education needs in the small town. The mayor stressed that the decision was not made on religious or nationalistic grounds.

Serious

This is me and my secretary... I look so serious when pointing out her very small mistake... he he..

Disappointing

International Court of Justice (IJC) at Hague has recently judged 1 of the 3 islands – Pulau Batu Puteh under Singapore sovereignty. Look at the map, the 3 islands are very close to Malaysia mainland, The nearest tip of Singapore island is 3 times farther the distance. Our dear minister said this is a "win-win" solution for both countries over the 28 years dispute.

The loss is blamed to the lack of activity on the island for over 100 years and the letter written by the Johor acting state secretary to Singapore in 1953. Clearly our respectful governor had no vision of the critical and strategic geographic location of the same. Under the Law of the Sea, a country’s territorial waters stretched 12 nautical miles (22.2km) from its shores or any piece of land. Very disappointed!

Next – Michael Crichton

The author probably intends to show off his research on genetics instead of composing a solid sensible story. He spent too much time depicting various scenes which are not well linked and paved for the story development. I don't feel like turning the page continuously. In his other book State of Fear, he involved the cannibals (goodness… what a lousy idea!); and in this book he inserts an orangutan, humanzee (human + chimpanzee breed) and a talking parrot who could think and speak like human being. Another lousy idea… Not recommended.

Post Assault

The unprecedented assault on Khartoum by Darfur rebels erupted on 10-May. The government imposed martial law and curfew on the city immediately. The President accused neighboring Chad for supporting the rebels and undermining the stability of Sudan, thus announced cutting ties with the country the next day.

Friends in Khartoum said sporadic gun firing was heard, bridges were close, army stormed into houses searching rebels… was quite worrisome at that moment. Khartoum is peaceful now, but military patrol is enhanced.

These pictures are taken after the coup attempt. The government displayed the arms confiscated and burned the vehicles of rebels.

Unnecessary to Compensate

I filed a report to the "border police department" of the incident they rejected me on board (read this article) on 14-Mar-08 to Italy, and claiming compensation for my loss (air ticket, taxi and booked accommodation).

I receive their reply today. As expected they denied their responsibility in accordance with the travel regulations and pushed all blames to WizzAir. They did not apologize, said it is UNNECESSARY to compensate my loss! Not even punishing that bitch but promise they will carry out their works more efficiently. What a joke!

Photos Uploaded – Italy & Vatican City

The photos of this trip have been uploaded to my Travelogue. I'm not really satisfied with these photos… I'm sure I will dispose my Sony F717 soon and look for a new camera.

A Te (To You) - Lorenzo Jovanotti

Was deeply obssessed the first time I heard this song in Rome... I desperately searched for it once back to Bulgaria. So glad I found it... now "To You"... (click the Babel Fish to translate the lyric)

A te che sei l’unica al mondo L’unica ragione
Per arrivare fino in fondo Ad ogni mio respire
Quando ti guardo Dopo un giorno pieno di parole
Senza che tu mi dica niente Tutto si fa chiaro

A te che mi hai trovato All’angolo coi pugni chiusi
Con le mie spalle contro il muro Pronto a difendermi
Con gli occhi bassi Stavo in fila Con i disillusi
Tu mi hai raccolto Come un gatto E mi hai portato con te

A te io canto una canzone Perchè non ho altro
Niente di meglio da offrirti Di tutto quello che ho
Prendi il mio tempo E la magia Che con un solo salto
Ci fa volare dentro all’aria Come bollicine

A te che sei
Semplicemente sei
Sostanza dei giorni miei
Sostanza dei sogni miei

A te che sei il mio grande amore Ed il mio amore grande
A te che hai preso la mia vita E ne hai fatto molto di più
A te che hai dato senso al tempo Senza misurarlo
A te che sei il mio amore grande Ed il mio grande amore
A te che io Ti ho visto piangere nella mia mano
Fragile che potevo ucciderti Stringendoti un pò
E poi ti ho visto Con la forza di un aeroplano
Prendere in mano la tua vita E trascinarla in salvo

A te che mi hai insegnato i sogni E l’arte dell’avventura
A te che credi nel coraggio E anche nella paura
A te che sei la miglior cosa Che mi sia successa
A te che cambi tutti i giorni E resti sempre la stessa

A te che sei
Semplicemente sei
Sostanza dei giorni miei
Sostanza dei sogni miei

A te che sei
Essenzialmente sei
Sostanza dei sogni miei
Sostanza dei giorni miei

A te che non ti piaci mai E sei una meraviglia
Le forze della natura si concentrano in te
Che sei una roccia sei una pianta sei un uragano
Sei l’orizzonte che mi accoglie quando mi allontano
A te che sei l’unica amica Che io posso avere
L’unico amore che vorrei Se io non ti avessi con me
A te che hai reso la mia vita Bella da morire
Che riesci a render la fatica Un immenso piacere

A te che sei il mio grande amore Ed il mio amore grande
A te che hai preso la mia vita E ne hai fatto molto di più
A te che hai dato senso al tempo Senza misurarlo
A te che sei il mio amore grande Ed il mio grande amore

A te che sei
Semplicemente sei
Sostanza dei giorni miei
Sostanza dei sogni miei

A te che sei
Semplicemente sei
Compagna dei giorni miei
Sostanza dei giorni miei

Italy & Vatican - Bits and Pieces

Just came back from Italy and Vatican 2 days ago... this 9-day trip was a little bit too short. The country is massively rich of historical and religious stuffs, hard to understand well within short time. It is a beautiful country, but extremely touristy. In general the living costs are high, higher than my expectation, but bearable to me as a tourist. I have visited Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Siena. The journey was rush and pack (my greediness wanted to see everything within the shortest time)... walked a long distance almost everyday.

The pizza is really delicious, can't compare with anywhere else. The tomato sauce must be the secret recipe. Gelato (ice cream) is the favourite of everyone, but each cone costs around EUR 3 to 4!! It is more less the price of a fairly good dinner in Malaysia. Pizza, pasta and panini filled up my stomach in this whole trip (except 1 delicious Chinese meal). I will stay away from Italian food for a short while from now.

Was surprised to see a fairly large crowd of African immigrants in Rome and Florence. Quite a number of them gathered around the railway station. And most of the illegal street vendors at tourist spots selling immitation brand of sun glasses or Prada handbags are Africans. They are always alert and ready to flee when seeing enforcers around.

Plenty of radio stations in Italy. The Italian musics are good. Scanning through all radio waves on air, I could hardly find a station bombarded with hip-hops... good taste!

WizzAir's check-in counter again asked me for the visa to Italy on my departure from Sofia. I explained to them the last incident and the supervisor insisted the same after returning from her office (with the bureaucratic sour face). At last my colleague had to explain to her "how" and "what" to check. She came back later and said, "I read wrongly under Ethiopian nationality." What a stupid excuse??? Do I look like an African? On the opposite, the immigration officers in Rome Airport are friendly. Starting with 'buon giorno' and ended up with a smiling 'ciao'. I did feel really welcomed.

The driving attitude of Italian has not much tolerance, and slightly undisciplined.

Thanks to the extreme huge crowd of tourists, I had to queue up for 2.5 hr to Vatican Museum, and 3 hr to Uffizi Gallery.