An interesting piece of news on the war on terror.

Apparently the US Army made a huge mistake by bombing fellow allies the Pakistanis, killing 11 of them.

It's a crazy war when you can simply bomb you allies.

Or does America no longer consider them allies because they're negotiating peace with the Afghan militants?

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistan's military condemned a "cowardly" US air strike that killed 11 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border on Wednesday, saying it could jeopardise cooperation in the "war on terror".

The attack on a checkpost in Pakistan's volatile tribal zone was the first of its kind since Islamabad joined Western efforts against the hardline Taliban movement in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

It heightened tensions between Pakistan and the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, which recently warned that the new government's decision to hold peace talks with militants could increase cross-border infiltration.

A Pakistani army spokesman "condemned this completely unprovoked and cowardly act" and blamed the coalition for the "aerial attack" that destroyed a paramilitary post in the Mohmand tribal region, a statement said.

It confirmed that 11 soldiers were killed including an officer. "The incident had hit at the very basis of cooperation and sacrifice with which Pakistani soldiers are supporting the coalition in the war against terror," it quoted the spokesman as saying. Pakistan had lodged a strong protest with the coalition, it said.

Heavily armed local tribesmen brandishing rocket launchers and Kalashnikov rifles gathered near the checkpost in the mountainous Gora Prai area to show their support after the attack, residents said.

The US-led coalition in Afghanistan referred queries to the US embassy in Islamabad, which in turn said that the Pentagon was dealing with the matter. The Afghan military made no immediate comment.

Pakistani security officials said the deaths came after Afghan troops crossed the porous frontier and tried to occupy the strategic Pakistani post in the troubled tribal belt, which borders eastern Afghanistan.

The post was in an area that has long been disputed between the two countries. Pakistani troops repulsed the Afghan soldiers and the coalition then bombed the area.

Coalition aircraft also killed around 15 Taliban militants about a kilometre (half a mile) away, the officials said. A spokesman for Pakistani Taliban militants, Maulvi Omar, said eight "mujahideen (holy warriors)" were killed in an air strike by coalition helicopters.

He also said the rebels had shot down a coalition helicopter and captured seven Afghan soldiers when they were returning from "attacking" the post. There was no confirmation of either claim.

Pakistan has protested over a series of missile strikes attributed to US-led forces in Afghanistan in recent months, including one in the tribal region of Bajaur in May that killed more than a dozen people.

Several Pakistani soldiers have also been killed by stray shells but it appears to be the first time that any have been killed by a targeted air strike by US forces.

Disputes over the 2,500-kilometre (1,500-mile) frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both key allies in the US-led "war on terror," have flared up several times in recent years. Pakistan's new government, which ousted allies of President Pervez Musharraf in elections in February, has entered peace talks with pro-Taliban militants in the tribal belt, causing concerns among its Western allies.

The attack came two days after a US think tank said in a report that members of Pakistan's intelligence services and its paramilitaries were supporting Taliban insurgents. The study by the RAND corporation, funded by the US Department of Defence, said that if Taliban bases in Pakistan were not eliminated, the forces supporting the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai "will face crippling long-term consequences in their effort to stabilise and rebuild Afghanistan."

Pakistan's military denounced the claims in a statement as "yet another smear campaign maligning Pakistan armed forces and creating differences as well as misunderstanding amongst the coalition partners."

A brief conversation with a pure blooded UMNO nutcase.

Him: So what's up?

Me: Petrol prices, shipping rates, bus fares soon to follow...

Him: Of course la. How long more you want to live under subsidy mindset?

Me: At least until Komuter trains come on time every 15 minutes. Or maybe when cars get cheaper by removing the import duty? Then can get cheaper hybrids...Also, why are we exporting our oil if we cannot give it to our people?

Him:.....

Me: Do we really want to give diesel for cheap to bus drivers? They can't even drive proper. Look at how many accidents nowadays.

Him:....

Me: And then you have rempits. Why exempt bikers from road tax and toll payments when they, but allow them to use the highways? That means that automobile owners are subsidizing them, right?

Him:...

Me:...you ride a motorbike to work, right?

Him: You think you know better, go lah and become PM!

Me: If being PM means you can fall asleep at the UMNO GA, leave the country to open a nasi kandar shop in Australia when Johor is flooded, sure, I'll take the job.

Is there a conspiracy by our government, through the Ministry of Transport and all departments linked to it, to simply kill off Malaysians by allowing bus accidents to happen?

Perhaps try to take out dozens at one time, once every week?

Was it not last week that a bus crashed on it's way up Genting, and the passengers told us that the driver was speeding?

And the government's excuse to not foreseeing this incident? Well, the driver of that bus only had one speeding ticket.

And now, another bus, a Transnasional bus crashes in Lipis on the way to Kota Bharu from KL.

Cause of crash? The bus was speeding on a slippery road.

Why was the bus speeding?

Well, it departed the bus depot 6 hours late because it broke down. Perhaps that was the cause of it.

Either that, or perhaps the driver and co-driver were high and tried drifting with a bus load of passengers after watching an episode of KL Drift.

Permit me to raise the question; If a bus breaks down for six hours, how the hell does it get past continuing to drive off from Wisma Putra?

Are there no inspectors from anywhere checking the station for buses that appear to be malfunctioning before departure?

Just what actions are being taken by those in power to curb the number of accidents for this ailing public transportation entity?

Obviously, judging by the increasing number of accidents, whatever measures being taken are lacking, not working, and perhaps causing more accidents.

Anyways, congratulations to JPJ, Puspakom, the traffic police branch of Lipis, and finally but most responsible of all, the Ministry of Transport. Perhaps we should fill a sink with blood for you all to wash your hands with after you eat breakfast whilst reading the morning paper.

Yet another job well done in murdering our citizens with your routine apathy and indifference.

In their most ridiculously trivial movement by far, the DAP central executive committee has asked their Johor assemblymen not to wear songkok's (or peci if you're Indonesian) at the opening of the State assembly.

Interesting.

Just what kind of statement is the DAP making with this move? More interestingly, who came up with the idea of not wearing a songkok?

Was it the same individual who continues to undermine the Malay Sultanates?

If wearing the songkok is a fashion crime, I've definitely haven't heard of it yet from E! News Entertainment on Astro.

What is this move about? Is the anti-Malay sentiment coming from the top of the Rocket's hierarchy finally showing?

If so, it's definitely appalling because the songkok, is not just a piece of Malay headgear. It's a piece of Malaysian headgear, regardless of race.

How can I say such a thing? Well, have you ever seen a Malay chastise the mamaks at the nasi kandar shops for wearing songkoks?

Truth be told, I would have thought that they would put more focus on the investigation of the recent flooding of Johor.

If they insist on not wearing the songkok and get barred from the assembly hall, how would their voters feel?

Personally, I think it's all down to the dress code for the assembly hall. If it mentions that the headgear is part of the dress, then wear it. It's not an insult to your religious views, non-Malays, but it will be an insult to the Sultan who is the guest of honor at the event.

Even if he did kill his caddy in his earlier years.

Sigh....

PM, if you raise oil prices, did you honestly think the people were going to sit back and just take it in stride?

Of course they're not. Of course there are going to be protests. These are individuals who think it's unfair that they are being charged a higher price for petrol in a country that willfully sells it out to other nations instead of promising a steady and affordable supply to it's people.

You go about comparing the oil prices to that of India, Bangladesh, Singapore and Thailand, and even Indonesia. Yet, you refuse to acknowledge and accept the reaction of what an increase in petrol prices did in these countries.

They were burning effigies of the Prime Minister in Delhi.

Should you not just be grateful that people are only hurling slogans, and raising pickets in our cities?

In Venice, and some parts of Spain, their fishermen have refused to go out and fish. You should be thankful that's not happening here!

In Taiwan, the fishermen from the coast came into town and protested.

What is all this idiotic nonsense about "hoping that people will not protest"?

If you bite the chili, you feel the hotness. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the PM's office.

Will you please, for once, just grow a spine and a pair of ears, and face the music!

The Malaysian government is now proud that 31,000 youths have completed the national service course this time around. I think such pride is overshadowing the fact that even we had 16 deaths in the national service program since 2004.

And yet, our Deputy Defense Minister has the gall to say that these were all health related deaths and had nothing to do with the harsh conditions of the training program module itself.

I'm sorry, but didn't one servicemen die over fighting over a pack of cigarettes, or did I read that wrongly a while back?

People, I ask, how safe are we, as a nation, when our Deputy Defense Minister, is an amnesiac?

Even worse, how safe are we when our Deputy Defense Minister doesn't even know his facts?

What's next?

Defense Bill budget of millions with a typo error to billions?

Accusing Singapore having WMDs to justify invading Batu Putih?

Or let me guess, forgetting to build a base for the relocation of our army base in Johor?

Is it just me, or is our Malaysian Dick Cheney not as good a Defense Minister as he used to be? And has he hired a fall guy in case he, well, falls, as his deputy?

I think about a year back, I was telling off everyone at Jeff Ooi's blog about how Nicol David should be awarded a title for recognition of service in her field.

And now, she has a title from the King himself.

In your face, Jeff Ooi and all of you who were against it!

Congratulations to Nicol, and good luck in your future endeavors.

Data taken from the Malaysian AIDS Council, opinions are my own.

Fact: 4741 new cases of HIV and AIDS reported came from men, 937 from women.

Yet, the government insist that women be the ones to bring around condoms.

Fact: Out of 5689 newly reported cases of HIV and AIDS, only 232 cases are from a homosexual/bisexual relationship.

Yet there are those who insist that AIDS and HIV is God's wrath against homosexuality, to the point of branding this a crime.

Fact: Out of 5689 newly reported cases of HIV and AIDS, only 31 cases are those who are sex workers.

Yet, there is general misconception that these people are guilty for the spread of this disease.

So with these facts mentioned and published in the AIDS Council website, perhaps there is a need to re-examine some of the justifications brought forth by this government in their decision making.

The Malaysian government is stubborn. They've always been stubborn.

And not just stubborn. They're a forgetful bunch as well.

In April, I remember that our Science Minister informed the cabinet that the Malaysian Space Program will be shelved as there were no longer any funds available for such an endeavor. This basically made most Malaysians snicker with sarcasm throughout the month, some sarcastically using the Malaysia Boleh slogan as a taunt towards our government.

Surprisingly today there's news linked to the space program once more.

Taken from the Star:

" The Government has identified an area in Tawau, Sabah, to launch rockets into space, reported Utusan Malaysia.

More research should be done to ensure that construction of the launching pad would not affect the environment, Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Fadillah Yusof told the Dewan Negara.

“There are several features that we should consider, most important of which is the suitability of the site,” he said.

He said a cost analysis must be held due to the high cost of the programme."

May I ask who's brilliant idea it was to actually continue scouting for a place to launch rockets into space?

Even with sending satellites into orbit, which we did in 1996 and 2003, why do we need our own launch pad? And what returns are we expecting on this decision.

It is mentioned that the costs will be high. What's the ballpark estimate?

Also, why is our Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation so stubborn about sending stuff into outer space? Can't they focus more on green technology instead of thinking of burning more fuel?

I personally think this is another bad idea by a government that is continually generating bad ideas in continuation.

Petronas could go bust by 2018

By WONG SAI WAN

Reading the article above, I can't help but wonder just who is in control of whom. Is the government in control of Petronas, or is it the other way around?

And also, why is there mention that the government will take away 100% of their profits? Was there such a mention by the Malaysian government that this may happen?

If so, what is the purpose of our government to absorb the entirety of this global and lucrative corporations' profit?

With the recent increase in petrol prices, saving millions for our government, what possible rationale would they have for having to swallow whole our petroleum industries profits?

You know, one has to wonder what is this government planning to do with all the money they've saved on our petrol subsidy. The last time, they promised better public transport which is still nonexistent in our country. And now, they insist that it is for the good of the nation that there be monthly price reviews for petrol, higher tariffs for electricity and even higher prices for foods.

With all these taking place, they try to justify it with the upcoming world food crisis, and the oil crisis.

If there is an oil crisis, may I ask why we allow our nation to be an oil exporter? Should we not stop the selling of this precious resource to others and focus on our own people?

If there is a food crisis in our nation, then why does ISIS say otherwise?

If these higher prices are for the good of the nation, and the nation is it's people, and these actions do nothing but burden the majority, then the actions of this current government is not only contradictory to their belief, it is an act of treason.