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Jul
08
I came across this post “An Anak Bangsa Malaysia’s Call To Uthayakumar” in The People’s Parliament aka Bro Harris Ibrahim. I feel this post is very meaningful and it should be shared with everybody. So I thought of sharing it here in my blog. This is great, take a moment to read it; it will make your day to know there are many nice Malaysians out there.
An anak Bangsa Malaysia’s call to Uthayakumar
By The People’s Parliament
July 8, 2009
Shakuntala sent in a comment to the “A Challenge to Uthayakumar…” post. It really does articulate what so many of us feel that I felt it deserved a reproduction here as a post.
It’s reproduced in full below.
Thank you, Shakuntala.
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I’m first and foremost an Anak Bangsa Malaysia and I want the numbers to grow….they are already. I believe in being an Anak Bangsa Malaysia only because the concept embraces all of us, whether we are black, yellow, a lighter shade of pale,dark brown, light brown and even white.That’s how far we have come already!There is no stopping the tide.
If we look ahead, our children and their children are not going to be in their particular national grooves…they are all going to be mixed and more mixed…they are definitely going to be MALAYSIAN. There’s no two ways….only ONE, the Malaysian Way.
A true leader who has the welfare of all Malaysians at heart, will heed the call…. for unity and intergration of all races.Because that’s the character of our country, Malaysia. We want the lousy word RACE to end and the only way to do it, is to unite and put an end to this damned thing called RACE which is causing no end of negatives…and problems.
Uthayakumar,….I heard that you fought very hard for a Chinese boy, who was a victim of police brutality, a few years back. I’m not sure if you were successful,or what came of it, but it just shows the kind of person you really are, not a race based crazy fanatic, but a far-sighted all embracing, generous person of the calibre of, maybe, Nelson Mandela?
Jul
04
Billionaire Malaysian media mogul Ananda Krishnan is the man reportedly behind RM460.6 million bid to buy English football club Newcastle United, according to The Sun newspaper in the United Kingdom.
The Sun reported that Ananda, who controls Maxis Communications, gaming group Tanjong plc, Measat and Astro, is closing in on the deal to end Mike Ashley’s nightmare two-year “Toon” reign.
An official announcement on the deal is expected next week.
The British tabloid said the deal represents loose change to the 71-year-old, who is Southeast Asia’s third richest man reportedly worth £4.5 billion. But as the deal has not been sealed, other consortia remain in the running to buy the crisis-hit club.
The Sun said that Ananda is the favourite. All major newspapers in the UK reported this morning that a Malaysian consortium had submitted an £80m bid to Ashley for control of Newcastle United yesterday. The Malaysians were shown round St James’ Park on Thursday.
Another consortium, from the United States, had been regarded as the favourite but when the Malaysians flew to London with Newcastle’s Managing Director Derek Llambias, that perception changed.
Ashley reportedly wants £100 million for the club but is expected to accept the lower offer.
Newcastle United will play its football in the Coca Cola Championship next season after being relegated from the English Premier League.
Former club captain and England legend Alan Shearer took over as interim manager in April but failed to steer the club from the drop. Ananda is said to favour the Shearer’s permanent appointment as manager.
The Malaysian tycoon was also reported to be ready to provide funds for the club’s transfer kitty in its bid to quickly rebound back to top-flight football.
Jul
03
Guys, guys from High Chaparrall, stop attacking Lim Guan Eng. He is not the culprit. Real culprit is eunuch Koh Tsu Koon and the BN government. They are the ones who fucked the whole thing with Nusmetro Ventures (P) Sdn Bhd, the developer of the proposed housing project in Kampung Buah Pala.
Guan Eng is a good man and never a racist as portrayed by a few frustrated buggers from the Hindraf. Remember, Guan Eng went to jail defending a Malay girl. Remember? So, he is no Chinese racist looking down on poor Indians lah.
I’m sure Guan Eng knows very well that we the people of Penang brought him up and we the very people of Penang can also pull him down if he fumbles. Guan Eng knows this and I’m sure about it. Guan Eng has gone through Baptism of Fire and he is NEVER A RACIST and I dare say this and I say this again.
I’m sad the Hindu Rights Action Force, now, is not the same Hindraf we cherished and supported in the past. Hindraf now is infiltrated by the BN collaborators and the apparatus. Just see how the HINDRAF 5 carried themselves after their release from the Kamunting ISA camp. It is a real pity, as it seems, as though Hindraf has now become the stooge of Umno. I feel Hindraf has lost its bearings from the time I last went and supported them when it mobilized the huge demonstration of 50,000 people in Kuala Lumpur on November 2007 - see here.
Let me say this again. Residents of Kampong Buah Pala, in fact, Lim Guan Eng or Pakatan state government has nothing to do with the eviction, or the Federal court order and the bringing in of bulldozers to demolish your houses. Instead, Guan Eng had intervened to prevent the eviction since last year. Even though this is a court order obtained by the developer, Guan Eng has continued to work aggressively to try to assist all the Residents in High Chaparral. Guan Eng is doing everything within his means and please give him a chance to do his work for the good of all.
I too have some relatives staying in Kampong Buah Pala for over 150 years, from the time the owners the British Brown Family were actively operating an estate there. I feel sorry for all of them. I remember when I was a kid when we visited them always wanted to stay overnight so that I could see the milking of cows in the morning. Always got excited out of the city into the countryside. Use to ask one Uncle all sorts of question due to my ignorance. Probably one of the most silly one was this “What is this cow’s name?” and “How old is it?”, Is that a bull? Never realised that males and females both produce horns. A female can have horns as well as a male. Always saw these big animals out in the fields with horns and said “that must be a bull.” Found out that I had to look at the other end of the animal to tell if it’s a girl or a boy.
So, to me, the residents in Kampung Buah Pala are legal occupants on the land under the trustee purview from the days of the British Brown Family. It is unfortunate that the villagers of Kampong Buah Pala have been made into “squatters” by Pondan Koh Tsu Koon and his unscrupulous Umno bosses.
Jul
02
In a pathbreaking judgement, the Delhi High Court on Thursday legalised gay sex among consenting adults holding that the law making it a criminal offence violates fundamental rights.
However, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises homosexuality, will continue for non-consensual and non-vaginal sex.
“We declare section 377 of IPC in so far as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private is violative of Articles 14, 21 and 15 of the Constitution,” a Bench comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice S. Murlidhar said.
The High Court said “the provision of Section 377 IPC will continue to govern non-consensual penile non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors”.
The court clarified that “by adults we mean everyone who is 18 years of age or above.”
It further said that this judgement will hold till Parliament chooses to amend the law.
“In our view Indian Constitutional Law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconception of who the LGBTs (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) are.
“It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual,” the Bench said in its 105-page judgement.
The High Court, while allowing the PILs filed by an NGO, Naz Foundation and others fighting for gay rights, clarified that “its judgement will not result in the reopening of criminal cases involving Section 377 of IPC that have already attained finality”
It observed that the inclusiveness that the Indian society traditionally displayed in every aspect of life manifested in recognising a role in society for everyone.
“Those perceived by the majority as ‘deviants’ or ‘different’ are not on that score excluded or ostracised,” the Chief Justice writing the judgement for the Bench, said.
Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and non-discrimination, it said.
“This was the spirit behind the resolution of which Jawaharlal Nehru spoke so passionately,” the Bench said referring to the Objective Resolution moved by him on December 13, 1946 at the Constituent Assembly debate.
Quoting Nehru, Justice Shah said “words are magic things often enough, even the magic of words sometimes cannot convey magic of human spirit and of a nation’s passion …(this resolution seeks very feebly to tell the world of what we have thought or dreamt of so long, and what we now hope to achieve in near future)”.
He said Nehru was of the view that the House should consider the resolution not in a spirit of narrow legal wording, but rather look at the spirit behind that resolution.
The Bench was critical of the provision of section 377 of IPC holding that “a provision of law branding one section of people as criminal based wholly on states’ moral disapproval of that class goes counter to equality guaranteed in the Constitution.”
“The provision of section 377 runs counter to the Constitutional values and the notion of human dignity which is considered to be cornerstone of our Constitution.
“Section 377 in its application to sexual act of consenting adults in privacy discriminates a section of people solely on the ground of their sexual orientation which is analogous to prohibited grounds of sex,” the Bench said.
It said that any discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was against Article 15 of the Constitution which prohibits any discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, caste or place of birth.
“We hold that sexual orientation is a ground analogous to sex and that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is not permitted by Article 15″.
The Bench pulled up the government for its stand that judiciary should refrain from interfering on the issue as it pertains to legislative function coming under the ambit of Parliament.
“We are constrained to observe that the submission of Additional Solicitor General reflect rather poorly on his understanding of the Constitutional scheme.
“The judiciary is constituted as the ultimate interpretor of the Constitution and to it is assigned the delicate task of determining what is the extent and scope of the power conferred on each branch of government,” the Bench said.
“A Constitutional provision must be construed, not in a narrow and constricted sense, but in a wide and liberal manner so as to anticipate and take it out of changing conditions and purposes so that the Constitutional provision does not get atrophied or fossilised but remains flexible enough to meet the newly emerging problem,” the Bench said quoting a Supreme Court judgement.
The High Court judgement assumes importance as the Government was still grappling with the option to scrap section 377 from the statute.
When the verdict was reserved on November 7 last, the previous UPA government had vociferously opposed scrapping of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which prescribes punishment upto life imprisonment for indulging in unnatural sexual acts.
There were contradictions within the Government as the Home Ministry had opposed scrapping of section 377 while Ministry of Health came out openly in support of the gay rights activists.
The Government later sidelined the stand of the then Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss and opposed the PIL by describing homosexuality as “the most indecent behaviour” in society.
The Centre had submitted that gay sex is immoral and reflection of a perverse mind and its decriminalisation would lead to moral degradation of society.
“Every citizen has the right to lead a decent and moral life in society and the right would be violated if such behaviour (gay sex) is legalised in the country,” the government had contended and added that allowing gay sex would pose a health hazard to society.
The Centre had said that homosexuals comprise only 0.3 per cent of the population and the right of rest 99.7 per cent of the population to lead a decent and moral life in society would be violated if such behaviour (gay sex) is legalised.
The gay rights activists had contended that the government is infringing upon their fundamental right to equality by criminalising homosexual acts on the ground of morality.
“The Constitution gives fundamental right to equality and it prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. But the rights of 25 lakh homosexuals in the country are being violated,” they had contended.
Earlier, the government had put a contradictory stand on the issue with the Home Minister of the then UPA government favouring the retention of the penal provision for homosexual acts while the Health Minister opposed the enforcement of Section 377 in cases involving consenting adults.
But when the day-to-day hearing began on the case, the government set aside the stand of the Health Ministry and opposed the plea of gay rights activists.
Jun
29
R Nadeswaran aka Citizen Nades, my countryman, who writes for the Sun is one Investigative Journalist I have great respect as I am a bit of a fan.
I worked in Peninsular Malaysia as the Bureau Chief for a Sabah based paper for nearly 5 years and am familiar with many of Nadeswaran’s cutting-edge reports from uncovering bribes and corruption by Little Napoleans in local councils to getting the inside story on politicians influencing civil servants through their shenanigans and utter greed.
I know, investigative journalists are an exquisite breed and Nades fits the bill. They work in a lonely world, pouring over laborious details for days to collate enough information for a story. Very often they hit a brick wall. They have passion, persistence, discretion, but, sadly, little recognition.
Lets give Nades, my friend, some recognition. See why I say Nades is good….
By R. Nadeswaran (The Sun)
“A JOURNALIST will always protect his kind,” is the common remark we usually get when we attempt to defend our professions from friends and foes who disagree with what we write or do. “You guys will never let each other down, however wrong you are,” is another often-repeated claim. I take pride in stating that if I have made a mistake, I will apologise and have done so before.
Terence Fernandez was abducted and held at gunpoint in Baghdad at the height of the US invasion in 2003. He was released unharmed – though not before two people in his convoy were shot and killed. Despite wanting to stay on, Terence was ordered home in my capacity as his editor, after consultation with the senior management of this newspaper.
I justified this decision in an open letter to the readers by saying that no story is worth your life. Many, including those in the government which had sponsored the Joint Malaysian Media Team to the war zone to give an “independent view” of the American onslaught were not happy with the decision but it stood. We were accused of being cowards but I would rather have a living coward than a dead hero.
To those who had offered support and sympathy for the 24 hours that we had lost contact with Terence, I penned these words: “It had been a harrowing day for me at the office, but nothing is more satisfying to note that our boy is still there, making me proud of being a journalist, his colleague, friend and confidante.”
Over the years, both of us had brushes with the law – not of our doing – but over-zealous law enforcers who think they can cow us into revealing our sources. We have always protected our sources and still seek legal counsel when the need arises. If we break that code, no one would ever want to deal with us. And wherever we go, we tell our audience to not treat us as enemies but as friends who can help further a common cause. Not that we would take sides, but sitting over a cuppa beats a confrontational interview, hands down, every time.
Long before Terence’s harrowing experience, there has always been a tinge of support in my heart for my brethren journalists if they had done no wrong. It was on that premise that I walked into the Brickfields police station many moons ago to demand why my late colleague Raymond Nathan was handcuffed behind his back. His
“offence” was to have harshly demanded why an accident victim was not attended to immediately. Having said that, I stayed away from the cause of another journalist who was detained for drug-related offences.
Therefore, after reading the plight of Nevash Nair of The Malay Mail (where I started and honed my investigative journalism trade), who was questioned for six hours by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), I can relate my feelings. I too, not long ago, underwent a similar exercise (though I was not detained) when police officers came to record my statement on the Balkis affair. Nair’s alleged offence (gathered from news reports) was reporting what a member of Parliament experienced at the MACC office. His laptop and handphone were seized – a new experience for those in the fraternity.
What offence did he commit? Did he take a bribe from the MP or any other party to write the report? If that is the case, I would rest my case and declare that the law must take its course. However, this was not the case. While it would be wrong to “interfere” with investigations, no one has told us what Nair is being investigated for. The National Union of Journalists has come out strongly against the treatment of the journalist, but the silence on the part of two senior newsmen in the MACC’s Consultation and Anti-Corruption Panel is deafening indeed. No one expects them to defend any wrongdoer – journalist or not – but they owe a special duty to find out and explain the nature of the so-called offence and if the methodology used by the MACC in the course of its investigation is commensurate with the provisions of the Act. We are likely to be told that “MACC has wide powers” but the speed with which it embarked on Nair’s report and its almost immediate statement – the files were never missing – gives us, lesser mortals hope that the commission can work on cases and produce results in a jiffy if it wants to.
I am not against the MACC and I will be the first to admit that there are bad apples among us and there a handful who are involved in dubious deals, for whom there should be no sympathy. The MACC has a job to do and it should show no favour to anyone – journalists included. In this case, no money changed hands and apparently, they wanted to get to the bottom of the issue where the MACC officials had been quoted saying that “the files are missing”.
If I had been the investigation officer, I would have had a chat with him and asked him how and why he came to the conclusion that the files were missing. Surprisingly, to add to MACC’s perception problem, it singled out Nair while other journalists who filed similar stories were spared the detention and interrogation.
The Fourth Estate has a duty to play in nation-building and the creation of a better society. It has a duty to work with both the public and private sectors in disseminating news which the public wants. If there is something wrong, it has a job of pointing it out and if there’s something positive, it has to be reported as well. This is the credo in every journalist’s mind and most of us are aware of this when we put pen to paper. We are aware of the laws of defamation and the other punitive laws which could land us in jail. But when we are faulted for reporting what was said, is it not a case of shooting the messenger?
Jun
28
(I could’nt resist this “SUNSET OVER TANJUNG ARU BEACH, KOTA KINABALU”)
The sun, a star at the centre of the solar system, is known to provide ideal conditions for life to thrive on Earth. But, astronomers have claimed that it also leaves the planet wide open to harmful cosmic rays.
A joint team from University of Arizona and University of Texas in the US has found that the sun periodically leaves Earth open to assaults from interstellar nasties in a way that most stars do not, the ‘New Scientist’ reported.
The sun protects humans from cosmic rays and dust from beyond the solar system by enveloping in the heliosphere — a bubble of solar wind that extends past Pluto. These rays would damage the ozone layer and interstellar dust can dim sunlight and trigger an ice age.
However, when the solar system passes through very dense gas and dust clouds, the heliosphere can shrink until its edge is inside Earth’s orbit. So, in their research, the team, led by David Smith, has calculated the squeezing of various stars’ protective “astrospheres”.
Jun
27
Michael Jackson is a musical genius and an icon of my generation a true LEGEND. In my mind, The King of the Pop will always be Micheal Jackson the undisputed king, just like Elvis the King of Rock and Roll.
I have many fond memories that come with MJ’s music from the days of Jackson 5. Regardless of this personal life, he was a musical and entertainment genius and he personified an era. The world has lost someone that has defined a generation.
I find it amazing how everyone in the media are now paying tribute to him and saying how great he was but when he was down in the dumps, accused of sexual child molestation, these very people were nowhere to be found or just throwing all kind of shit at him…Its really sad how people say nasty things about you when you are alive but when you die, all you hear are nice things being said. How ironic.
We mourn the passing away of a legend, who brought the world together much more than any politician. In MJ’s words, his was a world of “neither black or white” although MJ himself went to great lengths to change his own colour.
The world today is grieving for MJ because he brought great joy to all of us through his music and his dance moves. Remember Moon Walk?
Despite MJ’s obvious poor health condition, he was signed up to perform in 50 shows in London. Its sheer madness. Imagine, the tickets for the shows were all sold out in an hour. But there was also a price to be paid as MJ prepared for the tour. The toll must have been too much for MJ.
There’s a lump of sadness in my throat that won’t go away now.
Michael, the world would never forget you and your songs. I’m “speechless”. Rest in peace Wacko Jacko!
Jun
26
Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, pauses for a moment before a news conference held after the death of Micheal Jackson in LA.
A fan cries holding a wax replica of Micheal Jackson outside of Madame Tussaud’s Museum.
An unidentified man holds up a Micheal Jackson poster outside the UCLA Medical Center.
Young Michael Jackson performs at opening night of his Victory Tour at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Dec. 1, 1984. At Right: A man embraces Jermaine Jackson, brother of Michael Jackson after a news conference that annouced the star’s death at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the “King of Pop” and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died on Thursday. He was 50.
Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.
“It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known,” his brother Jermaine said. Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.
Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing hard for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.
As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson’s heyday. Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York’s Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
From Jackson 5 to numero uno
The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers out of Gary, Indiana. Among their No. 1 hits were I Want You Back, ABC and I’ll Be There.
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
“For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words,” said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller. “He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”
Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music’s biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson’s death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.
As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He often wore a germ mask while traveling, kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions, and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, a storybook playland filled with toys, rides and animals. The tabloids dubbed him Wacko Jacko.
Jackson caused a furor in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Jackson was 4 years old when he began singing with his brothers — Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito — in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.
His 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.
The album Thriller alone mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of Billie Jean,” the grinding Eddie Van Halen solo on Beat It, and the hiccups and falsettos on Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.
The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through Billie Jean.
The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.
By then he had cemented his place in pop culture. He got the plum Scarecrow role in the 1978 movie musical The Wiz, a pop-R&B version of The Wizard of Oz, that starred Diana Ross as Dorothy.
During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson’s scalp sustains burns when an explosion sets his hair on fire.
He had strong follow-up albums with 1987’s Bad and 1991’s Dangerous, but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy’s family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.
Jackson’s expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album HIStory, which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson’s music was clearly waning, even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behavior was growing.
Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson’s star power was unmatched. “The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it,” Werde said. “He’s literally the king of pop.”
Jackson’s 13 No. 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.
“He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit,” he said. “People might have started to think of him again in a different light.”
Jun
24
This is one of my favorite quote which was made by Late George Harrison a long time ago “The only thing which is important in life is karma”
And this is for all the Beatles fans including me….
A souvenir poster of Beatles’ iconic rock and roll album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” went under the hammer for USD 52,500 at a Christie’s auction of pop culture memorabilia that saw total sales of USD 650,862.
The auction of 193 lots featured a variety of Hollywood music, sports, and pop culture ephemera.
The Sgt Pepper poster had signatures of all four Beatles — John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr in blue ink circa 1967.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the The Beatles. Recorded over a 129-day period beginning on December 6, 1966. Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band the album was released on 1967 June 1 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. Sgt. Pepper is recognized as one of the most influential albums of all time. It was ranked the greatest album of all time by the Rolling Stone in 2003.
Alternative rock icon Kurt Cobain’s Sears bass guitar sold for USD 43,750, while a classic black leather motorcycle jacket signed by members of his band Nirvana and Soundgarden fetched USD 12,500.
A set of rare handwritten and partial lyrics for the song “With God On Our Side” from Bob Dylan’s seminal 1964 album “The Times They Are A-Changin” sold for USD 25,000.
An original script of “The Godfather” signed by Marlon Brando in blue ink fetched USD 10,625 while a pair of handwritten and signed cheques of Marilyn Monroe sold for USD 4,750.
Jun
20
Want to retain your sight as you age? Well, eat a diet full of fruit and vegetables daily, say researchers.
A new study, led by Indian-origin scientist Usha Chakravarthy of Queen’s University in Belfast, has revealed that antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables may slow down sight loss in many elderly people.
Age-related muscular regeneration (AMD), an incurable eye disease which causes blurring of central vision, affect a number of aged people across the world.
For their study, the researchers developed a new antioxidant supplement and tested it on more than 400 people across Ireland to check whether nutritional supplements helped sharpen vision.
The subjects, with an average age of 77, took part in clinical trials investigating whether rich antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables could prevent progression to the more serious late AMD.
The study showed the intake of high levels preserved the muscular pigments, slowing down the progression from early AMD to late AMD. In contrast, muscular pigments of participants in a group given placebos declined steadily.
“These findings are important as this is the first randomised controlled clinical trial to document a beneficial effect via improved function and maintained muscular pigment.
“Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to identify the numbers needed to treat to prevent one case from progressing from early to late AMD,” Chakravarthy was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying.
