O.B.E.

The following article by Monica Hesse entitled “The truth is not there” was published in the Lifestyle section of the Star on 26th May 2008.

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How many legs does a dog have, if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg - Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln never said this. He liked a similar, more long-winded anecdote about a cow, but the dog version? Nope. Still, the quote is credited to Abe on some 11,000 different websites, including quote resources Brainy Quote and World of Quotes.

Inhabitants of the Wiki-world, consider these random but related events, most of which pertain to the under-25 set, all of which occurred in the past sixmonths:

- The launching of Cumul.us, a wiki-weather site in which users can collaboratively decide whether it is raining outside.

- The release of True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society, Farhad Manjoo’s exploration of the “cultural ascendancy of belief over fact”.

- The addition of “collateral misinformation” to UrbanDictionary.com. The entry: “When someone alters a Wikipedia article to win a specific argument, anyone who reads the false article before the ‘error’ is corrected suffers from collateral misinformation.”

- And a scholar at the Hoover Institution performed an experiment with totally unsurprising results: When 100 terms of US history books were entered into Google, the topics’ Wikipedia articles were the first hits 87 times.

All these examples are signs of the times.

And all of them get at a big question: For the Google generation, what happens to the concept of truth and knowledge in a user-generated world of information saturation?

Of course, the information might be right. In one study, published in Nature, that reviewed scientific entries side-by-side, Wikipedia was found to be only slightly less reliable than Encyclopedia Britannica (four errors to Britannica’s every three). There’s at least a decent chance that the wisdom of the crowds is fine wisdom indeed.

The main concern is the fact that, without peer review, it’s so easy to be wrong, and for your wrongness to become the top Google hit on a subject, and for your wrongness to be repeated by other people who think it’s right, until everyone decides that it’s raining in Phoenix.

Information specialists call it the death of information literacy. Information is about, tidbits, crumbs of data. Information can be carried around on a Trivial Pursuit card. Information says: “It’s currently 35 degree Centigrade in Anchorage.”

Knowledge is different. Knowledge is about context, about knowing what to do with accumulated information. Knowledge is saying:: “Dude, based on what I know of Alaska, it’s never 35 degree Centigrade in Anchorage.”

Joining librarians as trench warriors for truth are some teachers, from grade school though college.

Mike Grill, who teaches Advanced Placement government at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, describes the progression when he makes his students do a research paper.

“At the beginning of the year their sources will be some crank blog,” Grill says. “Or they’ll cite The Daily Show as a source, as in ‘Jon Stewart said so’.” Grill says his students quote opinions as facts, and rarely consider whether the source is a person of authority.

For the six-week research project, he puts them through detox: limiting their online sources to a maximum of three, making them use library reference desks, dealing with their assertions that anything found in a book couldn’t be very useful - wouldn’t the information be, like, way outdated?

Anna Johnson, a George Washington University freshman from Iowa, sympathises with Grill’s students. “I got through my first semester without checking out a book,” she says sheepishly.

But during her second semester, she had the mandatory freshman seminar, which partners each section with a librarian to combat the decline of information literacy and is all the rage in liberal arts programmes these days.

At first, “I got really overwhelmed” by all the information, says Johnson. “The idea of having original thought completely terrified me.” Once she realized how much information was out there,the idea of synthesising it seemed impossible.

There is a lot of information out there.It overwhelms us. It grows at a choking rate.

You wonder: Who is right?

The student who lives online? Or the lame teacher who thinks that books are a necessary component to a well-rounded understanding of how information works?

As students must absorb increasingly more information throughout their education, perhaps expecting them to assess whether it’s true is simply too much. Four errors to Britannica’s three ain’t bad - and probably good enough for the research the average person does on a daily basis.

“The lessons that come through understanding a process should never become a thing of the past,” Grill says.

Online help

Chad Stark is a thirtysomething librarian from Hyattsville, Maryland, manning AskUsNow, a 24/7 online chat open to Maryland residents who need research help.

He accepts a question, from a user who wants to know the distance between New Jersey and Venezuela for a science project on migration.

Stark asks which cities in New Jersey and Venezuela, explaining that this variable could drastically change the answer.

The user seems annoyed. “It’s just science homework, dude. No need for such crazy accuracy.”

Stark finds the distance using two random cities, then answers three more questions from the same patron, including, “In what continent is Venezuela?’

Stark stares at the screen for a second before typing in “South America”. He doesn’t bother to cross-reference this information.

“This kid doesn’t know where Venezuela is, but he managed to log on and use this service,” Stark says quietly. “That is pretty amazing.” - LAT-WP.

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I hope you find it illuminating. By the next regular GE in 2013, more and more of all eligible voters will be of the younger generation therefore I sincerely hope that wisdom in knowing the difference and having the courage to make a difference is not lost in a Google search.

who needs lighthouses.

Did you hear about the new marine park surrounding Middle Rocks and South Ledge? That would put RDC in a state of bother if there are plans to expand Pulau Batu Putih.. oops.. Pedra Branca.

Oh yeah, one more thing. The next time you happen to be fishing in the area and a tropical storm looms, please bring along your international passport for endorsement by the RDC lighthouse keepers if you choose to seek refuge on the island. I’m not sure if our immigration authorities will be too pleased to see our official traveling documents getting ‘P.B.-ed’ but a good fish tale always works wonders.

Duh DAP wheel chairperson.

Originally, I wanted to headline this posting “The world according to Karp” but considering that I’ve fond memories of the 1982 “Garp” movie and am certainly a fan of Robin Williams, it would have been sacrilegious to associate the two.

Karp have been busy blithering incessantly through the MSM since the PR coalition won big state-wise but still not there yet, federally speaking.

He started off his blitzkrieg with TDM (here), took potshots at the Regent of Kelantan (here) and came to the rescue of the Perak PAS MB (here). The first two items were typically his trademark ‘matter of political principle’ diatribes which were meant to admonish whoever he perceives as his opponents. The third, surprisingly, was a complete reversal in character in which he actually acquiesced to a derogatory nickname for his own flock. Par for the course, I’d presume, for political expediency.

Alrighty. Get on board the OBE time-machine and let’s go back to 1999 when Karp was one of the lead counsel for AI in that (in)famous court case which probably elevated this lawyer bloke to a cult figure among the local legal fraternity and became the darling of western human rights advocates.

Karp uttered these words in court “It could well be that someone out there wants to get rid of him… even to the extent of murder… I suspect people in high places are responsible for this situation”. Mighty strong words but then again, he’s a lawyer fer chrissakes and he’s gotta appear courageous in front of the judge, and the gallery.

For those born yesterday, this lawyerly statement was made on 10th September 1999 during AI’s second trial on the sodomy charge (for which he was later acquitted) and referred to the purported arsenic poisoning of AI while in incarceration. Just prior to this momentous announcement, in August ‘99, urine samples from AI were surreptitiously taken out of prison, smuggled overseas under a pseudonym (using an indian name, if I recalled correctly) to Gribbles Pathology Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia for tests. Lo and behold, the ‘unidentified source’ samples tested positive with very high levels of arsenic content which may be fatally harmful to this unidentified person. Hence, Karp must have felt compelled to disclose this incriminating evidence in a court of law to support his contentious statement. Both the trial judge and the AG who was leading the prosecution were equally concerned and agreed to a request for AI to be examined by medical experts.

Subsequently, further tests were carried out by local and foreign experts to establish the veracity of the alleged poisoning bid (as presented by Karp) but none of the results were proven to be fatal to AI’s wellbeing. It takes a long time for arsenic poisoning to take effect in a person and similarly, if ingested, will remain within the body for an extended period.

Anywayz, to shorten this krap.. crap.. long story, please read this opinion piece made by QC Michael Birnbaum obtained from the ‘barhumanrights-uk’ website on what transpired although it’s more on the legalistic explanation on the issue of sedition and contempt of court proceedings. Folks, yer might wanna get a cup of coffee/tea before scrolling down to the juicy bits coz the damn thing is 62 pages long, ok.

Despite the long-winded explanation therein, I’m amazed that the true identity of the person from whom the alleged samples were obtained and sent anonymously to Australia was never questioned nor established at that point in time. QC Birnbaum prepared a convoluted document on the legal aspects of the case but was scant on corroborative details to support the alleged arsenic poisoning. I thought lawyers are meticulous on the issue of building up the body of irrefutable evidence when presenting their arguments and submissions in court but then again, I presume it doesn’t apply to big time lawyers with their high standing clients. It seems and according to the reasoning given by the QC, factual accuracy is irrelevant as long as there is no ‘bad faith’ (mala fide) on the part of the defense counsel. Duh! This was an extremely high profile case involving, for the first time ever, the Malaysian government against a former deputy prime minister. I’m certain that fact was not lost on Karp.

Lawyers and politicians make for strange bedfellows. And if they happen to be one and the same, and in parliament at that, may God have mercy on us ordinary folks coz a quick solution may not avail itself.

P.S. Karp lost in the November ‘99 election in case if you’re wondering.

Duh Prime Minister.

It’s confirmed, folks. AAB’s not leaving us yet. According to Bernama’s report (here), he’s staying until December ‘08 and perhaps, even beyond coz he’s also contesting for the UMNO presidency. With or without the 20, 30, 50, or whatever nominations required for any challengers, I presume AAB will throw down the gauntlet even if he has to stand against the tea-lady. If only one journo could have had the courage to give an answer to AAB’s rhetorical “Why shouldn’t I contest? You tell me”, he/she would have been anointed President for life (of the NPC) on the spot.

I’ve got to take my hat off to this bloke. He’s got loads and heaps of chutzpah. His kahunas must be bristling in his purple pampers with all the flack he’s been getting since GE12 that he’s apparently reverting to having 15 baths a day to cool down. Have yer noticed his John Waynish stance interpersed with the Mr Magooish blank stare during press conferences lately? His medication of uppers, downers and what-exactly-are-these-for-doc re-animations are displayed in full colour on prime time national TV. I hear nobody wants to watch it on AK’s Astro coz they can’t figure out whether to slot it under comedy, docudrama or national geriatric. Besides, the new smartcard would default by default.

Eight months is a long, long time for an embattled politician to wait out. But he’s got the full support of his deputy and the majority of the UMNO grassroots. Don’t listen to the rumblings coming from certain UMNO luminaries and/or division chiefs as they represent the minority, according to AAB. And we should believe him coz he’s not going to make the same mis-judgements as in the run-up to GE12. No sirree, not this guy. He’s smarter now. Snigger, snigger..Hey, I can’t help it, ok.

In fact, AAB’s so much better that the opposition are now rallying in support of him. We have the likes of AI, KS, GSD, etc and even a former UN rapper rappop reaper.. what the f.. uhhm.. never mind.. taking potshots at his main detractor, TDM. So you see, when AAB said that he was the PM for all Malaysians, it’s finally coming true. Except for TDM, of course but he still got friends what.

So let me ask you this. Will 8 months be enough time for AAB to clean up the PKFZ, PGCC, Wang Ehsan, ECM-Libra, IDR, UN-Food-for-oil, BSA-Tahir, Hindraf 5, etc and perhaps, arrange a clean getaway smooth transition of leadership within UMNO and the federal government (which may or may not be the BuNch he’s with now)? Ok lah, let’s give him another 3 months after he clobbers the sh*t out of the tea-lady at the UMNO polls so that he can leave with some dignity.

While we wait for the next press-the-button-of-your-remote episode of ‘Malaysian Dummies for Politics’, who’s looking after the economy, folks? BN? PR? Naahh! The Orcs are too busy clamoring for Gollum’s Precious One Ring To Rule Them All.

The defacto Mr Opposition.

AI has been quite in the news of late. Ironically, the MSM rags gave him extended coverage despite not being an MP yet. At least, not until 15th April ‘08 when he would have served out his ineligibility to run for public office due to his previous conviction. And even then, there’s still the matter of contesting in a by-election for a parliamentary constituency which if he wins, will provide him the mandate to be present in Parliament.

Did you ever wonder why WAWI, the PR appointed opposition leader, was not interviewed?

The Star had a news report (here) on 11th April ‘08 plus a Q&A the next day.

The first item had him saying that the opposition PR will not be seeking for a vote of no confidence on AAB anytime soon. With 82 seats in parliament, PR will need an additional 30 from the BN coalition for this motion to succeed. If so, will any of these 30 BN MPs be ‘leapfrogging’ into PKR or will they do so as independents who are not aligned to BN or PR for that matter? This group of MPs could well be another front, possibly coming out from Sabah and Sarawak, with their own agenda. In any case, AI stated that this move is not on the cards yet. There’s still time to do this later.

GE12 resulted with PKR winning 31 parliamentary seats, DAP 28 and PAS 23. Effectively, PKR takes the lead in the opposition coalition by virtue of the larger numbers won. Therefore, is AI quietly working towards building the PKR power base beyond the reach of their partners in PR? His recent foray into East Malaysia immediately after the election points to this possibility which, however, was met with resistance from civil society itself with regards to the moral justification if voters’ choice are not addressed. Furthermore, the ominous remark by an East Malaysian MP that they must not be considered as a reserve team for PR (or PKR) adds credence to AI’s political manipulations. Hence, plan ‘A’ didn’t go that well.

In the Q&A with the Star, AI said, “On the candidate for Prime Minister, we have more or less reached a consensus but it is not final. It has not been announced yet. And I don’t want to jump the gun. But this doesn’t mean that we are stalling as we are ready to govern. We have time.” This statement is immediately followed with.. “If I am entrusted with the job, I do not want to be in a rush because I don’t want to govern a fragile government.”

If there were going to be a massive shift of allegiance away from BN within Sabah and Sarawak and if the MPs there were to form a third front of more than 31 seats, will this negate AI’s ambition to become the next PM?

In the meantime, UMNO is slowly but surely disintegrating from within as long as AAB stays as PM. The UMNO grassroots are now openly voicing their concerns particularly from Johore. TDM, on his own volition, have sounded the clarion as early as on the 9th of March ‘08 asking AAB to take responsibility for the largest GE losses ever experienced by BN, including the states of Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Penang plus a stalemate in Kuala Lumpur while Kelantan remained in PAS hands. Forty nine percent of the popular votes were garnered by PR.

And yet, we have AI saying, “We have time.“

Is it not conceivable that AI’s plan A, B, C and whatever are not bearing fruit in his favor yet and he now prefers to wait out the demise of UMNO, pick up disgruntled UMNO MPs into PKR and thereafter, stake his claim to the premiership?

He’s been alluding to the fact that PR is ready to govern the nation with 82 MPs plus the ‘phantom’ 30 who are ready to cross over. Besides, only PAS have had the experience in governing. PKR and DAP are newbies in the game.

There is a necessity for AAB to step down as soon as possible, not just for the sake of political expediency to save UMNO, but more for the nation. The longer this impasse remain unresolved, the nation’s economy will deteriorate drastically in the coming months in tandem with events unfolding worldwide. The political uncertainty will further reduce foreign investments which in turn will impact on the nation’s competitive edge.

If the price of rice have risen between 10 and 15% in the past week, what do you reckon it will cost by December ‘08?

The UMNO led BN administration are at sixes and sevens and we have the defacto opposition leader saying “We have time“. UMNO’s weakness is being milked to the fullest by AI’s PKR in particular and may not necessarily be for the benefit of the PR coalition.

Perhaps, AI needs time to set up the FMD nexus. Father, Mother and Daughter.

That will be the day, eh folks. After all, there’s already AAB/KJ, LKS/LGE and KS/GSD.

And I thought, having a strong two-bloc coalition parliamentary system was meant for the citizens’ benefit.

*Meanwhile, the Foot in Mouth Diatribe, continues*